U.S. patent application number 16/552967 was filed with the patent office on 2021-01-28 for method of pre aligning carrier, wafer and carrier-wafer combination for throughput efficiency.
The applicant listed for this patent is Applied Materials, Inc.. Invention is credited to Alexander N. LERNER, Steven Trey TINDEL, Kim Ramkumar VELLORE.
Application Number | 20210028044 16/552967 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004332926 |
Filed Date | 2021-01-28 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210028044 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
VELLORE; Kim Ramkumar ; et
al. |
January 28, 2021 |
METHOD OF PRE ALIGNING CARRIER, WAFER AND CARRIER-WAFER COMBINATION
FOR THROUGHPUT EFFICIENCY
Abstract
A method includes aligning and positioning a carrier in a
predetermined orientation and location within a first front opening
pod (FOUP) of a cluster tool, transferring the carrier to a
charging station of the cluster tool, transferring a substrate from
a second front opening pod (FOUP) of the cluster tool to the
charging station and chucking the substrate onto the carrier,
transferring the carrier having the substrate thereon from the
charging station to a factory interface of the cluster tool,
aligning the carrier having the substrate thereon in the factory
interface of the cluster tool such that during substrate processing
within a processing platform of the cluster tool the carrier is
properly oriented and positioned relative to components of the
processing platform, where the processing platform comprises one or
more processing chambers, transferring the aligned carrier having
the substrate thereon from the factory interface to the processing
platform of the cluster tool for substrate processing, and
transferring the aligned carrier having the processed substrate
thereon from the processing platform to the factory interface.
Inventors: |
VELLORE; Kim Ramkumar; (San
Jose, CA) ; LERNER; Alexander N.; (San Jose, CA)
; TINDEL; Steven Trey; (Austin, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Applied Materials, Inc. |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004332926 |
Appl. No.: |
16/552967 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62879341 |
Jul 26, 2019 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 21/682 20130101;
H01L 21/67167 20130101; H01L 21/67326 20130101; H01L 21/68742
20130101; H01L 21/68 20130101; H01L 21/67742 20130101; H01L 21/6833
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/68 20060101
H01L021/68; H01L 21/67 20060101 H01L021/67; H01L 21/677 20060101
H01L021/677; H01L 21/687 20060101 H01L021/687; H01L 21/683 20060101
H01L021/683; H01L 21/673 20060101 H01L021/673 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising: aligning and positioning a carrier in a
predetermined orientation and location within a first front opening
pod (FOUP) of a cluster tool; transferring the carrier to a
charging station of the cluster tool using a factory interface
robot; transferring a substrate from a second front opening pod
(FOUP) of the cluster tool to the charging station using the
factory interface robot and chucking the substrate onto the
carrier; transferring the carrier having the substrate thereon from
the charging station to a factory interface of the cluster tool
using the factory interface robot; aligning the carrier having the
substrate thereon in a pre-aligner of the factory interface of the
cluster tool such that during substrate processing within a
processing platform of the cluster tool the carrier is properly
oriented and positioned relative to components of the processing
platform, wherein the processing platform comprises one or more
processing chambers; transferring the aligned carrier having the
substrate thereon from the factory interface to the processing
platform of the cluster tool for substrate processing using the
factory interface robot; and transferring the aligned carrier
having the processed substrate thereon from the processing platform
to the factory interface using the factory interface robot.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier having the
substrate thereon is not re-aligned during substrate processing
within the processing platform of the cluster tool.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier having the
substrate thereon is aligned in the factory interface of the
cluster tool such that lift pins in the one or more processing
chambers within the processing platform of the cluster tool do not
touch the substrate through cutouts of the carrier.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier having the
substrate thereon is aligned in the factory interface of the
cluster tool such that a mask is properly aligned and positioned on
the substrate in one of the processing chambers within the
processing platform of the cluster tool.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein aligning and
positioning a carrier within the first FOUP of the cluster tool
comprises aligning structural features of the carrier relative to
structural features of the first FOUP of the cluster tool.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising chucking the
substrate onto the carrier aligning features of the substrate
relative to features of the carrier.
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: aligning
the carrier having the processed substrate thereon in the factory
interface; transferring the aligned carrier having the processed
substrate thereon from the factory interface to the charging
station; and de-chucking the processed substrate from the
carrier.
8. A carrier for holding a substrate thereon during substrate
processing in a cluster tool, comprising: a portable electrostatic
chuck configured to hold a substrate on a surface of the portable
electrostatic chuck using electro static forces, wherein the
portable electrostatic chuck has one or more flat portions and a
notch, the one or more flat portions being configured to be aligned
against sidewalls of a shelf in a front opening pod (FOUP) of a
cluster tool, the notch being configured to be aligned with a
protrusion on the shelf.
9. The carrier according to claim 8, wherein a diameter of the
carrier is between about 300 mm and about 330 mm.
10. The carrier according to claim 8, wherein thickness of the
carrier is between about 2 mm and about 5 mm.
11. The carrier according to claim 8, wherein length of the one or
more flat portions is between about 50 mm and 100 mm.
12. The carrier according to claim 8, wherein depth of the notch is
between about 2 mm and 4 mm.
13. The carrier according to claim 8, wherein the carrier has one
or more cutout regions.
14. A cluster tool, comprising: a first front opening pod (FOUP)
configured to store one or more carriers in a predetermined
orientation and location; a second front opening pod (FOUP)
configured to store one or more substrates; a charging station
configured to chuck a substrate onto a carrier and de-chuck a
substrate from a carrier; a factory interface comprising a
pre-aligner configured to align a carrier having a substrate
chucked thereon; a processing platform comprising one or more
processing chambers; a factory interface robot configured to
transfer a carrier between the first FOUP and the charging station,
a substrate between the second FOUP and the charging station, and a
carrier having a substrate thereon between the charging station to
the pre-aligner and between the pre-aligner and the processing
platform; and a controller configured to control: the factory
interface robot to transfer a carrier from the first FOUP to the
charging station in a predetermined orientation and position; and
the pre-aligner to align a carrier having a substrate thereon such
that during substrate processing within the processing platform of
the cluster tool the carrier is properly oriented and positioned
relative to components of the processing platform.
15. The cluster tool according to claim 14, wherein a carrier
having a substrate thereon is not re-aligned during substrate
processing within the processing platform of the cluster tool.
16. The cluster tool according to claim 14, wherein the carrier
having the substrate thereon is aligned by the pre-aligner such
that lift pins in the one or more processing chambers within the
processing platform of the cluster tool do not touch the substrate
through cutouts of the carrier.
17. The cluster tool according to claim 14, wherein the carrier
having the substrate thereon is aligned by the pre-aligner such
that a mask is properly aligned and positioned on the substrate in
one of the processing chambers within the processing platform of
the cluster tool.
18. The cluster tool according to claim 14, wherein a carrier is
aligned and positioned within the first FOUP by use of structural
features of the carrier relative to structural features the first
FOUP of the cluster tool.
19. The cluster tool according to claim 14, wherein a substrate is
aligned onto a carrier by use of features of the substrate and
features of the carrier.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/879,341, filed Jul. 26, 2019, which is
incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
Field
[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a
method of pre-aligning a carrier and a substrate in a processing
system.
Description of the Related Art
[0003] In semiconductor processing for applications such as
depositions of layers of a photodiode, a wafer is loaded onto an
oversized carrier and moved through a multi-chamber processing
cluster tool. A wafer disposed on a carrier needs to be properly
aligned, for example, for loading a mask on top of a wafer during
deposition processing. This requires proper clocking of the carrier
before the deposition processing. Therefore, there is a need for a
method to provide proper a sequence of pre-alignment of a carrier,
a substrate, and a combination of a carrier and a substrate
disposed on the carrier.
SUMMARY
[0004] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a
method that includes aligning and positioning a carrier in a
predetermined orientation and location within a first front opening
pod (FOUP) of a cluster tool, transferring the carrier to a
charging station of the cluster tool, transferring a substrate from
a second front opening pod (FOUP) of the cluster tool to the
charging station and chucking the substrate onto the carrier,
transferring the carrier having the substrate thereon from the
charging station to a factory interface of the cluster tool,
aligning the carrier having the substrate thereon in the factory
interface of the cluster tool such that during substrate processing
within a processing platform of the cluster tool the carrier is
properly oriented and positioned relative to components of the
processing platform, where the processing platform comprises one or
more processing chambers, transferring the aligned carrier having
the substrate thereon from the factory interface to the processing
platform of the cluster tool for substrate processing, and
transferring the aligned carrier having the processed substrate
thereon from the processing platform to the factory interface.
[0005] In another embodiment, a carrier for holding a substrate
thereon during substrate processing in a cluster tool includes a
portable electrostatic chuck configured to hold a substrate on a
surface of the portable electrostatic chuck using electro static
forces, where the portable electrostatic chuck has one or more flat
portions and a notch, the one or more flat portions being
configured to be aligned against sidewalls of a shelf in a front
opening pod (FOUP) of a cluster tool, the notch being configured to
be aligned with a protrusion on the shelf.
[0006] In yet another embodiment, a cluster tool includes a first
front opening pod (FOUP) configured to store one or more carriers
in a predetermined orientation and location, a second front opening
pod (FOUP) configured to store one or more substrates, a charging
station configured to chuck a substrate onto a carrier and de-chuck
a substrate from a carrier, a factory interface comprising a
pre-aligner configured to align a carrier having a substrate
chucked thereon, a processing platform comprising one or more
processing chambers, a factory interface robot configured to
transfer a carrier between the first FOUP and the charging station,
a substrate between the second FOUP and the charging station, and a
carrier having a substrate thereon between the charging station to
the pre-aligner and between the pre-aligner and the processing
platform, and a controller configured to control the factory
interface robot to transfer a carrier from the first FOUP to the
charging station in a predetermined orientation and position, and
the pre-aligner to align a carrier having a substrate thereon such
that during substrate processing within the processing platform of
the cluster tool the carrier is properly oriented and positioned
relative to components of the processing platform.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] So that the manner in which the above recited features of
the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more
particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above,
may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are
illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however,
that the appended drawings illustrate only exemplary embodiments
and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, and
may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a processing system
according to one embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method for processing a
substrate according to one embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a carrier according to
one embodiment.
[0011] FIGS. 4A and 4B are an internal side view and an internal
top view of a carrier FOUP according to one embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 5A is a schematic view of a charging station according
to one embodiment. FIG. 5B is a schematic view of a charging
station along A-A' of FIG. 3. FIG. 5C is an illustration of
schematic view of a charging station along B-B' of FIG. 3.
[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of a charging station including
an actuator according to one embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a processing chamber
for depositing a layer according to one or more embodiments.
[0015] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals
have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements
that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements
and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in
other embodiments without further recitation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a
pre-alignment system for a carrier and a substrate disposed on the
carrier before substrate processing. The alignment system can allow
substrate processing without alignment of the substrate during the
substrate processing.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a processing system 100 for processing a
substrate (e.g., a wafer) according to one or more embodiments. For
example, the processing system 100 may deposit one or more metal
oxide layers and/or organic materials on a substrate to fabricate a
light sensing device. For example, the light sensing device may be
an organic image sensing device. An example of a processing system
includes the ENDURA.RTM. system, commercially available from
Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. Alternatively, other
substrate processing systems may be also be modified in accordance
with the present disclosure.
[0018] The processing system 100 includes a vacuum-tight processing
platform 160, a factory interface 162, and a controller 150.
Further, the processing system 100 may also be referred to as a
cluster tool or multi-chamber processing system.
[0019] The processing platform 160 includes one or more processing
chambers. For example, the processing platform 160 may include
processing chambers 112, 114, 116, 118, 132, 134, 136, 138, and
140. Further, the processing platform 160 includes one or more
transfer chambers. For example, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, the
processing platform 160 includes transfer chambers 110 and 130. The
processing platform 160 may also include one or more pass-through
chambers that allow a substrate to be transferred between transfer
chambers. For example, the pass-through chambers 122, 124 may allow
a substrate to be transferred between the transfer chambers 110 and
130.
[0020] The processing platform 160 may also include one or more
load lock chambers. For example, as is illustrated in FIG. 1, the
processing platform 160 includes load lock chambers 102, 104. The
load lock chambers 102, 104 may be pumped down to be operated under
a vacuum before transferring substrates from the factory interface
162 to the transfer chamber 110.
[0021] The factory interface 162 includes one or more docking
stations 183, one or more factory interface robots 185, and a
charging station 190. The docking stations 183 include one or more
front opening unified pods (FOUPs) 187A, 187B, 187C, 187D. The
factory interface robot 185 may be capable of linear and rotational
movement illustrated by arrows 182. Further, the factory interface
robot 185 may transfer substrates and carriers between the FOUPs
187A-D, the load lock chambers 102, 104, and the charging station
190. The charging station 190 may be configured to mount the
substrate on a carrier or remove the substrate from the carrier.
For example, a carrier may include one or more conductive elements
(e.g., chucking electrodes) configured to electrostatically hold
(i.e., "chuck") the substrate against the carrier. The carrier and
"chucked" substrate may be transferred by the factory interface
robot 185 from the charging station 190 to one or more of the load
lock chambers 102, 104 for processing the substrate within the
processing platform 160. Subsequently, the carrier and the
processed substrate may be transferred from the load lock chambers
102, 104 to the charging station 190 such that the processed
substrate may be removed from the carrier, and the processed
substrate may be transferred from the charging station 190 to one
of the FOUPs 187A-D by the factory interface robot 185. One or more
pre-aligner 192 may be disposed in the factory interface 162 to
align the substrate and the carrier by identifying the center of
the carrier and a notch on the carrier so that the carrier can be
properly oriented relative to and then desirably positioned on
components within the processing platform 160.
[0022] The transfer chamber 110 includes a transfer robot 111. The
transfer robot 111 transfers substrates to and from the load lock
chambers 102, 104, to and from the processing chambers 112, 114,
116, and 118, and to and from pass-through chambers 122, 124. The
pass-through chambers 122 and 124 may be utilized to maintain
vacuum conditions while allowing substrates to be transferred
within the processing platform 160 between the transfer chambers
110 and 130. The transfer chamber 130 includes a transfer robot
131. The transfer robot 131 transfers substrates between the
pass-through chambers 122, 124 and the processing chambers 132,
134, 136, 138, and 140, and among the processing chambers 132, 134,
136, 138, and 140.
[0023] The processing chambers 112, 114, 116, 118, 132, 134, 136,
138, and 140 may be configured in any manner suitable to process a
substrate. For example, the processing chambers 112, 114, 116, 118,
132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may be configured to deposit one or
more metal oxide layers, one or more organic films and apply one or
more cleaning processes to a substrate to create a semiconductor
device such as a photodiode, a light sensing device, or the
like.
[0024] The processing chambers, e.g., the processing chambers 112,
114, 116, 118 may be configured to perform a pre-clean process to
eliminate contaminants and/or degas volatile components from a
substrate prior to transferring the substrate into another process
chamber. The processing chamber 138 may be configured to deposit
one or more layers on a substrate. The one or more layers may be
fabricated from indium tin oxide (ITO), silicon oxide, silicon
nitride, aluminum oxide, or any suitable material. The processing
chambers 132, 134, 136 may be configured to deposit one or more
organic films on a substrate. Further, the processing chamber 140
may be configured to position a mask (e.g., a shadow mask) on a
substrate before the substrate is transferred to one or more of the
processing chambers 132, 134, 136 and 138 and unload a mask from a
substrate after processing within one or more of the processing
chambers 132, 134, 136, and 138. The processing chambers 132, 134,
136, 138 may be configured to deposit materials (e.g., metal oxide
layers or organic films) using a chemical deposition process such
as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD),
metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), plasma-enhanced
chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and physical vapor deposition
(PVD) (e.g., sputtering process or evaporation process), among
others.
[0025] The controller 150 is configured to control the components
of the processing system 100. The controller 150 may be any
suitable controller for controlling the operation of one or more of
the processing chambers 112, 114, 116, 118, 132, 134, 136, 138, and
140, the transfer chambers 110 and 130, pass-through chambers 122,
124, and the factory interface 162. For example, the controller 150
may be configured to control the operation of the transfer robot
111, the transfer robot 131, and the factory interface robot 185.
The controller 150 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 152, a
memory 154, and support circuits 156. The CPU 152 may be any
general purpose computer processor that may be utilized in an
industrial environment. The support circuits 156 are coupled to the
CPU 152 and may include cache, clock circuits, input/output
subsystems, power supplies and the like. Software routines may be
stored within the memory 154. The software routines may be executed
by the CPU 152 and thus be adapted to cause various components
within the processing system 100 to perform one or more of the
methods described herein. Alternatively, or additionally, one or
more of the software routines may be executed by a second CPU (not
illustrated). The second CPU may be part of the controller 150 or
remote from the controller 150.
[0026] One or more processing chambers 112, 114, 116, 118, 132,
134, 136, 138, and 140, one or more transfer chambers 110 and 130,
one or more pass-through chambers 122, 124, and/or the factory
interface 162 may have a dedicated controller or controllers (not
shown) configured to control at least a portion of the methods
disclosed herein. The dedicated controllers may be configured
similar to the controller 150 and may be coupled with the
controller 150 to synchronize processing of a substrate within the
processing system 100.
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method 200 for
processing a substrate, according to one or more embodiments. At
operation 202, a carrier is aligned and positioned in predetermined
orientation and location within one of the FOUPs 187A-D, for
example, in the FOUP (referred to as a "carrier FOUP") 187D. A
carrier and the carrier FOUP 187D may have any suitable structural
features that are used to align and position the carrier within the
carrier FOUP 187D. An example of a carrier and the carrier FOUP
187D is described below in relation to FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B.
[0028] At operation 204, the aligned carrier is transferred to the
charging station 190 by the factory interface robot 185. An
orientation and a position at which the factory interface robot 185
transfers the carrier to the charging station 190 are controlled by
the controller 150 based on the predetermined orientation and
location of the carrier within the carrier FOUP 187D.
[0029] At operation 206, a substrate (e.g., a 300 mm wafer) is
transferred from one of the FOUPs 187A-C to the charging station
190 by the factory interface robot 185. The substrate is then
aligned with carrier and chucked onto a front surface of the
carrier. A carrier and a substrate may each have one or more
features, such as a notch, that are used to align and position the
substrate in a predetermined orientation and location onto the
carrier.
[0030] In some embodiments, the carrier is a portable electrostatic
chuck (ESC) configured to hold the substrate using electrostatic
forces. The portable ESC includes one or more electrodes embedded
therein. After power is applied to the one or more electrodes to
chuck the substrate to the front surface of the carrier, the
electrostatic forces remain with the carrier and the substrate even
after power is no longer supplied to the one or more electrodes
(i.e., during the transfer of the substrate and carrier within a
processing system, such as the processing system 100). As such, the
substrate is advantageously prevented from moving during the
transfer of the carrier. An example of the charging station 190 is
described below in relation to FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 6.
[0031] At operation 208, the carrier having the substrate chucked
on the front surface of the carrier is transferred from the
charging station 190 to the pre-aligner 192 in the factory
interface 162. The pre-aligner 192 orients and positions of the
carrier, by identifying structural features of the carrier, so that
the carrier can be properly oriented and positioned relative to
components within the processing platform 160 during proceeding
substrate processing. Thus, there is no need to re-align the
carrier and the substrate during the substrate processing. An
orientation and a position at which the carrier is aligned in the
pre-aligner 192 are controlled by the controller 150 based on the
predetermined orientation and location of the carrier within the
charging station 109.
[0032] An example of proper orientation and positioning of a
carrier is relative to lift pins of substrate supports within one
or more chambers 102, 104, 112, 114, 116, 118, 122, 124, 132, 134,
136, 138, and 140. The carrier having a substrate on the front
surface of the carrier is aligned such that during proceeding
substrate processing the lift pins are in contact with a back
surface of the carrier to lift the carrier without contacting the
substrate through one or more of the cutout regions. An example of
lift pins is described below in relation to FIG. 7.
[0033] Another example of proper orientation and positioning of a
carrier is relative to a mask to be deposited on or over a surface
of a substrate that is chucked onto the carrier. A mask may be
aligned and placed on or over a substrate in a mask alignment
chamber, such as a processing chamber 140. A mask includes a
predetermined pattern of openings to allow material to be deposited
on a surface of the substrate at positions corresponding to the
openings.
[0034] At operation 210, the pre-aligned carrier having the
substrate thereon is transferred to the processing platform 160 by
the factory interface robot 185 for substrate processing. In some
embodiments, the carrier having the substrate thereon is
transferred from the factory interface 162 to one of the processing
chambers 112, 114, 116, and 118 though one of the load lock chamber
102, 104 for substrate processing. The substrate is further
transferred to one or more of the processing chambers 132, 134,
136, 138 for additional substrate processing and transferred back
to the factory interface 162 through one of the pass-through
chambers 122 and 124. Substrate processing may include deposition
of one or more layers on the substrate through a mask. The one or
more layers may be one or more organic films, such as OPFs. In some
embodiments, the one or more layers include a bilayer bulk
heterojunction. In some embodiments, the bilayer bulk
heterojunction includes tris (8-hydoxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq3)
or buckminsterfullerene (C.sub.60). The one or more layers have a
pattern corresponding to the first predetermined pattern of
openings of the first mask. The one or more layers may be deposited
by any suitable method, such as CVD, PECVD, MOCVD, ALD, or PVD. The
layer may be deposited in a processing chamber, such as the
processing chamber 138 (shown in FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the
layer is deposited by a PVD process. The processing chamber for
depositing the layer is part of a processing system, such as the
processing system 100. The carrier and the substrate on the carrier
are pre-aligned at operation 208 such that the carrier and the
substrate do not need to be re-aligned during the entire substrate
process at operation 210.
[0035] At operation 212, the carrier having the processed substrate
thereon is transferred from the processing platform 160 to the
pre-aligner 192 in the factory interface 162 and aligned such that
the processed substrate and the carrier can be properly oriented
and placed in the charging station 190. An orientation and a
position at which the carrier is aligned in the pre-aligner 192 are
controlled by the controller 150 based on the orientation and the
position of the carrier in the pre-aligner 192 prior to the
substrate processing process in operation 208.
[0036] At operation 214, the processed substrate is removed
("de-chucked") from the carrier. Operations 202-214 may be repeated
to process another substrate.
[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a carrier 302
according to one embodiment. FIGS. 4A and 4B are an internal side
view and an internal top view of the carrier FOUP 187D according to
one embodiment. A carrier 302 is aligned and positioned in a
predetermined orientation and a position in the carrier FOUP 187D
by a hardware design. That is, the carrier 302 has flat portions
304 and a notch 306. The carrier FOUP 187D has shelves 402, each of
which has straight sidewalls 404 and a protrusion 406. The carrier
302 is placed on a shelf 402 and oriented such that the flat
portions 304 are aligned against the sidewalls 404 and the notch
306 is aligned with the protrusion 406 on the shelf 402. The
factory interface robot 185 moves a pre-aligned carrier 302 with
orientation, determined by the design of the sidewalls 404 and the
protrusion 406, from the carrier FOUP 187D to the charging station
190.
[0038] A diameter of the carrier 302 is between about 300 mm and
about 330 mm, for example, about 318 mm. Length of the flat
portions 304 is between about 50 mm and about 100 mm, for example,
about 70 mm. Depth of the notch 306 from the outer perimeter of the
carrier 302 is between about 2 mm and about 4 mm, for example,
about 3.1 mm.
[0039] A thickness of the carrier 302 is between about 2 mm and
about 5 mm, for example, about 4 mm. The carrier 302 may include
one or more cutout regions 308 where material of the carrier 302
has been removed to reduce the weight of the carrier 302. Further,
the cutout regions 308 may be the same size or one or more of the
cutout regions 308 may be larger than another one of the cutout
regions 308. Additionally, or alternatively, the cutout regions 308
may be arranged such that the cutout regions 308 are symmetric
about a centerline of the carrier 302. Further, the cutout regions
308 may be arranged such that the cutout regions 308 are not
symmetric about a centerline of the carrier 302.
[0040] An example of the carrier FOUP 187D having nine shelves 402
is shown in FIG. 4A, but the carrier FOUP 187D may have more or
less than nine shelves 402. A thickness of each shelf 402 may be
between 2 mm and about 4 mm, for example, about 3 mm and the
shelves 402 are aligned vertically with a pitch between 18 mm and
about 22 mm, for example, about 20 mm.
[0041] FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the charging station 190 in
which a carrier 302 is disposed over a chuck 502 of the charging
station 190 according to one embodiment. FIG. 5B is a schematic
view of the charging station 190 along A-A' of FIG. 3. FIG. 5C is
an illustration of schematic view of the charging station along
B-B' of FIG. 3. A wafer 504 is disposed over and aligned with the
carrier 302. The chuck 502, which is positioned below the carrier
302 and the wafer 504, includes vacuum ports 506 and vacuum ports
508. The vacuum ports 506 and vacuum ports 508 are separately
connected to a vacuum source (not shown) and a control valve (not
shown) so that a vacuum pressure can be selectively applied to the
vacuum ports 506 or the vacuum ports 508 by use of commands from
the controller 150. As illustrated, the vacuum ports 506 are
positioned such that the vacuum ports 506 are aligned with the
cutout regions 308 and the vacuum ports 506 are able to interact
with the wafer 504. Alternatively, the vacuum ports 506 may be
positioned in different locations such that vacuum ports 506 are
able to interact with the wafer 504. For example, the carrier 302
may include dedicated ports that couple to the vacuum ports 506 and
allow the vacuum ports 506 to interact with the wafer 504. The
vacuum ports 508 interact with the carrier 302.
[0042] The charging station 190 further includes pumping devices
510, 512, and power supply 514. The pumping devices 510 and 512 are
coupled to vacuum ports 506 and 508, respectively, through
isolation valves (not shown). The pumping device 510 generates a
vacuum between the wafer 504 and the chuck 502 via the vacuum ports
506. The pumping device 512 generates a vacuum between the carrier
302 and the chuck 502 via the vacuum ports 508. Generating the
vacuum between the carrier 302 and the chuck 502, and between the
carrier 302 and the wafer 504, holds the carrier 302 and the wafer
504 in substantially constant position relative to each other while
the wafer 504 is electrostatically chucked to the carrier 302.
Additionally, the pumping device 510 may pump a gas into the space
between the chuck 502 and the wafer 504 via the vacuum ports 506.
Further, the pumping device 510 may include a sensor (not shown)
that is configured to monitor the pressure of the gas between the
chuck 502 and the wafer 504 to determine whether or not the wafer
504 is chucked to the carrier 302 during an electrostatic chucking
process or during an electrostatic de-chucking process.
[0043] The chuck 502 includes electrical pins 516 and 518. The
electrical pins 516 and 518 are coupled to power supply 514. The
carrier 302 includes the electrodes 520 and 522. The power supply
514 may drive the electrical pins 516 and 518 such that the
electrical pins 516 and 518 are electrically biased with regard to
each other. For example, the electrical pin 516 may be driven with
a positive voltage (e.g., at least about 1 KV) and the electrical
pin 518 may be driven a corresponding negative voltage (e.g., at
least about -1 KV). Driving the electrical pins 516 and 518 alters
the charge on the electrodes 520 and 522 of the carrier 302,
generating an electrical chucking force between the wafer 504 and
the carrier 302. Further, the power supply 514 may drive the
electrical pins 516 and 518 with other voltages to de-chuck, or
decouple, the wafer 504 from the carrier 302. For example, the
power supply 514 may drive the electrical pins 516 and 518 with
voltages of the opposite polarity as described above to de-chuck
the wafer 504 from the carrier 302.
[0044] FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of the charging station 190
including an actuator 602. The actuator 602 includes pins 604 and
pins 606. The actuator 602 may move the pins 604 and 606 toward and
away from and the chuck 502. For example, the pins 604 may move
toward the actuator 602 to lower the carrier 302 onto the chuck 502
when the carrier 302 is placed into the charging station 190 by the
factory interface robot 185. The pins 604 may be in an extended
position to receive the carrier 302 when the carrier 302 is loaded.
Further, the pins 604 may be moved away from the actuator 602 to
lift the carrier 302 off of the chuck 502 to remove the carrier 302
from the charging station 190. Further, the pins 606 may be moved
toward from the actuator 602 to lower the wafer 504 onto the
carrier 302 when the wafer 504 is placed into the charging station
190. The pins 606 may be in an extended position to receive the
wafer 504 when the wafer 504 is loaded. Further, the pins 606 may
be utilized to lift the wafer 504 off of the carrier 302 such that
the wafer 504 may be removed from the charging station 190.
[0045] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a processing chamber
700 for depositing a layer, according to one or more embodiments.
The processing chamber 700 may be the processing chamber 138 shown
in FIG. 1. The processing chamber 700 may be a PVD chamber for
depositing a metal oxide layer. The processing chamber 700 includes
a chamber body 706 covered by a lid 704 which encloses a processing
region 719. A slit valve 734 is coupled to the chamber body 706 and
configured to facilitate the transfer of a substrate 722 disposed
on a front surface of a carrier 742 into and out of the processing
chamber 700. The chamber body 706 may be grounded to enable plasma
to be formed therein.
[0046] A substrate support 724 is disposed within the processing
region 719 for supporting the carrier 742 carrying the substrate
722. The substrate support 724 includes a pedestal 736 and a shaft
712 coupled to the pedestal 736. The shaft 712 may be coupled to a
lift mechanism 713 that provides vertical movement of the substrate
support 724. An RF power supply 717 and a RF match 716 are coupled
to the pedestal 736 for providing a bias power to the substrate 722
and the carrier 742.
[0047] The processing chamber 700 further includes a substrate lift
system 730. The substrate lift system 730 includes a platform 708
coupled to a shaft 711, which can be lifted by a lift 732. Lift
pins 709 are mounted on the platform 708, and the lift pins 709 are
configured to go through through-holes (not shown) formed in the
pedestal 736 and in contact with a back surface of the carrier 742
to lift the carrier 742 carrying the substrate 722 on the front
surface of the carrier 742 without contacting the substrate 722.
The processing chamber 700 further includes a vacuum system 714 to
control the pressure within the processing chamber 700.
[0048] The processing chamber 700 further includes a target 766
disposed within the processing region 719. A power source 768 is
coupled to the target 766 to apply a voltage to the target 766. In
some embodiments, an RF power supply 770 may be coupled to the
target 766 to apply RF power to the target 766 to facilitate
control of the radial distribution of a deposition rate on the
substrate 722. A magnetron assembly 778 may be disposed over the
target 766 to assist in plasma processing within the processing
chamber 700. A process gas supply 718 is coupled to the processing
chamber 700 for providing one or more process gases to the
processing region 719.
[0049] The method for pre-alignment of a carrier and a substrate
disposed on the carrier is presented. A carrier and a substrate
disposed thereon are aligned only before and after substrate
processing such that the alignment of the carrier and the substrate
is not required during the substrate processing.
[0050] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
present disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure
may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and
the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
* * * * *