公开(公告)号：US20240355587A1

公开(公告)日：2024-10-24

申请号：US18138733

申请日：2023-04-24

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying CUI ,  James ROGERS ,  Rajinder DHINDSA

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32183 ,  H01J37/3244 ,  H01J37/32568 ,  H01J2237/3344

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for controlling the uniformity of a plasma formed using a radio frequency (RF) source power assembly that includes one or more resonant tuning circuits coupled to two or more electrodes disposed within a multi-electrode source assembly. Improved plasma uniformity control and reduced system cost are achieved by eliminating multiple RF generators and matches that power the multiple electrodes separately. Multiple frequencies may also be provided to multiple electrodes at the same time, which can include another cost savings when using a multi-frequency RF source assembly. Local plasma density and sheath voltage over a surface of a substrate are controlled with segmented electrodes disposed within the processing region of a plasma processing chamber. The ion flux and direction, as well as energetic electron flux towards the substrate, are controlled to address the plasma non-uniformity and global tilt during processing of a semiconductor substrate.

公开(公告)号：US20240153741A1

公开(公告)日：2024-05-09

申请号：US17983926

申请日：2022-11-09

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying CUI ,  James ROGERS ,  Daniel Sang BYUN ,  Rajinder DHINDSA ,  Keith HERNANDEZ

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32128 ,  H01J37/32146 ,  H01J37/32091 ,  H01J2237/3341

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein include a method for processing a substrate in a plasma processing system. The method includes receiving a first synchronization waveform signal from a controller, delivering a first burst of first voltage pulses to an electrode assembly after receiving a first portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, wherein at least one first parameter of the first voltage pulses is set to a first value based on a first waveform parameter within the first portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, and delivering a second burst of second voltage pulses to the electrode assembly after receiving a second portion of the first synchronization waveform signal, wherein the at least one first parameter of the first voltage pulses is set to a second value based on a difference in the first waveform parameter within the second portion of the first synchronization waveform signal.

公开(公告)号：US20200381216A1

公开(公告)日：2020-12-03

申请号：US16994190

申请日：2020-08-14

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Linying CUI ,  James ROGERS

IPC: H01J37/32

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 RF 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 radio frequency (RF) circuit including a first variable capacitor coupled to the edge ring electrode.

公开(公告)号：US20200381214A1

公开(公告)日：2020-12-03

申请号：US16429883

申请日：2019-06-03

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Gary LERAY ,  Valentin N. TODOROW ,  James ROGERS

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/67 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/3213

Abstract: Embodiments for the present application include methods and apparatus for operating a plasma enhanced substrate processing system using dual level pulsed radio frequency (RF) power. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure allow for frequency and power tuning in a process chamber using dual level pulsed power by using a tuning controller coupled to a matching network and/or a RF power generator. In one embodiment, a tuning system includes a tuning controller disposed in a tuning system, the tuning controller configured to tune dual level RF pulsing data from a RF power generator, wherein the tuning system is connectable to a plasma processing chamber, and a memory connecting to the tuning controller, wherein the tuning controller is configured to couple to a RF power generator and a matching network disposed in the plasma processing chamber.

公开(公告)号：US20200161155A1

公开(公告)日：2020-05-21

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: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a system used in semiconductor manufacturing. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for pulsed DC biasing and clamping a substrate. In one embodiment, the system includes 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：US20190228952A1

公开(公告)日：2019-07-25

申请号：US16253655

申请日：2019-01-22

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Leonid DORF ,  Anurag Kumar MISHRA ,  Olivier LUERE ,  Rajinder DHINDSA ,  James ROGERS ,  Denis M. KOOSAU ,  Sunil SRINIVASAN

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

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to methods and related process equipment for forming structures on substrates, such as etching high aspect ratio structures within one or more layers formed over a substrate. The methods and related equipment described herein can improve the formation of the structures on substrates by controlling the curvature of the plasma-sheath boundary near the periphery of the substrate, for example, by generating a substantially flat plasma-sheath boundary over the entire substrate (i.e., center to edge). The methods and related equipment described below can provide control over the curvature of the plasma-sheath boundary, including generation of the flat plasma-sheath boundary by applying RF power to an edge ring surrounding the substrate using a separate and independent RF power source.

公开(公告)号：US20190180981A1

公开(公告)日：2019-06-13

申请号：US16277612

申请日：2019-02-15

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： James ROGERS

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  C23C16/52 ,  H01L21/3213 ,  H01L21/306 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  C23C16/455

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a gas delivery assembly for processing a substrate. In one example, a processing chamber comprises a plurality of walls, a bottom, and a lid to form an interior volume. Gas nozzles provide gas into the interior volume. A substrate support is disposed in the interior volume, having a top surface that supports a substrate. A gas delivery assembly comprises a gas manifold, and is disposed outside of the processing chamber. Gas passageways extend from the gas manifold to the gas nozzles, each gas passageway having similar conductance. A controller is fluidically coupled to each of the gas passageways, and is configured to control the timing at which a first process gas flows from the gas delivery assembly through the controller into the gas manifold, and the timing at which a second process gas is injected into the gas manifold through the gas nozzles.

公开(公告)号：US20240395502A1

公开(公告)日：2024-11-28

申请号：US18791966

申请日：2024-08-01

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Leonid DORF ,  Evgeny KAMENETSKIY ,  James ROGERS ,  Olivier LUERE ,  Rajinder DHINDSA ,  Viacheslav PLOTNIKOV

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

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：US20230178336A1

公开(公告)日：2023-06-08

申请号：US17884423

申请日：2022-08-09

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： James ROGERS ,  Katsumasa KAWASAKI

IPC: H01J37/32

CPC classification number: H01J37/32165 ,  H01J37/32128 ,  H01J37/32568 ,  H01J37/32183 ,  H01J2237/3341 ,  H01J2237/3343

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a system used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process. More specifically, embodiments provided herein generally include apparatus and methods for synchronizing and controlling the delivery of an RF bias voltage signal and a pulsed voltage waveform to one or more electrodes within a plasma processing chamber. Embodiments of the disclosure include a method and apparatus for synchronizing a pulsed radio frequency (RF) waveform to a pulsed voltage (PV) waveform, such that the pulsed RF waveform is on during a first stage of the PV waveform and off during a second stage. The first stage of the PV waveform includes a sheath collapse stage. The second stage of the PV waveform includes an ion current stage.

公开(公告)号：US20230030927A1

公开(公告)日：2023-02-02

申请号：US17959074

申请日：2022-10-03

Applicant: Applied Materials, Inc.

Inventor： Leonid DORF ,  Rajinder DHINDSA ,  James ROGERS ,  Daniel Sang BYUN ,  Evgeny KAMENETSKIY ,  Yue GUO ,  Kartik RAMASWAMY ,  Valentin N. TODOROW ,  Olivier LUERE ,  Linying CUI

IPC: H01J37/32 ,  H01L21/311 ,  H01L21/3065 ,  H01L21/683

Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure provided herein include an apparatus and method for the plasma processing of a substrate in a processing chamber. More specifically, embodiments of this disclosure describe a biasing scheme that is configured to provide a radio frequency (RF) generated RF waveform from an RF generator to one or more electrodes within a processing chamber and a pulsed-voltage (PV) waveform delivered from one or more pulsed-voltage (PV) generators to the one or more electrodes within the processing chamber. The plasma process(es) disclosed herein can be used to control the shape of an ion energy distribution function (IEDF) and the interaction of the plasma with a surface of a substrate during plasma processing.