Solid state power amplifier with cooling capability

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate. For example, a processing chamber may include: a power source; an amplifier connected to the power source, the amplifier including at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor, and the amplifier being configured to amplify the power level of an input signal received from the power source to heat the substrate in the processing volume; and a cooling plate configured to receive a coolant to cool the amplifier during operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs). More specifically, embodiments of this disclosure relate to methods and apparatus for processing substrates using a processing chamber comprising an SSPA with liquid cooling capability. Background Technology

[0002] Conventional SSPA and traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) configured for use with substrate processing chambers (e.g., for chip packaging) are known. However, such amplifiers can be very large, have high power consumption, and / or generate significant noise and / or heat. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This document provides methods and apparatus for processing a substrate. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a processing chamber comprising: a power source; an amplifier connected to the power source, the amplifier including at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor, and the amplifier being configured to amplify the power level of an input signal received from the power source for heating the substrate in the processing volume; and a cooling plate configured to receive a coolant for cooling the amplifier during operation.

[0004] According to at least some embodiments, a method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber may include the steps of: using an amplifier to amplify the power level of an input signal received from a power source, said amplifier including at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor; outputting the amplified signal to a substrate support disposed in the processing volume of the processing volume to heat the substrate; and supplying coolant to a cooling plate disposed on the amplifier to cool the amplifier during operation.

[0005] According to at least some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a processor to perform a method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber. The method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber may include the steps of: using an amplifier to amplify the power level of an input signal received from a power source, the amplifier including at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor; outputting the amplified signal to a substrate support disposed in a processing volume to heat the substrate; and supplying coolant to a cooling plate disposed on the amplifier to cool the amplifier during operation.

[0006] Other and further embodiments of this disclosure are described below. Attached Figure Description

[0007] The embodiments of this disclosure, which have been briefly summarized above and discussed in more detail below, can be understood by referring to the illustrative embodiments depicted in the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and should therefore not be considered as limiting the scope, as other equivalent embodiments are permissible.

[0008] Figure 1 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a processing chamber according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an SSPA according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0010] Figure 3 This is a diagram of transistor configurations according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0011] Figure 4 This is a side view of an SSPA disposed on a cooling plate according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a method for processing a substrate according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0013] For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals are used as much as possible to denote common elements in the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may be simplified for clarity. Elements and features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated into other embodiments without further description. Detailed Implementation

[0014] This document provides embodiments of methods and apparatuses using processing chambers comprising SSPAs with liquid cooling capabilities. One or more embodiments of this disclosure are directed to integrating SSPAs into one or more processing chambers. For example, the SSPA may include gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistors, etc., and may include a liquid cooling plate. In at least some embodiments, the processing chamber may be configured for three-dimensional chip packaging, such as under-bump metallization (UMB), redistribution layer (RDL), complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor applications, etc. The processing chambers described herein utilize relatively compact high-power SSPAs, which can be cooled using a cooling plate, thereby providing low power consumption, low heat dissipation, and low noise generation during operation.

[0015] The substrate processing chamber can be advantageously aligned with a multi-chamber processing tool to save physical footprint and increase throughput. For example, the substrate processing chamber can be advantageously positioned below the loading and locking chamber of the multi-chamber processing tool without increasing the tool footprint. An example of a multi-chamber processing tool suitable for use with the substrate processing chamber of this disclosure is Applied Materials, Inc., Inc., available commercially from Applied Materials, Inc., Santa Clara, California. Any of the series of processing tools. Other processing chambers from Applied Materials or other manufacturers may also benefit from the apparatus of the present invention disclosed herein.

[0016] In some embodiments, a substrate processing chamber is configured to support one or more substrates for advantageously performing batch degassing on the one or more substrates via microwave heating. The substrate processing chamber includes configurable airflow and pumping arrangements to accommodate various types of substrates and different batch sizes for degassing. Examples include silicon semiconductor substrates, polymer substrates, epoxy resin substrates, or any other substrates suitable for removing moisture via a microwave energy source. The substrate processing chamber described herein can operate at atmospheric or sub-atmospheric pressure (e.g., 1 x 10⁻⁶). -7 Used under Pascal.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic side view of a processing chamber (e.g., a degassing processing chamber) according to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The processing chamber 100 includes a chamber body 102 having sidewalls 104, a cover 112, and a chamber floor 114 that enclose an internal volume 124 (e.g., a processing volume). The sidewalls 104 include a plurality of openings 134 to allow one or more processing gases to flow into the internal volume 124. In some embodiments, the plurality of openings 134 are symmetrically arranged about the chamber body 102 to advantageously provide a more uniform airflow across the surfaces of one or more substrates. One or more processing gases may be supplied from a gas source (not shown) via a mass flow controller (not shown) into the internal volume 124 of the processing chamber 100. The processing gas may be any suitable processing gas for performing a degassing process, such as an inert gas (e.g., argon) or nitrogen (N2).

[0018] The chamber body 102 includes an upper portion 106 and a lower portion 108. A cover 112 is disposed on the upper surface of the upper portion 106. The lower portion 108 includes a base plate 146 having a surface defining a chamber floor 114.

[0019] A selectively sealable first elongated opening 110 (e.g., a slit valve opening) is provided in the upper portion 106 of the chamber body 102 for conveying one or more substrates into or out of the chamber body 102. For example, the first elongated opening 110 may facilitate the transfer of one or more substrates between the chamber body and a factory interface of a multi-chamber processing tool. In some embodiments, a selectively sealable second elongated opening 120 (e.g., a second slit valve opening) is provided in the upper portion 106 of the chamber body 102 for conveying one or more substrates into or out of the chamber body 102. For example, the second elongated opening 120 may facilitate the transfer of one or more substrates between the chamber body 102 and a loading locking chamber or other chamber of a multi-chamber processing tool. In some embodiments, the first elongated opening 110 is configured opposite the second elongated opening 120.

[0020] The chamber body 102 includes a first end 116 opposite to the second end 118, to which a microwave source 144 is coupled. In at least some embodiments, the microwave source 144 is coupled to the chamber body 102 at the first end 116. The microwave source 144 is configured to provide volumetric heating to an internal volume 124 to degas one or more substrates disposed within the internal volume 124. In some embodiments, the microwave source is a variable-frequency microwave source, wherein each frequency is effective for a short duration. For example, in some embodiments, the short duration is on the order of milliseconds. In some embodiments, the microwave source provides microwave energy to the chamber body 102 at frequencies from about 5.0 GHz to about 7.0 GHz. In some embodiments, the microwave source 144 provides microwave energy having microwave frequencies from about 5.85 GHz to about 6.65 GHz. In some embodiments, the microwave energy is derived from a wide C-band source. In some embodiments, the scan rate is about 0.25 microseconds for each of 4096 frequencies across the C-band. The use of variable frequency and fast scan prevents the need for standing wave formation and charge accumulation, as well as rotating thermal loads. Using a variable frequency also allows for a uniform temperature distribution across the substrate.

[0021] In some embodiments, the first end 116 includes a service door 122, which is selectively sealable and removable from the remainder of the chamber body 102. Advantageously, the service door 122 can be removed to allow for the repair and installation of components within the internal volume 124 of the chamber body 102. A funnel 126 extends from the outer surface of the chamber body 102 to one of the sidewalls 104 to expose the internal volume 124 to microwave energy provided by the microwave source 144. In some embodiments, the funnel 126 may be located within one of the sidewalls 104 defined by the service door 122. In some embodiments, the microwave source 144 provides microwaves of a given wavelength, and the funnel 126 is positioned at least twice the given wavelength from the nearest portion of a substrate support 136 disposed in the internal volume 124 to provide more uniform heating to one or more substrates when one or more substrates are disposed on the substrate support 136.

[0022] The second end 118 includes a pump port 132 or discharge port disposed within the chamber body 102, opposite the funnel 126. The pump port 132 is fluidly coupled to a pump 130. The pump 130 can be any pump suitable for discharging degassed material from the internal volume 124 and / or facilitating the maintenance of a desired pressure within the processing chamber 100. In some embodiments, a pump adapter 128 is disposed between the pump port 132 and the pump 130 to facilitate coupling various different pumps to the pump port 132.

[0023] In some embodiments, and as Figure 1 As shown, a substrate support 136 is configured to support a plurality of substrates. For example, in some embodiments, the substrate support 136 includes a plurality of support members 142 oriented (e.g., aligned along a vertical axis) that are vertically spaced apart along a common axis of the substrate support. Although three support members 142 are shown, the substrate support 136 may include any number of support members 142. In some embodiments, the plurality of support members 142 are coupled to a base ring 138 disposed below the plurality of support members 142. In some embodiments, the substrate support 136 includes a plurality of lifting members (not shown) corresponding to the plurality of support members 142. The plurality of lifting members may be coupled to a lifting ring 140 disposed below the plurality of lifting members.

[0024] In some embodiments, a base ring 138 is coupled to a first actuator 150, which controls the position of a plurality of support members 142 at least between a transfer position and a processing position. In some embodiments, a lifting ring 140 is coupled to a second actuator 160, which controls the position of a plurality of lifting members 220 independently of the position of the plurality of support members 142. The first actuator 150 and the second actuator 160 can be any suitable linear motion controller, such as a linear drive servo actuator motor, etc. The first actuator 150 and the second actuator 160 can be disposed outside the chamber body 102 and through an opening in the chamber floor 114 of the chamber body 102 sealed, for example, with a stainless steel bellows.

[0025] One or more amplifiers may be connected to microwave source 144. For example, one or more SSPAs 117 may be connected to microwave source 144. For example, in at least some embodiments, the SSPA is connected to microwave source 144 and configured to amplify the power level of an input signal received from microwave source 144 (e.g., for heating a substrate in internal volume 124). For example, in at least some embodiments, the SSPA 117 is configured to receive an input signal from microwave source 144 ranging from about 0.001 W to about 0.025 W and amplify the received input signal to provide an output power ranging from about 800 W to about 1000 W (e.g., at a frequency ranging from about 5.0 GHz to about 7.0 GHz).

[0026] Continue to refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 SSPA 117 includes one or more transistors 200. For example, in at least some embodiments, one or more transistors 200 may include one or more of the following: gallium nitride (GaN) transistor 202, gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor 204, or other suitable transistors capable of performing the operations described herein.

[0027] Furthermore, SSPA 117 may include other circuitry to facilitate amplification of the power level of the input signal received from one or more of the aforementioned power sources. For example, in at least some embodiments, SSPA 117 may include at least one of a power divider 206, a power combiner 208, etc.

[0028] In at least some embodiments, an array 300 of SSPA 117 can be provided. Figure 3The array 300 of SSPA 117 can be configured in various ways. For example, the array 300 of SSPA 117 may include SSPAs comprising one or more of the transistors described above, having the same or different rated power (e.g., from about 2W to about 120W). The SSPAs 117 in the array 300 may be connected in series and / or in parallel with each other. For illustrative purposes, the array 300 is shown as comprising four rows of SSPAs, each row comprising four columns of SSPAs (labeled 117a to 117d respectively). Each row includes a first SSPA 117a (e.g., having a rated power of 2W to about 8W) connected in series with a second SSPA 117b (e.g., having a rated power of 2W to about 15W). The power divider 206 receives an input signal from the second SSPA 117b and splits the input signal into two separate output signals, which are input to two third SSPAs 117c connected in parallel with each other (e.g., each having a rated power of 2W to about 25W). Each third SSPA 117c provides a corresponding output signal input to the corresponding fourth SSPA 117d (e.g., each having a rated power of 2W to approximately 120W). Each fourth SSPA 117d provides a corresponding output signal input to the power combiner 208 (e.g., in...). Figure 2 The power combiner 208 combines the two input signals into a single output signal that can be used as needed, for example, to transmit power to the internal volume 124 (e.g., the substrate processing cavity).

[0029] refer to Figure 4 An SSPA 117 (or an array of SSPA 300) may be disposed on a cooling plate 400. The cooling plate 400 includes one or more cooling channels. For example, in at least some embodiments, the one or more cooling channels may include an input channel 402 and an output channel 404 connected to a fluid source 406, which may be connected to the processing chamber 100. The fluid source 406 is configured to supply one or more coolants to the cooling plate 400. For example, in at least some embodiments, the fluid source 406 may be configured to supply cooling water to the cooling plate 400 for cooling an amplifier (e.g., SSPA 117) during operation.

[0030] In embodiments using an array of SSPAs, each SSPA in the array may be mounted on a corresponding cooling plate. Alternatively, some SSPAs in the array may include corresponding cooling plates, and some SSPAs in the array may be mounted on a shared cooling plate. Alternatively, all SSPAs in the array may be mounted on a shared cooling plate.

[0031] A controller 121, including a processor 123, is configured (or programmed) to control the overall operation of the processing chamber 100. For example, under the control of the processor 123, the controller 121 may receive recipes input to a memory 127 of the processor 123. For example, the memory 127 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions that, when executed by the processor 123 (or the controller 121), perform the methods described herein. The recipe may include information about one or more parameters associated with one or more of the aforementioned components used for the processing substrate. For example, the controller 121 may use the information in the recipe to control the microwave source 144, SSPA 117, power divider 206, power combiner 208, input / output signals to / from SSPA 117, pump 130, fluid source 406, gas source, etc.

[0032] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a method 500 for processing a substrate. Method 500 generally begins with supplying power from a power source to an amplifier. For example, in at least some embodiments, controller 121 may control the power supplied to one or more of the aforementioned power sources (e.g., microwave source 144). For example, in at least some embodiments, controller 121 may communicate with microwave source 144 and SSPA 117 to control the power used for heating the substrate.

[0033] Next, at 502, an amplifier including at least one of gallium nitride (GaN) transistors or gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistors amplifies the power level of the input signal received from a power source (e.g., microwave source 144). For example, when SSPA 117 is connected to microwave source 144, controller 121 can be configured to control the input / output to / from one or more transistors on SSPA 117, and at 504, an output (e.g., an amplified signal) from SSPA 117 to substrate support 136 can be provided for heating the substrate.

[0034] Next, at 506, coolant is supplied to a cooling plate disposed on the amplifier to cool the amplifier during operation. For example, controller 121 may be configured to control fluid source 406 to control the amount of coolant (e.g., cooling water) supplied to cooling plate 400.

[0035] While the foregoing describes embodiments of this disclosure, other and further embodiments of this disclosure may be designed without departing from the basic scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A processing chamber, comprising: Power source; An amplifier connected to the power source, the amplifier including at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor, and the amplifier being configured to amplify the power level of an input signal received from the power source to heat a substrate in a processing volume. as well as A cooling plate configured to receive coolant to cool the amplifier during operation; A substrate support for heating a substrate, wherein the substrate support is provided with an amplified signal from the amplifier.

2. The processing chamber as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing chamber is a degassing processing chamber.

3. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the amplifier is a solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) that provides power from 800 W to 1000 W.

4. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the power source is configured to provide power at a frequency from 5.0 GHz to 7.0 GHz.

5. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the amplifier comprises at least one of a power divider or a power combiner.

6. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the coolant is cooling water.

7. The processing chamber of claim 1, wherein the cooling plate includes a plurality of cooling channels configured to allow the coolant to flow within the cooling plate.

8. The processing chamber of claim 7, further comprising a controller that communicates with the amplifier and is configured to control the flow of the coolant through the plurality of cooling channels.

9. The processing chamber as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cooling plate is disposed below the amplifier.

10. A method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber, comprising the following steps: An amplifier is used to amplify the power level of an input signal received from a power source, the amplifier comprising at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor. The amplified signal is output to a substrate support disposed in the processing volume of the processing chamber to heat the substrate; as well as Coolant is supplied to a cooling plate mounted on the amplifier to cool the amplifier during operation.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the substrate is processed in a degassing chamber.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein amplifying the power level of the input signal comprises the following steps: Use solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) that provide power from 800 W to 1000 W.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein supplying power comprises the following steps: Power is supplied at frequencies ranging from 5.0 GHz to 7.0 GHz.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein supplying power comprises the following steps: Use at least one of a power divider or a power combiner.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein circulating the coolant comprises the step of circulating one of a liquid or a gas.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein circulating the coolant comprises the following steps: The coolant is circulated through multiple cooling channels configured to allow the coolant to flow within the cooling plate.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the following steps: A controller that communicates with the amplifier is used to control the flow of coolant through the plurality of cooling channels.

18. The method of any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein the cooling plate is disposed below the amplifier.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed, causing a processor to perform a method for processing a substrate in a processing chamber, the method comprising the steps of: An amplifier is used to amplify the power level of an input signal received from a power source, the amplifier comprising at least one of a gallium nitride (GaN) transistor or a gallium arsenide (GaAs) transistor. The amplified signal is output to a substrate support disposed in the processing volume of the processing chamber to heat the substrate; as well as Coolant is supplied to a cooling plate mounted on the amplifier to cool the amplifier during operation.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the substrate is processed in a degassing chamber.

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