Eliminating He as Wafer Cooling Gas in PECVD Wafer Fabrication Equipment

Abstract

In the proposed study we demonstrate the elimination of helium as a wafer cooling gas in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) wafer fabrication equipment (WFE). Key technical challenges were addressed by using proprietary helium elimination hardware and software. The helium elimination upgrade proved to be compatible over a wide array of applications after testing multiple PECVD processes without any observed negative impact to process performance or throughput. By incorporating this technology in Lam’s VECTOR® system, end users can expect to save approximately 5L of He per wafer processed, resulting in substantial savings in the overall cost of manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs).