Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Michael N Grimbergen

Ajay Kumar

Madhavi R Chandrachood

Richard Lewington

Khiem K Nguyen

Sheeba J Panayil

Ibrahim M Ibrahim

Darin Bivens

Thorsten B Lill

Renee Koch

Xue-Yu Qian

Shaoher X Pan

Upendra V Ummethala

Lei Lian

Michael C Kutney

Alan Hiroshi Ouye

Xiaoyi Chen

Pengyu Han

John Anthony O'Malley

Yan Ye

Jeffrey D Chinn

Valentin Nikolov Todorow

Gerald Z Yin

Peter K Loewenhardt

Chun Yan

Diana Xiaobing Ma

Arthur H Sato

David S Mui

Chii Guang Lee

John M Yamartino

Simon W Tam

Songlin Xu

Graeme Jamieson Scott

Ramesh Krishnamurthy

Arthur Y Chen

Jitske Trevor

Scott Alan Anderson

Wade Zawalski

Keven Kaisheng Yu

Hong Ching Shan

Wei-Nan Jiang

Xueyan Qian

Arnold Kolandenko

Jeffrey X Tran

Implementations disclosed describe a collimator assembly having a collimator housing that includes an interface configured to optically couple to a process chamber that has a target surface, and a port to receive an optical fiber to deliver, to an enclosure formed by the collimator housing, a first (second) plurality of spectral components of light belonging to a first (second) range of wavelengths, and an achromatic lens located, at least partially, within the enclosure formed by the collimator housing, the achromatic lens to direct the first (second) plurality of spectral components of light onto the target surface to illuminate a first (second) region on the target surface, wherein the second region is substantially the same as the first region.

Adjustable achromatic collimator assembly for endpoint detection systems

Embodiments include wafer and photomask processing equipment. An etch processing system including an endpoint detection system having a light source and a photodetector is described. In an example, the light source emits light toward an alignment region over a substrate support member of an etch chamber, and the photodetector receives a reflection of the light from the alignment region. The reflection is monitored for endpoint and process control. A second light source emits light toward the alignment region, and a camera receives the light to image the alignment region. The image can be used to align the light emitted by the endpoint detection system to a spot location within the alignment region, e.g., within an alignment opening of a substrate mounted on the substrate support member.

Etch processing system having reflective endpoint detection

Embodiments of the invention generally provide a lid heater for a plasma processing chamber. In one embodiment, a lid heater assembly is provided that includes a thermally conductive base. The thermally conductive base has a planar ring shape defining an inner opening. The lid heater assembly further includes a heating element disposed on the thermally conductive base, and an insulated center core disposed across the inner opening of the thermally conductive base.

Chamber lid heater ring assembly

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for etching a photomask substrate with enhanced process monitoring, for example, by providing for optical monitoring at certain regions of the photomask to obtain dual endpoints, e.g., etch rate or thickness loss of both a photoresist layer and an absorber layer. By monitoring transmissity of an optical beam transmitted through areas having photoresist layer and etched absorber layer at two different predetermined wavelength, dual process endpoints may be obtained by a signal optical detection.

Dual endpoint detection for advanced phase shift and binary photomasks

A plasma reactor has an array of plural gas injectors arranged around a circular side wall that are individually controlled.

Plasma reactor having an array of plural individually controlled gas injectors arranged along a circular side wall

Embodiments of the present invention generally provide an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactor having a substrate RF bias that is capable of control of the RF phase difference between the ICP source (a first RF source) and the substrate bias (a second RF source) for plasma processing reactors used in the semiconductor industry. Control of the RF phase difference provides a powerful knob for fine process tuning. For example, control of the RF phase difference may be used to control one or more of average etch rate, etch rate uniformity, etch rate skew, critical dimension (CD) uniformity, and CD skew, CD range, self DC bias control, and chamber matching.

Inductively coupled plasma reactor having RF phase control and methods of use thereof

A plasma reactor has an array of passages extending through its workpiece support pedestal from a bottom thereof that forms a two-dimensional array of openings in the support surface. The reactor further includes a plurality of optical fibers, each fiber extending through a respective one of the passages. Optical sensing apparatus is coupled to the output ends of the optical fibers and is responsive in the range of wavelengths. The reactor further includes a tunable element capable of changing a two-dimensional etch rate distribution across the surface of a workpiece supported on the pedestal, and a process controller connected to receive information from the optical sensing apparatus and to transmit control commands to the tunable element.

Mask etch plasma reactor having an array of optical sensors viewing the workpiece backside and a tunable element controlled in response to the optical sensors

A method and apparatus for etching a photomask substrate with enhanced process monitoring is provided. In one embodiment, a method of determining an etching endpoint includes performing an etching process on a first tantalum containing layer through a patterned mask layer, directing a radiation source having a first wavelength from about 200 nm and about 800 nm to an area uncovered by the patterned mask layer, collecting an optical signal reflected from the area covered by the patterned mask layer, analyzing a waveform obtained the reflected optical signal reflected from the substrate from a first time point to a second time point, and determining a first endpoint of the etching process when a slope of the waveform is changed about 5 percent from the first time point to the second time point.

Etch rate detection for anti-reflective coating layer and absorber layer etching

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for etching a photomask substrate with enhanced process monitoring, for example, by providing for optical monitoring at different regions of the photomask to obtain desired etch rate or thickness loss. In one embodiment, the method includes etching a first substrate through a patterned mask layer in a plasma etch chamber, the first substrate having a backside disposed on a substrate support and a front side facing away from the substrate support, directing a first radiation source from the backside of the first substrate to a first area covered by the patterned mask layer, directing a second radiation source from the backside of the first substrate to a second area uncovered by the patterned mask layer, collecting a first signal reflected from the first area covered by the patterned mask layer, collecting a second signal reflected from the second area uncovered by the patterned mask layer, and analyzing the combined first and the second signal.

Etch rate detection for photomask etching

The present invention provides methods for etching a quartz substrate using a second level photoresist layer disposed thereon as an etching mask. In one embodiment, a method of etching a quartz substrate for forming a photomask includes providing a quartz substrate having a metal containing layer disposed thereon in an etch chamber, applying a first photoresist layer on a substrate, patterning the first photoresist layer to remove a first region of the metal containing layer to expose a first portion of the quartz substrate while remaining a second region of the metal containing layer on the quartz substrate, removing the remaining first photoresist layer on the quartz substrate, applying a second photoresist layer on the exposed quartz substrate and the second region of the metal containing layer, patterning the second photoresist layer to form openings in the second photoresist layer exposing the underlying quartz substrate, and etching the quartz substrate defined by the patterned second photoresist layer.

Apparatus and methods for etching quartz substrate in photomask manufacturing applications

A method and apparatus for etching a photomask substrate with enhanced process monitoring, for example, by providing for optical monitoring at different regions of the photomask to obtain desired etch rate or thickness loss is provided. In one embodiment, the method includes performing an etching process on a reflective multi-material layer that includes at least one molybdenum layer and one silicon layer through a patterned mask, directing radiation having a wavelength from about 170 nm and about 800 nm to an area of the multi-material layer uncovered by the patterned mask, collecting an optical signal reflected from the area uncovered by the patterned mask, analyzing a waveform obtained from the reflected optical signal, and determining a first endpoint of the etching process when an intensity of the reflected optical signal is between about 60 percent and about 90 percent less than an initial reflected optical signal.

Etch rate detection for reflective multi-material layers etching

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Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Michael N Grimbergen