APPARATUS FOR IMPROVED BIASING AND RETAINING OF A WORKPIECE IN A WORKPIECE PROCESSING SYSTEM

摘要

Apparatus for biasing and retaining a wafer in a semiconductor wafer processing system. The apparatus has a pedestal, a puck and an electrode disposed between the pedestal and the puck. The pedestal defines an enclosure within which the electrode and other pedestal components are housed. The electrode may serve as a cooling plate for the puck. Each of the components is insulated so as to define an electrical path. The electrical path consists of a conductor connected to a coolant tube inside the enclosure and the cooling plate which is in contact with the coolant tube. The cooling plate is electrically isolated from the pedestal via an isolator ring that circumscribes an upper inner wall of the enclosure. The coolant tube is disposed in a channel on the bottomside of the cooling plate and affixed to the plate so as to establish physical contact. The coolant tube and plate conduct RF power from a power source connected to the tube. The power then capacitively couples through the electrostatic chuck to bias a wafer retained thereon. The cooling plate also provides for temperature control of the wafer via a plurality of grooves on the top surface of the plate.