A semiconductor processing system including a lift-rotating assembly, a chamber configuration, and a lift-rotating assembly, and a method for fabricating a lift-rotating assembly and depositing a material layer using the lift-rotating assembly.

Abstract

We provide lift and rotation assemblies. [Solution] The lift-rotating assembly includes a shaft carrier, a ceramic shaft, a split sleeve, and a flanged sleeve. The shaft carrier defines a bore through which the ceramic shaft passes, the ceramic shaft is received within the bore of the shaft carrier, the split sleeve seats on the shaft carrier and extends around the ceramic shaft, and the flanged sleeve defines a rotation axis and screw-in receives the shaft carrier therein. The split sleeve is compressed and fixed around the ceramic shaft in the bore of the shaft carrier and deforms radially, limiting the tilt and swing of the substrate support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the rotation axis. Also described are a chamber configuration and a semiconductor processing system including the lift-rotating assembly, a method for fabricating the lift-rotating assembly, and a method for depositing material layers using the lift-rotating assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to rotating machinery, and more particularly to controlling the rotation of a rotating structure in a rotating machinery.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, rotation is transmitted between a rotation source and a rotating structure in a rotating machinery. Generally, the rotating structure is coupled to the rotation source by one or more transmission components such as intervening pulleys and belts or gear boxes, and rotates about a desired axis of rotation using the rotation transmitted through the one or more transmission components. In some rotating machinery, the rotation of the rotating structure and / or one or more intervening transmission components is controlled to limit, for example, the swaying and runout of the rotating structure about the axis of rotation and to limit the effects that runout and swaying may otherwise have on the operation of the rotating machinery. For example, the alignment of one or more transmission components with respect to the axis of rotation may be controlled using compressible structures such as O-rings, X-rings, and quad rings.

[0003] The foregoing systems and methods have generally been accepted for their intended purposes. However, in the technical field related to rotating machinery, there remains a need for improvements in drive assemblies, chamber arrangements, and semiconductor processing systems including drive assemblies, as well as methods for fabricating drive assemblies and depositing material layers using drive assemblies. The present disclosure provides solutions to the foregoing needs.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a shaft carrier defining a bore through which the shaft carrier passes. The bore may have a tapered portion and a shoulder portion defined therein. The first end of the ceramic shaft may be axially spaced away from the shoulder portion in the bore.

[0006] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include an internal elastic member that axially separates the ceramic shaft from the shoulder portion. The internal elastic member may be anchored between the first end of the ceramic shaft and the shoulder portion.

[0007] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a shaft carrier having a first male threaded portion and a second male threaded portion defined on the outer surface of the shaft carrier. The first male threaded portion may axially separate the second male threaded portion from the first male threaded portion. The second male threaded portion may be defined on the outer surface of the shaft carrier at a radial position between the first male threaded portion and the axis of rotation.

[0008] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotating assemblies may include a ceramic shaft formed from one of fused silica, quartz, and sapphire.

[0009] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotate assemblies may include a ceramic shaft defining a bore through which the ceramic shaft passes. A probe member may be slidably received within the bore and protrude from either (or both) of the first and second ends of the ceramic shaft.

[0010] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a ceramic shaft radially spaced away from the shaft carrier within a bore defined within the shaft carrier. The ceramic shaft is axially spaced away from the shoulder portion defined within the bore of the shaft carrier.

[0011] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a split sleeve having a small tapered portion and a large tapered portion. The small tapered portion of the split sleeve may be received (e.g., fixed) within the shaft carrier. The large tapered portion of the split sleeve may protrude axially from the shaft carrier.

[0012] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include compressing and deforming the split sleeve to a width greater than the width of the ceramic shaft by having a smaller tapered portion of the split sleeve have a different nominal taper angle than the taper of the bore defined within the shaft carrier. The larger tapered portion of the split sleeve may further compress and deform the split sleeve to a width substantially equal to the width of the ceramic shaft by having a different nominal taper angle than the taper of the bore defined within the flanged sleeve.

[0013] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a split sleeve defining a circumferential slot extending around the split sleeve. The circumferential slot may axially separate the smaller tapered portion of the split sleeve from the larger tapered portion of the split sleeve. The shaft carrier may have a flange portion that projects radially inward and partially occupies the circumferential slot extending around the split sleeve.

[0014] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include the split sleeve conforming to a nominal size ER20 collet as specified in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E).

[0015] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a split sleeve defining a bore through the split sleeve. The bore may be diametrically enlarged relative to the nominal size ER20 collet as described in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E).

[0016] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotating assemblies may include the split sleeve being formed from DIN 1.4122 stainless steel. A fluid selected from the group consisting of phosphine (P2H4), arsine (AsH3), hydrogen (H2) gas, and hydrochloric acid (HCl) comes into contact with the split sleeve, and DIN 1.4122 otherwise limits (or eliminates) corrosion of the split sleeve associated with fluid contact.

[0017] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a flanged sleeve having a stem portion, an axially opposed flange portion, and a step or neck portion in the axial middle between the stem portion and the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

[0018] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a flanged sleeve defining a bore therein having a tapered portion and a fixed width portion. The stem portion of the flanged sleeve may radially overlap the tapered portion of the bore defined within the flanged sleeve. The flange portion of the flanged sleeve may radially overlap the fixed width portion of the bore defined within the flanged sleeve. The large tapered portion of the split sleeve may be compressed and seated within the tapered portion of the bore defined within the flanged sleeve.

[0019] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotating assemblies may include a cylindrical sleeve that is threaded around a shaft carrier and at least partially positioned within a bore defined within the flange portion of a flanged sleeve.

[0020] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a flag structure and a drive gear. The flag structure may extend around the stem portion of the flanged sleeve. The drive gear may extend around the stem portion and be fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve. The flag structure may be located axially midway between the drive gear and the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

[0021] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include bearing arrangements and drive gears. A bearing arrangement may include a rotor extending around the stem portion of a flanged sleeve and fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve, a stator extending around the rotor and coupled to a bearing body, and a ferromagnetic fluid seal located between the stator and rotor to fluidly isolate the ceramic shaft from the external environment of the lift-rotation assembly. The stator and rotor of the bearing arrangement may radially overlap with the shaft carrier. A drive gear may extend around the stator and be fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

[0022] In addition to or as an alternative to one or more of the features described above, further examples of lift-rotation assemblies may include a shaft carrier having a serrated surface protruding from a flanged sleeve. The lift-rotation assembly may further include a cylindrical sleeve having a serrated surface extending around the shaft carrier and protruding from the flanged sleeve. The serrated surface of the cylindrical sleeve may extend around the serrated surface of the shaft carrier. The cylindrical sleeve may be rotatable relative to the shaft carrier.

[0023] A semiconductor processing system is provided. The semiconductor processing includes a chamber configuration and a dopant-containing precursor source. The chamber configuration includes a chamber body from which a tubular member protrudes, an injection flange abutting the injection end of the chamber body, and a substrate support supported for rotation within the chamber body by the aforementioned lift-rotation assembly. A ceramic shaft extends through the tubular member and supports the substrate support. The dopant-containing precursor source is coupled to the injection flange by a supply conduit and to both the dopant-containing precursor source and the tubular member by a conduit between the dopant-containing precursor source and the tubular member.

[0024] A method for fabricating a lift-rotating assembly is provided. The method includes seating an internal elastic member on the shoulder portion of a bore defined within a shaft carrier; seating a small tapered portion of a segmented sleeve on the tapered portion of a bore defined within the shaft carrier; and seating a first end of a ceramic shaft in the bore and on the internal elastic member seated on the shoulder and within the bore. The shaft carrier is screw-seat in a bore defined within a flanged carrier so that the ceramic shaft protrudes from the shaft carrier along a rotation axis defined by the flanged sleeve; seating the segmented sleeve in the shaft carrier compressively deforms the segmented sleeve; screw-fixing the shaft carrier in the bore further compressively deforms the segmented sleeve so that it is compressed and fixed around the ceramic shaft in the bore of the shaft carrier and compressively deformed radially, thereby limiting the tilting and swinging of the base support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the rotation axis.

[0025] A method for depositing a material layer is provided. The method includes, in the lift-rotating assembly described above, seating a substrate on a substrate support supported by a ceramic shaft; rotating the substrate support about a rotation axis; bringing the substrate into contact with a process fluid to deposit a material layer on the substrate; and removing material from the substrate. The tilting and oscillating of the substrate support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation about the rotation axis is limited by the compression fixing and radial compression deformation of a segmented sleeve around the ceramic shaft.

[0026] A tilt and sway kit for a lift-rotation assembly is provided. The kit includes a shaft carrier configured to seat a ceramic shaft, a split sleeve configured to seat within the shaft carrier and around the ceramic shaft, a flanged sleeve having a bore configured to receive the split sleeve and the shaft carrier therein, and configured to compressively deform the split sleeve around the ceramic shaft and limit tilt and sway of the ceramic shaft during rotation about a rotational axis defined by the flanged sleeve.

[0027] This summary of the invention is provided to simplify a selection of concepts in a reduced form. These concepts are further described in greater detail in the "Detailed Description of the Invention" below. This summary is not intended to identify key 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.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028] [Figure 1] A schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing system including a lift-rotation assembly according to the present disclosure, wherein the lift-rotation assembly is operably coupled to a substrate support supported within a chamber arrangement of the semiconductor processing system. [Figure 2] A schematic diagram of the semiconductor processing system of FIG. 1 according to an example schematically showing a chamber arrangement operably associated with a controller and coupling a fluid source to an exhaust source. [Figure 3] A cross-sectional side view of the chamber arrangement of FIG. 1 according to an example of the present disclosure schematically showing a lift and rotation module coupled to a substrate support by a ceramic shaft within a tubular member. [Figure 4] A perspective view of the chamber arrangement of FIG. 3 according to an example of the present disclosure showing that the substrate is supported for rotation by a bearing arrangement extending around a ceramic shaft. [Figure 5]Figure 1 is an exploded view of a lift-rotating assembly, an example of the present disclosure, showing that the ceramic shaft and split sleeve are separated from the shaft carrier and flanged sleeve. [Figure 6] This is an isometric view of a segmented sleeve included in a lift and rotation module according to an example of the present disclosure, showing the bore defined through the sleeve member, and the nominal taper angles of the large and small tapered portions of the sleeve member. [Figure 7] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a lift-rotating assembly according to an example of the present disclosure, showing that a flanged sleeve works in cooperation with the shaft carrier to compress and deform a segmented sleeve, thereby fixing the ceramic shaft to the shaft carrier for rotation around the axis of rotation. [Figure 8] This is a block diagram of a method for fabricating a lift-rotating assembly for a semiconductor processing system according to an example of the present disclosure, and shows the operation of the method according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This is a block diagram of a method for fabricating a lift-rotating assembly for a semiconductor processing system according to an example of the present disclosure, and shows the operation of the method according to a non-limiting example of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram of a method for depositing a material layer onto a substrate using a drive assembly according to an example of the present disclosure, illustrating the operation of the method according to an exemplary and non-limiting example of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0029] These and other configurations, aspects, and advantages of the present invention disclosed herein are described below with reference to drawings of certain embodiments, which are intended to illustrate the invention and not to limit it.

[0030] The elements in the figures are illustrated for simplification and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the relative sizes of some elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to others to help improve understanding of the illustrated embodiments of this disclosure.

[0031] Here, similar reference numerals refer to drawings that identify similar structural features or embodiments of the present disclosure. For illustrative and illustrative purposes, rather than limiting, a partial diagram of an example of a lift-rotating assembly according to the present disclosure is shown in Figure 1 and generally designated by reference numeral 1000. Figures 2 to 10 are provided to illustrate other examples of lift-rotating assemblies, chamber configurations, and semiconductor processing systems including lift-rotating assemblies, as well as related methods for fabricating a lift-rotating assembly using a lift-rotating assembly or embodiments thereof according to the present disclosure and depositing material layers on a substrate. The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be used to rotate a substrate in a chamber configuration of a semiconductor processing system, for example, while depositing silicon-containing epitaxial material layers on a substrate using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques and / or while removing material from the substrate using etching techniques, but the present disclosure is not limited to material layer deposition or material removal operations, or semiconductor device manufacturing in general.

[0032] Referring to Figure 1, a semiconductor processing system 100 is shown. The semiconductor processing system 100 includes a process fluid source 102, a chamber arrangement 104 including a lift-rotating assembly 1000, an exhaust source 106, and a controller 108. The process fluid source 102 includes a process fluid 110 and is connected to the chamber arrangement 104 by a supply conduit 112 and is configured to transmit the flow of the process fluid 110 to the chamber arrangement 104. The chamber arrangement 104 includes a substrate support 114 (e.g., a susceptor structure) supported for rotation about a rotation axis 116 and operably associated with the lift-rotating assembly 1000, and is fluidly coupled to the process fluid source 102 by the supply conduit 112 and is configured to contact a substrate 2 seated on the substrate support 114 under conditions (e.g., temperature and pressure) selected to deposit a material layer 4 onto the substrate 2 and / or remove the material from the substrate 2. The exhaust source 106 is connected to the chamber configuration 104 by an exhaust pipe 118 and is configured to fluidly communicate with the external environment 10 outside the semiconductor processing system 100, and to transmit the flow of residual process fluid and / or reaction products 120 generated by the chamber configuration 104 to the external environment 10. The controller 108 is operably connected to the lift-rotate assembly 1000, for example, through a wired or wireless link 122, and is intended to rotate the substrate support 114 at least once around the rotation axis 116, and to seat and lift the substrate 2 from the substrate support using a rotation source 124 and actuator 126 included in the lift-rotate assembly 1000.

[0033] As used herein, the term “substrate” may refer to any substrate material, including any base material on which a device, circuit, or film can be modified or formed. The substrate may be continuous or discontinuous, rigid or flexible, solid or porous, or a combination thereof. The substrate may be in any form, such as (but not limited to) powder, plate, or workpiece. A substrate in plate form may include wafers of various shapes and sizes, for example, a 300 mm wafer. The substrate may be formed from semiconductor materials, including, for example, silicon (Si), silicon germanium (SiGe), silicon oxide (SiO2), gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), and silicon carbide (SiC). The substrate may include a pattern, or it may be a patternless substrate, such as a so-called blanket type. For example, a substrate in powder form may have applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A porous substrate may contain one or more 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. Continuous substrates may extend beyond the boundaries of the process chamber where the deposition process takes place. In some processes, the continuous substrate may be moved through the process chamber so that the process continues until the end of the substrate is reached. Continuous substrates may be supplied from a continuous substrate supply system to enable the manufacture and production of continuous substrates in any suitable form. Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates include seats, nonwoven films, rolls, foils, webs, flexible materials, bundles of continuous filaments, or fibers (e.g., ceramic fibers or polymer fibers). Continuous substrates may also include carriers or seats on which one or more discontinuous substrates are mounted.

[0034] Referring to Figure 2, a process fluid source 102 according to an example of the present disclosure is shown. In the example shown, the process fluid source 102 includes a silicon-containing precursor source 128, a germanium-containing precursor source 130, a dopant-containing precursor source 132, an etchant source 134, and a carrier / purge fluid source 136. The silicon-containing precursor source 128 includes a silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 and is coupled to a supply conduit 112 and configured to transmit a flow of the silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 through the supply conduit 112 to a chamber configuration 104. In this regard, the silicon-containing precursor source 128 may be coupled to the supply conduit 112 by a flow control device such as a throttle valve and / or a mass flow controller (MFC) device, and the flow control device may be operably associated with the controller 108 to provide a flow of the silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 to the chamber configuration 104. In certain examples, the silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 may contain a non-halogenated silicon-containing precursor (or may be composed of or essentially composed of the aforementioned materials). Examples of suitable non-halogenated silicon-containing precursors include silane (SiH4), disilane (Si2H6), and trisilane (H2Si(SiH3)2). According to certain examples, the silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 may contain a halogenated silicon-containing precursor (or may be composed of or essentially composed of the aforementioned materials). Non-limiting examples of halogenated silicon-containing precursors include dichlorosilane (H2SiCl2), trichlorosilane (HCl3Si), and higher-order silicon chloride-containing precursors. The silicon-containing precursor source may also be configured to provide two or more silicon-containing precursors to the chamber configuration 104 so as to be within the scope of this disclosure.

[0035] The germanium-containing precursor source 130 is similar to the silicon-containing precursor source 128 and further comprises a germanium-containing material layer precursor 140. In this regard, the germanium-containing precursor source 130 is intended to be connected to a supply conduit 112, for example, through an MFC device operably associated with a controller 108, and to be configured to transmit the flow of the germanium-containing material layer precursor 140 to the chamber configuration 104. In a particular example, the germanium-containing precursor source 130 may be further connected to the chamber configuration 104 through a lift-rotating assembly 1000, for example, through a germanium source-tubular member supply conduit 142 which is fluidly coupled to the interior 144 of the chamber configuration 104 by the lift-rotating assembly 1000. The germanium source-tubular member supply conduit 142 extends fluidly parallel to the supply conduit 112 between the germanium-containing precursor source 130 and the chamber configuration 104. In certain examples, the germanium-containing material layer precursor 140 may contain germanium (GeH4). While materials containing the germanium-containing material layer precursor 140 are shown and described herein, other alloyed material layer precursors containing other metals, such as gallium (Ga) and / or aluminum (Al)-containing precursors, may also be used and should be understood and recognized as being within the scope of this disclosure.

[0036] The dopant-containing precursor source 132 is similar to the silicon-containing precursor source 128 and further comprises a dopant-containing material layer precursor 146. In this regard, the dopant-containing precursor source 132 may be connected to a supply conduit 112 through an MFC device operably associated with a controller 108, for example, and may be configured to transmit the flow of the dopant-containing material layer precursor 146 to the chamber configuration 104. In a particular example, the dopant-containing precursor source 132 may be further connected to the chamber configuration 104 through a lift-rotating assembly 1000, for example, through a dopant source-tubular member supply conduit 148 which is fluidly coupled to the interior 144 of the chamber configuration 104 by the lift-rotating assembly 1000, and the dopant source-tubular member supply conduit 148 extends fluidly parallel to the supply conduit 112 between the dopant-containing precursor source 132 and the chamber configuration 104. In certain examples, the dopant-containing material layer precursor 146 may contain either a p-type dopant-containing precursor or an n-type dopant-containing precursor. Suitable examples of n-type dopants include phosphorus (P) and arsenic (As), which can be delivered to the chamber configuration 104 by flowing phosphine (P2H4) and / or arsine (AsH3) through either (or both) the supply conduit 112 and the dopant source-tubular member supply conduit 148 using the dopant-containing precursor source 132. Suitable examples of p-type dopants include boron (B), which can be delivered to the chamber configuration 104 by flowing diborane (B2H6) through either (or both) the supply conduit 112 and the dopant source-tubular member supply conduit 148 using the dopant-containing precursor source 132. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, other dopant-containing material layer precursors may be included in the dopant-containing material layer precursor 146 and may be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0037] The etchant source 134 may be similar to the silicon-containing precursor source 128 and may further include etchant 150. In this regard, the etchant source 134 is intended to be connected to the chamber configuration 104 by a supply conduit 112, for example, through a flow control device such as a throttle valve or MFC device, to provide a flow of etchant 150 to the chamber configuration 104. The etchant source 134 may be further connected to the chamber configuration 104 by a lift-rotating assembly 1000, for example, through an etchant source-tubular member supply conduit 152 that can connect the etchant source 134 to the interior 144 of the chamber configuration 104 fluidly parallel to the supply conduit 112. In certain examples, the etchant 150 may include a halogen-containing etchant such as chlorine (Cl) or fluorine (F) containing etchant. Examples of suitable chlorine-containing etchants include chlorine (Cl2) gas and hydrochloric acid (HCl), and an example of a suitable fluorine-containing etchant is hydrofluoric acid (HF). Other etchants may be used and may be included within the scope of this disclosure, as will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure.

[0038] The carrier / purge fluid source 136 may be similar to the silicon-containing precursor source 128 and may further include the carrier / purge fluid 154. In this regard, the carrier / purge fluid source 136 is intended to be connected to the chamber configuration 104 by a supply conduit 112, for example, through a flow control device such as a throttle valve or MFC device, and to provide the flow of the carrier / purge fluid 154 to the chamber configuration 104. The carrier / purge fluid source 136 may be further connected to the chamber configuration 104 by a lift-rotating assembly 1000, for example, through a carrier / purge fluid-tubular supply conduit 156 that can connect the carrier / purge fluid source 136 to the interior 144 of the chamber configuration 104 fluidly parallel to the supply conduit 112. In certain examples, the carrier / purge fluid 154 may include (or consist of or essentially consist of) hydrogen (H2) gas. According to certain examples, the carrier / purge fluid 154 may include an inert fluid. Examples of suitable inert fluids include nitrogen (N2) gas and noble gases such as argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), and helium (He), as well as mixtures containing one or more of the aforementioned fluids. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, the carrier / purge fluid source 136 may be further configured to mix the carrier / purge fluid 154 with one or more of the silicon-containing material layer precursor 138, the germanium-containing material layer precursor 140, the dopant-containing material layer precursor 146, and / or etchants 150 to be provided as a mixture inside 144 of the chamber configuration 104, for example, through either (or both) the supply conduit 112 and the lift / rotating assembly 1000. Also as will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, one or more of the aforementioned fluids may be provided to the chamber configuration 104 as a gas, where the chamber configuration 104 is a gas-phase reactor in such an example.

[0039] In the example shown, the controller 108 includes a device interface 101, a processor 103, a user interface 105, and memory 107. The device interface 101 connects the controller 108 to one or more of the process fluid source 102, chamber arrangement 104, and exhaust source 106, for example, via a wired or wireless link 122. The processor 103 is coupled to the device interface 101, operably associated with the user interface 105 (for example, to receive user input and / or provide user output through it), and arranged to communicate with memory 107. Memory 107 stores several program modules 109, which, when read by the processor 103, contain instructions that cause the processor 103 to perform a particular operation. These operations include the operation of the material layer deposition method 1200 (shown in Figure 10), as described. In this specification, certain elements are shown and described as having a particular configuration, but in other examples, controller 108 may include additional elements and / or exclude elements shown and described herein, and may have a different configuration (e.g., a distributed computing architecture), which should be understood and recognized as being within the scope of this disclosure.

[0040] Referring to Figure 3, an example of a chamber configuration 104 according to the present disclosure is shown. In the example shown, the chamber configuration 104 includes an injection flange 158, a chamber body 160, an exhaust flange 162, an upper heater element array 164, a lower heater element array 166, and a lift and rotation module 1000. The chamber body 160 is formed from a ceramic material 168 such as fused silica or quartz (for example, a material that is transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelength band) and extends between an injection end 170 and an exhaust end 172 facing the longitudinal direction of the chamber body 160. The injection flange 158 abuts the injection end 170 of the chamber body 160 and fluidly couples a supply conduit 112 to the interior 144 of the chamber body 160. The exhaust flange 162 abuts against the exhaust end 172 of the chamber body 160, is fluidly coupled to the injection flange 158 by the interior 144 of the chamber body 160, and is further fluidly coupled to the exhaust source 106 (shown in Figure 1) by the exhaust pipe 118. In certain examples, the chamber body 160 may have a plurality of external ribs 174. The plurality of external ribs 174 may extend laterally around the outer surface of the chamber body 160. The plurality of external ribs 174 may also be longitudinally spaced apart from each other between the injection end 170 and the exhaust end 172 of the chamber body 160. According to certain examples, the chamber body 160 may not have ribs, and the chamber body 160 may not have external ribs between the injection end 170 and the exhaust end 172 of the chamber body 160. The chamber body 160 may have an arched or domed shape, which is also intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0041] The upper heater element array 164 includes a plurality of heater elements configured to transmit radiant heat into the interior 144 of the chamber body 160. In this regard, the upper heater element array 164 is intended to include a plurality of lamps supported on the chamber body 160 and optically coupled to the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 by the ceramic material 168 forming the chamber body 160, for example, by generating electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelength band and transmitting it into the interior 144 of the chamber body 160. In certain examples, the upper heater element array 164 may include a plurality of linear filament lamps supported on the chamber body 160. In such examples, the plurality of linear filament lamps may extend longitudinally between longitudinally opposing side walls of the chamber body 160 and be longitudinally spaced apart from each other between the injection end 170 and the exhaust end 172 of the chamber body 160. In a particular example, the upper heater element array 164 may include a plurality of linear filament lamps extending longitudinally between the injection end 170 and the exhaust end 172 of the chamber body 160. In such an example, the plurality of linear filament lamps may be longitudinally spaced apart from each other between longitudinally opposing side walls of the chamber body 160. The upper heater element array 164 may also include a plurality of bulb-type lamps supported on top of the chamber body 160, and is intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. The lower heater element array 166 is similar to the upper heater element array 164 and is further supported below the chamber body 160, and is intended to radiate heat to the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 through a ceramic material 168 forming the lower wall of the chamber body 160.

[0042] In a particular example, the chamber configuration 104 may include a gate valve 176 and a substrate transfer robot 178. The gate valve 176 may be coupled to an injection flange 158 and may be configured to provide communication between the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 and the external environment 10 outside the chamber configuration 104, facilitating the loading and unloading of substrates, e.g., substrate 2, from the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 before and after the deposition of material layers, e.g., material layer 4, onto the substrate. The substrate transfer robot 178 is configured to load and unload substrates, e.g., substrate 2, from the chamber configuration 104, and in this respect is coupled to an injection flange 158 by the gate valve 176. In a further respect, the substrate transfer robot 178 may be operably associated with a controller 108 and load and unload substrates from the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 through the gate valve 176 and the injection flange 158.

[0043] The chamber configuration 104 is intended to include a partition 180, a support member 182, and a ceramic shaft 200. The partition 180 is formed from an opaque material 184, for example, a material impermeable to electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelength band, and is seated within the interior 144 of the chamber body 160, and can divide the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 into an upper chamber 186 and a lower chamber 188. The partition 180 defines a partition opening 190 through the partition 180, which is intended to fluidly couple the upper chamber 186 to the lower chamber 188, and the substrate support 114 is intended to be supported within the partition opening 190 for rotation R about a rotation axis 116. The substrate support 114 may be further formed from the opaque material 184 and may be configured to seat the substrate 2 on the substrate support 114 during the deposition of the material layer 4 onto the substrate 2. In certain examples, the opaque material 184 forming either (or both) the partition 180 and the substrate support 114 may include (or be or essentially be) a ceramic material such as silicon carbide. In certain examples, the opaque material 184 forming either (or both) the partition 180 and the substrate support 114 may include (or be or essentially be) a carbonaceous material. Non-limiting examples of suitable carbonaceous materials include pyrolysis carbon and graphite, which may be coated with a ceramic coating such as a silicon carbide coating, for example.

[0044] The support member 182 may be formed from a transparent material, such as a ceramic material 168, which is transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelength band. The support member 182 is further positioned along the rotation axis 116 and within the lower chamber 188 of the chamber body 160, and is further fixed to the base material support 114 so as to rotate about the rotation axis 116. The ceramic shaft 200 may be fixed to the support member 182 so as to rotate about the rotation axis 116 and may be positioned along the rotation axis 116. The ceramic shaft 200 may further extend through a through-hole 192 defined in the lower wall of the chamber body 160 into an annular gap 194 defined between the ceramic shaft 200 and a tubular member 196 that protrudes from the lower wall of the chamber body 160 and extends around both the through-hole 192 and the ceramic shaft 200. The annular gap 194 provides fluid communication between the process fluid source 102 (shown in Figure 1) and the lower chamber 188 of the chamber body 160, and the annular gap 194 is hermetically sealed from the external environment by the lift-rotating assembly 1000. Advantageously, the fluid coupling between the process fluid source 102 and the lower chamber 188 via the annular gap 194 allows for the provision of additional precursors, such as the dopant-containing material layer precursor 146 (shown in Figure 2), to the edges of the substrate 2 during the deposition of the material layer 4 onto the substrate 2 via the partition opening 190, thereby limiting inter-substrate material variability in the process, which is affected by variations in the mass flow rate of certain material layer precursors.

[0045] Referring to Figures 4 to 7, the lift-rotating assembly 1000 is shown in an exploded view according to an example of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the lift-rotating assembly 1000 includes a ceramic shaft 200, a shaft carrier 300 (shown in Figure 5), a split sleeve 400 (shown in Figure 5), a flanged sleeve 500 (shown in Figure 5), and a cylindrical sleeve 600 (shown in Figure 5). As shown and described herein, the lift-rotating assembly 1000 includes a bearing arrangement 700, a drive gear 800, and a flag structure 900 (shown in Figure 5). While certain elements shown and described herein are included, it should be understood and recognized that the lift-rotating assembly 1000 may include other elements, and / or elements shown and described herein may be omitted, and are still within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0046] As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the ceramic shaft 200 has a first end 202, a second end 204, and a stem 206. The first end of the ceramic shaft 200 is located within the interior 144 (shown in Figure 3) of the chamber body 160 (shown in Figure 3). The stem 206 of the ceramic shaft 200 extends through a penetration 192 defined in the lower wall of the chamber body 160, extends around the penetration defined in the chamber body 160 and is (at least partially) housed within a tubular member 196 (shown in Figure 3) that protrudes from the lower wall of the chamber body 160, and is separated from the tubular member 196 by an annular gap 194 (shown in Figure 3). The second end 204 of the ceramic shaft 200 is seated within the shaft carrier 300 and secured to the shaft carrier 300 by a split sleeve 400. The ceramic shaft 200 is positioned along the rotation axis 116, and in this respect, the engagement of the split sleeve 400 around the stem 206 of the ceramic shaft 200, and consequently the engagement of the shaft carrier 300 with the split sleeve 400, is intended to align the ceramic shaft 200 with the rotation axis 116 and to act in such a way as to limit the tilt 111 and oscillation 113 of the substrate support 114 (shown in Figure 3) during rotation around the rotation axis 116. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, limiting the oscillation and runout of the substrate support 114 during rotation R around the rotation axis 116 can similarly limit the inter-substrate variation of the material layer 4 (shown in Figure 1) deposited on the substrate 2 during rotation R around the rotation axis 116.

[0047] In certain examples, the ceramic shaft 200 may include (or be composed of, or essentially composed of) a ceramic material 210 (shown in Figure 7). In this regard, the ceramic material 210 may be a transparent ceramic material, for example, a ceramic material that is transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the infrared wavelength band, and may also be shown and described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024 / 0222187A1, filed December 27, 2023, the contents of which are intended to be incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Examples of preferred ceramic materials include fused silica, quartz, and sapphire. In certain examples, the ceramic shaft 200 may be defined by a bore 212 (shown in Figure 7), also referred to herein as a ceramic bore. In such examples, the bore 212 may extend between a first end 202 and a second end 204 of the ceramic shaft 200. In such an example, the probe member 214 (shown in Figure 4) of a temperature sensor assembly (e.g., a thermocouple) may be located within a bore 212, and the probe member 214 is supported by a ceramic shaft 200 during rotation around a rotation axis 116, and the probe member 214 protrudes from either (or both) of the first end 202 and the second end 204 of the ceramic shaft 200 to acquire the temperature of a substrate 2 (shown in Figure 1) via a substrate support 114 (shown in Figure 1), for example. The ceramic shaft 200 may be substantially solid (e.g., without a central bore) and is intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0048] The shaft carrier 300 is positioned along the axis of rotation 116 and defines a bore 302 passing through the axis of rotation 116, also referred to herein as the shaft carrier bore. The bore 302 extends between the chamber-facing surface 304 and the axially opposed serrated surface 306, and extends around the axis of rotation 116. The bore 302 further has a tapered section 308, an intermediate section 310, and an end section 312. The tapered section 308 of the bore 302 is tapered in width between a relatively wide width close to the chamber-facing surface 304 of the shaft carrier 300 and a relatively narrow width close to the intermediate section 310 of the bore 302. The intermediate portion 310 of the bore 302 extends axially from the tapered portion 308 of the bore 302, terminates at the shoulder portion 314, and has a width 316 greater than the width 216 of the ceramic shaft 200 (shown in Figure 7). The terminal portion 312 of the bore extends axially from the intermediate portion 310 of the bore 302 to the serrated surface 306 of the shaft carrier 300, is axially separated from the tapered portion 308 of the bore 302 by the intermediate portion 310 of the bore 302, and has a width 318 smaller than the width 216 of the ceramic shaft 200. The tapered portion 308 of the bore 302 is intended to define a taper angle 320 with respect to the rotation axis 116 selected to compressively deform the split sleeve 400 as it advances into the bore 302. In this respect, the taper angle 320 is different from the nominal taper angle 402 (e.g., the incompression taper angle) defined by the split sleeve 400, and in this respect, the taper angle 320 may be larger or smaller than the nominal taper angle 402 of the split sleeve 400.

[0049] The shoulder portion 314 having a bore 302 is configured to seat an internal elastic member 340 on it, thereby axially separating the second end 204 of the ceramic shaft 200 from the shoulder portion 314. In this respect, the contour of the shoulder portion 314 may be substantially planar. In further respect, the shoulder portion 314 may be substantially orthogonal to the axis of rotation 116 in certain examples of this disclosure. It is further intended that the internal elastic member 340 may be anchored between the first end 202 of the ceramic shaft 200 and the shoulder portion 314 defined in the bore 302 defined in the shaft carrier 300, and that the ceramic shaft 200 may be radially separated from the shaft carrier 300 in the bore 302, as well as axially separated from the shoulder portion 314 in the bore 302. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, separating the ceramic shaft 200 axially from the shoulder portion 314 defined within the bore 302 of the shaft carrier 300 can limit the risk of damage to the ceramic shaft 200 during assembly of the ceramic shaft 200 in the shaft carrier 300 and improve the reliability of the semiconductor processing system 100 (shown in Figure 1).

[0050] The shaft carrier 300 is intended to have a first male threaded portion 322, a second male threaded portion 324, and a land 326 defined on its outer surface 330. The first male threaded portion 322 is configured to screw and seat the shaft carrier 300 into the flanged sleeve 500, and in this respect includes a male thread (e.g., in pitch and / or number) corresponding to the female thread of a female threaded portion 502 defined in a bore 504 (also referred herein as the flanged sleeve bore) extending through the flanged sleeve 500. The second male threaded portion 324 may be axially separated from the chamber-facing surface 304 of the shaft carrier 300 by a tapered portion 308 of the bore 302, and the land 326 axially separates the first male threaded portion 322 from the serrated surface 306 of the shaft carrier 300. The land 326 is configured to seat the intermediate elastic member 518 on it and to provide fluid separation between the ceramic shaft 200 and the tubular member 196 (shown in Figure 3) and the annular gap 194 (shown in Figure 3), and may be inclined with respect to the rotation axis 116.

[0051] In certain examples, the second male thread portion 324 may be axially separated from the first male thread portion 322 by a land 326. The second male thread portion 324 may be radially inward of the first male thread portion 322, and in this respect, it may be radial between the first male thread portion 322 and the rotation axis 116. In further respect, the second male thread portion 324 may include (for example, may define) a male thread corresponding to the female thread of the female thread portion 602 defined on the inner surface 604 of the cylindrical sleeve 600. The second male thread portion 324 further separates the land 326 axially from the serrated surface 306, and the serrated surface 306 defines a plurality of serrated portions distributed circumferentially around the rotation axis 116 and configured to receive a tool for rotating the shaft carrier 300 within the flanged sleeve 500, thereby compressing and deforming the split sleeve 400 on the stem 206 of the ceramic shaft 200 in response to applying a predetermined torque to the shaft carrier 300 against the flanged sleeve 500.

[0052] Referring to Figure 6, and then to Figure 7, the segmented sleeve 400 is intended to include a plurality of longitudinal portions 404, each extending between a surface 406 facing the chamber and a surface 408 facing the shoulder. The plurality of longitudinal portions 404 then define a bore 410 (also referred to herein as a segmented sleeve bore) that is circumferentially distributed around the rotation axis 116 and extends axially through the segmented sleeve 400, connecting the surface 406 facing the chamber and the surface 408 facing the shoulder, and can be separated from each other by a plurality of longitudinal slots 412. The plurality of longitudinal slots 412 extend radially between the outer surface 414 of the segmented sleeve 400 and the bore 410, fluidly coupling the outer surface 414 of the segmented sleeve 400 to the bore 410, and may only partially extend to the axial length 416 of the segmented sleeve 400. In this regard, two or more of the multiple longitudinal slots 412 may circumferentially interrupt the chamber-facing surface 406 of the split sleeve 400 and terminate at a position axially midway between the chamber-facing surface 406 and the shoulder-facing surface 408, and two or more of the multiple longitudinal slots 412 may circumferentially interrupt the shoulder-facing surface 408 of the split sleeve 400 and terminate at a position axially midway between the shoulder-facing surface 408 and the chamber-facing surface 406, and each of the latter is intended to circumferentially separate the latter pair. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in consideration of this disclosure, this imparts a radial spring constant to the split sleeve 400, and in examples where the nominal width of the bore 410 extending through the split sleeve 400 is greater than the width 216 of the ceramic shaft 200, the split sleeve 400 is compressively deformed around the ceramic shaft 200.

[0053] The split sleeve 400 is intended to have a large tapered portion 418 that is axially separated from a small tapered portion 420 by a circumferential slot 422. The small tapered portion 420 extends axially from the surface 408 facing the shoulder of the split sleeve 400 to the circumferential slot 422, has an axial length 424 that is shorter than the axial length 426 of the large tapered portion 418 of the split sleeve 400, and is tapered between a relatively small width defined by the surface 408 facing the shoulder and a relatively large width defined in close proximity to the circumferential slot 422. The small tapered portion 420 of the split sleeve 400 is further intended to be compressed and seated within the tapered portion 308 of the bore 302 defined within the shaft carrier 300. In this regard, the small tapered portion 420 is intended to define a nominal taper angle 402 with respect to the rotating shaft 116 (for example, when the split sleeve 400 is not compressed), and that the nominal taper angle 402 is different from the taper angle 320 defined by the tapered portion 308 of the bore 302 defined within the shaft carrier 300. In this regard, the nominal taper angle 402 may be smaller or larger than the taper angle 320. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in consideration of this disclosure, this allows, for example, the small tapered portion 420 of the split sleeve 400 to be received in the shaft carrier 300 for later assembly of the shaft carrier 300 and the split sleeve 400 as a subassembly to the flanged sleeve 500.

[0054] The large tapered portion 418 of the split sleeve 400 extends axially from the circumferential slot 422 to the chamber-facing surface 406 of the split sleeve 400, is longer axially than the small tapered portion 420 of the split sleeve 400, and its width tapers between a relatively large width adjacent to the circumferential slot 422 and a relatively small width adjacent to the chamber-facing surface 406 of the split sleeve 400. The large tapered portion 418 is intended to define a nominal taper angle 430 with respect to the rotation axis 116 (for example, when the split sleeve 400 is not compressed), and the nominal taper angle 430 is intended to be different from the taper angle 506 defined within the bore 504 of the flanged sleeve 500. In this regard, the nominal taper angle 428 is smaller than the taper angle 506, so that the larger tapered portion 418 of the split sleeve 400 is intended to be compressively deformed when the split sleeve 400 advances into the bore 504 defined within the flanged sleeve 500. The larger tapered portion 418 of the split sleeve 400 protrudes axially from the shaft carrier 300 along the rotation axis 116, and it is further intended that the split sleeve 400 can be further compressively deformed by advancing the shaft carrier 300 into the flanged sleeve 500.

[0055] The circumferential slot 422 may extend circumferentially around the split sleeve 400, axially separating the large tapered portion 418 of the split sleeve 400 from the small tapered portion 420, and receiving therein the flange portion 328 of the shaft carrier 300, which extends radially inward on the chamber-facing surface 304 of the shaft carrier 300. The flange portion 328 may extend eccentrically around the rotation axis 116 and / or define an elliptical opening into the tapered portion 308 of the bore 302, and the flange portion 328 is intended to cooperate with the circumferential slot to form a stripper function, simplifying the assembly and disassembly of the split sleeve 400 to the shaft carrier 300. In certain examples, the flange portion 328 may only partially occupy the circumferential slot 422 that protrudes radially inward relative to the rotation axis 116 and extends around the split sleeve 400. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, this facilitates the assembly and disassembly of the split sleeve 400 from the shaft carrier 300, thereby limiting the time required for maintenance of the semiconductor processing system 100 (shown in Figure 1).

[0056] In certain examples of this disclosure, the split sleeve 400 may be formed as a collet. According to certain examples, the split sleeve 400 may partially conform to a nominal size ER20 collet as described in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E). In this regard, the bore 410 defined within the split sleeve 400 may be diametrically enlarged with respect to a nominal size ER20 collet as described in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E), whose entire contents are incorporated herein by reference, as indicated by reference numerals E and N (shown in Figure 4). Advantageously, increasing the bore 410 diametrically compared to the nominal size ER20 collet specified in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E) reduces the spring constant of the split sleeve 400, reduces deformation associated with thermal cycling of the split sleeve 400, and, in other cases, extends the service life of the split sleeve 400 beyond what would be expected in applications where the split sleeve 400 is exposed to relatively high temperatures, e.g., approximately 100°C to approximately 400°C.

[0057] In certain cases, the split sleeve 400 may be formed from a stainless steel material. A suitable example of a stainless steel material is DIN 1.4122 stainless steel. Advantageously, forming the split sleeve 400 from the aforementioned stainless steel material can make the split sleeve corrosion-resistant to materials present in the interior 144 of the chamber body 160. For example, forming the split sleeve 400 from a stainless steel material such as DIN 1.4122 can otherwise limit corrosion associated with contact with material layer precursors such as phosphine (P2H4) and arsine (AsH3), as well as hydrogen (H2) gas (at higher concentrations than atmospheric levels) and hydrogen chloride (HCl), which can penetrate from the interior 144 of the chamber body 160 through the ceramic shaft 200 into the split sleeve 400 (and / or annular gap 194). As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, the foregoing can simplify the sealing of the annular gap 194 (shown in Figure 3) defined between the tubular member 196 (shown in Figure 3) and the ceramic shaft 200, and / or improve the reliability of the semiconductor processing system 100 (shown in Figure 1).

[0058] Continuing to refer to Figure 5, and further to Figure 7, it is intended that the flanged sleeve 500 may be configured to define a rotation axis 116 and to seat both the shaft carrier 300 and the split sleeve 400 therein. In this regard, the flanged sleeve 500 defines a bore 504 through the flanged sleeve 500 and has a flange portion 508, a stepped or neck portion 510, and a stem portion 512. The stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 has a chamber-facing surface 514 that is substantially perpendicular to the rotation axis 116, axially opposite the chamber body 160 (shown in Figure 3), and extends circumferentially around the rotation axis 116. The stepped or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500 is located axially midway between the stem portion 512 and the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500. The stepped or neck portion 510 is intended to be configured to seat drive gears 800 (at least partially about nine of them) in order to rotate the base material support 114 (shown in Figure 3) around the pivot axis 116. The stepped or neck portion 510 may further be configured to seat a flag structure 900 thereon, using a lift pin actuator fixed to the chamber body 160 (shown in Figure 3) by rotating around the ceramic shaft 200, and using a lift pin supported by the base material support 114 to seat and unseat the base material 2 (shown in Figure 1) from the base material support 114. The flanged sleeve 500 is intended to be configured to fluidly seal the annular gap defined between the tubular member 196 (shown in Figure 3) and the ceramic shaft 200. In this regard, the step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500 may define a sealing groove configured to seat an intermediate elastic member 518 inside, which then hermetically seals the gap 520 defined between the outer surface 522 of the flanged sleeve 500 and the bearing arrangement 700.

[0059] The flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500 is axially separated from the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 along the rotation axis 116 by a step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500. The flange portion 508 extends circumferentially around the rotation axis 116 and further radially from the step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500, and has a chamber-facing surface 524 and an axially opposing flange portion surface 526. A fastener pattern 528 is defined on the chamber-facing surface 524, and the drive gear 800 and / or flag structure 900 are intended to be fixed to the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500 by a plurality of fasteners that are screw-in received in the fastener pattern 528. Furthermore, a through-hole pattern 532 extending through a step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500 may be defined on the flange portion surface 526, and the stator 706 of the bearing arrangement 700 extending around the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 may be fixed to the flanged sleeve 500 through fasteners extending through the through-hole pattern 532.

[0060] In a particular example, the bearing arrangement 700 may include a rotor 702, a bearing body 704, a stator 706, and a ferromagnetic fluid seal 708. The rotor 702 extends around the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 and may be fastened to the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500 via a through-hole pattern 532. The stator 706 extends around the rotor 702 and may be coupled to the rotor 702 by a bearing body 704 which may include a thrust bearing or a cross bearing, and the stator 706 and rotor 702 radially overlap the shaft carrier 300 in a particular example of this disclosure. The ferromagnetic fluid seal 708 may be located midway radially between the stator 706 and the rotor 702, for example, within an axial gap defined between them, and the ferromagnetic fluid seal 708 fluidly isolates the annular gap 194 (shown in Figure 3) where the ceramic shaft 200 is present and which is fluidly coupled to the interior 144 (shown in Figure 3) of the chamber body 160 (shown in Figure 3) from the external environment 10 outside the lift-rotor assembly 1000. Advantageously, including the bearing arrangement 700 described herein limits the size of the lift-rotor assembly 1000 and allows for the upgrade of certain conventional semiconductor processing systems using the tilt and oscillating kit 1300 (shown in Figure 5).

[0061] In a particular example, the drive gear 800 may be fastened to the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500 by a fastening pattern 528. In this regard, the drive gear 800 may include an annular web portion 802 through which a through hole corresponding to the fastening pattern 528 is defined, and a toothed peripheral portion 804 extending around the annular web portion 802 of the drive gear 800. The annular web portion 802 may define a drive gear opening 806 through which it is further intended that the drive gear 800 extends around the stator 706 of the bearing arrangement 700 and is fastened to the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500 by receiving the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 through it.

[0062] In certain examples, the flag structure 900 may be seated on the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500. In this regard, the flag structure 900 may have an annular portion 902, a tongue portion 904, and a flag portion 906. The annular portion 902 may extend circumferentially around a step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500. The tongue portion 904 of the flag structure 900 may extend radially from the annular portion 902 of the flag structure 900, and the flag portion 906 may extend axially from the tongue portion 904 of the flag structure 900. The flag structure 900 is intended to be fastened to the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500. Furthermore, the flag portion 906 may be compressed and fixed to the flange portion 508, and it is also intended that the flag structure 900 be positioned axially midway between the drive gear 800 or the bearing arrangement 700 and the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500, for example, by axially stacking the flag structure 900 with either (or both) the drive gear 800 or the bearing arrangement 700. As will be understood by those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, this may limit the number of parts of the lift-rotation assembly 1000 and thus limit the cost and complexity of the lift-rotation assembly 1000.

[0063] The bore 504 defined within the flanged sleeve 500 extends axially around the rotation axis 116 and between the chamber-facing surface 524 and the flange portion surface 526 of the flanged sleeve 500. The bore 504 is intended to have a tapered portion 536, a female thread portion 538, and a fixed width portion 540. The tapered portion 536 of the bore 504 is configured to receive the split sleeve 400 into the tapered portion 536, defining a taper angle 506 in this respect. The taper angle 506 is intended to be greater than the nominal taper angle of the split sleeve 400 (e.g., the incompression taper angle). The taper angle 506 is defined within the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500 and is intended to be relatively narrow in proximity to the surface 524 facing the chamber, and also to be narrower in relative width in proximity to the step or neck portion 510 of the flanged sleeve 500.

[0064] The female thread portion 538 of the bore 504 is configured to screw in the male thread of the first male thread portion 322 defined on the outer surface 330 of the shaft carrier 300. It is further intended that the female thread portion 538 of the bore 504 is located axially midway between the tapered portion 536 and the fixed width portion 540 of the bore 504, and that the female thread portion 538 is defined within the stem portion 512 of the flanged sleeve 500. The fixed width portion 540 of the bore 504 is configured to receive (at least partially) the cylindrical sleeve 600, and in this respect it may extend between the female thread portion 502 defined within the bore 504 of the flanged sleeve 500 and the flange portion surface 526 of the flange portion 508 of the flanged sleeve 500. The tapered angle 506 of the tapered portion 536 of the bore 504, in cooperation with the threads of the female thread portion 502 and the large tapered angle of the split sleeve 400, is intended to cause the split sleeve 400 to compress and deform as the shaft carrier 300 is screwed into and advanced within the flanged sleeve 500, resulting in a diameter substantially equal to that of the ceramic shaft 200.

[0065] The cylindrical sleeve 600 is configured to seal a bore 504 defined within the flanged sleeve 500 using an intermediate elastic member 518, and in this respect has a cylindrical body 608 having a chamber-facing surface 610, an inner surface 612 having a female thread 614, and an end face 616 having a plurality of serrated portions 618. The chamber-facing surface 610 extends circumferentially around the rotation axis 116 and may conform diametrically to the diameter of the intermediate elastic member 606 (for example, substantially equivalent) and substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis 116 when the intermediate elastic member 606 is positioned on the land of the shaft carrier 300. The female thread portion 614 defined on the inner surface 612 corresponds to the second male thread portion 324 defined on the outer surface 330 of the shaft carrier 300, and the cylindrical sleeve 600 is screwed onto the second male thread portion 324 defined on the outer surface 330 of the shaft carrier 300, and is configured to advance the cylindrical sleeve 600 axially relative to the shaft carrier 300 when it rotates around the rotation axis 116 relative to the shaft carrier 300.

[0066] The end face 616 of the cylindrical sleeve 600 is axially separated from the chamber-facing surface 610 of the cylindrical sleeve 600 by a female thread portion 602 defined on the inner surface 612 of the cylindrical sleeve 600, and is configured to engage with a tool through a plurality of serrated portions 618. The cylindrical sleeve 600 is intended to seal the bore 504 defined within the flanged sleeve 500 by compressing and fixing an intermediate elastic member 606 between the fixed width portion 540 of the bore 504 defined within the flanged sleeve 500 and the land 326 defined on the outer surface 330 of the shaft carrier 300.

[0067] Referring to Figures 8 and 9, a flow (method) 1100 for manufacturing a lift-rotating assembly, for example, a lift-rotating assembly 1000 (shown in Figure 1). Referring to Figure 8, flow 1100 includes seating an internal elastic member on a shoulder portion defined within the bore of the shaft carrier, for example, an internal elastic member 340 (shown in Figure 5) on a shoulder portion 314 (shown in Figure 5). Flow 1100 also includes seating a small tapered portion of a split sleeve, for example, a small tapered portion 420 (shown in Figure 6) of a split sleeve 400 (shown in Figure 5) using the bore 302 of the shaft carrier 300 (shown in Figure 7), in a tapered portion of the bore defined within the shaft carrier. Seating the smaller tapered portion of the split sleeve into the tapered portion of the bore defined in the shaft carrier may, as shown in process 1106, involve compressively deforming the split sleeve within the shaft carrier such that the bore defined within the shaft carrier has a width smaller than the nominal width of the shaft carrier and greater than the width of the ceramic shaft. Furthermore, as shown in process 1106, the degree of compressive deformation may be controlled by the radial range of the flange portion of the shaft carrier that extends within the bore and is received within the circumferential slot defined on the outer surface of the split sleeve.

[0068] As shown in process 1108, the intermediate elastic member may be at least partially seated on a land defined on the outer surface of the shaft carrier, for example, the intermediate elastic member 518 (shown in Figure 5) may be seated on a land 326 (shown in Figure 7) defined on the outer surface 330 (shown in Figure 7) of the shaft carrier. As shown in process 1110, the first end of the ceramic shaft may be seated in a bore defined within the shaft carrier by sliding the ceramic shaft through a split sleeve, so that the first end of the ceramic shaft abuts against the inner elastic member, for example, by separating the first end of the ceramic shaft from the shoulder portion defined within the bore by the inner elastic member. Next, the shaft carrier may be screwed into a bore defined within the flanged sleeve, for example, bore 504 of flanged sleeve 500 (shown in Figure 7), using the female threads of a female threaded portion defined within the bore of the flanged sleeve, for example, female threaded portion 538 (shown in Figure 7), as shown in process 1112, and as shown in process 1114, the screwing action of the shaft carrier within the flanged portion advances the shaft carrier and the segmented sleeve seated thereon into the bore defined within the flanged sleeve, causing the segmented sleeve to undergo further compressive deformation. Further compressive deformation fixes the segmented sleeve to the stem of the ceramic shaft, thereby aligning the ceramic shaft with the axis of rotation defined by the flanged sleeve, so that the runout and swing of the substrate support supported by the lift-rotate assembly is restricted during rotation around the axis of rotation, as also shown in process 1114.

[0069] Referring to Figure 9, flow 1100 may further include seating a cylindrical sleeve, e.g., cylindrical sleeve 600 (shown in Figure 5), around the shaft carrier, as shown in process 1116. The cylindrical sleeve may be screw-seaten around the shaft carrier, or it may rotate relative to the shaft carrier, as shown in process 1118, so that the cylindrical shaft advances relative to the shaft carrier into a bore defined within the flanged sleeve. The advancement of the cylindrical sleeve into a bore defined within the flanged sleeve, as shown in box 1120, is intended to compress the intermediate elastic member seated on the shaft carrier. The compressive force applied to the intermediate elastic member may fluidly separate an annular gap defined between a tubular member extending around the ceramic shaft and the external environment outside the tubular member, e.g., an annular gap 194 (shown in Figure 3) defined between a tubular member 196 (shown in Figure 3) and the ceramic shaft, as also shown in process 1120.

[0070] The outer elastic member may seat around the flanged sleeve, and for example, as shown in process 1122, the outer elastic member 516 (shown in Figure 5) may seat around the flanged member. As shown in processes 1124 and 1126, a flag structure, for example, a flag structure 900 (shown in Figure 5), may be fixed to the flanged sleeve, and a drive gear, for example, a drive gear 800 (shown in Figure 5), may be further fixed to the flanged member. The flanged sleeve can then be attached to a stator of a bearing arrangement, for example, a stator 706 of a bearing arrangement 700 (shown in Figure 5), using a plurality of fasteners that are slidably received in through holes extending through the flanged sleeve, as shown in process 1128. The attachment of the flanged sleeve to the stator of the bearing arrangement is intended to compress the outer elastic member between the flanged sleeve and the stator of the bearing arrangement, as shown in process 1130, thereby fluidly sealing the leakage path defined in the annular gap defined between the ceramic shaft and the tubular member. Subsequently, a base support, for example (shown in Figure 1) base support 114, may be coupled to the second end of the ceramic shaft, thereby supporting the base support for rotation around the axis of rotation defined by the flanged sleeve, by the ceramic shaft, the split sleeve, and the shaft carrier, as shown in process 1132.

[0071] Referring to Figure 10, a material layer deposition flow (material layer volume method) 1200 is shown. Flow 1200 includes seating a substrate 2 on a substrate support 114 supported by a ceramic shaft 200 (shown in Figure 1) as shown in process 1210 (shown in Figure 3). The substrate and substrate support rotate about an axis of rotation using rotation transmitted through a split sleeve fixed to the ceramic shaft, for example, a split sleeve 400 (shown in Figure 5). The substrate is further heated to a predetermined material layer deposition temperature, as shown in processes 1230 and 1240, and the substrate comes into contact with a process fluid, for example, a process fluid 110 (shown in Figure 1). As shown in processes 1250 and 1260, the material layer is deposited on the substrate and / or the material is removed from the substrate using a process fluid, and the tilting and oscillating of the substrate support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the axis of rotation is intended to be limited by the compression fixation and radial compression deformation of the split sleeve around the ceramic shaft, as also shown in processes 1250 and 1260. In certain examples, the process fluid may include a silicon-containing material layer precursor, e.g., silicon-containing material layer precursor 138 (shown in Figure 2), as shown in process 1242. According to certain examples, the process fluid may also include a germanium-containing material layer precursor, e.g., germanium-containing material layer precursor 140 (shown in Figure 2), as shown in process 1244. Furthermore, the process fluid may also include a dopant-containing material layer precursor and / or etchant, e.g., dopant-containing material layer precursor 146 and / or etchant 150 (shown in Figure 2), as shown in processes 1246 and 1248. The process fluid may also include a purge / carrier fluid, e.g., carrier / purge fluid 154 (shown in Figure 2), as shown in process 1241.

[0072] While this disclosure has been provided in the context of certain embodiments and examples, those skilled in the art will understand that it extends beyond the embodiments specifically described to other alternative embodiments and / or uses and obvious improvements of these embodiments and their equivalents. In addition, while some variations of the embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described in detail, other modifications within the scope of this disclosure may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure. Various combinations or partial combinations of the particular features and aspects of the embodiments may be made and may still be included within the scope of this disclosure. Naturally, the various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments may be combined or substituted for each other to form changing modes of the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of this disclosure should not be limited by the particular embodiments described above.

[0073] Where any headings are provided herein, they are for convenience only and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the devices and methods disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A lift and rotation assembly, A shaft carrier that defines the shaft carrier bore through which the shaft passes, A ceramic shaft is received within the shaft carrier bore, A segmented sleeve seated on the shaft carrier and extending around the ceramic shaft, A lift-rotating assembly comprising a flanged sleeve that defines a rotation axis and receives the shaft carrier in a screw-in manner, wherein the divided sleeve is compressed and fixed around the ceramic shaft in the shaft carrier bore of the shaft carrier and deforms radially to restrict the tilting and swinging of the base material support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the rotation axis.

2. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shaft carrier bore has a tapered portion and a shoulder portion defined therein, and the first end of the ceramic shaft is axially spaced away from the shoulder portion in the shaft carrier bore.

3. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 2, further comprising an internal elastic member that axially separates the ceramic shaft from the shoulder portion, wherein the internal elastic member is anchored between the first end of the ceramic shaft and the shoulder portion.

4. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 2, wherein the shaft carrier defines a first male threaded portion and a second male threaded portion on the outer surface of the shaft carrier, the first male threaded portion axially separates the second male threaded portion from the first male threaded portion, and the second male threaded portion radially separates the first male threaded portion from the rotating shaft.

5. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic shaft is formed from one of fused silica, silica, and sapphire, defines a ceramic bore through the ceramic shaft, and further comprises a probe member for a temperature sensor slidably received within the ceramic bore and protruding from both a first end and a second end of the ceramic shaft.

6. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic shaft is radially spaced away from the shaft carrier in the shaft carrier bore defined within the shaft carrier, and the ceramic shaft is axially spaced away from the shoulder portion of the shaft carrier defined within the shaft carrier bore.

7. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the split sleeve has a small tapered portion and a large tapered portion, the small tapered portion is received within the shaft carrier, and the large tapered portion protrudes axially from the shaft carrier.

8. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 7, wherein the small tapered portion has a nominal taper angle different from the taper of the shaft carrier bore defined within the shaft carrier, compressing and deforming the split sleeve to a width greater than the width of the ceramic shaft, and the large tapered portion has a nominal taper angle different from the taper of the flanged sleeve bore defined within the flanged sleeve, further compressing and deforming the split sleeve to a width substantially equal to the width of the ceramic shaft.

9. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 7, wherein the segmented sleeve extends around the segmented sleeve and defines a circumferential slot that axially separates the smaller tapered portion of the segmented sleeve from the larger tapered portion of the segmented sleeve, and the shaft carrier has a flange portion that protrudes radially inward and partially occupies the circumferential slot.

10. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the split sleeve conforms to a nominal size ER20 collet as specified in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E), and defines therein a split sleeve bore that is diametrically enlarged relative to the nominal size ER20 collet as specified in ISO standard number 15488:2003(E).

11. The split sleeve is formed from DIN 1.4122 stainless steel and has phosphine (P) in contact with the split sleeve. ２ H ４ ), Arsine (Ash ３ ), hydrogen (H ２ The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a fluid selected from the group consisting of gas and hydrochloric acid (HCl).

12. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flanged sleeve has a stem portion, an axially opposed flange portion, and a stepped portion or neck portion in the axial middle between the stem portion and the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

13. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 12, wherein the flanged sleeve defines a flanged sleeve bore having a tapered portion and a fixed width portion therein, the stem portion of the flanged sleeve radially overlaps with the tapered portion of the flanged sleeve bore, the flange portion of the flanged sleeve radially overlaps with the fixed width portion of the flanged sleeve bore, and the large tapered portion of the divided sleeve is compressed and seated within the tapered portion of the flanged sleeve bore.

14. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 12, further comprising a cylindrical sleeve that is screw-fitted around the shaft carrier and at least partially positioned within a flanged sleeve bore defined within the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

15. A flag structure extending around the stem portion of the flanged sleeve, The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 12, further comprising a drive gear extending around the stem portion of the flanged sleeve and fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve, wherein the flag structure further comprises a drive gear located axially midway between the drive gear and the flange portion of the flanged sleeve.

16. Bearing arrangement, A rotor extending around the stem portion of the flanged sleeve and fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve, A stator extending around the rotor and to which a bearing body is connected, A ferromagnetic fluid seal located between the stator and the rotor, which fluidly separates the ceramic shaft from the external environment of the lift-rotation assembly, A drive gear extending around the stator and fastened to the flange portion of the flanged sleeve, wherein the stator and the rotor have a drive gear that radially overlaps with the shaft carrier, The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 12, further comprising a bearing arrangement including the bearing arrangement.

17. The lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shaft carrier has a serrated surface protruding from the flanged sleeve, and further comprises a cylindrical sleeve extending around the shaft carrier and having a serrated surface protruding from the flanged sleeve, the serrated surface of the cylindrical sleeve extending around the serrated surface of the shaft carrier, and the cylindrical sleeve is rotatable relative to the shaft carrier.

18. A semiconductor processing system, Chamber configuration, Chamber body with protruding tubular member, An injection flange that abuts the injection end of the chamber body, and A substrate support supported for rotation within the chamber body by a lift-rotating assembly according to claim 1, wherein the ceramic shaft of the lift-rotating assembly extends through the tubular member and supports the substrate support, comprising a chamber arrangement including a substrate support, A semiconductor processing system comprising: a dopant-containing precursor source connected to the injection flange by a supply conduit, and to both the dopant-containing precursor source and the tubular member by a conduit between the dopant-containing precursor source and the tubular member.

19. A method for manufacturing a lift and rotation assembly, The internal elastic member is seated on the shoulder portion of the shaft carrier bore defined within the shaft carrier, The small tapered portion of the split sleeve is seated in the tapered portion of the shaft carrier bore defined within the shaft carrier, The first end of the ceramic shaft is seated in the shaft carrier bore, and on the inner elastic member seated on the shoulder portion and inside the shaft carrier bore, The process includes fixing the shaft carrier in a screw-in manner within a flanged sleeve bore defined within the flanged sleeve, so that the ceramic shaft protrudes from the shaft carrier along the axis of rotation defined by the flanged sleeve, Seating the divided sleeve in the shaft carrier compresses and deforms the divided sleeve, A method for screwing the shaft carrier into the flanged sleeve bore, which further compresses and deforms the segmented sleeve, which is compressed and fixed around the ceramic shaft within the shaft carrier bore of the shaft carrier and compresses and deforms radially to limit the tilting and oscillating of the base material support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the rotation axis.

20. A method for depositing material layers, A lift-rotating assembly comprising a shaft carrier defining a shaft carrier bore through which a shaft carrier passes; a ceramic shaft received within the shaft carrier bore; a segmented sleeve seated on the shaft carrier and extending around the ceramic shaft; and a flanged sleeve defining a rotation axis and receiving the shaft carrier in a screw-in manner, wherein the segmented sleeve is compressed and fixed around the ceramic shaft within the shaft carrier bore of the shaft carrier and is compressibly deformed radially. The substrate is seated on a substrate support that is supported by the ceramic shaft, Rotating the substrate support around the rotation axis, This includes bringing the substrate into contact with a process fluid to deposit a material layer on the substrate, and removing the material from the substrate, A method wherein the tilting and oscillating of the substrate support supported by the ceramic shaft during rotation around the rotation axis is limited by the compression fixation and radial compression deformation of the segmented sleeve around the ceramic shaft.

Images