Bake Purge Operation for Substrate Treating Apparatus Byproduct Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
The durability of components in substrate treating apparatuses decreases over time, leading to increased contamination and maintenance challenges due to byproducts like moisture and particles, which hinder efficient plasma treatment and require lengthy purge operations to remove.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a bake purge operation at atmospheric pressure and elevated temperature, followed by primary and secondary purge operations, to efficiently remove byproducts from the treatment space and components, ensuring a clean environment for plasma treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a purge operation is performed to remove byproducts from the component surface, then contamination level is reduced, but maintenance time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by heating the component to elevated temperatures (e.g., 100-200°C) during the purge operation. This temperature parameter change accelerates the removal of byproducts like moisture and particles from the component surface, thereby reducing contamination more effectively and quickly compared to room temperature purge operations alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by performing a bake-out operation before the purge operation. This preliminary heating step prepares the component by raising its temperature to facilitate more efficient byproduct removal during the subsequent purge phase, reducing the overall time and effort needed for contamination removal.
2Productivity
If byproducts are removed from minute valleys on the component surface, then treatment efficiency is improved, but it becomes difficult to remove byproducts using simple purge operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes by applying thermal energy to heat the component to elevated temperatures. This thermal parameter change causes byproducts in minute valleys to vaporize or become less adhesive, making them easier to remove through purge operations. The heat penetrates into the valleys and facilitates byproduct release from difficult-to-reach areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces simple mechanical purge operations with a thermal field approach. Instead of relying solely on gas flow mechanics to blow byproducts off the surface, the invention introduces thermal energy to actively drive byproduct removal from minute valleys, substituting thermal action for mechanical purge action in difficult-to-reach areas.
3Reliability
If components are replaced in the substrate treating apparatus, then durability is maintained, but byproducts on the replaced components increase contamination in the treatment space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing a bake-out operation immediately after component replacement, before the apparatus is used for substrate treatment. This preliminary heating step activates the subsequent purge operation to remove byproducts from the newly installed component, preventing contamination of the treatment space before treatment begins.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful presence of byproducts on replaced components into a benefit by using controlled heating to vaporize or mobilize these byproducts. The heat treatment transforms the stuck-byproducts into removable vapor or loose particles that can be efficiently evacuated during the purge operation, turning a contamination problem into a controlled removal process.
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
This approach allows for quick and efficient maintenance, reducing substrate treatment defects and improving treatment efficiency by effectively removing byproducts from the substrate treating apparatus, thereby enhancing the yield and reducing the time required for maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature of the treatment space is formed to 100 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius
Implementation Method 2
purge gas may be supplied to the treatment space
Implementation Method 3
generating plasma by generating microwaves
Implementation Method 4
plasma refers to an ionized gas state composed of ions, electrons, radicals, and the like
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of treating a substrate by using a substrate treating apparatus generating plasma in a treatment space by applying microwaves, the method including: a plasma treatment operation of treating a substrate with the plasma; a replacement operation in which the plasma treatment operation is performed a preset number of times and a component included in the substrate treating apparatus is replaced; and a backup operation of backing up the substrate treating apparatus after the replacement operation, in which the backup operation includes a bake purge operation for removing byproducts present in the component.