公开(公告)号：US11791138B2

公开(公告)日：2023-10-17

申请号：US17319007

申请日：2021-05-12

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying Cui ,  James Rogers ,  Leonid Dorf

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32715 ,  H01J37/32174 ,  H01J37/32568 ,  H01J2237/2007

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for pulsed direct-current (DC) biasing and clamping a substrate. In one embodiment, the system includes a plasma chamber having an electrostatic chuck (ESC) for supporting a substrate. An electrode is embedded in the ESC and is electrically coupled to a biasing and clamping network. The biasing and clamping network includes at least a shaped DC pulse voltage source and a clamping network. The clamping network includes a DC source and a diode, and a resistor. The shaped DC pulse voltage source and the clamping network are connected in parallel. The biasing and clamping network automatically maintains a substantially constant clamping voltage, which is a voltage drop across the electrode and the substrate when the substrate is biased with pulsed DC voltage, leading to improved clamping of the substrate.

公开(公告)号：US11728124B2

公开(公告)日：2023-08-15

申请号：US17377639

申请日：2021-07-16

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Leonid Dorf ,  Travis Koh ,  Olivier Luere ,  Olivier Joubert ,  Philip A. Kraus ,  Rajinder Dhindsa ,  James Rogers

IPC: H01J37/08 ,  H01J37/248 ,  H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/08 ,  H01J37/248 ,  H01J37/32577 ,  H01J37/32706 ,  H01J37/32715

Abstract: Systems and methods for creating arbitrarily-shaped ion energy distribution functions using shaped-pulse-bias. In an embodiment, a method includes applying a positive jump voltage to an electrode of a process chamber to neutralize a wafer surface, applying a negative jump voltage to the electrode to set a wafer voltage, and modulating the amplitude of the wafer voltage to produce a predetermined number of pulses to determine an ion energy distribution function. In another embodiment a method includes applying a positive jump voltage to an electrode of a process chamber to neutralize a wafer surface, applying a negative jump voltage to the electrode to set a wafer voltage, and applying a ramp voltage to the electrode that overcompensates for ion current on the wafer or applying a ramp voltage to the electrode that undercompensates for ion current on the wafer.

公开(公告)号：US11476145B2

公开(公告)日：2022-10-18

申请号：US16197006

申请日：2018-11-20

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： James Rogers ,  Linying Cui ,  Leonid Dorf

IPC: H01L21/683 ,  H01J37/32 ,  H01J37/248

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a system for pulsed DC biasing and clamping a substrate. The system can include a plasma chamber having an ESC for supporting a substrate. An electrode is embedded in the ESC and is electrically coupled to a biasing and clamping circuit. The biasing and clamping circuit includes at least a shaped DC pulse voltage source and a clamping network. The clamping network includes a DC voltage source and a diode, and a resistor. The shaped DC pulse voltage source and the clamping network are connected in parallel. The biasing and clamping network automatically maintains a substantially constant clamping voltage, which is a voltage drop across the electrode and the substrate when the substrate is biased with pulsed DC voltage, leading to improved clamping of the substrate.

公开(公告)号：US11289310B2

公开(公告)日：2022-03-29

申请号：US16198479

申请日：2018-11-21

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying Cui ,  James Rogers

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/687

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method that manipulates the voltage at an edge ring relative to a substrate located on a substrate support located within a processing chamber. The apparatus includes a substrate support assembly that has a body having a substrate electrode embedded therein for applying a voltage to a substrate. The body of the substrate support assembly additionally has an edge ring electrode embedded therein for applying a voltage to an edge ring. The apparatus further includes an edge ring voltage control circuit coupled to the edge ring electrode. A substrate voltage control circuit is coupled to the substrate electrode. The edge ring voltage control circuit and the substrate voltage control circuit are independently tunable to generate a difference in voltage between the edge ring voltage and the substrate voltage.

公开(公告)号：US11276601B2

公开(公告)日：2022-03-15

申请号：US16845479

申请日：2020-04-10

Applicant: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Inventor： Linying Cui ,  James Rogers

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

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate positioned on a substrate support assembly are provided. For example, a substrate support assembly includes an electrostatic chuck having one or more chucking electrodes embedded therein for chucking a substrate to a substrate support surface of the electrostatic chuck; an edge ring disposed on the electrostatic chuck and surrounding the substrate support strike; two or more radio frequency (RF) power sources coupled to the edge ring and at least one of a baseplate disposed beneath the electrostatic chuck or an electrode disposed in the electrostatic chuck; a matching network coupling the edge ring to the two or more RF power sources; and an RF circuit coupling the edge ring to the two or more RF power sources, the RF circuit configured to simultaneously tune at least one of an RF amplitude or an RF phase of respective signals of the two or more RF power sources.

公开(公告)号：US11232933B2

公开(公告)日：2022-01-25

申请号：US17009670

申请日：2020-09-01

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： James Rogers ,  Linying Cui ,  Rajinder Dhindsa

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/683 ,  H01L21/687 ,  H01L21/3065

Abstract: Embodiments described herein provide methods and apparatus used to control a processing result profile proximate to a circumferential edge of a substrate during the plasma assisted processing thereof. In one embodiment a substrate support assembly features a first base plate and a second base plate circumscribing the first base plate. The first and second base plates each have one or more respective first and second cooling disposed therein. The substrate support assembly further features a substrate support disposed on and thermally coupled to the first base plate and a biasing ring disposed on and thermally coupled to the second base plate. Here, the substrate support and the biasing ring are each formed of a dielectric material. The substrate support assembly further includes an edge ring biasing electrode embedded the dielectric material of the biasing ring and an edge ring disposed on the biasing ring.

公开(公告)号：US20200161098A1

公开(公告)日：2020-05-21

申请号：US16198479

申请日：2018-11-21

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying CUI ,  James Rogers

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/687

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method that manipulate the voltage at an edge ring relative to a substrate located on a substrate support located within a processing chamber. The apparatus includes a substrate support assembly that has a body having a substrate support portion having a substrate electrode embedded therein for applying a substrate voltage to a substrate. The body of the substrate support assembly further has an edge ring portion disposed adjacent to the substrate support portion. The edge ring portion has an edge ring electrode embedded therein for applying an edge ring voltage to an edge ring. The apparatus further includes an edge ring voltage control circuit coupled to the edge ring electrode. A substrate voltage control circuit is coupled to the substrate electrode. The edge ring voltage control circuit and the substrate voltage control circuit are independently tunable to generate a difference in voltage between the edge ring voltage and the substrate voltage.

公开(公告)号：US12057292B2

公开(公告)日：2024-08-06

申请号：US18201358

申请日：2023-05-24

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Leonid Dorf ,  Evgeny Kamenetskiy ,  James Rogers ,  Olivier Luere ,  Rajinder Dhindsa ,  Viacheslav Plotnikov

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/683

CPC classification number: H01J37/32128 ,  H01J37/32082 ,  H01J37/32146 ,  H01J37/32165 ,  H01J37/32174 ,  H01J37/3299 ,  H01L21/31116 ,  H01J2237/3341 ,  H01L21/6831

Abstract: Embodiments of this disclosure describe a feedback loop that can be used to maintain a nearly constant sheath voltage and thus creating a mono-energetic IEDF at the surface of the substrate. The system described herein consequently enables a precise control over the shape of IEDF and the profile of the features formed in the surface of the substrate.

公开(公告)号：US11984306B2

公开(公告)日：2024-05-14

申请号：US17562467

申请日：2021-12-27

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Rajinder Dhindsa ,  Linying Cui ,  James Rogers

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/02

CPC classification number: H01J37/32862 ,  H01J37/32128 ,  H01J37/32165 ,  H01J37/32174 ,  H01J37/32449 ,  H01J37/32577 ,  H01L21/02274

Abstract: Embodiments provided herein generally include plasma processing systems configured to preferentially clean desired surfaces of a substrate support assembly by manipulating one or more characteristics of an in-situ plasma and related methods. In one embodiment, a plasma processing method includes generating a plasma in a processing region defined by a chamber lid and a substrate support assembly, exposing an edge ring and a substrate supporting surface to the plasma, and establishing a pulsed voltage (PV) waveform at the edge control electrode.

公开(公告)号：US11908661B2

公开(公告)日：2024-02-20

申请号：US17843654

申请日：2022-06-17

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying Cui ,  James Rogers

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32183 ,  H01J37/321 ,  H01J37/32174 ,  H01J37/32642 ,  H01J37/32697 ,  H01J37/32715

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods that manipulate the amplitude and phase of the voltage or current of an edge ring. The apparatus includes an electrostatic chuck having a chucking electrode embedded therein for chucking a substrate to the electrostatic chuck. The apparatus further includes a baseplate underneath the substrate to feed power to the substrate. The apparatus further includes an edge ring disposed over the electrostatic chuck. The apparatus further includes an edge ring electrode located underneath the edge ring. The apparatus further includes a circuit including a first variable capacitor coupled to the edge ring electrode.