Apparatus and method for fabricating semiconductor devices
Disclosed is apparatus and method for fabricating semiconductor devices, in particular comprising a wafer chuck for holding a semiconductor wafer on which a predetermined thin layer is deposited; a processing chamber for injecting etching gas toward the wafer to form a predetermined pattern; and a clamp or a shadow ring provided on an edge of the wafer being held by the wafer chuck and preventing the edge from being etched, and thereby forming a protective step around the edge. Therefore, during a subsequent CMP process, the pattern adjacent to the edge of the wafer can be prevented from being over-polished, and reliability as well as productivity of the semiconductor devices can be improved.
1 . An apparatus for fabricating semiconductor devices, comprising:
a wafer chuck for holding a semiconductor wafer on which various thin layers has been deposited;
a processing chamber for injecting etching gas toward the wafer to form a predetermined pattern; and
a clamp, attached to an edge of the wafer being held by the wafer chuck, for preventing the edge from being etched.
2 . An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the clamp forms a protective step on the edge by constraining the edge from being etched.
3 . An apparatus for fabricating semiconductor devices comprising:
a wafer chuck for holding a semiconductor wafer on which various thin layers has been deposited;
a processing chamber for injecting etching gas toward the wafer to form a predetermined pattern; and
a shadow ring, provided in the chamber upwardly spaced apart from the wafer being held by the wafer chuck, for preventing the edge from being etched.
4 . An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the shadow ring forms a protective step on the edge by constraining the edge from being etched.