Particulate Removal from an Electrostatic Chuck

Abstract

The cleaning of particles from an electrostatic chuck. In one embodiment, a method of cleaning an electrostatic chuck in a processing chamber is disclosed. The method comprises directing a flow of gas across the electrostatic chuck to dislodge particles from the electrostatic chuck and removing the flow of gas and particles through an exhaust port in the processing chamber. In this embodiment, the vacuum integrity of the chamber is not compromised during the cleaning of the electrostatic chuck.

1 . A semiconductor processing chamber system, the chamber system comprising: 
 a vacuum chamber to provide a pressure regulated environment;    an electrostatic chuck received in the vacuum chamber adapted to selectively hold a wafer to be processed;    one or more gas inlets adapted to direct a flow of gas on a surface of the electrostatic chuck to remove particles accumulated on the electrostatic chuck surface; and    one or more exhaust ports adapted to remove the flow of gas and particles from the chamber without breaking the vacuum integrity of the vacuum chamber.    
   
   
       2 . The chamber system of  claim 1 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening that is in the shape of generally a slit.  
   
   
       3 . The chamber system of  claim 1 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening that is in the shape of generally an oval.  
   
   
       4 . The chamber system of  claim 1 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening in the shape of generally a circle.  
   
   
       5 . The chamber system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a wafer blade adapted to place and remove wafers for processing on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, the wafer blade having a first surface adapted to face the surface of the electrostatic chuck and a second surface adapted to engage said wafers.    
   
   
       6 . The chamber system of  claim 5 , wherein the gas inlets extend from the first surface of the wafer blade.  
   
   
       7 . The chamber system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the gas inlets is adapted to rotate in relation to the first surface of the wafer blade to disburse gas flow across the surface of the electrostatic chuck.  
   
   
       8 . A wafer blade for placing and removing wafers on and from an electrostatic chuck in a semiconductor processing chamber, the wafer blade comprising: 
 a first surface adapted to face the electrostatic chuck, the first surface having one or more gas inlets adapted to direct one or more flows of gas to a surface of the electrostatic chuck to remove particles form the surface of the electrostatic chuck; and    a second surface adapted to engage a wafer.    
   
   
       9 . The wafer blade of  claim 8 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening that is in the general shape of a slit.  
   
   
       10 . The wafer blade of  claim 8 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening that is in the general shape of an oval.  
   
   
       11 . The wafer blade of  claim 8 , wherein each gas inlet has an opening in the general shape of a circle.  
   
   
       12 . The wafer blade of  claim 8 , wherein at least one of the gas inlets extends out from the first surface of the wafer blade.  
   
   
       13 . The wafer blade of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one of the gas inlets is adapted to rotate in relation to the first surface of the wafer blade to disburse gas flow across the surface of the electrostatic chuck.  
   
   
       14 . A processing chamber, the chamber comprising: 
 an electrostatic chuck adapted to selectively hold a wafer to be processed; and    a wafer blade adapted to selectively place the wafer on the electrostatic chuck, the wafer blade having at least one gas inlet adapted to pass a flow of gas to the electrostatic chuck.    
   
   
       15 . The chamber of  claim 14  wherein the at least one gas inlet passes the flow of gas to remove an accumulation of particles on the electrostatic chuck.  
   
   
       16 . The chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one gas inlet has an opening that is in the general shape of at least one of a slit, an oval and a circle.  
   
   
       17 . The chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one inlet is adapted to rotate to disperse the gas flow through the at least one inlet in different directions.  
   
   
       18 . The chamber of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 at least one arm pivotly coupled to the wafer blade, the at least one arm including at least one gas inlet adapted to pass a flow of gas to the electrostatic chuck.    
   
   
       19 . The chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one gas inlet has an opening that is in the general shape of at least one of a slit, an oval and a circle.  
   
   
       20 . The chamber of  claim 14 , wherein the at least on gas inlet is adapted to rotate to disperse the gas flow through the at least one inlet in different directions.