Shower head heating package and substrate processing apparatus using shower head heating package

Abstract

A showerhead heating package and a substrate processing apparatus using the showerhead heating package are disclosed. [Solution] A heating package for heating a shower head in a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, comprising a shower head heater disposed on and embedded in the shower head, the shower head heater comprising a heating element and a sheath surrounding the heating element, the heating package further comprising a filter configured to prevent radio frequency (RF) leakage from the heater line, a heater line configured to electrically connect the filter to the shower head heater, and a ferrite core disposed on the heater line.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more specifically, to a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of heating packages that may efficiently heat a shower head.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a shower head heater becomes unstable due to loss of radio frequency (RF) power through the shower head heater. The shower head heater is typically inserted into the SHD through insulation, and the aforementioned insulation acts as a capacitor at high frequencies, but due to the insulation, the efficiency of the supplied RF may decrease.

[0003] The impedance of a capacitor can be measured by Equation (1) shown below.

[0004]

Equation

[0005] In Equation (1), Z C represents the impedance of the capacitor, j represents the imaginary unit, π represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, f represents the frequency, and C represents the capacitance.

[0006] As shown by Equation (1) above, the impedance (Z c ) is inversely proportional to the frequency (f). This means that as the frequency increases, the impedance decreases, and the loss of RF power increases throughout the shower head heater due to the decrease in impedance.

[0007] Therefore, the present disclosure presents an efficient shower head heater package and a substrate processing apparatus equipped with the new shower head heater package.

Summary of the Invention

[0008] The summary of the present invention is provided in a simplified form to introduce the selection of concepts. These concepts are described in more detail in the “Modes for Carrying Out the Invention” of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure below. The summary of the present invention is not intended to identify any major or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to one embodiment, a heating package may be provided for heating a shower head in a substrate processing apparatus, the heating package comprising: a shower head heater disposed on and embedded in the shower head, comprising a heating element and a sheath surrounding the heating element; a filter configured to prevent radio frequency (RF) leakage from the heater line; a heater line configured to electrically connect the filter to the shower head heater; and a ferrite core disposed on the heater line.

[0010] In one embodiment, the ferrite core is an inductor.

[0011] In one embodiment, the length of the heater line is 1 / 8 or less of the RF wavelength, preferably 1 / 16 or less of the RF wavelength.

[0012] In one embodiment, the length of the heater line is 30 cm or less.

[0013] In one embodiment, the sheath is made of a nonmetallic material, which is one of alumina, quartz, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, mica, and engineering plastics.

[0014] According to another embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus may be provided comprising: a reaction chamber configured for processing a substrate, comprising a showerhead for distributing plasma and gas for processing the substrate and a susceptor for supporting a substrate placed on the showerhead, wherein the process space is defined by the showerhead and the susceptor; and a plurality of heating packages, each of which is positioned on the showerhead and comprises a showerhead heater embedded in the showerhead, wherein the showerhead heater has a heating element, a sheath surrounding the heating element, a filter configured to prevent RF leakage from the heater line, a heater line configured to electrically connect the filter to the showerhead heater, and a ferrite core positioned on the heater line.

[0015] In one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus, the ferrite core is an inductor.

[0016] In one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus, the length of the heater line is 1 / 8 or less of the RF wavelength, preferably 1 / 16 or less of the RF wavelength.

[0017] In one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus, the length of the heater line is 30 cm or less.

[0018] In one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus, the sheath is made of a nonmetallic material, which is one of alumina, quartz, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, mica, and engineering plastics.

[0019] In one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus, the number of heated packages is 2 to 10.

[0020] In one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus, the heating package is positioned at the same angle around the upper side of the reaction chamber.

[0021] Of course, the components in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to actual scale. For example, to aid understanding of the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure, the dimensions of some of the components in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 8 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus around a heating package in one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 11 is a simplified top view of a substrate processing apparatus showing a heating package in one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a showerhead heater in an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram for explaining how a filter and a ferrite core are arranged in a heater package in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Certain specific embodiments and examples are disclosed below, but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or uses thereof, as well as obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention as disclosed should not be limited by the specific disclosed embodiments described below.

[0024] As used herein, the term “substrate” may be modified, or may include any underlying material on which a device, circuit, or film is formed, or may refer to any underlying material. A “substrate” may be continuous or discontinuous, rigid or flexible, solid or porous, or a combination thereof. A substrate may be in any form, such as powder, plate, or workpiece. A substrate in plate form may include wafers of various shapes and sizes. A substrate may be made from semiconductor materials, such as silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.

[0025] For example, substrates in powder form may have applications in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Porous substrates may contain polymers. Examples of workpieces 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.

[0026] The continuous substrate may extend beyond the boundary of the process chamber in which the deposition process takes place. In some processes, the continuous substrate may move through the process chamber, thereby allowing the process to continue to the edge of the substrate. The continuous substrate may be supplied from a continuous substrate supply system to enable the manufacturing and output of the continuous substrate in any suitable form.

[0027] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates include sheets, nonwoven films, rolls, foils, webs, flexible materials, continuous filaments, or bundles of fibers (e.g., ceramic fibers or polymer fibers). Continuous substrates may also include carriers or sheets on which discontinuous substrates are placed.

[0028] The examples presented herein do not imply any actual form of any particular material, structure, or device, but are merely idealized representations used to describe embodiments of the herein.

[0029] The specific implementations described and disclosed are illustrative of the present invention and its best mode, and are not intended to limit the embodiments and scope of implementation in any way other than those described. In fact, for the sake of brevity, conventional manufacturing, association, preparation, and other functional aspects of the system may not be described in detail. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in various drawings are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical connections between various components. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in the actual system and / or may not be present in some embodiments.

[0030] It should be understood that the configurations and / or approaches described herein are essentially illustrative and should not be considered limiting, as numerous variations are possible in these particular embodiments or examples. The specific routines or methods described herein may represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Thus, the various operations described herein may be performed in the order shown, in other orders, or, in some cases, omitted.

[0031] The subject matter of this disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and partial combinations of the various processes, systems, and configurations disclosed herein, as well as all equivalents, including other features, functions, operations, and / or characteristics.

[0032] Figure 1 is a simplified side view of a substrate processing apparatus 100 in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] The substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a reaction chamber 110. The reaction chamber 110 may be configured to process the substrate and may also include a shower head 112 and a susceptor 113. The reaction chamber 110 may also include a manifold 120 for injecting gas and a duct 121 having an exhaust port (not shown) for exhausting gas from the reaction chamber 110.

[0034] The showerhead 112 may be configured to distribute the plasma and gas used to process the substrate. The susceptor 113 may be configured to support the substrate placed on it. The processing space 114 may be defined by the showerhead 112 and the susceptor 113. The processing space 114 is the area where the plasma and gas are distributed and which may react to process the substrate.

[0035] The reaction chamber 110 may also include a heating package 130 for heating the shower head 112. The heating package 130 may be partially positioned on top of the reaction chamber 110 or partially inserted into the shower head 112.

[0036] Figure 2 is a simplified top view of a reaction chamber 200 having a heating package in one embodiment of the present disclosure. The manifold 220 may be located in the center of the reaction chamber.

[0037] There may be six heating packages 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215 above the reaction chamber 200. Depending on the process conditions and requirements, the number of heating packages may be in the range of 2 to 10. As shown in Figure 2, there are six heating packages, and the heating packages 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215 are evenly distributed along the top of the reaction chamber 200.

[0038] As illustrated, if there are 6 heating packages, the angle [A] from line "a" to line "b" may be 60°, since 360 ​​divided by 6 is 60. Multiple angles [B], [C], [D], [E], and [F] may all be the same as the angle [A] that maximizes the efficiency of heating packages 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215. If there are 8 heating packages, the angle from one line to the next is 45° (360° divided by 8).

[0039] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a shower head heater 300 in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] As described above, the showerhead heater 300 may be positioned deep below the showerhead 112, down to level 130b. The showerhead heater 300 may comprise a sheath 320 and a heating element 310 located within the sheath 320. To minimize RF power loss, the sheath 320 may contain a nonmetallic material. The nonmetallic material may include at least one of alumina, quartz, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, or mica. Engineering plastics may also be included in the nonmetallic material if the operating temperature of the showerhead is sufficiently low.

[0041] The nonmetallic material used for the sheath 320 may have the same effect as increasing the impedance of the sheath 320, as well as increasing the thickness of the insulator. To minimize the loss of existing RF power, the heating package shown in Figure 4 is presented in this disclosure. Figure 4 is a flow diagram showing how the filter and ferrite core are arranged within the heater package in an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0042] The heating package 410 may also include a noise filter 411, a shower head heater 414, a ferrite core 413, and a heater line 412 connecting the noise filter 411 to the shower head heater 414. In Figure 4, five other heating packages, namely heating packages 420, 430, 440, 450, and 460, are also constructed in the same way as heating package 410.

[0043] Although the non-metallic sheath 320 of the showerhead heater 300 may increase the impedance of the sheath 320, the shielding effect of the sheath 320 is lost (because the sheath 320 is not metallic), and some RF power loss may occur as RF power leaks into the heater line 412. A noise filter 411 may be placed to prevent RF power leakage.

[0044] While the noise filter 411 may be able to prevent some of the RF power leakage, it may only function poorly in high-frequency environments, for example, environments with frequencies higher than 30 MHz. To prevent this side effect, a ferrite core 413 is placed in the heater line 412 to provide high impedance in high-frequency environments, and the ferrite core 413 may be an inductor. If the ferrite core 413 is an inductor, its inductance (H) is controlled and adjusted to meet the requirements of the processing currently underway.

[0045] If RF power leaks into the heater line 412, the heater line 412 acts as an antenna, radiating RF into the air, and this radiation becomes stronger as the length of the heater line 412 increases. Therefore, it is preferable to make the length (len) of the heater line 412 as short as possible so that the distance between the noise filter 411 and the showerhead heater 414 is as close as possible. Generally, RF radiation from a cable, i.e., loss of RF power, can occur when the length of the cable is sufficiently long relative to the wavelength of the RF signal carried by the cable.

[0046] The speed of electromagnetic waves (such as light) is a constant c, and the frequency (f0) and wavelength (λ0) of electromagnetic waves are well known and are given by equation (2) below.

[0047]

number

[0048] In equation (2), c represents the speed of light, f0 represents the frequency, and λ0 represents the wavelength.

[0049] Therefore, the length (len) of the heater line 412 is preferably less than 1 / 8 of the wavelength (λ), more preferably less than 1 / 16 of the wavelength, so as to reduce the loss of RF power from the heater line 412. Considering the RF frequency, a length of 30 cm for the heater line 412 may be sufficiently suitable.

[0050] For alternating current (AC), the impedance of the inductor is given by (3) below.

[0051]

number

[0052] In equation (3), X L ω represents the impedance of the inductor, ω represents the angular frequency, and L represents the inductance.

[0053] As shown in equation (3), the impedance of an inductor (or, for example, a ferrite core) may increase with increasing frequency. Therefore, the higher the frequency, the higher the impedance, and the ferrite core 413 placed in the heater line 412 may provide high impedance for high frequencies (>30 MHz). In addition, the noise filter 411 may be mounted as close as possible to the shower head heater 414 to prevent loss of RF power and any external interference. The distance between the noise filter 411 and the shower head heater 414 is the length of the heater line 412.

[0054] As described above, the heating package of this disclosure is particularly effective in high-frequency environments such as very high frequencies (VHF) of 30 to 300 MHz.

[0055] The above-described arrangement of the apparatus is merely an example of the application of the principles of the present invention, and numerous other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be determined by reference to the above description, but rather by reference to the appended claims together with the entire scope of equivalents.

Claims

1. A heating package for heating a shower head inside a substrate processing apparatus, A shower head heater positioned on and embedded within a shower head, comprising a heating element and a sheath surrounding the heating element, A filter configured to prevent radio frequency (RF) leakage from the heater line, A heater line configured to electrically connect the filter to the shower head heater, A heating package comprising a ferrite core disposed on the aforementioned heater line.

2. The heating package according to claim 1, wherein the ferrite core is an inductor.

3. The heating package according to claim 1, wherein the length of the heater line is 1 / 16 or less of the wavelength of the RF.

4. The heating package according to claim 1, wherein the length of the heater line is 30 cm or less.

5. The heating package according to claim 1, wherein the sheath is made of a nonmetallic material, the nonmetallic material being one of alumina, quartz, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, mica, and engineering plastics.

6. A reaction chamber configured for processing a substrate, comprising a showerhead for distributing plasma and gas for processing the substrate, and a susceptor for supporting the substrate placed thereon, wherein the processing space is defined by the showerhead and the susceptor, Multiple heating packages, each of the heating packages is A shower head heater is positioned on the shower head and embedded within the shower head, and comprises a heating element and a sheath surrounding the heating element. A filter configured to prevent RF leakage from the heater line, A heater line configured to electrically connect the filter to the shower head heater, A substrate processing apparatus comprising a plurality of heating packages having a ferrite core arranged on the heater line.

7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the ferrite core is an inductor.

8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the length of the heater line is 1 / 16 or less of the wavelength of the RF.

9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the length of the heater line is 30 cm or less.

10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sheath is made of a nonmetallic material, and the nonmetallic material is one of alumina, quartz, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, mica, and engineering plastics.

11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the number of heating packages is 2 to 10.

12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the heating package is arranged at the same angle around the upper side of the reaction chamber.

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