Rapid and Precise Temperature Control for Thermal Etching

Abstract

An apparatus and method are described. The apparatus may include a processing chamber including a chamber wall, a chamber heater configured to heat the wall, a substrate heater positioned within the chamber interior and having a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit light having a wavelength in a range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, a window positioned above the heater having a material that is transparent to light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and a pedestal including three or more substrate supports, each having a substrate support surface vertically offset from the window, and configured to support a substrate such that the window and the substrate are offset by a non-zero distance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Incorporation by Reference The PCT application is filed simultaneously with this specification as part of this application. As specified in the PCT application filed simultaneously, each application for which this application claims benefit or priority is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor manufacturing often involves patterning schemes and other processes that selectively etch some materials to prevent etching of other exposed surfaces of the substrate. As the geometric shape of the device gets smaller and smaller, a high etching selectivity process is desirable to achieve effective etching of the desired material without plasma assistance.

[0003] The description of the background provided herein is generally for the purpose of presenting the context of the present disclosure. The current research of the inventors described herein is not admitted as prior art to the present disclosure, whether expressly or implicitly, to the extent that it is in the same form as aspects of the specification that do not qualify as prior art at the time of filing.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. The following non-limiting implementations are considered part of the present disclosure, and other implementations will become apparent from the present disclosure and the entire accompanying drawings.

[0005] In some embodiments, an apparatus for semiconductor processing may be provided. The apparatus includes a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber and a chamber heater configured to heat the chamber wall, a substrate heater positioned within the interior of the chamber and having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, a window positioned above the substrate heater and having an upper surface and a bottom surface facing the LEDs and including a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and a pedestal including three or more substrate supports, each substrate having a substrate support surface that is vertically offset from the window, and the three or more substrate supports being configured to support the substrate such that the window and the substrate supported by the three or more substrate supports are offset by a non-zero distance, a gas distribution unit including one or more fluid inlets and a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected between the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber and including a protective plate having a front surface that is partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, and a unit heater thermally connected to the protective plate such that heat can be transferred between the protective plate and the unit heater.

[0006] In some embodiments, each substrate support may include a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0007] In some embodiments, each of the three or more substrate supports may include quartz.

[0008] In some embodiments, the substrate support surface may be positioned closer to the central axis of the window than the outer diameter of the upper surface of the window.

[0009] In some embodiments, each substrate support may include a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of a substrate positioned on the substrate support surface.

[0010] In some such embodiments, the temperature sensor may be a thermocouple.

[0011] In some embodiments, each substrate support surface may be vertically offset from the LED by a distance of 1 millimeter to 100 millimeters.

[0012] In some embodiments, the window may include quartz.

[0013] In some embodiments, the window may further include a sapphire coating.

[0014] In some embodiments, a hole may not be opened in the center of the window.

[0015] In some embodiments, the upper surface of the window may be non-planar.

[0016] In some embodiments, the bottom surface of the window may be non-planar.

[0017] In some embodiments, the bottom surface of the window may be in contact with at least a first set of LEDs.

[0018] In some embodiments, the pedestal may further include side walls, and the outer region of the window may be thermally connected to the side walls such that heat can be transferred between the outer region and the side walls.

[0019] In some embodiments, the substrate heater may further include a printed circuit board including a reflective material on which the LEDs are supported.

[0020] In some embodiments, the pedestal may include a bowl in which the substrate heater is positioned, and the bowl may include one or more side walls having an outer surface provided with a reflective material.

[0021] In some embodiments, the pedestal is thermally connected to the LED such that heat can be transferred between the LED and the pedestal cooler, and further includes a pedestal cooler configured to include at least one flow path in the pedestal and to flow a cooling fluid in the at least one flow path.

[0022] In some embodiments, the pedestal may further include a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal.

[0023] In some further such embodiments, the pedestal heater may be a resistive heater.

[0024] In some embodiments, the pedestal may include a fluid inlet and is configured to flow fluid between the LED and the bottom surface of the window.

[0025] In some embodiments, the pedestal may be configured to move vertically.

[0026] In some embodiments, the pedestal may be configured to move vertically to create a vertical offset gap between the substrate support surface of the substrate support and the front surface of the protective plate of about 2 millimeters (mm) to about 70 mm.

[0027] In some embodiments, the first set of LEDs may have a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and be arranged within a first circle that is equally spaced from each other, and the second set of LEDs may have a second radius larger than the first radius around the central axis and be arranged within a second circle that is equally spaced from each other.

[0028] In some embodiments, the first set of LEDs may be electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs may be electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones may be independently controllable.

[0029] In some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs may include more than about 1,000 LEDs, and the plurality of LEDs may be grouped to create at least about 80 independently controllable electrical zones.

[0030] In some such embodiments, the plurality of LEDs may include more than 5,000 LEDs.

[0031] In some embodiments, each LED may be configured to emit visible blue light.

[0032] In some embodiments, each LED may be configured to emit visible white light.

[0033] In some embodiments, each LED may use about 1.5 watts or less at full output.

[0034] In some embodiments, each LED may use about 4 watts or less at full output.

[0035] In some embodiments, each LED may be a chip-on-board LED.

[0036] In some embodiments, each LED may be a surface mount diode LED.

[0037] In some embodiments, the gas distribution unit may further include a second unit heater configured to heat the protective plate.

[0038] In some such embodiments, the second unit heater may be a resistive heater.

[0039] In some embodiments, the unit heater may include at least one flow path and may be configured to flow a heat transfer fluid within at least one flow path.

[0040] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a mixing plenum fluidly connected to at least one of one or more fluid inlets of the gas distribution unit and upstream thereof.

[0041] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include one or more sensors configured to measure one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED.

[0042] In some embodiments, the one or more sensors may be photodetectors.

[0043] In some such embodiments, the one or more measurement criteria may include the light emitted by the LED.

[0044] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter, the gas distribution unit may extend through a protective plate and may include a port including a sensor window, and the emitter or the detector may be connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, and the emitter or the detector may be positioned within the pedestal and below the window.

[0045] In some such embodiments, the pyrometer may be configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0046] In some such embodiments, the pyrometer may be configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0047] In some such embodiments, the sensor window may be positioned in the central region of the protective plate.

[0048] In some embodiments, the chamber wall may include aluminum.

[0049] In some embodiments, the chamber wall may further include a plastic coating.

[0050] In some embodiments, the chamber wall may include a metal coated with yttria.

[0051] In some embodiments, the chamber wall may include a metal with a zirconia coating.

[0052] In some embodiments, the chamber wall may include a metal or metal alloy with an aluminum oxide coating.

[0053] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a vacuum pump configured to evacuate the interior of the chamber, and the processing chamber may be configured to operate in a pressure range of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr.

[0054] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a controller having a processor and one or more non - transient memory devices storing instructions for causing an LED to emit visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0055] In some such embodiments, the apparatus may further include a cooling gas source fluidly connected to one or more fluid inlets, and the one or more non - transient memory devices further store instructions for flowing the cooling gas over the substrate.

[0056] In some further such embodiments, the pedestal may be configured to move vertically, and the one or more non - transient memory devices may further store instructions for moving the pedestal vertically to offset the substrate by a non - zero gap of about 5 mm or less from the protective plate, and for flowing the cooling gas over the substrate while the substrate is offset by a non - zero gap from the protective plate.

[0057] In some embodiments, a method may be provided. The method includes supporting a substrate in a processing chamber having a chamber wall using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate, and heating the substrate to a first temperature by emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) below the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, wherein the visible light has a wavelength of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, and etching a surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the first temperature.

[0058] In some embodiments, the method further includes cooling the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports by one or more of flowing a cooling gas over the substrate and vertically moving the pedestal such that the substrate is offset by a first non-zero offset distance from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation.

[0059] In some such embodiments, the cooling may be by both flowing a cooling gas and positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0060] In some further such embodiments, the first non-zero offset distance may be 5 mm or less.

[0061] In some such embodiments, the cooling gas may include one or more of hydrogen and helium.

[0062] In some embodiments, the method may further include heating the chamber wall to a second temperature while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, and heating a protective plate of a gas distribution unit positioned above the substrate to a third temperature while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, wherein the etching is performed while the chamber wall is heated to the second temperature and the protective plate is heated to the third temperature.

[0063] In some such embodiments, the second temperature and the third temperature may be between 30°C and 150°C.

[0064] In some embodiments, the supporting, heating, and etching may be performed while the processing chamber is at a pressure of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr.

[0065] In some embodiments, the supporting, heating, and etching may be performed while the processing chamber is at a pressure of about 20 Torr to about 200 Torr.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first temperature may be between about 30°C and about 200°C.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first temperature may be between about 100°C and about 500°C.

[0068] In some embodiments, the method may further include using one or more temperature sensors to measure the temperature of the substrate and, based on this measurement, adjusting the power of at least a first set of a plurality of LEDs during heating, maintaining, and / or etching.

[0069] In some such embodiments, one or more temperature sensors may include one or more of: a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports; a pyrometer comprising an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate and a detector configured to receive emissions from the substrate and detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0070] In some further such embodiments, the emitter may be configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0071] In some further such embodiments, one or more temperature sensors may include both a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports and a pyrometer.

[0072] In some embodiments, the method may further include adjusting the power of at least a first set of a plurality of LEDs, heating the substrate to a second temperature by emitting visible light from the LEDs after the adjustment is made while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, and etching the bottom surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the second temperature.

[0073] In some such embodiments, the method may further include measuring the temperature of the substrate using one or more temperature sensors, and the adjustment is made at least in part based on this measurement.

[0074] In some further such embodiments, one or more temperature sensors may include one or more of a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports, a pyrometer comprising an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate, and a receiver configured to receive emissions from the substrate and the temperature of the substrate, and the detector is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0075] In some further embodiments, the emitter may be configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0076] In some further embodiments, one or more temperature sensors may include both a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports and a pyrometer.

[0077] In some embodiments, supporting may further include supporting the substrate using only a plurality of substrate supports including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0078] In some embodiments, a method may be provided. The method includes emitting visible light from a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) within a processing chamber, the visible light having a wavelength of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, measuring one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LEDs using one or more sensors configured to detect the visible light emitted from the plurality of LEDs, and adjusting the power of a first set of the plurality of LEDs, the first set including fewer LEDs than the plurality of LEDs, based at least in part on the measurement.

[0079] In some embodiments, the measuring may further include measuring the visible light using a photodetector.

[0080] In some such embodiments, the photodetector may be outside the processing chamber and connected to a port within the processing chamber via an optical fiber cable.

[0081] In some embodiments, a pedestal for use within a semiconductor processing chamber may be provided. The pedestal has a top surface and a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and includes a window made of a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and three or more substrate supports. Each substrate support includes a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and has a substrate support surface configured to support a substrate such that the substrate supported by the window and the three or more substrates is offset by a non-zero distance, and includes three or more substrate supports having a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the substrate positioned on the substrate support surface. Substrate In some embodiments, each of the three or more substrate supports may include quartz.

[0082] In some embodiments, the substrate support surface may be positioned closer to the central axis of the window than the outer diameter of the top surface of the window.

[0083] In some embodiments, each temperature sensor may be a thermocouple.

[0084]

[0085] In some embodiments, each substrate support surface may be vertically offset from the window by a distance of about 5 to 30 millimeters.

[0086] In some embodiments, the pedestal may further include a substrate heater having a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0087] ​In some embodiments, a pedestal for use within a semiconductor processing chamber may be provided. The pedestal may include a substrate heater having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, and a window having an upper surface and a bottom surface opposite the upper surface, the window including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, wherein one or more of the upper surface and the bottom surface is non-planar.

[0088] In some embodiments, both the upper surface and the bottom surface may be non-planar.

[0089] In some embodiments, the bottom surface of the window may be in contact with at least a first set of the LEDs.

[0090] In some embodiments, the pedestal may further include a sidewall, and an outer region of the window may be thermally connected to the sidewall such that heat can be transferred between the outer region and the sidewall.

[0091] In some embodiments, the substrate heater may further include a printed circuit board including a reflective material on which the LEDs are supported.

[0092] In some embodiments, the pedestal may include a bowl in which the substrate heater is positioned, the bowl including one or more sidewalls having an outer surface with a reflective material.

[0093] In some embodiments, the pedestal may be thermally connected to the LEDs such that heat can be transferred between the LEDs and a pedestal cooler, and may further include a pedestal cooler including at least one flow path within the pedestal and configured to flow a cooling fluid through the at least one flow path.

[0094] In some such embodiments, the pedestal may further include a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal.

[0095] In some further such embodiments, the pedestal heater may be a resistive heater.

[0096] In some embodiments, the pedestal may include a fluid inlet and may be configured to flow a fluid between the LED and the bottom surface of the window.

[0097] In some embodiments, the first set of LEDs may have a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and may be arranged within a first circle spaced equally apart from each other, and the second set of LEDs may have a second radius greater than the first radius around the central axis and may be arranged within a second circle spaced equally apart from each other.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first set of LEDs may be electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs may be electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones may be independently controllable.

[0099] In some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs may include more than 1,000 LEDs, and the plurality of LEDs may be grouped to create at least about 80 independently controllable electrical zones.

[0100] In some such embodiments, the plurality of LEDs may include more than 5,000 LEDs.

[0101] In some embodiments, each LED may be configured to emit visible blue light.

[0102] In some embodiments, each LED may be configured to emit visible white light.

[0103] In some embodiments, each LED may use about 1.5 watts or less at full output.

[0104] In some embodiments, each LED may use about 4 watts or less at full output.

[0105] In some embodiments, each LED may be a chip-on-board LED.

[0106] In some embodiments, each LED may be a surface-mount diode LED.

[0107] In some embodiments, an apparatus may be provided. The apparatus may include a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, a pedestal positioned within the interior of the chamber and configured to support a substrate, and a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter. The processing chamber may be above the pedestal and include a port extending through a surface of the processing chamber that includes a sensor window. The emitter or detector may be connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, the emitter or detector may be positioned within the pedestal, and the pyrometer may be configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0108] In some embodiments, the pyrometer may be configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0109] In some embodiments, the sensor window may be positioned in a central region of the processing chamber.

[0110] In some embodiments, the processing chamber may include one or more fluid inlets and a protective plate having a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected to the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber, and may further include a gas distribution unit having a front face that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber. The port may extend through the front face of the protective plate.

[0111] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include one or more sensors configured to measure one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED.

[0112] In some such embodiments, the one or more sensors may be photodetectors.

[0113] In some such embodiments, the one or more measurement criteria may include the light emitted by the LED.

[0114] In some embodiments, a method may be provided. The method includes supporting a substrate in a processing chamber having a chamber wall using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate, heating the substrate to a first temperature by emitting visible light from a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) below the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, wherein the visible light has a wavelength of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, and cooling the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports by one or more of flowing a cooling gas over the substrate and vertically moving the pedestal so that the substrate is offset from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit by a first non-zero offset distance of 5 mm or less, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation.

[0115] In some embodiments, cooling may be by flowing a cooling gas over the substrate.

[0116] In some embodiments, cooling may be by positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0117] In some embodiments, cooling may be by both flowing a cooling gas and positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0118] In some such embodiments, the cooling gas may include one or more of hydrogen and helium.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0119] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary apparatus according to the disclosed embodiments.

[0120] [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows a top view of a substrate heater having a plurality of LEDs.

[0121] [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a top view of another substrate heater having a plurality of LEDs.

[0122] [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the pedestal of Figure 1 with additional features according to various embodiments.

[0123] [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the substrate support of Figures 1 and Figure 4 according to the disclosed embodiments.

[0124] [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows a plan view of a first exemplary protective plate.

[0125] [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows a plan view of a second exemplary protective plate.

[0126] [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows a graph of four different active cooling experiments.

[0127] [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an exemplary temperature control sequence.

[0128] [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows a first technique for heat treatment according to the disclosed embodiments.

[0129] [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows a second technique for heat treatment according to the disclosed embodiment.

[0130] [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows a third technique for heat treatment according to the disclosed embodiment.

[0131] [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows a graph of silicon absorption at various wavelengths and temperatures.

[0132] [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows the pedestal of FIG. 4 with additional features according to various embodiments.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0133] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presented embodiments. The disclosed embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known process operations have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the disclosed embodiments. The disclosed embodiments are described in relation to specific embodiments, but it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not intended to be limiting.

[0134] Introduction and Background Semiconductor manufacturing processes often involve patterning and etching of various materials, including conductors, semiconductors, and dielectrics. Some examples include conductors such as metals or carbon, semiconductors such as silicon or germanium, and dielectrics such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, zirconium dioxide, hafnium dioxide, silicon nitride, and titanium nitride. The atomic layer etching (ALE) process provides a classification of etching techniques in which the etching conditions are repeatedly changed during the etching operation. The ALE process is a process that uses sequential self-limiting reactions to remove thin layers of material. Generally, an ALE cycle is the minimum set of operations used to perform an etching process once, such as etching a single-layer film. As a result of one ALE cycle, at least a portion of the film layer on the substrate surface is etched. Typically, an ALE cycle includes a modification operation to form a reaction layer and a removal operation to remove or etch only this reaction layer. This cycle may include certain auxiliary operations, such as removing one of the reactants or by-products. Generally, a cycle includes one instance of a series of unique operations.

[0135] As an example, a conventional ALE cycle may include the following operations: (i) delivery of a reaction gas for performing a modification operation, (ii) purge of the reaction gas from the chamber, (iii) delivery of a removal gas and any plasma for performing a removal operation, and (iv) purge of the chamber. In some embodiments, the etching may be performed non-conformally. The modification operation generally forms a thin reaction surface layer that is thinner in thickness than the unmodified material. In an exemplary modification operation, the substrate may be chlorinated by introducing chlorine into the chamber. Chlorine is used as an exemplary etchant species or etching gas, but it will be understood that different etching gases may be introduced into the chamber. The etching gas may be selected according to the type and chemical properties of the substrate to be etched. The plasma may be ignited for the etching process to react chlorine with the substrate, and chlorine may react with the substrate or adsorb on the surface of the substrate. Species generated from the chlorine plasma may be generated directly by forming plasma in the process chamber containing the substrate or remotely generated in a process chamber not containing the substrate and supplied into the process chamber containing the substrate.

[0136] In some cases, the purge may be performed after the modification operation. In the purge operation, active chlorine species not in contact with the surface may be removed from the process chamber. This can be done by purging and / or evacuating the process chamber to remove the active species without removing the adsorption layer. Species generated by the chlorine plasma can be removed by simply stopping the plasma and decaying the remaining species, optionally in combination with purging and / or evacuating the chamber. The purging can be performed using any inert gas such as N2, Ar, Ne, He, and combinations thereof.

[0137] In the removal operation, the substrate may be exposed to an energy source and the substrate may be etched by directional sputtering (this may include activating or sputtering a gas or chemical reaction species that induces removal). In some embodiments, the removal operation may be performed by ion bombardment using argon ions or helium ions. During removal, a bias may optionally be turned on to facilitate directional sputtering. In some embodiments, ALE may be isotropic, and in some other embodiments, ALE is not isotropic when ions are used in the removal process.

[0138] In various examples, the modification operation and the removal operation may be repeated in cycles, such as about 1 to about 30 cycles, or about 1 to about 20 cycles. Any suitable number of ALE cycles may be included to etch a desired amount of the film. In some embodiments, ALE is performed in cycles to etch from about 1 Å to about 50 Å of the surface of the layer on the substrate. In some embodiments, the ALE cycle etches from about 2 Å to about 50 Å of the surface of the layer on the substrate. In some embodiments, each ALE cycle may etch at least about 0.1 Å, 0.5 Å, or 1 Å.

[0139] In some cases, prior to etching, the substrate may include a blanket layer of a material such as silicon or germanium. The substrate may include a patterned mask layer that is pre-deposited and patterned on the substrate. For example, the mask layer may be deposited and patterned on a substrate including a blanket amorphous silicon layer. The layer on the substrate may also be patterned. The substrate may have "features" such as fins or holes, and may be characterized by one or more of narrow openings and / or re-entrant openings, constrictions within the features, and high aspect ratios. An example of a feature is a hole or via in a semiconductor substrate or a layer on the substrate. Another example is a groove in a substrate or layer. In various cases, the feature may have an underlying layer such as a barrier layer or an adhesion layer. Non-limiting examples of the underlying layer include dielectric layers and conductive layers, such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, metal oxides, metal nitrides, metal carbides, and metal layers.

[0140] Using plasma during conventional etching has numerous problems and drawbacks. For example, generally, it is desirable to create the same plasma conditions for each ALE cycle of a single substrate and for all substrates within a batch. However, there are also plasmas that vary due to the accumulation of materials within the process chamber, and it may be difficult to repeatedly reproduce the same plasma conditions. In addition, many conventional ALE processes can damage exposed components of the substrate, such as silicon oxide, resulting in defects, an increase in the aspect ratio of the pattern, and an increase in pattern loading. Such defects can cause pattern dropout and render the device inoperable. Also, plasma-assisted ALE utilizes more aggressive small radicals, i.e., highly dissociated radicals, which remove more material than the desired material, thereby reducing the selectivity of this etching. As a result, conventional ALE techniques are often not suitable for selectively etching some materials such as aluminum oxide, zirconium dioxide, hafnium dioxide, silicon nitride, titanium nitride, etc. Therefore, it is desirable to determine a new etching technique and apparatus that can rapidly and accurately control the temperature of the substrate during processing without using plasma.

[0141] More generally, an apparatus designed or configured to provide variable reaction conditions during the etching process, whether the process is an ALE process or some other etching process employing various conditions. In certain embodiments, the apparatus is designed or configured to provide a rapidly changing temperature during the etching process.

[0142] Apparatus for heat treatment In this specification, methods and apparatuses are provided for rapidly and accurately controlling the temperature of a substrate during semiconductor processing, including performing etching using thermal energy instead of, or in addition to, plasma energy to drive the modification and removal operations. In certain embodiments, etching that relies on chemical reactions mainly in conjunction with thermal energy rather than plasma to drive chemical reactions in the modification and removal operations may be considered "thermal etching". This etching is not limited to ALE and is applicable to any etching technique.

[0143] In certain embodiments, a thermal etching process that employs one or more thermal cycles has relatively fast heating and cooling, as well as relatively accurate temperature control. In some cases, by leveraging these features, good throughput may be provided and / or non-uniformity and wafer defects may be reduced.

[0144] However, many conventional etching apparatuses do not have the ability to adjust and control the temperature of the substrate at an appropriate rate. For example, some etching apparatuses may be able to heat the substrate to multiple temperatures, but these apparatuses may heat only slowly, or may not be able to reach the desired temperature range, or may not be able to maintain the substrate temperature for the desired time and within the desired temperature range. Similarly, typical etching apparatuses often cannot cool the substrate fast enough to enable high throughput or cannot cool the substrate to the desired temperature range. In some applications, in some embodiments, it is desirable to minimize the temperature ramp time, such as to less than about 120 seconds, but many conventional etching apparatuses cannot heat, cool, or both the substrate in less than that time, and in some apparatuses, it may take minutes to cool and / or heat the substrate, slowing down the throughput.

[0145] In various embodiments, the apparatus described herein is designed or configured to rapidly heat and cool a wafer and accurately control the temperature of the wafer. In some embodiments, the wafer is rapidly heated and its temperature is accurately controlled using in part visible light emitted from light emitting diodes (LEDs) positioned in a pedestal under the wafer. The visible light includes from 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm and may have wavelengths within these ranges. The pedestal may have a lens to advantageously direct or collect the emitted light, a reflective material to advantageously direct or focus the emitted light, and a transparent window such as temperature control elements to assist in temperature control of the LED, pedestal, and chamber, and may include various features to enable wafer temperature control.

[0146] Also, the apparatus may thermally isolate or "float" the wafer within the processing chamber such that only a minimum thermal mass is heated, and the ideal minimum thermal mass is only the substrate itself, thereby enabling faster heating and cooling. The wafer may be rapidly cooled using radiative heat transfer to a heat sink, such as a cooling gas and / or an upper plate (or other gas distribution element) above the wafer or both. In some instances, the apparatus also includes temperature control elements within the processing chamber walls, pedestal, and upper plate (or other gas distribution element) to enable further temperature control of the wafer and processing conditions within the chamber, such as preventing unwanted condensation of process gases and vapors.

[0147] The apparatus may also be configured to implement various control loops (e.g., using a controller configured to execute instructions for causing the apparatus to perform these loops) to accurately control the wafer temperature and the chamber temperature. This may include the use of various sensors to determine the wafer and chamber temperature as part of open loop and feedback control loops. These sensors may include temperature sensors of the wafer support that contacts the wafer to measure its temperature, and non-contact sensors such as photodetectors configured to measure the light output of the LED and pyrometers configured to measure the temperature of different types of wafers. As will be described in more detail below, some pyrometers determine the temperature of an item by emitting an infrared or other optical signal of the item and measuring the signal reflected or emitted by the item. However, many silicon wafers cannot be measured by some pyrometers because silicon can be optically transparent at various temperatures and by various processes, such as doped silicon or low-doped silicon. For example, a low-doped silicon wafer at a temperature below 200 °C passes infrared signals. The novel pyrometers provided herein can measure multiple types of silicon wafers at various temperatures.

[0148] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary apparatus according to the disclosed embodiment. As will be described in detail below, the apparatus 100 can rapidly and accurately control the temperature of a substrate, such as performing a thermal etching operation. The apparatus 100 includes a processing chamber 102, a pedestal 104 having a plurality of substrate supports 108 configured to support a substrate heater 106 and a substrate 118, and a gas distribution unit 110.

[0149] The processing chamber 102 includes sidewalls 112A, a top 112B, and a bottom 112C that at least partially define an interior 114 of the chamber that may be considered a plenum volume. As described herein, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to actively control the temperature of the processing chamber walls 112A, top 112B, and bottom 112C to prevent unwanted condensation on the surface of the processing chamber. In some new semiconductor processing operations, vapors such as water vapor and / or alcohol vapor flow over the substrate and adsorb onto the substrate, but may also undesirably adsorb onto the inner surface of the chamber. As a result, unwanted deposition and etching occur on the inner surface of the chamber, damaging the chamber surface and causing particles to flake off onto the substrate, which can cause substrate defects. To reduce and prevent unwanted condensation on the inner surface of the chamber, the temperature of the chamber walls, top, and bottom may be maintained at a temperature at which condensation of the chemicals used in the processing operation does not occur.

[0150] This active temperature control of the surface of the chamber may be achieved by using heaters to heat the chamber walls 112A, the top 112B, and the bottom 112C. As shown in FIG. 1, chamber heater 116A is positioned on chamber wall 112A and configured to heat it, chamber heater 116B is positioned on top 112B and configured to heat it, and chamber heater 116C is positioned on bottom 112C and configured to heat it. Chamber heaters 116A - 116C may be resistive heaters configured to generate heat when current flows through a resistive element. Chamber heaters 116A - 116C may also be fluid conduits through which a heat transfer fluid, such as a heating fluid that may also contain heated water, may flow. In some instances, chamber heaters 116A - 116C may be a combination of both a heating fluid and a resistive heater. Chamber heaters 116A - 116C are configured to generate heat to bring the inner surfaces of each of the chamber walls 112A, the top 112B, and the bottom 112C to a desired temperature that may be in the range of about 40°C to about 150°C, including, for example, about 80°C to about 130°C, about 90°C, or about 120°C. Under certain conditions, it has been found that water vapor and alcohol vapor do not condense on surfaces maintained at about 90°C or higher.

[0151] The chamber walls 112A, top 112B, and bottom 112C may also be composed of various materials capable of withstanding the chemicals used in the processing technology. These chamber materials may include, for example, aluminum, aluminum anodized, aluminum with polymers such as plastics, metals or metal alloys with yttria coatings, metals or metal alloys with zirconia coatings, and metals or metal alloys with aluminum oxide coatings. In some cases, the coating materials may be blended or may be layers of combinations of different materials such as alternating laminations of aluminum oxide and yttria, or aluminum oxide and zirconia. These materials are configured to withstand the chemicals used in the processing technology, such as anhydrous HF, water vapor, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, chlorine, fluorine gas, nitrogen gas, hydrogen gas, helium gas, and mixtures thereof.

[0152] Apparatus 100 may also be configured to perform processing operations in a vacuum or near-vacuum, such as at a pressure of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr, or about 20 Torr to about 200 Torr, or about 0.1 Torr to about 10 Torr. The apparatus may include a vacuum pump 184 configured to evacuate the interior 114 of the chamber to a low pressure, such as a vacuum having a pressure of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr, including about 0.1 Torr to about 10 Torr, and about 20 Torr to about 200 Torr, or about 0.1 Torr to about 10 Torr.

[0153] Various features of pedestal 104 are considered here. The pedestal 104 includes a heater 122 (enclosed by a dashed rectangle in FIG. 1) having a plurality of LEDs 124 configured to emit visible light having wavelengths between 400 nm and 800 nm, including 450 nm. The LEDs of the heater emit this visible light onto the back surface of the substrate to heat the substrate. Visible light having wavelengths of approximately 400 nm to 800 nm can rapidly and efficiently heat a silicon wafer from ambient temperature, e.g., from about 20° C. to about 600° C., because silicon absorbs light within this range. In contrast, in radiant heating, including infrared radiation, silicon tends to transmit infrared radiation at temperatures below about 400° C., so silicon may not be effectively heated at temperatures up to about 400° C. In addition, like many conventional semiconductor processes, radiant heating that directly heats the upper surface of the wafer can cause damage or other adverse effects to the upper surface film. Many "hot plate" heaters that rely on solid-to-solid heat transfer between the substrate and a hot plate, such as a pedestal with a heating coil, have relatively slow heating and cooling rates and can perform non-uniform heating that may be caused by warping of the substrate and inconsistent contact with the hot plate. For example, it may take several minutes to heat some pedestals to a desired temperature, heat them from a first to a second, higher temperature, and similarly cool them to a lower temperature.

[0154] Figure 13 shows a graph of silicon absorption at various wavelengths and temperatures. The X-axis is the optical wavelength, and the vertical axis is the absorption rate with a maximum of 1.0 (i.e., 100%), and the data is the optical absorption rate of silicon at different temperatures. As can be seen from region 1, the silicon absorption for light in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm remains relatively constant even as the temperature of the silicon changes. However, the absorption rate of silicon for infrared light, i.e., light having a wavelength exceeding about 1 micron, varies with the temperature of the silicon, and as a result, the silicon absorption does not remain constant until the temperature reaches 600 °C. In addition, the absorption range for various wavelengths and temperatures becomes smaller compared to the visible range. For example, silicon at 270 °C has a very low absorption rate of about 0.05 or 5% for infrared emissions in the range of about 1.8 microns to about 6 microns, and then the absorption rate is not constant at about 6 microns to 10 microns. Silicon at 350 °C has the next lowest absorption rate for infrared light, in the range of about 10% to 20% at about 1.8 microns to about 5 microns. Therefore, by using visible light, a constant absorption rate is provided regardless of the temperature of the silicon.

[0155] The plurality of LEDs of the heater may be arranged, electrically connected, and electrically controlled in various ways. Each LED may be configured to emit visible blue light and / or visible white light. In certain embodiments, white light (generated using the wavelength range of the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum) is used. In some semiconductor processing operations, white light can reduce or prevent unwanted thin-film interference. For example, some substrates have a back surface film that reflects different amounts of different optical wavelengths, thereby causing non-uniform and potentially inefficient heating. By using white light, this unwanted reflection variation can be reduced by averaging the thin-film interference over the broad visible spectrum provided by the white light. In some cases, in order to provide a single or narrow-band wavelength that may be more efficient, powerful, and direct heating for some substrates that are more likely to absorb narrow-band wavelengths than white light, depending on the material on the back surface of the substrate, it may be advantageous to use visible non-white light, such as blue light having a wavelength of 450 nm.

[0156] Various types of LEDs may be employed. By way of example, Chip on Board (COB) LEDs or Surface Mounted Diodes (SMD) LEDs may be mentioned. In the case of SMD LEDs, the LED chips may be fused to a printed circuit board (PCB) which may have a plurality of electrical contacts to enable control of each diode on the chip. For example, a single SMD chip may have three diodes (e.g., red, blue, or green) which can be individually controllable, for example, to create different colors. SMD LED chips may be in a range of sizes such as 2.8x2.5mm, 3.0x3.0mm, 3.5x2.8mm, 5.0x5.0mm, and 5.6x3.0mm. In the case of COB LEDs, each chip may have three or more diodes, such as nine, twelve, dozens, hundreds or more, printed on the same PCB. COB LED chips typically have two contacts per circuit regardless of the number of diodes, thereby providing a simple design and efficient single color application. The ability and performance of the LEDs to heat the substrate may be measured by the number of watts of heat each LED emits, and these watts of heat may contribute directly to heating the substrate.

[0157] Figure 2 shows a top view of a substrate heater having a plurality of LEDs. This substrate heater 122 includes a printed circuit board 126 and a plurality of LEDs 124, some of which are labeled, and the plurality of LEDs shown in this figure is approximately 1,300. The external connection portion 128 is connected by wiring to provide power to the plurality of LEDs 124. As shown in Figure 2, the LEDs may be arranged along a number of arcs radially offset by different radii from the center 130 of the substrate heater 122, and in each arc, the LEDs may be equally spaced from each other. For example, one arc 132 is surrounded by a partially formed dot shape and includes 16 LEDs 124 and is part of a circle of radius R extending around the center 130. The 16 LEDs 124 may be considered to be equally spaced from each other along this arc 132.

[0158] In some embodiments, the LEDs may also be arranged along a circle around the center of the substrate heater. In some cases, some of the LEDs may be arranged along the circle and other LEDs may be arranged along an arc. FIG. 3 shows a top view of another example of a substrate heater having a plurality of LEDs. This substrate heater 322 includes a printed circuit board 326 and a plurality of LEDs 324, some of which are labeled. Here, the LEDs 324 are arranged along a number of circles that are radially offset from the center 330 of the substrate heater 322 by different radii, and in each circle, the LEDs may be equally spaced from each other. For example, one circle 334 is surrounded by a partially formed ring and includes 78 LEDs 324 and has a radius R that extends around the center 330. The 78 LEDs 324 may be considered to be equally spaced from each other along this circle 334. The arrangement of the LEDs in FIG. 3 provides a more uniform light and heat distribution pattern over the entire back surface of the substrate, particularly since the area of the substrate heater 122 in FIG. 2 that includes the external connections may provide non-heated cold spots on the wafer, and the substrate and heater remain stationary relative to each other during processing and the substrate and substrate heater do not rotate.

[0159] In some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs may include at least about 1,000 LEDs, including, for example, about 1,200, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, or 6,000 or more LEDs. In some cases, each LED may be configured to use up to 4 watts at 100% power, including 3 watts at 100% power and 1 watt at 100% power in some instances. These LEDs are arranged in individually controllable zones and electrically connected to enable temperature adjustment and fine-tuning across the entire substrate. In some cases, the LEDs may be grouped into independently controllable zones, for example, at least about 20 zones, including, for example, at least 25, 50, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100 zones. These zones may allow for temperature adjustment in the radial and azimuthal (i.e., angular) directions. These zones can be arranged in a defined pattern, such as a rectangular grid, a hexagonal grid, or other suitable pattern, to generate a desired temperature profile. The zones may also have various shapes, such as square, trapezoidal, rectangular, triangular, elliptical, oval, circular, annular (e.g., ring), partially annular (i.e., annular sector), arc, segment, and sector centered on the center of the heater and having a radius less than or equal to the overall radius of the PCB of the substrate heater. For example, in FIG. 2, the LEDs have 88 zones arranged in at least 20 concentric rings, such as 20 or 21 rings. These zones can adjust the temperature at multiple locations on the wafer to create a more uniform temperature distribution and a desired temperature profile where the temperature around the edge of the substrate is higher than the center of the substrate. Independent control of these zones may also include the ability to control the power output of each zone. For example, each zone may have at least 15, 20, or 25 adjustable power outputs. In some cases, each zone may have one LED, thereby enabling each LED to be individually controlled and adjusted, resulting in a more uniform heating profile on the substrate. Thus, in some embodiments, each LED of the plurality of LEDs within the substrate heater may be individually controllable.

[0160] In certain embodiments, the substrate heater 122 is configured to heat the substrate to multiple temperatures and maintain each such temperature for various durations. These durations may include non-limiting examples of at least about 1 second, at least about 5 seconds, at least about 10 seconds, at least about 30 seconds, at least about 60 seconds, at least about 90 seconds, at least about 120 seconds, at least about 150 seconds, or at least about 180 seconds. The substrate heater may be configured to heat the substrate to, for example, about 50°C to 600°C, including about 50°C to 150°C, about 130°C, or about 150°C to 350°C. The substrate heater may be configured to maintain the substrate at a temperature within these ranges for various durations, including non-limiting examples of at least about 1 second, at least about 5 seconds, at least about 10 seconds, at least about 30 seconds, at least about 60 seconds, at least about 90 seconds, at least about 120 seconds, at least about 150 seconds, or at least about 180 seconds. Additionally, in some embodiments, the substrate heater 122 is configured to heat the substrate to any temperature within these ranges, for example, in less than about 60 seconds, less than about 45 seconds, less than about 30 seconds, or less than about 15 seconds. In certain embodiments, the substrate heater 122 is configured to heat the substrate at one or more heating rates, such as at least about 0.1°C / second to at least about 20°C / second.

[0161] The substrate heater may raise the temperature of the substrate by emitting visible light at one or more power levels that include at least about 80%, at least about 90%, at least about 95%, or at least about 100% of the LEDs. In some embodiments, the substrate heater is configured to emit light from about 10 W to 4000 W, including at least about 10 W, at least about 30 W, at least about 0.3 kilowatts (kW), at least about 0.5 kW, at least about 2 kW, at least about 3 kW, or at least about 4 kW. The apparatus is configured to supply power from about 0.1 kW to 9 kW to the pedestal, and the power supply is connected to the substrate heater through the pedestal but is not shown in the figures. During the temperature ramp, the substrate heater may operate at a high output and may operate at a lower power level (e.g., included in about 5 W to about 0.5 kW) to maintain the temperature of the heated substrate.

[0162] The pedestal may include, on its inner surface, a reflective material that reflects the light emitted by the LEDs during operation and directs it towards the back surface of the substrate supported by the pedestal. In some such embodiments, the substrate heater may include such a reflective material positioned on the upper surface 140 of the PCB 126 on which a plurality of LEDs 124 are positioned, as shown in FIG. 1. The reflective material may be aluminum, such as polished aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, nickel alloy, and other protective layers that prevent oxidation of the metal and / or increase the reflectivity at specific wavelengths, such as reaching more than 99% reflectivity at specific wavelengths, as well as other durable reflective coatings. Additionally or alternatively, the pedestal 104 may have a bowl 146 in which the substrate heater 122 is at least partially positioned. The bowl 146 may have an exposed inner surface 148 of the pedestal sidewall 149 on which the reflective material may be positioned. This reflective material increases the heating efficiency of the substrate heater and reduces unwanted heating of the PCB 126 and the pedestal 104 by advantageously guiding back onto the substrate the light that would otherwise have been absorbed by the PCB 126 and the pedestal 104.

[0163] In some embodiments, the substrate heater may also include a pedestal cooler thermally connected to the LEDs such that heat generated by the plurality of LEDs can be transferred from the LEDs to the pedestal cooler. This thermal connection is such that heat can be conducted from the plurality of LEDs to the pedestal cooler along one or more heat flow paths between these components. In some cases, the pedestal cooler is in direct contact with one or more elements of the substrate heater, and in other cases, other conductive elements such as a thermally conductive plate (e.g., including metal) are interposed between the substrate heater and the pedestal cooler. Referring back to FIG. 1, the substrate heater includes a pedestal cooler 136 that is in direct contact with the bottom surface of the PCB 126. Heat is configured to flow from the LEDs, to the PCB 126, and then to the pedestal cooler 136. The pedestal cooler 136 also includes a plurality of fluid conduits 138 configured such that a heat transfer fluid such as water can flow therethrough to receive heat and thus cool the LEDs within the substrate heater 122. The fluid conduits 138 are located outside the chamber and may be connected to a reservoir and pump (not shown). In some cases, the pedestal cooler may be configured to flow water cooled to about 5°C to 20°C, for example.

[0164] As provided herein, it may be advantageous to actively heat the outer surface of the processing chamber 102. In some cases, it may similarly be advantageous to heat the outer surface of the pedestal 104 to prevent unwanted condensation and deposition on the outer surface of the pedestal 104. As shown in FIG. 1, the pedestal 104 may further include within the pedestal 104 a pedestal heater 144 configured to heat the outer surface of the pedestal 104, including side surface 142A and bottom surface 142B. The pedestal heater 144 may include one or more heating elements such as one or more resistive heating elements, and fluid conduits configured such that a heating fluid can flow therethrough. In some cases, both the pedestal cooler and the pedestal heater may have fluid conduits that are fluidly connected to each other such that the same heat transfer fluid may flow through both the pedestal cooler and the pedestal heater. In these embodiments, the fluid may be heated to 50°C to 130°C, including about 90°C to 120°C.

[0165] In addition, the pedestal may include a window for protecting a substrate heater that includes a plurality of LEDs from damage caused by exposure to process chemicals and pressures used during processing operations. As shown in FIG. 1, the window 150 may be positioned above the substrate heater 122 and may be sealed to the sidewall 149 of the pedestal 104 to create a plenum volume within the pedestal that is fluidly isolated from the interior of the chamber. This plenum volume may also be regarded as the interior of the bowl 146. The window may be composed of one or more materials that optically pass visible light emitted by the LEDs, including light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm. In some embodiments, this material may be quartz, sapphire, quartz with a sapphire coating, or calcium fluoride (CaF). Also, the window may not have any holes or openings therein. In some embodiments, the heater may have a thickness of 15 to 30 mm, including 20 mm to 25 mm.

[0166] Figure 4 shows the pedestal of FIG. 1 with additional features according to various embodiments. As specified in FIG. 4, the window 150 includes a top surface 152 facing the substrate 118 supported by the pedestal 104 and a bottom surface 154 facing the substrate heater 122. In some embodiments, the top surface 152 and the bottom surface 154 may be flat planes (or substantially flat, e.g., within ±10% or 5% of flat). In some other cases, the top surface 152, the bottom surface 154, or both the top surface 152 and the bottom surface 154 may be non-planar. The non-planarity of these surfaces may be configured to refract and / or direct the light emitted by the LEDs 124 of the substrate heater 122 to heat the wafer more efficiently and / or effectively. Also, the non-planarity may be along part or all of the surface. For example, the entire bottom surface may have a convex or concave curvature, or in another example, the outer annular region of the bottom surface may have a convex or concave curvature while the remaining portion of the surface is planar. In a further example, these surfaces may have multiple, but different, non-planar portions such as having a conical portion at the center of a surface adjacent to a planar annular portion adjacent to a frustum surface at the same or different angles as the conical portion. In some embodiments, the window 150 may have features that function as an array of lenses oriented to collect the light emitted by one or more LEDs, such as each LED.

[0167] With the window 150 positioned above the substrate heater 122, the window 150 can be heated by the substrate heater 122 and affect the thermal environment around the substrate. Depending on the material or materials used for the window 150, such as quartz, the window can have high thermal insulation and may become even more thermally insulating over the course of processing one or more substrates. This heat is radiatively transferred to the substrate and thus can directly heat the substrate. In some cases, this window can cause a temperature rise of 50°C to 80°C above the heater temperature. This heat may also create a temperature gradient through the thickness of the window or in the vertical direction of the window. In some cases, the top surface 152 is 30°C hotter than the bottom surface 154. Thus, it may be advantageous to adjust and configure the chamber to account for and reduce the thermal effects of the window. As described in more detail below, this may include detecting the temperature of the substrate and adjusting the substrate heater taking into account the heat retained by the window.

[0168] This may also include various configurations of the pedestal, such as actively cooling the window. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the window 150 may be offset from the substrate heater 122 by a first distance 156. In some embodiments, this first distance may be from about 2 mm to 50 mm, including from about 5 mm to 40 mm. A cooling fluid, such as an inert gas, may be flowed between the window 150 and the substrate heater 122 to cool both the window 150 and the substrate heater 122. The pedestal may have one or more inlets and one or more outlets for flowing this gas into the plenum volume of the pedestal 104, or within the bowl 146. The one or more inlets are fluidly connected to an inert gas source external to the chamber 102, which may include passing through a fluid conduit that may at least partially pass through the interior of the pedestal 104. The one or more outlets are fluidly connected to an exhaust port or other environment external to the chamber 102, which may also pass through a fluid conduit passing through the interior of the pedestal. In FIG. 14, showing the pedestal of FIG. 4 with additional features according to various embodiments, the one or more inlets 151 are positioned in the sidewall 149 and extend through the surface 148, and the one or more inlets are also fluidly connected to an inert gas source 1472 through a portion of a fluid conduit 155 passing through the pedestal 104. The single outlet 153 is positioned in the central region of the substrate heater 122, i.e., not exactly at the center but very close. In some embodiments, the one or more gas inlets and the one or more outlets may be interchanged such that the one or more outlets extend through the sidewall 149 (i.e., they are item 151 in FIG. 14) and the one or more inlets are in the central region of the substrate heater 122 (i.e., they are item 153 in FIG. 14). In some embodiments, there may be one or more outlets, and in some embodiments, there may only be a single gas inlet. In some embodiments, the one or more gas inlets extend through the inner surface 148 of the pedestal sidewall 149 under the LED heater 122, and the one or more gas outlets extend through another portion of the pedestal sidewall 149, such as a mounting bracket between the LED heater 122 and the pedestal sidewall 149.

[0169] In some embodiments, the window may be disposed to be in direct thermal contact with the substrate heater, and the pedestal cooler may be configured to cool both the PCB and the window. In some embodiments, as also shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the window 150 may be thermally connected to the side wall 149 of the pedestal 104 to transfer a portion of the heat retained by the window 150 to the pedestal 104. This transferred heat may be further transferred outside the pedestal, for example, using the pedestal heater 144, by flowing a fluid heated to, for example, about 20°C to 100°C through the pedestal 104. This heated fluid may be at a lower temperature than the temperature of the pedestal 104 in the thermal connection with the window 150. In some embodiments, the window 150 may be configured such that a transparent cooling fluid flows therethrough, and may have one or more fluid conduits therein. These conduits may be in various arrangements to provide a constant cooling and temperature distribution within the window, such as a single inlet, a single outlet, and a single flow path having a serpentine portion. The fluid may flow from a fluid source or reservoir outside the chamber through the pedestal to the window.

[0170] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the substrate support 108 of the pedestal 104 supports the substrate 118 above the window 150 and the substrate heater 122 and is configured to be offset from the window 150 and the substrate heater 122. In certain embodiments, the temperature of the substrate can be rapidly and accurately controlled by thermally floating or thermally isolating the substrate within the chamber. Heating and cooling of the substrate are directed at both the thermal mass of the substrate and the thermal mass of other items in contact with the substrate. For example, if the substrate is in thermal contact with a large object, such as the entire back surface of a substrate resting on a large surface of the pedestal or an electrostatic chuck as seen in many conventional etching apparatuses, this object functions as a heat sink for the substrate, affecting its ability to accurately control the substrate temperature and reducing the rapidity of heating and cooling of the substrate. Therefore, it is desirable to position the substrate such that the minimum thermal mass is heated and cooled. This thermal floating is configured to position the substrate such that thermal contact (including direct and radiative) with other objects within the chamber is minimized.

[0171] Thus, pedestal 104 is configured to support substrate 118, in some embodiments, by thermally levitating or thermally isolating the substrate within chamber interior 114. The plurality of substrate supports 108 of pedestal 104 are configured to support substrate 118 such that the thermal mass of substrate 118 is reduced to the thermal mass of substrate 118 alone as much as possible. Each substrate support 108 may have a substrate support surface 120 that minimizes contact with substrate 118. The number of substrate supports 108 may range from at least three, for example, at least six or more. The surface area of support surface 120 may also be the minimum area necessary to properly support the substrate during processing operations (e.g., to support the weight of the substrate and prevent non-elastic deformation of the substrate). In some embodiments, the surface area of one support surface 120 may be, for example, less than about 0.1%, less than about 0.075%, less than about 0.05%, less than about 0.025%, or less than about 0.01%.

[0172] The substrate support is also configured to prevent the substrate from contacting other elements of the pedestal, including the surface and features of the pedestal below the substrate. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, substrate support 108 holds substrate 118 above and offset from the next adjacent surface of pedestal 104 below substrate 118, which is the upper surface 152 of window 150 (identified in FIG. 4). As can be seen from these figures, there is a volume or gap below the substrate, except for contact with the substrate support. As shown in FIG. 4, substrate 118 is offset by a distance 158 from upper surface 152 of window 150. This distance 158 may affect the thermal effect on substrate 118 due to window 150. The greater the distance 158, the smaller the effect. It has been found that when distance 158 is 2 mm or less, the thermal coupling between the window and the substrate increases. Therefore, it is desirable to have a distance 158 greater than 2 mm, such as at least about 5 mm, about 10 mm, about 15 mm, about 20 mm, about 30 mm, about 50 mm, or about 100 mm.

[0173] The substrate 118 is also offset by a distance 160 from the substrate heater 122 (in some cases, as measured from the upper surface of the substrate heater 122 which may be the upper surface of the LED 124). This distance 160 affects a number of ways of heating the substrate 118. In some cases, the LED 124 provides a non-uniform heating pattern that increases as the distance 160 decreases, and conversely, this non-uniform heating pattern decreases by increasing the distance 160. In some cases, as the distance 160 increases, the heating efficiency decreases across the substrate, more so in the edge regions, causing non-uniform heating of the substrate. In some embodiments, a distance 160 of, for example, from about 10 mm to 90 mm, from about 10 mm to 30 mm, from about 5 mm to 100 mm provides a substantially uniform heating pattern and an acceptable heating efficiency.

[0174] As described, the substrate support 108 is configured to support the substrate 118 above the window. In some embodiments, these substrate supports are stationary and fixed in place, and they are not lift pins or support rings. In some embodiments, at least a portion of each substrate support 108 including the support surface 120 may be composed of a material that at least passes the light emitted by the LED 124. This material may be, in some cases, quartz or sapphire. The transparency of these substrate supports 108 may allow the visible light emitted by the LEDs of the substrate heater 122 to pass through the substrate supports 108 and through the substrate 118, such that the substrate supports 108 do not block this light and the substrate 118 can be heated in the supported area. Thereby, the substrate 118 may be heated more uniformly than when using a substrate support including a material that is opaque to visible light. In some other embodiments, the substrate support 108 may be composed of a non-transmissive material such as zirconium dioxide (ZrO2).

[0175] In some embodiments, such as those shown in FIG. 4, the substrate support surface 108 may be positioned closer to the central axis 162 of the window 150 than the outer diameter 164 of the window 150. In some cases, a portion of these substrate supports may extend upward across the window 150 such that the support surface 120 is above the window 150 and the base support overlaps the window 150.

[0176] In some embodiments, the substrate support may each include a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of a substrate positioned on the support surface of the substrate support. FIG. 5 shows the substrate support of FIGS. 1 and 4 according to the disclosed embodiments. Here, the support surface 120 of the substrate support 108 is identified together with the temperature sensor 166. In some embodiments, this temperature sensor 166 extends through the support surface 120 such that the temperature sensor 166 is in direct contact with the substrate held by the support surface 120. In some other embodiments, the temperature sensor 166 is positioned below the support surface 120 within the substrate support 108. In some embodiments, this temperature sensor 166 is a thermocouple. In some other embodiments, the temperature sensor 166 may be a thermistor, a resistance temperature detector (RTD), and a semiconductor sensor. The electrical wiring 168 for the temperature sensor 166 may pass through the substrate support 108 or through the pedestal 104.

[0177] Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the pedestal is also configured to move vertically. This may include moving the pedestal such that the gap 186 between the protective plate 176 of the gas distribution unit 110 and the substrate 118 can be in the range of 2 mm to 70 mm. As provided in more detail below, moving the pedestal vertically may allow for aggressive cooling of the substrate and rapid cycle times for process operations including flowing and purging gases due to the low volume created between the gas distribution unit 110 and the substrate 118. This movement may also make it possible to create a small process volume between the substrate and the gas distribution unit, resulting in smaller purge and process volumes, and thus reducing purge and gas movement times and increasing throughput.

[0178] The gas distribution unit 110 is configured to flow a process gas that may include liquids and / or gases such as reactants, reforming molecules, conversion molecules, or removal molecules over the substrate 118 within the chamber interior 114. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the gas distribution unit 110 includes one or more fluid inlets 170 fluidly connected to one or more gas sources 172 and / or one or more vapor sources 174. In some embodiments, the gas lines and mixing chambers may be heated to prevent unwanted condensation of the vapor and gas flowing therethrough. These lines may be heated to at least about 40°C, at least about 80°C, at least about 90°C, at least about 120°C, at least about 130°C, or at least about 150°C. One or more vapor sources may include one or more sources of evaporating gas and / or liquid. Evaporation may be by direct injection evaporator, flow-over evaporator, or both. The gas distribution unit 110 also includes a protective plate 176 that includes a plurality of through-holes 178 that fluidly connect the gas distribution unit 110 to the chamber interior 114. These through-holes 178 are fluidly connected to one or more fluid inlets 170 and extend through the front face 177 of the protective plate 176, which is configured to face the substrate 118. In some embodiments, the gas distribution unit 110 may be regarded as an upper plate, and in some other embodiments, it may be regarded as a showerhead.

[0179] The through-holes 178 may be configured in various ways to deliver a uniform gas flow onto the substrate. In some other embodiments, all of these through-holes may have the same outer diameter, such as from about 0.03 inches to 0.05 inches, including about 0.04 inches (1.016 mm). These protective plate through-holes may also be disposed throughout the protective plate to create a uniform flow from the protective plate.

[0180] FIG. 6 shows a plan view of a first exemplary protective plate 176 in a state where the front surface 177 (the surface configured to face the substrate) and the through holes 178 are visible. As shown, the through holes 178 of the protective plate 176 extend through the protective plate 176 and the front surface 177. These through holes are also arranged along a plurality of circles centered around the central axis of the protective plate, whereby the holes are offset from each other. For example, the protective plate 176 may have a through hole 178A centered around the central axis of the protective plate 176. Immediately adjacent to this central through hole 178A, there may be a plurality of holes spaced equidistantly along a first circle 179 having a first diameter, and immediately radially outward from this circle, there may be another circle 181 having a plurality of holes more numerous than the plurality of holes, and this plurality of holes of the second circle may be spaced equidistantly along this second circle. This equidistant spacing does not necessarily have to be exact and may be considered to be substantially equidistantly spaced, which is due to manufacturing or other discrepancies, and as a result, this spacing may be made equal within a range of about + / - 5%. As shown, some of the circles of the through holes 178 may be centered around the reference datum 183, and other circles of the through holes may be offset from the reference datum 183 by an angle such as about 15°, 7.5°, etc. Here, the through holes along the first circle 179 are two through holes centered around the datum, and the through holes along the second circle are not centered around the reference datum 183 and are offset from the datum 183 by about 15°. The concentric through holes may be arranged such that the holes centered around the datum 183 and the holes offset from the datum 183 are alternately arranged.

[0181] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a second exemplary protective plate 176 in a state where the front surface 177 (a surface configured to face the substrate) and the through holes 178 are visible. As shown, the through holes 178 of the protective plate 176 extend through the protective plate 176 and the front surface 177. These through holes include one through hole 178 centered on the central axis of the protective plate 176 and six through holes 178 arranged in six sectors such that the through holes are equally spaced along an arc within the sector, and are arranged differently from FIG. 6. For example, one sector 191 is enclosed in a dashed line shape, and the holes are arranged along a plurality of arcs within the sector that increase as the radial distance from the center of the protective plate 176 increases. The first exemplary arc 193A is specified along six equally spaced through holes 178, and the second exemplary arc 193B is specified along twelve equally spaced through holes. The second exemplary arc 193B is larger than the first exemplary arc 193A and has a radial distance R2 that is larger than the radial distance R1 of the first arc 193A.

[0182] Referring back to FIG. 1, the gas distribution unit 110 may also include a unit heater 180 that is thermally connected to the protective plate 176 such that heat can be transferred between the protective plate 176 and the unit heater 180. The unit heater 180 may include a fluid conduit through which a heat transfer fluid may flow. Similarly to the above, the heat transfer fluid may be heated, for example, to a temperature range of about 20°C to 120°C. In some cases, the unit heater 180 may be used to heat the gas distribution unit 110 to prevent unnecessary condensation of steam and gas, and in some such cases, this temperature may be at least about 90°C or 120°C.

[0183] In some embodiments, the gas distribution unit 110 may include a second unit heater 182 configured to heat the protective plate 176. The second unit heater 182 may include one or more resistive heating elements, fluid conduits for flowing a heating fluid, or both. By using the two heaters 180 and 182 in the gas distribution unit 110, various heat transfers within the gas distribution unit 110 may be enabled. This may include heating the protective plate 176 using the first and / or second unit heaters 180 and 182 to reduce or prevent unwanted condensation on the elements of the gas distribution unit 110 and to provide a temperature-controlled chamber as described above.

[0184] The apparatus 100 may also be configured to cool the substrate. This cooling may include flowing a cooling gas over the substrate, moving the substrate close to the protective plate to enable heat transfer between the substrate and the protective plate, or both. By actively cooling the substrate, more accurate temperature control and rapid transitions between temperatures are enabled, reducing the processing time and improving throughput. In some embodiments, the first unit heater 180 that flows a heat transfer fluid through a fluid conduit may be used to cool the substrate 118 by transferring heat transmitted from the substrate 119 away from the protective plate 176. Thus, the substrate 118 may be cooled by positioning it very close to the protective plate 176 with a gap 186 of 5 mm or less or 2 mm or less such that heat from the substrate 118 is radiatively transferred to the protective plate 176 and then transferred away from the protective plate 176 by the heat transfer fluid in the first unit heater 180. Thus, the protective plate 176 may be regarded as a heat sink for the substrate 118 to cool the substrate 118.

[0185] In some embodiments, apparatus 100 may further include a coolant source 173 that includes a coolant (gas or liquid), and a cooler (not shown) configured to cool the coolant to a desired temperature, such as at least about 90 °C or less, at least about 70 °C or less, at least about 50 °C or less, at least about 20 °C or less, at least about 10 °C or less, at least about 0 °C or less, at least about -50 °C or less, at least about -100 °C or less, at least about -150 °C or less, at least about -190 °C or less, at least about -200 °C or less, or at least about -250 °C or less. Apparatus 100 includes piping for delivering the coolant to one or more fluid inlets 170, and a gas distribution unit 110 configured to flow the coolant over the substrate. In some embodiments, the fluid is in a liquid state when flowing into chamber 102 and may change to a vapor state when reaching the interior of chamber 114, for example, when the interior of the chamber is in a low-pressure state as described above, such as about 0.1 Torr to 10 Torr, or about 0.1 Torr to 100 Torr, or about 20 Torr to 200 Torr. The coolant may be an inert substance such as nitrogen, argon, or helium. In some cases, the coolant may include or may consist only of a non-inert substance or mixture such as hydrogen gas. In some embodiments, the flow rate of the coolant to the interior of chamber 114 may be, for example, at least about 0.25 liters per minute, at least about 0.5 liters per minute, at least about 1 liter per minute, at least about 5 liters per minute, at least about 10 liters per minute, at least about 50 liters per minute, or at least about 100 liters per minute. In certain embodiments, the apparatus may be configured to cool the substrate at one or more cooling rates, such as at least about 5 °C / second, at least about 10 °C / second, at least about 15 °C / second, at least about 20 °C / second, at least about 30 °C / second, or at least about 40 °C / second.

[0186] In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 may be actively cooled by both moving the substrate closer to the protective plate and flowing a cooling gas over the substrate. In some cases, the active cooling may be more effective by flowing the cooling gas while the substrate is very close to the protective plate. Also, the effectiveness of the cooling gas may depend on the type of gas used. FIG. 8 shows graphs of four different active cooling experiments. In these four experiments, different gases and gaps between the substrate and the protective plate were used to cool the substrate from about 400° C. to about 25° C. In the first experiment, the substrate was positioned 2 mm away from the protective plate, and the 400° C. substrate was actively cooled by flowing helium gas over the substrate (“He 2 mm”). In the second experiment, the substrate was positioned 20 mm away from the protective plate, and the 400° C. substrate was actively cooled by flowing helium gas over the substrate (“He 20 mm”). In the third experiment, the substrate was positioned 2 mm away from the protective plate, and the 400° C. substrate was actively cooled by flowing nitrogen gas over the substrate (“N2 2 mm”). In the fourth experiment, the substrate was positioned 20 mm away from the protective plate, and the 400° C. substrate was actively cooled by flowing nitrogen gas over the substrate (“N2 20 mm”). As shown, the substrate was cooled fastest in the first experiment in about 150 seconds and second fastest in the third experiment in about 450 seconds. In these first and third experiments, both the cooling gas and a 2 mm gap were used, and in the slower second and fourth experiments, a 20 mm gap was used.

[0187] Accordingly, the apparatus provided herein can rapidly heat and cool a substrate. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary temperature control sequence. At time 0, the substrate is at approximately 20 or 25° C., and the LEDs of the substrate heater provided herein emit visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm, raising the substrate temperature to approximately 400° C. in approximately 30 seconds. This heating was achieved using heating power of 1 kW to 2 kW provided by an approximate supply power of 9 kW to the substrate heater. From approximately 30 seconds to approximately 95 seconds, the substrate heater 122 held the substrate at 400° C. using less power, such as heating power of 0.3 kW to approximately 0.5 kW provided by an approximate supply power of 2 kW. Between approximately 30 and 60 seconds, the substrate was actively cooled using both the cooling gas (e.g., hydrogen or helium) flowing over the substrate and heat transfer to the protective plate. Once cooled, the substrate heater heated the substrate using heating power of approximately 10 to 30 W provided by an approximate supply power of 100 W to hold its temperature at approximately 70° C. Various processing techniques may use this type of sequence once or repeatedly to process the substrate.

[0188] In some embodiments, the apparatus 100 may include a mixing plenum for blending and / or conditioning a process gas for delivery before reaching the fluid inlet 170. One or more mixing plenum inlet valves may control the introduction of the process gas into the mixing plenum. In some other embodiments, the gas distribution unit 110 may include one or more mixing plenums within the gas distribution unit 110. The gas distribution unit 110 may also include one or more annular flow paths fluidly connected to the through holes 178 that may evenly distribute the received fluid into the through holes 178 to provide a uniform flow over the substrate.

[0189] Apparatus 100 may also include one or more additional non-contact sensors for detecting the temperature of the substrate. One such sensor may be a new pyrometer capable of detecting a number of temperature ranges of a silicon substrate. For example, depending on whether the silicon is doped or undoped, it is desirable to detect the temperature of a substrate having different processes in different temperature ranges where processing operations may occur, such as less than about 200°C, greater than about 200°C to less than about 600°C, or greater than 600°C. However, some pyrometers are unable to detect different substrates within these ranges. Some pyrometers measure the optical signal reflected or emitted by the surface of an object and determine the temperature of the object according to some calibration. However, many silicon wafers are optically transparent by silicon at various temperatures and by various processes, and thus cannot be measured by these pyrometers. As discussed above, FIG. 13 shows the different absorption rates of the substrate at various temperatures. For example, some pyrometers can detect emissions in the range of about 8-15 microns, but most silicon substrates at least less than about 200°C do not have a constant emission signal in the range of about 8-15 microns and are thus undetectable by some pyrometers when less than about 200°C.

[0190] A lightly doped or undoped silicon substrate has an emission signal of approximately 0.95 to 1.1 microns when the substrate is at about 300 °C or less, a doped silicon substrate has an emission signal of about 1 to 4 microns when the substrate is less than about 200 °C, a silicon substrate has an emission signal of approximately 1 micron when at room temperature, such as less than about 100 °C including 20 °C, and a silicon substrate has an emission signal of about 8 to 15 microns when at a temperature exceeding about 600 °C. Thus, the new pyrometer is configured to detect multiple emission ranges in order to detect multiple substrates, such as doped, lightly doped, or undoped substrates, in various temperature ranges. This includes configurations for detecting emission ranges of approximately 0.95 microns to approximately 1.1 microns, approximately 1 micron, approximately 1 to approximately 4 microns, and / or approximately 8 to 15 microns. The new pyrometer is also configured to detect the temperature of the substrate at shorter wavelengths in order to discriminate the signal from the thermal noise of the chamber.

[0191] The new pyrometer may include an emitter configured to emit infrared radiation and a detector configured to receive the emission. Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a new pyrometer 188 having an emitter within the pyrometer 188, and a detector 190. The new pyrometer may be configured to emit a signal either on the upper or bottom side of a substrate and to receive the signal on the other side of the substrate. For example, the emitter may emit a signal at the upper part of the substrate, and the detector may be below the substrate and receive the signal emitted through the substrate below the substrate. Thus, the apparatus may have at least a first port 192A, such as port 192A passing through the center of the gas distribution unit 110, at the upper part of the chamber 102, and a second port 192B passing through the pedestal 104 and the substrate heater 122. The emitter within the pyrometer 188 may be connected to one of the ports 192A or 192B, such as the first port 192A as shown in FIG. 1, via an optical fiber connection, and the detector is optically connected to another port, such as the second port 192B of FIG. 1. The first port 192A may include a port window 194 for sealing the first port 192A from the chemicals within the chamber interior 114. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the second port 192B extends through the pedestal 104 and the substrate heater such that the emission from the emitter can pass through the substrate, through the window 150, enter the second port 192B, and reach the detector 190 which may be positioned within the second port or optically connected to the second port through another optical fiber connection (not shown). In some other embodiments, the emitter and the detector are reversed such that the emitter emits through the second port 192B and the detector detects through the first port 192A.

[0192] Apparatus 100 may further include one or more optical sensors for detecting one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED. In some embodiments, these optical sensors may be one or more photodetectors configured to detect the light and / or the light intensity of the light emitted by the LEDs of the substrate heater. In FIG. 1, a single optical sensor 198 is shown connected to the interior 114 of the chamber via an optical fiber connection such that the optical sensor 198 can detect the light emitted by the substrate heater 122. The optical sensor 198, and additional optical sensors, may be positioned at various locations within the chamber 102, such as at various locations on the top and sides of the chamber 102, to detect light emitted at various locations within the chamber 102. As discussed below, this may enable measurement and adjustment of the substrate heater, such as adjustment of one or more independently controllable zones of the LED. In some embodiments, there may be a plurality of optical sensors 198 arranged along a circle or a plurality of concentric circles to measure various regions of the LEDs throughout the chamber 102. In some embodiments, the optical sensors may be positioned inside the interior 114 of the chamber.

[0193] In some embodiments, the apparatus may be further configured to generate plasma and use the plasma for some of the processes in various embodiments. This may include having a plasma source configured to generate plasma inside the chamber, such as capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), upper remote plasma, and lower remote plasma.

[0194] The apparatuses described herein are not limited to ALE etching operations. These apparatuses may be used with any etching technique.

[0195] Techniques for heat treatment Various techniques for using the apparatus described herein are described herein. FIG. 10 shows a first technique for heat treatment according to the disclosed embodiment. In operation 1001, the substrate is provided in the chamber and thermally floated in the chamber by positioning the substrate on the substrate support of the pedestal, such that only the substrate support contacts the substrate and no other elements of the processing chamber contact the substrate. Each substrate support is provided herein and contacts the edge region of the substrate, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 4.

[0196] In operation 1003, the substrate is heated to a first temperature using the substrate heater described herein that emits visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm from a plurality of LEDs while the substrate is thermally floated in the chamber, i.e., while supported only by the substrate support. The first temperature may be any temperature provided herein, including, for example, from about 50° C. to about 600° C., from about 50° C. to about 150° C., about 130° C., or from about 150° C. to 350° C. The substrate may be rapidly heated to the first temperature, for example, in less than about 60 seconds, less than about 45 seconds, less than about 30 seconds, or less than about 15 seconds. This may include powering the LEDs to their maximum power, which may together be a delivered power of at least about 1 kW, at least about 2 kW, at least about 3 kW, at least about 4 kW, or at least about 9 kW or more. As provided herein, this heating does not include plasma or plasma generation.

[0197] In operation 1005, the substrate is maintained at the first temperature. This may include a substrate heater operating at a lower power to maintain the substrate at a specific temperature. Thus, the LEDs may provide some heating and be at a non-zero power level lower than during the temperature ramp-up to maintain the substrate at the desired temperature. Examples may include from about 5 W to about 0.5 kW, including at least about 10 W, at least about 30 W, at least about 0.3 kW, or at least about 0.5 kW.

[0198] In operation 1007, the substrate is etched while at a first temperature. This etching may include flowing one or more gases to remove one or more modified layers of material. Also, this etching does not include plasma or plasma generation.

[0199] In optional operation 1009 in some embodiments, the substrate is actively cooled. This active cooling may include flowing a cooling gas over the substrate, moving the substrate very close to a protective plate, or both, as described herein. In some cases, this very close means 5 mm or less including 2 mm. Also, the cooling gas may include, for example, helium and nitrogen. Following operation 1009, in some cases, operations 1003 - 1009 may be repeated, and each sequence is considered a cycle.

[0200] In some embodiments, operations 1003, 1005, and 1007 may also be performed while the outer surfaces of the chamber wall, protective plate, and / or pedestal are actively heated as described above. These items may be heated to about 40°C to about 150°C, including about 80°C to about 130°C, at least about 90°C, or at least about 120°C. Operations 1003, 1005, 1007, and 1009 may also be performed while the interior of the chamber is in a vacuum state, which may be at a pressure of about 0.1 torr to about 10 torr, or about 0.1 torr to about 100 torr, or about 20 torr to 200 torr.

[0201] The technology provided in this specification may make various adjustments to processing conditions. In some embodiments, these adjustments may be based on various received measurements, such as the temperature of the substrate and the measured values of the LEDs. In some other embodiments, these adjustments may be made in an open-loop manner based on empirical data or calculated data. In some embodiments, this technology may follow a sequence similar to, for example, FIGS. 9 and 10. In some other embodiments, the sequence may involve etching the substrate at a first temperature or performing a part of one etching cycle, and then raising the temperature to a higher second temperature at which another etching cycle or another part of the same etching cycle is performed. After this, the substrate may be actively cooled and the etching may be repeated on the same substrate or a new substrate.

[0202] FIG. 11 shows a second technology according to the disclosed embodiments. Here, operations 1101 - 1107 are the same as operations 1001 - 1007. After the etching in operation 1007, the power of the heater is adjusted in operation 1113 to a different power than that used during the maintenance in operation 1005 in order to heat the substrate to a second higher temperature as provided in operation 1115. The temperature of the substrate may be maintained at this second temperature during another etching of the substrate as indicated by operations 1117 and 1119. Following these operations, the substrate may be actively cooled in operation 1109. In some cases, the etching operations 1103 - 1109 may be repeated on the same substrate or on different substrates.

[0203] In some embodiments, the heating and maintaining operations may be based on empirical data and measurement data, such as empirically derived temperature drifts of the apparatus, such as the window of the pedestal. As described above, the window may retain heat during processing and function as an independent heater for the substrate. Adjustments may be made to the substrate heater to account for this drift, such as reducing the total power delivered to the LEDs of the substrate heater during maintaining and etching operations such as 1005, 1105, 1007, and 1107. These adjustments may be linear or non-linear, such as stepwise or curvilinear. This may also include adjustments to only some of the LEDs, such as to one or more of the independently controlled zones. For example, the center of the window may generate the most heat over time because it may not be able to remove heat, and the edges of the window may generate the least heat because some of this heat is transferred to the pedestal. Thus, to maintain uniform heating, one or more independently controllable zones of the LEDs in the center of the substrate heater may be lowered to account for the increased heat in the center of the window. This may result in the heat generated by both the window and the substrate heater, and the heat transferred to the substrate in the central region, being the same. Similarly, one or more independently controllable zones of the LEDs in the outer region of the substrate heater may be lowered or kept the same, taking into account any additional heating due to the outer edges of the window.

[0204] In some embodiments, as described above, each LED may be controllable individually, and in some such embodiments, a single LED may be adjusted to emit more or less light than one or more other LEDs. This adjustment may be made in consideration of hot spots or cold spots on the substrate. For example, a spot on the wafer may be hotter or colder than other portions of the substrate, and one LED under or very close to that spot on the substrate may be adjusted to adjust the temperature of that spot. This may include reducing the light emitted by one LED to lower the temperature of that spot, or increasing the light emitted by one LED to raise the temperature of that spot.

[0205] Also, the techniques provided herein may include feedback control loops for adjusting operating parameters such as the power of one or more zones of the LEDs. These feedback loops may be implemented during the heating, maintaining, and etching operations described herein. This may include using one or more of the sensors described herein to determine the temperature at one or more locations at the edge and within the substrate, and adjusting the substrate heater based on these measurements.

[0206] FIG. 12 shows a third technique according to the disclosed embodiment. Here, operations 1201 to 1211 are the same as operations 1001 to 1011, except that the technique here measures the substrate temperature during one or more of these operations and adjusts the substrate heater based on these measurements. The temperature measurement value is represented by operation 1221, and the adjustment value(s) is / are represented by operation 1223. The adjustment to the substrate heater may include increasing or decreasing the power to one or more of the independently controllable zones of the LEDs, including all of the LEDs. For example, as described above with respect to FIG. 5, the temperature sensor of the substrate support indicates that the substrate edge has reached or exceeded a first temperature during one or more of operations 1203, 1205, and 1207, and the power delivered to all of the LEDs may be decreased to lower the temperature of the substrate. This may also indicate a determination that at least one of the sensors indicates that a specific threshold, such as the substrate temperature exceeding the first temperature, has been exceeded. In another example, only one of the substrate supports indicates that the substrate temperature is higher than the first temperature, and an adjustment may be made to decrease the heat delivered to that position around the single sensor's independently controllable LED zone, as opposed to the entire substrate.

[0207] Similarly, the pyrometer described above may also detect the temperature of the substrate at a location on the substrate, such as the center of the substrate. This temperature measurement may also be used alone or in combination with the temperature sensors of the substrate support to adjust the substrate heater. For example, the pyrometer indicates that the center of the substrate is higher than the first temperature, and an adjustment may be made to the independently controllable LED zone around the center of the substrate or to the entire substrate to lower the temperature of the substrate at this position. These examples are given with respect to decreasing the power of the LEDs, but the adjustment is not limited to such examples, and the power of one or more independently controllable LED zones may be adjusted to increase the temperature at one or more positions on the substrate.

[0208] In another technique, the light emitted by the LED may be measured, and one or more independently controllable LED zones may be adjusted based on that measurement. This may include emitting visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm from the LED, and using one or more sensors configured to detect the visible light emitted from a plurality of LEDs to measure one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED. These sensors may include the photodetectors described above. Based on this measured visible light, the power of one or more LED zones may be adjusted.

[0209] Controller In some embodiments, the apparatus described herein may include a controller configured to control various aspects of the apparatus to perform the techniques described herein. For example, referring back to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 includes a controller 131 (which may include one or more physical or logical controllers) communicatively coupled to and controlling some or all of the operations of the processing chamber. The system controller 131 may include one or more memory devices 133 and one or more processors 135. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a switching system, a substrate heating unit, a substrate cooling unit, loading and unloading of the substrate in the chamber, thermal levitation of the substrate, and a process gas unit for controlling flow rate and duration, for example, when the disclosed embodiments are performed. In some embodiments, the apparatus may have a switching time of up to about 500 ms, or up to about 750 ms. The switching time may depend on the flow chemistry reaction, the selected recipe, the reactor architecture, and other factors.

[0210] In some embodiments, the controller 131 may be part of an apparatus or system and may also be part of the above-described examples. Such a system or apparatus may include semiconductor processing equipment including a processing tool or tools, a chamber or chambers, a processing platform or platforms, and / or certain processing components (such as a gas flow system, a substrate heating unit, a substrate cooling unit). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling these operations before, during, and after the processing of a semiconductor wafer or substrate. This electronics may be referred to as a "controller" that may control various components or sub-components of the system or systems. The controller 966 may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, such as delivery of processing gases, temperature setting (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure setting, vacuum setting, power setting, radio frequency (RF) generator setting, RF matching circuit setting, frequency setting, flow rate setting, fluid delivery setting, position and motion setting, wafer transfer between tools and other transfer tools, and / or a load lock connected to or interlocked with a particular system, depending on the processing parameters and / or the type of system.

[0211] In a broad sense, the controller 131 may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logics, memories, and / or software that receive commands, issue commands, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable end point measurement, etc. The integrated circuit may include a chip in the form of firmware that stores program instructions, a digital signal processor (DSP), a chip defined as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions may be commands communicated to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for executing a specific process on or for a semiconductor wafer or for the system. The operating parameters may, in some embodiments, be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer to achieve one or more processing operations during the manufacture of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of the wafer.

[0212] In some implementations, the controller 131 may be part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with, coupled to, otherwise network-connected to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may be in all or part of a "cloud" or fab host computer system, thereby enabling remote access to wafer processing. The computer can monitor the current progress of the manufacturing operation, examine the history of past manufacturing operations, enable remote access to the system to examine trends or performance metrics from multiple manufacturing operations, change the parameters of the current process, set process operations to follow the current process, or initiate a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide a process recipe to the system via a network that may include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that enables the input or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then communicated from the remote computer to the system. In some examples, the controller 131 receives instructions in the form of data that specify parameters for each of the process operations performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that the parameters may be specific to the type of process being performed and the type of tool that the controller is configured to interface with or control. Thus, as described above, the controller 131 may be distributed, such as by including one or more separate controllers that are network-connected together and operate towards a common purpose such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed controller for such a purpose is one or more integrated circuits on a chamber that communicate with one or more remotely located (such as at the platform level or part of a remote computer) integrated circuits that are coupled to control the process on the chamber.

[0213] As described above, in response to a process operation or a plurality of operations performed by the apparatus, the controller 131 may communicate with one or more of the circuits or modules of other apparatuses, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools throughout the factory, the main computer, another controller, or a tool used for material transfer to move a wafer container in and out between tool positions and / or load ports within a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

[0214] As also described above, the controller is configured to perform any of the techniques described above. This may include delivering power to an LED to cause the LED to emit visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm and heat a substrate to a first temperature such as 100° C. to 600° C. by positioning the substrate within a chamber on a plurality of substrate supports, flowing an etchant gas into the chamber to etch the substrate. This may also include cooling the substrate by flowing a cooling gas over the substrate while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, and / or vertically moving a pedestal so that the substrate is offset by a first non-zero distance from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation.

[0215] The subject matter disclosed herein has been particularly described with respect to the illustrated embodiments, but various changes, modifications, and adaptations may be made based on the present disclosure and are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. It should be understood that this specification is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various changes and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the claims.

[0216] While the above disclosure focuses on specific exemplary implementations or multiple implementations, it is not limited to only the examples considered, and may equally apply to similar variations and mechanisms, and it should be further understood that such similar variations and mechanisms are also considered to be within the scope of this disclosure. Also, to avoid any ambiguity, it should be understood that the above disclosure is directed at least to the following numbered implementations, as well as other implementations apparent from the above disclosure.

[0217] Implementation 1: An apparatus for semiconductor processing, the apparatus comprising a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber and a chamber heater configured to heat the chamber wall, a substrate heater located within the interior of the chamber and having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, a window located above the substrate heater and having an upper surface and a bottom surface facing the LEDs and including a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and three or more substrate supports, each substrate having a substrate support surface that is vertically offset from the window, and the three or more substrate supports configured to support the substrate such that the window and the substrate supported by the three or more substrate supports are offset by a non-zero distance, a pedestal including the three or more substrate supports, a gas distribution unit including one or more fluid inlets and a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected between the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber and including a protective plate having a front surface that is partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, and a unit heater thermally connected to the protective plate such that heat can be transferred between the protective plate and the unit heater.

[0218] Implementation 2: The apparatus according to Implementation 1, wherein each substrate support includes a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0219] Implementation 3: The apparatus according to Implementation 1, wherein each of the three or more substrate supports includes quartz.

[0220] Embodiment 4: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the substrate support surface is positioned closer to the central axis of the window than the outer diameter of the upper surface of the window.

[0221] Embodiment 5: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein each substrate support includes a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of a substrate positioned on the substrate support surface.

[0222] Embodiment 6: The device according to Embodiment 5, wherein the temperature sensor is a thermocouple.

[0223] Embodiment 7: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein each substrate support surface is vertically offset from the LED by a distance of 1 millimeter to 100 millimeters.

[0224] Embodiment 8: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the window includes quartz.

[0225] Embodiment 9: The device according to Embodiment 8, wherein the window further includes a sapphire coating.

[0226] Embodiment 10: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein there is no hole in the center of the window.

[0227] Embodiment 11: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the upper surface of the window is non-planar.

[0228] Embodiment 12: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the bottom surface of the window is non-planar.

[0229] Embodiment 13: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the bottom surface of the window is in contact with at least a first set of LEDs.

[0230] Embodiment 14: The device according to Embodiment 1, wherein the pedestal further includes a side wall, and the outer region of the window is thermally connected to the side wall such that heat can be transferred between the outer region and the side wall.

[0231] Implementation form 15: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the substrate heater further includes a printed circuit board including a reflective material on which the LED is supported.

[0232] Implementation form 16: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the pedestal includes a bowl in which the substrate heater is positioned, and the bowl includes one or more side walls having an outer surface including a reflective material.

[0233] Implementation form 17: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the pedestal is thermally connected to the LED so that heat can be transferred between the LED and the pedestal cooler, the pedestal includes at least one flow path therein, and the device further includes a pedestal cooler configured to flow a cooling fluid through the at least one flow path.

[0234] Implementation form 18: The device according to implementation form 17, wherein the pedestal further includes a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal.

[0235] Implementation form 19: The device according to implementation form 18, wherein the pedestal heater is a resistance heater.

[0236] Implementation form 20: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the pedestal includes a fluid inlet and is configured to flow a fluid between the LED and the bottom surface of the window.

[0237] Implementation form 21: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the pedestal is configured to move vertically.

[0238] Implementation form 22: The device according to implementation form 1, wherein the pedestal is configured to move vertically to create a vertical offset gap between the substrate support surface of the substrate support and the front surface of a protective plate of about 2 millimeters (mm) to about 70 mm.

[0239] Embodiment 23: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the first set of LEDs is arranged within a first circle having a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and spaced equidistantly from each other, and the second set of LEDs is arranged within a second circle having a second radius larger than the first radius around the central axis and spaced equidistantly from each other.

[0240] Embodiment 24: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the first set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones are independently controllable.

[0241] Embodiment 25: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the plurality of LEDs includes more than about 1,000 LEDs, and the plurality of LEDs is grouped to create at least about 80 independently controllable electrical zones.

[0242] Embodiment 26: The apparatus according to Embodiment 25, wherein the plurality of LEDs includes more than about 5,000 LEDs.

[0243] Embodiment 27: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED is configured to emit visible blue light.

[0244] Embodiment 28: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED is configured to emit visible white light.

[0245] Embodiment 29: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED uses about 1.5 watts or less at full output.

[0246] Embodiment 30: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED uses about 4 watts or less at full output.

[0247] Embodiment 31: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED is a chip-on-board LED.

[0248] Embodiment 32: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein each LED is a surface-mounted diode LED.

[0249] Embodiment 33: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the gas distribution unit further includes a second unit heater configured to heat the protection plate.

[0250] Embodiment 34: The apparatus according to Embodiment 33, wherein the second unit heater is a resistance heater.

[0251] Embodiment 35: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, wherein the unit heater includes at least one flow path and is configured to flow a heat transfer fluid in at least one flow path.

[0252] Embodiment 36: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, further including a mixing plenum fluidly connected to at least one of one or more fluid inlets of the gas distribution unit and upstream thereof.

[0253] Embodiment 37: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, further including one or more sensors configured to measure one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED.

[0254] Embodiment 38: The apparatus according to Embodiment 37, wherein the one or more sensors are photodetectors.

[0255] Embodiment 39: The apparatus according to Embodiment 37, wherein the one or more measurement criteria include the light emitted by the LED.

[0256] Implementation form 40: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, further comprising a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter, wherein the gas distribution unit extends through a protective plate and includes a port containing a sensor window, and the emitter or the detector is connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, and the emitter or the detector is positioned within the pedestal and below the window.

[0257] Implementation form 41: The apparatus according to implementation form 40, wherein the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0258] Implementation form 42: The apparatus according to implementation form 40, wherein the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0259] Implementation form 43: The apparatus according to implementation form 40, wherein the sensor window is located in the central region of the protective plate.

[0260] Implementation form 44: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, wherein the chamber wall contains aluminum.

[0261] Implementation form 45: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, wherein the chamber wall contains a plastic coating.

[0262] Implementation form 46: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, wherein the chamber wall contains a metal coated with yttria.

[0263] Implementation form 47: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, wherein the chamber wall contains a metal coated with zirconia.

[0264] Implementation form 48: The apparatus according to implementation form 1, wherein the chamber wall contains a metal or metal alloy coated with aluminum oxide.

[0265] Embodiment 49: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, further comprising a vacuum pump configured to make the inside of the chamber in a vacuum state, and the processing chamber is configured to operate in a pressure range of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr.

[0266] Embodiment 50: The apparatus according to Embodiment 1, further comprising a controller having a processor and one or more non - transient memory devices storing instructions for causing an LED to emit visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0267] Embodiment 51: The apparatus according to Embodiment 50, further comprising a cooling gas source fluidly connected to one or more fluid inlets, and the one or more non - transient memory devices further store instructions for flowing the cooling gas over the substrate.

[0268] Embodiment 52: The apparatus according to Embodiment 51, wherein the pedestal is configured to move vertically, and the one or more non - transient memory devices further store instructions for vertically moving the pedestal and offsetting the substrate by a non - zero gap of about 5 mm or less from the protective plate, and the cooling gas flows over the substrate while the substrate is offset by a non - zero gap from the protective plate.

[0269] Embodiment 53: A method, comprising: supporting a substrate in a processing chamber having a chamber wall using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate; heating the substrate to a first temperature by causing visible light to be emitted from a plurality of light - emitting diodes (LEDs) located below the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, the visible light having a wavelength of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; and etching the surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the first temperature.

[0270] Embodiment 54: The method according to Embodiment 53, further comprising cooling the substrate by one or more of flowing a cooling gas over the substrate and vertically moving a pedestal so that the substrate is offset from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit by a first non-zero offset distance while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation.

[0271] Embodiment 55: The method according to Embodiment 54, wherein the cooling is by both flowing a cooling gas and positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0272] Embodiment 56: The method according to Embodiment 55, wherein the first non-zero offset distance is 5 mm or less.

[0273] Embodiment 57: The method according to Embodiment 54, wherein the cooling gas includes one or more of hydrogen and helium.

[0274] Embodiment 58: The method according to Embodiment 53, further comprising heating a chamber wall to a second temperature while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, and heating a protective plate of a gas distribution unit positioned above the substrate to a third temperature while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, wherein the etching is performed while the chamber wall is heated to the second temperature and the protective plate is heated to the third temperature.

[0275] Embodiment 59: The method according to Embodiment 58, wherein the second temperature and the third temperature are 30°C to 150°C.

[0276] Embodiment 60: The method according to Embodiment 53, wherein the supporting, heating, and etching are performed while the processing chamber is at a pressure of about 0.1 Torr to about 100 Torr.

[0277] Implementation form 61: The method according to implementation form 53, wherein the support, heating, and etching are performed while the processing chamber is at a pressure of about 20 Torr to about 200 Torr.

[0278] Implementation form 62: The method according to implementation form 53, wherein the first temperature is about 30 °C to about 200 °C.

[0279] Implementation form 63: The method according to implementation form 53, wherein the first temperature is about 100 °C to about 500 °C.

[0280] Implementation form 64: The method according to implementation form 53, further comprising measuring the temperature of the substrate using one or more temperature sensors, and adjusting the power of at least a first set of a plurality of LEDs during heating, maintaining, and / or etching based on this measurement.

[0281] Implementation form 65: The method according to implementation form 64, wherein the one or more temperature sensors include one or more of pyrometers comprising a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports, as well as an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate and a detector configured to receive the emission from the substrate and the temperature of the substrate, and the detector is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0282] Implementation form 66: The method according to implementation form 65, wherein the emitter is configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0283] Implementation form 67: The method according to implementation form 65, wherein the one or more temperature sensors include both a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports and a pyrometer.

[0284] Implementation form 68: The method according to implementation form 53, further comprising adjusting the power of at least a first set of a plurality of LEDs, heating the substrate to a second temperature by emitting visible light from the LEDs after the adjustment is performed while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, and etching the bottom surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the second temperature.

[0285] Implementation form 69: The method according to implementation form 68, further comprising measuring the temperature of the substrate using one or more temperature sensors, and the adjustment is performed at least partially based on this measurement.

[0286] Implementation form 70: The method according to implementation form 69, wherein one or more temperature sensors include one or more of pyrometers comprising a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports, an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate, and a receiver configured to receive emissions from the substrate and the temperature of the substrate, and the detector is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0287] Implementation form 71: The method according to implementation form 70, wherein the emitter is configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0288] Implementation form 72: The method according to implementation form 70, wherein one or more temperature sensors include both a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports and a pyrometer.

[0289] Implementation form 73: The method according to implementation form 53, further comprising supporting the substrate using only a plurality of substrate supports including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm.

[0290] Embodiment 74: A method comprising: emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in a processing chamber, the visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; measuring one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LEDs using one or more sensors configured to detect the visible light emitted from the plurality of LEDs; and adjusting the power of a first set of the plurality of LEDs based at least in part on the measurement, the first set including fewer LEDs than the plurality of LEDs.

[0291] Embodiment 75: The method according to Embodiment 74, wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the visible light using a photodetector.

[0292] Embodiment 76: The method according to Embodiment 75, wherein the photodetector is outside the processing chamber and is connected to a port in the processing chamber via an optical fiber cable.

[0293] Embodiment 77: A pedestal for use in a semiconductor chamber, the pedestal having an upper surface and a bottom surface opposite the upper surface, the pedestal including a window including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, and three or more substrate supports, each substrate support including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, the substrate supports being configured to support substrates such that the substrates supported by the window and the three or more substrates are offset by a non-zero distance, and the pedestal including three or more substrate supports having a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the substrates positioned on the substrate support surface. Substrate The substrate support surfaces are configured to support the substrates such that the substrates supported by the window and the three or more substrates are offset by a non-zero distance, and the pedestal includes three or more substrate supports having a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the substrates positioned on the substrate support surface.

[0294] Embodiment 78: The pedestal according to Embodiment 77, wherein each of the three or more substrate supports includes quartz.

[0295] Embodiment 79: The pedestal according to Embodiment 77, wherein the substrate support surface is positioned closer to the central axis of the window than the outer diameter of the upper surface of the window.

[0296] Embodiment 80: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 77, wherein each temperature sensor is a thermocouple, the pedestal.

[0297] Embodiment 81: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 77, wherein each substrate support surface is vertically offset from the window by a distance of 5 to 30 millimeters, the pedestal.

[0298] Embodiment 82: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 77, further comprising a substrate heater having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, the pedestal.

[0299] Embodiment 83: A pedestal for use within a semiconductor chamber, the pedestal comprising a substrate heater having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, and a window having an upper surface and a bottom surface opposite the upper surface, the window including a material that passes visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, wherein one or more of the upper surface and the bottom surface is non-planar, the pedestal.

[0300] Embodiment 84: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 83, wherein both the upper surface and the bottom surface are non-planar, the pedestal.

[0301] Embodiment 85: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 83, wherein the bottom surface of the window is in contact with at least a first set of LEDs, the pedestal.

[0302] Embodiment 86: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 83, wherein the pedestal further includes a side wall, and an external region of the window is thermally connected to the side wall such that heat can be transferred between the external region and the side wall, the pedestal.

[0303] Embodiment 87: A pedestal as described in Embodiment 83, wherein the substrate heater further includes a printed circuit board including a reflective material on which the LEDs are supported, the pedestal.

[0304] Embodiment 88: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the pedestal includes a bowl where the substrate heater is positioned, and the bowl includes one or more side walls having an outer surface containing a reflective material.

[0305] Embodiment 89: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the pedestal is thermally connected to the LED so that heat can be transferred between the LED and the pedestal cooler, includes at least one flow path in the pedestal, and further includes a pedestal cooler configured to flow a cooling fluid in the at least one flow path.

[0306] Embodiment 90: The pedestal described in Embodiment 89, wherein the pedestal further includes a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal.

[0307] Embodiment 91: The pedestal described in Embodiment 90, wherein the pedestal heater is a resistance heater.

[0308] Embodiment 92: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the pedestal includes a fluid inlet and is configured to flow a fluid between the LED and the bottom surface of the window.

[0309] Embodiment 93: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the first set of LEDs is arranged within a first circle having a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and is equally spaced from each other, and the second set of LEDs is arranged within a second circle having a second radius larger than the first radius around the central axis and is equally spaced from each other.

[0310] Embodiment 94: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the first set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones are independently controllable.

[0311] Embodiment 95: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein the plurality of LEDs includes more than about 1,000 LEDs, and the plurality of LEDs are grouped to create at least about 80 independently controllable electrical zones.

[0312] Embodiment 96: The pedestal described in Embodiment 95, wherein the plurality of LEDs includes more than about 5,000 LEDs.

[0313] Embodiment 97: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED is configured to emit visible blue light.

[0314] Embodiment 98: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED is configured to emit visible white light.

[0315] Embodiment 99: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED uses about 1.5 watts or less at full output.

[0316] Embodiment 100: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED uses about 4 watts or less at full output.

[0317] Embodiment 101: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED is a chip-on-board LED.

[0318] Embodiment 102: The pedestal described in Embodiment 83, wherein each LED is a surface-mounted diode LED.

[0319] Implementation form 103: An apparatus comprising a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, a pedestal positioned within the interior of the chamber and configured to support a substrate, and a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter, wherein the processing chamber is above the pedestal and includes a port extending through a surface of the processing chamber including a sensor window, the emitter or the detector is connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, the emitter or the detector is positioned within the pedestal, and the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, or about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0320] Implementation form 104: The apparatus according to implementation form 103, wherein the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having wavelengths of about 1 micron, about 1.1 microns, and about 1 to about 4 microns.

[0321] Implementation form 105: The apparatus according to implementation form 103, wherein the sensor window is located in a central region of the processing chamber.

[0322] Implementation form 106: The apparatus according to implementation form 103, wherein the processing chamber includes a protection plate having one or more fluid inlets and a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected between the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber, and further includes a gas distribution unit having a front surface that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, and the port extends through the front surface of the protection plate.

[0323] Implementation form 107: The apparatus according to implementation form 103, further comprising one or more sensors configured to measure one or more measurement references of visible light emitted by an LED.

[0324] Implementation form 108: The apparatus according to implementation form 107, wherein the one or more sensors are photodetectors.

[0325] Embodiment 109: An apparatus according to Embodiment 107, wherein one or more measurement references include light emitted by an LED.

[0326] Embodiment 110: A method comprising supporting a substrate in a processing chamber having a chamber wall using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate, and heating the substrate to a first temperature by emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) below the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, the visible light having a wavelength of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, and cooling the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports by one or more of flowing a cooling gas over the substrate and vertically moving the pedestal so that the substrate is offset from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit by a first non-zero offset distance of 5 mm or less, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation.

[0327] Embodiment 111: A method according to Embodiment 110, wherein cooling is by flowing a cooling gas over the substrate.

[0328] Embodiment 112: A method according to Embodiment 110, wherein cooling is by positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0329] Embodiment 113: A method according to Embodiment 110, wherein cooling is by both flowing a cooling gas and positioning the substrate at a first non-zero offset distance from the protective plate.

[0330] Embodiment 114: A method according to Embodiment 110, wherein the cooling gas includes one or more of hydrogen and helium. The present disclosure may be implemented in the following forms. [Form 1] An apparatus for semiconductor processing, the apparatus comprising: a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber and a chamber heater configured to heat the chamber wall; a substrate heater positioned within the interior of the chamber, having a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; a window positioned above the substrate heater and including a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm; and a pedestal including three or more substrate supports, each substrate having a substrate support surface that is vertically offset from the window, and the substrate supported by the window and the three or more substrate supports being configured to support the substrate such that the substrate is offset by a non-zero distance. [Form 2] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein each substrate support includes a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm. [Form 3] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein each substrate support includes a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the substrate positioned on the substrate support surface. [Form 4] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the upper surface of the window is non-planar and / or the bottom surface of the window is non-planar. [Form 5] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the pedestal further includes a side wall, and an outer region of the window is thermally connected to the side wall such that heat can be transferred between the outer region and the side wall. [Form 6] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the pedestal includes a bowl in which the substrate heater is positioned, and the bowl includes one or more side walls having an outer surface including a reflective material. [Form 7] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the pedestal is a pedestal cooler that is thermally connected to the LEDs such that heat can be transferred between the LEDs and the pedestal cooler, the pedestal includes at least one flow path therein, and the apparatus further includes a pedestal cooler configured to flow a cooling fluid through the at least one flow path. [Form 8] The apparatus according to Form 7, wherein the pedestal further includes a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal. [Form 9] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the first set of LEDs are arranged within a first circle having a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and spaced equidistantly from each other. The apparatus, wherein the second set of LEDs are arranged within a second circle having a second radius greater than the first radius around the central axis and spaced equidistantly from each other. [Form 10] The apparatus according to Form 1, wherein the first set of LEDs are electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs are electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones are independently controllable. [Form 11] The apparatus according to Form 1, further comprising a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter, wherein the processing chamber includes a port having a sensor window, the emitter or the detector is connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, and the emitter or the detector is positioned within the pedestal and below the window. [Form 12] The apparatus according to Form 11, wherein the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of 1 micron, 1.1 microns, and / or 1 to 4 microns. [Form 13] The apparatus according to Form 1, comprising a gas distribution unit, having one or more fluid inlets, and a gas distribution unit including a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected between the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber and having a front plate partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, and a unit heater thermally connected to the front plate such that heat can be transferred between the front plate and the unit heater. [Form 14] A method, comprising supporting a substrate by using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate within a processing chamber having chamber walls. While the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, heating the substrate to a first temperature by emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) located below the substrate, wherein the visible light has a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm, heating; Etching the surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the first temperature. [Aspect 15] The method according to Aspect 14, While the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, Flowing a cooling gas over the substrate, and Further comprising cooling the substrate by one or more of vertically moving the pedestal so that the substrate is offset from the protective plate of the gas distribution unit by a first non-zero offset distance, thereby transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation. [Aspect 16] The method according to Aspect 14, While the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, heating the chamber wall to a second temperature; While the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, heating the protective plate of the gas distribution unit positioned above the substrate to a third temperature, and The etching is performed while the chamber wall is heated to the second temperature and the protective plate is heated to the third temperature. [Aspect 17] The method according to Aspect 14, Measuring the temperature of the substrate using one or more temperature sensors; Based on the measurement, further comprising adjusting the power of at least a first set of the plurality of LEDs during the heating, maintaining, and / or etching. [Aspect 18] The method according to Aspect 17, The one or more temperature sensors include A temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports, and A pyrometer comprising an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate and a detector configured to receive the emission from the substrate and the temperature of the substrate, wherein the detector is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of 1 micron, 1.1 microns, and / or 1 to 4 microns. [Aspect 19] The method according to Aspect 17, After the adjustment is performed while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, heating the substrate to a second temperature by emitting visible light from the LED; etching the bottom surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the second temperature. A method comprising: [Embodiment 20] A method comprising: emitting visible light from a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a processing chamber, the visible light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; measuring one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LED using one or more sensors configured to detect the visible light emitted from the plurality of LEDs; adjusting the power of a first set of the plurality of LEDs based at least in part on the measurement, the first set including fewer LEDs than the plurality of LEDs. A method comprising: [Embodiment 21] The method according to Embodiment 20, wherein: the measurement further comprises measuring the visible light using a photodetector. A method comprising: [Embodiment 22] The method according to Embodiment 21, wherein: the photodetector is outside the processing chamber and is connected to a port in the processing chamber via an optical fiber cable. A method comprising:

Claims

1. An apparatus for semiconductor processing, the apparatus comprising: a processing chamber including a chamber wall that is at least partially in contact with the interior of the chamber, and a chamber heater configured to heat the chamber wall; positioned within the interior of the chamber, a substrate heater having a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; a window positioned above the substrate heater including a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm, the window having a diameter larger than the substrate and no hole in the center, and three or more substrate supports, each substrate having a substrate support surface vertically offset from the window, and a pedestal including three or more substrate supports configured to support the substrate such that the window and the substrate supported by the three or more substrate supports are offset by a non-zero distance.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each substrate support includes a material that passes light having a wavelength in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each substrate support includes a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the substrate positioned on the substrate support surface.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the window is non-planar and / or the bottom surface of the window is non-planar.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal further includes a side wall, and an outer region of the window is thermally connected to the side wall such that heat can be transferred between the outer region and the side wall.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal includes a bowl in which the substrate heater is positioned, and the bowl includes one or more side walls having an outer surface including a reflective material.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal is a pedestal cooler that is thermally connected to the LEDs such that heat can be transferred between the LEDs and the pedestal cooler, the pedestal includes at least one flow path therein, and the apparatus further includes a pedestal cooler configured to flow a cooling fluid through the at least one flow path.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the pedestal further includes a pedestal heater configured to heat one or more outer surfaces of the pedestal.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first set of LEDs is arranged within a first circle having a first radius around the central axis of the substrate heater and spaced equidistantly from each other, the second set of LEDs is arranged within a second circle having a second radius greater than the first radius around the central axis and spaced equidistantly from each other. **Claim 10** The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a first electrical zone, the second set of LEDs is electrically connected to form a second electrical zone, and the first and second electrical zones are independently controllable. **Claim 11** The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pyrometer having a detector and an emitter, the processing chamber includes a port having a sensor window, the emitter or the detector is connected to the port and the sensor window through an optical fiber cable, and the emitter or the detector is positioned within the pedestal and below the window. **Claim 12** The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pyrometer is configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of 1 micron, 1.1 microns, and / or from 1 to 4 microns. **Claim 13** The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a gas distribution unit, having one or more fluid inlets, and a gas distribution unit including a protective plate having a front face that is in partial contact with the interior of the chamber and having a plurality of through-holes fluidly connected between the one or more fluid inlets and the interior of the chamber, and a unit heater thermally connected to the protective plate such that heat can be transferred between the protective plate and the unit heater. **Claim 14** A method, comprising: supporting a substrate using only a pedestal having a plurality of substrate supports each in contact with an edge region of the substrate within a processing chamber having chamber walls; heating the substrate to a first temperature by emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) located below the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, the visible light having wavelengths in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm. etching the surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the first temperature; measuring the temperature of the substrate using one or more temperature sensors; further comprising adjusting the power of at least a first set of the plurality of LEDs during the heating, maintaining, and / or etching based on the measurement; after the adjustment is made while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, heating the substrate to a second temperature by emitting visible light from the LEDs; further comprising etching the bottom surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the second temperature. A method. **Claim 15** The method according to claim 14, while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports, cooling the substrate by flowing a cooling gas over the substrate and vertically moving the pedestal such that the substrate is offset from a protective plate of a gas distribution unit by a first non-zero offset distance, thereby cooling the substrate by one or more of transferring heat from the substrate to the protective plate through non-contact radiation. A method. **Claim 16** The method according to claim 14, heating the chamber wall to a second temperature while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports; further comprising heating a protective plate of a gas distribution unit positioned above the substrate to a third temperature while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports; wherein the etching is performed while the chamber wall is heated to the second temperature and the protective plate is heated to the third temperature. A method. **Claim 17** The method according to claim 14, wherein the one or more temperature sensors include a temperature sensor within at least one of the substrate supports, and a pyrometer comprising an emitter configured to emit radiation onto the substrate and a detector configured to receive the emission from the substrate and the temperature of the substrate, the detector being configured to detect emissions having one or more wavelengths of 1 micron, 1.1 microns, and / or 1 - 4 microns. A method. **Claim 18** A method, Emitting visible light from a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) within a processing chamber, wherein the visible light has a wavelength in the range of 400 nanometers (nm) to 800 nm; Measuring one or more measurement criteria of the visible light emitted by the LEDs using one or more sensors configured to detect the visible light emitted from the plurality of LEDs; Adjusting the power of a first set of the plurality of LEDs, wherein the first set includes fewer LEDs than the plurality of LEDs, based at least in part on the measurement; After the adjustment is performed while the substrate is supported only by a plurality of substrate supports, heating the substrate to a second temperature by emitting visible light from the LEDs; Etching a bottom surface of the substrate while the substrate is supported only by the plurality of substrate supports and while the substrate is at the second temperature. A method comprising:

19. The method according to claim 18, Wherein the measuring further comprises measuring the visible light using a photodetector. A method

20. The method according to claim 19, Wherein the photodetector is external to the processing chamber and is connected to a port within the processing chamber via an optical fiber cable. A method

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