The present invention relates to substrate processing. More particularly, this invention relates to substrate processing tools with tunable fluid flow through the processing chambers thereof.
Materials, such as thin films, are often deposited on substrates, such as semiconductor or glass substrates, in devices known as substrate processing tools. In order to deposit the materials, processing fluids (e.g., gases) are delivered into processing chambers within the tools, where the substrate to be processed is positioned. Examples of such processing techniques include chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD). Similar processing tools may be used for removing material from substrates (e.g., etching), as well as for purging steps associated with, for example, CVD, PVD, and etching.
Depending on the particular processing technique being used, or the materials involved, the characteristics of the flow of the processing fluids through the processing chamber may be important to successful processing. One particular example of such a process is the formation of graphene, which typically requires a particular flow rate and relatively laminar flow over the substrate being processed.
However, due to the design of most conventional processing tools, particularly the shape of the processing chambers, it is difficult to achieve optimal flow of the processing fluids, as the flow is often non-uniform and includes undesirable turbulence.
Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments is provided below along with accompanying figures. The detailed description is provided in connection with such embodiments, but is not limited to any particular example. The scope is limited only by the claims and numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents are encompassed. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the described techniques may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the embodiments has not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description.
Embodiments described herein provide substrate processing tools, which allow for adjustments to be made to various aspects of the flow of processing fluids (e.g. gases) through the processing chamber. This is accomplished by providing a process kit having an enclosure within the processing chamber that encloses the substrate support, along with two annular members (or rings) within the enclosure that may be positioned or moved in such a way to tune the flow of gas during processing. Adjustments made to the annular members allow for the tuning of gas flow and conductance, volume, and pressure, along with providing laminar flow over the substrate.
The process kit may be used, for example, in various dry processing techniques, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and etching, as well as purge steps associated with those techniques. The process kit may be particularly useful for the formation of graphene, in which controlling the various properties of gas flow may be particularly important.
In some embodiments, a substrate processing tool is provided that includes a housing defining a processing chamber and a substrate support coupled to the housing and configured to support a substrate within the processing chamber. A first annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the processing chamber. The first annular member circumscribes a central axis of the substrate. A second annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the processing chamber. The second annular member circumscribes the central axis of the substrate. Movement of the first annular member and the second annular member relative to the housing changes a flow of processing fluid through the processing chamber.
The first annular member may be vertically moveable within the processing chamber. The second annular member may be horizontally moveable and/or angularly moveable within the processing chamber. The substrate support, the first annular member, and the second annular member may be surrounded by an enclosure within the processing chamber. The enclosure may also have one or more exhaust openings symmetrically arranged around the central axis of the substrate, which may be selectively closed (e.g., completely or partially) by a user. The enclosure and the annular members may be made of, for example, quartz or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), depending on the processing techniques to be performed in a particular tool.
The support assembly 106 is coupled to the housing 102 at a lower portion thereof includes a base 110 and a substrate support 112. The base 110 extends into a central portion of the processing chamber 104, and the substrate support 112 is coupled to the base 110 by a support shaft 114 and configured to support a substrate 116 within the processing chamber 104. The substrate 116 may be, for example, a semiconductor substrate (e.g., made of silicon) or a transparent substrate (e.g., made of glass) with, for example, a diameter of 200 or 300 millimeters (mm). The substrate 116 has a central axis 118 that extends through a central portion of the substrate support 112 and the base 110 when the substrate 116 is positioned on the substrate support 112 as shown.
The processing fluid inlet 108 is coupled to the housing 102 and extends into the processing chamber 104 above the central axis 118 of the substrate 116. Although not shown in
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Further, the substrate processing tool 100 includes a first flow adjustment ring 124 and a second flow adjustment ring 126 positioned within the enclosure 120. As shown in
In the depicted embodiment, the second flow adjustment ring 126 also extends around the upper portion of the base 110 of the support assembly 106 and is positioned between the base 110 and the first flow adjustment ring 124. In some embodiments, the second flow adjustment ring 126 is moveably coupled to the housing 102 such that it may be moved horizontally within the enclosure 120, or more specifically, in a direction that is perpendicular to the central axis 118 of the substrate 116. It should be noted that in at least one embodiment, the second flow adjustment ring 126 is moveable in two dimensions (e.g., a plane) so that as viewed in
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During processing, a substrate processing fluid (e.g., a gas) is delivered into the processing chamber 104, or more particularly, within the enclosure 120 through the processing fluid inlet 108, while a vacuum is applied to a lower portion of the processing chamber 104. The processing fluid impinges the substrate 116 and spreads out radially away from the central axis 118 of the substrate 116. The processing fluid flows off the substrate 116, passes between the first flow adjustment ring 124 and the second flow adjustment ring 126, and is removed from the enclosure 120 through the exhaust ports 122.
In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention, a user may tune the properties of the flow of the processing fluid, particularly across the substrate 116, by adjusting the position of the first flow adjustment ring 124 and the position of the second flow adjustment ring 126. For example, a user may adjust the conductance of the flow by raising (i.e., to increase conductance) or lowering (i.e., to decrease conductance) the first flow adjustment ring 124. As another example, a user may tune the flow to increase the uniformity of the flow and the amount of laminar flow across the substrate 116 by adjusting the position of the second flow adjustment ring 126. The various properties of the flow of the processing fluid, such as the amount of laminar flow across the substrate 116, may be further adjusted selectively restricting flow through the exhaust ports 122 using the exhaust port plugs 128.
Additionally, in other embodiments, the first flow adjustment ring 124 and/or the second flow adjustment ring 126 may be coupled to the housing such that the user may tilt (i.e., change the angular orientation thereof) the ring(s) to adjust the properties of the flow of the processing fluid, perhaps in addition to other adjustments made to the ring(s) described above. Further, although the adjustments made to the first flow adjustment ring 124 and the second flow adjustment ring 126 may be made by a user manually in some embodiments, in other embodiments, the positions of the first flow adjustment ring 124 and the second flow adjustment ring 126 may be controlled by one or more actuators that are provided with control signals from a control system, such as that described below.
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Due to the position of the vacuum port 430 and the presence of substrate opening 432, during conventional processing, the flow of processing gas through the processing chamber 404, particularly over the substrate 416, may include an undesirable lack of laminar flow over the substrate 416 and turbulence. However, as described above, the use of the enclosure 420, along with the first flow adjustment ring 424 and the second flow adjustment ring 426, allows a user to adjust or tune the flow of processing gas to reduce these undesirable effects.
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When the enclosure door 438 is raised (as shown in
A processing fluid injection assembly (or inlet) 610 is mounted to an upper portion of the housing 604 and in fluid communication with the processing chamber 606. The substrate processing tool 602 also includes a support assembly 612 disposed within the processing chamber 606. The support assembly 612 includes a support pedestal (or substrate support) 614 connected to an upper portion of a support shaft 616. The support pedestal 614 may be formed from any process-compatible material, including aluminum nitride and aluminum oxide. The support pedestal 614 is configured to hold or support a substrate 618. The substrate 618 may be, for example, a semiconductor substrate (e.g., silicon) having a diameter of, for example, 200 or 300 mm.
The support pedestal 614 may be a vacuum chuck, as is commonly understood, or utilize other conventional techniques, such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC) or physical clamping mechanisms, to prevent the substrate 618 from moving on the support pedestal 614. The support shaft 616 is moveably coupled to the housing 604 such that the support shaft 616, along with the support pedestal 614, may be rotated, as well as raised and lowered using motors 620.
Additionally, the support assembly 612 includes an inductive heating sub-system that includes one or more conductive coils (or members) 622 mounted below the substrate support 614 that are coupled to a power supply within a temperature control system 624.
The housing 604 and the support pedestal 614 are sized and shaped to create a peripheral flow channel that surrounds the support pedestal 614 and provides a path for fluid flow to a vacuum port (or pump channel) 626 in the housing 604.
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The controller 630 includes a processor 638 and memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 640 and a hard disk drive 642. The controller 630 is in operable communication with the various other components of the processing system 600, including the turbo pump 632, the temperature control system 624, the fluid supply system 628, and the motors 620 and controls the operation of the entire processing system to perform the methods and processes described herein.
During operation, the processing system 600 establishes conditions in a processing region above the substrate 618 to form a layer of material on the surface of the substrate 618, such as a thin film. The processing technique used to form the material may be, for example, a CVD process, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) or metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), a PVD process, an etching process, or a purge process. During the formation of the layer, power is provided to the conductive coils 622 by the temperature control system 624 such that current flows through the conductive coils, causing the substrate 618 to be inductively heated.
Thus, in some embodiments, a substrate processing tool is provided. The substrate processing tool includes a housing defining a processing chamber. A substrate support is coupled to the housing and configured to support a substrate within the processing chamber. The substrate has a central axis. A first annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the processing chamber. The first annular member circumscribes the central axis of the substrate. A second annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the processing chamber. The second annular member circumscribes the central axis of the substrate. Movement of the first annular member and the second annular member relative to the housing changes a flow of processing fluid through the processing chamber.
In other embodiments, a method for processing a substrate is provided. A substrate processing tool is provided. The substrate processing tool includes a housing defining a processing chamber and a substrate support coupled to the housing and configured to support a substrate within the processing chamber. The substrate has a central axis. A first annular member is moved relative to the housing. The first annular member is positioned within the processing chamber and circumscribes the central axis of the substrate. A second annular member is moved relative to the housing. The second annular member is positioned within the processing chamber and circumscribes the central axis of the substrate. The movement of the first annular member relative to the housing and the movement of the second annular member relative to the housing changes a flow of processing fluid through the processing chamber.
In further embodiments, a substrate processing tool is provided. The substrate processing tool includes a housing defining a processing chamber. An enclosure is positioned within the housing. A substrate support is coupled to the housing and configured to support a substrate within the enclosure. The substrate has a central axis. A first annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the enclosure. The first annular member circumscribes the central axis of the substrate and has a width greater than a width of the substrate support. A second annular member is moveably coupled to the housing and positioned within the enclosure. The second annular member circumscribes the central axis of the substrate and has a width greater than the width of the substrate support. Movement of the first annular member and the second annular member relative to the housing changes a flow of processing fluid through the enclosure.
Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention. The disclosed examples are illustrative and not restrictive.