The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 18, 2006
Filed:
May. 14, 2004
Donald G. Allen, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Richard Jule Contreras, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Feldbaum, San Jose, CA (US);
Dominic Frank Truchetta, Livermore, CA (US);
Donald G. Allen, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Richard Jule Contreras, San Jose, CA (US);
Michael Feldbaum, San Jose, CA (US);
Dominic Frank Truchetta, Livermore, CA (US);
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands, B.V., Amsterdam, NL;
Abstract
To remove unwanted electrostatic charge from a substrate or substrate clamping mechanism in a plasma processing chamber following the plasma processing of the substrate, the process of shutting down the RF power supply is altered. Specifically, the present invention is a stepped RF power shut down sequence in which the RF power is lowered in a first step from full power to approximately 5 to 10 watts for a short period of time, such as approximately 1 second, and thereafter the RF power is turned off. As a result of this RF power shut down sequence, with its intermediate step, the plasma during the intermediate step acts to neutralize or discharge the electrostatic charge that has built up upon the wafer and/or clamping mechanism during full power operation. When the electrostatic charge has been removed, the wafer sticking problem is resolved.