Applied Materials, Inc.

Lam Research Corporation

Peter K Loewenhardt

Gerald Z Yin

Diana Xiaobing Ma

Hiroji Hanawa

Andreas Fischer

Gerald Zheyao Yin

Shamouil Shamouilian

Yan Ye

Allen Richard Zhao

Philip M Salzman

Bi-Ming Yen

John M Yamartino

Michael Santiago Cox

Arnold Kholodenko

Arthur H Sato

Canfeng Lai

Helen H Zhu

Xingcai Su

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Di Wu

Donald J Olgado

Jisoo Kim

Kenji Takeshita

Dean Jay Larson

Valentin N Todorov

Babak Kadkhodayan

Chii Guang Lee

William M Denty, Jr

Thomas S Choi

Wade Zawalski

Christopher F Lane

Avi Tepman

Tsutomu Tanaka

Mukund Srinivasan

John P Parks

William S Kennedy

Dan Katz

Jeng H Hwang

Reza Sadjadi

Sangheon Lee

David Trussell

Dimitris Lymberopoulos

Siyi Li

Binet A Worsham

Robert B Majewski

David P Wanamaker

Howard Dang

Guang-Jye Shiau

Diana Xiabing Ma

Eric A Hudson

Daniel John Hoffman

Alex Paterson

Shaoher X Pan

Qiwei Liang

James S Papanu

Yunsang Kim

Sean S Kang

Saravjeet Singh

Andras Kuthi

Chun Yan

Hui W Chen

Michael N Grimbergen

Vahid Vahedi

Michael D Welch

Siamak Salimian

Hongching Shan

Mark Henry Wilcoxson

Dragan Valentin Podlesnik

Paul E Luscher

James V Tietz

Ji Zhu

Zhong Qiang Hua

Xue-Yu Qian

Albert R Ellingboe

Taejoon Han

Rolf A Guenther

Peter Cirigliano

Seokmin Yun

Steve S Mak

Phil M Salzman

Pavel Ionov

Songlin Xu

Steve S Y Mak

Dave Trussell

Bi Ming Yen

Timothy D Driscoll

Arthur Y Chen

Son M Phi

Jeremy Chang

Timothy R Webb

Eric D Wagganer

Daniel Le

Yu Cheng

Raymond Gristi

Xiaoqiang Sean Yao

Hanzhong Xiao

Victor H Fuentes

Hong Ching Shan

Steven Sy Mak

Yoshi Tanase

Etching a layer over a substrate is provided. The substrate is placed in a plasma processing chamber. A first gas is provided to an inner zone within the plasma processing chamber. A second gas is provided to the outer zone within the plasma processing chamber, where the outer zone surrounds the inner zone and the first gas is different than the second gas. Plasmas are simultaneously generated from the first gas and second gas. The layer is etched, where the layer is etched by the plasmas from the first gas and second gas.

Uniform etch system

An improved upper electrode system has a multi-part electrode in which a central portion of the electrode having high wear is replaceable independent of an outer peripheral portion of the electrode. The upper electrode can be used in plasma processing systems for processing semiconductor substrates, such as by etching or CVD. The multi-part upper electrode system is particularly useful for large size wafer processing chambers, such as 300 mm wafer processing chambers for which monolithic electrodes are unavailable or costly.

Multi-part electrode for a semiconductor processing plasma reactor and method of replacing a portion of a multi-part electrode

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for preventing corrosion of a plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent from ambient acidic hydrolysis wherein the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent includes a hydrolysable acid precursor is disclosed. The method may include: removing the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent from a semiconductor processing assembly; binding the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent with flexible moisture wicking material; hydrolyzing the hydrolysable acid precursor with an overwhelming aqueous admixture to form a vitiated acidic compound, wherein the flexible moisture wicking material pulls the vitiated acidic compound away from the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent with capillary action; dehydrating the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent with additional flexible moisture wicking material to pull a latent amount of the vitiated acidic compound away from the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent; and isolating the plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituent from ambient moisture in a moisture obstructing enclosure.

Methods for preventing corrosion of plasma-exposed yttria-coated constituents

A method for etching a layer over a substrate in a process chamber, wherein the process chamber including a first electrode and a second electrode and the first electrode is disposed opposite of the second electrode is provided. The method includes placing the substrate on the second electrode and providing an etching gas into the process chamber. The method also includes providing a first radio frequency (RF) signal into the process chamber and modulating the first RF signal. The method further includes providing a second RF signal into the process chamber and modulating the second RF signal.

Methods for RF pulsing of a narrow gap capacitively coupled reactor

An apparatus for providing a plasma etch of a layer over a wafer is provided. A capacitively coupled process chamber is provided. A gas source is provided. A first and a second electrode are provided within the process chamber. A first radio frequency power source is electrically connected to at least one of the first and second electrodes, where the first radio frequency power source provides radio frequency power. A second radio frequency power source is electrically connected to at least one of the first and second electrodes. A first modulation control is connected to the first radio frequency power source, to provide a controlled modulation of the first radio frequency power source.

RF pulsing of a narrow gap capacitively coupled reactor

Methods of depositing a protective coating of a silicon-containing or metallic material onto a semiconductor substrate include sputtering such material from an electrode onto a semiconductor substrate in a plasma processing chamber. The protective material can be deposited onto a multi-layer mask overlying a low-k material and/or onto the low-k material. The methods can be used in dual damascene processes to protect the mask and enhance etch selectivity, to protect the low-k material from carbon depletion during resist strip processes, and/or protect the low-k material from absorption of moisture.

Methods of sputtering a protective coating on a semiconductor substrate

A method of forming a semiconductor device is provided. A wafer with a dielectric layer disposed under a photoresist mask is placed in an etch chamber. The dielectric layer is etched. The wafer is raised. A cleaning gas is provided. A plasma is formed from the cleaning gas. A polymer that has formed on the bevel of the wafer is removed using the plasma from the cleaning gas. The wafer is removed from the etch chamber.

Wafer bevel polymer removal

A method of forming a feature in a low-k dielectric layer is provided. A low-k dielectric layer is placed over a substrate. A patterned photoresist mask is placed over the low-k dielectric layer. At least one feature is etched into the low-k dielectric layer. A CO conditioning is preformed on the at least one feature after the at least one feature is etched. The patterned photoresist mask is stripped after the CO conditioning.

Preventing damage to low-k materials during resist stripping

A transformer-coupled plasma source using toroidal cores forms a plasma with a high-density of ions along the center axis of the torus. In one embodiment, cores of a plasma generator are stacked in a vertical alignment to enhance the directionality of the plasma and generation efficiency. In another embodiment, cores are arranged in a lateral array into a plasma generating plate that can be scaled to accommodate substrates of various sizes, including very large substrates. The symmetry of the plasma attained allows simultaneous processing of two substrates, one on either side of the plasma generator.

Multi-core transformer plasma source

A method for etching a feature in a low-k dielectric layer through a photoresist etch mask over a substrate. A gas-modulated cyclic stripping process is performed for more than three cycles for stripping a single photoresist mask. Each cycle of the gas-modulated cyclic stripping process comprises performing a protective layer formation phase and a stripping phase. The protective layer forming phase using first gas chemistry with a deposition gas chemistry, wherein the protective layer forming phase is performed in about 0.005 to 10 seconds for each cycle. The performing the stripping phase for stripping the photoresist mask using a second gas chemistry using a stripping gas chemistry, where the first gas chemistry is different than the second gas chemistry, wherein the etching phase is performed in about 0.005 to 10 seconds for each cycle.

Method for plasma stripping using periodic modulation of gas chemistry and hydrocarbon addition

A temperature-controlled hot edge ring assembly adapted to surround a substrate support in a plasma reaction chamber. The assembly includes a conductive lower ring, a ceramic intermediate ring, and an upper ring. The intermediate ring overlies the lower ring and is adapted to be attached via the lower ring to an RF electrode. The upper ring overlies the intermediate ring, and has an upper surface exposed to an interior of a plasma reaction chamber.

Temperature controlled hot edge ring assembly for reducing plasma reactor etch rate drift

A method for forming features in dielectric layers and opening barrier layers for a plurality of wafers and cleaning an etch chamber after processing and removing each wafer of the plurality of wafers is provided. A wafer of the plurality of wafers is placed into the etch chamber wherein the wafer has a barrier layer over the wafer and a dielectric layer over the barrier layer. The dielectric layer is etched. The barrier layer is opened. The wafer is removed from the etch chamber. A waferless automatic cleaning of the etch chamber without the wafer is provided. The waferless automatic cleaning comprises providing a waferless automatic cleaning gas comprising oxygen and nitrogen to the etch chamber and forming a waferless automatic cleaning plasma from the waferless automatic cleaning gas to clean the etch chamber.

Waferless automatic cleaning after barrier removal

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Peter K Loewenhardt