Axcelis Technologies, Inc.

Steve Drummond

William Davis Lee

William F DiVergilio

Dale K Stone

Ashwin Madhukar Purohit

Kan Ota

Stanley W Stone

Dave Broyer

An ion implantation system provides ions to a workpiece positioned in a process environment of a process chamber on a sub-ambient temperature chuck. An intermediate chamber having an intermediate environment is in fluid communication with an external environment and has a cooling station and heating station for cooling and heating the workpiece. A load lock chamber is provided between the process chamber and intermediate chamber to isolate the process environment from the intermediate environment. A positive pressure source provides a dry gas within the intermediate chamber at dew point that is less than a dew point of the external environment to the intermediate chamber. The positive pressure source isolates the intermediate environment from the external environment via a flow of the dry gas from the intermediate chamber to the external environment.

Inert atmospheric pressure pre-chill and post-heat

An end station for an ion implantation system is provided, wherein the end station comprises a process chamber configured to receive an ion beam. A load lock chamber is coupled to the process chamber and configured to selectively introduce a workpiece into the process chamber. An electrostatic chuck within the process chamber is configured to selectively translate through the ion beam, and a shield within the process chamber is configured to selectively cover at least a portion of a clamping surface of the electrostatic chuck to protect the clamping surface from one or more contaminants associated with the ion beam. A docking station within the process chamber selectively retains the shield, and a transfer mechanism is configured to transfer a workpiece between the load lock chamber and the electrostatic chuck, and to transfer the shield between the docking station and the clamping surface of the electrostatic chuck.

Electrostatic chuck shielding mechanism

A workpiece scanning system is provided having a scan arm that rotates about a first axis and a chilled end effector rotatably coupled to the scan arm about a second axis for selectively securing a workpiece. The chilled end effector has a clamping plate and one or more cooling mechanisms for cooling the clamping plate. A bearing is positioned along the second axis and rotatably couples the end effector to the scan arm, and a seal is positioned along the second axis to provide a pressure barrier between an external environment and an internal environment. One or more of the bearing and seal can have a ferrofluid associated therewith. A heater assembly is positioned proximate to the bearing and seal, wherein the heater assembly selectively provides a predetermined amount of heat to the bearing and seal, therein increasing a propensity of the end effector to rotate about the second axis.

Heated rotary seal and bearing for chilled ion implantation system

The present invention is directed to a system and a method for peeling a wafer off of an electrostatic clamp (ESC). The ESC removal system comprises a electrostatic clamp and a wafer electrically coupled and physically in contact with each other. A plurality of grippers or pins are arranged with respect to the wafer and the ESC to allow the wafer to be peeled off or removed section by section from the electrostatic clamp. The system and method allow the wafer to be removed with a much lower pull force than current systems and methods.

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Merrimac, MA, United States of America

Steve Drummond