Patent Application
20210227639
The present invention relates to a ceramic heater and a method of manufacturing the ceramic heater.
For a semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus, a ceramic heater that heats a wafer is used. A so-called two-zone heater is known as such a ceramic heater. In a heater known as this kind of two-zone heater, as disclosed in PTL 1, an inner-peripheral resistance heating element and an outer-peripheral resistance heating element are embedded in a ceramic base on the same plane, and heat generated from the resistance heating elements is separately controlled by separately applying a voltage to the resistance heating elements. Each resistance heating element includes a coil composed of high-melting-point metal such as tungsten.
PTL 1: Japanese Patent No. 3897563
However, PTL 1 has a problem in that an outer peripheral portion is likely to have temperature variance. An investigation into the causes of the problem has revealed that carbonization of a part of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element is one of the causes. That is, the outer peripheral portion is greatly affected by the temperature variance of a firing furnace when ceramics is fired, and the outer peripheral portion of the ceramic heater is likely to have a high temperature. However, a coil that is embedded in the outer peripheral portion reacts with carbon that is contained in a ceramic base and partly changes into metal carbide. In the case where a plate is stacked in a hot press furnace for firing, there are a carbon jig and mold on the outer circumference of the plate. Carbon therein enters from the outer circumference of the plate, and consequently, the carbon concentration of the outer circumference of the plate increases. For this reason, the coil at the outer circumference of the plate is likely to be carbonized. The volume resistivity of metal carbide differs from that of metal before carbonization. For this reason, the difference in the amount of heat generation is made between a metal carbide portion and the other portion when the outer-peripheral resistance heating element is energized. Consequently, temperature variance occurs at the outer peripheral portion.
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the problems, and it is a main object of the present invention to inhibit temperature variance from occurring at an outer peripheral portion.
A ceramic heater of the present invention includes:
a ceramic plate that has a wafer placement surface and that has an inner-peripheral zone having a circular shape and an outer-peripheral zone having an annular shape;
an inner-peripheral resistance heating element that is disposed in the inner-peripheral zone and that is composed of high-melting-point metal; and an outer-peripheral resistance heating element that is disposed in the outer-peripheral zone and that has at least a surface composed of metal carbide.
In the ceramic heater, the ceramic plate contains the carbon component as an impurity. An outer peripheral portion of the ceramic heater is likely to have a high temperature, and the carbon concentration thereof increases due to carbon that enters from the outer circumference. For this reason, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element that is disposed in the outer-peripheral zone is likely to be carbonized as a result of reaction with the carbon component that is contained in the ceramic plate. According to the present embodiment, however, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element has at least the surface composed of the metal carbide (the entire outer-peripheral resistance heating element may be composed of the metal carbide) and is not further carbonized. That is, the amount of heat generation of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element does not become non-uniform. Accordingly, temperature variance can be inhibited from occurring at the outer peripheral portion. The inner-peripheral resistance heating element is manufactured by using the high-melting-point metal but not by using metal carbide because metal carbide (for example, carbide of Mo or W) is very hard, and installation work when the inner-peripheral resistance heating element is embedded, and work when the inner-peripheral resistance heating element is formed (for example, a coil shape) by using a wire are difficult.
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element may be connected to respective different power supplies. This enables separate temperature control of the inner-peripheral zone and the outer-peripheral zone of the ceramic heater.
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element may be connected to each other in series and are connected to a single power supply. This enables the temperatures of the inner-peripheral zone and the outer-peripheral zone of the ceramic heater to be controlled by using the common power supply.
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the high-melting-point metal is preferably at least one kind of metal selected from a group consisting of tungsten, molybdenum, and an alloy thereof, and the metal carbide is preferably carbide of high-melting-point metal (for example, tungsten carbide or molybdenum carbide).
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, at least a portion of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element that is located at an outermost peripheral portion of the outer-peripheral zone may be composed of metal carbide. The outermost peripheral portion of the outer-peripheral zone is most likely to have a high temperature in the outer-peripheral zone. For this reason, it is significant that the portion of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element that is located at the outermost peripheral portion is manufactured by using the metal carbide.
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element preferably has a two-dimensional shape. Examples of the two-dimensional shape include a ribbon shape (a flat elongated shape) or a mesh shape. In some cases, the workability of metal carbide is poor, and it is difficult to mold into a three-dimensional shape (for example, a coil). However, the two-dimensional shape facilitates manufacturing by printing.
In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element may not include or may include a thin film composed of carbide of the high-melting-point metal on a surface. The thickness of the thin film is preferably thickness (for example, several μm) adjusted to such an extent that the characteristics of the resistance heating element composed of the high-melting-point metal are not affected.
A method of manufacturing a ceramic heater according to the present invention includes a firing step of firing a pre-firing ceramic precursor that includes an inner-peripheral resistance heating element that is embedded in an inner-peripheral zone and an outer-peripheral resistance heating element that is embedded in an outer-peripheral zone in an inert atmosphere in a condition in which at least one of a jig, a mold, and a firing furnace used for firing is composed of carbon to manufacture a ceramic plate, and a preprocessing step of preparing a resistance heating element composed of high-melting-point metal before the outer-peripheral resistance heating element is embedded in the ceramic precursor, carbonizing at least a surface of the resistance heating element composed of the high-melting-point metal to manufacture the outer-peripheral resistance heating element, and embedding the outer-peripheral resistance heating element in the ceramic precursor.
In the method of manufacturing the ceramic heater, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element is not further carbonized because there is carbon in the atmosphere in the firing step, but at least the surface of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element is carbonized.
In the method of manufacturing the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the entire resistance heating element composed of the high-melting-point metal may be carbonized in the preprocessing step.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.
The ceramic heater 10 is used to heat a wafer that is subjected to a process such as etching or CVD and is installed in a vacuum chamber not illustrated. The ceramic heater 10 includes the ceramic plate 20 that has the wafer placement surface 20a and that is discoid, and a tubular shaft 40 that is joined coaxially with the ceramic plate 20 to a surface (a back surface) 20b of the ceramic plate 20 opposite the wafer placement surface 20a.
The ceramic plate 20 is a discoid plate composed of a ceramic material, representatively, aluminum nitride or alumina. The diameter of the ceramic plate 20 is, for example, about 300 mm. The ceramic plate 20 contains a carbon component as an impurity. The reason why the ceramic plate 20 contains the carbon component is that when the ceramic plate 20 is fired, a carbon jig and mold are used, and a carbon firing furnace is used. Fine irregularities are formed on the wafer placement surface 20a of the ceramic plate 20 by an embossing process, although these are not illustrated. An imaginary boundary 20c (see
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The high-melting-point metal that is used for the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 and the metal carbide that is used for the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 are preferably selected from those having a thermal expansion coefficient close to the thermal expansion coefficient of the ceramic plate 20. For example, in the case where the ceramic plate 20 is composed of aluminum nitride, the high-melting-point metal is preferably molybdenum or tungsten, and the metal carbide is preferably molybdenum carbide or tungsten carbide. In the case where the ceramic plate 20 is composed of alumina, the high-melting-point metal is preferably a molybdenum alloy, and the metal carbide is preferably a molybdenum carbide alloy. The resistance heating elements 22 and 24 are disposed so as to detour gas holes 26 and lift pin holes 28. The inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 is manufactured by using the high-melting-point metal but not by using metal carbide because metal carbide (for example, carbide of Mo or W) is very hard, and installation work when a heater that has a coil shape is embedded is difficult.
The tubular shaft 40 is composed of ceramics such as aluminum nitride or alumina as in the ceramic plate 20. The inner diameter of the tubular shaft 40 is, for example, about 40 mm, and the outer diameter thereof is, for example, about 60 mm. The upper end of the tubular shaft 40 is diffusion-joined to the ceramic plate 20. Power supply rods 42a and 42b that are connected to the respective terminals 22a and 22b of the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 and power supply rods 44a and 44b that are connected to the respective terminals 24a and 24b of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 are disposed in the tubular shaft 40. The power supply rods 42a and 42b are connected to a first power supply 32, and the power supply rods 44a and 44b are connected to a second power supply 34. This enables separate temperature control of the inner-peripheral zone Z1 that is heated by the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 and the outer-peripheral zone Z2 that is heated by the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24. Gas supply pipes through which gas is supplied to the gas holes 26 and the lift pins that are inserted in the lift pin holes 28 are also disposed in the tubular shaft 40 although these are not illustrated.
An example of manufacturing the ceramic heater 10 will now be described.
An example of the use of the ceramic heater 10 will now be described. The ceramic heater 10 is first installed in the vacuum chamber not illustrated, and the wafer W is placed on the wafer placement surface 20a of the ceramic heater 10. The first power supply 32 adjusts power that is supplied to the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 such that the temperature of the inner-peripheral zone Z1 that is detected by an inner-peripheral thermocouple not illustrated becomes a predetermined inner-peripheral target temperature. In addition to this, the second power supply 34 adjusts power that is supplied to the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 such that the temperature of the outer-peripheral zone Z2 that is detected by an outer-peripheral thermocouple not illustrated becomes a predetermined outer-peripheral target temperature. Consequently, the temperature of the wafer W is controlled so as to be the desired temperature. Settings are adjusted such that the interior of the vacuum chamber becomes a vacuum atmosphere or a decompression atmosphere, plasma is produced in the vacuum chamber, a CVD film is formed on the wafer W by using the plasma, and etching is performed.
As for the ceramic heater 10 according to the present embodiment described above, the ceramic plate 20 contains the carbon component as an impurity. The outer peripheral portion (for example, a range from the outer peripheral edge of the ceramic plate 20 to about 30 mm) of the ceramic heater 10 is likely to have a high temperature, and the carbon concentration thereof increases due to carbon that enters from the outer circumference. For this reason, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 that is disposed in the outer-peripheral zone Z2 is likely to be carbonized as a result of reaction with the carbon component that is contained in the ceramic plate 20. According to the present embodiment, however, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 is composed of the metal carbide and is not further carbonized. That is, the amount of heat generation of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 does not become non-uniform. Accordingly, temperature variance can be inhibited from occurring at the outer peripheral portion.
The inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 are connected to respective different power supplies (the first and second power supplies 32 and 34). This enables separate temperature control of the inner-peripheral zone Z1 and the outer-peripheral zone Z2 of the ceramic heater 10.
The outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 is composed of the metal carbide. In some cases, however, the workability of metal carbide is poor, and it is difficult to mold into a three-dimensional shape (for example, a coil). According to the present embodiment, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 has a two-dimensional shape and can accordingly be readily manufactured by printing.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be carried out by various modes as long as they belong to the technical scope of the invention.
For example, according to the embodiment described above, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 are separately connected to the first and second power supplies 32 and 34. As illustrated in
According to the embodiment described above, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 is entirely manufactured by using the metal carbide. However, only the surface is manufactured by using the metal carbide, and the interior may be manufactured by using metal (for example, high-melting-point metal).
According to the embodiment described above, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 is a resistance heating element that does not include a thin film composed of carbide on a surface and that is composed of the high-melting-point metal but may be a resistance heating element that includes a thin film composed of carbide of high-melting-point metal on a surface and that is composed of the high-melting-point metal. In this case, the thickness of the thin film composed of carbide is preferably thickness (for example, several μm) adjusted to such an extent that the characteristics of the resistance heating element composed of the high-melting-point metal are not affected.
According to the embodiment described above, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 is the coil, and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 is the ribbon but these are not particularly limited thereto, and any shape may be used. For example, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 22 may have a two-dimensional shape such as a ribbon shape or a mesh shape. The outer-peripheral resistance heating element 24 may have a three-dimensional shape such as a coil shape. However, the workability of some metal carbide such as tungsten carbide is poor. In this case, a two-dimensional shape such as a ribbon shape or a mesh shape is preferably used instead of the three-dimensional shape. The reason is that the two-dimensional shape enables manufacturing by applying the paste of metal carbide by printing, and there is no problem about the workability of the metal carbide.
According to the embodiment described above, the ceramic plate 20 may contain an electrostatic electrode. In this case, the wafer W can be electrostatically sucked and held on the wafer placement surface 20a by applying a voltage to the electrostatic electrode after the wafer W is placed on the wafer placement surface 20a. The ceramic plate 20 may contain a RF electrode. In this case, a shower head, not illustrated, is disposed with a space created above the wafer placement surface 20a, and high-frequency power is supplied between parallel flat plate electrodes including the shower head and the RF electrode. In this way, plasma is produced, a CVD film can be formed on the wafer W by using the plasma, and etching can be performed. The electrostatic electrode may double as the RF electrode.
According to the embodiment described above, the outer-peripheral zone Z2 is described as a single zone but may be divided into small zones. In this case, the resistance heating elements are separately wired for every small zone. Each small zone may be formed into an annular shape by dividing the outer-peripheral zone Z2 by a boundary line concentric with the ceramic plate 20 or may be formed into a sectorial shape (a shape obtained by unfolding the side surface of a truncated cone) by dividing the outer-peripheral zone Z2 by lines radially extending from the center of the ceramic plate 20. The resistance heating elements that are wired in all of the small zones may be manufactured by using metal carbide. However, at least the resistance heating element that is wired in a small zone at the outermost circumference (a zone that can have the maximum temperature, for example, within a range from the outer peripheral edge of the ceramic plate to 30 mm) may be manufactured by using metal carbide.
According to the embodiment described above, the inner-peripheral zone Z1 is described as a single zone but may be divided into multiple small zones. In this case, the resistance heating elements are separately wired for every small zone. Each small zone may be formed into an annular shape and a circular shape by dividing the inner-peripheral zone Z1 by a boundary line concentric with the ceramic plate 20 or may be formed into a sectorial shape (a shape obtained by unfolding the side surface of a cone) by dividing the inner-peripheral zone Z1 by lines radially extending from the center of the ceramic plate 20.
In the example of manufacturing the ceramic heater 10 according to the embodiment described above, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74 is manufactured by applying the paste of the metal carbide by printing. However, a resistance heating element that has at least a surface composed of metal carbide may be embedded in the ceramic precursor 70. In this case, a resistance heating element composed of high-melting-point metal is prepared before the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74 is embedded in the ceramic precursor 70, and at least the surface of the resistance heating element (or the entire resistance heating element) is carbonized to manufacture the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74, and the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74 is embedded in the ceramic precursor 70. Also, in this case, there is carbon in the furnace in the firing process. However, since the surface of the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74 is carbonized, the outer-peripheral resistance heating element 74 is not further carbonized.
In the example of manufacturing the ceramic heater 10 according to the embodiment described above, the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 72 that is embedded in the ceramic precursor 70 may be a resistance heating element that has no carbide film and that is composed of high-melting-point metal. In this case, the inner-peripheral zone Za of the ceramic precursor 70 is unlikely to have a high temperature and is unlikely to have a high carbon concentration unlike the outer-peripheral zone Zb. For this reason, even when a carbide film is formed on the surface of the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 72 in the firing process, the thickness of the carbide film is thickness (for example, several μm) adjusted to such an extent that the characteristics of the inner-peripheral resistance heating element 72 composed of the high-melting-point metal are not affected.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-11299 filed Jan. 25, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-011299 | Jan 2019 | JP | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2020/001239 | Jan 2020 | US |
| Child | 17301627 | US |
