An atmospheric pressure pulsed arc plasma source and method of using including a housing having a housing opening therein; an insulator tube having an insulator tube opening therein, retained within the housing opening; and a conductive tube, retained within the insulator tube opening. A nozzle is retained by the housing. A feed path is defined in the conductive tube and the nozzle and a gas feed port is operatively coupled to the feed path. Feedstock is provided in the feed path and electrically coupled to the conductive tube. A pulsed DC power source provides a pulsed voltage to the conductive tube. The plasma source emits a discharge stream having a temperature that is less than 50° C. from the nozzle and a coating is formed on a substrate.

A plasma processing apparatus (5) comprises an outer shell (51) which is provided with a reaction chamber (52) in the interior, a bottom electrode which is arranged in the reaction chamber (52) and a cantilever support device (53) which goes through the outer shell (51) and supports the bottom electrode. The cantilever support device (53) is pivotally mounted on the side wall of the outer shell (51) and can rotate in the outer shell (51). The plasma processing apparatus (5) further comprises a locating device so as to selectively fix the relative position of the cantilever support device (53) and the outer shell (51).

A plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma processing chamber, a coil having an uncoiled length L disposed adjacent to the plasma processing chamber, and a plurality of retractable conductors each configured to make electrical contact with the coil in an extended position. A first tap position is located substantially at a distance L/2 measured from a first end along the coil, a second tap position neighboring the first tap position and located substantially at the distance L/2 measured from the first end along the coil, and a third tap position located substantially at the first end of the coil. A controller is configured to operate the plasma processing apparatus in a first operating mode to sustain an inductively coupled plasma and in a second operating mode to sustain a capacitively coupled plasma using subsets of the retractable conductors in the extended position.

Showerheads for semiconductor processing operations are disclosed that have removable faceplates and various features that provide additional benefit in the context of removable faceplates.

A plasma processing apparatus includes a plasma processing chamber, a coil having an uncoiled length L disposed adjacent to the plasma processing chamber, and a plurality of retractable conductors each configured to make electrical contact with the coil in an extended position. A first tap position is located substantially at a distance L/2 measured from a first end along the coil, a second tap position neighboring the first tap position and located substantially at the distance L/2 measured from the first end along the coil, and a third tap position located substantially at the first end of the coil. A controller is configured to operate the plasma processing apparatus in a first operating mode to sustain an inductively coupled plasma and in a second operating mode to sustain a capacitively coupled plasma using subsets of the retractable conductors in the extended position.

A substrate processing system that is optimized for the production of smaller volumes of semiconductor components is disclosed. To minimize cost, the substrate processing system is designed to accommodate smaller substrates, such as substrates having a diameter of roughly one inch. Additionally, the components of the substrate processing system are designed to be interchangeable, thereby further reducing cost and complexity. In certain embodiments, the substrate processing system comprises a lower assembly, which may be used with one or more upper assemblies. The lower assembly is used to support the substrate and provide many of the fluid, electrical, and sensor connections, while the upper assemblies include the apparatus required to perform a certain fabrication function. For example, different upper assemblies may exist for deposition, etching, sputtering and ion implantation.

In one embodiment, a plasma processing system includes a plasma processing chamber, a substrate holder disposed in the plasma processing chamber, a coil disposed over the plasma processing chamber, and a plurality of taps configured to contact the coil at an associated contact region. The plasma processing system is configured to sustain a plasma by selecting a subset of taps from the plurality of taps to apply a power source and a reference potential.

A film quality of a film formed on a substrate is improved. A plasma atomic layer deposition apparatus has a lower electrode holding the substrate, and an upper electrode having an opposite surface opposed to the lower electrode and generating plasma discharge between the upper electrode and the lower electrode. Further, the plasma atomic layer deposition apparatus has a conductive deposition preventing member fixed to the opposite surface of the upper electrode by a plurality of screws, and other conductive deposition preventing member fixed to the conductive deposition preventing member by a plurality of others screws. At this time, in a plan view, the plurality of screws and the plurality of other screws are arranged so as not to overlap each other.

In one embodiment, a plasma processing system includes a plasma processing chamber, a substrate holder disposed in the plasma processing chamber, a coil disposed over the plasma processing chamber, and a plurality of taps configured to contact the coil at an associated contact region. The plasma processing system is configured to sustain a plasma by selecting a subset of taps from the plurality of taps to apply a power source and a reference potential.

A substrate processing system that is optimized for the production of smaller volumes of semiconductor components is disclosed. To minimize cost, the substrate processing system is designed to accommodate smaller substrates, such as substrates having a diameter of roughly one inch. Additionally, the components of the substrate processing system are designed to be interchangeable, thereby further reducing cost and complexity. In certain embodiments, the substrate processing system comprises a lower assembly, which may be used with one or more upper assemblies. The lower assembly is used to support the substrate and provide many of the fluid, electrical, and sensor connections, while the upper assemblies include the apparatus required to perform a certain fabrication function. For example, different upper assemblies may exist for deposition, etching, sputtering and ion implantation.