US-20260125797-A1 - PROCESS CHAMBER VOLUME ADJUSTMENT

US20260125797A1US 20260125797 A1US20260125797 A1US 20260125797A1US-20260125797-A1

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for adjusting a process chamber volume are described. For example, a process chamber, after removing at least a component used to perform a function associated with the process chamber, may be installed with a fixture to adjust a volume of the process chamber. The process chamber with the fixture may reduce the amount of precursor gasses and processing time for coating a workpiece. The workpiece, after the coating, may be placed in another process chamber to perform a function associated with the other process chamber.

Inventors

Christopher Falcone
Dinkar Nandwana
Kyle Fondurulia
Vishnu Shakti

Assignees

ASM IP HOLDING B.V.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251231

Claims (20)

1 . An apparatus comprising: a process chamber configured to flow precursor gas through a chamber volume defined by inner walls of the process chamber; and a fixture positioned in the chamber volume, the fixture comprising: a bottom plate, and an annulus extending circumferentially around the bottom plate, wherein: the chamber volume is divided by the fixture into at least a first volume and a second volume; the first volume is defined by a first portion of the annulus, the bottom plate, and a first portion of the inner walls; the second volume is defined by a second portion of the annulus, the bottom plate, and a second portion of the inner walls; the first volume is configured to enclose a workpiece and is open to the precursor gas; and the second volume is sealed from the precursor gas.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bottom plate comprises a center aperture configured to be registered with a stem of the workpiece, and wherein the stem is configured to support the workpiece in the first volume.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first volume is configured to enclose the workpiece, which comprises: a heater, a showerhead, a pneumatic valve manifold (PVM), or a gas channel plate (GCP).
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the annulus comprises: a cylindrical wall, and at least one tab extending radially inward from the cylindrical wall, where the at least one tab is configured to support the bottom plate.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one tab comprises metal and at least four segments, the at least four segments comprising: a first segment configured to be fastened to the cylindrical wall of the annulus; a second segment angled relative to the first segment and extending inwardly from the cylindrical wall; a third segment angled relative to the second segment and extending inwardly from the cylindrical wall; and a fourth segment angled relative to the third segment and extending outwardly away from a center of the annulus, wherein a length of the fourth segment is more than twice a length of the third segment.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the third segment is angled 60° degrees clockwise relative to the bottom plate and the fourth segment is angled 135° degrees counter-clockwise relative to the third segment.
7 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the annulus is a first annulus, and the fixture comprises a second annulus juxtaposed to the first annulus and above the bottom plate, wherein a part of the second annulus is surrounded by an inside surface of the cylindrical wall of the first annulus.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first volume is further defined by the second annulus and is sealed to restrict the precursor gas from flowing into portions of the chamber volume not in the first volume.
9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the first volume is sealed with a labyrinth seal.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein: the process chamber comprises a gate valve through one of the inner walls to permit passage of an object to inside the chamber volume while the fixture is not positioned in the chamber volume; and the fixture blocks the gate valve preventing the passage of the object to inside the first volume while the fixture is positioned in the chamber volume.
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the inner walls of the process chamber have a first cylindrical wall; wherein the annulus is a first annulus having a second cylindrical wall extending along an inside surface of the first cylindrical wall; and wherein the apparatus comprises a second annulus having a third cylindrical wall partially surrounded by an inside surface of the second cylindrical wall and extending above the first annulus and the bottom plate.
12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second annulus comprises a flange folded over an edge of a top of a circumferential wall of the process chamber.
13 . A fixture for reducing a chamber volume through which precursor gas flow within a process chamber, the fixture comprising: an annulus comprising a cylindrical wall; and a bottom plate supported within the cylindrical wall, wherein the annulus is shaped to interface with internal walls of the process chamber such that, when installed in the chamber volume, the fixture forms a coating volume defined by an portion of the cylindrical wall, the bottom plate, and a portion of the internal walls, wherein the coating volume is smaller than the chamber volume and is open to flow of the precursor gas.
14 . The fixture of claim 13 , wherein, when installed in the chamber volume, the fixture restricts the precursor gas from flowing into a dead volume within the chamber volume that is not within the coating volume.
15 . The fixture of claim 13 , wherein the bottom plate comprises a center aperture configured to be registered with a stem that supports a workpiece within the coating volume.
16 . The fixture of claim 13 , wherein the annulus is a first annulus, and the fixture comprises a second annulus having a second cylindrical wall configured to be seated within an inside surface of the cylindrical wall of the first annulus and above the bottom plate.
17 . The fixture of claim 16 , wherein the coating volume is further defined by the second annulus when seated within the inside surface of the cylindrical wall of the first annulus.
18 . The fixture of claim 16 , wherein the second annulus comprises a flange configured to fold over an edge of a top of a circumferential wall of the process chamber when the fixture is installed in the chamber volume.
19 . The fixture of claim 13 , the annulus comprises at least one tab extending radially inward from the cylindrical wall, where the at least one tab is configured to support the bottom plate within the cylindrical wall.
20 . The fixture of claim 19 , wherein the bottom plate comprises at least one hole corresponding to the at least one tab, and the at least one tab passes through at least a corresponding hole while the bottom plate is seated on the at least one tab.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This Application is a divisional application of U.S. Patent Application 18/395,006, filed on December 22, 2023, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application filed on , the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing semiconductor processing devices. BACKGROUND Semiconductor devices are manufactured in process chambers. Over time, those process chambers become obsolete or are less efficient than newer process chambers. Because of the high cost of new process chambers, companies are reluctant to expend capital to gain only a small improvement in efficiency. In some situations, only a workpiece inside the process chamber may need reconditioning. Maintaining or refurbishing the workpiece (e.g., a heater, a stem, a showerhead, etc.) may involve periodically coating the workpiece to address particulate contamination and limit introduction of defects to processed semiconductor substrates. The periodic coating of the workpiece may take extra resources (e.g., precursor gasses, coating process time, a process chamber for coating, etc.) and may compete with processing of work in progress (e.g., contemporaneous processing of semiconductor substrates), reducing the throughput of the process chamber and thereby increasing the costs associated with the processing of the semiconductor substrates. SUMMARY The following summary presents a simplified summary of certain features. The summary is not an extensive overview and is not intended to identify key or critical elements. Methods and apparatuses are described for adjusting a process chamber volume. In one aspect, a method may comprise removing, from a process chamber comprising internal walls and at least one component, wherein the internal walls define a first volume, the at least one component, installing, in the process chamber, a fixture, wherein the fixture and at least some of the internal walls define a second volume, wherein the second volume may be smaller than the first volume, inserting, into the process chamber with the second volume, a workpiece, flowing, across the workpiece, a precursor gas, coating the workpiece as a coated workpiece, and removing the coated workpiece from the process chamber with the second volume. In another aspect, a method may comprise removing, from a process chamber comprising internal walls and at least one component, wherein the internal walls define a first volume, the at least one component; installing, in the process chamber, a fixture, wherein the fixture and at least some of the internal walls divide the first volume into a plurality of second volumes, wherein one of the plurality of second volumes may be smaller than a sum of remaining ones of the plurality of second volumes; performing a coating process using the one of the plurality of second volumes; and removing a product of the coating process from the process chamber. In a further aspect, the method may further comprise installing, in a second process chamber for processing semiconductor substrates, the coated workpiece; and performing at least one semiconductor processing step on the semiconductor substrates, wherein the coated workpiece, installed in the second process chamber, is configured to perform a function associated with the at least one semiconductor processing step. In a further aspect, the removing the at least one component comprises removing, from the process chamber, at least one of: a substrate support and a shaft, or a lift pin configured to lift the substrate support. In a further aspect, the coating comprises coating, in the process chamber with the second volume: a heater, a showerhead, a pneumatic valve manifold (PVM), or a gas channel plate (GCP). In a further aspect, the inserting comprises seating the workpiece in the process chamber with the second volume, wherein at least a part of the workpiece is processed in the second volume, and the flowing comprises flowing the precursor gas through the process chamber with the second volume, bounded by the fixture and the at least some of the internal walls. In a further aspect, the installing comprises sealing the fixture to restrict the precursor gas from flowing into a portion of the first volume not contained in the second volume. In a further aspect, the process chamber comprises an inside wall having a first circumference and a gate valve, in the inside wall, configured to permit passage of an object, and the installing the fixture comprises: seating, in the process chamber, a first annulus of the fixture, wherein the first annulus, with a second circumference extends along the inside wall, wherein the gate valve is blocked by the first annulus; installing, onto the first annulus, a bottom plate; and seating, in the first annulus and above the bottom plate, a second annulus. In a further aspect, the process chamber comprises