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Samsung patents chip tool that cleans itself using plasma gas

Samsung has been granted a patent for a machine used to make computer chips. The device uses a specific type of electrically charged gas, known as plasma, to deposit materials on a silicon wafer and then clean the machine's internal walls. The cleaning process happens in two stages with different air pressures to remove leftover material.

Why it mattersThis improves the maintenance of chip-making equipment by automating the removal of residue, which helps keep the manufacturing process consistent.

In the filing’s own words

A semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising loading a substrate into a substrate treatment apparatus, performing a deposition process on the substrate, and cleaning the substrate treatment apparatus. The substrate treatment apparatus includes a housing defining a treatment area in which the deposition process is performed, a gas supply supplying a first process gas at a flow rate of 1000 sccm to 15000 sccm and supplying a second process gas, a remote plasma supply connected to the gas supply, generating a first process plasma and a second process plasma by applying RF power to plasma-process the first process gas and the second process gas, and a shower head installed in the housing to supply the first process plasma and the second process plasma to the treatment area. The second process plasma cleans a membrane material deposited on an inner wall of the housing.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A substrate treatment apparatus comprising: a housing defining a treatment area in which a substrate is treated; a gas supply configured to supply a first process gas and a second process gas; a remote plasma supply connected to the gas supply, and configured to receive the first process gas and the second process gas and respectively generate a first process plasma and a second process plasma by applying RF power to plasma-process the first process gas and the second process gas; a shower head installed in the housing and connected to receive the first process plasma and the second process plasma and to supply the first process plasma and the second process plasma to the treatment area; and a controller, configured to: control the supply of the first process gas and the second process gas to cause the first process gas to be supplied at a flow rate of between 1000-3000 sccm and 15000 4000 sccm, and control the remote plasma supply to apply the RF power to the received process gas, wherein the second process plasma is configured to clean a membrane material when deposited on an inner wall of the housing, wherein the controller is configured to control the cleaning of the membrane material when deposited on the inner wall of the housing to include a first step executed at a first pressure inside the housing and a second step executed at a second pressure inside the housing, wherein the first pressure is greater than the second pressure, and wherein the first pressure is a pressure between 1.0 Torr and 2.0 Torr, and the second pressure is a pressure between 0.2 Torr and 0.5 Torr.

Facts

Company
Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
Official title
Substrate treatment apparatus and semiconductor device manufacturing method using the same
Patent number
US12738464B2
Application number
17974045
Filed
Oct 26, 2022
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
8
Claims
11

Classified under

H01J 37/32816 Electricity & electronicsC23C 16/4405 Chemistry & metalsC23C 16/45536 Chemistry & metalsC23C 16/45565 Chemistry & metalsC23C 16/505 Chemistry & metalsH01J 37/32357 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.