Intentionally patterned and spatially non-uniform film profiles in chemical vapor deposition processes

Situations where it is desirable to control a chemical vapor deposition reactor to a spatially non-uniform film profile are presented in the context of a planetary reactor system for SiC CVD and a highly controllable reactor system designed for single-wafer combinatorial CVD processing. We focus on reactor designs and operation methods that enable deposition of spatially graded films for combinatorial studies, and on identifying and driving planetary CVD systems to a specific spatially non-uniform deposition rate profile. Known as a "Nearest Uniformity Producing Profile" (NUPP), these target profiles lead to a natural criterion for film uniformity control under wafer rotation. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.