Plasma processing apparatus and substrate support of plasma processing apparatus

US2022013339A1 · US · A1

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-2022013339-A1
Application numberUS-202117368887-A
CountryUS
Kind codeA1
Filing dateJul 7, 2021
Priority dateJul 7, 2020
Publication dateJan 13, 2022
Grant date

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

There is provided a substrate support of a plasma processing apparatus. The substrate support includes a wafer placement surface and a ring placement surface on which a first ring and a second ring disposed at an outer peripheral side of the first ring without overlapping with the first ring in a vertical direction are placed, with a hole at a boundary between the first ring and the second ring. The substrate support further includes a lifter pin having a first holding portion and a second holding portion, the second holding portion being unitary with and extending axially from a base end of the first holding portion and having a protruding portion protruding from an outer circumference of the first holding portion, and a driving mechanism configured to raise and lower the lifter pin.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

1 . A substrate support of a plasma processing apparatus, comprising: a wafer placement surface on which a wafer is placed; a ring placement surface on which a first ring and a second ring are placed, with the second ring disposed at an outer peripheral side of the first ring without overlapping with the first ring in a vertical direction, the ring placement surface having a hole at a boundary between the first ring and the second ring and provided at an outer peripheral side of the wafer placement surface; a lifter pin having a first holding portion and a second holding portion, the second holding portion being unitary with and extending axially from a base end of the first holding portion and having a protruding portion protruding from an outer circumference of the first holding portion, and accommodated in the hole of the ring placement surface with the first holding portion facing the ring placement surface; and a driving mechanism configured to raise and lower the lifter pin. 2 . The substrate support of claim 1 , wherein the first holding portion and the second holding portion are coaxial rod-shaped members, and a cross-sectional area of the first holding portion is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the second holding portion. 3 . The substrate support of claim 1 , wherein the lifter pin is rotatable about an axis. 4 . The substrate support of claim 1 , wherein the second holding portion has a cross section that vertically overlaps with a part of each of the first ring and the second ring placed on the ring placement surface, and the first holding portion has a cross section that vertically overlaps with either the first ring or the second ring placed on the ring placement surface. 5 . The substrate support of claim 1 , wherein the first ring and the second ring are made of different materials. 6 . The substrate support of claim 1 , further comprising: a ring electrostatic chuck configured to attract at least one of the first ring and the second ring on the ring placement surface; and a gas supply mechanism configured to supply a heat transfer gas to a gap between a bottom surface of at least one of the first ring and the second ring and the ring placement surface. 7 . The substrate support of claim 1 , wherein the driving mechanism is configured to rotate the lifter pin to a first position where the first holding portion is disposed at a central side of the substrate support and a second position where the first holding portion is disposed at an outer peripheral side of the substrate support, and the driving mechanism is further configured to raise and lower the lifter pin by selectively setting an arrangement of the lifter pin to any one of the first position or the second position. 8 . The substrate support of claim 7 , wherein the driving mechanism is configured to locate the lifter pin at the first position and raise a top portion of the lifter pin to a first height during the transfer of the first ring. 9 . The substrate support of claim 8 , wherein the driving mechanism is also configured to locate the lifter pin at the first position and raise the top portion of the lifter pin to a second height higher than the first height during the transfer of the first ring and the second ring. 10 . The substrate support of claim 8 , wherein the driving mechanism is also configured to locate the lifter pin at the first position and raise the top portion of the lifter pin to the second height during the transfer of the second ring. 11 . The substrate support of claim 8 , wherein the driving mechanism is also configured to locate the lifter pin at the second position and raise the top portion of the lifter pin to the first height during the transfer of the second ring. 12 . A plasma processing apparatus comprising: a wafer placement surface on which a wafer is placed; a ring placement surface on which a first ring and a second ring are placed, with the second ring disposed at an outer peripheral side of the first ring without overlapping with the first ring in a vertical direction, the ring placement surface having a hole at a boundary between the first ring and the second ring and provided at an outer peripheral side of the wafer placement surface; a lifter pin having a first holding portion and a second holding portion, the second holding portion being unitary with and extending axially from a base end of the first holding portion and having a protruding portion protruding from an outer circumference of the first holding portion, and accommodated in the hole of the ring placement surface with the first holding portion facing the ring placement surface; and a driving mechanism configured to raise and lower the lifter pin.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins · CPC title

  • Details of electrostatic chucks · CPC title

  • characterised by edge profile or support profile · CPC title

  • using electrostatic chucks · CPC title

  • mainly by convection · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US2022013339A1 cover?
There is provided a substrate support of a plasma processing apparatus. The substrate support includes a wafer placement surface and a ring placement surface on which a first ring and a second ring disposed at an outer peripheral side of the first ring without overlapping with the first ring in a vertical direction are placed, with a hole at a boundary between the first ring and the second ring…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Tokyo Electron Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H01J37/32715. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Thu Jan 13 2022 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (A1). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 5 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).