Applied Materials, Inc.

Yeuk-Fai Edwin Mok

Dmitry Lubomirsky

Michael Xiaoxuan Yang

Yan Ye

Girish Anant Dixit

Son Truong Nguyen

Donald J Olgado

Howard E Grunes

Donald J K Olgado

Allen L D'Ambra

Joseph Stevens

Ian A Pancham

Bernardo Donoso

Danny D Wang

James E Sammons, Iii

Allan D'Ambra

Tetsuya Ishikawa

Avi Tepman

Alexander N Lerner

Ming Xi

Harald Herchen

Arnold Kholodenko

Arulkumar P Shanmugasundram

Senh Thach

Anh Ngoc Nguyen

Vincent E Burkhart

Henry Ho

Lily L Pang

Joe Stevens

Russell C Ellwanger

Brigitte C Stoehr

Yevgeniy Rabinovich

Mark Wiltse

Dennis Koosau

Svetlana Sherman

Frank C Ma

Richard E Remington

Eric B Britcher

Erwin Polar

Alex Ko

Paul Exline

Richard E Remmington

Vincent E Burkhardt

A substrate-handling robot which serves a processing tool such as a plating tool may be automatically controlled by a controller to perform a self-calibration procedure. As part of the procedure, an end effector of the robot is moved to interact with sensors provided on a calibration fixture that is positioned in a substrate placement location for which the calibration procedure is performed. The calibration fixture may have an opening formed therein to allow movement of the robot end effector within the calibration fixture. Sensor light beams generated by the sensors may interact with the end effector during the automatic calibration process so as to determine calibration data for the substrate placement location.

Method and apparatus for self-calibration of a substrate handling robot

Embodiments of the invention generally provide an annealing apparatus and method for a semiconductor processing platform. The annealing apparatus includes a plurality of isolated annealing chambers, wherein each of the annealing chambers has a heating plate positioned in a sealed processing volume, a cooling plate positioned in the processing volume, and a substrate transfer mechanism positioned in the processing volume and configured to transfer substrates between the heating plate and the cooling plate. The annealing system further includes a gas supply source selectively in communication with each of the individual annealing chambers.

Two position anneal chamber

Embodiments of the invention generally provide an electrochemical plating system. The plating system includes a substrate loading station positioned in communication with a mainframe processing platform, at least one substrate plating cell positioned on the mainframe, at least one substrate bevel cleaning cell positioned on the mainframe, and a stacked substrate annealing station positioned in communication with at least one of the mainframe and the loading station, each chamber in the stacked substrate annealing station having a heating plate, a cooling plate, and a substrate transfer robot therein.

Multi-chemistry plating system

An apparatus and a method of depositing a catalytic layer comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of noble metals, semi-noble metals, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof in sub-micron features formed on a substrate. Examples of noble metals include palladium and platinum. Examples of semi-noble metals include cobalt, nickel, and tungsten. The catalytic layer may be deposited by electroless deposition, electroplating, or chemical vapor deposition. In one embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited in the feature to act as a barrier layer to a subsequently deposited conductive material. In another embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited over a barrier layer. In yet another embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited over a seed layer deposited over the barrier layer to act as a 'patch' of any discontinuities in the seed layer. Once the catalytic layer has been deposited, a conductive material, such as copper, may be deposited over the catalytic layer. In one embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroless deposition. In another embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroless deposition followed by electroplating or followed by chemical vapor deposition. In still another embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroplating or by chemical vapor deposition.

Electroless deposition apparatus

A method for cleaning the electrical contact areas or substrate contact areas of an electrochemical plating contact ring is provided. Embodiments of the method include positioning a substrate on a substrate support member having one or more electrical contacts, chemically plating a metal layer on at least a portion of a surface of the substrate, removing the processed substrate from the support member, and cleaning the one or more electrical contacts with a vapor mixture comprising an alcohol. In another aspect, the method includes spraying the vapor mixture on the electrical contacts while rotating the substrate support member.

Method for removing electrolyte from electrical contacts and wafer touching areas

A method and apparatus for plating substrates, wherein the apparatus includes a central substrate transfer enclosure having at least one substrate transfer robot positioned therein. A substrate activation chamber in communication with the central substrate transfer enclosure is provided and is accessible to the at least one substrate transfer robot. A substrate plating chamber in communication with the central substrate transfer enclosure is provided and is accessible to the at least one substrate transfer robot. A substrate spin rinse dry chamber in communication with the central substrate transfer enclosure is provided and is accessible to the at least one substrate transfer robot, and an annealing chamber in communication with the central substrate transfer enclosure is provided and is accessible to the at least one substrate transfer robot. At least one substrate pod loader in communication with the substrate transfer chamber and accessible to the at least one substrate transfer robot is also provided.

Electroless plating system

An apparatus for and method of rinsing one side of a two-sided substrate and removing unwanted material from the substrate's edge and/or backside. One embodiment of the method is directed toward rinsing and cleaning a substrate having a front side upon which integrated circuits are to be formed and a backside. This embodiment includes dropping the substrate front side down onto a pool of rinsing liquid in a manner such that the front side of the substrate is in contact with the solution while the substrate is held in suspension by the surface tension of the solution liquid thereby preventing the backside of the substrate from sinking under an upper surface of the pool. Next, while the substrate is in suspension in said rinsing liquid, the substrate is secured by its edge with a first set of fingers and in some embodiments the substrate is subsequently spun. In another embodiment, a method of forming a copper layer on a front side of a substrate is disclosed. The method includes plating the copper layer over the front side of the substrate in a plating device and then transferring the substrate from the plating device to rinsing and cleaning station. At the rinsing and cleaning station, the substrate is dropped front side down onto a pool of rinsing liquid so that the surface tension of the liquid holds the substrate in suspension thereby preventing the backside of said substrate from sinking under an upper surface of the pool and then, while the substrate is suspended in the pool, it is secured with a first set of fingers.

Apparatus for wafer rinse and clean and edge etching

A method and apparatus for supporting and transferring a substrate in a semiconductor wafer processing system. In one aspect, a support ring having one or more substrate support members mounted thereon and defining a central opening therein for receipt of a substrate support member during processing is disclosed. In another aspect, a substrate handler blade having a plurality of substrate supports disposed thereon is provided which is adapted to support a substrate thereon and effectuate substrate transfer between the substrate handler blade and the support ring.

Method and apparatus for transferring and supporting a substrate

The present invention provides an apparatus for etching a substrate, comprising: a container; a substrate support disposed in the container; a rotation actuator attached to the substrate support; and a fluid delivery assembly disposed in the container to deliver an etchant to a peripheral portion of a substrate disposed on the substrate support. Preferably, the substrate support comprises a vacuum chuck and the fluid delivery assembly comprises one or more nozzles. The invention also provide a method for etching a substrate, comprising: rotating a substrate positioned on a rotatable substrate support; and delivering an etchant to a peripheral portion of the substrate. Preferably, the substrate is rotated at between about 100 rpm and about 1000 rpm, and the etchant is delivered in a direction that is substantially tangent to the peripheral portion of the substrate at an incident angle between about 0 degrees and about 45 degrees from a surface of substrate.

Edge bead removal/spin rinse dry (EBR/SRD) module

A semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and more specifically, a semiconductor substrate support pedestal having a substrate support, an isolator, and first and second heat transfer plates for providing a controllable, uniform temperature distribution across the diameter of a semiconductor wafer. A semiconductor wafer placed upon the pedestal is maintained uniformly at a predetermined temperature by heating the wafer with one or more electrodes embedded within the substrate support and cooling the wafer with a fluid passing through the first and second heat transfer plates.

Method and apparatus for thermal control of a semiconductor substrate

The present invention employs an internal inductive antenna capable of generating a helicon wave for generating a plasma. One embodiment of the present invention employs loop type antenna secured within a bell shaped portion of the chamber. Another embodiment employs a flat coil type antenna secured within the chamber. In the preferred embodiments, the internal antenna of the present invention is constructed to prevent sputtering of the antenna. The antenna may be formed of a non-sputtering conductive material, or may formed a conductive material surrounded, completely or partially, by a non-sputtering jacket. In one embodiment, the non-sputtering jacket may be coupled to the chamber wall so that heat generated by the antenna is transferred between the jacket and the chamber wall by conduction. Preferably, the non-sputtering jacket is formed of a material that also is electrically insulative with the surface of the antenna exposed to plasma being segmented to inhibit eddy current in conductive deposits. The gaps separate the exposed surface of the antennas so that conductive deposits are inhibited from electrically joining the separated surfaces, while inhibiting plasma generation within the gaps. A portion or all of the chamber wall may be constructed of electrically and thermally conductive material.

Plasma reactor with internal inductive antenna capable of generating helicon wave

The present invention employs a plurality of small inductive antennas to generate a processing plasma. In one embodiment, small coil antennas are secured within the chamber so that both of the pole regions of the antennas couple power to the plasma. The antennas may be oriented so that poles regions are anywhere from perpendicular, to parallel to a chamber wall. The number, location, and orientation of the small antennas within the chamber may be selected to optimize plasma characteristics. In addition, the antennas may be secured to top, side, or bottom walls to improve plasma characteristics; and power deposition within the processing chamber may be adjusted by changing the orientation of the coils, and the magnitude and phase relationship of RF power through the individual antennas. Process gas may be selectively delivered to areas of high power deposition such as adjacent pole regions or through the center of a coil or loop antenna to control plasma characteristics. In a preferred embodiment, the antennas are formed of a conductor surrounded by a non-sputtering, electrically insulating, thermally conductive jacket coupled to an electrically conductive chamber wall. The exposed surface of the jacket may be segmented to reduce eddy currents in conductive deposits.

Plasma reactor with multiple small internal inductive antennas

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Yeuk-Fai Edwin Mok