Applied Materials, Inc.

Other

Yogananda Sarode Vishwanath

Andrew Nguyen

Steven E Babayan

Andreas Schmid

Anand Kumar

Tom K Cho

Stephen Donald Prouty

Xue Chang

Kartik Ramaswamy

Kenneth S Collins

Shahid Rauf

Bradley J Howard

Andrew Antoine Noujaim

Michael Robert Rice

Rajinder Dhindsa

Michael D Willwerth

Ajit Balakrishna

Olivier Luere

Imad Yousif

Sunil Srinivasan

Denis M Koosau

Anilkumar Rayaroth

Chetan Naik

Balachandra Jatak Narayan

Srinivas D Nemani

Yang Yang

Jeffrey C Hudgens

John C Forster

Xianmin Tang

Tza-Jing Gung

Yu Lei

Leon Volfovski

Steven Lane

Phillip A Criminale

Douglas R McAllister

Tom K Choi

Jason Andrew Kenney

Helder T Lee

Alvaro Garcia De Gorordo

Nicholas Michael Kopec

Álvaro García De Gorordo

Abilash Sainath

In one example, a substrate support assembly having a cooling base that promotes temperature uniformity. In one embodiment, the cooling base has a top plate. The top plate has cooling channels formed therein. The cooling base has a middle plate. The middle plate has a cooling return plenum disposed on a middle layer. A plurality of islands are disposed in the cooling return plenum. The middle plate has a cooling supply plenum disposed below the middle layer. A plurality of cooling inlets are disposed through the islands and couple the cooling supply plenum to the cooling channels. Cooling outlets fluidly couple the cooling channels to the cooling return plenum. The cooling base has a bottom plate. The bottom plate has a cooling inlets fluidly coupled to cooling supply plenum and cooling outlets fluidly coupled to the cooling return plenum.

Cooling base for a substrate support

Apparatuses for substrate transfer are provided. A lift pin assembly can include a lift pin, a purge cylinder, and a lift pin guide. The lift pin guide is disposed adjacent the purge cylinder. The lift pin guide and the purge cylinder have a passage formed therethrough in which the lift pin is disposed. The purge cylinder includes one or more nozzles that direct the flow of gas radially inward into a portion of the passage disposed in the purge cylinder. The one or more nozzles are disposed radially outward from the lift pin. The purge cylinder reduces particle deposition on the substrate by preventing contact between the lift pin and the support assembly as the lift pin is in motion.

Lift pin assembly

A process kit enclosure system includes surfaces to enclose an interior volume, a first support structure including first fins, a second support structure including second fins, and a front interface to interface the process kit enclosure system with a load port of a wafer processing system. The first and second fins are sized and spaced to hold process kit ring carriers and process kit rings in the interior volume. Each of the process kit rings is secured to one of the process kit ring carriers. The process kit enclosure system enables first automated transfer of a first process kit ring carrier securing a first process kit ring from the process kit enclosure system into the wafer processing system and second automated transfer of a second process kit ring carrier securing a second process kit ring from the wafer processing system into the process kit enclosure system.

Process kit enclosure system

Embodiments of process kits for use in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process kit for use in a process chamber includes: a chamber liner having a tubular body with an upper portion and a lower portion; a confinement plate coupled to the lower portion of the chamber liner and extending radially inward from the chamber liner, wherein the confinement plate includes a plurality of slots; a shield ring disposed within the chamber liner and movable between the upper portion of the chamber liner and the lower portion of the chamber liner; and a plurality of ground straps coupled to the shield ring at a first end of each ground strap of the plurality of ground straps and to the confinement plate at a second end of each ground strap to maintain electrical connection between the shield ring and the chamber liner when the shield ring moves.

Metal oxide preclean chamber with improved selectivity and flow conductance

Apparatuses including a height-adjustable edge ring, and methods for use thereof are described herein. In one example, a process kit for processing a substrate is provided. The process kit has a support ring comprising an upper surface having an inner edge disposed at a first height and an outward edge disposed at a second height less than the first height, the inner edge having a greater thickness than the outward edge. An edge ring is disposed on the support ring, an inner surface of the edge ring interfaced with the inner edge of the support ring. A cover ring is disposed outward of the edge ring, the edge ring independently moveable relative to the support ring and the cover ring. Push pins are disposed inward of the cover ring, the push pins operable to elevate the edge ring while constraining radial movement of the support ring.

Wafer edge ring lifting solution

A diagnostic disc includes a disc body having a sidewall around a circumference of the disc body and at least one protrusion extending outwardly from a top of the sidewall. A non-contact sensor is attached to an underside of each of the at least one protrusion. A a printed circuit board (PCB) is positioned within an interior formed by the disc body. Circuitry is disposed on the PCB and coupled to each non-contact sensor, the circuitry including at least a wireless communication circuit, a memory, and a battery. A cover is positioned over the circuitry inside of the sidewall, wherein the cover seals the circuitry within the interior formed by the disc body from an environment outside of the disc body.

Detector for process kit ring wear

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatuses and methods for edge ring replacement in processing chambers. In one aspect, a carrier for supporting an edge ring is disclosed. In other aspects, robot blades for supporting a carrier are disclosed. In another aspect, a support structure for supporting a carrier in a degassing chamber is disclosed. In another aspect, a method of transferring an edge ring on a carrier is disclosed.

In-situ apparatus for semiconductor process module

Embodiments of symmetric flow valves for use in a substrate processing chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a symmetric flow valve includes a valve body having sidewalls, a bottom plate, and a top plate that together define an interior volume, wherein the top plate includes one or more axisymmetrically disposed openings; a poppet disposed in the interior volume, wherein the poppet includes a central opening and a plurality of portions configured to selectively seal the one or more axisymmetrically disposed openings of the top plate when the symmetric flow valve is in a closed position; and a first actuator coupled to the poppet to position the poppet within the interior volume in at least an open position, where the poppet is spaced apart from the top plate to allow flow through the one or more axisymmetrically disposed openings of the top plate, and the closed position.

Symmetric flow valve for flow conductance control

Process kits, processing chambers, and methods for processing a substrate are provided. The process kit includes an edge ring, a sliding ring, an adjustable tuning ring, and an actuating mechanism. The edge ring has a first ring component interfaced with a second ring component that is movable relative to the first ring component forming a gap therebetween. The sliding ring is positioned beneath the second ring component of the edge ring. The adjustable tuning ring is positioned beneath the sliding ring. The actuating mechanism is interfaced with the lower surface of the adjustable tuning ring and configured to actuate the adjustable tuning ring such that the gap between the first and second ring components is varied. In one or more examples, the sliding ring includes a matrix and a coating, the matrix contains an electrically conductive material and the coating contains an electrically insulting material.

Process kit with adjustable tuning ring for edge uniformity control

Embodiments described herein relate to a substrate support assembly. The substrate support assembly includes an ESC base assembly having a base channel disposed therein, a facility plate, the facility plate coupled to the ESC base assembly with a vacuum region therebetween, and a seal assembly. The seal assembly includes an upper flange coupled to the base channel of the ESC base assembly, the upper flange disposed in the facility plate, a lower flange coupled to the upper flange, the lower flange disposed in the facility plate, a gasket disposed between the upper flange and the lower flange, and an insulator tube coupled to the lower flange. A passage is connected to the base channel, the passage is defined by connected openings of the upper flange, the gasket, the lower flange, the insulator tube, and the base assembly.

Semiconductor processing with cooled electrostatic chuck

Embodiments described herein relate to a substrate support assembly which enables a cryogenic temperature operation of an electrostatic chuck (ESC) so that a substrate disposed thereon is maintained at a cryogenic processing temperature suitable for processing while other surfaces of a processing chamber are maintained at a different temperature. The substrate support assembly includes an electrostatic chuck (ESC), an ESC base assembly coupled to the ESC having a refrigerant channel disposed therein, and a facility plate having a coolant channel disposed therein. The facility plate includes a plate portion and a flange portion. The plate portion is coupled to the ESC base assembly and the flange portion coupled to the ESC with a seal assembly. A vacuum region is defined by the ESC, the ESC base assembly, the plate portion of the facility plate, the flange portion of the facility plate, and the seal assembly.

Cryogenic electrostatic chuck

Apparatuses including a height-adjustable edge ring, and methods for use thereof are described herein. In one example, a substrate support assembly includes a height-adjustable edge ring, and the substrate support assembly is located within a process chamber. The substrate support assembly includes an electrostatic chuck, an edge ring positioned on a portion of the electrostatic chuck, and one or more actuators to adjust the height of the edge ring via one or more push pins. The height-adjustable edge ring can be used to compensate for erosion of the edge ring over time. In addition, the height-adjustable edge ring can be removed from the process chamber via a slit valve opening without venting and opening the process chamber. The height-adjustable edge ring can be tilted by the one or more actuators in order to improve azimuthal uniformity at the edge of the substrate.

Embodiments described herein relate to a substrate support assembly which enables a cryogenic temperature operation of an electrostatic chuck (ESC) so that a substrate disposed thereon is maintained at a cryogenic processing temperature suitable for processing while other surfaces of a processing chamber are maintained at a different temperature. The substrate support assembly includes an electrostatic chuck (ESC), an ESC base assembly coupled to the ESC having a base channel disposed therein, and a facility plate having a facility channel disposed therein. The facility plate includes a plate portion and a wall portion. The plate portion is coupled to the ESC base assembly and the wall portion coupled to the ESC with a seal assembly. A vacuum region is defined by the ESC, the ESC base assembly, the plate portion of the facility plate, the wall portion of the facility plate, and the seal assembly.

Process kits, processing chambers, and methods for processing a substrate are provided. The process kit includes an edge ring, an adjustable tuning ring, and an actuating mechanism. The edge ring has a first ring component interfaced with a second ring component that is movable relative to the first ring component forming a gap therebetween. A lower surface of the second ring component contains an upper alignment coupling and an upper surface of the adjustable tuning ring contains a lower alignment coupling. The lower alignment coupling of the adjustable tuning ring is configured to mate with the upper alignment coupling of the second ring component to form an interface. The actuating mechanism is interfaced with the lower surface of the adjustable tuning ring. The actuating mechanism is configured to actuate the adjustable tuning ring such that the gap between the first ring component and the second ring component is varied.

Growing community of inventors

Bengaluru, India

Yogananda Sarode Vishwanath