A spin dry etching process includes loading an object into a dry etching system. A dry etching process is performed to the object, and the object is spun while the dry etching process is being performed. The spin dry etching process is performed using a semiconductor fabrication system. The semiconductor fabrication system includes a dry etching chamber in which a dry etching process is performed. A holder apparatus has a horizontally-facing slot that is configured for horizontal insertion of an etchable object therein. The etchable object includes either a photomask or a wafer. A controller is communicatively coupled to the holder apparatus and configured to spin the holder apparatus in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction while the dry etching process is being performed. An insertion of the etchable object into the horizontally-facing slot of the holder apparatus restricts a movement of the object as the dry etching process is performed.

A substrate placing table according to an exemplary embodiment includes a base and an electrostatic chuck provided on the base. The electrostatic chuck includes a lamination layer portion, an intermediate layer, and a covering layer. The lamination layer portion is provided on the base. The intermediate layer is provided on the lamination layer portion. The covering layer is provided on the intermediate layer. The lamination layer portion includes a first layer, an electrode layer, and a second layer. The first layer is provided on the base. The electrode layer is provided on the first layer. The second layer is provided on the electrode layer. The intermediate layer is provided between the second layer and the covering layer and is in close contact with the second layer and the covering layer. The second layer is a resin layer. The covering layer is ceramics.

A substrate processing system includes a first chamber including a substrate support. A showerhead is arranged above the first chamber and is configured to filter ions and deliver radicals from a plasma source to the first chamber. The showerhead includes a heat transfer fluid plenum, a secondary gas plenum including an inlet to receive secondary gas and a plurality of secondary gas injectors to inject the secondary gas into the first chamber, and a plurality of through holes passing through the showerhead. The through holes are not in fluid communication with the heat transfer fluid plenum or the secondary gas plenum.

Disclosed is a vacuum chuck and a method for securing a warped semiconductor substrate during a semiconductor manufacturing process so as to improve its flatness during a semiconductor manufacturing process. For example, a semiconductor manufacturing system includes: a vacuum chuck configured to hold a substrate, wherein the vacuum chuck comprises, a plurality of vacuum grooves located on a top surface of the vacuum chuck, wherein the top surface is configured to face the substrate; and a plurality of flexible seal rings disposed on the vacuum chuck and extending outwardly from the top surface, wherein the plurality of flexible seal rings are configured to directly contact a bottom surface of the substrate and in adjacent to the plurality of vacuum grooves so as to form a vacuum seal between the substrate and the vacuum chuck, and wherein each of the plurality of flexible seal rings has a zigzag cross section.

Provided is a manufacturing device capable of effectively and sufficiently reducing an edge crown. The wafer support is used in a chemical vapor phase growth device in which an epitaxial film is grown on a main surface of a wafer using a chemical vapor deposition method, the wafer support including: a wafer mounting surface having an upper surface on which a substrate is mounted; and a wafer support portion that rises to surround a wafer to he mounted, in which a height from an apex of the wafer support portion to a main surface of the wafer mounted on the wafer mounting surface is 1 mm or more.

A substrate holder, for a lithographic apparatus, having a main body, a plurality of support elements to support a substrate and a seal unit. The seal unit may include a first seal positioned outward of and surrounding the plurality of support elements. A position of a substrate contact region of an upper surface of the first seal may be arranged at a distance from the plurality of support elements sufficient enough such that during the loading/unloading of the substrate, a force applied to the first seal by the substrate is greater than a force applied to the plurality of support elements by the substrate. A profile of the contact region, in a cross section through the seal, may have a shape which is configured such that during the loading/unloading of the substrate, the substrate contacts the seal via at least two different points of the profile.

A low-cost, durable silicon carbide member for a plasma processing apparatus. The silicon carbide member for a plasma processing apparatus can be obtained by processing a sintered body which is produced with a method in which metal impurity is reduced to more than 20 ppm and 70 ppm or less, and an α-structure silicon carbide power having an average particle diameter of 0.3 to 3 μm and including 50 ppm or less of an Al impurity is mixed with 0.5 to 5 weight parts of a B.sub.4C sintering aid, or with a sintering aid comprising Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and Y.sub.2O.sub.3 with total amount of 3 to 15 weight parts, and then a mixture of the α-structure silicon carbide power with the sintering aid is sintered in an argon atmosphere furnace or a high-frequency induction heating furnace.

The present disclosure provides a method for fabricating a semiconductor structure, including placing a wafer on a chuck, wherein the wafer is surrounded by a focus ring, the focus ring is supported by a first actuator, wherein the first actuator is in a cavity defined by the chuck and the edge ring, wherein the first actuator includes an outer ring disposed in the cavity, a piezoelectric layer apart from a top surface of the cavity, wherein an edge of the piezoelectric layer is fixed by the outer ring, and an inner ring disposed in the chamber at a center portion of the piezoelectric layer, performing plasma etch on a surface of the wafer, and controlling a distance between a gas distribution plate and a top surface of the focus ring to be less than a threshold value by the first actuator.

A method is for cleaning an edge ring. The edge ring includes an inner edge ring provided near a substrate mounted on an electrostatic chuck in a processing chamber, a central edge ring that is provided at an outer side of the inner edge ring and vertically movable by a moving mechanism, and an outer edge ring provided at an outer side of the central edge ring. The method includes applying a direct current voltage to the electrostatic chuck, and moving the central edge ring upward or downward.

A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes: a stage configured to support a semiconductor substrate; and a conductive annular member provided at an outer circumferential portion of the stage and configured to enclose the semiconductor substrate when supported on the stage. The stage has a groove that is provided below a lower portion of an inner circumferential end of the annular member.