Etching a substrate: processes – Gas phase etching of substrate
Reexamination Certificate
2006-09-12
2006-09-12
Ahmed, Shamim (Department: 1765)
Etching a substrate: processes
Gas phase etching of substrate
C216S059000, C216S067000, C216S071000, C438S706000, C438S708000, C438S711000, C156S345220, C156S345230
Reexamination Certificate
active
07105100
ABSTRACT:
A system and method for distributing gas to a substrate in a dry etch chamber make use of different flow channels to distribute the gas to different portions of a substrate. A first flow channel can be oriented to distribute gas to an inner portion of the substrate. A second flow channel can be oriented to distribute gas to an outer portion of the substrate. With different flow channels, the system and method enable separate control of gas distribution for different portions of the substrate. In particular, the flow channels allow separate control of gas flow rate, concentration, and flow time for different areas of the substrate. In this manner, gas distribution can be selectively controlled to compensate for different etch rates across the substrate surface. Also, gas distribution can be controlled as a function of etch rate patterns exhibited by different etch gasses used in successive process steps. Thus, etch uniformity can be enhanced, leading to improvement in the quality of the overall fabrication process. In a semiconductor fabrication processes, enhanced etch uniformity can lead to increased device yield.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5269847 (1993-12-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 5328558 (1994-07-01), Kawamura
patent: 5356515 (1994-10-01), Tahara et al.
patent: 5453124 (1995-09-01), Moslehi et al.
patent: 5496408 (1996-03-01), Motoda et al.
patent: 5500256 (1996-03-01), Watabe
patent: 5532190 (1996-07-01), Goodyear et al.
patent: 5607602 (1997-03-01), Su et al.
patent: 5683517 (1997-11-01), Shan
patent: 5683548 (1997-11-01), Hartig et al.
patent: 5698070 (1997-12-01), Hirano et al.
patent: 5792261 (1998-08-01), Hama et al.
patent: 6083344 (2000-07-01), Hanawa et al.
patent: 6090210 (2000-07-01), Balance et al.
patent: 6125788 (2000-10-01), Hills et al.
patent: 6333272 (2001-12-01), McMillin et al.
patent: 58-087328 (1981-07-01), None
patent: 407090572 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 10-158844 (1998-06-01), None
Ahmed Shamim
Applied Materials Inc.
Moser IP Law Group
LandOfFree
System and method for gas distribution in a dry etch process does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with System and method for gas distribution in a dry etch process, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and System and method for gas distribution in a dry etch process will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3569730