An exclusion ring for semiconductor wafer processing includes an outer circumferential segment having a first thickness and an inner circumferential segment having a second thickness, with the first thickness being greater than the second thickness. The top surface of an inner circumferential segment and the top surface of the outer circumferential segment define a common top surface for the exclusion ring. A plurality of flow paths is formed within the outer circumferential segment, with each of the flow paths extending radially through the plurality of flow paths provides for exhaust of a wafer edge gas from the pocket where a wafer has an edge thereof disposed below part of the inner circumferential portion. The exhausting of the wafer edge gas from the pocket prevents up-and-down movement of the exclusion ring when bowed wafers are processed.

A baseplate of a substrate support assembly for supporting a semiconductor substrate in a processing chamber comprises a first component made of a first material including a metal and a nonmetal. The first material has a first coefficient of thermal expansion. A layer coating the first component is made of a second material. The second material has a second coefficient of thermal expansion. The first and second coefficients of thermal expansion are different.

A film forming apparatus includes a film formation chamber capable of accommodating a substrate; a gas supplier including nozzles provided in an upper portion of the film formation chamber to supply a process gas onto a film formation face of the substrate, and a cooling part suppressing a temperature increase of the process gas; a heater heating the substrate to 1500° C. or higher; and a plate opposed to a bottom face of the gas supplier, where first opening parts of the nozzles are formed, in the film formation chamber, and arranged away from the bottom face, in which the plate includes a plurality of second opening parts having a smaller diameter than the first opening parts, and arranged substantially uniformly in a plane of the plate, and a partition protruded on an opposed face to the gas supplier and separating the plane of the plate into regions.

A substrate processing chamber includes a housing providing a process space; a spin apparatus provided in the housing; and a fluid spraying nozzle configured to spray fluid into the process space, wherein the spin apparatus includes: a spin chuck configured to support a substrate; a rotation driving part configured to rotate the spin chuck; and a weight sensor configured to measure a weight of the substrate supported on the spin chuck.

Embodiments of wet clean chambers are provided herein. In some embodiments, a wet clean chamber includes: a deck plate; a substrate support that is rotatable and configured to support a substrate; a rotor disposed about and configured to rotate with the substrate support, wherein the rotor includes an upper fluid collection region disposed radially outward of the substrate support in position to collect fluid leaving the substrate support during processing, and wherein the upper fluid collection region includes a plurality of drain openings along a radially outward perimeter of a bottom of the upper fluid collection region; a stationary housing surrounding the rotor and having a lower fluid collection region disposed beneath the drain openings of the rotor; and one or more fluid delivery arms coupled to the deck plate and configured to deliver fluid to the substrate.

Susceptor assemblies comprising a susceptor base and a plurality of pie-shaped skins thereon are described. A pie anchor can be positioned in the center of the susceptor base to hold the pie-shaped skins in place during processing.

A physical vapor deposition chamber comprising a tilting substrate support is described. Methods of processing a substrate are also provided comprising tilting at least one of the substrate and the target to improve the uniformity of the layer on the substrate from the center of the substrate to the edge of the substrate. Process controllers are also described which comprise one or more process configurations causing the physical deposition chamber to perform the operations of rotating a substrate support within the physical deposition chamber and tilting the substrate support at a plurality of angles with respect to a horizontal axis.

A substrate cleaning apparatus configured to clean a surface of a substrate having a circular shape by bringing a cleaning member into contact with the surface of the substrate and rotating the substrate and the cleaning member relatively is provided. A contact region of the cleaning member which comes into contact with the surface of the substrate is widened in a radial shape from a center side of the substrate toward a peripheral side thereof.

Chucks for supporting semiconductor wafers during certain processing operations are disclosed. The chucks may include a recessed region near the outer perimeter of the wafer that has one or more surfaces that face towards the wafer but are recessed therefrom so as to not contact the wafer around the perimeter of the wafer. The use of such a recessed region prevents direct thermally conductive contact between the chuck and the wafer, thereby allowing the wafer to achieve a more uniform temperature distribution in certain process conditions. This has the further effect of causing certain processing operations to be more uniform with respect to edge-center deposition (or etch) layer thickness.

Exemplary integrated cluster tools may include a factory interface including a first transfer robot. The tools may include a wet clean system coupled with the factory interface at a first side of the wet clean system. The tools may include a load lock chamber coupled with the wet clean system at a second side of the wet clean system opposite the first side of the wet clean system. The tools may include a first transfer chamber coupled with the load lock chamber. The first transfer chamber may include a second transfer robot. The tools may include a thermal treatment chamber coupled with the first transfer chamber. The tools may include a second transfer chamber coupled with the first transfer chamber. The second transfer chamber may include a third transfer robot. The tools may include a metal deposition chamber coupled with the second transfer chamber.