IP Library Granted Patent US 11,538,713
Granted Patent B2
US 11,538,713 · App. 16/769,681 · Granted Dec 27, 2022

System and method for edge ring wear compensation

Inventors: Tom A. Kamp (San Jose, CA); Carlos Leal-Verdugo (Richmond, CA)
Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
H01L21/68721H01L21/67288
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,538,713
App. No.
16/769,681
Granted
Dec 27, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

A controller for adjusting a height of an edge ring in a substrate processing system includes an edge ring wear calculation module configured to receive at least one input indicative of one or more erosion rates of the edge ring, calculate at least one erosion rate of the edge ring based on the at least one input, and calculate an amount of erosion of the edge ring based on the at least one erosion rate. An actuator control module is configured to adjust the height of the edge ring based on the amount of erosion as calculated by the edge ring wear calculation module.

Claims (20)

1. A controller for adjusting a height of an edge ring arranged around an outer portion of a substrate support in a substrate processing system, the controller comprising:

an edge wear calculation module; and

an actuator control module,

wherein the edge ring wear calculation module is configured to

receive, from a user interface, at least one input indicative of one or more erosion rates of the edge ring, wherein the at least one input includes a plurality of erosion rates for respective usage periods of the substrate processing system,

determine at least one erosion rate of the edge ring using the plurality of erosion rates for the respective usage periods,

monitor an overall usage of the edge ring and store the overall usage of the edge ring in a memory, and

calculate an amount of erosion of the edge ring based on the determined at least one erosion rate and the overall usage of the edge ring, and

wherein the actuator control module is configured to adjust the height of the edge ring based on the amount of erosion as calculated by the edge ring wear calculation module to compensate for the calculated amount of erosion.

2. The controller of claim 1 , wherein the at least one input includes an erosion rate as input by a user.

3. The controller of claim 1 , wherein the at least one input includes information indicating a type and duration of processing performed in the substrate processing system.

4. The controller of claim 1 , wherein the at least one input includes calibration data indicating at least one of the height, a thickness, and a position of the edge ring.

5. The controller of claim 1 , wherein, to determine the at least one erosion rate, the edge ring wear calculation module is configured to calculate the plurality of erosion rates in the respective usage periods of the substrate processing system.

6. The controller of claim 5 , wherein, to calculate the amount of erosion of the edge ring, the edge ring wear calculation module is configured to calculate the amount of erosion based on the plurality of erosion rates as calculated in the respective usage periods.

7. The controller of claim 5 , wherein each of the plurality of erosion rates is different for the respective usage periods.

8. The controller of claim 5 , wherein the edge ring wear calculation module is configured to calculate the plurality of erosion rates using a lookup table that indexes erosion rates to usage periods.

9. The controller of claim 5 , wherein the edge ring wear calculation module is configured to calculate the plurality of erosion rates using a model.

10. A system comprising the controller of claim 1 and further comprising the user interface.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the user interface is configured to receive, as the at least one input, the plurality of erosion rates.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the user interface includes a display configured to display the amount of erosion as calculated by the edge ring wear calculation module.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 8, 2021
From: KAMP, TOM A.; LEAL-VERDUGO, CARLOS
To: LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 058045/0345 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62594861 · Dec 5, 2017
Related Publication 20200373193A1 · Nov 26, 2020