Abstract: An apparatus for depositing a ceramic coating by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD). Ceramic coatings of more uniform thickness over a larger surface area are deposited by increasing the size of a pool of molten ceramic from which the ceramic is deposited. The apparatus uses a crucible that surrounds a ceramic material that serves as the source of the deposited ceramic coating. The crucible is configured to define a reservoir whose cross-sectional area is larger than the cross-sectional area of the ceramic material. The size of the pool is increased by increasing the size of the reservoir in lieu of increasing the diameter of the ceramic material in order to maintain acceptable ingot quality.

Abstract: A substrate processing system that includes a deposition chamber having a reaction zone, a plasma power source for forming a plasma within the reaction zone and an impedance tuner electrically coupled to the deposition chamber. When initially formed, the plasma has a first impedance level that can be adjusted by the impedance tuner to a second impedance level. In a preferred embodiment, the impedance tuner is a variable capacitor.

Abstract: A system and related method are disclosed for performing inductively-coupled-plasma-enhanced ionized physical-vapor deposition process for depositing a material layer on a work piece such as a semiconductor substrate or a thin-film head substrate. Within a PVD process chamber, a plurality of inductive antenna segments axially surround a region between the PVD target/cathode assembly and the work piece. The inductive antenna segments are arranged cylindrically around (or conformlly with respect to the physical-vapor deposition target/cathode) and aligned substantially vertically with respect to the target/cathode assembly and/or the work piece. A first radio-frequency (RF) power source provides electrical power to half of the antenna segments to create a first inductively-coupled plasma source, a second RF power source provides electrical power to the remaining antenna segments to create a second inductively-coupled-plasma source.

Abstract: A plasma enhanced gas reactor including a reaction chamber having a pair of field-enhancing electrodes each of which has an axial passage through it by one of which a reactant gas is admitted to the reaction chamber, and by the other of which reaction products are removed from the reaction chamber.

Abstract: This invention relates to a plasma reactor apparatus having improved etch uniformity and throughput. Higher etch uniformity is achieved through the use of a new gas delivery mechanism and a thermally insulated wafer chuck. The vacuum insulated chuck also results in lower energy consumption and higher throughput.

Abstract: A thin film forming apparatus has a vacuum chamber as a film forming chamber, a plasma generating unit and an ion source. In the vacuum chamber, a substrate is placed and a thin film is formed on the substrate. The plasma generating unit decomposes a source gas introduced into the vacuum chamber to generate a plasma of the source gas near a film-forming surface of the substrate within the vacuum chamber. The ion source is provided around the vacuum chamber. The ion source produces ion beams that are drawn out to be directed substantially parallel to the film-forming surface of the substrate to irradiate the plasma.

Abstract: A supporting structure of a susceptor for semiconductor processing includes: (a) a plate having a carrying surface for placing a semiconductor substrate thereon, which plate has a back surface having a first coupling structure with a first pawl; and (b) a heating block for heating the semiconductor substrate, which heating block has an upper surface in contact with the back surface of the plate. The upper surface has a second coupling structure with a second pawl corresponding to the first coupling structure with the first pawl. A coupler may be used for placing the first pawl and the second pawl in pressure contact to couple the plate and the heating block.

Abstract: A plasma chamber having a magnet which produces a magnetic field such that, within a region parallel to and adjacent to the workpiece, the direction of the magnetic field is approximately the vector cross product of (i) the gradient of the magnitude of the magnetic field, and (ii) a vector extending perpendicularly from the workpiece surface toward the plasma. Alternatively, the plasma chamber includes a north magnetic pole and a south magnetic pole located at distinct azimuths around the periphery of the workpiece. The azimuth of the south magnetic pole relative to the north magnetic pole is clockwise around the central axis, and each magnetic pole faces a direction which is more toward than away from a central axis of the workpiece area. An additional aspect of the invention is a plasma chamber having a rotating magnetic field produced by electromagnets spaced around the periphery of the workpiece which receive successive fixed amounts of electrical current during successive time intervals.

Abstract: A gas inlet, which also serves as a counter electrode, is located inside of a vacuum chamber made of an electrically insulating material. A container is mounted on a mandrel mounted on the gas inlet. The chamber is evacuated to a subatmospheric pressure. A process gas is then introduced into the container through the gas inlet. The process gas is ionized by coupling RF power to a main electrode located adjacent an exterior surface of the chamber and to the gas inlet which deposits a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) thin film onto the interior surface of the container.

Abstract: A deposit film forming apparatus is characterized in that a temperature control member for controlling the temperature of a wall of deposition chamber is in contact with an outer wall of a deposition chamber through a heat conductivity adjusting plate, which can prevent overcooling while suppressing an increase in the temperature of the wall of deposition chamber during film formation and which can maintain the temperature of the wall of deposition chamber at a preferable temperature for deposition of film for a long time, thereby forming a deposit film. As a result, the apparatus can mass-produce deposit films of stable quality, especially, large-area and good-quality photovoltaic elements utilizing amorphous semiconductors, over a long period.

Abstract: This invention relates to an apparatus and a method for improving slip characteristics on the surface of a polymeric material, such as an outer surface, inner surface, or both of polymeric tubing.

Abstract: A small, light-weight and highly maintainable etching system and an etching method for etching a large substrate with a homogeneous etching rate are provided. The etching system comprises an agitating electric field system disposed around the substrate, an agitating power source of high frequency, medium frequency or low frequency, agitating electrodes, amplifiers and a phase controller to agitate electrons or ions to increase the etching speed and the uniformity of the etching rate by promoting activation of reactive gas and uniformalizing a plasma density.

Abstract: A substrate processing system that includes a ceramic substrate holder having an RF electrode embedded within the substrate holder and a gas inlet manifold spaced apart from the substrate holder. The gas inlet manifold supplies one or more process gases through multiple conical holes to a reaction zone of a substrate processing chamber within the processing system and also acts as a second RF electrode. Each conical hole has an outlet that opens into the reaction zone and an inlet spaced apart from the outlet that is smaller in diameter than said outlet. A mixed frequency RF power supply is connected to the substrate processing system with a high frequency RF power source connected to the gas inlet manifold electrode and a low frequency RF power source connected to the substrate holder electrode. An RF filter and matching network decouples the high frequency waveform from the low frequency waveform.

Abstract: The invention provides generally a method and an apparatus for in situ cleaning of a surface in a semiconductor substrate processing chamber which operates quickly and reduces the downtime for chamber cleaning. The apparatus comprises an ultraviolet (UV) radiation plate moveable between a cleaning position and a storage position and at least one UV radiation source disposed on the UV radiation plate. Preferably, the apparatus includes a reflector disposed adjacent the UV radiation source to focus emitted UV radiation and a rotary actuator pivotally attached to a transport arm to move the UV radiation plate between the cleaning position and the storage position. The method comprises: providing a UV radiation plate having at least one UV radiation source disposed thereon, moving the UV radiation plate into a cleaning position, introducing a cleaning gas into the processing chamber and exposing the surface to UV radiation.

Abstract: Controlling ion/radical ratio and monoatomic/polyatomic radical ratio in a process plasma provides improved processing performance during inductively-coupled plasma and/or helicon wave plasma processing of substrate materials. In a plasma processing method employing inductively coupled plasma, high frequency current to a high frequency antenna is intermittently supplied in a controlled manner to control the state of gas dissociation to promote formation of polyatomic radicals. In a plasma processing method employing helicon wave plasma, current supplied to a magnetic field generator is intermittently supplied in a controlled manner to promote formation of ions. In a preferred method, both the high frequency current and magnetic field generating current are varied in a controlled manner to provide a variable plasma composition, i.e., radical rich plasma or ion-rich plasma, as desired, for improved plasma processing, especially improved selective anisotropic dry etching at high etch rate.

Abstract: In a plasma etching apparatus, a process gas is supplied into a process chamber and converted into plasma by means of RF discharge, and a semiconductor wafer placed on a lower electrode is etched by the plasma. An RF power supply mechanism is connected to the lower electrode for applying thereto a superposed RF power for forming an RF electric field in the process chamber. The RF power supply mechanism has first and second RF power supplies for respectively oscillating a low frequency RF component and a high frequency RF component having a higher frequency than the low frequency RF component. The high frequency RF component from the second frequency RF component supply has its wave form modulated by a modulator on the basis of the wave form of the low frequency RF component from the first frequency RF power supply. Thereafter, the modulated high frequency RF component and the low frequency RF component are superposed upon each other.

Abstract: A thin film forming apparatus is formed of a vacuum chamber, a base plate holder for holding a base plate near a central part of the vacuum chamber, and ECR plasma generating devices respectively connected to both side portions of the vacuum chamber. A magnetic field generating device is situated adjacent to the vacuum chamber for generating a predetermined magnetic field in the vacuum chamber, and a gas introducing system is connected to the vacuum chamber for introducing a reaction gas into the vacuum chamber. Since the base plate holder has a shape corresponding to an external shape of the base plate, a distance between the base plate and the base plate holder is uniform. The films with uniform thicknesses can be formed on both surfaces of the base plate.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for improving the selectivity of dielectric layers to photoresist layers and base layers. The method is performed in a plasma processing chamber, and the photoresist layer is coated over the dielectric layer. The method includes introducing an etchant source gas into the plasma processing chamber, which consists essentially of a CxFy gas and an N.sub.2 gas. The method further includes striking a plasma in the plasma processing chamber from the etchant source gas. The method additionally includes etching at least a portion of the dielectric layer with the plasma through to a base layer that underlies the dielectric layer. The method is also well suited for anisotropically etching an oxide layer with very high selectivities to Si, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, TiN, and metal silicides.

Abstract: The invention provides a vacuum coating forming device for forming a thin-film coating by a plasma beam on a substrate arranged in a vacuum chamber, the vacuum coating forming device being provided with a pressure gradient type plasma gun for generating the plasma beam toward the vacuum chamber and a converging coil which is provided so as to surround a short-tube portion of the vacuum chamber projecting toward an outlet of the plasma gun and which reduces a cross section of the plasma beam. This vacuum coating forming device further comprises an insulating tube provided at the outlet so as to surround the plasma beam and project in electric floating state, and an electron return electrode which surrounds the insulating tube within the short-tube portion and which is higher in electric potential than the outlet.

Abstract: According to the present invention, when power is supplied from a high frequency power supply to an antenna 14, a quasi-electrostatic induced electric field E.sub.PS is generated in a chamber 11, and plasma P of high density is generated over a broad area. Further, an alternating current (frequency: several tens Hz to several tens KHz) flows in polyphase AC magnets 17 by a polyphase AC inverter power supply, whereby a horizontal magnetic field (magnetic flux density B) is generated on a semiconductor wafer 13. The magnetic field thus generated rotates at the rotational number corresponding to the frequency which is set in the polyphase AC inverter power supply, and the rotation of the magnetic field causes a rotating electric field E to occur on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 13. In a surface area of the semiconductor wafer 13, an electric field E.sub.V (plasma sheath electric field E.sub.sheath) is generated in the vertical direction while an electric field E.sub.