Trends in Wafer Processing Technology

Reports from the Fab

PECVD Team Improves Tool Availability 60%, Film Uniformity With Wireless Showerhead Gapping

The User: The team at a 300 mm fab that operates a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) chamber.

Working Through Multi-Step Hot Gapping

The fab’s PECVD team wanted to reduce the 10 hours of tool downtime required to measure the distance between the chamber’s gas showerhead and wafer pedestal to ensure uniform film deposition, particularly with newer dielectric films.

The legacy gapping method used by the team was an imprecise trial-and-error process that employed ceramic pucks and reduced tool availability for extended periods during characterization and maintenance.

The PECVD team determined that the multi-step process varied from tech to tech and wasn’t repeatable, according to Allyn Jackson, customer support manager at CyberOptics Semiconductor. The legacy method was also dangerous and increased exposure to particle contamination as techs repeatedly opened and handled the hot PECVD chamber.
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Technically Speaking

Tokyo Electron Limited ACT Robot Teaching

Teaching and monitoring TEL ACT wafer handling robot handoffs is now easy, accurate and efficient. ATS can be introduced into the tool from a cassette or FOUP without cooling the machine down, without removing any covers or heat shields and without connecting any cables. A special recipe is used to move the ATS to each plate pausing with the ATS resting on the raised transfer pins to view and measure the wafer offset with respect to the center of the plate. The recipe also moves the ATS into each spin cup with the chuck partially raised so the handoff offset can be verified or taught.
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