Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090163042 | THERMAL REACTOR WITH IMPROVED GAS FLOW DISTRIBUTION - Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for improving gas distribution during thermal processing. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate comprising a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, wherein the substrate support is configured to support and rotate the substrate, a gas inlet assembly coupled to an inlet of the chamber body and configured to provide a first gas flow to the processing volume, and an exhaust assembly coupled to an outlet of the chamber body, wherein the gas inlet assembly and the exhaust assembly are disposed on opposite sides of the chamber body, and the exhaust assembly defines an exhaust volume configured to extend the processing volume. | 06-25-2009 |
20130210240 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF A SUBSTRATE - Methods and apparatus for improving selective oxidation against metals in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of oxidizing a first surface of a substrate disposed in a process chamber having a processing volume defined by one or more chamber walls may include exposing the substrate to an oxidizing gas to oxidize the first surface; and actively heating at least one of the one or more chamber walls to increase a temperature of the one or more chamber walls to a first temperature of at least the dew point of water while exposing the substrate to the oxidizing gas. | 08-15-2013 |
20150206777 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF A SUBSTRATE - Methods and apparatus for improving selective oxidation against metals in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of oxidizing a first surface of a substrate disposed in a process chamber having a processing volume defined by one or more chamber walls may include exposing the substrate to an oxidizing gas to oxidize the first surface; and actively heating at least one of the one or more chamber walls to increase a temperature of the one or more chamber walls to a first temperature of at least the dew point of water while exposing the substrate to the oxidizing gas. | 07-23-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100216317 | Methods for Forming Conformal Oxide Layers on Semiconductor Devices - Methods and apparatus for forming an oxide layer on a semiconductor substrate are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, plasma oxidation is used to form a conformal oxide layer by controlling the temperature of the semiconductor substrate at below about 100° C. Methods for controlling the temperature of the semiconductor substrate according to one or more embodiments include utilizing an electrostatic chuck and a coolant and gas convection. | 08-26-2010 |
20140034632 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION AT LOWER TEMPERATURE USING REMOTE PLASMA SOURCE - Devices and methods for selectively oxidizing silicon are described herein. An apparatus for selective oxidation of exposed silicon surfaces includes a thermal processing chamber with a plurality of walls, first inlet connection and a second inlet connection, wherein the walls define a processing region within the processing chamber, a substrate support within the processing chamber, a hydrogen source connected with the first inlet connection, a heat source connected with the hydrogen source, and a remote plasma source connected with the second inlet connection and an oxygen source. A method for selective oxidation of non-metal surfaces, can include positioning a substrate in a processing chamber at a temperature less than 800° C., flowing hydrogen into the processing chamber, generating a remote plasma comprising oxygen, mixing the remote plasma with the hydrogen gas in the processing chamber to create an activated processing gas, and exposing the substrate to the activated gas. | 02-06-2014 |
20140079376 | THERMAL REACTOR WITH IMPROVED GAS FLOW DISTRIBUTION - Embodiments of the present invention provide apparatus and method for improving gas distribution during thermal processing. One embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for processing a substrate comprising a chamber body defining a processing volume, a substrate support disposed in the processing volume, wherein the substrate support is configured to support and rotate the substrate, a gas inlet assembly coupled to an inlet of the chamber body and configured to provide a first gas flow to the processing volume, and an exhaust assembly coupled to an outlet of the chamber body, wherein the gas inlet assembly and the exhaust assembly are disposed on opposite sides of the chamber body, and the exhaust assembly defines an exhaust volume configured to extend the processing volume. | 03-20-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100120245 | PLASMA AND THERMAL ANNEAL TREATMENT TO IMPROVE OXIDATION RESISTANCE OF METAL-CONTAINING FILMS - Method and apparatus are provided for treatment of a deposited material layer. In one embodiment, a method is provided for processing a substrate including depositing a metal-containing layer using an atomic layer deposition technique, exposing the metal-containing layer to a plasma treatment process at a temperature of less than about 200° C., and exposing the metal-containing layer to a thermal anneal process at a temperature of about 600° C. or greater. The plasma treatment process and/or the thermal anneal process may use a nitrating gas, which may form a passivating surface or layer with the metal-containing layer. | 05-13-2010 |
20100330814 | METHODS OF FORMING OXIDE LAYERS ON SUBSTRATES - Methods for processing substrates are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method for processing a substrate includes providing a substrate having an oxide layer disposed thereon, the oxide layer including one or more defects; and exposing the oxide layer to a plasma formed from a process gas comprising an oxygen-containing gas to repair the one or more defects. In some embodiments, the oxide layer may be formed on the substrate. In some embodiments, forming the oxide layer further comprises depositing the oxide layer atop the substrate. In some embodiments, forming the oxide layer further comprises thermally oxidizing the surface of the substrate to form the oxide layer. In some embodiments, a processing temperature is maintained at about 700 degrees Celsius or below during the thermal oxidation of the surface. | 12-30-2010 |
20140216585 | GAS INJECTION APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESS CHAMBER INCORPORATING SAME - Methods and apparatus for mixing and delivery of process gases are provided herein. In some embodiments, a gas injection apparatus includes an elongate top plenum comprising a first gas inlet; an elongate bottom plenum disposed beneath and supporting the top plenum, the bottom plenum comprising a second gas inlet; a plurality of first conduits disposed through the bottom plenum and having first ends fluidly coupled to the top plenum and second ends disposed beneath the bottom plenum; and a plurality of second conduits having first ends fluidly coupled to the bottom plenum and second ends disposed beneath the bottom plenum; wherein a lower end of the bottom plenum is adapted to fluidly couple the gas injection apparatus to a mixing chamber such that the second ends of the plurality of first conduits and the second ends of the plurality of second conduits are in fluid communication with the mixing chamber. | 08-07-2014 |
20140349491 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVE OXIDATION OF A SUBSTRATE - Methods for improving selective oxidation of polysilicon against silicon nitride in a process chamber are provided herein. In some embodiments, a method of selectively oxidizing a substrate disposed within a process chamber includes exposing a substrate having an exposed polysilicon layer and an exposed silicon nitride layer to a hydrogen-containing gas; heating the substrate to a process temperature of at least about 850 degrees Celsius; adding an oxygen containing gas to the process chamber while maintaining the substrate at the process temperature to create a mixture of the hydrogen-containing gas and the oxygen-containing gas; and exposing the substrate to the mixture while at the process temperature to selectively form an oxide layer atop the polysilicon layer substantially without forming an oxide layer atop the silicon nitride layer. | 11-27-2014 |