Applied Materials, Inc.

Lam Research Corporation

Micro Materials Inc.

Sean S Kang

Srinivas D Nemani

Ellie Y Yieh

S M Reza Sadjadi

Keith Tatseun Wong

Tom K Choi

Jungmin Ko

Qiwei Liang

Adib M Khan

Chia-Ling Kao

Daisuke Shimizu

Sangheon Lee

Jeremiah T Pender

Taiki Hatakeyama

Eric A Hudson

Mehul B Naik

He Ren

Chunlei Zhang

Taejoon Han

Bi-Ming Yen

Vinay Pohray

Olivier Luere

Kenji Takeshita

Qingjun Zhou

Katsumasa Kawasaki

David Wei

Sultan Malik

Mang-Mang Ling

Wan-Lin Chen

Binet A Worsham

Venkata Ravishankar Kasibhotla

Sangjun Cho

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Ying Di Zhang

Hamid Noorbakhsh

Bencherki Mebarki

David H Quach

Thomas Jongwan Kwon

Reza Sadjadi

Peter Cirigliano

David R Pirkle

Bradley J Howard

Jeremiah T P Pender

Siyi Li

Kwang-Soo Kim

Prabhakara Gopaladasu

Bi Ming Yen

Gan Ming Zhao

SiYi Li

Steve Lassig

John Zheng Ye

Lina Zhu

Sang Jun Cho

Rajinder Dhindsa

Peter K Loewenhardt

Sony Varghese

Sergio Fukuda Shoji

Shiyu Sun

Jisoo Kim

David T Or

Nikolaos Bekiaris

Nancy Fung

Stephen M Sirard

Sergey G Belostotskiy

Pradeep Subrahmanyan

Ji Soo Kim

Nam Sung Kim

Thomas S Choi

Junghoon Kim

Hailong Zhou

Si Yi Li

Chih-Yang Chang

Jairaj Joseph Payyapilly

Scott Briggs

Chinh Dinh

Shinichi Koseki

Howard Dang

Subhash Deshmukh

Tri Le

Mengnan Zou

Mayumi Block

Taehwan Lee

Iljo Kwak

Oliver Luere

Sm Rega Sadjadi

Zihao Ding

Sanghyuk Choi

Hikaru Watanabe

Masahiro Watanabe

Methods and apparatus for controlling fluid distribution to multiple fluid delivery zones in an etch chamber is provided herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a first flow ratio controller and a second flow ratio controller, each having a respective inlet, a first outlet coupled to a first fluid delivery zone in a process chamber, and a second outlet coupled to a second fluid delivery zone in the process chamber, wherein the first flow ratio controller and the second flow ratio controller are configured to provide a flow ratio of a first process fluid and a second process fluid, respectively, between the first outlet and the second outlet, and a third flow ratio controller configured to provide a flow rate of a third process fluid to at least one of the first fluid delivery zone, the second fluid delivery zone, or a third fluid delivery zone.

Multizone flow distribution system

Provided are methods of reducing the stress of a semiconductor wafer. A wafer map of a free-standing wafer is created using metrology tools. The wafer map is then converted into a power spectral density (PSD) using a spatial frequency scale. The fundamental component of bow is then compensated with a uniform film, e.g., silicon nitride (SiN), deposited on the back side of the wafer.

Stress and overlay management for semiconductor processing

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a method for etching a film stack with high selectivity and low etch recipe transition periods. In one embodiment, a method for etching a film stack having stacked pairs of oxide and nitride layers is described. The method includes transferring a substrate having a film stack formed thereon into a processing chamber, providing a first bias voltage to the substrate, etching an oxide layer of the film stack while providing the first bias voltage to the substrate, providing a second bias voltage to the substrate, the second bias voltage greater than the first bias voltage, and etching a nitride layer of the film stack while providing the second bias voltage to the substrate.

Bias voltage modulation approach for SiO/SiN layer alternating etch process

A high-pressure processing system for processing a substrate includes a first chamber, a pedestal positioned within the first chamber to support the substrate, a second chamber adjacent the first chamber, a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second chamber to near vacuum, a valve assembly between the first chamber and the second chamber to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber, and a gas delivery system configured to introduce a processing gas into the first chamber and to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the processing gas is in the first chamber and while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber.

High pressure wafer processing systems and related methods

A high-pressure processing system for processing a layer on a substrate includes a first chamber, a support to hold the substrate in the first chamber, a second chamber adjacent the first chamber, a foreline to remove gas from the second chamber, a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second chamber to near vacuum, a valve assembly between the first chamber and the second chamber to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber, a gas delivery system configured to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber, an exhaust system comprising an exhaust line to remove gas from the first chamber, and a common housing surrounding both the first gas delivery module and the second gas delivery module.

Gas delivery system for high pressure processing chamber

An annealing system is provided that includes a chamber body that defines a chamber, a support to hold a workpiece and a robot to insert the workpiece into the chamber. The annealing system also includes a first gas supply to provide a hydrogen gas, a pressure source coupled to the chamber to raise a pressure in the chamber to at least 5 atmospheres, and a controller configured to cause the robot to transport a workpiece having a metal film thereon into the chamber, where the metal film contains fluorine on a surface or embedded within the metal film, to cause the first gas supply to supply the hydrogen gas to the chamber and form atomic hydrogen therein, and to cause the pressure source to raise a pressure in the chamber to at least 5 atmospheres while the workpiece is held on the support in the chamber.

Tungsten defluorination by high pressure treatment

Embodiments of this disclosure include a method of processing a substrate that includes etching a first dielectric material formed on a substrate that is disposed on a substrate supporting surface of a substrate support assembly disposed within a processing region of a plasma processing chamber. The etching process may include delivering a process gas to the processing region, wherein the process gas comprises a first fluorocarbon containing gas and a first process gas, delivering, by use of a radio frequency generator, a radio frequency signal to a first electrode to form a plasma in the processing region, and establishing, by use of a first pulsed-voltage waveform generator, a first pulsed voltage waveform at a biasing electrode disposed within the substrate support assembly. The first pulsed voltage waveform comprises a series of repeating pulsed waveform cycles that each include a first portion that occurs during a first time interval, a second portion that occurs during a second time interval, and a peak-to-peak voltage. The pulsed voltage waveform is substantially constant during at least a portion of the second time interval.

Method of enhancing etching selectivity using a pulsed plasma

Methods and apparatus for producing high aspect ratio features in a substrate using reactive ion etching. In some embodiments, a method comprises flowing acetylene gas into a process chamber to produce a diamond like carbon deposition on a pattern mask or on at least one layer of oxide or nitride on the substrate, flowing a gas mixture of a first gas of a hydrofluorocarbon-based gas and a second gas of a fluorocarbon-based gas into the process chamber, forming a plasma from the gas mixture using an RF power source and at least one RF bias power source, performing an anisotropic etch of the at least one layer of oxide or nitride on the substrate using the pattern mask, and evacuating the process chamber while interrupting the RF power source to stop plasma formation.

Methods and apparatus for in-situ protection liners for high aspect ratio reactive ion etching

Methods and apparatus for producing high aspect ratio features in a substrate using reactive ion etching (RIE). In some embodiments, a method comprises flowing a gas mixture of CHFand a companion gas into a process chamber, forming a plasma from the gas mixture using an RF power source connected to an upper electrode above the substrate and at least one RF bias power source connected to a lower electrode under the substrate, performing an anisotropic etch, via the plasma, of at least one layer of oxide or nitride on the substrate using a pattern mask, reducing power of the at least one RF bias power source to produce deposition of a passivation layer on the at least one layer of oxide or nitride on the substrate, and evacuating the process chamber while interrupting the RF power source to stop plasma formation.

Methods and apparatus for etching semiconductor structures

Methods and systems relating to processes for treating a silicon nitride film on a workpiece including supporting the workpiece in a chamber, introducing an amine gas into the chamber and establishing a pressure of at least 5 atmospheres, and exposing the silicon nitride film on the workpiece to the amine gas while the pressure in the chamber is at least 5 atmospheres.

High pressure treatment of silicon nitride film

Aspects of the disclosure include methods of treating a substrate to remove one or more of voids, seams, and grain boundaries from interconnects formed on the substrate. The method includes heating the substrate in an environment pressurized at supra-atmospheric pressure. In one example, the substrate may be heated in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere.

Seam-healing method upon supra-atmospheric process in diffusion promoting ambient

Methods and systems relating to processes for treating a tungsten film on a workpiece including supporting the workpiece in a chamber, introducing hydrogen gas into the chamber and establishing a pressure of at least 5 atmospheres, and exposing the tungsten film on the workpiece to the hydrogen gas while the pressure in the chamber is at least 5 atmospheres.

Growing community of inventors

San Ramon, CA, United States of America

Sean S Kang