Electrostatic Chuck Gas Passage Structure Without Adhesive Fixing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The occurrence of abnormal discharge in the gas passage of electrostatic chucks during plasma processes is exacerbated by increased high-frequency electric power, leading to process degradation and particle generation due to the use of resin adhesives to secure insulating porous bodies, which can be released and impede gas flow.
Innovation Solution
A holding device with a plate-shaped member featuring insulating properties and integrated porous bodies in gas passages, where the porous bodies have wide portions projecting into the passages, preventing displacement without the need for resin adhesives by integrating with the plate-shaped member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resin adhesive is used to fix the porous body to the gas passage wall surface, then the porous body can be held in position, but the adhesive is damaged by plasma and generates particles that degrade process quality
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful resin adhesive is completely removed from the system. Instead of using adhesive to fix the porous body, the invention extracts the adhesive function by designing a mechanical retention structure where the porous body is held by the geometric configuration of the gas passage (narrower at the opening, wider internally), eliminating the source of particle contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas passage structure itself acts as an intermediary mechanism between the porous body and the external environment. The tapered geometry of the gas passage serves as a mechanical intermediary that retains the porous body without requiring chemical adhesion, thereby preventing particle generation while maintaining positioning reliability.
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 solution effectively reduces abnormal discharge and maintains gas flow by securely holding porous bodies within the gas passage, preventing particle generation and adhesive damage, thus enhancing process quality.
Implementation Method 1
A porous body that has insulating properties is disposed in at least one of the first gas passage or the second gas passage
Implementation Method 2
The gas passage allows thermally conductive gas, such as helium gas, to flow from the cooling base member to the surface on which the wafer is placed. The thermally conductive gas facilitates temperature control of the surface holding the wafer.
Data Source
AI summary
A plate-shaped member of a holding device has a first surface having a gas outlet, and a second surface having a gas inlet and positioned opposite to the first surface. The plate-shaped member includes a plane-parallel gas passage extending parallel to the first surface and including a connection hole, and a gas inflow/outflow passage connected to the connection hole and providing communication between the gas outlet or the gas inlet and the plane-parallel gas passage. A porous body is disposed in the gas inflow/outflow passage and projects into the plane-parallel gas passage from the connection hole. The porous body includes a wide portion disposed in the plane-parallel gas passage. A dimension of the wide portion on a cross section taken along a plane orthogonal to the first surface is greater than a hole width of the connection hole.