Applied Materials, Inc.

Shuran Sheng

Lin Zhang

Joseph C Werner

Soo Young Choi

Yong Kee Chae

Liwei Li

Yong-Kee Chae

Tae Kyung Won

Su Ho Cho

Zheng Yuan

David Tanner

Tzay-Fa (Jeff) Su

Shinobu Abe

Jiyong Huang

John M White

Jennifer Y Sun

Ganesh Balasubramanian

Jeonghoon Oh

Kyung-Tae Kim

Eric Andrew Englhardt

Amir Hamed Al-Bayati

Xinhai Han

Robert Z Bachrach

Gopalakrishna B Prabhu

Ala Moradian

Bhaskar Kumar

Umesh M Kelkar

Dapeng Wang

Zhijun Jiang

Rongping Wang

Danny Cam Toan Lu

Karthik Ramanathan

Jeffrey S Sullivan

Yixing Lin

Nitin Khurana

Yikai Chen

Yacov Elgar

Asaf Schlezinger

Hien-Minh Huu Le

James Omer L'Heureux

Stephen P Murphy

Andrew V Le

James Craig Hunter

Alan Tso

Charles Gay

Stanley Wu

Penchala N Kankanala

Fang Mei

Nicholas G J De Vries

Parris Hawkins

Ying Ma

Ralph Peter Antonio

Michel Ranjit Frei

Jang Seok Oh

Teresa Trowbridge

Tsunehiko Kitamura

Rohit Mahakali

Mahesh Adinath Kanawade

Stefan Klein

Quancheng (Tommy) Gu

Choi (Gene) Ho

Wing Hoo (Hendrick) Lo

Srujal (Steve) Patel

Matthew J B Saunders

Brice Walker

Xiesen Yang

Soo-Young Choi

Keita Kuwahara

Chang Hee Shin

Embodiments herein provide methods of monitoring temperatures of fluid delivery conduits for delivering fluids to, and other components external to, a processing volume of a processing chamber used in electronic device fabrication manufacturing, and monitoring systems related thereto. In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, at the temperature monitoring system (TMS) controller, information from a first plurality of temperature sensors and a second plurality of temperature sensors, comparing, using the TMS controller, the temperature information to one or more pre-determined control limits, and communicating, using the TMS controller, an out-of-control event to a user. Generally, the temperature monitoring system features the first and second pluralities of temperature sensors, the TMS controller, a first connection module, and a second connection module.

Advanced temperature monitoring system with expandable modular layout design

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to an apparatus and a method for cleaning a processing chamber. In one embodiment, a substrate support cover includes a bulk member coated with a fluoride coating. The substrate support cover is placed on a substrate support disposed in the processing chamber during a cleaning process. The fluoride coating does not react with the cleaning species. The substrate support cover protects the substrate support from reacting with the cleaning species, leading to reduced condensation formed on chamber components, which in turn leads to reduced contamination of the substrate in subsequent processes.

Substrate support cover for high-temperature corrosive environment

Exemplary semiconductor processing chambers may include a substrate support positioned within a processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber. The chamber may include a lid plate. The chamber may include a gasbox positioned between the lid plate and the substrate support. The gasbox may be characterized by a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. The gasbox may define a central aperture. The gasbox may define an annular channel in the first surface of the gasbox extending about the central aperture through the gasbox. The gasbox may include an annular cover extending across the annular channel defined in the first surface of the gasbox. The chamber may include a blocker plate positioned between the gasbox and the substrate support. The chamber may include a ferrite block positioned between the lid plate and the blocker plate.

Lid stack for high frequency processing

Examples disclosed herein relate to a method and apparatus for cleaning and repairing a substrate support having a heater disposed therein. A method includes (a) cleaning a surface of a substrate support having a bulk layer, the substrate support is disposed in a processing environment configured to process substrates. The cleaning process includes forming a plasma at a high temperature from a cleaning gas mixture having a fluorine containing gas and oxygen. The method includes (b) removing oxygen radicals from the processing environment with a treatment plasma formed from a treatment gas mixture. The treatment gas mixture includes the fluorine containing gas. The method further includes (c) repairing an interface of the substrate support and the bulk layer with a post-treatment plasma. The post-treatment plasma is formed from a post-treatment gas mixture including a nitrogen containing gas. The high temperature is greater than or equal to about 500 degrees Celsius.

High-temperature chamber and chamber component cleaning and maintenance method and apparatus

A method includes receiving measurement data from multiple sensors positioned along a delivery line that delivers a liquid as a gas to one of a gas panel or a processing chamber; simulating, using a computer-generated model, one or more process parameters associated with the delivery line and a plurality of heater jackets positioned around the delivery line; comparing the measurement data with values of the one or more process parameters; and determining, based on at least a threshold deviation between the measurement data and the values of the one or more process parameters, that a fault exists that is associated with maintaining temperature within the delivery line consistent with a gaseous state of the liquid.

Parameter sensing and computer modeling for gas delivery health monitoring

An apparatus for plasma processing of substrates is disclosed. A plasma processing chamber is provided which includes a chamber body and a lid. The lid includes a faceplate coupled to a backing plate. The faceplate and the backing plate are disposed within a processing volume defined by the chamber body and the lid. One or more ferrite blocks are coupled to the backing plate to modulate an electromagnetic field created by an RF current from an RF generator. A gas feed assembly including a gas source, a remote plasma source, and a zero field feed through are coupled to, and in fluid communication with, the processing volume through the backing plate and faceplate.

Reactor design for large-area VHF plasma processing with improved uniformity

Methods and apparatus for detecting ultraviolet light are provided herein. For example, an ultraviolet (UV) process chamber includes a vacuum window or a transparent showerhead; a UV light source disposed above one of the vacuum window or the transparent showerhead and configured to generate and transmit UV light into a process volume of the UV process chamber; and a first UV sensor configured to measure at least one of emissivity from the UV light source or irradiance of the UV light transmitted into the process volume and to transmit a signal corresponding to a measured at least one of emissivity from the UV light source or irradiance of the UV light to a controller coupled to the UV process chamber during operation.

In-situ light detection methods and apparatus for ultraviolet semiconductor substrate processing

A method and apparatus for forming a backside coating on a substrate to counteract stresses from a previously deposited film is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method for flattening a bowed substrate includes providing a substrate having a film stack formed on a first major surface thereof, wherein the substrate comprises a bowed orientation, and forming a coating a second major surface of the substrate, wherein the coating is configured to counter stresses produced by the film stack and flattens the substrate from the bowed orientation.

Methods and apparatus to eliminate wafer bow for CVD and patterning HVM systems

In one embodiment, a chamber is provided that includes a chamber body and a lid defining an interior volume, a frame within the interior volume, the frame sized to receive a plurality of substrates in a first orientation, and a rotational drive assembly coupled to the frame for rotating the frame and flipping each of the plurality of substrates to a second orientation that is different than the first orientation.

Exchange and flip chamber design for heterojunction solar cell formation

An apparatus for integrating metrology and method for using the same are disclosed. The apparatus includes a multi-chamber system having a transfer chamber, a deposition chamber, an etch chamber and a metrology chamber, and a robot configured to transfer a substrate between the deposition chamber or etch chamber and the metrology chamber.

Multi-function x-ray metrology tool for production inspection/monitoring of thin films and multidimensional structures

The present disclosure generally relates to an improved method for forming low resistivity crystalline silicon films for display devices. The processing chamber in which the low resistivity crystalline silicon film is formed is pressurized to a predetermined pressure and a radio frequency power at a predetermined power level is delivered to the processing chamber. In addition, feeding locations of one or more VHF power generator and controlling of each VHF power generator via phase modulation and sweeping allows for plasma uniformity improvements by compensating for the non-uniformity of the thin film patterns produced by the chamber, due to the standing wave effect. Diffuser plate having two curved surfaces helps improve crystallinity uniformity.

Methods and apparatus for uniformly and high-rate depositing low resistivity microcrystalline silicon films for display devices

A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a first TCO layer disposed on a substrate, a second TCO layer disposed on the first TCO layer, and a p-type silicon containing layer formed on the second TCO layer. In another embodiment, a method of forming a photovoltaic device includes forming a first TCO layer on a substrate, forming a second TCO layer on the first TCO layer, and forming a first p-i-n junction on the second TCO layer.

High quality TCO-silicon interface contact structure for high efficiency thin film silicon solar cells

A method for fabricating a semiconductor layer within a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) apparatus. The PECVD apparatus includes a plurality of walls defining a processing region, a substrate support, a shadow frame, a gas distribution showerhead, a gas source in fluid communication with the gas distribution showerhead and the processing region, a radio frequency power source coupled to the gas distribution showerhead, and one or more VHF grounding straps electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of walls. The VHF grounding straps provide a low-impedance current path between at least one of the plurality of walls and at least one of a shadow frame or the substrate support. The method further includes delivering a semiconductor precursor gas and a dopant precursor gas and delivering a very high frequency (VHF) power to generate a plasma to form a first layer on the one or more substrates.

Method and apparatus for fabricating silicon heterojunction solar cells

A method and apparatus for forming solar cells is provided. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device includes a antireflection coating layer disposed on a first surface of a substrate, a barrier layer disposed on a second surface of the substrate, a first transparent conductive oxide layer disposed on the barrier layer, a conductive contact layer disposed on the first transparent conductive oxide layer, a first p-i-n junction formed on the conductive contact layer, and a second transparent conductive oxide layer formed on the first p-i-n junction.

Method of manufacturing thin film solar cells having a high conversion efficiency

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Shuran Sheng