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US 9,318,306 B2Granted
Interchangeable sputter gun head
AssigneeIntermolecular, Inc.
InventorsOwen Fong, Timothy Franklin, Stephen Charles Garner, James Tsung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In some embodiments, apparatus are provided that provide for flexible processing in both high productivity combinatorial (HPC) and full wafer modes. The apparatus allow for interchangeable functionality that includes deposition with different sizes of targets, plasma treatment, ion beam treatment, and in-situ metrology. The functional modules are designed so that the modules may be interchanged with minimal effort and reduced system downtime.
Claims12
An apparatus comprising:
- a process chamber;
- and
- four process heads disposed within the process chamber, wherein a first process head is operable to deposit a material on the substrate, a second process head is operable to apply a plasma treatment on the substrate, a third process head is operable to apply an ion beam treatment on the substrate, and wherein the fourth process head has in-situ metrology functionality,
- wherein each of the four process heads comprises a common assembly and a removable assembly removably connected to the common assembly, the removable assembly of each of the four process heads is configured to determine the functionality of the respective process head, and the removable assembly of each of the four process heads is configured to be removably connected to the common assembly of each of the four process heads.
1 more element
A method for processing a substrate, the method comprising:
- positioning a substrate on a substrate support in a process chamber, wherein the process chamber comprises four process heads, wherein a first process head is operable to deposit a material on the substrate, a second process head is operable to apply a plasma treatment on the substrate, a third process head is operable to apply an ion beam treatment on the substrate, and a fourth process head has in-situ metrology functionality, and wherein each of the four process heads comprises a common assembly and a removable assembly removably connected to the common assembly, the removable assembly of each of the four process heads is configured to determine the functionality of the respective process head, and the removable assembly of each of the four process heads is configured to be removably connected to the common assembly of each of the four process heads;
- applying a plasma treatment process to the substrate with the second process head;
- and
- after the applying, depositing a material on the substrate with the first process head.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.