Lam Research Corporation

Ralph Jan-Pin Lu

Seyed Jafar Jafarian-Tehrani

Neil M Benjamin

Keith William Gaff

Keith Laurence Comendant

Eric A Pape

Tom Anderson

Paul Robertson

A semiconductor substrate support for supporting a semiconductor substrate in a plasma processing chamber includes a heater array comprising thermal control elements operable to tune a spatial temperature profile on the semiconductor substrate, the thermal control elements defining heater zones each of which is powered by two or more power supply lines and two or more power return lines wherein each power supply line is connected to at least two of the heater zones and each power return line is connected to at least two of the heater zones. A power distribution circuit is mated to a baseplate of the substrate support, the power distribution circuit being connected to each power supply line and power return line of the heater array. A switching device is connected to the power distribution circuit to independently provide time-averaged power to each of the heater zones by time divisional multiplexing of a plurality of switches.

Power switching system for ESC with array of thermal control elements

A plasma processing system for processing a wafer is provided. The system includes an electrostatic chuck (ESC) positioned inside a plasma processing chamber and configured to support the wafer. The ESC includes a positive terminal for providing a first force to the wafer and a negative terminal for providing a second force to the wafer. The system also includes a first circuit arrangement configured to measure at least a first voltage for determining a value of a positive load current applied to the positive terminal. The system further includes a second circuit arrangement configured to measure at least a second voltage for determining a value of a negative load current applied to the negative terminal. The system yet also includes circuitry configured to adjust a bias voltage using the values of the positive load current and the negative load current for balancing the first force and the second force.

ESC high voltage control and methods thereof

An arrangement for securing a wafer during substrate processing is provided. The arrangement includes a power supply and an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The ESC supports the wafer and includes a positive and a negative terminal. A positive high voltage is provided to the positive terminal through an RF filter and a negative high voltage is provided to the negative terminal through the RF filter. The arrangement also includes a first and a second trans-impedance amplifiers (TIAs) that measure a first set of voltages for determining a value of a positive load current applied to the positive terminal and a third and fourth TIAs that measure a second set of voltages for determining a value of a negative load current applied to the negative terminal. The arrangement yet also includes a program to adjust a bias voltage using the values of the positive load current and the negative load current.

Plasma processing system ESC high voltage control and methods thereof

A plasma processing system is disclosed. The plasma processing system may include an electrostatic chuck (ESC) positioned inside a plasma processing chamber and configured to support a wafer. The ESC may include a positive terminal (+ESC) for providing a first force to the wafer and a negative terminal (&#x2212;ESC) for providing a second force to the wafer. The plasma processing system may also include a first trans-impedance amplifier (TIA) and a second TIA configured to measure a first set of voltages for calculating a value of a positive load current applied to the positive terminal. The plasma processing system may also include a third TIA and a fourth TIA configured to measure a second set of voltages for calculating a value of a negative load current applied to the negative terminal.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Ralph Jan-Pin Lu