Protective coating for dielectric material on wafer support used in integrated circuit processing apparatus and method of forming same
US5560780A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 12, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 1, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 12, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/6831
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Improvements in a wafer support apparatus used for electrostatic clamping of a wafer to the wafer support, and a method of making same, are disclosed wherein a dielectric material, formed on the surface of a wafer support facing the wafer to facilitate the electrostatic clamping, has a protective coating formed over the dielectric material to provide protection to the dielectric material against chemical attack from chemicals used during the processing of the semiconductor wafer. In a preferred embodiment, the protective coating comprises an aluminum compound, such as an oxide of aluminum or aluminum nitride, having a thickness ranging from about 1 micron to about 30 microns, but not exceeding about 50% of the thickness of the dielectric material so as to not interfere with the electrostatic charge used for clamping the wafer to the wafer support.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.