Applied Materials, Inc.

Intermolecular, Inc.

Solyndra, LLC

Intel Corporation

Zapgo Ltd

Oxcion Limited

Philip Allan Kraus

Thai Cheng Chua

Anantha K Subramani

Kelvin Chan

Kallol Bera

Travis Koh

Patrick John Tae

James D Carducci

Hanhong Chen

Richard Charles Fovell

Hanh D Nguyen

John C Forster

Christopher Sean Olsen

Leonid Dorf

Timothy Joseph Franklin

Sandeep Nijhawan

Olivier Joubert

Leonard Michael Tedeschi

Yaoling Pan

Rajinder Dhindsa

Khaled Ahmed

Joseph F AuBuchon

Jaeyong Cho

Amir Bayati

James Rogers

Tza-Jing Gung

Michael D Willwerth

Joseph R Johnson

Keith R Berding

Olivier Luere

Upendra V Ummethala

Blake Erickson

Devendra Channappa Holeyannavar

Mark Joseph Saly

Xianmin Tang

Yu Lei

Dmitry A Dzilno

Bencherki Mebarki

Kenric T Choi

Ashish Goel

Abhishek Chowdhury

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Andrew Nguyen

John Patrick Holland

Abhilash J Mayur

Yi Ma

Adolph Miller Allen

Lakmal Charidu Kalutarage

Phillip A Criminale

Tae Hong Ha

Steven E Babayan

Vladimir Knyazik

Vedapuram S Achutharaman

Chuang-Chia Lin

Xuesong Lu

You Li

Cattien Van Nguyen

Abhijit Basu Mallick

Jennifer Y Sun

Randhir P Thakur

David P Thompson

Vijay D Parkhe

Dipankar Pramanik

Deenesh Padhi

Kirankumar Neelasandra Savandaiah

Praburam Gopalraja

Mihaela A Balseanu

John Leonard Sudijono

Thomas B Brezoczky

Mikhail Korolik

Pravin K Narwankar

Andreas G Hegedus

Hari K Ponnekanti

Xinhai Han

Ankit Vora

James P Cruse

Haifan Liang

Vijay Parihar

Joung Joo Lee

Steven Victor Sansoni

Yi Xu

Kaushal Gangakhedkar

Prashanth Kothnur

Zhong Qiang Hua

Jeroen Van Duren

Lei Zhou

Andreas Schmid

Shreyas Kher

Roger Alan Lindley

Hang Yu

Denis M Koosau

Haitao Wang

John Joseph Mazzocco

Sanjay G Kamath

Zhiqiang Guo

Christopher A Rowland

Kenichi Ohno

Changhun Lee

Sang M Lee

Daniel Sang Byun

Described is a process to clean up junction interfaces for fabricating semiconductor devices involving forming low-resistance electrical connections between vertically separated regions. An etch can be performed to remove silicon oxide on silicon surface at the bottom of a recessed feature. Described are methods and apparatus for etching up the bottom oxide of a hole or trench while minimizing the effects to the underlying epitaxial layer and to the dielectric layers on the field and the corners of metal gate structures. The method for etching features involves a reaction chamber equipped with a combination of capacitively coupled plasma and inductive coupled plasma. CHFgases and plasma are used to form protection layer, which enables the selectively etching of bottom silicon dioxide by NH—NFplasma. Ideally, silicon oxide on EPI is removed to ensure low-resistance electric contact while the epitaxial layer and field/corner dielectric layers are—etched only minimally or not at all.

Directional selective junction clean with field polymer protections

Capacitive sensors and capacitive sensing locations for plasma chamber condition monitoring are described. In an example, a plasma processing chamber includes a chamber wall surrounding a processing region. A chamber lid is over the chamber wall and above the processing region. A chamber floor is beneath the chamber wall and below the processing region. A support pedestal is in the processing region and below the chamber lid and above the chamber floor, and the support pedestal surrounded by the chamber wall. A capacitive sensor module can be in an opening of the chamber wall. The chamber lid can include a capacitive sensor module. The chamber floor can include an evacuation port and a capacitive sensor module within or adjacent to the evacuation port. The support pedestal can include a ring structure surrounding a substrate support region, and a capacitive sensor module in an opening of the ring structure.

Capacitive sensors and capacitive sensing locations for plasma chamber condition monitoring

Embodiments disclosed herein include a method of etching a 3D structure. In an embodiment, the method comprises providing the 3D structure in a microwave plasma chamber. In an embodiment, the 3D structure comprises a substrate, and alternating layers of silicon oxide and silicon nitride over the substrate. In an embodiment, the method further comprises flowing a first gas into the microwave plasma chamber, where the first gas comprises sulfur and fluorine. In an embodiment, the method comprises flowing a second gas into the microwave plasma chamber, where the second gas comprises an inert gas. In an embodiment, the method further comprises striking a plasma in the microwave plasma chamber, and etching the silicon nitride, where an etching selectivity of silicon nitride to silicon oxide is 50:1 or greater.

Low temperature selective etching of silicon nitride using microwave plasma

Embodiments disclosed herein include a diagnostic substrate, comprising a baseplate, and a first plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the first plurality of image sensors are oriented horizontal to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a second plurality of image sensors on the baseplate, where the second plurality of image sensors are oriented at a non-orthogonal angle to the baseplate. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a printed circuit board (PCB) on the baseplate, and a controller on the baseplate, where the controller is communicatively coupled to the first plurality of image sensors and the second plurality of image sensors by the PCB. In an embodiment, the diagnostic substrate further comprises a diffuser lid over the baseplate, the PCB, and the controller.

Smart camera substrate

Embodiments disclosed herein include semiconductor processing tools. In an embodiment, the semiconductor processing tool comprises a plasma source, and a chamber coupled to the plasma source. In an embodiment, a pump is coupled to the chamber. In an embodiment, the semiconductor processing tool further comprises a sampling line. In an embodiment, the sampling line comprises a reaction chamber, and an absorption chamber.

Reaction cell for species sensing

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, a gas supply configured for use with a processing chamber includes an ampoule that stores a precursor and comprises an input to receive a carrier gas and an output to provide a mixture of the carrier gas and the precursor to the processing chamber and a sensor assembly comprising a detector and an infrared source operably connected to an outside of an enclosure, through which the mixture flows, and a gas measurement volume disposed within the enclosure and along an inner wall thereof so that a concentration of the precursor in the mixture can be measured by the detector and transmitted to a controller.

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate

Embodiments include a plasma processing tool that includes a processing chamber, and a plurality of modular microwave sources coupled to the processing chamber. In an embodiment, the plurality of modular microwave sources include an array of applicators that are positioned over a dielectric body that forms a portion of an outer wall of the processing chamber. The array of applicators may be coupled to the dielectric body. Additionally, the plurality of modular microwave sources may include an array of microwave amplification modules. In an embodiment, each microwave amplification module may be coupled to at least one of the applicators in the array of applicators. According to an embodiment, the dielectric body be planar, non-planar, symmetric, or non-symmetric. In yet another embodiment, the dielectric body may include a plurality of recesses. In such an embodiment, at least one applicator may be positioned in at least one of the recesses.

Symmetric and irregular shaped plasmas using modular microwave sources

Exemplary methods of etching a silicon-containing material may include flowing a first fluorine-containing precursor into a remote plasma region of a semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may include flowing a sulfur-containing precursor into the remote plasma region of the semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may include forming a plasma within the remote plasma region to generate plasma effluents of the first fluorine-containing precursor and the sulfur-containing precursor. The methods may include flowing the plasma effluents into a processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber. A substrate may be positioned within the processing region. The substrate may include a trench formed through stacked layers including alternating layers of silicon nitride and silicon oxide. The methods may include isotropically etching the layers of silicon nitride while substantially maintaining the silicon oxide.

Isotropic silicon nitride removal

Embodiments disclosed herein include methods and apparatuses used to deposit graphene layers. In an embodiment, a method of depositing a graphene layer on a substrate comprises providing a substrate within a modular microwave plasma chamber, and flowing a carbon source and a hydrogen source into the modular microwave plasma chamber. In an embodiment, the method further comprises striking a plasma in the modular microwave plasma chamber, where a substrate temperature is below approximately 400° C., and depositing the graphene layer on the substrate.

Method and apparatus of low temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of graphene

Embodiments disclosed herein include gas concentration sensors, and methods of using such gas concentration sensors. In an embodiment, a gas concentration sensor comprises a first electrode. In an embodiment the first electrode comprises first fingers. In an embodiment, the gas concentration sensor further comprises a second electrode. In an embodiment, the second electrode comprises second fingers that are interdigitated with the first fingers.

Capacitive sensor for monitoring gas concentration

Embodiments disclosed herein include diagnostic substrates and methods of using the diagnostic substrates to extract plasma parameters. In an embodiment, a diagnostic substrate comprises a substrate and an array of resonators across the substrate. In an embodiment, the array of resonators comprises at least a first resonator with a first structure and a second resonator with a second structure. In an embodiment, the first structure is different than the second structure.

MEMS resonator sensor substrate for plasma, temperature, stress, or deposition sensing

A method and apparatus for biasing regions of a substrate in a plasma assisted processing chamber are provided. Biasing of the substrate, or regions thereof, increases the potential difference between the substrate and a plasma formed in the processing chamber thereby accelerating ions from the plasma towards the active surfaces of the substrate regions. A plurality of bias electrodes herein are spatially arranged across the substrate support in a pattern that is advantageous for managing uniformity of processing results across the substrate.

Substrate support with multiple embedded electrodes

Embodiments disclosed herein include a housing for a source array. In an embodiment, the housing comprises a conductive body, where the conductive body comprises a first surface and a second surface opposite from the first surface. In an embodiment a plurality of openings are formed through the conductive body and a channel is disposed into the second surface of the conductive body. In an embodiment, a cover is over the channel, and the cover comprises first holes that pass through a thickness of the cover. In an embodiment, the housing further comprises a second hole through a thickness of the conductive body. In an embodiment, the second hole intersects with the channel.

Monolithic modular microwave source with integrated process gas distribution

Embodiments disclosed herein include a housing for a source assembly. In an embodiment, the housing comprises a conductive body with a first surface and a second surface opposite from the first surface, and a plurality of openings through a thickness of the conductive body between the first surface and the second surface. In an embodiment, the housing further comprises a channel into the first surface of the conductive body, and a cover over the channel. In an embodiment, a first stem over the cover extends away from the first surface, and a second stem over the cover extends away from the first surface. In an embodiment, the first stem and the second stem open into the channel.

Monolithic modular microwave source with integrated temperature control

Plasma source assemblies comprising a housing with an RF hot electrode having a body and a plurality of source electrodes extending vertically from the RF hot electrode toward the opening in a front face of the housing are described. Processing chambers incorporating the plasma source assemblies and methods of using the plasma source assemblies are also described.

Symmetric plasma source to generate pie-shaped treatment

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Philip Allan Kraus