A substrate handling chamber body is formed from a castable aluminum alloy including a manganese (Mn) constituent and an iron (Fe) constituent. The castable aluminum alloy has a manganese (Mn) constituent-to-iron (Fe) constituent ratio that between about 1.125 and about 1.525 to limit microporosity and shrinkage porosity within the castable aluminum alloy forming the substrate handling chamber body. Semiconductor processing systems and methods of making substrate handling chamber bodies for semiconductor processing systems are also described.

A conveyance apparatus for conveying a substrate chuck includes a hand for supporting the substrate chuck, a main body for pivotally supporting the hand about a vertical axis and movable in horizontal and vertical directions, and a guiding portion for guiding pivotal motion of the hand. The hand includes hand distal end portions and a hand proximal end portion supported by the main body. An end surface of the hand proximal end portion facing the main body is formed in an arc shape of a circle centered about a vertical axis of a reference position between the hand distal end portions. The guiding portion includes a guiding surface that has a shape corresponding to the end surface of the hand proximal end portion and can slidably contact the end surface.

A method for manufacturing an electrostatic chuck with multiple chucking electrodes made of ceramic pieces using metallic aluminum as the joining. The aluminum may be placed between two pieces and the assembly may be heated in the range of 770 C to 1200 C. The joining atmosphere may be non-oxygenated. After joining the exclusions in the electrode pattern may be machined by also machining through one of the plate layers. The machined exclusion slots may then be filled with epoxy or other material. An electrostatic chuck or other structure manufactured according to such methods.

A wafer placement table includes a ceramic base having a wafer placement surface on its top surface and incorporating an electrode, a cooling base provided on a bottom surface side of the ceramic base, and a refrigerant flow channel groove provided in the cooling base so as to open at a bottom surface of the cooling base.

The present disclosure relates to heating a substrate in a rapid thermal processing (RTP) chamber. The chamber may contain a rotatable assembly configured to accommodate and rotate the substrate while a heat source inside the RTP chamber applies heat to the substrate. The rotatable assembly is partially disposed outside the RTP chamber. A seal may formed around the rotatable assembly and maintain a vacuum inside the RTP chamber while the rotatable assembly rotates. The rotatable assembly may configured to accommodate various-sized substrates.

Methods and apparatus reduce chucking abnormalities for electrostatic chucks by ensuring proper planarizing of ceramic surfaces of the electrostatic chuck. In some embodiments, a method for planarizing an upper ceramic surface of an electrostatic chuck assembly may comprise placing the electrostatic chuck assembly in a first planarizing apparatus, altering an upper ceramic surface of the electrostatic chuck assembly, and halting the altering of the upper ceramic surface of the electrostatic chuck assembly when an S.sub.a parameter is less than approximately 0.1 microns, an S.sub.dr parameter is less than approximately 2.5 percent, an S.sub.z parameter is less than approximately 10 microns for any given area of approximately 10 mm.sup.2 of the upper ceramic surface, or a pit-porosity depth parameter of greater than 1 micron is less than approximately 0.1 percent of area of the upper ceramic surface.

An apparatus includes a substrate holder, a first actuator to rotate the substrate holder, a second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly, a first sensor to generate one or more first measurements or images of the substrate, a second sensor to generate one or more second measurements of target positions on the substrate, and a processing device. The processing device estimates a position of the substrate on the substrate holder and causes the first actuator to rotate the substrate holder about a first axis. The rotation causes an offset between a field of view of the second sensor and a target position on the substrate due to the substrate not being centered on the substrate holder. The processing device causes the second actuator to move the substrate holder linearly along a second axis to correct the offset. The processing device determines a profile across a surface of the substrate based on the one or more second measurements of the target positions.

A vapor deposition device is provided that can correct a positional offset of a carrier in a rotation direction relative to a wafer when the vapor deposition device is viewed in a plan view. The vapor deposition device includes a load-lock chamber provided with a holder for supporting the carrier, and the carrier and the holder are provided with a correction mechanism that corrects a position of the carrier in a rotation direction when the vapor deposition device is viewed in a plan view.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a servo-control system comprising at least one pneumatic actuator comprising a movable member, at least one proportional pneumatic valve configured to control fluid flow between the at least one pneumatic actuator and a pressurized fluid supply or a vent, a plurality of pressure sensors each configured to independently measure pressure in a respective supply line to the at least one pneumatic actuator, at least one position sensor configured to measure a position of the moveable member, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a control signal based at least in part on pressure measurements of the plurality of pressure sensors and a position measurement of the at least one position sensor, and apply the control signal to at least one proportional pneumatic valve to move the movable member to a target position.

A method for processing a semiconductor structure and a method for forming a word line structure are provided. The method for processing the semiconductor structure includes: providing a semiconductor structure including a groove and a metal layer located in the groove, where an edge position of a top surface of the metal layer is higher than a center position of the top surface of the metal layer; enabling the semiconductor structure to be in a rotating state; and performing at least one metal surface planarization process on the semiconductor structure, so that the top surface of the metal layer after being processed is more planar than the top surface of the metal layer before being processed. Each of the at least one metal surface planarization process includes: etching the top surface of the metal layer by a first reagent; and cleaning the semiconductor structure by a second reagent.