IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,463,022
Granted Patent B2
US 12,463,022 · App. 18/477,047 · Granted Nov 4, 2025

Placing table and substrate processing apparatus

Inventors: Yusuke Kikuchi (Yamanashi, JP); Masato Shinada (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
H01J37/32724C23C14/352C23C14/50H01J37/32697H01J37/32715H01J37/345H01J2237/002H01J2237/2007H01J2237/332
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,463,022
App. No.
18/477,047
Granted
Nov 4, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

There is a placing table comprising: an electrostatic chuck having a chuck electrode, wherein the electrostatic chuck is configured to attract and hold a substrate on a placing surface and to be rotatable; a freezing device having a contact surface in contact with or separated from a surface of the electrostatic chuck opposite to the placing surface and configured to cool the electrostatic chuck; and a power controller configured to superimpose a radio frequency (RF) bias voltage applied to the electrostatic chuck on a chuck voltage applied to the chuck electrode.

Claims (25)

1 . A film forming method for forming a wiring by a sputtering method using physical vapor deposition, the method comprising:

bringing a contact surface of a freezing device into contact with a rear surface of an electrostatic chuck included in a placing table to cool the electrostatic chuck to a temperature of 150K or lower;

mounting a substrate on a placing surface of the electrostatic chuck and applying a chuck voltage to a chuck electrode embedded in the electrostatic chuck so that the substrate is electrostatically attracted to and held on the placing surface;

separating the freezing device from the electrostatic chuck by controlling a lifting mechanism; and

performing a film forming step including rotating the electrostatic chuck holding the substrate, supplying an excitation gas into a processing chamber, superimposing an RF bias voltage on the chuck voltage and applying the superimposed voltage to the electrostatic chuck.

2 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the chuck voltage is applied to the chuck electrode from a DC power supply, and the RF bias voltage is supplied from a radio frequency power supply through a splitter and superimposed on the chuck voltage.

3 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the electrostatic chuck comprises a base formed of an insulating material and a chuck portion disposed on the base, the chuck electrode being embedded in the chuck portion.

4 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

further comprising loading the substrate into the processing chamber through a gate valve before the mounting step, and unloading the substrate from the processing chamber after the film forming step.

5 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein a heat transfer gas is supplied to a gap between the substrate and the electrostatic chuck to enhance cooling efficiency during the cooling of the electrostatic chuck.

6 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the freezing device is at least partially made of a metal and is electrically connected to ground potential.

7 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the excitation gas supplied into the processing chamber is argon gas.

8 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the film forming step includes oscillating a magnet to generate a magnetic field that induces plasma and controlling a sputter discharge area of the target.

9 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

further comprising, before the cooling of the electrostatic chuck, evacuating the processing chamber to a predetermined vacuum level.

10 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein the electrostatic chuck comprises a base formed of an insulating material such that RF bias current is inhibited from flowing toward the freezing device.

11 . The film forming method of claim 1 ,

wherein, after separating the freezing device from the electrostatic chuck, a distance between the contact surface of the freezing device and the rear surface of the electrostatic chuck is set to be equal to or less than a sheath length.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 28, 2023
From: KIKUCHI, YUSUKE; SHINADA, MASATO
To: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
Reel/Frame 065067/0339 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2022-163291 · Oct 11, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240120182A1 · Apr 11, 2024
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