Lam Research Corporation

Lin Cui

Qian Fu

Zhongkui Tan

Ying Wu

Qing Xu

Yoko Yamaguchi

Jason Daejin Park

Yiting Zhang

Martin Shim

Yansha Jin

Methods and apparatuses for conditioning chambers using a two-stage process involving a low bias and a high bias stage are provided. Methods also involve clamping a protective electrostatic chuck cover to a pedestal by applying a bias to the electrostatic chuck during the high bias stage while cooling the protective electrostatic chuck cover, such as by flowing helium to the backside of the cover.

Eliminating first wafer metal contamination effect in high density plasma chemical vapor deposition systems

A method for processing a stack with an etch layer below a mask is provided. The mask is treated by flowing a treatment gas, wherein the treatment gas comprises a sputtering gas and a trimming gas, providing pulsed TCP power to create a plasma from the treatment gas, and providing a pulsed bias, wherein the pulsed bias has a same period as the pulsed TCP power, wherein the pulsed TCP power and pulsed bias provide a first state with a first bias above a sputter threshold and a first TCP power, which causes species from the sputtering gas to sputter and redeposit material from the mask, and provide a second state with a second bias below the sputter threshold and a second TCP power, wherein the second TCP power is greater than the first TCP power, which causes species from the trimming gas to chemically trim the mask.

Edge roughness reduction

Methods and apparatus for etching substrates using self-limiting reactions based on removal energy thresholds determined by evaluating the material to be etched and the chemistries used to etch the material involve flow of continuous plasma. Process conditions permit controlled, self-limiting anisotropic etching without alternating between chemistries used to etch material on a substrate. A well-controlled etch front allows a synergistic effect of reactive radicals and inert ions to perform the etching, such that material is etched when the substrate is modified by reactive radicals and removed by inert ions, but not etched when material is modified by reactive radicals but no inert ions are present, or when inert ions are present but material is not modified by reactive radicals.

Atomic layer etching in continuous plasma

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Dublin, CA, United States of America

Lin Cui