Suppression of parasitic deposition in a substrate processing system by suppressing precursor flow and plasma outside of substrate region

Abstract

A method for operating a substrate processing system includes delivering precursor gas to a chamber using a showerhead that includes a head portion and a stem portion. The head portion includes an upper surface, a sidewall, a lower planar surface, and a cylindrical cavity and extends radially outwardly from one end of the stem portion towards sidewalls of the chamber. The showerhead is connected, using a collar, to an upper surface of the chamber. The collar is arranged around the stem portion. Process gas is flowed into the cylindrical cavity via the stem portion and through a plurality of holes in the lower planar surface to distribute the process gas into the chamber. A purge gas is supplied through slots of the collar into a cavity defined between the head portion and an upper surface of the chamber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.