Method and apparatus for controlling the spatial temperature distribution across the surface of a workpiece support
AssigneeLam Research Corporation
InventorsNeil Benjamin, Robert Steger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A chuck for a plasma processor comprises a temperature-controlled base, a thermal insulator, a flat support, and a heater. The temperature-controlled base has a temperature below the desired temperature of a workpiece. The thermal insulator is disposed over the temperature-controlled base. The flat support holds a workpiece and is disposed over the thermal insulator. A heater is embedded within the flat support and/or disposed on an underside of the flat support. The heater includes a plurality of heating elements that heat a plurality of corresponding heating zones. The power supplied and/or temperature of each heating element is controlled independently.
Claims23
A support comprising:
- a temperature-controlled base having a temperature below the desired temperature of a workpiece;
- a layer of thermal insulation material disposed over said base, said material having a thermal conductivity of less than about 1 W/mK;
- an electrostatic chuck supporting said workpiece, said chuck disposed over said layer of thermal insulation material, said chuck bonded to said base by said layer of thermal insulation material and receiving an incoming heat flux form a plasma during a process;
- and
- a heater embedded within said electrostatic chuck, said heater and said electrostatic chuck forming a single planar layer.
A method for controlling the temperature across a workpiece having multiple zones, said method comprising:
- holding the workpiece against a top face of a support, said support comprising:
- a temperature-controlled base having a temperature below the desired temperature of a workpiece;
- a layer of thermal insulation material disposed over said base, said material having a thermal conductivity of less than about 1 W/mK;
- an electrostatic chuck supporting said workpiece, said chuck disposed over said layer of thermal insulation material, said chuck bonded to said base by said layer of thermal insulation material and receiving an incoming heat flux form a plasma during a process;
- and
- a plurality of heaters embedded within said electrostatic chuck, said plurality of heaters and said electrostatic chuck forming a single planar layer,
- heating each zone of the workpiece independently with said respective heater to control the temperature across said workpiece.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.