Patent ID: 6174377
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: C23C,C30B,H01J,H01L

Abstract:
An ALD processing station for a cluster tool system, comprising:a processing chamber portion having a lower extremity with a first cross-sectional area;a substantially circular base chamber portion below the processing chamber portion, the base chamber portion having a first inside diameter formed by one of a plurality of replaceable rings having constant outer diameters and varying inner diameters, defining a lower extremity of an upper processing region, a vacuum pumping port and a substrate transfer port below the first inside diameter, and a second inside diameter below the first inside diameter substantially larger than the first inside diameter;a substrate support pedestal having a substantially circular upper substrate support surface with an outside diameter less than the first inside diameter and adapted to the base chamber portion below the transfer port by a dynamic vacuum seal allowing vertical translation;a vertical-translation drive system adapted to translate the substrate support pedestal to place the upper support surface at a processing position substantially even with the first inside diameter, or at a lower transfer position in a region of the base chamber having the second inside diameter, the translation position below the transfer port; anda demountable gas supply lid mounted to the processing chamber, the lid for providing gases according to an atomic layer deposition (ALD) protocol;wherein, with the substrate support pedestal at the processing position the outside diameter of the substrate support pedestal and the first inside diameter form a first pumping passage having a first total effective area determining a first limited pumping speed from the processing chamber portion through the vacuum pumping port, and with the substrate support pedestal at the lower transfer position, the outside diameter of the substrate support pedestal and the second inside diameter form a second annular pumping passage having a second effective area greater than the first effective area, allowing a second pumping speed from the processing chamber greater than the first limited pumping speed, and the first pumping speed is incrementally varied by interchanging the replaceable rings.