The disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatus including an electrostatic chuck disposed on a base to support a substrate, a focus ring disposed on the base to surround an outer circumference of the electrostatic chuck, and a lift pin configured to lift the focus ring, wherein the focus ring includes a lower ring and an upper ring disposed on the lower ring, the upper ring and/or the lower ring are configured to be simultaneously lifted according to a height of the lift pin, the lower ring includes an insertion groove, the upper ring includes a main body unit, a first protrusion extending downward from the main body unit and inserted into the insertion groove of the lower ring, and a second protrusion extending downward from the main body unit, contacting an outer circumference of the lower ring, and directly contacting the lift pin.

An etching method includes (a) providing a substrate having a first silicon containing film and a second silicon containing film including at least a silicon containing film of which type is different from the first silicon containing film, on a substrate support in a chamber, (b) supplying a processing gas including a HF gas and a phosphorus containing gas into the chamber, and (c) etching the first silicon containing film and the second silicon containing film by generating plasma from the processing gas in the chamber by a source RF signal and generating a bias potential on the substrate by a bias signal.

Some implementations described herein provide techniques and apparatuses for improving a uniformity of a flow of a gas across a semiconductor substrate in an etch tool. The etch tool includes an exhaust port located at a bottom center of a chamber of the etch tool. The etch tool further includes a flow-control subsystem that includes an impeller and a thermal component. As a result of the flow-control subsystem varying a rotational velocity of the impeller, and/or an amount of heat transferred from the thermal component, the uniformity of the flow of the gas across the semiconductor substrate may be improved. In this way, a uniformity of an etching rate may be increased and contamination defects due to a clustering of particulates may be decreased, resulting in an increase in a yield of semiconductor product fabricated using the etch tool.

Systems and methods for real-time control of temperature within a plasma chamber are described. One of the methods includes sensing a voltage in real time of a rail that is coupled to a voltage source. The voltage source supplies a voltage to multiple heater elements of the plasma chamber. The voltage that is sensed is used to adjust one or more duty cycles of corresponding one or more of the heater elements. The adjusted one or more duty cycles facilitate achieving and maintaining a temperature value within the plasma chamber over time.

A method of processing a substrate that includes: loading the substrate in a plasma processing chamber, the substrate including an underlying layer; maintaining a steady state flow of a process gas into the plasma processing chamber in the plasma processing chamber; generating a plasma in the plasma processing chamber; exposing the substrate to the plasma to etch the underlying layer; and pulsing a first additional gas, using a first effusive gas injector, towards a first region of the substrate to disrupt the steady state flow of the process gas over the first region, the pulsing locally changing a composition of the plasma near the first region.

A reaction chamber includes a chamber body, an inner lining, and a lifting drive device. The inner lining is arranged in the chamber body. A wafer transfer opening is arranged at a sidewall of the chamber body. The inner lining includes a first inner lining and a second inner lining. The first inner lining is fixedly connected to the chamber body. The second inner lining is coaxially sleeved outside or inner sleeved at the first inner lining. The first inner lining and the second inner lining include a gap in a horizontal direction. The lifting drive device is configured to be connected to the second inner lining, when performing process processing on a wafer, drive the second inner lining to a predetermined first position to cause the second inner lining to cover the wafer transfer opening and the first inner lining and the second inner lining to partially overlap.

A focus ring for a plasma-based semiconductor processing tool is designed to provide and/or ensure etch rate uniformity across a wafer during a plasma etch process. The focus ring may include an angled inner wall that is angled away from a center of the focus ring to direct a plasma toward the wafer. The angle of the angled inner wall may be greater than approximately 130 degrees relative to the top surface of the wafer and/or may be less than approximately 50 degrees relative to an adjacent lower surface of the focus ring to reduce and/or eliminate areas of overlapping plasma on the wafer (which would otherwise cause non-uniform etch rates). Moreover, an inner diameter may be configured to be in a range of approximately 209 millimeters to 214 millimeters to further reduce and/or eliminate areas of overlapping plasma on the wafer. In this way, the focus ring provides and/or increases etch rate uniformity across the wafer, which may reduce structural variations across semiconductor devices being formed on the wafer and/or may increase processing yield.

The apparatus and method herein discloses a voltage measurement device that mounts onto a pedestal, or on a wafer or electrostatic chuck on the pedestal of an RF plasma processing device while open to the air. Then RE power is provided to the pedestal and the apparatus measures the RF voltage distribution at the surface upon which it is mounted, providing information on the uniformity, while mimicking the resistive and reactive impedance of a processing plasma in that chamber. The device comprises a conducting top plate supported at a controlled distance from the wafer or pedestal surface and parallel to it. It has capacitive sensors that touch and pick-up the voltage on the surface upon which it is mounted, resistive elements that pick-up RE current from the exposed top surface, mimicking the resistance of the plasma and dissipating RE power and further a controlled capacitance per unit area between the surface upon which it rests and the conducting top plate mimicking the sheath capacitance of the process plasma.

Based on the fact that a film thickness of a film formed in a film formation processing of repeatedly performing a first sequence varies according to a temperature of the surface on which the film is to be formed, the film formation processing is performed after the temperature of each region of the surface of the wafer is adjusted to reduce a deviation of a trench on the surface of the wafer, so that the film is very precisely formed on the inner surface of the trench while reducing the deviation of the trench on the surface of the wafer. When the trench width is narrower than a reference width, an etching processing of repeatedly performing a second sequence is performed in order to expand the trench width, so that the surface of the film provided in the inner surface of the trench is isotropically and uniformly etched.

A plasma processing apparatus, including a processing; a first radio frequency power source; a sample stage on which the sample is placed; a second radio frequency power; and a control device configured to control, when the second radio frequency power source is controlled based on a change in a plasma impedance, which is generated when a first gas that is a gas for a first step is switched to a second gas that is a gas for a second step, such that the second radio frequency power is changed from a value of the second radio frequency power in the first step to a value of the second radio frequency power in the second step, and a supply time of the first gas such that a supply time of the second radio frequency power in the first step is substantially equal to a time of the first step.