초록 ▼

A substrate resting on a substrate surface is inserted into a processing chamber and processed to produce integrated chips. The substrate may be clamped electrostatically to the substrate support surface during processing. The substrate support surface plays a major role in controlling the temperatu

A substrate resting on a substrate surface is inserted into a processing chamber and processed to produce integrated chips. The substrate may be clamped electrostatically to the substrate support surface during processing. The substrate support surface plays a major role in controlling the temperature of the substrate during processing. The substrate support includes a plurality of thermoelectric modules in heat transfer contact with the substrate support surface and a controlled current supply. By controlling the current supply to each of these modules, the required temperature distribution can be maintained across the substrate support surface to maintain temperature uniformity across the substrate during processing. The thermoelectric modules control the temperature of the substrate support surface in response to controlled currents from the current supply to provide a uniform substrate temperature. The substrate support may be an RF biased electrode, and the substrate may be a semiconductor wafer. The current supply may contain filters matched to the desired RF frequency, and an RF decoupling plate may be provided between the electrode and the plurality of thermoelectric modules to electrically insulate the thermoelectric modules from the electrode. An additional thermal management system such as a heat sink may be in heat transfer contact with the thermoelectric modules, on for example the opposite side as the electrode for efficient and effective substrate temperature control with minimum use of power to the thermoelectric modules. The heat sink pulls heat away from the electrode and supplies heat to the electrode as needed. The heat sink may be water-cooled or air-cooled. Once processed, the substrate is removed from the processing chamber. The steps of inserting, processing, and removing may be repeated for a plurality of substrates.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] In a semiconductor processing system for processing a substrate in a a vacuum processing chamber, a temperature controlled substrate support comprising:a plurality of thermoelectric modules in heat transfer contact with a substrate support surface enclosed in the vacuum p

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] In a semiconductor processing system for processing a substrate in a a vacuum processing chamber, a temperature controlled substrate support comprising:a plurality of thermoelectric modules in heat transfer contact with a substrate support surface enclosed in the vacuum processing chamber; anda current supply interface, connected to said plurality of thermoelectric modules, for applying controlled currents to said thermoelectric modules to control the temperature of the substrate support surface and to provide a desired temperature distribution across the substrate during semiconductor processing of the substrate within said vacuum processing chamber.