Lam Research Corporation
Turbomolecular pump deposition control and particle management

Abstract:

A gas pump and processes for preparing the gas pump are presented. The gas pump includes a bottom Holweck stage with internal heaters for cleaning deposits resulting from exhausting gases from a semiconductor manufacturing chamber. One example gas pump includes a turbomolecular stage on a top section of the gas pump and a Holweck stage below the turbomolecular stage. The Holweck stage comprises a rotor element, a stator element with an opening in the center, and one or more heaters. The opening has a substantially cylindrical shape and an inside surface with a plurality of grooves separated by threads. Each heater is situated on a surface of one of the plurality of grooves. The heaters may be turned on to clean the deposits accumulated on the gas pump during the processing of a substrate.