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US 10,555,412 B2Granted
Method of controlling ion energy distribution using a pulse generator with a current-return output stage
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsLeonid Dorf, Olivier Luere, Rajinder Dhindsa, James Rogers, Sunil Srinivasan, Anurag Kumar Mishra
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments of this disclosure describe an electrode biasing scheme that enables maintaining a nearly constant sheath voltage and thus creating a mono-energetic IEDF at the surface of the substrate that consequently enables a precise control over the shape of IEDF and the profile of the features formed in the surface of the substrate.
Claims32
A method of processing of a substrate, comprising:
- generating a plasma over a surface of a substrate disposed on a substrate support assembly;
- and
- biasing a biasing electrode disposed within the substrate support assembly using a bias generator that is electrically coupled to a generator end of an electrical conductor using a generator coupling assembly, an electrode end of the electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the biasing electrode using an electrode coupling assembly, the bias generator is configured to establish a pulsed voltage waveform at the biasing electrode, and the pulsed voltage waveform comprises a series of repeating cycles,
- wherein a waveform within each cycle of the series of repeating cycles has a first portion that occurs during a first time interval and a second portion that occurs during a second time interval,
- wherein a positive voltage pulse is only present during the first time interval,
- wherein the bias generator comprises:
- a pulse generator that is electrically coupled to the generator end of the electrical conductor;
- and
- a current-return output stage, wherein
- a first end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor, and
- a second end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the ground, and
- wherein a current flows from the biasing electrode to ground through the current-return output stage during at least a portion of the second time interval.
9 more elements
A processing chamber, comprising:
- a substrate support assembly comprising a biasing electrode that is separated from a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly by a layer of a dielectric material;
- and
- a bias generator that is electrically coupled to a generator end of an electrical conductor using a generator coupling assembly, and an electrode end of the electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the biasing electrode using an electrode coupling assembly,
- wherein the bias generator comprises:
- a pulse generator that is electrically coupled to the generator end of the electrical conductor;
- and
- a current-return output stage, wherein
- a first end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor, and
- a second end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the ground, and
- wherein the electrical conductor comprises a first electrical conductor and a second electrical conductor that are electrically coupled in series, and wherein one end of the first electrical conductor is electrically coupled to an output of the bias generator using the generator coupling assembly and one end of the second electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the biasing electrode using the electrode coupling assembly.
7 more elements
A processing chamber, comprising:
- a substrate support assembly comprising a biasing electrode that is separated from a substrate supporting surface of the substrate support assembly by a layer of a dielectric material;
- a bias generator that is electrically coupled to a generator end of an electrical conductor using a generator coupling assembly, and an electrode end of the electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the biasing electrode using an electrode coupling assembly, wherein the bias generator comprises:
- a pulse generator that is electrically coupled to the generator end of the electrical conductor;
- and
- a current-return output stage, wherein
- a first end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor, and
- a second end of the current-return output stage is electrically coupled to the ground;
- and
- a non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon for performing a method of processing a substrate when executed by a processor, the method comprising:
- generating a plasma over a surface of a substrate disposed on the substrate support assembly;
- and
- biasing the biasing electrode using the bias generator,
- wherein biasing the biasing electrode establishes a pulsed voltage waveform at the biasing electrode, and
- wherein
- the pulsed voltage waveform comprises a series of repeating cycles,
- a waveform within each cycle of the series of repeating cycles has a first portion that occurs during a first time interval and a second portion that occurs during a second time interval, and
- a positive voltage pulse is only present during the first time interval,
- wherein the electrical conductor comprises a first electrical conductor and a second electrical conductor that are electrically coupled in series, and wherein one end of the first electrical conductor is electrically coupled to an output of the bias generator using the generator coupling assembly and one end of the second electrical conductor is electrically coupled to the biasing electrode using the electrode coupling assembly.
15 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.