Wafer chuck with temperature-regulating cavity features

Abstract

Disclosed is a wafer chuck or base plate for a wafer chuck including temperature adjustment cavity features positioned and dimensioned to provide a more uniform temperature distribution across the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck. Each temperature adjustment cavity feature may be positioned adjacent to a portion or portions of one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate of the wafer chuck. By locating a temperature adjustment cavity feature below what would otherwise be a localized region of low temperature (relative to adjacent regions of the wafer chuck support surface) of the wafer chuck, the low temperature region may be raised to a temperature that more closely matches ambient temperature, thereby increasing temperature uniformity.

Description

[Background technology]

[0001] [Related Applications] A PCT application is being filed concurrently herewith as part of the present application. Each application to which this application claims benefit or priority, as identified in the concurrently filed PCT application, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

[0002] Semiconductor processing tools often use chucks, which are devices that support and often clamp in place a semiconductor wafer during processing operations. Such wafer clamping function may be provided, for example, using vacuum clamps that evacuate gas from the region between the semiconductor wafer and the surface of the chuck on which the wafer rests, so that the top surface of the semiconductor wafer is at a higher pressure than the bottom surface, or electrostatic clamps that generate an electrostatic charge on the chuck to attract the semiconductor wafer to the chuck by electrostatic force.

[0003] Other features commonly found on chucks include, for example, heaters and / or cooling systems. For example, some chucks include resistive heating elements or liquid heating passages that may be used to raise the temperature of the chuck in preparation for or during semiconductor wafer processing. Similarly, some chucks include or further include liquid cooling passages for removing heat from the chuck (and thereby from the semiconductor wafer). More generally, a chuck may include one or more heat exchanger passages that may be used to heat and / or cool the chuck by passing a heating or cooling liquid through them, as the case may be. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter described herein are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

[0005] The present inventors have devised a new type of temperature-controlled chuck in which the chuck not only includes one or more heat exchange passages, but also includes one or more temperature-regulating cavity features. The temperature-regulating cavity features may generally correspond to locations in the chuck's material where discontinuities exist within the chuck material that generally serve no other purpose than to passively vary heat flow within the chuck. For example, the chuck may be machined from aluminum and may have one or more heat exchange passages that follow one or more paths within the chuck, and a number of hole features in the chuck that may be provided to accommodate other components, such as lift pins that may extend through the holes in the chuck to contact the backside of a semiconductor wafer and lift the semiconductor wafer from the wafer-supporting surface of the chuck. Such features, i.e., the hole feature and the one or more heat exchange passages, constitute discontinuities in the chuck material. However, these particular discontinuities exist for reasons other than to passively vary heat flow within the chuck. The hole feature allows, for example, lift pins to move through the hole feature to contact the backside of the semiconductor wafer and lift the wafer off the wafer support surface of the chuck. One or more heat exchange passages, in contrast, modify heat flow, but do so actively, for example, by acting as a conduit for actively flowing a coolant or heating fluid through the chuck. Therefore, neither type of feature would be considered a temperature regulating cavity feature within the context of this disclosure.

[0006] The inventors have found that even when a chuck is carefully designed to minimize the effects of various discontinuities in the chuck material, these discontinuities can cause significant azimuthal non-uniformity in temperature of the chuck, which in turn can cause semiconductor wafers supported thereby to exhibit significant non-uniformity in wafer thickness. The inventors have further found that by intentionally introducing additional discontinuities in the chuck material, such as the temperature regulating cavity features described herein, the temperature uniformity of the chuck can be further tuned so that a highly uniform temperature gradient can be achieved and maintained during wafer processing operations. This, in turn, will improve wafer processing uniformity.

[0007] Generally, the techniques of the present disclosure may be implemented by starting with an existing chuck design, which may include various features, such as one or more heat exchange passages and / or hole features for lift pins, temperature probes, high-voltage electrical connections for a radio frequency power source, electrical connections for a heater or heaters in the chuck, wafer presence sensors, etc., configured to result in a first temperature distribution when the wafer support surface of the chuck (the upper surface of the chuck on which a semiconductor wafer rests during wafer processing operations) is heated to a first temperature, e.g., via a heater embedded within the chuck. The first temperature distribution may then be analyzed to identify regions, or portions of such regions, whose temperatures are lower than some reference temperature, e.g., lower than the average temperature of the first temperature distribution. Once such regions are identified, one or more temperature adjustment cavity features may be added to the chuck in these regions. Such temperature adjustment cavity features may serve to eliminate heat flow paths that may previously have allowed undesirable large amounts of heat transfer to occur. For example, regions of the wafer support surface that are cooler than the reference temperature may exhibit such cooler temperatures because the chuck structure in those regions provides a more efficient heat flow path than other regions of the chuck, allowing heat from those regions to flow more quickly from the wafer support surface, for example, into one or more heat exchange passages of the chuck. Introducing one or more temperature adjustment cavity features in those regions may reduce that heat transfer efficiency, thereby decreasing the rate at which heat is extracted from those regions and, consequently, increasing the temperature in those regions. Generally, the larger the cross-section of each temperature adjustment cavity feature in a plane parallel to the wafer support surface and / or the deeper each temperature adjustment cavity feature is in a direction perpendicular to the wafer support surface, the more pronounced the temperature increasing effect produced by such temperature adjustment cavity feature will be.

[0008] The use of such temperature adjustment cavity features may enable the provision of chucks that provide excellent temperature uniformity across the wafer support area. For example, various chuck designs that include heat exchange passages, heaters, and various hole features, but no temperature adjustment cavity features, exhibited a 3 standard deviation between approximately 1.1°C and approximately 0.45°C (and a range of approximately 1.45°C to 0.65°C) over a temperature range of 50°C to 70°C when subjected to a heat load ranging from 2.5 kW to 3.5 kW while supplying approximately room temperature coolant to the heat exchange passages within the chuck. In contrast, similar chuck designs that further include several temperature adjustment cavity features exhibited a range of approximately 0.15°C to approximately 0.1°C with 3 standard deviations. Thus, the temperature uniformity across the wafer support surface, i.e., across a 300 mm diameter area, exhibited a maximum difference of 0.15°C between the hottest and coldest locations on the wafer support surface. This is extremely small; such a highly uniform temperature region has typically been achievable only with chucks equipped with complex heating and temperature control systems, such as multi-zone heating systems in which multiple individual heaters may be controlled to variably deliver heat to different regions of the wafer support surface. While such systems may in some cases allow for temperature control at the die level, they are often complex and therefore expensive. Also, due to their increased complexity, such systems may be more prone to failure.

[0009] In contrast, a chuck as described herein is relatively uncomplicated and provides passive management of heating uniformity (as opposed to active control with different heating elements in different zones to achieve heating uniformity), while also providing exceptionally uniform temperature distribution across its wafer support surface. Regardless, the present disclosure relates to at least the following embodiments:

[0010] In some embodiments, a wafer chuck may be provided that includes a base plate (some embodiments include this base plate and others listed below, although simply a base plate for a wafer chuck may be provided), one or more heat exchange passages located within the base plate, and one or more temperature adjustment cavity features located within the base plate. Each temperature adjustment cavity feature may be positioned adjacent to a portion or an adjacent portion of one or more heat exchange passages, each temperature adjustment cavity feature may correspond to a void within the base plate, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features may be fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate.

[0011] In some embodiments, the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are free of liquid when the wafer chuck is in normal use.

[0012] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features may be sealed and may have a vacuum environment within the temperature regulating cavity feature.

[0013] In some such embodiments, the vacuum environment may have a pressure of 1 Torr or less.

[0014] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features may be sealed and filled with a gas.

[0015] In some embodiments of the apparatus, the base plate may have one or more hole features extending into or through the base plate, the hole features may be fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and may be configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the wafer chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber. In some embodiments, the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features may include at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature and a second temperature adjustment cavity feature, the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature may be positioned substantially symmetrically on either side of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that at least a portion of the one or more heat exchange passages may reside between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature, and the central axis of the base plate may pass through a position corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the wafer chuck is configured to support.

[0016] In some embodiments, the base plate may have two or more hole features extending into or through the base plate, the hole features may be fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and may be configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the wafer chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber. The two or more hole features may include a first hole feature and a second hole feature, both of which may be located between a first portion of the one or more heat exchange passages and a second portion of the one or more heat exchange passages, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features may include at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature interposed between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature.

[0017] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features may be a slot having a uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

[0018] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features may be a slot having a non-uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

[0019] In some embodiments, there may be multiple temperature regulating cavity features, and the temperature regulating cavity features may be distributed non-uniformly across the base plate.

[0020] In some embodiments, each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature may correspond to an area of ​​a temperature below the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck when (a) the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature is replaced with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations with the wafer chuck.

[0021] In some embodiments, the wafer chuck may further include a top plate, the top plate being positioned on an upper surface of the wafer chuck.

[0022] In some such embodiments, the top plate may include one or more heating elements. In some embodiments, the top plate may be made at least in part from a ceramic material.

[0023] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulation cavity features may be completely enclosed within the base plate.

[0024] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features may be a recess that extends from a first surface of the base plate into the base plate, but does not extend through the base plate to a surface of the base plate opposite the first surface.

[0025] In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more temperature regulation cavity features may extend through the base plate.

[0026] Further details regarding the above concepts are described in detail below with reference to the drawings, but it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but extends to other variations that will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] Various embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the accompanying figures and drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary wafer chuck with a 90 degree segment thereof partially cut away to show heat exchanger passage features and various hole features in the wafer chuck.

[0029] [Figure 2] 2 illustrates a side partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary wafer chuck of FIG. 1.

[0030] [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a plan view of a further exemplary wafer chuck with a 90 degree segment thereof partially cut away to show heat exchanger passage features, various hole features, and temperature regulating cavity features in the wafer chuck.

[0031] [Figure 4] 4 illustrates a side partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary wafer chuck of FIG. 3.

[0032] [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a top view of another exemplary wafer chuck with a 90 degree segment thereof partially cut away to show heat exchanger passage features, various hole features, and temperature regulating cavity features in the wafer chuck.

[0033] [Figure 6] 6 illustrates a side partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary wafer chuck of FIG. 5.

[0034] [Figure 7] Normalized temperature differences from a reference temperature are shown for the three wafer chucks of FIGS. 1, 3 and 5.

[0035] [Figure 8] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing chamber.

[0036] [Figure 9] 1 shows a schematic diagram of another semiconductor processing chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Importantly, the concepts described herein are not limited to any single aspect or embodiment described herein, nor to any combinations and / or permutations of such aspects and / or embodiments. Furthermore, each aspect of the invention and / or embodiments thereof may be employed alone or in combination with one or more of the other aspects and / or embodiments thereof. For the sake of brevity, many of these permutations and combinations are not individually described and / or illustrated herein.

[0038] As previously mentioned, a semiconductor chuck with extremely low temperature non-uniformity at given processing conditions may be provided through the use of temperature conditioning cavity features in specific regions. Before describing embodiments having temperature conditioning cavity features, a preliminary description of typical semiconductor wafer chuck features is provided below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0039] Figure 1 is a top view of an exemplary semiconductor wafer chuck with a 90 degree segment partially cut away to show heat exchanger passage features and various hole features in the semiconductor wafer chuck. Figure 2 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of the exemplary wafer chuck of Figure 1 taken along radial axis 116.

[0040] The wafer chuck 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2 may include a base plate 102, which may house one or more internal heat exchange passages 108, which may be configured to circulate a heat exchange medium, e.g., a liquid coolant such as Galden™ or Fluorinert™, within the base plate 102, thereby removing heat from the base plate 102. (Alternatively, a heated heat exchange medium may be circulated within the one or more heat exchange passages 108 to provide heating for the wafer chuck 100—for example, it may be desirable to heat the wafer chuck 100 from room temperature to a high temperature before processing a wafer, without requiring heat from a wafer processing operation; in such a case, the wafer chuck 100 may be preheated by flowing a heated heat exchange medium through the heat exchange passages 108.) The base plate 102 may be made of, for example, aluminum, ceramic, or other material suitable for supporting a semiconductor wafer during processing; for example, the base plate 102 may be made of a material that is non-reactive (or minimally reactive) with the environment maintained within the processing chamber. In some embodiments, a top plate 104 may be placed over the base plate 102 and serve to provide a wafer support surface that contacts and supports a semiconductor wafer placed on the wafer chuck 100. The top plate 104 may be made of, for example, ceramic or other dielectric material and, in some embodiments, may have one or more heater elements 106 embedded therein. For example, the top plate 104 may have resistive heater traces therein that follow a serpentine or serpentine path across a circular area within the top plate 104. Alternatively, such heater elements 106 may be located in or on the base plate 102, such as on the upper surface of the base plate 102 between the base plate 102 and the top plate 104.

[0041] In some embodiments, there may be no top plate 104 at all, and the base plate 102 itself may provide the wafer support surface, i.e., the semiconductor wafer may be placed directly on the base plate 102 in preparation for wafer processing operations.

[0042] The base plate 102 (and, in some cases, the top plate 104) may optionally have one or more pit features 112 that may be provided to allow various components to extend into or through the base plate 102. For example, pit features 112 may be included to allow lift pins to be pressed into the wafer chuck 100 to lift the semiconductor wafer from its wafer support surface, to allow one or more temperature probes to be inserted into the base plate 102 to monitor its internal temperature, to make electrical connections, e.g., with one or more radio frequency electrodes and / or with the heater element(s) 106, to allow gas to flow into the region between the semiconductor wafer and the top plate 104 or base plate 102, etc. As previously described, the pit features 112 are occupied by one or more components (e.g., lift pins, fasteners, electrical connectors, temperature probes, etc.) that provide a function other than passively varying heat flow through the base plate 102 during normal use of the wafer chuck in semiconductor processing operations, or are used to provide a function not directly related to heat transfer, such as to allow an inert barrier gas (e.g., argon) to flow into the region below the semiconductor wafer to shield the backside of the semiconductor wafer from process gases. The pit features 112 are generally fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passage(s) 108, i.e., are not part of the heat exchange passage(s). For clarity, "normal use" of the wafer chuck (or components thereof) refers to the typical use of the wafer chuck (or components thereof) during typical semiconductor processing operations, such as supporting a semiconductor wafer during processing operations and flowing heat exchange fluid through its heat exchange passage(s).

[0043] For general reference below, wafer chuck 100 may have a nominal center point 118, which may coincide with the intended center point of a semiconductor wafer placed on wafer chuck 100 at its intended location for semiconductor processing operations; wafer chuck 100 may also have a central axis 114 that passes through center point 118 and is perpendicular to the wafer support surface of wafer chuck 100. Various cross-sectional side views in this disclosure, such as the cross-sectional side view shown in FIG. 2, may be shown using a cross-section along a radial axis, such as radial axis 116, extending radially outward from center point 118 / central axis 114.

[0044] 1 and 2 should be understood to have substantially fixed thermal characteristics, and while the amount of heat that can be added to and removed from wafer chuck 100, as well as from the processing environment within the semiconductor chamber in which wafer chuck 100 is used, via heater element(s) 106 and heat exchange passages 108, can be adjusted to some extent, varying such inputs can have little effect on the temperature uniformity across the wafer support surface of wafer chuck 100. While the various features within base plate 102 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2 may be designed to reduce temperature non-uniformities as much as possible, for example, often by making the passages or portions of the heat exchange passage(s) substantially concentric, some temperature non-uniformity within the wafer support surface will almost always be present due to the internal geometry of wafer chuck 100, as shown in FIG.

[0045] While the wafer chucks of FIGS. 3 and 5 have not yet been discussed, FIG. 7 shows the normalized temperature difference from the reference temperature for the three wafer chucks of FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 under similar processing conditions, e.g., a 2.5 kW to 3.2 kW heat load on the wafer and wafer chuck, a heat exchange fluid flow through the heat exchange passages at approximately 20° C., and wafer, wafer chuck, and chamber temperatures maintained at a nominal 60° C. In FIG. 7, a "heat" map of the temperature of the wafer support surfaces (indicated by the circular regions) of the corresponding wafer chucks 100, 300, and 500 is shown. The top circular region represents the wafer support surface of wafer chuck 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. To facilitate comparison between the various wafer chucks depicted in FIG. 7, the temperatures shown in FIG. 7 have been normalized based on the temperature range experienced by wafer chuck 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. 7, the temperature range shown may be understood to be approximately 0.5° C. to 5.0° C. As can be seen, there are distinct "hot" and "cold" spots at various locations across the wafer support surface (although it should be understood that these hot and cold spots may differ in temperature by less than 1 degree Celsius).

[0046] As mentioned above, a more uniform temperature profile for the wafer chuck may be obtained by disposing temperature adjustment cavity features at various locations within the base plate of the wafer chuck.

[0047] Figure 3 is a top view of a further exemplary wafer chuck with a 90 degree segment partially cut away to show heat exchanger passage features, various hole features, and temperature regulating cavity features in the wafer chuck. Figure 4 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of the exemplary wafer chuck of Figure 3.

[0048] 3 and 4, wafer chuck 300 is shown, including a base plate 302, a top plate 304, a heater element 306, a plurality of hole features 312, and one or more heat exchange passages 308. Like wafer chuck 100, wafer chuck 300 may also have a center point 318, a central axis 314, and one or more radial axes, such as a radial axis 316. The partial cross-sectional view of wafer chuck 300 in FIG. 4 is taken along radial axis 316. With respect to the above features, wafer chuck 300 is largely identical to wafer chuck 100; however, it should be noted that the two wafer chucks have different arrangements of hole features and different configurations of heat exchange passages 308. However, wafer chuck 300 is distinctly different from wafer chuck 100 in the presence of temperature adjustment cavity features 310 located at various locations on base plate 302. The temperature conditioning cavity features 310 are shown with a solid hatched pattern but should be understood to be empty spaces (or gas-filled). It should be understood that additional temperature conditioning cavity features 310 may be located in other portions of the base plate 302 not visible in FIG. 3, and the specific location of each temperature conditioning cavity feature may be unique to any given wafer chuck 300 design.

[0049] In the illustrated embodiment, there are three temperature conditioning cavity features 310 (310a, 310b, and 310c) visible in Figures 3 and 4; a radial axis 316 is selected to pass through all three such temperature conditioning cavity features 310, and cross-sectional views of these temperature conditioning cavity features 310 are visible in Figure 4. Each temperature conditioning cavity feature may be generally adjacent to a portion 320 or an adjacent portion 320 of one or more heat exchange passages 308 when viewed along an axis perpendicular to the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck. For example, temperature conditioning cavity feature 310a is adjacent to portion 320a, temperature conditioning cavity feature 310b is adjacent to portions 320b and 320c, and temperature conditioning cavity feature 310c is adjacent to portions 320d and 320e.

[0050] As can be seen, the temperature conditioning cavity features 310 may be of different widths, depths, and / or distances from the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck 300. In Figure 3, the illustrated temperature conditioning cavity features 310 are milled channels that are of constant width along the path followed by each temperature conditioning cavity feature 310 (except at the end caps of each such temperature conditioning cavity feature 310, which are both rounded and therefore have a decreasing cross-sectional area as one moves through the center point of either rounded end cap and toward the outermost point of either end cap). The temperature regulating cavity features 310 may have different cross-sectional widths between them, as can be seen in the figure, for example, the two temperature regulating cavity features 310 closest to the center point 318 both have a cross-sectional width, when viewed along the central axis 314, that is just slightly more than half the cross-sectional width of a third temperature regulating cavity feature 310 viewed near the outside of the base plate 302 from the same perspective. Conversely, the two temperature adjustment cavity features 310 closest to the center point 318 are, in this example, slots that extend entirely through the base plate 302 (and may be "open" on the back surface of the base plate 302 as shown; alternatively, another component may be placed adjacent to the back side of the base plate 302 to cover such openings - similarly, another component may be placed to block the openings formed in the top surface of the base plate 302 by the top plate 304 for the temperature adjustment cavity features 310), while the third temperature adjustment cavity feature 310 located near the outer periphery of the base plate 302 is a blind slot that extends only partially into the base plate 302 from the bottom of the base plate 302.In general, configuring a temperature adjustment cavity feature so that it has a larger cross-sectional area in a plane parallel to the wafer support surface, a greater depth, and / or is closer to the wafer support surface may generally have the effect of significantly increasing the temperature in the region where the temperature adjustment cavity feature is located, compared to configuring a temperature adjustment cavity feature so that it has a smaller cross-sectional area in a plane parallel to the wafer support surface, a shallower depth, and / or is further away from the wafer support surface. In most cases, adding a temperature adjustment cavity feature in a region with a "cold" or "cool" spot (a localized decrease in temperature compared to the ambient temperature of the base plate 302) may disrupt or impede the flow of heat from that region, preventing it from rapidly exiting that region. This increases thermal retention in that region, resulting in higher temperatures. More or less temperature regulation may be achieved by varying the size and / or depth of such temperature regulation cavity features; it should be recognized that the process of establishing the location, number, size, and / or depth of such temperature regulation cavity features may be somewhat iterative and may vary with wafer chuck design, depending, for example, on the configuration of heat exchange passage(s), pit features, and other aspects of the wafer chuck.

[0051] In the case of the wafer chuck 300 of Figures 3 and 4, both temperature adjustment cavity features 310a and 310b extend through the base plate 302 (in this case terminating at the top plate 304), while temperature adjustment cavity feature 310c terminates at a location within the base plate 302 spaced apart from the top plate 304.

[0052] The wafer chuck 300 of Figures 3 and 4 exhibits significantly improved temperature uniformity over the wafer chuck 100 of Figures 1 and 2 (which does not have any temperature conditioning cavity features) due to the presence of temperature conditioning cavity features (both those shown and other temperature conditioning cavity features not visible in Figures 3 and 4). For example, the heat map of the central circular region in Figure 7 represents the temperature distribution of such a wafer chuck 300 under similar boundary conditions as governed by the upper heat map plot of Figure 7. As can be seen, the temperature difference across the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck 300 is significantly less than that of the wafer chuck 100; for example, the maximum temperature difference in the wafer chuck 300 is approximately 23% of the temperature difference observed in the wafer chuck 100, i.e., a 76% reduction in the temperature difference across the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck 300 compared to the wafer chuck 100.

[0053] FIG. 5 is a plan view of another exemplary wafer chuck with a 90-degree segment partially cut away to show the heat exchange passage features, various hole features, and temperature adjustment cavity features in the wafer chuck. FIG. 6 shows a side partial cross-sectional view of the exemplary wafer chuck of FIG. 5 along a radial axis 516. Like the previously described wafer chucks 100 and 300, wafer chuck 500 includes a base plate 502, a top plate 504, a heater element 506, a plurality of hole features 512, and one or more heat exchange passages 508. Like wafer chucks 100 and 300, wafer chuck 500 may also have one or more radial axes, such as a center point 518, a central axis 514, and a radial axis 516. The partial cross-sectional view of wafer chuck 500 in FIG. 6 is taken along radial axis 516.

[0054] As can be seen, the base plate 502 of the wafer chuck 500 includes a plurality of temperature conditioning cavity features 510, e.g., temperature conditioning cavity features 510a-510h. In contrast to the temperature conditioning cavity features 310 of the wafer chuck 300, some of the illustrated temperature conditioning cavity features 510 have varying cross-sectional widths along their lengths. For example, the temperature conditioning cavity feature 510b has two portions—a first portion with a first cross-sectional width and a second portion with a second cross-sectional width (approximately twice as wide as the first cross-sectional width). In this example, the transition between the two cross-sectional widths is essentially a step change (e.g., produced by milling the first portion with an end mill having a diameter equal to the first cross-sectional width and milling the second portion with an end mill having a diameter equal to the second cross-sectional width). However, other temperature adjusting cavity features may have different cross-sectional widths that vary gradually or continuously, such as those that may be machined using repeated passes along various milling paths with an end mill of a smaller diameter than the larger cross-sectional dimension of the temperature adjusting cavity feature. For example, temperature adjusting cavity feature pairs 510c / 510d and 510e / 510f each include two temperature adjusting cavity features that are approximately mirror images of each other about a radial axis; these temperature adjusting cavity features have gradually varying cross-sectional widths and have the appearance of an airfoil shape, as seen in FIG. 5.

[0055] In some embodiments, two (or more) temperature conditioning cavity features 310 positioned generally symmetrically on either side of the radial axis may be used to offset temperature imbalances that may be caused by discontinuities in portions of the heat exchange passage 508, such as those that may be caused by the presence of hole feature 512. For example, portions 520d and 520e of the heat exchange passage 508 are on either side of a discontinuity, such as a relatively sharp bend or "knee" in the heat exchange passage 508, that is caused by a change in the path of the heat exchange passage 508 due to the presence of hole feature 512 adjacent to and positioned radially inward from the discontinuity.

[0056] Such discontinuities may cause the heat exchange passages 508 in the region of the discontinuity to be closer to the adjacent portion of the heat exchange passages 508 between portions 520f and 520g, which may typically result in increased cooling by the heat exchange passages 508 in that localized region. However, the inclusion of temperature adjustment cavity features 510c and 510d may reduce the amount of cooling that occurs in that region and may increase the temperature at the wafer support surface closer to the ambient temperature.

[0057] A similar configuration is evident with respect to temperature adjustment cavity features 510e and 510f. In either case, temperature adjustment cavity features 510c / 510d and 510e / 510f may be positioned in a substantially symmetrical configuration about a radial axis extending from a center point 518 of base plate 502, for example, through the center of the discontinuity or the center of the hole feature causing the discontinuity.

[0058] 5 is a temperature adjustment cavity feature 510 that extends between two hole features 512 and is located between two adjacent portions 520 of one or more heat exchange passages 508. For example, temperature adjustment cavity features 510g and 510h are both located between two adjacent portions 520 of one or more heat exchange passages 508 and between two hole features 512.

[0059] As can be seen in Figure 6, all of the temperature regulating cavity features 510 are located entirely within the base plate 502, which contrasts with the temperature regulating cavity features 310 of Figure 3. Such temperature regulating cavity features 510 may be produced by fabricating the base plate 502 as multiple layers, machining the temperature regulating cavity features 510 into one or more surfaces of those layers, and then bonding the layers together to form the base plate 502.

[0060] The performance of wafer chuck 500 can be seen in FIG. 7, which shows that the temperature difference of wafer chuck 500 is significantly less than that of wafer chuck 100, approximately 19% of the temperature difference observed with wafer chuck 100.

[0061] In many embodiments, the temperature adjustment cavity features in a given base plate for a wafer chuck may be distributed non-uniformly across the base plate. In an ideal case, the wafer chuck would have perfectly axisymmetric temperature control to maintain perfectly uniform temperatures across the wafer support surface. However, due to various real-world constraints, such as the inclusion of hole features, serpentine heat exchange passages, electrical connectors, etc., achieving perfectly axisymmetric temperature control is quite difficult in practice. The use of temperature adjustment cavity features in a wafer chuck provides one mechanism by which temperature non-uniformities caused by the inclusion of such features may be mitigated or significantly or completely eliminated.

[0062] Wafer chucks as described herein may provide excellent temperature control for semiconductor processing operations without the need for expensive or complex temperature control systems. Although such wafer chucks may have a somewhat limited temperature control range over which they can achieve such temperature control (temperature adjustment cavity features may have more or less effectiveness depending on the temperature of the base plate), such wafer chucks may provide excellent, stable temperature uniformity across the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck at the operating temperatures at which the wafer chuck is designed to operate.

[0063] Additionally, the temperature adjustment cavity features described herein may, in some cases, be filled with a gas or evacuated to at least a partial vacuum, e.g., a pressure of 1 Torr or less, to adjust the behavior of the temperature adjustment cavity feature. For example, in some embodiments, a temperature adjustment cavity feature may be created with nothing inside it except a small amount of gas; e.g., the temperature adjustment cavity feature may have a vacuum environment within it. Such an embodiment may increase the resistance of the temperature adjustment cavity feature to heat flow, as no material may be present within the temperature adjustment cavity feature (or a very small amount of material, in the form of any gas, may be present in the vacuum) to support conductive or convective heat transfer.

[0064] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing chamber in which the wafer chuck described above may be used. In FIG. 8, a chamber 836 is shown housing one or more semiconductor wafer processing stations (only one is shown, but additional stations may be provided). Each semiconductor wafer station may include a showerhead 830 or other gas delivery system and a wafer chuck 800, which may be a temperature-controlled wafer chuck having a temperature-regulating cavity feature as described above. The wafer chuck 800 may support a semiconductor wafer 828 on its upper or wafer support surface. A controller 832 may be provided to control various aspects of the apparatus, including, for example, controlling the amount of power delivered to a heater in the wafer chuck 800, the flow of coolant through one or more heat exchange passages in the wafer chuck 800, and the flow of gas through the showerhead, e.g., from a gas source 834. The semiconductor processing chamber of FIG. 8 may be used, for example, for a deposition process.

[0065] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of another semiconductor processing chamber in which the wafer chuck described above may be used. Similar to chamber 836 of Figure 8, Figure 9 illustrates a chamber 936 containing therein a wafer chuck 900, such as one of the wafer chucks described herein. Wafer chuck 900 may be used to support a wafer 928, which may be exposed to a plasma 946 that may be generated by supplying power to one or both radio frequency (RF) generators 942. (The plasma may be formed from gases that may be introduced to the region above the wafer 928, for example, via a gas supply (not shown).) The RF generators 942 may be controlled by the controller 932; one of the RF generators 942 may be coupled to an electrode (not shown) on the wafer chuck 900, and the other RF generator 942 may be coupled to a coil 940 that may be positioned above a dielectric plate 938 that may serve as a ceiling for the chamber 936, thereby transferring RF power generated by the coil 940 into the chamber 936. The chamber 936 may be used, for example, for an etching process.

[0066] The controllers described above may be part of a system, which may include the examples above, and may be operatively connected to receive information from and / or control various valves, mass flow controllers, pumps, etc. Such systems may include semiconductor processing equipment, including one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more processing platforms, and / or specific processing components (e.g., wafer pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling the operation of the systems before, during, and after processing of semiconductor wafers or substrates. The electronics may be referred to as a "controller," and the controller may control various components or subcomponents of one or more systems. The controller may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of various gases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, and position and operation settings, depending on the process requirements and / or type of system.

[0067] Broadly, a controller may be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receives instructions, issues instructions, controls operations, enables cleaning operations, enables endpoint measurements, etc. Integrated circuits may include chips that store program instructions in the form of firmware, digital signal processors (DSPs), chips defined as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers that execute program instructions (e.g., software). The program instructions may be communicated to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files) and may be instructions that define operational parameters for performing a particular process on or for a semiconductor wafer or for a system. The operational parameters, in some embodiments, may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer to accomplish one or more processing steps during the fabrication of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of a wafer.

[0068] In some embodiments, the controller may be part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with, coupled to, or otherwise networked with the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may reside in the “cloud” or be all or part of a fab host computer system, thereby enabling remote access to wafer processing. The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of a fabrication operation, examine the history of past fabrication operations, or examine trends or performance metrics from multiple fabrication operations to modify parameters of a current process, configure processing steps following a current process, or initiate a new process. In some embodiments, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide process recipes to the system over a network, which may include a local network or the Internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that enables entry or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then communicated to the system from the remote computer. In some embodiments, the controller receives instructions in the form of data, where the instructions specify parameters for each processing step to be 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 the controller is configured to interface with or control. Thus, as noted above, the controller may be distributed, such as by including one or more separate controllers networked together and cooperating toward a common purpose, such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed controller for such purposes would include one or more integrated circuits in the chamber that communicate with one or more integrated circuits located remotely (e.g., at the platform level or as part of a remote computer) and coupled to control the process in the chamber.

[0069] Without limitation, example systems may include plasma etch chambers or modules, deposition chambers or modules, spin rinse chambers or modules, metal plating chambers or modules, clean chambers or modules, bevel edge etch chambers or modules, physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers or modules, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers or modules, atomic layer deposition (ALD) chambers or modules, atomic layer etch (ALE) chambers or modules, ion implantation chambers or modules, track chambers or modules, and any other semiconductor processing systems that may be related to or used in the fabrication and / or manufacturing of semiconductor wafers.

[0070] As described above, depending on the process step or steps being performed by the tool, the controller may communicate with one or more of other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, nearby tools, tools installed throughout the factory, a main computer, another controller, or tools used in material transport to and from tool locations and / or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

[0071] For purposes of this disclosure, the term "fluidically connected" is used with respect to volumes, plenums, holes, etc. that may be connected to each other to form a fluid connection, just as the term "electrically connected" is used with respect to components connected to each other to form an electrical connection. The term "fluidically inserted," when used, may be used with respect to a component, volume, plenum, or hole that is fluidly connected to at least two other components, volumes, plenums, or holes, to describe how fluid flowing from one of those other components, volumes, plenums, or holes to another one of those other components, volumes, plenums, or holes first passes through the "fluidically inserted" component before reaching the other one of those other components, volumes, plenums, or holes. For example, if a pump is fluidly inserted between a reservoir and an outlet, fluid flowing from the reservoir to the outlet will first pass through the pump before reaching the outlet. Similarly, "fluidically isolated" is used in reference to two volumes that are separated from one another, e.g., two volumes within a structure that are isolated from one another, such that fluid cannot flow from one volume to the other, e.g., fluid cannot flow from one volume to another within the structure.

[0072] Phrases such as "for each <item> of one or more <items>," "each <item> of one or more <items>," etc., as used herein, should be understood to include both single items and multiple items; i.e., the phrase "for each..." should be understood as used in programming languages ​​to refer to each item of whatever population of items being referenced. For example, if the population of items being referenced is a single item, then "each" refers only to that single item (despite the fact that dictionary definitions of "each" often define the term to refer to "one of two or more things") and do not imply that at least two of those items must be present.

[0073] The use of ordinal markers in this disclosure and claims, e.g., (a), (b), (c), etc., when present, should be understood as not dictating a particular order or sequence, except to the extent that order or sequence is expressly stated. For example, when there are three steps labeled (i), (ii), and (iii), it should be understood that these steps may be performed in any order (or simultaneously, unless specifically prohibited) unless otherwise indicated. For example, if step (ii) involves manipulation of an element produced in step (i), step (ii) may be considered to occur at some point after step (i). Similarly, if step (i) involves manipulation of an element produced in step (ii), it should be understood that the reverse is true.

[0074] Terms such as "about," "approximately," "substantially," "nominal," and the like, when used in reference to a quantity or similar quantifiable characteristic, unless otherwise indicated, should be understood to include the value or specified relationship within ±10% of that value (as well as including the actual value or specified relationship).

[0075] It should be understood that all combinations of the foregoing concepts (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of subject matter set forth in the claims appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. Also, explicitly employed technical terms that may appear in this specification and in any disclosures incorporated by reference should be understood to be subject to the meaning most consistent with the specific concepts disclosed herein.

[0076] While the above disclosure focuses on one or more particular exemplary embodiments, it is to be further understood that the disclosure is not limited to only the above-described examples, but may also apply to similar modifications and mechanisms, and such similar modifications and mechanisms are also considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. For the avoidance of any doubt, the above disclosure should also be understood to be directed at least to the following numbered embodiments, as well as to other embodiments that are apparent from the above disclosure.

[0077] Embodiment 1: A wafer chuck comprising a base plate, one or more heat exchange passages located within the base plate, and one or more temperature adjustment cavity features located within the base plate, each temperature adjustment cavity feature positioned adjacent to a portion or an adjacent portion of one or more heat exchange passages, each temperature adjustment cavity feature corresponding to a void within the base plate, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate.

[0078] Embodiment 2: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are free of liquid when the wafer chuck is in normal use.

[0079] Embodiment 3: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is sealed and has a vacuum environment within the temperature regulating cavity feature.

[0080] Embodiment 4: The wafer chuck of embodiment 3, wherein the vacuum environment has a pressure of 1 Torr or less.

[0081] Embodiment 5: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is sealed and filled with a gas.

[0082] Embodiment 6: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein the base plate has one or more hole features extending into or through the base plate and fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the wafer chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber, the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features including at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature and a second temperature adjustment cavity feature, the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature being positioned substantially symmetrically on either side of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that at least a portion of the one or more heat exchange passages exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature, and the central axis of the base plate passes through a position corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the wafer chuck is configured to support.

[0083] Embodiment 7: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein the base plate has two or more hole features extending into or through the base plate and fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the wafer chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber, the two or more hole features including a first hole feature and a second hole feature, both of which are located between a first portion of one or more heat exchange passages and a second portion of one or more heat exchange passages, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features including at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature interposed between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature.

[0084] Embodiment 8: A wafer chuck as in embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

[0085] Embodiment 9: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a non-uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

[0086] Embodiment 10: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein a plurality of temperature adjustment cavity features are present, and the temperature adjustment cavity features are distributed non-uniformly across the base plate.

[0087] Embodiment 11: A wafer chuck according to embodiment 1, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature (a) is replaced with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) would correspond to an area of ​​a temperature below the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck, relative to the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck, when the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations using the wafer chuck.

[0088] Embodiment 12: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, further comprising a top plate, the top plate being positioned on the upper surface of the wafer chuck.

[0089] Embodiment 13: The wafer chuck of embodiment 12, wherein the top plate includes one or more heating elements.

[0090] Embodiment 14: The wafer chuck of embodiment 12, wherein the top plate is made, at least in part, of a ceramic material.

[0091] Embodiment 15: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is completely enclosed within the base plate.

[0092] Embodiment 16: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a recess extending from a first surface of the base plate into the base plate, but not through the base plate to a surface of the base plate opposite the first surface.

[0093] Embodiment 17: The wafer chuck of embodiment 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features extends through the base plate.

[0094] 18: A base plate for a wafer chuck, the base plate including one or more heat exchange passages located therein, and one or more temperature adjustment cavity features located therein, each temperature adjustment cavity feature positioned adjacent a portion or an adjacent portion of the one or more heat exchange passages, each temperature adjustment cavity feature corresponding to a void in the base plate, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate.

[0095] Embodiment 19: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are free of liquid when the base plate is in normal use.

[0096] Embodiment 20: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is sealed and has a vacuum environment within the temperature adjustment cavity feature.

[0097] Embodiment 21: The base plate of embodiment 20, wherein the vacuum environment has a pressure of 1 Torr or less.

[0098] Embodiment 22: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is sealed and filled with a gas.

[0099] Embodiment 23: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein the base plate has one or more hole features extending into or through the base plate and fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber, the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features including at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature and a second temperature adjustment cavity feature, the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature being positioned substantially symmetrically on either side of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that at least a portion of the one or more heat exchange passages exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature, and the central axis of the base plate passes through a position corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the base plate is configured to support.

[0100] Embodiment 24: A base plate of embodiment 18, wherein the base plate has two or more hole features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber, the two or more hole features including a first hole feature and a second hole feature, both of which are located between a first portion of one or more heat exchange passages and a second portion of one or more heat exchange passages, and the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features including at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature inserted between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature.

[0101] Embodiment 25: A base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second opposite end of the slot.

[0102] Embodiment 26: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a non-uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second opposite end of the slot.

[0103] Embodiment 27: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein a plurality of temperature regulating cavity features are present, and the temperature regulating cavity features are distributed non-uniformly throughout the base plate.

[0104] Embodiment 28: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature (a) replaces the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) would correspond to an area of ​​below-average temperature of the wafer support surface of the base plate relative to the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the base plate when the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations using the base plate.

[0105] Embodiment 29: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is fully enclosed within the base plate.

[0106] Embodiment 30: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a recess that extends from a first surface of the base plate into the base plate, but does not extend through the base plate to a surface of the base plate opposite the first surface.

[0107] Embodiment 31: The base plate of embodiment 18, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features extends through the base plate. The present disclosure can also be realized as the following application examples. [Application example 1] 1. An apparatus comprising: A base plate for a wafer chuck, the base plate comprising: one or more heat exchange passages located within the base plate; and one or more temperature regulating cavity features located within the base plate; each temperature adjustment cavity feature is positioned adjacent a portion or an adjacent portion of the one or more heat exchange passages; each temperature regulating cavity feature corresponds to a void in the base plate; the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate. Temperature Control Cavity Features Including the base plate, An apparatus comprising: [Application example 2] The device of Application Example 1, wherein the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features are free of liquid when the base plate is in normal use. [Application example 3] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is sealed and has a vacuum environment within the temperature adjustment cavity feature. [Application example 4] 10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the vacuum environment has a pressure of 1 Torr or less. [Application example 5] The device described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is sealed and filled with a gas. [Application Example 6] The device according to Application Example 1, the base plate having one or more pit features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from the one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber; the one or more temperature regulating cavity features include at least a first temperature regulating cavity feature and a second temperature regulating cavity feature; the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature are positioned substantially symmetrically on opposite sides of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that a portion of the one or more heat exchange passages exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature; a central axis of the base plate passing through a location corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the base plate is configured to support; Device. [Application Example 7] The device according to Application Example 1, the base plate having two or more pit features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from the one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber; the two or more hole features include a first hole feature and a second hole feature; both the first hole feature and the second hole feature are located between a first portion of the one or more heat exchange passages and a second portion of the one or more heat exchange passages; the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features include at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature interposed between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature; Device. [Application Example 8] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second opposite end of the slot. [Application Example 9] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a slot and has a non-uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second opposite end of the slot. [Application Example 10] The device of Application Example 1, wherein there are multiple temperature adjustment cavity features, and the temperature adjustment cavity features are distributed non-uniformly across the base plate. [Application Example 11] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature (a) is replaced with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) will correspond to an area of ​​the wafer support surface of the base plate that is below the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the base plate when the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations using the base plate. [Application Example 12] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is completely enclosed within the base plate. [Application Example 13] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a recess extending from a first surface of the base plate into the base plate, but not through the base plate to a surface of the base plate opposite the first surface. [Application Example 14] An apparatus as described in Application Example 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features penetrates the base plate. [Application Example 15] The apparatus according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 14, further comprising a wafer chuck including the base plate. [Application Example 16] The apparatus of application example 15, wherein the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features are free of liquid when the wafer chuck is in normal use. [Application Example 17] The device according to Application Example 16, the base plate having one or more pit features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from the one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber; the one or more temperature regulating cavity features include at least a first temperature regulating cavity feature and a second temperature regulating cavity feature; the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature are positioned substantially symmetrically on opposite sides of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that at least a portion of the one or more heat exchange passages exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature; a central axis of the base plate passing through a location corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the wafer chuck is configured to support; Device. [Application Example 18] The device according to Application Example 16, the base plate having two or more pit features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from the one or more heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the wafer chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber; the two or more hole features include at least a first hole feature and a second hole feature; both the first hole feature and the second hole feature are located between a first portion of the one or more heat exchange passages and a second portion of the one or more heat exchange passages; the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features include at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature interposed between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature; Device. [Application Example 19] An apparatus as described in Application Example 16, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature (a) is replaced with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) will correspond to an area of ​​a temperature below the average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck when the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations using the wafer chuck. [Application Example 20] The apparatus according to Application Example 16, further comprising a top plate, the top plate being positioned on an upper surface of the wafer chuck. [Application Example 21] The apparatus of application example 20, wherein the top plate includes one or more heating elements. [Application Example 22] 22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the top plate is at least partially made of a ceramic material.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus comprising: A base plate for a wafer chuck, the base plate comprising: a heat exchange passage located within the base plate; and one or more temperature regulating cavity features located within the base plate; each temperature adjustment cavity feature is positioned adjacent to a portion or portions of the heat exchange passage; each temperature regulating cavity feature corresponds to a void in the base plate; the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate; at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is positioned adjacent to and interposed between different portions of the heat exchange passages; Temperature Control Cavity Features Including the base plate, Including, the base plate having two or more pit features extending into or through the base plate, fluidly isolated from the heat exchange passages within the base plate, and configured to position a portion of a component within the base plate during normal use of the base plate in a semiconductor processing chamber; the two or more hole features include a first hole feature and a second hole feature; the first hole feature and the second hole feature are both located between the first portion of the heat exchange passage and the second portion of the heat exchange passage; the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features include at least a first temperature adjustment cavity feature interposed between the first portion and the second portion and between the first hole feature and the second hole feature; Device.

2. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are free of liquid when the base plate is in normal use.

3. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is sealed and has a vacuum environment within the temperature regulating cavity feature.

4. 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the vacuum environment has a pressure of 1 Torr or less.

5. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is sealed and filled with a gas.

6. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, the one or more temperature regulating cavity features include at least a first temperature regulating cavity feature and a second temperature regulating cavity feature; the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature are positioned substantially symmetrically on opposite sides of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that a portion of the heat exchange passage exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature; a central axis of the base plate passing through a location corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the base plate is configured to support; Device.

7. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is a slot and has a uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

8. 10. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is a slot and has a non-uniform cross-sectional width in a region between a first end of the slot and a second, opposite end of the slot.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of temperature regulating cavity features, the temperature regulating cavity features being distributed non-uniformly across the base plate.

10. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature (a) replaces the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) would correspond to an area of ​​below-average temperature of the wafer support surface of the base plate relative to an average temperature of the wafer support surface of the base plate when the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations using the base plate.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features is completely enclosed within the base plate.

12. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature adjustment cavity features is a recess extending from a first side of the base plate into the base plate, but not through the base plate to a side of the base plate opposite the first side.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more temperature regulating cavity features extends through the base plate.

14. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a wafer chuck including the base plate.

15. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the one or more temperature regulating cavity features are free of liquid when the wafer chuck is in normal use.

16. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, the one or more temperature regulating cavity features include at least a first temperature regulating cavity feature and a second temperature regulating cavity feature; the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature are positioned substantially symmetrically on either side of a radial axis extending from a center point of the base plate through a central axis of a first hole feature of the one or more hole features, and such that at least a portion of the heat exchange passage exists between the first hole feature and both the first temperature adjustment cavity feature and the second temperature adjustment cavity feature; a central axis of the base plate passing through a location corresponding to a nominal center point of a circular semiconductor wafer that the wafer chuck is configured to support; Device.

17. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein each location of a temperature adjustment cavity feature will correspond to an area of ​​below-average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck, relative to an average temperature of the wafer support surface of the wafer chuck, when (a) the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature is replaced with the same material as the base plate adjacent to the corresponding temperature adjustment cavity feature, and (b) the base plate is heated to a temperature used in normal processing operations with the wafer chuck.

18. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a top plate, said top plate positioned on an upper surface of said wafer chuck.

19. 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the top plate includes one or more heating elements.

20. 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the top plate is made at least in part of a ceramic material.

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