Lam Research Corporation

Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Mks Instruments, Inc.

John Patrick Holland

Alexei Marakhtanov

Felix Leib Kozakevich

Michael S Barnes

Alexander Matyushkin

Valentin Nikolov Todorow

Zhigang Chen

Theodoros Panagopoulos

Alexander Miller Paterson

Ranadeep Bhowmick

Kenneth Lucchesi

Bing Ji

Valentin N Todorov

Michael C Kellogg

Dan Katz

Alex Paterson

Harmeet Singh

Michael D Willwerth

Peter L G Ventzek

Jon McChesney

Brian K Hatcher

Eric A Hudson

Edward P Hammond

Thai Cheng Chua

Arthur M Howald

Keith William Gaff

Keith Laurence Comendant

Saravanapriyan Sriraman

Jerrel Kent Antolik

Akira Koshiishi

Richard Alan Gottscho

Steven C Shannon

Patricia M Liu

James E Tappan

Tatsuya E Sato

Daniel Arthur Brown

Ian J Kenworthy

Nicolas Gani

Jun Shinagawa

Steven C Hung

Alex T Demos

Theo Panagopoulos

Richard A Marsh

Aaron Michael Burry

Philip Allan Kraus

Thorsten B Lill

Bradford J Lyndaker

Arthur H Sato

Aaron T Radomski

Dennis Stanley Grimard

Padmapani Nallan

Larry J Fisk, Ii

Jonathan W Smyka

Nikhil Dole

Anthony L Chen

Takumi Yanagawa

Mohit Kumar Jain

Mariusz Oldziej

Patrick Leahey

Wei Liu

Karl Frederick Leeser

Daniel John Hoffman

Dan Maydan

Christopher Sean Olsen

Andreas Fischer

Ashok K Sinha

Farhad K Moghadam

Neil M Benjamin

Diana Xiaobing Ma

Meihua Shen

Bryan Y Pu

Michael D Armacost

James P Cruse

Mark Henry Wilcoxson

Anthony De La Llera

David Palagashvili

Brett C Richardson

Xue-Yu Qian

Hongqing Shan

Yen-Kun Victor Wang

Denis M Koosau

Xiaoping Zhou

Jonathan David Mohn

Darrell Ehrlich

Wenli Z Collison

David S L Mui

Robert G Veltrop

Ricky Marsh

Subhash Deshmukh

Gerhard M Schneider

Tuan Ngo

Sharma V Pamarthy

Zhifeng Sui

Songlin Xu

Jim Zhongyi He

Thomas S Choi

Steve S Y Mak

James Eugene Caron

Jivko Dinev

Robert E Ryan

A wafer is supported on a wafer support structure such that a lower peripheral open region exists between a peripheral portion of a bottom surface of the wafer and an edge ring structure. The edge ring structure is configured to circumscribe both the wafer support structure and the wafer. A plasma is generated above a top surface of the wafer. The plasma causes accumulation of byproduct material within the lower peripheral open region. A byproduct volatizing gas is supplied to the lower peripheral open region to control the accumulation of the byproduct material within the lower peripheral open region during generation of the plasma. Use of the byproduct volatizing gas to control the accumulation of the byproduct material within the lower peripheral open region serves to prevent electrical arcing and particle contamination.

Methods and systems for managing byproduct material accumulation during plasma-based semiconductor wafer fabrication process

A system having the low frequency RF generator is described. The low frequency RF has an operating frequency range between 10 kilohertz (kHz) and 330 kHz. The low frequency RF generator generates an RF signal. The system further includes an impedance matching circuit coupled to the low frequency RF generator for receiving the RF signal. The impedance matching circuit modifies an impedance of the RF signal to output a modified RF signal. The system includes a plasma chamber coupled to the RF generator for receiving the modified RF signal. The plasma chamber includes a chuck having a dielectric layer and a base metal layer. The dielectric layer is located on top of the base metal layer. The dielectric layer has a bottom surface, and the base metal layer has a top surface. The base metal layer has a porous plug and the bottom surface of the dielectric layer has a portion that is in contact with the porous plug.

Low frequency RF generator and associated electrostatic chuck

Systems and methods for controlling a plasma sheath characteristic are described. One of the methods includes determining a first value of the plasma sheath characteristic of a plasma sheath formed within a plasma chamber. The method further includes determining whether the first value of the plasma sheath characteristic is within a predetermined range from a preset value of the plasma sheath characteristic. The method also includes modifying a variable of a radio frequency (RF) generator coupled to the plasma chamber via an impedance matching circuit upon determining that the first value is not within the predetermined range from the preset value. The operation of modifying the variable of the RF generator is performed until it is determined that the first value of the plasma sheath characteristic is within the predetermined range from the preset value.

Systems and methods for controlling a plasma sheath characteristic

A method for optimizing delivery of power to a plasma chamber is described. The method includes dividing each cycle of a low frequency (LF) radio frequency generator (RFG) into multiple time intervals. During each of the time intervals, a frequency offset of a high frequency (HF) RFG is generated for which the delivery of power is maximized. The frequency offsets provide a substantially inverse relationship compared to a voltage signal of the LF RFG for each cycle of the voltage signal. The frequency offsets for the time intervals are multiples of the low frequency. The substantially inverse relationship facilitates an increase in the delivery of power to the electrode. A total range of the frequency offsets from a reference HF frequency over the LF RF cycle depends on a power ratio of power that is supplied by the LF RFG and power that is supplied by the HF RFG.

Systems and methods for optimizing power delivery to an electrode of a plasma chamber

An edge ring system comprising a substrate support configured to support a substrate during plasma processing and including a baseplate and an upper layer arranged on the baseplate. An edge ring support includes a first body and an electrostatic clamping electrode arranged in the first body. The edge ring support is arranged above the baseplate and radially outside of the substrate during processing. An edge ring includes a second body arranged on and electrostatically clamped to the edge ring support during plasma processing.

Electrostatic edge ring mounting system for substrate processing

Various embodiments herein relate to apparatuses and methods for distortion of pulses for wafer biasing. In some embodiments, a method is provided, the method comprising: causing a distorted pulse to be applied to an electrode of a pedestal such that the distorted pulse at least partially compensates for attenuation between the pedestal and the substrate, and such that a waveform resulting from the distorted pulse, when imparted to the substrate, is substantially square.

Distortion of pulses for wafer biasing

First, second, third, and fourth radiofrequency (RF) signal generators generate first, second, third, and fourth RF signals, respectively, having first, second, third, and fourth frequencies, respectively. The second and third frequencies are different specified harmonics of the first frequency. The fourth frequency is at least two orders of magnitude larger than the first frequency. An impedance matching system controls impedances for the first, second, third, and fourth RF signal generators. A control module is programmed to control: A) a first phase difference between the first and second RF signals, B) a second phase difference between the first and third RF signals, C) a first voltage difference between the first and second RF signals, D) a second voltage difference between the first and third RF signals. The first and second phase differences and the first and second voltage differences collectively control a plasma sheath voltage as a function of time.

Systems and methods for use of low frequency harmonics in bias radiofrequency supply to control uniformity of plasma process results across substrate

A method for achieving uniformity in an etch rate is described. The method includes receiving a voltage signal from an output of a match, and determining a positive crossing and a negative crossing of the voltage signal for each cycle of the voltage signal. The negative crossing of each cycle is consecutive to the positive crossing of the cycle. The method further includes dividing a time interval of each cycle of the voltage signal into a plurality of bins. For one or more of the plurality of bins associated with the positive crossing and one or more of the plurality of bins associated with the negative crossing, the method includes adjusting a frequency of a radio frequency generator to achieve the uniformity in the etch rate.

Systems and methods for using binning to increase power during a low frequency cycle

A method for applying RF power in a plasma process chamber is provided, including: generating a first RF signal; generating a second RF signal; generating a third RF signal; wherein the first, second, and third RF signals are generated at different frequencies; combining the first, second and third RF signals to generate a combined RF signal, wherein a wave shape of the combined RF signal is configured to approximate a sloped square wave shape; applying the combined RF signal to a chuck in the plasma process chamber.

Process control for ion energy delivery using multiple generators and phase control

An electrostatic chuck for a substrate processing system is provided and includes a baseplate, an intermediate layer disposed on the baseplate, and a top plate. The top plate is bonded to the baseplate via the intermediate layer and is configured to electrostatically clamp to a substrate. The top plate includes a monopolar clamping electrode and seals. The monopolar clamping electrode includes a groove opening pattern with coolant gas groove opening sets. The seals separate coolant gas zones. The coolant gas zones include four or more coolant gas zones. Each of the coolant gas zones includes distinct coolant gas groove sets. The top plate includes the distinct coolant gas groove sets. Each of the distinct coolant gas groove sets has one or more coolant gas supply holes and corresponds to a respective one of the coolant gas groove opening sets.

Electrostatic chucks with coolant gas zones and corresponding groove and monopolar electrostatic clamping electrode patterns

An impedance match housing is described. The impedance match housing includes an impedance matching circuit having an input that is coupled to a radio frequency (RF) generator. The impedance matching circuit has an output that is coupled to a first RF strap. The impedance match housing includes a uniformity control circuit coupled in parallel to a portion of the first RF strap to modify uniformity in a processing rate of a substrate when the substrate is processed within a plasma chamber.

Uniformity control circuit for impedance match

Showerhead faceplates for semiconductor processing chambers are provided that include one or more sets of gas distribution passages therethrough that extend at least partially along axes that are at an oblique angle to the showerhead faceplate center axis. Such angled gas distribution passages may be used to tailor the gas flow characteristics of such showerhead faceplates to produce various desired gas flow behaviors in the gas that is delivered to the wafer via such showerhead faceplates.

Showerhead faceplates with angled gas distribution passages for semiconductor processing tools

A first radiofrequency signal generator is set to generate a low frequency signal. A second radiofrequency signal generator is set to generate a high frequency signal. An impedance matching system has a first input connected to an output of the first radiofrequency signal generator and a second input connected to an output of the second radiofrequency signal generator. The impedance matching system controls impedances at the outputs of the first and second radiofrequency signal generators. An output of the impedance matching system is connected to a radiofrequency supply input of a plasma processing system. A control module monitors reflected voltage at the output of the second radiofrequency signal generator. The control module determines when the reflected voltage indicates a change in impedance along a transmission path of the high frequency signal that is indicative of a particular process condition and/or event within the plasma processing system.

Systems and methods for extracting process control information from radiofrequency supply system of plasma processing system

An impedance match is described. The impedance match includes a housing having a bottom portion and a top portion. The bottom portion has match components and the top portion has an elongated body. A low frequency input is connected through the bottom portion of the housing, and the low frequency input is interconnected to a first set of capacitors and inductors. A high frequency input is connected through the bottom portion of the housing, and the high frequency input is interconnected to a second set of capacitors and inductors. An elongated strap extends between the bottom portion and the top portion of the housing. A lower portion of the elongated strap is coupled to the second set of capacitors and inductors and an upper portion of the elongated strap is connected to an RF rod at an end of the elongated body.

Impedance match with an elongated RF strap

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

John Patrick Holland