Substrate clamp design for minimizing substrate to clamp...

Details Substrate clamp design for minimizing substrate to clamp... Substrate clamp design for minimizing substrate to clamp...

1999-06-14

2001-07-31

Lund, Jeffrie R. (Department: 1763)

Coating apparatus

Gas or vapor deposition

Work support

C118S500000, C361S234000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06267821

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to forming thermally flowable layers upon substrates. More particularly, the present invention relates to a substrate clamp design for minimizing sticking of a substrate to the substrate clamp when forming and thermally processing a thermally flowable layer upon a substrate clamped within the substrate clamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits are formed from semiconductor substrates within and upon whose surfaces are formed resistors, transistors, diodes and other electrical circuit elements. The electrical circuit elements are connected internally and externally to the semiconductor substrate upon which they are formed through patterned conductor layers which are separated by insulator layers.
Patterned conductor layers for use within integrated circuits are typically formed through patterning through etching methods as are conventional in the art of blanket conductor layers formed upon semiconductor substrates. Most commonly, blanket conductor layers are formed upon semiconductor substrates from low melting temperature metal containing conductor layers formed of low melting temperature conductor metals such as but not limited to aluminum, aluminum alloys, aluminum-silicon alloys, aluminum-copper alloys and aluminum-silicon-copper alloys. Blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layers, such as blanket aluminum containing conductor layers, may be formed upon semiconductor substrates through several methods as are conventional in the art, including but not limited to thermally assisted evaporation methods, electron beam assisted evaporation methods and physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering methods.
In many of the several methods for forming a blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer, such as a blanket aluminum containing conductor layer, upon a substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate, it is common in the art to employ a substrate clamp which among other functions serves as a fixture for properly positioning the substrate within a blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tool, such as a blanket aluminum containing conductor layer deposition tool, when forming the blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer, such as the blanket aluminum containing conductor layer, upon the substrate. A schematic plan-view diagram of a substrate clamped within a typical substrate clamp is shown in FIG.
1
. Shown in
FIG. 1
is a substrate
10
positioned beneath a top member
12
of a substrate clamp. Although
FIG. 1
illustrates the top member
12
of the substrate clamp as a circular ring, a substrate clamp having a top member formed with an alternate geometric configuration to accommodate a substrate similarly formed with an alternate geometric configuration is not precluded for use within blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tooling.
In accord with the cross-section
2
—
2
as illustrated in
FIG. 1
,
FIG. 2
shows a schematic cross-sectional diagram of a portion of the substrate
10
clamped within the substrate clamp as illustrated in FIG.
1
. As shown in
FIG. 2
, the substrate
10
a
is positioned within the substrate clamp between the top member
12
a
of the substrate clamp and a backing member
14
a
of the substrate clamp. The top member
12
a
and the backing member
14
a
are connected through a mechanical means (not shown) otherwise conventional in the art of substrate clamp design and fabrication. Although
FIG. 2
illustrates the backing member
14
a
as a backing plate, a substrate clamp having a backing member formed with an alternate geometric configuration is also not precluded for use within blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tooling.
While the use of substrate clamps as a means for fixturing substrates within blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tooling, such as blanket aluminum containing conductor layer deposition tooling, has become quite common in the art of blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition, the use of substrate clamps for fixturing substrates within blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tooling is not entirely without problems. In particular, it is known in the art that when substrate clamps, such as the substrate clamp whose schematic cross-sectional diagram is illustrated in
FIG. 2
, are employed as fixtures within blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tooling and methods, such as blanket aluminum containing conductor layer deposition tooling and methods, there is observed a sticking of a substrate to the top member of the substrate clamp when a blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer, such as a blanket aluminum containing conductor layer, formed upon the substrate clamped within the substrate clamp is thermally processed at elevated temperature (typically in excess of about 350 degrees centigrade for aluminum containing conductor layers, at which temperature aluminum containing conductor alloys typically flow) to form a thermally processed blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer, such as a thermally processed blanket aluminum containing conductor layer. Such sticking of the substrate to the top member of the substrate clamp is undesirable since it is often difficult to remove such a substrate when stuck to the top member of the substrate clamp without damaging either the blanket thermally processed low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer or the substrate. The physical mechanism through which such sticking occurs is illustrated by reference to the schematic cross-sectional diagrams of FIG.
3
and FIG.
4
.
Shown in
FIG. 3
is a schematic cross-sectional diagram otherwise equivalent to the schematic cross-sectional diagram of the substrate
10
a
clamped between the top member
12
a
and the backing member
14
a
of the substrate clamp as illustrated in
FIG. 2
, but where there is formed upon the substrate
10
a
a blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
and where there is also formed upon the top member
12
a
of the substrate clamp a low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer residue
16
b
. The blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
and the low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer residue
16
b
are typically formed simultaneously within most blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tools and methods since most blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer deposition tools and methods, such as blanket aluminum containing conductor layer deposition tools and methods, provide line-of-sight deposition characteristics. For the same reason, the blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
is not formed upon the portion of the substrate
10
a
shaded by the top member
12
a
of the substrate clamp.
Shown in
FIG. 4
is the results of further processing of the blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
formed upon the substrate
10
a
as illustrated in FIG.
3
. Shown in
FIG. 4
is the results of thermal processing of the blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
formed upon the substrate
10
a
as illustrated in FIG.
3
. As is seen within
FIG. 4
, the low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer residue
16
b
, when thermally processed simultaneously with the blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
, flows to form the thermally processed low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer residue
16
b
′ which bridges to the thermally processed blanket low melting temperature metal containing conductor layer
16
a
′ by virtue of flow of the thermally pr

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