Surface profiling and texturing of chamber components
Surface profiling and texturing of chamber components address non-uniformities in semiconductor processing by modifying chamber surfaces based on measured parameters, improving film uniformity and reducing integrated circuit failures.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- APPLIED MATERIALS INC
- Filing Date
- 2020-12-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-07
- Estimated Expiration
- Not applicable · inactive patent
AI Technical Summary
Existing semiconductor processing methods using CVD or ALD result in undesirable material non-uniformities on substrates, leading to additional costs and potential integrated circuit failures.
Surface profiling and texturing of chamber components based on measured substrate or heating pedestal parameters using sensors, with tools like lasers, waterjets, or bead blasting to modify the chamber component surfaces to achieve uniform deposition.
Improves film uniformity on substrates by controlling thermal and plasma non-uniformities, reducing the need for additional flattening or repair steps and enhancing overall processing reliability.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001]
[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to semiconductor processing equipment.
Background Art
[0002]
[0002] Integrated circuits include multiple layers of materials deposited by various techniques including chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD). Deposition of materials onto a semiconductor substrate via CVD or ALD is a typical step in the process of manufacturing integrated circuits. The inventors have observed undesirable non-uniformities in materials deposited onto a substrate via CVD or ALD in certain applications. These non-uniformities lead to additional costs in flattening the substrate or otherwise repairing it prior to further processing, or to the possibility of failure of the entire integrated circuit.
[0003]
[0003] Therefore, the inventors have provided improved methods and apparatuses for uniformly depositing materials onto a substrate.
Summary of the Invention
[0004]
[0004] Methods and apparatuses for surface profiling and texturing of chamber components for use in a process chamber, chamber components having such surface profiling or texturing, and methods of using them are provided herein. In some embodiments, the method includes measuring parameters of a reference substrate or a heating pedestal using one or more sensors and physically modifying the surface of the chamber component based on the measured parameters.
[0005]
[0005] In some embodiments, a non-transient computer-readable medium for storing computer instructions, the computer instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause at least one processor to perform a method including measuring parameters of a reference substrate or heating pedestal using one or more sensors, and physically modifying the surface of a chamber component based on the measured parameters.
[0006]
[0006] In some embodiments, the processing system includes a first process chamber having a slit valve door for facilitating the transfer of a reference substrate in and out of the first process chamber, or a first process chamber having a heating pedestal disposed within the first process chamber, one or more sensors disposed within the first process chamber and configured to measure parameters of the reference substrate or heating pedestal, and a texturing tool disposed within the second process chamber for texturing the surface of chamber components based on the measured parameters.
[0007]
[0007] In some embodiments, the chamber component includes a body and a surface of the body configured to face the interior of the process chamber, the surface of the body having a region having an emissivity that increases continuously from one end of the region to the opposite end of the region.
[0008]
[0008] Other and further embodiments of the present disclosure are described below.
[0009]
[0009] By referring to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure shown in the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure summarized above and described in more detail below can be understood. However, the accompanying drawings only illustrate typical embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be considered limiting, and the present disclosure may also permit other equally valid embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0010] [Figure 1]This figure shows a cluster tool suitable for performing a method for processing a substrate according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a schematic side view of a process chamber for measuring parameters of a substrate or heating pedestal, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3A] This is a schematic side view of a process chamber for texturing chamber components according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3B] This is a schematic side view of a process chamber for texturing chamber components according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a schematic side view of a process chamber according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This figure shows a method according to several embodiments of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0011]
[0016] For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals are used to indicate common and identical elements in the drawings whenever possible. The drawings are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. Elements and features of one embodiment may be usefully incorporated into other embodiments without further detail.
[0012]
[0017] Methods and apparatus for surface profiling and texturing chamber components for use in process chambers are provided herein. Chamber components having such profiled or texturized surfaces and methods for using them are also provided herein. The inventors have identified correlations between measured substrate parameters or measured heating pedestal parameters and the surface profiles of specific chamber components in a process chamber. The methods and apparatus are intended for modifying the surface of a chamber component based on measured parameters of a substrate or heating pedestal. The resulting surface advantageously has a surface profile that improves the uniformity of the film on the substrate during processing. The methods described herein may be performed in individual process chambers, which may be provided in standalone configurations, or as part of a multi-chamber processing system, such as a cluster tool.
[0013]
[0018] Figure 1 shows a cluster tool 100 suitable for performing a method for processing substrates according to several embodiments of the present disclosure. Examples of cluster tools 100 include the CENTURA® tool and the ENDURA® tool, available from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, California. The methods described herein may be performed using or in other suitable process chambers, with other cluster tools having a suitable process chamber coupled thereto. For example, in some embodiments, the methods of the present invention described above may be advantageously performed in a cluster tool in which vacuum interruptions between processing steps are limited or absent. For example, reducing vacuum interruptions can limit or prevent contamination of any substrates processed in the cluster tool.
[0014]
[0019] The cluster tool 100 includes a vacuum airtight processing platform (processing platform 101), a factory interface 104, and a system controller 102. The processing platform 101 includes several processing chambers, such as 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D, which are operably coupled to a vacuum transfer chamber (transfer chamber 103). The factory interface 104 is operably coupled to the transfer chamber 103 by one or more load lock chambers, such as 106A and 106B shown in Figure 1.
[0015]
[0020] In some embodiments, the factory interface 104 includes at least one docking station 107 and at least one factory interface robot 138 to facilitate substrate transfer. At least one docking station 107 is configured to receive one or more forward-opening unified pods (FOUPs). Figure 1 shows four FOUPs identified as 105A, 105B, 105C, and 105D. At least one factory interface robot 138 is configured to transfer substrates from the factory interface 104 to the processing platform 101 through load lock chambers 106A and 106B. Each load lock chamber 106A and 106B has a first port coupled to the factory interface 104 and a second port coupled to the transfer chamber 103. In some embodiments, the load lock chambers 106A and 106B are coupled to one or more service chambers (e.g., service chambers 116A and 116B). The load lock chambers 106A and 106B are coupled to a pressure control system (not shown) to pump down and evacuate the load lock chambers 106A and 106B, facilitating the passage of the substrate between the vacuum environment of the transfer chamber 103 and the substantial ambient (e.g., atmospheric) environment of the factory interface 104.
[0016]
[0021] The transfer chamber 103 has a vacuum robot 142 positioned within it. The vacuum robot 142 can transfer the substrate 121 between the load lock chambers 106A and 106B, the service chambers 116A and 116B, and the processing chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D. In some embodiments, the vacuum robot 142 includes one or more upper arms that are rotatable around their respective shoulder axes. In some embodiments, one or more upper arms are coupled to their respective forearm and wrist members so that the vacuum robot 142 can extend into and retract from any processing chamber coupled to the transfer chamber 103.
[0017]
[0022] The processing chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D are coupled to the transfer chamber 103. Each of the processing chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D may include a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber, a plasma atomic layer deposition (PEALD) chamber, an annealing chamber, and the like. Other types of processing chambers may also be used if the results of substrate processing are found to depend on the texturing of the chamber component surface as taught herein.
[0018]
[0023] In some embodiments, one or more additional process chambers, such as service chambers 116A and 116B, may also be coupled to the transfer chamber 103. In some embodiments, service chambers 116A and 116B are coupled to load lock chambers 106A and 106B, respectively, and operate under atmospheric pressure. Service chambers 116A and 116B may be configured to perform processes such as degassing, orientation, measurement, cool-down, and texturing. For example, service chamber 116A may be a measurement chamber including one or more sensors 144 for measuring parameters of a substrate placed therein. Figure 1 shows one or more sensors 114 located in service chamber 116A, but one or more sensors 114 may be located in service chamber 116B and / or one or more of the process chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, or 114D.
[0019]
[0024] The system controller 102 controls the operation of the cluster tool 100 by directly controlling the service chambers 116A and 116B and the process chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D, or alternatively by controlling the computers (or controllers) associated with the service chambers 116A and 116B and the process chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D. The system controller 102 generally includes a central processing unit (CPU) 130, memory 134, and support circuits 132. The CPU 130 may be any form of general-purpose computer processor available for use in an industrial environment. The support circuits 132 are conventionally coupled to the CPU 130 and may include a cache, clock circuit, input / output subsystem, power supply, etc. Software routines such as the processing methods described above may be stored in memory 134 and, when executed by the CPU 130, cause the CPU 130 to be converted into a computer for a specific purpose (system controller 102). Furthermore, the software routines may be stored and / or executed by a second controller (not shown) located remotely from the cluster tool 100.
[0020]
[0025] In operation, the system controller 102 enables data collection and feedback from each chamber and system, and provides instructions to system components, in order to optimize the performance of the cluster tool 100. For example, memory 134 may be a non-transient computer-readable storage medium having instructions that, when executed by the CPU 130 (or system controller 102), perform the methods described herein. The policy may include information relating to one or more parameters relating to one or more components of the cluster tool 100, or to one or more boards placed in the cluster tool 100. For example, the system controller 102 can collect data from one or more sensors 144.
[0021]
[0026] FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic side view of a process chamber 200 for measuring parameters of a substrate or a heating pedestal, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the process chamber 200 is a first process chamber. The process chamber 200 may be a stand-alone process chamber or may be part of a cluster tool such as the cluster tool 100 described above. In some embodiments, the process chamber 200 is one of the service chambers 116A or 116B, or the process chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, or 114D.
[0022]
[0027] The process chamber 200 includes a chamber body 202 that defines an internal volume 208. In some embodiments, the process chamber 200 includes a slit valve door 220 coupled to the chamber body 202 to facilitate the transfer of a reference substrate 206 into and out of the process chamber 200. In some embodiments, a substrate support 204 is positioned in the internal volume 208 to support the reference substrate 206. In some embodiments, the substrate support 204 includes a heating pedestal 210 having one or more heating elements 212 positioned therein. One or more heating elements 212 are coupled to one or more power sources (not shown). The heating pedestal 210 may be positioned in the process chamber 200 from the bottom or top of the process chamber 200. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 144 are positioned on the opposite side of the substrate support 204 in the internal volume 208. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 144 are configured to measure parameters of the reference substrate 206. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 144 are configured to measure parameters of the heating pedestal 210. In embodiments where one or more sensors 144 are configured to measure parameters of the heating pedestal 210, the reference substrate 206 is not placed in the internal volume 208, so that one or more sensors 144 have a clear line of sight on the upper surface of the heating pedestal 210. One or more sensors 144 may include an array of detectors such as radiation detectors, interferometers, infrared cameras, spectrometers, etc., to measure one or more parameters such as substrate temperature, substrate film thickness, dielectric constant, substrate film stress, or heating pedestal temperature. Although shown in Figure 2 as being positioned opposite the substrate support 204, alternatively or in combination, one or more sensors 144 may be positioned in other locations, such as adjacent to the slit valve door 220, so that substrate parameters can be measured as the substrate is introduced into or removed from the process chamber 200 (see, for example, Figure 4).
[0023]
[0028] The controller 215 is coupled to one or more sensors 144 and collects data from the one or more sensors 144 related to the measurement parameters of the reference substrate 206 or the heating pedestal 210. In some embodiments, the controller 215 may be configured similarly to the system controller 102 and may function in a similar manner. In some embodiments, the controller 215 is the system controller 102.
[0024]
[0029] FIG. 3A is a schematic side view showing a process chamber 300 for texturing a chamber component 302 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The chamber component 302 may be any component within the reference process chamber and includes a surface exposed to the processing volume of the reference process chamber. For example, the chamber component 302 may be a showerhead, a liner, a substrate support, or a process kit such as the showerhead 428, the liner 414, the substrate support 424, or the process kit 436 to be described later with respect to FIG. 4. The process kit may include an edge ring, a deposition ring, a cover ring, a process shield, etc. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the chamber component is a showerhead.
[0025]
[0030] In some embodiments, the process chamber 300 is a second process chamber different from the first process chamber (e.g., the process chamber 200). Alternatively, in some embodiments, the process chamber 300 and the process chamber 200 are the same process chamber. The process chamber 300 may be an independent process chamber. The process chamber 300 includes a chamber body 324 defining an internal volume 322 and a slit valve door 320 coupled to the chamber body 324 to facilitate transferring the chamber component 302 for use in a process chamber (e.g., the process chamber 400) in and out of the process chamber 300. The chamber component 302 may be placed on a substrate support 306 disposed in the internal volume 322.
[0026]
[0031] The chamber component 302 includes a body 304 and an edge 312. The body 304 includes a surface 308 that is exposed to the processing volume of the process chamber (for example, the processing volume 450 of the process chamber 400, described later with respect to Figure 4). The texturing tool 348A is placed in the process chamber 300 and textures the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 based on parameters measured in the process chamber 200. For example, in the case of a showerhead, liner, substrate support, process kit, etc., texturing the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 may be a local correction to correct local high-deposition or local low-deposition areas on the reference substrate 206, or a global correction to create a profile that corrects the substrate deposition profile.
[0027]
[0032] In some embodiments, texturing the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 includes increasing the surface roughness of a region of the chamber component 302. In some embodiments, texturing the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 includes decreasing the surface roughness of a region of the chamber component 302. In some embodiments, texturing the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 includes decreasing the surface roughness of one region of the chamber component 302 and increasing the surface roughness of another region of the chamber component 302. Texturing the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 advantageously allows for control of the substrate temperature in the process chamber in which the chamber component 302 is installed, and as a result, facilitates control of the uniformity of the film formed in the process chamber.
[0028]
[0033] In some embodiments, the texturing tool 348A is a laser texturing tool. The texturing tool 348A is coupled to a power supply 316 to power the texturing tool 348A. The texturing tool 348A is configured to physically modify or texture the surface 308 of the body 304 on a nanometer scale using photon energy directed at the chamber component 302. In some embodiments, texturing the surface 308 of the body 304 includes modifying the emissivity profile of the surface 308. In some embodiments, texturing the surface 308 of the body includes modifying the surface area profile of the surface 308.
[0029]
[0034] Emissivity is a measure of the efficiency with which a surface releases thermal energy. Typically, emissivity increases as surface roughness increases at a given temperature. For example, when texturing surface 308, the emissivity of the smoother parts of surface 308 generally decreases, while the emissivity of the rougher parts of surface 308 generally increases. In thermally driven processes, thermal non-uniformity on the substrate leads to non-uniform deposition on the substrate. By varying the emissivity of chamber components in a first region, such as the central region, compared to a second region, such as the outer region, it is possible to favorably cancel out other non-uniform deposition patterns or other process result patterns in processes other than deposition, such as high deposition in the center, high deposition in the middle, or high deposition at the edges, which typically result in non-uniform deposition. Varying the emissivity of chamber components can also cancel out localized cool spots or hot spots on the substrate. Regions with different emissivity can make the substrate more thermally uniform, and therefore the results of the thermally driven process are more uniform. Furthermore, the emissivity profile of a component can be intentionally controlled to be non-uniform in order to counteract non-uniform processing results caused by factors other than thermal non-uniformity, such as plasma non-uniformity or non-uniformity of the process gas distribution on the substrate.
[0030]
[0035] Figure 3B is a schematic side view showing an alternative embodiment of the process chamber 300 for texturing the chamber component 302 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3B, a texturing tool 348B is positioned in the process chamber 300, similar to the texturing tool 348A described with respect to Figure 3A. The texturing tool 348B may be a water jet tool, a bead blast tool, a chemical texturing tool, etc. The texturing tool 348B is bonded to the raw material 340.
[0031]
[0036] In embodiments where the texturing tool 348B is a waterjet tool, the raw material 340 contains water. The waterjet tool is configured to texture the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 using high-pressure water directed at the chamber component 302.
[0032]
[0037] In embodiments where the texturing tool 348B is a bead blasting tool, the raw material 340 includes an abrasive. The bead blasting tool is configured to direct the abrasive towards the chamber component 302 in order to texturize the surface 308.
[0033]
[0038] In embodiments where the texturing tool 348B is a chemical texturing tool, the raw material 340 includes a process fluid (e.g., a process gas, a process liquid, or a combination thereof). The chemical texturing tool is configured to texture the surface 308 of the chamber component 302 by directing the process fluid toward the chamber component 302, with or without a mask layer placed on the chamber component 302. In some embodiments, the process fluid is applied to the surface 308 of the chamber component 302, and then an initiator is applied to a desired area of the surface 308 for a predetermined time. The initiator may be a chemical, heat, or light. In some embodiments, the process fluid is an organic compound that can dissociate into an acid that etches the surface 308 of the chamber component 302. In some embodiments, the chamber component is made of aluminum.
[0034]
[0039] With respect to Figures 3A and 3B, the controller 315 is configured to provide commands to the texturing tools 348A and 348B. In some embodiments, the controller 315 may be configured and function similarly to the system controller 102. The controller 315 may provide commands to the texturing tool 348A or the texturing tool 348B based on data collected from one or more sensors 144.
[0035]
[0040] In some embodiments, after modification via texturing tool 348A or texturing tool 348B, the surface 308 has an emissivity profile with an irregular pattern. In some embodiments, after modification of the surface 308, there may be a region 310 having an emissivity that increases continuously from one end of the region 310 to the opposite end of the region 310. In some embodiments, the region 310 extends from the center 318 of the body 304 to the edge 312 of the body 304. In some embodiments, the body 304 includes an intermediate portion 314, and the region 310 extends from the center 318 of the body to the outer periphery of the intermediate portion 314. The outer periphery of the intermediate portion 314 is located between the center 318 and the edge 312. In some embodiments, the surface 308 of the body 304 has an emissivity profile mapped to a substrate (e.g., a reference substrate 206) being processed in a given process chamber (e.g., process chamber 400).
[0036]
[0041] In some embodiments, after modification via texturing tool 348A or texturing tool 348B, the surface 308 has a surface area profile with an irregular pattern. In some embodiments, after modification of the surface 308, there may be a region 310 having a surface area that increases continuously from one end of the region 310 to the opposite end of the region 310. During use, the inventors observe an increase in the concentration of the process gas adjacent to the region of the surface 308 having a more localized surface area, which may result in an increase in reaction with the substrate being processed near the region having a more localized surface area. In some embodiments, the surface 308 of the body 304 has a surface area profile mapped to a substrate (e.g., reference substrate 206) being processed in a given process chamber (e.g., process chamber 400). In some embodiments, multiple (including all) chamber components 302 within a single process chamber can be advantageously texturized.
[0037]
[0042] Figure 4 is a schematic side view showing a process chamber according to several embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the process chamber 400 is one of the process chambers 114A, 114B, 114C, or 114D. The process chamber 400 may be a standalone process chamber or may be coupled to a vacuum transfer chamber (e.g., transfer chamber 103) of a cluster tool such as the cluster tool 100 described above. In some embodiments, the process chamber 400 is a CVD chamber. However, chamber components of other types of processing chambers configured for different processes may also be modified as described herein.
[0038]
[0043] The process chamber 400 includes a chamber body 406 covered by a lid 404 defining an internal volume 420. In some embodiments, the process chamber 400 is a vacuum chamber appropriately adapted to maintain near-atmospheric pressure within the internal volume 420 during substrate processing. The process chamber 400 may also include a process kit 436 or one or more liners 414 surrounding various chamber components to prevent unwanted reactions between such components and process materials present within the internal volume 420. The chamber body 406 and the lid 404 may be made of a metal such as aluminum. The chamber body 406 may be grounded via a connection to earth 430.
[0039]
[0044] A substrate support 424 is positioned within the internal volume 420 to support and hold the substrate 422. The substrate support 424 may generally include an electrostatic chuck, a vacuum chuck, etc., to hold the substrate 422 on it during processing. The substrate support 424 may include a heating pedestal similar to the heating pedestal 210 described above with respect to Figure 2. The substrate support 424 is coupled to a hollow support shaft 412 to provide conduits for supplying, for example, backside gas, process gas, fluid, coolant, power, etc., to the substrate support 424. In some embodiments, the hollow support shaft 412 is coupled to a lift mechanism 413, such as an actuator or motor, which provides vertical movement of the substrate support 424 between a processing position and a lower transfer position. The lift mechanism 413 may also provide rotation of the substrate. Alternatively, a separate substrate rotation mechanism (e.g., a motor or drive) may be provided to rotate the substrate support 424, or the substrate support 424 may be fixed in a rotatable manner. The substrate support 424 may include a lift pin opening (not shown) for housing a lift pin (not shown) for raising and lowering the substrate 422 onto and from the substrate support 424.
[0040]
[0045] The process chamber 400 is coupled to and fluidly connected to a vacuum system 410, which includes a throttle valve (not shown) and a vacuum pump (not shown) used to evacuate the process chamber 400. The pressure inside the process chamber 400 can be adjusted by adjusting the throttle valve and / or the vacuum pump.
[0041]
[0046] The process chamber 400 is also coupled to and fluidly connected to a process gas supply unit 418, which can supply one or more process gases to the process chamber 400 for processing a substrate 422 placed therein. In some embodiments, a showerhead 428 is located in an internal volume 420 opposite the substrate support 424, defining a processing volume 450 between them. The showerhead 428 is configured to deliver one or more process gases from the process gas supply unit 418 to the processing volume 450. The showerhead 428 includes a substrate-facing surface 432 (e.g., surface 308). In operation, for example, a plasma 402 may be generated in the processing volume 450 to perform one or more processes. The plasma 402 may be generated by coupling power from a plasma power source (e.g., an RF plasma power source 470) to one or more process gases supplied via the showerhead 428, and igniting the process gases to generate the plasma 402. A bias RF power may be supplied to the substrate support 424 in order to attract the ionized material formed in the plasma 402 toward the substrate 422.
[0042]
[0047] The process chamber 400 has a slit valve door 438 to facilitate the transfer of the substrate 422 into and out of the process chamber 400. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 144 are located in the process chamber 400 and configured to measure parameters of the substrate 422. In some embodiments, one or more sensors 144 are located in or near the slit valve door 438 and configured to scan the substrate 422 as it is transferred to at least one of the in-or out-of-process chamber 400.
[0043]
[0048] A controller 415 is coupled to the process chamber 400 and controls the operation of the process chamber 400. In some embodiments, the controller 415 may be configured and function similarly to the system controller 102. In some embodiments, the controller 415 is the system controller 102.
[0044]
[0049] Figure 5 shows a method 500 for modifying a chamber component according to several embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 generally begins in 502, in which parameters of a substrate (e.g., a reference substrate 206) are measured over several locations on the substrate using one or more sensors (e.g., one or more sensors 144). In some embodiments, the several locations span the entire surface of the substrate. In some embodiments, the several locations relate to the locations of repeating structures (e.g., repeating dies) formed on the substrate. The substrate may be a semiconductor wafer such as a 200 mm, 300 mm, or 450 mm wafer, or any other type of substrate used in thin-film manufacturing processes. In some embodiments, the substrate may be any type of substrate suitable for display or solar cell applications. In some embodiments, the substrate may be a glass panel or a rectangular substrate.
[0045]
[0050] In some embodiments, the parameters are at least one of the following: substrate temperature, substrate film thickness, dielectric constant, or substrate film stress. In some embodiments, multiple parameters may be measured. In some embodiments, the substrate temperature is not measured directly but is determined based on at least one measurement of substrate film thickness, dielectric constant, or substrate film stress. The substrate parameters may be measured in an independent process chamber or as part of a multi-chamber processing system as described above.
[0046]
[0051] In 504, a target pattern is generated based on the measurement parameters. In some embodiments, the target pattern is generated by applying a transfer function to the measurement parameters of the substrate. In some embodiments, the transfer function is based on a single weighted input. In some embodiments, the transfer function is based on multiple weighted inputs. In some embodiments, when multiple parameters are measured, the transfer function is the average or weighted average of the first transfer function of the first measurement parameter and the second transfer function of the second measurement parameter. In some embodiments, the transfer function is one of a polynomial transfer function, a differential equation transfer function, or a linear algebra transfer function. In some embodiments, the target pattern is a thermal map generated based on the measurement parameters.
[0047]
[0052] In 506, the surface of the chamber component is physically modified based on a target pattern (for example, using texturing tool 348A or texturing tool 348B). The surface of the chamber component (e.g., chamber component 302) may be modified in a second process chamber. In some embodiments, the second process chamber (e.g., process chamber 300) is different from the first process chamber (e.g., process chamber 200). Alternatively, in some embodiments, the second process chamber and the first process chamber are the same process chamber. In some embodiments, the surface of the chamber component is modified via laser, waterjet, bead blasting, or chemical texturing. In some embodiments, modifying the surface of the chamber component includes applying a surface finish to the chamber component that has areas of different emissivity. In some embodiments, modifying the surface of the chamber component includes changing the surface area of different areas of the surface.
[0048]
[0053] In some embodiments, measuring the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal and correcting the surface of the chamber component are performed in a single process chamber. In some embodiments, measuring the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal and correcting the surface of the chamber component are performed in different process chambers. In some embodiments, the parameters of the substrate are measured after the substrate has been processed in a process chamber (e.g., process chamber 400), and the chamber component is placed in the process chamber after the surface of the chamber component has been corrected. In some embodiments, the corrected chamber component is corrected again after a suitable period of time according to the method described herein. In some embodiments, the suitable period of time is about 6 months to about 18 months. In some embodiments, the corrected chamber component is corrected again based on the initial measured parameters of the substrate.
[0049]
[0054] In some embodiments, the chamber component is aligned with a texturing tool before being modified based on a target pattern, so that the measured substrate orientation correlates in a predetermined manner with the orientation of the chamber component before modification. Once texturized by texturing tool 348A or texturing tool 348B, the chamber component can be removed from the second process chamber and placed in any reference process chamber. In any of the above, measuring the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal and modifying the surface of the chamber component may be performed in the same process chamber as any subsequent substrate processing, or in a different process chamber than the subsequent substrate processing.
[0050]
[0055] In 508, the chamber component is optionally coated with a protective coating. In some embodiments, the chamber component is coated with a protective coating after the surface of the chamber component has been modified. In some embodiments, the chamber component is coated with a protective coating before the surface of the chamber component has been modified (i.e., before the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal are measured in 502). In some embodiments, the chamber component is coated with a protective coating before the surface of the chamber component has been modified, and then coated with a protective coating after the surface of the chamber component has been modified. In the embodiments described above, the protective coating applied after the surface of the chamber component has been modified may consist of the same material as or a different material from the protective coating applied before the surface of the chamber component has been modified.
[0051]
[0056] In some embodiments, the protective coating has a thickness of about 0.05 micrometers to about 5.0 micrometers. The protective coating may be applied in-situ or ex-situ. In some embodiments, a protective coating containing silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN), or silicon carbonitride (SiCN) is applied in-situ. In some embodiments, a protective coating containing a chemically inert metal oxide is applied ex-situ.
[0052]
[0057] In some embodiments, the protective coating is reapplied or refreshed before, after, or before or after modification of the chamber component surface. The protective coating may be reapplied in-situ or ex-situ via any of the appropriate deposition processes described above. In embodiments where the protective coating is ex-situ reapplied, the protective coating may be reapplied every 100 to 10,000 substrates processed to extend the life of the modified chamber component. In embodiments where the protective coating is reapplied in-situ, the protective coating may be reapplied every time a substrate is processed, for example, every 10, 100, 1,000, or 2,000 substrates processed, or on other periodic criteria.
[0053]
[0058] In some embodiments, measuring the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal and coating the chamber component are performed in the same process chamber, while modifying the surface of the chamber component is performed in a different process chamber. In some embodiments, modifying the surface of the chamber component and coating the chamber component are performed in the same process chamber, while measuring the parameters of the substrate or heating pedestal is performed in a different process chamber. In some embodiments, a protective coating may be applied to the modified chamber component via one of the above-described deposition processes inside a process chamber (e.g., process chamber 400). In some embodiments, the chamber component may be textured with texturing tool 348A or texturing tool 348B, coated with a protective coating in a second process chamber, and then removed from the second process chamber and placed in a reference process chamber.
[0054]
[0059] While the above applies to embodiments of the present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the present disclosure can be devised without departing from its basic scope.
Claims
1. It is a method, Measuring parameters related to the reference substrate or the heat of the heated pedestal using one or more sensors, In order to suppress the non-uniformity of the material deposited on the substrate, the surface of the chamber component is physically modified based on the measured parameters. Includes, Modifying the surface of the chamber component involves texturing the surface of the chamber component. Modifying the surface of the aforementioned chamber component is Applying a surface finish to the chamber component that has different emissivity regions, or Varying the surface area between different regions of the aforementioned surface. Methods that include...
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the chamber component is modified by laser, water jet, bead blasting, or chemical texturing.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring the parameters of the reference substrate and correcting the surface of the chamber component are performed in a single process chamber.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein measuring the parameters of the reference substrate and correcting the surface of the chamber component are performed in different process chambers.
5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: applying a transfer function to the measured parameters of the reference substrate or the heated pedestal in order to generate a target pattern; and modifying the surface of the chamber component based on the target pattern in order to suppress non-uniformity of the material deposited on the substrate.
6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the parameter is substrate temperature, substrate film thickness, dielectric constant, substrate film stress, or heating pedestal temperature.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising coating the chamber component with a protective coating either before or after modifying the surface of the chamber component.
8. Processing the substrate using the modified chamber component, After processing the substrate, the protective coating is reapplied. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising coating the chamber component with a protective coating before modifying the surface of the chamber component, wherein the modification of the surface of the chamber component and the coating of the chamber component are performed in a single process chamber.
10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising coating the chamber component with a protective coating before modifying the surface of the chamber component, wherein modifying the surface of the chamber component and coating the chamber component are performed in different process chambers.
11. A non-transient computer-readable medium for storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.