CVD Coating Device Variable Gap Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for depositing crystalline layers on substrates in process chambers face challenges in adapting the surface temperature of compensation plates to match the process requirements, particularly in ensuring uniform temperature distribution and preventing overheating near substrate holders.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a variable horizontal gap between the carrier and compensation plates, achieved through the use of spacers and pins, allows for independent control of surface temperature by varying the gap height, which affects heat transfer and temperature distribution, and includes features like inclined compensation plates and arcuate cut-outs to manage thermal expansion and gas compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed horizontal gap is used between carrier plate and compensation plate, then the structure is simple, but the surface temperature of the compensation plate cannot be adapted to process requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal gap between the carrier plate and compensation plate is made variable instead of fixed. Spacers with different thicknesses can be inserted at different positions to adjust the gap height, allowing the surface temperature of the compensation plate to be adapted to different process requirements while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap height can be locally different at different positions between the carrier plate and compensation plate. By using multiple spacers with different thicknesses at specific locations, the patent achieves local variation in gap height to influence the local surface temperature distribution, allowing independent control of temperature in different regions.
2Temperature
If the gap height is increased to reduce heat transfer, then the surface temperature decreases, but the thermal expansion compensation becomes less effective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameter of gap height to control heat transfer. By adjusting the gap height through different spacer thicknesses, the thermal conductivity between the carrier plate and compensation plate is modified, allowing precise control of surface temperature while maintaining sufficient thermal expansion compensation through the flexible gap configuration.
3Manufacturing precision
If uniform gap height is used across the compensation plate, then the manufacturing is simple, but the temperature distribution cannot be independently controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The compensation plate area is segmented into different regions with different gap heights. Multiple spacers with varying thicknesses are positioned at different locations to create locally different gap heights, enabling independent control of temperature distribution in different regions while maintaining manufacturability through modular spacer placement.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the compensation plate are given different gap heights to achieve independent temperature control. By placing spacers with specific thicknesses at predetermined positions, the patent creates local variations in gap height that correspond to different thermal requirements of various process regions.
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 configuration enables precise temperature control, preventing overheating near substrate holders and allowing for a temperature profile that rises from the inside outward, reducing stress on components and enabling easy adaptation to changing process conditions.
Implementation Method 1
Since the heat transfer is dependent on the gap height, the regions of the compensation plate with which the greatest gap height is associated are supplied the least effectively with heat.
Implementation Method 2
This makes it possible to compensate for different thermal expansion of the compensation plate and the carrier plate.
Implementation Method 3
A number of process gases are introduced into the process chamber through a gas inlet member disposed at the center of the ceiling in the process chamber. There, the process gases are broken down pyrolytically.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for depositing especially crystalline layers on one or more, especially crystalline substrates in a process chamber by means of reaction gases that are introduced into the process chamber and that undergo especially pyrolitic reactions. The device comprises a support plate, heated from one side, on which at least one compensation plate rests while forming a horizontal gap. In order to be better able to influence the surface temperature, the gap height of the horizontal gap can be varied or is locally variable in order to influence the local surface temperature of the compensation plate.