Etch and deposition of substrate bevel edge region by tuning gas introduction via PEZ rings

Abstract

A first plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) ring is disclosed and includes a body and at least one channel in the body. The body includes a first side, a second side, and a third side. The first side is configured to abut a ground electrode and guide one or more process gases to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of a substrate. The second side is opposite the first side and configured to abut a dielectric component or a substrate support. The third side is configured to face the substrate. The at least one channel is configured to direct a first one or more tuning gases to a bevel edge region on the substrate.

Description

ETCH AND DEPOSITION OF SUBSTRATE BEVEL EDGE REGION BY TUNING GAS INTRODUCTION VIA PEZ RINGSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to International Application No. PCT / CN2024 / 096700, filed on May 31 , 2024. The entire disclosure of the application referenced above is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to substrate processing systems, and more particularly to systems for performing etch and deposition on upper and lower portions of a bevel edges of substrates.BACKGROUND

[0003] The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

[0004] A process chamber of a substrate processing system includes one or more process stations for performing deposition and etch treatments on substrates such as semiconductor wafers. For example, deposition may be performed to deposit conductive film, dielectric film, or other types of film using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), plasma enhance ALD (PEALD), and / or other deposition processes. As an example, etching may be performed to remove material from one or more layers and include atomic layer etching (ALE), high aspect ratio (HAR) etching, plasma etching, and / or other etch processes. During deposition, a substrate is arranged on a substrate support (e.g., a pedestal) and one or more precursor gases may be supplied to a process chamber using a gas distribution device (e.g., a showerhead) during one or more process steps. In a PECVD or PEALD process, plasma is used to activate chemical reactions within the process chamber during deposition. Additional examples of processes that may be performed on a substrate include, but are not limited to, dielectric etching, chemicaletching, plasma etching, reactive ion etching, and cleaning processes. During the deposition and etching processes, gas mixtures are introduced into the process chamber via showerheads, and plasma is struck to activate chemical reactions. During the cleaning processes, gases may also be introduced via the showerheads.

[0005] A bevel edge substrate processing system can be used to etch and / or deposit material on a peripheral edge of a substrate. The bevel edge substrate processing system can include a bevel edge process chamber having an upper electrode assembly including a dielectric component facing the substrate and a lower electrode assembly including a substrate support. An upper plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) ring surrounds a lower portion of the dielectric component and a lower PEZ ring surrounds the substrate support. Process gas is supplied along an outer periphery of the upper PEZ ring to process the peripheral edge of the substrate.SUMMARY

[0006] A first PEZ ring is disclosed and includes: a body including a first side, a second side, and a third side. The first side is configured to abut a ground electrode and is configured to guide one or more process gases to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of a substrate. The second side is opposite the first side and is configured to abut a dielectric component or a substrate support. The third side is configured to face the substrate. At least one channel in the body directing a first one or more tuning gases to a bevel edge region of the substrate.

[0007] In other features, the first side is configured to guide a process gas to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate. In other features, the first side is configured to abut the ground electrode. In other features, the second side is configured to abut the dielectric component. In other features, the second side is configured to abut the substrate support. In other features, the third side faces a top surface of the substrate. In other features, the third side faces a bottom surface of the substrate.

[0008] In other features, the bevel edge region includes at least one of the bevel edge of the substrate and a region radially inward of the bevel edge. In other features, the at least one channel includes multiple channels and a ring-shaped channel.

[0009] In other features, the channels include channels extending from a top surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel. The ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side.

[0010] In other features, the channels include channels extending from a bottom surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel. The ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side. In other features, the first PEZ ring includes multiple components.

[0011] In other features, a bevel edge substrate processing system is disclosed and include: the first PEZ ring; and a controller configured to control parameters of the first one or more tuning gases to customize a bevel edge profile in the bevel edge region.

[0012] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring is configure to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases includes a deposition gas while the first one or more tuning gases includes an etch gas.

[0013] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases includes an etch gas while the first one or more tuning gases includes a deposition gas.

[0014] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to control the parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases to customize the bevel edge profile of the substrate due to introduction of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases.

[0015] In other features, the bevel edge profile has one of a tail shape, a step shape, or a bell shape. In other features, the bevel edge profile refers to a cross-sectional surface pattern of protective material deposited in a notch at the bevel edge of the substrate.

[0016] In other features, a bevel edge substrate processing system is disclosed and includes: the first PEZ ring, where the first PEZ ring is configured to direct the first one or more tuning gases to an upper portion of the bevel edge region; and a second PEZ ring is configured to direct a second one or more tuning gases to a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0017] In other features, the second one or more tuning gases includes a same one or more gases as the first one or more tuning gases. In other features, the second one or more tuning gases includes a different one or more gases than the first one or more tuning gases. In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate.

[0018] A first plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) ring is disclosed and includes a body and at least one channel in the body. The body includes a first side, a second side, and a third side. The first side at least one of abuts a ground electrode and guides one or more process gases to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of a substrate. The second side is opposite the first side and abuts a dielectric component or a substrate support. The third side faces the substrate. The at least one channel directs a first one or more tuning gases to a bevel edge region on the substrate.

[0019] In other features, the first side guides a process gas to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate. In other features, the first side abuts the ground electrode. In other features, the second side abuts the dielectric component. In other features, the second side abuts the substrate support. In other features, the third side faces a top surface of the substrate. In other features, the third side faces a bottom surface of the substrate.

[0020] In other features, the bevel edge region includes at least one of the bevel edge of the substrate and a region radially inward of the bevel edge. In other features, the at least one channel includes channels and a ring-shaped channel.

[0021] In other features, the channels include channels extending from a top surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel. The ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side. In other features, the channels include channels extending from a bottom surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel. The ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side. In other features, the first PEZ ring includes components.

[0022] In other features, a bevel edge substrate processing system is disclosed and includes the first PEZ ring and a controller. The controller is configured to control parameters of the first one or more tuning gases to customize a bevel edge profile in the bevel edge region.

[0023] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring guides the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases includes a deposition gas while the first one or more tuning gases includes an etch gas.

[0024] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring guides the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases includes an etch gas while the first one or more tuning gases includes a deposition gas.

[0025] In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring guides the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge. The controller is configured to control the parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases to customize the bevel edge profile of the substrate due to introduction of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases.

[0026] In other features, the bevel edge profile has one of a tail shape, a step shape, or a bell shape. In other features, the bevel edge profile refers to a cross-sectional surface pattern of protective material deposited in a notch at the bevel edge of the substrate.

[0027] In other features, a bevel edge substrate processing system is disclosed and includes: the first PEZ ring, where the first PEZ ring directs the first one or more tuning gases to an upper portion of the bevel edge region; and a second PEZ ring directing a second one or more tuning gases to a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0028] In other features, the second one or more tuning gases includes a same one or more gases as the first one or more tuning gases. In other features, the second one or more tuning gases includes a different one or more gases than the first one or more tuning gases. In other features, the first side of the first PEZ ring guides the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate.

[0029] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to selectivelycontrol deposition and etch processes performed on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0030] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and etch on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0031] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0032] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0033] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0034] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the bevel edge of the substrate and etch on at least one of the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0035] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the bevel edge of the substrate and deposition on at least one of the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0036] In other features, the bevel edge substrate processing system further includes: valves configured to adjust flow of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases; and a controller configured to control states of the valves to adjust parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases.

[0037] In other features, a method of operating a bevel edge substrate processing system is disclosed and includes: disposing a substrate on a substrate support in a process chamber; supplying at least one process gas to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of the substrate; and supplying a first one or more tuning gases via a first PEZ ring to a bevel edge region of the substrate The first one or more tuning gases are introduced radially inward of the at least one process gas to customize a bevel edge profile of the bevel edge region.

[0038] In other features, the method further includes controlling parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to perform at least one of a deposition process and an etch process in the bevel edge region.

[0039] In other features, the method further includes performing the deposition process and the etch process in the bevel edge region. The deposition process and the etch process are performed while the substrate is disposed on the substrate support and within the process chamber.

[0040] In other features, the method further includes controlling the parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform the deposition process and the etch process in the bevel edge region.

[0041] In other features, the deposition process is performed at the bevel edge. The etch process is performed in a region radially inward of the bevel edge. In other features, the etch process is performed at the bevel edge. The deposition process is performed in a region radially inward of the bevel edge.

[0042] In other features, the deposition process is performed at the bevel edge and in an upper portion of the bevel edge region. The etch process is performed in a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0043] In other features, the etch process is performed at the bevel edge and in an upper portion of the bevel edge region. The deposition process is performed in a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0044] In other features, the method further includes controlling the parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to customize the bevel edge profile of the bevel edge region to have a tail shape, a step shape, or a bell shape.

[0045] In other features, the method further includes supplying a second one or more tuning gases via a second PEZ ring to the bevel edge region. The first one or more tuning gases are supplied to an upper portion of the bevel edge region that is above the substrate. The second one or more tuning gases are supplied to a lower portion of the bevel edge region that is below the substrate.

[0046] In other features, the first one or more tuning gases include a first deposition gas, a first etch gas or a first inert gas. The second one or more tuning gases include a second deposition gas, a second etch gas or a second inert gas.

[0047] In other features, the second deposition gas, the second etch gas or the second inert gas is a same gas as the first deposition gas, the first etch gas or the first inert gas. In other features, the second deposition gas, the second etch gas or the second inert gas is a different gas than the first deposition gas, the first etch gas or the first inert gas.

[0048] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0050] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an example bevel edge substrate processing system including upper and lower plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) rings with tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an example bevel edge substrate processing system directing process and tuning gas at upper and lower portions of a bevel edge of a substrate in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG. 3A is a top view of an example upper PEZ ring including tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken at line A-A of FIG. 3A;

[0054] FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken at line B-B of FIG. 3A;

[0055] FIG. 4A is a bottom view of an example lower PEZ ring including tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken at line C-C of FIG. 4A;

[0057] FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken at line D-D of FIG. 4A;

[0058] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the bevel edge substrate processing system of FIG. 2 illustrating process distances, covered distances, and maximum process distances in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG. 6 an example plot of thickness along the radius of a substrate for different deposition or etching periods providing different bevel edge profiles in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0060] FIG. 7 an example plot of etch and deposition processing rates along the radius of substrate associated with providing a flat (or step) shape bevel edge profile in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0061] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an example substrate and corresponding metal layer with a notched bevel edge;

[0062] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 8 including a protective edge band with a tail shape bevel profile;

[0063] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the substrate of FIGs. 8-9 flipped over and bonded to a carrier substrate;

[0064] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an example substrate and corresponding metal layer with a notched bevel edge including a protective edge band having a flat (or step) shaped bevel edge profile in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0065] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the substrate of FIG. 11 flipped over and bonded to a carrier substrate in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0066] FIG. 13 is an example plot of etch and deposition processing rates along the radius of a substrate associated with providing a bell shape bevel profile in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0067] FIGs. 14A and 14B (collectively FIG. 14) illustrate an example bevel edge etch and deposition process implemented in a single process chamber in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0068] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of another upper PEZ ring having a lower upper tapered surface and tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0069] FIGs. 16A and 16B (collectively FIG. 16) are cross-sectional views of another upper PEZ ring having a wafer aligned notch and tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[0070] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of another upper PEZ ring having a wafer aligned notch and tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0071] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of another upper PEZ ring having a wafer aligned notch and tuning gas channels in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0072] In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and / or identical elements.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] In semiconductor processing, bevel edges of substrates can be associated with defects. To minimize and / or avoid yield loss associated with these defects, additional plasma etch and / or deposition only on bevel edge may be performed. Plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) rings can be used to control process (etch and deposition process) distances on bevel edges. The process distances refer to distances between an apex of a bevel edge and how far radially inward from the apex process gas effectively interacts with the substrate. Example process distances are shown in FIG. 5. Process gas is introduced at a location radially outward of an upper PEZ ring and covers a portion of the bevel edge of the substrate.

[0074] The process distances depend on sizes (or outer diameters) of the PEZ rings. The sizes of the PEZ rings are predetermined and fixed prior to processing. Once the sizes of the PEZ rings are fixed, the process distances are difficult to change usingcurrent “process (or tuning) knobs”, such as: change in flow rate(s), types, pressures, and total flow of process gas(es); change in flow rate(s), types, pressures, and total flow of center gas; change in RF power; and / or change in a size of a gap between upper PEZ ring and substrate. A gap between an upper PEZ ring and a substrate can be adjusted by adjusting a vertical position of the upper PEZ ring relative to the substrate. As a result, in order to significantly change the process distances of a substrate, the substrate needs to be processed in multiple different process chambers having respectively different sized PEZ rings or the PEZ rings of a process chamber need to be frequently changed, which requires stopping the process, loading and unloading the substrate, and conditioning the chamber, etc. This is especially true for different products having different bevel edge requirements. Such methods not only increase the total process time and thus reduce productivity, but also increase the sources of substrate and / or chamber contaminations.

[0075] Although current process chambers provide some ability using existing process knobs to tune process distances, the tuning sensitivity is small, for example, one order of magnitude smaller than changing sizes of the PEZ rings. For example, changing a gap between an upper PEZ ring and a substrate may change a process distance up to ~0.5 millimeters (mm), whereas changing a size of a PEZ ring may change the process distance up to 4mm. Change in flow rate of a center gas may change a process distance up to ~0.3mm.

[0076] Deposition on the bevel edge can be performed, for example, to fill a notched bevel edge of a substrate. Bevel edge deposition provides bevel edge protection and mechanical support. A bevel edge of a substrate can be etched to remove contaminants and / or to smooth out rough surfaces. Bevel edge profiles refer to the shapes of cross-sections of corresponding bevel edges and can be changed by changing hardware and / or by changing tuning knobs.

[0077] As an example, a PEZ ring may be replaced with a different PEZ ring having a different outer diameter to adjust a bevel edge process distance. A change in the bevel deposition distance may be inversely proportional to a change in the outer diameter of the PEZ ring. Similarly, a change in the bevel etch distance may be inversely proportional to a change in the outer diameter of the PEZ ring. Traditionally, multiple process chambers have been used to perform deposition and etch bevel edge processes to provide different process distances for upper and lower portions of a beveledge. The upper portions refer to portions near and above an apex of a bevel edge. The lower portions refer to portions near and below an apex of the bevel edge.

[0078] Bevel edge etch profiles can be modified by changing PEZ rings to provide, for example, a tail (or inclined) shaped profile or a flat (or step) shaped profile. Bevel edge etch profiles are typically tail (or inclined) shaped. Tuning of traditional process knobs has minimal effect on bevel edge deposition and etch profiles. A tail shape bevel edge deposition profile has an excessive amount of deposited material at a radially outer edge. In a use case where the substrate is flipped over and bonded to a carrier substrate, gaps (or bubbles) can exist between deposited material and a metal layer of a device substrate and between the deposited material and a bonding layer of the carrier substrate. This type of bonding may be performed during manufacturing of, for example, three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuit (IC) products. An example gap (or bubble) is shown in FIG. 10.

[0079] The examples set forth herein include bevel edge substrate processing systems (i.e., substrate processing systems configured to specifically process (or treat) bevel edges of substrates) including upper and lower PEZ rings including tuning gas channels for introducing tuning gases at or near a bevel edge of a substrate. The tuning gases may be introduced between a process gas and a center gas. The tuning gases are introduced radially inward of the process gas and radially outward of the center gas. Flow, type, and / or pressure of the tuning gases is adjusted to adjust process characteristics, including process distances. The introduction and control of the tuning gases provide additional tuning knobs for sensitively controlling process characteristics, including etch and deposition process distances. The examples include providing different deposition and etch bevel edge profiles by adjusting parameters of the tuning gases, such as types, timing, flow, and / or pressure of the tuning gases.

[0080] The examples include controlling substrate bevel etch and deposition process distances. Tuning gas is introduced and used to cover selected radially inner upper and lower bevel edge regions, while radially outer upper and lower bevel edge regions are exposed to process gas. Sizes of the radially inner upper and lower bevel edge regions are selectively sized by controlling flow of the tuning gas via upper and lower PEZ rings to upper and lower portions of the substrate. This allows for continuous control of deposition and etch process distances during etch and deposition processing of bevel edge regions. This control is provided by concurrent control and synergy of tuning gasand process gas. The examples provide flexibility in tuning bevel edge profiles in a single process chamber without the need to perform a portion of a selected bevel edge profile in another process chamber. The bevel edge profiles are provided with a single set of upper and lower PEZ rings having fixed dimensions in a single process chamber without movement of a substrate. This eliminates contamination risk associated with moving a substrate and minimizes processing time and costs.

[0081] The examples provided include bevel edge substrate processing systems configured to customize shape of a bevel edge of a substrate. This customization is performed using a single set of upper and lower PEZ rings in a single process chamber without movement of the substrate between process chambers. This customization includes upper and lower bevel edge profiles such as tail-shaped, step-shaped, and bell-shaped upper and lower bevel edge profiles, as well as other bevel edge shaped profiles. The various different bevel edge shaped profiles provide solutions for products requiring special bevel edge deposition and etch conditions. The examples include performing a combination of deposition and etch operations on upper and lower portions of bevel edges.

[0082] FIG. 1 shows an example bevel edge substrate processing system 100 that includes a process chamber (or bevel edge process chamber) 101 having a substrate support 102, including an electrostatic chuck, and an upper electrode assembly 103. The upper electrode assembly 103 includes an upper PEZ ring 104 having tuning gas channels 105. The substrate support 102 includes a lower PEZ ring 106 having tuning gas channels 107. Although FIG. 1 shows a capacitive coupled plasma (CCP) system, the embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to transformer coupled plasma (TCP) systems, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) systems and / or other processing systems.

[0083] The substrate support 102 is enclosed within the process chamber 101. The process chamber 101 also encloses other components, such as the upper electrode assembly 103 including a dielectric component (or an insulating plate) 108, and contains RF plasma. During operation, a substrate 109 is arranged on and may be electrostatically clamped to the substrate support 102.

[0084] The upper electrode assembly 103 includes a stem portion 111 including one end connected to a top surface of the process chamber 101 . The dielectric component 108 is cylindrical-shaped. A substrate-facing surface of the dielectric component 108 includes one or more holes through which gas flows. In an embodiment, the substratesupport 102 may include one or more gas channels 113 for flowing backside gas to a backside of the substrate 109.

[0085] An RF generating system 120 generates and delivers RF voltages to one or more components of the upper electrode assembly 103 and / or one or more lower electrodes 119 in the substrate support 102. In an embodiment, the substrate support 102 may itself and / or a central portion thereof be implemented as a single electrode and does not include the lower electrodes 119. One or more components of the upper electrode assembly 103 and the substrate support 102 may be DC grounded, AC grounded or at a floating potential. For example only, the RF generating system 120 may include one or more RF generators 122 (e.g., a capacitive coupled plasma RF power generator, a bias RF power generator, and / or other RF power generator) that generate RF voltages, which are fed by one or more matching and distribution networks 124 to the upper electrode assembly 103 and / or the substrate support 102. An electrode that receives an RF signal, an RF voltage and / or RF power is referred to as a RF electrode. The plasma RF generators 122 may be a high-power RF generator producing, for example, 6-10 kilowatts (kW) of power or more. A bias RF matching network may be included and supply power to RF electrodes, such as the lower electrodes 119.

[0086] A gas delivery system 130 includes one or more gas sources 132-1 , 132-2,..., and 132-N (collectively gas sources 132), where N is an integer greater than zero. The gas sources 132 supply one or more precursors and gas mixtures thereof. The gas sources 132 may also supply deposition gas, etch gas, carrier gas, tuning gas and / or purge gas. Vaporized precursor may also be used. The gas sources 132 are connected by valves 134-1 , 134-2, ..., and 134-N (collectively valves 134) and mass flow controllers 136-1 , 136-2, ..., and 136-N (collectively mass flow controllers 136) to a valve and manifold assembly 140. Outputs of the valve and manifold assembly 140 are fed to the process chamber 101 , the dielectric component 108, and the PEZ rings 104, 106. The outputs may include process gases, tuning gases, center gases, and purge gases.

[0087] Some examples of etch process gases that may be introduced during bevel edge processing include fluorine-based gases such as nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and carbon tetrafluoride (CF4). Some examples of deposition process gases that may be introduced during bevel edge processing include silane (SiFk) and nitrous oxide (N2O).Tuning gases may include process gases and / or inert gases. Some examples of inert gases are helium and argon. The center gases include inert gases.

[0088] When using inert gas as tuning gas, the selected bevel region can be covered and prevented from being processed by process gas. When using reactive gas as tuning gas, the selected bevel region can be processed differently than traditional methods where only process gas is introduced. In both cases, the size of the selected bevel region may be continuously controlled by controlling the tuning gas flow. In addition, the tuning gas may be introduced on both an upper (or front) side and a lower (or back) side of a bevel edge of a substrate. The bevel edge substrate processing system 100 provides bevel edge processing for selected etch and deposition process distances in a single process chamber 101 without changing the PEZ rings 104, 106 and without movement of the substrate being processed between process chambers.

[0089] Tuning gas outlets are included close to radially outer sides of the upper and lower PEZ rings 104, 106. A process gas outlet is provided radially outward of the tuning gas outlet of the upper PEZ ring 104. By using an upper PEZ ring 104 with a small width and controlling flow of tuning gas through the upper PEZ ring 104 and / or the lower PEZ ring 106, the corresponding tuning gas covered area may be variably controlled between a minimum tuning gas covered area and a maximum tuning gas covered area. The minimal covered area may be zero. The maximum upper / lower covered area is based on size, or more specifically, diameter of the upper PEZ ring 104 and / or the lower PEZ ring 106 measured at the outlet of the tuning gas from the upper PEZ ring 104 and / or the lower PEZ ring 106, respectively.

[0090] The bevel edge substrate processing system 100 may also include a power source 144 that provides power, including a high voltage, to clamping electrodes 131 to electrostatically clamp the substrate 109 to the substrate support 102. Clamping electrodes receive power to electrostatically clamp down the substrate 109 to the substrate support 102 and may receive RF signals, RF voltages and / or RF power. The power source 144 may be controlled by the system controller 160.

[0091] The bevel edge substrate processing system 100 may further include a backside vacuum controller 152. The backside vacuum controller 152 may receive gas from the valve and manifold assembly 140 and supply the gas to channels 113 and / or to a pump 158. This improves transfer of thermal energy between the substrate support 102 and the substrate 109. The backside gas may also be provided to improvesubstrate peripheral edge purging and vacuum tracking of a location of the substrate. The channels 113 may be fed by one or more injection ports. In one embodiment, multiple injection ports are included for improved cooling. As an example, the backside gas may include helium.

[0092] The backside vacuum controller 152 controls flow rate of backside gas (e.g., helium) to the channels 113 for cooling the substrate 109 by controlling flow from one or more of the gas sources 132 to the channels 113. The backside vacuum controller 152 controls pressure and flow rates of gas supplied to channels 113. During a deposition process, the substrate 109 may be heated in presence of high-power plasma. Flow of gas through the gas channels 113 may reduce temperatures of the substrate 109.

[0093] Gases and / or reactants within the process chamber 101 are evacuated via an exhaust path 105 that includes a valve 156 and a pump 158. This may occur prior to, during and / or subsequent to substrate processing.

[0094] The system controller 160 may control components of the bevel edge substrate processing system 100 including controlling parameters of process, tuning and center gases supplied, RF power levels, RF matching, etc. The parameters of the process, tuning and center gases supplied include types of the gases, timing (start and end times and durations), pressures, and flow rates. As an example, the flow rates of the process and tuning gases supplied via the PEZ rings 104, 106 may each be adjusted to be between 10-2000 standard cubic centimeters per minute (SCCM). The system controller 160 controls states of the valve 134, 156, the MFCs 136, valves of the valve and manifold assembly 140, and the pump 158.

[0095] The bevel edge substrate processing system 100 further includes a user interface 170, which may receive inputs from a user. For example, the user interface may receive inputs to operate in a certain mode, inputs to request a certain bevel edge profile, etc. The interface may include a touchscreen display, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, etc.

[0096] Further examples of the PEZ rings and other components are shown and described with respect to FIGs. 2-5.

[0097] FIG. 2 shows a portion 200 of a bevel edge substrate processing system directing process and tuning gas at upper and lower portions of a bevel edge 202 of a substrate 204. The portion 200 includes an upper PEZ ring 206 having tuning gaschannels (one tuning gas channel 208 is shown in FIG. 2) and a lower PEZ ring 210 having tuning gas channels (one tuning gas channel 212 is shown in FIG. 2). The tuning gas channels 208, 212 direct tuning gas, represented by arrows 214, 216, towards the bevel edge 202. Process gas, represented by arrows 218, is introduced radially outward of the bevel edge 202. The process gas is introduced radially outward of the upper PEZ ring 206 and may be provided via a channel between the upper PEZ ring 206 and an upper ground electrode 220. Although each of the PEZ rings 206, 208 are shown as unitary components, each of the PEZ rings 206, 208 may include two or more components coupled together.

[0098] The portion 200 further includes a dielectric component (or an insulating plate) 222, a stem 224, and one or more upper components 226, 228. The dielectric component 222 is disposed above and faces a top surface of the substrate 204. The stem 224 is disposed above the dielectric component 222. The upper components 226, 228 are disposed above the upper PEZ ring 206 and the upper ground electrode 220, may be integrated as a single component, and include one or more process gas channels 240 and one or more tuning gas channels 242. The upper components 226, 228 may be metal components and may be anodized. The process gas 218 is supplied from the process gas channels 240 to a gap between the upper component 228 and the upper ground electrode 220 and a gap between the upper PEZ ring 206 and the upper ground electrode 220. The tuning gas 214 is supplied from the tuning gas channels 242 to the tuning gas channels 208. The tuning gas channels 242 and 208 may form a continuous fluid path for the delivery of tuning gas from a source of the tuning gas into the processing chamber. Tuning gas is directed via the tuning gas channels 208 to an upper portion of the bevel edge 202. The upper components 226, 228 may be formed of a conductive material. The upper components 226, 228 may be grounded or biased. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the tuning gas 214 and the process gas 218 may be supplied via the stem 224 to the channels 240, 242.

[0099] The substrate 204 is supported by a substrate support 250, which is disposed on a base 252. The substrate support 250 may be a chuck such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The substrate support 250 may be connected to, directly or indirectly, to a power source or supply, and may act as a cathode to deliver a RF power to the substrate. The lower PEZ ring 210 is configured to surround at least a portion of the substrate support 250. The lower PEZ ring 210 may be configured to support the substrate. A lower ground electrode 256 is disposed on the opposite side of the upperground electrode 220 (i.e., the lower ground electrode 256 disposed on a vertically lower side of the substrate while the upper ground electrode 220 being on a vertically higher side of the substrate) and to face at least a portion of the upper ground electrode 220. The lower ground electrode 256 is disposed adjacent to the lower PEZ ring 210 and may be disposed on a lower dielectric ring (or an insulating ring) 254 and a lower component 258. As such, the lower ground electrode 256 and the lower component 258 may be electrically insulated from the substrate support 250 by the lower PEZ ring 210 and / or the lower insulating ring 254. In this way, the lower ground electrode 256 and / or the lower component 258 may be controlled independently of the substrate support 250, and they may be grounded while the RF power is delivered to the substrate support 250. A portion 260 of the lower PEZ ring 210 extends from a body 262 of the lower PEZ ring 210 upward and along an outer periphery of the substrate support 250 and may support a radially outer portion of the substrate 204. The tuning gas channels 212 extend into the portion 260. The tuning gas 216 is supplied from one or more tuning gas channels 263 to the tuning gas channels 212. The tuning gas channels 263 and 212 may form a continuous fluid path for the delivery of tuning gas from a source of the tuning gas into the process chamber. Tuning gas is directed by the tuning gas channels 212 to a lower portion of the bevel edge 202.

[0100] FIGs. 3A-C show the upper PEZ ring 206 of FIG. 2 including multiple tuning gas channels 208, which extend from a top side surface 300 of the upper PEZ ring 206 to a ring-shaped channel 302 near a bottom side 326 of the upper PEZ ring 206. Dashed lines 308, 310 refer to edges where the channels 208 abut the channel 302. Any number of the channels 208 may be included. Although the channels 208 are shown as perpendicular to the top and bottom side surfaces, the channels 208 may be slanted or sloped relative to the top and bottom side surfaces. The channels 208 may refer to holes that do not extend all the way through the upper PEZ ring 206 but rather to the channel 302. The channels 208 are open to the channel 302, which provides the tuning gas outlet that is circular shaped to provide uniform tuning gas distribution to the bevel edge of a substrate. In another embodiment, the channel 302 is discontinuous or is replaced with holes that extend respectively from ends of the holes 208 at the edges 308, 310. FIG. 3B shows a cross-section through one of the channels 208. FIG. 3C shows a cross-section through a space between two of the channels 208, and thus none of the channels 208 are shown in FIG. 3C. The upper PEZ ring 206 includes a body 320 having the top side surface 300, a radially innermost side surface 322, aradially outermost side surface 324, and a bottom side surface 326. A ridge 328 extends from the body 320 to provide upper and lower radially outer notches 330, 332. The ridge 328 functions as a flange on which the upper ground electrode 220 can sit and / or engage with the upper PEZ ring 206. The body 320 includes a radially inner notch 334. An example cross-sectional width W1 of the body 320 between the notches 332, 334 is shown. The width W1 may be adjusted to adjust the process distance. The width W1 may be set and / or minimized i) to maximize a maximum covered distance, and / or ii) to maximize a maximum process distance. Example covered distances and maximum process distances are shown in FIG. 5.

[0101] FIGs. 4A-C show a lower PEZ ring 210 of FIG. 2 including tuning gas channels 212, which extend from a bottom side surface 400 of the lower PEZ ring 210 to a ringshaped channel 402 near a topside 404 of the lower PEZ ring 210. Dashed lines 408, 410 refer to edges where the channels 212 abut the channel 402. Any number of the channels 212 may be included. Although the channels 212 are shown as perpendicular to the top and bottom side surfaces, the channels 212 may be slanted or sloped relative to the top and bottom side surfaces. The channels 212 may refer to holes that do not extend all the way through the lower PEZ ring 210 but rather to the channel 402. The channels 212 are open to the channel 402, which provides the tuning gas outlet that is circular shaped to provide uniform tuning gas distribution to the bevel edge of a substrate. FIG. 4B shows a cross-section through one of the channels 212. FIG. 4C shows a cross-section through a space between two of the channels 212, and thus none of the channels 212 are shown in FIG. 4C. The lower PEZ ring 210 includes a body 420 having the top side 404, a radially innermost side surface 422, a radially outermost side surface 424, and the bottom side surface 400. A ridge 428 extends from the body 420 to provide upper and lower radially outer notches 430, 432. The body 420 includes an upper radially inner notch 434 and a lower radially inner notch 436. An example cross-sectional width W2 of the body 420 between the notches 430, 434 is shown. The width W2 may be adjusted to adjust the process distance. This width W2 may be set and / or minimized i) to maximize a maximum covered distance, and / or ii) to maximize a maximum process distance.

[0102] FIG. 5 shows a portion 500 of the bevel edge substrate processing system of FIG. 2. The portion 500 includes the PEZ rings 206, 210, the ground electrodes 220, 256, the dielectric component 222, and the substrate support 250. The PEZ rings 206, 210 direct tuning gases towards the bevel edge 202 and / or regions radially inward ofand adjacent to the bevel edge 202, as shown. The radial locations and widths (or covered distances) of the regions are adjustable by adjusting pressure and / or flow of process, tuning and center gases supplied.

[0103] Example upper / lower process distances Dpi , Dp2, upper / lower covered (or protected) distances Del , Dc2, and upper / lower maximum process distances Dm1 , Dm2 are shown. The upper process distance Dpi refers to a distance from an apex 502 to a location where process gas (designated 218) meets first tuning gas (designated 214) along an upper portion of the bevel edge 202. The upper process distances Dpi refers to a distance from the apex 502 to a location where process gas and the first tuning gas form a boundary along an upper portion of the bevel edge 202. The tuning gas 214 will diffuse out from the boundary (or peripheral boundary of the upper PEZ ring 206) and pumped out eventually through that space. However, outside the boundary, around the outer bevel edge 202, the plasma will be dominated by the process gas. In the region close to the tuning gas outlets of the upper PEZ ring 206, the plasma will be dominated by the tuning gas 214. The lower process distance Dp2 refers to a distance from an apex 502 to a location where process gas meets second tuning gas (designated 216) along a lower portion of the bevel edge 202. The lower process distance Dp2 refers to a distance from the apex 502 to a location where process gas and the second tuning gas form a boundary along a lower portion of the bevel edge 202. The process gas 218 is shown with lighter shading than the tuning gases 214, 216. The type and / or flow rate, etc. of tuning gas 214 may be the same or different than those of the process gas 218 and / or the tuning gas 216. The type and / or flow rate, etc. of tuning gas 216 may be the same or different than those of the process gas 218. Each of the gases 214, 216, 218 may include one or more gases.

[0104] The covered distance Del refers to a width of a region covered by the tuning gas 214 from a radially outer side surface (or edge) 520 of the upper PEZ ring to a region covered by the process gas 218. The region covered by the tuning gas 214 prevents an upper portion of the bevel edge 202 from being exposed to and processed by the process gas 218. The covered distance Dc2 refers to a width of a region covered by the tuning gas 216 from a radially outer side surface (or edge) 522 of the lower PEZ ring to the region covered by the process gas 218. The region covered by the tuning gas 216 prevents a lower portion of the bevel edge 202 from being exposed to and processed by the process gas 218. The tuning gas 216 will diffuse out from the boundary (or peripheral boundary of the lower PEZ ring 210) and pumped outeventually through that space. However, outside the boundary, around the outer bevel edge 202, the plasma will be dominated by the process gas. The maximum process distance Dm1 refers to a maximum distance for the tuning gas 214 to extend radially inward from the apex 502. The maximum distance Dm1 is equal to a distance between the process gas 218 and the radially outer edge 520 of the upper PEZ ring 206. The maximum process distance Dm2 refers to a maximum distance for the tuning gas 216 to extend radially inward from the apex 502. The maximum distance Dm2 is equal to a distance between the process gas 218 and the radially outer edge 520 of the upper PEZ ring 206.

[0105] A center gas, represented by arrows 530 may be provided in a gap G between the upper PEZ ring 206 and the dielectric component 222 and the substrate 204. The gap G may be constant across the diameter of the substrate 204, i.e., the bottom surface of the upper PEZ ring 206 and the bottom surface of the insulating plate 222 are aligned. Depending on the need of the process and application, there may be instances that the gap G may not be constant across the diameter of the substrate 204, e.g., vertically shorter or longer upper PEZ ring 206 may be used to decrease or increase the gap G near the bevel edge 202 compared to the gap G near the center of the substrate 204. In other embodiments, bottom side 326 and / or the radially outer side surface 520 of the upper PEZ ring 206, in combination, may form a tapered profile, such that the gap G over the bevel edge 202 varies in a radial direction. In an embodiment, the gap G may be adjusted by moving the upper PEZ ring 206 vertically relative to the substrate 204 and the substrate support 250. In another embodiment, the gap G may be adjusted by moving the substrate 204 and the substrate support 250 vertically relative to the upper PEZ ring 206 and the dielectric component 222. In another embodiment, the gap G may be adjusted by moving vertically both the substrate 204 and the substrate support 250 as well as the upper PEZ ring 206 and the dielectric component 222.

[0106] The upper PEZ ring 206, the dielectric component 222, and / or the substrate support 250 may be moved vertically via a motor actuator assembly 540 and / or other motor actuator connected to the substrate support 250, which may be controlled by the system controller 160 of FIG. 1 . The motor actuator assembly 540 may be configured to move the upper PEZ ring 206 and / or the whole upper assembly including the upper PEZ ring 206, the upper ground electrode 220, the dielectric component 222, the stem 224, and the upper components 226, 228. In addition or as an alternative, the wholelower assembly including the lower PEZ ring 210, the base 250, the substrate support 252, the lower dielectric ring 254, the lower ground electrode 256, and the lower component 258 may be moved vertically relative to the whole upper assembly. The tuning gases 214, 216 are used to limit and / or control how far radially inward along the substrate 204 the process gas reaches. The center gas 530 may be used to limit and / or control how far radially inward the tuning gas 214 reaches.

[0107] The process (e.g., etch or deposition) distance (Dp) is equal to the corresponding maximum distance (Dm) minus the covered distance (De). The higher the tuning gas flow, the smaller the etch or deposition distance. The upper edge tuning gas 214 and lower edge tuning gas 216 may be separately and independently controlled. Therefore, different etch and / or deposition distances may be realized on the frontside and backside of a bevel edge of a substrate.

[0108] When using reactive gas as a tuning gas, the covered area (or area of the substrate covered by the tuning gas) may be processed differently than traditional methods where only process gas is introduced. For example, etch gas (deposition gas) may be used as tuning gas and deposition gas (etch gas) may be used as process gas, such that a radially inner bevel region is etched (deposited) while a radially outer bevel region is deposited (etched). As another example, deposition gas (etch gas) may be used as process gas, upper tuning gas may be turned off, and etch gas (deposition gas) at a high flow rate (or having a large flow) may be used as lower tuning gas, such that film is deposited (etched) on the frontside (or upper portion of) bevel edge while the backside bevel edge is etched (deposited). The frontside bevel edge refers to a portion of the bevel edge above and radially inward of an apex of the bevel edge and the backside bevel edge refers to a portion of the bevel edge below and radially inward of the apex. Because the upper edge tuning gas 214, the lower edge tuning gas 216, the process gas 218, as well as the center gas 530 can be controlled separately and independently from each other, process parameters such as, for example, the type of process (e.g., etch or clean v. deposition) and / or the process and / or covered distances can be controlled and adjusted flexibly during the process. Because the upper edge tuning gas 214, the lower edge tuning gas 216, and the process gas 218 can be controlled separately and independently from each other, two opposite processes (e.g., etch and deposition) can be performed simultaneously on different bevel edge regions of the substrate, e.g., depositing films on the frontside bevel edge while etching materials from the backside bevel edge, or vice versa. Such a flexible tunability orcontrollability as disclosed and described herein further provides that etch and deposition process can be applied to the substrate in a single chamber and without a need to break the vacuum and transfer the substrate from one chamber designed for one process (e.g., etch) to another chamber designed for the other process (e.g., deposition). Because whenever the substrate is transferred from one chamber to another, the process has to be interrupted and the chance of the substrate and the chamber being contaminated increases, the examples disclosed and described herein provide advantages over the conventional methods of treating wafers, such as reducing exposures to substrate contamination, which would increase the fabrication yield, increase the utilization rate (or reducing the idle time) of equipment, and increase throughput.

[0109] FIG. 6 shows a plot of thickness of a film on a front side of a substrate along the radius of the substrate (e.g., a 300mm diameter substrate) for different deposition or etching periods providing different bevel edge profiles. Although the bevel edge profiles are shown for a front side of the substrate, similar profiles may be provided on a backside of the substrate. Each of the bevel edge profiles may be provided in an upper portion and / or a lower portion of a bevel edge region of a substrate. Five curves 600, 602, 604, 606, 608 are shown. A radius of the corresponding PEZ ring refers to a distance between a center of the PEZ ring and a radially outer edge (or side surface), such as one of the radially outer edges 520, 522 of FIG. 5. In other words, two times the radius is equal to a diameter of the radially outer edge. Curve 600 is associated with performing only deposition on the bevel edge of the substrate. Each of the curves 602, 604, 606, 608 includes a first portion and a second portion. Deposition is performed first during the first portions. Etch is then performed during the second portions. For curve 602, etch is performed for 10 seconds(s). For curve 604, etch is performed for 20s. For curve 606, etch is performed for 30s. For curve 608, etch is performed for 60s.

[0110] Each of the curves 600, 602, 604, 606, 608 is a bevel edge profile and has a respective shape. Curve 600 is referred to as a tail-shaped bevel edge profile. Curves 602, 604, 606 refer to step-shaped bevel edge profiles having respective inclined, flat and declined portions 610, 612, 614. Curve 608 refers to a bell-shaped bevel edge profile.

[0111] As an example, the first portions of bevel edge profiles such as the bevel edge profiles 602, 604, 606, 608 may be provided by setting a gap of 0.7mm between thecorresponding upper PEZ ring and substrate, supplying SiH4 and N2O as a process gas, and performing deposition for 40s. The second portions of bevel edge profiles such as the bevel edge profiles 602, 604, 606, 608 may then be provided by adjusting and setting the gap to 0.4mm between the corresponding upper PEZ ring and substrate, supplying NF3 as a process gas, and performing etch for 0-60s.

[0112] FIG. 7 shows a plot of etch and deposition processing rates along the radius of a substrate (e.g., a 300mm diameter substrate) associated with providing a flat (or step) shape bevel edge profile. As stated above, a radius of the corresponding PEZ ring refers to a distance between a center of the PEZ ring and a radially outer edge (or side surface), such as one of the radially outer edges 520, 522 of FIG. 5. Three curves 700, 702, 704 are shown. The curve 700 refers to a deposition process performed on a bevel edge of a substrate. The curve 702 refers to an etch process performed on the bevel edge of the substrate. The curve 704 refers to the resultant bevel edge profile provided by performing first the deposition and then the etch processes. These processes may be performed on an upper portion of a bevel edge and / or a lower portion of a bevel edge. These processes may be performed by the bevel edge substrate processing systems disclosed herein and thus in a single process chamber using a single set of upper and lower PEZ rings having tuning gas channels.

[0113] FIG. 8 shows a portion 800 of a substrate 802 and corresponding metal layer 804 with a notched bevel edge 806. The notched bevel edge 806 may be caused by a wafer edge trim. The metal layer 804 may be an interconnect layer or a layer of the substrate including TSVs. As an example, high bandwidth memory (HBM) may be manufactured to include a metal layer with TSVs to stack and / or connect devices in a vertical direction. The metal layer may be a copper layer. A protective edge band 902 may be formed in the notch 806, as shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 shows a portion 900 of the substrate 802 including a protective edge band 902 with a tail shape bevel profile.

[0114] FIG. 10 shows a portion 1000 of the substrate 802 of FIGs. 8-9 flipped over and bonded to a carrier substrate 1002. The metal layer 804 and a portion of the protective edge band 902 are bonded to the carrier wafer 1002 via a bonding layer 1004. A gap (or bubble) 1006 that is void of material may exist between the protective edge band 902 and the bonding layer 1004. Area surrounding the gaps tend to be weak areas that can induce defects. The examples disclosed herein include formation of a protectiveedge band having a profile that reduces or eliminates the stated gaps. An example of this is shown in FIGs. 11 -12.

[0115] FIG. 11 shows a portion 1100 of a substrate 1102 and corresponding metal layer 1104 with a notched bevel edge 1106. The notched bevel edge 1106 includes a protective edge band 1108 with a flat (or step) shaped bevel edge profile produced by the bevel edge deposition process and then etch process and in a single bevel processing chamber as disclosed and described herein. See, for example, above descriptions of FIGs. 6-7, where different tuning gases are used for deposition and etch operations to provide a flat (or step) shaped profile. A top surface 1110 of the protective edge band 1108 is flat and thus shaped to better bond with a bonding layer of a carrier wafer, as shown in FIG. 12. The protective edge band 1 108 may be formed of an oxide material (e.g., silicon oxide (SiO2)).

[0116] FIG. 12 shows a portion 1200 of the substrate 1102 of FIG. 11 flipped over and bonded to a carrier substrate 1202. The metal layer 1104 and a portion of the protective edge band 1108 are bonded to the carrier wafer 1002 via a bonding layer 1204. The surface 1110 is bonded to the carrier substrate 1202 via the bonding layer 1204.

[0117] FIG. 13 shows a plot of etch and deposition processing rates along a radius of a substrate (e.g., a 300mm diameter substrate) associated with providing a bell shape bevel profile. A bell shape bevel profile may be used to fill a dip on a wafer edge post chemical-mechanical polishing (or planarization) (CMP) process. FIG. 13 is another example of a bevel edge profile that may be provided on an upper portion or a lower portion of a bevel edge of a substrate. Three curves 1300, 1302, 1304 are shown. Curve 1300 refers to a deposition process performed on the bevel edge. A gap between the PEZ ring and the substrate may be a first length (e.g., 0.7mm) during the deposition process. Curve 1302 refers to an etch process performed on the bevel edge subsequent to the deposition process. A gap between the PEZ ring and the substrate may be a second length (e.g., 0.4mm) during the etch process. Curve 1304 refers to a resultant bell (or peak) shaped bevel edge provided as a result of performing the deposition process and the etch process.

[0118] The above-described different substrate bevel edge deposition profiles provide solutions to meet requirements for special bevel conditions. For example, some wafer- to-wafer bonding products may need to include a step-shaped bevel edge roll-off. The step-shaped bevel edge profile provides a better substrate edge support in a wafer-to-wafer bonding process. As a comparison, a tail-shaped bevel edge profile may lead to bubble defects between bonding surfaces, as shown in FIG. 10, which is less desirable to perform a wafer-to-wafer bonding process.

[0119] Deposition and etch processes are able to be performed concurrently and separately in a single process chamber, which increases the number of bevel edge profiles that are able to be obtained. For example, the extent of deposition on or etch of a bevel edge may be adjusted by adjusting the gap between the corresponding PEZ ring and substrate. Bevel deposition performed with a large gap and bevel etch performed with a small gap in single chamber can create a bell (or peak) shaped bevel edge profile. A cycled dep-etch process (iteratively switching between deposition and etch process) may also be performed in the single chamber.

[0120] Although the following operations of FIG. 14 are directed to performing separately or concurrently i) a first (or single) deposition or etch process on an upper portion of a bevel edge, and ii) a second (or single) deposition or etch process on a lower portion of the bevel edge, other processing may be performed. As disclosed herein, both a deposition process and etch process may be performed concurrently on the upper portion of the bevel edge. Similarly, both a deposition process and an etch process may be performed concurrently on the lower portion of the bevel edge. This may be done, for example, by supplying deposition process gas and etch tuning gas to deposit material at and / or near the apex of the bevel edge and to etch a region radially inward of the apex of the bevel edge. The region radially inward may be on the upper portion of the bevel edge or the lower portion of the bevel edge. As another example, etch process gas and deposition tuning gas may be provided. This may be done, for example, to etch the apex and / or region near the apex of the bevel edge and to deposit material in a region radially inward of the apex of the bevel edge.

[0121] FIG. 14 shows a bevel edge etch and deposition process implemented in a single process chamber (e.g., the process chamber 101 of FIG. 1 ). The following operations may be iteratively performed, may be implemented by the system controller 160 of FIG. 1 , and apply to the example embodiments of at least FIGs. 1 -5 and 11 -12.

[0122] At 1400, a substrate is disposed in the process chamber. At 1402, the system controller 160 determines (or receives the instructions for) upper and lower bevel edge profiles to be formed. This may include determining types, pressures, flow rates, and timing of process, tuning and center gases. The timing includes start and end times anddurations that gases are provided to upper and lower portions of a bevel edge region of the substrate being processed. The bevel edge region includes a bevel edge of the substrate and upper and lower regions radially inward of the bevel edge that are contacted by introduced tuning gas. A first one or more tuning gases may be introduced above the substrate as shown in FIG 5 and contact the upper region and a second one or more tuning gases may be introduced below the substrate and contact the lower region.

[0123] At 1404, the system controller 160 determines whether the upper portion of the bevel edge region is to be etched. If yes, operation 1406 may be performed, otherwise operation 1416 may be performed.

[0124] At 1406, the system controller 160 determines whether the lower portion of the bevel edge region is to be etched. If yes, operation 1408 may be performed, otherwise operation 1410 may be performed.

[0125] At 1408, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to etch the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region. This may include supplying etch tuning gas to the upper and lower portions of the bevel edge region via upper and lower PEZ rings and controlling parameters of the tuning gas supplied. The etch tuning gas includes reactive gas. The reactive gas refers to the process / active gas for etching. This is done to control the etch profiles on the upper and lower portions of the bevel edge region.

[0126] At 1410, the system controller 160 determines whether to perform deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1412 may be performed, otherwise operation 1414 may be performed.

[0127] At 1412, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to etch the upper portion of the bevel edge region and to perform deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region. An etch tuning gas may be supplied to the upper portion and a deposition tuning gas may be supplied to the lower portion of the bevel edge region. The deposition tuning gas including a reactive gas. The reactive gas referring to a process / active gas for depositing material.

[0128] At 1414, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to etch the upper portion of the bevel edge region. An inert tuning gas may be supplied to thelower portion of the bevel edge region to prevent etching of the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0129] At 1416, the system controller 160 determines whether to perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1418 may be performed, otherwise operation 1428 may be performed.

[0130] At 1418, the system controller 160 determines whether to etch the lower portion of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1420 may be performed, otherwise operation 1422 may be performed.

[0131] At 1420, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and to etch the lower portion of the bevel edge region. A deposition tuning gas may be supplied to the upper portion and an etch tuning gas may be supplied to the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0132] At 1422, the system controller 160 determines whether to perform deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1424 may be performed, otherwise operation 1426 may be performed.

[0133] At 1424, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to perform deposition on the upper portion and lower portion of the bevel edge region. Deposition tuning gas may be supplied to the upper portion and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0134] At 1426, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region. An inert tuning gas may be supplied to the lower portion of the bevel edge region to prevent deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

[0135] At 1428, the system controller 160 determines whether to etch the lower portion of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1430 may be performed, otherwise operation 1432 may be performed.

[0136] At 1430, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to etch the lower portion of the bevel edge region. An inert tuning gas may be supplied to the upper portion of the bevel edge region to prevent etching of the upper portion of the bevel edge region.

[0137] At 1432, the system controller 160 supplies process and / or tuning gas to perform deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region. An inert tuning gas may be supplied to the upper portion of the bevel edge region to prevent deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region.

[0138] At 1434, the system controller 160 determines whether to perform another process on the upper and lower portions of the bevel edge region. If yes, operation 1404 may be performed, otherwise operation 1436 may be performed.

[0139] At 1436, the system controller 160 determines whether the substrate is to be attached to a carrier substrate. If yes, operation 1438 1438 may be performed, otherwise the method may end.

[0140] At 1438, the system controller 160 may flip and bond a metal layer of the substrate and a portion of a protective bevel edge ring in a notch of the substrate to a carrier substrate, as shown for example in FIG. 12.

[0141] FIG. 15 shows a portion 1500 of a bevel edge substrate processing system directing process and tuning gas at upper and lower portions of a bevel edge 202 of a substrate 204. The portion 1500 is similar to the portion 200 of FIG. 2, except the upper PEZ ring 1502 is different and includes a lower upward tapered surface 1504 and angled channels (one of which is shown and designated 1506).

[0142] The portion 1500 includes the upper PEZ ring 1502 having tuning gas channels (one tuning gas channel 1508 is shown) and a lower PEZ ring 210 having tuning gas channels (one tuning gas channel 212 is shown). The tuning gas channels 1508, 212 direct tuning gas, represented by arrows 214, 216, towards the bevel edge 202. Process gas, represented by arrows 218, is introduced radially outward of the bevel edge 202. The process gas is introduced radially outward of the upper PEZ ring 1502 and may be provided via a channel between the upper PEZ ring 1502 and an upper ground electrode 220. Although each of the PEZ rings 1502, 208 are shown as unitary components, each of the PEZ rings 1502, 208 may include two or more components coupled together.

[0143] The portion 1500 further includes a dielectric component (or an insulating plate) 222, a stem 224, and one or more upper components 226, 228. The dielectric component 222 is disposed above and faces a top surface of the substrate 204. The stem 224 is disposed above the dielectric component 222. The upper components 226,228 are disposed above the upper PEZ ring 1502 and the upper ground electrode 220, may be integrated as a single component, and include one or more process gas channels 240 and one or more tuning gas channels 242. The upper components 226, 228 may be metal components and may be anodized. The process gas 218 is supplied from the process gas channels 240 to a gap between the upper component 228 and the upper ground electrode 220 and a gap between the upper PEZ ring 1502 and the upper ground electrode 220. The tuning gas 214 is supplied from the tuning gas channels 242 to the tuning gas channels 1508. The tuning gas channels 242 and 1508 may form a continuous fluid path for the delivery of tuning gas from a source of the tuning gas into the processing chamber. Tuning gas is directed via the tuning gas channels 1508 to an upper portion of the bevel edge 202. The upper components 226, 228 may be formed of a conductive material. The upper components 226, 228 may be grounded or biased. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the tuning gas 214 and the process gas 218 may be supplied via the stem 224 to the channels 240, 242.

[0144] The substrate 204 is supported by a substrate support 250, which is disposed on a base 252. The substrate support 250 may be a chuck such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC). The substrate support 250 may be connected to, directly or indirectly, to a power source or supply, and may act as a cathode to deliver a RF power to the substrate. The lower PEZ ring 210 is configured to surround at least a portion of the substrate support 250. The lower PEZ ring 210 may be configured to support the substrate. A lower ground electrode 256 is disposed on the opposite side of the upper ground electrode 220 (i.e., the lower ground electrode 256 disposed on a vertically lower side of the substrate while the upper ground electrode 220 being on a vertically higher side of the substrate) and to face at least a portion of the upper ground electrode 220. The lower ground electrode 256 is disposed adjacent to the lower PEZ ring 210 and may be disposed on a lower dielectric ring (or an insulating ring) 254 and a lower component 258. As such, the lower ground electrode 256 and the lower component 258 may be electrically insulated from the substrate support 250 by the lower PEZ ring 210 and / or the lower insulating ring 254. In this way, the lower ground electrode 256 and / or the lower component 258 may be controlled independently of the substrate support 250, and they may be grounded while the RF power is delivered to the substrate support 250. A portion 260 of the lower PEZ ring 210 extends from a body 262 of the lower PEZ ring 210 upward and along an outer periphery of the substrate support 250 and may support a radially outer portion of the substrate 204. The tuning gas channels 212 extend intothe portion 260. The tuning gas 216 is supplied from one or more tuning gas channels 263 to the tuning gas channels 212. The tuning gas channels 263 and 212 may form a continuous fluid path for the delivery of tuning gas from a source of the tuning gas into the process chamber. Tuning gas is directed by the tuning gas channels 212 to a lower portion of the bevel edge 202.

[0145] The lower upward tapered surface 1504 is conical wherein the upward taper angle 6 of the upwardly tapered portion 1504 is about 5° to 50° with respect to the bottom surface 1509, and may be about 10° to 30° with respect to the bottom surface 1509, such as an upward taper angle of about 10°, an upward taper angle of about 20°, or an upward taper angle of about 30°.

[0146] FIG. 16 shows another upper PEZ ring 1600 that may replace the other upper PEZ rings disclosed herein. The upper PEZ ring 1600 includes an upper surface 1608, bottom surface 1609, a radially inner surface 1612, and a radially outer surface 1616. The upper PEZ ring 1600 further includes a lower radially inner notch 1607 having surfaces 1614 and 1620 that contact surfaces of a dielectric component 1624. The upper PEZ ring 1600 sits on a lower flange 1623 of the dielectric component 1624. The upper PEZ ring 1600 further includes an upper radially outer notch 1625 having surfaces 1618, 1622, which define a channel with a ground electrode 1630 through which process gas 1623 flows. The upper PEZ ring 1600 further includes tuning gas channels (one of which is designated 1640) having respective upward and / or vertical portions 1640A and angled portions 1640B. The channels 1640 may extend to upward tapered surfaces 1644 and to a notch 1646, which corresponds to and may be disposed vertically over and annularly aligned with a wafer notch of a wafer (or substrate) being processed. The notch 1646 is not an annularly shaped notch, whereas the notches 1607 and 1625 are annularly shaped notches. The notch 1646 may be referred to as a local recessed portion.

[0147] FIGs. 17 and 18 show upper PEZ rings 1700, 1800 that may replace the other upper PEZ rings disclosed herein. The upper PEZ ring 1700, 1800 are similar to the upper PEZ ring 1600 of FIG. 16 but instead have different shaped notches 1746, 1846, which are not annularly shaped and may be disposed vertically over and annularly aligned with a wafer notch of a wafer (or substrate) being processed.

[0148] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of thedisclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and / or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.

[0149] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example, between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including “connected,” “engaged,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” and “disposed.” Unless explicitly described as being “direct,” when a relationship between first and second elements is described in the above disclosure, that relationship can be a direct relationship where no other intervening elements are present between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements are present (either spatially or functionally) between the first and second elements. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”

[0150] In some implementations, a controller is part of a system, which may be part of the above-described examples. Such systems can include semiconductor processing equipment, including a processing tool or tools, chamber or chambers, a platform or platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (a wafer pedestal, a gas flow system, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling their operation before, during, and after processing of a semiconductor wafer or substrate. The electronics may be referred to as the “controller,” which may control various components or subparts of the system or systems. The controller, depending on the processing requirements and / or the type of system, may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of processinggases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF) generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, positional and operation settings, wafer transfers into and out of a tool and other transfer tools and / or load locks connected to or interfaced with a specific system.

[0151] Broadly speaking, the controller may be defined as electronics having various integrated circuits, logic, non-transitory memory, and / or software that receive instructions, issue instructions, control operation, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, and the like. The integrated circuits may include chips in the form of firmware that store program instructions, 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). Program instructions may be instructions communicated to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files), defining operational parameters for carrying out a particular process on or for a semiconductor wafer or to a system. The operational parameters may, in some embodiments, be part of a recipe defined by process engineers 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.

[0152] The controller, in some implementations, may be a part of or coupled to a computer that is integrated with the system, coupled to the system, otherwise networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may be in the “cloud” or all or a part of a fab host computer system, which can allow for remote access of the wafer processing. The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor current progress of fabrication operations, examine a history of past fabrication operations, examine trends or performance metrics from a plurality of fabrication operations, to change parameters of current processing, to set processing steps to follow a current processing, or to start a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) can provide process recipes to a 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 examples, the controller receives instructions in the form of data, which specify parameters for each of the processing steps to be performed during one or moreoperations. It should be understood that the parameters may be specific to the type of process to be performed and the type of tool that the controller is configured to interface with or control. Thus as described above, the controller may be distributed, such as by including one or more discrete controllers that are networked together and working towards a common purpose, such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed controller for such purposes would be one or more integrated circuits on a chamber in communication with one or more integrated circuits located remotely (such as at the platform level or as part of a remote computer) that combine to control a process on the chamber.

[0153] Without limitation, example systems may include a plasma etch chamber or module, a deposition chamber or module, a spin-rinse chamber or module, a metal plating chamber or module, a clean chamber or module, a bevel edge etch chamber or module, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) chamber or module, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chamber or module, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) chamber or module, an atomic layer etch (ALE) chamber or module, an ion implantation chamber or module, a track chamber or module, and any other semiconductor processing systems that may be associated or used in the fabrication and / or manufacturing of semiconductor wafers.

[0154] As noted above, depending on the process step or steps to be performed by the tool, the controller might communicate with one or more of other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, neighboring tools, tools located throughout a factory, a main computer, another controller, or tools used in material transport that bring containers of wafers to and from tool locations and / or load ports in a semiconductor manufacturing factory.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:1 . A first plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) ring comprising: a body comprising a first side, a second side, and a third side, wherein the first side is configured to abut a ground electrode and is configured to guide one or more process gases to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of a substrate, the second side opposite the first side and is configured to abut a dielectric component or a substrate support, and the third side is configured to face the substrate; and at least one channel in the body configured to direct a first one or more tuning gases to a bevel edge region of the substrate.

2. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the first side is configured to guide a process gas to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate.

3. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the first side is configured to abut the ground electrode.

4. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the second side is configured to abut the dielectric component.

5. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the second side is configured to abut the substrate support.

6. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the third side faces a top surface of the substrate.

7. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the third side faces a bottom surface of the substrate.

8. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the bevel edge region comprises at least one of the bevel edge of the substrate and a region radially inward of the bevel edge.

9. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the at least one channel comprises a plurality of channels and a ring-shaped channel.

10. The first PEZ ring of claim 9, wherein: the plurality of channels comprise channels extending from a top surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel; and the ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side.11 . The first PEZ ring of claim 9, wherein: the plurality of channels comprise channels extending from a bottom surface of the PEZ ring to the ring-shaped channel; and the ring-shaped channel has a ring-shaped output on the first side.

12. The first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the first PEZ ring comprises a plurality of components.

13. A bevel edge substrate processing system comprising: the first PEZ ring of claim 1 ; and a controller configured to control parameters of the first one or more tuning gases to customize a bevel edge profile in the bevel edge region.

14. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 13, wherein: the first side of the first PEZ ring is configure to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge; and the controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases comprises a deposition gas while the first one or more tuning gases comprises an etch gas.

15. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 13, wherein: the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge; andthe controller is configured to concurrently control parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases such that the one or more process gases comprises an etch gas while the first one or more tuning gases comprises a deposition gas.

16. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 13, wherein: the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge; and the controller is configured to control the parameters of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases to customize the bevel edge profile of the substrate due to introduction of the one or more process gases and the first one or more tuning gases.

17. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 16, wherein the bevel edge profile has one of a tail shape, a step shape, or a bell shape.

18. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 16, wherein the bevel edge profile refers to a cross-sectional surface pattern of protective material deposited in a notch at the bevel edge of the substrate.

19. A bevel edge substrate processing system comprising: the first PEZ ring of claim 1 , wherein the first PEZ ring is configured to direct the first one or more tuning gases to an upper portion of the bevel edge region; and a second PEZ ring is configured to direct a second one or more tuning gases to a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

20. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 19, wherein the second one or more tuning gases comprises a same one or more gases as the first one or more tuning gases.

21. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 19, wherein the second one or more tuning gases comprises a different one or more gases than the first one or more tuning gases.

22. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 19, wherein the first side of the first PEZ ring is configured to guide the one or more process gases to the area radially outward of the bevel edge of the substrate.

23. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to selectively control deposition and etch processes performed on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

24. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and etch on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

25. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and deposition on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

26. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

27. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the upper portion of the bevel edge region and on the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

28. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform deposition on the bevel edge of the substrate and etch on at least one of the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

29. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising a controller configured to control parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform etch on the bevel edge of the substrate and deposition on at least one of the upper portion of the bevel edge region and the lower portion of the bevel edge region.

30. The bevel edge substrate processing system of claim 22, further comprising: a plurality of valves configured to adjust flow of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases; and a controller configured to control states of the plurality of valves to adjust parameters of the one or more process gases, the first one or more tuning gases and the second one or more tuning gases.

31. A method of operating a bevel edge substrate processing system, the method comprising: disposing a substrate on a substrate support in a process chamber; supplying at least one process gas to an area radially outward of a bevel edge of the substrate; and supplying a first one or more tuning gases via a first plasma exclusion zone (PEZ) ring to a bevel edge region of the substrate, wherein the first one or more tuning gases are introduced radially inward of the at least one process gas to customize a bevel edge profile of the bevel edge region.

32. The method of claim 31 , further comprising controlling parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to perform at least one of a deposition process and an etch process in the bevel edge region.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising performing the deposition process and the etch process in the bevel edge region, wherein the deposition process and the etch process are performed while the substrate is disposed on the substrate support and within the process chamber.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising controlling the parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to concurrently perform the deposition process and the etch process in the bevel edge region.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein: the deposition process is performed at the bevel edge; and the etch process is performed in a region radially inward of the bevel edge.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein: the etch process is performed at the bevel edge; and the deposition process is performed in a region radially inward of the bevel edge.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein: the deposition process is performed at the bevel edge and in an upper portion of the bevel edge region; and the etch process is performed in a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein: the etch process is performed at the bevel edge and in an upper portion of the bevel edge region; and the deposition process is performed in a lower portion of the bevel edge region.

39. The method of claim 34, further comprising controlling the parameters of the at least one process gas and the first one or more tuning gases to customize the bevel edge profile of the bevel edge region to have a tail shape, a step shape, or a bell shape.

40. The method of claim 34, further comprising supplying a second one or more tuning gases via a second PEZ ring to the bevel edge region, wherein: the first one or more tuning gases are supplied to an upper portion of the bevel edge region that is above the substrate; and the second one or more tuning gases are supplied to a lower portion of the bevel edge region that is below the substrate.41 . The method of claim 40, wherein: the first one or more tuning gases comprise a first deposition gas, a first etch gas or a first inert gas; and the second one or more tuning gases comprise a second deposition gas, a second etch gas or a second inert gas.

42. The method of claim 41 , wherein the second deposition gas, the second etch gas or the second inert gas is a same gas as the first deposition gas, the first etch gas or the first inert gas.

43. The method of claim 41 , wherein the second deposition gas, the second etch gas or the second inert gas is a different gas than the first deposition gas, the first etch gas or the first inert gas.

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