Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and apparatuses for a substrate processing assembly with a low processing volume. In disclosed embodiments, a processing volume may include a processing space adjacent to a substrate being processed on a substrate support as well as a volume of the processing chamber surrounding and below the substrate support. In some embodiments, the total processing volume is 15 liters or less in certain embodiments, resulting in lower gas usage and faster processing times than conventional approaches. In some embodiments, the distance between the substrate and a target, electrode, chamber lid, or showerhead face is 35 mm or less in certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, the processing chamber has a dedicated pump for pumping the chamber to a processing pressure as well as evacuating the chamber after processing of the substrate.

The present disclosure is a wafer support, which includes a heating unit, an insulating-and-heat-conducting unit and a conduct portion, wherein the insulating-and-heat-conducting unit is positioned between the conduct portion and the heating unit. During a deposition process, an AC bias is formed on the conduct portion to attract a plasma disposed thereabove. The heating unit includes at least one heating coil, wherein the heating coil heats the wafer supported by the wafer support via the insulating-and-heat-conducting unit and the conduct portion. The insulating-and-heat-conducting unit electrically insulates the heating unit and the conduct portion to prevent the AC flowing in the heating coil and the AC bias on the conduct portion from conducting each other, so the wafer support can generate a stable AC bias and temperature to facilitate forming an evenly-distributed thin film on the wafer supported by the wafer support.

Apparatus and methods for forming and using internally divisible physical vapor deposition (PVD) process chambers using shutter disks are provided herein. In some embodiments, an internally divisible process chamber may include an upper chamber portion having a conical shield, a conical adaptor, a cover ring, and a target, a lower chamber portion having a substrate support having inner and outer deposition rings, and wherein the substrate support is vertically movable, and a shutter disk assembly configured to internally divide the process chamber and create a separate sealed deposition cavity and a separate sealed oxidation cavity, wherein the shutter disk assembly includes one or more seals disposed along its outer edges and configured to contact at least one of the conical shield, the conical adaptor, or the deposition rings to form the separate sealed deposition and oxidation cavities.

A vacuum apparatus to deposit a compound layer on at least one plate shaped substrate by sputtering. The apparatus including a vacuum chamber with side walls around a central axis. The chamber includes at least one inlet for a process gas, at least one inlet for an inert gas, a substrate handling opening, a pedestal including an electrostatic chuck formed as a substrate support in a central lower area of a sputter compartment, a magnetron sputter source including the target at the frontside and a magnet-system at the backside of the source, an anode looping around the target and at least an upper part of the pedestal and a pump compartment connected to a bottom of the sputter compartment by a flow labyrinth. A vacuum pump system is connected to the pump compartment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a rotatable electrostatic chuck. In some embodiments, a rotatable electrostatic chuck includes a dielectric disk having at least one chucking electrode and a plurality of coolant channels; a cryogenic manifold coupled to the dielectric disk and having a coolant inlet and a coolant outlet both of which are fluidly coupled to the plurality of coolant channels; a shaft assembly coupled to the cryogenic manifold; a cryogenic supply chamber coupled to the shaft assembly; a supply tube coupled to the cryogenic supply chamber and to the coolant inlet to supply the cryogenic medium to the plurality of coolant channels, wherein the supply tube extends through the central opening of the shaft assembly; and a return tube coupled to the coolant outlet and to the cryogenic supply chamber, wherein the supply tube is disposed within the return tube.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a conveyance unit that has a rotator in a vacuum container, and circulating carries a workpiece by the rotator along a circular conveyance path, a cylindrical member extended in a direction toward the conveyance path in the vacuum container, a window member that divides a gas space where a process gas is introduced and an exterior, and an antenna causing the process gas to generate inductive coupling plasma for plasma processing when power is applied. The cylindrical member is provided with an opposing part with the opening and faces the rotator, a dividing wall is provided between the opposing part and the rotator so as not to contact the opposing part and the rotator and not to move relative to the vacuum container, and the dividing wall is provided with an adjustment opening that faces the opening, and adjusts a range of the plasma processing.

A method of depositing a film on a substrate is provided. The method includes positioning the substrate on a substrate support in a chamber and depositing the film on the substrate using a DC magnetron sputtering process in which an electrical bias signal causes ions to bombard the substrate. The substrate support includes a central region surrounded by an edge region, the central region being raised with respect to the edge region, and the substrate is positioned on the central region so that a portion of the substrate overlays the edge region and is spaced apart therefrom.

Methods and apparatus for processing substrates are disclosed. In some embodiments, a process chamber for processing a substrate includes: a body having an interior volume and a target to be sputtered, the interior volume including a central portion and a peripheral portion; a substrate support disposed in the interior volume opposite the target and having a support surface configured to support the substrate; a collimator disposed in the interior volume between the target and the substrate support; a first magnet disposed about the body proximate the collimator; a second magnet disposed about the body above the support surface and entirely below the collimator and spaced vertically below the first magnet; and a third magnet disposed about the body and spaced vertically between the first magnet and the second magnet. The first, second, and third magnets are configured to generate respective magnetic fields to redistribute ions over the substrate.

Methods and apparatus for controlling the ion fraction in physical vapor deposition processes are disclosed. In some embodiments, a process chamber for processing a substrate having a given diameter includes: an interior volume and a target to be sputtered, the interior volume including a central portion and a peripheral portion; a rotatable magnetron above the target to form an annular plasma in the peripheral portion; a substrate support disposed in the interior volume to support a substrate having the given diameter; a first set of magnets disposed about the body to form substantially vertical magnetic field lines in the peripheral portion; a second set of magnets disposed about the body and above the substrate support to form magnetic field lines directed toward a center of the support surface; a first power source to electrically bias the target; and a second power source to electrically bias the substrate support.

Apparatus and methods for reducing and eliminating accumulation of excessive charged particles from substrate processing systems are provided herein. In some embodiments a process kit for a substrate process chamber includes: a cover ring having a body and a lip extending radially inward from the body, wherein the body has a bottom, a first wall, and a second wall, and wherein a first channel is formed between the second wall and the lip; a grounded shield having a lower inwardly extending ledge that terminates in an upwardly extending portion configured to interface with the first channel of the cover ring; and a bias power receiver coupled to the body and extending through an opening in the grounded shield.