Applied Materials, Inc.

Lam Research Corporation

Other

Law Research Corporation

James Rogers

Rajinder Dhindsa

Leonid Dorf

Olivier Luere

Linying Cui

Sunil Srinivasan

Evgeny Kamenetskiy

Anurag Kumar Mishra

Valentin Nikolov Todorow

Olivier Joubert

Daniel Sang Byun

Kartik Ramaswamy

Yue Guo

Denis M Koosau

Philip Allan Kraus

Travis Koh

Viacheslav Plotnikov

John C Valcore, Jr

Felix Leib Kozakevich

David Trussell

John Poulose

Anwar Husain

Sang Ki Nam

Vedapuram S Achutharaman

Jason Andrew Kenney

Nicholas Edward Webb

Peter T Muraoka

Hamid Noorbakhsh

Timothy Joseph Franklin

Keren Jacobs Kanarik

Steven E Babayan

Jaeyong Cho

Katsumasa Kawasaki

Xue Chang

Gary Leray

C Robert Koemtzopoulos

Carlaton Wong

Bi Ming Yen

Alexander Sulyman

Jonathan Kolbeck

Keith Hernandez

Kyle Spaulding

Embodiments provided herein generally include apparatus, e.g., plasma processing systems and methods for the plasma processing of a substrate in a processing chamber. In some embodiments, aspects of the apparatus and methods are directed to improving process uniformity across the surface of the substrate, reducing defectivity on the surface of the substrate, or both. In some embodiments, the apparatus and methods provide for improved control over the uniformity of a plasma formed over the edge of a substrate and/or the distribution of ion energies at the surface of the substrate. The improved control over the plasma uniformity may be used in combination with substrate handling methods, e.g., de-chucking methods, to reduce particulate-related defectivity on the surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, the improved control over the plasma uniformity is used to preferentially clean accumulated processing byproducts from portions of the edge ring during an in-situ plasma chamber cleaning process.

Plasma uniformity control in pulsed DC plasma chamber

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method that manipulate the voltage at an edge ring relative to a substrate located on a substrate support assembly. The substrate support assembly has a body having a substrate support portion having a substrate electrode embedded therein for applying a substrate voltage to a substrate. The body of the substrate support assembly further has an edge ring portion disposed adjacent to the substrate support portion. The edge ring portion has an edge ring electrode embedded therein for applying an edge ring voltage to an edge ring. An edge ring voltage control circuit is coupled to the edge ring electrode. A substrate voltage control circuit is coupled to the substrate electrode. The edge ring voltage control circuit and the substrate voltage control circuit are independently tunable to generate a difference in voltage between the edge ring voltage and the substrate voltage.

Circuits for edge ring control in shaped dc pulsed plasma process device

Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein include a method for processing a substrate in a plasma processing system. The method includes receiving a first synchronization waveform signal from a controller, delivering a first burst of first voltage pulses to an electrode assembly after receiving a first portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, wherein at least one first parameter of the first voltage pulses is set to a first value based on a first waveform parameter within the first portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, and delivering a second burst of second voltage pulses to the electrode assembly after receiving a second portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, wherein the at least one first parameter of the first voltage pulses is set to a second value based on a difference in the first waveform parameter within the second portion of the first synchronization waveform signal.

Multi-shape voltage pulse trains for uniformity and etch profile tuning

Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein include an apparatus and method for the plasma processing of a substrate in a processing chamber. More specifically, embodiments of this disclosure describe a biasing scheme that is configured to provide a pulsed-voltage (PV) waveform delivered from one or more pulsed-voltage (PV) generators to the one or more electrodes within the processing chamber. The plasma process(es) disclosed herein can be used to control the shape of an ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and the interaction of the plasma with a surface of a substrate during plasma processing.

Plasma processing assembly using pulsed-voltage and radio-frequency power

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for processing a substrate using an inductively coupled plasma source. An inductively coupled plasma source utilizes a power source, a shield member, and a coil coupled to the power source. In certain embodiments, the coils are arranged with a horizontal spiral grouping and a vertical extending helical grouping. The shield member, according to certain embodiments, utilizes a grounding member to function as a Faraday shield. The embodiments herein reduce parasitic losses and instabilities in the plasma created by the inductively coupled plasma in the substrate processing system.

To an inductively coupled plasma source

Methods and apparatus for a lift pin mechanism for substrate processing chambers are provided herein. In some embodiments, the lift pin mechanism includes a lift pin comprising a shaft with a top end, a bottom end, and a coupling end at the bottom end; a bellows assembly disposed about the shaft. The bellows assembly includes an upper bellows flange having an opening for axial movement of the shaft; a bellows having a first end coupled to a lower surface of the upper bellows flange such that the shaft extends into a central volume surrounded by the bellows; and a bellows guide assembly coupled to a second end of the bellows to seal the central volume. The shaft is coupled to the bellows guide assembly at the coupling end. The bellows guide assembly is axially movable to move the lift pin with respect to the upper bellows flange.

Lift pin mechanism

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus and methods for controlling an ion energy distribution during plasma processing. In an embodiment, the apparatus includes a substrate support that has a body having a substrate electrode for applying a substrate voltage to a substrate, and an edge ring electrode embedded for applying an edge ring voltage to an edge ring. The apparatus further includes a substrate voltage control circuit coupled to the substrate electrode, and an edge ring voltage control circuit coupled to the edge ring electrode. The substrate electrode, edge ring electrode, or both are coupled to a power module configured to actively control an energy distribution function width of ions reaching the substrate, edge ring, or both. Methods for controlling an energy distribution function width of ions during substrate processing are also described.

Apparatus and methods for controlling ion energy distribution

Embodiments of process kits for use in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process kit for use in a process chamber includes a slit door having an arcuate profile and including a first plate slidably coupled to a second plate, wherein the first plate is configured to be coupled to an actuator, wherein the second plate has an inner surface that includes silicon, and wherein the inner surface includes a plurality of grooves.

L-motion slit door for substrate processing chamber

Embodiments of this disclosure describe a feedback loop that can be used to maintain a nearly constant sheath voltage and thus creating a mono-energetic IEDF at the surface of the substrate. The system described herein consequently enables a precise control over the shape of IEDF and the profile of the features formed in the surface of the substrate.

Feedback loop for controlling a pulsed voltage waveform

Embodiments provided herein generally include plasma processing systems configured to preferentially clean desired surfaces of a substrate support assembly by manipulating one or more characteristics of an in-situ plasma and related methods. In one embodiment, a plasma processing method includes generating a plasma in a processing region defined by a chamber lid and a substrate support assembly, exposing an edge ring and a substrate supporting surface to the plasma, and establishing a pulsed voltage (PV) waveform at the edge control electrode.

Plasma chamber and chamber component cleaning methods

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for pulsed direct-current (DC) biasing and clamping a substrate. In one embodiment, the system includes a plasma chamber having an electrostatic chuck (ESC) for supporting a substrate. An electrode is embedded in the ESC and is electrically coupled to a biasing and clamping network. The biasing and clamping network includes at least a shaped DC pulse voltage source and a clamping network. The clamping network includes a DC source and a diode, and a resistor. The shaped DC pulse voltage source and the clamping network are connected in parallel. The biasing and clamping network automatically maintains a substantially constant clamping voltage, which is a voltage drop across the electrode and the substrate when the substrate is biased with pulsed DC voltage, leading to improved clamping of the substrate.

Automatic electrostatic chuck bias compensation during plasma processing

The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods that manipulate the amplitude and phase of the voltage or current of an edge ring. The apparatus includes an electrostatic chuck having a chucking electrode embedded therein for chucking a substrate to the electrostatic chuck. The apparatus further includes a baseplate underneath the substrate to feed power to the substrate. The apparatus further includes an edge ring disposed over the electrostatic chuck. The apparatus further includes an edge ring electrode located underneath the edge ring. The apparatus further includes a circuit including a first variable capacitor coupled to the edge ring electrode.

Apparatus and methods for manipulating power at an edge ring in plasma process device

Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein include an apparatus and method for the plasma processing of a substrate in a processing chamber. More specifically, embodiments of this disclosure describe a biasing scheme that is configured to provide a radio frequency (RF) generated RF waveform from an RF generator to one or more electrodes within a processing chamber and a pulsed-voltage (PV) waveform delivered from one or more pulsed-voltage (PV) generators to the one or more electrodes within the processing chamber. The plasma process(es) disclosed herein can be used to control the shape of an ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and the interaction of the plasma with a surface of a substrate during plasma processing.

Plasma processing using pulsed-voltage and radio-frequency power

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

James Rogers