Porous shower head for substrate processing system

Abstract

A porous showerhead comprises a porous top surface, a porous bottom surface, and multiple layers. The layers are stacked between the porous top surface and the porous bottom surface. The layers are configured to connect to a distribution plate in the showerhead assembly of a substrate processing system. The uppermost layer has the porous top surface. The lowermost layer has the porous bottom surface. Each layer contains particles that partially melt to form pores. The pores in the layers are at least one of the following: they are laterally aligned with the pores of one or more adjacent layers, or they are fluidly coupled. The pores extend from the porous top surface to the porous bottom surface.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Cross-reference of related applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 452,401, filed on 15 March 2023. The entire disclosure of the application referenced above is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This disclosure relates to a shower head for a substrate processing system, and more particularly to a shower head formed using an additive manufacturing process. [Background technology]

[0003] The background art provided herein is intended to provide a general context for this disclosure. To the extent described in the background art section, the inventors' research and any descriptions that may not be considered prior art at the time of filing are not expressly or implicitly considered prior art to this disclosure.

[0004] A substrate processing system typically includes multiple processing chambers (also called process modules) for performing deposition, etching, and other processing of a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. For example, deposition may be performed to deposit conductive films, dielectric films, or other types of films using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD), and / or other deposition processes. During deposition, the substrate is placed on a substrate support (e.g., a pedestal), and one or more precursor gases can be supplied to the process chamber using a gas distributor (e.g., a showerhead) during one or more process steps. In PECVD or PEALD processes, plasma is used to activate chemical reactions within the process chamber during deposition. Further examples of processes that can be performed on a substrate include, but are not limited to, dielectric etching, chemical etching, plasma etching, reactive ion etching, and cleaning processes. During deposition and etching processes, a gas mixture is introduced into the processing chamber via a showerhead, and plasma is applied to activate chemical reactions. During cleaning processes, gas may also be introduced via a showerhead. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A porous showerhead is disclosed, comprising a porous top surface, a porous bottom surface, and a plurality of layers. The layers are stacked between the porous top surface and the porous bottom surface. The layers are configured to connect to a distribution plate of a showerhead assembly in a substrate processing system. The uppermost layer has the porous top surface. The lowermost layer has the porous bottom surface. Each layer contains particles that partially melt to form pores. The pores in the layers are at least one of the following: they are laterally aligned with the pores of one or more adjacent layers of the layers, or they are fluidly coupled. The pores extend from the porous top surface to the porous bottom surface.

[0006] Other features include: extended pores are not exclusive but share pores within the layer; each layer has a thickness equal to 1-3 times the diameter of the particles in that layer; the maximum thickness of each layer is twice the maximum diameter of the particles in that layer; and the thickness of each layer is 30-100 μm.

[0007] Other characteristics include: each particle having a diameter of 20–100 μm; the particles being spherical; and the particles being silicon particles.

[0008] Other features include: the layer contains more than 1,000 extended pores per square centimeter; the overall thickness of the layer is greater than 5 mm; the resistivity of the layer is 0.5 mΩ·cm to 3 Ω·cm; and the particle doping level is 2.32E+20 atoms / cm². 3 ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm 3 That is the case.

[0009] In other features, each layer includes an annular outer portion that is denser and less porous than another portion radially inward of the annular outer portion. In other features, the layer includes an annular outer portion and a circular inner portion located radially inward of the annular outer portion, which is less dense and more porous than the annular outer portion. In other features, the annular outer portion includes holes for connecting the layer to a distribution plate.

[0010] In other features, the layer comprises a first annular portion and a second annular portion positioned between the two first annular portions, the second annular portion having a lower density and lower porosity than the first annular portions. In other features, the layer comprises a circular inner portion located radially inward of the first annular portions and having the same density and porosity as the second annular portion. In other features, the first annular portions include holes for connecting the layer to a distribution plate.

[0011] In other features, each layer contains a vertical porous region between a pair of non-porous regions. In other features, each layer contains a gradient porous region between a pair of non-porous regions.

[0012] In other features, the layer comprises a grid having a first density and a first porosity, and posts defined by the grid. The posts have a second density and a second porosity. The second density is less than the first density. The second porosity is greater than the first porosity.

[0013] In other features, the layer includes a vertical porous region extending from the top to the bottom. In other features, the layer includes a gradient porous region extending from the top to the bottom.

[0014] Other features include a shower head assembly which includes a porous shower head and a distribution plate connected to the porous shower head and configured to distribute fluid to the top layer of the layer.

[0015] In other features, the distribution plate includes a body and an annular outer member extending downward from the body and defining a cavity between the body and the porous shower head. In other features, the distribution plate includes a hole extending from the top of the distribution plate to the bottom of the distribution plate and configured to supply fluid to the cavity.

[0016] In other features, the porous showerhead includes an annular outer member and an annular outer portion connected in a horizontal line. In other features, the annular outer portion is not porous.

[0017] In other features, the distribution plate includes a body and an annular member extending downward from the body and defining a cavity between the body and the porous shower head. In other features, the annular member extends downward to the porous portion of the porous shower head.

[0018] In other features, the annular member extends downward to and connects to the first annular portion of the porous showerhead. In other features, the distribution plate includes holes that extend from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate and are configured to supply fluid to the cavity defined by the annular member.

[0019] In other features, the porous showerhead includes a second annular portion, each positioned between two first annular portions and being porous. In other features, the distribution plate further includes a crossing member extending downward from the body to the porous showerhead. In other features, the distribution plate includes a hole extending from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate and configured to supply fluid to a cavity at least partially defined by the crossing member.

[0020] In other features, the showerhead assembly further includes a heat conductive layer positioned between a distribution plate and a porous showerhead. In other features, the showerhead assembly further includes a plenum connected to the distribution plate and configured to supply fluid to the distribution plate. In other features, a substrate processing system is disclosed, which includes a showerhead assembly and a substrate support configured to support a substrate below the showerhead assembly.

[0021] In other features, a three-dimensional printing method for manufacturing a porous showerhead is disclosed. The method includes the steps of loading silicon powder into a powder bed of a three-dimensional printing system; raising the temperature of a substrate on a construction plate of the three-dimensional printing system; transferring a layer of silicon from the powder bed to the substrate; melting the layer of silicon on the substrate to form a buffer layer on the substrate; and printing layers on the buffer layer to form a porous showerhead for a substrate processing system. Each layer contains particles that partially melt to form pores. The pores of the layers are at least one of the following: they are laterally aligned with the pores of one or more adjacent layers of the layers, or they are fluidly coupled. The method further includes the step of separating the porous showerhead from the substrate along the buffer layer.

[0022] Other features include raising the substrate temperature to 200-1100°C before printing the layers. Other features include the method further including the step of annealing the porous showerhead before separating it from the substrate.

[0023] In other features, the method further includes the step of reducing the temperature of the porous shower head before separating the porous shower head from the substrate. In other features, the extending pores are not dedicated and share the pores of the layer.

[0024] In other features, each layer has a thickness equal to 1 to 3 times the diameter of the particles in that layer. In other features, the maximum thickness of each layer is 2 times the maximum diameter of the particles in that layer. In other features, the thickness of each layer is 30 to 100 μm. In other features, each particle has a diameter of 20 to 100 μm. In other features, the particles are spherical particles. In other features, the particles are silicon particles. In other features, the layer includes more than 1,000 extending pores per square centimeter.

[0025] In other features, the overall thickness of the layer is greater than 5 mm. In other features, the resistivity of the layer is 0.5 mΩ·cm to 3 Ω·cm. In other features, the doping level of the particles is 2.32E+20 atoms / cm 3 ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm 3 is.

[0026] In other features, each layer includes an annular outer portion that is denser and has a lower porosity than another portion radially inward of the annular outer portion. In other features, the layer includes an annular outer portion and a circular inner portion that is disposed radially inward of the annular outer portion and is less dense and has a higher porosity than the annular outer portion. In other features, the annular outer portion includes holes for connecting the layer to the distribution plate of the shower head assembly of the substrate processing system.

[0027] In other features, the layer includes a first annular portion and a second annular portion disposed between two first annular portions. The second annular portion is less dense and has a lower porosity than the first annular portion. In other features, the layer includes a circular inner portion that is radially inward of the first annular portion and has the same density and porosity as the second annular portion. In other features, the first annular portion includes holes for connecting the layer to the distribution plate.

[0028] In other features, each layer contains a vertical porous region between a pair of non-porous regions. In other features, each layer contains a gradient porous region between a pair of non-porous regions.

[0029] In other features, the method further includes the steps of forming a grid having a first density and a first porosity during the printing of each layer, and forming a post defined by the grid. The post has a second density and a second porosity. The second density is less than the first density. The second porosity is greater than the first porosity.

[0030] In other features, the layer includes a vertical porous region extending from the top to the bottom of the porous shower head. In other features, the layer includes a sloped porous region extending from the top to the bottom of the porous shower head.

[0031] In other features, a three-dimensional printing system is disclosed, which includes at least one laser, a powder bed configured to store powder, a construction plate configured to support a substrate, an actuator assembly configured to adjust the height of the powder bed and the construction plate, a powder wipe configured to level a layer of powder from the powder bed to the substrate, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the actuator assembly and the powder wipe to scrape the powder layer from the powder bed to the substrate, to control at least one laser to melt the powder layer to form a buffer layer, and then to level the powder layers one by one onto the buffer layer to form multiple layers of a porous showerhead. The porous showerhead is configured to connect to a distribution plate of a showerhead assembly of the substrate processing system. The controller is further configured to control at least one laser to partially melt a portion of each layer of the porous showerhead during the formation of the layers of the porous showerhead to form pores in each layer of the porous showerhead. The pores form extending pores that extend from the top to the bottom of the porous showerhead.

[0032] Other features include the 3D printing system further comprising at least one heater. The controller is configured to raise the substrate temperature to 200–1100°C before printing the porous showerhead layer. Other features include the controller being configured to anneal the porous showerhead before it is separated from the substrate. Other features include the controller being configured to lower the temperature of the porous showerhead before it is separated from the substrate.

[0033] In other features, the extended pores are not exclusive but share pores in the layers of the porous showerhead. In other features, each layer of the porous showerhead has a thickness equal to 1 to 3 times the diameter of the particles in that layer.

[0034] Other features include: the maximum thickness of each layer of a porous showerhead is twice the maximum diameter of the particles in that layer; the thickness of each layer is 30-100 μm; the particles in each layer of a porous showerhead have a diameter of 20-100 μm; the particles in the layers of a porous showerhead are spherical; and the particles in the layers of a porous showerhead are silicon particles.

[0035] Other features include: the porous showerhead layer contains more than 1,000 extended pores per square centimeter; the overall thickness of the porous showerhead layer is greater than 5 mm; the resistivity of the porous showerhead layer is 0.5 mΩ·cm to 3 Ω·cm; and the particle doping level of the porous showerhead layer is 2.32E+20 atoms / cm². 3 ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm 3 That is the case.

[0036] In other features, each layer of the porous showerhead includes an annular outer portion that is denser and less porous than another portion located radially inward of the annular outer portion. In other features, the layers of the porous showerhead include an annular outer portion and an annular inner portion located radially inward of the annular outer portion that is less dense and more porous than the annular outer portion. In other features, the annular outer portion includes holes for connecting the layers of the porous showerhead to a distribution plate.

[0037] In other features, the layer of the porous showerhead includes a first annular portion and a second annular portion positioned between the two first annular portions. The second annular portion has a lower density and lower porosity than the first annular portions.

[0038] In other features, the layer includes a circular inner portion located radially inward of the first annular portion and having the same density and porosity as the second annular portion. In other features, the first annular portion includes holes for connecting the porous showerhead layer to the distribution plate. In other features, the porous showerhead layer includes vertical porous regions, each located between a pair of non-porous regions. In other features, the porous showerhead layer includes sloped porous regions, each located between a pair of non-porous regions.

[0039] In other features, the 3D printing system further includes the steps of forming a grid having a first density and a first porosity during the printing of each layer, and forming a post defined by the grid. The post has a second density and a second porosity. The second density is less than the first density. The second porosity is greater than the first porosity.

[0040] In other features, the layer includes a vertical porous region extending from the top to the bottom of the porous shower head. In other features, the layer includes a sloped porous region extending from the top to the bottom of the porous shower head.

[0041] Further areas of application of this disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0042] This disclosure will be better understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0043] [Figure 1] This is an enlarged view of a cross-sectional portion of a porous shower head showing the pathways of several extended pores according to this disclosure. [Figure 2A] This is a bottom view of the shower head assembly, including the porous shower head and single-zone distribution plate, according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2B] Figure 2A is a cross-sectional side view of the showerhead assembly with respect to the plenum and stem (or injector) according to this disclosure. [Figure 3A] This is a partial bottom view of another shower head assembly according to the present disclosure, which includes a porous shower head and a multi-zone distribution plate with an annular member. [Figure 3B] Figure 3A is a cross-sectional side view of the shower head assembly. [Figure 4A] This is a partial bottom view of another shower head assembly comprising a multi-zone porous shower head having an annular portion and a corresponding multi-zone distribution plate having an annular member, according to the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] Figure 4A is a cross-sectional side view of the shower head assembly. [Figure 5A] This is a partial cross-sectional side view of another shower head assembly, which includes a multi-zone porous shower head and a multi-zone distribution plate having an annular member and an intersecting member, according to the present disclosure. [Figure 5B] Figure 5A is a cross-sectional top view along line A-A. [Figure 5C] Figure 5A is a top view of the shower head assembly. [Figure 6] This is a side view of a 3D printing system for manufacturing a porous shower head according to this disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a functional block diagram of a substrate processing system including a shower head assembly, which includes a porous shower head, as disclosed herein. [Figure 8] This disclosure shows a method for manufacturing a porous shower head. [Figure 9] This is a bottom view of another porous showerhead, including a solid grid and porous posts, according to the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a side cross-sectional view of a portion of a porous showerhead showing the overall and layer thicknesses as disclosed herein. [Figure 11] This is a side cross-sectional view of another porous showerhead including a vertical porous region according to the present disclosure. [Figure 12] This is a side cross-sectional view of another porous showerhead including the sloped porous region according to the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0044] In drawings, reference numbers can be reused to identify similar and / or identical elements.

[0045] A showerhead can be fabricated by removing a selected portion of a silicon block using a subtractive machining (or subtractive manufacturing) method. Fabricating a showerhead with numerous holes and / or complex mechanisms (e.g., curved gas holes) using a subtractive machining method can be difficult, impractical, and / or physically impossible. Because a large portion of the material block is selectively removed to ultimately produce the showerhead, using a subtractive machining method can also result in reduced material utilization. As an example, to fabricate a silicon showerhead, a silicon ingot is first cast and then cut into circular plates. Each circular plate is machined to ultimately obtain the showerhead. Holes are drilled in the circular plates using electrical discharge machining (EDM), laser drilling, diamond bit drilling, or ultrasonic impact grinding. The more holes drilled in each circular plate, the longer the subtractive machining process will run.

[0046] Conventional showerheads (also called "showerhead electrodes") have fewer than 5,000 gas holes. Most conventional showerheads have fewer than 1,000 gas holes each. The diameter of the gas holes is typically larger than 300 micrometers (μm). Most gas holes have a diameter slightly larger than 500 μm. The holes are straight through holes that do not contain any material.

[0047] Manufacturing requirements for 3D NAND memory devices include an increasing number of device layers, higher RF power, and high aspect ratio (HAR) requirements for channel holes and slits within multilayer stacks. This necessitates higher conductance showerheads and HAR etching. For example, with current hole diameters of approximately 500 μm, abnormal discharges can occur in and behind the gas holes of the showerhead at high RF power levels. If the showerhead has a conventional number of gas holes (e.g., 300-2000 holes, each with a diameter of approximately 500 μm), the substrate being processed may also experience gas heterogeneity with high flow conductance.

[0048] It is traditionally impossible and / or unrealistic to manufacture shower heads with high-density holes (e.g., more than 100,000 holes per shower head) using traditional subtractive machining methods. For example, it is impossible to drill one million holes in a 300 mm diameter silicone plate due to the small size of the required holes. Furthermore, drilling such a large number of holes would be time-consuming and would result in a large amount of wasted silicone material.

[0049] Two methods that can be used to form multiple holes in a silicon plate include wet chemical etching and dry etching, respectively. The etching rates of wet chemical etching and dry etching are slow, especially for holes with high aspect ratios. Furthermore, it is difficult to form through holes in a silicon plate with a thickness of 10 mm or less using either wet chemical etching or dry etching.

[0050] Examples described herein include porous shower heads (e.g., silicon porous shower heads) formed using additive manufacturing processes. Each additive manufacturing process includes 3D printed layers for forming a stack, which is annealed, cooled, and machined to ultimately obtain a shower head. Each porous shower head contains a large number of extended pores. Each shower head may contain more than 100,000 extended pores and more than 10 million extended pores, which may be provided on, for example, a shower head with a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 10 mm. In one embodiment, 1 square centimeter (cm 2 There are more than 1,000 extended pores per showerhead. In another embodiment, the inner diameter of each extended pore is less than 70 μm and can be controlled as described below. In contrast to creating pores using subtractive manufacturing, as the number of extended pores per showerhead increases using the additive manufacturing method disclosed herein, the time required for the disclosed additive manufacturing process to form the showerhead becomes shorter.

[0051] As used herein, “pore” refers to the gaps or separations between particles in a layer of a porous showerhead. Each layer of a porous showerhead disclosed herein contains particles that have been partially melted during manufacturing to form pores. The pores in each layer are laterally aligned with the pores in one or more adjacent layers and are fluidly coupled to provide extended pores. The extended pores extend from the top surface of the porous showerhead to the bottom surface of the porous showerhead. Each extended pore is a path for fluid to pass from the top surface where the fluid is received to the bottom surface where the fluid is exited from the porous showerhead. The paths can have linear, curved, and / or “zigzag” patterns. Figure 1 shows an exemplary close-up (or enlarged) view of a section 100 of a showerhead containing spherical silicon particles 102. Gaps exist between the particles 102, which collectively provide connected pores extending from the top 104 to the bottom 106 of the showerhead. Arrows 110 represent possible pathways for fluid through the section 100. There are numerous possible routes from the top 104 to the bottom 106. Each route is not exclusive and shares its route segment with other routes.

[0052] Figures 2A and 2B show a showerhead assembly 200 including a porous showerhead 202, a single-zone distribution plate 204, and a plenum 206. The showerhead assembly 200 receives fluid (e.g., process gas) from a stem (or injector) 208, indicated by a dashed line. The porous showerhead 202 may be formed using a 3D printing method disclosed herein, constructed as shown in Figures 2A and 2B, constructed as shown in Figures 3A to 5C, and / or constructed as described with respect to any of the porous showerheads referred to herein. In the example shown in Figures 2A and 2B, the porous showerhead 202 includes an inner portion 209 having a first porosity and a first density, and an outer portion 210 having a second porosity and a second density. The inner portion 209 is circular and is used to disperse fluid toward the substrate being processed. In one embodiment, the first porosity is greater than the second porosity, and the first density is less than the second density. In one embodiment, the outer portion 210 is solid and therefore non-porous, increasing its strength for mounting purposes. The outer portion 210 is annular in shape and is used to mount the porous shower head 202 to the distribution plate 204. The outer portion 210 is radially outward of the inner portion 209 and is in contact with the inner portion 209. The outer portion 210 and the inner portion 209 are integrally formed as a single plate. The porous shower head 302 may be formed from silicon.

[0053] The distribution plate 204 may be made of aluminum and includes a body 212 and an annular member 214 extending downward from the body 212. The distribution plate 204 may be directly fixed to the porous shower head 202, or a thermal conductive layer 216 may be placed between the distribution plate 204 and the porous shower head 202. The thermal conductive layer 216 may be implemented as thermal grease or adhesive and may be made of, for example, aluminum, rubber, and / or other suitable thermal conductive material. The distribution plate 204 includes holes 220 arranged across the body 212. The body 212 may have any number of holes. The holes 220 extend from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate 204 and help distribute the fluid received from within the plenum 206 to the porous shower head 202. A cavity 221 exists between the body 212 and the inner portion 209. The cavity 221 allows the fluid to be distributed uniformly throughout the inner portion 209. The distribution plate 204 helps to make the temperature of the porous shower head 202 more uniform.

[0054] The porous shower head 202 and / or distribution plate 204 may include holes 230, 232 for fastening the porous shower head 202 to the distribution plate 204 via fasteners. For example, a screw may extend, for example, through hole 230 and be screwed into hole 232, which may be threaded. Hole 230 is laterally aligned with hole 232.

[0055] Figures 3A and 3B show a portion 300 of a shower head assembly including a porous shower head 302 and a multi-zone distribution plate 304. The porous shower head 302 includes an inner portion 309 having a first porosity and a first density, and an outer portion 310 having a second porosity and a second density. The inner portion 309 is circular and is used to disperse fluid toward the substrate being processed. In one embodiment, the first porosity is greater than the second porosity, and the first density is less than the second density. In one embodiment, the outer portion 310 is solid and therefore not porous. The outer portion 310 is annular in shape and is used to attach the porous shower head 302 to the distribution plate 304. The outer portion 310 is radially outward of the inner portion 309 and is in contact with the inner portion 309. The outer portion 310 and the inner portion 309 are integrally formed as a single plate. The porous shower head 302 may be formed from silicon.

[0056] The distribution plate 304 may be made of aluminum and includes a body 312 and annular members 313, 314, and 315 extending downward from the body 312. The annular members 313, 314, and 315 define three annular cavities 316, 317, and 318 that provide three corresponding annular zones in the porous shower head 302. The fluid flows through the holes 320 in the body 312 and the corresponding pores in the annular zones of the inner portion 309.

[0057] The distribution plate 304 may be directly fixed to the porous shower head 302, or a heat conduction layer, one example of which is shown in Figure 2B, may be placed between the distribution plate 304 and the porous shower head 302. The distribution plate 304 includes holes 320 arranged across the body 312. The body 312 may have any number of holes. The holes 320 are located above the cavities 316, 317, and 318 and extend from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate 304, helping to distribute the fluid received from within the plenum (e.g., plenum 206 in Figure 2B) to the porous shower head 302. The cavities 316, 317, and 318 allow the fluid supplied to the annular zone to be distributed uniformly throughout the annular zone.

[0058] The porous shower head 302 and / or distribution plate 304 may include holes 330, 332 for fastening the porous shower head 302 to the distribution plate 304 via fasteners. For example, a screw may extend, for example, through hole 330 and be screwed into hole 332, which may be threaded. Hole 330 is laterally aligned with hole 332.

[0059] Figures 4A and 4B show a portion 400 of a shower head assembly that includes a multi-zone porous shower head 402 and a corresponding multi-zone type distribution plate 404 having the same number of zones as the multi-zone porous shower head 402. The porous shower head 402 has first annular portions 409, 410, 411, an inner portion 412, and second annular portions 413, 414. The first annular portions 409, 410, 411 may have a first density and a first porosity. The inner portion 412 and the second annular portions 413, 414 may have a second density and a second porosity. In one embodiment, the second density is greater than the first density and the second porosity is less than the first porosity. In another embodiment, the inner portion 412 and the second annular portions 413, 414 are solid and therefore not porous. The inner portion 412 is located radially inward of the annular portions 409, 410, 411, 413, and 414. The annular portion 413 is located between the annular portions 409 and 410. The annular portion 414 is located between the annular portions 410 and 411. The annular portion 409 is radially inward of the annular portion 410, and the annular portion 410 is radially inward of the annular portion 411. The annular portions 409, 410, 411, 413, and 414 are concentric.

[0060] The annular portions 409, 410, and 411 are used to attach the porous shower head 402 to the distribution plate 404. The annular portions 409, 410, and 411 are in contact with the inner portion 412 and the annular portions 413 and 414. The annular portions 409, 410, and 411, the inner portion 412, and the annular portions 413 and 414 are formed integrally as a single plate. The porous shower head 402 may be formed from silicone.

[0061] The distribution plate 404 may be made of aluminum and includes a body 432 and annular members 433, 434, and 435 extending downward from the body 432. The annular members 433, 434, and 435 define three annular cavities 436, 437, and 438 and are concentric. The annular members 433, 434, and 435 are laterally aligned with annular portions 409, 410, and 411 and define three annular zones corresponding to cavities 436, 437, and 438. Fluid flows into cavities 436, 437, and 438 through holes 440 in the body 432 and through pores in the annular zones of portions 412, 413, and 414.

[0062] The distribution plate 404 may be directly fixed to the porous shower head 402, or a heat conduction layer, one example of which is shown in Figure 2B, may be placed between the distribution plate 404 and the porous shower head 402. The distribution plate 404 includes holes 440 arranged across the body 432. The body 432 may have any number of holes. The holes 440 are located above the cavities 436, 437, and 438 and extend from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate 404, helping to distribute the fluid received from within the plenum (e.g., plenum 206 in Figure 2B) to the porous shower head 402. The cavities 436, 437, and 438 allow the fluid supplied to the annular zone to be distributed uniformly throughout the annular zone.

[0063] The porous shower head 402 and / or distribution plate 404 may include holes 450, 452 for fastening the porous shower head 402 to the distribution plate 404 via fasteners. For example, a screw may extend, for example, through hole 450 and be screwed into hole 452, which may be threaded. Hole 450 is laterally aligned with hole 452.

[0064] Figures 5A to 5C show a portion 500 of a shower head assembly including a multi-zone porous shower head 502 and a multi-zone distribution plate 504. The porous shower head 502 may be formed from silicon and includes annular portions 510, 511, 512, a circular portion 513, and annular portions 514, 515. The annular portions 510, 511, 512 have a first density and a first porosity. The distribution plate 504 has a different configuration from the distribution plate 404 in Figure 4. The distribution plate 504 may be formed from aluminum and includes a body 532 and annular members 533, 534, 535 and crossing members 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541 extending downward from the body 532. The crossing members 536, 537 cross the body 532 and extend through the annular members 533, 534. Intersecting members 538, 539, 540, and 541 extend from annular member 533 through annular member 534 to annular member 535. Intersecting members 538, 539, 540, and 541 do not extend radially inward of annular member 533 across a portion of the distribution plate 504.

[0065] The annular members 533, 534, 535 and the intersecting members 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541 define arched cavities and fan-shaped cavities 552, some of which are indicated by 550. The regions of the lower portions 513, 514, 515 below the arched cavities and fan-shaped cavities 552 may have a second density and a second porosity. In one embodiment, the second density is less than the first density, and the second porosity is greater than the first porosity. In another embodiment, the annular portions 510, 511, 512 are solid and therefore not porous. The annular portions 510, 511, 512 and the intersecting members 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541 define and provide more zones to improve the controllability of fluid flow.

[0066] The distribution plate 504 may be directly fixed to the porous shower head 502, or a heat conduction layer, one example of which is shown in Figure 2B, may be placed between the distribution plate 504 and the porous shower head 502. The distribution plate 504 includes holes 560 arranged across the body 532. The body 532 may have any number of holes. The holes 560 are located above the cavities 550, 552 and extend from the top to the bottom of the distribution plate 504, helping to distribute the fluid received from within the plenum (e.g., plenum 206 in Figure 2B) to the porous shower head 502. The annular portions 510, 511, 512 and the cavities 550, 552 define the arched and fan-shaped zones of the porous shower head 502. The fluid is supplied to the cavities 550 and 552 through the hole 560 and distributed uniformly within the cavities 550 and 552 across the arched and fan-shaped zones.

[0067] The porous shower head 502 and / or distribution plate 504 may include holes 570, 572 for fastening the porous shower head 502 to the distribution plate 504 via fasteners. For example, a screw may extend, for example, through hole 570 and be screwed into hole 572, which may be threaded. Hole 570 is laterally aligned with hole 572.

[0068] Specific exemplary shower head assemblies having a particular porous shower head and a particular distribution plate are shown in Figures 2A to 5C, and other shower head assemblies including other porous shower heads and distribution plates may be formed using the methods disclosed herein, some of which are described below.

[0069] Figure 6 shows a 3D printing system 600 for manufacturing a porous shower head 601, such as one of the porous shower heads disclosed herein. The 3D printing system 600 may be implemented as an insulated 3D printer. The 3D printing system 600 includes a vacuum chamber 602. The vacuum chamber 602 includes a first (or construct) plate 604 and a second plate (or powder bed) 606. The first plate 604 supports a substrate 608 on which the shower head is printed layer by layer. The second plate 606 is used to store a non-metallic material 609, such as silicon powder. In one embodiment, the second plate 606 holds silicon powder containing spherical particles, each having an outer diameter of 20 to 100 μm. The plates 604, 606 are moved vertically up and down via their respective shafts 614, 616 and their respective first and second actuator assemblies 610, 612.

[0070] A dose bar (or powder wiper) 618 delivers non-metallic material 609 to the substrate 608 before printing each layer. The vacuum chamber 602 also includes an observation window 620, which may be coated with a film to reduce heat dissipation. An external heater 622 is positioned above the substrate 608 and used to heat the area 624 above the substrate 608, helping to provide uniform heating of the layers to be printed, preventing temperature gradients and helping to prevent cracking of the final formed part (e.g., a porous showerhead). Another heater 626 is positioned on the construction plate 604. Heaters 622 and 626 may be used to heat the substrate 608 and the layers formed thereon. An insulating material 628 is positioned between the heater 626 and the construction plate 604. The insulating material 628 may be a rigid carbon insulating material.

[0071] The 3D printing system 600 further includes a laser assembly 629 that includes one or more lasers 630 that project laser beams 632 onto a layer of a porous showerhead being formed during printing. Each of the laser beams 632 may pass through one or more lenses 634 and be reflected via a mirror 636 to the porous showerhead layer being formed. The mirror 636 can be referred to as an X-Y scanning mirror as it is moved and used to scan the laser beam 632 in the X and Y horizontal (or lateral) directions across the top surface of the porous showerhead 601. The laser beam 632 provides localized heating to partially or fully melt each layer being printed to form the porous showerhead 601. A motor 637 may be included to adjust the tilt angle of the mirror 636.

[0072] If two laser beams are generated, one laser beam operates at a high energy level (2 to 12 microjoules (μJ) per μm 2 and can be used to melt and solidify silicon particles together, and the other laser operates at a low energy level (0.2 to 10 microjoules (μJ) per μm 2 and can be used for partial melting to provide a porous region. When partially melted, the particles melt sufficiently to bond partially while leaving gaps between the particles, pores are formed in each layer being formed, through-pores are formed in the stack of layers being formed, and a porous showerhead is provided. As solidification progresses, the porosity decreases and the region becomes denser.

[0073] The actuator assemblies 610, 612, powder wiper 618, heaters 622, 626, laser 630, motor 637, and camera 638 are controlled by controller 640. Camera 638 monitors the position of the laser beam 632 on the upper surface of the porous shower head 601. Controller 640 controls the raising and lowering of the second plate 606 and the construction plate 604 to adjust the vertical position of the second plate 606 relative to the vertical position of the construction plate 604, thereby adjusting the amount of material spread from the second plate 606 to the construction plate 604.

[0074] The operation of the 3D printing system will be further explained below with respect to the method shown in Figure 8.

[0075] Figure 7 shows a substrate processing system 700 including a substrate support 701, shown as an electrostatic chuck, and a showerhead assembly 702. The substrate support 701 may include a cooling assembly 703, and the showerhead assembly 702 may include a temperature control assembly 704, which includes one or more cold (or cooling) plates (one cold plate 705 is shown) and one or more heat plates (one heat plate 706 is shown).

[0076] Figure 1 shows a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) system, but embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to transformer-coupled plasma (TCP) systems, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) systems, and / or other processing systems and plasma sources including substrate supports. Substrate processing systems are applicable to dry etching systems, and other processing systems including showerheads and / or substrate supports. In the illustrated example, the substrate support 701 includes a body 707. The body 707 may be formed from different materials and / or different ceramic compositions. The body 707 may include, for example, aluminum, aluminum alloys, aluminum nitride (AlN3), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and / or aluminum oxynitride (AlON).

[0077] The substrate processing system 700 includes a processing chamber 708. The substrate support 701 is housed within the processing chamber 708. The processing chamber 708 also surrounds other components, such as an upper electrode (or porous showerhead) 709, and contains the RF plasma. During operation, the substrate 710 is placed on the substrate support 701 and electrostatically clamped.

[0078] The showerhead assembly 702 includes a plenum 711 and a distribution plate 712 for introducing and distributing gas through a porous showerhead 709. The porous showerhead 709 may be configured as any of the porous showerheads disclosed herein, as shown in Figure 2B. The plenum 711 may be configured as any of the plenums disclosed herein, as shown in Figures 2A to 5C. The distribution plate 712 may be configured as any of the distribution plates disclosed herein, as shown in Figures 2A to 5C.

[0079] The showerhead assembly 702 further has a stem portion 713, one end of which is connected to the upper surface of the processing chamber 708. The plenum 711, the distribution plate 712, and the showerhead 709 are collectively cylindrical. The showerhead 709 extends radially outward at the end of the stem portion 713 opposite to the upper surface of the processing chamber 708. The showerhead 709 contains extending pores through which process gas or purge gas and / or other fluids flow. The showerhead assembly 702 may include a heat plate 706 positioned on the distribution plate 712. A cold plate 705 may be positioned on the heat plate 706.

[0080] In one embodiment, the substrate support 701 may include one or more gas channels 714 for circulating backside gas to the back surface of the substrate 710. The cooling assembly 703 receives coolant from the pump 716. The cold plate 705 may also receive coolant from the pump 716.

[0081] The temperature controller 715 controls the operation of the pump 716 to control the flow and temperature of the coolant between the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705. The pump 716 can circulate the coolant between i) the reservoir 717 and ii) the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705. Although a single pump 716 is shown, two or more pumps may be included. In one embodiment, each of the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705 includes a single coolant input and a single coolant output. In other embodiments, each of the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705 includes multiple coolant inputs and coolant outputs. A valve assembly 718 may be located between the pump 716 and the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705 and controlled by the temperature controller 715. The supply line and return line pairs can be connected (i) between one or more pumps and the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705, and / or (ii) between the valve assembly 718 and the cooling assembly 703 and the cold plate 705.

[0082] The RF generation system 720 generates an RF voltage and outputs it to an upper electrode 709 and one or more lower electrodes 719 within a substrate support 701. Either the upper electrode 709 or the substrate support 701 may be DC-grounded, AC-grounded, or at a stray potential. For example, the RF generation system 720 may include one or more RF generators 722 (e.g., capacitively coupled plasma RF generators, bias RF generators, and / or other RF generators) that generate an RF voltage, which is supplied to the upper electrode 709 and / or the substrate support 701 by one or more matched distribution networks 724. Electrodes that receive RF signals, RF voltages, and / or RF power are called RF electrodes. Examples include a plasma RF generator 723, a bias RF generator 725, a plasma RF matched network 727, and a bias RF matched network 729. The plasma RF generator 723 may be a high-power RF generator producing, for example, 6 to 10 kilowatts (kW) or more of power. The bias RF matching network supplies power to RF electrodes such as RF electrode 719.

[0083] The gas delivery system 730 includes one or more gas sources 732-1, 732-2, ..., and 732-N (collectively, gas source 732), where N is an integer greater than 0. Gas source 732 supplies one or more precursors and gas mixtures thereof. Gas source 732 can also supply etching gas, carrier gas, and / or purge gas. Vaporizable precursors may be used. Gas source 732 is connected to manifold 740 by valves 734-1, 734-2, ..., and 734-N (collectively, valve 734) and mass flow controllers 736-1, 736-2, ..., and 736-N (collectively, mass flow controller 736). The output of manifold 740 is supplied to processing chamber 708. For example, the output of manifold 740 is supplied to a showerhead.

[0084] Although shown separately from the system controller 760, the temperature controller 715 may be implemented as part of the system controller 760. The substrate support 701, cooling assembly 703, and temperature control assembly 704 may include multiple temperature control zones, each of which includes a temperature sensor and a set of channels. The temperature controller 715 monitors the temperature indicated by the temperature sensor and can adjust the flow rate and / or temperature of the coolant circulating through one or more sets of channels to adjust the temperature to a target temperature. The temperature sensor and other temperature sensors are represented by the temperature sensor 743. Although the temperature sensor 743 is shown connected to the processing chamber 708, at least some of the temperature sensors 743 are located inside the processing chamber 708. The temperature sensor 743 may include a resistance temperature device, a thermocouple, a digital temperature sensor, and / or other suitable temperature sensors.

[0085] The substrate processing system 700 may also include a power supply 744 that supplies power, including a high voltage, to a clamp electrode 731 for electrostatically clamping the substrate 710 to the substrate support 701. The clamp electrode receives power for electrostatically clamping the substrate 710 to the substrate support 701 and can receive RF signals, RF voltages, and / or RF power. The power supply 744 may be controlled by a system controller 760.

[0086] The substrate processing system 700 may further include a backside vacuum controller 752. The backside vacuum controller 752 can receive gas from the manifold 740 and supply the gas to the channel 714 and / or pump 758. This improves the transfer of thermal energy between the substrate support 701 and the substrate 710. Backside gas may also be provided to improve substrate periphery purging and vacuum tracking of the substrate position. The channel 714 may be supplied by one or more injection ports. In one embodiment, multiple injection ports are included to improve cooling. As an example, the backside gas may include helium.

[0087] The temperature controller 715 can control the operation of the pump 716 and / or other coolant circulation pumps and / or valve assemblies 718 based on parameters detected from one of the temperature sensors 743 in the processing chamber 708. The back surface vacuum controller 752 controls the flow rate of back surface gas (e.g., helium) to the channel 714 to cool the substrate 710 by controlling the flow from one or more of the gas sources 732 to the channel 714. The back surface vacuum controller 752 controls the pressure and flow rate of the gas supplied to the channel 714 based on parameters detected from the temperature sensor 743. In one embodiment, the temperature controller 715 and the back surface vacuum controller 752 are implemented as a combined single controller. During the deposition process, the substrate 710 may be heated in the presence of a high-power plasma. The gas flow through the gas channel 714 can lower the temperature of the substrate 710.

[0088] Valve 756 and pump 758 can be used to discharge the reactants from the processing chamber 708. The system controller 760 can control components of the substrate processing system 700, including controlling the supplied RF power level, the pressure and flow rate of the supplied gas, RF matching, etc. The system controller 760 controls the state of valve 756 and pump 758. A robot 764 can be used to deliver substrates onto the substrate support 701 and remove substrates from the substrate support. For example, the robot 764 may transfer substrates between the substrate support 701 and the load lock 766. The robot 764 may be controlled by the system controller 760. The system controller 760 can control the operation of the load lock 766.

[0089] Valves, gas pumps, power supplies, RF generators, etc., as referred to herein may be called actuators. Channels, gas channels, etc., as referred to herein may be called temperature control elements.

[0090] In the illustrated example, electrodes 719 and 731 are located on the topmost layer of the substrate support 701. The cooling assembly 703 is located on one or more other layers. Although a single cooling assembly is shown, the body 707 may contain any number of cooling and / or channel assemblies located on any number of channel layers, and each layer may contain any number of channels having various sizes, shapes, layout patterns, and dimensions.

[0091] Figure 8 shows a method for manufacturing a porous shower head that can be carried out by the 3D printing system 600 of Figure 6. The porous shower head may be configured as any of the porous shower heads described above and / or as any of the porous shower heads described later. The overall thickness of the porous shower head may be 3 to 30 mm. The overall outer diameter of the porous shower head may be 150 to 450 mm. As an example, if the overall outer diameter of the porous shower head is 300 mm and the overall thickness is 10 mm, the porous shower head may have more than 10 million extending pores. The following operations may be performed iteratively and may be carried out by the controller 640 of Figure 6.

[0092] In 800, a computer-aided design (CAD) file can be loaded into the controller 640 for forming a porous showerhead. This file may include the dimensions of the showerhead, the thickness of the layers, the number of layers, the inner diameter of the pores (or extended pores), the porosity and / or density levels of different regions, the laser energy density value, the laser beam exposure time for each layer to be formed, the temperature of the region above the showerhead to be formed, the temperature of the substrate 608, and so on.

[0093] Pore ​​size (inner diameter of each pore and / or extended pore), which may be 0-70 μm, as well as the porosity level of each layer and / or the entire showerhead (e.g., 0-20%), can be controlled by i) the diameter of the silicon particles used, ii) the laser energy density, and / or iii) the amount of melting on the silicon powder surface. In one embodiment, the pore size is 0-60 μm. For example, smaller pore size and greater porosity can be obtained by using powder with a smaller diameter and a lower laser power density. Larger pore size and less porosity can be obtained by using powder particles with a larger diameter and a higher laser power density. Smaller pore size and less porosity can be obtained by using a higher laser energy density to melt the silicon powder and provide a thicker solidified "skin" layer. The skin layer refers to the top solidified layer. As another example, the pore size may be 10-40 μm by partially melting silicon spherical particles having a diameter of 20-60 μm. As yet another example, pore sizes of 30–60 μm can be provided by partially melting silicon spherical particles having a diameter of 45–90 μm.

[0094] In 802, silicon powder is loaded onto the second plate 606. The silicon powder may contain silicon particles having a diameter of 20 to 100 μm. In 804, the substrate 608 may be placed on the construction plate 604 if it has not already been placed on the construction plate 604. The substrate 608 may be formed from silicon. In 806, the controller 640 raises the temperature of the substrate 608 to 200 to 1100°C at a set ramp-up rate.

[0095] In 808, the controller 640 agitates a layer of silicon powder from the powder bed onto the substrate 608. This may include raising the powder bed 606 and lowering the construction plate 604.

[0096] In step 810, the controller 640 prints a buffer layer on the substrate 608 by melting a layer of silicon powder on the substrate 608 to form a buffer layer.

[0097] In 812, the controller 640 agitates another layer of silicon powder from the powder bed 606 to the construction plate 604. This may include raising the powder bed 606 and lowering the construction plate 604.

[0098] In 814, the controller 640 prints a component (or showerhead) layer onto either a buffer layer or a previously formed component layer. This is done by at least partially melting and completely melting a selected portion of the latest coated layer of silicon powder. Different energy levels are used for partial and complete melting. One or more lasers 630 may scan across the coated silicon layer in the X and / or Y directions. In one embodiment, one or more lasers 630 scan across the selected portion in a predetermined pattern, with an energy of 0.2 to 12 μJ / μm 2 The laser beam has an energy level that at least partially melts the surface of the coated layer in the area receiving the corresponding one or more laser beams. For example, the temperature of the silicon at melting may be 1400°C. The silicon particles can be partially or completely melted together in the area receiving the one or more laser beams. The gaps between the silicon particles become pores and / or further extend existing extended pores. For the subsequently formed constituent layers, the pores of each layer are aligned laterally with the pores of each previous layer to provide connected (or extended) pores. The extended pores allow the passage of fluids, including gases and liquids, from the top surface of the resulting porous shower head to the bottom surface of the resulting porous shower head.

[0099] At 816, the controller 640 decides whether to print another component layer. If it does, operation 814 is repeated; otherwise, operation 818 is performed. Operations 814 and 816 are repeated iteratively until all component layers are formed.

[0100] In step 818, the controller 640 anneals the resulting porous showerhead at a temperature of 1000-1300°C. This can occur while the porous showerhead is on the construction plate.

[0101] In 820, the controller 640 lowers the temperature of the porous showerhead to ambient temperature at a set ramp-down rate. For example, the ramp-down rate may be less than 200°C / hour.

[0102] In step 822, the porous shower head is removed from the substrate 608 along the buffer layer. In step 824, the porous shower head can be machined and cleaned to provide a finished shower head which can be mounted as a shower head electrode in a substrate processing system.

[0103] The above operations may be changed and / or replaced with other operations. See the alternatives below. This includes using an electron beam instead of a laser beam to partially or completely melt spherical high-density silicon powder layer by layer to form porous showerhead electrodes. As another alternative, heaters 622 and 626 in Figure 6 may be omitted. In this example, no resistors or induction heaters are used in the 3D printing system. Instead, preheating, postheating, and annealing operations are performed using a laser beam or electron beam.

[0104] As another alternative, the porous showerhead may be formed using laser 3D printing, which uses spherical high-density quartz or alumina powder instead of silicon powder. As yet another alternative, a silicon porous showerhead with a set resistivity is formed.

[0105] As an example, the porous shower heads mentioned herein have resistivity ranging from 0.5 milliohms / cm (mΩ·cm) to 3Ω·cm, and, for example, 2.32E+20 atoms / cm². 3 ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm 3 It may be formed to have a doping level of the following. The resistivity levels described are high resistivity (e.g., greater than 10 ohms / cm) and, for example, 1.32E+15 atoms / cm 3 The doping level may be provided instead of the doping level. In one embodiment, the doping level refers to the concentration level of boron in the silicon powder supplied to the 3D printing system 600 used to form a porous showerhead.

[0106] In one embodiment, a uniform porous showerhead is formed. One alternative to forming a uniform porous showerhead is to form and stack dense solid grids or concentric rings to divide the porous showerhead into a set number of zones. The solid grids or concentric rings increase mechanical strength and have a set number of thermal contacts with the distribution plate. Threaded holes may be formed in the dense solid grids or rings during 3D printing. An electron beam may be used instead of a laser beam as the printing energy source. A printer can be used that generates a laser beam or electron beam as an energy source to preheat, postheat, and anneal the porous portion. The material used to form the porous showerhead may include quartz or alumina spherical high-density powder.

[0107] Figure 9 shows a porous shower head 900, which includes a solid grid 902 having grid lines 903 and porous posts 904. Each layer of the porous shower head 900 includes a solid grid and porous posts. The solid grids of the layers of the porous shower head 900 are aligned laterally to each other and stacked to provide a solid grid 902 that extends from the top to the bottom of the porous shower head 900. Similarly, the porous regions (or portions) of the layers between the grid lines of the grid are aligned laterally to each other and stacked to provide posts 904. The solid grid 902 has low porosity and high density, while the posts 904 have high porosity and low density. In one embodiment, the porous posts 904 have a cross-section of 100 μm × 100 μm.

[0108] The porous shower head 900 includes an annular outer portion 910 and a circular inner portion 912 including a solid grid 902 and posts 904. The annular outer portion 910 may be solid and therefore not porous, and may include holes 914 for connecting the porous shower head 900 to a distribution plate. As an example, the posts 904 may be spaced 200 μm apart from each other.

[0109] The porous showerhead 900 can be formed using the method shown in Figure 8, where each layer includes the formation of a grid and post-regions between grid lines. For example, the grid lines may be formed using a first laser at a first energy setting, and the post-regions may be formed using a second laser at a second energy setting lower than the first energy setting. The temperature of the substrate 608 in Figure 6 may be set to 700-1000°C for the formation of the layers of the porous showerhead 900. For example, when a single laser is used, each layer may be formed by scanning the rows of that layer, and then scanning the columns. While scanning the rows, the first row is scanned at a first energy setting, followed by the next row at a second energy setting. This alternating process is continued for additional rows, and then repeated in the same manner to form columns by scanning in a direction perpendicular to the rows. The first energy setting may be used to form solid grid lines, and the second energy setting may be used to form the porous post-regions of each layer.

[0110] Figure 10 is a side cross-sectional view of a portion 1000 of a porous showerhead showing the overall thickness T1 and the layer thickness T2. The portion 1000 shows layers 1002 that are partially melted to join together during formation. The portion 1000 may represent any portion of a porous showerhead disclosed herein. The portion 1000 may have any number of layers. For example, the thickness T1 may be greater than 5 mm. For example, the thickness T1 may be 10 mm or more. The thickness T2 of each layer depends on the size (or diameter) of the particles used to form each layer. For example, the thickness T2 may be 1 to 3 times the maximum diameter of the particles. For another example, the thickness T2 may be greater than the maximum diameter of the particles but less than 2 times the maximum diameter. In one embodiment, the thickness T2 is 30 to 100 μm and the portion diameter is 20 to 100 μm. In another embodiment, the thickness T2 is 30 μm.

[0111] Layer 1002 includes an uppermost layer 1004 and a lowermost layer 1006. The uppermost layer 1004 includes a porous top surface 1008, and the lowermost layer 1006 includes a porous bottom surface 1010. The dashed line 1012 is provided to indicate different layers 1002, but after joining, the layers 1002 form a single structure.

[0112] Figure 11 shows a side cross-sectional view of a porous showerhead 1100, which includes a vertical porous region 1102 containing partially molten particles and numerous extending pores from the top surface 1104 to the bottom surface 1106. The vertical porous region 1102 is located between non-porous regions 1108. The porous showerhead 1100 can be formed using the method shown in Figure 8, where each of the regions 1102 and 1108 is formed layer by layer. For example, the width of each region 1102 and 1108 may be 100 μm.

[0113] Figure 12 shows a side cross-sectional view of a porous showerhead 1200, which includes partially molten particles and a sloped (or zigzag) porous region 1202 containing numerous extending pores from the top surface 1204 to the bottom surface 1206. The sloped porous region 1202 is located between non-porous regions 1208. The porous showerhead 1200 can be formed using the method shown in Figure 8, where each of the regions 1202 and 1208 is formed layer by layer. For example, the width of each region 1202 and 1208 may be 100 μm.

[0114] The example disclosed above provides a porous shower head having a large number of extended pores. The extended pores are defined by partially molten particles. The extended pores may be uniformly distributed in each porous shower head and / or in parts of each porous shower head. In another example, a porous shower head may have a diameter of 300 mm, a thickness of 10 mm, and a pore diameter of less than 40 μm. A porous shower head may have more than 1 million extended pores. A porous shower head does not exhibit residual stress and is crack-resistant. A porous shower head can be used in dielectric etching chambers and / or other processing chambers. A porous shower head can be used in high-power applications.

[0115] The 3D printing method described above enables the formation of thick porous showerheads (e.g., thicker than 5 mm) by repeating a layer-by-layer partial melting process limited only by the depth of the powder bed. This disclosed method overcomes the limitations of chemical etching, which is extremely difficult to implement to form pores with high aspect ratios. The disclosed porous showerhead reduces the risk of abnormal discharge in high-power plasma etching applications. This is because the porous showerhead allows the passage of gas molecules but blocks emitted light and absorbs free electrons very efficiently. The porous showerhead helps to deliver gas uniformly across the entire substrate being processed and reduces the pressure difference between the top and bottom surfaces of the porous showerhead. Porous showerheads with dense solid grids or concentric rings dividing the porous showerhead into zones offer improved mechanical strength, more thermal contact, and gas flow controllability, thereby compensating for non-uniformity of critical dimensions of the substrate and plasma non-uniformity.

[0116] The foregoing description is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the Disclosure, its uses, or applications. The broad teachings of this Disclosure can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, while this Disclosure includes certain examples, the true scope of this Disclosure should not be limited in this way, as other modifications become apparent when considering the drawings, specification, and appended claims. It should be understood that one or more steps in the Method can be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without altering the principles of this Disclosure. Furthermore, while each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of this Disclosure can be implemented in and / or combined with any feature of any other embodiment, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the embodiments described are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with respect to each other remain within the scope of this Disclosure.

[0117] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, between circuit elements, between semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using a variety of terms, including “connected,” “engaged,” “joined,” “adjacent,” “next to,” “above,” “upwards,” “below,” and “located.” Unless expressly stated to be “direct,” where a relationship between a first element and a second element is described in the above disclosure, that relationship may be a direct relationship in which there are no other intervening elements between the first element and the second element, or an indirect relationship in which there are one or more intervening elements (spatially or functionally) between the first element and the second element. Where used herein, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” should be interpreted as meaning a logic (A or B or C) using a non-exclusive logic OR, and not as “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”

[0118] In some implementations, the controller is part of a system that may be part of the examples described above. Such a system may comprise a semiconductor processing apparatus including one or more processing tools, one or more chambers, one or more platforms for processing, and / or specific processing components (such as wafer pedestals, gas flow systems, etc.). These systems may be integrated with electronics for controlling pre-processing, in-processing, and post-processing operations of semiconductor wafers or substrates. The electronics may be referred to as “controllers” that can control various components or sub-components of one or more systems. Depending on the processing requirements and / or the type of system, the controller may be programmed to control any of the processes disclosed herein, including the delivery of processing gases, temperature settings (e.g., heating and / or cooling), pressure settings, vacuum settings, power settings, radio frequency (RF) generator settings, RF matching circuit settings, frequency settings, flow rate settings, fluid delivery settings, position and operation settings, transfer of wafers to and from tools and other transfer tools, and / or load locks connected to or interfaced with specific systems.

[0119] Broadly speaking, a controller can be defined as an electronic device having various integrated circuits, logic, memory, and / or software that receive and issue instructions, control operations, enable cleaning operations, enable endpoint measurements, etc. Integrated circuits can include chips in the form of firmware that store program instructions, chips defined as digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or one or more microprocessors, or microcontrollers (e.g., software) that execute program instructions. Program instructions may be instructions communicated to the controller in the form of various individual settings (or program files) that define operating parameters for performing a particular process on a semiconductor wafer or system. In some embodiments, operating parameters may be part of a recipe defined by a process engineer to achieve one or more processing steps during the manufacturing of one or more layers, materials, metals, oxides, silicon, silicon dioxide, surfaces, circuits, and / or dies of a wafer.

[0120] In some implementations, the controller may be part of, or coupled to, a computer integrated with, coupled to, networked to, or in some way networked to the system, or a combination thereof. For example, the controller may be all or part of a “cloud” or fab-host computer system, enabling remote access to wafer processing. The computer may enable remote access to the system to monitor the current progress of a manufacturing operation, examine the history of past manufacturing operations, examine trends or performance metrics from multiple manufacturing operations, modify parameters of the current process, set processing steps to follow the current process, or initiate a new process. In some examples, a remote computer (e.g., a server) may provide process recipes to the system over a network that may include a local network or the internet. The remote computer may include a user interface that allows input or programming of parameters and / or settings, which are then communicated from the remote computer to the system. In some examples, the controller receives instructions in the form of data specifying the parameters of each processing step performed during one or more operations. It should be understood that the parameters may be specific to the type of process being performed and the type of tool the controller is configured to interface with or control. Therefore, as described above, the controllers may be distributed, for example, by comprising one or more individual controllers that are networked together and operate toward a common purpose, such as the processes and controls described herein. An example of a distributed controller for such purposes is one or more integrated circuits on a chamber that communicate with one or more remotely located integrated circuits that are combined (at the platform level or as part of a remote computer, for example) to control the processes on the chamber.

[0121] Exemplary systems may include, but are not limited to, plasma etching chambers or modules, deposition chambers or modules, spin rinse chambers or modules, metal plating chambers or modules, clean chambers or modules, bevel edge etching chambers or modules, physical vapor deposition (PVD) chambers or modules, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) chambers or modules, atomic layer deposition (ALD) chambers or modules, atomic layer etching (ALE) chambers or modules, ion implantation chambers or modules, track chambers or modules, and any other semiconductor processing systems related to or usable in the fabrication and / or manufacture of semiconductor wafers.

[0122] As described above, depending on one or more process steps performed by the tool, the controller may communicate with one or more of the following: other tool circuits or modules, other tool components, cluster tools, other tool interfaces, adjacent tools, adjacent tools, tools located throughout the factory, the main computer, another controller, or tools used for material transport to carry wafer containers to and from tool locations and / or load ports in the semiconductor manufacturing plant. [Explanation of symbols]

[0123] 100 Cross-section, 102 Particles, 102 Spherical silicon particles, 104 Top, 106 Bottom, 110 Arrow, 200 Shower head assembly, 202 Porous shower head, 204 Single-zone distribution plate, 204 Distribution plate, 206 Plenum, 209 Inner part, 210 Outer part, 212 Main body, 214 Annular member, 216 Thermal conduction layer, 220 Hole, 221 Cavity, 230 Hole, 232 Hole, 300 Part, 302 Porous shower head, 304 Distribution plate, 304 Multi-zone distribution plate, 309 Inner part, 310 Outer part, 312 Main body, 313 Annular member, 314 Annular member, 315 Annular member, 316 Annular cavity, 316 Cavity, 317 Cavity, 317 Annular cavity, 318 Cavity, 318; Annular cavity, 320; Hole, 330; Hole, 332; Hole, 400; Part, 402; Multi-zone porous shower head, 402; Porous shower head, 404; Multi-zone type distribution plate, 404; Distribution plate, 409; Annular part, 410; Annular part, 411; Annular part, 412; Part, 412; Inner part, 413; Annular part, 413; Part, 414; Annular part, 414; Part, 432; Main body, 433; Annular member, 434; Annular member, 435; Annular member, 436; Annular cavity, 436; Cavity, 437; Cavity, 437; Annular cavity, 438; Cavity, 438; Annular cavity, 440; Hole, 450; Hole, 452; Hole, 500; Part, 502; Multi-zone porous shower head, 502 Porous shower head, 504 Multi-zone distribution plate, 504 Distribution plate, 510 Annular section, 511 Annular section, 512 Annular section, 513 Section, 513 Annular section, 514 Annular section, 514 Section, 515 Annular section, 515 Section, 532 Main body, 533 Annular member, 534 Annular member, 535 Annular member, 536 Intersecting member, 537 Intersecting member, 538 Intersecting member, 539 Intersecting member, 540 Intersecting member, 541 Intersecting member, 550 Cavity, 552 Cavity, 552 Fan-shaped cavity, 560 Hole, 570 Hole, 572 Hole, 600 3D printing system, 601 Porous shower head, 602 Vacuum chamber, 604 Plate, 604 Construction plate, 606 Plate, 606 Powder bed, 608 Substrate, 609 Non-metallic material, 610 Actuator assembly, 612Actuator assembly, 614 Shaft, 616 Shaft, 618 Powder wiper, 620 Observation window, 622 Heater, 622 External heater, 624 Area, 626 Heater, 628 Insulation, 629 Laser assembly, 630 Laser, 632 Laser beam, 634 Lens, 636 Mirror, 637 Motor, 638 Camera, 640 Controller, 700 Substrate processing system, 701 Substrate support, 702 Shower head assembly, 703 Cooling assembly, 704 Temperature control assembly, 705 Cold plate, 706 Heat plate, 707 Main body, 708 Processing chamber, 709 Upper electrode, 709 Shower head, 709 Porous shower head, 710 Substrate, 711 Plenum, 712 Distribution plate, 713 Stem section, 714 Gas channel, 714 Channel, 715 Temperature controller, 716 Pump, 717 Reservoir, 718 Valve assembly, 719 Electrode, 719 RF electrode, 719 Lower electrode, 720 RF generation system, 722 RF generator, 723 Plasma RF generator, 724 Matched distribution network, 725 Bias RF generator, 727 Plasma RF matched network, 729 Bias RF matched network, 730 Gas delivery system, 731 Electrode, 731 Clamp electrode, 732 Gas source, 734 Valve, 736 Mass flow controller, 740 Manifold, 743 Temperature sensor, 744 Power supply, 752 Backside vacuum controller, 756 Valve, 758 Pump, 760 System controller, 764 Robot, 766 Load lock, 900 Porous shower head, 902 Solid grid, 903 Grid line, 904 Porous post, 904 Post, 910 Annular outer portion, 912 Circular inner portion, 914 Hole, 1000 Portion, 1002 Layer, 1004 Top layer, 1006 Bottom layer, 1008 Porous top surface, 1010 Porous bottom surface, 1012 Dashed line, 1100 Porous shower head, 1102 Region, 1102 Vertical porous region, 1104 Top surface, 1106 Bottom surface, 1108 Region, 1108 Non-porous region, 1200 Porous shower head, 1202 Region, 1202 Sloping porous region, 1202 Porous region, 1204 Top surface, 1206 Bottom surface, 1208 Non-porous region, 1208field,

Claims

1. Porous top surface, Porous bottom surface, A plurality of layers stacked between the porous upper surface and the porous bottom surface, wherein the plurality of layers are configured to connect to a distribution plate of a showerhead assembly of a substrate processing system, the uppermost of the plurality of layers having the porous upper surface, the lowermost of the plurality of layers having the porous bottom surface, each of the plurality of layers containing particles that partially melt to form pores, at least one of the pores in the plurality of layers being laterally aligned and fluidly coupled with pores in one or more adjacent layers of the plurality of layers to provide an extended pore, the extended pore extending from the porous upper surface to the porous bottom surface, and the plurality of layers, A porous shower head equipped with [features].

2. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the extended pores are not exclusive to any particular layer, but share the pores of the plurality of layers.

3. Each of the plurality of layers has a thickness equal to 1 to 3 times the diameter of the particles in that layer, The maximum thickness of each of the plurality of layers is at least one of the following: twice the maximum diameter of the particles in that layer. The porous shower head according to claim 1.

4. The thickness of each of the aforementioned plurality of layers is 30 to 100 μm, and The diameter of the aforementioned particles is at least one of 20 to 100 μm. The porous shower head according to claim 1.

5. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the particles are at least one of spherical particles and silicon particles.

6. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers have more than 1,000 extended pores per square centimeter.

7. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the total thickness of the plurality of layers is greater than 5 mm.

8. The resistivity of the aforementioned multiple layers is 0.5 mΩ·cm to 3 Ω·cm, and The doping level of the aforementioned particles is 2.32E+20 atoms / cm³. ３ ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm ３ At least one of the following: The porous shower head according to claim 1.

9. The doping level of the aforementioned particles is 2.32E+20 atoms / cm². ３ ~4.55E+15 atoms / cm ３ The porous shower head according to claim 1.

10. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of layers comprises an annular outer portion, the annular outer portion having a higher density and lower porosity than another portion radially inward of the annular outer portion.

11. The aforementioned multiple layers are, The ring-shaped outer portion, A circular inner portion is located radially inward of the annular outer portion, and has a lower density and higher porosity than the annular outer portion. Equipped with, The annular outer portion is provided with holes for connecting the plurality of layers to the distribution plate. The porous shower head according to claim 1.

12. The aforementioned multiple layers are, The first set of multiple annular sections, A second plurality of annular portions, each positioned between two of the first plurality of annular portions, having a lower density and lower porosity than the first plurality of annular portions, A porous shower head according to claim 1, comprising the features described above.

13. The porous shower head according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of layers include a circular inner portion located radially inward of the first plurality of annular portions and having the same density and porosity as the second plurality of annular portions.

14. The porous shower head according to claim 12, wherein the first plurality of annular portions are provided with holes for connecting the plurality of layers to the distribution plate.

15. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers each comprise a plurality of porous regions located between a pair of non-porous regions.

16. The aforementioned multiple layers are, A grid having a first density and a first porosity, A plurality of posts defined by the grid, wherein each of the plurality of posts has a second density and a second porosity, the second density being less than the first density and the second porosity being greater than the first porosity, A porous shower head according to claim 1, comprising the features described above.

17. The porous shower head according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers comprises at least one of i) a vertical porous region and ii) an inclined porous region, extending from the porous upper surface to the porous bottom surface.

18. A porous shower head according to claim 1, A distribution plate connected to the porous shower head and configured to distribute fluid to the uppermost layer of the plurality of layers, A shower head assembly equipped with the following features.

19. The aforementioned distribution plate is The main unit and An annular outer member extending downward from the main body and defining a cavity between the main body and the porous shower head, The shower head assembly according to claim 18, comprising:

20. The shower head assembly according to claim 19, wherein the distribution plate has a plurality of holes that extend downward from the top of the distribution plate to the bottom of the distribution plate and are configured to supply fluid to the cavity.

21. The porous shower head includes an annular outer portion that is arranged in a line laterally with the annular outer member and connected to the annular outer member, The aforementioned annular outer portion is not porous. The shower head assembly according to claim 19.

22. The aforementioned distribution plate is The main unit and A plurality of annular members extending downward from the main body and defining a cavity between the main body and the porous shower head, The shower head assembly according to claim 18, comprising:

23. The shower head assembly according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of annular members extend downward to the porous portion of the porous shower head.

24. The shower head assembly according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of annular members extend downward to the first plurality of annular portions of the porous shower head and connect to the first plurality of annular portions.

25. The shower head assembly according to claim 24, wherein the distribution plate has a plurality of holes that extend downward from the top of the distribution plate to the bottom of the distribution plate and are configured to supply fluid to a plurality of cavities defined by the plurality of annular members.

26. The shower head assembly according to claim 24, wherein the porous shower head comprises a second plurality of porous annular portions, each of which is positioned between two of the first plurality of annular portions.

27. The distribution plate further comprises a plurality of crossing members extending downward from the main body to the porous shower head, The distribution plate comprises a plurality of holes that extend downward from the top of the distribution plate to the bottom of the distribution plate and are configured to supply fluid to a plurality of cavities that are at least partially defined by a plurality of intersecting members. The shower head assembly according to claim 22.

Images