# US 10,312,058 B2 · Plasma uniformity control by gas diffuser hole design > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,312,058 B2 - Document ID: US10312058B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/719,465 - Filed: 2017-09-28 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2004-05-12 - Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc. - Applicants: Applied Materials, Inc. - Inventors: Soo Young Choi; John M. White; Qunhua Wang; Li Hou; Ki Woon Kim; Shinichi Kurita; Tae Kyung Won; Suhail Anwar; Beom Soo Park; Robin L. Tiner - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10312058B2 ## CPC - H01J 37/3244: {Gas supply means} - C23C 16/345: {Silicon nitride} - C23C 16/455: characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber - C23C 16/45565: {Shower nozzles} - C23C 16/5096: {Flat-bed apparatus} - H01J 37/32082: {Radio frequency generated discharge (H01J37/32357, H01J37/32366, H01J37/32394 and H01J37/32403 take precedence)} - H01J 37/32091: {the radio frequency energy being capacitively coupled to the plasma} - H01J 37/32541: {Shape} - H01J 37/32596: {Hollow cathodes} - H01J 2237/327: Arrangements for generating the plasma - H01J 2237/3321: CVD [Chemical Vapor Deposition] - H01J 2237/3323: uniformity - H01J 2237/3325: large area - Y10T 29/49885: with coating before or during assembling - Y10T 29/49996: Successive distinct removal operations - H01J: ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS (spark-gaps H01T; electric arc lamps H05B31/00; particle accelerators H05H) - C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract Embodiments of a method of depositing a thin film on a substrate is provided that includes placing a substrate on a substrate support that is mounted in a processing region of a processing chamber, flowing a process fluid through a plurality of gas passages in a diffuser plate toward the substrate supported on the substrate support, wherein the diffuser plate has an upstream side and a downstream side and the downstream side has a substantially concave curvature, and each of the gas passages are formed between the upstream side and the downstream side, and creating a plasma between the downstream side of the diffuser plate and the substrate support. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising: placing a substrate on a substrate support that is mounted in a processing region of a processing chamber; flowing a process fluid through a plurality of gas passages in a diffuser plate toward the substrate supported on the substrate support, wherein the diffuser plate has an upstream side and a downstream side and the downstream side has a substantially concave curvature, and each of the gas passages are formed between the upstream side and the downstream side, and wherein a portion of the plurality of gas passages include a cone shaped hole having a depth that varies from a center to an edge of the diffuser plate; and creating a plasma between the downstream side of the diffuser plate and the substrate support. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the gas passages comprise a hollow cathode cavity in fluid communication with the downstream side. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein a volume, a surface area, or a density of each of the gas passages varies across the diffuser plate to obtain a desired thin film thickness and property uniformity. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the diffuser plate is rectangular. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the diffuser plate size is at least 1,200,000 mm2. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein each of the gas passages comprise: an orifice hole having a first diameter; and a hollow cathode cavity that is downstream of and in fluid communication with the orifice hole and open at the downstream side. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein each of the gas passages further comprise a bore at the upstream side fluidly coupled to the orifice hole having a second diameter greater than the first diameter. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein each of the hollow cathode cavities have a third diameter at the downstream side that is greater than the second diameter. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein each of the third diameters of the hollow cathode cavities increases from the center to the edge of the diffuser plate. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein each of the first diameters are substantially uniform from the center to the edge of the diffuser plate. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, wherein each of the hollow cathode cavities have a volume, a surface area, or a density of each of the gas passages that varies across the diffuser plate to obtain a desired thin film thickness and property uniformity. ### Claim 12 A method of depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising: placing a substrate between a substrate support and a diffuser plate that is mounted in a processing region of a processing chamber; flowing a process fluid through a plurality of gas passages such including a hollow cathode cavity formed in a downstream side of the diffuser plate toward the substrate supported on the substrate support, wherein the diffuser plate has an upstream side and the downstream side has a substantially concave curvature, and each of the hollow cathode cavities are fluidly coupled to a bore formed from the upstream side and wherein a portion of the plurality of hollow cathode cavities include a cone shaped hole having a depth that varies from a center to an edge of the diffuser plate; and creating a plasma between the downstream side of the diffuser plate and the substrate support. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein each of the gas passages further comprise an orifice hole positioned between the bore and the hollow cathode cavity. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the orifice holes are configured uniformly among the gas passages. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the orifice holes are configured non-uniformly among the gas passages. ### Claim 16 A method of depositing a thin film on a substrate, comprising: placing a substrate between a substrate support and a diffuser plate that is mounted in a processing region of a processing chamber; flowing a process fluid through a plurality of gas passages formed between an upstream side and a downstream side of the diffuser plate toward the substrate supported on the substrate support, wherein each of the gas passages include: an orifice hole having a first diameter; and a hollow cathode cavity that is downstream of the orifice hole and is at the downstream side, the hollow cathode cavity having a cone or cylinder shape and a second diameter at the downstream side that is greater than the first diameter, the second diameters or the depths or a combination of both of the cones or cylinders increases from the center to the edge of the diffuser plate, and the first diameters are substantially uniform from the center to the edge of the diffuser plate; and creating a plasma between the downstream side of the diffuser plate and the substrate support. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the downstream side of the diffuser plate is concave. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the diffuser plate has a first thickness at the edge and a second thickness at the center. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the orifice holes are configured uniformly among the gas passages. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the orifice holes are configured non-uniformly among the gas passages.