Method and apparatus for creating circumferential process gas flow in a semiconductor wafer plasma reactor chamber
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsJingboa Liu, Taeho Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for circumferential process gas flow in an ion etch or deposition plasma reactor. The process includes a method and apparatus for creating a flow of the desired gas, circumferentially around the outer edge portion of a semiconductor wafer positioned within a plasma reactor chamber. At least a portion of the desired gas is in a plasma state.
Claims25
A semiconductor wafer plasma reactor system comprising:
- (a) a plasma reactor having an enclosed chamber comprising a sidewall, a floor and a ceiling;
- (b) a support member adapted for mounting a semiconductor wafer positioned in the chamber;
- (c) a process gas supply;
- (d) at least one process gas distribution apparatus positioned within the chamber at a predetermined location and adapted to receive gas from the process gas supply, each of the gas distribution apparatus comprising at least one process gas flow aperture, each of the gas distribution apparatus positioned at the predetermined location such that process gas flowing from its gas flow apertures creates a substantially circumferential process gas flow within the enclosed chamber along an outer edge portion of a semiconductor wafer positioned on the mounting surface of the support member;
- and
- (e) an energy source adapted to convert at least a portion of process gas in the enclosed chamber into a plasma of selected density.
A process gas distribution device for use in a semiconductor wafer plasma chamber of a plasma reactor for processing a semiconductor wafer;
- comprising at least one gas distribution apparatus connectable to a process gas supply, the at least one gas distribution apparatus comprising at least one process gas flow aperture positioned so that a process gas supplied through the at least one gas distribution apparatus aperture flows circumferentially around an outer edge portion of the semiconductor wafer.
A method for treating a substrate in a gas plasma reactor comprising:
- supplying a process gas to one or more gas distribution apparatus in the gas plasma reactor and providing a gas flow from each of the one or more gas distribution apparatus such that the combined gas flow from the one or more gas distribution apparatus is a circumferential gas flow along an outer edge portion of the substrate.
A method for creating a circumferential gas flow in a gas plasma reactor, comprising:
- (a) creating at least a partial vacuum within an enclosed reactor chamber within the gas plasma reactor;
- (b) injecting a process gas into the reactor chamber in a manner to create a substantially circumferential process gas flow around an outer edge portion of a substantially circular shaped semiconductor wafer substantially centrally positioned in said enclosed reactor chamber;
- and
- (c) energizing the substantially circumferential process gas flow in the enclosed reactor chamber into a plasma state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.