This invention is useful in controlling the flow of gases from a gas cylinder to a vacuum chamber where a gas-based process may occur, for example, in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, the creation of thin film coatings, and in various chemical manufacturing processes.
Many of the processes used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits are performed at sub-atmospheric pressures in dedicated systems called process chambers. These systems typically incorporate vacuum pumps to maintain a desired process pressure range under a gas load, and are coupled to a gas distribution system which supplies the gaseous chemicals required for specific processes. Such processes include deposition (CVD, PECVD, LPCVD, ALD, or PVD, for example) or ion implantation (beam line ion implantation, plasma doping ion implantation, or plasma immersion ion implantation). Gaseous chemicals are typically stored in super-atmospheric pressure cylinders, each cylinder having a dedicated pressure regulator. In certain cases, cylinders may be at sub-atmospheric pressure (as in so-called Safe Delivery System® products). Additionally, certain materials, such as organo-metallic compounds, may be sublimated or otherwise gasified from either solid or liquid materials.
Gases are typically fed into a gas distribution manifold for communication to a specific process chamber or chambers on demand. This manifold is connected to one or more outlets which contain metering valves to control the flow of gaseous material to its point of use. The characteristics of this metering valve largely determines the instantaneous downstream pressure of the process chamber. An ideal gas metering technology would enable process pressure accuracy (match of actual process pressure to user set point value), repeatability, stability, and fast response to fluctuations in upstream pressure, also an important aspect of stability.
The most common type of metering valve for many applications is the mass flow controller (MFC). MFC's are readily available in multiple flow ranges, are relatively inexpensive, and have a small footprint. Conventional MFC's regulate flow by measuring the heat transferred to a volume of gas by a heater element; they are therefore calibrated for the heat capacity of a specific gas. This technology has certain inherent limitations, particularly for low flow (e.g., 0.2 sccm to 10 sccm) and low process pressure (e.g., 0.1 milliTorr to 100 milliTorr) applications, in that it is subject to drift, and is inherently slow, so that thermally-based MFC's cannot properly adapt to fast transients in inlet pressure. Therefore, a need exists for an improved gas flow device with fast transient response and improved stability.
The invention described herein pertains to an improved method of controlling the flow of gases into a process chamber. The method incorporates a gas source, one or more pressure reduction devices, a throttle valve, a pressure gauge, and a control system. When connected to a process chamber held at sub-atmospheric pressure, the invention provides a steady flow of gas such that the stability of said flow is superior to many commercially available flow control devices.
The invention provides means to establish a well-defined pressure at the inlet of a process chamber which is actively pumped. The pressure within the process chamber is then determined by the fixed conductance of said inlet and the pumping speed of the pump, that is, there is a one-to-one correlation between inlet pressure and process chamber pressure. Thus, pressure instabilities in the process chamber will be minimized if the inlet pressure is stable. Conversely, if inlet pressure is not stable, the process chamber pressure will likely not be stable. The goal of this invention is therefore to produce a stable inlet pressure.
In one embodiment, shown in
Downstream of G3 may be a fixed conductance C2. C2 couples directly to the inlet conductance C of the process chamber. Thus, the novel gas flow device is comprised of the assembly of elements C1, V2, G3, C2, and a control system, as illustrated in
By selecting appropriate values of conductances C1 and C2, a broad range of process chamber pressures can be produced. Thus, we define four pressure values:
A goal of this invention is to produce a stable and well-defined pressure P3. This is accomplished through closed-loop control of throttle valve V2 by downstream pressure gauge G3, in the following manner:
Once the delivery pressure from the gas source P1 and the desired process chamber pressure P5 are given, and the actively pumped process chamber inlet conductance C and the volumetric flow of process gas Q is known, then the appropriate pressure value of P2, and the pressure ranges of P3 and P4 can be calculated. These calculations will determine the appropriate values of C1 and C2. C1 and C2 can be readily tailored for different ranges of P1 and P5, so that the same basic flow control architecture can be preserved for a number discrete pressure ranges. That is, C1 is selected to adjust the (static) gas source pressure, while C2 is selected to adjust the (static) inlet pressure to the process chamber. The dynamic range of the novel gas flow device is therefore determined by the dynamic range of V2. We note that we can choose high values of C1 or C2 (i.e., as though there were no pressure reducers C1 or C2) if conditions so demand. A given set of values C1 and C2 simply determine the dynamic range of pressure delivered to conductance C of the process chamber, P4.
The following examples serve to illustrate the utility of the invention, and are not meant to provide exact values for the several variables discussed. The effects of turbulence, viscous versus molecular flow, and transitions between flow regimes will depend on the properties and geometries of the components which are selected to perform the described functions of C1, C2, V2, and indeed how they are physically coupled.
Example 1: An implanter ion source receiving a volumetric flow of process gas of 2 sccm at an ion source pressure of 1 mTorr. The gas inlet to the ion source is a long thin pipe with a conductance C of 5×10−2 L/s. Gas source is high-pressure cylinder regulated down to 5 psig.
C=Q/(P4−P5) (1)
to determine P4 from a known C and Q. Thus,
P4=Q/C+P5. (2)
For such a small conductance C, the pressure drop is substantial, so that P5<<P4. Thus,
P4˜Q/C. (3)
Therefore, P4 is about 0.5 Torr. Choosing a finite value of C2 will only serve to increase the operating pressure of V2. For this example, assume that C2 is large, so that P3˜P4. This embodiment is shown in
If V2 is a throttle valve with a useful dynamic range of 20, then P2 (the inlet pressure to V2) can be between about 10 Torr and 0.5 Torr. This range is somewhat dependent on the finite conductance of V2 in its fully open position, but we note that in practice, the conductance dynamic range of V2 can be accurately measured.
With the range of P2 thus defined, C1 is required to reduce the pressure from 5 psig (approximately 1000 Torr) to approximately 5 Torr (the middle of V2's useful control range for P2). This factor of 200 in pressure reduction can be accomplished by either a variable-conductance valve, for example if adjustability is required, or a fixed pressure reducer, such as a long thin pipe as shown in
Using the form of Equation (1), we find that the required conductance for C1 is:
C1=Q/(P1−P2). (4)
Inserting the values Q=2.5×10−2 Torr-L/s, P1=1000 Torr, and P2=5 Torr, we have
C1˜2.5×10−5 L/s. (5)
Example 2: Implanter ion source receiving a volumetric flow of process gas of 0.2 sccm with ion source pressure of 1 mTorr. The gas inlet to the source is a long thin pipe with a conductance of 5×10−2 L/s. Gas source is sub-atmospheric gas cylinder providing a delivery pressure of 500 Torr.
This example is similar to Example 1 except for the sub-atmospheric delivery pressure of the gas source and the volumetric flow, so we will use embodiment 2 of
P4=P3˜Q/C (6)
P3=50 mTorr. (7)
If V2 is a throttle valve with a useful dynamic range of 20, then P2 can be between about 1 Torr and 50 mTorr. Thus, we choose P2 to be centered about the useful range of V2:
P2=0.5 Torr. (8)
Again using Equation (1), we find that the required conductance for C1 is:
C1=Q/(P1−P2). (9)
Inserting the values Q=2.5×10−3 Torr-L/s, P1=500 Torr, and P2=0.5 Torr, we have
C1˜5×10−6 L/s. (10)
Example 3: An alternative solution to example 2 can be realized by using embodiment 1 to insert a finite conductance between throttle valve V2 and chamber conductance C, which raises the required inlet pressure P2 calculated in example 2 above. From example 2 above, we have:
C2=1×10−4 L/s, (11)
P3=25 Torr. (12)
Thus, V2 can operate from about 25 Torr to about 500 Torr. Selecting the approximate midpoint of this pressure range,
P2=250 Torr. (13)
To calculate the required conductance C1 between the gas source and V2,
C1=Q/(P1−P2). (14)
Inserting these values yields
C1=1×10−5 L/s. (15)
Thus, we see that in this example, incorporating a finite conductance C2<C increases the required conductance of C1.
Example 4: Process chamber receiving a volumetric flow of process gas of 100 sccm at a process pressure of 100 mTorr. The process chamber gas inlet has a conductance of 0.5 L/s.
P3=P4. (16)
We calculate the expected values of P3, P2, and C1:
From Eq. (2), P3=Q/C+P5.
Substituting the values above,
P3=2.7 Torr. (16)
If we select a throttle valve V2 with a dynamic range of at least 20, then P2 should be in the approximate range 2 Torr to 40 Torr. With the range of P2 thus defined, V1 is required to reduce the pressure from 5 psig (approximately 1000 Torr) to approximately 20 Torr (in the middle of the useful control range for P2). This factor of 50 in pressure reduction can be accomplished by either a variable-conductance valve, for example if adjustability is required, or a fixed pressure reducer, such as a round pipe with entrance and exit apertures, as shown in
C1=Q/(P1−P2). (18)
Inserting the values Q=1.3 Torr-L/s, P2=20 Torr, and P1=1000 Torr, we have
C1˜1.3×10−3L/s. (19)
These and other advantages of the present invention will be readily understood with reference to the following specification and attached drawing wherein:
The invention described herein pertains to an improved method of controlling the flow of gases into a process chamber. The method incorporates a gas source, one or more pressure reduction devices, a throttle valve, a pressure gauge, and a control system. When connected to a process chamber held at sub-atmospheric pressure, the invention provides a steady flow of gas such that the stability of said flow is superior to many commercially available flow control devices.
Referring now to
Also now referring to
Downstream of gas source 110, pressure P1 is further reduced to a pressure P2 by pressure reduction device C1116. Depending on how C1116 is configured, P2 may be between 1 Torr and 100 Torr, for example. Downstream of P2 is an electrically-adjustable metering or throttle valve V2118. V2118 is selected to be a high-conductance valve having a dynamic range of between 3 and 100, for example; that is, when in a flow condition, V2118 will reduce P2 by between 3 and 100 times to a pressure P3. Downstream of V2118 is a pressure gauge G3120. G3120 is selected to measure pressure P3 with excellent reproducibility and low signal-to-noise ratio.
Thus, G3120 can be selected to provide optimized performance for the useful pressure range of P3. The output signal of G3120 is interpreted by control system 124 to adjust the conductance of V2118, as further described below:
The output of gas flow device 112 establishes a pressure P4 at the inlet of a process chamber 114. The process chamber can be one of various configurations, and in
In certain cases, said process chamber 114 is a plasma chamber, and the substrate or wafer to be processed is located elsewhere. The plasma from said process chamber 114 may be communicated to a vacuum chamber located elsewhere, which contains the wafers or substrates to be processed. Such a case includes a beam line ion implanter, wherein said vacuum chamber 133 includes an ion source, as shown in
Typically, transport magnet 213 disperses ion beam 219 according to the mass-to-charge ratio of the ions, such that unwanted ions can be prevented from reaching the wafer or substrate 215 by a simple aperture plate located between transport magnet 213 and wafer or substrate 215.
The gas pressure within ionization chamber 205 is typically between 0.1 mTorr and 10 mTorr, depending on the type of ion source used by the ion implanter. In certain cases, however, the pressure may be substantially higher or lower. Although the pressure within the ionization chamber 205 of the ion source is in the milliTorr range, the pressure within the surrounding vacuum chamber 217 is typically at least an order of magnitude lower. This reduced pressure is meant to preserve the ion beam during transport, and also to maintain high electric fields without unwanted electrical discharges.
Other forms of this invention are possible, and the embodiments described herein are intended to explain the basic operating principles and utility of the invention, but do not preclude other embodiments not described.
What is claimed and desired to be covered by a Letters Patent is as follows:
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/629,058, filed on Nov. 12, 2011, entitled Gas Flow Device.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61629058 | Nov 2011 | US |