Claims
- 1. A substrate support assembly in a processing chamber, comprising:
a substrate carrier having a bottom surface positioned in contact with a substrate support, the substrate carrier further comprising a top surface opposed to the bottom surface, a recess formed into the top surface, the recess having a support surface that defines a support region for a substrate, where said support region is adapted to contact a bottom of the substrate; and a shadow ring positioned proximate the substrate carrier to partially shield the support surface of the substrate carrier.
- 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the support region has a thickness less than a depth of the recess.
- 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the shadow ring comprises one or more protrusions adapted to be positioned proximate a substrate placed in the recess of the substrate carrier.
- 4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the one or more protrusions includes an annular ridge.
- 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the one or more protrusions include a contact surface for contacting a substrate placed within the recess of the substrate carrier.
- 6. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising protective interstitial material positioned between a surface of the shadow ring and the top surface of the substrate carrier.
- 7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the protective interstitial material is a coating formed on a surface selected from the group consisting of a bottom surface of the shadow ring, the top surface of substrate carrier, and combinations thereof.
- 8. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the protective interstitial material comprises a polymeric material.
- 9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the polymeric material is a polyimide.
- 10. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the shadow ring comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, Quartz, SiC, and combinations thereof.
- 11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the shadow ring comprises an electrically conductive element for conducting charge from the shadow ring.
- 12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the shadow ring comprises a conductive pathway formed therein.
- 13. A substrate support assembly for processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising:
an electrostatic chuck; a substrate carrier having a bottom surface positioned in contact with the electrostatic chuck, the substrate carrier further comprising a top surface opposed to and substantially parallel to the bottom surface, a recess formed into the top surface, the recess having a support surface that defines a support region for a substrate, where said support region is adapted to contact a bottom of the substrate, and the support surface is substantially parallel to the bottom surface and the top surface; and a shadow ring positioned proximate the substrate carrier in order to form an edge exclusion zone for a substrate positioned within the recess, the shadow ring comprising one or more protrusions having a contact surface adapted to be positioned in contact with a substrate placed within the recess of the substrate carrier.
- 14. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the support region has a thickness less than a depth of the recess.
- 15. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the one or more protrusions includes an annular ridge.
- 16. The assembly of claim 13 further comprising protective interstitial material positioned between a lower surface of the shadow ring and the top surface of the substrate carrier.
- 17. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the protective interstitial material is a coating formed on a surface selected from the group consisting of a bottom surface of the shadow ring, the top surface of substrate carrier, and combinations thereof.
- 18. The assembly of claim 16 wherein the protective interstitial material comprises a polymeric material.
- 19. The assembly of claim 18 wherein the polymeric material is a polyimide.
- 20. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the shadow ring comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, quartz, SiC, and combinations thereof.
- 21. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the shadow ring comprises an electrically conductive element for conducting charge from the shadow ring.
- 22. The assembly of claim 13 wherein the shadow ring comprises a conductive pathway formed therein.
- 23. A method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising:
moving a substrate carrier having a substrate in a recess disposed therein into a processing chamber; positioning the substrate carrier and the substrate therein proximate a shadow ring to partially shield the substrate in order to exclude a portion of the substrate from being processed; and performing a substrate processing operation within the processing chamber.
- 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the substrate carrier comprises a bottom surface, a top surface opposed to the bottom surface, a recess formed into the top surface, the recess having a support surface that defines a support region for a substrate where said support region is adapted to contact a bottom of the substrate.
- 25. The method of claim 23 wherein the substrate has a thickness greater than a thickness of the support region.
- 26. The method of claim 23 wherein the processing operation comprises introducing at least one process gas into the processing chamber and etching the substrate.
- 27. The method of claim 26 wherein the at least one process gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of silicon hexafluoride (SiF6), hydrogen fluoride (HF), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), xenon difluoride (XeF2), and combinations thereof.
- 28. The method of claim 23 wherein the shadow ring comprises one or more protrusions, and the one or more protrusions are placed in proximity to the substrate.
- 29. The method of claim 23 wherein the shadow ring comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, quartz, silicon carbide (SiC), and combinations thereof.
- 30. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of conducting charge from the shadow ring to ground during processing.
- 31. A method of processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising:
moving a substrate carrier having a substrate disposed thereon into a processing chamber; positioning a shadow ring proximate to the substrate; and performing a processing operation within the processing chamber, whereby the shadow ring excludes a portion of the substrate from processing.
- 32. The method of claim 31 wherein the processing operation comprises introducing a process gas into the processing chamber and etching the substrate.
- 33. The method of claim 32 wherein the process gas comprises a gas selected from the group consisting of silicon hexafluoride (SiF6), hydrogen fluoride (HF), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), xenon difluoride (XeF2), and combinations thereof.
- 34. The method of claim 31 wherein the shadow ring comprises one or more protrusions and the one or more protrusions are placed in contact with the substrate.
- 35. The method of claim 31 wherein the shadow ring comprises a material selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, quartz, silicon carbide (SiC), and combinations thereof.
- 36. The method of claim 31 wherein a contact surface of the one or more protrusions are placed in contact with the substrate.
- 37. The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of conducting charge from the shadow ring to ground during processing.
- 38. The method of claim 31 wherein interstitial material is positioned between the shadow ring and the substrate carrier to prevent contact between the shadow ring and the substrate carrier.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/382,472, filed May 22, 2002, which is herein incorporated by reference.
[0002] This application contains subject matter that is related to the subject matter of copending application Ser. No.______, filed simultaneously herewith, entitled, “Substrate Carrier for Processing Substrates,” (Attorney Docket Number 6983/DISPLAY/AKT) commonly assigned with the present invention and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60382472 |
May 2002 |
US |