Vacuum pump protection to avoid accumulation of deposited byproducts

Abstract

A processing chamber (e.g., a plasma etch chamber) may perform deposition and etching operations, wherein byproducts of the deposition and etching operations may accumulate in a vacuum pump system that is fluidly coupled to the processing chamber. The vacuum pump system may have multiple roughing pumps so that etching gas may be shunted to one roughing pump and deposition precursor may be shunted to another roughing pump. A shunt line may direct unused deposition precursor through a separate roughing pump. The formation of deposition byproducts may be avoided by including one or more gas ejectors or venturi pumps at the outlet of a primary pump in the vacuum pump system. Cleaning operations (e.g., waferless automated cleaning operations) using certain cleaning chemicals may remove the deposition byproducts before or after the etching operation.

Description

[0001] Incorporated by Reference

[0002] The PCT application form is filed concurrently with this specification as a part of this application. Each application to which this application claims the benefit or priority as identified in the concurrently filed PCT application form is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes. Background Art

[0003] Vacuum pumps are widely used in semiconductor processing equipment to provide a clean and / or low pressure environment in a processing chamber. Such vacuum pumps may be fluidly connected to the processing chamber to remove byproducts and unused etching and deposition precursors. Certain vacuum pumps may be susceptible to the accumulation of undesirable byproducts caused by mixing of etching and deposition precursors, which may corrode or degrade the vacuum pump over time.

[0004] The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently designated inventors is neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art against the present disclosure to the extent that it is described in this background section and in aspects of the specification that were not determined to be prior art at the time the application was filed. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides an apparatus, comprising: a processing chamber; an etching gas delivery system, which is configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber; a deposition precursor delivery system, which is configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the processing chamber; and a vacuum pump system, which is fluidly connected to the processing chamber. The vacuum pump system comprises: a first roughing pump; a second roughing pump; and a turbomolecular pump, wherein the turbomolecular pump is fluidically connected to one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump.

[0006] In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump and direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system further comprises: a foreline in fluid communication with the process chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the process chamber; and a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump at a first position and configured to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump at a second position. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system further comprises: a shunt line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, wherein the shunt line is configured to shunt unused deposition precursors in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In some embodiments, the one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr), and the one or more deposition precursors comprise an aminosilane precursor.

[0007] Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a vacuum pump system for exhausting one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes: a first roughing pump for receiving the one or more etching gases from the processing chamber; and a second roughing pump for receiving the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber, wherein one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are configured to be in fluid communication with a turbomolecular pump.

[0008] In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system further includes: a foreline fluidically connected to the processing chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber; and a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump at a first position, and configured to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump at a second position.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a vacuum pump system for exhausting one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes: a first roughing pump for receiving the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber; and a second roughing pump for receiving unused deposition precursors in a deposition cycle, wherein one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are configured to be in fluid communication with a turbomolecular pump.

[0010] In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors through the first roughing pump, and to direct unused deposition precursors in a deposition cycle through the second roughing pump. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system further comprises a shunt line in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, wherein the shunt line is configured to shunt unused deposition precursors in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. In some embodiments, the one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr) and the one or more deposition precursors comprise an aminosilane precursor.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a method of cleaning a vacuum pump system. The method includes: performing one or more deposition operations on a wafer in a processing chamber; performing one or more etching operations on the wafer in the processing chamber; and performing a cleaning operation using a reactive gas flowing through the vacuum pump system, the cleaning operation being performed before or after the one or more etching operations, wherein the vacuum pump system is in fluid communication with the processing chamber.

[0012] In some embodiments, performing the cleaning operation is performed between a deposition operation and an etching operation. In some embodiments, performing the one or more deposition operations, the one or more etching operations, and the cleaning operation is performed in the presence of a wafer in the treatment chamber. In some embodiments, performing the cleaning operation is performed in the absence of a wafer in the treatment chamber. In some embodiments, the reactive gas comprises nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), chlorine trifluoride (ClF3), chlorine (Cl2), oxygen (O2), ozone (O3), or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the reactive gas comprises ozone. In some embodiments, the method further comprises: generating the reactive gas in situ in the treatment chamber by a plasma reaction. In some embodiments, the method further comprises: generating the reactive gas by a plasma source located in a foreline, wherein the foreline provides an interconnection between the vacuum pump system and the treatment chamber. In some embodiments, the method further includes generating the reactive gas via a remote plasma source located external to a foreline, wherein the foreline provides an interconnection between the vacuum pump system and the processing chamber.

[0013] Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a vacuum pump system for exhausting one or more etching gases and one or more deposition precursors from a processing chamber. The vacuum pump system includes: a roughing pump, through which the deposition precursors and etching gases are exhausted from the processing chamber; and a gas ejector connected in series with the roughing pump and located downstream of the roughing pump, wherein the gas ejector is configured to reduce the pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump.

[0014] In some embodiments, the gas injector is a venturi pump connected to the outlet of the roughing pump, wherein the venturi pump is configured to flow the injection gas through the body of the venturi pump and mix with the discharged deposition precursor and etching gas in the body of the venturi pump. In some embodiments, the injection gas comprises an inert gas, clean dry air, or nitrogen (N2). In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system further comprises an abatement assembly, which is configured to process the deposition precursor and the discharged gas, wherein the gas injector is located between the abatement assembly and the roughing pump. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus for performing etching and deposition operations according to some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump used in series with a turbomolecular pump according to some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "full-split" vacuum pump system having two separate pumps, according to some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "bypass split" vacuum pump system having two separate pumps according to some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 2C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus including a "multi-inlet" vacuum pump system operating at different pressure stages, according to some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 3 An example of a rotor assembly in a vacuum pump system is shown according to some embodiments.

[0021] Figure 4 A flow chart is shown of an exemplary method of a cleaning process for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts in a vacuum pump system, according to some embodiments.

[0022] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump having an outlet in fluid communication with an abatement assembly.

[0023] Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary venturi pump showing the pressure gradient across the length of the venturi pump, according to some embodiments.

[0024] Figure 7 An exemplary venturi pump having components configured to connect to a vacuum pump system is shown according to some embodiments.

[0025] Fig. 8A A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump modified to be connected in series with a gas ejector is shown according to some embodiments.

[0026] Figure 8B A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump connected in series with a gas ejector is shown according to some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 8C A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump connected in series with a plurality of gas ejectors is shown according to some embodiments.

[0028] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a plurality of venturi pumps is shown according to some embodiments, wherein the plurality of venturi pumps are used as a multi-stage venturi pre-pump of the vacuum pump system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In the present disclosure, the terms "semiconductor wafer", "wafer", "substrate", "wafer substrate", and "partially processed integrated circuit" are used interchangeably. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the term "partially processed integrated circuit" can refer to a silicon wafer during any of many stages of integrated circuit processing. Wafers or substrates used in the semiconductor device industry typically have a diameter of 200 mm, or 300 mm, or 450 mm. The following detailed description assumes that the present disclosure is implemented on a wafer. However, the present disclosure is not so limited. The workpiece can be of various shapes, sizes, and materials. In addition to semiconductor wafers, other workpieces that can utilize the present disclosure include various objects, such as printed circuit boards, etc.

[0030] introduction

[0031] Conventionally, deposition and etching processes are performed on separate tools or platforms. For example, a deposition chamber does not typically perform an etching process, and an etching chamber does not typically perform a deposition process. In some embodiments, an apparatus may be configured to perform deposition and etching processes in a single processing chamber. For example, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process and an etching process may be performed in a processing chamber such as a plasma etching chamber. When both an ALD process and an etching process are performed on a wafer in a processing chamber, deposition precursors and etching gases flow through the processing chamber and may be exhausted by a vacuum pump system.

[0032] Unreacted deposition precursors and etching gases can be discharged through a vacuum pump system coupled to the processing chamber fluid. Unreacted deposition precursors and etching gases may mix in the vacuum pump system and form undesirable byproducts that may damage the pumping equipment. In some cases, deposition byproducts may accumulate in the roughing pump of the vacuum pump system, wherein the deposition byproducts degrade the roughing pump, thereby reducing its performance and life. Without being limited by any theory, after the deposition or etching operation, process chemicals (such as deposition precursors, etching gases, or reaction products) are retained in the roughing pump, and chemical reactions with the retained chemicals subsequently occur, and the same process chemicals flow through the roughing pump. For example, acidic gases such as hydrogen bromide (HBr) may react with the iron components of the roughing pump to form ferric bromide, which is a Lewis acid catalyst. When subsequently exposed to a deposition precursor (such as an aminosilane precursor gas), several reactions may occur, which result in the formation of deposition byproducts with lower volatility than the original aminosilane precursor gas. The accumulation of deposition byproducts in the pump may cause early failure of the pump. In some cases, the deposition byproducts may be a dark, tar-like substance. The accumulation of deposition byproducts reduces the practicality of using the deposition precursors together with the etching gas in a single processing chamber.

[0033] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing deposition byproducts from a vacuum pump system or preventing deposition byproducts from forming in a vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, deposition and etching gases can be discharged separately by a separate pump in fluid communication with a processing chamber. In some embodiments, the pump may have multiple inlets so that the pump accesses the processing chamber according to the operating pressure of the pump. In some embodiments, the internal surface of the pump is heated to an elevated temperature to vaporize the deposition byproducts or prevent surface reactions that form deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the internal surface of the pump is coated with an anti-corrosion material to avoid or minimize surface reactions that would otherwise form deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the purge time is determined so that the purge operation performed between the deposition and etching operations is sufficient to remove the etching gas and the deposition precursor from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the cleaning operation can use a reactive gas to remove the deposition byproducts or the deposition / etching gas from the vacuum pump system. The cleaning chemical may include oxygen, ozone, or a combination thereof. The cleaning chemical may include a fluorine-containing substance, a chlorine-containing substance, a bromine-containing substance, an iodine-containing substance, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, one or more gas ejectors or venturi pumps may be disposed downstream of the roughing pump to reduce the discharge pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, multiple gas ejectors or venturi pumps may be used as primary pumps to create at least a "rough" vacuum in the process chamber. One or more of the foregoing embodiments may be combined to prevent accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0034] Integrated Etch / Deposition Equipment

[0035] Figure 1A 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus for performing etching and deposition operations according to some embodiments. The processing apparatus 100 can be an inductively coupled plasma processing apparatus. The processing apparatus 100 includes a plasma chamber 132 such as a plasma etching chamber. In some embodiments, the Kiyo TM The ELISA reactor is an example of a suitable reactor that can be used as the plasma etching chamber.

[0036] Details regarding the processing chamber 100 for performing etching and deposition operations are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 669,871, filed by Zhou et al. on Aug. 4, 2017, and entitled “INTEGRATED ATOMIC LAYER PASSIVATION IN TCP ETCH CHAMBER AND IN-SITU ETCH-ALP METHOD,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0037] The plasma chamber 132 may include an integral chamber structure that may be defined by chamber walls 114 and a window 106. The window 106 may be made of quartz or other dielectric materials. In some embodiments, the plasma chamber 132 includes a substrate support 116 disposed within the plasma chamber 132. In some embodiments, the substrate support 116 is an electrostatic chuck that is used to support a substrate 112 on which a deposition / etching process is performed. The electrostatic chuck may include electrostatic electrodes that are used to clamp and unclamp the substrate 112. Filters and DC clamped power supplies (not shown) may be provided for this purpose. Other control systems for lifting the substrate 112 off the substrate support 116 may also be provided. The substrate support 116 is configured to receive and hold the substrate 112.

[0038] In some embodiments, the substrate support 116 may include a heater (not shown) to heat the substrate 112. The substrate support 116 may operate at an elevated temperature, such as between about -20°C and about 150°C. The temperature may depend on the process operation and the particular recipe. In some embodiments, the plasma chamber 132 may also operate at a pressure, such as between about 1 mTorr and about 1 Torr.

[0039] In some embodiments, the processing apparatus 100 may include a radio frequency (RF) power supply 120 that can be used to bias / charge the substrate support 116. The RF power supply 120 can be defined by one or more RF generators. If multiple RF generators are provided, different frequencies can be used to achieve various tuning characteristics. A bias matching circuit 118 is coupled between the RF power supply 120 and the substrate support 116. In this manner, the RF power supply 120 is connected to the substrate support 116.

[0040] The coil 134 is positioned above the window 106. The coil 134 may be made of a conductive material and include at least one full turn. Figure 1A The coil 134 shown in FIG. 1 includes at least three turns. The RF power supply 121 is configured to supply RF power to the coil 134. The matching circuit 102 is coupled between the RF power supply 121 and the coil 134. In this manner, the RF power supply 121 is connected to the coil 134. In some embodiments, an optional Faraday shield (not shown) is positioned between the coil 134 and the window 106. The Faraday shield can be maintained in a spaced relationship relative to the coil 134. The Faraday shield can be placed immediately above the window 106. The Faraday shield can prevent metal or other substances from being deposited on the window 106 of the plasma chamber 132.

[0041] RF power is supplied from the RF power supply 121 to the coil 134 so that an RF current flows through the coil 134. The RF current flowing through the coil 134 may generate an electromagnetic field around the coil 134. The electromagnetic field generates an induced current in the plasma chamber 132, which acts on the gas present in the plasma chamber 132 to generate plasma. Various ions and / or radicals from the plasma may interact with the substrate 112 to perform a deposition or etching operation.

[0042] In some embodiments, the processing apparatus 100 optionally includes a plasma grid (not shown) that can be used to divide the plasma chamber 132 into an upper portion and a lower portion. The plasma grid can be used to limit the number of hot electrons that enter the lower portion of the plasma chamber 132. In some embodiments, the processing apparatus 100 is designed to operate such that the plasma present in the lower portion of the plasma chamber 132 is an ion-ion plasma and the plasma present in the upper portion of the plasma chamber 132 is an electron-ion plasma.

[0043] The process gas may be introduced into the plasma chamber 132 from the top of the plasma chamber 132 via the first gas injector 104, and / or from the side of the plasma chamber 132 via the second gas injector 110. The process gas may include a vaporized liquid precursor or a vaporized solid precursor, which may be vaporized in a solid source vaporizer (not shown) upstream of the processing apparatus 100. One or more reactant gases may be supplied via the first gas injector 104 and / or the second gas injector 110. In some embodiments, the gas injectors 104, 110 may be replaced by a showerhead. It should be understood that additional or other gas supplies may be provided to supply different gases to the plasma chamber 132 for various types of operations.

[0044] Various ways of injecting gas into the plasma chamber 132 show that the process gas, vaporized liquid precursor, and / or vaporized solid precursor can be provided to the plasma chamber 132 from various locations. In some embodiments, only the first gas injector 104 is used. In certain other embodiments, only the second gas injector 110 is used. In certain other embodiments, both the first gas injector 104 and the second gas injector 110 are used. In some embodiments, the manifold 122 controls which gases are supplied to each of the different gas lines. The manifold 122 enables any type of gas (reactant, carrier gas, precursor, etc.) to be provided from any of the different gas lines. In some embodiments, the carrier gas may include gases such as oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), and helium (He). These gases may be introduced into the plasma chamber 132 without mixing, or may be mixed with other gases before being introduced into the plasma chamber 132.

[0045] The manifold 122 can be used to select, switch, and / or mix the outputs from the various delivery systems in the delivery system 128. In some embodiments, the delivery system 128 may include an etching gas delivery system 127 and a deposition precursor delivery system 129. The etching gas delivery system 127 can be configured to output etching gas. Examples of etching gases include, but are not limited to, chlorine (Cl2), hydrogen bromide (HBr), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The deposition precursor delivery system 129 can be configured to provide a liquid precursor that is vaporized and delivered in a vapor form during a deposition process (e.g., an ALD process). Thus, the deposition precursor can be introduced into the plasma chamber 132 and can be adsorbed on the surface of the substrate 112. The adsorbed precursor can be converted using plasma to form a film with a limited amount of adsorption. In some embodiments, the deposition precursor includes an aminosilane precursor. An exemplary deposition precursor can have a chemical composition of the following formula: C x H y N z O a Si b .

[0046] The vacuum pump system 130 is connected to the plasma chamber 132 and can be used to extract the process gas from the plasma chamber 132 and maintain a certain pressure in the plasma chamber 132. A valve 126 can be disposed between the exhaust portion 124 and the vacuum pump system 130 to control the amount of vacuum suction applied to the plasma chamber 132. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system 130 can include a single or double mechanical dry pump and / or a turbomolecular pump. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system 130 can be activated to purge the plasma chamber 132 after each deposition or etching operation is completed. An example of the vacuum pump system 130 is shown in FIG. Figure 1B The vacuum pump system 130 is fluidly connected to the plasma chamber 132 and can be used to remove etching gases, deposition precursors, and reaction byproducts from the plasma chamber 132 .

[0047] When the processing apparatus 100 is installed in a clean room or manufacturing facility, it can be coupled to facilities (not shown). The facilities include piping that provides process gases, vacuum, temperature control, and environmental particle control. When these facilities are installed in the target manufacturing facility, these facilities can be coupled to the processing apparatus 100. In addition, the processing apparatus 100 can be coupled to a transfer chamber that allows a robot arm to transfer substrates in and out of the plasma chamber 132 using an automation system.

[0048] The processing device 100 may also include a system controller 108. The system controller 108 (which may include one or more physical or logical controllers) controls some or all operations of the processing device 100. The system controller 108 may include one or more memory devices and one or more processors. The processor may include a central processing unit (CPU) or computer, analog and / or digital input / output connectors, a stepper motor controller board, and other similar components. Instructions for performing appropriate control operations are executed on the processor. These instructions may be stored on a memory device associated with the system controller 108 or it may be provided over a network. In some embodiments, the system controller 108 executes system control software.

[0049] The system control software may include instructions for controlling the timing and / or magnitude of application of any one or more of the following chamber operating conditions: the mix and / or composition of gases, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, wafer / wafer support temperature, bias applied to the substrate (which may be zero in many embodiments), frequency and power applied to coils or other plasma generating components, substrate position, substrate movement speed, and other parameters of the specific process performed by the tool. The system control software may further control heating operations, sweep operations, and cleaning operations via the vacuum pump system 130. The system control software may be configured in any suitable manner. For example, subroutines or control objects of many process tool components may be written to control the operation of the necessary process tool components to perform the processes of various process tools. The system control software may be encoded in any suitable computer readable programming language.

[0050] In some embodiments, the system control software includes input / output control (IOC) sequence instructions for controlling the various parameters described above. For example, each stage of a semiconductor processing process may include one or more instructions executed by the system controller 108. For example, instructions for setting process conditions for a stage may be included in a corresponding recipe stage. In some embodiments, the recipe stages may be arranged in sequence so that the steps in the doping process are performed in a certain order for the process stage. For example, a recipe may be configured to perform an etching operation and include one or more cycles of an ALD process performed between each of the etching operations. The recipe may be configured to perform a sweep operation and / or a cleaning operation between an etching operation and one or more cycles of an ALD process.

[0051] In some embodiments, the system controller 108 is configured with instructions for performing one or more of the following operations: using one or more etching gases from the etching gas delivery system 127 to perform an etching operation on the substrate 112 in the plasma chamber 132; and using one or more deposition precursors from the deposition precursor delivery system 129 to perform a deposition operation on the substrate 112 in the plasma chamber 132. The system controller 108 may be further configured with instructions for exhausting the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the plasma chamber 132 using the vacuum pump system 130. The system controller 108 may be further configured with instructions for heating a pump surface of the vacuum pump system 130 to an elevated temperature. The system controller 108 may be further configured with instructions for purging the one or more etching gases or the one or more deposition precursors from the vacuum pump system 130 according to a purge time determined by residual gas analysis (RGA) or Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analysis. The system controller 108 may be further configured with instructions for performing a cleaning operation using reactive gas flowing through the vacuum pump system 130 before or after the etching operation.

[0052] In some embodiments, other computer software and / or programs may be used. Examples of programs or program sections for this purpose include substrate positioning programs, process gas composition control programs, pressure control programs, heater control programs, and RF power supply control programs.

[0053] In some cases, the system controller 108 controls gas concentrations, substrate movement, and / or power supplied to the coils 134 and / or substrate support 116. The system controller 108 can control gas concentrations by, for example, opening and closing associated valves to produce one or more inlet gas flows that provide the necessary reactants at appropriate concentrations. Substrate movement can be controlled by, for example, instructing a substrate positioning system to move as required. The power supplied to the coils 134 and / or substrate support 116 can be controlled to provide a specific RF power level. If a grid is used, the RF power can be adjusted by the system controller 108 to generate an electron-ion plasma in the upper portion of the plasma chamber 132 and an ion-ion plasma in the lower portion of the plasma chamber 132. In addition, the system controller 108 can be configured to supply power to the substrate support 116 under conditions such that an electron-ion plasma is not formed in the lower portion of the plasma chamber 132.

[0054] The system controller 108 can control these and other aspects based on sensor outputs (e.g., when power, potential, pressure, gas level, etc. reaches a certain threshold), the timing of operations (e.g., opening valves, purging, etc. at certain times in the process), or based on instructions received from a user.

[0055] In some embodiments, the system controller 108 is part of a system, which may be part of the examples described above. Such a system may include a semiconductor processing apparatus, including one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more workstations for processing, and / or specific processing components (wafer pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronic devices to control their operation before, during, and after processing of semiconductor wafers or substrates. These electronic devices may be referred to as "controllers," which may control various components or subcomponents of one or more systems. Depending on the requirements of the process and / or the type of system, the system controller 108 can be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of etching gases and deposition precursors into the plasma chamber 132, temperature settings (such as heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, RF generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, position and operation settings, wafer transportation in and out of the tool, the operation of purging gases and byproducts from the plasma chamber 132, the operation of purging gases and byproducts from the vacuum pump system 130, the heating of component surfaces of the vacuum pump system 130, and the operation of purging the vacuum pump system 130 with reactive gases.

[0056] Broadly speaking, the system controller 108 may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receive instructions, send instructions, control operations, allow cleaning operations, allow endpoint measurements, etc. The integrated circuits may include a chip in the form of hardware that stores program instructions, a digital signal processor (DSP), a chip defined as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (such as software). The program instructions may be instructions transmitted to the system controller 108 in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for performing a particular process on a semiconductor wafer, or for a semiconductor substrate, or for a system. In some embodiments, these operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer that is used to complete one or more processing steps during the manufacture of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of a substrate.

[0057] In some embodiments, the system controller 108 may be part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with the system, coupled to the system, or connected to the system via a network, or a combination thereof. For example, the system controller 108 may be located in the "cloud" or may be all or part of a wafer fab host computer system that may allow remote access to substrate processing. The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of a manufacturing operation, view the history of past manufacturing operations, view trends or performance criteria from multiple manufacturing operations, change parameters of a current process, set a processing step to continue a current process, or start a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (such as a server) may provide a processing recipe to the system via a network that may include a local area network or the Internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that enables input or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then transmitted from the remote computer to the system. In some examples, the system controller 108 receives instructions in the form of data that specify parameters for each of the processing steps to be performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that these parameters may be specific to the type of process to be performed, as well as the type of tool with which the system controller 108 is configured to interface or control. Thus, as described above, the system controller 108 may be distributed, such as by including one or more separate controllers that are networked together and work toward a common goal, such as the processing and control described herein. An example of a distributed system controller 108 for such purposes may be one or more integrated circuits on a chamber that communicate with one or more integrated circuits located remotely (e.g., at a platform level, or as part of a remote computer), which combine to control the processing on the chamber.

[0058] As described above, depending on one or more processing steps to be performed by the tool, the system controller 108 may communicate with one or more of the following in a semiconductor manufacturing facility: other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools throughout the facility, a host computer, another system controller 108, or tools used in material transport to transport substrate containers to and from tool locations and / or load ports.

[0059] Vacuum pump system

[0060] According to some embodiments, Figure 1B 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system including a roughing pump, wherein the roughing pump is used in series with a turbomolecular pump. However, it should be understood that the vacuum pump system 130 of the present invention may include a vacuum pump system 130 having a roughing pump connected to a turbomolecular pump. Figure 1BThe vacuum pump system 130 is in fluid communication with a processing chamber 132 (such as the plasma chamber described above). The vacuum pump system 130 can control the chamber pressure in the processing chamber 132. The vacuum pump system 130 can remove byproducts, unreacted deposition precursors, and unreacted etching gases from the processing chamber 132. The vacuum pump system 130 can include multiple pumps that operate within a range of varying pressures. Figure 1B As shown in , the vacuum pump system 130 includes a turbomolecular pump 140 and a roughing pump 150, wherein the roughing pump 150 is configured to produce a "rough" vacuum and the turbomolecular pump 140 is configured to follow to produce a very high vacuum. For example, the turbomolecular pump 140 can be configured to produce a vacuum pressure in a very high range (e.g., between about 1 mTorr and about 1 Torr) in the processing chamber 132, while the roughing pump 150 can be configured to produce a vacuum pressure in a relatively low range (e.g., between about 1 Torr and atmospheric pressure) in the processing chamber 132. The roughing pump 150 can also be referred to as a "pre-pump" or "primary pump". For example, the roughing pump 150 can include a primary or secondary mechanical dry pump.

[0061] The roughing pump 150 may be positioned downstream of the turbomolecular pump 140. In some embodiments, a booster pump 160 is optionally disposed between the turbomolecular pump 140 and the roughing pump 150, wherein the booster pump 160 may generate a vacuum pressure within a range between the turbomolecular pump 140 and the roughing pump 150. In some embodiments, the booster pump 160 may be considered as part of the roughing pump 150 of the vacuum pump system 130. In some embodiments, the booster pump 160 may be considered separate from the roughing pump system. In some embodiments, the booster pump 160 includes a blower such as a Roots-type blower. The roughing pump 150 and / or the booster pump 160 may be connected in series with the turbomolecular pump 140 to operate the chamber pressure within a large vacuum pressure range.

[0062] The first valve 152 may be disposed between the turbomolecular pump 140 and the roughing pump 150. The first valve 152 may be controlled to allow the process gas to be discharged from the turbomolecular pump 140 to the roughing pump 150. The second valve 154 may be disposed between an exhaust port 162 and the roughing pump 150, wherein the exhaust port 162 is connected to the process chamber 132. The second valve 154 may be controlled to allow the process gas to be discharged to a foreline 164 via the exhaust port 162. The foreline 164 connects the roughing pump 150 to the exhaust port 162.

[0063] Split pump or multi-inlet pump

[0064] By shunting the etching gas and the deposition precursor to separate pumps, the etching gas and the deposition precursor can be avoided from mixing in the pump. Therefore, the accumulation of deposition byproducts in any separated pump is avoided or limited. In some embodiments, the vacuum pump system can be designed to have at least two separated roughing pumps. In some embodiments, each of the at least two roughing pumps can include a booster pump or a blower. In some embodiments, each of the at least two roughing pumps can include a rotor assembly, such as a rotating blade. As described below, the vacuum pump system can be operated according to a "complete shunt" scheme or a "bypass shunt" scheme.

[0065] Figure 2A FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus according to some embodiments, the processing apparatus comprising a "completely split flow" vacuum pump system 230a having two separate pumps. In some embodiments, the two separate pumps are two separate roughing pumps. Figure 1A and 1B The processing chamber in the processing chamber 212 can discharge etching gas and deposition precursor through the discharge port. Etching gas and deposition precursor can flow through a pipeline, such as the foreline 214. Valve 224 can be set between the foreline 214 and the two separated pumps. Valve 224 is used as a switchable valve. When the processing chamber 212 performs an etching operation, valve 224 is switched to guide the etching gas through the first roughing pump 220a. When the processing chamber 212 performs a deposition operation, valve 224 is switched to guide the deposition precursor through the second roughing pump 220b. The flow of etching gas and deposition precursor is separated between the separated roughing pumps to avoid the accumulation of deposition products caused by mixing etching gas and deposition gas. In some embodiments, the etching gas includes hydrogen bromide, and the deposition precursor includes an aminosilane precursor. In some embodiments, when the etching gas includes hydrogen bromide, valve 224 can be switched to guide the etching gas through the first roughing pump 220a. The first roughing pump 220a and the second roughing pump 220b are disposed downstream of the foreline 214. A removal line 216 may be connected to the first roughing pump 220a and the second roughing pump 220b and disposed downstream of the first roughing pump 220a and the second roughing pump 220b to remove etching gas and deposition precursor from the vacuum pump system 230a. A purge operation may be performed between etching and deposition operations, wherein the purge time may be sufficient to completely remove etching gas and deposition precursor from the foreline 214. Techniques for determining sufficient purge time are described below.

[0066] The introduced etching gas and the introduced deposition gas can enter the processing chamber 212 via different gas lines. The etching gas can be provided from the etching gas delivery source, and the deposition gas can be provided from the deposition precursor delivery source. In some embodiments, some deposition gases from the deposition precursor delivery source can be diverted by the shunt line 218 and discharged directly to the second roughing pump 220b. The diverted deposition gas does not enter the processing chamber 212. The shunt line 218 can be coupled to the deposition precursor delivery system fluid, and the shunt line 218 is configured to guide the unused deposition precursor in the deposition cycle to the second roughing pump 220b. The deposition cycle can be an ALD cycle. Generally, ALD is a deposition technique that uses a surface self-limiting deposition reaction to deposit films layer by layer. Each ALD cycle includes a sequence of dosing and conversion stages. In some embodiments, the ALD cycle includes a sequence of dosing, sweeping, conversion, and sweeping stages. The dosing phase involves the delivery and adsorption of precursor materials onto the substrate surface in the processing chamber, while the conversion phase involves converting the adsorbed precursor material into an adsorption-limited amount of deposition material (e.g., a passivation material). The conversion phase generally involves the delivery of a reactant species, such as an oxidizing species (e.g., O2), to convert the adsorbed precursor material. During the conversion phase of the ALD cycle, deposition gas may continue to flow from the deposition precursor delivery source. However, some of the deposition gas flowing from the deposition precursor delivery source may be diverted during the conversion phase of the ALD cycle. This diverted deposition gas does not mix with the etching gas in the processing chamber or in any of the roughing pumps.

[0067] Figure 2B FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus according to some embodiments, the processing apparatus comprising a "bypass" vacuum pump system 230b having two separate pumps. Figure 1A and 1BThe etching gas and deposition precursor can be discharged through the exhaust port. The etching gas and deposition precursor can flow through a pipeline, such as a foreline 234. The etching gas and deposition precursor flow through the first roughing pump 240a without including a valve for switching between the etching gas and the deposition precursor. However, some deposition gas can be diverted to the second roughing pump 240b via a shunt line 238. The deposition gas does not participate in the deposition operation occurring in the processing chamber 232. Specifically, the deposition gas during the conversion phase of the ALD cycle is diverted to the second roughing pump 240b via a shunt line. In other words, the unused deposition precursor in the ALD cycle flows out of the deposition precursor delivery system and flows directly through the second roughing pump 240b without entering the processing chamber 232. Thus, the deposition precursors during the dosing phase of the ALD cycle pass through the first roughing pump 240a and mix with the etching gas, while the deposition precursors during the conversion phase of the ALD cycle pass through the second roughing pump 240b and do not mix with the etching gas. Although some deposition gas will mix with the etching gas in the first roughing pump 240a, the amount of mixing is significantly reduced, so that the accumulation of deposition byproducts is significantly reduced. In addition, the second roughing pump 240b is not in fluid communication with the processing chamber 232, so the second roughing pump 240b can be shared among multiple modules / equipment. Multiple shunt lines from other modules / equipment (not shown) can shunt unused deposition precursors in the ALD cycle through the second roughing pump 240b.

[0068] Figure 2C Schematic diagram of an exemplary processing apparatus according to some embodiments, the processing apparatus includes a "multi-inlet" vacuum pump system 230c operating in different stages. The vacuum pump system 230c may have a pump with multiple inlets, rather than having separate pumps for receiving etching and deposition gases. The process gas exhausted from the process chamber may include etching and deposition gases. One of the multiple inlets may be opened to receive the process gas from the process chamber based on the operating pressure of the pump. For example, the first inlet 252 may be opened in the low pressure stage 254 to receive the process gas, and the second inlet 262 may be opened in the high pressure stage 264 to receive the process gas. In Figure 2CIn the embodiment of the present invention, the pump may include a roughing pump (not shown). The roughing pump may include or not include a booster pump (or blower). When the roughing pump operates in the low pressure range, the first exhaust port 256 coupled to the first inlet 252 may be opened to discharge the process gas from the process chamber (not shown). When the roughing pump operates in the high pressure range, the second exhaust port 266 coupled to the second inlet 262 may be opened to discharge the process gas from the process chamber. In some embodiments, the high pressure range is between about 1 Torr to about 10 Torr or between about 0.5 Torr to about 5 Torr, and the low pressure range is between about 0.5 Torr to about 3 Torr or between about 0.1 Torr to about 1 Torr. In some embodiments, the deposition gas is typically discharged from the process chamber during the high pressure range, while the etching gas is typically discharged from the process chamber during the low pressure range. In particular, ALD processes tend to operate in the high pressure range.

[0069] The accumulation of deposition byproducts in the roughing pump may be affected by pressure and / or temperature. The components operating in the low pressure stage 254 may be unheated, while the components operating in the high pressure stage 264 may be heated. In order to prevent the accumulation of deposition byproducts in the high pressure stage 264, the components of the pump may be heated to an elevated temperature sufficient to prevent the accumulation of byproducts. In some embodiments, the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature required to prevent the accumulation of byproducts. In some embodiments, the elevated temperature is equal to or greater than about 160°C, between about 80°C and about 500°C, between about 100°C and about 400°C, between about 120°C and about 300°C, or between about 150°C and about 250°C. Without being limited by any theory, during the high pressure stage of the pump, mixing between the deposition precursor and the etching gas is more likely to occur, while during the low pressure stage of the pump, mixing between the deposition precursor and the etching gas is less likely to occur. Therefore, heating the components of the pump to an elevated temperature during the high pressure stage can avoid or minimize the accumulation of deposition byproducts. The aspect of heating the pump components in the pump is described in more detail below.

[0070] In some embodiments, a pump assembly operating within the low pressure stage 254 may be susceptible to accumulation of deposition byproducts. This is in addition to the pump assembly operating within the high pressure stage 264. In some embodiments, the blower assembly may be separate from the rotor assembly of the vacuum pump system 230c. The blower assembly may be part of the booster pump of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, the blower assembly may operate during the low pressure stage 254 of the roughing pump, while the rotor assembly may operate during the high pressure stage 264 of the roughing pump. In some embodiments, the blower assembly and the rotor assembly may be heated to an elevated temperature sufficient to prevent accumulation of byproducts. Such an assembly is shown in FIG. Figure 3 middle.

[0071] Surface coating

[0072] The vacuum pump system (including roughing pump and its components) can be coated with one or more materials to limit surface reactions, which otherwise cause deposition byproducts in the vacuum pump system to accumulate. The various pump components of the pump may include but are not limited to a rotor assembly, a stator assembly, an inlet, a bearing, a shaft, and a transmission gear. Additional pump components may also include a booster pump and a blower, which may be provided as a separate unit or integrated with the pump. The rotor assembly may include, for example, rotating blades located on a counter-rotating shaft. The transmission gear transfers torque to the shaft and causes the rotating blades to rotate in opposite directions and mesh with each other. The stator assembly may include, for example, a housing for surrounding the rotor assembly. One or more inlets may receive etching gases and deposition precursors discharged from the processing chamber, wherein the one or more inlets may be coupled to the stator assembly. The one or more inlets may be connected to a channel leading to the rotor assembly. The bearing may support various components of the pump, such as a shaft.

[0073] In some embodiments, the pump assembly of the pump in the vacuum pump system is made of a metal material (e.g., iron). For example, the pump assembly may be made of cast iron. However, a pump assembly made of cast iron or other metal material may be susceptible to corrosion and / or accumulation of deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the surface of the pump assembly may be coated with one or more materials that are resistant to corrosion and / or accumulation of deposition byproducts. Therefore, the surface coating on the surface of the pump assembly can eliminate or at least reduce surface reactions that would otherwise cause accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0074] Exemplary materials for the surface coating may include, but are not limited to, plated nickel, plated cobalt, titanium nitride (TiN), Inconel, Hastelloy, ceramic materials, fluoropolymers, and combinations thereof. Such materials may be corrosion resistant materials. The surface of at least one inlet and rotor assembly of the pump may be coated with a surface coating to protect the rotor assembly and inlet of the pump from degradation caused by accumulation of deposition byproducts. Other surfaces of the pump assembly (including bearings, shafts, etc.) may also be coated with a surface coating.

[0075] In some embodiments, the pump components of the pumps in the vacuum pump system are made of ceramic materials, such as aluminum oxide (Al2O3). Instead of coated metal materials, the pump components can be made of materials that are resistant to corrosion and / or accumulation of deposition byproducts. Thus, these pump components can eliminate or at least reduce surface reactions that would otherwise cause accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0076] In some embodiments, the pump assembly may be heated to further eliminate or reduce surface reactions that lead to accumulation of deposition byproducts. Certain pump assemblies may be heated to elevated temperatures (e.g., a temperature of at least about 160° C.) to avoid or reduce accumulation of deposition byproducts. For example, one or more shafts may be connected to and support one or more rotor assemblies, wherein each of the shafts may be connected to a heat source for heating the surface of the one or more rotor assemblies. Examples of heat sources may include, but are not limited to, electrical wires, heating lamps, and thermal fluids.

[0077] It should be understood that the embodiments using the aforementioned materials to limit surface reactions can be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts. It should also be understood that the embodiments using the aforementioned materials to limit surface reactions can be combined with one or more of the embodiments described below for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0078] Pump heating

[0079] There are challenges in that all surfaces of the various pump components are heated spatially to a sufficiently hot temperature to avoid accumulation of deposition byproducts. Improvements in the thermal design of a pump (e.g., a roughing pump) can keep the surface of the pump component hot enough to avoid accumulation of deposition byproducts. Aspects of the present invention provide a method for exhausting etching gas and deposition precursors using a vacuum pump system, and heating the surface of the pump component of the vacuum pump system to an elevated temperature. The elevated temperature is hot enough to avoid accumulation of deposition byproducts caused by reactions between the etching gas and the deposition precursor. For example, the elevated temperature may be equal to or greater than about 160°C, between about 80°C and about 500°C, between about 100°C and about 400°C, between about 120°C and about 300°C, or between about 150°C and about 250°C. The elevated temperature may be maintained while exhausting the etching gas and the deposition precursor. The etching gas may include hydrogen bromide, and the deposition precursor may include an aminosilane precursor.

[0080] In some embodiments, the heating of the pump assembly surface of the pump can be achieved by circulating a hot fluid or a heated purge gas through the pump. A storage tank of hot fluid or heated purge gas can be set outside the vacuum pump system, and the vacuum pump system can draw from the storage tank to heat its pump assembly. In some embodiments, the operation of heating the surface of the pump assembly includes heating one or more shafts, which are connected to and support one or more rotor assemblies in the pump. In some embodiments, each shaft may include a channel for accommodating a heat source, wherein the heat source includes a wire, a heating lamp, a hot fluid, or a combination thereof. The channel enables thermal energy to be conducted via the shaft and transferred to the surrounding surface by radiation and / or conduction. Therefore, the surface of one or more rotor assemblies can be heated. The surface of the one or more rotor assemblies is heated to the following temperature: at least 160°C, between about 80°C and about 500°C, between about 100°C and about 400°C, between about 120°C and about 300°C, or between about 150°C and about 250°C.

[0081] Figure 3 334 is an example of a rotor assembly in a vacuum pump system 300 according to some embodiments. Deposition precursors and etching gases are exhausted from the process chamber and enter the vacuum pump system 300 having a stator assembly 310, which surrounds a first rotor assembly 322 and a second rotor assembly 324. The deposition precursors and etching gases pass through a channel 312 in the stator assembly 310. The first rotor assembly 322 and the second rotor assembly 324 can rotate in opposite directions to push the gas through the vacuum pump system 300. The first shaft 332 can be connected to and support the first rotor assembly 322, and the second shaft 334 can be connected to and support the second rotor assembly 324. In some embodiments, each shaft 332, 334 can be hollow or provide a channel or opening through which a wire, a heating lamp, a hot fluid, or other heat source can pass. In some embodiments, each shaft 332, 334 can include an outer insulating material and an inner conductive material. The shafts 332, 334 can be configured to rotate in opposite directions of rotation.

[0082] It should be understood that the embodiment using pump heating can be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts (including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, and surface coatings). It should also be understood that the embodiment using pump heating can be combined with one or more of the embodiments described below for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0083] Pump cleaning

[0084] A sweep operation may be performed between deposition and etching operations to more thoroughly sweep deposition precursors, etching gases, and / or deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. The duration of the sweep operation may be determined to be long enough so that no deposition precursors, etching gases, and deposition byproducts are detected in the vacuum pump system. In this way, deposition precursors and etching gases have no chance to mix together and cause deposition byproducts to accumulate. One or more sensors in the vacuum pump system may be used to make this determination. For example, residual gas analysis (RGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis may be used to measure the sweep time for sweeping deposition precursors, etching gases, and deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the etching gas comprises hydrogen bromide, and the deposition precursor comprises an aminosilane precursor.

[0085] A method of purging a pump (e.g., a roughing pump) may include performing a purging operation between etching and deposition operations in a processing chamber. A method may include: performing an etching operation on a wafer in a processing chamber, wherein one or more etching gases are discharged by a pump in fluid communication with the processing chamber; and purging the one or more etching gases from the pump according to a first predetermined duration. The method may also include: performing a deposition operation on a wafer in a processing chamber, wherein one or more deposition precursors are discharged by the pump; and purging the one or more deposition precursors from the pump according to a second predetermined duration. In some embodiments, the first predetermined duration and the second predetermined duration may be determined by RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis. For example, RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis may utilize sensors to measure when etching gas and / or deposition precursors are no longer present in the gas line of the vacuum pump system, thereby serving as an endpoint detection system. Therefore, the gas analysis may determine a suitable purge time to remove the etching gas or deposition precursor from the vacuum pump system.

[0086] A method for determining a purge time to purge a pump may include performing a purge operation between etching and deposition operations in a processing chamber and measuring a purge time during the purge operation. The method may include: performing an etching operation on a wafer in a processing chamber, wherein one or more etching gases are exhausted by a pump in fluid communication with the processing chamber; purging the one or more etching gases from the pump; and measuring a first purge time for purging the one or more etching gases. The method may also include: performing a deposition operation on a wafer in a processing chamber, wherein one or more deposition precursors are exhausted by the pump; purging the one or more deposition precursors from the pump; and measuring a second purge time for purging the one or more deposition precursors. The purge time may be measured by RGA, FTIR gas analysis, or other suitable gas analysis. Future purge operations performed in the processing chamber may utilize the purge time measured by the gas analysis so that the purge time is long enough to completely purge or at least substantially purge the deposition precursors and etching gases from the vacuum pump system.

[0087] Longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times can avoid unwanted mixing of deposition precursors and etching gases in the vacuum pump system. Embodiments using longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times can be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts (including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, and pump heating). For example, RGA or FTIR gas analysis can be used to determine when to switch valves to divert etching gas through a first roughing pump and when to switch valves to divert deposition precursors through a second roughing pump. It should be understood that embodiments using longer purge times and more accurately measured purge times can be combined with one or more embodiments described below for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts.

[0088] Pump cleaning

[0089] A cleaning operation may be performed between deposition and etching operations, after deposition or etching operations are completed, or after a certain number of wafers are processed in a processing chamber. A cleaning operation may be performed to clean the vacuum pump system to prevent mixing of deposition precursors with etching gases or to remove deposition byproducts from the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the deposition precursor may include an aminosilane precursor, and the etching gas may include hydrogen bromide. The execution of the cleaning operation includes flowing a reactive gas through a vacuum pump system, wherein the vacuum pump system includes one or more pumps in fluid communication with the processing chamber. The one or more pumps may include a roughing pump. In some embodiments, the one or more pumps may also include a booster pump and / or a turbomolecular pump. In some embodiments, the reactive gas is flowed through the processing chamber and through one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, the reactive gas includes free radicals and / or ions, which are generated in situ in the processing chamber, generated in a remote plasma source, or generated by a plasma source installed in a foreline of one or more pumps connected to the vacuum pump system.

[0090] The cleaning operation generally involves cleaning chemicals that effectively remove deposition precursors, etching gases, and deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the cleaning operation can be part of a waferless automatic cleaning (WAC) operation, but it should be understood that the cleaning operation can be performed with or without a wafer in the processing chamber. The cleaning chemical can include a reactive gas, such as a fluorine-containing species, a chlorine-containing species, a bromine-containing species, an iodine-containing species, an oxygen-containing species, or a combination thereof.

[0091] Figure 4 Flow chart of an exemplary method of a cleaning process to prevent accumulation of deposition byproducts in a vacuum pump system according to some embodiments. Figure 4 The cleaning process 400 shown in FIG. 4 may be performed using fewer, additional, or different operations.

[0092] At block 410 of the cleaning process 400, one or more deposition operations are performed in the processing chamber. The one or more deposition operations may utilize one or more deposition precursors to deposit material on the wafer. In some embodiments, the one or more deposition operations may utilize one or more deposition precursors of an ALD cycle. The one or more deposition precursors may include an aminosilane precursor. The one or more deposition precursors may be exhausted to one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system, wherein the one or more pumps are in fluid communication with the processing chamber. The one or more pumps may include a roughing pump.

[0093] At block 420 of the cleaning process 400, one or more etching operations are performed in the process chamber. The one or more etching operations may utilize one or more etching gases to etch material from the wafer. The one or more etching gases may include hydrogen bromide. The one or more etching gases may be exhausted to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system. Figure 4As shown in , in some embodiments, the one or more etching operations may be performed before the cleaning operation of block 430. Alternatively, the one or more etching operations may be performed after the cleaning operation of block 430. This is shown in Figure 4 In other words, the cleaning operation can be performed between deposition and etching operations when processing the wafer, or the cleaning operation can be performed after the deposition and etching operations are completed when processing the wafer.

[0094] At block 430, a cleaning operation is performed with a reactive gas flowing through a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the process chamber. In some embodiments, one or more deposition operations of block 410, one or more etching operations of block 420 or block 440, and the cleaning operation of block 430 may be performed with a wafer in the process chamber. In some embodiments, the cleaning operation of block 430 may be performed without a wafer in the process chamber.

[0095] In some embodiments, the reactive gas may include fluorine-containing species, such as nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), xenon difluoride (XeF2), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and chlorine trifluoride (ClF3). In some embodiments, the reactive gas may include oxygen-containing species, such as oxygen (O2) and ozone (O3). In some embodiments, the reactive gas may include chlorine-containing species, such as chlorine (Cl2). The reactive gas may remove deposition precursors or etching precursors from the vacuum pump system, or may remove deposition byproducts formed in the vacuum pump system.

[0096] In some embodiments, the reactive gas may include free radicals and / or ions of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or a combination thereof. The free radicals and / or ions of fluorine may include F * and F2 + , chlorine radicals and / or ions may include Cl * , Cl - , and Cl + , and the oxygen radicals and / or ions may include O* and O2 - In general, free radicals of fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen are more likely to travel through one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system without recombination than ions of fluorine, chlorine, and oxygen. The reactive gas may remove deposition precursors or etching precursors from the vacuum pump system, or may remove deposition byproducts formed in the vacuum pump system.

[0097] In some embodiments of the cleaning process 400, the cleaning process 400 further comprises generating a reactive gas, wherein the reactive gas comprises a plasma-activated species of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or a combination thereof. The plasma-activated species may comprise free radicals and / or ions of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or a combination thereof as described above. Various plasma sources may be used to generate plasma-activated species to perform the cleaning operation of frame 430. In some embodiments, the plasma-activated species may be generated in situ in the processing chamber by a plasma reaction. For example, a fluorine-containing gas, a chlorine-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, or a combination / sequence thereof may be introduced into the processing chamber, and a plasma may be ignited to form a plasma-activated species of a fluorine-containing gas, a chlorine-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, or a combination / sequence thereof. The plasma-activated species may flow out of the processing chamber and pass through one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system to prevent accumulation of deposition byproducts. In some embodiments, the plasma-activated species may be generated in a plasma source located in a foreline, wherein the foreline provides an interconnection between the one or more pumps and the processing chamber. In this way, the plasma-activated species may be generated near the one or more pumps to limit the possibility of recombination before reaching the one or more pumps. For example, a Litmas pump may be installed in the foreline near the one or more pumps. TM A plasma source is provided to generate a plasma activated species of a gas containing fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, or a combination / sequence thereof. In some embodiments, the plasma activated species may be generated in a remote plasma source located outside the foreline. The remote plasma source may be positioned upstream of the foreline. The plasma activated species may be generated in the remote plasma source and injected into the foreline to pass through the one or more pumps.

[0098] In some embodiments of cleaning process 400, during the cleaning operation of frame 430, ozone (O3) may be flowed to one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system. Ozone generally has a longer lifespan than ions and / or free radicals of oxygen. Therefore, ozone is more likely to reach one or more pumps of a vacuum pump system without recombination. In some embodiments, ozone may be provided in a processing chamber and discharged to a vacuum pump system. In some embodiments, ozone may be generated by a separation unit that introduces ozone into a foreline leading to one or more pumps. For example, such a separation unit for generating ozone may be installed in a foreline or in a region between a processing chamber and a foreline. Compared with plasma activated species of oxygen provided by a remote plasma source or provided in situ in a processing chamber, ozone provided by a separation unit or provided in a processing chamber may have a better chance of reaching one or more pumps.

[0099] Ozone flowing to one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system can react with substances in the pumping device to form oxidized products. For example, ozone can transport oxidized free radicals, which form bromine oxide (BrO), silicon dioxide (SiO2), chlorine oxide (ClO), or a combination thereof. After the ozone is flowed to the one or more pumps of the vacuum pump system, a fluorine-containing substance can be flowed to the one or more pumps. The fluorine-containing substance can contain free radicals and / or ions of fluorine, wherein the fluorine-containing substance can originate from the processing chamber or from a remote plasma source. The oxidized products can be etched away by the fluorine-containing substance. Without being limited by any theory, the fluorine-containing substance can make the oxidized products volatile. The volatilized products can be discharged to an emission reduction device.

[0100] In some embodiments, the cleaning operation of frame 430 includes flowing ozone and then flowing the fluorine-containing material through the vacuum pump system to remove or prevent the accumulation of deposition byproducts. The ozone treatment as a cleaning operation can be performed simultaneously during wafer processing or in an interval after wafer processing. In one example, this ozone treatment can be performed simultaneously with performing one or more deposition operations of frame 410 or one or more etching operations of frame 420. For example, ozone can be flowed simultaneously with the etching gas flow in the processing chamber. In another example, this ozone treatment can be performed between one or more deposition operations of frame 410 and one or more etching operations of frame 420. This can cause the deposition precursor to be immediately oxidized. In another example, this ozone treatment can be performed in an interval after one or more deposition operations of frame 410 and one or more etching operations of frame 420.

[0101] The cleaning chemistry used in the cleaning operation can prevent the accumulation of deposition byproducts in the vacuum pump system. The embodiments using such cleaning chemistry can be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments for preventing the accumulation of deposition byproducts, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, pump heating, and longer and more accurately measured purge times. For example, a reactive gas can be flowed through one or more pumps in the cleaning operation while the surface of the pump component is heated to an elevated temperature, wherein the elevated temperature is equal to or greater than about 160°C, between about 80°C and about 500°C, between about 100°C and about 400°C, between about 120°C and about 300°C, or between about 150°C and about 250°C.

[0102] Gas Injector

[0103] Deposition precursors and etching gases can be discharged from the processing chamber by the roughing pump of the vacuum pump system. The mixing of deposition precursors and etching gases may cause unwanted deposition in the roughing pump, which may damage the pumping equipment. Specifically, deposition precursors and etching gases may react with components in the vacuum pump system to form by-products, which may cause vacuum pump system failures. Although purge gas (e.g., N2) can be used to exhaust the roughing pump, unwanted deposition may still occur in the roughing pump (especially on the moving parts of the roughing pump). For example, unwanted deposition may occur at the back end of the roughing pump or at the outlet of the roughing pump.

[0104] Without being limited by any theory, a high pressure point may exist at the outlet of the roughing pump, wherein such a high pressure point is usually adjacent to the rear section of the roughing pump. The discharged gas is discharged from the roughing pump and can be discharged to atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure. As used herein, "near atmospheric" pressure is a pressure within 10% of atmospheric pressure (i.e., 760Torr). Due to such a high pressure point at the outlet (e.g., exhaust port) of the roughing pump, this may cause stagnation of the exhaust gas at the outlet of the roughing pump. This may cause the deposition precursor and the etching gas to remain at the outlet of the roughing pump for a relatively long period of time. The deposition precursor and the etching gas may stay long enough to mix and cause unwanted deposition. In addition, without being limited by any particular theory, the higher gas pressure at each stage of the vacuum pump system can significantly increase the reaction rate. Specifically, higher pressure conditions can accelerate the reaction between the deposition precursor (e.g., aminosilane) and the etching gas (e.g., hydrogen bromide), while lower pressure conditions can slow down the reaction between the deposition precursor and the etching gas.

[0105] Figure 5Schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system 500 including a roughing pump 510 having an outlet 512 in fluid communication with an abatement assembly 514. The vacuum pump system 500 includes a roughing pump 510. In some embodiments, the roughing pump 510 may be used in combination with an optional booster pump 520, or may optionally include a booster pump 520. Deposition precursors and etching gases may be exhausted from a processing chamber (not shown) via the roughing pump 510. The roughing pump 510 may include one or more moving parts, wherein the one or more moving parts may include a rotor assembly. In some embodiments, a purge gas 530 (e.g., N2) may be provided to flow through the roughing pump 510 to exhaust the deposition precursors and etching gases from the roughing pump 510. The exhausted deposition precursors and etching gases may leave the roughing pump 510 at the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510. The outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510 may be an exhaust port. In some embodiments, the discharged deposition precursor and etching gas can be discharged to the abatement assembly 514 to treat the discharged deposition precursor and etching gas. A pipeline 516 including a pipeline and a conduit can connect the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510 to the abatement assembly 514. The discharged deposition precursor and etching gas can be discharged at an exhaust pressure of about 760 Torr at the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510. During operation, one or more stages of the roughing pump 510 can be at a pressure below atmospheric pressure (e.g., below 760 Torr) or low pressure. During operation, the pipeline 516 between the abatement assembly 514 and the roughing pump 510 can be at atmospheric pressure (i.e., about 760 Torr). Even if an additional dilution gas 540 (e.g., N2) is provided at the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510, any pressure reduction can still be ignored to effectively discharge gas from the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510 and prevent unwanted deposition. The dilution gas 540 is used to dilute the exhaust gas, and the pipeline 516 between the roughing pump 510 and the abatement assembly 514 is only under a low amount of vacuum suction, which may be several Torr lower than atmospheric pressure.

[0106] As described above, high pressure at the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510 may cause stagnation and cause exhaust gas retention, and may increase the reaction rate of unwanted byproduct formation. Unwanted byproducts may form on one or more moving parts of the roughing pump 510, including on any of the one or more moving parts adjacent to the outlet 512 of the roughing pump 510. This may cause one or more moving parts to stick and cause malfunction / damage to the vacuum pump system 500.

[0107] In the present disclosure, one or more gas injectors may be provided at the outlet of the roughing pump, from which gas is discharged. The one or more gas injectors may be configured to reduce the pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump, wherein the one or more gas injectors may be connected in series with the roughing pump and located downstream of the roughing pump. The one or more gas injectors near the outlet of the roughing pump are used to reduce the discharge pressure of the roughing pump. The one or more gas injectors generate suction to effectively discharge the exhaust gas from the outlet of the roughing pump, thereby reducing the discharge pressure at the roughing pump.

[0108] A gas ejector is a pump that uses high pressure gas to carry and compress other gases. A gas ejector produces a high speed jet and entrains a low pressure stream to produce a mixed stream moving at an intermediate speed. In other words, a gas ejector uses high pressure gas to compress and discharge low pressure gas without the use of moving parts. As used herein, a gas ejector may also be referred to as an extractor, a venturi nozzle, a venturi pump, a venturi nozzle ejector, a jet pump, a jet mixer, a nozzle ejector, an air ejector, and an ejector.

[0109] One or more gas ejectors of the present disclosure may be a venturi pump, which utilizes the "venturi effect" to efficiently exhaust gas from the roughing pump and reduce the pressure at the outlet of the roughing pump. The "venturi effect" is the reduction in fluid pressure caused when the fluid flows through a constricted portion of a channel. According to some embodiments, Figure 6 600 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an exemplary venturi pump 600, which shows the pressure gradient over the entire length of the venturi pump 600. The injection gas is introduced as a motive flow at a high speed and a high intake pressure. The main body of the venturi pump 600 includes a converging power section 610, a gradually expanding discharge section 620, and a venturi gap 630 between the converging power section 610 and the gradually expanding discharge section 620. The converging power section 610 increases the fluid velocity of the high-pressure gas flow. The increase in fluid velocity causes a low-pressure zone, which provides suction to inhale the low-pressure gas flow. The low-pressure zone can be provided in the suction port 640 of the venturi pump 600, wherein the suction port 640 is fluidly connected to the converging power section 610. The suction port 640 can be connected to a device that requires vacuum or reduced pressure. The low-pressure gas flow mixes with the high-pressure gas flow in the converging power section 610. The mixed gas stream is conveyed through a venturi gap 630 located downstream of the converging power section 610. The venturi gap 630 is a constricted portion of the body of the venturi pump 600 in which the mixed gas stream is maintained at a low pressure and has a high fluid velocity. The mixed gas stream then flows through a diverging discharge section 620, which then reduces the fluid velocity and increases the pressure, thereby compressing the mixed gas stream. This enables the venturi pump 600 to discharge the mixed gas stream at a pressure greater than the pressure of the suction port 640.

[0110] Typically, gas ejectors or venturi pumps are used in many large industrial applications. In one example, venturi pumps are used to transport and move powders, granules, and bulk solids in the food industry. In another example, venturi pumps can draw a vacuum for pick-and-place operations. In yet another example, venturi pumps are used in the power plant industry to exhaust steam. In yet another example, venturi pumps are used to determine fuel or combustion pressure in jet or rocket engines.

[0111] However, one or more venturi pumps of the present invention are used with a vacuum pump system of a semiconductor processing apparatus to reduce the pressure at the discharge of a roughing pump and limit deposits in the roughing pump. The one or more venturi pumps are connected in series with a roughing pump or a primary pump of the vacuum pump system. An example of a vacuum pump system including one or more venturi pumps is shown in Figure 7 , 8A , 8B, and 8C. Semiconductor processing equipment may include processing chambers to perform deposition and etching operations.

[0112] In an alternative, multiple venturi pumps are used as primary pumps or pre-pumps for a vacuum pump system. Multiple venturi pumps may be connected in series and / or in parallel to provide a multi-stage venturi pre-pump. Multiple venturi pumps may be connected to an exhaust portion of a processing chamber, wherein the processing chamber is configured to perform deposition and etching operations. Multiple venturi pumps may be used to exhaust deposition precursors and etching gases from the processing chamber. In some embodiments, multiple venturi pumps may be configured to achieve a "partial" vacuum or a "rough" vacuum in the processing chamber, wherein the processing chamber may be brought to a pressure between about 1 Torr and atmospheric pressure. Instead of using a roughing pump, multiple venturi pumps may perform the same or similar function as a roughing pump, but the multiple venturi pumps do not have any moving parts. In some embodiments, the number of multiple venturi pumps may be between about 2 and about 6. Using multiple venturi pumps as primary pumps in a vacuum pump system may avoid the formation of unwanted byproducts between deposition precursors and etching gases. An example of a vacuum pump system using multiple venturi pumps as pre-pumps or primary pumps for a processing chamber is shown in Fig. 9 middle.

[0113] In some embodiments, the venturi pump may be equipped with a connector or component to be mounted on a pump device of a semiconductor processing device. In some embodiments, the venturi pump may be located between the abatement component / system and the roughing pump, wherein the venturi pump is located downstream of the roughing pump and upstream of the abatement component / system. According to some embodiments, Figure 7 An exemplary venturi pump 700 is shown having components configured to be connected to a vacuum pump system. Figure 7, a first connector 710 is used to connect the venturi pump 700 to the outlet of a roughing pump (not shown). The first connector 710 receives exhaust gas from the roughing pump, wherein the exhaust gas may include deposition precursors and etching gases discharged from the processing equipment. The second connector 720 is used to receive injection gas as a motive flow at a high inlet pressure. The injection gas is provided through the body of the venturi pump 700. The injection gas is mixed with the exhaust gas of the roughing pump received from the first connector 710. In some embodiments, the injection gas includes an inert gas, such as helium (He), N2, or clean dry air. The third connector 730 provides a connection to an abatement component to process the gas discharged from the venturi pump 700. Such gases may include, for example, injection gases (e.g., N2), deposition precursors (e.g., aminosilane), etching gases (e.g., HBr), sweep gases, and reactive gases (e.g., CH2F2, CF4, Cl2, SiCl4, NF3, O2, O3, etc.) that can be used during wafer processing and / or cleaning operations. Therefore, the venturi pump 700 may be provided with one or more connectors for connecting to a roughing pump of a semiconductor processing equipment (ALD processing equipment) and for connecting to a facility abatement component / system. Through the venturi pump 700, exhaust gas from the roughing pump is received at a reduced pressure and discharged from the venturi pump 700 at an increased pressure. The venturi pump 700 is used to effectively discharge gas from the moving parts of the roughing pump and avoid deposits in the roughing pump.

[0114] Fig. 8A A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system 800a including a roughing pump 810 is shown according to some embodiments, wherein the roughing pump 810 is modified to be connected in series with a gas ejector. In some embodiments, the gas ejector includes one or more venturi pumps 820. The vacuum pump system 800a includes a roughing pump 810. In some embodiments, the roughing pump 810 may be used in combination with an optional booster pump 840, or may optionally include a booster pump 840. Deposition precursors and etching gases may be discharged from the processing chamber via the roughing pump 810. The roughing pump 810 may include one or more moving parts, wherein the one or more moving parts may include a rotor assembly. In some embodiments, a purge gas 830 (e.g., N2) may be provided to flow through the roughing pump 810 and cause the roughing pump 810 to discharge deposition precursors and etching gases. The discharged deposition precursors and etching gases may leave the roughing pump 810 at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810. The outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810 may be a discharge port.

[0115] One or more venturi pumps 820 may be connected to the outlet 812 or discharge port of the roughing pump 810. In some embodiments, a suction port 822 leading to a low pressure zone of the one or more venturi pumps 820 may be connected to the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810. One or more venturi pumps 820 are connected in series with the roughing pump 810 and are located downstream of the roughing pump 810. One or more venturi pumps 820 are configured to reduce the pressure at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810. Typically, the deposition precursor and the etching gas are discharged from the roughing pump 810 at a certain discharge pressure, which is about atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure. Through one or more venturi pumps 820, the discharge pressure at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810 is reduced to significantly less than atmospheric pressure. For example, the discharge pressure at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810 is equal to or less than about 380 Torr, equal to or less than about 250 Torr, or equal to or less than about 200 Torr. The reduced discharge pressure can prevent or limit the formation of deposition byproducts at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810. In some embodiments, one or more venturi pumps 820 reduce the overall pressure of various stages of the roughing pump 810 itself.

[0116] The above aspects of the Venturi pump can be applied to Fig. 8A The Venturi pump 820 in the Figure 5 The vacuum pump system in the Figure 7 One or more connectors for the venturi pump in the Fig. 8A The modified vacuum pump system 800a in. Fig. 8AOne or more venturi pumps 820 in the venturi pump 820 provide a high-pressure gas flow, which creates a low-pressure zone in the suction port 822, thereby causing an intake flow that draws in the discharged deposition precursor and etching gas. Specifically, the injection gas is flowed into the body of each of the venturi pumps 820. In some embodiments, the injection gas comprises an inert gas (e.g., helium (He)), clean dry air, or N2. In some embodiments, the injection gas is flowed at a pressure between about 40psig and about 80psig. In some embodiments, the injection gas is flowed at room temperature or at an elevated temperature. For example, the injection gas is flowed at a temperature between about 20°C and about 100°C. The injection gas can entrain the discharged deposition precursor and the etching gas and mix with it. Then, the mixed gas is effectively discharged from the one or more venturi pumps 820 to the abatement assembly 814, which is configured to be connected to the outlet 824 of the one or more venturi pumps 820. The abatement assembly 814 is configured to process the mixed gas (including the exhausted deposition precursor and etching gas). Taking advantage of the above-mentioned Venturi effect, the discharge pressure at the outlet 824 of the one or more Venturi pumps 820 can be greater than the discharge pressure at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810, wherein the discharge pressure at the outlet 824 of the Venturi pump 820 can be at atmospheric pressure or near atmospheric pressure. For example, the discharge pressure at the outlet 824 of the one or more Venturi pumps 820 is equal to or greater than about 525 Torr, equal to or greater than about 600 Torr, equal to or greater than about 700 Torr, or equal to or greater than about 760 Torr.

[0117] Other designs or embodiments of the vacuum pump system may incorporate a gas ejector (e.g., a venturi pump) into the vacuum pump system. According to some embodiments, Figure 8B A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system 800b is shown including a roughing pump 810 connected in series with a gas ejector. The gas ejector may be a venturi pump 850. The vacuum pump system 800b includes the roughing pump 810 and optionally includes a booster pump 840 as described above. Figure 8BIn the embodiment, the venturi pump 850 includes a main body, wherein the main body includes a converging power section, a diverging discharge section, and a venturi gap between the converging power section and the diverging discharge section. The deposition precursor and the etching gas are discharged to the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810, which is connected to the suction port 822 of the venturi pump 850. The discharged deposition precursor and the etching gas are then sucked into the converging power section of the venturi pump 850 from the suction port 822. The high-pressure gas flow is introduced by injecting the injection fluid into the converging power section. The injection fluid is mixed with the discharged deposition precursor and the etching gas in the converging power section, and the mixed gas flows through the venturi gap and is discharged in the diverging discharge section. In some embodiments, the venturi pump 850 includes a corrosion-resistant material or is coated with a corrosion-resistant material. In this way, the venturi pump 850 is protected from the caustic chemical action involved in the plasma etching process.

[0118] Figure 8C According to some embodiments, a schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system 800c including a roughing pump 810 is shown, wherein the roughing pump 810 is connected in series with a plurality of gas injectors 860a, 860b. A plurality of gas injectors 860a, 860b can provide gas injectors in multiple stages, which can be connected in series or in parallel with each other. A plurality of gas injectors 860a, 860b can be used to further reduce the discharge pressure at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810. In addition, a plurality of gas injectors 860a, 860b can be used to increase the suction flow at the outlet 812 of the roughing pump 810, so that the discharged deposition precursor and etching gas can be effectively discharged from the roughing pump 810.

[0119] Incorporating one or more gas ejectors or venturi pumps into the pre-pump can avoid accumulation of deposition byproducts in the vacuum pump system. Embodiments using such gas ejectors can be combined with one or more of the aforementioned embodiments for preventing accumulation of deposition byproducts, including embodiments involving separate pumps, separate inlets, surface coatings, pump heating, longer and more accurately measured sweep times, and cleaning chemicals. In one example, during a cleaning operation, a reactive gas (e.g., a plasma activated species of fluorine, chlorine, oxygen, ozone, or a combination thereof) can be flowed through a roughing pump, where the reactive gas is exhausted at the outlet of a primary pump connected to one or more venturi pumps, along with the remaining deposition precursors and etching gases. In another example, the surfaces of the pump components can be heated to an elevated temperature while the pump components exhaust the deposition precursors and etching gases at the outlet of the primary pump connected to one or more venturi pumps.

[0120] Fig. 9A schematic diagram of an exemplary vacuum pump system 900 including a plurality of venturi pumps 920a, 920b, and 920c is shown according to some embodiments, wherein the plurality of venturi pumps 920a, 920b, and 920c are used as a multi-stage venturi pre-pump 910 of the vacuum pump system 900. The vacuum pump system 900 includes a multi-stage venturi pre-pump 910 that replaces a roughing pump. The multi-stage venturi pre-pump 910 includes a plurality of venturi pumps 920a, 920b, and 920c connected in series. The multi-stage venturi pre-pump 910 functions as an effective roughing pump and is fluidically coupled to a turbomolecular pump 930.

[0121] in conclusion

[0122] In the above description, a large number of specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of the proposed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other examples, conventional process operations are not described in detail in order not to obscure the disclosed embodiments. Although the disclosed embodiments are described in conjunction with specific embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the disclosed embodiments.

[0123] The above embodiments have been described in detail for the purpose of clarity of understanding, but it should be understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement the processes, systems, and devices of the embodiments herein. Therefore, the embodiments herein should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and these embodiments are not limited to the details provided herein.

Claims

1. A processing apparatus for etching and deposition operations, comprising: Processing room; an etching gas delivery system configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber; and a deposition precursor delivery system configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the process chamber; and a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the process chamber, wherein the vacuum pump system comprises: First roughing pump; a second roughing pump, wherein the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump and to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump; a turbomolecular pump in fluid communication with one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump; a foreline in fluid communication with the process chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the process chamber; a valve coupled to the foreline and configured to direct the one or more etching gases through the first roughing pump at a first position and configured to direct the one or more deposition precursors through the second roughing pump at a second position; as well as A divert line is in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, wherein the divert line is configured to divert unused deposition precursor in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump. 2 . The processing equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the second roughing pump is connected in parallel with the first roughing pump, wherein the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump are respectively disposed downstream of the foreline.

3. The processing device according to claim 1, comprising a controller configured to perform the following operations: perform one or more etching processes using one or more etching gases in the processing chamber, exhaust the one or more etching gases from the processing chamber using a vacuum pump system, perform one or more deposition processes of a deposition cycle using one or more deposition precursors in the processing chamber, and exhaust the one or more deposition precursors from the processing chamber using the vacuum pump system.

4. The processing tool of claim 1, wherein the one or more etching gases include hydrogen bromide (HBr) and the one or more deposition precursors include an aminosilane precursor.

5. A processing apparatus for etching and deposition operations, comprising: Processing room; an etching gas delivery system configured to introduce one or more etching gases into the processing chamber; and a deposition precursor delivery system configured to introduce one or more deposition precursors into the process chamber; and a vacuum pump system in fluid communication with the process chamber, wherein the vacuum pump system comprises: a first roughing pump, wherein the vacuum pump system is configured to direct the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors through the first roughing pump; Second roughing pump; a turbomolecular pump in fluid communication with one or both of the first roughing pump and the second roughing pump; a foreline in fluid communication with the process chamber and configured to receive the one or more etching gases and the one or more deposition precursors from the process chamber; as well as A divert line is in fluid communication with the deposition precursor delivery system, wherein the divert line is configured to divert unused deposition precursor in a deposition cycle from the deposition precursor delivery system through the second roughing pump.

6. The processing tool of claim 5, wherein the one or more etching gases comprise hydrogen bromide (HBr) and the one or more deposition precursors comprise an aminosilane precursor.

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