Gas Injector Cooling Conduit for Semiconductor Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gas injectors in semiconductor processing apparatuses face issues with deposition inside the injector, leading to particle contamination, cracking, and reduced maintenance cycles, which decrease process throughput.
Innovation Solution
A gas injector design with a cooling fluid conduit to cool the injector tube, reducing film deposition on inner walls, thereby extending the injector's lifespan, reducing particle formation, and minimizing the need for cleaning or etching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If the gas injector is used without cooling, then the structure is simple, but film deposition occurs on inner walls leading to cracking and reduced lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The gas injector is divided into functional segments: an injector tube for gas delivery and a separate cooling fluid conduit for thermal management. This segmentation allows the cooling system to be added without fundamentally redesigning the gas delivery mechanism, thereby extending lifetime while controlling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A cooling fluid conduit is introduced as an intermediary element between the injector tube and the external cooling system. This conduit serves as a mediator that removes heat from the injector tube, preventing film deposition and cracking without requiring direct modification of the gas injection process.
2Productivity
If the gas injector operates at high temperature, then gas delivery efficiency is maintained, but film deposition on inner walls increases causing particle contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The temperature parameter of the injector tube is actively controlled by introducing cooling fluid through the conduit. This parameter change maintains the tube temperature within an optimal range that prevents film deposition and particle formation while preserving gas delivery efficiency for continuous processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fluid conduit enables continuous cooling of the injector tube during operation. This continuous thermal management prevents the accumulation of deposited film that would otherwise lead to particle contamination, ensuring sustained productivity without interruption for cleaning.
3Reliability
If the injector tube is not cooled, then the device complexity is low, but cracking and breakage occur due to film deposition
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into a separate conduit structure that wraps around or integrates with the injector tube. This segmentation isolates the cooling function from the gas delivery function, allowing the cooling system to be added or modified without affecting the core injection mechanism, thus improving reliability with minimal complexity increase.
Solution Approach 2:
The injector assembly becomes a composite structure combining the injector tube material with the cooling conduit material. This composite design allows each material to be optimized for its specific function (gas delivery vs. thermal management) while working together to prevent cracking and improve overall reliability.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If frequent replacement of gas injector is performed, then particle contamination is controlled, but process throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The previously harmful high temperature operation that caused film deposition is converted into a beneficial controlled thermal environment through the cooling conduit. The cooling system transforms the thermal condition from a source of contamination to a means of preventing deposition, allowing continuous operation without frequent replacements and maintaining high throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fluid conduit enables continuous operation of the gas injector by preventing film deposition that would otherwise require shutdowns for cleaning or replacement. This continuous thermal management ensures uninterrupted gas delivery and maintains steady process throughput over extended periods.
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 cooling system prolongs the gas injector's maintenance cycle, enhances process performance, and reduces the risk of cracking and particle formation, improving process throughput and substrate layer uniformity.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling fluid conduit constructed to cool the injector tube
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2~3b
Figure 4a~4c
AI summary
A gas injector and a semiconductor processing apparatus comprising the gas injector is disclosed. Embodiments of the presently described gas injector comprise an injector tube to inject a process gas to a process chamber of the semiconductor processing apparatus. The gas injector further comprises a cooling fluid conduit constructed and arranged to cool the injector tube.