Cooling Substrate for Rapid Vessel Cooling

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing substrate processing apparatuses face challenges in rapidly cooling the process vessel, leading to prolonged cooling times and reduced substrate production efficiency.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a controller that manages a cooling process by placing a cooling substrate with a shorter outer peripheral length on a substrate placement table, allowing for efficient cooling of the process vessel and synchronization with the cleaning process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If the substrate placement table temperature is high, then the process substrate can be processed at high temperature, but it takes a long time to cool the inner portion of the process vessel

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocess substrate temperatureVSAvoidcooling time

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

A cooling substrate is introduced as an intermediary element between the substrate placement table and the process vessel inner portion. The cooling substrate absorbs heat from the process vessel walls through thermal contact, acting as a heat sink that accelerates the cooling process without requiring the substrate placement table itself to be cooled first.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling function is extracted from the substrate placement table system and implemented as a separate cooling substrate. This allows the substrate placement table to maintain high temperature for processing while the cooling substrate independently performs the cooling function on the process vessel inner portion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Temperature

If the cooling time is prolonged, then the process vessel can be adequately cooled, but substrate production efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocess vessel temperatureVSAvoidsubstrate production efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling substrate serves as a dedicated intermediary cooling element that contacts the process vessel inner portion directly. This mediator enables rapid heat extraction from the process vessel without affecting the substrate placement table temperature, thereby reducing cooling time and improving substrate production efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The cooling substrate is prepared in advance and positioned to contact the process vessel inner portion immediately after processing. This preliminary preparation of the cooling mechanism ensures that cooling can begin without delay, minimizing the impact on substrate production efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Speed

If a cooling substrate with shorter outer peripheral length is used, then cooling efficiency is improved, but the cooling substrate area is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecooling speedVSAvoidcooling substrate area

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSArea of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The cooling substrate is designed with a smaller, optimized area that is specifically positioned to contact the inner portion of the process vessel where cooling is most needed. Rather than distributing cooling over a large area, the cooling substrate concentrates cooling action on the critical inner portion, achieving efficient cooling with a compact design.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 enables rapid cooling of the process vessel, thereby improving substrate production efficiency by shortening the time required for cooling and allowing for prompt initiation of the cleaning process.

Implementation Method 1

a cooling process of cooling an inner portion of the process vessel is performed with a cooling substrate placed on the substrate placement table

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentUS20250171895A1Substrate Processing Apparatus, Cleaning Method, Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device and Non-transitory Computer-readable Recording Medium

Publication Date: 2025.05.29 KOKUSAI DENKI KK

AI summary

There is provided a technique that includes: a process vessel in which a process substrate is capable of being processed; a substrate placement table on which the process substrate is placed; and a controller capable of controlling a cooling process and a cleaning process such that the cooling process of cooling an inner portion of the process vessel is performed with a cooling substrate placed on the substrate placement table when an inner temperature of the process vessel after processing the process substrate is higher than a temperature for the cleaning process of cleaning the inner portion of the process vessel, wherein an outer peripheral length of the cooling substrate is set to be shorter than that of the process substrate, and such that the cleaning process is performed when the inner temperature of the process vessel reaches a temperature at which the cleaning process is possible.