Substrate support for improved process uniformity

Abstract

A substrate support for supporting a substrate in a substrate processing system includes a substrate and a ceramic layer disposed over the substrate. The outer periphery of the ceramic layer is surrounded by an edge ring. An outer radius of the ceramic layer is greater than an inner radius of the edge ring such that an outer edge of the ceramic layer extends below the edge ring.

Description

This application is a divisional application of the patent application for invention titled "Substrate Support for Improving Process Uniformity" with the Chinese Patent Application No. 201780082496.3 and the filing date of November 7, 2017. Cross - reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims the priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 15 / 399,244, filed on January 5, 2017. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. Technical field

[0002] This disclosure relates to a substrate support in a substrate processing system. Background art

[0003] The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the currently named inventors, to the extent described in this background art section and in aspects of this specification that would not otherwise be considered prior art at the time of filing, is neither expressly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art against the present disclosure.

[0004] A substrate processing system can be used to process substrates such as semiconductor wafers. Exemplary processes that can be performed on the substrate include, but are not limited to, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), conductor etching, dielectric etching, and / or other etching, deposition, or cleaning processes. The substrate can be disposed on a substrate support (e.g., a pedestal, an electrostatic chuck (ESC), etc.) in a processing chamber of the substrate processing system. During etching, a gas mixture including one or more precursors can be introduced into the processing chamber, and a plasma can be used to initiate a chemical reaction.

[0005] The substrate support can include a ceramic layer configured to support the substrate. For example, during processing, the substrate can be clamped to the ceramic layer. The substrate support can include an edge ring that is arranged to surround the outer perimeter of the ceramic layer and the substrate to obtain optimal edge performance and throughput. Summary of the invention

[0006] A substrate support for supporting a substrate in a substrate processing system includes: a substrate and a ceramic layer disposed above the substrate. The outer perimeter of the ceramic layer is surrounded by an edge ring. The outer radius of the ceramic layer is greater than the inner radius of the edge ring such that the outer edge of the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer extends below the edge ring. Among other features, the ceramic layer includes an annular groove disposed in the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer and an insert disposed in the annular groove.

[0007] A substrate processing method includes: providing a substrate; disposing a ceramic layer above the substrate; and disposing an edge ring around an outer periphery of the ceramic layer. An outer radius of the ceramic layer is greater than an inner radius of the edge ring such that an outer edge of a topmost surface of the ceramic layer extends below the edge ring. The ceramic layer includes an annular groove disposed in the topmost surface of the ceramic layer and an insert disposed in the annular groove. The method further includes disposing a substrate on the ceramic layer; and performing at least one processing step on the substrate.

[0008] Other applicable scopes of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims and the drawings. The detailed description and the specific embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The present disclosure will be more fully understood from the detailed description and the drawings, wherein:

[0010] Figure 1 is an exemplary substrate support;

[0011] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary processing chamber according to the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 3 is an exemplary substrate support including a ceramic layer according to the principles of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 4 is a plan view of an exemplary substrate support including a ceramic layer according to the principles of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 5 is a plan view of an exemplary ceramic layer according to the principles of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 6 is another exemplary substrate support including a ceramic layer according to the principles of the present invention; and

[0016] Figure 7 illustrates steps of an exemplary substrate processing method according to the principles of the present invention.

[0017] In the drawings, reference numerals may be reused to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Now refer to Figure 1, shows an exemplary substrate support 10, such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The substrate support 10 includes a conductive substrate 14 that supports a ceramic layer 18. A thermal resistance layer 22 (e.g., a bonding layer) may be disposed between the ceramic layer 18 and the substrate 14. A substrate 26 is disposed on the ceramic layer of the substrate support 10. The substrate support 10 may include an edge assembly 30 around the outer periphery of the substrate 26. In some examples, the edge assembly 30 may include an inner edge ring 34 and an outer insulating ring 38. A gap 42 may be defined between the outer periphery of the substrate 26 and the edge ring 34. The substrate support 10 may include one or more additional annular structures 48, additional annular structures 52, additional annular structures 56, additional annular structures 60 that surround the substrate 14 and support the edge ring 34. Structures 48, 52, 56, and 60 may be provided to achieve characteristics related to process uniformity, such as a desired thermal conductivity, a desired electrical coupling, or RF coupling, etc.

[0019] Manufacturing tolerances associated with the substrate 26 and / or components of the substrate support 10 may result in process non-uniformity. For example, the inner radius of the edge ring 34 may be selected to be large enough to accommodate variations in the outer radius of the substrates processed on the substrate support 10. Thus, different substrates may have different gaps 42 between the outer radius of the substrate 26 and the inner radius of the edge ring 34. In some examples (as shown), the outer radius of the substrate 26 may overlap the inner radius of the edge ring 34 and may be greater than the outer radius of the ceramic layer 18 for desired processing performance.

[0020] Variations in the width of the gap 42 may result in non-uniformities associated with the processing of multiple substrates. For example, the positional relationship (e.g., distance, relative height, etc.) between the outer edge of the substrate 26 and the edge ring 34 and / or the ceramic layer 18 may cause the processing of the outer edge of the substrate 26 to be different from the interior of the substrate 26 due to temperature non-uniformities, electric field non-uniformities, etc. As a result, the substrate 26 may have non-uniform etch depths, non-uniform amounts of deposited material, etc. at its edges. In addition, the gap 42 may increase the likelihood of arc discharge and increase the corrosion of the portion of the ceramic layer 26 exposed to process gases and plasmas. Potential effects such as corrosion and arc discharge may limit the power applied to the substrate support, may result in increased maintenance downtime, etc.

[0021] A substrate processing system can be configured to compensate for known process non-uniformities associated with a particular substrate support and / or processing chamber. However, it can be difficult to compensate for these non-uniformities when the outer radius of substrate 26 and thus the relationship between substrate 26 and edge ring 34 change. Systems and methods in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure implement a substrate support configured to reduce non-uniformities associated with substrate processing. For example, the ceramic layer of the substrate support has an increased diameter relative to the edge ring and the substrate being processed on the substrate support and can include replaceable (e.g., sacrificial or consumable) inserts.

[0022] Now referring to Figure 2 , an exemplary substrate processing system 100 is shown. By way of example only, substrate processing system 100 can be used for etching using RF plasma and / or other suitable substrate processing. Substrate processing system 100 includes a processing chamber 102 that encloses other components of substrate system 100 and contains RF plasma. Substrate processing chamber 102 includes an upper electrode 104 and a substrate support 106 (e.g., an electrostatic chuck (ESC)). During operation, substrate 108 is disposed on substrate support 106. Although a particular substrate processing system 100 and chamber 102 are shown as examples, the principles of the present disclosure can be applied to other types of substrate processing systems and chambers, such as substrate processing systems that generate plasma in-situ, substrate processing systems capable of implementing remote plasma generation and transport (e.g., using plasma tubes, microwave tubes), etc.

[0023] By way of example only, upper electrode 104 can include a gas distribution device such as showerhead 109 for introducing and distributing process gas. Showerhead 109 can include a stem that includes an end connected to the top surface of the processing chamber. The base is generally cylindrical and extends radially outward from the opposite end of the stem at a location spaced from the top surface of the processing chamber. The substrate-facing surface or panel of the base of the showerhead includes a plurality of holes through which process gas or purge gas flows. Alternatively, upper electrode 104 can include a conductive plate and the process gas can be introduced in another manner.

[0024] Substrate support 106 includes a conductive substrate 110 that serves as a lower electrode. Substrate 110 supports ceramic layer 112. In some examples, ceramic layer 112 can include a heating layer, such as a ceramic multi-zone heating plate. A thermal resistance layer 114 (e.g., a bonding layer) can be disposed between ceramic layer 112 and substrate 110. Substrate 110 can include one or more coolant channels 116 for flowing coolant through substrate 110. Substrate support 106 can include an edge ring 118 disposed around the outer perimeter of substrate 108.

[0025] The RF generation system 120 generates an RF voltage and outputs the RF voltage to one of the upper electrode 104 and / or the lower electrode (e.g., the substrate 110 of the substrate support 106). The other of the upper electrode 104 and the substrate 110 may be DC grounded, RF grounded, or floating. By way of example only, the RF generation system 120 may include an RF voltage generator 122 that generates an RF voltage fed to the upper electrode 104 or the substrate 110 by a matching and distribution network 124. In other examples, the plasma may be generated inductively or remotely. Although as shown in the example, the RF generation system 120 corresponds to a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) system, the principles of the present disclosure may also be implemented in other suitable systems, other suitable systems by way of example only, such as, for example, a transformer coupled plasma (TCP) system, a CCP cathode system, a remote microwave plasma generation and delivery system, etc.

[0026] The gas delivery system 130 includes one or more gas sources 132-1, 132-2, ... and 132-N (collectively referred to as gas sources 132), where N is an integer greater than zero. The gas sources provide one or more precursors and their mixtures. The gas sources may also supply purge gases. Vaporized precursors may also be used. The gas sources 132 are connected to a manifold 140 through valves 134-1, 134-2, ... and 134-N (collectively referred to as valves 134) and mass flow controllers 136-1, 136-2, ... and 136-N (collectively referred to as mass flow controllers). The output of the manifold 140 is fed to the processing chamber 102. By way of example only, the output of the manifold 140 is fed to the showerhead 109.

[0027] The temperature controller 142 may be connected to a plurality of heating elements disposed in the ceramic layer 112, such as connected to a thermal control element (TCE) 144. For example, the heating element 144 may include, but is not limited to: large heating elements corresponding to respective regions of a multi-zone heating plate and / or an array of micro heating elements disposed across multiple regions of the multi-zone heating plate. The temperature controller 142 may be used to control the plurality of heating elements 144 to control the temperature of the substrate support 106 and the substrate 108. Each heating element 144 according to the principles of the present disclosure may include a first material having a positive TCR and a second material having a negative TCR, as described in more detail below.

[0028] The temperature controller 142 may be in communication with a coolant assembly 146 to control the coolant flow through the channel 116. For example, the coolant assembly 146 may include a coolant pump and a reservoir. The temperature controller 142 operates the coolant assembly 146 to selectively pass coolant through the channel 116 to cool the substrate support 106.

[0029] Valve 150 and pump 152 can be used to discharge reactants from the processing chamber 102. The system controller 160 can be used to control the components of the substrate processing system 100. The robot 170 can be used to transfer the substrate onto the substrate support 106 and can remove the substrate from the substrate support 106. For example, the robot 170 can transfer the substrate between the substrate support 106 and the load lock 172. Although shown as a separate controller, the temperature controller 142 can be implemented within the system controller 160. In some examples, a protective seal 176 can be provided around the perimeter of the bonding layer 114 between the ceramic layer 112 and the substrate 110.

[0030] The ceramic layer 112 and the edge ring 118 of the substrate support 106 according to the principles of the present disclosure have an increased outer diameter relative to the substrate 108, as described in more detail below. Additionally, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 112 can be greater than the inner radius of the edge ring 118 such that the ceramic layer 112 extends beneath the edge ring 118. The ceramic layer 112 can include replaceable inserts ( Figure 2 not shown in Figure 3 , 4 5, and

[0031] 6 as described below. Figure 3 and 4 , an exemplary substrate support 300 is shown. The substrate support 300 is shown in a cross-sectional view in Figure 3 and in a plan view in Figure 4 . The substrate support 300 includes a conductive substrate 304 that supports a ceramic layer 308. A bonding layer 312 can be disposed between the ceramic layer 308 and the substrate 304. A substrate 316 is disposed on the ceramic layer 308. The substrate support 300 includes an edge assembly 320 disposed at the outer perimeter of the substrate 316. In some examples, the edge assembly 320 can include an inner edge ring 324 and an outer insulating ring 328. For simplicity, the outer insulating ring 328 is not shown in Figure 4 .

[0032] The diameter and outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 (and correspondingly, the outer edge 332) and the inner radius of the edge ring 320 are increased relative to the substrate being processed on the substrate support 300. The width of the gap 336 between the substrate 316 and the edge ring 324 can be increased. For example, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 can be a predetermined minimum offset greater than the outer radius of the largest possible substrate processed on the substrate support 300. By way of example only, for a 300 mm substrate (i.e., having a 150 mm radius), the manufacturing deviation of the substrate can be up to 1 mm, resulting in an outer radius of 150.5 mm. Thus, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 can be 150.5 mm plus the offset. In some examples, the offset is at least 1 mm. In other examples, the offset is at least 2 mm. Thus, for a substrate support for processing a 300 mm substrate, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 can be 151.5 mm to provide a 1 mm offset. Similarly, for a substrate support for processing a 450 mm substrate, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 can be 226.1 mm to provide a 1 mm offset. By way of example only, in a configuration for processing a substrate having a diameter d (e.g., d mm) and a manufacturing deviation v mm, the ceramic layer can have an outer radius greater than or equal to the sum of (d + v) / 2 and a predetermined offset.

[0033] Although offsets of only 1 mm and 2 mm are provided by way of example, the offset can be any amount sufficient to cause the ceramic layer 308 to extend beneath the edge ring 324. For example, the ceramic layer 308 can have an outer radius that is a minimum amount greater than the inner radius of the edge ring 324. For example, the outer radius of the ceramic layer 308 can be 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, etc. greater than the inner radius of the edge ring 324. Thus, the ceramic layer 308 extends beneath the edge ring 324, and the outer edge 332 of the ceramic layer 308 is disposed beneath the edge ring 324 (i.e., the edge ring 324 overlaps the outer edge 332 of the ceramic layer 308).

[0034] Because the ceramic layer 308 extends beneath the edge ring 324 and is larger than the substrate 316, a portion of the ceramic layer 308 is not covered by the substrate 316 or the edge ring 324. Accordingly, the ceramic layer 308 may include a replaceable insert 340. For example, the insert 340 is annular and disposed in an annular slot or groove 344 in the upper surface of the ceramic layer 308 beneath the edge ring 324. By way of example only, the insert 340 is disposed at the interface between a portion of the ceramic layer 308 beneath the edge ring 324 and a portion of the ceramic layer 308 that is exposed to process gas and plasma (i.e., the portion of the ceramic layer 308 that is not covered by the substrate 316 and not covered by the edge ring 324). This portion of the ceramic layer 308 corresponding to the insert 340 may experience increased exposure to process gas (e.g., plasma) and thus increased wear and corrosion. Accordingly, in the absence of the replaceable insert 340, the increased exposure to plasma caused by the gap 336 would result in increased corrosion of the ceramic layer 308 and the ceramic layer 308 would need to be replaced frequently.

[0035] Conversely, the replaceable insert 340 can be replaced at a lower cost, with less system downtime, and more efficiently in terms of disassembling and reassembling the components of the substrate support 300. For example, the insert 340 can be replaced by removing the inner edge ring 324 of the edge ring assembly 320 and then removing the insert 340. By way of example only, the insert 340 can include the same material as the material of the ceramic layer 308 (e.g., any suitable ceramic). Accordingly, exposure to process gas may cause corrosion of the insert 340. As such, the insert 340 can be characterized as a sacrificial or consumable item.

[0036] In some examples, the substrate support 300 can eliminate and / or simplify structures such as Figure 1 the annular structures 48, 52, 56, and 60 as shown. For example, because increasing the radius of the ceramic layer 308 relative to the outer radius of the substrate 316 improves process uniformity at the edge of the substrate 316, additional structures may not be needed to improve process uniformity. By way of example only, the annular structures 52, 56, and 60 that are located directly beneath the edge ring 34 in Figure 1 are removed in the example of Figure 3 .

[0037] Now refer to Figure 5, an example of a ceramic layer 308 with a replaceable insert 340 is shown. In some examples, the insert 340 may include one or more screw holes (e.g., threaded screw holes) 348 for attaching the insert 340 to the ceramic layer 308. The ceramic layer 308 may include one or more cutouts 352 to facilitate removal of the insert 340 from the recess 344 of the ceramic layer 308. For example, the cutout 352 may be configured to receive a tool configured to pry the insert 340 out of the recess 344.

[0038] Now referring to Figure 6 , another example of a substrate support 320 is shown. In this example, the insert 340 is wider than the Figure 3 example shown. Thus, the insert 340 extends from below the edge ring 324 into the gap 336 and extends below the outer edge of the substrate 316. In other words, the insert 340 occupies the entire portion of the ceramic layer 308 that is exposed to the process gas in the gap 336.

[0039] Now referring to Figure 7 , an exemplary substrate processing method 700 begins at 704. At 708, a substrate support including a ceramic layer is provided. The substrate support is configured to process substrates (i.e., wafers) having standard sizes (e.g., 200 mm, 300 mm, 450 mm, etc.). As described above, the outer radius of the ceramic layer is greater than the outer radius of the substrate to be processed on the substrate support. For example, if the substrate support is configured to process a standard substrate having a diameter d and a manufacturing deviation v, the outer radius of the ceramic layer may be greater than or equal to the sum of (d + v) / 2 and a predetermined offset. At 712, the substrate is disposed on the ceramic layer. At 716, one or more substrate processing steps are performed on the substrate. Method 700 ends at 720.

[0040] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety of forms. Thus, although the present disclosure includes specific examples, the true scope of the present disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon study of the drawings, the specification, and the appended claims. It should be understood that one or more steps in a method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without changing the principles of the present disclosure. Additionally, while each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in and / or combined with the features of any other embodiment, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and the exchange of one or more embodiments with one another remains within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0041] The spatial and functional relationships between components (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms including "connected", "joined", "coupled", "adjacent", "proximate", "on", "above", "below", and "disposed". When describing the relationship between a first and a second component in the foregoing disclosure, unless explicitly described as "direct", such relationship can be a direct relationship in which no other intervening components are present between the first and second components, but can also be an indirect relationship in which one or more intervening components (either spatially or functionally) are present between the first and second components. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C) using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C".

[0042] In some embodiments, the controller is part of a system, and a part of the system can be part of the foregoing embodiments. Such systems can include semiconductor processing equipment, which includes one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more platforms for processing, and / or particular processing components (wafer chucks, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems can be integrated with electronics to control the operation of these systems before, during, or after the processing of a semiconductor wafer or substrate. The electronics can be referred to as a "controller", which can control various components or sub-parts of one or more systems. Depending on the processing requirements and / or the type of system, the controller can be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed in the present invention, including controlling the delivery of process gases, setting of temperature (e.g., heating and / or cooling), setting of pressure, setting of vacuum, setting of power, setting of radio frequency (RF) generators, setting of RF matching circuits, setting of frequency, setting of flow rate, setting of fluid delivery, setting of position and operation, transfer of wafers in and out of tools and other transfer tools and / or transfer of load locks connected to or interfacing with a particular system.

[0043] Broadly speaking, a controller can be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receives instructions, issues instructions, controls operations, enables cleaning operations, enables endpoint measurements, etc. These integrated circuits can include chips that store program instructions in the form of firmware, digital signal processors (DSPs), chips defined as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions can be instructions transmitted to the controller or system in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define the operating parameters for processing on or for a semiconductor wafer. In some embodiments, the operating parameters can be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer to complete one or more processing steps in the manufacturing process of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of the wafer.

[0044] In some embodiments, the controller can be part of a computer that is integrated with, coupled to, or networked to the system or a combination thereof. For example, the controller can be in the "cloud" or be all or part of a wafer fab host system, which can allow remote access to wafer processing. The computer can enable remote access to the system to monitor the current processing of manufacturing operations, examine the history of past manufacturing operations, examine trends or performance criteria of multiple manufacturing operations, to change the parameters of the current processing, set processing steps to follow the current processing, or initiate a new process. In some instances, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide a process recipe to the system via a network, which can include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer can include a user interface that allows for the input or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then transmitted from the remote computer to the system. In some instances, the controller receives instructions in the form of data that specify the parameters for each processing step to be performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that these parameters can be specific to the type of process to be performed as well as the type of tool that the controller is configured to connect to or control. Thus, as described above, the controller can be distributed, for example, by including one or more discrete controllers that are connected together via a network and work towards a common goal (e.g., the processes and controls described herein). An example of a distributed controller for these purposes can be one or more integrated circuits within a chamber that communicate with one or more remote integrated circuits (e.g., at the platform level or as part of a remote computer), which combine to control the chamber process.

[0045] Exemplary systems can include, but are not limited to, a plasma etch chamber or module (using inductively or capacitively coupled plasmas), a deposition chamber or module, a spin rinse chamber or module, a metal plating chamber or module, a cleaning chamber or module, a bevel edge etch chamber or module, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber or module, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber or module, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber or module, an atomic layer etch (ALE) chamber or module, an ion implantation chamber or module, an orbit chamber or module, and any other semiconductor processing system that can be associated with or used in the preparation and / or manufacture of semiconductor wafers.

[0046] As described above, depending on one or more process steps to be performed by the tool, the controller can communicate with one or more other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, a combined tool, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, adjoining tools, tools located throughout the factory, a host, another controller, or a tool used in a material handling that transports a container of wafers between tool locations and / or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

Claims

1. A substrate support for supporting a substrate in a substrate processing system, the substrate support comprising: a substrate plate; a ceramic layer disposed above the substrate plate, wherein the ceramic layer includes (i) an annular groove disposed in the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer and (ii) a removable insert disposed in the annular groove; an edge ring disposed above the ceramic layer, wherein an outer periphery of the ceramic layer extends radially outside an inner periphery of the edge ring such that the outer periphery of the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer extends below the edge ring, wherein the insert includes one or more holes configured to facilitate attachment of the insert to the ceramic layer in the annular groove, and wherein the insert is made of the same ceramic material as the ceramic layer.

2. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein, the insert is at least partially positioned below the edge ring.

3. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein, when the substrate is disposed above the ceramic layer, the insert extends below the substrate.

4. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a 300 mm substrate, and wherein the ceramic layer has an outer radius of at least 151.5 mm.

5. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a 450 mm substrate, and wherein the ceramic layer has an outer radius of at least 226.5 mm.

6. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a substrate having a diameter of d mm, and wherein, when the substrate is disposed on the ceramic layer, (i) a manufacturing deviation associated with the substrate is v mm, and (ii) the ceramic layer has an outer radius greater than or equal to the sum of (d + v) / 2 and a predetermined offset.

7. The substrate support according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic layer includes one or more cuts around an outer periphery of the insert to facilitate removal of the insert from the annular groove.

8. A substrate support for supporting a substrate in a substrate processing system, the substrate support comprising: a substrate plate; a ceramic layer disposed above the substrate plate; an annular groove disposed in the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer; a removable insert disposed in the annular groove; and a removable edge ring disposed above the ceramic layer, wherein an outer periphery of the ceramic layer extends radially outside an inner periphery of the edge ring such that the outer periphery of the uppermost surface of the ceramic layer extends below the edge ring, and wherein the insert is at least partially located below the edge ring, and the insert includes one or more holes configured to facilitate attachment of the insert to the ceramic layer in the annular groove, and wherein the insert is made of the same ceramic material as the ceramic layer.

9. The substrate support according to claim 8, wherein, When the substrate is disposed above the ceramic layer, the insert extends below the substrate.

10. The substrate support according to claim 8, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a 300 mm substrate, and wherein the ceramic layer has an outer radius of at least 151.5 mm.

11. The substrate support according to claim 8, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a 450 mm substrate, and wherein the ceramic layer has an outer radius of at least 226.5 mm.

12. The substrate support according to claim 8, wherein the substrate support is configured to support a substrate having a diameter of d mm, and wherein, when the substrate is disposed on the ceramic layer, (i) a manufacturing deviation associated with the substrate is v mm, and (ii) the ceramic layer has an outer radius greater than or equal to the sum of (d + v) / 2 and a predetermined offset.

13. The substrate support according to claim 8, wherein the ceramic layer includes one or more cuts around the outer periphery of the insert to facilitate removal of the insert from the annular groove.

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