Applied Materials, Inc.

Applied Material, Inc.

Zhepeng Cong

Schubert S Chu

Nyi O Myo

Zhiyuan Ye

Tao Sheng

Kartik Bhupendra Shah

Ashur J Atanos

Paul Brillhart

Ala Moradian

Zuoming Zhu

Richard Omar Collins

Xuebin Li

Balasubramanian Ramachandran

Anzhong Chang

Kin Pong Lo

Edric Tong

Kevin Joseph Bautista

Anhthu Ngo

Yi-Chiau Huang

James Francis Mack

Enle Choo

Nimrod Smith

Vinh N Tran

Shu-Kwan Danny Lau

Kailash Kiran Patalay

Jean Rene Vatus

Xinning Luan

Patricia M Liu

Khokan Chandra Paul

Hui Chen

Jenny Lin

Flora Fong-Song Chang

Vilen K Nestorov

Bindusagar Marath Sankarathodi

Surendra Singh Srivastava

Maxim Shaposhnikov

Errol Antonio C Sanchez

Todd J Egan

John Tolle

Mehmet Tugrul Samir

Lori D Washington

Martin Jeffrey Salinas

Edward W Budiarto

Errol C Sanchez

Karthik Ramanathan

Leonid Mark Tertitski

Saurabh Chopra

Kim Ramkumar Vellore

Surajit Kumar

Nitin Pathak

Masato Ishii

Shay Assaf

Manish Hemkar

Kirk Allen Fisher

Shaofeng Chen

Shawn Thomas

Yong Zheng

Avinash Ishwar Shervegar

Mostafa Baghbanzadeh

Balakrishnam R Jampana

Shawn Joseph Bonham

James M Amos

Philip Michael Amos

Aimee S Erhardt

Matthew Gabriel Goodman

Huy D Nguyen

Embodiments described herein relate to a susceptor kit. The susceptor kit includes a susceptor support plate including a plurality of susceptor lift pin holes and a plurality of susceptor support holes, a plurality of susceptor supports recessed within the plurality of susceptor support holes and coupled to the susceptor support plate, and a lift pin assembly. The plurality of susceptor supports receive a plurality of susceptor support pins. The support body supports the support pin link in a spaced apart relation to the susceptor support plate. The lift pin assembly is received in the plurality of susceptor lift pin holes. The lift pin assembly includes a lift pin cap and a susceptor lift pin comprising a susceptor stop plate. The susceptor support plate stop is receivable within the susceptor lift pin holes.

Thickness uniformity improvement kit for thermally sensitive epitaxial processing

A susceptor for processing a substrate is provided including a base and a coating formed over the base. The base includes an outer rim having an inner edge, an outer edge, and a top connecting the inner edge to the outer edge; and an inner dish disposed inside the outer rim and coupled to the outer rim, the inner dish recessed from the top of the outer rim, the inner dish having a front side and an opposing back side. The coating has an outer surface that includes a first portion formed over the front side of the inner dish. The first portion of the outer surface of the coating includes a first region and a second region, the first region has a first average level of roughness, the second region has a second average level of roughness.

Susceptor improvement

A substrate support assembly and processing chamber having the same are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a substrate support assembly is provided that includes a body. The body has a center, an outer perimeter connecting a substrate support surface and a backside surface. The body additionally has a pocket disposed on the substrate support surface at the center and a lip disposed between the pocket and the outer perimeter. A layer is formed in the pocket of the substrate support surface. A plurality of discrete islands are disposed in the layer, wherein the discrete islands are disposed about a center line extending perpendicular from the substrate support surface.

Layer with discrete islands formed on a substrate support

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to modular flow chamber kits, processing chambers, and related apparatus and methods applicable for semiconductor manufacturing. In one or more embodiments, a processing chamber includes a chamber body at least partially defining a processing volume. The chamber body includes a plurality of inject passages arranged in a plurality of flow levels, and one or more exhaust passages formed in the chamber body. The processing chamber includes one or more heat sources operable to heat the processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, and a plate spaced from the substrate support. The substrate support and the plate are movable by at least one flow level of the plurality of flow levels to align the substrate support between one or more first inject passages of a first flow level and one or more second inject passages of a second flow level.

Modular flow chamber kits, processing chambers, and related apparatus and methods applicable for semiconductor manufacturing

In one implementation, a method of monitoring film thickness on a substrate, comprises: generating light from a light source; collimating the light from the light source to form a collimated beam; reflecting the collimated beam off of a surface to be measured to produce a reflected beam; splitting the reflected beam with a dichroic mirror, wherein the reflected beam splits into a first beam and a second beam; receiving, by a pyrometer, the first beam from the dichroic mirror; receiving, by a spectrometer, the second beam from the dichroic mirror; and analyzing data derived from the pyrometer and the spectrometer to determine one or more characteristics of the surface to be measured.

In-situ reflectometry for real-time process control

The present disclosure relates to flow guides, process kits, and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability. In one implementation, a flow guide includes a middle plate having a first side and a second side opposing the first side along a first direction. The first side and the second side are arcuate. The flow guide includes a first flange extending outwardly relative to a third side of the middle plate and outwardly relative to an outer face of the middle plate, and a second flange extending outwardly relative to a fourth side of the middle plate and outwardly relative to the outer face of the middle plate. The fourth side opposes the third side along a second direction that intersects the first direction. The flow guide includes a rectangular flow opening defined between the first flange and the second flange.

Process kits and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability

Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to methods, systems, and apparatus for monitoring radiation output of lamps of processing chambers. In some embodiments, a system contains a plurality of lamps coupled to a chamber, and one or more radiation sensors. Each lamp is identified with one or more zones, the radiation sensors are coupled to the chamber, where each radiation sensor is proximal at least one lamp. A controller contains instructions that, when executed, cause: the radiation sensors to convey, to the controller, information associated with radiation emitted by the lamps; the controller to analyze the information, the analyzing including: for each zone: determining a function of radiation over time; and monitoring the function for a condition associated with lamp aging; and the controller to, based on the analyzing the information, perform at least one of the following: vary input power delivered to the lamps; and generate an alert.

Methods, systems, and apparatus for monitoring radiation output of lamps

A process chamber is provided including a chamber body enclosing an interior volume and a substrate support assembly in the interior volume. The substrate support assembly includes a substrate support having a substrate receiving surface, an upper plate, and a lower plate, the upper plate positioned over the substrate support. The substrate support is positioned over and spaced apart from the lower plate.

Process chamber

In one embodiment, a susceptor for thermal processing is provided. The susceptor includes an outer rim surrounding and coupled to an inner dish, the outer rim having an inner edge and an outer edge. The susceptor further includes one or more structures for reducing a contacting surface area between a substrate and the susceptor when the substrate is supported by the susceptor. At least one of the one or more structures is coupled to the inner dish proximate the inner edge of the outer rim.

Thermal processing susceptor

A method and apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates is described herein. The apparatus includes one or more growth monitors disposed within an exhaust system of a deposition chamber. The growth monitors are quartz crystal film thickness monitors and are configured to measure the film thickness grown on the growth monitors while a substrate is being processed within the deposition chamber. The growth monitors are connected to a controller, which adjusts the heating apparatus and gas flow apparatus settings during the processing operations. Measurements from the growth monitors as well as other sensors within the deposition chamber are used to adjust processing chamber models of the deposition chamber as substrates are processed therein.

In-situ epi growth rate control of crystal thickness micro-balancing sensor

Embodiments disclosed herein generally provide improved control of gas flow in processing chambers. In at least one embodiment, a liner for a processing chamber includes an annular body having a sidewall and a vent formed in the annular body for exhausting gas from inside to outside the annular body. The vent comprises one or more vent holes disposed through the sidewall. The liner further includes an opening in the annular body for substrate loading and unloading.

Overlap susceptor and preheat ring

The present disclosure relates to flow guides, process kits, and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability. In one implementation, a flow guide applicable for use in semiconductor manufacturing, includes a plate having a first face and a second face opposing the first face. The flow guide includes a first fin set extending from the second face, and a second fin set extending from the second face. The second fin set is spaced from the first fin set to define a flow path between the first fin set and the second fin set. The flow path has a serpentine pattern between the first fin set and the second fin set.

A method and apparatus for determining a growth rate on a semiconductor substrate is described herein. The apparatus is an optical sensor, such as an optical growth rate sensor. The optical sensor is positioned in an exhaust of a deposition chamber. The optical sensor is self-heated using one or more internal heating elements, such as a resistive heating element. The internal heating elements are configured to heat a sensor coupon. A film is formed on the sensor coupon by exhaust gases flowed through the exhaust and is correlated to film growth on a substrate within a process volume of the deposition chamber.

EPI self-heating sensor tube as in-situ growth rate sensor

An apparatus, method, and system for identifying and obtaining information related to a substrate support and/or a pre-heat ring in a process chamber via imaging and image processing. In an embodiment, a substrate support is provided. The substrate support generally includes a top surface configured to receive a substrate in a process chamber and a marking feature disposed on the top surface of the substrate support, the marking feature configured to be detectable by an imaging apparatus coupled to the process chamber to provide information related to the substrate support via imaging when the substrate support is disposed within the process chamber.

Detection and analysis of substrate support and pre-heat ring in a process chamber via imaging

The present disclosure relates to flow guides, process kits, and related methods for processing chambers to facilitate deposition process adjustability. In one implementation, a process kit for disposition in a processing chamber applicable for use in semiconductor manufacturing includes a plate having a first face and a second face opposing the first face. The process kit includes a liner. The liner includes an annular section, and one or more ledges extending inwardly relative to the annular section. The one or more ledges are configured to support one or more outer regions of the second face of the plate. The liner includes one or more inlet openings extending to an inner surface of the annular section on a first side of the liner, and one or more outlet openings extending to the inner surface of the annular section on a second side of the liner.

Growing community of inventors

Vancouver, WA, United States of America

Zhepeng Cong