Patent Publication Number: US-2023162984-A1

Title: Abatement and strip process chamber in a load lock configuration

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/730,362, filed Dec. 30, 2019, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/746,831, filed Jan. 22, 2013, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/604,990, filed Feb. 29, 2012, all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field 
     Examples of the present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for fabricating devices on a semiconductor substrate. More particularly, examples of the present invention relate to a load lock chamber including one chamber volume configured for processing a substrate. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Ultra-large-scale integrated (ULSI) circuits may include more than one million electronic devices (e.g., transistors) that are formed on a semiconductor substrate, such as a silicon (Si) substrate, and cooperate to perform various functions within the device. Typically, the transistors used in the ULSI circuits are complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) field effect transistors. 
     Plasma etching is commonly used in the fabrication of transistors and other electronic devices. During plasma etch processes used to form transistor structures, one or more layers of a film stack (e.g., layers of silicon, polysilicon, hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ), silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), metal materials, and the like) are commonly exposed to etchants comprising at least one halogen-containing gas, such as hydrogen bromide (HBr), chlorine (Cl 2 ), carbon tetrafluoride (CF 4 ), and the like. Such processes cause a halogen-containing residue to build up on the surfaces of the etched features, etch masks, and elsewhere on the substrate. 
     When exposed to a non-vacuumed environment (e.g., within factory interfaces or substrate storage cassettes) and/or during consecutive processing, gaseous halogens and halogen-based reactants (e.g., bromine (Br 2 ), chlorine (Cl 2 ), hydrogen chloride (HCl), and the like) may be released from the halogen-containing residues deposited during etching. The released halogens and halogen-based reactants create particle contamination and cause corrosion of the interior of the processing systems and factory interfaces, as well as corrosion of exposed portions of metallic layers on the substrate. Cleaning of the processing systems and factory interfaces and replacement of the corroded parts is a time consuming and expensive procedure. 
     Several processes have been developed to remove the halogen-containing residues on the etched substrates. For example, the etched substrate may be transferred into a remote plasma reactor to expose the etched substrate to a gas mixture that converts the halogen-containing residues to non-corrosive volatile compounds that may be out-gassed and pumped out of the reactor. However, such process requires a dedicated process chamber along with an additional step, causing increased tool expense, reduced manufacturing productivity and throughput, resulting in high manufacturing cost. 
     Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for removing halogen-containing residues from a substrate. 
     SUMMARY 
     Examples of the present invention generally provide apparatus and methods for processing a substrate. Particularly, examples of the present inventions provide a load lock chamber capable of processing a substrate, for example by exposing the substrate positioned therein to a reactive species. 
     Examples of the present invention include a method for removing halogen-containing residues from a substrate. The method includes transferring a substrate to a substrate processing system through a first chamber volume of a load lock chamber. The load lock chamber is coupled to a transfer chamber of the substrate processing system. The substrate is etched in one or more processing chambers coupled to the transfer chamber of the substrate processing system with chemistry from a showerhead disposed over a heated substrate support assembly. The chemistry includes halogen. Halogen-containing residues are removed from the etched substrate in a second chamber volume of the load lock chamber. Cooling the etched substrate in a cooled substrate support assembly of the load lock chamber after removing the halogen-containing residue. 
     In another example, a method for removing halogen-containing residues from a substrate is disclosed. The method includes transferring a substrate to a substrate processing system through a first chamber volume of a load lock chamber coupled to a transfer chamber of the substrate processing system. The substrate is etched in one or more processing chambers coupled to the transfer chamber of the substrate processing system with chemistry from a showerhead disposed over a heated substrate support assembly. The chemistry includes halogen. Halogen-containing residues are removed from the etched substrate in a second chamber volume of the load lock chamber. Removing halogen-containing residues further includes heating the substrate to a temperature that is greater than or equal to about 20 degrees Celsius and less than or equal to about 1000 degrees Celsius. The etched substrate is cooled in a cooled substrate support assembly of the load lock chamber after removing the halogen-containing residue. 
     In yet another example, a method for removing halogen-containing residues from a substrate includes transferring a substrate to a substrate processing system. The substrate is transferred through a first chamber volume of a load lock chamber coupled to a transfer chamber of the substrate processing system. The substrate is etched in one or more processing chambers coupled to the transfer chamber of the substrate processing system with chemistry from a showerhead. The showerhead is disposed over a heated substrate support assembly. The chemistry includes halogen. The substrate is heated on a substrate support assembly for a predetermined time period. Heating the substrate removes halogen-containing residues from the etched substrate in a second chamber volume of the load lock chamber. The method further includes cooling the etched substrate in a cooled substrate support assembly of the load lock chamber after removing the halogen-containing residue. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to examples, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical examples of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective examples. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber according to one example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic sectional view of the load lock chamber of  FIG.  1    in a different status than in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber according to another example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber according to another example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  5 A  is a schematic sectional view of the load lock chamber of  FIG.  4    showing a lift assembly. 
         FIG.  5 B  is a schematic perspective view of a lift assembly according to one example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic sectional view of a twin load lock chamber configuration according to one example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  7    is a plan view of a cluster tool system including load lock chambers according to one example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  8    is a flow diagram illustrating a method for processing a substrate according to one example of the present invention. 
         FIG.  9    is a flow diagram illustrating a method for processing a substrate according to another example of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one example may be beneficially utilized on other examples without specific recitation. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Examples of the present invention provide apparatus and methods for fabricating devices on a semiconductor substrate. More particularly, examples of the present invention a load lock chamber including two or more isolated chamber volumes, wherein one chamber volume is configured for processing a substrate and another chamber volume is configured to provide cooling to a substrate. 
     One example of the present invention provides a load lock chamber having at least two isolated chamber volumes formed in a chamber body assembly. The at least two isolated chamber volumes may be vertically stacked. The two chamber volumes are independently operable to increase throughput. A first chamber volume may be used to process a substrate disposed therein using reactive species, for example removing halogen residual from the substrate or removing photoresist from the substrate. A second chamber volume has two openings for substrate exchange between adjoining environments, such as an ambient environment of a factory interface and a vacuum environment of a transfer chamber. In one example, a cooled substrate support may be disposed in the second chamber volume. The cooled substrate support allows the processed substrates to be cooled down before exiting the vacuum environment, therefore, preventing undesirable reactions, such as silicon oxidation, which can result by exposing a warm substrate to the ambient atmosphere. In one example, a substrate supporting shelf may be disposed in the second chamber volume to receive an additional substrate in the second chamber volume so that incoming and outgoing substrates may have separate slots to reduce cross contamination and improve throughput. By including a chamber volume for processing substrates in a load lock chamber, additional locations become available in a processing system to accommodate additional processing chambers, thus increasing throughput without increasing footprint of the processing system. Additionally, using a cooled substrate support in a load lock chamber improves process quality by reduce undesirable reactions when processed substrate are exposed to atmosphere. 
     Another example of the present invention includes a load lock chamber having three chamber volumes. A third chamber volume may be stacked together between the first chamber volume for processing a substrate and the second chamber volume with the cooled substrate support. Similar to the second chamber volume, the third chamber volume has two openings for substrate exchange between adjoining isolated environments, such as an ambient environment of a factory interface and a vacuum environment of a transfer chamber. For example, the third chamber volume may be used to transfer incoming substrates from the factory interface to the transfer chamber while the second chamber volume may be used to transfer outgoing substrates from the transfer chamber to the factory interface. Because the incoming and outgoing substrates do not share the same chamber volume, potential for cross contamination is substantially eliminated. Furthermore, using separate chamber volumes for incoming and outgoing substrates also provides flexibility for the system. 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber  100  according to one example of the present invention. The load lock chamber  100  has a chamber body assembly  110  defines three chamber volumes  110 ,  120  and  130 . The three chamber volumes  110 ,  120 , and  130  are vertically stacked together and are isolated from one another. The chamber volumes  110  and  120  are configured for transferring a substrate  104 , and the chamber volume  120  is configured for processing a substrate  104 . 
     In one example, the chamber body assembly  110  includes a sidewall  111  and a sidewall  112 . The sidewall  111  and the sidewall  112  face opposite directions to interface with two environments. The sidewall  111  may be adapted to connect to an ambient environment, such as present in a factory interface, while side wall  112  may be adapted to connect to a vacuum environment, such as a vacuum environment present in a transfer chamber. The load lock chamber  100  may be used to exchange substrates between the two environments connected to the sidewalls  111 ,  112 . The chamber body assembly  110  may further include a chamber lid  116 , a chamber bottom  115  and interior walls  113 ,  114 . The interior walls  113 ,  114  divide the interior of the load lock chamber  100  into the three chamber volumes  120 ,  130 , and  140 . The chamber volumes  130 ,  140  function as load locks for substrate exchange and the chamber volume  120  is configured for processing a substrate. 
     The chamber volume  120  is defined between the sidewalls  111 ,  112 , the chamber lid  116  and the interior wall  113 . An opening  121  is formed through the sidewall  112  to allow a substrate to be transferred into and out of the chamber volume  120 . A slit valve  122  is disposed to selectively seal the opening  121 . In the example shown in  FIG.  1   , the chamber volume  120  only has one opening  121  for substrate exchange, therefore, the chamber volume  120  cannot function as a load lock to exchange substrates between two environments. During operation, the chamber volume  120  may be selected connected to a vacuum processing environment via the opening  121 . Optionally, an additional substrate exchange opening may be formed through the sidewall  111  to enable substrate exchange between the chamber volume  120  and the environment of the factory interface. 
     A heated substrate support assembly  125  is disposed in the chamber volume  120  for supporting and heating the substrate  104 . According to one example, the heated substrate support assembly  125  includes embedded heating elements  127 . A thermal insulator  126  may be disposed between the heated substrate assembly  125  and the interior wall  113  to reduce thermal exchange between the chamber body assembly  110  and the heated substrate support assembly  125 . A gas distribution showerhead  123  is disposed in the chamber volume  120  over the heated substrate support assembly  125 . A lift hoop assembly  124  is movably disposed around the heated substrate support assembly  125  and the gas distribution showerhead  123 . The lift hoop assembly  124  is configured to confine a processing environment within immediately around the substrate support assembly  125  in the chamber volume  120 , as well as being operable to load and unload substrates from the heated substrate support assembly  125  and substrate transfer robots (not shown). 
     Gas panels  101 ,  102  may be used to provide processing gases to the chamber volume  120  through the gas distributing showerhead  123  into the chamber volume  120 . In one example, a remote plasma source  103  may be disposed between the gas planes  101 ,  102  and the gas distribution showerhead  123  so that dissociated species of processing gases may be supplied to the chamber volume  120 . Alternatively, a RF power source may be applied between the gas distribution showerhead  123  and the heated substrate support assembly  125  to generate plasma within the chamber volume  120 . In one example, the gas panel  101  may provide processing gases for an abatement process to remove residual material after etching and the gas panel  102  may provide processing gases for an ashing process to remove photoresist. 
     A more detailed description of apparatus and methods for processing a substrate in a chamber volume of a load lock chamber can be found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/448,027, filed Mar. 1, 2011, entitled “Abatement and Strip process Chamber in a Dual Loadlock Configuration. 
     The chamber volume  130  is defined by the interior walls  113 ,  114 , and the sidewalls  111 ,  112 . The chamber volume  130  is vertically stacked within the chamber body assembly  110  between the chamber volume  120  and chamber volume  140 . Opening  131 ,  132  are formed through the sidewalls  112 ,  111  to allow substrate exchange between the chamber volume  130  and two environments outside the chamber body assembly  110 . A slit valve  133  is disposed to selectively seal the opening  131 . A slit valve  134  is disposed to selectively seal the opening  132 . The chamber volume  130  may include a substrate support assembly having at least one substrate slot for holding or storing substrate thereon. In one example, the chamber volume  130  includes three or more substrate supporting pins  135  for supporting a substrate  104  thereon. The three or more substrate supporting pins  135  may be fixedly positioned in the chamber volume  130 . Other suitable substrate support, such as a shelf, an edge ring, brackets, may be positioned in the chamber volume  130  for supporting a substrate thereon. 
     The chamber volume  130  may serve as a load lock chamber and be used to exchange substrates between the two environments connected to the sidewalls  111 ,  112 . The chamber volume  130  may also be used to store dummy substrates for testing or chamber cleaning. 
     The chamber volume  140  is defined by the sidewalls  111 ,  112 , interior wall  114  and the chamber bottom  115 . The chamber volume  140  is positioned below the chamber volume  130 . Opening  141 ,  142  are formed through the sidewalls  112 ,  111  to allow substrate exchange between the chamber volume  140  and two environments outside the chamber body assembly  110 . A slit valve  143  selectively seals the opening  141 . A slit valve  144  selectively seals the opening  142 . The slit valve  133  is designed not to obstruct the opening  141  while the slit valve  133  is positioned to seal the opening  131 , as shown in  FIG.  1   . The openings  131 ,  141  may be opened and closed independently without affect one another. In one example, the slit valve  133  may include a door coupled to an actuator through two poles positioned clear from the opening  141 . The door of the slit valve  133  passes in front of the opening  141  during opening and closing. However, the opening  141  is unobstructed when the slit valve  133  is in closed position and the opened position. It should be noted, other suitable designs may be used to enable independent operation of the slit valves  133 ,  143 . 
     A cooled substrate support assembly  152  is configured to support and cool a substrate  104  within the chamber volume  140 . The cooled substrate support assembly  152  includes a disk shaped body  145  having a substrate supporting surface  147 . A plurality of cooling channels  146  are formed in the disk shaped body  145 . A cooling fluid source  148  may be coupled to the cooling channels  146  to control the temperature of the disk shaped body  145  and the substrate  104  disposed thereon. Lifting pins  149  may be used to lift the substrate  104  from the disk shaped body  145 . The lifting pins  149  may be attached to a plate  150  coupled to an actuator  151 . 
     The chamber volume  140  may serve as a load lock chamber and be used to exchange substrates between the two environments connected to the sidewalls  111 ,  112 . The cooled substrate support assembly  152  provides cooling to the substrate  104  while passing the chamber volume  140 . 
       FIG.  2    is a schematic sectional view of the load lock chamber  100  wherein each chamber volume  120 ,  130 ,  140  are in a different state than as shown in  FIG.  1   . In  FIG.  1   , the chamber volume  120  is in substrate loading/unloading state with the lift hoop assembly  124  raised and the slit valve  122  opened. In  FIG.  2   , the chamber volume  120  is in processing position with the lift hoop assembly  124  lowered to confine a processing volume around the substrate  104  and the slit valve  122  closed. In  FIG.  1   , the chamber volume  130  is open to the ambient environment connected to the sidewall  111  with the slit valve  134  being open and the slit valve  133  being closed. In  FIG.  2   , the chamber volume  130  is open to the vacuum environment connected to the sidewall  112  with the slit valve  134  being closed and slit valve  133  being open. In  FIG.  1   , the chamber volume  140  is open to the vacuum environment connected to the sidewall  112  with the slit value  143  being closed and the slit valve  144  being closed. The substrate  104  rests on the cooled substrate support assembly  152  to be cooled. In  FIG.  2   , the chamber volume  140  is open to the ambient environment connected to the sidewall  111  with the slit valve  143  being open and the slit valve  144  being closed. The lift pins  149  are raised to position the substrate  104  in a loading/unloading position aligned with the opening  141 . 
     The load lock chamber  100  may be used in a substrate processing system to provide an interface between a processing environment and a factory interface. Compared to traditional load lock chambers, the load lock chamber  100  may provide several improvements to a substrate processing system. First, by having a substrate processing chamber volume stacked over chamber volumes for load lock, the load lock chamber  100  frees space to allow an additional processing tool to be coupled to the vacuum transfer chamber, thus improves system throughput without increasing the foot print of the processing system. By dedicating the chamber volume  120  to processing, the need to pump the chamber volume  120  from atmosphere to vacuum state is eliminated, therefore improving processing throughput. Second, by having two chamber volumes as load lock, the load lock chamber  100  may provide separate paths for incoming and outgoing substrates, thus, substantially avoiding cross contamination between pre-processed and post-processed substrates. Third, by providing in a cooled substrate support assembly in a chamber volume, the load lock chamber  100  may provide cooling to a processed substrate before the processed substrate exits the processing system. The load lock chamber  100  reduces undesirable reactions on processed substrates because cooled substrates are less likely to react with atmosphere environment after exiting the processing system. 
       FIG.  3    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber  300  according to another example of the present invention. The load lock chamber  300  is similar to the load lock chamber  100  of  FIGS.  1  and  2    except that a chamber body assembly  310  of the load lock chamber  300  does not include the chamber volume  130  disposed between the chamber volumes  120  and  140 . In the load lock chamber  300 , the chamber volume  140  may be used as a load lock for both incoming and outgoing substrates. Alternatively, the chamber volume  120  may be used as a load lock using a second opening  323  formed through the sidewall  111  and a slit valve  324  configured to selectively seal the opening  323 . Compared to the load lock chamber  100 , the load lock chamber  300  has fewer components, therefore, cost less and may be easier to maintain. 
       FIG.  4    is a schematic sectional view of a load lock chamber  400  according to another example of the present invention. Similar to the load lock chamber  300 , a chamber body assembly  410  of the load lock chamber  400  defines two chamber volumes, a chamber volume  430  positioned below the chamber volume  120 . The chamber volume  120  may be dedicated to substrate processing and may only open to one side of the load lock chamber  400  via the opening  121  as the chamber volume  120  always remains under vacuum. 
     The chamber volume  430  may include a substrate supporting shelf  454  disposed above the cooled substrate support assembly  152  and configured to support a substrate  104  thereon. The chamber volume  430  may be used to hold one substrate  104  on the substrate supporting shelf  454  and to hold and/or cool another substrate  104  on the cooled substrate support assembly  152 . In one example, the substrate supporting shelf  454  may be dedicated for incoming substrates and the cooled substrate support assembly  152  for outgoing substrates, so that as to substantially eliminate potential for direct contamination between the incoming and outgoing substrates. Alternatively, the chamber volume  430  may be used to transfer two substrates simultaneously. 
     In one example, the substrate supporting shelf  454  may be movably disposed over the cooled substrate support assembly  152  to enable substrate exchange. As shown in  FIG.  4   , the substrate supporting shelf  454  may include one or more posts  453  extending from a ring  452 . The posts  453  are configured to provide support to a substrate  104 . The ring  452  may be coupled to a lift assembly  450  to move the one or more posts  453  vertically within the chamber volume  430 . In one example, the lift assembly  450  may be also coupled to a ring  451  connected to the lift pins  149  for raising a substrate from or lowering a substrate to the cooled substrate support assembly  152 . In one example, the lift assembly  450  may be configured to move the substrate supporting shelf  454  and the lift pins  140  simultaneously. When the lift pins  149  raise to pick up the substrate  104  disposed on the cooled substrate support  152 , the substrate supporting shelf  454  also moves up to ensure enough spacing between the substrate  104  on the lift pins  149  and the substrate supporting shelf  454  for loading or unloading. 
       FIG.  5 A  is a schematic sectional view of the load lock chamber  400  of  FIG.  4    showing the lift assembly  450  and  FIG.  5 B  is a schematic perspective view of the lift assembly  450 . The lift assembly  450  may include a motor  502  coupled to a shaft  504  and configured to rotate the shaft  504 . The shaft  504  may have threaded portions  506  and  508  for driving the substrate supporting shelf  454  and the lift pins  149  respectively. A threaded member  510  is coupled to the threaded portion  506  so that rotation of the shaft  504  moves the threaded member  510  along the shaft  504 . A shaft  512  may be fixedly coupled between the threaded member  510  and the ring  452  to translate the vertical motion of the threaded member  510  to the ring  452  and the posts  453 . Similarly, a threaded member  514  is coupled to the threaded portion  508  so that rotation of the shaft  504  moves the threaded member  514  along the shaft  504 . A shaft  516  may be fixedly coupled between the threaded member  514  and the ring  451  to translate the vertical motion of the threaded member  514  to the ring  451  and the lift pins  149 . In one example, the shafts  512 ,  516  may be concentrically disposed as shown in  FIG.  5 A . Alternatively, the shafts  512 ,  516  may be disposed apart from one another. 
     In one example, the threaded portions  506  and  508  may have different pitches so that the threaded members  510 ,  514  move at different speeds (and thus distances) when the shaft  504  is rotated by the motor  502 . In one example, pitches of the threaded portions  506  and  508  may be set so that the lift pins  149  moves faster than the substrate supporting shelf  454 , thus, the substrate supporting shelf  454  has a smaller range of motion than the lift pins  149 . By moving the substrate support shelf  454  and the lift pins  149  in distances as short as possible, the height of the chamber volume  430  can be minimized, thereby reducing pumping time and requirements. In one example, the lift pins  149  move about twice as fast as the substrate supporting shelf  454 . 
     The load lock chamber  400  may provide the chamber volumes  120  dedicated to processing substrates (i.e., no direct path to ambient environments), while provide cooling and separated paths for incoming and outgoing substrates to reduce cross contamination. Therefore, the load lock chamber  400  may be used to increase throughput, reduce contamination, and reduce undesired reactions on hot substrates. 
     Load lock chambers according to examples of the present invention may be used in pairs to double the productivity.  FIG.  6    is a schematic sectional view of a twin load lock chamber  600  configuration according to one example of the present invention. The twin load lock chamber  600  includes two load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B disposed side by side in a unitary chamber body assembly  610 . As shown in  FIG.  6   , the two load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B may be mirror image of one another. The load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B may operate independently from one another or in synchronicity. 
     The load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B are similar to the load lock chamber  100  of  FIG.  1   . The load lock chamber  100 A includes chamber volumes  120 A,  130 A,  140 A and the load lock chamber  100 B includes chamber volumes  120 B,  130 B,  140 B. The load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B may share the gas sources  101 ,  102  for processing substrates in the chamber volumes  120 A,  120 B. Each chamber volume  120 A,  120 B may be coupled to a vacuum pump  602 A,  602 B through control valves  604 A,  604 B. The vacuum pumps  602 A,  602 B are configured to maintain a vacuum environment in the chamber volumes  120 A,  120 B. The chamber volumes  130 A,  140 A,  130 B,  140 B function as load lock volumes for substrate exchange. In one example, the chamber volumes  130 A,  140 A,  130 B,  140 B may share one vacuum pump  606 . Control valves  608 A,  610 A,  608 B,  610 B may be coupled between the vacuum pump  606  and the chamber volumes  130 A,  140 A,  130 B,  140 B to enable independent control. 
     The load lock chambers according to examples of the present invention may be used to provide interface between a substrate processing system and a factory interface in a cluster tool.  FIG.  7    is a plan view of a cluster tool system  700  including load lock chambers according to one example of the present invention. The cluster tool system  700  includes one or more load lock chambers according to examples of the present invention. The cluster tool system  700  of  FIG.  7    is shown incorporating the twin load lock chamber  600 . However, it should be noted that load lock chambers  100 ,  300  and  400  can also be utilized. 
     The cluster tool system  700  includes a system controller  744 , a plurality of processing chambers  712  and the twin load-lock chamber  600  that are coupled to a vacuum substrate transfer chamber  708 . In one example, the transfer chamber  708  may have multiple sides and each side is configured to connect with a twin processing chamber  712  or the twin load lock chamber  600 . As shown in  FIG.  7   , three twin processing chambers  712  are coupled to the transfer chamber  708 . The twin load lock chamber  600  is coupled to the transfer chamber  708 . A factory interface  704  is selectively coupled to the transfer chamber  708  by the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B of the twin load lock chamber  600 . 
     The factory interface  704  may include at least one docking station  702  and at least one factory interface robot  706  to facilitate transfer of substrates. Each of the load lock chambers  100 A,  1006  of the twin load lock chamber  600  have two ports coupled to the factory interface  704  and three ports coupled to the transfer chamber  708 . The l load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B are coupled to a pressure control system (not shown) which pumps down and vents chamber volumes in the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B to facilitate substrate exchange between the vacuum environment of the transfer chamber  708  and the substantially ambient (e.g., atmospheric) environment of the factory interface  704 . 
     The transfer chamber  708  has a vacuum robot  710  disposed therein for transferring substrates among the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B and the processing chambers  712 . In one example, the vacuum robot  710  has two blades and is capable of simultaneously transferring two substrates among the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B and the processing chambers  712 . 
     In one example, at least one process chambers  712  is an etch chamber. For example, the etch chamber may be a Decoupled Plasma Source (DPS) chamber available from Applied Materials, Inc. The DPS etch chamber uses an inductive source to produce high-density plasma and comprises a source of radio-frequency (RF) power to bias the substrate. Alternatively, at least one of the process chambers  712  may be one of a HART™, E-MAX®, DPS®, DPS II, PRODUCER E, or ENABLER® etch chamber also available from Applied Materials, Inc. Other etch chambers, including those from other manufacturers, may be utilized. The etch chambers may use a halogen-containing gas to etch the substrate  924  therein. Examples of halogen-containing gas include hydrogen bromide (HBr), chlorine (Cl 2 ), carbon tetrafluoride (CF 4 ), and the like. After etching the substrate  924 , halogen-containing residues may be left on the substrate surface. 
     The halogen-containing residues may be removed by a thermal abatement process in at least one of the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B. For example, a thermal treatment process may be performed in one or both of the chamber volumes  120 A,  120 B of the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B. Alternatively or in addition to an abatement process, an ashing process may be performed in one or both of the chamber volumes  120 A,  120 B of the load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B. 
     The system controller  744  is coupled to the cluster tool system  700 . The system controller  744  controls the operation of the cluster tool system  700  using a direct control of the process chambers  712  or alternatively, by controlling the computers (or controllers) associated with the processing chambers  712  and the cluster tool system  700 . In operation, the system controller  744  enables data collection and feedback from the respective chambers and system controller  744  to optimize performance of the cluster tool system  700 . The system controller  744  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  738 , a memory  740 , and support circuit  742 . 
       FIG.  8    is a flow diagram illustrating a method  800  for processing a substrate according to one example of the present invention. The method  800  may be performed in the cluster tool system  700  in  FIG.  7    having load lock chambers  100 A,  100 B with three chamber volumes. It is contemplated that the method  800  may be performed in other suitable processing systems, including those from other manufacturers. 
     The method  800  begins at box  810  by receiving a substrate having a layer disposed thereon from a factory interface, such as the factory interface  704  in  FIG.  7   , in a first chamber volume of a load lock chamber coupled to the factory interface, such as the chamber volume  130 A or  130 B of the load lock chamber  100 A or  100 B. 
     At box  820 , the first chamber volume containing the substrate may be pumped down to a vacuum level equal to that of a transfer chamber coupled to the load lock chamber. The substrate is then transferred from the load lock chamber to the transfer chamber. In one example, the first chamber volume of the load lock chamber may be dedicated to provide paths to incoming substrates only. 
     At box  830 , the substrate is transferred to one or more processing chambers coupled to the transfer chamber for one or more processes. The processes may include etching one or more films, such as a polymer film, on the substrates under a patterned mask using a halogen-containing gas. The patterned mask may include photoresist and/or hard mask. Suitable examples of halogen-containing gas include, but not limited to, hydrogen bromide (HBr), chlorine (Cl 2 ), carbon tetrafluoride (CF 4 ), and the like. The etching processes may leave halogen containing residue on the substrate. 
     Optionally, the substrate may be transferred from the first chamber volume of the load lock chamber to a second chamber volume of the load lock chamber through the transfer chamber for a pre-heating prior to being processed in the processing chambers. For example, the substrate may be transferred from the chamber volume  130  to the chamber volume  120  to be pre-heated on the heated substrate support  125 . In one example, the substrate may be preheated to a temperature between about 20 degrees Celsius and about 400 degrees Celsius. 
     At box  840 , after being processed in one or more processing chambers connected to the transfer chamber, the substrate is transferred to the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber. The second chamber volume, such as the chamber volume  120  of the load lock chamber  100 , may be dedicated to substrate processing. Depending on processing recipe, the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber may be configured to different processes. 
     At box  850 , thermal treatment process may be performed on a the substrate to remove the halogen-containing residues from the substrate generated during processing of box  830  prior to exposure to atmospheric conditions in the factory interface or other locations. For example, the substrate may be transferred to the chamber volume  120  of the load lock chamber  100  to remove the halogen containing residues. 
     In one example, a thermal treatment may be performed to etched substrate in the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber to remove the halogen-containing residues. For example, the substrate may placed on the heated substrate support assembly  125  of the chamber volume  120  of the load lock chamber  100 . The heated substrate support assembly  125  heats the substrate to a temperature between about 20 degrees Celsius and about 1000 degrees Celsius, such as between about 150 degrees Celsius and about 300 degrees Celsius, for example about 250 degrees Celsius, at between about 5 seconds and about 30 seconds. The rapid heating of the substrate by heated substrate support assembly  125  allows the halogen-containing residues on the etched substrate to be removed without increasing process cycle time which would be encountered if the residues were removed in one if the processing chambers. In one example, the substrate may be heated by the heated substrate support assembly  125  at a predetermined time period until the halogen-containing residues are removed from the etched substrate. 
     In another example, plasma of a gas mixture may be used to promote the conversion of the halogen containing residues into non-corrosive volatile compounds, thereby increasing the removal efficiency of the halogen-containing residues from the etched substrate surface. The gas mixture may include an oxygen-containing gas, such as O 2 , O 3 , water vapor (H 2 O), a hydrogen-containing gas, such as H 2 , forming gas, water vapor (H 2 O), alkanes, alkenes, and the like, or an inert gas, such as a nitrogen gas (N 2 ), argon (Ar), helium (He), and the like. For example, the gas mixture may include oxygen, nitrogen, and a hydrogen-containing gas. In one example, the hydrogen-containing gas is at least one of hydrogen (H 2 ) and water vapor (H 2 O). 
     In another example, the thermal treatment process may be in the form of an ashing process performed in a chamber volume of the load lock chamber after the substrate being etched in the cluster tool system to remove the mask layers or a photoresist layer from the substrate. During an ashing process, an oxygen-based plasma may be supplied to the chamber volume of the load lock chamber white the temperature of the substrate may be maintained at 15 to 300 degrees Celsius. Various oxidizing gases can be used including, but not limited to, O 2  O 3 , N 2 O, H 2 O, CO, CO 2 , alcohols, and various combinations of these gases. In other examples of the invention, nonoxidizing gases may be used including, but not limited to, N 2 , H 2 O, H 2 , forming gas, NH 3 , CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , various halogenated gases (CF 4 , NF 3 , C 2 F 6 , C 4 F 8 , CH 3 F, CH 2 F 2 , CHF 3 ), combinations of these gases and the like. In another example, mask and/or photoresist layer may be stripped simultaneously at box  850 . 
     At box  860 , the substrate may be transferred from the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber to a third chamber volume of the load lock chamber through the transfer chamber. The third chamber volume of the load lock chamber may be dedicated to provide path to outgoing substrates. The third chamber volume may be chamber volume  140  of the load lock chamber  100 . 
     At box  870 , the substrate is cooled in the third chamber volume of the load lock chamber. The substrate may be lowered to a cooled substrate support assembly, such as the cooled substrate support assembly  152  of the load lock chamber  100 , for cooling. 
     At box  880 , the third chamber volume is vented to atmosphere pressure and the cooled substrate is returned to the factory interface. Since the substrate is cooled prior to exposing to atmosphere, undesirable reactions, such as silicon oxidation, are reduced. 
       FIG.  9    is a flow diagram illustrating a method  900  for processing a substrate according to another example of the present invention. The method  900  is similar to the method  800 , except the method  900  is performed in a cluster tool having load lock chambers with two chamber volumes, such as load lock chambers  300 ,  400  described above. 
     At box  910 , a substrate having a layer disposed thereon is transferred from a factory interface, such as the factory interface  704  in  FIG.  7   , to a first chamber volume of a load lock chamber coupled to the factory interface. In one example, when the load lock chamber  300  is used, the substrate may be transferred to the chamber volume  140  so that the chamber volume  120  can be dedicated to processing substrates. In another example, when the load lock chamber  400  is used, the substrate may be transferred to the substrate supporting shelf  454  of the chamber volume  430 . 
     At box  920 , the first chamber volume containing the substrate may be pumped down to a vacuum level equal to that of a transfer chamber coupled to the load lock chamber. The substrate is then transferred from the load lock chamber to the transfer chamber. 
     At box  930 , similar to the box  830  of the method  800 , the substrate is transferred to one or more processing chambers coupled to the transfer chamber for one or more processes. The processes may include etching one or more films, such as a polymer film, on the substrates under a patterned mask using a halogen-containing gas. 
     At box  940 , after being processed in one or more processing chambers connected to the transfer chamber, the substrate is transferred to the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber to remove residues and/or hard mask or photoresist. The second chamber volume, such as the chamber volume  120  of the load lock chamber  300  or the load lock chamber  400 , may be dedicated to substrate processing. Depending on the process recipe, the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber may be configured to different processes. Similar to the processes described at box  850 , a stripping process, an ashing process, or both stripping and ashing processes may be performed to the substrate to remove any desired combination of the halogen-containing residues, hard mask, and photoresist. 
     At box  950 , the substrate may be transferred from the second chamber volume of the load lock chamber back to the chamber volume of the load lock chamber through the transfer chamber to be cooled. 
     At box  960 , the substrate is cooled in the first chamber volume of the load lock chamber. The substrate may be lowered to a cooled substrate support assembly, such as the cooled substrate support assembly  152  of the load lock chamber  300  or  400 , for cooling. 
     At box  970 , the first chamber volume is vented to atmosphere pressure and the cooled substrate is returned to the factory interface. 
     While the foregoing is directed to examples of the present invention, other and further examples of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.