Method, apparatus and system for wafer dechucking using dynamic voltage sweeping

US10546731B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Haitao Wang · Nanhu, CN
• Michael G. Chafin · Santa Clara, US
• Kartik Ramaswamy · San Jose, US
• Yue Guo · Redwood City, US
• Valentin N. Todorow · Palo Alto, US
• Kenny L. Doan · San Jose, US
• Sergio Fukuda Shoji · San Jose, US
• Brad L. Mays · Findlay, US
• Usama Dadu · Hollister, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 5, 2018
• Grant date: Jan 28, 2020
• Expiry date: Oct 5, 2038

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/67069
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for dechucking a processing object from a surface of an electrostatic chuck (ESC) in a processing chamber can include applying to the ESC for a first time interval, a first dechuck voltage having a substantially equal magnitude and opposite polarity of a chuck voltage chucking the processing object to the surface of the ESC, selecting a second dechuck voltage having an opposite polarity as the first dechuck voltage, linearly sweeping the ESC voltage from the first dechuck voltage to the second dechuck voltage over a second time interval, monitoring the ESC current during the second time interval until a current spike in the ESC current above a threshold is detected, communicating a command to move support pins up to remove the processing object from the ESC surface, and maintaining the second dechuck voltage until the processing object is separated from the surface of the ESC.