Contoured showerhead for improved plasma shaping and control
AssigneeNovellus Systems, Inc.
InventorsKarl F. Leeser, James S. Sims
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Semiconductor processing chamber showerheads with contoured faceplates, as well as techniques for producing such faceplates, are provided. Data describing deposition rate as a function of gap distance between a reference showerhead faceplate and a reference substrate may be obtained, as well as data describing deposition rate as a function of location on the substrate when the reference showerhead and the reference substrate are in a fixed arrangement with respect to each other. The two data sets may be used to determine offsets from a reference plane associated with the faceplate that determine a contour profile to be used with the faceplate.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- obtaining first deposition rate data describing first deposition rates, each first deposition rate correlated with a gap distance between a reference showerhead faceplate and a reference substrate during performance of a semiconductor manufacturing process involving a capacitively-coupled plasma, wherein the gap distances correlated with at least two of the first deposition rates are different;
- obtaining second deposition rate data, the second deposition rate data describing second deposition rates when the reference showerhead faceplate is in a fixed configuration with respect to the reference substrate during the semiconductor manufacturing process involving the capacitively-coupled plasma, the second deposition rates associated with locations distributed across one or more portions of the reference showerhead faceplate during performance of the semiconductor manufacturing process;
- and
- determining a contour profile for a contoured showerhead faceplate based on the first deposition rate data and the second deposition rate data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.