Method for regenerating a gas-supply shower head and a regenerated gas-supply shower head

Abstract

This invention provides a method for regenerating gas-supply shower heads and a regenerated gas-supply shower head that can reuse deteriorated gas-supply shower heads to reduce resource waste and lower costs. [Solution] The surface plate portion 3 is ground to remove defective parts and form the first layer portion 4. Next, the first layer portion 4 is finished grinding to form the first joining preparation surface 7. Meanwhile, a second layer portion 5 with a shape corresponding to the first layer portion 4 is formed. Next, a through hole 6 is formed in the second layer portion 5 that communicates with the through hole 6 of the first layer portion 4. Next, the second layer portion 5 is finished grinding to form the second joining preparation surface 8. Then, the first joining preparation surface 7 and the second joining preparation surface 8 are brought into close contact to join the first layer portion 4 and the second layer portion 5 together to obtain a regenerated shower head 1 for gas supply.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a method for regenerating a shower head for gas supply and a regenerated shower head for gas supply.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a substrate processing furnace for plasma-treating a substrate such as a wafer is known. This type of substrate processing furnace includes a processing chamber for accommodating a substrate, and forms an electric field and a magnetic field with a discharge electrode provided in the processing chamber to cause magnetron discharge to plasma-treat the substrate.

[0003] In addition, a shower head for gas supply for introducing a reaction gas into the processing chamber is provided in the substrate processing furnace (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

[0004] This type of shower head for gas supply includes a plate-shaped base portion and a silicon surface plate portion provided so as to overlap in the thickness direction of the base portion. Further, a large number of through holes penetrating in the thickness direction of the base portion and the surface plate portion are provided, and a reaction gas is supplied into the processing chamber through these through holes.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, due to long-term use, the opening edge on the surface side (the side facing the substrate such as a wafer) of the through hole of the shower head for gas supply deteriorates and is damaged so as to spread. In the substrate processing furnace, the shower head for gas supply is replaced with a new one, and the deteriorated shower head for gas supply is discarded.

[0007] However, in deteriorated gas-supply showerheads, only a portion of the surface of the through-hole is deteriorated, resulting in a defective surface. Therefore, discarding deteriorated gas-supply showerheads not only wastes resources but also incurs costs.

[0008] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a method for regenerating a gas-supply shower head and a regenerated gas-supply shower head that can reuse deteriorated gas-supply shower heads to reduce resource waste and lower costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To resolve such inconveniences, the present invention provides a method for regenerating a gas supply shower head for supplying reaction gas to the inside of a substrate processing furnace for plasma processing a substrate such as a wafer, comprising a plate-shaped base portion, a silicon surface plate portion provided by overlapping in the thickness direction of the base portion, and a plurality of through holes formed in the surface plate portion that penetrate through the thickness direction of the base portion and the surface plate portion, the method comprising a first layer formation step of removing used defective parts by grinding the surface plate portion to form a first layer portion, and a first bonding preparation surface formed by performing finish grinding on the surface of the first layer portion formed by the first layer formation step The invention is characterized by comprising: a process of forming a joint preparation surface; a process of forming a second layer having a shape corresponding to the first layer using a plate material of the same material as the first layer; a drilling process of forming a through hole in the second layer formed by the second layer formation process that communicates with the through hole in the first layer; a process of forming a second joint preparation surface by performing finish grinding on the second layer from which the through hole has been formed by the drilling process to form a second joint preparation surface for joining to the first layer; and a joining process of bringing the first joint preparation surface of the first layer and the second joint preparation surface of the second layer into close contact to integrally join the first layer and the second layer.

[0010] According to the present invention, the surface plate portion from which the defective surface has been scraped off is left as the first layer portion, and the second layer portion is integrally joined to this first layer portion to regenerate the surface plate portion. Therefore, the part of the used gas supply shower head other than the deteriorated part can be reused, thereby reducing the waste of resources and lowering costs.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a gas supply shower head for supplying a reaction gas to the inside of a substrate processing furnace for plasma processing a substrate such as a wafer, comprising a plate-shaped base portion, a silicon surface plate portion provided by overlapping in the thickness direction of the base portion, and a plurality of through holes formed in the surface plate portion that penetrate through the thickness direction of the base portion and the surface plate portion, wherein the surface plate portion comprises a first layer portion fixed to the base portion and a second layer portion integrally laminated with the first layer portion.

[0012] According to the present invention, in response to the deterioration of the surface plate portion, only the second layer portion can be left unused, thereby reducing resource waste and lowering costs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] An explanatory side view showing a regenerative showerhead for gas supply. [Figure 2] An explanatory cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of the main part of Figure 1. [Figure 3] A block diagram showing how to refurbish a gas-supply showerhead. [Figure 4] An explanatory cross-sectional view showing a portion of the surface plate in a defective state. [Figure 5] An explanatory cross-sectional view showing a portion of the surface plate after grinding. [Figure 6] An explanatory diagram showing the opposing state of the first bonding preparation surface of the first layer and the second bonding preparation surface of the second layer. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The gas supply regenerated showerhead of this embodiment is installed inside a substrate processing furnace that performs plasma processing on substrates such as wafers, and is a used gas supply regenerated showerhead that has been removed from the substrate processing furnace for replacement and is regenerated for reuse.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the gas supply regenerating shower head 1 of this embodiment comprises a base portion 2 and a surface plate portion 3. Furthermore, the surface plate portion 3 is composed of a first layer portion 4 and a second layer portion 5. Both the first layer portion 4 and the second layer portion 5 are made of silicone and are joined together to form a single unit.

[0016] The base portion 2 and the surface plate portion 3 have through-holes 6 that penetrate in the thickness direction, as shown in a partial cross-section in Figure 2. Although not shown, numerous through-holes 6 are formed, and they open on the surface of the surface plate portion 3.

[0017] A refurbished gas supply shower head 1 can be obtained by the following method. That is, the method for refurbishing a gas supply shower head to obtain a refurbished gas supply shower head 1 comprises, as shown in Figure 3, a first layer formation step 10, a first bonding preparation surface formation step 11, a second layer formation step 12, a drilling step 13, a second bonding preparation surface formation step 14, and a bonding step 15. Note that in Figure 3, the part indicated by reference numeral 1' is a used (before refurbishment) gas supply shower head that has developed a defect.

[0018] To explain each step, first, in the first layer formation step 10, a portion of the surface plate 3 (the area enclosed by the dashed line in the figure) is ground to remove the defective portion where the opening side periphery of the through hole 6 has become a tapered inclined surface due to prolonged use as shown in Figure 4. Note that the grinding thickness is exaggerated in Figure 4 for the sake of explanation, but in this embodiment it was set to 0.4 mm (the present invention is not limited to this grinding thickness).

[0019] As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, defective portions at the peripheral edge of the opening side of the through hole 6 are removed, and the first layer portion 4 having the through hole 6 with the inner diameter before use is formed on the surface plate portion 3.

[0020] Subsequently, in the first bonding preparation surface forming step 11, finish grinding is performed on the surface of the first layer portion 4 formed in the first layer portion forming step 10 to form the first bonding preparation surface 7 (see FIG. 6).

[0021] Thus, by performing the first layer portion forming step 10 and the first bonding preparation surface forming step 11, the preparation for regeneration of the used gas supply shower head is completed.

[0022] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, separately from the first layer portion forming step 10 and the first bonding preparation surface forming step 11, a second layer portion forming step 12, a drilling step 13, a second bonding preparation surface forming step 14, and a bonding step 15 are performed.

[0023] First, in the second layer portion forming step 12, a second layer portion 5 having a shape corresponding to the first layer portion 4 is formed. More specifically, although not shown, it is cut out from a silicon ingot by multi-wire cutting so as to have dimensions corresponding to the thickness removed in the first layer portion forming step 10. Thereby, the second layer portion 5 is formed.

[0024] Note that the second layer portion 5 shown in each figure is exaggerated for convenience of explanation, but in the present embodiment, the thickness dimension is 0.4 mm (in the present invention, it is not limited to this thickness dimension).

[0025] Subsequently, in the drilling step 13, a large number of through holes 6 penetrating in the thickness direction of the second layer portion 5 are formed by a drill or the like not shown. The number, position, and inner diameter of the through holes 6 formed in the second layer portion 5 are the same as those of the through holes 6 formed in the first layer portion 4.

[0026] In the present embodiment, since the inner diameter of the through hole 6 formed in the first layer portion 4 is 0.6 mm (in the present invention, it is not limited to this diameter), the inner diameter of the through hole 6 formed in the second layer portion 5 is also the same.

[0027] Next, in the second joining preparation surface formation step 14, the second layer 5 is subjected to finish grinding to form a second joining preparation surface 8 (see Figure 6) for joining to the first layer 4.

[0028] After the first layer 4 and the second layer 5 are obtained through the above steps, a joining step 15 is performed. In the joining step 15, as shown in Figure 6, the first joining preparation surface 7 of the first layer 4 and the second joining preparation surface 8 of the second layer 5 are brought into close contact and the first layer 4 and the second layer 5 are joined together as a single unit.

[0029] In this case, it is preferable to join the first bonding preparation surface 7 of the first layer 4 and the second bonding preparation surface 8 of the second layer 5 by diffusion bonding (800°C to 1000°C). This allows for a high-strength bond in which the interface between the first layer 4 and the second layer 5 is almost invisible, and a regenerated shower head 1 for gas supply shown in Figure 1 can be obtained. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 1... Regenerated shower head for gas supply, 2... Base part, 3... Surface plate part, 4... First layer part, 5... Second layer part, 6... Through hole, 7... First bonding preparation surface, 8... Second bonding preparation surface, 10... First layer part forming step, 11... First bonding preparation surface forming step, 12... Second layer part forming step, 13... Drilling step, 14... Second bonding preparation surface forming step, 15... Bonding step.

Claims

1. A method for regenerating a gas supply showerhead that supplies a reaction gas into the interior of a substrate processing furnace for plasma processing a wafer substrate, comprising a plate-shaped base portion, a silicon surface plate portion provided by overlapping the base portion in the thickness direction, and a plurality of through holes formed in the surface plate portion that penetrate the thickness direction of the base portion and the surface plate portion, A first layer forming step involves grinding the surface plate portion to remove used and defective parts and form a first layer, A first bonding preparation surface formation step is performed by applying finish grinding to the surface of the first layer formed by the first layer formation step to form a first bonding preparation surface, A second layer forming step is to form a second layer having a shape corresponding to the first layer using a plate material of the same material as the first layer, A drilling step is performed to form through holes in the second layer formed by the second layer forming step, which communicate with the through holes in the first layer, A second bonding preparation surface formation step is performed to form a second bonding preparation surface for bonding to the first layer by performing finish grinding on the second layer in which a through hole has been formed by the drilling step, A method for regenerating a gas supply shower head, characterized by comprising a joining step of bringing the first joining preparation surface of the first layer and the second joining preparation surface of the second layer into close contact to integrally join the first layer and the second layer.

2. A gas supply shower head for supplying reaction gas to the inside of a substrate processing furnace for plasma processing a wafer substrate, comprising a plate-shaped base portion, a silicon surface plate portion provided by overlapping the base portion in the thickness direction, and a plurality of through holes formed in the surface plate portion that penetrate the thickness direction of the base portion and the surface plate portion, wherein the shower head is refurbished, The gas supply regenerative shower head is characterized in that the surface plate portion comprises a first layer fixed to the base portion and a second layer integrally laminated with the first layer portion.

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