Contaminant reducing substrate transport and support system

Abstract

A lifting assembly can lift a substrate from a substrate support and transport the substrate. The lift assembly has a hoop sized to fit about a periphery of the substrate support, and a pair of arcuate fins mounted on the hoop, each arcuate fin comprising a pair of opposing ends having ledges that extend radially inward, each ledge having a raised protrusion to lift a substrate so that the substrate contacts substantially only the raised protrusion, thereby minimizing contact with the ledge, when the pair of fins is used to lift the substrate off the substrate support. The lifting assembly and other process chamber components can have a diamond-like coating having interlinked networks of (i) carbon and hydrogen, and (ii) silicon and oxygen. The diamond-like coating has a contact surface having a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3, a hardness of at least about 8 GPa, and a metal concentration level of less than about 5×10 12 atoms/cm 2 of metal. The contact surface reduces contamination of a substrate when directly or indirectly contacting a substrate.

1 . A substrate transfer arm capable of transferring a substrate into and out of a process chamber, the transfer arm comprising: 
 (a) a blade; and    (b) a diamond-like coating on the blade, the diamond-like coating comprising interlinked networks of (i) carbon and hydrogen, and (ii) silicon and oxygen, and the diamond-like coating having a contact surface comprising: 
 (i) a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3;  
 (ii) a hardness of at least about 8 GPa; and  
 (iii) a metal concentration level of less than about 5×10 12  atoms/cm 2  of metal,  
   whereby the contact surface reduces contamination of a substrate when directly or indirectly contacting a substrate.    
   
   
       2 . A substrate transfer arm according to  claim 1  wherein the contact arm comprises one or more raised protrusions so that the substrate contacts substantially only the raised protrusions, thereby minimizing contact with the blade.  
   
   
       3 . A support structure according to  claim 1  wherein the diamond-like coating comprises a thickness of from about 0.02 to about 20 microns.  
   
   
       4 . A support structure according to  claim 1  wherein the diamond-like coating comprises a wear factor of less than 5×10 6  mm 3 /Nm.  
   
   
       5 . A support pedestal capable of reducing particulate contamination of a substrate, the support pedestal comprising: 
 (a) a pedestal structure comprising a disc having a recessed peripheral ledge; and    (b) a diamond-like coating on the disc, the diamond-like coating comprising interlinked networks of (i) carbon and hydrogen, and (ii) silicon and oxygen, and the diamond-like coating having a contact surface comprising: 
 (i) a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3;  
 (ii) a hardness of at least about 8 GPa; and  
 (iii) a metal concentration level of less than about 5×10 12  atoms/cm 2  of metal,  
   whereby the contact surface reduces contamination of a substrate when directly or indirectly contacting a substrate.    
   
   
       6 . A support pedestal according to  claim 5  wherein the recessed peripheral ledge comprises a radial width that is sized sufficiently large to avoid contact with a contaminated backside perimeter edge.  
   
   
       7 . A support pedestal according to  claim 5  wherein the recessed peripheral ledge comprises a radial width of at least about 1/150 th  the diameter of the disc.  
   
   
       8 . A support pedestal according to  claim 5  wherein the recessed peripheral ledge comprises a radial width that is at least about 2 mm wide.  
   
   
       9 . A support pedestal according to  claim 5  wherein the recessed peripheral ledge comprises a depth of at least about 2 mm.  
   
   
       10 . A lifting assembly to lift a substrate from a substrate support and transport the substrate, the lifting assembly comprising: 
 (a) a hoop sized to fit about a periphery of the substrate support; and    (b) a pair of arcuate fins mounted on the hoop, each arcuate fin comprising a pair of opposing ends having ledges that extend radially inward, each ledge having a raised protrusion to lift a substrate so that the substrate contacts substantially only the raised protrusion, thereby minimizing contact with the ledge, when the pair of fins is used to lift the substrate off the substrate support.    
   
   
       11 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the support ledges extend inwardly from the opposing ends by at least about 4 mm.  
   
   
       12 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the raised protrusions are spaced inwardly by at least about 4 mm from the opposing ends.  
   
   
       13 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the raised protrusions comprise a height above a surface of the support ledge of at least about 1 mm.  
   
   
       14 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  further comprising a second pair of arcuate ends mounted below the first pair.  
   
   
       15 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the pair of arcuate fins comprises at least one of stainless steel and aluminum.  
   
   
       16 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the pair of arcuate fins comprises at least one of alumina and quartz.  
   
   
       17 . A substrate lifting assembly according to  claim 10  wherein the arcuate fins comprise a diamond-like coating thereon, the diamond-like coating comprising interlinked networks of (i) carbon and hydrogen, and (ii) silicon and oxygen, and the diamond-like coating having a contact surface comprising: 
 (i) a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3;    (ii) a hardness of at least about 8 GPa; and    (iii) a metal concentration level of less than about 5×10 12  atoms/cm 2  of metal.    
   
   
       18 . A heat exchanging support comprising: 
 (a) a body having a substrate receiving surface with a pattern of grooves;    (b) a diamond-like coating covering the substrate receiving surface, the diamond-like coating comprising a network of carbon, hydrogen, silicon and oxygen, the substrate receiving surface comprising a pattern of grooves thereon; and    (c) a heat exchanger.    
   
   
       19 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the heat exchanger comprising at least one of (i) a heater, and (ii) conduits for passing a heat exchange fluid therethrough.  
   
   
       20 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a heater.  
   
   
       21 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the heat exchanger comprises a conduit for passing a heat exchange fluid therethrough.  
   
   
       22 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the pattern of grooves is capable of equalizing the pressure on the front and backside of the substrate placed on the substrate receiving surface.  
   
   
       23 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the pattern of grooves comprises a plurality of circle grooves with different radii, and a plurality of radius grooves that extend radially across the receiving surface and substantially only between the circle grooves.  
   
   
       24 . A support according to  claim 23  wherein the circle grooves comprise a first circle groove having a first radius and a second circle groove having a second radius, the second radius being larger than the first radius, and wherein the radius grooves extend substantially only from the first circle groove to the second circle groove.  
   
   
       25 . A support according to  claim 24  comprising a recessed central region within the first circle groove.  
   
   
       26 . A support according to  claim 23  comprising from about 2 to about 8 circle grooves.  
   
   
       27 . A support according to  claim 23  comprising from about 2 to about 24 radius grooves.  
   
   
       28 . A support according to  claim 18  wherein the diamond-like coating comprises at least one of the following properties: 
 (i) a wear factor of less than 5×10 −6  mm 3 /Nm;    (i) a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3;    (ii) a hardness of at least about 8 GPa;    (iii) a resistivity of from about 10 4  Ohm·cm to about 10 8  Ohm·cm.    
   
   
       29 . A substrate transport system to transport a substrate onto a substrate support in a process chamber, the transport system comprising: 
 (a) a transfer arm to transport the substrate into the chamber;    (b) a detector to detect a position of the transfer arm in the chamber and generate a signal in relation to the position;    (c) a substrate lifting assembly adapted to receive the substrate from the transfer arm and lower the substrate onto the support; and    (d) a controller comprising program code to control the transfer arm, detector, and lifting assembly to transport the substrate onto the substrate support, the program code comprising: 
 (i) substrate centering control code to control the movement of the substrate transfer arm to position the substrate over substantially the center of the support by (1) receiving the signal from the detector and determining the position of the substrate in the process chamber, (2) calculating an offset distance comprising a difference between the detected position of the substrate and the center of the process chamber, and (3) generating a control signal in relation to the offset distance to control the movement of the transfer arm to position the substrate substantially over the center of the support.  
   
   
   
       30 . A transport system according to  claim 29  wherein the process chamber comprises a slit valve through which the substrate enters the chamber, and wherein the detector comprises a pair of light sensors on opposite sides of the slit valve, the light sensors being adapted to detect radiation reflected from the substrate to determine the position of the substrate.  
   
   
       31 . A transport system according to  claim 29  wherein the lifting assembly comprises: 
 (a) a hoop sized to fit about a periphery of the substrate support; and    (b) a pair of arcuate fins mounted on the hoop, each arcuate fin comprising a pair of opposing ends having ledges that extend radially inward, each ledge having a raised protrusion to lift a substrate so that the substrate contacts substantially only the raised protrusion, thereby minimizing contact with the ledge, when the pair of fins is used to lift the substrate off the substrate support.    
   
   
       32 . A transport system according to  claim 29  wherein the system is adapted to transport the substrate onto a support comprising a disc having a recessed peripheral ledge.  
   
   
       33 . A substrate processing apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a process chamber comprising: 
 (i) a gas supply;  
 (ii) a gas energizer;  
 (iii) a substrate support to support the substrate in the chamber, the support comprising a body having a disc comprising a recessed peripheral ledge;  
 (iv) a lifting assembly to lift a substrate from the support, the lifting assembly comprising (1) a hoop sized to fit about a periphery of the substrate support, and (2) a pair of arcuate fins mounted on the hoop, each arcuate fin comprising a pair of opposing ends having ledges that extend radially inward, each ledge having a raised protrusion to lift a substrate so that the substrate contacts substantially only the raised protrusion, thereby minimizing contact with the ledge, when the pair of fins is used to lift the substrate off the substrate support; and  
 (v) a gas exhaust;  
   (b) a transfer arm to transport the substrate into the chamber;    (c) a detector to detect a position of the transfer arm in the chamber and generate a signal in relation to the position; and    (d) a controller comprising program code to control the gas supply, gas energizer, support, lifting assembly, transfer arm and detector to transport the substrate into the process chamber and onto the substrate support, wherein the program code comprises substrate centering control code to control the movement of the substrate transfer arm to position the substrate over substantially the center of the support by (1) receiving the signal from the detector and determining the position of the substrate in the process chamber, (2) calculating an offset distance comprising a difference between the detected position of the substrate and the center of the process chamber, and (3) generating a control signal in relation to the offset distance to control the movement of the transfer arm to position the substrate substantially over the center of the support.    
   
   
       34 . An apparatus according to  claim 33  wherein the support comprises a diamond-like coating on the body, the diamond-like coating comprising interlinked networks of (i) carbon and hydrogen, and (ii) silicon and oxygen, and the diamond-like coating having a contact surface comprising: 
 (i) a coefficient of friction of less than about 0.3;    (ii) a hardness of at least about 8 GPa; and    (iii) a metal concentration level of less than about 5×10 12  atoms/cm 2  of metal,    whereby the contact surface reduces contamination of a substrate when directly or indirectly contacting a substrate.    
   
   
       35 . An apparatus according to  claim 33  wherein the support comprises a body having a substrate receiving surface with a pattern of grooves, the pattern of grooves comprises a plurality of circle grooves with different radii, and a plurality of radius grooves that extend radially across the receiving surface and substantially only between the circle grooves.  
   
   
       36 . A multi-chamber substrate processing apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a transfer chamber comprising a transfer arm to transfer a substrate between chambers;    (b) a heating chamber to heat the substrate, the heating chamber comprising a heating pedestal to support the substrate thereon;    (c) a pre-clean chamber to clean a substrate by exposing the substrate to an energized gas, the pre-clean chamber comprising a pre-clean support to support the substrate thereon;    (d) a deposition chamber to deposit a material on the substrate, the deposition chamber comprising a deposition support to support the substrate thereon;    (e) a cool-down chamber to cool the substrate, the cool-down chamber comprising a cooling pedestal to support the substrate thereon;    (f) one or more lifting assemblies in the chamber to raise and lower the substrate onto at least one of the pedestals and supports; and    (g) a controller adapted to control the transfer arm and lifting assemblies to transport the substrate into each of the chambers and place the substrate on the pedestals and supports,    wherein at least one of the transfer arm, lifting assemblies, heating pedestal, cooling pedestal, pre-clean support and deposition support have a coating comprising a contamination-reducing material, and    wherein a substrate that is transferred by the transfer arm to each chamber, raised by the lifting assemblies, and processed on the pedestals and supports in each chamber, comprises a metal contamination level of less than about 1×10 11  atoms/cm 2 .