Applied Materials, Inc.

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Soonam Park

Xinglong Chen

Shankar Venkataraman

Toan Q Tran

Satoru Kobayashi

Nitin K Ingle

Jennifer Y Sun

Qiwei Liang

Srinivas D Nemani

Ellie Y Yieh

Jiayin Huang

Jang-Gyoo Yang

Anchuan Wang

Kien Nai Chuc

Muhammad M Rasheed

Zihui Li

Dongqing Yang

Biraja Prasad Kanungo

Saravjeet Singh

Randhir P Thakur

Zhijun Chen

Arulkumar P Shanmugasundram

Kenneth David Schatz

Ching-Mei Hsu

Son Truong Nguyen

Mehmet Tugrul Samir

Douglas A Buchberger, Jr

Saurabh Garg

Hamid Noorbakhsh

Matthew L Miller

Michael Xiaoxuan Yang

Ren-Guan Duan

Adib M Khan

Anh Ngoc Nguyen

Harald Herchen

David Palagashvili

Kartik Ramaswamy

Timothy Weidman

Peter K Loewenhardt

Samer Banna

Xikun Wang

Huixiong Dai

Prerna Sonthalia Goradia

Zheng John Ye

Donald J Olgado

Jason C Della Rosa

Donald J K Olgado

Konstantin Makhratchev

Allen L D'Ambra

Vladimir Knyazik

Andrew Nguyen

Sergey D Lopatin

Philip Allan Kraus

Daniel John Hoffman

Avi Tepman

Shamouil Shamouilian

S M Reza Sadjadi

Arnold Kholodenko

Sean S Kang

Girish Anant Dixit

Jay D Pinson, Ii

Lance A Scudder

Simon Yavelberg

Jingchun Zhang

Canfeng Lai

Senh Thach

Howard E Grunes

David H Quach

Olivier Joubert

Leonard Michael Tedeschi

Zhong Qiang Hua

Ming Xia

Shambhu Nath Roy

Abhijit Basu Mallick

Hiroji Hanawa

Thorsten B Lill

Yezdi N Dordi

Tetsuya Ishikawa

Klaus Florian Schuegraf

Kallol Bera

Alexander N Lerner

Eric Andrew Englhardt

Ming Xi

Zheng Yuan

Valentin Nikolov Todorow

Tom K Cho

Michael D Willwerth

Bo Zheng

Young Seen Lee

Costel Biloiu

Kadthala Ramaya Narendrnath

Alexandre Likhanskii

Jared Ahmad Lee

Yi Zheng

Martin Jeffrey Salinas

Jeffrey C Munro

Imad Yousif

Vincent E Burkhart

Christopher W Campbell

A method may include receiving a beam profile function, derived from a beam density of an ion beam along a substrate plane, and generating a mirror function, based upon the beam profile function, wherein a sum of the mirror function and beam profile function generates a flat beam distribution. The method may include receiving a grid pattern for an electrode of an electrode assembly, the grid pattern comprising an array of hole locations, and calculating a normalized beam current as a function hole location for the array of hole locations. The method may further include generating an adjusted set of radii as a function of hole location for the array of hole locations based upon the mirror function and the normalized beam current, and generating an electrode assembly having an array of holes, based upon the grid pattern and the adjusted set of radii.

Ion extraction optics having non uniform grid assembly

A post lithography resist treatment apparatus for treating a substrate having a resist layer thereon with a fluid layer thereover includes at least one post exposure bake chamber having a substrate support having a substrate support surface thereon, and an electrode, the electrode comprising an electrode body having a substrate support facing side, the substrate support facing side having at least one recess extending inwardly thereof, and at least one projection adjacent to the recess having a substrate support facing surface thereon, wherein the substrate support is moveable to position a substrate, when supported thereon, such that an fluid layer disposed on the substrate contacts the substrate support facing surface of the projection but does not fill the recess with fluid, and the substrate facing surface of the electrode body is spaced from the substrate.

System architecture of manufacturing of semiconductor wafers

Exemplary semiconductor processing systems may include a processing chamber, and may include a remote plasma unit coupled with the processing chamber. Exemplary systems may also include an adapter coupled with the remote plasma unit. The adapter may include a first end and a second end opposite the first end. The adapter may define an opening to a central channel at the first end, and the central channel may be characterized by a first cross-sectional surface area. The adapter may define an exit from a second channel at the second end, and the adapter may define a transition between the central channel and the second channel within the adapter between the first end and the second end. The adapter may define a third channel between the transition and the second end of the adapter, and the third channel may be fluidly isolated from the central channel and the second channel.

Semiconductor processing chamber for improved precursor flow

A plasma reactor has a cylindrical microwave cavity overlying a workpiece processing chamber, a microwave source having a pair of microwave source outputs, and a pair of respective waveguides. The cavity has first and second input ports in a sidewall and space apart by an azimuthal angle. Each of the waveguides has a microwave input end coupled to a microwave source output and a microwave output end coupled to a respective one of the first and second input ports, a coupling aperture plate at the output end with a rectangular coupling aperture in the coupling aperture plate, and an iris plate between the coupling aperture plate and the microwave input end with a rectangular iris opening in the iris plate.

Cylindrical cavity with impedance shifting by irises in a power-supplying waveguide

A method for processing a substrate is described. The method includes forming a metal containing resist layer onto a substrate, patterning the metal containing resist layer, and performing a post exposure bake on the metal containing resist layer. The post exposure bake on the metal containing resist layer is a field guided post exposure bake operation and includes the use of an electric field to guide the ions or charged species within the metal containing resist layer. The field guided post exposure bake operation may be paired with a post development field guided bake operation.

Metal oxide resist patterning with electrical field guided post-exposure bake

A method and apparatus for performing post-exposure bake operations is described herein. The apparatus includes a plate stack and enables formation of a first high ion density plasma before the ion concentration within the first high ion density plasma is reduced using a diffuser to form a second low ion density plasma. The second low ion density plasma is an electron cloud or a dark plasma. An electric field is formed between a substrate support and the diffuser and through the second low ion density plasma during post-exposure bake of a substrate disposed on the substrate support. The second low ion density plasma electrically couples the substrate support and the diffuser during application of the electric field. The plate stack is equipped with power supplies and insulators to enable the formation or modification of a plasma within three regions of a process chamber.

Chamber and methods of treating a substrate after exposure to radiation

Apparatus and methods for gas distribution assemblies are provided. In one aspect, a gas distribution assembly is provided comprising an annular body comprising an annular ring having an inner annular wall, an outer wall, an upper surface, and a bottom surface, an upper recess formed into the upper surface, and a seat formed into the inner annular wall, an upper plate positioned in the upper recess, comprising a disk-shaped body having a plurality of first apertures formed therethrough, and a bottom plate positioned on the seat, comprising a disk-shaped body having a plurality of second apertures formed therethrough which align with the first apertures, and a plurality of third apertures formed between the second apertures and through the bottom plate, the bottom plate sealingly coupled to the upper plate to fluidly isolate the plurality of first and second apertures from the plurality of third apertures.

Flow control features of CVD chambers

An ion extraction assembly for an ion source is provided. The ion extraction assembly may include a plurality of electrodes, wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises: a plasma-facing electrode, arranged for coupling to a plasma chamber; and a substrate-facing electrode, disposed outside of the plasma-facing electrode. The at least one electrode of the plurality of electrodes may include a grid structure, defining a plurality of holes, wherein the at least one electrode has a non-uniform thickness, wherein a first grid thickness in a middle region of the at least one electrode is different than a second grid thickness, in an outer region of the at least one electrode.

Ion extraction assembly having variable electrode thickness for beam uniformity control

Embodiments of substrate supports are provided herein. In some embodiments, a substrate support for use in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber includes: a pedestal to support a substrate, wherein the pedestal includes a dielectric plate coupled to a pedestal body; a rotary union coupled to the pedestal, wherein the rotary union includes a stationary housing disposed about a rotor; a drive assembly coupled to the rotary union; a coolant union coupled to the rotary union and having a coolant inlet fluidly coupled to coolant channels disposed in the pedestal via a coolant line; an RF rotary joint coupled to the coolant union and having an RF connector configured to couple the pedestal to an RF bias power source; and an RF conduit that extends from the RF connector to the pedestal through a central opening of the pedestal body to provide RF bias to the pedestal.

Rotating biasable pedestal and electrostatic chuck in semiconductor process chamber

A wafer chuck assembly includes a puck, a shaft and a base. The puck includes an electrically insulating material that defines a top surface of the puck; a plurality of electrodes are embedded within the electrically insulating material. The puck also includes an inner puck element that forms one or more channels for a heat exchange fluid, the inner puck element being in thermal communication with the electrically insulating material, and an electrically conductive plate disposed proximate to the inner puck element. The shaft includes an electrically conductive shaft housing that is electrically coupled with the plate, and a plurality of connectors, including electrical connectors for the electrodes. The base includes an electrically conductive base housing that is electrically coupled with the shaft housing, and an electrically insulating terminal block disposed within the base housing, the plurality of connectors passing through the terminal block.

Low temperature chuck for plasma processing systems

A method and apparatus for applying an electric field and/or a magnetic field to a photoresist layer without air gap intervention during photolithography processes is provided herein. The method and apparatus include a transfer device and a plurality of modules. The transfer device is configured to rotate a plurality of substrates between each of the modules, wherein one module includes a heating pedestal and another module includes a cooling pedestal. One module is utilized for inserting and removing the substrates from the system. At least the heating module is able to be sealed and filled with a process volume before applying the electric field.

Apparatus for post exposure bake of photoresist

Exemplary support assemblies may include a top puck and a backing plate coupled with the top puck. The support assemblies may include a cooling plate coupled with the backing plate. The support assemblies may include a heater coupled between the cooling plate and the backing plate. The support assemblies may also include a back plate coupled with the backing plate about an exterior of the backing plate. The back plate may at least partially define a volume, and the heater and the cooling plate may be housed within the volume.

Multi-zone semiconductor substrate supports

An apparatus for distributing plasma products includes first and second electrodes that each include planar surfaces. The first electrode forms first apertures from a first planar surface to a second planar surface; the second electrode forms second apertures from the third planar surface to the fourth planar surface. The electrodes couple through one or more adjustable couplers such that the third planar surface is disposed adjacent to the second planar surface with a gap therebetween, the gap having a gap distance. Each of the adjustable couplers has a range of adjustment. The first and second apertures are arranged such that for at least one position within the ranges of adjustment, none of the first apertures aligns with any of the second apertures to form an open straight-line path extending through both the first and second electrodes.

Two piece electrode assembly with gap for plasma control

Methods and apparatus for reducing particle generation in a remote plasma source (RPS) include an RPS having a first plasma source with a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are symmetrical with hollow cavities configured to induce a hollow cathode effect within the hollow cavities, and wherein the RPS provides radicals or ions into the processing volume, and a radio frequency (RF) power source configured to provide a symmetrical driving waveform on the first electrode and the second electrode to produce an anodic cycle and a cathodic cycle of the RPS, wherein the anodic cycle and the cathodic cycle operate in a hollow cathode effect mode.

Methods and apparatus for symmetrical hollow cathode electrode and discharge mode for remote plasma processes

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Dmitry Lubomirsky