Dc biased dual cross feed manifold and reactor using same
By combining a cross-feed manifold structure with a DC bias power supply, the problem that a single feed manifold cannot improve substrate processing quality is solved, achieving more efficient gas mixing and etching rate control, and improving substrate processing performance.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202511166624.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-08-23
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-03
AI Technical Summary
In the prior art, a single feed manifold cannot effectively improve the substrate processing quality during gas injection and mixing. NF3 gas passing through the ignition chamber of the ICP remote plasma unit causes F free radicals to damage the ICP unit, and the high etching rate is difficult to control, while positive ions affect the substrate quality.
It adopts a cross-feed manifold structure, including a vertically arranged manifold tube, a DC bias power supply, and top and bottom injection units. It uses highly conductive and ceramic materials, combined with a flow control ring and a filter, and reduces positive ions through a negative bias DC power supply to improve gas mixing efficiency.
It effectively reduces the impact of positive ions on the substrate, improves the uniformity of gas mixing and the control precision of etching rate, and enhances the substrate processing quality.
Smart Images
Figure CN121593028A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure generally relates to substrate processing apparatus, and more specifically to an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor equipped with a direct current (DC) biased cross feed manifold. Background Technology
[0002] Conventionally, the reaction chamber uses a manifold to inject the gas used to process the substrate.
[0003] However, a single feed manifold is not efficient in injecting and mixing gases to achieve substrate processing quality. Furthermore, current ICP remote plasma units (RPUs) involve feeding reactant gases, such as NF3, at the top of the RPU. This means that NF3 gas can pass through the RPU's ignition chamber.
[0004] Feeding NF3 via RPU can damage the ICP cell using the F radicals generated during NF3 dissociation. Furthermore, directly feeding NF3 into the ICP's ignition chamber can result in high etch rates, making it difficult to optimize processes requiring precise etch rate control, such as deposition-etch-deposition (DED) processes.
[0005] Furthermore, the positive ions contained in the plasma may affect the substrate quality, so it is necessary to reduce the number of positive ions.
[0006] Therefore, this disclosure provides a cross-feed manifold that can feed reactant gas at the bottom of the ICP unit and reduce positive ions in the plasma flow. Summary of the Invention
[0007] This summary is provided to present the chosen concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are further described in detail in the following description of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0008] According to one embodiment, a manifold structure for mixing gases to process a substrate in a reactor may be provided, comprising: a manifold tube disposed vertically and including an electrical inlet; a direct current (DC) bias power supply configured to supply a negative bias DC to the manifold tube and further configured to be connected to the electrical inlet; a top injection unit disposed on a top side of the manifold tube and including a reactant gas inlet pipe and configured to receive reactant gas via the reactant gas inlet pipe; and a bottom injection unit disposed on a lower side of the manifold tube and including a source gas inlet pipe and configured to receive source gas via the source gas inlet pipe, wherein the manifold tube is made of a highly conductive material, the highly conductive material including at least one of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) or mixtures thereof, and wherein the top injection unit and the bottom injection unit comprise a ceramic material.
[0009] On one hand, the manifold structure also includes a filter disposed within the manifold tube.
[0010] On one hand, the filter is located in the middle of the manifold, or on the top side of the manifold, or on the bottom side of the manifold.
[0011] On one hand, the first injection unit also includes one or more reactant gas inlet pipes.
[0012] On one hand, the second injection unit also includes one or more source gas inlet pipes.
[0013] On one hand, the manifold structure also includes a flow control ring disposed inside the bottom injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for effective gas mixing.
[0014] On one hand, the manifold structure also includes a flow control ring disposed inside the top injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for efficient mixing of the gas.
[0015] According to another embodiment, a reactor for processing a substrate can be provided, comprising: a remote plasma unit (RPU) configured to generate plasma; a manifold disposed between the RPU and a reaction chamber for mixing gases; and a reaction chamber configured to process the substrate, wherein the reaction chamber includes a spray head, chamber walls, and a base for supporting the substrate, and wherein the manifold includes: a manifold tube disposed vertically and including an electrical inlet; a top injection unit disposed on the top side of the manifold tube and including a reactant gas inlet pipe and configured to receive reactant gas via the reactant gas inlet pipe; and a bottom injection unit disposed on the lower side of the manifold tube and including a source gas inlet pipe and configured to receive source gas via the source gas inlet pipe.
[0016] On one hand, the manifold is made of a highly conductive material, including at least one of the following: copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb), or mixtures thereof.
[0017] On one hand, the top injection unit and the bottom injection unit include ceramic materials.
[0018] In one aspect, the reactor also includes a DC bias power supply configured to supply negatively biased DC to the manifold and further configured to be connected to an electrical inlet.
[0019] On one hand, the manifold also includes a filter disposed within the manifold tube.
[0020] On one hand, the DC bias power supply and manifold include an ion filter that filters out positive ions from the gas mixture in the manifold.
[0021] On one hand, the filter is located in the middle of the manifold, or on the top side of the manifold, or on the bottom side of the manifold.
[0022] On one hand, the first injection unit also includes one or more reactant gas inlet pipes.
[0023] On one hand, the second injection unit also includes one or more source gas inlet pipes.
[0024] On one hand, the reactor also includes a flow control ring disposed inside the bottom injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for effective mixing of the gas.
[0025] On one hand, the reactor also includes a flow control ring disposed inside the top injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for efficient mixing of the gas.
[0026] According to another embodiment, a manifold structure for mixing gases to process a substrate in a reactor is provided, the manifold structure including: a top (e.g., cylindrical) manifold section; a bottom (e.g., cylindrical) manifold section; and a filter disposed between the top manifold section and the bottom manifold section. The manifold structure may also include a direct current (DC) bias power supply configured to supply a negatively biased DC to the filter.
[0027] In one aspect, the top manifold section includes a top injection unit disposed on the top side of the top manifold section. The top injection unit includes a reactant gas inlet pipe and is configured to receive reactant gas via the reactant gas inlet pipe.
[0028] On one hand, the bottom manifold section includes a source gas inlet pipe and is configured to receive source gas via the source gas inlet pipe.
[0029] On one hand, the top manifold section and / or the bottom manifold section are formed of an electrically insulating material, such as the ceramic material described herein.
[0030] On one hand, the filter can be made of a highly conductive material, such as at least one of the following: copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb) or a mixture thereof. Attached Figure Description
[0031] It should be understood that the elements in the accompanying drawings are shown for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments illustrated in this disclosure.
[0032] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a reactor equipped with a manifold structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.
[0033] Figure 2 A close-up view of a manifold structure according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.
[0034] Figure 3(a) shows a filter that can be equipped in a manifold according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 3(b) shows the location of the filter in the manifold according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0035] Figure 4 This illustrates how a negatively charged manifold canister according to embodiments of the present disclosure works to reduce positive ions in the manifold canister.
[0036] Figure 5(a) shows a single-tube injection unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 5(b) shows a dual-tube injection unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0037] Figure 6 A view of a manifold structure according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.
[0038] Figure 7 An embodiment according to the present invention is shown. Figure 6 Another view of the manifold structure shown. Detailed Implementation
[0039] Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, those skilled in the art will understand that the invention extends beyond the specific disclosed embodiments and / or uses of the invention and their obvious modifications and equivalents. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the disclosed invention should not be limited to the specific disclosed embodiments described below.
[0040] As used herein, the term "substrate" can refer to any one or more underlying materials, including any one or more underlying materials that can be modified or on which devices, circuits, or films can be formed. A "substrate" can be continuous or discontinuous; rigid or flexible; solid or porous; and combinations thereof. A substrate can be in any form, such as powder, plate, or workpiece. Plate-type substrates can include wafers of various shapes and sizes. Substrates can be made of semiconductor materials, including, for example, silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.
[0041] As an example, the substrate in powder form can have applications for pharmaceutical manufacturing. Porous substrates can contain polymers. Examples of workpieces may include medical devices (e.g., stents and syringes), jewelry, tooling devices, components for battery manufacturing (e.g., anodes, cathodes, or separators), or components for photovoltaic cells, etc.
[0042] A continuous substrate can extend beyond the boundaries of the processing chamber, where a deposition process takes place. In some processes, the continuous substrate can move through the processing chamber, allowing the process to continue until the end of the substrate is reached. A continuous substrate can be supplied from a continuous substrate feed system to allow for the fabrication and output of the continuous substrate in any suitable form.
[0043] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates may include sheets, nonwoven films, rollers, foils, meshes, flexible materials, bundles of continuous filaments or fibers (e.g., ceramic or polymer fibers). Continuous substrates may also include carriers or sheets on which discontinuous substrates are mounted.
[0044] The illustrations presented herein are not intended to be actual views of any particular material, structure, or device, but are merely idealized representations used to describe embodiments of this disclosure.
[0045] The specific embodiments shown and described are illustrative of the invention and its best mode, and are not intended to further limit the scope of aspects and embodiments in any way. In fact, for the sake of brevity, conventional manufacturing, connection, preparation, and other functional aspects of the system may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical connections between various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may exist in the actual system, and / or may not exist in some embodiments.
[0046] It should be understood that the configurations and / or methods described herein are exemplary in nature, and these specific embodiments or examples should not be considered limiting, as many variations are possible. The particular routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Therefore, the various actions shown may be performed in the order shown, in a different order, or in some cases omitted.
[0047] The subject matter of this disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various processes, systems and configurations disclosed herein, as well as any and all equivalents thereof.
[0048] Figure 2 A close-up view of a manifold structure 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.
[0049] The manifold structure 200 according to this disclosure includes a top injection unit 210, a bottom injection unit 230, and a manifold tube 220 connecting the top injection unit 210 and the bottom injection unit 230. The manifold structure 200 may have internal channels 250 for plasma and gas flow. The top injection unit 210 may include a reactant gas inlet pipe 212 for injecting reactant gas introduced from the top injection inlet 211. The bottom injection unit 230 may include a source gas inlet pipe 232 for injecting source gas introduced from the bottom injection inlet 231. The manifold tube 220 may include an electrical inlet 221 in its body. The manifold structure 200 may also include a biased direct current (DC) power supply 240. Figure 4 (As shown).
[0050] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a reactor 100 equipped with a manifold structure 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.
[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, reactor 100 may include a remote plasma unit (RPU) 105, a manifold structure 200 connected to a biased direct current (DC) power supply 240, a reaction chamber 120, a spray head 121, a chamber wall 122, and a base 123. A substrate 126 may be placed on the base 123.
[0052] Plasma material from the plasma generated in RPU105 can pass downwards through manifold structure 200. The plasma material may include free radicals R and positive ions P, such as... Figure 4 As shown. Figure 4 This illustration shows how a negatively charged manifold canister according to an embodiment of the present disclosure works to reduce positive ions in the manifold canister. Free radicals (R) are electrically neutral, while positive ions (P) are electroneutrally positive.
[0053] The manifold 220 can be charged with negatively biased DC power supplied from a biased DC power supply 240 connected via electrical inlet 221. For effective negative charging, the manifold 220 can be made of a highly conductive material, including at least one of copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb), or mixtures thereof, while the top injection unit 210 and the bottom injection unit 230 can be made of ceramic material for electrical insulation from the RPU 105 (top injection unit 210) and the reaction chamber 120 (bottom injection unit 230).
[0054] In stage 1 (P1), free radicals (R) and positive ions (P) can be formed in the plasma generated in RPU105. The plasma material will be mixed with the reactant gas injected from the top injection inlet 211.
[0055] In stage 2 (P2), the biased DC power supply 240 can negatively charge the manifold 220. Therefore, the manifold 220 can be negatively charged (N). When plasma material (i.e., free radicals (R) and positive ions (P)) flows downwards into the reaction chamber 120, the electrically neutral free radicals (R) can flow downwards without any external influence. However, the positive ions (P) may be affected by the electrical current, and thus the positive ions (P) can be directed into the negatively charged manifold 220 and slightly eliminated from the plasma mixture.
[0056] In stage 3 (P3), when the source gas is injected from the bottom injection inlet 231 in the bottom injection unit 230, the density of free radicals (R) can be much higher than the density of positive ions (P). For better mixing, a flow control ring 260 with multiple injection orifices 261 can be placed inside the bottom injection unit 230. Although not shown in the figures, a flow control ring with multiple injection orifices can also be placed inside the top injection unit 210.
[0057] To better eliminate positive ions, filter 321 can be placed inside manifold 220. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show a filter 310 that can be fitted into manifold 220 (Figure 3(a)) and the position of filter 310 in manifold 220 (Figure 3(b)), respectively. Filter 310 can be made of the same material as manifold 220 to attract positive ions (P). Filter 310 can be circular to fit into manifold 220 and can include multiple holes 311.
[0058] The filter 310 can be placed at various locations within the manifold 220. For example, the filter 310 can be placed in the middle of the manifold 322, at the opening of the top injection unit 210 (i.e., the top side of the manifold 321), or at the opening of the bottom injection unit 230 (i.e., the bottom side of the manifold 323). In some cases, more than one filter can be placed at various locations within the manifold 220.
[0059] The top injection unit 210 and the bottom injection unit 230 may have more than one injection tube.
[0060] Figures 5(a) and 5(b) show examples of single-tube and dual-tube (top and bottom) injection units according to this disclosure.
[0061] In some cases, the top injection unit 210 may include a reactant gas inlet pipe 510, but in other cases, the top injection unit 210 may include reactant gas inlet pipes 520 and 521. In some cases, the bottom injection unit 230 may include a source gas inlet pipe 510, but in other cases, the bottom injection unit 230 may include source gas inlet pipes 520 and 521, just like the top injection unit 210. The number of inlet pipes for the top injection unit 210 and the bottom injection unit 230 may vary in different cases.
[0062] Figure 6 and Figure 7 Another manifold structure 600 according to this disclosure is shown. The manifold structure 600 can be used in conjunction with the reactor system 100 described above.
[0063] In the example shown, the manifold structure 600 includes a top (e.g., cylindrical) manifold section 602, a bottom (e.g., cylindrical) manifold section 604, and a filter 606 disposed (e.g., directly) between the top manifold section 602 and the bottom manifold section 604. As described above, the manifold structure 600 may have an internal channel 608 for the flow of plasma material and / or gas. The manifold structure 600 may also include a flow control ring 624 in the top manifold section 602 and / or the bottom manifold section 604, which may be the same as or similar to the flow control ring 260 described above.
[0064] The top manifold section 602 may include a top injection unit 610. The top injection unit 610 may include a reactant gas inlet pipe 612, which may inject reactant gas introduced from the top injection inlet 611. The top manifold section 602 may be formed of an electrically insulating material, such as an insulating ceramic material. For example, the top manifold section 602 may be formed of one or more of alumina, aluminum nitride, and / or quartz (SiO2).
[0065] Bottom manifold section 604 includes a bottom injection unit 614. Bottom injection unit 614 may include a source gas inlet pipe 616, which may inject source gas introduced from the bottom injection inlet 618. Bottom manifold section 604 may be formed of any of the materials mentioned above in conjunction with top manifold section 602.
[0066] The top injection unit 610 and / or the bottom manifold section 604 may each include one or more injection tubes. An example configuration has been described above in conjunction with Figure 5.
[0067] Filter 606 may be as described above in conjunction with Figure 3. Filter 606 may be formed of a highly conductive material, such as the highly conductive material described herein. Filter 606 may also include an electrical inlet 620, which may be the same as or similar to electrical inlet 221.
[0068] The manifold structure 600 may also include a biased direct current (DC) power supply 622 to apply a -ve DC bias to the filter 606. Applying a DC bias to the clamped filter to capture charged ions can reduce ion damage on the membrane and allow free radical-dominated reactions, which is generally desirable.
[0069] The above-described arrangement of the equipment is merely an illustration of the application of the principles of the present invention, and many other embodiments and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention should not be determined by reference to the above description, but rather by the full scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A manifold structure for mixing gases to process a substrate in a reactor, comprising: A manifold, which is vertically arranged and includes an electrical inlet; A DC bias power supply configured to supply a negative bias DC to the manifold and also configured to be connected to an electrical inlet; A top injection unit is disposed on the top side of the manifold and includes a reactant gas inlet pipe and is configured to receive reactant gas via the reactant gas inlet pipe; as well as A bottom injection unit is disposed on the lower side of the manifold and includes a source gas inlet pipe and is configured to receive source gas via the source gas inlet pipe, wherein the manifold is made of a highly conductive material, the highly conductive material including at least one of the following: copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) or mixtures thereof, and wherein the top injection unit and the bottom injection unit include ceramic materials.
2. The manifold structure according to claim 1, further comprising: A filter is disposed in the manifold.
3. The manifold structure according to claim 2, wherein, The filter is located in a) the middle of the manifold, or b) the top side of the manifold, or c) the bottom side of the manifold.
4. The manifold structure according to claim 1, wherein, The first injection unit also includes one or more reactant gas inlet pipes.
5. The manifold structure according to claim 1, wherein, The second injection unit also includes one or more source gas inlet pipes.
6. The manifold structure according to claim 1, further comprising: A flow control ring is disposed inside the bottom injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for effective gas mixing.
7. The manifold structure according to claim 1, further comprising: A flow control ring is disposed inside the top injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for efficient mixing of the gas.
8. A reactor for processing a substrate, comprising: A remote plasma unit (RPU) configured to generate plasma; A manifold, located between the RPU and the reaction chamber, is used for mixing gases; as well as A reaction chamber configured to process a substrate, wherein the reaction chamber includes a spray head, chamber walls, and a base for supporting the substrate, and wherein a manifold includes: A manifold, which is vertically arranged and includes an electrical inlet; A top injection unit, disposed on the top side of the manifold cylinder, includes a reactant gas inlet pipe and is configured to receive reactant gas via the reactant gas inlet pipe; and The bottom injection unit is located on the lower side of the manifold tube and includes a source gas inlet pipe, and is configured to receive source gas via the source gas inlet pipe.
9. The reactor according to claim 8, wherein, The manifold is made of a highly conductive material, which includes at least one of the following: copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), and lead (Pb), or a mixture thereof.
10. The reactor according to claim 8, wherein, The top injection unit and the bottom injection unit comprise ceramic materials.
11. The reactor according to claim 8, further comprising: A DC bias power supply is configured to supply negative bias DC to the manifold and is also configured to be connected to the electrical inlet.
12. The reactor according to claim 8, wherein, The manifold also includes a filter disposed within the manifold cylinder.
13. The reactor according to claim 11, wherein, The DC bias power supply and the manifold include an ion filter that filters positive ions from the gas mixture in the manifold.
14. The reactor according to claim 12, wherein, The filter is located in a) the middle of the manifold, or b) the top side of the manifold, or c) the bottom side of the manifold.
15. The reactor according to claim 8, wherein, The first injection unit also includes one or more reactant gas inlet pipes.
16. The reactor according to claim 8, wherein, The second injection unit also includes one or more source gas inlet pipes.
17. The reactor according to claim 8, further comprising: A flow control ring is disposed inside the bottom injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for effective gas mixing.
18. The reactor according to claim 8, further comprising: A flow control ring is disposed inside the top injection unit, and the flow control ring includes multiple injection holes for efficient mixing of the gas.
19. A manifold structure for mixing gases to process a substrate in a reactor, the manifold structure comprising: Top manifold section; Bottom manifold section; A filter is installed between the top manifold section and the bottom manifold section; as well as A DC bias power supply configured to supply negative bias DC to the filter.
20. The manifold structure according to claim 19 further includes a flow control ring disposed inside the bottom injection unit of the bottom manifold section.