Device and method of performing a seasoning process for a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus
View Patent ↗A method of performing a seasoning process for a semiconductor device processing apparatus is provided by the present invention. The method includes: forming a material layer on a test wafer; coating a photoresist on the material layer; patterning the photoresist so as to expose a central region of the wafer and cover an edge region thereof; and etching the material layer exposed by the photoresist pattern.
1. A method of patterning a test wafer, comprising:
forming a material layer on a test wafer;
coating a photoresist on the material layer to form a plurality of concentric rings, wherein the material layer remains exposed between the concentric rings and in a central region of the test wafer, and the concentric rings cover an edge region of the test wafer; and
patterning the photoresist to define features in the material layer.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of concentric rings are formed in a predetermined gap between the central region of the test wafer and the edge region thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 1 cm or more of the wafer.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 5 cm of the wafer.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the photoresist may be coated 1 cm or more away from the edge of the wafer.
6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 5 cm of the wafer.
7. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of said concentric rings has a circular, rectangular, or polygonal shape.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the central region comprises an innermost 5 cm of the wafer.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the central region consists of an innermost 50 cm of the wafer.
10. A method of seasoning a semiconductor process chamber or apparatus, comprising:
forming a material layer on a test wafer;
coating a photoresist on the material layer to form a plurality of concentric rings, wherein the material layer remains exposed between the concentric rings and in a central region of the test wafer, and the concentric rings cover an edge region of the test wafer;
patterning the photoresist to define features in the material layer; and
etching the material layer exposed by the photoresist pattern.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein etching the material layer comprises dry etching the material layer.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the semiconductor process chamber or apparatus comprises a dry etch or plasma etch chamber or apparatus.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of concentric rings are formed in a predetermined gap between the central region of the test wafer and the edge region thereof.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 1 cm or more of the wafer.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 5 cm of the wafer.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the photoresist may be coated 1 cm or more away from the edge of the wafer.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the edge region comprises an outermost 5 cm of the wafer.
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein each of said concentric rings has a circular, rectangular, or polygonal shape.
19. The method of claim 10 , wherein the central region comprises an innermost 5 cm of the wafer.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the central region consists of an innermost 50 cm of the wafer.