A substrate support assembly to support a semiconductor substrate in a processing chamber includes a baseplate arranged in the processing chamber, a dielectric layer arranged on the baseplate to support the semiconductor substrate, an electrode disposed in the dielectric layer along a horizontal plane, and a plurality of channels to carry a fluid. The plurality of channels are disposed in the dielectric layer along the horizontal plane on a side of the electrode facing away from the baseplate.

A processing tool for a plasma process includes a chamber body that has an interior space that provides a plasma chamber and that has a ceiling and an opening on a side opposite the ceiling, a workpiece support to hold a workpiece such that at least a portion of a front surface of the workpiece faces the opening, an actuator to generate relative motion between the chamber body and the workpiece support such that the opening moves laterally across the workpiece, a gas distributor to deliver a processing gas to the plasma chamber, an electrode assembly comprising a plurality of coplanar filaments extending laterally through the plasma chamber between the workpiece support and the ceiling, each of the plurality of filaments including a conductor, and a first RF power source to supply a first RF power to the conductors of the electrode assembly to form a plasma.

High aspect ratio features are etched using a plasma etching apparatus that can alternate between accelerating negative ions of reactive species at a low energy and accelerating positive ions of inert gas species at a high energy. The plasma etching apparatus can be divided into at least two regions that separate a plasma-generating space from an ionization space. Negative ions of the reactive species can be generated by electron attachment ionization in the ionization space when a plasma is ignited in the plasma-generating space. Positive ions of the inert gas species can be generated by Penning ionization in the ionization space when the plasma is quenched in the plasma-generating space.

The present invention provides a method for in-situ etching of a wafer prior to physical vapor deposition, the method comprising the following steps. A sputtering chamber is provided, the sputtering chamber being collectively defined by a wafer handling apparatus and a magnetron. The wafer is placed into the sputtering chamber. A gas is introduced into the sputtering chamber such that the gas is separated into a plasma, wherein the plasma includes gas ions. A first negative potential is applied to the wafer using a wafer chuck of the wafer handling apparatus while a second negative potential is simultaneously applied to a sputtering target of the magnetron, wherein simultaneous application of the first negative potential to the wafer and the second negative potential to the sputtering target causes gas ions to eject material from the wafer and the sputtering target of the magnetron such that ejected material from the wafer and the sputtering target is collected onto a shield defined by the sputtering chamber.

The disclosed plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma processing chamber, a substrate support, a bias power source, and a radio frequency power source. The substrate support is disposed in the plasma processing chamber and includes an electrode. The bias power source is coupled to the electrode and configured to generate a bias power having a first frequency. The radio frequency power source is coupled to the plasma processing chamber and configured to generate a radio frequency power having a second frequency higher than the first frequency. The radio frequency power has a first power level in a first period within one cycle of the bias power and has a second power level lower than the first power level in a second period within one cycle of the bias power.

A plasma processing method includes performing a first plasma processing in a processing chamber in a first period, and performing a second plasma processing in the processing chamber during a second period continuously after the first period. In the first period and the second period, a first radio-frequency power for bias is continuously supplied to a lower electrode. A second radio-frequency power for plasma generation may be supplied as a pulsed radio-frequency power in a first partial period in each cycle of the first radio-frequency power in the first period. The second radio-frequency power may be supplied as a pulsed radio-frequency power in a second partial period in each cycle of the first radio-frequency power in the second period.

A method is provided, including the following method operations: generating a deuterium plasma, the deuterium plasma including a plurality of energetic deuterium atoms; and directing one or more of the plurality of energetic deuterium atoms to a surface of a substrate, the surface of the substrate having a region of silicon dioxide, the region of silicon dioxide having an underlying silicon layer; wherein the one or more of the plurality of energetic deuterium atoms selectively etch the region of silicon oxide, to the exclusion of the underlying silicon layer.

A method for altering surface charge on an insulating surface of a first sample includes generating first plasma inside a plasma source, causing the first plasma to diffuse into a first vacuum chamber to generate second downstream plasma, immersing the first sample in the second downstream plasma, and applying a first bias voltage to a conductive layer of the first sample, or applying a first bias voltage to a metal holder that holds the first sample.

A voltage waveform generator includes a common node, a voltage waveform generation circuit and a current source. The voltage waveform generation circuit is operably connected to the common node and is configured to apply a voltage signal at the common node. The current source is operably connected to the common node and configured to apply a DC current at the common node. The current source has a first switch node connected to the common node through a first inductor, and a first power supply connected to the first switch node. The power supply includes at least two first voltage nodes, and the current source is operable to switch between the at least two first voltage nodes at the first switch node.

Systems and methods for material processing using wafer scale waves of precisely controlled electrons in a DC plasma is presented. A surface floating potential of a substrate placed atop a stage in a positive column of the DC plasma is adjusted and maintained to a reference potential. A periodic biasing signal referenced to the reference potential is capacitively coupled to the stage to control a surface potential at the substrate according to: an active phase for provision of kinetic energy to free electrons in the DC plasma for activation of targeted bonds at the surface of the substrate; a neutralization phase for repelling of the free electrons from the surface of the substrate; and an initialization phase for restoring an initial condition of the surface floating potential.