Novellus Systems Incorporated

Lam Research Corporation

Robert Rash

Steven T Mayer

Bryan L Buckalew

David W Porter

Aaron Berke

Lee Peng Chua

Thomas Anand Ponnuswamy

James Isaac Fortner

Richard G Abraham

Shantinath Ghongadi

Kousik Ganesan

Stephen J Banik

Seshasayee Varadarajan

Zhian He

Tariq Majid

Burhanuddin Kagajwala

Jeff Hawkins

Haiying Fu

Gabriel Hay Graham

John Floyd Ostrowski

Brian Paul Blackman

Santosh Kumar

Chad M Hosack

Hilton Diaz Camilo

Doug Higley

Jingbin Feng

Frederick Dean Wilmot

Brian Evans

Jonathan David Reid

Mark J Willey

Chad Michael Hosack

Justin Oberst

Yuichi Takada

James R Zibrida

Nirmal Shankar Sigamani

Edwin Goh

Vinay Prabhakar

Debubbler component

A cell to process a substrate includes at least one chamber wall, a membrane frame, and a membrane. The at least one chamber wall is arranged to form a cavity below a holder of the substrate. The membrane frame is disposed on the at least one chamber wall and across the cavity. The membrane is supported by the membrane frame and separating a first electrolyte from a second electrolyte. The membrane includes a surface extending from a center of the cavity radially outward at an angle relative to a reference plane, and wherein the angle is greater than or equal to 0° and less than or equal to 3°.

Low angle membrane frame for an electroplating cell

An apparatus for electroplating a semiconductor wafer includes an insert member configured to circumscribe a processing region. The insert member has a top surface. A portion of the top surface of the insert member has an upward slope that slopes upward from a peripheral area of the top surface of the insert member toward the processing region. The apparatus also includes a seal member having an annular-disk shape. The seal member is positioned on the top surface of the insert member. The seal member is flexible such that an outer radial portion of the seal member conforms to the upward slope of the top surface of the insert member and such that an inner radial portion of the seal member projects inward toward the processing region.

Flow assisted dynamic seal for high-convection, continuous-rotation plating

An electroplating apparatus for electroplating metal on a substrate includes a plating chamber configured to contain an electrolyte, a substrate holder configured to hold and rotate the substrate during electroplating, an anode, and an azimuthally asymmetric auxiliary electrode configured to be biased both anodically and cathodically during electroplating. The azimuthally asymmetric auxiliary electrode (which may be, for example, C-shaped), can be used for controlling azimuthal uniformity of metal electrodeposition by donating and diverting ionic current at a selected azimuthal position. In another aspect, an electroplating apparatus for electroplating metal includes a plating chamber configured to contain an electrolyte, a substrate holder configured to hold and rotate the substrate during electroplating, an anode, a shield configured to shield current at the periphery of the substrate; and an azimuthally asymmetric auxiliary anode configured to donate current to the shielded periphery of the substrate at a selected azimuthal position on the substrate.

Electroplating apparatus for tailored uniformity profile

Various embodiments described herein relate to methods and apparatus for electroplating material onto a semiconductor substrate. In some cases, one or more membrane may be provided in contact with an ionically resistive element to minimize the degree to which electrolyte passes backwards from a cross flow manifold, through the ionically resistive element, and into an ionically resistive element manifold during electroplating. The membrane may be designed to route electrolyte in a desired manner in some embodiments. In these or other cases, one or more baffles may be provided in the ionically resistive element manifold to reduce the degree to which electrolyte is able to bypass the cross flow manifold by flowing back through the ionically resistive element and across the electroplating cell within the ionically resistive element manifold. These techniques can be used to improve the uniformity of electroplating results.

Methods and apparatus for flow isolation and focusing during electroplating

Disclosed are electroplating cups for holding, sealing, and providing electrical power to wafers during electroplating, where the electroplating cup can include a cup bottom, an elastomeric lipseal, and an electrical contact element. The cup bottom can include a radially inwardly protruding surface with a plurality of through-holes. The elastomeric lipseal can directly adhere to the radially inwardly protruding surface of the cup bottom, fill the plurality of through-holes, and encircle an inner edge of the cup bottom. In some implementations, this can mitigate the effects of wafer sticking. In some implementations, the cup bottom may be treated to promote adhesion between the elastomeric lipseal and the radially inwardly protruding surface of the cup bottom.

Integrated elastomeric lipseal and cup bottom for reducing wafer sticking

An active (consumable) anode includes, in one aspect, a generally annular body and a protrusion used for connecting the anode to the power supply, where the protrusion extends outward from the generally annular body of the anode. The compositions of the generally annular body and of the protrusion are the same, and, in some embodiments, the anode is a one-piece anode that does not include any welding seams. Such structure results in reduced voltage fluctuations during plating and in improved control over plating uniformity. In some embodiments, the anode is a copper anode, a cobalt anode, or a nickel anode machined from a single sheet of anode-grade metal. The provided anode can be used in an electroplating apparatus as a secondary, peripherally disposed anode, in conjunction with a more centrally located primary anode. The provided anode is configured to modulate electroplating at the edge of the substrate.

One-piece anode for tuning electroplating at an edge of a substrate

A valve assembly used with a process chamber for depositing a film on a wafer. A valve body surrounds a bore and includes an inlet, a first outlet and a second outlet, at least one of them exiting into the process chamber. A piston includes a first section having a first flow path, and a second section having a second flow path. A linear motion actuator is adapted to couple with the piston and controls linear movement of the piston through the bore between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the first section of the piston is aligned with the inlet such that fluid flows to the first outlet via the first flow path. In the second position, the second section of the piston is aligned with the inlet such that fluid flows to the second outlet via the second flow path.

High flow multi-way piston valve for deposition systems

An apparatus for electroplating metal on a semiconductor substrate with improved plating uniformity includes in one aspect: a plating chamber configured to contain an electrolyte and an anode; a substrate holder configured to hold the semiconductor substrate; and an ionically resistive ionically permeable element comprising a substantially planar substrate-facing surface and an opposing surface, wherein the element allows for flow of ionic current towards the substrate during electroplating, and wherein the element comprises a region having varied local resistivity. In one example the resistivity of the element is varied by varying the thickness of the element. In some embodiments the thickness of the element is gradually reduced in a radial direction from the edge of the element to the center of the element. The provided apparatus and methods are particularly useful for electroplating metal in WLP recessed features.

Apparatus and method for electrodeposition of metals with the use of an ionically resistive ionically permeable element having spatially tailored resistivity

Methods of electroplating metal on a substrate while controlling azimuthal uniformity, include, in one aspect, providing the substrate to the electroplating apparatus configured for rotating the substrate during electroplating, and electroplating the metal on the substrate while rotating the substrate relative to a shield such that a selected portion of the substrate at a selected azimuthal position dwells in a shielded area for a different amount of time than a second portion of the substrate having the same average arc length and the same average radial position and residing at a different angular (azimuthal) position. The shield is positioned in close proximity of the substrate (e.g., within a distance that is equal to 0.1 of the substrate's radius). The shield in some embodiments may be an ionically resistive ionically permeable element having an azimuthally asymmetric distribution of channels.

Various embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for electroplating material onto a semiconductor substrate. The apparatus includes an ionically resistive element that separates the plating chamber into a cross flow manifold (above the ionically resistive element) and an ionically resistive element manifold (below the ionically resistive element). Electrolyte is delivered to the cross flow manifold, where it shears over the surface of the substrate, and to the ionically resistive element manifold, where it passes through through-holes in the ionically resistive element to impinge upon the substrate as it enters the cross flow manifold. In certain embodiments, the flow of electrolyte into the cross flow manifold (e.g., through a side inlet) and the flow of electrolyte into the ionically resistive element manifold are actively controlled, e.g., using a three-way valve. In these or other cases, the ionically resistive element may include electrolyte jets.

Methods and apparatus for controlling delivery of cross flowing and impinging electrolyte during electroplating

Electroplating results can be improved by dynamically controlling the pressure in different parts of an electroplating apparatus. For example, a number of plating problems can be avoided by ensuring that the pressure in an anode chamber always remains slightly above the pressure in an ionically resistive element manifold, both during electroplating and during non-electroplating operations. This pressure differential prevents the membrane from stretching downward into the anode chamber.

Method and apparatus for synchronized pressure regulation of separated anode chamber

Methods and apparatus for electroplating material onto a substrate are provided. In many cases the material is metal and the substrate is a semiconductor wafer, though the embodiments are no so limited. Typically, the embodiments herein utilize a porous ionically resistive plate positioned near the substrate, the plate having a plurality of interconnecting 3D channels and creating a cross flow manifold defined on the bottom by the plate, on the top by the substrate, and on the sides by a cross flow confinement ring. During plating, fluid enters the cross flow manifold both upward through channels in the plate, and laterally through a cross flow side inlet positioned on one side of the cross flow confinement ring. The flow paths combine in the cross flow manifold and exit at the cross flow exit, which is positioned opposite the cross flow inlet. These combined flow paths result in improved plating uniformity.

Enhancement of electrolyte hydrodynamics for efficient mass transfer during electroplating

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West Linn, OR, United States of America

Robert Rash