Electrical connectors – With provision to dissipate – remove – or block the flow of heat – Distinct heat sink
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-15
2004-05-18
Bradley, P. Austin (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With provision to dissipate, remove, or block the flow of heat
Distinct heat sink
C439S485000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06736668
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrostatic chucks for retaining a semiconductor wafer in a semiconductor wafer processing system and, more specifically, to connectors for connecting power to an electrode embedded in a chuck.
2. Description of the Background Art
Numerous electrostatic chucks are known to the art for retaining a semiconductor wafer within a process chamber of a semiconductor wafer processing system. A semiconductor wafer processing system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,683 entitled MAGNETIC FIELD-ENHANCED PLASMA ETCH REACTOR, David Cheng et al issued Jun. 27, 1989, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, Applied Materials, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif. This patent is incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein.
Specifically, the chuck
10
includes a chuck body
12
of ceramic material, such as for example aluminum nitride, and further includes an electrode
14
embedded in the chuck body
12
, near the top portion thereof. The embedded electrode
14
may be, for example, a molybdenum mesh electrode. The electrode
14
is coupled to a power supply through an electrical coupler
16
. The electrical coupler
16
includes a male connector member
18
and a female connector member
20
, typically fabricated from molybdenum and beryllium copper, respectively. The chuck
10
is attached to a cooling plate
22
suitably mounted to the bottom of the chuck body
12
such as for example by a suitable adhesive or by suitable bolts not shown. The cooling plate
22
may be made, for example, of stainless steel or aluminum and is provided with a plurality of cooling channels
21
for carrying a liquid coolant for cooling the chuck
10
. The male connector member
18
includes an upper solid cylindrical portion
24
extending through a bore
25
formed in the chuck body
12
and an integrally formed lower solid cylindrical portion
26
extending through a bore
27
formed in the cooling plate
22
. Lower cylindrical portion
26
has a smaller diameter than the upper cylindrical portion
24
. The female connector member
20
is provided with an inwardly extending upper cylindrical bore
28
forming a collet
29
. The cylindrical bore
28
and collet
29
receive the lower cylindrical portion
26
of the male connector member
18
along path
37
, thereby mechanically and electrically interconnecting the male and female connector members
18
and
20
together. The female connector member
20
is fixed within an insulator portion
11
of a pedestal base (not shown). The bottom of the female connector member
20
is connected to a source of RF biasing power
30
and a source of DC chucking voltage
32
by a connector
34
and a conductor
35
.
Certain semiconductor wafer processes require that the chuck operate at a relatively elevated temperature, for example, from about 200° C. to about 500° C. Accordingly, the temperatures of the male and female connector members
18
are increased in the same temperature range with little reduction in temperature. Such components, especially the lower portion of the female connector member
20
, which is coupled to the electrical connector
34
and conductor
35
for applying the RF and DC biasing voltage, must be able to withstand these operating temperatures. An undesirable outcome of operating a chamber at such elevated temperatures is an increase in the costs for manufacturing the connector and conductor, since they are generally not commercially available.
Accordingly, there is a need in the semiconductor wafer chuck art for a chuck that is operated at a relatively high temperature in the range noted above. Furthermore, there is a need for a connector for applying the DC chucking voltage and the RF biasing power to the chuck electrode, which includes thermal impedance that assists in reducing the heat transferred between the top portion of the connector and the bottom portion of the connector. Additionally, there is a need for a connector that will not be subjected to the detrimental effects of plasma that may form between the male and female portions of the connector or any other surface area, having a different voltage potential than the top portion of the connector.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An electrical coupler comprises an inner connector having upper and lower ends, the insulative outer connector element circumscribing the inner connector, and a thermally conductive flange disposed over the upper end of the inner connector and the outer connector for conducting heat from the electrical conductor.
In another aspect, a support assembly for supporting a semiconductor wafer comprises a chuck body having at least one electrode embedded therein, and a cooling plate positioned beneath the chuck body. An electrical coupler is positioned within the cooling plate and has a thermally conductive flange circumscribing the electrical coupler and disposed upon a surface of the cooling plate.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3171990 (1965-03-01), Bennett
patent: 4058671 (1977-11-01), Panek et al.
patent: 4088381 (1978-05-01), Harnett
patent: 4380362 (1983-04-01), Swensrud et al.
patent: 4458220 (1984-07-01), Carter et al.
patent: 4473267 (1984-09-01), Sadigh-Behzadi
patent: 4842683 (1989-06-01), Cheng et al.
patent: 4963694 (1990-10-01), Alexion et al.
patent: 5015202 (1991-05-01), Blumentritt et al.
patent: 5110307 (1992-05-01), Rapoza
patent: 5947766 (1999-09-01), Tsuji et al.
patent: 6151203 (2000-11-01), Shamouilian et al.
patent: 6175083 (2001-01-01), Palmer et al.
Cheng Wing L.
Grimard Dennis S.
Kholodenko Arnold V.
Lau Alvin
Thach Senh
Bach Joseph
Bradley P. Austin
Leon Edwin A.
Moser Patterson & Sheridan LLP
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