Patent Application
20230203659
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to pedestals, components thereof, and methods of using the same for substrate processing chambers.
Pedestals are used in substrate processing chambers for processing substrates that are used in semiconductor applications. A processing method such as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) can be used in such substrate processing chambers. However, many pedestal designs suffer from arcing, or capacitive discharge, between a substrate and other components within the substrate processing chamber during substrate processing. For example, arcing can occur between the substrate and an edge ring that is placed adjacent to the substrate. Arcing can lead to several operational problems, such as less film deposition on the substrate, a loss of film deposition near the edge of the substrate (leading to non-uniformity in the film deposition’s profile), chipping of the edge ring, or a fusing of the edge ring to the substrate. Attempts have been made to solve these problems, but have incurred issues such as reduced throughput, lower die-per-substrate efficiency, insufficient film deposition, or high operational costs.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved pedestal for substrate processing chambers.
Implementations of the present disclosure generally relate to pedestals for substrate processing chambers.
In one implementation, a pedestal for disposition in a substrate processing chamber includes a body. The body includes a support surface. The body also includes a stepped surface that protrudes upwards from the support surface. The stepped surface is disposed about the support surface to surround the support surface. The stepped surface defines an edge ring such that the edge ring is integrated with the pedestal to form the body that is monolithic. The pedestal also includes an electrode disposed in the body, and one or more heaters disposed in the body.
In one implementation, a pedestal for disposition in a substrate processing chamber includes a body having a support surface. The pedestal includes a first electrode disposed in the body at a first depth below the support surface. The pedestal includes a coating coated on at least part of the first electrode. The coating has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is greater than a volumetric electrical resistivity of the first electrode.
In one implementation, a substrate processing chamber includes a chamber body having an internal volume, and a pedestal disposed in the internal volume. The pedestal includes a support surface. The substrate processing chamber also includes an edge ring. The edge ring includes an inner surface, an outer surface, an upper surface, and a bevel on an upper end of the inner surface. The bevel extends between the inner surface and the upper surface.
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to implementations, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only common implementations of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective implementations.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one implementation may be beneficially utilized on other implementations without specific recitation.
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to pedestals for substrate processing chambers.
The chamber 100 includes a gas distribution assembly 116 coupled to or disposed in the chamber lid 104 to deliver a flow of one or more gases into a processing region 110. The gas distribution assembly 116 includes a gas manifold 118 coupled to a gas inlet passage 120 formed in the chamber lid 104. The gas manifold 118 receives a flow of gases from one or more gas sources 122 (two are shown). The flow of gases received from the one or more gas sources 122 distributes across a gas box 124, flows through a plurality of openings of a backing plate 126, and further distributes across a plenum 128 defined by the backing plate 126 and a faceplate 130. The flow of gases then flows into a processing region 110 of the internal volume 106 through a plurality of openings 132 of the faceplate 130. A pump 133 is connected to the pumping path 108 by a conduit 134 to control the pressure within a processing region 110 and to the exhaust gases and byproducts from the processing region 110 through the pumping volume 112 and pumping path 108.
The internal volume 106 includes a pedestal 138 that supports a substrate 136 within the chamber 100. The pedestal 138 includes a heater 198 and an electrode 140 disposed within the pedestal 138. The electrode 140 may include a conductive mesh, such as a tungsten-containing, copper-containing, or molybdenum-containing conductive radio frequency (RF) mesh. The heater 198 may include any material used for heating, including an alternating current (AC) coil.
The pedestal 138 is movably disposed in the internal volume 106 by a stem 142 coupled to a lift system. Movement of the pedestal 138 facilitates transfer of the substrate 136 to and from the internal volume 106 through a slit valve formed through the chamber body 102. The pedestal 138 may also be moved to different positions for processing, insertion, and/or removal of the substrate 136. The pedestal 138 may also have openings disposed therethrough, through which a plurality of lift pins 150 may be movably disposed. In the lowered position, the plurality of lift pins 150 are projected from the pedestal 138 by contacting a lift plate 152 coupled to a bottom 154 of the chamber body. Projection of the lift pins 150 places the substrate 136 in a spaced-apart relation from the pedestal 138 to facilitate the transfer of the substrate 136.
The pedestal 138 in the implementation shown in
In the implementation shown, a radio frequency (RF) source 156 is coupled to the electrode 140 disposed within the pedestal 138 through a matching circuit 158. Although an RF source 156 is illustrated, the present disclosure contemplates that other power sources may be used, such as an alternating current (AC) power source or direct current (DC) power source. The matching circuit 158 is electrically coupled to the electrode 140 by a conductive rod 160. The matching circuit 158 is also electrically coupled to the heater 198. A power source 159 is configured to provide power to the heater 198. The power source 159 may provide AC power or DC power to the heater 198 to generate heat. The faceplate 130, which is grounded via coupling to the chamber body 102 and the electrode 140 facilitate formation of a capacitive plasma coupling. For example, the RF source 156 provides RF energy to the electrode 140 within the pedestal 138 to facilitate generation of a capacitive coupled plasma between the pedestal 138 and the faceplate 130 of the gas distribution assembly 116. The RF source 156 connects to ground 171. A second RF source 166 also is configured to provide RF energy to the chamber 100. The second RF source 166 is connected to ground 173. Although a second RF source 166 is illustrated, the present disclosure contemplates that other power sources may be used, such as an alternating current (AC) power source or direct current (DC) power source.
When RF power is supplied to the electrode 140, an electric field is generated between the faceplate 130 and the pedestal 138 such that atoms of gases present in the processing region 110 between the pedestal 138 and the faceplate 130 are ionized and release electrons. The ionized atoms accelerate to the pedestal 138 to facilitate film formation on the substrate 136. In one example, the processing region 110 is between the faceplate 130 on a first side of the processing region 110, and the support surface 138a and the edge ring 139 on a second side of the processing region 110.
The inner radius IR1 of the edge ring 239 and the radius R1 of the substrate 136 define a distance D1 between the inner surface 247 of the edge ring 239 and the outer edge 246 of the substrate 136. The edge ring 239 is spaced from the substrate 136 by a gap. By using a certain distance D1 between the edge ring 239 and the substrate 136, the amount of the support surface 238a between the substrate 136 and edge ring 239 that is exposed to processing gases can be controlled. Controlling the amount of the support surface 238a that is exposed may limit the capacitive discharge, or arcing, that might occur between the substrate 136 and edge ring 239 during substrate processing. Controlling the amount of support surface 238a that is exposed also promotes a thicker and more uniform film deposition on the substrate 136. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the distance D1 is at least about 0.01 inches. In one example, the distance D1 is within a range of about 0.02 inches to about 1.5 inches. In one example, the distance D1 is within a range of 0.1 inches to 0.7 inches. In one example, the distance D1 is about 0.3 inches.
The distance D1 and the radius R1 of the substrate 136 define a ratio RA of the distance D1 to the radius R1 of the substrate 136. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the ratio RA is within a range of about 0.00167 to about 0.210. In one example, the ratio RA is within a range of about 0.003 to about 0.2. In one example, the ratio RA is about 0.02.
The edge ring 239 illustrated in
The electrode 240 shown in the implementation illustrated in
In the implementation illustrated in
In one example, the outer radius 249b of the coating 249 is about equal to the inner radius IR1 of the edge ring 239. In one example, the outer radius 249b of the coating 249 is greater than the inner radius IR1 of the edge ring 239. The outer radius 249b of the coating 249 may also be lesser than the inner radius IR1 of the edge ring 239. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, a difference D2 between the outer radius 249b of the coating 249 and the inner radius 249a of the coating 249 may be about equal to the distance D1 between the inner surface 247 of the edge ring 239 and the outer edge 246 of the substrate 136. In one example, the difference D2 is within a range of about 40 mm to about 80 mm. In the implementation illustrated in
The electrode 240 is coated with a coating 249 on a portion 251 of the electrode 240 that is aligned underneath the edge ring 239. The portion 251 is aligned radially outside of the inner surface 247 of the edge ring 239. The electrode 240 is also coated with a coating 249 on a portion 261 of the electrode 240 that is aligned outside of the radius R1 of the substrate 136. The coating 249 is disposed on the top and bottom of the electrode 240 (as shown in the implementation of
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the inner radius 249a of the coating 249 is within a range of about 100 mm to about 140 mm. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the outer radius 249b of the coating 249 is within a range of about 140 mm to about 180 mm.
Coating of the electrode 240, as discussed in the examples above, may be performed by methods such as skin coating, surface chemistry modification, electroplating, etching, oxidizing, vacuum-based metal deposition, plastic coating, acid dipping, and/or other methods of increasing the volumetric electrical resistivity of a material. The coating 249 may be made from a composition including but not limited to materials such as refractory oxides and high temperature polymers. In one example, the coating 249 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is greater than a volumetric electrical resistivity of the electrode 240. In one example, the volumetric electrical resistivity of the coating 249 is within a range of about 1.005 times to about 4.65 times greater than the volumetric electrical resistivity of the electrode 240. The present disclosure contemplates that a thickness of the coating 249 may be increased or decreased to increase or decrease, respectively, the overall volumetric electrical resistivity of the electrode 240.
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the pedestal 238 is made from one or more materials that enhance the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. By increasing the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238, the path to ground 171 (shown in
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the edge ring 239 is made from one or more materials that change the volumetric electrical resistivity of the edge ring 239 relative to a volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 includes a material composition that is different than a material composition of the pedestal 238. Having heterogeneous volumetric electrical resistivity values between the edge ring 239 and the pedestal 238 reduces film edge non-uniformity by mitigating plasma sheath non-uniformity adjacent to the outer edge 246 of the substrate 136. Reducing plasma concentration near the outer edge 246 of the substrate 136 may reduce film deposition thickness loss near the outer edge 246 of the substrate. Reducing film deposition thickness loss near the outer edge 246 of the substrate 136 can result in a thicker and more uniform deposition of film on the substrate 136.
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is different from the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is less than the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is about half of the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is about 1% (1 percent) of the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is different from the volumetric electric resistivity of the pedestal 238 by a value that is within a range of about 9.9E7 Ohm-cm to about 9.999E11 Ohm-cm.
In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is within a range of about 1E6 Ohm-cm to about 1E12 Ohm-cm.
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is greater than the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238. In one example, the edge ring 239 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is about 10,000 times greater than the volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal 238.
In one example, the edge ring 239 is bonded to the pedestal 238 to form a single body (as discussed in reference to
By integrating the edge ring 339 and the pedestal 338, or by forming the monolithic body 370 with the pedestal 338 and the edge ring 339, the edge ring 339 is less prone to damage and installation error, leading to less cost and higher throughput of the chamber 100 during substrate processing operations. Such a configuration also results in less chipping of the edge ring 339, which in turn results in less arcing between the substrate 136 and the edge ring 339. The electric potential on the stepped surface 338b is also closer to the electric potential on the support surface 338a, which results in less arcing between the substrate 136 and the edge ring 339.
The first electrode 345 and the second electrode 344 may include a conductive mesh for propagating RF energy. In the implementation illustrated in
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the first electrode 345 is disposed at a first depth MD3 that is greater than the second depth MD2 at which the second electrode 344 is disposed. In one example, the first electrode 345 is disposed at a first depth MD3 that is at least about 1.5 times greater than the second depth MD2 of the second electrode 344. In one example, the first electrode 345 is disposed at a first depth MD3 that is about 1 mm larger than the second depth MD2 of the second electrode 344. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the first depth MD3 is about equal to the second depth MD2. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the first depth MD3 is within a range of about 1.25 mm to about 7 mm. In one example, the first depth MD3 is within a range of about 1.4 mm to about 5 mm. In one example, the first depth MD3 is about 3 mm. The first electrode 345 is disposed radially outside of the second electrode 344.
The first electrode 345 includes an inner radius 349a and an outer radius 349b. The first electrode 345 is coated at least partially with a coating 349. Such a coating 349 can reduce capacitive discharge between the substrate 136 and the edge ring 339 and reduce plasma coupling to the substrate 136. In one example, the coating 349 increases the overall volumetric electrical resistivity of the first electrode 345. The first electrode 345 is coated with the coating 349 between the inner radius 349a and the outer radius 349b of the first electrode 345. In one example, the inner radius 349a of the first electrode 345 is about equal to the radius R1 of the substrate 136. In one example, the inner radius 349a of the first electrode 345 is greater than the radius R1 of the substrate 136. In one example, the inner radius 349a of the first electrode 345 is less than the radius R1 of the substrate 136.
In one example, the outer radius 349b of the first electrode 345 is greater than the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339. In one example, the outer radius 349b of the first electrode 345 is lesser than the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the outer radius 349b of the first electrode 345 is about equal to the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339.
The coating 349 includes an inner radius 349c and an outer radius 349d. In one example, the inner radius 349c of the coating 349 is within a range of about 100 mm to about 140 mm. In one example, the outer radius 349d of the coating 349 is within a range of about 140 mm to about 180 mm.
In one example, the inner radius 349c of the coating 349 is about equal to the radius R1 of the substrate 136. In one example, the inner radius 349c of the coating 349 is lesser than the radius R1 of the substrate 136. In one example, the inner radius 349c of the coating 349 is greater than the radius R1 of the substrate 136.
In one example, the outer radius 349d of the coating 349 is about equal to the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339. In one example, the outer radius 349d of the coating 349 is greater than the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339. In one example, the outer radius 349d of the coating 349 is lesser than the inner radius IR2 of the edge ring 339.
In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, a difference D3 between the outer radius 349d of the coating 349 and the inner radius 349c of the coating 349 is within a range of about 40 mm to about 80 mm. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the coating 349 is disposed on the first electrode 345 between the inner radius 349a and the outer radius 349b.
In one example, the first electrode 345 is coated with the coating 349 on a portion 351 of the first electrode 345 that is aligned underneath the edge ring 339. In one example, the first electrode 345 is coated with the coating 349 on a portion 361 of the first electrode 345 that is aligned outside of the radius R1 of the substrate 136. The coating 349 may be disposed on the top and bottom of the first electrode 345 (as shown in the implementation of
The second electrode 344 may also be coated with a coating to increase the overall volumetric electrical resistivity of the second electrode 344.
Coating of the first electrode 345 and/or the second electrode 344, as discussed in the examples above, may be performed by methods such as skin coating, surface chemistry modification, electroplating, etching, oxidizing, vacuum-based metal deposition, plastic coating, acid dipping, and/or other methods of increasing the volumetric electrical resistivity of a material. In one embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, the coating 349 has a volumetric electrical resistivity that is greater than a volumetric electrical resistivity of the first electrode 345. In one example, the volumetric electrical resistivity of the coating 349 is within a range of about 1.005 times to about 4.65 times greater than the volumetric electrical resistivity of the first electrode 345. The present disclosure contemplates that a thickness of the coating 349 may be increased or decreased to increase or decrease, respectively, the overall volumetric electrical resistivity of the first electrode 345.
One or more of the above aspects may be expressed in the following examples.
Example 1 includes a method of operating a substrate processing chamber. The method includes disposing an edge ring on a pedestal disposed in an internal volume of a chamber body. The method also includes disposing a substrate on a support surface of the pedestal and radially inside of the edge ring. The substrate is disposed at a distance from the edge ring.
Example 2 includes the method of Example 1, and the distance is measured between an outer edge of the substrate and an inner surface of the edge ring.
Example 3 includes the method of Example 2, and the distance is at least 0.01 inches.
Example 4 includes the method of Example 2, and the substrate includes a radius measured between the outer edge and a center of the substrate. The method also includes a ratio of the distance to the radius, the ratio being within a range of 0.00167 to 0.210.
Benefits of the present disclosure include reduced arcing, reduced or limited plasma coupling to substrates, uniform film deposition, thick film deposition, less edge thickness loss, enhanced throughput, and lower operational costs. Aspects of the present disclosure include an edge ring that is integrated with a pedestal; an edge ring disposed at various distances from a substrate; an edge ring with a bevel; an edge ring that has a different volumetric electrical resistivity than a volumetric electrical resistivity of the pedestal; an edge ring made from a different material than a material of the pedestal; a pedestal having an electrode with a coating disposed thereon; and a pedestal having electrodes disposed at various depths therein. It is contemplated that one or more aspects of the various edge ring examples and/or one or more aspects of the various pedestal examples disclosed herein may be combined. Moreover, it is contemplated that the one or more aspects of the various edge ring examples and/or one or more aspects of the various pedestal examples may include some or all of the aforementioned benefits.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The present disclosure also contemplates that one or more aspects of the embodiments described herein may be substituted in for one or more of the other aspects described. For example, one or more aspects of embodiments described for edge ring 339 may be substituted in for, or combined with, one or more aspects of embodiments described for edge ring 239 and/or one or more aspects of embodiments described for edge ring 139. The scope of the disclosure is determined by the claims that follow.
This application is a continuation of and claims benefit of U.S. Non-Provisional Pat. Application Serial No. 16/716,233, filed on Dec. 16, 2019, which claims benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/792,746, filed on Jan. 15, 2019, both of which are herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62792746 | Jan 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16716233 | Dec 2019 | US |
| Child | 18111842 | US |
