Substrate processing method and device

Abstract

A method and a substrate processing device (100) include a vertical direct current reaction chamber (130), a flow guide component (110, 310) at a horizontal central area of ​​the reaction chamber (130), and a substrate support (120, 220), wherein the substrate support (120, 220) is located below the flow guide component (110, 310), and the flow guide component (110, 310) forces a vertical direct current (115, 315) to bypass the flow guide component (110) from above the flow guide component (110, 310) and flow downward toward the substrate support (120).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to substrate processing methods and apparatus, and more particularly to chemical deposition and etching methods and deposition and etching reactors. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactors. Background Art

[0002] This section presents useful background information, but no admission is made that any of the techniques described herein represent prior art.

[0003] In various substrate processing devices, various chemicals are fed into the reaction chamber. In order to successfully carry out a chemical process on a substrate, it is sometimes crucial to control the pulses of different process chemicals in an optimal way. Possible tails of previously entered chemicals should be removed as effectively as possible to maintain process quality. Summary of the invention

[0004] It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus to prevent tailings of reactive chemicals that may degrade process quality.

[0005] According to a first exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising:

[0006] Vertical direct current reaction chamber;

[0007] a flow guide and a substrate support at a horizontal central region of the reaction chamber,

[0008] a substrate support member located below the flow guide member, and

[0009] The flow guide member forces the vertical flow to flow from above the flow guide member, around the flow guide member, and downward toward the substrate support.

[0010] In certain embodiments, detouring means that forcing the flow to pass through the component such that the flow is prevented from passing through the component (ie, the flow is forced to detour).

[0011] In certain embodiments, the device provides a tortuous flow path within the reaction chamber having at least one turn.

[0012] In some embodiments, the at least one turn is a forced turn caused by the flow guiding component and occurs upstream of the substrate support.

[0013] In certain embodiments, the device provides a tortuous flow path within the reaction chamber having multiple turns, wherein at each turn the flow path widens.

[0014] In certain embodiments, the device comprises at least one additional flow guiding member at a side region of the reaction chamber.

[0015] In certain embodiments, the tortuous flow path runs between the flow guiding component and the at least one additional flow guiding component.

[0016] In certain embodiments, the side region refers to a border region or a sidewall region close to a sidewall of the reaction chamber.

[0017] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a plurality of process chemical inlets above the level of the uppermost flow guide. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises at least one process chemical inlet above the level of the uppermost flow guide. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises the at least one process chemical inlet or multiple process chemical inlets in the sidewall of the reaction chamber above the level of the uppermost flow guide (or having feedthrough(s) for the inlet(s) in the sidewall).

[0018] In certain embodiments, the apparatus includes a reaction chamber lid, wherein the flow guiding member is suspended from the reaction chamber lid.

[0019] In certain embodiments, the means comprises a downwardly extending protrusion in a (horizontal) central region of the cover.

[0020] In some embodiments, the downwardly extending protrusion is a protrusion having rotational symmetry. In some embodiments, the downwardly extending protrusion is conical.

[0021] In certain embodiments, the flow guide member is a plate-like member or has a conical shape.

[0022] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a reaction chamber cover having an opening for injecting a gas into the reaction chamber. In some embodiments, the gas is only an inert gas. In some embodiments, the gas is a process chemical in gaseous form. In some embodiments, the process chemical is a reactive chemical.

[0023] In certain embodiments, the device includes an inverted orienting cone that is horizontally centered in the cover having the above-mentioned opening.

[0024] In certain embodiments, airflow from the cover is used to support the tortuous flow path.

[0025] In certain embodiments, the device includes a flow channel from the reaction chamber lid to the flow guide component, the flow channel providing a fluid connection from the interior of the lid to the interior of the flow guide component.

[0026] In certain embodiments, the flow guide member includes an opening for injecting gas from the interior of the flow guide member into the reaction chamber.

[0027] In some embodiments, the flow path of the gas is gradually expanded. In some embodiments, the gradually expanding flow path is implemented as a cap shape and / or a flow guide (flow guide) shape and / or a flow guide orientation (ie, the angle at which the flow guide is located).

[0028] In some embodiments, the flow directing member includes an opening for injecting gas toward the substrate support. In some embodiments, the flow directing member includes an opening for injecting gas into a direction other than toward the substrate support (ie, into a direction generally lacking a downward component).

[0029] In certain embodiments, the reaction chamber is provided with an upper ring above the flow guiding member, the upper ring serving as an additional flow guiding member.

[0030] In certain embodiments, the reaction chamber is provided with a lower ring below the flow guiding member, the lower ring serving as an additional flow guiding member.

[0031] In certain embodiments, the flow guiding members force a tortuous flow path to travel between the upper ring and the flow guiding members and between the flow guiding members and the lower ring.

[0032] In some embodiments, the flow guiding component is a component having rotational symmetry.

[0033] In certain embodiments, the rotational symmetry axis of the flow guiding member is aligned with the rotational axis of the reaction chamber.

[0034] In certain embodiments, at least one of the gaps between any flow guiding components is adapted to generate an electrical discharge or plasma.

[0035] According to a second exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a substrate processing apparatus, the method comprising:

[0036] providing a vertical flow reaction chamber having a flow guide and a substrate support at a horizontal central region of the reaction chamber, the substrate support being located below the flow guide, and

[0037] The flow guide member forces the vertical flow to flow from above the flow guide member, around the flow guide member, and downward toward the substrate support.

[0038] In some embodiments, the method includes:

[0039] A tortuous flow path having at least one turn is provided within the reaction chamber.

[0040] In some embodiments, the tortuous flow path has two turns. In some embodiments, the tortuous flow path has three turns.

[0041] In some embodiments, the method includes:

[0042] A tortuous flow path having a plurality of turns within the reaction chamber is provided, wherein at each turn the flow path widens.

[0043] In some embodiments, the method includes:

[0044] The gas is injected into the reaction chamber from the inside of the flow guide component.

[0045] According to a third exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect and any embodiment thereof.

[0046] Different non-binding example aspects and embodiments have been presented above. The above embodiments and the embodiments described later in this specification are used to explain selected aspects or steps that can be used in the implementation of the present invention. It should be understood that the corresponding embodiments are also applicable to other example aspects. Any suitable combination of embodiments can be formed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0048] Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for single substrate processing according to some embodiments;

[0049] Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for batch processing according to certain embodiments;

[0050] Figure 3 shows an apparatus according to a further embodiment;

[0051] Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 some details of the device;

[0052] Figure 5 Shows Figure 1 and Figure 2 certain details of the device; and

[0053] Figure 6 Certain alternative configurations according to further embodiments are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] In the following description, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is taken as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the ALD technology, but can be used in a variety of substrate processing devices, for example, in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor, or in an etching reactor, such as an atomic layer etching (ALE) reactor.

[0055] The basis of the ALD growth mechanism is known to the skilled person. ALD is a special chemical deposition method based on the sequential introduction of usually at least two reactive precursor substances into at least one substrate. However, it should be understood that when using, for example, photon enhanced ALD or plasma assisted ALD (e.g., PEALD), one of these reactive precursors can be replaced by energy, resulting in a single precursor ALD process. When the precursor chemistry contains two elements of the binary material to be deposited, binary compounds such as oxides can be produced using one precursor chemistry. Thin films grown by ALD are dense, pinhole-free and of uniform thickness.

[0056] For the substrate processing step, at least one substrate is typically exposed to time-separated precursor pulses in a reaction vessel to deposit material on the substrate surface by sequential self-saturating surface reactions. In the context of this application, the term ALD includes all applicable ALD-based techniques and any equivalent or closely related techniques, such as the following ALD subtypes: MLD (molecular layer deposition), plasma-assisted ALD, such as PEALD (plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition), and photon-enhanced atomic layer deposition (also known as flash-enhanced ALD).

[0057] A basic ALD deposition cycle consists of four consecutive steps: pulse A, purge A, pulse B, and purge B. Pulse A consists of a first precursor vapor and pulse B consists of another precursor vapor. Inert gases and vacuum pumps are typically used to purge gaseous reaction byproducts and residual reactant molecules from the reaction space during purge A and purge B. The deposition sequence includes at least one deposition cycle. The deposition cycle is repeated until the deposition sequence produces a film or coating of the desired thickness. The deposition cycle can also be simpler or more complex. For example, a cycle can include three or more reactant vapor pulses separated by purge steps, or certain purge steps can be omitted. Alternatively, for example in photon-enhanced ALD, the pulses may differ due to exposure to UV (ultraviolet) light. All of these deposition cycles form a timed deposition sequence controlled by a logic unit or microprocessor.

[0058] The reaction space is a defined volume within the reaction chamber. The desired chemical reaction, such as deposition, etching, cleaning, activation or exchange reaction, typically takes place on the substrate surface(s) in the reaction space.

[0059] Figure 1An apparatus according to certain embodiments is shown. Apparatus 100 is a substrate processing apparatus, which may be, for example, an ALD, ALE or CVD reactor. The basic structure of apparatus 100 may be implemented, for example, according to the R-200 ALD system available from Picosun of Espoo, Finland. Apparatus 100 includes a reaction chamber 130 having at least one chemical inlet (preferably a plurality of chemical inlets 125) and a lid 145. In certain embodiments, lid 145 is removable, while in other embodiments, reaction chamber 130 may be lowered, or a door may be formed on one side of reaction chamber 130. In certain embodiments, lid 145 is lifted to load substrate 101 onto substrate support 120. Substrate support 120 is centrally positioned in a horizontal direction or in all horizontal directions. Substrate support 120 may be suspended from lid 145.

[0060] The reaction chamber 130 can be a cylinder with a circular bottom. Its horizontal cross section is generally circular. The cylinder is sealed from the top by a removable cover 145.

[0061] The reaction chamber 130 is a vertical flow reaction chamber, which means that the gas flow within the reaction chamber 130 generally occurs from the top to the bottom. The chemical inlet(s) 125 are located at the top of the reaction chamber 130, such as in the sidewall, and the outlet from the reaction chamber into the exhaust line or foreline 150 is arranged at the bottom of the chamber 130. In other embodiments, the exhaust is arranged from the side of the substrate to the side or downward via a path(s) other than directly below the substrate.

[0062] In some embodiments, the reaction chamber 130 includes at least one flow guiding component located below the lid. The flow guiding component can be attached to the lid 145 or a wall of the reaction chamber 130 above the substrate support 120.

[0063] In certain embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the reaction chamber includes at least one flow guide member 110 at a horizontal central region of the reaction chamber 130 above the substrate support 120. The flow guide member 110 may be attached to the cover 145 so that the flow guide member 110 moves vertically together with the cover 145. Figure 1 The guide member 110 shown is a plate-like member. It can be a member having rotational symmetry, such as a circular plate. The guide member 110 is gas-tight, which means that it does not allow gas to pass through but forces the vertical flow to bypass (or surround) the guide member 110 and flow downward toward the substrate support 120. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the flow directing member 110 forces the fluid to pass through the member 110 via a lateral path formed between an edge of the member 110 and a sidewall of the chamber 130 .

[0064] Figure 1The device 100 comprises additional flow guide components. In particular, the device 100 comprises two annular components running at different levels along the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall of the reaction chamber 130. The reaction chamber 130 is provided with an upper ring 111 at a level higher than the level of the component 110 and a lower ring 112 at a level lower than the level of the component 110.

[0065] The flow guide component(s) provide a curved flow path 115 having at least one bend. Figure 1 In the example shown, process chemicals are fed into the reaction chamber 130 in a horizontal direction from at least one side of the reaction chamber 130 via the inlet 125. The vertical level of the inlet 125 is above the upper ring 111. Therefore, the chemical flow path 115 initially travels along the upper ring 111 or above the upper ring 111 toward the horizontal center of the chamber 130. The flow path 115 then turns above the component 110 and continues toward the gap formed between the upper ring 111 and the component 110. Therefore, the flow path then travels toward the side wall of the chamber 130. When passing the height level of the component 110, the flow path turns again and continues toward the gap formed between the component 110 and the lower ring 112. Therefore, then, the flow path again travels toward the horizontal center of the chamber 130 in the space above the substrate support 120.

[0066] After bypassing (or surrounding) component 110 in the manner described, the reactive chemicals react with the surface of substrate 101 supported by substrate support 120. The flow path of reaction residues and remaining process chemicals continues over the edge of substrate support 120 downward toward exhaust line 150.

[0067] When a pulse of another process chemical begins, the surface of the flow guide component(s) acts as a surface for consuming tailings of the previous process chemical, thereby improving process quality by, for example, reducing the number of particles that may be generated by the presence of both process chemicals.

[0068] As mentioned above, components 110-112 here all serve as flow guide components. In one embodiment, components 110 and 112 are omitted. Therefore, only annular flow guide component 111 is used. In this embodiment, and in other embodiments, instead of or in addition to (multiple) (side) inlet 125, process gas or inert gas can be provided as a vertical flow inlet from cover 145 (the cover includes a flow channel with an opening, and the gas is fed / injected into the reaction chamber 130 via the opening).

[0069] Figure 2 An apparatus for batch processing according to certain embodiments is shown. Figure 2 The device shown corresponds in structure and operation to Figure 1Therefore, except for the differences, the above presentation of Figure 1 The description is not repeated here.

[0070] The differences relate to the substrate supports, number and orientation of substrates, and flow paths.

[0071] Compared to the substrate support 120 supporting the horizontally oriented substrate 101, Figure 2 The illustrated embodiment discloses a substrate support 220 including locations for a batch of vertically oriented substrates 201. The flow paths of the process chemicals (in Figure 2 After entering the gap formed between the component 110 and the lower ring 112, the flow path (indicated by reference numeral 215) travels between the vertically oriented substrates 201. The substrate support 220 is open at the bottom. Therefore, the flow path extends downward along the substrate surface to the exhaust line 150 without bypassing the substrate support 220 over the edge of the substrate support 220. For other aspects, please refer to the description Figure 1 The foregoing description of the illustrated embodiments.

[0072] The reaction chamber 130 may be any other form than a round bottom, such as a rectangle or square to better accommodate the batch of substrates. The lid of the reaction chamber having such a rectangular or square bottom may also be a rectangle or square, or any other suitable shape suitable for transitioning to the bottom shape used. The description of the bottom and lid shapes herein also applies to other embodiments described in this description.

[0073] Figure 3 The device 300 according to another embodiment is shown, wherein the cover 345 and the guide member 310 are different from the previous combination. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The apparatus 300 includes a reaction chamber 130 having a plurality of chemical (or process chemical) inlets 125, and a removable lid 345. The lid 345 can be lifted to load the substrate 101 onto the substrate support 120 (however, as previously described, for example, in conjunction with Figure 1 As explained, the cover need not be removable in all embodiments.) The substrate support 120 is centered in a horizontal direction or in all horizontal directions. The substrate support 120 may be suspended from the cover 345.

[0074] The reaction chamber 130 can be a cylinder with a rounded bottom. Its horizontal cross section is usually circular, but in other embodiments, the reaction chamber can be another shape with another cross section, depending on the embodiment. The reaction chamber is sealed from the top by a removable cover 345, which can also take any such shape to best fit the reaction chamber 130.

[0075] The reaction chamber 130 is a vertical flow reaction chamber, which means that the gas flow within the reaction chamber 130 generally occurs from top to bottom. The chemical inlet(s) 125 are located at the top of the reaction chamber 130, for example in the side wall, and the outlet from the reaction chamber into the exhaust line or foreline 150 is arranged at the bottom of the chamber 130. In other embodiments, alternatively or additionally, the chemical inlet(s) are realized via one or more cavities (not shown) in the cover 345.

[0076] The reaction chamber includes at least one flow guide member 310 at a horizontal central region of the reaction chamber 130 above the substrate support 120. The flow guide member 310 may be attached to the cover 345 or may form a part of the cover such that the flow guide member 310 moves vertically with the cover 345. Figure 3 The illustrated guide member 310 (or combined cover and guide member) differs from the plate-like member 110 in that its form is more complex. The cover 345 includes a downwardly extending conical protrusion 351 in the central region of the cover 345. In the region surrounding the conical protrusion 351, as shown in FIG. Figure 3 The bottom surface of the cover 345 shown may have a recessed area 352. The conical protrusion 351 may be in the form of an inverted oriented cone. The guide member 310 has a biconical shape or a diamond shape (or cross-section), wherein the disc-shaped extension 333 extends laterally at the point where the base of the upper positively facing upwardly oriented cone 331 intersects the base of the lower inverted oriented cone 332. The guide member 310 is connected to the conical protrusion 333 of the cover 345 through the top of the upper cone 331.

[0077] The flow guide 310 may be a member having rotational symmetry. The flow guide 310 is gas-tight, which means that it does not allow gas to pass through to enter the interior of the component, but it forces the vertical flow to bypass (or around) the flow guide 310 and flow downward to the substrate support 120. Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the flow directing member 310 forces the fluid to pass through the member 310 via a lateral path formed between the edge of its disk-shaped extension 333 and the sidewall of the chamber 130 .

[0078] Figure 3 The device includes Figure 1 and Figure 2 Thus, the device 300 comprises two annular members running at different levels along the inner surface of the cylindrical side wall of the reaction chamber 130. The reaction chamber 130 is provided with an upper ring 111 at a level higher than the level of the disc-shaped extension 333 of the member 310, and with a lower ring 112 at a level lower than the level of the disc-shaped extension 333 of the member 310.

[0079] The flow guide component(s) provide a curved flow path 315 having at least one bend. Figure 3 In the example shown, the process chemical is fed into the reaction chamber 130 in the horizontal direction from at least one side of the reaction chamber 130 via the inlet 125. The vertical level of the inlet 125 is above the upper ring 111. Therefore, the chemical flow path 315 initially travels along the upper ring 111 or above the upper ring 111 toward the horizontal center of the chamber 130. The flow path 315 then turns over the disk-shaped extension 333 of the component 310 and continues toward the gap formed between the upper ring 111 and the disk-shaped extension 333 of the component 310. Therefore, the flow path then travels toward the side wall of the chamber 130. When passing the level of the height of the disk-shaped extension 333 of the component 310, the flow path turns again and continues toward the gap formed between the disk-shaped extension 333 of the component 310 and the lower ring 112. Therefore, then, the flow path again travels toward the horizontal center of the chamber 130 in the space above the substrate support 120.

[0080] After bypassing component 310 in the manner described, the reactive chemicals react with the surface of substrate 101 supported by substrate support 120. The flow path of reaction residues and remaining process chemicals continues over the edge of substrate support 120 downward toward exhaust line 150.

[0081] When a pulse of another process chemical begins, the surface of the flow guide component(s) acts as a surface to consume tailings of the previous process chemical, thereby improving process quality.

[0082] Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 Magnified views of certain portions are shown. In particular, Figure 4 It is shown that in some embodiments, the cover 345 includes a flow channel 461 having an opening (e.g., machined in the cover 345) through which the inert gas is injected into the reaction chamber 130. In particular, in some embodiments, the inert gas is injected into the volume in which the flow path 315 travels. In other words, the inert gas is injected into the process chemical stream. The inert gas (stream) injected through the opening can be adjusted in time to synchronize at any stage of the process cycle. The inert gas flow flushes the residual gas from the cavity, which may be insufficiently purged under certain process conditions, for example due to turbulence.

[0083] In some embodiments, the inert gas is injected from the cover 345. Additionally or alternatively, the inert gas is injected from the flow guide component 310. Arrow 1 shows the inert gas injected from the conical protrusion 351 of the cover 345. Therefore, in some embodiments, the inert gas is injected from the cover 345 into the volume defined by the cover 345 and the component 310.

[0084] In some embodiments, at least one flow channel 461 extends into a volume within the flow guide member 310. Thus, arrow 2 shows the inert gas being injected from the flow guide member 310 (or from the member 331 as the case may be) into the volume defined by the cover 345 and the member 310. Additionally, arrow 3 shows the gas being injected from the flow guide member 310 (or from the member 332 as the case may be) into the volume defined by the member 310 and the substrate support 120.

[0085] In embodiments where the cover is adapted to be lifted, flow passage 461 may run from cover counterpart 455 into cover 345. The interface between components 345 and 455 may be achieved by a metal surface to metal surface attachment. In certain embodiments, a separate seal is positioned between the two.

[0086] Figure 5 Shows Figure 1 An enlarged view of certain portions of a reaction chamber of the type shown. As previously mentioned, the flow guide member may be attached to the cover. Figure 5 Shown are the upper and lower rings 111, 112 and the flow guide 110 attached to the cover 145 by the cover attachment 571, and the substrate support 120 attached to the cover 145 by the cover attachment 572. The cover attachment may be realized by a rod or the like.

[0087] Figure 5 It is further shown that Figure 4 461 in the cover are similarly arranged in the flow channel 561 in the cover. The cover 145 includes a flow channel 561 having an opening, and the inert gas is injected into the reaction chamber 130 through the opening, as shown by arrow 4. In some embodiments, the inert gas is injected from the cover 145 in the horizontal central area into the volume defined by the cover 145 and the component 110. The inert gas (flow) injected through the opening can be adjusted in time to synchronize at any stage of the process cycle. The inert gas flow flushes away the residual gas cavity, which may be insufficiently purified under certain process conditions, for example due to turbulence. Stream 4 can further balance the process gas (process chemical) flow in time.

[0088] Certain exemplary embodiments have been previously described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 Some alternative or additional implementations are listed below:

[0089] - Instead of a single substrate, the substrate support 120 may support more than one horizontally oriented substrate;

[0090] -Instead of or in addition to channels 461 and 561, the injection of inert gas can be achieved by arranging a hollow volume within the cover 145 / 345 and / or the upper ring 111 and / or the lower ring 112 and / or the component 310, and instead of injecting via the channel opening, the following surface can be implemented as a gas-permeable surface or a porous wall, through which the inert gas is desired to be injected.

[0091] - Instead of or in addition to sparging inert gas (in Figure 4 and Figure 5 In the embodiment shown), a reactive gas may be injected;

[0092] - Replace the conical protrusion (in Figure 3 and Figure 4 In the embodiment shown), the downwardly extending protrusion may be of another shape; in all embodiments, the protrusion may be asymmetrical or may not even have rotational symmetry;

[0093] Instead of the cover 345 being in flow connection with the flow-conducting component 310 , the cover 345 can be separated from the component 310 without any internal flow connection from the interior of the cover 345 to the interior of the component 310 ;

[0094] Instead of the double cone shape of the flow guide element 310 with a disk-shaped extension, the element 310 may be of a different form, for example the element 332 may be omitted and / or the upper cone 331 may extend all the way to the edge of the element 310 (so that there is no separate disk-shaped extension);

[0095] Instead of the flow guiding components 110 and 310 being symmetrical or having rotational symmetry, the components 110 and 310 may be asymmetrical (for example if a different flow geometry is required for the process chemical entering the reaction chamber from a certain inlet, or for example when the shape in question is adapted to the cross section of the reaction chamber).

[0096] Figure 6 Certain alternative configurations for providing the flow directing features discussed above are shown.

[0097] The upper left figure depicts a configuration with an upper ring 111 (in the border region of the reaction chamber) and a "central" flow guide 110. The lower ring 112 is omitted. The upper ring 111 is positioned at a higher level than the level of the central flow guide 110. The process chemical feed takes place from the side and / or from the cover at a higher level than that of the upper ring 111.

[0098] The lower left figure depicts a configuration with a lower ring 112 (in the border area of ​​the reaction chamber) and a "central" flow guide 110. The upper ring 111 is omitted. The lower ring 112 is positioned at a lower level compared to the level of the central flow guide 110. The process chemical feed takes place at a level higher than that of the central flow guide 110. The feed can be arranged from the side(s) and / or vertically from the cover.

[0099] The upper right picture depicts Figures 1 to 5 The configuration described in has an upper ring 111 and a lower ring 112 and a “central” flow guide member 110 .

[0100] The lower right figure depicts a configuration with a lower ring 112 (in the border region of the reaction chamber 130) and a "central" flow guide member 110. The upper ring 111 is omitted. Thus, this configuration is similar to the lower left Figure 1 10, but this configuration additionally comprises a further central flow guiding member 110' which is positioned at a lower level compared to the level of the lower ring 112. The process chemical feed takes place at a level higher than that of the "upper" central flow guiding member 110. The feed openings may be arranged from the side(s) and / or vertically from the cover.

[0101] exist Figures 1 to 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the "central" flow guide component 110 and / or 310 may laterally overlap at least one of the flow guide components 111 and / or 112 located in the border region of the reaction chamber. In other words, the outer edges of components 110 and 310 may be closer to the reaction chamber wall than the inner edges of components 111 and 112. In some embodiments, the edges only partially overlap. This may be the case, for example, when the shapes of the circumference or opening are different (e.g., ovals of different orientations).

[0102] Instead of the substrate support 120 which may be planar (to support one or more wafers or one or more other substrates), the substrate support may be more complex in form, such as a substrate cassette holder or holder (220 etc.) for a batch of vertical substrates or wafers.

[0103] In another embodiment, as mentioned above, the flow guide component used consists of the annular component 111 , ie, only the annular flow guide component 111 is used (and all other annular components and central component(s) are omitted).

[0104] In other embodiments, the flow guide components (rings 111, 112, etc.) in the border regions of the reaction chamber are completely omitted. In such embodiments, only the central flow guide component (110, etc.) is used.

[0105] In certain embodiments, the device provides a tortuous flow path within the reaction chamber having at least one turn (but preferably having multiple turns). In certain embodiments, the flow path widens at each turn.

[0106] The number of flow guides depends on the embodiment. In some embodiments, there are more than two rings in the border region, for example three of four or five rings. In some embodiments, the number of central flow guides is the number of rings or the number of rings plus / minus 1.

[0107] Without limiting the scope and interpretation of the patent claims, some technical effects of one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are listed as follows. One technical effect is to improve process quality by consuming process chemical tails. Another technical effect is to stabilize the precursor flowing through the (multiple) substrates. Another technical effect is to stabilize the temperature of the input gas. Another technical effect is to reduce the particles added to the (multiple) substrates.

[0108] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description of the best mode presently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the invention by way of non-limiting examples of specific implementations and embodiments of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiments, but may be implemented in other embodiments using equivalent means without departing from the features of the invention.

[0109] In addition, some features of the above disclosed embodiments of the present invention can be advantageously used without the corresponding use of other features. Therefore, the above description should be considered as merely an illustration of the principles of the present invention, rather than a limitation thereof. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is limited only by the attached patent claims.

Claims

1. A substrate processing device, comprising: Vertical direct current reaction chamber; a flow guide member and a substrate support member at a horizontal central region of the reaction chamber, The substrate support is located below the flow guide component, and The flow guide member forces the vertical flow to flow from above the flow guide member, around the flow guide member and downward toward the substrate support member. an upper ring above the flow guide member, the upper ring serving as an additional flow guide member, and At least one process chemical inlet is located in the side wall of the reaction chamber above the level of the uppermost flow guide member.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device provides a tortuous flow path having at least one turn within the reaction chamber.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device provides a tortuous flow path within the reaction chamber having a plurality of turns, wherein in each turn the flow path widens.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising at least one further flow-guiding component at a side region of the reaction chamber.

5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a reaction chamber cover, wherein the flow guide component is suspended from the reaction chamber cover.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, comprising a protrusion extending downwardly in a central region of the reaction chamber cover.

7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow guide member is a plate-like member or has a conical shape.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a reaction chamber cover having an opening for injecting gas into the reaction chamber.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, comprising an inverted oriented cone horizontally centered in the reaction chamber lid having the opening.

10. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a flow channel from a reaction chamber cover to the flow guide component, the flow channel providing a fluid connection from the interior of the reaction chamber cover to the interior of the flow guide component. 11 . The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the flow guide member comprises an opening for injecting gas from the inside of the flow guide member to the reaction chamber.

12. The device according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the reaction chamber is provided with a lower ring below the flow guide member, the lower ring serving as an additional flow guide member.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the flow guide member forces the tortuous flow path to travel between the upper ring and the flow guide member, and between the flow guide member and the lower ring.

14. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flow guide member is a member having rotational symmetry.

15. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rotational symmetry axis of the flow guide member is aligned with the rotation axis of the reaction chamber.

16. A method for operating a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: A vertical flow reaction chamber is provided, wherein the vertical flow reaction chamber has a flow guide component and a substrate support component at a horizontal central area of ​​the reaction chamber, wherein the substrate support component is located below the flow guide component, The flow guide component forces the vertical flow to flow from above the flow guide component, bypass the flow guide component and flow downward toward the substrate support. an upper ring is arranged above the flow guide elements, the upper ring serving as a further flow guide element, and at least one process chemical inlet is arranged in the side wall of the reaction chamber above the level of the uppermost flow guide element, and A tortuous flow path having at least one turn is disposed within the reaction chamber.

17. The method according to claim 16, comprising: A tortuous flow path having a plurality of turns within the reaction chamber is provided, wherein at each turn the flow path widens.

18. A method according to any one of claims 16 to 17, comprising: Gas is injected into the reaction chamber from the interior of the flow guide component.

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