Coating method for gas delivery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9689533-B2
Application number	US-201414472713-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 29, 2014
Priority date	Apr 23, 2010
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

A gas delivery system for a plasma process system such as a plasma etching system wherein inner surfaces of gas passages are coated with a corrosion-resistant material coating formed by curing a layer of fluidic precursor deposited on the inner surfaces. The coating can be formed by (a) flowing a fluidic precursor of a corrosion-resistant material through the gas passages and depositing a layer of the fluidic precursor to completely coat the inner surfaces of the gas passages; (b) removing excess fluidic precursor from the inner surfaces; (c) curing the deposited layer of the fluidic precursor to form a corrosion-resistant material coating.

First claim

We claim:

1. A gas delivery system configured to deliver process gases into a chamber of a plasma processing system, the gas delivery system comprising gas passages whose inner surfaces are coated with a corrosion-resistant material coating formed by curing a layer of a fluidic precursor deposited on the inner surfaces,
wherein the inner surfaces are coated by:
(a) flowing a fluidic precursor of a corrosion-resistant material through the gas passages and depositing a layer of the fluidic precursor to coat the inner surfaces of the gas passages;
(b) removing excess fluidic precursor from the inner surfaces; and
(c) curing the deposited layer of the fluidic precursor to form a corrosion-resistant material coating, and

wherein:
the fluidic precursor comprises one or more methacrylate esters; and
excess fluidic precursor is removed by blowing dry nitrogen or dry air into the gas passages.

2. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one stainless steel bellows welded to stainless steel tubing having the gas passages therein and inner surfaces of the bellows are not coated by the coating.

3. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the gas passages are in stainless steel tubing having an outer diameter of 0.25 inch or less.

4. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the coating is resistant to halogen containing process gases.

5. A plasma processing system comprising the gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the gas delivery system delivers halogen containing process gases into a chamber of the plasma processing system and the process gases are energized into a plasma to process individual semiconductor substrates supported in the chamber.

6. The plasma processing system of claim 5 , wherein the substrates are etched by the plasma.

7. The gas delivery system of claim 3 , wherein at least one stainless steel bellows is welded to the stainless steel tubing.

8. The gas delivery system of claim 7 , further comprising:
prior to welding the bellows to the tubing, coating inner surfaces of the bellows with a masking agent that prevents adhesion of the fluidic precursor; and optionally, after the curing step, removing the masking agent from the inner surfaces of the bellows.

9. The gas delivery system of claim 7 , wherein the coating is resistant to halogen containing process gases.

10. The gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the corrosion-resistant material coating has a thickness of 0.0014 to 0.0034 inch.

11. A gas delivery system configured to deliver process gases into a chamber of a plasma processing system, the gas delivery system comprising gas passages whose inner surfaces are coated with a corrosion-resistant material coating formed by curing a layer of a fluidic precursor deposited on the inner surfaces,
wherein the inner surfaces are coated by:
(a) flowing a fluidic precursor of a corrosion-resistant material through the gas passages and depositing a layer of the fluidic precursor to coat the inner surfaces of the gas passages;
(b) removing excess fluidic precursor from the inner surfaces; and
(c) curing the deposited layer of the fluidic precursor to form a corrosion-resistant material coating, and

wherein:
the fluidic precursor comprises one or more methacrylate esters;
excess fluidic precursor is removed by blowing dry nitrogen or dry air into the gas passages; and
the deposited layer of the fluidic precursor is cured by baking the gas passages at a temperature of at least 100° C. and a pressure of 1 to 10 Torr in a vacuum oven or by maintaining the gas passages at ambient temperature and pressure for at least 24 hours.

12. The gas delivery system of claim 11 further comprising at least one stainless steel bellows welded to stainless steel tubing having the gas passages therein and inner surfaces of the bellows are not coated by the coating.

13. The gas delivery system of claim 11 , wherein the gas passages are in stainless steel tubing having an outer diameter of 0.25 inch or less.

14. The gas delivery system of claim 13 , wherein at least one stainless steel bellows is welded to the stainless steel tubing.

15. The gas delivery system of claim 14 , further comprising:
prior to welding the bellows to the tubing, coating inner surfaces of the bellows with a masking agent that prevents adhesion of the fluidic precursor; and optionally, after the curing step, removing the masking agent from the inner surfaces of the bellows.

16. The gas delivery system of claim 15 , wherein the coating is resistant to halogen containing process gases.

17. The gas delivery system of claim 11 , wherein the coating is resistant to halogen containing process gases.

18. A plasma processing system comprising the gas delivery system of claim 11 , wherein the gas delivery system delivers halogen containing process gases into a chamber of the plasma processing system and the process gases are energized into a plasma to process individual semiconductor substrates supported in the chamber.

19. The plasma processing system of claim 18 , wherein the substrates are etched by the plasma.

20. The gas delivery system of claim 11 , wherein the corrosion-resistant material coating has a thickness of 0.0014 to 0.0034 inch.

Assignees

• Lam Res Corp

Inventors

• Kenworthy Ian
• Outka Duane
• Hao Fangli
• Sharpless Leonard
• Du Yijun

Classifications

• H10P72/0421

  for drying etching · CPC title

• H01J37/3244

  Gas supply means · CPC title

• H01J2237/3341

  Reactive etching · CPC title

• B05D1/30

  performed by gravity only, i.e. flow coating · CPC title

• F17D1/04

  for distribution of gas · CPC title