Plasma processing devices having multi-port valve assemblies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12100575-B2
Application number	US-201816030489-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 9, 2018
Priority date	Aug 13, 2013
Publication date	Sep 24, 2024
Grant date	Sep 24, 2024

Abstract

A plasma processing device may include a plasma processing chamber, a plasma electrode assembly, a wafer stage, a plasma producing gas inlet, a plurality of vacuum ports, at least one vacuum pump, and a multi-port valve assembly. The multi-port valve assembly may comprise a movable seal plate positioned in the plasma processing chamber. The movable seal plate may comprise a transverse port sealing surface that is shaped and sized to completely overlap the plurality of vacuum ports in a closed state, to partially overlap the plurality of vacuum ports in a partially open state, and to avoid substantial overlap of the plurality of vacuum ports in an open state. The multi-port valve assembly may comprise a transverse actuator coupled to the movable seal plate and a sealing actuator coupled to the movable seal plate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A plasma chamber for controlling conductance of materials, comprising:
a top wall;
a bottom wall located below the top wall and having a bottom plate;
a center column;
a wafer stage; and
a multi-valve port assembly including:
a plurality of actuator components coupled to a plurality of flow rate sensors to operate based on a plurality of flow rates measured by the plurality of flow rate sensors, wherein the plurality of actuator components include a first coil, wherein the bottom plate has the first coil, wherein the first coil transfers a first current to create a first magnetic field;
a top plate surrounding a feed through port formed within the bottom wall of the plasma chamber, wherein the top plate has a plurality of openings and a plurality of plate portions, wherein the feed through port allows passage of the center column that supports the wafer stage of the plasma chamber, wherein the center column is narrower than the wafer stage and located below the wafer stage, wherein the plurality of plate portions and the plurality of openings in the top plate are interleaved with respect to each other, wherein the plurality of plate portions and the plurality of openings in the top plate surround the feed through port, wherein the top plate has a first magnet that creates a second magnetic field that interferes with the first magnetic field to move the top plate with respect to the bottom plate in a vertical direction; and
the bottom plate located below and adjacent to the top plate and having a plurality of openings that surround the feed through port,
wherein the top plate rotates in a transverse direction with respect to the bottom plate and achieves the movement in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom plate based on the plurality of flow rates measured by the plurality of flow rate sensors, wherein each of the plurality of openings in the bottom plate and the plurality of openings in the top plate and the plurality of plate portions of the top plate is equal in number to the plurality of flow rate sensors, wherein the plurality of flow rates are of materials flowing from the plasma chamber via the plurality of openings in the top plate and the plurality of the openings in the bottom plate to a plurality of vacuum pumps outside the plasma chamber, wherein the rotation of the top plate in the transverse direction changes an amount of overlap between one of the plurality of plate portions of the top plate and one of the plurality of openings in the bottom plate and an amount of overlap between another one of the plurality of plate portions of the top plate and another one of the plurality of openings in the bottom plate, wherein the changes in the amounts of overlap and the movement in the vertical direction modifies an amount of the conductance of the materials flowing from the plasma chamber via the plurality of openings in the top plate and the plurality of openings in the bottom plate to the plurality of vacuum pumps,
wherein the plurality of openings in the bottom plate lie adjacent to and above the plurality of vacuum pumps.

2. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of plate portions are moved in a stepwise fashion in the vertical direction so that the top plate moves in the vertical direction to achieve a plurality of degrees of an unsealed state with respect to the bottom plate, wherein each of the plurality of degrees of the unsealed state corresponds to a different vertical distance between the top plate and the bottom plate.

3. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of plate portions include a first plate portion and a second plate portion, wherein the plurality of openings in the top plate include a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is located besides the first plate portion, the second plate portion is located besides the first opening, and the second opening is located besides the second plate portion.

4. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the bottom plate has a top edge portion, wherein the top edge portion includes a second coil, wherein the plurality of actuator components include the second coil, wherein the second coil of the top edge portion is configured to receive a second current to generate a third magnetic field, wherein the top plate includes a second magnet configured to generate a fourth magnetic field, wherein the third and fourth magnetic fields interfere with each other to rotate the top plate in the transverse direction with respect to the bottom plate.

5. The plasma chamber of claim 4 , wherein the bottom plate has a bottom edge portion, wherein the bottom edge portion includes the first coil, wherein the first coil of the bottom edge portion is configured to receive the first current to generate the first magnetic field.

6. The plasma chamber of claim 5 , wherein the top plate includes a metallic shield located above the first magnet and besides the second magnet to shield a substrate within the plasma chamber from the second and fourth magnetic fields.

7. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the center column includes a plasma electrode assembly and a plasma producing gas inlet.

8. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the bottom plate is a part of the bottom wall of the plasma chamber, wherein each of the plurality of openings in the bottom plate interfaces with a corresponding one of the plurality of vacuum pumps.

9. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of openings in the top plate is bordered on its periphery by a material of the top plate.

10. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of openings in the top plate are equal in number to the plurality of openings in the bottom plate and to the plurality of vacuum pumps.

11. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of openings in the top plate include a first opening, a second opening, and a third opening, wherein the plurality of openings in the bottom plate include a fourth opening, a fifth opening, and a sixth opening, wherein the plurality of vacuum pumps include a first vacuum pump, a second vacuum pump, and a third vacuum pump, wherein the fourth opening interfaces with the first vacuum pump, the fifth opening interfaces with the second vacuum pump, and the sixth opening interfaces with the third vacuum pump.

12. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the number of plurality of plate portions is equal to three.

13. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , the plurality of actuator components are coupled to the top plate to rotate the top plate in the transverse direction with respect to the bottom plate and to move the top plate in the vertical direction with respect to the bottom plate based on a sum of the plurality of flow rates measured by the plurality of flow rate sensors.

14. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the first coil is located along a circumference of the bottom plate, wherein the bottom plate has a second coil located along the circumference of the bottom plate, wherein the second coil is located above the first coil, wherein the second coil transfers a second current to create a third magnetic field.

15. The plasma chamber of claim 14 , wherein the top plate has a second magnet that generates a fourth magnetic field that interferes with the third magnetic field to rotate the top plate in the transverse direction with respect to the bottom plate.

16. The plasma chamber of claim 1 , wherein the top plate moves in a stepwise manner in the vertical direction from a first unsealed position with respect to the bottom plate to a second unsealed po

Assignees

• Lam Res Corp

Inventors

• Brown Daniel A
• Kellogg Michael C
• Sharpless Leonard J
• Ronne Allan K
• Tappan James E

Classifications

• H01J37/32513

  Sealing means, e.g. sealing between different parts of the vessel · CPC title

• H01J37/32834

  Exhausting · CPC title

• H01J37/32816

  Pressure · CPC title

• H01J37/32449 Primary

  Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow · CPC title