ALD Part Coating Chamber With Independent Gas Plenums
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and long cycle time associated with coating reactor parts, such as gas distribution faceplates and showerheads, in conventional batch processes, result in high per unit costs despite coating multiple parts simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A part coating reactor system with a lower body and lid assembly that includes heaters, coolant channels, gas passages with independent plenums, and thermal conduction chokes, facilitating efficient gas distribution and heat management, allowing for atomic layer deposition processes that reduce cycle time and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional batch reactor coating process is used, then multiple parts can be coated simultaneously, but the coating cycle time is long (3-8 days per batch) and per unit cost remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The reactor is divided into multiple independent coating zones or stations, each capable of coating parts simultaneously but independently. This allows continuous processing where while one zone is coating, another zone can be preparing or finishing, effectively eliminating idle time between batches and reducing overall cycle time per unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous coating operation by eliminating idle time between batches through overlapping preparation, coating, and finishing operations in different zones. Parts can be loaded into one zone while another zone is actively coating, maintaining continuous productive action without the start-stop nature of conventional batch processing.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional batch coating process is used, then parts can be coated, but the cost per unit remains very high due to long cycle times
Solution Approach 1:
Dividing the coating system into multiple independent zones allows parallel processing of multiple parts simultaneously in different stages, increasing overall throughput and reducing the cost per unit by spreading fixed costs across more parts produced in the same time period.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can independently control coating parameters (temperature, gas flow, deposition rate) in each zone, allowing optimization for different part types or coating requirements without affecting other zones, thereby improving manufacturing flexibility and cost efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system significantly reduces coating cycle time and costs by enabling faster and more efficient deposition processes, achieving an order of magnitude improvement in productivity.
Implementation Method 1
one or more heaters disposed in the lid assembly; one or more pedestal heaters disposed in the lower body
Implementation Method 2
one or more coolant channels disposed in the lid assembly to flow a heat transfer medium therethrough
Implementation Method 3
one or more thermal conduction chokes provided in the lid assembly to facilitate reduction of heat transfer away from the upper central portion of the lid assembly
Implementation Method 4
a plurality of gas passages disposed through the lid assembly to facilitate providing one or more gases to the interior volume, wherein the plurality of gas passages include a plurality of fluidly independent plenums disposed in the lid assembly
Implementation Method 5
performing an ALD process on the fastened workpiece within the part coating reactor
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for coating processing reactor component parts are provided herein. In some embodiments, a part coating reactor includes: a lower body and a lid assembly that together define and enclose an interior volume; one or more heaters disposed in the lid assembly; one or more coolant channels disposed in the lid assembly to flow a heat transfer medium therethrough; a plurality of gas passages disposed through the lid assembly to facilitate providing one or more gases to the interior volume, wherein the plurality of gas passages include a plurality of fluidly independent plenums disposed in the lid assembly; and one or more mounting brackets to facilitate coupling a workpiece to the lid assembly.