Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Vacuum pump protection against deposition byproduct buildup
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Application No.: US18329791Application Date: 2023-06-06
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Publication No.: US12087561B2Publication Date: 2024-09-10
- Inventor: John Stephen Drewery , Tom A. Kamp , Haoquan Yan , John Edward Daugherty , Ali Sucipto Tan , Ming-Kuei Tseng , Bruce Edmund Freeman
- Applicant: Lam Research Corporation
- Applicant Address: US CA Fremont
- Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
- Current Assignee: Lam Research Corporation
- Current Assignee Address: US CA Fremont
- Agency: Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP
- The original application number of the division: US17302622 2021.05.07
- Main IPC: H01J37/32
- IPC: H01J37/32 ; C23C16/02 ; C23C16/44 ; C23C16/455 ; H01L21/02 ; H01L21/311 ; H01L21/67 ; H01L21/683

Abstract:
A processing chamber such as a plasma etch chamber can perform deposition and etch operations, where byproducts of the deposition and etch operations can build up in a vacuum pump system fluidly coupled to the processing chamber. A vacuum pump system may have multiple roughing pumps so that etch gases can be diverted a roughing pump and deposition precursors can be diverted to another roughing pump. A divert line may route unused deposition precursors through a separate roughing pump. Deposition byproducts can be prevented from forming by incorporating one or more gas ejectors or venturi pumps at an outlet of a primary pump in a vacuum pump system. Cleaning operations, such as waferless automated cleaning operations, using certain clean chemistries may remove deposition byproducts before or after etch operations.
Public/Granted literature
- US20230317437A1 VACUUM PUMP PROTECTION AGAINST DEPOSITION BYPRODUCT BUILDUP Public/Granted day:2023-10-05
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