Abstract: A plasma reactor embodying the invention includes a wafer support and a chamber enclosure member having an interior surface generally facing the wafer support. At least one miniature gas distribution plate for introducing a process gas into the reactor is supported on the chamber enclosure member and has an outlet surface which is a fraction of the area of the interior surface of said wafer support. A coolant system maintains the chamber enclosure member at a low temperature, and the miniature gas distribution plate is at least partially thermally insulated from the chamber enclosure member so that it is maintained at a higher temperature by plasma heating.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 14, 1999
Date of Patent:
August 13, 2002
Assignee:
Applied Materials, Inc.
Inventors:
Hamid Noorbakhsh, Michael Welch, Siamak Salimian, Paul Luscher, Hongching Shan, Kaushik Vaidya, Jim Carducci, Evans Lee