Characterization, modeling, and design of an electrostatic chuck with improved wafer temperature uniformity

An electrostatic chuck (ESC) provides increased temperature uniformity and adjustment capability of the surface of a wafer or wafer-like workpiece during processing, for example, in an electron-cyclotron-resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) reactor. Temperature uniformity is achieved through an improved pattern of grooves in the face of the ESC which allows an inert gas to be contained between the ESC and a wafer held thereby even at high levels of vacuum. The ESC is adapted for a particular desired temperature range by choice of surface roughness of the remaining areas of the face of the ESC. Adjustability within that range is achieved by variation of the electrostatic voltage by which a wafer is held against the chuck face.