Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Nitin Khurana

Vijay D Parkhe

Tushar Mandrekar

Anish Tolia

Roderick Craig Mosely

Michael D Armacost

Umesh M Kelkar

Kang-Lie Chiang

Steve Sansoni

Greg A Blackburn

Eugene Tzou

Ted G Yoshidome

Pallavi Zhang

Vince Burkhart

Mei Yin Chang

Jennifer Y Sun

Joseph Yudovsky

Ganesh Balasubramanian

Hong Zhang

Xinhai Han

Ted Tie Guo

Bradley Owen Stimson

Charles N Dornfest

Lin Zhang

Gongda Yao

Semyon Sherstinsky

Murali K Narasimhan

Kenny King-tai Ngan

Shuran Sheng

Zhijun Jiang

Gilbert Hausmann

Sergio Edelstein

Wei Yang

Paul F Smith

Nety M Krishna

Suraj Rengarajan

Marc O Schweitzer

James S Van Gogh

Srinivas Guggilla

William J Murphy

Joseph C Werner

Robert S West

John C Egermeier

Leonel Arturo Zuniga

Alan R Popiolkowski

Nalin Patadia

Ashok K Das

Jang Seok Oh

Jiyong Huang

Martin Kranz

David Pung

Zhi-Fan Zhang

Rod Mosely

Alison Gilliam

Scot Petitt

Keiji Miyamoto

Examples disclosed herein relate to a method and apparatus for cleaning and repairing a substrate support having a heater disposed therein. A method includes (a) cleaning a surface of a substrate support having a bulk layer, the substrate support is disposed in a processing environment configured to process substrates. The cleaning process includes forming a plasma at a high temperature from a cleaning gas mixture having a fluorine containing gas and oxygen. The method includes (b) removing oxygen radicals from the processing environment with a treatment plasma formed from a treatment gas mixture. The treatment gas mixture includes the fluorine containing gas. The method further includes (c) repairing an interface of the substrate support and the bulk layer with a post-treatment plasma. The post-treatment plasma is formed from a post-treatment gas mixture including a nitrogen containing gas. The high temperature is greater than or equal to about 500 degrees Celsius.

High-temperature chamber and chamber component cleaning and maintenance method and apparatus

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, system, and computer program product for monitoring a service life of a chamber component. In one example, the method includes receiving one or more power measurements of a semiconductor processing chamber from one or more sensors positioned about the semiconductor processing chamber. The processor compares the one or more power measurements to one or more threshold values corresponding to the service life of the chamber component. The processor determines whether the one or more power measurements exceed the threshold values. If the processor determines that the one or more power measurements exceed the threshold values, the processor takes remedial measures for the service life of the chamber component.

Process kit erosion and service life prediction

Generally, a method for pre-cleaning native oxides and other contaminants from apertures on a substrate is provided. In one embodiment, a method for pre-cleaning apertures on a substrate includes disposing the substrate on a support member in a process chamber, cooling the substrate at least to a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius, and exposing the substrate to a pre-clean process. In another embodiment, a method for pre-cleaning apertures on a substrate includes cooling the substrate at least to a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius in a first chamber, transferring the substrate to a second chamber and pre-cleaning the substrate in the second chamber while maintaining a substrate temperature of 100 degrees Celsius.

Method and apparatus for cleaning substrates

A method for processing a substrate comprising the formation of a metal nitride/metal stack suitable for use as a barrier/liner for sub-0.18 &mgr;m device fabrication. After a metal nitride layer is deposited upon a metal layer, the metal nitride layer is exposed to a treatment step in a nitrogen-containing environment, e.g., a plasma. The plasma treatment modifies the entire metal nitride layer and a top portion of the underlying metal layer. The plasma adds nitrogen to the top portion of the metal layer, resulting in the formation of a nitrated-metal layer. Aside from reducing the microstructure mismatch across the nitride-metal interface, the plasma treatment also densifies and reduces impurities from the deposited nitride layer. The resulting nitride/metal stack exhibits improved film properties, including enhanced adhesion and barrier characteristics. A composite nitride layer of a desired thickness can also be formed by repeating the deposition and treatment cycles of thinner component nitride layers.

Nitrogen treatment of a metal nitride/metal stack

An apparatus and a method of regulating temperature of a component of a processing chamber is provided. The apparatus comprises a first thermal conductor thermally connected to the component, wherein the first thermal conductor is a resistive heating element disposed adjacent the component, a second thermal conductor thermally connected to the component, wherein the second thermal conductor is a fluid channel disposed adjacent the component, the fluid channel having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a controller connected to the first and second thermal conductors, providing at least one temperature sensor connected to the component to supply temperature readings to the controller. Radiative heaters in thermal communication with the component may be used in place of a resistive heating element.

Direct temperature control for a component of a substrate processing chamber

A method and apparatus for conditioning a surface of a ceramic body in a process chamber when the process chamber has a vacuum pump, an anode and a cathode. The conditioning method consists of pumping the process chamber down to a vacuum with the vacuum pump, introducing a gas into the chamber, energizing the anode and cathode with RF power to ignite the gas into a plasma, sputter etchinq the surface with ions from the plasma to remove contaminants therefrom. The method is accomplished either within a process chamber to condition, in situ, a ceramic chuck or within a cleaning chamber to condition any form of ceramic body or component.

Method and apparatus for sputter etch conditioning a ceramic body

The present invention provides a multi-layer semiconductor memory device comprising: a bottom electrode having a bottom layer, an upper interface layer and an intermediate tuning layer disposed between the bottom layer and the upper interface layer; a top electrode; and a high dielectric constant dielectric layer disposed between the bottom electrode and the top electrode. The present invention further provides an apparatus and a method for manufacturing high density DRAMs having capacitors having high quality HDC materials and low leakage currents. Another aspect of the present invention provides an electrode-dielectric interface that nucleates high quality HDC films. The present invention further provides an apparatus and a method for manufacturing capacitors within a high aspect ratio aperture.

Method for superior step coverage and interface control for high K dielectric capacitors and related electrodes

A gas delivery apparatus and method for directing a flow of gas to the edge of a substrate at an angle to the radial direction of the substrate is provided. The apparatus directs the gas from a gas opening, over a plurality of grooves that are angled relative to a radial line originating at a center of the gas delivery apparatus. Subsequently, the gas is flowed over a portion of the substrate to prevent reactive gases from depositing on selective portions of the substrate.

Heater for processing chamber

A valve arrangement is provided that more effectively purges processing liquid from a processing liquid delivery system. With the valve arrangement only a small portion of the processing liquid path having a small wetting perimeter must be purged to affect replacement of a dysfunctional injection valve or any other component within the processing liquid delivery system. The valve arrangement comprises a first and a second isolation valve, a pump valve and purge valve configured to reduce the wetting perimeter defined by the four valves. The valve arrangement allows a dysfunctional injection valve or any other component to be replaced without health risk to humans or damage risk to a processing liquid delivery system employing the valve arrangement. During component replacement, the first and the second isolation valves are closed and the pump and the purge valves are opened so as to purge processing liquid from the isolated volume defined by the four valves. Pump/purge cycles preferably are performed, and the purging process may be performed automatically or manually. Once the isolated volume is purged, one of the isolation valves and the component are removed and replaced as a unit.

Method and apparatus for removing processing liquid from a processing liquid path

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for measuring the temperature of a moving radiant object. A probe, such as a pyrometer, is disposed in an opening of a vacuum chamber adjacent a radiation transparent window. The probe defines an optical path which intercepts the radiant object entering or exiting a processing chamber. The radiant object is moved through the optical path and emits electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves are collected by the probe and transmitted to a signal processing unit where the waves are detected and converted to a temperature reading. If desired, the accumulated data may then be used to generate a cooling curve representing the thermal effects experienced by the radiant object. Extrapolation or correlation methods may be used to extend the cooling curve to points in time prior to or after the data collected by the probe.

Non-intrusive, on-the-fly (OTF) temperature measurement and monitoring system

The invention provides an apparatus and a method of regulating temperature of a component of a processing chamber comprising providing a thermal conductor thermally connected to the component, providing a controller connected to the thermal conductor, providing at least one temperature sensor connected to the component to supply temperature readings to the controller and regulating heat transfer between the component and the thermal conductor by changing the temperature of the thermal conductor. The invention also provides an apparatus and a method for providing a thermal gradient in a chamber component comprising providing a first thermal conductor at a first temperature attached to the component and providing a second thermal conductor at a second temperature attached to the component.

Method and apparatus for controlling cooling and heating fluids for a

A continuous process for the deposition of robust titanium-containing barrier layers comprises sputtering in a single substrate sputtering chamber a first layer of titanium, sputtering a layer of titanium nitride thereover, treating the titanium nitride layer with a plasma containing oxygen while continuing to sputter the titanium target to deposit a thin layer of TiON, and finally sputtering a layer of titanium over the titanium nitride. The latter step removes impurities from the titanium target, preventing poisoning of the target. Thus subsequent substrates can be continuously processed in said chamber without degrading the barrier properties or poisoning the titanium target.

Continuous process for forming improved titanium nitride barrier layers

A process for fabricating electronic devices which includes the steps of providing a structure that includes a substrate with an overlying dielectric layer having one or more contact holes and/or vias formed therein; depositing a barrier layer over the structure so that the barrier layer penetrates into the contact holes and/or vias; plasma etching the deposited barrier layer so as to modify its surface morphology; and after modifying the surface morphology of the deposited barrier layer, depositing a metalization layer over the barrier layer. A two-step preclean to facet upper corners of the holes and/or vias and to clean bottoms of the holes and/or vias is performed prior to the deposition of the barrier layer.

Modulating surface morphology of barrier layers

A method and apparatus for conditioning a surface of a ceramic body in a process chamber when the process chamber has a vacuum pump, an anode and a cathode. The conditioning method consists of pumping the process chamber down to a vacuum with the vacuum pump, introducing a gas into the chamber, energizing the anode and cathode with RF power to ignite the gas into a plasma, sputter etching the surface with ions from the plasma to remove contaminants therefrom. The method is accomplished either within a process chamber to condition, in situ, a ceramic chuck or within a cleaning chamber to condition any form of ceramic body or component.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Nitin Khurana