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US 10,501,844 B2Granted
Fine leveling of large carousel based susceptor
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorKaushal Gangakhedkar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pedestal assemblies with a thermal barrier plate, a torque plate and at least one kinematic mount to change a plane formed by the thermal barrier plate are described. Susceptor assemblies and processing chambers incorporating the pedestal assemblies are also described. Methods of leveling a susceptor to form parallel planes between the susceptor surface and a gas distribution assembly surface are also described.
Claims18
A pedestal assembly comprising:
- a thermal barrier plate with a top surface and a bottom surface defining a thickness, a center opening extends through the thickness of the thermal barrier plate at a center of the thermal barrier plate, at least one torque opening extending through at least the bottom surface of the thermal barrier plate, and at least one leveling hole extending through the thickness of the thermal barrier plate, the at least one leveling hole located a distance from the center opening;
- a torque plate below the thermal barrier plate, the torque plate having a top surface and a bottom surface defining a thickness, a center opening extending through the thickness of the torque plate, at least one torque rod extending from the top surface of the torque plate, the at least one torque rod aligned with the at least one torque opening in the thermal barrier plate;
- and
- at least one kinematic mount assembly positioned within at least one leveling hole in the thermal barrier plate, the kinematic mount assembly comprising a mounting stud having an inner surface, an outer surface and a length defined by a top surface and a bottom surface, the mounting stud sized to fit within the leveling hole, the kinematic mount assembly including a lockdown screw positioned to contact the inner surface of the mounting stud and move along the length of the mounting stud.
1 more element
A susceptor assembly comprising:
- a susceptor having a top surface and a bottom surface defining a thickness, the susceptor having a plurality of recesses formed in the top surface sized to support a substrate for processing, a center opening extends from the bottom surface of the susceptor at least partially through the thickness, at least one susceptor torque opening extending from the bottom surface of the susceptor and at least three susceptor leveling holes extends through the thickness of the susceptor;
- a thermal barrier plate with a top surface and a bottom surface defining a thickness, the top surface of the thermal barrier plate positioned adjacent to the bottom surface of the susceptor, a center opening extends through the thickness of the thermal barrier plate at a center of the thermal barrier plate, at least one torque opening extending through the thickness of the thermal barrier plate and is aligned with the at least one susceptor torque opening, and at least three leveling holes extending through the thickness of the thermal barrier plate, each leveling hole aligned with a leveling hole in the susceptor;
- a torque plate below the thermal barrier plate, the torque plate having a top surface and a bottom surface defining a thickness, a center opening extends through the thickness of the torque plate and is aligned with the center opening in the thermal barrier plate, at least one torque rod extends from the torque plate through the at least one torque opening in the thermal barrier plate and into the at least one susceptor torque opening;
- and
- at least three kinematic mount assemblies, each kinematic mount assembly positioned in different leveling holes in the thermal barrier plate, each kinematic mount assembly comprising a mounting stud having an inner surface, an outer surface and a length defined by a top surface and a bottom surface, the mounting stud sized to fit within the leveling hole, the kinematic mount assembly including a lockdown screw positioned to contact the inner surface of the mounting stud and move along the length of the mounting stud.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.