Cooled Heat Transfer Gas for Uniform Substrate Chuck Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing methods face inefficiencies in cooling the placing stand and substrate, leading to prolonged recovery times and reduced throughput due to the use of room temperature heat transfer gas, which both cools and heats the substrate, disrupting temperature uniformity.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a cooling part outside the processing chamber that lowers the temperature of the heat transfer gas to an extremely low temperature, improving cooling efficiency by using a heat exchanger and pressure regulating valve, and supplying the cooled gas between the substrate and placing stand.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If room temperature heat transfer gas is supplied between the substrate and placing stand, then the substrate can be cooled through heat transfer, but the substrate temperature uniformity deteriorates because the gas both cools and heats the substrate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by cooling the heat transfer gas to a temperature lower than both the substrate temperature and placing stand temperature (e.g., cooling to liquid nitrogen temperature or lower). This temperature parameter change ensures the gas only absorbs heat from the substrate without being heated by the placing stand, thereby maintaining substrate temperature uniformity while improving cooling efficiency.
2Temperature
If the placing stand is cooled using a freezing device, then the substrate can be cooled, but the recovery time increases due to inefficient heat transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses cooled heat transfer gas as an intermediary medium between the placing stand and the cooling system. The gas is cooled externally, then supplied to the gap between the substrate and placing stand to facilitate efficient heat transfer. This intermediary approach accelerates the cooling process and reduces recovery time compared to direct contact cooling methods.
3Productivity
If continuous substrate processing is performed, then productivity increases, but temperature control becomes difficult leading to reduced processing quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-cooling the heat transfer gas to a low temperature before substrate processing begins. This pre-cooling ensures that when continuous processing occurs, the substrate is consistently cooled to the required temperature uniformity from the start, maintaining processing quality across multiple substrates without requiring intermediate temperature adjustments.
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 cooling efficiency between the substrate and placing stand is enhanced, reducing recovery time and maintaining temperature uniformity, thereby improving throughput and substrate processing quality.
Implementation Method 1
A substrate processing apparatus with a cooling part outside the processing chamber that lowers the temperature of the heat transfer gas to an extremely low temperature, improving cooling efficiency by using a heat exchanger and pressure regulating valve
Implementation Method 2
supplying the cooled heat transfer gas between the substrate and placing stand
Implementation Method 3
The cooling efficiency between the substrate and placing stand is enhanced
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a substrate processing method for a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate processing apparatus comprises: a processing chamber; a placing stand provided inside the processing chamber, configured to place a substrate on a placing surface, and having a gas path; a freezing device having a contact surface to be in contact with or separated from a surface to be contacted of the placing stand and configured to cool the placing stand; a gas supply pipe connected to the gas path and configured to introduce a heat transfer gas; and a cooling part provided outside the processing chamber and connected to the gas supply pipe. The substrate processing method comprises: (a) cooling the heat transfer gas by the cooling part; and (b) supplying the cooled heat transfer gas between the placing surface and a back surface of the substrate from the gas path through the gas supply pipe.