Condenser plate tile

Abstract

Thermal treatment tiles and plates are described herein. The thermal treatment tiles described herein include a control surface; an active surface opposite the control surface; a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; and complimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile. The thermal treatment plates described herein are assembled using the thermal treatment tiles by attaching a plurality of the thermal treatment tiles at the edge joints thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application for patent claims priority benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 745,622 filed January 15, 2025, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND

[0002] Glass substrates, or substrates made of other materials, are often used as a base to form material layers and structures for devices such as circuits and displays. These material layers are often deposited in liquid form and then dried as part of a process of solidifying the layer or otherwise making the layer permanent. In many cases, material is evaporated from the material layer to facilitate this process. One widely used method is to dispose the substrate beneath a condensation plate that functions to condense molecules evaporated from the substrate to remove those molecules from the vapor space above the material layer. Removing the molecules from the vapor space can enhance drying rate and can control the drying rate in various locations of the substrate, for example to achieve uniform drying or to achieve a controlled but non-uniform drying.

[0003] As manufacturers drive for lower unit cost, the substrates that are processed in this way get larger. The condensation plates thus also get larger. Additionally, substrates having different shapes and aspect ratios can be needed. Large condensation plates can present challenges of uniform thermal processing, and such condensation plates are typically only usable for substrates having one shape. If substrates having different shapes are to be processed, the condensation plate must be changed or another facility constructed to process the different substrates. There is a need for more useful condensation plates.SUMMARY

[0004] Embodiments described herein provide a thermal treatment tile, comprising a control surface; an active surface opposite the control surface; a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; and complimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile.

[0005] Other embodiments described herein provide a thermal treatment plate, comprising a plurality of tiles, each tile comprising a control surface; an active surface opposite the control surface; a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; and complimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile, wherein each tile of the plate is attached to another tile of the plate at one of the edge joints.

[0006] Other embodiments described herein provide a processing chamber, comprising an enclosure; a substrate support within the enclosure; and a thermal treatment plate facing the substrate support, the thermal treatment plate comprising a plurality of tiles, each tile comprising a control surface; an active surface opposite the control surface; a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; and complimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile, wherein each tile of the plate is attached to another tile of the plate at one of the edge joints.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1A is a plan view of a control side of a tile according to one embodiment.

[0008] FIG. 1B is a plan view of an active side of the tile of FIG. 1A, opposite from the control side.

[0009] FIG. 1C is a plan view of a control side of a tile according to another embodiment.

[0010] FIG. 1D is a plan view of a control side of a tile according to another embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a control side of a plate according to one embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a control side of a plate according to another embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a drying chamber according to one embodiment.

[0014] These figures show embodiments of inventions described herein. The various features shown in these figures are not exhaustive of all embodiments of these inventions, and those having skill in the relevant arts can readily conceive of other embodiments, not shown or described herein, that nonetheless also represent the inventions described herein.

[0015] Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is noted that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features might not be drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Tiles and plates are described herein that can be used as temperature control plates, condensation plates, or both. FIG. 1A is a plan view of a control side 101 of a tile 100 according to one embodiment. The tile 100 can be used as a thermal treatment plate, for example a cooling plate or temperature control plate, or as a condensation plate, or as a component of any such plate. Such tiles and plates can be part of a drying tool described below.

[0017] The tile 100 has a plurality of channels 102 formed in the control side 101 of the tile 100. In this case, there are two channels 102 formed in the control side 101. The channels 102 are formed to proceed along the control side 101 in a flow pattern to carry a thermal control fluid. The thermal control fluid flows within the channels 102 to add thermal energy to, or remove thermal energy from, the tile 100. For example, a cooling fluid can be circulated through the channels 102 to cool the tile 100.

[0018] The tile 100 is made of a thermally conductive material, such as a metal material, for example aluminum or copper or a metal alloy. The channels 102 are configured such that the thermally conductive material of the tile 100 makes direct contact with the thermal control fluid in the channels 102 to maximize thermal transport efficiency of the tile 100. Here, each of the channels 102 has a rectangular profile but any shape of channel can be used such as circular, elliptical, trapezoidal, or other shape. In some cases, the profile shape of the channel 102 can be selected to provide enhanced thermal transport at the channel surface, for example by providing a large contact surface area for contact between the thermal control fluid and the channel 102. The channels 102 can have a single, uniform, profile or the profile of one or more of the channels 102 can vary along the length of the channel 102 for any reason according to dimension or shape.

[0019] There are two channels 102 shown in the tile 100 of FIG. 1A. Each of the channels 102 has a path designed to bring thermal control fluid to much of the areal extent of the tile 100 to maximize thermal control of the tile 100 using the thermal control fluid. The two channels 102 have complimentary paths designed to maximize thermal control of the tile 100. Two paths are used here to shorten the path that a thermal control fluid follows while in contact with the material of the tile 100 so that the thermal control fluid retains its thermal capacity along the entire path of one channel 102. In some cases, the two paths have the same length. In other cases, the length of one channel 102 may be different from the length of another channel 102. In general, the path of each channel can be arbitrarily configured to achieve any thermal control objective of the tile 100. In most cases, the thermal control objective is temperature uniformity across the areal extent of the tile 100, a plate made using tiles like the tile 100, or a substrate processed using such a tile or plate, but in some cases the thermal control objective may be to maintain a selected or predetermined thermal gradient in such tile, plate, or substrate.

[0020] The path of each channel 102 shown here is singular, having no branches, and each path is formed as a combination of straight segments and curved segments. In other cases, a channel 102 can have a branched path and may include sharp corners. Where thermal uniformity is desired, channels having branched paths may be configured to avoid flow concentration in one branch, or a subset of branches, relative to other branches. Thus, non-straight paths and / or branches may be preferred for some tile embodiments.

[0021] The channels 102 in the tile 100 have a pitch that is constant along the entire length of each channel 102. The pitch of a channel is defined as the width of the channel divided by distance from the center of the channel to a center of a nearest neighboring channel. In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the tile 100 has a constant channel pitch of about 4.0 in each orthogonal basis direction of the tile 100. In other embodiments, the channel pitch can be higher or lower and can vary from location to location across the area of the tile 100. If thermal uniformity and / or temperature uniformity is a goal of the tile design, in many cases constant channel pitch is preferred. Additionally, where channel pitch is reduced, such that channel density is increased, channel path length may be extended. In such cases, a thermal control fluid will see larger temperature change along the channel path length for a given flow rate. Such variables can be considered and compensated in the sizing of the channels, number of channels, and flow rate and temperature of thermal control fluid.

[0022] Any reasonable number of channels 102 can be provided in a tile like the tile 100. For example, three or four channels can be provided in a tile. The number of channels is only reasonably limited by the number of fluid connections needed to provide thermal control fluid to all the channels. Such fluid connections are typically provided at termini 106 of the channels 102, which can be clustered in any way to simplify flowing the thermal control fluid into all the channels, or can be located remotely, one from the other. Here, the fluid connections are clustered by type where channel inlets 110 are clustered in a first location 120 of the tile 100 and channel outlets 112 are clustered in a second location 122 of the tile 100 remote from the first location 120. Here the first location 120 is adjacent to a first corner 124 of the tile 100 and the second location 122 is adjacent to a second corner 126 of the tile 100, different from the first corner 124. In this case, the first corner 124 and the second corner 126 are adjacent corners, but in other versions, the two corners could be opposite corners.

[0023] The channels 102 are formed in the surface of the tile 100, by machining or other suitable method. Each channel 102 has walls that are made of the same material as, and contiguous with, the control surface 101 of the tile 100, or the same material as the entire tile 100, so a thermal control fluid flowing within each channel 102 flows in direct contact with the channel walls to maximize thermal transport between the thermal control fluid and the material of the tile 100. The channels 102 are enclosed by a top 108 configured to fit within the channel 102 and cover the channel 102 to form an enclosed flow path within the control surface 104 of the tile 100. The top 108 is shaped to match the path of the channel 102 and may be made of the same material as the tile 100, or of a different material that is not incompatible in any respect with the material of the tile 100. Here, the top 108 is visible, and the contours of the bottom of each channel 102 is shown in phantom. Typically, the tile 100 will be made of a metal and the top 108 will be made of the same metal, or a compatible metal.

[0024] Each channel 102 has at least one inlet 110 and one outlet 112. Typically, the inlet 110 and the outlet 112 are located at opposite termini 106 of the channel 102 to provide a flow of thermal control fluid along the entire length of the channel 102. Other configurations having multiple inlets 110 and / or multiple outlets 112 may be used in any manner suitable to the thermal objectives of the tile. For example, a channel 102 may have multiple inlets configured at one terminus of the channel 102 to provide multiple flows of thermal control fluids into the channel at different controlled temperatures such that the fluids mix into a single flowing volume having a selected and controlled temperature. In this way, temperature of the single flowing volume can be controlled by adjusting the flow rates of the different flows of thermal control fluid at the different temperatures into the inlets of the channel.

[0025] Each edge 111 of the tile 100 has a lap joint 114 that is used to connect the tile 100 to another tile to form a plate. Such plates are described below. The lap joint 114 has an extension 116 that can be attached to a similar extension of a lap joint of another tile, for example by inserting screws into holes 117 formed in the extension 116. As shown here, the lap joint 114 can extend along the entirety of each edge 111, or one or more of the lap joints 114 can extend only partway along the edge 111 of the tile 100. For example, in one case a lap joint 114 may be provided at a center area of an edge 111 of the tile without extending the lap joint 114 to either corner of the tile 100. In this way, the lap joint 114 could have an extension that is a tab structure.

[0026] The lap joint 114 extends along a first pair of adjacent sides of the tile 100 in a first orientation and along a second pair of adjacent side, opposite from the first pair, in a second orientation that is opposite to, and complimentary with, the first orientation. In one case shown here, the lap joint 114 is a shelf structure that has a flat shelf with a surface that is generally parallel to, and facing, the control side 101, or to an active side (not shown in FIG. 1A) opposite from the control side 101. The lap joint 114 may be a dado joint or a rabbit joint. The shelf extends along a first edge of the tile 100, around a corner, and along a second edge of the tile 100 adjacent to the first edge. The lap joint 114 is a first lap joint. A second lap joint (not shown in FIG. 1A), similar or identical to the first lap joint 114 has a shelf structure that has a flat shelf with a surface that is generally parallel to, and facing away from, the control side 101. The shelf structures of the two lap joints 114 of one tile have shelf surfaces that are substantially parallel. In other cases, the lap joints 114 may have complimentary surfaces that are not shelf structures. For example, the lap joints 114 may have complimentary angled surfaces; that is, surfaces not parallel to the control surface or the active surface, as in, for example, a miter joint. Two of the tiles 100 can be assembled together such that a lap joint of one tile mates with a lap joint of the opposite configuration of another tile, with the complimentary surfaces of the two lap joints in contact. The lap joints 114, in this case, include fastening bores to accept fasteners, such as screws, which can attach the lap joints of two tiles together to form a plate. In other cases, the lap joints can be securely joined by other attaching means, such as welding or brazing. In such cases, the lap joints 114 might be free of any fastening bores. The various embodiments of tile shapes, features, and connection means described above can be combined in any way, with any tile shape combined with any joint type, and with any path and flow configuration of multiple channels.

[0027] FIG. 1B is a plan view of an active side 125 of the tile 100, opposite from the control side 101. The active side 125 of the tile 100 is essentially featureless, with a surface that is smooth and thermally conductive. The active side 125 may contact a substrate, when the tile 100 is used as a thermal treatment plate, or may be positioned proximate to a substrate when the tile 100 is used as a condensation plate. The active side 125 is essentially featureless to maximize thermal uniformity of the active side 125 when in contact with a substrate. As noted above, the tile 100 has a second lap joint 126 formed along the pair of adjacent edges of the tile 100 opposite from the pair of adjacent edges that have the first lap joint 114 (FIG. 1A). As seen by comparing the views of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the first lap joint 114 and the second lap joint 126 have opposite and complimentary configurations such that the lap joints of two tiles can mate and be attached together to form a plate.

[0028] FIG. 1C is a plan view of a control side 131 of a tile 130 according to another embodiment. Like the tile 100, the tile 130 has two channels 132 formed in the surface of the control side 131. The channels 132 have different configuration in the tile 130 than in the tile 100, but the general purpose and construction of the channels 132 is the same as for the channels 102. The channels 132 have termini 134 clustered together and adjacent one to the other, in this case in a square arrangement. In contrast to the tile 130, the tile 100 has termini that are arranged in pairs, each pair of termini remotely located from the other pair of termini. The channels 132 have equal flow path length, whereas the channels 102 have different flow path lengths. Any configuration of channels can be selected for particular thermal objectives of a tile. Channels having equal flow path length can provide the advantage that thermal control fluid flowing within the two channels can experience similar thermal flux and temperature change from inlet to outlet of each channel, improving the capability of the tile to provide uniform thermal treatment. Where non-uniform thermal treatment is desired, for example where a particular temperature gradient is preferred, channels having unequal flow paths can be used in strategic ways to provide a selected temperature gradient.

[0029] It should be noted that the termini of the two channels of a tile, such as the tile 100 or the tile 130, can be utilized to provide co-flow of thermal control fluids through the channels, i.e. flow in generally the same direction in the two channels, or contra-flow, i.e. flow in generally opposite directions. In some cases, contra-flow of thermal control fluid through complimentarily shaped channels in a tile can increase thermal uniformity of the tile, and co-flow can help maintain a temperature gradient across the tile. Co-flow and contra-flow can be utilized in the tiles of a plate (attached using the lap joints described above) to provide a wide variety of thermal configurations for the plate.

[0030] FIG. 1D is a plan view of a control side 151 of a tile 150 according to another embodiment. The tile 150 has two channels 152, like the tiles 100 and 130, similarly constructed but in a third different configuration, to illustrate that any configuration of channels can be used in a tile. In this case, the channels 152 have a square spiral shape with a first terminus 154 of each channel 152 located at a periphery of the tile 150 and a second terminus 156 of each channel 152, opposite from the first terminus 154, located at a central region of the tile 150. As above, the two channels 152 can be operated in co-flow or contra-flow configuration, and where multiple tiles are attached together in a plate, the various tiles can be independently operated in co-flow or contra-flow configuration.

[0031] The tiles 100, 130, and 150 all have at least two adjacent channel termini, which may be two inlets, one inlet and one outlet, or two outlets depending on how thermal control fluid is flowed through the channels of the tile. As noted above, the tile 130 has all four termini clustered and adjacent in a square shape. Tiles can be devised to have no adjacent termini, for example with each terminus located at a corner of the tile. For example, a tile can have two channels, each channel arranged in a bustrophedonic path along one half of the tile surface, with termini at opposite corners in the respective half of the tile surface. In another example, the channels can be configured to follow bustrophedonic paths that are interleaved across the full tile surface, with the four termini at the four corners of the tile. Other path configurations can be devised with equal flow path length or unequal flow path length, according to the needs of any application.

[0032] It should also be noted that the tiles shown herein have the shape of a square, but the tiles can have any suitable shape. In some cases, the tiles might have complex shapes selected to achieve particular thermal control objectives.

[0033] The tiles may include openings to accommodate lift pins, in the event the tiles are used as part of a substrate support. The tiles 130 and 150 of FIGS. 1C and 1D have openings to accommodate lift pins to facilitate substrate loading and unloading. The lift pins are generally arranged with spacing to provide mechanical support to a substrate that may be disposed on the lift pins. The spacing of the lift pins is selected to prevent or minimize substrate deformation due to gravity, since a substrate may be so thin that gravity can induce substantial curvature to the substrate. The openings are provided between the channels, through the body of the tiles, to avoid interfering with flow of thermal control medium within the channels.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a control side 201 of a plate 200 according to one embodiment. The plate 200 comprises four of the tiles 130 assembled together at lap joints, as described above. Each tile is the same here, and the channel configurations of the tiles are shown in phantom since the channels are located within the surface of the tiles. The plate 200, provided consistent thermal control fluid, at the same temperature and flow rate, to the inlet termini of all the tiles, will provide a high degree of thermal uniformity at the active side of the plate (opposite from the control side 201 and not visible in FIG. 2). Alternately, thermal control fluid can be provided to the inlet termini of the plate 200 with different temperatures and / or flow rates to achieve one or more desired thermal gradients or effects. For example, in some cases, it may be desired to process a substrate using different thermal flux at an edge of the substrate from that at a center of the substrate. Thermal control fluid can be flowed through the tiles of the plate 200 with temperature and flow rate selected to provide an edge-center thermal gradient, if desired. Other thermal gradients can also be maintained by providing thermal control fluids to the tiles to maintain any desired type and magnitude of thermal gradient.

[0035] FIG. 3 is a plan view of a control side 301 of a plate 300 according to another embodiment. The plate 300 is similar to the plate 200, using four attached tiles, but whereas all the tiles of the plate 200 are the same, the plate 300 uses different types of tiles having different channel configurations to illustrate that such plates can be constructed to provide selected thermal properties. Here, the plate 300 combines the tiles 100 and 130, two of each, in a staggered configuration. Any combination of tiles, having any configuration of channels, can be used to make a plate.

[0036] The plates 200 and 300 of FIGS. 2 and 3 show the modular advantage of the thermal treatment tiles described herein. Such tiles can be assembled in any number and configuration to provide a wide variety of shapes and sizes of thermal treatment plates that can be used as support and / or condenser plates for treating a wide variety of shapes and sizes of substrates. A thermal treatment tool can be configured to accept different shapes and sizes of plates, as support plates and / or condenser plates, where the support and condenser plates can be the same shape and size, or different shapes and sizes. Modularly constructed plates can be replaced to change the operating configuration of a thermal treatment tool “on the fly”. In some cases, different thermal treatment tools can be configured with different thermal treatment plates to provide different modes of thermal treatment. For example, a first thermal treatment tool can be configured to use a thermal treatment plate that provides thermal uniformity while a second thermal treatment tool can be configured to use a thermal treatment plate that provides a selected thermal gradient.

[0037] The tiles and plates described herein can utilize thermal sensors to control the thermal performance of the tile or plate. Digital and / or analog thermal sensors can be disposed within one or more tiles of a plate to output signals representing a thermal state of the portion of the tile or plate adjacent to the sensor. Sensors can be provided in each tile, at the same location in each tile, so that every tile of a plate is the same. Alternately, tiles having sensors can be assembled with tiles having no sensors if only a few sensors are needed. The sensors can be disposed at or adjacent to the active surface or the control surface of a tile. Sensors can be disposed within one or more of the channels and / or within the body of the tile. Sensors can be disposed at the active surface of a tile, and if the tile is intended to have a featureless active surface, the sensor can be slightly embedded within the tile and a foil member attached (for example by welding or brazing) over the sensor to form the active surface of the tile. A similar procedure can be performed on the control side of the tile, if desired. Alternately, as mentioned above, one or more sensors can be disposed within a channel of the tile.

[0038] The sensors can be powered, and signals can be obtained from the sensors, by routing power and signal circuits through supports attached to the tile (or plate made of tiles). The signals can be routed to a controller, which can be configured to interpret the signals to ascertain thermal states of the tile (or plate made of tiles) adjacent to the sensor. Flow rate and temperature of thermal control fluids can be adjusted based on signals from the sensors to maintain a desired thermal treatment of a substrate adjacent to, or in contact with, a tile or plate. The controller configured to use the signals of the sensors can be calibrated and tuned to control the thermal configuration of the tile or plate based on the signals from the sensors. Thus, the thermal configuration of the tile or plate can be changed from one temperature to another and from one pattern to another, according to the processing needs of the substrate.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a drying chamber 400 according to one embodiment. The drying chamber 400 utilizes a thermal treatment plate 402 located above, and facing, a support 404 that is to receive a substrate for processing. The thermal treatment plate 402 is supported from a ceiling 406 of the chamber 400 by hangers 408, which are attached to the thermal treatment plate 402, in this case, adjacent to the edges thereof at locations between the channels of the thermal treatment plate 402. Any suitable configuration of support can be used for such a thermal treatment plate. For example, supports may be extended from side walls of the chamber to support a thermal treatment plate. Where, like here, hangers are used, the hangers can be located at any suitable location. For example, the hangers can be located at the corners of the thermal treatment plate 402 or at locations intermediate between the edges and the center of the thermal treatment plate 402. A manifold assembly 410 is located adjacent to the thermal treatment plate 402 to provide thermal control fluid to the channels of the thermal treatment plate 402. The manifold assembly 410 has flow paths and controls to flow the thermal control fluid into the channels of the plate at desired flow rates and temperatures, and to receive thermal control fluid from the channels and route the received thermal control fluid back to a preparation stage to condition the thermal control fluid for recycle to the thermal treatment plate 402. The manifold assembly 410 may be, or may include, a manifold plate that includes fluid flow paths, connections, and controls to flow thermal control media to and from the thermal treatment plate 402. Alternately, or additionally, the manifold assembly 410 may be, or may include, tubing, piping, valves, and connections to connect with the termini of the thermal treatment plate 402.

[0040] Here, the support 404 also has a thermal treatment plate 412, so the thermal treatment plate 402 is a first thermal treatment plate and the thermal treatment plate 412 is a second thermal treatment plate. In the drying chamber 400, the first thermal treatment plate 402 can be operated as a condenser plate to condense molecules evaporated from a substrate disposed on the support 404, while the second thermal treatment plate 402 can be operated as an evaporator. In such cases, the first thermal treatment plate 402 is typically operated at a lower temperature than the second thermal treatment plate 412, so the second thermal treatment plate 412 drives molecules from the substrate into the vapor space between the substrate and the first thermal plate 402, and the first thermal plate 402 removes the molecules from the vapor space.

[0041] The support 404, first thermal treatment plate 402, and second thermal treatment plate 412 are housed within an enclosure 401 that encloses the operative components of the drying chamber 400.

[0042] The support 404 can be configured to facilitate substrate loading and unloading and to facilitate maintaining a selected gap between the exposed surface of the substrate and the first thermal treatment plate 402. A lifter 414 can be coupled to the support 404 to move the support 404 toward, or away from, the first thermal treatment plate 402. The chamber 400 can use a lift pin frame 415, located between the support 404 and an adjacent wall of the chamber 400, or even attached to the adjacent wall of the chamber 400, to facilitate substrate loading and unloading. The lift pin frame 414 has lift pins 416, suitably constituted to avoid damaging substrates, that extend toward the support 404. The lifter 414 can be operated to move the support away from the first thermal treatment plate 402, causing the lift pins 416 to protrude through openings in the support 404, including openings provided in the second thermal treatment plate 412, and into the space between the support 404 and the first thermal treatment plate 402. The lift pins 416 operate to space a substrate away from the surface of the support 404 such that substrate handlers can access the substrate to retrieve the substrate and / or place a substrate on the lift pins 416. Following a substrate handling operation, the lifter 414 can be operated to move the support toward the first thermal treatment plate 402, causing the lift pins to disengage with the support 404, placing a substrate in contact with the surface of the support 404. The openings arranged for the lift pins 416 (and the lift pins 416 themselves) may be provided at spacing that provides sufficiently continuous mechanical support for a substrate to avoid any substantial deformation of the substrate due to gravity while being supported by the lift pins 416. The lift pin openings of the second thermal treatment plate 412 are provided through the body of the plate 412, between the fluid channels thereof, at locations selected to provide sufficient mechanical support to a substrate to be processed using the chamber 400.

[0043] Like the lift pin openings, additional openings can be formed through the body of the second thermal treatment plate 412, if desired, to apply vacuum at the active surface of the second thermal treatment plate 412 to securely adhere a substrate to the support 404. A single vacuum opening can be provided, or a plurality of openings can be provided. The plurality of openings can be provided in a pattern and / or may be uniformly spaced, or non-uniformly spaced, across the area of the plate 412.

[0044] The support 404 can be configured to provide power and signal circuits to the second thermal treatment plate 412 if the plate 412 has thermal sensors. The support 404 can also be configured to supply suction to the active surface of the plate 412 if suction is to be used to hold a substrate against the active surface. The support 404 can also be configured with heating elements to provide heat at the active surface of the second thermal treatment plate 412 if heat is to be provided using means other than the channels of the plate 412. The heating elements can be based on electrical resistance or induction or can be configured to flow a heating fluid through the support in a way that conducts heat through the second thermal treatment plate 412.

[0045] The drying chamber 400 may include a gas inlet 420 and a gas outlet 422 for maintaining a constant condition within the chamber 400. The gas outlet 422 can be configured with pumps to lower a pressure within the chamber 400 to be maintained by interdependent flow of gas into the gas inlet 420 and pumping of gas from the gas outlet 422. Pressure sensors can be coupled to the interior of the chamber 400 to support pressure control within the chamber 400.

[0046] The tiles described herein can be arranged into a thermal treatment or control plate, as described above, that can achieve extreme thermal uniformity in operation. For example, a thermal treatment plate having an areal extent of 1 m2 can be configured, using the methods described herein, to have thermal variation that is less than 0.1K. That is, a first temperature measured at a first location of the active surface of the thermal treatment plate, and a second temperature measured at a second location of the active surface, will always differ by less than 0.1K in operation, at any selected first and second location of the active surface of the thermal treatment plate.

[0047] Such extreme thermal uniformity is useful in processing substrates because a substrate of any configuration or shape can be treated using such a thermal treatment plate, and every such substrate will be processed under extreme thermal uniformity. Such processing has advantages in achieving extreme uniformity of material structures across the entire substrate, which are not achievable using other types of thermal treatment plates and / or tiles. The thermal treatment plates described herein, when used in a dry film formation chamber, provide extremely uniform vaporization flux across the surface of a liquid film being processed to form a dry film having extremely uniform thickness along and across the entire film.

[0048] The dry film formation tiles, plates, and chambers herein are particularly useful to form dry films at low temperatures, where vaporization flux in conventional thermal treatment plates can be large in comparison to vaporization rates. In applications like OLED and perovskite solar devices, where OLED and perovskite films must be processed at low temperatures to avoid molecular damage, a thermal processing plate capable of achieving extreme thermal uniformity at low temperatures, either for heating a substrate or condensing material evaporated from the substrate,

[0049] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of one or more inventions, other embodiments of such inventions not specifically described in the present disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, which is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A thermal treatment tile, comprising:a control surface;an active surface opposite the control surface;a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; andcomplimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile.

2. The tile of claim 1, wherein the plurality of enclosed channels comprises a first channel and a second channel, wherein a path length of the first channel from the inlet terminus thereof to the outlet terminus thereof, is the same as a path length of the second channel from the inlet terminus thereof to the outlet terminus thereof.

3. The tile of claim 1, wherein each channel of the plurality of channels defines a path comprising straight segments and curved segments.

4. The tile of claim 1, wherein a pitch of the channels is constant.

5. The tile of claim 1, wherein the inlet termini of the channels are clustered at a first location of the tile and the outlet termini of the channels are clustered at a second location of the tile remote from the first location.

6. The tile of claim 5, wherein the first location is adjacent to a first corner of the tile and the second location is adjacent to a second corner of the tile.

7. The tile of claim 1, wherein the inlet termini and outlet termini of the channels are clustered together in an adjacent formation.

8. The tile of claim 1, wherein each channel is enclosed by a top configured to fit within the channel and cover the channel.

9. The tile of claim 1, wherein the edge joint is a lap joint.

10. The tile of claim 9, wherein the edge joint includes a plurality of fastening bores.

11. A thermal treatment plate, comprising:a plurality of tiles, each tile comprising:a control surface;an active surface opposite the control surface;a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; andcomplimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile,wherein each tile of the plate is attached to another tile of the plate at one of the edge joints.

12. The plate of claim 11, wherein each tile has the same pattern of channels.

13. The plate of claim 11, wherein the complimentary edge joints are lap joints that have fastening bores.

14. The plate of claim 11, wherein the inlet and outlet termini of each tile are clustered at a central location of the tile.

15. The plate of claim 11, wherein the inlet termini of each tile are clustered at a first location of the tile, the outlet termini of each tile are clustered at a second location of the tile, and the second location is remote from the first location.

16. The plate of claim 11, wherein the plurality of enclosed channels of each tile comprises a first channel and a second channel, wherein a path length of the first channel from the inlet terminus thereof to the outlet terminus thereof, is the same as a path length of the second channel from the inlet terminus thereof to the outlet terminus thereof.

17. The plate of claim 11, wherein each tile of the plate has a smooth active surface opposite from the control surface of the tile.

18. A processing chamber, comprising:an enclosure;a substrate support within the enclosure; anda thermal treatment plate facing the substrate support, the thermal treatment plate comprising:a plurality of tiles, each tile comprising:a control surface;an active surface opposite the control surface;a plurality of enclosed channels formed within the control surface, each channel having walls contiguous with the control surface, and each channel having an inlet terminus and an outlet terminus for flowing a thermal control fluid within the channel in direct contact with the walls of the channel; andcomplimentary edge joints along the edges of the thermal treatment tile,wherein each tile of the plate is attached to another tile of the plate at one of the edge joints.

19. The processing chamber of claim 18, wherein the thermal treatment plate includes openings disposed through the body of the plate between the channels.

20. The processing chamber of claim 18, wherein the thermal treatment plate achieves thermal variation, in operation, less than 0.1 K.

Images