Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
  • H01L21/6831—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using electrostatic chucks
  • H01L21/6833—Details of electrostatic chucks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
  • H02N—ELECTRIC MACHINES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H02N13/00—Clutches or holding devices using electrostatic attraction, e.g. using Johnson-Rahbek effect
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
  • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
  • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H01L21/67098—Apparatus for thermal treatment
  • H01L21/67103—Apparatus for thermal treatment mainly by conduction
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S269/00—Work holders
  • Y10S269/903—Work holder for electrical circuit assemblages or wiring systems

Definitions

• Embodiments of the present invention pertain to the field of semiconductor processing equipment and, in particular, to electrostatic chucks with advanced RF and temperature uniformity, and methods of fabricating such electrostatic chucks.
• a temperature of a chamber component is often an important parameter to control during a process.
• a temperature of a substrate holder commonly called a chuck or pedestal, may be controlled to heat/cool a workpiece to various controlled temperatures during the process recipe (e.g., to control an etch rate).
• a temperature of a showerhead/upper electrode, chamber liner, baffle, process kit, or other component may also be controlled during the process recipe to influence the processing.
• a heat sink and/or heat source is coupled to the processing chamber to maintain the temperature of a chamber component at a desired temperature.
• at least one heat transfer fluid loop thermally coupled to the chamber component is utilized to provide heating and/or cooling power.
• Point-of-use systems are one means to reduce fluid loop lengths/volumes.
• physical space constraints disadvantageously limit the power loads of such point-of-use systems.
• Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrostatic chuck
• ESC configured to support a wafer or substrate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 2 illustrates cross-sectional views of portions of various electrostatic chucks configured to support a wafer or substrate, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrostatic chuck configured to support a wafer or substrate, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrostatic chuck configured to support a wafer or substrate, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 5A illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrostatic chuck configured to support a wafer or substrate, highlighting a plasma spray arrangement, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 5B illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an electrostatic chuck configured to support a wafer or substrate, highlighting a solid ceramic top arrangement, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 6 is an electrical block-diagram including a 12x13 configuration of resistive auxiliary heaters for an electrostatic chuck (ESC), in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.
• Figure 7 illustrates a system in which an electrostatic chuck with advanced RF and temperature uniformity can be housed, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• Electrostatic chucks with advanced RF and temperature uniformity, and methods of fabricating such electrostatic chucks are described.
• numerous specific details are set forth, such as specific chuck material regimes, in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
• well-known aspects such as etch processing in the presence of a wafer supported by a chuck, are not described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure embodiments of the present invention.
• the various embodiments shown in the Figures are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.
• One or more embodiments described herein relate to electrostatic chucks with advanced RF and temperature uniformity or systems including electrostatic chucks with advanced RF and temperature uniformity.
• wafer clamping by means of electrostatic chucking has been used to provide temperature control during etch processing.
• the wafer is clamped to ceramic, or multi-layer surface with heat sink or heater (or both) depending on application.
• auxilary hardware e.g., lifter pins, RF/DC electrodes, etc.
• the ceramic surface temperature is not uniform. This non-uniformity translates to the wafer, affecting the etch process.
• Conventional chuck designs have concentrated on coolant layout optimization and introduction of multiple (up to 4 zones) heaters. Such chuck designs have not been useful for solving issue related to, or caused by, auxiliary hardware (e.g., lifter pins, RF/DC electrodes, etc.).
• next generation (beyond 4-zone) etch chamber ESC with extreme temperature uniformity is described.
• a chuck described herein can achieve thermal requirements including one or more of Al 2 0 3 -based 12 inch puck, a temperature capability up to 130C, temperature uniformity ⁇ _0.5C at 65/65/45 degrees Celsius with plasma.
• Embodiments described herein may be directed to next generation etch chamber ESCs with active temperature control.
• FIGS 1-5A and 5B depict electrostatic (ESC) structures, or portions thereof, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.
• an ESC 100 is configured to support a wafer or substrate
• a framework 104 of the ESC may be composed of, e.g., aluminum.
• a plasma spray coat layer 106 e.g., a ceramic layer, is included on various surfaces of the framework 104.
• Main heaters 108 are included, along with auxiliary heaters 110.
• an ESC portion 200 is configured to support a wafer or substrate 202.
• a ceramic layer 204 on which a wafer or substrate 202 is to reside, is disposed on a plurality of resistive heater elements 206, e.g., and held in place by an adhesive layer 208.
• a metal base 210 supports the plurality of resistive heater elements 206 and may be RF hot.
• An optional chucking electrode 212 may also be included, as depicted in Figure 2.
• ESC 221 is provided to demonstrate RF pathways 222 and 224 within an ESC.
• An RF pathway 242 is further demonstrated in portion 240B of an ESC (which can also be configured as shown as 240A), as is also shown from a cross-sectional perspective in Figure 2.
• the shown ESC portions 220, 240A and 240B can be configured with a solid ceramic plate-only arrangement (as shown) or can include a plasma spray coat layer on which the solid ceramic plate is adhered, as described in greater detail below in association with Figure 5B.
• an ESC 300 is configured to support a wafer or substrate 302.
• a dielectric layer 304 e.g., a plasma spray dielectric layer, provides a support on which a wafer or substrate 302 is to reside. Open regions 306 provide cooling channels, e.g., for backside helium (He) cooling.
• the dielectric layer 304 is disposed above an upper metal portion 308, e.g., which can provide a guide for RF waves.
• a dielectric layer 310 e.g., a plasma spray or arc oxidation layer, is disposed above a plurality of pixilated resistive heaters 312 and is surrounded in part by the upper metal portion 308.
• An additional dielectric layer 314 is disposed below the dielectric layer 310, with a boundary 316 between the dielectric layer 314 and the dielectric layer 310. Vias 318 are included to couple the plurality of pixilated resistive heaters 312 with a bus bar power distribution layer 320.
• a dielectric layer 322 is disposed below the bus bar power distribution layer 320, with a boundary 324 between the dielectric layer 314 and the dielectric layer 322.
• the above features are disposed above a metal base 326.
• the metal base 326 houses high power heater elements or boosters 328.
• a welded bottom plate 330 may also be included, as depicted in Figure 3.
• an electrostatic chuck has 1 or more (up to 8) main heaters to provide baseline temperature control.
• main heaters To provide fine-tuning of temperature distribution, a large number of auxiliary heaters is placed near ESC surface.
• all heaters are positioned inside aluminum cage, which acts as RF shield and RF delivery path at the same time.
• etch processing with improved RF uniformity and/or improved temperature uniformity can be achieved.
• a chuck described herein can achieve temperature uniformity requirements including one or more of: (1) for heater layout: RF coupling, process temperature ramp between steps, addressed with 4-zone heater design; (2) for tool matching: subtle variations in conventional ESC/showerhead/edge HW results in localized hot/cold spots and a multi-array, from 45 up to 169 equalization heaters are otherwise needed to match tool-to- tool temperature uniformity.
• the ESC 300 described in association with Figure 3 may be manufactured by first installing the high power heater elements or boosters 328 into the metal base 326.
• the bottom plate 330 is then welded into place.
• the dielectric layer 322 is then deposited by, e.g., plasma spray or arc anodizing approaches.
• a metal layer is then formed, e.g., by screen printing, to provide bus bar power distribution layer 320 which can deliver current to the pixilated resistive heaters 312.
• the dielectric layer 314 is then deposited, covering the dielectric layer 324.
• Via holes are then formed in the dielectric layer 314, exposing the bus bar power distribution layer 320.
• Metal deposition is then performed to fill the via holes, forming vias 318.
• the vias 318 may be filled while forming the pixilated resistive heaters 312.
• Dielectric layer 310 is then deposited , followed by deposition of the upper metal portion 308.
• the upper metal portion 308 is formed to provide edges of a metal base.
• Dielectric layer 304 is then formed to cover all of the above described layers.
• features may be machined into the dielectric layer 304 to tailor the wafer interface with ESC 300.
• an ESC portion 400 is configured to support a wafer or substrate.
• a top dielectric layer or feature of ESC 400 may be provided by, e.g., including a deposited dielectric layer (e.g., AI 2 O 3 ) 402A, e.g., by plasma spray.
• a dielectric plate 402B such as an A1 2 0 3 plate, may be included. Both options are depicted in Figure 4.
• a metal base 404 such as an aluminum (Al) base, is included beneath the dielectric layer 402A and/or the dielectric plate 402B. Slots 406 may be included in the metal base 404 to provide a thermal break. Cable heaters 408 are housed in the metal base 404.
• the metal base 404 may further include pathways to a cooling base, as depicted in Figure 4.
• FIG. 5A depicts an ESC portion 500A, as shown from a cross-sectional perspective, highlighting the plasma spray configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• ESC portion 500A includes a metal base portion 502, such as an aluminum base, with a plasma spray dielectric layer 504 disposed thereon.
• the plasma spray layer may be composed of a dielectric material such as, but not limited to, alumina (A1 2 0 3 ), yttrium oxide (Y 2 0 3 ) or a high performance material (HPM).
• a porous plug 506 is disposed in the metal base portion 502 and provides a pathway 508 for wafer or substrate cooling, e.g., by helium flow.
• the pathway 508 is disposed through the plasma spray dielectric layer 504.
• FIG. 5B depicts an ESC portion 500B, as shown from a cross-sectional perspective, highlighting the solid ceramic top configuration, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• ESC portion 500B includes a metal base portion 552, such as an aluminum base.
• a solid ceramic top 554 (such as an A1 2 0 3 plate) is disposed above the metal base portion 552.
• the solid ceramic top 554 is disposed above a plasma spray dielectric layer 560, as depicted in Figure 5B.
• the plasma spray layer 560 may be composed of a dielectric material such as, but not limited to, alumina (A1 2 0 3 ), yttrium oxide (Y 2 0 3 ) or a high performance material (HPM).
• the solid ceramic top 554 may be coupled to the plasma spray dielectric layer 560 by an adhesive layer 562.
• a porous plug 556 is disposed in the metal base portion 552 and provides a pathway 558 for wafer or substrate cooling, e.g., by helium flow.
• the pathway 558 is disposed through the solid ceramic top 554 and, if present, the plasma spray dielectric layer 560.
• mechanical aspects of a chuck described herein include the
• a cathode assembly redesign for additional 24-26 filters, electrical, RF filters, power delivery to auxiliary heaters.
• commutation/switching logic aspects of a chuck described herein include interface with existing hardware.
• software aspects of a chuck described herein include interface with 1-4 temperature data, and/or communication with electrical subassembly.
• a main heater for a chuck described herein includes a dual-zone heater.
• a power requirement for a chuck described herein is addressed with auxiliary heaters.
• ESC type aspects of a chuck described herein include one or more of, coulombic, approximately 92% alumina composition, thin ceramic, possibly swappable/consumable, grounded cooling plates with RF-hot clamp electrode and/or printed RF electrode.
• a spec for max RF power is approximately 2kW max and approximately 13.56MHz.
• a spec for max helium pressure is approximately lOTorr.
• the RF current limitations are quantified for pin-to-electrode interface of approximately 20A per pin.
• inner/outer heater resistance is approximately at 90C, 130C, 25 A, 160V, 150C (inner) 13 A, 150V, 150C (outer).
• auxiliary heaters for a chuck described herein include approximately 45 heaters, and up to 144-169 (12x12 or 13x13 configuration).
• An estimated power for the heaters at approximately 92% alumina, min localized 1C heating, max 4°C heating and 45 heaters is approximately 3W for 6°C delta between heaters (4W hi-purity).
• feedback includes 2 sensors for dual-zone main heaters.
• RF filtering is based on 3W average per heater, DC 294V, 1.75Amp total for 169 heaters (-168 ⁇ ).
• Figure 6 is an electrical block-diagram 600, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 6, a 12x13 configuration 602 of resistive auxiliary heaters is provided as an example.
• An electrostatic chuck with advanced RF and temperature uniformity may be included in processing equipment suitable to provide an etch plasma in proximity to a sample for etching.
• Figure 7 illustrates a system in which an electrostatic chuck with advanced RF and temperature uniformity can be housed, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• a system 700 for conducting a plasma etch process includes a chamber 702 equipped with a sample holder 704.
• An evacuation device 706, a gas inlet device 708 and a plasma ignition device 710 are coupled with chamber 702.
• a computing device 712 is coupled with plasma ignition device 710.
• System 700 may additionally include a voltage source 714 coupled with sample holder 704 and a detector 716 coupled with chamber 702.
• Computing device 712 may also be coupled with evacuation device 706, gas inlet device 708, voltage source 714 and detector 716, as depicted in Figure 7.
• Chamber 702 and sample holder 704 may include a reaction chamber and sample positioning device suitable to contain an ionized gas, i.e. a plasma, and bring a sample in proximity to the ionized gas or charged species ejected there from.
• Evacuation device 706 may be a device suitable to evacuate and de-pressurize chamber 702.
• Gas inlet device 708 may be a device suitable to inject a reaction gas into chamber 702.
• Plasma ignition device 710 may be a device suitable for igniting a plasma derived from the reaction gas injected into chamber 702 by gas inlet device 708.
• Detection device 716 may be a device suitable to detect an end-point of a processing operation.
• system 700 includes a chamber 702, a sample holder 704, an evacuation device 706, a gas inlet device 708, a plasma ignition device 710 and a detector 716 similar to, or the same as, a Conductor etch chamber or related chambers used on an Applied Materials ® AdvantEdge system.
• Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the present invention.
• a machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).
• a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.), a machine (e.g., computer) readable transmission medium (electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., infrared signals, digital signals, etc.)), etc.
• Figure 8 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exemplary form of a computer system 800 within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.
• the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet.
• the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.
• the machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.
• PC personal computer
• PDA Personal Digital Assistant
• machine shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
• computer system 800 is suitable for use as computing device 712 described in association with Figure 7.
• the exemplary computer system 800 includes a processor 802, a main memory
• ROM read-only memory
• DRAM dynamic random access memory
• SDRAM synchronous DRAM
• RDRAM Rambus DRAM
• static memory 806 e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.
• secondary memory 818 e.g., a data storage device
• Processor 802 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processor 802 may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLTW) microprocessor, processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 802 may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. Processor 802 is configured to execute the processing logic 826 for performing the operations discussed herein.
• ASIC application specific integrated circuit
• FPGA field programmable gate array
• DSP digital signal processor
• the computer system 800 may further include a network interface device 808.
• the computer system 800 also may include a video display unit 810 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 812 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 814 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 816 (e.g., a speaker).
• a video display unit 810 e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)
• an alphanumeric input device 812 e.g., a keyboard
• a cursor control device 814 e.g., a mouse
• a signal generation device 816 e.g., a speaker
• the software 822 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 804 and/or within the processor 802 during execution thereof by the computer system 800, the main memory 804 and the processor 802 also constituting machine- readable storage media.
• the software 822 may further be transmitted or received over a network 820 via the network interface device 808.
• machine-accessible storage medium 831 is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions.
• the term “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present invention.
• the term “machine- readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media.
• an electrostatic chuck (ESC) with advanced RF and temperature uniformity includes a top dielectric layer.
• An upper metal portion is disposed below the top dielectric layer.
• a second dielectric layer is disposed above a plurality of pixilated resistive heaters and surrounded in part by the upper metal portion.
• a third dielectric layer is disposed below the second dielectric layer, with a boundary between the third dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer.
• a plurality of vias is disposed in the third dielectric layer.
• a bus power bar distribution layer is disposed below and coupled to the plurality of vias.
• the plurality of vias electrically couples the plurality of pixilated resistive heaters to the bus bar power distribution layer.
• a fourth dielectric layer is disposed below the bus bar power distribution layer, with a boundary between the fourth dielectric layer and the third dielectric layer.
• a metal base is disposed below the fourth dielectric layer. The metal base includes a plurality of high power heater elements housed therein.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
• Power Engineering (AREA)
• Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)
• Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Chemical Vapour Deposition (AREA)

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• 2013
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• 2016
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