LAM 9400

The LAM 9400 SE is a high density plasma etch tool manufactured by LAM Research Corporation. This tool was originally designed for production polysilicon etching, but has been reconfigured for silicon based materials, III‐Vs, some metals, and organic materials. It uses a TCP (transformer coupled plasma), which is a special patented form of an ICP source to enhance plasma density. It also has a bias power supply for controlling ion bombardment energy.

LAM 9400
LAM 9400 SE
Equipment Details
Technology	RIE
Materials Restriction	Semi-Clean
Material Processed	Si, SiO2, Si3N4, Polymers, Reactive Metals
Mask Materials	PR, SiO2
Sample Size	150 mm
Gases Used	Ar, BCl3, C4F8, Cl2, He, HBr, O2, SF6
Equipment Manual
Overview	System Overview
Operating Procedure	SOP
Supported Processes	Supported Processes
User Processes	User Processes

Contents

Capabilities

• Moderate etch rates ~1000-2000 Å/min
• Sub-micron features 1-2 µm deep
• Large variety of Fluorine and Chlorine chemistries available
• Can process a wide range of materials such as polysilicon, oxide, nitride, III-V's, and some reactive metals.

System Overview

Hardware Details

• Gases
  • Ar - 150 sccm
  • BCl₃ - 50 sccm
  • C₄F₈ - 100 sccm
  • Cl₂ - 200 sccm
  • He - 200 sccm
  • HBr - 200 sccm
  • O₂ - 100 sccm
  • SF₆ - 100 sccm

• Pressure
  • 1000 L/sec Seiko Seiki STP-H1000C turbo pump
  • 2-100 mTorr
  • Series 64 VAT valve

• Electrostatic Chuck
  • 150 mm wafer
  • 0-50 Torr backside He cooling
  • 50°C Standard Temp (-40°C to 80°C Range)
  • 750 V bipolar

• Chamber
  • 50°C walls
  • Anodized aluminum walls

• RF
  • 1250 W 13.56 Mhz TPC - (600 W Max w/ bias, 800 W Max no bias)
  • 1250 W 13.56 Mhz Bias - (200 W Max)

Substrate Requirements

• 150 mm wafers
  • 100 mm wafers and pieces can be mounted to a plain Si carrier wafer with the Wafer Mounting Table
• 1 major flat required, minor flats are allowed
• 3 mm max height

Material Restrictions

The LAM 9400 is designated as a Semi-Clean class tool. Below is a list of approved materials for the tool. Approved means the material is allowed in the tool under normal circumstances. If a material is not listed, please create a helpdesk ticket or email info@lnf.umich.edu for any material requests or questions.

Approved materials

Supported Processes

Main article: LAM 9400/Processes

There are several processes for this tool supported by the LNF, which are described in more detail on the Processes page.

In addition to these, this tool has a number of user-created recipes for etching a wide variety of materials. Some of these recipes are documented on LAM 9400 User Processes. If you are curious if your material can be processed in this tool, please contact the tool engineers via the helpdesk ticket system.

Standard Operating Procedure

LAM 9400 SOP

Checkout Procedure

1. Complete the sample mounting course. If you have already completed this for another tool, you do not need to complete it again.
2. Read through the User Manual above.
3. Accurately complete the SOP quiz. You may retake as necessary until all answers are correct.
4. Complete the process request form.
5. Schedule a time for an initial training session:
   1. Find an available time here.
   2. Verify that the tool is available in the LNF Online Services at the time you are requesting.
   3. After confirmation that the event is scheduled in Calendly, invite the staff member assigned to your event to a Staff Support reservation at that time.
   4. Create a helpdesk ticket for final confirmation of your appointment.
6. Schedule a time for a checkout using the above procedure.
7. Authorization will be provided pending successful completion of the quiz and demonstration of proper tool use in the presence of a tool engineer.

Qualification

As part of the maintenance performed on the LAM 9400, the LNF Poly recipe is run on a 6" Si wafer routinely to ensure the systems stability (~22% open area, SPR mask, 10 sec BT, 300sec ME).