Elastic Wave Element Wireless Temperature Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heating apparatuses for semiconductor wafers face challenges in precise temperature control due to non-contact thermocouple measurements, which can be inaccurate and prone to metal contamination, especially when dealing with high temperatures and film deposits, and cannot adapt to wafer rotation or loading.
Innovation Solution
A heating apparatus using elastic wave elements, such as langasite or LTGA, that transmit and receive electric waves for wireless, real-time temperature measurement, allowing for precise control without metal contamination, and enabling accurate temperature control during temperature changes and in the presence of inner vessel films.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a thermo-couple is provided in or outside the processing vessel for temperature measurement, then temperature control can be performed, but measurement precision deteriorates due to deposits on the inner wall and fluctuation of processing conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical contact-based thermo-couple measurement system with a non-contact microwave measurement system. The microwave system transmits electromagnetic waves through the processing vessel wall to measure wafer temperature directly, eliminating the need for physical contact sensors that are affected by deposits and environmental fluctuations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses microwave electromagnetic waves as an intermediary to transmit temperature measurement information from the wafer through the processing vessel wall without physical contact. This intermediary approach allows temperature measurement while avoiding direct contact with the measurement environment that causes contamination and fluctuations.
2Measurement precision
If a wired thermo-couple is provided to the wafer for direct temperature measurement, then measurement precision improves, but adaptability deteriorates due to inability to adapt to wafer rotation and loading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical wired thermo-couple system with a wireless microwave measurement system. The microwave system can measure temperature through the vessel wall without physical attachment to the wafer, allowing the wafer to rotate and be loaded/unloaded freely while maintaining continuous temperature monitoring capability.
3Reliability
If a thermo-couple is used for temperature measurement, then temperature control can be achieved, but metal contamination occurs due to the wired structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the metal-based wired thermo-couple system with a non-contact microwave electromagnetic measurement system. This eliminates metal components that would otherwise come into contact with the wafer and processing environment, thereby preventing metal contamination while maintaining temperature control capability.
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 solution provides higher precision temperature control, allowing for accurate measurement and control of wafer temperatures during heating and cooling processes, even under high-temperature conditions and with film deposits on the vessel walls, ensuring uniformity and efficiency in semiconductor processing.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic wave element, such as a langasite substrate element or LTGA (Lanthanum Tantalic acid Gallium Aluminum), so as to obtain a temperature, based on an electric wave transmitted from the elastic wave element
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a heating apparatus for heating objects to be processed, which can detect a temperature of the objects to be processed with higher precision and accuracy, thereby to achieve higher precision temperature control. A heating apparatus 2 includes a processing vessel 8 configured to contain therein a plurality of objects W to be processed, the objects W including objects 58a to 58e to be processed for temperature measurement, each object 58a to 58e having each corresponding elastic wave element 60a to 60e, a heating means 10 adapted for heating the objects W to be processed, and a holding means 22 adapted to hold the objects W to be processed. To the processing vessel 8, a transmitter antenna 52 adapted to transmit an electric wave for measurement toward each elastic wave element 60a to 60e, and a receiver antenna 52 adapted to receive an electric wave having a frequency corresponding to the temperature and generated from each elastic wave element 60a to 60e are provided. A temperature analyzer 66 adapted to obtain the temperature of the wafers W to be processed for temperature measurement is connected with the receiver antenna 52, and a temperature control unit 64 adapted to control the heating means 10 is in turn connected with the temperature analyzer 66.