Micromachined silicon electrostatic chuck
- Albuquerque, NM
An electrostatic chuck is faced with a patterned silicon plate 11, created y micromachining a silicon wafer, which is attached to a metallic base plate 13. Direct electrical contact between the chuck face 15 (patterned silicon plate's surface) and the silicon wafer 17 it is intended to hold is prevented by a pattern of flat-topped silicon dioxide islands 19 that protrude less than 5 micrometers from the otherwise flat surface of the chuck face 15. The islands 19 may be formed in any shape. Islands may be about 10 micrometers in diameter or width and spaced about 100 micrometers apart. One or more concentric rings formed around the periphery of the area between the chuck face 15 and wafer 17 contain a low-pressure helium thermal-contact gas used to assist heat removal during plasma etching of a silicon wafer held by the chuck. The islands 19 are tall enough and close enough together to prevent silicon-to-silicon electrical contact in the space between the islands, and the islands occupy only a small fraction of the total area of the chuck face 15, typically 0.5 to 5 percent. The pattern of the islands 19, together with at least one hole 12 bored through the silicon veneer into the base plate, will provide sufficient gas-flow space to allow the distribution of the helium thermal-contact gas.
- Research Organization:
- AT & T CORP
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- Assignee:
- United States of America as represented by Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
- Patent Number(s):
- US 5583736
- OSTI ID:
- 870736
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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10
100
11
12
13
15
17
19
allow
apart
assist
attached
base
base plate
bored
chuck
close
concentric
concentric rings
contact
contain
created
diameter
dioxide
direct
direct electrical
distribution
electrical
electrical contact
electrostatic
electrostatic chuck
etching
faced
flat
flat surface
flat-topped
formed
fraction
gas
gas-flow
heat
heat removal
held
helium
hold
intended
islands
low-pressure
metallic
metallic base
micromachined
micromachining
micrometers
occupy
otherwise
pattern
patterned
patterned silicon
percent
periphery
plasma
plasma etch
plasma etching
plate
pressure helium
prevent
prevented
protrude
provide
provide sufficient
removal
rings
shape
silicon
silicon dioxide
silicon plate
silicon wafer
silicon-to-silicon
space
spaced
sufficient
surface
tall
thermal-contact
total
typically
veneer
wafer
width