Vapor deposition apparatus and substrate processing method
The vapor deposition apparatus addresses uniformity and efficiency issues by using a movable base component with dual bleed channels to optimize gas distribution and cleaning, resulting in improved thin film uniformity and substrate processing efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024082532
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-05-23
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-02-03
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-05-21
AI Technical Summary
Existing vapor deposition equipment faces challenges in achieving uniform thin film deposition on substrates due to issues with bleed conductance affecting gas distribution and cleaning efficiency, which are exacerbated by increasing substrate sizes.
A vapor deposition apparatus with a movable base component and dual bleed channel system, allowing for adjustable bleed conductance by alternating between high and low positions to optimize gas distribution and cleaning efficiency through staged bleed channels.
The apparatus ensures uniform thin film deposition and improved cleaning efficiency by rapidly distributing process gas uniformly and quickly exhausting purge gas, enhancing substrate processing quality and yield.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor equipment, and more particularly to vapor deposition apparatus and methods for processing substrates. [Background technology]
[0002] The manufacturing process of semiconductor devices requires a large amount of microfabrication. Typically, atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or plasma treatment processes are employed to process substrates using the principle of a reaction chamber. With the shrinking feature size and increasing device integration of semiconductor devices, processes such as atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are becoming increasingly popular. For example, in some cases, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to deposit thin films on the surface of wafers. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a chemical vapor deposition technique based on ordered self-saturating surface reactions. It allows materials to be deposited layer by layer in the form of single atomic films on the surface of a substrate. Thin films are formed by alternately introducing various process gases into a reaction chamber in pulses, which induce gas-solid chemisorption reactions on the substrate surface. In ALD, the chemical reactions of each new layer of atomic film are directly related to the previous layer, so only one layer of atoms is deposited per reaction.
[0003] Although vapor deposition equipment has been upgraded many times and its performance has improved significantly, there are still many challenges in the uniformity of thin film deposition. In particular, as substrate sizes continue to increase, existing vapor deposition equipment finds it difficult to meet the thin film uniformity requirements. During the thin film deposition process, various process conditions, such as the control parameter known as bleed conductance, affect the uniformity of thin film deposition on the substrate surface. Increasing the bleed conductance improves cleaning efficiency, but results in uneven distribution of process gas within the reaction chamber, resulting in uneven thickness of the thin film deposited on the substrate surface and lower substrate production yield. Reducing the bleed conductance improves process gas distribution but reduces cleaning efficiency. Summary of the Invention
[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus and a substrate processing method that can change the bleed conductance to balance gas distribution and cleaning efficiency.
[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is realized by the following technical solutions.
[0006] The vapor deposition equipment is a reaction chamber for carrying out a vapor deposition process; a base component provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber, the base component including a central region for placing a substrate and edge regions surrounding the central region, the base component being movable between a high position and a low position; a gas spray head disposed at an upper portion of the reaction chamber facing the base component, used for introducing various process gases, with a reaction space between its lower surface and an upper surface of the central region of the base component; When the base component is installed at the elevated position, an edge region of the base component and a lower surface of the gas spray head form a first bleed channel surrounding the reaction space; a second bleed channel surrounding the first bleed channel and having a conductance greater than that of the first bleed channel, such that the process gas is discharged after passing through two stages of obstacles, namely the first bleed channel and the second bleed channel; When the base component is installed in the lower position, the process gas is discharged after passing through one stage of the obstruction in the second bleed channel.
[0007] Optionally, the air pressure in the reaction space when the base component is in the elevated position is greater than the air pressure in the reaction space when the base component is in the lowered position.
[0008] Optionally, said high position and said low position each correspond to at least one height value, and a minimum height value of said high position is greater than a maximum height value of said low position.
[0009] Optionally, the base component can be lowered to a substrate transfer position, wherein the height of an upper surface of the base component when in the lowered position is higher than the height of an upper surface of the base component when in the substrate transfer position and lower than the height of a lower edge of the second bleed channel.
[0010] Optionally, the treatment gas includes a process gas and a purge gas, and when the base component moves to the higher position, the process gas enters the reaction space from the gas spray head and gas in the reaction space passes through the first bleed channel and is discharged from the second bleed channel, and when the base component moves to the lower position, the purge gas enters the reaction space from the gas spray head and gas in the reaction space is discharged from the second bleed channel.
[0011] Optionally, the base component includes an edge ring located at an edge region of the base component, the first bleed channel comprising a gap between an upper surface of the edge ring and a lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head.
[0012] Optionally, a lower surface of an edge region of said gas spray head is lower than a lower surface of a central region of said gas spray head.
[0013] Optionally, the underside of the edge region of said gas spray head is provided with an annular boss.
[0014] Optionally, a top surface of said edge ring is higher than a top surface of a central region of said base component.
[0015] Optionally, the edge ring includes a first cover ring and a second cover ring disposed on top of the first cover ring.
[0016] Optionally, an inner diameter of the first cover ring is smaller than an outer diameter of the substrate, a substrate transfer opening is provided in a side wall of the reaction chamber, and when the base component is lowered to the substrate transfer position, an upper surface of a central region of the base component is lower than a horizontal plane on which the substrate transfer opening is located, and a lower surface of the first cover ring is higher than the horizontal plane on which the substrate transfer opening is located.
[0017] Optionally, a bleed ring is provided on the side wall of the reaction chamber, the bleed ring includes an annular bleed space, the second bleed channel includes an inlet of the annular bleed space, the process gas in the reaction space can enter the annular bleed space through the inlet of the annular bleed space, and the outlet of the annular bleed space communicates with an external bleed device.
[0018] Optionally, said annular bleed space inlets are a plurality of holes distributed evenly or non-uniformly circumferentially around the inner wall of said bleed ring.
[0019] Optionally, the diameter of said hole is greater than 4 mm.
[0020] Optionally, the number of holes is greater than 60.
[0021] Optionally, said first bleed channel has a radial width of at least 30 mm.
[0022] Optionally, the distance between the upper and lower surfaces of said first bleed channel is 2 mm or less.
[0023] Optionally, the vapor deposition apparatus comprises: a first process gas source, a second process gas source, and a purge gas source communicating with the gas spray head via a gas delivery pipeline for delivering a first process gas, a second process gas, and a purge gas, respectively; and a controller configured to perform a first step such that the base component moves to the higher position and the first process gas enters the reaction space, a second step such that the base component moves to the lower position and the purge gas enters the reaction space, and a third step such that the base component moves to the higher position and the second process gas enters the reaction space.
[0024] Optionally, the higher position is used for thin film deposition and the lower position is used for cleaning and purging the reaction space.
[0025] A substrate processing method applicable to any one of the vapor phase deposition apparatuses described above includes: controlling the base component to move to the elevated position, the gas spray head introducing a first process gas into the reaction space to chemically adsorb the substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passing through the first extraction channel and being exhausted from the second extraction channel; Controlling the base component to move to the lower position, the gas spray head introducing purge gas into the reaction space to purge, and the gas in the reaction space being discharged through the second gas extraction channel; controlling the base component to move to the elevated position, wherein the gas spray head introduces a second process gas into the reaction space to chemically react with the substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passes through the first bleed channel and is exhausted from the second bleed channel; Controlling the base component to move to the lower position, the gas spray head introducing purge gas into the reaction space to purge, and the gas in the reaction space being discharged through the second gas extraction channel; Repeating the above steps until the thin film deposited on the surface of the substrate meets requirements.
[0026] Optionally, the substrate processing method further comprises: The method further includes controlling the base component to lower to a substrate transfer position to transfer a substrate to be processed into the reaction chamber or to transfer a processed substrate out of the reaction chamber.
[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least one of the following advantages:
[0028] In the vapor deposition apparatus provided by the present invention, when the base component is moved to the higher position, the reaction chamber has two stages of bleed channels, with the first stage being a first bleed channel and the second stage being a second bleed channel, and the conductance of the second bleed channel is greater than that of the first bleed channel. Because the first bleed channel is adjacent to the reaction space and has a small conductance, the bleed flux within the reaction space is small, allowing for rapid and uniform distribution of process gas within the reaction space, thereby improving the uniformity of the thin film on the substrate surface. When the base component is moved to the lower position, the distance between the upper surface of the edge region of the substrate and the lower surface of the gas spray head is large, which essentially has no effect on the outflow of gas within the reaction space. Therefore, the first bleed channel can be eliminated or ignored, and the reaction space is bled only by the second bleed channel, resulting in a large bleed flux. This allows for rapid gas discharge and improves the cleaning efficiency of the purge gas. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0029] In order to more clearly describe the technical solution of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings necessary for the description, but the drawings described below are only one embodiment of the present invention, and it is obvious that those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without any creative efforts.
[0030] [Figure 1]1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in an elevated position provided by one embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in a lowered position provided by one embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in a substrate transfer position provided by an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 2 is another cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in an elevated position provided by one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 5a] 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in an elevated position provided by another embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5b] 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in a lowered position provided by another embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5c] 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a vapor deposition apparatus in a substrate transfer position provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a substrate processing method provided by one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] The solutions provided by the present invention will be described in more detail below in combination with drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. The drawings are highly simplified and not drawn to scale, and are intended to assist in easily and clearly illustrating the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention. Therefore, please refer to the accompanying drawings to more clearly and easily understand the objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention. The structures, ratios, sizes, etc. shown in the accompanying drawings are used in combination with the contents disclosed in this specification to facilitate understanding and reading by those skilled in the art, and are not intended to limit the conditions under which the present invention is implemented. Therefore, any structural changes, changes in ratio relationships, or size adjustments that are not technically significant do not affect the effects and objectives of the present invention and are within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the present specification.
[0032] In a thin film deposition process, the bleed conductance, which is a process condition, is very important. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vapor deposition apparatus provided in this embodiment includes a reaction chamber 100 for performing a vapor deposition process. A base component 110 is provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, and is movable up and down. The upper surface of the base component 110 is configured with a central region X for placing a substrate (not shown) and an edge region Y surrounding the central region X. One or more substrates can be placed on the upper surface of the central region X. A gas spray head 101 is provided at the top of the reaction chamber 100 to introduce various process gases and process the substrate. The base component 110 is provided opposite the gas spray head 101. A reaction space is defined between the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 and the upper surface of the central region X of the base component 110. Various process gases may be alternately introduced into the reaction space through the gas spray head 101. When the type of processing gas is changed according to the reaction needs in the process, the height of the upper surface of the base component 110 can be switched between a high position and a low position, thereby changing the size of the reaction space and the size of the exhaust port of the reaction space. When the base component 110 is moved to the high position, the upper surface of its edge region Y and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 form a first extraction channel d1 surrounding the reaction space.
[0033] Specifically, when the processing gas is changed, the distance between the upper surface of the edge region Y of the base component 110 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 can be changed, thereby changing the outflow rate of the processing gas in the reaction space and adjusting the trend between uniformity and exhaust efficiency according to actual needs. When the base component 110 is moved to the higher position, the upper surface of the edge region Y is closer to the lower surface of the gas spray head 101, creating resistance to the gas exhaust in the reaction space. That is, the upper surface of the edge region Y and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 form the first extraction channel d1, generating conductance when the processing gas is exhausted from the first extraction channel. The vapor deposition apparatus further includes a second extraction channel d2 surrounding the first extraction channel d1. The diameter of the second extraction channel d2 is adjusted to the extraction pressure, generating conductance when the processing gas passes through the second extraction channel d2. The conductance of the second bleed channel d2 is greater than the conductance of the first bleed channel d1, and the process gas is discharged after passing through two stages of obstacles, namely the first bleed channel d1 and the second bleed channel d2.
[0034] As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, when the base component 110 is moved to the higher position, the reaction chamber 100 has two stages of bleed channels. The first stage is the first bleed channel d1, and the second stage is the second bleed channel d2. The conductance of the second bleed channel d2 is greater than that of the first bleed channel d1. The first bleed channel d1 is adjacent to the reaction space and has a small conductance. This reduces the bleed flux within the reaction space, allowing for rapid and uniform distribution of process gas within the reaction space, resulting in a more uniform thin film on the substrate surface. When the base component 110 is moved to the lower position, the distance between the upper surface of the edge region of the base component 110 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 is large, which essentially has no effect on the outflow of gas within the reaction space. Therefore, the first bleed channel d1 is eliminated or can be ignored, and the reaction space is bleed only by the second bleed channel d2. That is, the processing gas is discharged after passing through one stage of the obstacle of the second bleed channel d2, so the bleed flux is large. Therefore, the gas can be discharged quickly and the cleaning efficiency of the purge gas can be improved. In some embodiments, when the base component 110 is moved to the lower position, the height of the upper surface of the edge region Y of the base component 110 is lower than the height d2 of the second bleed channel d2 (i.e., lower than the height of the lower edge of the inlet of the second bleed channel d2) to reduce the influence of the gas spray head 101 and the edge region Y of the base component 110 on the extraction of processing gas.
[0035] The processing gas includes a process gas (such as source gas TiCl4 and reactive gas NH3) and a purge gas (such as N2). In the vapor deposition apparatus, the elevated position is used for thin film deposition. When the base component 110 is moved to the elevated position, the flow direction of the process gas in the reaction chamber 100 is shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. 1. The process gas enters the reaction space from the gas spray head 101. That is, because the gas is not immediately exhausted through the first extraction channel d1, a stagnation effect occurs within the reaction space. This results in more uniform gas distribution and improved thin film uniformity on the substrate surface. During the reaction process, gas in the reaction space must pass through the first bleed channel d1 before being discharged through the second bleed channel d2. This lower position is used for cleaning and purging the reaction space. When the base component 110 is moved to the lower position, the flow direction of the purge gas in the reaction chamber 100 is indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 2 . The purge gas enters the reaction chamber 100 from the gas spray head 101. At this time, gas in the reaction space is discharged directly through the second bleed channel d2, which has a high bleed flux, without passing through the first bleed channel d1, which has a low bleed flux. This improves cleaning efficiency and allows for the subsequent step to be performed more quickly. Furthermore, the second bleed channel d2 also generates a smaller retention effect on gas in the reaction chamber than the first bleed channel d1, allowing for more complete purging of the processing gas from the previous step from the surfaces of components in the reaction space, resulting in a higher cleaning effect.
[0036] In one embodiment, the vapor deposition apparatus may further include a controller for automatically controlling the base component 110 to move up and down and cooperatively controlling the introduction of the process gas or purge gas. The base component 110 includes a base platform 111, a central region of which is used to place a substrate. The base platform 111 may be connected to a first lifting mechanism 113, such as a motor driver, which drives the base component 110 to move up and down. When a process gas needs to be introduced, the controller controls the first lifting mechanism 113 to drive the base component 110 to move to the higher position and controls the process gas to be introduced from the gas spray head 101 into the reaction chamber 100. When a purge gas needs to be introduced, the controller controls the first lifting mechanism 113 to drive the base component 110 to move to the lower position and controls the purge gas to be introduced from the gas spray head 101 into the reaction chamber 100.
[0037] 1 to 4, when the base controller 110 is moved to the higher position, there is a first distance h1 between the upper and lower surfaces of the first extraction channel d1, and the first distance h1 may be 2 mm or less to create a retention effect in the reaction space. If the first distance h1 is too large, the process gas will escape from the reaction space too quickly, and the process gas will not be uniformly diffused on the surface of the substrate.
[0038] 1 and 4, the base component 110 includes an edge ring 112 in an edge region Y of the base component 110. The edge ring 112 covers the edge of a base platform 111 of the base component 110, and is used to prevent deposits on the edge of the base platform 111 and reduce the maintenance cost of the base platform 111. In this embodiment, the first bleed channel d1 is formed by a gap between the upper surface of the edge ring 112 and the lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head 101. That is, when the base component 110 is raised to the higher position, the upper surface of the edge ring 112 and the lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head 101 approach each other, and the first bleed channel d1 is formed therebetween.
[0039] In order to ensure that the reaction space has a sufficient volume for accommodating the processing gas, in one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface of the edge ring 112 can be higher than the upper surface of the central region X of the base component 110. In this way, when the base component 110 is elevated to the high position, the distance between the upper surface of the edge ring 112 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 is small, thereby satisfying the requirement of the first distance h1. In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head 101 can be lower than the lower surface of the central region of the gas spray head 101. That is, the lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head 101 can be provided with an annular boss 1011. In this way, when the base component 110 is elevated to the high position, the distance between the lower surface of the annular boss 1011 of the gas spray head 101 and the upper surface of the edge region Y of the base component 110 is small, thereby satisfying the requirement of the first distance h1.
[0040] In another vapor deposition apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 5a, 5b, and 5c, the edge ring 112 includes a first cover ring 1121 and a second cover ring 1122 disposed on the upper surface of the first cover ring 1121. This allows the two cover rings to be easily replaced separately, facilitating maintenance. Because the inner diameter of the first cover ring 1121 is smaller than the outer diameter of the substrate, the first cover ring 1121 may be pressed against the upper surface of the substrate (not shown) to prevent defects such as warpage of the substrate during processing. FIGS. 5a and 5b schematically illustrate the structure of the first cover ring 1121 pressed against the edge region of the upper surface of the substrate when the base component 110 is in the high and low positions. As shown in FIG. 5a, when the base component 110 is in a high position, the distance between the upper surface of the second cover ring 1122 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 is small, thereby meeting the requirement of the first distance h1, and the gap between the second cover ring 1122 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 forms a first bleeding channel d1.
[0041] A substrate transfer opening 1031 is provided on a sidewall of the reaction chamber 100. When the base component 110 descends to the substrate transfer opening 1031 (i.e., the substrate transfer position), as shown in FIG. 5c, a central region X of the base component 110 is lower than the horizontal plane where the substrate transfer opening 1031 is located, and the lower surface of the first cover ring 1121 is higher than the horizontal plane where the substrate transfer opening 1031 is located. Optionally, a cover ring support member 1032 may be provided on the sidewall of the reaction chamber 100 above the substrate transfer opening 1031. During the process of descending the base component 110, the edge ring 112 is supported by the cover ring support member 1032, and the base platform 111 of the base component 110 continues to descend to the substrate transfer opening 1031, and a substrate to be processed is loaded into the reaction chamber 100 and placed on the upper surface of the base platform 111. During the process of raising the base platform 111, the edge ring 112 is pressed against the edge region of the upper surface of the substrate and can continue to rise together therewith.
[0042] Furthermore, the radial width of the first gas extraction channel d1 may be 30 mm or more. When the vertical height of the first gas extraction channel d1 is small, combined with the large radial width, the first gas extraction channel d1 is formed as a "thin and long" channel, which enhances the retention effect formed by the reaction space, thereby further improving the uniformity of the thin film on the surface of the substrate.
[0043] As can be seen from the above, in the vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment, the base component 110 is elevated when introducing process gas, so the upper surface of the edge region Y of the base component 110 and the lower surface of the gas spray head 101 approach each other to form the first bleed channel d1. Because the bleed air flux in the first bleed channel d1 is small, the uniformity of the thin film on the substrate surface can be improved. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second bleed channel d2 may be designed to have a larger bleed air flux than that of conventional vapor deposition apparatuses. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5b, there is a second distance h2 between the upper and lower surfaces of the second bleed channel d2, and the second distance h2 is 4 mm or more.
[0044] In this embodiment, a bleed ring 120 is provided on the side wall of the reaction chamber 100 to discharge gas, i.e., reaction waste, from the reaction chamber 100 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 1 , the bleed ring 120 is provided between the gas spray head 101 and the side wall of the reaction chamber 100 and has an annular bleed space A. The second bleed channel d2 includes an inlet port for the annular bleed space A. The treatment gas in the reaction space can enter the annular bleed space A through the inlet port, and the outlet port of the annular bleed space A is connected to an external bleed device. The conductance of the annular bleed space A mainly depends on the conductance of the inlet port. Thus, the external bleed device can bleed the treatment gas in the reaction space into the annular bleed space A through the second bleed channel d2 and discharge it outside the chamber through the outlet port. Optionally, the inlet ports of the annular bleed space A are a plurality of holes uniformly or non-uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the bleed ring 120, for example, the number of the holes is more than 60, and the diameter of the holes is 4 mm or more, so as to maintain uniformity of gas distribution during the bleed process and achieve the purpose of rapid and uniform bleed. In some embodiments, a plurality of holes non-uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the bleed ring 120 can be provided to adjust the gas flow according to actual needs.
[0045] The gas spray head 101 is connected to an external gas source and is used to uniformly inject process gas or purge gas from the gas source into the reaction chamber 100 to perform a thin film deposition process or purge in the processing region above the substrate, and ensure the normal execution of the thin film deposition process. The gas sources include a first process gas source 131, a second process gas source 132, and a purge gas source 133, and the first process gas source 131, the second process gas source 132, and the purge gas source 133 are connected to the gas spray head 101 through gas delivery pipelines. The gas delivery pipelines may be separate pipelines for respectively delivering the first process gas, the second process gas, and the purge gas to the gas spray heads, or may be a multi-way manifold for mixing the first process gas, the second process gas, and the purge gas and then delivering them to the gas spray heads. In this embodiment, the gas spray head 101 is connected to a first process gas source 131 through a first gas delivery pipeline, a second process gas source 132 through a second gas delivery pipeline, and a purge gas source 133 through a third gas delivery pipeline, respectively delivering process gases including a first process gas, a second process gas, and a purge gas to the reaction space. The controller of the vapor deposition apparatus described in this embodiment switches the height position of the base component 110 when the process gas is changed. For example, the controller is configured to move the base component 110 to the higher position to perform a first step to allow the first process gas to enter the reaction space, move the base component 110 to the lower position to allow the purge gas to enter the reaction space, and move the base component 110 to the higher position to perform a third step to allow the second process gas to enter the reaction space.
[0046] In some other embodiments, the high position may include at least one height value, and the low position may include at least one height value, with the minimum height value of the high position being greater than the maximum height value of the low position. That is, the position of the base component 110 switched to the high position each time may be varied as long as it is sufficient to form the first bleed channel d1, thereby forming an appropriate residence time for different process gases. Similarly, the position of the base component 110 switched to the low position each time may be varied as long as it does not create resistance to the exhaust of gas from the reaction space.
[0047] Specifically, a first gas charge valve and a first gas delivery valve are respectively provided at the connection points between the first gas delivery pipeline and the first process gas source 131 and the gas spray head 101, a second gas charge valve and a second gas delivery valve are respectively provided at the connection points between the second gas delivery pipeline and the second process gas source 132 and the gas spray head 101, and a third gas charge valve and a third gas delivery valve are respectively provided at the connection points between the third gas delivery pipeline and the purge gas source 133 and the gas spray head 101. The controller executes a first step of controlling the base component 110 to move to the elevated position and controlling the first gas charge valve and the first gas delivery valve to be turned on so that the first process gas enters the reaction space. After the first step is performed, a second step is performed: the first gas charge valve and the first gas delivery valve are controlled to be off, the base component 110 is controlled to move to the lower position, and the third gas charge valve and the third gas delivery valve are controlled to be on so that the purge gas is introduced into the reaction space. After the second step is performed, a third step is performed: the third gas charge valve and the third gas delivery valve are controlled to be off, the base component 110 is controlled to move to the higher position, and the second gas charge valve and the second gas delivery valve are controlled to be on so that the second process gas is introduced into the reaction space. Optionally, during the first step of introducing the first process gas and the second step of introducing the purge gas, the second gas charge valve can be turned on and the second gas delivery valve can be turned off so that the second process gas is supplied through the second gas delivery pipeline. Therefore, when performing the third step of introducing the second process gas, the second gas transport valve is controlled to be turned on, and then the flow rate of the second process gas introduced into the reaction space is large, which creates a higher retention effect within the reaction space and improves the uniformity of the thin film on the surface of the substrate.
[0048] Because the volume of the reaction space when the base component 110 is in the high position is smaller than the volume of the reaction space when the base component 110 is in the low position, the atmospheric pressure in the reaction space when the base component 110 is in the high position is greater than the atmospheric pressure in the reaction space when the base component 110 is in the low position. Therefore, when the base component 110 is in the high position, gas can diffuse quickly within the reaction space, improving the uniformity of gas distribution. When the base component 110 is in the low position, the gas bleed obstruction is small, allowing the gas to be rapidly exhausted. Therefore, the technical solution of this embodiment not only realizes switching between the high and low positions of the base component 110 in different steps of the same process, but also enables switching between the high and low positions according to the needs of different processes. For example, if the requirement for uniformity of process gas distribution in the reaction chamber is high, the base component 110 can be installed in the high position. If the requirement for the replacement rate of process gas in the reaction chamber is high, the base component 110 can be installed in the low position.
[0049] As described above, after substrate processing is completed, the base component 110 can be lowered to a substrate transfer position. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5c, the substrate transfer position corresponds to the position of the substrate transfer opening 1031 in the sidewall so that processed substrates can be transferred out of the reaction chamber 100 through the substrate transfer opening 1031 and substrates waiting for processing can be transferred in. Based on this, the height of the upper surface of the base component 110 when in the lower position can be set higher than the height of the upper surface of the base component 110 when in the substrate transfer position. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5b, and 5c, the lower position is higher than the substrate transfer position. Therefore, after the base component 110 performs the first or third step at the higher position, the base component 110 can be lowered to a lower position between the higher position and the substrate transfer position without lowering the base component 110 to the lower substrate transfer position, thereby introducing a purge gas and performing a cleaning step of the reaction chamber 100. This can improve the efficiency of substrate processing in the reaction chamber 100.
[0050] Based on the same inventive concept, this embodiment further provides a substrate processing method realized by the above vapor deposition apparatus. As shown in Figure 6, the method includes the following steps:
[0051] S1: The base component is controlled to move to the elevated position, and the gas spray head introduces a first process gas into the reaction space to chemically adsorb the substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passes through the first extraction channel and is exhausted from the second extraction channel.
[0052] The first gas extraction channel allows the reaction space to be compressed and small, allowing the first process gas to fill the reaction space quickly and uniformly within a few seconds or even less than one second to achieve uniform processing of substrates in each region within the reaction space.
[0053] S2: The base component is controlled to move to the lower position, and the gas spray head introduces purge gas into the reaction space to purge it, and the gas in the reaction space is discharged through the second gas extraction channel.
[0054] This stretches and expands the reaction space, and the expansion of the edge of the reaction space causes the first bleed channel to lose its obstructive effect on gas flow. The purge gas in the reaction space can then use the second bleed channel, which has a favorable flow, to quickly exhaust the purge gas and the process gas from the previous step, achieving a level of cleaning that meets the process requirements. By moving the base component to a lower position, purging that meets the cleaning requirements can be completed in a few seconds, and in some embodiments, the purging process can be completed in less than one second.
[0055] S3: The base component is controlled to move to the elevated position, and the gas spray head introduces a second process gas into the reaction space to chemically react the substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passes through the first extraction channel and is exhausted from the second extraction channel.
[0056] This allows the reaction space to be compressed to an appropriate size again, so that the second process gas can quickly fill the reaction space, and the two-stage extraction channel allows the second process gas to stay in the reaction space for a sufficient time to maximize uniform distribution in each region of the reaction space, so that the concentration and distribution of the step 2 gas involved in the reaction quickly meets the process requirements.
[0057] S4: The base component is controlled to move to the lower position, and the gas spray head introduces purge gas into the reaction space to purge it, and the gas in the reaction space is discharged through the second gas extraction channel.
[0058] The above steps S1 to S4 are repeated until the thin film deposited on the surface of the substrate meets the requirements.
[0059] The substrate processing method further includes a step of controlling the base component to descend to a substrate transport position, and loading a substrate to be processed into the reaction chamber or unloading a processed substrate from the reaction chamber.
[0060] The base component in this embodiment can be switched between a high position, a low position, and a substrate transfer position. When the base component is in the high position, thin film growth process gas is introduced into the reaction chamber. The first extraction channel reduces the size of the reaction space, allowing the thin film growth process gas to quickly and uniformly fill the entire reaction space, thereby achieving uniform processing for each region of the substrate. When the base component is in the low position, purge gas is introduced into the reaction chamber. The base component is lowered, increasing the distance between the underside of the gas spray head and the edge region of the base component, reducing the barrier to the purge gas. The high conductance of the second extraction channel allows the purge gas to quickly exhaust from the reaction chamber after quickly cleaning the previous thin film growth process gas. Because the vapor deposition apparatus in this embodiment requires periodic switching between the introduction of thin film growth process gas and purge gas every few seconds, the technical solution disclosed in this embodiment not only quickly fills the reaction space with thin film growth process gas to improve substrate uniformity, but also shortens the purge gas exhaust time, thereby significantly improving processing efficiency. After processing of the substrate is complete, the base component continues to lower to a substrate transfer position to facilitate loading and unloading of the substrate.
[0061] It should be noted that, in this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" are merely used to distinguish one entity or operation from another and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or ordering between those entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprise," "comprises," or any other variation thereof are non-exclusively inclusive, and a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a set of elements may include not only those elements but also other elements not expressly stated or additional elements inherent in such process, method, article, or apparatus. Absent further limitations, an element qualified by the words "comprise..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.
[0062] Although the present invention has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, the above description should not be construed as limiting the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the above description. Those skilled in the art may think of various modifications and substitutions to the present invention after reading the above description. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be limited by the appended claims.
Claims
1. 1. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising: a reaction chamber for carrying out a vapor deposition process; a base component provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber, the base component including a central region for placing a substrate and edge regions surrounding the central region, the base component being movable between a high position and a low position; a gas spray head disposed at an upper portion of the reaction chamber facing the base component, used for introducing various process gases, with a reaction space between its lower surface and an upper surface of the central region of the base component; When the base component is installed at the elevated position, an edge region of the base component and a lower surface of the gas spray head form a first bleed channel surrounding the reaction space; a second bleed channel surrounding the first bleed channel and having a conductance greater than that of the first bleed channel, such that the process gas is discharged after passing through two stages of obstacles, namely the first bleed channel and the second bleed channel; When the base component is installed in the lower position, the process gas is discharged after passing through a first stage of the obstruction in the second bleed channel; the base component includes an edge ring located at an edge region of the base component, the first bleed channel being defined by a gap between an upper surface of the edge ring and a lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head; a top surface of the edge ring is no higher than a top surface of a central region of the base component; A vapor deposition apparatus comprising:
2. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the air pressure in the reaction space when the base component is in the higher position is greater than the air pressure in the reaction space when the base component is in the lower position.
3. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the high position and the low position each correspond to at least one height value, and the minimum height value of the high position is greater than the maximum height value of the low position.
4. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base component can be lowered to a substrate transfer position, and the height of the upper surface of the base component when in the lowered position is higher than the height of the upper surface of the base component when in the substrate transfer position and lower than the height of a lower edge of the second bleed channel.
5. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing gas includes a process gas and a purge gas, and when the base component moves to the higher position, the process gas enters the reaction space from the gas spray head, and gas in the reaction space passes through the first bleed channel and is discharged from the second bleed channel, and when the base component moves to the lower position, the purge gas enters the reaction space from the gas spray head, and gas in the reaction space is discharged from the second bleed channel.
6. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein a lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head is lower than a lower surface of the central region of the gas spray head.
7. 7. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head is provided with an annular boss.
8. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising: a reaction chamber for carrying out a vapor deposition process; a base component provided at the bottom of the reaction chamber, the base component including a central region for placing a substrate and edge regions surrounding the central region, the base component being movable between a high position and a low position; a gas spray head disposed at an upper portion of the reaction chamber facing the base component, used for introducing various process gases, with a reaction space between its lower surface and an upper surface of the central region of the base component; When the base component is installed at the elevated position, an edge region of the base component and a lower surface of the gas spray head form a first bleed channel surrounding the reaction space; a second bleed channel surrounding the first bleed channel and having a conductance greater than that of the first bleed channel, such that the process gas is discharged after passing through two stages of obstacles, namely the first bleed channel and the second bleed channel; When the base component is installed in the lower position, the process gas is discharged after passing through a first stage of the obstruction in the second bleed channel; the base component includes an edge ring located at an edge region of the base component, the first bleed channel being defined by a gap between an upper surface of the edge ring and a lower surface of the edge region of the gas spray head; a top surface of the edge ring being higher than a top surface of a central region of the base component; the edge ring includes a first cover ring and a second cover ring provided on an upper surface of the first cover ring; A vapor deposition apparatus characterized by:
9. 9. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 8, wherein an inner diameter of the first cover ring is smaller than an outer diameter of the substrate, a substrate transfer port is provided on a side wall of the reaction chamber, and when the base component is lowered to a substrate transfer position, an upper surface of a central region of the base component is lower than a horizontal plane on which the substrate transfer port is located, and a lower surface of the first cover ring is higher than the horizontal plane on which the substrate transfer port is located.
10. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein a bleed ring is provided on a side wall of the reaction chamber, the bleed ring including an annular bleed space, the second bleed channel including an inlet of the annular bleed space, the process gas in the reaction space can enter the annular bleed space through the inlet of the annular bleed space, and the outlet of the annular bleed space is connected to an external bleed device.
11. 11. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 10, wherein the inlets to the annular bleed space are a plurality of holes uniformly or non-uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the inner wall of the bleed ring.
12. 12. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 11, wherein the diameter of the holes is greater than 4 mm.
13. 12. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 11, wherein the number of holes is greater than 60.
14. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radial width of the first gas extraction channel is 30 mm or more.
15. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distance between the upper and lower surfaces of the first gas extraction channel is 2 mm or less.
16. a first process gas source, a second process gas source, and a purge gas source communicating with the gas spray head via a gas delivery pipeline for delivering a first process gas, a second process gas, and a purge gas, respectively; 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a controller configured to perform a first step in which the base component moves to the higher position and the first process gas enters the reaction space; a second step in which the base component moves to the lower position and the purge gas enters the reaction space; and a third step in which the base component moves to the higher position and the second process gas enters the reaction space.
17. 2. The vapor deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the high position is used for depositing thin films and the low position is used for cleaning and purging the reaction space.
18. A substrate processing method to be applied to the vapor deposition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 17, comprising: controlling the base component to move to the elevated position, wherein the gas spray head introduces a first process gas into the reaction space to chemically adsorb a substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passes through the first bleed channel and is exhausted from the second bleed channel; Controlling the base component to move to the lower position, the gas spray head introducing purge gas into the reaction space to purge, and the gas in the reaction space being discharged through the second gas extraction channel; controlling the base component to move to the elevated position, wherein the gas spray head introduces a second process gas into the reaction space to chemically react the substrate on the base component, and the gas in the reaction space passes through the first bleed channel and is exhausted from the second bleed channel; Controlling the base component to move to the lower position, the gas spray head introducing purge gas into the reaction space to purge, and the gas in the reaction space being discharged through the second gas extraction channel; and repeating the above steps until the thin film deposited on the surface of the substrate satisfies requirements.
19. 20. The substrate processing method of claim 18, further comprising the step of controlling the base component to descend to a substrate transfer position to load a substrate to be processed into the reaction chamber or unload a processed substrate from the reaction chamber.
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