Applied Materials, Inc.

Bradley Mitchell Curelop

James C Hann

Arkadii V Samoilov

Lance A Scudder

Paul B Comita

Lori D Washington

Dale R Dubois

Lori A Callaghan

David R Carlson

Provided herein is a wafer carrier comprising a disk and a pocket, wherein the pocket is centered in the disk and holds a wafer. Also provided is a method of processing or testing a wafer for a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of placing the wafer in the wafer carrier disclosed herein; loading the wafer carrier in a loadlock chamber; and transferring the wafer carrier from the loadlock chamber to a process chamber for processing or testing.

Wafer carrier

A low pressure-high hydrogen flow rate process of cleaning a silicon wafer surface is described. The combination of process pressures below about 1 Torr with hydrogen flow rates up to about 3 SLM has been found to remove substantially all oxygen contamination from the silicon wafer surface at process temperatures less than about 800&deg; C. without the use of a reactive gas. After processing at such process pressures and flow rates, even lower levels of oxygen contamination may be achieved by then increasing the process pressure, the hydrogen flow rate, and the process temperature, though the process temperature still remains less than 800&deg; C. The combination of low pressure and high hydrogen flow rate can be achieved using a vacuum pumping speed of at least 30 cubic meters per hour. The present invention also describes an apparatus for cleaning a silicon wafer surface in which the processes of the present invention and other processes can be practiced.

Process and apparatus for cleaning a silicon surface

A tool for removing a quartz insert from an exhaust port of a semiconductor process chamber. In one embodiment, the tool of the present invention comprises a pair of generally elongated members (a first elongated member and a second elongated member) that are hingedly attached at a middle portion of each member. The first elongated member includes a first handle portion and a first end portion that are located on opposite ends of the middle portion of the elongated member. The second elongated member includes a second handle portion and a second end portion. The first and second handle portions are of sufficient length so as to be gripped by a user. A first head and a second head are pivotally attached to the first and second end portion of the first and second elongated members, respectively. Each head includes a face made of a pliable, gripping material, such as silicon rubber, for engaging the inner side wall surfaces of a quartz insert that is located within the exhaust port of a semiconductor processing chamber. The quartz insert is removed by inserting the first and second heads into the through bore opening of the quartz insert and moving the first and second handle portions outward away from one another such that the face of each head is in abutting engagement with the inner side wall surfaces of the quartz insert. Removal of the quartz insert is achieved by urging the first and second handle portions towards one another and pulling on the handle portions to slide the quartz insert out of the exhaust port opening.

Semiconductor process chamber exhaust port quartz removal tool

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Bradley Mitchell Curelop