2300^® Coronus™ — Plasma-Based Bevel Clean

Semiconductor manufacturers are paying increasing attention to the wafer edge as a source of killer defects. By including bevel clean steps, the number of good die at the wafer’s edge can be increased, thereby maximizing yield. Because managing the wafer edge requires precise and flexible cleaning, plasma bevel clean technology is becoming the industry standard. Building on Lam Research’s extensive plasma knowledge and resources, the 2300 Coronus plasma-based bevel clean system removes yield-limiting defect sources. The system combines the multiple materials cleaning capability of plasma with a proprietary confinement technology that protects the die area. The Coronus system’s flexible and robust solution allows for removal of different materials within the same chamber for a wide range of wafer cleaning applications, including post-shallow trench isolation (STI), gate, bit line, immersion lithography, back-end-of-line (BEOL) damascene etch, and post-tungsten CMP. Incorporating Lam Research’s Dynamic Alignment technology on the production-proven 2300 platform, the Coronus system provides highly accurate wafer placement for superior wafer reproducibility performance and encroachment control.