Characterization, modeling, and design of an electrostatic chuck with improved wafer temperature uniformity
US5675471A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 1995 |
| Grant date | Oct 7, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/6833
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electrostatic chuck (ESC) provides increased temperature uniformity and adjustment capability of the surface of a wafer or wafer-like workpiece during processing, for example, in an electron-cyclotron-resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) reactor. Temperature uniformity is achieved through an improved pattern of grooves in the face of the ESC which allows an inert gas to be contained between the ESC and a wafer held thereby even at high levels of vacuum. The ESC is adapted for a particular desired temperature range by choice of surface roughness of the remaining areas of the face of the ESC. Adjustability within that range is achieved by variation of the electrostatic voltage by which a wafer is held against the chuck face. Increased surface roughness and/or decreased contact area fraction may be used to achieve high wafer temperatures.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.