Isolated volume seals and method of forming an isolated volume within a processing chamber
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955355
A method and apparatus for substrate processing and a cluster tool including a transfer chamber assembly and a plurality of processing assemblies. Processing chamber volumes are sealed from the transfer chamber volume using a support chuck on which a substrate is disposed. A seal ring assembly is coupled to the support chuck. The seal ring assembly includes an inner assembly, an assembly bellows circumscribing the inner assembly, and a bellows disposed between the inner and outer…
OLED light field architectures
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11956994
The present disclosure is generally related to 3D imaging capable OLED displays. A light field display comprises an array of 3D light field pixels, each of which comprises an array of corrugated OLED pixels, a metasurface layer disposed adjacent to the array of 3D light field pixels, and a plurality of median layers disposed between the metasurface layer and the corrugated OLED pixels. Each of the corrugated OLED pixels comprises primary or non-primary color subpixels, and produces a…
Techniques and device structure based upon directional seeding and selective deposition
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11956978
In one embodiment, a method of selectively forming a deposit may include providing a substrate, the substrate having a plurality of surface features, extending at a non-zero angle of inclination with respect to a perpendicular to a plane of the substrate. The method may include directing a reactive beam to the plurality of surface features, the reactive beam defining a non-zero angle of incidence with respect to a perpendicular to the plane of the substrate, wherein a seed layer is…
Methods and apparatus for controlling RF parameters at multiple frequencies
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11956883
A method and apparatus for controlling RF plasma attributes is disclosed. Some embodiments of the disclosure provide RF sensors within processing chambers operable at high temperatures. Some embodiments provide methods of measuring RF plasma attributes using RF sensors within a processing chamber to provide feedback control for an RF generator.
Ion implantation to reduce nanosheet gate length variation
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955533
Approaches herein decrease nanosheet gate length variations by implanting a gate layer material with ions prior to etching. A method may include forming a dummy gate structure over a nanosheet stack, the dummy gate structure including a hardmask atop a gate material layer, and removing a portion of the hardmask to expose a first area and a second area of the gate material layer. The method may further include implanting the dummy gate structure to modify the first and second areas of the…
Reverse selective etch stop layer
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955382
Methods and apparatus for forming a reverse selective etch stop layer are disclosed. Some embodiments of the disclosure provide interconnects with lower resistance than methods which utilize non-selective (e.g., blanket) etch stop layers. Some embodiments of the disclosure utilize reverse selective etch stop layers within a subtractive etch scheme. Some embodiments of the disclosure selectively deposit the etch stop layer by passivating the surface of the metal material.
Low-temperature plasma pre-clean for selective gap fill
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955381
Methods for pre-cleaning substrates having metal and dielectric surfaces are described. A temperature of a pedestal comprising a cooling feature on which a substrate is located is set to less than or equal to 100° C. The substrate is exposed to a plasma treatment to remove chemical residual and/or impurities from features of the substrate including a metal bottom, dielectric sidewalls, and/or a field of dielectric and/or repair surface defects in the dielectric sidewalls and/or the…
Substrate support for reduced damage substrate backside
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955362
Embodiments of substrate supports and process chambers equipped with the same are provided. In some embodiments, a substrate support includes: a support body having a first surface; one or more receptacles extending through the first surface and into the support body; and one or more protrusions respectively disposed within corresponding ones of the one or more receptacles and projecting from the first surface, wherein the one or more protrusions at least partially define a substantially…
Electrostatic chuck with mesas
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955361
Electrostatic chucks (ESCs) for plasma processing chambers, and methods of fabricating ESCs, are described. In an example, a substrate support assembly includes a ceramic top plate having a top surface with a processing region. One or more electrodes is within the ceramic top plate. A plurality of mesas is within the processing region and on the top surface of the ceramic plate or vertically over an edge of one of the one or more electrodes.
Model-based failure mitigation for semiconductor processing systems
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955358
A method of detecting failure causes in semiconductor processing systems may include receiving an indication of a failure in a semiconductor processing system and providing the indication of the failure as a query to a network representing the semiconductor processing system. The network may include nodes representing on-wafer effects and component functions, and relationships between the nodes that represent causal dependencies between the component functions and the on-wafer effects.…
Treatments to enhance material structures
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955332
A method of forming a high-? dielectric cap layer on a semiconductor structure formed on a substrate includes depositing the high-? dielectric cap layer on the semiconductor structure, depositing a sacrificial silicon cap layer on the high-? dielectric cap layer, performing a post cap anneal process to harden and densify the as-deposited high-? dielectric cap layer, and removing the sacrificial silicon cap layer.
Method of forming silicon nitride films using microwave plasma
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955331
Embodiments includes methods for forming a silicon nitride film on a substrate in a deposition chamber. In embodiments, the substrate is sequentially exposed to a sequence of processing gases, comprising: a silicon halide precursor that absorbs onto a surface of the substrate to form an absorbed layer of the silicon halide, a first reacting gas that includes N2 and one or both of Ar and He, and a second reacting gas comprising a hydrogen-containing gas and one or more of Ar, He, and N2.…
Ash rate recovery method in plasma strip chamber
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11955318
A method for recovering ashing rate in a plasma processing chamber includes positioning a substrate in a processing volume of a processing chamber, wherein the substrate has a silicon chloride residue formed thereon. The method further includes evaporating the silicon chloride residue from the substrate. The method further includes depositing the evaporated silicon chloride on one or more interior surfaces in the processing volume. The method further includes exposing the deposited…
Backpressure monitoring apparatus
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11953390
Exemplary backpressure monitoring apparatuses may include a fluid supply source having a fluid port. The backpressure monitoring apparatuses may include a flow control mechanism fluidly coupled with the fluid port. The backpressure monitoring apparatuses may include a delivery tube fluidly coupled with the flow control mechanism and the fluid port. The backpressure monitoring apparatuses may include a pressure differential gauge fluidly coupled with the delivery tube. The pressure…
Geometry based three dimensional reconstruction of a semiconductor specimen by solving an optimization problem, using at least two SEM images acquired at different illumination angles
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11953316
There is provided a system and a method comprising obtaining a first (respectively second) image of an area of the semiconductor specimen acquired by an electron beam examination tool at a first (respectively second) illumination angle, determining a plurality of height values informative of a height profile of the specimen in the area, the determination comprising solving an optimization problem which comprises a plurality of functions, each function being representative of a difference…
Electromagnet pulsing effect on PVD step coverage
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11952655
Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, a physical vapor deposition processing chamber comprises a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed within the processing volume and comprising a substrate support surface configured to support a substrate, a power supply configured to energize a target for sputtering material toward the substrate, an electromagnet operably coupled to the chamber body and positioned to form…
Polishing pads with interconnected pores
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11951590
Embodiments herein generally relate to polishing pads and methods of forming polishing pads. A polishing pad includes a plurality of polishing elements and a plurality of grooves disposed between the polishing elements. Each polishing element includes a plurality of individual posts. Each post includes an individual surface that forms a portion of a polishing surface of the polishing pad and one or more sidewalls extending downwardly from the individual surface. The sidewalls of the…
Wafer edge asymmetry correction using groove in polishing pad
Granted: April 9, 2024
Patent Number:
11951589
A chemical mechanical polishing system includes a platen to hold a polishing pad, a carrier head to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing pad, and a controller. The polishing pad has a polishing control groove. The carrier is laterally movable by a first actuator across the polishing pad and rotatable by a second actuator. The controller synchronizes lateral oscillation of the carrier head with rotation of the carrier head such that over a plurality of successive…
Steam oxidation initiation for high aspect ratio conformal radical oxidation
Granted: April 2, 2024
Patent Number:
11948791
A substrate oxidation assembly includes: a chamber body defining a processing volume; a substrate support disposed in the processing volume; a plasma source coupled to the processing volume; a steam source fluidly coupled to the processing volume; and a substrate heater. A method of processing a semiconductor substrate includes: initiating conformal radical oxidation of high aspect ratio structures of the substrate comprising: heating the substrate; and exposing the substrate to steam;…
Minority carrier lifetime reduction for SiC IGBT devices
Granted: April 2, 2024
Patent Number:
11948799
Provided here are methods and manufacturing systems to implant protons into SiC IGBT devices at multiple depths in the drift layer of the SiC IGBT device. Provides are SiC IGBT devices manufactured with process steps including multiple proton implant processes where the SiC IGBT device is irradiated with ion to affect proton implantation into the SiC IGBT device at multiple depths in the drift region to reduced minority carrier lifetime.
