Turbomolecular pumps and cathode assemblies for etch reactors

Abstract

A process chamber and method for etching a semiconductor substrate are provided. The process chamber is symmetrical, wherein the centerline of a chuck and a stem of a stage for holding a semiconductor substrate is aligned with the centerline of a channel located in a core of a pump and with the centerline of a gas port through which gas is directed to the process chamber. The stem extends through the channel, and a spiral groove is formed in the channel and in only one of the inner surfaces of the stem or the core to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of gas from the exhaust port of the pump in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the stem and the core.

Description

[0001] priority

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62 / 819,223, filed on March 15, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and methods, systems, and programs for using the same. In some examples, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbomolecular pumps, and etch management provided during operation of the turbomolecular pumps. Background Art

[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.

[0005] The ever-shrinking feature sizes and device geometries for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits continue to require improved processing and machinery. Currently, integrated circuit processing equipment typically manufactures devices with feature sizes of 65 nm (0.065 μm), and in the next generations, feature sizes will shrink further.

[0006] Current processing involves introducing a plasma into a processing chamber to react with or promote a reaction with a substrate disposed therein. The substrate to be processed may be a semiconductor substrate, such as a (silicon) Si substrate. Plasma processing is used for a variety of applications, including etching material from a substrate, depositing material onto a substrate, cleaning a substrate surface, and modifying a substrate surface. As the feature size of components on a substrate decreases, the operating conditions within the processing chamber and the geometry of the processing chamber become more stringent. Summary of the invention

[0007] Exemplary methods, systems, and apparatus relate to providing a symmetrical processing environment. Examples represent possible variations only. For example, in one embodiment, a process chamber system includes a process chamber and a pump. The process chamber includes: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; and a stage disposed within the process chamber, below the gas port; and a pump configured at a lower region of the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber. The pump includes a core having a channel disposed therein. The stage includes a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a rod extending from the chuck, the rod being configured to pass through the entire channel in the core.

[0008] In one embodiment, the lower region of the processing chamber has an opening configured to align with the channel and accommodate the rod, and one or more spiral grooves are formed in the rod opposite the inner surface of the core, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of the gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the rod and the core.

[0009] In one embodiment, the inner surface of the core is planar.

[0010] In one embodiment, the lower region of the processing chamber has an opening configured to align with the channel and accommodate the rod portion, and one or more spiral grooves are formed in the inner surface of the core portion, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of the gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in a state of intermediate and viscous flow in the gap between the rod portion and the core portion.

[0011] In one embodiment, the surface of the stem opposite the inner surface of the core is planar.

[0012] In one embodiment, the stage is symmetrically disposed within the process chamber relative to the gas port, and the core and the stem of the pump are aligned along a centerline below the gas port.

[0013] In one embodiment, a sidewall of the processing chamber has an opening, and the substrate is configured to pass through the opening during loading of the substrate onto the chuck before etching and unloading of the substrate from the chuck after etching.

[0014] In one embodiment, the stage is movable between a lower position, where the substrate can be loaded onto or unloaded from the stage, and an upper position, where the substrate is positioned for processing.

[0015] In one embodiment, a pump screen is disposed in the process chamber, the pump screen having an opening through which the gantry is disposed when in the upper position. The pump screen may have one or more adjustable openings. In some embodiments, the pump screen may be formed by overlapping slats. In such embodiments, the openings are adjusted by adjusting the overlap between at least one pair of slats.

[0016] In one embodiment, a source radio frequency (RF) is uniformly disposed throughout the upper region of the process chamber; and a bias RF is coupled to the stage.

[0017] In one embodiment, a source radio frequency (RF) and a bias RF are each coupled to the stage to provide capacitive coupling.

[0018] In one embodiment, the lower region of the processing chamber has an opening, which is configured to align with the channel and accommodate the rod, and a seal is arranged around the core of the pump and the rod of the stand, and the seal is configured to seal the channel in the core.

[0019] In one embodiment, the travel stop is configured to control the movement of the control frame toward the pump. The travel stop may have a hole disposed therein, the size of the hole being designed so that the lower portion of the chuck can pass therethrough, yet blocking the upper portion of the chuck. A chamber seal may be disposed in a groove on the lower region of the travel stop or chuck to isolate the upper region of the treatment chamber (above the travel stop) from the lower region of the treatment chamber (below the travel stop) so that the pressures in the upper region and the lower region of the treatment chamber are isolated from each other. The surface of the chamber seal facing the travel stop (if the chamber seal is located in the lower portion of the chuck) or the surface facing the lower region of the chuck (if the chamber seal is located in the travel stop) may be flat.

[0020] In one embodiment, a processing chamber includes: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the processing chamber; a stage disposed below the gas port, the stage including a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a rod extending from the chuck; and a travel stop configured to control movement of the stage toward a pump.

[0021] In one embodiment, the processing chamber further includes: a chamber seal disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower portion of the chuck, the chamber seal being configured to isolate the upper region of the processing chamber from the lower region of the processing chamber so that the pressures in the upper region and the lower region of the processing chamber are independent, wherein the upper region of the processing chamber is above the travel stop and the lower region of the processing chamber is below the travel stop.

[0022] In one embodiment, a pump is attached to the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber, the pump comprising a core having a channel disposed therein, the rod extending through the channel within the core, and one or more spiral grooves formed in the rod opposite to an inner surface of the core, and the inner surface of the core is planar, or one or more spiral grooves formed in the inner surface of the core, and a surface of the rod opposite to the inner surface of the core is planar, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset backflow of the gas from an exhaust port of the pump to the process chamber in an intermediate and viscous flow state within a gap between the rod and the core.

[0023] In one embodiment, the side wall of the processing chamber has an opening, the substrate is configured to pass through the opening during loading of the substrate onto the chuck before etching and unloading of the substrate from the chuck after etching, the stage is movable between a first position, the substrate can be loaded onto and unloaded from the stage at the first position, the substrate is positioned for processing at the second position, and a pump screen is disposed in the processing chamber, the pump screen having an adjustable opening, and the stage is configured to pass through the adjustable opening when located in the first position.

[0024] In one embodiment, a pump apparatus includes: rotor stages, each rotor stage including rotor blades, the rotor blades being configured to rotate as the rotor stage rotates; stator stages, each stator stage including stator blades, the stator blades being configured to remain stationary as the stator stage rotates, the stator blades being arranged at an angle different from the angle of the rotor blades, the stator stages and the rotor stages being staggered with each other; and a cylindrical core from which the rotor stages and the stator stages extend, the center of the cylindrical core having a passage disposed vertically therethrough, the passage having a diameter sized to accommodate a rod of a process chamber gantry, a substrate being held on a chuck on the rod of the process chamber gantry, the rod extending from the chuck.

[0025] In one embodiment, the pump device also includes: one or more spiral grooves formed in the inner surface of the cylindrical core, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of gas from the exhaust port of the pump in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the rod and the cylindrical core when the rod is set in the cylindrical core.

[0026] In one embodiment, the pump does not have a valve covering the inlet of the pump and protecting the pump from higher pressure environments.

[0027] In one embodiment, a method for operating a processing chamber system includes: loading a semiconductor substrate onto a chuck of a stage located in a processing chamber, the stage having a rod extending from the chuck; moving the stage holding the semiconductor substrate into a processing position; rotating the stage when the stage is in the processing position; introducing an etching gas into an upper region of the processing chamber to etch the rotating semiconductor substrate; evacuating the processed gas from the processing chamber using a pump, the pump having a channel located in the center of a core of the pump, wherein the rod is configured to pass through the channel in the core to extend from an end of the pump opposite to the processing chamber; and limiting the backflow of gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in an intermediate and viscous flow state in a gap between the rod and the core by introducing a spiral groove in one of the surfaces of the rod or the inner surface of the core (which faces the rod), the size of the spiral groove providing a pumping action to offset the gas backflow.

[0028] In some embodiments, the processing equipment includes a pump to pump gas from the chamber and the stage. The pump includes: a rotor stage, which includes rotor blades, the rotor blades are configured to rotate with the rotation of the rotor stage; a stator stage, which includes stator blades, the stator blades are configured to remain stationary with the rotation of the stator stage, the stator blades are set at an angle different from the angle of the rotor blades, and the stator stage and the rotor stage are staggered with each other; and a cylindrical core, the rotor stage and the stator stage extend from the cylindrical core, and the center of the cylindrical core has a channel arranged vertically therethrough. The stage includes a chuck configured to hold a substrate, and a rod extending from the chuck through the channel. In order to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of gas from the exhaust port of the pump in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the rod and the core, a spiral groove is formed in the channel and in only one of the inner surfaces of the rod or the core.

[0029] In some embodiments, a method of etching a substrate includes: loading a substrate onto a chuck of a stage located within a processing chamber; moving the stage accommodating the substrate from a loading position to an etching position by moving a rod of the stage through a core of a pump disposed at a bottom of the processing chamber; etching the substrate using a gas plasma directed into an upper region of the processing chamber; after etching the substrate, moving the stage from the etching position to a loading position by moving the rod of the stage through a core of a pump; and unloading the substrate from the chuck after the stage has been moved from the etching position to the loading position.

[0030] In some embodiments, the method further includes engaging the chuck with a pump screen disposed within the processing chamber, the pump screen having an opening through which the chuck is disposed when in the loading position.

[0031] In some embodiments, the method also includes using a travel stop disposed within the processing chamber to control movement of the control frame through the core of the pump, the travel stop having a hole disposed therein, the hole being sized to allow a lower region of the chuck to pass therethrough while blocking an upper region of the chuck; and using a chamber seal disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower region of the chuck to isolate an upper region of the processing chamber (located above the travel stop) from a lower region of the processing chamber (located below the travel stop) such that pressures in the upper and lower regions of the processing chamber are independent.

[0032] In some embodiments, an apparatus for etching a substrate includes: a device for loading a substrate onto a chuck of a stage located in a processing chamber; a device for moving a stage accommodating the substrate from a loading position to an etching position by moving a rod of the stage through a core of a pump (which is disposed at the bottom of the processing chamber); a device for etching the substrate using a gas plasma directed into an upper region of the processing chamber; a device for moving the stage from the etching position to the loading position after etching the substrate by moving the rod of the stage through the core of a pump; and a device for unloading the substrate from the chuck after the stage has been moved from the etching position to the loading position.

[0033] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for engaging the chuck with a pump screen disposed within the process chamber, the pump screen having an opening through which the chuck is disposed when in the loading position.

[0034] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for controlling movement of the carriage through the core of the pump using a travel stop disposed within the process chamber, the travel stop having an aperture disposed therein, the aperture being sized to allow the lower region of the chuck to pass therethrough while blocking the upper region of the chuck, and means for isolating using a chamber seal disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower region of the chuck to isolate the upper region of the process chamber (above the travel stop) from the lower region of the process chamber (below the travel stop) such that the pressures in the upper and lower regions of the process chamber are independent. In addition to or in lieu of the above means, there may be other means for accomplishing the other actions described herein.

[0035] In some embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium (whether temporary or non-temporary) may store instructions executed by one or more processors, which configure the one or more processors to, when the instructions are executed, load a substrate onto a chuck of a stage located within a processing chamber; move the stage containing the substrate from a loading position to an etching position by moving a rod of the stage through a core of a pump (which is disposed at the bottom of the processing chamber); etch the substrate using a gas plasma directed into an upper region of the processing chamber; after etching the substrate, move the stage from the etching position to the loading position by moving the rod of the stage through the core of a pump; and unload the substrate from the chuck after the stage has been moved from the etching position to the loading position.

[0036] In some embodiments, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to engage the chuck with a pump screen disposed within a processing chamber, the pump screen having an opening through which the chuck is disposed when in the loading position.

[0037] In some embodiments, when executed by one or more processors, the instructions configure the one or more processors to control movement of the carriage through the core of the pump using a travel stop disposed within the process chamber, the travel stop having an aperture disposed therein, the aperture being sized to allow a lower region of the chuck to pass therethrough while blocking an upper region of the chuck, and to isolate an upper region of the process chamber (above the travel stop) from a lower region of the process chamber (below the travel stop) using a chamber seal disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower region of the chuck, such that pressures in the upper and lower regions of the process chamber are independent. In addition to or in lieu of the above instructions, there may be other instructions for completing other actions described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The figures in the drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope.

[0039] Figure 1A and 1B A processing chamber according to some exemplary embodiments is shown.

[0040] Figure 2 A portion of a turbomolecular pump is shown according to some exemplary embodiments.

[0041] Figure 3 A processing chamber according to some exemplary embodiments is shown.

[0042] Figure 4A processing chamber according to some exemplary embodiments is shown.

[0043] Figure 5 A processing chamber according to some exemplary embodiments is shown.

[0044] Figure 6 A flow chart showing operations in a method according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In some examples, during operation of a process chamber in which a turbomolecular pump is installed, deposition control and particle management may be provided within the process chamber. Unless otherwise specifically stated, components and functions are optional and may be combined or split, and operations may be sequentially varied or combined or split. In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details.

[0046] Semiconductor processing includes multiple lithography, chemical and chemical mechanical processing steps to produce integrated circuits. In particular, processing may include deposition, etching and patterning. Various materials, such as oxides, nitrides and photoresists, can be deposited or produced on semiconductor (or insulating) substrates including metal and insulating (e.g., dielectric) layers. Deposition techniques include chemical vapor deposition (CVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), physical vapor deposition (PVD), electrochemical deposition (ECD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) and the like. Lithographic techniques can be used to pattern the materials deposited on the substrate, as well as the substrate material. Etching may include removing some or all exposed layers on the substrate. Wet chemical etching or dry plasma etching may be used for etching. Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) may be used between depositions to planarize the substrate layer.

[0047] Successive generations of integrated circuits have resulted in a continued reduction in feature size, extending the capabilities of the above-mentioned processes and existing processing equipment, and leading to new processing equipment and techniques to be developed. The reduction in feature size has also resulted in an increase in the aspect ratio of features to be processed onto the substrate. The aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio between the feature depth and width) used to etch deep recessed features is currently about 50:1 to 100:1 (or greater). These aspect ratios can be used for the processing of various circuit elements, such as contact trenches and through-holes. However, such ratios cannot be produced using anisotropic wet etching and sidewall passivation of dielectric layers (which are disposed between metal layers). Instead, dry (plasma) etching can be used to produce these structures to provide strict control of the etching profile.

[0048] Plasma etching can be operated at a pressure between about 0.1 and 5 Torr, and the plasma can be formed, for example, from chlorine or fluorine gas, or an oxygen-rich gas. Different gases can be used to etch different materials. For example, Cl2 or CF4 can be used to etch Si; SiCl4 or CCl4 can be used to etch Al; CF4 can be used to etch other metals, such as Mo or W; and CF4 or SF6 can be used to etch SiO2 or SiN. Ashing using oxygen can be used to remove photoresist. To obtain these plasmas, the gas molecules can be excited by an external bias, which can deliver, for example, 10-30 kW at a frequency from 5-10 Hz to up to microwave frequencies (MHz-GHz).

[0049] Due to many factors including etching of multilayer features (e.g., semiconductors, insulators, metals), etching of structures on substrates may be complicated. Different layers may have different etching rates. Therefore, etching of some of these layers may produce byproducts that have a deleterious effect on the continuous etching of the same or different layers. The control of etching rate may be more complicated due to features with high aspect ratios and structures with different feature densities. In addition, operating conditions in the processing chamber, such as temperature, bias and / or pressure, and the arrangement of the chamber itself may affect the etching rate. In the last case, any asymmetry in the chamber may cause disturbances in the gas flow, and the etching of the plasma may also result in etching non-uniformity of the entire substrate. As mentioned above, due to exposure to different amounts of plasma flow at different points along the substrate for a long time, the high aspect ratio and different feature densities that result may aggravate the non-uniformity.

[0050] To alleviate some of the above problems, a symmetrical process chamber design is provided.Changes to the process chamber may also result in changes to the pumps that serve the process chamber. Figure 1A and 1B A process chamber according to some exemplary embodiments is shown. The process chamber 100 can include a loading port 102 through which a substrate 126 is loaded into or unloaded from the process chamber 100. The loading port 102 can be sealed during processing of the substrate 126. The process chamber 100 can also include a gas port 104 through which a plasma is directed to the process chamber 100. A pump screen 110 can be disposed within the process chamber 100.

[0051] In addition, the movable stage 120 can be configured to hold a substrate 126 thereon, wherein the substrate 126 has been loaded into the process chamber 100 through the load port 102. The movable stage 120 can include a chuck 122 that holds the substrate 126 above it, and a rod 124 that supports the chuck 122. The movable stage 120 can hold the substrate 126, for example, through a vacuum port located on the chuck 122. Alternatively or in addition, the substrate 126 can be held in a recess in the chuck 122, or held by a clamp or other holder (not shown). The movable stage 120 can be placed in the center of the process chamber 100 so that the edge of the chuck 122 is equidistant from the sidewalls of the process chamber 100. Similarly, the rod 124 can extend downward from the chuck 122 along the central vertical axis of the process chamber 100, straight through the bottom of the process chamber 100, so that the rod 124 is also located in the center of the process chamber 100.

[0052] The gas port 104 may be disposed at the top of the process chamber 100. Similar to the movable stage 120, the gas port 104 may be centrally located within the process chamber 100 such that the gas port 104 is equidistant from the sidewalls of the process chamber 100. The gas port 104 may be centered above the movable stage 120 such that the centerline of the gas port 104 is aligned with the centerline of the movable stage 120 (both the entirety of the chuck 122 and the rod 124).

[0053] Electromagnetic fields are used to enable etching of the substrate 126 by plasma (which is formed by the gas introduced from the gas port 104). The electromagnetic field can be generated by the source RF 142 (anode) and the bias RF 152 (cathode). The bias RF 152 is supplied by the cathode assembly on the rod 124. The source RF 142 and the bias RF 152 can be operated under the above voltage and frequency parameters (frequency from a few Hz to microwave frequency, and a voltage difference of about tens to one hundred volts). Figure 1A and 1B As shown in FIG. 1 , the source RF 142 may be symmetrically disposed and extended along the top outer edge of the process chamber 100, while the bias RF 152 is applied to the movable stage 120. Both the source RF 142 and the bias RF 152 may be disposed to provide a uniform potential difference therebetween.

[0054] A pump 130 for extracting gas from the process chamber 100 may be attached at the bottom of the process chamber 100. The pump screen 110 may prevent debris and other etching byproducts from falling into the inlet of the pump 130. The position of the movable stage 120 may be in the upper position (shown in FIG. Figure 1A middle) and lower position (shown in Figure 1BThe pump screen 110 may be repositioned between an upper position in which the substrate 126 is etched and a lower position in which the substrate 126 is loaded onto or unloaded from the chuck 122. In some embodiments, the pump screen 110 may have an opening 112 sized to fit the chuck 122. In some embodiments, the opening 112 in the pump screen 110 may be adjustable so that, for example, the size of the opening 112 is adjusted (reduced or increased) depending on the position of the movable stage 120. Generally, the pump screen 110 may have one or more adjustable openings 112 that may be formed by overlapping slats. The openings 112 may be adjusted by adjusting the overlap between at least one pair of slats. The overlapping slats may be similar to those used in camera apertures, and in various embodiments may be arranged in a spiral (similar to those used in camera apertures described above), a ring in a single direction, or a cross-hatched pattern, among others. Overlapping planks may have a substantially constant cross-section, or may have a cross-section that varies over at least a portion of the portion of the plank that overlaps another plank such that the overall thickness of the overlapping planks remains substantially constant.

[0055] The movable stage 120 may also rotate at a speed ranging from hundreds to thousands of rpm (e.g., 400-1000 rpm) depending on the operation (e.g., etching, deposition, drying). In other embodiments, the movable stage 120 may be limited to vertical movement during etching, i.e., the movable stage 120 may not rotate.

[0056] The pump 130 may be a turbomolecular pump comprising a rotatable circular core with several angled blades, multiple stages of fixed stator blades interlaced with high-speed turbine blades set at different angles. The turbomolecular pump may receive the reacted process gas (plasma) through an inlet at low pressure and further compress the gas before providing the gas to a scrubber system at atmospheric pressure. As the circular core rotates, the blades impact the incoming gas molecules and convert the mechanical energy of the blades into momentum of the gas molecules, which is directed from the inlet through a fixed stator having gas transfer holes. The stages are arranged along a drive shaft that rotates at a speed of up to about 90,000 rpm. The gas is then compressed stage by stage through the turbomolecular pump to an exhaust port, where it is discharged by a backing pump, wherein the function of the backing pump is to maintain the exhaust pressure at less than about 100 mTorr. The pumping rate can be about 50-3000 liters / second, and the final pressure can be 10 -5 -10 -8 Entrust.

[0057] Alternatively, pump 130 may be a molecular drag pump, in which mechanical to gas momentum transfer is achieved by imparting motion of a rapidly rotating solid surface to gas molecules between a stationary surface and a rotating surface. The molecular drag pump may be a Holweck pump, in which the surface is in the form of a rotating helical drum, or a Gaede pump, in which the surface is in the form of a slotted rotating disk. Molecular drag pumps may have higher back pressures between about 3-25 Torr, lower chamber vacuums, and lower pumping speeds (up to 1 / 3 less) than turbomolecular pumps.

[0058] Alternatively, pump 130 may be a turbo / drag pump that combines features of a turbomolecular pump and a molecular drag pump. In this case, the rotor / stator array of the turbomolecular pump may be located inside the inlet, while the molecular drag pump may be located closer to the exhaust port.

[0059] Regardless of the type of pump, the pump 130 described above may be placed at the center of the bottom of the process chamber 100 such that the centerline of the pump 130 is aligned with the centerlines of the gas port 104 and the movable stage 120 .

[0060] Unlike rotors with solid cores, Figure 1A and 1B The pump 130 shown in FIG. 1 may include a rotor core 132 having a through-channel (also referred to as a center hole) 134 located at the center of the rotor core 132. The through-channel 134 may extend completely through the pump 130, from the inlet side of the pump 130 adjacent to the process chamber 100 to the exhaust side of the pump 130. The diameter of the through-channel 134 may be slightly larger than the diameter of the rod 124, so that the through-channel 134 can accommodate the rod 124 so that the rod 124 can extend vertically to the bottom of the pump 130.

[0061] Through passage 134 enables bias RF 152 to pass through pump 130. This configuration avoids the use of conduits in the sidewalls of chamber 100 for passing cathodes through chamber 100, which is one of the major geometric non-uniformities in chamber 100. The configuration of source RF 142 and bias RF 152 thus enables symmetrical biasing to be generated to allow plasma to react with substrate 126 and produce reacted process gas. This configuration also allows symmetrical flow within chamber 100 to increase azimuthal etch uniformity.

[0062] However, introducing the through-channel 134 in the rotor core 132 creates a path between the inlet and the exhaust of the pump 130, thereby allowing gas to flow back from the high-pressure exhaust to the low-pressure inlet in the process chamber 100. In order to avoid the backflow of gas, a molecular drag pump can be designed in the through-channel 134. Therefore, Figure 2A portion of a pump is shown according to some exemplary embodiments. In particular, Figure 2 Shows Figure 1A / 1B is a perspective view of an enlarged portion of the rotor core and the rod portion. As shown, the rod portion 224 of the movable platform is disposed in a through passage 234 formed in the rotor core 232. Similar to Figure 1A In the configuration of / 1B, there is a small gap between the rod 224 and the rotor core 232. The gap between the rotor core 232 and the rod 224 can be minimized to reduce the amount of gas backflow.

[0063] like Figure 2 As shown in , a portion of the rod 224 has a spiral groove 226 formed therein. During operation, the rod 224 and the rotor core 232 can rotate in opposite directions, thereby causing displacement of the gas therebetween. The spiral groove 226 can be opposite to the rotor core 232, and in some embodiments, can terminate before the end of the rotor core 232 (i.e., can not extend into the process chamber 100, or outside the rotor core 232) to avoid generating turbulence at the termination position of the spiral groove 226. In other embodiments, the spiral groove 226 can terminate slightly away from (e.g., a few millimeters) the end of the rotor core 232, or on the inside of the process chamber, or outside the rotor core 232 outside the process chamber 100. Adding the spiral groove 226 to the rod 224 can enable the gas between the rod 224 and the rotor core 232 to be guided by a pumping action. Similar to a Holvik pump whose surface is in the form of a rotating spiral drum, the momentum of the rod 224 and / or the rotor core 232 can be transferred to the gas by guiding the gas through the spiral groove 226. The rotation of the rod 224 can be in the direction of the spiral groove 226 (while the rotation of the rotor core 232 can be in the opposite direction) so that the gas can travel in the desired direction (and transfer momentum to the gas). The depth and spacing of the spiral groove 226 (the distance between the vertically aligned portions of the spiral groove 226) can be determined based on empirical determination of these parameters to maintain the desired vacuum level within the processing chamber 100 during operation. Using a drag pump in this manner can allow the pumping action to offset the backflow of gas from the exhaust port to the processing chamber 100 in the state of intermediate and viscous flow inside the gap. In these flow states, molecules mainly affect the movement of other molecules through collisions. This is different from the molecular flow state, in which there are almost no collisions between molecules in free space, and most of the molecular interactions occur between molecules and walls.

[0064] Although in Figure 22 shows that the spiral groove 226 is formed in the rod 224, but in other embodiments, the spiral groove 226 may be formed in the rotor core 232 instead. In this case, due to the difference in the circumference of the surface (on which the groove exists), the groove depth and / or spacing may be different from the groove formed in the rod 224 to maintain the vacuum. However, the groove may be formed only in the rod 224 or the rotor core 232, but not in both. This can avoid the turbulence problem caused by different traction forces in the gap. Therefore, the surface opposite to the surface with the spiral groove 226 can be planar (i.e., without the expected grooves or protrusions); the inner surface of the rotor core 232 relative to the rod 224, or the surface of the rod 224 relative to the inner surface of the rotor core 232 can be planar. Although the groove depth and spacing can change the amount of traction, in some embodiments, multiple spiral grooves 226 in the same direction and with the same spacing can be used to achieve the same effect. In such an embodiment, the grooves 226 may overlap along a circle at the same height on the stem 224 or rotor core 232 (eg, on opposite sides of the stem 224 at the same distance from the bottom of the stem 224 ).

[0065] In an alternative embodiment, a seal may be used to prevent backflow of gas. The rod 224 may extend through the seal, which is disposed on the inside of the bottom of the process chamber 100. The seal may be a flange or gasket that seals the process chamber 100 so that the movable stage 120 is moved vertically within the process chamber 100 while preventing the plasma from exiting through the through passage 134 - thereby exhausting it through the stator and turbine blades. The seal may be formed of one or more metals and / or insulators (e.g., vacuum sealing rubber). The seal may be a single or multi-layer structure comprising the same or different materials.

[0066] Figure 3 Processing chamber 300 is shown according to some exemplary embodiments. Figure 3 The processing chamber 300 is similar to Figure 1A and 1B . The processing chamber 300 may include a loading port 302 through which a substrate 326 is loaded into or unloaded from the processing chamber 300. The loading port 302 may be sealed during processing of the substrate 326. The processing chamber 300 may also include a gas port 304 through which a gas is introduced into the processing chamber 300 to generate a plasma. A pump screen 310 may be disposed within the processing chamber 300.

[0067] In addition, the movable stage 320 may be configured to hold thereon a substrate 326, wherein the substrate 326 has been loaded into the process chamber 300 through the load port 302. The movable stage 320 may include a chuck 322 on which the substrate 326 is held, and a rod 324 that supports the chuck 322. The movable stage 320 may hold the substrate 326, for example, through a vacuum port located on the chuck 322. The movable stage 320 may be placed in the center of the process chamber 300 so that the edge of the chuck 322 is equidistant from the sidewall of the process chamber 300. Similarly, the rod 324 may extend vertically straight from the chuck 322 to the bottom of the process chamber 300 so that the rod 324 is also located in the center of the process chamber 300.

[0068] The gas port 304 may be disposed at the top of the process chamber 300. Similar to the movable stage 320, the gas port 304 may be centrally located within the process chamber 300 such that the gas port 304 is equidistant from the sidewalls of the process chamber 300. The gas port 304 may be centered above the movable stage 320 such that the centerline of the gas port 304 is aligned with the centerline of the movable stage 320 (both the chuck 322 and the stem 324 as a whole).

[0069] The electromagnetic field is used to enable etching of the substrate 326 by plasma (which is formed by the gas introduced from the gas port 304). The electromagnetic field can be generated by the source RF 342 (anode) and the bias RF 352 (cathode). The bias RF 352 is supplied by the cathode assembly on the rod 324. The source RF 342 and the bias RF 352 can be operated under the above voltage and frequency parameters. Figure 3 Different from what is shown in Figure 1A and 1B In particular, the source RF 342 and the bias RF 352 are capacitively coupled and applied through the movable stage 320. Both the source RF 342 and the bias RF 352 can be arranged to provide a uniform potential difference between the source RF 342 and the bias RF 352, thereby generating a symmetrical bias for the plasma to react with the substrate 326 and generate a reacted process gas.

[0070] A pump 330 for evacuating gas from the processing chamber 300 may be attached at the bottom of the processing chamber 300. A pump screen 310 may prevent debris and other etching byproducts from falling into the inlet of the pump 330. The movable stage 320 may be moved between an upper position, in which a substrate 326 is etched, and a lower position, in which the substrate 326 is loaded onto or unloaded from the chuck 322. As described above, in some embodiments, the pump screen 310 may have an opening 312 sized to fit the chuck 322. The pump 330 may be a turbomolecular pump, a molecular drag pump, or a turbo / drag pump.

[0071] The pump 330 may be placed at the center of the bottom of the process chamber 300 such that the centerline of the pump 330 is aligned with the centerlines of the gas port 304 and the movable stage 320 .

[0072] Figure 3 The pump 330 shown in FIG. 3 may include a core 332 having a through-channel 334 in the center. The through-channel 334 may extend completely through the pump 330, from the inlet side of the pump 330 adjacent to the process chamber 300 to the exhaust side of the pump 330. The diameter of the through-channel 334 may be slightly larger than the diameter of the rod 324 so that the through-channel 334 can accommodate the rod 324, thereby allowing the rod 324 to extend vertically below the pump 330.

[0073] Although not shown, a spiral groove may be formed in the stem 324, or the core 332 as described above to prevent gas backflow. Seals and / or grooves may be used in addition or alternatively. Note that as shown, the exterior of the movable gantry 320 may be connected to the bias RF 352, while the interior of the movable gantry 320 (shown as the center of the movable gantry 320) may be connected to the source RF 342.

[0074] Figure 4 A processing chamber is shown according to some exemplary embodiments. Similar to the above, the processing chamber 400 may include a loading port 402 through which a substrate 426 is loaded into or unloaded from the processing chamber 400. The loading port 402 may be sealed during processing of the substrate 426. The processing chamber 400 may also include a gas port 404 through which a plasma is directed to the processing chamber 400. A pump screen 410 may be disposed in the processing chamber 400.

[0075] The movable stage 420 may be configured to hold thereon a substrate 426, wherein the substrate 426 has been loaded into the process chamber 400 through the load port 402. The movable stage 420 may include a chuck 422 on which the substrate 426 is held, and rods 424a, 424b supporting the chuck 422. The movable stage 420 may hold the substrate 426 through a vacuum port located on the chuck 422. The movable stage 420 may be placed in the center of the process chamber 400 so that the edge of the chuck 422 is equidistant from the sidewall of the process chamber 400.

[0076] The rods 424a, 424b may extend straight downward from the chuck 422, bend at a substantially vertical angle (within 1-2°, depending on, for example, mechanical tolerances) and extend through the side of the process chamber 400. Thus, the rod may have a vertical portion 424a extending from the chuck 422 in a vertical direction, which is a direction from the top of the process chamber 400 toward the bottom of the process chamber 400, and a horizontal portion 424b extending from the vertical portion 424a in a horizontal direction, which is a direction between opposite side walls of the process chamber 400. One of the side walls in the process chamber 400 may include an opening 402 through which the horizontal portion 424b of the rod extends.

[0077] The gas port 404 may be disposed at the top of the process chamber 400. Similar to the movable stage 420, the gas port 404 may be centrally located within the process chamber 400 such that the gas port 404 is equidistant from the sidewalls of the process chamber 400. The gas port 404 may be centered above the movable stage 420 such that the centerline of the gas port 404 is aligned with the centerline of the movable stage 420.

[0078] Electromagnetic fields are used to enable etching of substrate 426 by plasma (which is formed by the gas introduced from gas port 404). The electromagnetic field can be generated by source RF 442 and bias RF 452. Bias RF 452 is supplied by the cathode assembly on rod 424. Source RF 442 and bias RF 452 can be operated under the aforementioned voltage and frequency parameters. Source RF 442 can be symmetrically arranged and extended along the top outer edge of processing chamber 400, while bias RF 452 is applied to movable stage 420. Both source RF 442 and bias RF 452 can be arranged to provide a uniform potential difference between the source RF 442 and the bias RF 452, so as to generate a symmetrical bias for plasma to react with substrate 422 and produce reacted processing gas.

[0079] A pump 430 for evacuating gas from the process chamber 400 may be attached at the bottom of the process chamber 400. A pump screen 410 may prevent debris and other etching byproducts from falling into the inlet of the pump 430. The position of the movable stage 420 may be centrally located between an upper position, in which a substrate 426 is loaded onto or unloaded from the chuck 422, an intermediate position, in which the substrate 426 is etched, and a lower position in which a higher pressure process is performed in the process chamber 400. The higher pressure is higher than the pressure of the pump 430 used (e.g., higher than about 0.1 millibars), and may be defined by the gap between the moving blades and the fixed blades, which is less than the mean free path of particles traveling through the pump 430. In some embodiments, the pump screen 410 may have an opening 412 sized to fit the chuck 422. The movable stage 420 may also be rotated at the above-mentioned rotation speeds, or may be limited to vertical movement only during etching.

[0080] The pump 430 can be a turbomolecular pump, a molecular drag pump, or a turbo / drag pump. Regardless of the type of pump, the pump 430 can be placed in the center of the bottom of the process chamber 400 so that the centerline of the pump 430 is aligned with the centerline of the gas port 404 and the movable stage 420.

[0081] In some embodiments, the pump 430 may be cycled off while a high pressure treatment is being performed within the chamber 400, and then restarted after the high pressure treatment is performed within the chamber 400. However, this process may take a relatively long time, such as taking more than 4 minutes to raise the pressure within the chamber 400, and then taking 15-20 minutes to lower the pressure within the chamber 400 to the pressure used in the low pressure treatment. In addition, such cycling may adversely affect the pump 430.

[0082] In some embodiments, there may be a valve at the inlet of pump 430 (which is adjacent to chamber 400). The valve may be a plate that covers the inlet of pump 430. The valve may be used to seal pump 430 from chamber 400, thereby isolating pump 430 from chamber 400 when the interior of chamber 400 is to be subjected to high pressure processing, while pump 430 remains activated. However, such a valve may be made of metal and is therefore relatively expensive. Therefore, in some embodiments, for example Figure 44, there may be no valve in the pump 430. Instead, the chamber 400 may include a travel stop 414 that controls the advancement of the movable stage 420 downwardly away from the gas port 404. The travel stop 414 may be an integral part of the chamber 400, or may not be integral with the chamber 400, and be formed of a non-volatile rigid material, such as a polymer. The travel stop 414 may have a hole disposed therein, sized to allow the rod and the lower portion of the chuck 422 to pass therethrough, while blocking the upper portion of the chuck 422 holding the substrate 426 thereon. A horizontal portion of the rod may be disposed below the travel stop 414 and between the travel stop 414 and the bottom of the processing chamber 400.

[0083] The chamber seal 416 can be disposed in a groove on the travel stop 414 to engage the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 422. In some embodiments, a portion of the chamber seal 416 (which faces the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 422) can be flat. The chamber seal 416 can be formed of a flexible, non-conductive, non-volatile material such as a halogen-resistant polymer (e.g., a fluoropolymer such as perfluoropentane (PFP) or FKM), but the material forming the chamber seal 416 can depend on the chamber use / application operated in the chamber 400. Although Figure 4 The chamber seal 416 is shown disposed in a groove on the travel stop 414, but in other embodiments, the chamber seal 416 may be disposed in a groove on the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 422. In such an embodiment, a portion of the chamber seal 416 (which faces the top surface of the travel stop 414) may be flat.

[0084] As described above, the vertical portion 424a may be movable while the horizontal portion 424b may remain fixed. Figure 4 , the horizontal portion 424b can be a sealed conduit with a hole, wherein the vertical portion 424a passes through the hole. The vertical portion 424a can be movable from the lowest position to at least one upper position in the horizontal portion 424b. At the lowest position, the chuck 422 contacts the chamber seal 416 and seals the lower portion of the processing chamber 400 to isolate the pump 430 from the upper portion of the processing chamber 400 containing the substrate 426. At the upper position, the substrate 426 is located at a position to be loaded into the chamber / to be unloaded from the chamber through the loading port 402. As shown in the figure, in some embodiments, when the vertical portion 424a is in the lowest position, up to several centimeters can be left between the bottom of the vertical portion 424a and the horizontal portion 424b; similarly, when the vertical portion 424a is in the upper position, up to several centimeters can be left between the top of the vertical portion 424a and the horizontal portion 424b.

[0085] In some embodiments, the movable gantry 420 may be driven by a motor (not shown) or a bellows may be used. The movable gantry 420 may be driven by a motor or bellows to raise or lower the movable gantry 420 vertically, for example until the movable gantry 420 contacts and compresses the chamber seal 416. At this point, a restrictor located on the motor may stop the downward movement of the movable gantry 420 at the lower position until the motor is driven in reverse to raise the movable gantry 420 to the processing position. When the movable gantry 420 is in the lower position, the chamber seal 416 may allow the lower portion of the chamber 400 (substantially below the travel stop 414) and therefore the pump 430 to be isolated from the upper portion of the chamber 400 (substantially above the travel stop 414).

[0086] In some embodiments, a flange or gasket (not shown) may be used to seal the area around the hole in the horizontal portion 424b. Electrical connections associated with providing cathode voltage to the movable gantry 420, and cooling lines for cooling the movable gantry 420 may be flexible. In some embodiments, the electrical connections and / or cooling lines may be disposed within the horizontal portion 424b, while in other embodiments, the electrical connections and / or cooling lines may be located outside the interior of the horizontal portion 424b.

[0087] Figure 5 5 is a process chamber shown according to some exemplary embodiments. Similar to the above, the process chamber 500 can include a loading port 502 through which a substrate 526 is loaded into or unloaded from the process chamber 500. The loading port 502 can be sealed during processing of the substrate 526. The process chamber 500 can also include a gas port 504 through which a plasma is directed into the process chamber 500. A pump screen 510 can be disposed in the process chamber 500.

[0088] The movable stage 520 may be configured to hold a substrate 526 thereon, wherein the substrate 526 has been loaded into the process chamber 500 through the load port 502. The movable stage 520 may include a chuck 522 on which the substrate 526 is held, and a rod 524 that supports the chuck 522. The movable stage 520 may hold the substrate 526 through a vacuum port located on the chuck 522. The movable stage 520 may be placed in the center of the process chamber 500 so that the edge of the chuck 522 is equidistant from the sidewall of the process chamber 500. Similarly, the rod 524 may extend downward from the chuck 522 along the central vertical axis of the process chamber 500, straight through the bottom of the process chamber 500, so that the rod 524 is also located in the center of the process chamber 500.

[0089] The gas port 504 may be disposed at the top of the process chamber 500. Similar to the movable stage 520, the gas port 504 may be centrally located within the process chamber 500 such that the gas port 504 is equidistant from the sidewalls of the process chamber 500. The gas port 504 may be centered above the movable stage 520 such that the centerline of the gas port 504 is aligned with the centerline of the movable stage 520.

[0090] Electromagnetic fields are used to enable etching of substrate 526 by plasma (which is formed by the gas introduced from gas port 504). The electromagnetic field can be generated by source RF 542 and bias RF 552. Bias RF 552 is supplied by the cathode assembly on rod 524. Source RF 542 and bias RF 552 can be operated under the aforementioned voltage and frequency parameters. Source RF 542 can be symmetrically arranged and extended along the top outer edge of processing chamber 500, while bias RF 552 is applied to movable stage 520. Both source RF 542 and bias RF 552 can be arranged to provide a uniform potential difference between the source RF 542 and the bias RF 552, so as to generate a symmetrical bias for plasma to react with substrate 526 and produce reacted processing gas.

[0091] A pump 530 for evacuating gas from the processing chamber 500 can be attached at the bottom of the processing chamber 500. A pump screen 510 can prevent debris and other etching byproducts from falling into the inlet of the pump 530. The movable stage 520 can be repositioned between an upper position, in which a substrate 526 is etched, and a lower position, in which the substrate 526 is loaded onto or unloaded from the chuck 522. In some embodiments, the pump screen 510 can have an opening 512 sized to fit the chuck 522. The movable stage 520 can also rotate at the above-mentioned rotation speeds, or can be limited to vertical movement during etching.

[0092] The pump 530 may be a turbomolecular pump, a molecular drag pump, or a turbo / drag pump. Regardless of the type of pump, the pump 530 may be placed in the center of the bottom of the process chamber 500 so that the centerline of the pump 530 is aligned with the centerline of the gas port 504 and the movable stage 520. The pump 530 may include a rotor core 532 having a through-channel 534 in the center. The through-channel 534 may extend completely through the pump 530 from the inlet side of the pump 530 adjacent to the process chamber 500 to the exhaust side of the pump 530. The diameter of the through-channel 534 may be slightly larger than the diameter of the rod 524 so that the through-channel 534 can accommodate the rod 524, thereby allowing the rod 524 to extend vertically below the pump 530.

[0093] The pump 530 may not have the valves described above. Instead, the chamber 500 may include a travel stop 514 that blocks the advancement of the movable stage 520 downwardly away from the gas port 504. The travel stop 514 may be an integral part of the chamber 500, or may not be integral with the chamber 500, and be formed of a non-volatile rigid material such as a polymer. The travel stop 514 may have a hole disposed therein that is sized to allow the lower portion of the chuck 522 to pass therethrough, but blocks the upper portion of the chuck 522 on which the substrate 526 is held.

[0094] The chamber seal 516 can be disposed in a groove on the travel stop 514 to engage the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 522. In some embodiments, a portion of the chamber seal 516 (which faces the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 522) can be flat. The chamber seal 516 can be formed of a flexible, non-conductive, non-volatile material such as a halogen-resistant polymer (e.g., a fluoropolymer such as perfluoropentane (PFP) or FKM), however the material forming the chamber seal 516 can depend on the chamber use / application operated in the chamber 500. Although Figure 5 The chamber seal 516 is shown disposed in a groove on the travel stop 514, but in other embodiments, the chamber seal 516 may be disposed in a groove on the bottom surface of the upper portion of the chuck 522. In such an embodiment, a portion of the chamber seal 516 (which faces the top surface of the travel stop 514) may be flat.

[0095] In some embodiments, a motor (not shown) can be used to drive the movable stage 520. The movable stage 520 can be driven downward until the movable stage 520 contacts and compresses the chamber seal 516. At this point, a restrictor located on the motor can stop the downward movement of the movable stage 520 at the lower position until the motor is driven in reverse to raise the movable stage 520 to the processing position. When the movable stage 520 is in the lower position, the chamber seal 516 can allow the lower portion of the chamber 500 (substantially below the travel stop 514) and therefore the pump 530 to be isolated from the upper portion of the chamber 500 (substantially above the travel stop 514).

[0096] Figure 6 is a flow chart showing operations in a method according to an exemplary embodiment. Figure 6Various operations are shown in , but the embodiments shown are examples only; other operations may be present, and / or some of the operations shown may not be present. A method 600 of etching a substrate is shown, where a substrate is loaded into a processing chamber at operation 602. The substrate may be loaded onto a chuck of a stage, which also has a rod. A vacuum may be used to hold the substrate on the chuck, where the vacuum is provided by holes in the chuck.

[0097] When the substrate is loaded onto the chuck, the chuck may be in the loading position. During loading, the chuck may extend through an opening in the pump screen. The size of the opening may be designed so that the chuck can pass through it. After loading, the stage containing the substrate may be moved to the etching position at operation 604. If the opening is adjustable, the opening may be adjusted to adjust the pressure in the chamber when the stage is in the etching position. In particular, one or more pressure sensors may be provided at one or more locations in the processing chamber. The pressure sensor may determine whether the pressure in the chamber varies over time and / or over distance and exceeds a predetermined threshold. A controller may be used to detect the pressure and control the opening to maintain a stable pressure.

[0098] The gantry can be moved by using a motor to move the rod of the gantry through the core of the pump, wherein the core of the pump is arranged at the bottom of the processing chamber. In some embodiments, the gantry can be moved by rotating the gantry to engage one or more spiral grooves, wherein the spiral grooves are formed in the rod opposite to the inner surface of the core, or in the inner surface of the core. In the former case, the inner surface of the core can be planar; and in the latter case, the surface of the rod opposite to the inner surface of the core can be planar. The size of the spiral groove can provide a pumping action to offset the gas in the gap between the rod and the core in an intermediate and viscous flow state from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber. The movement of the gantry can be blocked using a travel stop disposed in the processing chamber. In particular, the travel stop can have a hole disposed therein, and its size is designed so that the lower part of the chuck can pass through it, but blocks the upper part of the chuck.

[0099] After the stage is moved to the etching position, the substrate may be etched using the gas directed into the upper region of the process chamber at operation 606. After etching is completed, the stage may be moved from the etching position to the loading position by moving the stem of the stage through the core of the pump at operation 608. The etched substrate may then be unloaded at operation 610.

[0100] The processing chamber can be used for processes other than etching, and can be cleaned after etching a substrate and before loading another substrate into the processing chamber for etching or other processing. In some cases, if the processing chamber is used for higher pressure processing, the processing chamber can be isolated from the pump. The pump can have a shield configured to seal the pump, or a chamber seal can be used to isolate the upper area of ​​the processing chamber located above the travel stop from the lower area of ​​the processing chamber located below the travel stop, wherein the chamber seal is disposed in a groove on the travel stop or in the lower portion of the chuck. This can make the pressure in the upper area and the lower area of ​​the processing chamber independent.

[0101] Although only semiconductor substrates are described above, and Si substrates are specifically mentioned, other substrates may be used with the above processing chamber. Such substrates may include elemental semiconductors other than Si (e.g., Ge); compound semiconductors including binary compounds (e.g., GaAs, InP), ternary compounds (e.g., AlGaAs, InGaP), quaternary compounds (e.g., InGaAsP), or other III-V or II-VI compounds (e.g., GaN). Additional substrates may include non-metallic and non-semiconductor materials, such as flat panel displays or films, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or other types used in ultra-light semiconductor device processing, such as semi-crystalline polymers.

[0102] You can use a computer to operate Figure 1A-5The system shown in the embodiment of the present invention is particularly characterized by controlling operating parameters (e.g., gas flow, applied bias, rotation speed of the chuck, etc.) to, for example, load / unload semiconductor substrates, start pumps and / or motors, adjust the position of screen openings and / or movable stages, and etch semiconductor substrates. The computer may include a hardware processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processing core, or any combination thereof), a main memory, and a static memory, some or all of which may communicate with each other through an interconnect (e.g., a bus). The main memory may include any one or all of removable and non-removable storage, volatile memory, or non-volatile memory. The computer may also include a display unit (e.g., a video display), an alphanumeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit, the input device, and the navigation device may be a touch screen display. The computer may further include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit), a signal generating device (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device, and one or more sensors (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors). The computer may also include an output controller, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., printers, card readers, etc.).

[0103] The storage device may include a non-transitory machine-readable medium (hereinafter referred to as a machine-readable medium) on which one or more sets of data structures or instructions (e.g., software) implemented or applied by one or more techniques or functions described herein are stored. During the execution of the instructions by the computer, the instructions may also exist completely or at least partially in the main memory, in the static memory, and / or in the hardware processor. Although the machine-readable medium is shown as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions.

[0104] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium that can store, encode, or carry instructions executed by a computer, and the medium enables the computer to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or the medium can store, encode, or carry data structures used by or related to these instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0105] The instructions may also be transmitted or received via a communication network using a transmission medium via a network interface device and using any of a variety of transmission protocols (e.g., frame relay, Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Exemplary communication networks may include local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), packet data networks (e.g., the Internet), mobile phone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks. Communications on the network may include one or more different protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi, the IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax, the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, next generation (NG) / fifth generation (5G) standards, etc. In an example, the network interface device may include one or more physical jacks (eg, Ethernet, coaxial, or telephone jacks), or one or more antennas to connect to a transmission medium.

[0106] Throughout the specification, components, operations, or structures described as single instances may be implemented as plural instances. Although independent operations of one or more methods are shown and described as separate operations, the one or more independent operations may be performed simultaneously and the operations need not be performed in the order shown. The structures and functions presented as separate components in the exemplary configuration may be implemented as combined structures or components. Similarly, the structures and functionality presented as single components may be implemented as separate components. These and other changes, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter of this article.

[0107] The embodiments shown herein have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to implement the disclosed teachings. Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom, so that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, this detailed description is not to be regarded as limiting, and the scope of the various embodiments is limited only by the appended claims, and the full scope of equivalents to which these claims are entitled.

[0108] As used herein, the term "or" may be considered as an inclusive or exclusive meaning. In addition, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as single instances. In addition, the boundaries between various resources, operations, modules, engines, and data storage are arbitrary to some extent, and specific operations are shown in the context of specific illustrative configurations. Other functional configurations are contemplated, and they may fall within the scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Typically, structures and functions presented as separate resources in an exemplary configuration may be implemented as combined structures or resources. Similarly, structures or functions presented as single resources may be implemented as separate resources. These and other changes, modifications, additions, and improvements all fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, as indicated in the appended claims. Therefore, this specification and the accompanying drawings are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. A processing chamber system, comprising: A processing chamber comprising: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; and a stage disposed within the processing chamber and below the gas port; and a pump disposed at a lower region of the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber, the pump comprising a core having a channel disposed therein, wherein the stage comprises a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a stem extending from the chuck, the stem being configured to pass through the passage in the core, in: The lower region of the processing chamber has an opening configured to align with the channel and receive the rod, and One or more spiral grooves are formed in the stem opposite the inner surface of the core, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of the gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in the gap between the stem and the core.

2. A processing chamber system, comprising: A processing chamber comprising: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; and a stage disposed within the processing chamber and below the gas port; and a pump disposed at a lower region of the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber, the pump comprising a core having a channel disposed therein, wherein the stage comprises a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a stem extending from the chuck, the stem being configured to pass through the passage in the core, in: The lower region of the processing chamber has an opening configured to align with the channel and receive the rod, and One or more spiral grooves are formed in the inner surface of the core, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of the gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the stem and the core.

3. A processing chamber system comprising: A processing chamber comprising: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; and a stage disposed within the processing chamber and below the gas port; and a pump disposed at a lower region of the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber, the pump comprising a core having a channel disposed therein, wherein the stage comprises a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a stem extending from the chuck, the stem being configured to pass through the passage in the core, in: The stage is movable between a lower position, at which the substrate can be loaded onto or unloaded from the stage, and an upper position, at which the substrate is positioned for processing, Also included is a pump screen disposed in the process chamber, the pump screen having an opening through which the gantry is disposed when in the upper position, wherein the opening in the pump screen is adjustable.

4. The process chamber system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The stage is symmetrically disposed in the process chamber relative to the gas port, and the core and the stem of the pump are aligned along a centerline below the gas port.

5. The process chamber system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: A sidewall of the processing chamber has an opening through which the substrate is configured to pass during loading of the substrate onto the chuck before etching and unloading of the substrate from the chuck after etching.

6. The process chamber system of claim 3, wherein: The pump screen is formed by overlapping slats, and the opening is adjusted by adjusting the overlap between at least one pair of slats.

7. The process chamber system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The lower region of the processing chamber has an opening configured to align with the channel and receive the rod, and A seal is disposed around the core of the pump and the stem of the carriage, the seal being configured to seal the passage in the core.

8. The process chamber system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A travel stop is configured to limit movement of the carriage toward the pump.

9. The process chamber system of claim 8, wherein: The travel stop has a hole disposed therein that is sized to allow a lower portion of the chuck to pass therethrough while blocking an upper portion of the chuck.

10. The processing chamber system of claim 8, further comprising: A chamber seal is disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower portion of the chuck, the chamber seal being configured to isolate the upper region of the processing chamber from the lower region of the processing chamber so that the pressures in the upper region and the lower region of the processing chamber are isolated from each other, wherein the upper region of the processing chamber is above the travel stop and the lower region of the processing chamber is below the travel stop.

11. A processing chamber comprising: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; a stage disposed below the gas port, the stage comprising a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a stem extending from the chuck; as well as a travel stop configured to control movement of the carriage toward the pump, in: a pump attached to the process chamber to remove the gas from the process chamber, The pump includes a core having a channel disposed therein, The rod passes through the passage in the core, and One or more spiral grooves are formed in the rod portion opposite to the inner surface of the core portion, and the inner surface of the core portion is planar, or one or more spiral grooves are formed in the inner surface of the core portion, and the surface of the rod portion opposite to the inner surface of the core portion is planar, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of the gas from the exhaust port of the pump to the processing chamber in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the rod portion and the core portion.

12. A processing chamber comprising: a gas port for directing gas into an upper region of the process chamber; a stage disposed below the gas port, the stage comprising a chuck configured to hold a substrate and a stem extending from the chuck; as well as a travel stop configured to control movement of the carriage toward the pump, in: The sidewall of the processing chamber has an opening, and the substrate is configured to pass through the opening during loading of the substrate onto the chuck before etching and unloading of the substrate from the chuck after etching, The stage is movable between a first position, where the substrate can be loaded onto or unloaded from the stage, and a second position, where the substrate is positioned for processing, and A pump screen is disposed in the process chamber, the pump screen having an adjustable opening through which the gantry is disposed when in the first position.

13. The process chamber according to any one of claims 11-12, further comprising: A chamber seal disposed in a groove on one of the travel stop or the lower portion of the chuck, the chamber seal being configured to isolate the upper region of the processing chamber from the lower region of the processing chamber so that the pressures in the upper region and the lower region of the processing chamber are independent, wherein the upper region of the processing chamber is above the travel stop and the lower region of the processing chamber is below the travel stop.

14. A pump device, comprising: rotor stages, each rotor stage comprising rotor blades configured to rotate with rotation of the rotor stage; stator stages, each stator stage including stator blades configured to remain stationary as the stator stage rotates, the stator blades being disposed at an angle different from an angle of the rotor blades, the stator stages being interleaved with the rotor stages; a cylindrical core from which the rotor stages and the stator stages extend, the cylindrical core having a central passage disposed vertically therethrough, the passage having a diameter sized to receive a stem of a process chamber gantry on which a substrate is held on a chuck from which the stem extends; as well as One or more spiral grooves are formed in the inner surface of the cylindrical core, each spiral groove having a size to provide a pumping action to offset the backflow of gas from the exhaust port of the pump in an intermediate and viscous flow state in the gap between the stem and the cylindrical core when the stem is disposed in the cylindrical core.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein: The pump does not have a valve to cover the inlet of the pump and protect the pump from higher pressure environments.

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