TW202033819A - Methods of operating a spatial deposition tool - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus and methods to process one or more wafers are described. A spatial deposition tool comprises a plurality of substrate support surfaces on a substrate support assembly and a plurality of spatially separated and isolated processing stations. The spatially separated isolated processing stations have independently controlled temperature, processing gas types, and gas flows. In some embodiments, the processing gases on one or multiple processing stations are activated using plasma sources. The operation of the spatial tool comprises rotating the substrate assembly in a first direction, and rotating the substrate assembly in a second direction, and repeating the rotations in the first direction and the second direction until a predetermined thickness is deposited on the substrate surface(s).

Description

Method of operating space deposition tool

The present disclosure generally relates to equipment for depositing thin films and methods for processing wafers. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a plurality of movable heated wafer supports and spatially separated processing stations, and processing chambers with spatially separated and isolated processing stations.

The current atomic layer deposition (ALD) processing has many potential problems and difficulties. Many ALD chemicals (such as precursors and reactants) are "incompatible", which means that the chemicals cannot be mixed together. If incompatible chemicals are mixed together, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processing may occur instead of ALD processing. CVD processing generally has less thickness control than ALD processing and/or can lead to the production of gas phase particles, which can lead to defects in the resulting device. For the traditional time-domain ALD process in which one reactive gas is flowed into the processing chamber at a time, a longer purging/pumping time will occur so that the chemicals will not mix in the gas phase. Compared with the pumping/purification speed of the time domain ALD chamber, the spatial ALD chamber can move one or more wafers from one environment to the second environment faster, thereby obtaining higher yields.

The semiconductor industry needs high-quality films that can be deposited at lower temperatures (for example, below 350°C). In order to deposit a high-quality film at a temperature lower than the temperature at which the film is deposited only by the thermal method, alternative energy sources are required. Plasma solutions can be used to provide additional energy to the ALD film in the form of ions and free radicals. The difficulty lies in obtaining sufficient energy on the vertical sidewall ALD film. Ions are generally accelerated through the sheath above the wafer surface in a direction perpendicular to the wafer surface. Therefore, ions provide energy to the horizontal ALD film surface, but insufficient energy to the vertical surface because the ions move parallel to the vertical surface.

Some processing chambers contain capacitively coupled plasma (CCP). CCP is generated between the top electrode and the wafer, which is usually called CCP parallel plate plasma. The CCP parallel plate plasma generates high ion energy between the two working plates, so the effect on the vertical sidewall surface is poor. By moving the wafer spatially to an environment optimized for generating high radical flux and ion flux, this environment has lower energy and a wider angular distribution relative to the wafer surface, which can achieve better Vertical ALD film properties. Such plasma sources include microwaves, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) or higher frequency CCP solutions with a third electrode (that is, plasma is generated between two electrodes above the wafer, and Instead of using the wafer as the main electrode).

The current spatial ALD processing chamber rotates multiple wafers on a heated circular platform at a constant speed, which moves the wafers from one processing environment to an adjacent environment. Different processing environments can cause separation of incompatible gases. However, current spatial ALD processing chambers cannot allow the plasma environment to be optimized for plasma exposure, resulting in non-uniformity, plasma damage, and/or processing flexibility issues.

For example, the process gas flows across the surface of the wafer. Because the wafer rotates around the offset axis, the leading and trailing edges of the wafer have different streamlines. In addition, since the speed at the inner edge is slower and the speed at the outer edge is faster, there is also a flow difference between the inner diameter edge and the outer diameter edge of the wafer. These flow inhomogeneities can be optimized but not eliminated. Exposing the wafer to uneven plasma can cause plasma damage. The constant speed rotation of these spatial processing chambers requires wafers to move in and out of the plasma, so some wafers are exposed to the plasma, while other areas are outside of the plasma. In addition, due to the constant rotation rate, it may be difficult to change the exposure time in the spatial processing chamber. For example, a process uses a gas A exposure time of 0.5 seconds, followed by a plasma treatment for 1.5 seconds. Because the tool runs at a constant speed, the only way is to make the plasma environment 3 times larger than the gas A dose environment. If you want to perform other processing when the gas A and plasma time are equal, you need to change the hardware. The current spatial ALD chamber can only slow down or speed up the rotation speed, and cannot adjust the time difference between steps without changing the chamber hardware in a smaller or larger area.

In current spatial ALD deposition tools (or other spatial processing chambers), the main deposition step occurs when the wafer is stationary in a processing station that simulates a single wafer chamber. The operating method usually involves moving the wafer to multiple types In the processing station, because different parts of the wafer are exposed to different environments, the leading edge and trailing edge of the wafer are different. Therefore, there is a need for improved deposition equipment and methods in the art.

One or more specific embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method of operating a processing chamber. In one or more specific embodiments, a method includes: providing a processing chamber, the processing chamber includes x spatially separated and isolated processing stations, the processing chamber has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station Independently have the processing station temperature, the processing chamber temperature is different from the processing station temperature; rotate the substrate support assembly (rx-1) times, the substrate support assembly has a plurality of substrate support surfaces, and the plurality of substrate support surfaces are spatially separated from the x The isolated processing stations are aligned so that each substrate support surface is rotated (360/x) degrees in the first direction to abut the substrate support surface, r is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the substrate support assembly is rotated (rx- 1) times, so that each substrate support surface is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction to abut the substrate support surface.

In one or more specific embodiments, a method includes: providing a processing chamber having at least two different processing stations, including a first substrate supporting surface, a second substrate supporting surface, a third substrate supporting surface, and a fourth substrate The substrate support assembly of the supporting surface, each substrate support surface is in the initial position aligned with the processing station; the first wafer on the first substrate support surface is exposed to the first processing condition; the substrate support assembly is in the first direction Rotate to move the first wafer to the initial position of the second substrate support surface; expose the first wafer to the second processing condition; rotate the substrate support surface in the first direction to move the first wafer to the second 3. The initial position of the substrate supporting surface; exposing the first wafer to the third processing condition; rotating the substrate supporting assembly in the first direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the fourth substrate supporting surface; The first wafer is exposed to the fourth processing condition; the substrate support assembly is rotated in the second direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the third substrate support surface; the first wafer is exposed to the third processing condition; Rotate the substrate support assembly in the second direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the second substrate support surface; expose the first wafer to the second processing condition; rotate the substrate support assembly in the second direction to Moving the first wafer to the initial position of the first substrate supporting surface; and exposing the first wafer to the first processing condition.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method of forming a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, a method of forming a thin film includes: loading at least one wafer on x substrate support surfaces in a substrate support assembly, each of the substrate support surfaces and x spaces The separated and isolated processing stations are aligned; the substrate support assembly is rotated (rx-1) times in the first direction, so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees to the adjacent substrate support surface, r is greater than or equal to 1 Rotate the substrate support assembly in the second direction (rx-1) times so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees to abut the substrate support surface; and in each processing station, make at least one The top surface of the wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film having a substantially uniform thickness.

One or more specific embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method of operating a processing chamber. In one or more specific embodiments, a method includes: providing a processing chamber, the processing chamber includes x spatially separated and isolated processing stations, the processing chamber has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station Independently have the processing station temperature, the processing chamber temperature is different from the processing station temperature; rotate the substrate support assembly rx times, the substrate support assembly has a plurality of substrate support surfaces, the plurality of substrate support surfaces are separated from x spatially isolated processing stations Align so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees in the first direction to the adjacent substrate support surface, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and rotate the substrate support assembly rx times so that each substrate supports The surface is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction to abut the substrate support surface.

An additional embodiment of the disclosure relates to a method of operating a processing chamber. In one or more embodiments, a method includes: providing a processing chamber including x spatially separated and isolated processing stations, the processing chamber has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station independently has a processing station The temperature of the processing chamber is different from the temperature of the processing station; the substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees to the adjacent substrate support surface in the first direction. The substrate support assembly has a plurality of substrate support surfaces, and the plurality of substrate support surfaces are x spatially separated and isolated processing stations are aligned; the substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees to the adjacent substrate support surface in the second direction, where the rotation in the first direction and the rotation in the second direction are repeated n times, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1; rotate the substrate support assembly in a first direction (360/x) twice; rotate the substrate support assembly in the first direction (360/x) degree And then the substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction, the rotation in the first direction and the second direction is repeated m times, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and the substrate support assembly Rotate (360/x) degrees in the second direction.

Before describing several exemplary specific embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details of the configuration or processing steps set forth in the following description. The present disclosure can have other specific embodiments, and can be practiced or executed in various ways.

As used herein, "substrate" refers to any substrate or material surface formed on a substrate on which thin film processing is performed during the manufacturing process. As used herein, "substrate" refers to any substrate or material surface formed on a substrate on which thin film processing is performed during the manufacturing process. The substrate includes but is not limited to a semiconductor wafer. The substrate may be exposed to a pretreatment process to polish, etch, reduce, oxidize, hydroxylate, anneal, and/or bake the surface of the substrate. In addition to directly performing thin film processing on the surface of the substrate itself, in the present disclosure, any thin film processing steps disclosed can also be performed on the bottom layer formed on the substrate, as described in more detail below, and the word "substrate "Surface" is intended to include the bottom layer indicated by the background content. Therefore, for example, in the case where the film/layer or part of the film/layer has been deposited on the substrate surface, the exposed surface of the newly deposited film/layer becomes the substrate surface.

As used in this specification and the scope of the appended application, the terms "precursor", "reactant", "reactive gas", etc. are used interchangeably and refer to react with the surface of the substrate or with the thin film formed on it Of any gaseous substance.

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure use spatial separation between two or more processing environments. Some specific embodiments advantageously provide devices and methods for maintaining separation of incompatible gases. Some specific embodiments advantageously provide devices and methods including optimizable plasma processing. Some specific embodiments advantageously provide devices and methods that allow a differentiated thermal dose environment, a differentiated plasma processing environment, and other environments.

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a processing chamber having four spatially separated processing environments, also referred to as processing stations. Some specific embodiments have more than four, and some specific embodiments have less than four. The processing environment can be mounted coplanar to a wafer moving in a horizontal plane. The processing environment is arranged in a circle. A rotatable structure with one to four (or more) independent wafer heaters mounted on it allows the wafers to move along a circular path whose diameter is similar to the processing environment. Each heater can be temperature controlled and can have one or more concentric areas. In order to load the wafers, the rotatable structure can be lowered so that the vacuum robot can pick up the finished wafers and place the unprocessed wafers on the lift pins located above each wafer heater (in the lower Z position) . In operation, each wafer can be in an independent environment until the process is complete, and then the rotatable structure can be rotated (90° for four stations, 120° for three stations) to put the heater on The wafers are moved to the next environment for processing.

Some specific embodiments of the present disclosure advantageously provide spatial separation of ALD with incompatible gases. Some specific embodiments allow for higher throughput and tool resource utilization than traditional time-domain or spatial processing chambers. Each processing environment can operate under different pressures. The heater rotation direction is the Z direction, so each heater can be sealed in a chamber.

Some specific embodiments advantageously provide a plasma environment, which may include one or more of microwave, ICP, parallel plate CCP, or three electrode CCP. The entire wafer can be immersed in the plasma; the plasma damage caused by the uneven plasma on the wafer is eliminated.

In some specific embodiments, the small gap between the shower head and the wafer can be used to increase the dosage gas utilization and cycle time speed. Precise nozzle temperature control and high working range (up to 230°C). Without being bound by theory, it is believed that the closer the shower head temperature is to the wafer temperature, the better the wafer temperature uniformity.

Sprinklers can include small air holes (>200 µm), a large number of air holes (thousands to more than ten million), and use a small distribution amount to recursively distribute gas to the sprinkler to increase speed. Small size and large number of pores can be generated by laser drilling or dry etching. When the wafer is close to the shower head, the gas will flow to the wafer through the vertical hole, causing turbulence. Some specific embodiments allow the use of a large number of closely spaced holes to allow the gas to pass through the shower head at a lower velocity to achieve uniform distribution to the wafer surface.

Some specific embodiments relate to an integrated processing platform using a plurality of spatially separated processing stations (chambers) on a single tool. The processing platform may have various chambers that can perform different processing.

Some specific embodiments of the present disclosure relate to equipment and methods for moving a wafer attached to a wafer heater from one environment to another environment. Fast movement can be achieved by electrostatically attracting (or clamping) the wafer to the heater. The movement of the wafer can be linear or circular.

Some specific embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods of processing one or more substrates. Examples include, but are not limited to: running a wafer on a heater into a plurality of different continuous environments that are spatially separated; running two wafers on two wafer heaters into three environments (two environments Same, a different environment is between two similar environments); wafer one sees environment A, then sees B, then repeats, while wafer two sees environment B, then sees A, then repeats; one environment remains idle Status (no wafers); run two wafers in two first environments and two second environments, where both wafers see the same environment at the same time (ie, both wafers are in A, and then All go to B); four wafers with two A and two B environments; and two wafers are processed in A and the other two wafers are processed in B. In some embodiments, the wafer is repeatedly exposed to environment A and environment B, and then exposed to a third environment in the same chamber.

In some embodiments, the wafer passes through a plurality of chambers for processing, and at least one of the chambers uses a plurality of spatially separated environments for sequential processing in the same chamber.

Some specific embodiments are directed to equipment with spatially separated processing environments in the same chamber, where the environments are at significantly different pressures (for example, one pressure>100mT, the other pressure>3T). In some specific embodiments, the heater rotating robot moves on the z-axis to seal each wafer/heater into a spatially separated environment.

Some specific embodiments include structures built above the chamber using vertical structural members that apply upward force to the center of the chamber cover to eliminate deflection caused by atmospheric pressure on the top side and vacuum on the other side . The force of the upper structure can be adjusted mechanically according to the deflection of the top plate. The adjustment of the force can be done automatically using a feedback circuit and a force sensor, or manually, for example, using a screw that can be turned by an operator.

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a processing chamber having at least two spatially separated processing environments, also referred to as processing stations. Some specific embodiments have more than two and some specific embodiments have more than four processing stations. The processing environment can be mounted coplanar to a wafer moving in a horizontal plane. The processing environment is arranged in a circle. A rotatable structure with one to four (or more) independent wafer heaters mounted on it allows the wafers to move along a circular path whose diameter is similar to the processing environment. Each heater can be temperature controlled and can have one or more concentric areas. In order to load the wafers, the rotatable structure can be lowered so that the vacuum robot can pick up the finished wafers and place the unprocessed wafers on the lift pins located above each wafer heater (in the lower Z position) . In operation, each wafer can be in an independent environment until the process is complete, and then the rotatable structure can be rotated (90° for four stations, 120° for three stations) to put the heater on The wafers are moved to the next environment for processing. In one or more specific embodiments, the primary deposition step occurs when the wafer is stationary in a processing station that simulates a single wafer chamber.

In a spatial ALD deposition tool (or other spatial processing chamber), the wafer is moved to the first processing station and then to the second processing station. In some cases, the first processing station and the second processing station are the same (ie, the same), resulting in a lack of uniformity in film thickness and a lack of film deposition characteristics (such as refractive index, wet etching rate, plane displacement, etc.) Uniformity. In addition, since different parts of the wafer are exposed to different processing environments at one station, the sequence of moving from one processing station to the next results in differences in the leading and trailing edges on the wafer.

Simply moving back and forth between two different processing stations is the clearest way to operate a spatial deposition tool. However, moving between more than two processing stations can present challenges, such as rotating connections for electricity, water, and gas, and aligning each wafer/substrate support surface with each processing station (to keep them from The tolerance of any position alignment is stricter than just aligning each base to two processing stations).

In addition, it has been observed that during the conventional operation, when the wafer is loaded on the substrate support and moved from the first processing station to the second processing station and then back to the first processing station, the wafer on the substrate support Not all of the parts will be in the same environment at the same time, resulting in a difference between the leading edge and the trailing edge.

In one or more specific embodiments, the wafer is loaded on the substrate support, and the wafer is moved in the first direction from the first processing station to the second processing station and then to the first processing station, and then Move back to the second processing station and then to the second processing station in the second direction to average the time spent between the two types of processing stations. During such a movement, it is observed that the average value of the two wafers is different from the average value of the other two wafers (for example, if there is a high temperature/low temperature, the two wafers will have high edges and low centers. The other two wafers will have low edges and high centers). In one or more specific embodiments, it was surprisingly found that only averaging between (at least) four processing stations can achieve a reasonable average with similar profiles on all wafers. Therefore, in one or more specific embodiments, the sequence of movement between processing stations is advantageously optimized so that not all parts of the wafer are located in the same environment (such as temperature, pressure, etc.) at the same time during the movement between processing stations. , Reactive gas, etc.).

Figures 1 and 2 show a processing chamber 100 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional isometric view of a processing chamber 100 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the processing chamber 100 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, some specific embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to the processing chamber 100 in which the support assembly 200 and the top plate 300 are combined.

The processing chamber 100 has a housing 102 with a wall 104 and a bottom 106. The housing 102 and the top plate 300 together define an internal space 109, also referred to as a processing space.

The processing chamber 100 includes a plurality of processing stations 110. The processing station 110 is located in the internal space 109 of the housing 102 and is positioned in a circular arrangement around the rotation axis 211 of the support assembly 200. Each processing station 110 includes a gas injector 112 having a front surface 114. In some embodiments, the front surface 114 of each gas injector 112 is substantially coplanar. The processing station 110 is defined as an area in which processing can be performed. For example, as described below, the processing station 110 may be defined by the substrate support surface 231 of the heater 230 and the front surface 114 of the gas injector 112.

The processing station 110 may be configured to perform any suitable processing and provide any suitable processing conditions. The type of gas injector 112 used, for example, will depend on the type of processing performed and the type of shower head or gas injector. For example, the processing station 110 configured to be used as an atomic layer deposition apparatus may have a shower head or a swirl type gas injector. However, the processing station 110 configured to be used as a plasma station may have a configuration of one or more electrodes and/or ground plates to generate plasma while allowing the plasma gas to flow to the wafer. In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 2, there is a processing station 110a on the left side of the figure, and a processing station 110b on the right side of the figure. The types of the processing station 110a and the processing station 110b are different. Suitable processing stations 110 include, but are not limited to, thermal processing stations, microwave plasma, three-electrode CCP, ICP, parallel plate CCP, UV exposure, laser processing, pumping chambers, annealing stations, and metering stations.

Figures 3 to 6 show a support assembly 200 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The support assembly 200 includes a rotatable center base 210. The rotatable center base 210 may have a symmetrical or asymmetrical shape, and define a rotation axis 211. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the rotation shaft 211 extends in the first direction. The first direction may be referred to as a vertical direction or along the z-axis; however, it should be understood that the term "vertical" used herein is not limited to a direction perpendicular to gravity.

The support assembly 200 includes at least two support arms 220 connected to and extending from the center base 210. The support arm 220 has an inner end 221 and an outer end 222. The inner end 221 is in contact with the center base 210 so that when the center base 210 rotates around the rotation axis 211, the support arm 220 also rotates. The support arm 220 may be connected to the center base 210 at the inner end 221 by fasteners (such as bolts) or by being integrally formed with the center base 210.

In some embodiments, the support arm 220 extends orthogonally to the rotation axis 211, so that one of the inner end 221 or the outer end 222 is farther from the other of the inner end 221 and the outer end 222 on the same support arm 220 Rotation shaft 211. In some specific embodiments, the inner end 221 of the support arm 220 is closer to the rotation axis 211 than the outer end 222 of the same support arm 220.

The number of support arms 220 in the support assembly 200 may vary. In some embodiments, there are at least two support arms 220, at least three support arms 220, at least four support arms 220, or at least five support arms 220. In some specific embodiments, there are three support arms 220. In some embodiments, there are four support arms 220. In some specific embodiments, there are five support arms 220. In some specific embodiments, there are six support arms 220.

The support arms 220 may be symmetrically arranged around the center base 210. For example, in the support assembly 200 having four support arms 220, each support arm 220 is positioned around the center base 210 at an interval of 90°. In the support assembly 200 having three support arms 220, the support arms 220 are positioned around the center base 210 at intervals of 120°. In other words, in a specific embodiment with four support arms 220, the support arms are arranged to provide four-fold symmetry around the rotation axis 211. In some specific embodiments, the support assembly 200 has n support arms 220, and the n support arms 220 are arranged to provide n-fold symmetry around the rotation axis 211.

The heater 230 is located at the outer end 222 of the support arm 220. In some embodiments, each support arm 220 has a heater 230. The center of the heater 230 is located at a certain distance from the rotation axis 211, so that the heater 230 moves along a circular path when the center base 210 rotates.

The heater 230 has a supporting surface 231 that can support the wafer. In some embodiments, the support surface 231 of the heater 230 is substantially coplanar. When used in this manner, "substantially coplanar" means that the plane formed by each support surface 231 is at ±5°, ±4°, ±3°, ±2° or the plane formed by the other support surface 231 Within ±1°.

In some embodiments, the heater 230 is directly positioned on the outer end 222 of the support arm 220. In some embodiments, as shown in the figure, the heater 230 is raised above the outer end 222 of the support arm 220 by the heater bracket 234. The heater bracket 234 may have any size and length to increase the height of the heater 230.

In some embodiments, a channel 236 is formed in one or more of the central base 210, the support arm 220, and/or the heater bracket 234. The channel 236 can be used to route electrical connections or provide airflow.

The heater may be any suitable type of heater known to the skilled person. In some specific embodiments, the heater is a resistance heater, with one or more heating elements in the heater body.

The heater 230 of some specific embodiments includes additional components. For example, the heater may include an electrostatic chuck. The electrostatic chuck may include various wires and electrodes so that when the heater moves, the wafer on the heater supporting surface 231 may be held in place. This allows the wafer to be adsorbed on the heater at the beginning of the process and remain in the same position on the same heater when moving to different processing areas. In some embodiments, the wires and electrodes pass through the channel 236 in the support arm 220. FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of a portion of the support assembly 200, in which the channel 236 is shown. The channel 236 extends along the support arm 220 and the heater bracket 234. The first electrode 251 a and the second electrode 251 b are in electrical communication with the heater 230 or with components (for example, resistance wires) inside the heater 230. The first wire 253a is connected to the first electrode 251a at the first connector 252a. The second wire 253b is connected to the second electrode 251b at the second connector 252b.

In some embodiments, a temperature measuring device (for example, a pyrometer, a thermistor, or a thermocouple) is located in the channel 236 to measure one or more of the temperature of the heater 230 or the temperature of the substrate on the heater 230. In some specific embodiments, control lines and/or measurement lines for the temperature measurement device are routed through the channel 236. In some embodiments, one or more temperature measuring devices are positioned in the processing chamber 100 to measure the temperature of the heater 230 and/or the wafer on the heater 230. Suitable temperature measurement devices are known to the skilled person and include, but are not limited to, optical pyrometers and contact thermocouples.

The wire may pass through the support arm 220 and the support assembly 200 to be connected to a power source (not shown). In some embodiments, the connection to the power source allows the support assembly 200 to continuously rotate without tangling or breaking the wires 253a, 253b. In some specific embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the first wire 253 a and the second wire 253 b extend to the center base 210 along the channel 236 of the support arm 220. In the center base 210, the first wire 253a is connected to the center first connector 254a, and the second wire 253b is connected to the center second connector 254b. The center connectors 254a, 254b may be part of the connection plate 258 so that electrical or electronic signals can pass through the center connectors 254a, 254b. In the specific embodiment shown, the support assembly 200 can continuously rotate without twisting or breaking the wires because the wires terminate in the center base 210. The second connection is on the opposite side of the connection plate 258 (outside the processing chamber).

In some specific embodiments, the wires are directly connected to the power supply or electronic components outside the processing chamber through the channel 236. In this specific embodiment, the wire has sufficient slack to allow the support assembly 200 to rotate a limited amount without twisting or breaking the wire. In some embodiments, the support assembly 200 rotates less than or equal to about 1080°, 990°, 720°, 630°, 360°, or 270° before the direction of rotation is reversed. This allows the heater to rotate through each station without disconnecting the wires.

Referring again to FIGS. 3 to 6, the heater 230 and the supporting surface 231 may include one or more gas outlets to provide the flow of back gas. This can help remove the wafer from the support surface 231. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the supporting surface 231 includes a plurality of openings 237 and gas channels 238. The opening 237 and/or the gas passage 238 may be in fluid communication with one or more of a vacuum source or a gas source (eg, purge gas). In such specific embodiments, a hollow tube may be included to allow the gas source to be in fluid communication with the opening 237 and/or the gas channel 238.

In some specific embodiments, the heater 230 and/or the support surface 231 are configured as electrostatic chucks. In this specific embodiment, the electrodes 251a, 251b (see FIG. 7) may include control wires for electrostatic chucks.

Some specific embodiments of the support assembly 200 include a sealing platform 240. The sealing platform has a top surface 241, a bottom surface, and a thickness. The sealing platform 240 may be positioned around the heater 230 to help provide a seal or barrier to minimize gas flow to the area under the support assembly 200.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the sealing platform 240 is annular and is positioned around each heater 230. In the specific embodiment shown, the sealing platform 240 is located below the heater 230 such that the top surface 241 of the sealing platform 240 is below the supporting surface 231 of the heater.

The sealing platform 240 can have multiple purposes. For example, the sealing platform 240 can be used to increase the temperature uniformity of the heater 230 by increasing the thermal mass. In some specific embodiments, the sealing platform 240 is formed integrally with the heater 230 (for example, see FIG. 6). In some embodiments, the sealing platform 240 is separated from the heater 230. For example, the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 8 has the sealing platform 240 as a separate component connected to the heater bracket 234 such that the top surface 241 of the sealing platform 240 is lower than the height of the supporting surface 231 of the heater 230.

In some specific embodiments, the sealing platform 240 serves as a holder for the support plate 245. In some specific embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the support plate 245 is a single component that has a plurality of openings 242 surrounding all the heaters 230 to allow access to the support surface 231 of the heater 230. The opening 242 may allow the heater 230 to pass through the support plate 245. In some specific embodiments, the support plate 245 is fixed so that the support plate 245 moves vertically and rotates with the heater 230.

In one or more specific embodiments, the support assembly 200 is a drum-shaped member; for example, referring to FIG. 20, the cylinder has a top surface 246 configured to support a plurality of wafers. The top surface 246 of the support assembly 200a has a plurality of grooves (cavities 257) that are sized to support one or more wafers during processing. In some embodiments, the depth of the cavity 257 is approximately equal to the thickness of the wafer to be processed, so that the top surface of the wafer and the top surface 246 of the cylinder are substantially coplanar. An example of such a support assembly 200 can be conceived as a modification of FIG. 5 without the support arm 220. FIG. 20 shows a cross-sectional view of a specific embodiment of the support assembly 200 using a cylinder. The support assembly 200 includes a plurality of cavities 257 sized to support the wafer for processing. In the specific embodiment shown, the bottom of the cavity 257 is the supporting surface 231 of the heater 230. The power connection of the heater 230 can be wired through the pillar 227 and the support plate 245. The heater 230 may be independently powered to control the temperature of each cavity 257 and the wafer.

9, in some specific embodiments, the support plate 245 has a top surface 246 forming a main plane 248 that is substantially parallel to the main plane 247 formed by the support surface 231 of the heater 230. In some specific embodiments, the support plate 245 has a top surface 246 that forms a main plane 248 that is a distance D above the main plane 247 of the support surface 231. In some specific embodiments, the distance D is substantially equal to the thickness of the wafer 260 to be processed, so that the surface 261 of the wafer 260 and the top surface 246 of the support plate 245 are coplanar, as shown in FIG. 6. The term "substantially coplanar" used in this way means that the coplanarity of the main plane formed by the surface 261 of the wafer 260 is within ±1mm, ±0.5mm, ±0.4mm, ±0.3mm, ±0.2mm or Within ±0.1mm.

Referring to Figure 9, some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have individual components that constitute a support surface for processing. Here, the sealing platform 240 is a separate part from the heater 230 and is positioned such that the top surface 241 of the sealing platform 240 is below the supporting surface 231 of the heater 230. The distance between the top surface 241 of the sealing platform 240 and the supporting surface 231 of the heater 230 is sufficient to allow the support plate 245 to be positioned on the sealing platform 240. The thickness of the support plate 245 and/or the position of the sealing platform 240 can be controlled so that the distance D between the top surface 246 of the support plate 245 is sufficiently large so that the top surface 261 of the wafer 260 (see FIG. 6) and the support plate 245 The top surfaces 246 are substantially coplanar.

In some specific embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, the supporting plate 245 is supported by the supporting column 227. When a single component platform is used, the support column 227 can be used to prevent the center of the support plate 245 from sagging. In some specific embodiments, there is no sealing platform 240, and the support column 227 is the main support for the support plate 245.

The support plate 245 may have various configurations to interact with the various configurations of the heater 230 and the sealing platform 240. FIG. 10A illustrates a top view of the support plate 245 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the support plate 245 taken along the line 10B-10B' of FIG. 10A. In this particular embodiment, the support plate 245 is a planar member, in which the top surface 246 and the bottom surface 249 are substantially flat and/or substantially coplanar. As shown in FIG. 9, where the sealing platform 240 is used to support the support plate 245, the illustrated embodiment may be particularly useful.

FIG. 11A shows a bottom isometric view of another specific embodiment of the support plate 245 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the support plate 245 taken along the line 11B-11B' of FIG. 11A. In this specific embodiment, each opening 242 has a protruding ring 270 surrounding the outer periphery of the opening 242 on the bottom surface 249 of the support plate 245.

Figure 12A shows a bottom isometric view of another specific embodiment of the support plate 245 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. 12B is a cross-sectional view of the support plate 245 taken along line 12B-12B' of FIG. 12A. In this specific embodiment, each opening 242 has a concave ring 272 surrounding the outer circumference of the opening 242 in the bottom surface 249 of the support plate 245. The concave ring 272 forms a concave bottom surface 273. This particular embodiment may be useful in cases where the sealing platform 240 is not present or the sealing platform 240 is coplanar with the support surface 231 of the heater 230. The concave bottom surface 273 may be positioned on the support surface 231 of the heater 230 such that the bottom of the support plate 245 extends below the support surface 231 of the heater 230 around the side of the heater 230.

Some specific embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a ceiling 300 for a multi-station processing chamber. 1 and 13, the top plate 300 has a top surface 301 and a bottom surface 302 that define the thickness of the cover, and one or more edges 303. The top plate 300 includes at least one opening 310 extending through its thickness. The size of the opening 310 is set to allow the addition of a gas injector 112 that can form the processing station 110.

FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the processing station 110 according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The illustrated processing station 110 includes three main components: a top plate 300 (also referred to as a cover), a pump/purification insert 330, and a gas injector 112. The gas injector 112 shown in FIG. 14 is a shower head type gas injector. In some specific embodiments, the insert is connected to or in fluid communication with vacuum (exhaust). In some embodiments, the insert is connected to or in fluid communication with the source of purge gas.

The opening 310 in the top plate 300 may have a uniform size or have different sizes. Gas injectors 112 of different sizes/shapes can be used with the pump/purification insert 330, and the shape of the pump/purification insert 330 is suitable for transitioning from the opening 310 to the gas injector 112. For example, as shown in the figure, the pump/purification insert 330 includes a top 331 and a bottom 333 and side walls 335. When inserted into the opening 310 in the top plate 300, the protruding portion 334 adjacent to the bottom 333 may be located on the partition 315 formed in the opening 310. In some embodiments, there is no partition 315 in the opening, and the flange portion 337 of the pump/purification insert 330 rests on the top of the top plate 300. In the particular embodiment shown, the protrusion 334 rests on the partition 315 with an O-ring 314 between them to help form an airtight seal.

In some embodiments, there are one or more purification rings 309 in the top plate 300 (see Figure 13). The purge ring 309 may be in fluid communication with a purge gas chamber (not shown) or a purge gas source (not shown) to provide a forward flow of purge gas to prevent leakage of processing gas from the processing chamber.

The pump/purification insert 330 of some specific embodiments includes an air chamber 336 with at least one opening 338 in the bottom 333 of the pump/purification insert 330. The air chamber 336 has an entrance (not shown), usually near the top 331 or the side wall 335 of the pump/purification insert 330.

In some embodiments, the air chamber 336 may be filled with purge or inert gas that can pass through the opening 338 in the bottom 333 of the pump/purge insert 330. The gas flow through the opening 338 can help form a gas curtain barrier to prevent the process gas from leaking from the inside of the process chamber.

In some embodiments, the gas chamber 336 is connected to or in fluid communication with a vacuum source. In such a specific embodiment, the gas flows through the opening 338 in the bottom 333 of the pump/purification insert 330 into the air chamber 336. The gas can be evacuated from the gas chamber for discharge. Such an arrangement can be used to exhaust gas from the processing station 110 during use.

The pump/purification insert 330 includes an opening 339 into which the gas injector 112 can be inserted. The illustrated gas injector 112 has a flange 342 that can contact the protruding portion 332 adjacent to the top 331 of the pump/purification insert 330. The diameter or width of the gas injector 112 can be any suitable size that can fit within the opening 339 of the pump/purification insert 330. This allows various types of gas injectors 112 to be used within the same opening 310 in the top plate 300.

2 and 15, some specific embodiments of the top plate 300 include a rod 360 passing over the central portion of the top plate 300. The rod 360 may be connected to the top plate 300 near the center using the connector 367. The connector 367 may be used to apply a force perpendicular to the top 331 or the bottom 333 of the top plate 300 to compensate for warpage in the top plate 300 due to a pressure difference or due to the weight of the top plate 300. In some embodiments, the rod 360 and the connector 367 can compensate for the deflection at the center of the top plate, this deflection is up to (or equal to) about 1.5 mm, the width of the top plate is about 1.5 m, and the thickness of the top plate is up to (or equal to) ) About 100 mm. In some specific embodiments, the motor 365 or actuator is connected to the connector 367 and can cause a change in the directional force applied to the top plate 300. The motor 365 or the actuator may be supported on the rod 360. The rod 360 shown is in contact with the edge of the top plate 300 at two locations. However, the skilled person will recognize that there may be one connection location or more than two connection locations.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the support assembly 200 includes at least one motor 250. At least one motor 250 is connected to the center base 210 and is configured to rotate the support assembly 200 about the rotation shaft 211. In some specific embodiments, at least one motor is configured to move the center base 210 in a direction along the rotation axis 211. For example, in FIG. 2, the motor 255 is connected to the motor 250 and the support assembly 200 can be moved along the rotating shaft 211. In other words, the illustrated motor 255 can move the support assembly 200 along the z-axis (perpendicular or orthogonal to the movement caused by the motor 250). In some specific embodiments, as shown in the figure, there is a first motor 250 to rotate the support assembly 200 around the rotation axis 211, and a second motor 255 to move the support assembly 200 along the rotation axis 211 (ie along the z-axis or vertically) .

2 and 16, one or more vacuum flows and/or purge gas flows may be used to help isolate one treatment station 110a from an adjacent treatment station 110b. The purge gas chamber 370 may be in fluid communication with the purge gas port 371 at the outer boundary of the processing station 110. In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the purge gas chamber 370 and the purge gas port 371 are located in the top plate 300. The air chamber 336, shown as part of the pump/purge insert 330, is in fluid communication with an opening 338 that serves as a pump/purge gas port. The purge gas port 371 and the purge gas chamber 370 (as shown in FIG. 13) and the vacuum port (opening 338) may extend around the periphery of the processing station 110 to form an air curtain. The gas curtain can help minimize or eliminate the leakage of processing gas into the internal space 109 of the processing chamber.

In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 16, differential pumping can be used to help isolate the processing station 110. The pump/purification insert 330 is shown in contact with the heater 230 and the support plate 245 with O-ring 329. The O-ring 329 is positioned on either side of the opening 338 and is in fluid communication with the air chamber 336. One O-ring 329 is located inside the circumference of the opening 338, and the other O-ring 329 is located outside the circumference of the opening 338. The combination of the O-ring 329 and the pump/purification chamber 336 with the opening 338 can provide a sufficient pressure difference to maintain the processing station 110 airtightly sealed to the internal space 109 of the processing chamber 100. In some specific embodiments, an O-ring 329 is located inside or outside the circumference of the opening 338. In some specific embodiments, there are two O-rings 329 located inside and outside the circumference of the purge gas port 371 in fluid communication with the gas chamber 370, respectively. In some specific embodiments, there is an O-ring 329 located inside or outside the circumference of the purge gas port 371 in fluid communication with the gas chamber 370.

The boundary of the processing station 110 can be regarded as an area in which the pump/purification insert 330 isolates the processing gas. In some embodiments, the outer boundary of the processing station 110 is the outermost edge 381 of the opening 338, which is in fluid communication with the air chamber 336 of the pump/purification insert 330, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 16.

The number of processing stations 110 may vary with the number of heaters 230 and support arms 220. In some specific embodiments, there are equal numbers of heaters 230, support arms 220, and processing stations 110. In some embodiments, the heater 230, the support arm 220, and the processing station 110 are configured such that each support surface 231 of the heater 230 can be located near the front surface 214 of a different processing station 110 at the same time. In other words, each heater is located in the processing station at the same time.

The spacing of the processing stations 110 surrounding the processing chamber 100 may be changed. In some embodiments, the processing stations 110 are close enough together to minimize the space between the stations so that the substrate can move quickly between the processing stations 110, while the amount of time and distance it takes to transfer to one station is least. In some specific embodiments, the processing stations 110 are positioned close enough so that the wafers transported on the support surface 231 of the heater 230 are always within one processing station 110.

Figure 17 illustrates a processing platform 400 in accordance with one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The specific embodiment shown in FIG. 17 only represents one possible configuration, and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in some specific embodiments, the processing platform 400 has a different number of one or more processing chambers 100, buffer stations 420, and/or robot 430 configurations than the specific embodiments shown.

The exemplary processing platform 400 includes a central transfer station 410 having a plurality of sides 411, 412, 413, 414. The illustrated transfer station 410 has a first side 411, a second side 412, a third side 413, and a fourth side 414. Although four sides are shown, those skilled in the art will understand that the transfer station 410 may have any suitable number of sides depending on, for example, the overall configuration of the processing platform 400. In some specific embodiments, the transfer station 410 has three sides, four sides, five sides, six sides, seven sides, or eight sides.

The transfer station 410 has a robot 430 placed therein. The robot 430 may be any suitable robot capable of moving the wafer during processing. In some specific embodiments, the robot 430 has a first arm 431 and a second arm 432. The first arm 431 and the second arm 432 can move independently of each other. The first arm 431 and the second arm 432 can move in the x-y plane and/or along the z axis. In some specific embodiments, the robot 430 includes a third arm (not shown) or a fourth arm (not shown). Each arm can move independently of the other arms.

The specific embodiment shown includes six processing chambers 100, and two processing chambers 100 are connected to the second side 412, the third side 413, and the fourth side 414 of the central transfer station 410, respectively. Each processing chamber 100 may be configured to perform different processing.

The processing platform 400 may also include one or more buffer stations 420 connected to the first side 411 of the central transfer station 410. The buffer station 420 may perform the same or different functions. For example, the buffer stations can hold wafer cassettes and the wafers are processed and returned to the original cassette, or one of the buffer stations can hold unprocessed wafers and the wafers are moved to another buffer station after processing. In some embodiments, one or more buffer stations are configured to pre-treat, pre-heat or clean the wafers before and/or after processing.

The processing platform 400 may also include one or more slit valves 418 between the central transfer station 410 and any processing chamber 100. The slit valve 418 can be opened and closed to isolate the internal space within the processing chamber 100 from the environment within the central transfer station 410. For example, if the processing chamber will generate plasma during processing, the slit valve of this processing chamber may need to be closed to prevent stray plasma from damaging the robot in the transfer station.

The processing platform 400 may be connected to the factory interface 450 to allow wafers or cassettes to be loaded into the processing platform 400. The robot 455 in the factory interface 450 can be used to move wafers or cassettes into and out of the buffer station. The wafers or cassettes can be moved within the processing platform 400 by the robot 430 in the central transfer station 410. In some embodiments, the factory interface 450 is a transfer station for another cluster tool (ie, another multi-chamber processing platform).

A controller 495 may be provided and coupled to various components of the processing platform 400 to control the operation of the components. The controller 495 may be a single controller that controls the entire processing platform 400, or may be multiple controllers that control various parts of the processing platform 400. For example, the processing platform 400 may include separate controllers for each of the respective processing chamber 100, the central transfer station 410, the factory interface 450, and the robot 430.

In some specific embodiments, the controller 495 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 496, a memory 497, and a support circuit 498. The controller 495 can control the processing platform 400 directly (or via a computer (or controller) associated with a specific processing chamber and/or support system component).

The controller 495 can be any form of a general-purpose computer processor that can be used in an industrial setting to control various chambers and sub-processors. The memory 497 or computer readable media of the controller 495 can be one or more of the easily available memories, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic disk, hard disk Discs, optical storage media (such as compact discs or digital video discs), flash drives, or any other form of digital storage (local or remote). The memory 497 may retain an instruction set operable by the processor (CPU 496) to control the parameters and components of the processing platform 400.

The support circuit 498 is coupled to the CPU 496 to support the processor in a conventional manner. These circuits include caches, power supplies, clock circuits, input and output systems, and subsystems. One or more processes may be stored in the memory 498 as software routines, which when executed or called by the processor, enable the processor to control the operation of the processing platform 400 or each processing chamber in the manner described herein. The software routines can also be stored and or executed by a second CPU (not shown), which is located at the remote end of the hardware controlled by the CPU 496.

Some or all of the processing and methods of the present disclosure can also be executed in hardware. In this way, the processing can be implemented in software and can be executed using a computer system, and can be executed in hardware (such as application-specific integrated circuits or other types of hardware implementations) or a combination of software and hardware. When executed by the processor, the software routine converts a general-purpose computer into a dedicated computer (controller) that controls the chamber operations to perform processing.

In some specific embodiments, the controller 495 has one or more configurations to execute individual processes or sub-processes to execute methods. The controller 495 may be connected to and configured to operate intermediate components to perform the functions of the method. For example, the controller 495 may be connected to and configured to control one or more of a gas valve, an actuator, a motor, a slit valve, a vacuum controller, or other components.

18A to 18I show various configurations of the processing chamber 100 with different processing stations 110. Lettered circles represent different processing stations 110 and processing conditions. For example, in Figure 18A, there are four processing stations 110, each with a different letter. This represents four processing stations 110, each of which has different conditions from the other processing stations. As indicated by the arrow, processing can be performed by moving the heater with the wafer from station A to D. After exposure to D, the cycle can continue or reverse.

Referring to Figure 18B, two or four wafers can be processed simultaneously, moving the wafers back and forth between the A and B positions on the heater. Two wafers can start at position A, and two wafers can start at position B. The independent processing station 110 allows both stations to be closed during the first cycle, so that each wafer begins with A exposure. The heater and wafer can continuously rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. In some embodiments, the heater and wafer are rotated 90° in a first direction (eg, from A to B), and then rotated 90° in a second direction (eg, from B back to A). This rotation can be repeated so that the four wafers/heaters are processed, and the rotation angle of the support assembly does not exceed 90º.

The specific embodiment shown in FIG. 18B can also be used to process two wafers in four processing stations 110. This can be especially useful if one of the treatments is under very different pressures, or the treatment times of A and B are very different.

Referring to FIG. 18C, three wafers can be processed with ABC processing in a single processing chamber 100. A station can be shut down or perform other functions (for example, preheating).

Referring to Figure 18D, two wafers can be processed during AB processing. For example, the wafer can be placed only on the B heater. Rotate a quarter turn clockwise to place one wafer in station A and the second wafer in station T. Backward transfer will move both wafers to station B, and a quarter turn counterclockwise will move the second wafer to station A and the first wafer to station B.

In Figure 18E, up to four wafers can be processed simultaneously. For example, if station A is configured to perform CVD or ALD processing, four wafers can be processed simultaneously.

18F to 18I show a similar type of configuration of the processing chamber 100 with three processing stations 110. In short, as shown in Figure 18F, a single wafer (or multiple wafers) can be subjected to ABC processing. In FIG. 18G, two wafers can be AB processed by placing one wafer in the A position and the other wafer in one of the B positions. Then the wafer can be moved back and forth so that the wafer starting from the B position moves to the A position in the first movement, and then returns to the same B position. In Figure 18H, the AB process can be performed on the wafer. In Figure 18I, three wafers can be processed simultaneously.

19A and 19B show another specific embodiment of the present disclosure. 19A shows a partial view of the heater 230 and the support plate 245, which have been rotated to a position below the processing station 110, so that the wafer 101 is adjacent to the gas injector 112. The O-ring 329 on the support plate 245 or the outside of the heater 230 is in a relaxed state.

19B shows the support plate 245 and the heater 230 after moving toward the processing station 110 so that the support surface 231 of the heater 230 is in contact with or almost in contact with the front surface 114 of the gas injector 112 in the processing station 110. In this position, the O-ring 329 is compressed to form a seal around the outer edge of the support plate 245 or the outside of the heater 230. This allows the wafer 101 to move as close to the gas injector 112 as possible to minimize the volume of the reaction area 219, so that the reaction area 219 can be quickly purified.

The gas that may flow out of the reaction area 219 is discharged into the gas chamber 336 through the opening 338 and is discharged to the exhaust pipe or the foreline (not shown). The purifying gas chamber 370 and the purifying gas port 371 can be used to generate a purifying gas curtain outside the opening 338. In addition, the gap 137 between the heater 230 and the support plate 245 can help further shield the reaction area 219 and prevent the reactive gas from flowing into the internal volume 109 of the processing chamber 100.

Returning to FIG. 17, the controller 495 of some specific embodiments has one or more configurations selected from: a configuration for moving substrates on a robot among a plurality of processing chambers; a configuration for loading and/or unloading substrates from the system; The configuration for opening/closing the slit valve; the configuration for powering one or more heaters; the configuration for measuring the temperature of the heater; the configuration for measuring the temperature of the wafer on the heater; the configuration for loading or unloading the wafer from the heater; The configuration that provides feedback between temperature measurement and heater power control; the configuration that is used to rotate the support assembly around the rotation axis; the configuration that makes the support assembly move along the rotation axis (that is, along the z-axis); the configuration that is used to set or change the support assembly The configuration of the rotation speed; the configuration of supplying the gas stream to the gas injector; the configuration of supplying power to one or more electrodes to generate plasma in the gas injector; the configuration of controlling the power supply of the plasma source; controlling the power supply of the plasma source The frequency and/or power configuration; and/or the configuration to provide control for the thermal annealing treatment station.

One or more specific embodiments relate to a method of operating the processing chamber 100. In one or more specific embodiments, a method includes providing a processing chamber 100 including x spatially separated and isolated processing stations 110. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in a range from 2-10. In one or more specific embodiments, x refers to the number of substrate supporting surfaces. In other specific embodiments, x refers to one or more of multiple substrate surfaces or multiple processing stations. In some specific embodiments, the number of substrate supporting surfaces and the number of processing stations are the same and equal to x. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in a range from 2 to 6. In one or more specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In other specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. In one or more embodiments, x is 4.

In some specific embodiments, x′ refers to the number of different spatially separated isolation processing stations. Different spatially separated isolation processing stations refer to different processing conditions in the processing stations. For example, in a system with four processing stations with two different processing conditions, x'is equal to 2. This type of embodiment has an equal number of stations under each type of processing conditions. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing chamber includes four processing stations, and the four processing stations are divided into alternating first and second processing stations, such that the first processing station has the first processing condition, and the second The processing station has a second processing condition, and the wafer is rotated around all the processing stations to be exposed to each processing condition twice. For example, Figure 7 shows a specific embodiment in which there are two different types of processing conditions (A and B) in four processing stations. In this example, x = 4 and x'=2.

In one or more specific embodiments, the processing chamber 100 has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station 110 independently has a processing station temperature, which is different from the processing station temperature. In one or more specific embodiments, the substrate support assembly 200 having a plurality of substrate support surfaces 231 aligned with x spatially separated isolation processing stations 110 is rotated (rx-1) times such that each substrate support surface 231 rotates (360/x) degrees in the first direction to the adjacent substrate supporting surface 231. The term “(rx-1)” as used herein refers to the number of times (ie, the number of rotations) of the substrate support assembly. In one or more specific embodiments, r represents the number of processing cycles (ie, ALD cycles), and is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In some specific embodiments, r is greater than 10, greater than 50, or greater than 100. In one or more embodiments, r is in the range of 1 to 10, or in the range of 1 to 8, or in the range of 1 to 6, or in the range of 1 to 4, or selected from 1, 2, 3 or 4. In other embodiments, r is 1. In other embodiments, r is 2, 3, or 4.

In one or more specific embodiments, the substrate support assembly 200 is then rotated (rx-1) times, so that each substrate support surface 231 is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction to the adjacent substrate support surface 231.

In one or more specific embodiments, the first direction and the second direction are opposite to each other. In one or more specific embodiments, the first direction is selected from counterclockwise or clockwise. In one or more specific embodiments, the second direction is the other of counterclockwise or clockwise.

In one or more specific embodiments, the plurality of substrate supporting surfaces 231 are substantially coplanar. When used in this manner, "substantially coplanar" means that the plane formed by each support surface 231 is at ±5°, ±4°, ±3°, ±2° or the plane formed by the other support surface 231 Within ±1°. In some specific embodiments, the term "substantially coplanar" means that the plane formed by each supporting surface is within ±50 μm, ±40 μm, ±30 μm, ±20 μm, or ±10 μm.

In one or more specific embodiments, the substrate supporting surface includes a heater 230 that can support the wafer. In some embodiments, the substrate support surface or heater 230 includes an electrostatic chuck.

In one or more specific embodiments, the method further includes: controlling one or more of the temperature of the processing chamber or the temperature of the processing station.

In one or more specific embodiments, the method further includes: controlling the rotation speed (rx-1) of the plurality of substrate support assemblies 200.

One or more specific embodiments of the disclosure relate to a method of operating the processing chamber 100. In one or more specific embodiments, the method includes providing a processing chamber 100 having at least two different processing stations 110, including a first substrate supporting surface 231, a second substrate supporting surface 231, a third substrate supporting surface 231, a The substrate support assembly 200 has four substrate support surfaces 231, each of which is in an initial position aligned with the processing station 110. The first wafer on the first substrate supporting surface 231 is exposed to the first processing condition. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the first direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the second substrate support surface 231. The first wafer is exposed to the second processing conditions. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the first direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the third substrate support surface 231. The first wafer is exposed to the third processing condition. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the first direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the fourth substrate support surface 231. The first wafer is exposed to the fourth processing condition. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the second direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the third substrate support surface 231. The first wafer is exposed to the third processing condition. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the second direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the second substrate support surface 231. The first wafer is exposed to the second processing conditions. The substrate support assembly 200 rotates in the second direction to move the first wafer to the initial position of the first substrate support surface 231, and the first wafer is exposed to the first processing condition. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like.

In one or more specific embodiments, the method further includes: exposing the second wafer on the second substrate supporting surface 231 to a second processing condition; rotating the substrate supporting assembly 200 in a first direction to The second wafer is moved to the initial position of the third substrate support surface 231; the second wafer is exposed to the third processing condition; the substrate support assembly 200 is rotated in the first direction to move the second wafer to the fourth substrate support The initial position of the surface 231; exposing the second wafer to the fourth processing condition; rotating the substrate support assembly 200 in the first direction to move the second wafer to the initial position of the first substrate supporting surface 231; The second wafer is exposed to the first processing condition; the substrate support assembly 200 is rotated in the second direction to move the second wafer to the initial position of the fourth substrate support surface 231; the second wafer is exposed to the fourth processing Conditions; rotate the substrate support assembly 200 in the second direction to move the second wafer to the initial position of the third substrate support surface 231; expose the second wafer to the third processing conditions; place the substrate support assembly 200 in the first Rotate in two directions to move the second wafer to the initial position of the second substrate supporting surface 231; and expose the second wafer to the second processing conditions.

In one or more specific embodiments, the method further includes: exposing the third wafer on the third substrate supporting surface 231 to a third processing condition; rotating the substrate supporting assembly 200 in the first direction to The three wafers are moved to the initial position of the fourth substrate support surface 231; the third wafer is exposed to the fourth processing condition; the substrate support assembly 200 is rotated in the first direction to move the third wafer to the first substrate support The initial position of the surface 231; exposing the third wafer to the first processing condition; rotating the substrate support assembly 200 in the first direction to move the third wafer to the initial position of the second substrate supporting surface 231; Three wafers are exposed to the second processing condition; the substrate support assembly 200 is rotated in the second direction to move the third wafer to the initial position of the first substrate support surface 231; the third wafer is exposed to the first processing condition Rotate the substrate support assembly 200 in the second direction to move the third wafer to the initial position of the fourth substrate support surface 231; expose the third wafer to the fourth processing condition; place the substrate support assembly 200 in the second Rotate in the direction to move the third wafer to the initial position of the third substrate support surface 231; and expose the third wafer to the third processing condition.

In one or more specific embodiments, the method further includes: exposing the fourth wafer on the fourth substrate supporting surface 231 to a fourth processing condition; rotating the substrate supporting assembly 200 in the first direction to Move the four wafers to the initial position of the first substrate support surface 231; expose the fourth wafer to the first processing condition; rotate the substrate support assembly 200 in the first direction to move the fourth wafer to the second substrate support The initial position of the surface 231; exposing the fourth wafer to the second processing condition; rotating the substrate support assembly 200 in the first direction to move the fourth wafer to the initial position of the third substrate supporting surface 231; Four wafers are exposed to the third processing condition; the substrate support assembly 200 is rotated in the second direction to move the fourth wafer to the initial position of the second substrate support surface 231; the fourth wafer is exposed to the second processing condition Rotate the substrate support assembly 200 in the second direction to move the fourth wafer to the initial position of the first substrate support surface 231; expose the fourth wafer to the first processing condition; place the substrate support assembly 200 in the second Rotate in the direction to move the fourth wafer to the initial position of the fourth substrate support surface 231; and expose the fourth wafer to the fourth processing condition.

FIG. 21 depicts a flowchart of a method 600 of depositing a thin film according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 22 illustrates a processing chamber configuration according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. 21 and 22, the method 600 starts at operation 620. In operation 620, at least one wafer is loaded onto x substrate support surfaces. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in the range of 2-10. In one or more specific embodiments, x refers to the number of substrate supporting surfaces. In other specific embodiments, x refers to one or more of multiple substrate surfaces or multiple processing stations 110. In some specific embodiments, the number of substrate supporting surfaces is the same as the number of wafers and/or processing stations and equal to x. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in a range from 2 to 6. In one or more specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In other specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. In one or more embodiments, x is 4.

In operation 630, the substrate support assembly is rotated (rx-1) times in the first direction, so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees to the adjacent processing station 110, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1 . The number r represents the number of processing cycles (ie ALD cycles). The term "(rx-1)" or "(rx'-1)" as used herein refers to the number of times (ie, the number of rotations) of the substrate support assembly.

In some embodiments, there is more than one processing cycle (r) to completely rotate around the processing chamber. For example, FIG. 22 shows processing according to method 600, where there are x=4 processing stations 110, where x′=2 different types of processing conditions (A and B). In this specific embodiment, the substrate support assembly can be rotated an odd number of times in each direction to provide alternate exposure to the two processing conditions. In some specific embodiments, the number of revolutions in each direction is equal to (rx'-1) times. In the specific embodiment shown in Fig. 7, r=2 and x′=2, so that there are three rotations 117a, 117b, 117c in the first direction.

In operation 640, at each processing station, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In operation 650, the substrate support assembly is rotated (rx−1) times or (rx′−1) times in the second direction, so that each substrate supporting surface is rotated (360/x) degrees to the adjacent processing station 110. As shown in FIG. 22, there are three rotations 118a, 118b, 118c in the second direction.

At the decision point 660, if a thin film of a predetermined thickness has been formed on the substrate, the method stops. If the predetermined thickness of the film has not been obtained on the substrate at the decision point 660, the processing cycle 625 is repeated until the predetermined thickness is obtained.

FIG. 23 depicts a flowchart of a method 700 of depositing a thin film according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 24 shows a processing chamber configuration according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. 23 and 24, the method 700 starts at operation 720. In operation 720, at least one wafer is loaded onto x substrate support surfaces. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in the range of 2-10. In one or more specific embodiments, x refers to the number of substrate supporting surfaces. In other specific embodiments, x refers to one or more of multiple substrate surfaces or multiple processing stations 110. In some embodiments, the number of substrate supporting surfaces is the same as the number of wafers and/or processing stations 110 and equal to x. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in a range from 2 to 6. In one or more specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In other specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. In one or more embodiments, x is 4.

In operation 730, the substrate support assembly is rotated rx times in the first direction, so that each substrate support surface is rotated to each adjacent processing station 110, where r is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The term “(rx)” as used herein refers to the number of times (ie, the number of rotations) of the substrate support assembly. For example, in the specific embodiment shown in FIGS. 23 to 24, when there are four processing stations (that is, when x=4), the substrate support rotates at least four times in the first direction, and in the second Rotate in the direction at least four times.

In some embodiments, there is more than one processing cycle to completely rotate around the processing chamber. For example, FIG. 24 shows processing according to method 700, where there are x=4 processing stations 110, where x′=2 different types of processing conditions (A and B). In this specific embodiment, the substrate support assembly can be rotated in each direction to provide alternate exposure to two processing conditions. In some specific embodiments, the number of revolutions in each direction is equal to (rx) times. In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 24, four rotations 117a, 117b, 117c, 117d in the first direction result in two complete ALD cycles, and the substrate returns to the initial processing station 110.

In operation 740, at each processing station, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In operation 750, the substrate support assembly is rotated (rx) times in the second direction so that each substrate support surface is rotated (360/x) degrees to the adjacent processing station 110. As shown in Fig. 24, there are four rotations 118a, 118b, 118c, 118d in the second direction.

At the decision point 760, if a thin film of a predetermined thickness has been formed on the substrate, the method stops. If the predetermined thickness of the film has not been obtained on the substrate at the decision point 760, the loop 725 is repeated until the predetermined thickness is obtained.

FIG. 25 depicts a flowchart of a method 800 of depositing a thin film according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 26 illustrates a processing chamber configuration according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure. 25 and 26, the method 800 starts at operation 820. In operation 820, at least one wafer is loaded onto x substrate support surfaces. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in the range of 2-10. In one or more specific embodiments, x refers to the number of substrate supporting surfaces. In other specific embodiments, x refers to one or more of multiple substrate surfaces or multiple processing stations 110. In some specific embodiments, the number of substrate supporting surfaces is the same as the number of wafers and/or processing stations and equal to x. In one or more specific embodiments, x is an integer in a range from 2 to 6. In one or more specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. In other specific embodiments, x is selected from 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. In one or more embodiments, x is 4.

In operation 830, the substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees in a first direction, and then (360/x) degrees in a second direction, so that each substrate support surface is rotated to each adjacent processing station 120 . The rotation in the first direction and the second direction may be repeated n times, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The number n represents the number of processing cycles (ie ALD cycles). In other words, in the first station and the second station, each process of rotating in the first direction, then rotating in the second direction, and then rotating in the second direction is a process cycle, so that the substrate is exposed to the first One reaction gas and each of the second reaction gas.

Figure 26 shows processing according to method 800, where there are x=4 processing stations 120, where x′=4 different types of processing conditions (A, B, C, and D). In this specific embodiment, the substrate support assembly 100 rotates in the first direction 117, so that the substrate placed on the processing station 120a rotates 117a to the processing station 120b, and then the substrate support assembly 100 rotates in the second direction 118 to make the substrate ( Now on the processing station 120b) rotate 118a back to the processing station 120a. This rotation can be repeated n times, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The number n represents the number of processing cycles (ie ALD cycles).

In operation 840, at each processing station, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In operation 850, the substrate support assembly is then rotated (360/x) degrees in the first direction 117, and then another (360/x) degrees in the first direction 117. Referring to FIG. 26, the substrate on the processing station 120a is rotated 117a to the processing station 120b, and then rotated 117b to the processing station 120c. In operation 850 of some specific embodiments, the substrate support is rotated a sufficient number of times to move the substrate to the second set of processing stations. For example, the substrate holder is rotated twice to move the substrate originally in station A to station C.

In some specific embodiments (not shown), when the substrate support rotates from station A to station B, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In some specific embodiments (not shown), when the substrate support rotates from station B to station C, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In operation 860, the substrate support assembly 100 is rotated (360/x) degrees in the first direction 117, and then rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction 118, so that each substrate support surface is rotated to each adjacent处理站120。 Processing station 120. This rotation can be repeated m times, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The number m represents the number of processing cycles (ie ALD cycles).

26, the substrate support assembly 100 rotates in the first direction 117, so that the substrate now placed on the processing station 120c rotates 117a to the processing station 120d, and then the substrate support assembly 100 rotates in the second direction 118, so that the substrate (now located in On the processing station 120d) rotate 118b back to the processing station 120c. This rotation can be repeated m times, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The number m represents the number of processing cycles (ie ALD cycles).

In operation 870, at each processing station, the top surface of at least one wafer is exposed to processing conditions to form a thin film. In one or more specific embodiments, the processing conditions include one or more of temperature, pressure, reactive gas, and the like. In one or more specific embodiments, the formed film has a substantially uniform thickness. The term "substantially uniform" as used herein refers to the film thickness within ±5 nm, ±4 nm, ±3 nm, ±2 nm, or ±1 nm of the formed film.

In operation 880, the substrate support assembly is then rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction 118. Referring to FIG. 26, the substrate located on the processing station 120c is rotated 118c to the processing station 120b.

At decision point 890, if a thin film of a predetermined thickness has been formed on the substrate, the method stops. If the predetermined thickness of the film has not been obtained on the substrate at the decision point 890, the loop 725 is repeated until the predetermined thickness is obtained.

In one or more specific embodiments, when the thin film is formed, at least one wafer is stationary.

In one or more specific embodiments of the method, the substrate support surface includes a heater. In one or more specific embodiments, the substrate support surface or heater includes an electrostatic chuck.

References in this specification to "in a specific embodiment", "in some specific embodiments", "in one or more specific embodiments", or "in a specific embodiment", etc., indicate the description The specific feature, structure, or characteristic associated with this specific embodiment is included in at least one specific embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, the phrases "in one or more specific embodiments", "in some specific embodiments", "in a specific embodiment" or "in a specific embodiment" appear in various places throughout this specification. "And so on, do not necessarily refer to the same specific embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition, specific features, structures, configurations, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more specific embodiments.

Although the content disclosed herein is about specific specific embodiments, it should be understood that these specific embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles and applications of the present disclosure. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention will obviously understand that various modifications and variations can be made to the methods and equipment of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is intended to cover such modifications and variations, as long as such modifications and variations are within the scope of additional patent applications and their equivalent scope.

100: processing chamber 102: shell 104: wall 106: bottom 109: Internal Space 110: processing station 110a: processing station 110b: processing station 112: Gas injector 114: front surface 117: Rotation 117a: rotation 117b: rotation 117c: rotation 117d: rotation 118: Rotation 118a: rotation 118b: Rotate 118c: Rotate 118d: rotation 120a: processing station 120b: processing station 120c: processing station 120d: processing station 137: Gap 200: substrate support assembly 210: Center Pedestal 211: Rotation axis 219: Reaction Area 220: support arm 221: inner end 222: Outer End 227: Pillar 230: heater 231: substrate support surface 234: heater bracket 236: Channel 237: open 238: Gas Channel 240: Sealed platform 241: Top Surface 242: open 245: Support plate 246: top surface 247: main plane 248: main plane 249: bottom surface 250: Motor 251a: first electrode 251b: second electrode 252a: first connector 252b: second connector 253a: first wire 253b: second wire 254a: Center first connector 254b: Center second connector 255: Motor 257: pit 258: connecting plate 260: Wafer 261: Surface 270: protruding ring 272: Concave Ring 273: concave bottom surface 300: top plate 301: top surface 302: bottom surface 303: Edge 309: Purification Ring 310: open 314: O-ring 315: Partition 329: O-ring 330: pump/purification plug-in 331: top 332: protruding part 333: bottom 334: protruding part 335: Sidewall 336: Air Chamber 337: Flange 338: open 339: open 342: Flange 360: pole 365: Motor 367: Connector 370: Clean Air Chamber 371: Purge gas port 381: outermost edge 400: Processing platform 410: Central Transfer Station 411: side 412: side 413: side 414: side 418: slit valve 420: buffer station 430: Robot 431: first arm 432: second arm 450: Factory interface 455: Robot 495: Controller 496: Central Processing Unit (CPU) 497: Memory 498: Support Circuit 600: method 620-660: steps 700: method 720-760: steps 800: method 820-890: steps

A number of specific embodiments may be referred to in order to more specifically describe the present disclosure briefly summarized above, so as to understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure in more detail, and the attached drawings illustrate some of the specific embodiments. It should be noted, however, that the attached drawings only illustrate typical specific embodiments of the present disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, as the disclosure may allow other equivalent specific embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional isometric view of a processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 shows a bottom parallel projection view of the support assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 shows a top parallel projection view of the support assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 shows a top parallel projection view of the support assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 shows a cross-sectional side view of a support assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of a seat assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 8 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of a support assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of a seat assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 10A is a top view of a support plate according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 10B is a cross-sectional side view of the support plate taken along line 10B-10B' of Figure 10A;

Figure 11A is a bottom isometric view of a support plate according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 11B is a cross-sectional side view of the support plate taken along line 11B-11B' of Figure 11A;

Figure 12A is a bottom isometric view of a support plate according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 12B is a cross-sectional side view of the support plate taken along line 12B-12B' of Figure 12A;

Figure 13 shows a cross-sectional isometric view of the top plate of the processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 14 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a processing station according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 15 shows a cross-sectional isometric view of the top plate of the processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 16 shows a partial cross-sectional side view of a processing station of a processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a processing platform according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

18A to 18I show schematic diagrams of a processing station configuration in a processing chamber according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

19A and 19B show schematic diagrams of processing according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 shows a cross-sectional side view of a seat assembly according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 depicts a flowchart of a specific embodiment of a method of forming a thin film according to the specific embodiment described herein;

22 is a schematic diagram of a processing chamber and processing flow according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 depicts a flowchart of a specific embodiment of a method of forming a thin film according to specific embodiments described herein;

24 is a schematic diagram of a processing chamber and processing flow according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 depicts a flowchart of a specific embodiment of a method of forming a thin film according to specific embodiments described herein; and

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a processing chamber and processing flow according to one or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure.

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600: method

620-660: steps

Claims (20)

A method that includes the following steps: A processing chamber is provided, the processing chamber includes x spatially separated and isolated processing stations, the processing chamber has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station independently has a processing station temperature, the processing chamber The temperature is different from the temperature of the processing stations; Rotate a substrate support assembly rx times, the substrate support assembly has a plurality of substrate support surfaces, the plurality of substrate support surfaces are aligned with the x spatially separated processing stations, so that each substrate support surface is in a first direction Medium rotation (360/x) degrees to an adjacent substrate supporting surface, r is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and Rotate the substrate support assembly rx times, so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees in a second direction to the adjacent substrate support surface. The method according to claim 1, wherein x is an integer in a range from 2 to 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein r is in the range from 1 to 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein r is 1, 2, 3, or 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of substrate supporting surfaces are substantially coplanar. The method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of substrate supporting surfaces include heaters. The method according to claim 1, further comprising controlling one or more of the temperature of the processing chamber or the temperature of the processing stations. The method according to claim 1, further comprising controlling the rotation speed of the plurality of substrate supporting components. A method that includes the following steps: A processing chamber is provided, the processing chamber includes x spatially separated and isolated processing stations, the processing chamber has a processing chamber temperature, and each processing station independently has a processing station temperature, the processing chamber The temperature is different from the temperature of the processing stations; Rotate a substrate support assembly (360/x) degrees to an adjacent substrate support surface in a first direction, the substrate support assembly has a plurality of substrate support surfaces, and the plurality of substrate support surfaces are spatially separated from the x Align the isolated processing stations; The substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees to the adjacent substrate support surface in a second direction, wherein the rotations in the first direction and the rotations in the second direction are repeated n times , And n is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Rotate the substrate support assembly (360/x) twice in a first direction; The substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees in the first direction and then the substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction. The first direction and the second direction are The rotations are repeated m times, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and The substrate support assembly is rotated (360/x) degrees in the second direction. The method according to claim 9, wherein x is an integer in a range from 2 to 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of substrate supporting surfaces are substantially coplanar. The method according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of substrate supporting surfaces include heaters. The method according to claim 9, further comprising controlling one or more of the temperature of the processing chamber or the temperature of the processing stations. The method according to claim 9, further comprising controlling the rotation speed of the plurality of substrate supporting components. A method of forming a thin film, the method includes the following steps: Loading at least one wafer on x substrate support surfaces in a substrate support assembly, each of the substrate support surfaces being aligned with x spatially separated and isolated processing stations; Rotate the substrate support assembly rx times, so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees in a first direction to an adjacent substrate support surface, and r is an integer greater than or equal to 1; Rotate the substrate support assembly rx times, so that each substrate support surface rotates (360/x) degrees in a second direction to the adjacent substrate support surface; and At each processing station, a top surface of the at least one wafer is exposed to a processing condition to form a thin film with a substantially uniform thickness. The method according to claim 15, wherein when the thin film is formed, the at least one wafer is fixed. The method according to claim 15, wherein x is an integer in a range from 2 to 10. The method according to claim 15, wherein r is in the range from 1 to 10. The method according to claim 15, wherein r is 1, 2, 3, or 4. The method according to claim 14, wherein the substrate supporting surfaces include one or more of a heater or an electrostatic chuck.

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