Substrate cooling apparatus using conduction and heat dissipation

Abstract

To provide an apparatus for cooling a substrate.SOLUTION: The apparatus comprises: a chamber housing; a first port disposed in a first wall configured to be sealable from a first environment; a second port disposed in a second wall configured to be sealable from a second environment; a first support disposed between the top and the bottom of the chamber housing; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom of the chamber housing; a first body disposed just below the top wall; and a second body disposed just above the bottom wall; where the emissivity of the first body and the emissivity of the second body are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate cooling chamber, and more particularly, to a load lock chamber within a substrate processing system configured to efficiently and effectively cool the temperature of a processed substrate.

Background Art

[0002] In wafer processing, wafers need to be cooled in various processes. Typically, wafers are cooled in a vacuum load lock chamber before being exposed to the atmosphere.

[0003] Currently, cooling plates are used to cool the location where wafers are placed for cooling. This method is effective, but it is not very scalable when multiple wafers need to be cooled simultaneously.

[0004] Therefore, an efficient method for cooling multiple wafers is needed.

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] This summary is provided to introduce some concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are further described in more detail in the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure below. This summary is not intended to identify the main features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0006] According to one embodiment, an apparatus for cooling a substrate is provided, and the apparatus is further configured to transfer the substrate between a first environment having a first pressure and a second environment having a second pressure. The apparatus includes a chamber housing having a first wall, a second wall facing the first wall, a third wall, a fourth wall facing the third wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall, defining a chamber volume therebetween; a first port disposed on the first wall configured to be sealable from the first environment; a second port disposed on the second wall configured to be sealable from the second environment; a first support disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom wall; a first body disposed immediately below the top wall; and a second body disposed immediately above the bottom wall. The first body and the second body are each capable of absorbing heat radiated from a first substrate disposed on the first support and a second substrate disposed on the second support, and the emissivity of the first body and the emissivity of the second body are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

[0007] In at least one aspect, the first environment is an equipment front-end module (EFEM) for supplying the substrate into the apparatus, the second environment is a processing module where the substrate is processed, and the first pressure and the second pressure are different.

[0008] In at least one aspect, each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip, and the lip is configured to extend radially inwards from the inner portion.

[0009] In at least one aspect, each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip, and the lip includes a plurality of pins.

[0010] In at least one aspect, the shape of each of the plurality of pins is one of a cylinder, a conical tip cylinder, a triangular prism, and a square prism.

[0011] In at least one aspect, the length of the lip is equal to or greater than a predetermined length.

[0012] In at least one aspect, the apparatus further comprises a first rail and a second rail, and the first support and the second support are arranged on the first rail and the second rail and configured to be movable up and down.

[0013] In at least one aspect, the first rail and the second rail are directly attached to the third wall and the fourth wall.

[0014] In at least one aspect, when receiving the substrate, the first support and the second support are respectively located at a first upper position and a second lower position, and when cooling the substrate, the first support and the second support are configured to move to a second upper position and a second lower position respectively.

[0015] In at least one aspect, a first distance between the first body and the second upper position and a second distance between the second body and the second lower position are less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

[0016] In at least one aspect, the apparatus comprises a controller electrically coupled to the first support and the second support and configured to control the up and down movement of the first support and the second support.

[0017] According to one embodiment, a substrate processing assembly includes a front-end-of-line module chamber having one or more interface openings and a robot arm for moving a substrate, a front-end-of-line module, a processing chamber configured to process one or more substrates, and a load lock chamber configured to cool a substrate and transfer the substrate between the front-end-of-line module and a plurality of processing chambers. The load lock chamber has a first wall, a second wall facing the first wall, a third wall, a fourth wall facing the third wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall, and a chamber housing defining a chamber volume therebetween. The load lock chamber includes a first port disposed on the first wall configured to be sealable from a first environment, a second port disposed on the second wall configured to be sealable from a second environment, a first support disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall, a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom wall, a first body disposed immediately below the top wall, and a second body disposed immediately above the bottom wall, the emissivity of the first body and the emissivity of the second body being equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. A substrate processing assembly including the load lock chamber may be provided.

[0018] In at least one aspect, each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip, the lip being configured to extend radially inward from the inner portion.

[0019] In at least one aspect, each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip, the lip including a plurality of pins.

[0020] In at least one aspect, the shape of each of the plurality of pins is one of a cylinder, a conical tip cylinder, a triangular prism, and a square prism.

[0021] In at least one aspect, the length of the lip is equal to or greater than a predetermined length.

[0022] In at least one aspect, the load lock chamber further comprises a first rail and a second rail, and the first support and the second support are disposed on the first rail and the second rail and configured to be movable up and down.

[0023] In at least one aspect, when the first support and the second support receive the substrate, they are respectively located at a first upper position and a second lower position, and when the first support and the second support cool the substrate, they are respectively configured to move to a second upper position and a second lower position.

[0024] In at least one aspect, a first distance between the first body and the second upper position, and a second distance between the second body and the second lower position are less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

[0025] In at least one aspect, the assembly comprises a controller electrically coupled to the first support and the second support and configured to control the up and down movement of the first support and the second support.

[0026] It will be understood that the elements in the figures are illustrated in a simplified and clarified manner and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to facilitate understanding of the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0027]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0028] Certain specific embodiments and examples are disclosed below, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or uses of the present invention, as well as obvious variations and equivalents thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the disclosed invention should not be limited by the specific disclosed embodiments described hereinafter.

[0029] As used in this disclosure, the term "substrate" may refer to any single or multiple underlying materials, which may be modified or on which a device, circuit, or film may be formed. The "substrate" may be continuous or discontinuous, rigid or flexible, solid or porous, and combinations thereof. The substrate may be in any form such as powder, plate, or workpiece. Substrates in the form of plates include, for example, wafers of various shapes and sizes. The substrate may be made of semiconductor materials including, for example, silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.

[0030] As an example, a substrate in the form of powder may have applications for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The porous substrate may include a polymer. 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 of a photovoltaic cell.

[0031] The continuous substrate may extend beyond the boundaries of the process chamber where the deposition process occurs. In some processes, the continuous substrate may move through the process chamber, thereby continuing the process until it reaches the end of the substrate. The continuous substrate may be supplied from a continuous substrate supply system in any suitable form to enable the manufacture and output of the continuous substrate.

[0032] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates may include sheets, non-woven membranes, rolls, foils, webs, flexible materials, bundles of continuous filaments or fibers (e.g., ceramic fibers, or polymer fibers). Also, the continuous substrate may include a carrier, or a sheet, onto which the discontinuous substrate is placed.

[0033] The examples presented in this disclosure do not mean the actual form of any specific material, structure, or device, but are merely conceptual representations used to illustrate embodiments of this disclosure.

[0034] The specific implementations illustrated and described are examples of the invention and its best mode, and are not intended to limit the scope of aspects and implementations at all. Also, for the sake of brevity, conventional manufacturing, related, preparation, and other functional aspects of the system may not be described in detail. Further, the connecting lines shown in the various figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical connections between the 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.

[0035] It should be understood that the configurations and / or approaches described in this disclosure are essentially exemplary, and these specific embodiments or examples should not be considered to have a limiting meaning because numerous variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described in this disclosure may represent one or more of any number of process strategies. Therefore, the various operations illustrated may be performed in the order illustrated, in other orders, or may be omitted in some cases.

[0036] The subject matter of this disclosure includes not only all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of the various processes, systems, and configurations, as well as other features, functions, operations, and / or characteristics disclosed in this disclosure, but also all equivalents thereof.

[0037] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Chamber 120 is disposed between the equipment front-end module 110 and the wafer processing module 130. The substrate is provided from the substrate carrier 112 into the equipment front-end module 110, and the robot arm 111 in the equipment front-end module 110 moves the substrate. The substrate may be processed in the reaction chambers 132 to 137 and moved by the robot 131.

[0039] Chamber 120 may be referred to as a load lock chamber and may have a configuration with two ports. The first port 141 may be disposed on the first wall between the load lock chamber 120 and the wafer processing module 130. The second port 142 may be disposed on the second wall facing the first wall, and the second wall is disposed between the load lock chamber 120 and the equipment front-end module 110. The first port 141 and the second port 142 may be configured to seal the load lock chamber 120 when closed. The substrate may be transported between the equipment front-end module 110 and the load lock chamber 120 via the second port 142 and between the load lock chamber 120 and the wafer processing module 130 via the first port 141.

[0040] Figure 2 is a diagram showing one of the perspective view modes of the substrate cooling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] The load lock chamber 200 has a first wall 261, a second wall 262 facing the first wall 261, a third wall 263, a fourth wall (not shown) facing the third wall 263, a bottom wall 266, and a top wall (not shown). The chamber housing 210 is defined by these walls.

[0042] The first port 251 may be disposed within the first wall 261, and although not shown, it is obvious that a second port may be disposed within the second wall 262.

[0043] In the chamber housing 210, the first support 231 and the second support 232 may be arranged in this order downward from the top wall, and the substrate may be placed on each of the supports 231 and 232 for cooling.

[0044] To cool the substrate, the first body may be disposed immediately below the top wall, and the second body 211 may be disposed immediately above the bottom wall 266 (the first body and the top wall are shown and described in FIG. 4).

[0045] The emissivity of the first body (e1) and the emissivity of the second body (e2) may be equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Since a material with a high emissivity has a high heat absorption rate, an object with a high emissivity can absorb more heat than an object with a low emissivity. Therefore, the predetermined threshold value may need to be a value close to 1.0, and preferably, the threshold value is 0.9. Such a configuration may enable simultaneous cooling of a plurality of wafers.

[0046] Each of the first support 231 and the second support 232 may include an inner portion 241 and a lip 242. The inner portion 241 may be configured to be curved so as to more easily hold a round substrate. The lip 242 may be configured to extend radially inward from the inner portion. The larger the area where the (high-temperature) substrate contacts the lip, the faster the substrate is cooled by heat conduction. The length of the lip (d) may need to be equal to or greater than a predetermined length for better heat conduction cooling.

[0047] The great advantage of improving throughput by cooling when the contact area is relatively large, that is, the large contact area, exceeds the risk of particle generation such as wafer sliding over a relatively small support because the temperature difference is relatively small or the deformation of the wafer during cooling is small.

[0048] The first rail 220 and the second rail 221 may be disposed within the chamber housing 210 to support the first support 231 and the second support 232. The first and second rails 220, 221 may be independently attached as shown.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows another mode of a perspective view of a substrate cooling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] The load lock chamber 300 has a first wall 361, a second wall 362 facing the first wall 361, a third wall 363, a fourth wall (not shown) facing the third wall 363, a bottom wall 366, and a top wall (not shown). The chamber housing 310 is defined by these walls.

[0051] The first port 351 may be disposed within the first wall 361, and although not shown, it is obvious that a second port may be disposed within the second wall 362.

[0052] In the chamber housing 310, the first support 331 and the second support 332 may be arranged in this order downward from the top wall, and the substrate may be placed on each of the supports 331, 232 for cooling.

[0053] To cool the substrate, the first body may be disposed immediately below the top wall, and the second body 311 may be disposed immediately above the bottom wall 366.

[0054] Each of the first support 331 and the second support 332 may include an inner portion 341 and a lip. The inner portion 341 may be configured to be curved to more easily hold a round substrate. The lip may extend radially inward from the inner portion and may include a plurality of pins 342, and the shape of the pins may be one of a cylinder, a conical tip cylinder, a triangular prism, and a square prism.

[0055] The relatively small contact area by the pin-like lips in FIG. 3 can be advantageous in applications where the temperature difference is relatively high and the wafer slides over a relatively small surface area during cooling, thus reducing the particle problem.

[0056] The first rail 320 and the second rail 321 may be disposed within the chamber housing 310 to support the first support 331 and the second support 332. The first rail 320 and the second rail 321 may be independently attached as shown.

[0057] Since there is no cooling stage or cooling station, the footprint of the tool does not increase. Particles do not increase due to other parts contacting the wafer during the cooling stage. Usually, the number of wafer transfers that reduce the tool throughput does not increase by this method. Since the number of moving parts is minimal, the impact on manufacturing cost and maintainability is further minimized by such a method.

[0058] FIG. 4 is a front view of a substrate cooling device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, the first wall and the second wall cannot be illustrated, but the third wall 463 and the fourth wall 464, as well as the top wall 461 and the bottom wall 462, may be illustrated.

[0059] The first rail 420 and the second rail 421 may rise from the bottom wall 462, and the first support 431 and the second support 432 may be disposed on the first rail 420 and the second rail 421. The first and second supports 431, 432 may be configured to be movable by sliding up and down on the first and second rails 420, 421. The first rail 420 and the second rail 421 may be attached on the third wall 463 and on the fourth wall 464 (420-1, 421-1).

[0060] The first support 431 may be configured to be located at position A1 when receiving the base material (w1). For efficient cooling using the heat dissipation degree, the first support 431 may be configured to move upward at position A2 to place the base material w1 closer to the first main body 410. The distance (L1) from the first main body 410 to position A2 will be less than or equal to a predetermined distance. In the present disclosure, the predetermined distance is preferably 5 mm.

[0061] The second support 432 may be configured to be located at position B1 when receiving the base material (w2). For efficient cooling using the heat dissipation luminance, the second support 432 may be configured to move downward at position B2 to place the base material w2 closer to the second main body 411. The distance (D1) from the second main body 411 to position B2 will be less than or equal to a predetermined distance. In the present disclosure, the predetermined distance is preferably 5 mm.

[0062] The first support 431 may be configured to include an inner portion 471 and a lip 472. The lip 472 may be used to cool the base material by heat conduction.

[0063] Also, the first rail 420 and the second rail 421, as well as the walls (461 - 464, and the first wall and the second wall) of the chamber housing, may need to be made of a material with high thermal conductivity in order to maximize the cooling effect by heat conduction.

[0064] When the first rail 420-1 and the second rail 421-1 are attached to the third wall 463 and the fourth wall 464, the heat from the base material can be more conducted, and the base material can be cooled more efficiently.

[0065] For an efficient and effective cooling effect, the controller 450 may be configured to be electrically connected to the first support 431 and the second support 432. The controller 450 may be configured to move the first support 431 upward when the substrate w1 is disposed on the first support 431, and to move the second support 432 downward when the substrate w2 is disposed on the second support 432.

[0066] Overall, the wafer cooling device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can efficiently cool the temperature of the substrate by utilizing the heat dissipation degree and heat conduction.

[0067] The arrangement of the above-described device is merely an exemplification of the application of the principles of the present invention, and numerous other embodiments and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should not be determined with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. An apparatus for cooling a substrate, the apparatus further configured to transfer the substrate between a first environment having a first pressure and a second environment having a second pressure; The apparatus comprises: a chamber housing having a first wall, a second wall opposite the first wall, a third wall, a fourth wall opposite the third wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall defining a chamber volume therebetween; a first port disposed in the first wall configured to be sealable from the first environment; a second port disposed in the second wall configured to be sealable from the second environment; a first support disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom wall; a first body disposed directly below the top wall; a second body disposed immediately above the bottom wall; the first body and the second body are capable of absorbing heat radiated from a first substrate disposed on the first support and a second substrate disposed on the second support, respectively; The apparatus, wherein the emissivity of the first body and the emissivity of the second body are greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value.

2. the first environment being an equipment front-end module (EFEM) for feeding the substrate into the apparatus; the second environment being a processing module in which the substrate is processed; The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first pressure and the second pressure are different.

3. each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip; The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lip is configured to extend radially inward from the inner portion.

4. each of the first support and the second support includes a curved inner portion and a lip; The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lip comprises a plurality of pins.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the shape of each of the plurality of pins is one of a cylinder, a cone-tipped cylinder, a triangular prism, and a square prism.

6. 5. The device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the length of the lip is equal to or greater than a predetermined length.

7. 5. The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, further comprising a first rail and a second rail, the first support and the second support being arranged on the first rail and the second rail and configured to be movable up and down.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first rail and the second rail are directly attached to the third wall and the fourth wall.

9. the first support and the second support are positioned in a first upper position and a first lower position, respectively, when receiving the substrate; 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first support and the second support are configured to move to a second upper position and a second lower position, respectively, when cooling the substrate.

10. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a first distance between the first body and the second upper location and a second distance between the second body and the second lower location are less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

11. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising a controller electrically coupled to the first support and the second support and configured to control the up and down movement of the first support and the second support.

12. 1. A substrate processing assembly comprising: an equipment front end module including an equipment front end module chamber having one or more interface openings and a robotic arm for moving the substrate; a processing chamber configured to process one or more substrates; a load lock chamber configured to cool the substrate and transport the substrate between the equipment front end module and a plurality of processing chambers, a chamber housing having a first wall, a second wall opposite the first wall, a third wall, a fourth wall opposite the third wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall defining a chamber volume therebetween; a first port disposed in the first wall configured to be sealable from a first environment; a second port disposed in the second wall configured to be sealable from a second environment; a first support disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom wall; a first body disposed directly below the top wall; a load lock chamber comprising: a second body disposed immediately above the bottom wall, the emissivity of the first body and the emissivity of the second body being equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

13. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first support and the second support each include a curved inner portion and a lip, the lip configured to extend radially inward from the inner portion.

14. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first support and the second support each include a curved inner portion and a lip, the lip including a plurality of pins.

15. The assembly of claim 14 , wherein the shape of each of the plurality of pins is one of a cylinder, a cone-tipped cylinder, a triangular prism, and a square prism.

16. 15. The assembly of claim 13 or 14, wherein the length of the lip is equal to or greater than a predetermined length.

17. 15. The assembly of claim 13 or 14, wherein the load lock chamber further comprises a first rail and a second rail, and the first support and the second support are disposed on the first rail and the second rail and configured to be movable up and down.

18. the first support and the second support are positioned in a first upper position and a first lower position, respectively, when receiving the substrate; 20. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the first support and the second support are configured to move to a second upper position and a second lower position, respectively, when the substrate is cooled.

19. 20. The assembly of claim 18, wherein a first distance between the first body and the second upper location and a second distance between the second body and the second lower location are less than or equal to a predetermined distance.

20. 20. The assembly of claim 17, further comprising a controller electrically coupled to the first support and the second support and configured to control vertical movement of the first support and the second support.

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