Methods for Confinement of Foam Delivered by a Proximity Head
Granted: September 11, 2014
Application Number:
20140251382
A method suctions liquid from an upper surface of a substrate as the substrate is transported by a carrier under a head in a chamber. This operation is performed by the first section of the head. The method causes a first film of cleaning foam to flow onto the upper surface of the substrate as the substrate proceeds under the head. This operation is performed by a second section which is contiguous to the first section in the head. The method causes a second film of rinsing fluid to flow…
HYBRID EDGE RING FOR PLASMA WAFER PROCESSING
Granted: August 21, 2014
Application Number:
20140235063
An edge ring assembly is disclosed for use in a plasma processing chamber, which includes an RF conductive ring positioned on an annular surface of a base plate and configured to surround an upper portion of the baseplate and extend underneath an outer edge of a wafer positioned on the upper surface of the baseplate, and a wafer edge protection ring positioned above an upper surface of the RF conductive ring and configured to extend over the outer edge of the wafer. The protection ring…
DUCTILE MODE MACHINING METHODS FOR HARD AND BRITTLE COMPONENTS OF PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUSES
Granted: August 21, 2014
Application Number:
20140235061
A method of ductile mode machining a component of a plasma processing apparatus wherein the component is made of nonmetallic hard and brittle material wherein the method comprises single point turning the component with a diamond cutting tool causing a portion of the nonmetallic hard and brittle material to undergo a high pressure phase transformation to form a ductile phase portion of the hard and brittle material during chip formation wherein a turned surface is formed from a phase…
SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ION MILLING IN A PLASMA ETCH CHAMBER
Granted: August 21, 2014
Application Number:
20140235056
A system and method of ion milling performed in a plasma etch system including a plasma etch chamber, multiple process gas sources coupled to the plasma etch chamber, a radio frequency bias source and a controller. The plasma etch chamber including a substrate support. The substrate support being a non-pivoting and non-rotating substrate support. The substrate support capable of supporting a substrate to be processed on a top surface of the substrate support without use of a mechanical…
PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SURFACES OF WAFER-SHAPED ARTICLES
Granted: August 14, 2014
Application Number:
20140227884
An apparatus and method for processing wafer-shaped articles utilizes at least first and second liquid-dispensing nozzles, wherein a first liquid-dispensing nozzle is positioned closer to an axis of rotation than the second liquid-dispensing nozzle. A liquid supply system supplies heated process liquid to the nozzles such that process liquid dispensed from the first nozzle has a temperature that differs by an amount within a predetermined range from a temperature of process liquid…
METHOD OF MAKING A GAS DISTRIBUTION MEMBER FOR A PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER
Granted: August 14, 2014
Application Number:
20140227866
A method of making a Si containing gas distribution member for a semiconductor plasma processing chamber comprises forming a carbon member into an internal cavity structure of the Si containing gas distribution member. The method includes depositing Si containing material on the formed carbon member such that the Si containing material forms a shell around the formed carbon member. The Si containing shell is machined into the structure of the Si containing gas distribution member wherein…
THROUGH SILICON VIA METALLIZATION
Granted: August 7, 2014
Application Number:
20140217590
To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a method for filling through silicon vias is provided. A dielectric layer is formed over the through silicon vias. A barrier layer, comprising tungsten, is deposited by CVD or ALD over the dielectric layer. The through silicon vias are filled with a conductive material.
TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED WINDOW OF A PLASMA PROCESSING CHAMBER COMPONENT
Granted: August 7, 2014
Application Number:
20140217895
A temperature controlled dielectric window of an inductively coupled plasma processing chamber includes a dielectric window forming a top wall of the plasma processing chamber having at least first and second channels therein. A liquid circulating system includes a source of cold liquid circulating in a first closed loop which is not in fluid communication with the channels, a source of hot liquid circulating in a second closed loop which is in fluid communication with the channels, and…
CONTROLLING CD AND CD UNIFORMITY WITH TRIM TIME AND TEMPERATURE ON A WAFER BY WAFER BASIS
Granted: August 7, 2014
Application Number:
20140220709
Exemplary embodiments are directed to controlling CD uniformity of a wafer by controlling trim time on temperature in a plasma processing system. The plasma processing system has a wafer support assembly including a plurality of independently controllable temperature control zones across a chuck and a controller that controls each temperature control zone. The controller receives process control and temperature data associated with at least one wafer previously processed in a plasma…
Determining A Malfunctioning Device in A Plasma System
Granted: July 31, 2014
Application Number:
20140210508
Systems and methods for determining a malfunctioning device in a plasma system, are described. One of the methods includes receiving an indication whether plasma is generated within a plasma chamber of the plasma system. The plasma system includes a processing portion and a power delivery portion. The method further includes determining whether the plasma system operates within constraints in response to receiving the indication that the plasma is generated, determining a value of a…
Segmenting A Model Within A Plasma System
Granted: July 31, 2014
Application Number:
20140214395
Systems and methods for segmenting an impedance matching model are described. One of the methods includes receiving the impedance matching model. The impedance matching model represents an impedance matching circuit, which is coupled to an RF generator via an RF cable and to a plasma chamber via an RF transmission line. The method further includes segmenting the impedance matching model into two or more modules of a first set. Each module includes a series circuit and a shunt circuit.…
Using Modeling to Determine Ion Energy Associated with A Plasma System
Granted: July 31, 2014
Application Number:
20140214351
Systems and methods for determining ion energy are described. One of the methods includes detecting output of a generator to identify a generator output complex voltage and current (V&I). The generator is coupled to an impedance matching circuit and the impedance matching circuit is coupled to an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The method further includes determining from the generator output complex V&I a projected complex V&I at a point along a path between an output of a model…
DUCTILE MODE DRILLING METHODS FOR BRITTLE COMPONENTS OF PLASMA PROCESSING APPARATUSES
Granted: July 31, 2014
Application Number:
20140213061
A method of drilling holes comprises ductile mode drilling the holes in a component of a plasma processing apparatus with a cutting tool wherein the component is made of a nonmetallic hard and brittle material. The method comprises drilling each hole in the component by controlling a depth of cut while drilling such that a portion of the brittle material undergoes high pressure phase transformation and forms amorphous portions of the brittle material during chip formation. The amorphous…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SURFACE TREATMENT USING INORGANIC ACID AND OZONE
Granted: July 31, 2014
Application Number:
20140209129
Improved removal of ion-implanted photoresist in a single wafer front-end wet processing station is achieved by dissolving gaseous ozone into relatively cool inorganic acid, dispensing the acid ozone mixture onto a wafer, and rapidly heating the surface of the wafer to a temperature at least 30° C. higher than the temperature of the acid ozone mixture.
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR UNIFORMLY APPLYING A MULTI-PHASE CLEANING SOLUTION TO A SUBSTRATE
Granted: July 24, 2014
Application Number:
20140202503
A system for cleaning a substrate includes a carrier and a cleaning station. The carrier is capable of holding the substrate and is movably coupled to a pair of guide tracks extending a length of the system. The cleaning station includes a force applicator, a gate and a dispenser. The force applicator has an applicator length and is coupled to the cleaning station, is rotatable and is adjustable to a first height off the surface of the carrier during cleaning. The gate is a hollow…
Control of Etch Rate Using Modeling, Feedback and Impedance Match
Granted: July 10, 2014
Application Number:
20140195033
A method for achieving an etch rate is described. The method includes receiving a calculated variable associated with processing a work piece in a plasma chamber. The method further includes propagating the calculated variable through a model to generate a value of the calculated variable at an output of the model, identifying a calculated processing rate associated with the value, and identifying based on the calculated processing rate a pre-determined processing rate. The method also…
SHOWERHEAD ELECTRODE ASSEMBLY WITH GAS FLOW MODIFICATION FOR EXTENDED ELECTRODE LIFE
Granted: July 3, 2014
Application Number:
20140187049
A showerhead electrode assembly for a plasma processing apparatus is provided. The showerhead electrode assembly includes a first member attached to a second member. The first and second members have first and second gas passages in fluid communication. When a process gas is flowed through the gas passages, a total pressure drop is generated across the first and second gas passages. A fraction of the total pressure drop across the second gas passages is greater than a fraction of the…
GAS SUPPLY SYSTEMS FOR SUBSTRATE PROCESSING CHAMBERS AND METHODS THEREFOR
Granted: July 3, 2014
Application Number:
20140182689
A gas supply subsystem for providing a set of process gases to a substrate processing chamber, the set of process gases being a subset of a plurality of process gases available to the substrate processing chamber. The gas supply subsystem has fewer multi-gas mass flow controllers than the number of available process gases, wherein multiple process gases are multiplexed at the input of one or more of the multi-gas mass flow controllers. Pump-purge may be employed to improve gas switching…
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING WAFER-SHAPED ARTICLES
Granted: July 3, 2014
Application Number:
20140182636
The wet treatment of wafer-shaped articles is improved by utilizing a droplet generator designed to produce a spray of monodisperse droplets. The droplet generator is mounted above a spin chuck, and is moved across a major surface of the wafer-shaped article in a linear or arcuate path. The droplet generator includes a transducer acoustically coupled to its body such that sonic energy reaches a region of the body surrounding the discharge orifices. Each orifice has a width w of at least…
PLASMA STABILIZATION METHOD AND PLASMA APPARATUS
Granted: June 26, 2014
Application Number:
20140174663
A plasma technique in which a plasma generation technique frequently used in various fields including a semiconductor manufacturing process is used, and generation of plasma instability (high-speed impedance change of plasma) can efficiently be suppressed and controlled in order to manufacture stable products. An apparatus includes a processing chamber, a surrounding member disposed so as to surround the processing chamber, an RF induction coil disposed above the top surface, a…
