Applied Materials, Inc.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Eaton Corporation

Ibis Technology Corporation

Ebara Corporation

Orion Equipment, Inc.

Marvin Farley

Geoffrey Ryding

Takao Sakase

Theodore H Smick

Shu Satoh

Adrian John Murrell

Bernard F Harrison

Peter T Kindersley

Peter Michael Banks

Peter Rose

Causon Ko-Chuan Jen

Peter I Edwards

Craig J Lowrie

Peter Ivor Tudor Edwards

Neil J Bassom

Wilhelm P Platow

Peter H Rose

Ronald Horner

Paul Eide

Paul B Silverstein

Robert Dolan

Mike Ameen

Bernhard Cordts

William Davis Lee

Lee Grodzins

Mehran Nasser-Ghodsi

Bo H Vanderberg

William F DiVergilio

Martin A Hilkene

Edward Eisner

Brian S Freer

David P Sporleder

Kan Ota

John Ruffell

Robert J Mitchell

Donald N Polner

Gregory Robert Alcott

David Bernhardt

Matthew Peter Dobson

Mark Lambert

Donovan Beckel

Vadim G Dudnikov

Matthew D Castle

Joseph Foley

Frank D Roberts

Christos Christou

Lee Spraggon

An ion source has an arc chamber having first and second ends and an aperture plate to enclose a chamber volume. An extraction aperture is disposed between the first and second ends. A cathode is near the first end of the arc chamber, and a repeller is near the second end. A generally U-shaped first bias electrode is on a first side of the extraction aperture within the chamber volume. A generally U-shaped second bias electrode is on a second side of the extraction aperture within the chamber volume, where the first and second bias electrodes are separated by a first distance proximate to the extraction aperture and a second distance distal from the extraction aperture. An electrode power supply provides a first and second positive voltage to the first and second bias electrodes, where the first and second positive voltages differ by a predetermined bias differential.

Ion source with multiple bias electrodes

An ion source for forming a plasma has a cathode with a cavity and a cathode surface defining a cathode step. A filament is disposed within the cavity, and a cathode shield has a cathode shield surface at least partially encircling the cathode surface. A cathode gap is defined between the cathode surface and the cathode shield surface, where the cathode gap defines a tortured path for limiting travel of the plasma through the gap. The cathode surface can have a stepped cylindrical surface defined by a first cathode diameter and a second cathode diameter, where the first cathode diameter and second cathode diameter differ from one another to define the cathode step. The stepped cylindrical surface can be an exterior surface or an interior surface. The first and second cathode diameters can be concentric or axially offset.

Stepped indirectly heated cathode with improved shielding

An ion implantation system has a first chamber and a process chamber with a heated chuck. A controller transfers the workpiece between the heated chuck and first chamber and selectively energizes the heated chuck first and second modes. In the first and second modes, the heated chuck is heated to a first and second temperature, respectively. The first temperature is predetermined. The second temperature is variable, whereby the controller determines the second temperature based on a thermal budget, an implant energy, and/or an initial temperature of the workpiece in the first chamber, and generally maintains the second temperature in the second mode. Transferring the workpiece from the heated chuck to the first chamber removes implant energy from the process chamber in the second mode. Heat may be further transferred from the heated chuck to a cooling platen by a transfer of the workpiece therebetween to sequentially cool the heated chuck.

Wafer cooling system and method

Wafer cooling apparatus and method

A semiconductor manufacturing system or process, such as an ion implantation system, apparatus and method, including a component or step for heating a semiconductor workpiece are provided. An optical heat source emits light energy to heat the workpiece. The optical heat source is configured to provide minimal or reduced emission of non-visible wavelengths of light energy and emit light energy at a wavelength in a maximum energy light absorption range of the workpiece.

Optical heat source with restricted wavelengths for process heating

A charge monitor having a Langmuir probe is provided, wherein a positive and negative charge rectifier are operably coupled to the probe and configured to pass only a positive and negative charges therethrough, respectively. A positive current integrator is operably coupled to the positive charge rectifier, wherein the positive current integrator is biased via a positive threshold voltage, and wherein the positive current integrator is configured to output a positive dosage based, at least in part, on the positive threshold voltage. A negative current integrator is operably coupled to the negative charge rectifier, wherein the negative current integrator is biased via a negative threshold voltage, and wherein the negative current integrator is configured to output a negative dosage based, at least in part, on the negative threshold voltage. A positive charge counter and a negative charge counter are configured to respectively receive the output from the positive current integrator and negative current integrator in order to provide a respective cumulative positive charge value and cumulative negative charge value associated with the respective positive charge and negative charge.

Bipolar wafer charge monitor system and ion implantation system comprising same

An ion implantation system and method for implanting ions at varying energies across a workpiece is provided. The system comprises an ion source configured to ionize a dopant gas into a plurality of ions and to form an ion beam. A mass analyzer is positioned downstream of the ion source and configured to mass analyze the ion beam. A deceleration/acceleration stage is positioned downstream of the mass analyzer. An energy filter may form part of the deceleration/acceleration stage or may positioned downstream of the deceleration/acceleration stage. An end station is provided having a workpiece support associated therewith for positioning the workpiece before the ion beam is also provided. A scanning apparatus is configured to scan one or more of the ion beam and workpiece support with respect to one another. One or more power sources are operably coupled to one or more of the ion source, mass analyzer, deceleration/acceleration stage, and energy filter. A controller is configured to selectively vary one or more voltages respectively supplied to one or more of the deceleration/acceleration stage and the energy filter concurrent with the scanning of the ion beam and/or workpiece support, wherein the selective variation of the one or more voltages is based, at least in part, on a position of the ion beam with respect to the workpiece support.

Ion implantation system and method with variable energy control

An ion implantation system configured to produce an ion beam is provided, wherein an end station has a robotic architecture having at least four degrees of freedom. An end effector operatively coupled to the robotic architecture selectively grips and translates a workpiece through the ion beam. The robotic architecture has a plurality of motors operatively coupled to the end station, each having a rotational shaft. At least a portion of each rotational shaft generally resides within the end station, and each of the plurality of motors has a linkage assembly respectively associated therewith, wherein each linkage assembly respectively has a crank arm and a strut. The crank arm of each linkage assembly is fixedly coupled to the respective rotational shaft, and the strut of each linkage assembly is pivotally coupled to the respective crank arm at a first joint, and pivotally coupled to the end effector at a second joint.

Low-inertia multi-axis multi-directional mechanically scanned ion implantation system

An ion beam angle calibration and emittance measurement system, comprising a plate comprising an elongated slit therein, wherein the elongated slit positioned at a rotation center of the plate and configured to allow a first beam portion to pass therethrough. A beam current detector located downstream of the plate, wherein the beam current detector comprises a slit therein configured to permit a second beam portion of the first beam portion to pass therethrough, wherein the beam current detector is configured to measure a first beam current associated with the first beam portion. A beam angle detector is located downstream of the beam current detector and configured to detect a second beam current associated with the second beam portion. The plate, the current beam detector and the beam angle detector are configured to collectively rotate about the rotation center of the plate.

Ion beam angle calibration and emittance measurement system for ribbon beams

A system and method for magnetically filtering an ion beam during an ion implantation into a workpiece is provided, wherein ions are emitted from an ion source and accelerated the ions away from the ion source to form an ion beam. The ion beam is mass analyzed by a mass analyzer, wherein ions are selected. The ion beam is then decelerated via a decelerator once the ion beam is mass-analyzed, and the ion beam is further magnetically filtered the ion beam downstream of the deceleration. The magnetic filtering is provided by a quadrapole magnetic energy filter, wherein a magnetic field is formed for intercepting the ions in the ion beam exiting the decelerator to selectively filter undesirable ions and fast neutrals.

Post-decel magnetic energy filter for ion implantation systems

A guide tube for an ion beam in an ion implanter which is located adjacent a semiconductor wafer being implanted has an outwardly tapering central bore, thereby alleviating problems of beam strike as the ion beam passes through the guide tube.

Ion beam guide tube

An implanter provides two-dimensional scanning of a substrate relative to an implant beam so that the beam draws a raster of scan lines on the substrate. The beam current is measured at turnaround points off the substrate and the current value is used to control the subsequent fast scan speed so as to compensate for the effect of any variation in beam current on dose uniformity in the slow scan direction. The scanning may produce a raster of non-intersecting uniformly spaced parallel scan lines and the spacing between the lines is selected to ensure appropriate dose uniformity.

Method of implanting a substrate and an ion implanter for performing the method

This invention relates to a method of scanning a substrate through an ion beam in an ion implanter to provide uniform dosing of the substrate. The method comprises causing relative motion between the substrate and the ion beam such that the ion beam passes over all of the substrate and rotating the substrate substantially about its centre while causing the relative motion. Rotating the substrate while causing the relative motion between the substrate and the ion beam has several advantages including avoiding problematic angular effects, increasing uniformity, increasing throughput and allowing a greater range of ion beam profiles to be tolerated.

Method of scanning a substrate in an ion implanter

This invention relates to a method of measuring a property of an ion beam, for example an ion beam current profile or the emittance of an ion beam. A Faraday array comprising an array of ion beam current sensors is employed. The array can provide an ion beam current profile at the plane of the array. The Faraday array is also used in conjunction with an occluding element that may be moved through the ion beam upstream of the Faraday array, there obscuring varying portions of the ion beam from the Faraday array. Suitable manipulation of the signals from the Faraday allows the ion beam current profile to be determined for the plane of the occluding element, and also for the emittance of the ion beam at the plane of the occluding element to be determined.

Ion beam diagnostics

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Ipswich, MA, United States of America

Marvin Farley