公开(公告)号：US11488852B2

公开(公告)日：2022-11-01

申请号：US15930562

申请日：2020-05-13

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Anwar Husain ,  Hamid Noorbakhsh ,  Kartik Ramaswamy

IPC: H01L21/683 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/67

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for preventing or reducing arcing of an electrostatic chuck in a process chamber. In some embodiments, a method of preventing or reducing arcing of an electrostatic chuck includes forming a first recess in at least a portion of a sidewall of the electrostatic chuck and filling the first recess with a conformable dielectric material that remains conformable (elastic) over a temperature range of at least approximately zero degrees Celsius to approximately 80 degrees Celsius. In some embodiments, the first recess is filled with the conformable dielectric material such that the conformable dielectric material does not bond to at least one surface of the first recess. The conformable dielectric material may also be used to fill a second recess in a dielectric sleeve adjacent to the electrostatic chuck.

公开(公告)号：US11171030B2

公开(公告)日：2021-11-09

申请号：US16403850

申请日：2019-05-06

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Hamid Noorbakhsh ,  Anwar Husain ,  Haitao Wang ,  Sergio F Shoji

IPC: H01L21/683 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/67

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for dechucking a wafer from a surface of an electrostatic chuck (ESC). In some embodiments, a method comprises reducing a pressure of a gas applied to a backside of the wafer to approximately zero psi; reducing a downward pressure in a cylinder bore of a lifting actuator to approximately atmospheric pressure while a processing volume of the processing chamber is in a vacuum state to create a constant upward force on the wafer, the constant upward force less than a breaking force of the wafer; and sweeping a voltage applied to the ESC to dechuck the wafer; and monitoring a sensor on the lifting actuator that is interposed between a chucking position of the lifting actuator and a transfer position of the lifting actuator to detect when the wafer is dechucked.