← Back to Patent Explorer
US6162709A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Use of an asymmetric waveform to control ion bombardment during substrate processing

Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
•
Filing: 2000-01-11
•
Granted: 2000-12-19
•
Expires: 2020-01-11
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A substrate processing system that includes a deposition chamber having a reaction zone, first and second electrodes, a mixed frequency RF power supply including a low frequency RF power source and a high frequency RF power source. The high frequency RF power supply provides enough power to form a plasma from a process gas introduced into the reaction zone and the low frequency RF power supply is configured to supply an asymmetrical waveform to either said first or second electrodes to bias the plasma toward the substrate.

Inventors

  • 👤 Sebastien Raoux
  • 👤 Mandar Mudholkar

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-31 22:28
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/455; C23C16/45563; C23C16/45565; C23C16/22; C23C16/30; C23C16/34; C23C16/345; C23C16/4557; C23C16/50; C23C16/505; C23C16/509; C23C16/5096; C23C16/515; C23C16/517; H; H01; H01J; H01J37/00; H01J37/32; H01J37/32009; H01J37/32082; H01J37/32137; H01J37/32155; H01J37/32165; H01J37/32431; H01J37/32697; H01J37/32706

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 75 words
A method for depositing a film on a substrate in a substrate processing chamber, said method comprising the steps of: introducing one or more process gases via a gas inlet manifold into a reaction zone of the substrate processing chamber; forming a plasma from said one or more process gases by applying high frequency RF power to said gas inlet manifold; and biasing said plasma toward the substrate with an asymmetric low frequency RF waveform.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 75 words
A method for depositing a film on a substrate in a substrate processing chamber, said method comprising the steps of: introducing one or more process gases via a gas inlet manifold into a reaction zone of the substrate processing chamber; forming a plasma from said one or more process gases by applying high frequency RF power to said gas inlet manifold; and biasing said plasma toward the substrate with an asymmetric low frequency RF waveform.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 16 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said asymmetric low frequency RF waveform is a sawtooth waveform.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 22 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said asymmetric low frequency RF waveform has a duty cycle of between 10 and 50 percent.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said process gases comprise silane, ammonia and nitrogen.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said asymmetric low frequency RF waveform has a frequency of less than 400 kHz.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 4 wherein said asymmetric low frequency RF waveform has a frequency between 50 and 220 kHz.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the plasma is biased toward the substrate to promote ion bombardment of the substrate.

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 2003-12-19 2004-06-19 2004-12-19 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2007-12-19 2008-06-19 2008-12-19 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2011-12-19 2012-06-19 2012-12-19 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag