Chemical vapor deposition apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus and, more specifically, to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus capable of heating a substrate not only from below but also from above during deposition of a silicon carbide (SiC) film or the like on the substrate, and further capable of partitioning and heating a processing space in which the substrate is disposed.

Description

Chemical Vapor Deposition System

[0001] The present invention relates to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus, and more specifically, to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus capable of heating the substrate not only from the bottom but also from the top when depositing a silicon carbide (SiC) film or the like on a substrate, and further capable of heating the processing space in which the substrate is placed by partitioning it.

[0002] Recently, the demand for SiC power devices has surged, and the related market is expected to continue growing. These SiC power devices can be fabricated by placing a substrate in a reaction chamber and growing a silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal on a substrate mounted on a susceptor through thermal decomposition by supplying a mixture of process gas and carrier gas into the chamber.

[0003] In the case of chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to the prior art, a configuration is generally adopted in which a heater is provided only at the bottom of the substrate. In this case, it takes a long time to heat the substrate to the required process temperature, and it is also difficult to precisely control the process temperature.

[0004] Accordingly, there was a need to develop a chemical vapor deposition apparatus capable of reducing the time required to heat the substrate to the process temperature and, furthermore, enabling temperature correction in areas where temperature deviations occur, thereby reducing the temperature variation of the substrate.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a chemical vapor deposition apparatus capable of temperature correction in areas where temperature deviations occur on a substrate by placing heaters not only on the bottom but also on the top of the substrate to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] The objective of the present invention as described above can be achieved by a chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized by comprising: a chamber; an inner chamber provided inside the chamber; a susceptor provided inside the inner chamber on which a substrate is placed and which heats the substrate; an upper plate provided above the susceptor and which provides a processing space between the susceptor and the upper plate for processing the substrate; an upper heater provided in the inner space of the inner chamber above the upper plate, which heats the upper plate and is composed of a plurality of zone heaters capable of individually controlling the temperature; and an insulating plate that partitions the plurality of zone heaters and blocks heat transfer.

[0007] Here, the plurality of zone heaters can be arranged along the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the processing space.

[0008] In addition, the insulation plate can be installed perpendicular to the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the processing space.

[0009] In this case, the upper portion of the insulation plate is greater than the height of the upper heater, and the lower portion of the insulation plate can be installed by being inserted into the upper plate.

[0010] In addition, the lower portion of the insulation plate may extend to the lower portion of the upper plate.

[0011] According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, by placing heaters not only on the bottom but also on the top of the substrate, it is possible to correct the temperature in the region where a temperature deviation of the substrate occurs, thereby reducing the temperature deviation of the substrate and improving the thickness and doping uniformity of the film on the substrate.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention,

[0013] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the upper heater, lower heater, upper plate, and susceptor.

[0014] Figure 3 is a top view of the upper heater.

[0015] Hereinafter, the structure of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be examined in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of a chemical vapor deposition apparatus (1000) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Referring to FIG. 1, the chemical vapor deposition apparatus (1000) may be equipped with a chamber (100). Various components may be provided in the chamber (100).

[0018] A receiving space (110) is provided on the inside of the chamber (100), and an inner chamber (300) may be provided in the receiving space (110).

[0019] A gas supply unit (200) may be connected to one side of the chamber (100). The gas supply unit (200) may serve to supply various process gases and purge gases toward the processing space (312) described later.

[0020] The above gas supply unit (200) may be provided with a gas inlet pipe (220) that extends from the outside of the chamber (100) to the inside of the chamber (100) and is connected to the processing space (312). A supply port (210) for supplying gas may be formed in the gas inlet pipe (220) located outside the chamber (100).

[0021] Meanwhile, an inner chamber (300) may be provided inside the chamber (100), and a processing space (312) for the substrate (W) may be provided inside the inner chamber (300). By adopting a so-called double chamber structure in this way, the possibility of particle contamination on the substrate (W) can be reduced, and the process on the substrate (W) can be carried out more smoothly.

[0022] One side of the inner chamber (300) is connected to the gas inlet pipe (220), so that process gas, etc. can be supplied through the gas inlet pipe (220).

[0023] Additionally, the inner chamber (300) can serve as a thermal insulation member. That is, the inner chamber (300) is positioned to surround the susceptor assembly (330) described later and may be composed of carbon felt or graphite felt, etc. Alternatively, the inner chamber (300) may be composed of graphite-coated carbon felt or carbon-coated graphite felt, etc.

[0024] In this way, when the inner chamber (300) or the heat-blocking member is provided, the heat generated by the lower heater (340) of the susceptor assembly (330) is not radiated to the outside of the inner chamber (300), thereby allowing the processing space (312) to be heated more effectively.

[0025] Specifically, a satellite (326) on which the substrate (W) is placed is placed inside the inner chamber (300), and a susceptor assembly (330) for heating the substrate (W) and an upper plate (310) provided on the upper part of the susceptor assembly (330) inside the inner chamber (300) and providing a processing space between the susceptor assembly (330) and the upper plate (310) for processing the substrate (W) may be provided.

[0026] Additionally, the susceptor assembly (330) may be provided with a susceptor (320) on which a satellite (326) on which the substrate (W) is placed is placed, and a lower heater (340) for heating the susceptor (320).

[0027] A cover (350) surrounding the satellite (326) may be provided on the upper surface of the susceptor (320). Additionally, although not shown in the drawing, it is also possible to omit the cover (350) and form a recess on the upper surface of the susceptor (320), with the satellite (326) inserted into the recess.

[0028] Additionally, the substrate (W) may be seated on the satellite (326) while seated on a ring member (not shown).

[0029] The chemical vapor deposition apparatus (1000) according to the present invention may be an apparatus for depositing a silicon carbide (SiC) film on the surface of the substrate (W), and may grow a single crystal of silicon carbide (SiC) on the upper surface of the substrate (W) by supplying process gas, etc. from the side of the processing space (312) by the gas supply unit (200) to induce a laminar flow of gas inside the processing space (312).

[0030] Meanwhile, as described above, when a silicon carbide (SiC) film is deposited on the upper surface of the substrate (W), the process temperature may correspond to a high temperature of approximately 1600 degrees or higher. Accordingly, the upper plate (310), susceptor (320), and cover (350) constituting the processing space (312) can use a material such as graphite, silicon carbide coated graphite (SiC Coated Graphite), TaC coated graphite (Tac Coated Graphite), or silicon carbide produced by CVD sintering, thereby increasing thermal stability and thermal conductivity, allowing the substrate to be heated efficiently and power consumption to be reduced.

[0031] The processing space (312) can be provided between the aforementioned upper plate (310) and the susceptor (320).

[0032] In addition, a satellite (326) on which the substrate (W) is placed can be placed on the upper surface of the susceptor (320).

[0033] Meanwhile, when the satellite (326) is seated on the upper surface of the susceptor (320), the satellite (326) may be rotatably provided with respect to the susceptor (320).

[0034] That is, a gas passage (not shown) may be further provided that penetrates the susceptor (320) and connects to the upper surface of the susceptor (320) adjacent to the lower surface of the satellite (326). Floating gas, etc., can be supplied toward the lower surface of the satellite (326) through the gas passage to rotate the satellite (326).

[0035] During the process on the substrate (W), the substrate (W) can be rotated so that the process gas supplied from the side reacts uniformly on the entire surface of the substrate (W).

[0036] Meanwhile, a gas exhaust pipe (400) for exhausting gas from the processing space (312) may be connected to the other side of the inner chamber (300). The gas exhaust pipe (400) may extend to the outside of the chamber (100) to exhaust gas from the processing space (312) to the outside of the chamber (100).

[0037] Additionally, the inner chamber (300) may be equipped with a lower heater (340) for heating the substrate (W) and the processing space (312) to a process temperature. The lower heater (340) may be provided at the bottom of the susceptor (320) and may be composed of an induction heating coil.

[0038] If the lower heater (340) is configured as an induction heating coil, it can be used semi-permanently after installation, thus having advantages in terms of maintenance and equipment operation costs.

[0039] Meanwhile, the substrate processing device (1000) may further be provided with an upper heater (360) that is positioned on the outside or upper side of the upper plate (310) and surrounds the upper plate (310).

[0040] The upper heater (360) may be positioned to surround the upper part of the upper plate (310) or to surround the entire outer side of the upper plate (310). For example, the upper heater (360) may be provided in the inner space (314) of the inner chamber (300) on the upper part of the upper plate (310).

[0041] In this case, the lower heater (340) and the upper heater (360) may be composed of heaters with different heating methods. For example, the aforementioned lower heater (340) may be composed of an induction heater, and the upper heater (360) may be composed of a resistance heater or a halogen lamp, etc.

[0042] In the above configuration, the temperature of the substrate (W) and the processing space (312) can be heated to a temperature similar to the process temperature by the lower heater (340) composed of an induction heater, and then the temperature of the substrate (W) and the processing space (312) can be precisely adjusted to correspond to the process temperature by the upper heater (360) composed of a resistance heater.

[0043] When the upper heater (360) is configured as a resistance heating heater, the upper heater (360) may be spaced apart from the upper plate (310) to heat the upper plate (310) by convection or radiation. Additionally, the upper heater (360) may be in direct contact with the upper plate (310) or connected to it by a separate heat transfer plate to transfer heat to the upper plate (310) by conduction.

[0044] Heating is performed at the bottom of the susceptor (320) by the lower heater (340), and heating is performed at the top or side of the upper plate (310) by the upper heater (360), thereby allowing the substrate (W) and the processing space (312) to be heated more efficiently.

[0045] Meanwhile, the upper heater (360) may be divided into a plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) that can be individually controlled in order to heat the substrate (W) and the processing space (312) more efficiently and further control the process temperature more precisely.

[0046] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the upper heater (360), lower heater (340), upper plate (310), and susceptor (320).

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) may be provided on the upper plate (310). In this case, the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) are mounted on the upper plate (310) and can be moved according to the arrangement of the upper plate (310). As a result, there are no interfering parts when performing maintenance on the various components of the chamber (100), which can contribute to improving throughput by reducing working time.

[0048] For example, the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) may be divided into a first zone heater (362), a second zone heater (364), and a third zone heater (366). Here, the number of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) is described as an example, and it is also possible for the upper heater (360) to be composed of two zone heaters or four or more zone heaters.

[0049] In this case, the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) may be arranged along the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the processing space (312).

[0050] As described above, when three zone heaters (362, 364, 366) are provided, the first heating space (S1) corresponding to the first zone heater (362) may correspond to the front end of the processing space (312), that is, the area where the process gas flows into the processing space (312).

[0051] Additionally, the second heating space (S2) corresponding to the second zone heater (364) may correspond to an area corresponding to the substrate (W) or the satellite (326). Accordingly, the substrate (W) can be properly heated by the second zone heater (364), and the second zone heater (364) may be positioned to completely cover the substrate (W) or the satellite (326) from above. That is, since it is important to maintain the temperature of the substrate (W) at the process temperature during the process on the substrate (W), it is necessary to control the temperature of the substrate (W) by positioning the second zone heater (364) corresponding to the substrate (W) and the satellite (326) to completely cover the substrate (W) or the satellite (326) from above.

[0052] Furthermore, the third heating space (S3) corresponding to the third zone heater (366) may correspond to the rear end of the processing space (312), or the area of ​​the rear end where gas, etc. is discharged from the processing space (312).

[0053] Meanwhile, in the above configuration, the process gas supplied from the side of the processing space (312) by the gas supply unit (200) can be introduced into the front end of the processing space (312), pass through the area where the substrate (W) is placed, and be discharged through the gas exhaust pipe (400) through the rear end of the processing space (312).

[0054] In this case, the aforementioned plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) may be provided to enable individual temperature control in order to heat the process gas and the processing space (312). Additionally, an insulating plate (314, 316) that partitions the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366) may be provided to enable individual temperature control by the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366).

[0055] FIG. 3 is a top view of the upper heater (360).

[0056] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the insulating plate (314, 316) can be placed between the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366).

[0057] By means of the insulation plates (314, 316), only the corresponding heating spaces (S1, S2, S3) can be locally heated by the respective zone heaters (362, 364, 366), and other heating spaces (S1, S2, S3) can be kept from being heated. By doing so, it is possible to correct the temperature in the area where a temperature deviation occurs on the substrate (W), thereby reducing the temperature deviation of the substrate (W) and improving the thickness and doping uniformity of the film on the substrate (W).

[0058] For example, the insulation plates (314, 316) may be composed of a first insulation plate (314) placed between the first zone heater (362) and the second zone heater (364), and a second insulation plate (316) placed between the second zone heater (364) and the third zone heater (366).

[0059] The number of the insulation plates (314, 316) described above is merely an example and may change if the number of the zone heaters (362, 364, 366) changes.

[0060] In addition, the insulation plates (314, 316) may be composed of carbon felt, etc., but are not limited thereto.

[0061] Meanwhile, the insulation plates (314, 316) can be installed perpendicular to the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the processing space (312).

[0062] That is, the insulation plates (314, 316) can be arranged along a direction perpendicular to the space between the upper plate (310) and the inner chamber (300).

[0063] In this case, the height of the insulation plate (314, 316) can be determined to increase the heat blocking effect by the insulation plate (314, 316).

[0064] For example, the upper portion of the insulation plate (314, 316) may be determined to be greater than the height of the upper portion of the upper heater (360), and the lower portion of the insulation plate (314, 316) may be inserted into the upper plate (310) and installed.

[0065] If the upper part of the insulation plate (314, 316) is lower than the upper part of the upper heater (360), the heat from the zone heater (362, 364, 366) affects the adjacent zone heater (362, 364, 366) through convection, making it difficult to control the individual temperature of the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366).

[0066] Additionally, the lower portion of the insulation plate (314, 316) may be inserted into the upper plate (310) and installed, and it is preferable that the lower portion of the insulation plate (314, 316) extends to the lower portion of the upper plate (310).

[0067] That is, by insulating the upper plate (310) in correspondence with the heating space (S1, S2, S3) by the insulating plate (314, 316), heat from each of the zone heaters (362, 364, 366) can be prevented from being conducted along the upper plate (310) to an adjacent area.

[0068] By doing so, individual temperature control of the plurality of heating spaces (S1, S2, S3) can be made easier through individual temperature control of the plurality of zone heaters (362, 364, 366).

[0069] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art may modify and change the present invention in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the claims below. Therefore, if a modified embodiment basically includes the components of the claims of the present invention, it should be considered to be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0070] According to the present invention, by placing heaters not only on the bottom but also on the top of the substrate, it is possible to correct the temperature in the region where temperature variation occurs on the substrate, thereby reducing the temperature variation of the substrate and improving the thickness and doping uniformity of the film on the substrate.

Claims

1. Chamber; An inner chamber provided on the inner side of the above chamber; A susceptor provided on the inner side of the above inner chamber, on which the substrate is placed and which heats the substrate; An upper plate provided on the upper part of the susceptor, providing a processing space between the susceptor and the upper plate in which the substrate is processed; An upper heater configured with a plurality of zone heaters that are provided in the inner space of the inner chamber at the upper part of the upper plate, heat the upper plate, and allow for individual temperature control; and A chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized by having an insulating plate that blocks heat transfer and partitions the plurality of zone heaters.

2. In Paragraph 1, The above plurality of zone heaters A chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized by being arranged along the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the above processing space.

3. In Paragraph 2, The above insulation plate is A chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized by being installed perpendicular to the flow direction of the process gas flowing along the above processing space.

4. In Paragraph 1, The upper part of the insulation plate is greater than the height of the upper heater, and A chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized in that the lower portion of the above-mentioned insulation plate is inserted into and installed on the above-mentioned upper plate.

5. In Paragraph 4, The lower part of the above insulation plate A chemical vapor deposition apparatus characterized by extending to the lower part of the upper plate.

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