IP Library Granted Patent US 11,915,918
Granted Patent B2
US 11,915,918 · App. 17/362,925 · Granted Feb 27, 2024

Cleaning of sin with CCP plasma or RPS clean

Inventors: Jothilingam Ramalingam (Sunnyvale, CA); Yong Cao (San Jose, CA); Ilya Lavitsky (San Francisco, CA); Keith A. Miller (Mountain View, CA); Tza-Jing Gung (San Jose, CA); Xianmin Tang (San Jose, CA); Shane Lavan (Palo Alto, CA); Randy D. Schmieding (Saratoga, CA); John C. Forster (Mt. View, CA); Kirankumar Neelasandra Savandaiah (Karnataka, IN)
Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
H01J37/3488C23C14/54C23C14/564H01J37/32357H01J37/3435H01J37/3441H01J37/3447H01J37/32091
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,915,918
App. No.
17/362,925
Granted
Feb 27, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A physical vapor deposition processing chamber is described. The processing chamber includes a target backing plate in a top portion of the processing chamber, a substrate support in a bottom portion of the processing chamber, a deposition ring positioned at an outer periphery of the substrate support and a shield. The substrate support has a support surface spaced a distance from the target backing plate to form a process cavity. The shield forms an outer bound of the process cavity. In-chamber cleaning methods are also described. In an embodiment, the method includes closing a bottom gas flow path of a processing chamber to a process cavity, flowing an inert gas from the bottom gas flow path, flowing a reactant into the process cavity through an opening in the shield, and evacuating the reaction gas from the process cavity.

Claims (17)

1. A processing chamber comprising:

a target backing plate in a top portion of the processing chamber;

a substrate support in a bottom portion of the processing chamber, the substrate support having a support surface spaced a distance from the target backing plate to form a process cavity;

a deposition ring positioned at an outer periphery of the substrate support, the deposition ring having an outer portion with a contoured shape; and

a shield forming an outer bound of the process cavity, the shield having a top shield end in the top portion of the processing chamber and a bottom shield end in the bottom portion of the processing chamber, the top end positioned around a periphery of the target backing plate and the bottom end positioned around a periphery of the substrate support, the bottom end including a contoured surface having a complementary shape to the outer portion of the deposition ring;

a sealing bracket positioned on an opposite side of the substrate support from the target backing plate so that the deposition ring is between the target backing plate and the sealing bracket; and

a bellows assembly having a top bellows flange, a bellows and a bottom bellows flange, the top bellows flange located below and attached to the shield bottom end next to the contoured surface on an outer side of the shield bottom end,

wherein the top portion of the processing chamber comprises a top gas flow path between a periphery of the target backing plate and the top of the shield, and

the bottom portion of the processing chamber comprises a bottom gas flow path between the shield and the deposition ring, and

wherein the deposition ring and sealing bracket are movable between a process position where there is a gap between the sealing bracket and the deposition ring and a gap between a bottom bellows flange of the bellows assembly and the sealing bracket, and a cleaning position where the sealing bracket contacts the bottom bellows flange of the bellows assembly.

2. The processing chamber of claim 1 further comprising a shutter disk positioned below the shield, wherein the substrate support and the shutter disk are movable between a process position where the shutter disk moves out horizontally for the substrate support to move up and form the process cavity and a cleaning position where the substrate support moves down for the shutter disk to disconnect a fluid connection between the substrate support and the process cavity.

3. The processing chamber of claim 1 , further comprising a turbo pump housing in fluid communication with the process cavity through the bottom flow path when in the process position and isolated from the process cavity via the bottom flow path when in the cleaning position.

4. The processing chamber of claim 1 , further comprising a roughing pump in fluid communication with the process cavity through the top flow path.

5. The processing chamber of claim 4 , further comprising a roughing valve between the roughing pump and the process cavity, the roughing valve configured to allow a flow of gas from the process cavity to the roughing pump through the top flow path when the roughing valve is opened and to prevent flow to the roughing pump when the roughing valve is closed.

6. The processing chamber of claim 5 , wherein the processing chamber is configured to allow a flow of gas into the process cavity through the top flow path when the roughing valve is closed.

7. The processing chamber of claim 6 , wherein the roughing valve is closed when the deposition ring and sealing bracket are in the cleaning position.

8. The processing chamber of claim 4 , wherein one or more of the shield, the target backing plate, the substrate support, the deposition ring, the sealing bracket, or a turbo pump housing is resistant to fluoride radical and/or fluorine sputtering.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 13, 2021
From: RAMALINGAM, JOTHILINGAM; CAO, YONG; LAVITSKY, ILYA; MILLER, KEITH A.; GUNG, TZA-JING; TANG, XIANMIN; LAVAN, SHANE; SCHMIEDING, RANDY D.; FORSTER, JOHN C.; SAVANDAIAH, KIRANKUMAR NEELASANDRA
To: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
Reel/Frame 056840/0822 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220415636A1 · Dec 29, 2022
Cited By (3)
US 1,109,856 US 12,371,790 US 12,387,913