Patent Grant
11272579
The present application is the national phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2017/020545, filed on Jun. 2, 2017, which claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-120806, filed on Jun. 17, 2016, and the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The present invention relates to heat generating components for keeping a temperature of an object to be heated uniform.
In recent years, a dry method which is carried out under vacuum or reduced pressure, such as dry etching or the like, is often adopted for microfabrication of a wafer in a semiconductor producing process. In the dry etching using plasma, there is heat input from the plasma to the wafer. Since wafer temperature affects the etching rate, if there is unevenness in temperature distribution in the wafer, etching depth varies. Therefore, a heater unit is placed below the wafer and in-plane temperature of the wafer is kept uniform, as described in Patent Literatures 1 to 3.
There are various methods for manufacturing a heater in a part of a semiconductor producing apparatus, and thermal spraying is one method. According to the thermal spraying, a coating having a thin and uniform thickness is obtained, and the degree of freedom for design is also high. In the case of forming a heater by the thermal spraying, tungsten (W) which is a metal having a high melting point is often used as a thermal spray material, as described in Patent Literatures 1 to 3.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2002-043033
[Patent Literature 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-170509
[Patent Literature 3] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2016-027601
The present inventors noticed that characteristics of a heater composed of a thermal sprayed coating formed by using tungsten as a thermal spray material varied from the initial one while using the heater many times. Experiments were conducted to investigate the cause. As a result, it turned out that when the thermal sprayed coating formed by using tungsten as the thermal spray material was maintained at a high temperature condition of about 300° C. for a long time, oxidation of tungsten proceeded, and when returned to room temperature, volume resistivity was changed compared with before rising temperature. There is a problem that when the volume resistivity of the heater changes, temperature control for an object to be heated does not become accurate and when change in the volume resistivity partially occurs, uniformity of the temperature distribution is impaired.
In view of the problems of conventional technologies, the present invention has an object of providing a heat generating component in which the volume resistivity hardly changes even if used repeatedly at a high temperature for a long period of time.
The inventors of the present invention have conducted various experiments to find an alternative material to tungsten, and resultantly found that a thermal sprayed coating containing special titanium oxide is hard to change in volume resistivity even if used repeatedly at a high temperature for a long period of time, leading to the solution of the problem.
That is, the heat generating component of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a substrate part; and a thin coating heater part formed on the substrate part, wherein the above-described thin coating heater part comprises a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied).
When the thin coating heater part is formed by using titanium dioxide (TiO2), it is difficult to treat the heater part as a heater because of too high volume resistivity. On the other hand, although titanium metal can be utilized as a material for a heater, there is a concern that the volume resistivity of the heater varies when used repeatedly at a high temperature for a long period of time. However, when the thin coating heater part comprises a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied), that is, titanium oxide in which the ratio of the number of oxygen atoms to the number of titanium atoms is less than 2, the volume resistivity which is suitably used for a heater is obtained, and the volume resistivity varies less even if kept at high temperature region for a long period of time.
It is preferable that the thermal sprayed coating contains Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) and Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied). It is more preferable that a total amount by mass of the Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) is larger than a total amount by mass of the Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied), in the above-described thermal sprayed coating.
A width of the thin coating heater part is preferably 1-20 mm. A thickness of the thin coating heater part is preferably 30-1000 μm. An interline distance of the thin coating heater part is preferably 0.5-50 mm.
The constitution of the heat generating component according to the present invention is not limited. It is possible to adopt a constitution in which a ceramic insulating layer is provided on the thin coating heater part, for example.
According to the present invention, the heat generating component is provided with the substrate part and the thin coating heater part formed on the substrate part. Since this thin coating heater part comprises a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied), that is, titanium oxide in which the ratio of the number of oxygen atoms to the number of titanium atoms is less than 2, it is possible to give volume resistivity which is suitably used for a heater and to make it difficult to change the volume resistivity even if predetermined temperature change and temperature keeping are repeated.
First, a substrate part 12 having an insulating surface is prepared, and a thermal spray material is thermally sprayed on the surface of the substrate part 12 under predetermined conditions to form a thin coating heater part 13. A pattern of the thin coating heater part 13 may be produced by previously masking the surface of the substrate part 12 in the form of the pattern and then, thermally spraying the material on the entire surface thereof, or may be produced by previously thermally spraying the material on the entire surface of the substrate part 12, masking a surface of a thermal sprayed coating in the form of the pattern and then, removing unnecessary thermal sprayed coating by machining or blasting.
After forming the thin coating heater part 13, an insulating material such as Al2O3 or the like is thermally sprayed to form an insulating layer 14 covering the surface of the substrate part 12 and the entire surface of the thin coating heater part 13.
This results in a heat generating component 11 having the substrate part 12 and the thin coating heater part 13 patterned on the substrate part 12, in which they are covered with the insulating layer 14. The object to be heated by the thin coating heater part 13 may be heated via the substrate part 12 or may be heated via the insulating layer 14.
The thin coating heater part 13 has a specific resistance value which is usable for a heater. Terminals and lead wires 15, 16 are attached to both end portions of the thin coating heater part 13, and an object placed on the substrate part 12 or the insulating layer 14 can be heated by passing electric current through the thin coating heater part 13 by applying a predetermined voltage.
The composition of the insulating layer 14 is not particularly limited. Oxide-based ceramics such as Al2O3, Y2O3, ZrO2, and the like are suitable. The insulating layer 14 may be formed by a thermal spraying method or a method other than the thermal spraying method.
The thin coating heater part 13 is composed of the thermal sprayed coating. In the case of the thermal spraying method, the thin coating can be formed with high accuracy and uniformly without being limited by the size and shape of the substrate. As a method for obtaining special titanium oxide contained in the thin coating heater part 13, which will be described later, a thermal spraying method is suitable. The type of the thermal spraying method is not particularly limited. The thermal spraying method here also includes a so-called cold spray method.
The shape of the substrate part 12 is not particularly limited, and is a plate shape, a bowl shape, a column shape, a cylindrical shape, a tapered shape, or the like. That is, the surface of the substrate part 12 may be flat or curved. Also, if the inside of the substrate part 12 is hollowed out like a cylindrical shape, the thin coating heater part 13 may be formed on the outer surface or the inner surface of the substrate part 12.
The substrate part 12 may be an insulating component made of ceramics, quartz glass, or the like. Additionally, the substrate 12 may be a conductive component such as an aluminum-based alloy, a titanium-based alloy, a copper-based alloy, a stainless steel, or the like, of which surface is covered with an insulating coating. The insulating coating does not need to cover all of the conductive components and may cover at least a surface on which the thin coating heater part 13 is to be formed. Further, the surface of the insulating component made of ceramics, quartz glass, or the like may be covered with another insulating coating.
The substrate part 12 may further have a water cooling structure. Thereby, a temperature of the substrate part is fixed and it becomes easier to control a temperature of the thin coating heater part 13. When the substrate part 12 has the water cooling structure, it is preferable to use a material having low thermal conductivity such as yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) or the like for the insulating coating covering the surface of the conductive component.
In
A thickness t of the thin coating heater part 13 (see
A width s in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the thin coating heater part 13 is preferable in the range of 1-20 mm. When the width s of the thin coating heater part 13 is 1 mm or more, it is possible to reduce the possibility of breakage. When the width s is 20 mm or less, it is possible to prevent generation of peeling of the insulating layer 14 formed on the thin coating heater part 13.
An interline distance d of the thin coating heater part 13 is preferably in the range of 0.5-50 mm. When the interline distance d of the thin coating heater part 13 is 0.5 mm or more, it is possible to avoid short circuit. When the interline distance d is 50 mm or less, it is possible to more suppress unevenness in the temperature distribution.
The thermal sprayed coating constituting the thin coating heater part 13 is porous, and its average porosity is preferably in the range of 1-10%. When the porosity is less than 1%, the influence of the residual stress existing in the coating becomes larger and there is a possibility that it is likely to break. When the porosity is more than 10%, various gases tend to enter pores and durability of the coating may decrease. An average porosity can be obtained by observing the cross section of the thermal sprayed coating with an optical microscope, binarizing the observed image, treating black region inside the coating as pore parts, and calculating the ratio of the area of the black region occupied in the entire region.
The thin coating heater part 13 essentially contains TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied), that is, titanium oxide in which the ratio of the number of oxygen atoms to the number of titanium atoms is less than 2. Preferably, the thin coating heater part 13 contains the TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) as a main component. The “main component” as used herein refers to the component most frequently contained on a mass basis. Specific examples of the TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) include TiO, Ti2O, Ti3O, Ti2O3, and the like. The thin coating heater part 13 may contain any of these compounds singly or may contain a mixture of a plurality thereof.
The thin coating heater part 13 is preferably composed of a thermal sprayed coating containing Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) and Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied). The Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) includes, for example, TiO, Ti2O, Ti3O and the like, and the Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied) includes, for example, TiO2, Ti2O3 and the like. Thus, even if kept at a high temperature for a long period of time, the change in composition is reduced and the change in volume resistivity can be suppressed. As a result, stability as a heater increases. More preferably, the thin coating heater part 13 is composed of a thermal sprayed coating consisting of Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied), Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied), and inevitable impurities. Further preferably, the thin coating heater part 13 is composed of a thermal sprayed coating consisting of Tix1Oy1 (where, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) and the inevitable impurities.
When the thin coating heater part 13 is composed of a thermal sprayed coating containing Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) and Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied), it is preferable that the total amount by mass of Tix1Oy1 (wherein, 0<y1/x1<1.5 is satisfied) is larger than the total amount by mass of Tix2Oy2 (wherein, 1.5≤y2/x2≤2.0 is satisfied). Thus, the volume resistivity of the thin coating heater part 13 does not become too high, and it is possible to save power consumption. Even if kept at a high temperature for a long period of time, the change in composition is less. Even if the change in composition occurs, the volume resistivity within the range usable for a heater is easily maintained.
The thin coating heater part 13 is suitably prepared by a thermal spraying method using Ti powder or a mixture of the Ti powder and TiO2 powder as a thermal spray material. Even if a thermal spray material consisting of titanium powder is used, oxidation of titanium proceeds by high heat of flame and oxygen in the air depending on the thermal spraying method. Therefore, a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2 is satisfied) can be formed. It is also possible to finely adjust the ratio of Ti to O in the thermal sprayed coating by changing thermal spraying methods or thermal spraying conditions.
If the thin coating heater part 13 is constituted of a thermal sprayed coating consisting of TiO2, the volume resistivity is too high as described later, hence, it is difficult to treat it as a heater. In contrast, when the thin coating heater part 13 is constituted of a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied), that is, titanium oxide in which the ratio of the number of oxygen atoms to the number of titanium atoms is less than 2, proper volume resistivity is obtained, and excellent functions as the thin coating heater part 13 can be exterted. Further, even if the thin coating heater part 13 having such a composition is exposed to a high-temperature environment for a long period of time, the volume resistivity hardly varies, thus, stability as a heater is excellent.
Hereinafter, shown are experimental results obtained by measuring the volume resistivity of each titanium oxide coating according to the present invention and tungsten coating conventionally employed as a heater.
A titanium oxide coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) was formed by a thermal spraying method to give a sample as Sample A. Firstly, an Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Secondly, a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Ti powder as a raw material. Details of composition of the thermal sprayed coating are as shown in the following Table 1. Finally, a Y2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on the thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Y2O3 powder as a raw material.
A tungsten coating was formed by a thermal spraying method to give a sample as Sample B. Firstly, an Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Secondly, a tungsten coating having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using tungsten powder as a raw material. Finally, a Y2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on the tungsten coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Y2O3 powder as a raw material.
For Sample A, temperature rise from room temperature to 300° C. and cooling were repeated as follows, and the volume resistivity (Ω·cm) at each temperature during temperature rise was measured by the Four-terminal method. The measurement results are shown in
First time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 3 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Second time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 3 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Third time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 3 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Fourth time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 3 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Fifth time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 18 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Sixth time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 70 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
For Sample B, temperature rise from room temperature to 300° C. and cooling were repeated as follows, and the volume resistivity (Ω·cm) at each temperature during temperature rise was measured by the Four-terminal method. The measurement results are shown in
First time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 3 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Second time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 7 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Third time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 20 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
Fourth time:
Temperature was raised from room temperature to 300° C. and kept for 70 hours. Then, it was left until reaching room temperature.
For Sample B as shown in
On the other hand, for Sample A as shown in
It was confirmed from the above that by using the thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) according to the present invention as a thin coating heater part, obtained is a stable heat generating component that hardly shows the change in volume resistivity at both room temperature and raised temperatures.
For further comparison, a TiO2 coating was formed by a thermal spraying method to give a sample as Sample C. Firstly, an Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Secondly, a TiO2 coating having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using TiO2 powder as a raw material. Finally, a Y2O3 coating having a thickness of 300 μm was formed on the TiO2 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Y2O3 powder as a raw material. In addition, a Ti bulk substrate having a thickness of 150 μm was prepared as Sample D.
Each thin coating heater part 13 of Sample C and Sample D was heated to 300° C. and kept at this temperature for 100 hours thereafter.
In addition, in order to investigate composition of the thin coating heater part before heating and after heating at 300° C. for 100 hours in each of Samples A to D, compositional analysis was carried out using an X-ray diffractometer. Tables 1 and 2 show the composition at room temperature directly after thermal spraying and the composition after heating at 300° C. for 100 hours for each thermal sprayed coating. In order to evaluate suitability for a heater, the volume resistivity (Ω·cm) of the thin coating heater part after heating at 300° C. for 100 hours was measured by the Four-terminal method also for Sample C and Sample D. As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the followings were confirmed. For the thermal sprayed coating (Sample A) obtained by thermally spraying titanium powder, the compositional percentage was in the range of TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) even when keeping at a high temperature was repeated. Whereas for the thermal sprayed coating (Sample B) obtained by thermally spraying tungsten powder, tungsten oxide (W3O8) was generated due to repetition of keeping at a high temperature. This tungsten oxide (W3O8) is believed to have influenced the change in volume resistivity.
It was clarified from the above that when formed on the substrate part 12 of the heat generating component 11 is the thin coating heater part 13 by using the thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied), it is possible to give the thin coating heater part 13 the volume resistivity which is suitably used for a heater and to make it difficult to change the volume resistivity of the thin coating heater part 13 even if keeping at a high temperature is repeated.
As other examples of the present invention, the following Samples E to H were further prepared.
Sample E:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, the distance from a thermal spray nozzle to the substrate part was set to 135 mm, and a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Ti powder as a raw material.
Sample F:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, the distance from a thermal spray nozzle to the substrate part was set to 220 mm, and a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Ti powder as a raw material.
Sample G:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, the distance from a thermal spray nozzle to the substrate part was set to 360 mm, and a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Ti powder as a raw material.
Sample H:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, the distance from a thermal spray nozzle to the substrate part was set to 500 mm, and a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Ti powder as a raw material.
Table 3 and
As shown in Table 3 and
As other examples of the present invention, the following Samples I to K were further prepared.
Sample I:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using mixed powder of Ti and TiO2 (Ti/TiO2=75/25 (mass ratio)) as a raw material.
Sample J:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using mixed powder of Ti and TiO2 (Ti/TiO2=50/50 (mass ratio)) as a raw material.
Sample K:
An Al2O3 coating having a thickness of 450 μm was formed on an aluminum substrate by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. Subsequently, a thermal sprayed coating containing TixOy (wherein, 0<y/x<2.0 is satisfied) having a thickness of 150 μm was formed on the Al2O3 coating by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method, using mixed powder of Ti and TiO2 (Ti/TiO2=25/75 (mass ratio)) as a raw material.
Table 4 and
As shown in Table 4 and
The thin coating heater part 13 is designed so that a thickness t, a line width s, a length and a volume resistivity are decided, according to the required output to adjust a temperature of an object to be heated, to obtain a prescribed resistance value. A standard of the volume resistivity used for a heater is 1.0×10−4-1.0×10−2 Ω·cm. However, since there are practically variations in forming the thin coating heater part 13, there may be cases where the resistance value does not become as designed. In particular, the thickness t and the line width s are important. When the thickness t and the line width s are locally increased, the resistance value of that portion decreases, making it difficult to generate heat, so that a temperature of a part of the object to be heated may become low.
In such a case, after the thin coating heater part 13 is formed, a portion where the resistance value becomes low is detected, and then, a part of the thin coating heater part 13 may be scraped off to modify the thickness t and the line width s so that the resistance value falls within a predetermined range. That is, the thickness t and the line width s of the thin coating heater part 13 may not be uniform, and there may be a cutout portion in some part. As another method for improving temperature uniformity, a thermal diffusing plate may be provided on the thin coating heater part 13 so as to reduce temperature unevenness.
The heat generating component of the present invention is suitably used for, for example, a device for investigating high temperature characteristics of electronic components and the like, a temperature control component in a plasma processing apparatus described later, and the like.
A side surface of the electrostatic chuck 25 is covered with a covering layer 38 composed of an Al2O3 coating formed by thermal spraying so that influence of the plasma does not reach the inside of the electrostatic chuck 25.
In the electrostatic chuck 25, a gas pore 39 penetrating in the vertical direction is formed, and the gas pore 39 is connected to a cooling groove (not shown) formed on a surface of the dielectric layer 37. For example, helium gas is introduced between the wafer 27 and the electrostatic chuck 25 through the gas pore 39. Since pressure in the vacuum chamber 20 is reduced, thermal conductivity from the wafer 27 to the electrostatic chuck 25 is low. By introducing gas between the wafer 27 and the electrostatic chuck 25, the wafer 27 conducts heat to the electrostatic chuck 25, thereby ensuring effect of cooling the wafer 27.
The first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b are adapted to generate heat by energization. The first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b are formed by the same method and have the same composition as for the thin coating heater part 13 shown in the embodiment 1. A first power supplying pin 40 for supplying power to the first thin coating heater part 23a is electrically connected to the first thin coating heater part 23a through the base stand part 32 and the first insulating layer 33, and output to the first thin coating heater part 23a is adjusted. A second power supplying pin 41 for supplying power to the second thin coating heater part 23b is electrically connected to the second thin coating heater part 23b through the base stand part 32 and the first insulating layer 33, and output to the second thin coating heater part 23b is adjusted. A third power supplying pin 43 for supplying power to the electrode part 36 is electrically connected to the electrode part 36 through the base stand part 32, the first insulating layer 33 and the second insulating layer 35, and application of voltage to the electrode part 36 is adjusted. In the base stand part 32, a cooling path 42 through which a refrigerant passes is formed so that the base stand part 32 is cooled by the refrigerant passed through the cooling path 42.
A material constituting the base stand part 32 is not limited, and for example, adopted are metals such as aluminum-based alloy, titanium-based alloy, copper-based alloy, stainless steel and the like, ceramics such as AN, SiC and the like, composite materials of these metals and ceramics, and the like. A temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the cooling path 42 of the base stand part 32 is −20-200° C. The temperature of the refrigerant is adjusted according to cooling speed for the wafer 27 and the focus ring 26, and according to heating ability of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b.
The first insulating layer 33 formed on the surface of the base stand part 32 is composed of an Al2O3 coating formed by thermal spraying. The first insulating layer 33 insulates between the base stand part 32 and the first thin coating heater part 23a, and between the base stand part 32 and the second thin coating heater part 23b. The second insulating layer 35 formed on the surface of the first insulating layer 33 so as to cover the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b is composed of an Al2O3 coating formed by thermal spraying. The second insulating layer 35 insulates between the first thin coating heater part 23a and the electrode part 36. Each of a thickness of the first insulating layer 33 and a thickness of the second insulating layer 35 is 50-400 μm. By changing the thickness and the material of each of the first insulating layer 33 and the second insulating layer 35, heat removing efficiency by the first insulating layer 33 and the second insulating layer 35 can be controlled.
When the thickness of the first insulating layer 33 and the thickness of the second insulating layer 35 are made smaller and the material having a larger thermal conductance is used, the heat removing efficiency can be heightened. When the heat removing efficiency is heightened, the cooling speed for the wafer 27 and the focus ring 26 rises. On the other hand, if the first insulating layer 33 becomes thinner, the base stand part 32 easily takes heat of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b. Hence, it is necessary to increase the output of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b. When the thickness of the first insulating layer 33 and the thickness of the second insulating layer 35 are made larger and the material having a smaller thermal conductance is used, the heat removing efficiency can be lowered. Representative one having a small thermal conductance is PSZ (partially stabilized zirconia). When the heat removing efficiency is lowered, the cooling speed for the wafer 27 and the focus ring 26 falls. On the other hand, if the first insulating layer 33 becomes thicker or the material having a smaller thermal conductance is used, it becomes difficult for the base stand part 32 to take heat of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b. Hence, necessity to increase the output of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b disappears. For example, when the cooling speed for the wafer 27 and the focus ring 26 is too high, the thickness of the first insulating layer 33 and the thickness of the second insulating layer 35 may be increased, and the material having a small thermal conductance may be used. In this case, it is possible to reduce the maximum output of the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b.
The electrode part 36 formed on the surface of the second insulating layer 35 is composed of tungsten coating formed by thermal spraying. By applying voltage to the electrode part 36, the electrostatic chuck 25 adsorbs the wafer 27. The dielectric layer 37 formed on the surface of the second insulating layer 35 so as to cover the electrode part 36 is composed of an Al2O3 coating formed by thermal spraying. A thickness of the electrode part 36 is 30-100 μm and a thickness of the dielectric layer 37 is 50-400 μm.
The Al2O3 coatings constituting the first insulating layer 33, the second insulating layer 35, and the dielectric layer 37 are those formed on the surface of the base stand part 32, the surface of the first insulating layer 33, and the surface of the second insulating layer 35, respectively, by an atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method using Al2O3 powder as a raw material. The tungsten coating constituting the electrode part 36 is one formed on the surface of the second insulating layer 35 by the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method using tungsten powder as a raw material. The thermal spraying method for forming the Al2O3 coating and the tungsten coating is not limited to the atmospheric plasma thermal spraying method but may be a low-pressure plasma thermal spraying method, a water stabilized plasma thermal spraying method, or a high-speed or low-speed flame thermal spraying method.
It is preferable to adopt thermal spraying powder having a particle size in the range of 5-80 μm. When the particle size is too small, fluidity of the powder is lowered and stable supply is impossible. As a result, the thickness of the coating tends to be ununiform. On the other hand, when the particle size is too large, the coating is formed without complete melting of the powder and becomes excessively porous. As a result, coating quality becomes coarse.
The sum of the thicknesses of the respective thermal sprayed coatings constituting the first insulating layer 33, the first or second thin coating heater part 23a, 23b, the second insulating layer 35, the electrode part 36, and the dielectric layer 37 is preferably in the range of 200-1500 μm, more preferably in the range of 300-1000 μm. When the sum is less than 200 μm, uniformity of each of the thermal sprayed coatings decreases and coating function cannot be exhibited sufficiently. When the sum is more than 1500 μm, influence of the residual stress in each of the thermal sprayed coatings becomes large and the coating may be easily broken.
Each of the above-mentioned thermal sprayed coatings is porous, and its average porosity is preferably in the range of 1-10%. The average porosity can be adjusted by the thermal spraying methods or thermal spraying conditions. When the average porosity is less than 1%, the influence of the residual stress in each of the thermal sprayed coatings becomes large and there is a fear that the coating may be easily broken. When the average porosity is more than 10%, various gases used in a semiconductor producing process become easy to penetrate into each of the thermal sprayed coatings and there is a possibility that durability is lowered.
In the above examples, Al2O3 is adopted as the material of each of the thermal sprayed coatings constituting the first insulating layer 33, the second insulating layer 35, the dielectric layer 37 and the covering layer 38, but other oxide-based ceramics, nitride-based ceramics, fluoride-based ceramics, carbide-based ceramics, boride-based ceramics, or compounds or mixtures containing them, may be adopted. Among them, the oxide-based ceramics, the nitride-based ceramics, the fluoride-based ceramics, or the compounds containing them are suitable.
The oxide-based ceramics are stable in an oxygen-based plasma used in a plasma etching process and exhibit relatively satisfactory plasma resistance even in a chlorine-based plasma. Due to high hardness of the nitride-based ceramics, damage by friction with the wafer is small, and wear powder and the like are unlikely to be generated. In addition, since the nitride-based ceramics have a relatively high thermal conductivity, it is easy to control a temperature of the wafer during processing. The fluoride-based ceramics are stable in a fluorine-based plasma and can exhibit excellent plasma resistance.
Specific examples of the oxide-based ceramics other than Al2O3 include TiO2, SiO2, Cr2O3, ZrO2, Y2O3, MgO, and CaO. Examples of the nitride-based ceramics include TiN, TaN, AlN, BN, Si3N4, HfN, NbN, YN, ZrN, Mg3N2, and Ca3N2. Examples of the fluoride-based ceramics include LiF, CaF2, BaF2, YF3, AlF3, ZrF4, and MgF2. Examples of the carbide-based ceramics include TiC, WC, TaC, B4C, SiC, HfC, ZrC, VC, and Cr3C2. Examples of the boride-based ceramics include TiB2, ZrB2, HfB2, VB2, TaB2, NbB2, W2B5, CrB2, and LaB6.
For the first insulating layer 33 and the second insulating layer 35, materials simultaneously satisfying required thermal conductivity and insulating property are particularly suitable among the above-described materials. For the dielectric layer 37, materials simultaneously having thermal conductivity, dielectric property, plasma resistance, and wear resistance are particularly suitable among the above-described materials. It is better that the thermal conductivity of a dielectric layer is higher.
The first thin coating heater part 23a shown in
The first thin coating heater part 23a is wired in a narrow elongated shape with a line width s of 1-20 mm. The line width s of the first thin coating heater part 23a is preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or less. An adhesion force of the second insulating layer 35 to the first thin coating heater part 23a is smaller than that to the first insulating layer 33. Therefore, when the line width s of the first thin coating heater part 23a is longer than 20 mm and the exposure range of the first insulating layer 33 is reduced, there occurs a possibility of peeling of the second insulating layer 35 on the first thin coating heater part 23a. On the other hand, when the line width s is shorter than 1 mm, there becomes a high possibility of disconnection. Hence, the line width s of the first thin coating heater part 23a is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 2 mm or more.
An interline distance d of the first thin coating heater part 23a is preferably 0.5 mm or more, more preferably 1 mm or more. When the interline distance d of the first thin coating heater part 23a is too short, it will be short-circuited. The adhesion force of the second insulating layer 35 to the first thin coating heater part 23a is smaller than that to the first insulating layer 33. Therefore, when the interline distance d of the first thin coating heater part 23a is short and the exposure range of the first insulating layer 33 is reduced, there occurs a possibility of peeling of the second insulating layer 35 on the first thin coating heater part 23a. On the other hand, when the interline distance d becomes too long, an area heated by the first thin coating heater part 23a decreases and there is a possibility that uniformity of the temperature distribution is impaired. Hence, the interline distance d of the first thin coating heater part 23a is preferably 50 mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or less.
The first thin coating heater part 23a may be composed of an internal heater part 23d and an external heater part 23f located outside thereof as shown in
As described above, the number of components constituting the first thin coating heater part 23a is not limited. Depending on the region to be heated, the first thin coating heater part 23a may be constituted of one component as shown in
A line width s of the second thin coating heater part 23b is preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 10 mm or less because of the same reason as for the first thin coating heater part 23a. The line width s of the second thin coating heater part 23b is preferably 1 mm or more, more preferably 2 mm or more.
An interline distance d of the second thin coating heater part 23b is preferably 0.5 mm or more, more preferably 1 mm or more because of the same reason as for the first thin coating heater part 23a. The interline distance d of the second thin coating heater part 23b is preferably 50 mm or less, more preferably 5 mm or less.
As is the case with the first thin coating heater part 23a, the number of components constituting the second thin coating heater part 23b is not limited. Depending on the region to be heated, the second thin coating heater part 23b may be constituted of one component as shown in
Before forming the first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b, a first power supplying pin 40 for supplying power to the first thin coating heater part 23a and a second power supplying pin 41 for supplying power to the second thin coating heater part 23b are previously penetrated through the base stand part 32 and the first insulating layer 33, and then, an upper end surface of the first power supplying pin 40 and an upper end surface of the second power supplying pin 41 are exposed to the surface of the first insulating layer 33 beforehand. Thereafter, by forming the first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b on the first insulating layer 33 by thermal spraying, the first power supplying pin 40 and the first thin coating heater part 23a are electrically connected, and the second power supplying pin 41 and the second thin coating heater part 23b are electrically connected. For the electrode part 36, the same manner is adopted. That is, a third power supplying pin 43 for supplying power to the electrode part 36 is previously penetrated through the base stand part 32, the first insulating layer 33 and the second insulating layer 35, and then, an upper end surface of the third power supplying pin 43 is exposed to the surface of the second insulating layer 35 beforehand. Thereafter, by forming the electrode part 36 on the surface of the second insulating layer 35 by thermal spraying, the third power supplying pin 43 and the electrode part 36 are electrically connected.
A thyristor, an inverter, or the like is used to adjust output to the first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b. For obtaining desired heated condition, for example, a power of about 100 kW/m2 is output to the first and second thin coating heater parts 23a, 23b. By incorporating a temperature sensor in the required parts in the electrostatic chuck 25 to detect a temperature of each part and detect a temperature of the wafer 27 or the focus ring 26 in a noncontact manner, the first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b may be subjected to feedback control.
The above embodiments are illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the position of the first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b, and the position of the electrode part 36 may be interchanged. The first thin coating heater part 23a and the second thin coating heater part 23b, and the electrode part 36 may be formed in the same layer. The forms of the insulating layer, the electrode part, the power supplying pin, the gas pore, and the cooling path can be appropriately changed according to the semiconductor producing process. The surface of the dielectric layer, with which the wafer is in contact, may be embossed to control adsorptivity. The object to be held by the electrostatic chuck may be anything, and a glass substrate of a flat panel display and the like are exemplified in addition to the wafer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2016-120806 | Jun 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/020545 | 6/2/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2017/217251 | 12/21/2017 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190327790 A1 | Oct 2019 | US |
