Epitaxial Growth Gas Supply Control Module
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional epitaxial growth apparatuses fail to provide uniform gas distribution across large-area substrates, resulting in non-uniform epitaxial layer thickness, particularly between the center and edge regions, with growth speeds below the desired 10 μm per minute.
Innovation Solution
The epitaxial growth apparatus incorporates a gas supply control module with an injector featuring center, edge, and middle ports, a flow distribution unit with mass flow controllers, and a baffle with through holes of varying shapes to ensure symmetric and uniform gas flow distribution across the substrate, optimizing gas flow speeds and concentrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a conventional gas supply system is used, then the system structure is simple, but the gas distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas supply system is segmented into multiple independent components: a source module, a flow distribution unit with multiple branch lines, and an injector with multiple ports (center port, edge ports, middle ports). Each component can be independently designed and optimized. The flow distribution unit includes multiple branch lines (first, second, third branch lines) that separately supply gas to different regions, enabling precise control over gas distribution uniformity while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate receive gas with different flow rates and characteristics tailored to their specific requirements. The center port supplies gas to the central region, edge ports supply gas to edge regions, and middle ports supply gas to intermediate regions. The flow distribution unit includes separate branch lines (first branch line for center region, second branch line for edge regions, third branch line for middle regions) that can independently control gas flow parameters for each local area, achieving optimal gas distribution uniformity across the entire substrate.
2Productivity
If gas is supplied to achieve high growth speed, then the epitaxial growth speed improves, but the epitaxial layer thickness uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas supply system is divided into multiple independent branch lines (first, second, third branch lines) that separately control gas flow to different regions of the substrate. Each branch line can independently adjust gas flow rate and distribution to optimize both growth speed and thickness uniformity. The injector is segmented into multiple ports (center port, edge ports, middle ports) that correspond to different substrate regions, allowing localized optimization of growth parameters to achieve high growth speed (10 μm or more per minute) while maintaining epitaxial layer thickness uniformity of 1% or less.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts gas flow parameters (flow rate, distribution pattern) for different regions based on their specific requirements. The flow distribution unit includes mass flow controllers that can independently control gas flow rates for each branch line. The injector ports are designed with different configurations (center port with larger opening, edge ports with smaller openings) to create appropriate gas flow patterns. These parameter changes enable the system to achieve high epitaxial growth speed while maintaining uniform thickness across the entire substrate.
3Productivity
If gas flow rate is increased to improve growth speed, then the epitaxial growth speed improves, but the gas distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas supply system is segmented into multiple independent branch lines (first, second, third branch lines) that separately control gas flow to different regions. Each branch line can independently adjust its gas flow rate to match the specific requirements of its corresponding substrate region. The injector is segmented into multiple ports (center port, edge ports, middle ports) with different opening sizes and configurations that create appropriate gas flow patterns for each region. This segmentation enables the system to increase overall gas flow rate for high growth speed while maintaining gas distribution uniformity through localized flow control.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the substrate receive customized gas flow characteristics tailored to their specific requirements for achieving high growth speed with uniform thickness. The center region receives gas through the center port with a larger opening, edge regions receive gas through edge ports with smaller openings, and middle regions receive gas through middle ports. The flow distribution unit includes separate branch lines for each region that can independently control gas flow rates. This local quality approach enables the system to achieve high epitaxial growth speed (10 μm or more per minute) while maintaining gas distribution uniformity of 1% or less across the entire substrate.
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 achieves uniform gas distribution and rapid epitaxial growth across the entire substrate, maintaining a growth speed of 100 to 250 cm/sec, ensuring a uniform epitaxial layer thickness of 1% or less on substrates of 6 inches or more.
Implementation Method 1
a mass flow controller connected to each of the ports
Implementation Method 2
a baffle including through holes through which the gas input through the ports passes
Implementation Method 3
epitaxial growth indicates stacking a new layer by using a single crystal growth method while maintaining a lattice direction with respect to a seed wafer
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are an epitaxial growth apparatus and a gas supply control module used therefor, the epitaxial growth apparatus including: a reaction chamber; a susceptor positioned in the reaction chamber and configured to seat a wafer thereon; and a gas supply control module configured to control a flow of a gas flowing into the reaction chamber, wherein the gas supply control module includes an injector including a center port corresponding to a central region of the wafer, a pair of edge ports corresponding to both edge regions of the wafer, and a pair of middle ports respectively disposed between the center port and the pair of edge ports, and a flow distribution unit configured to independently distribute the gas flow input from a source module to the ports.