Heater Block Lamp Arrangement for Substrate Temperature Uniformity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rapid thermal process apparatuses face challenges in maintaining uniform temperature across substrates, leading to issues like substrate warpage, dislocation, and thin film defects due to non-uniform heat distribution.
Innovation Solution
A heater block with heating lamps arranged in different patterns across regions, featuring a honeycomb arrangement in the central region and concentric, tessellated, or linear arrangements in the peripheral regions, allowing for precise temperature control and uniform heat delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If tungsten halogen lamps are arranged uniformly across the heater block surface, then the heating coverage is maximized, but temperature uniformity across the substrate deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heater block surface is divided into multiple regions (central region and peripheral regions) with different lamp arrangement patterns. The central region uses a honeycomb arrangement while peripheral regions use concentric or linear arrangements, allowing each region to be optimized for its specific heating requirements and achieving overall temperature uniformity across the substrate
Solution Approach 2:
The heater block surface is segmented into multiple regions with different lamp arrangement patterns. This segmentation allows independent optimization of heating characteristics in different areas, preventing the temperature non-uniformity that would result from a single uniform arrangement pattern across the entire surface
2Measurement precision
If heating lamps are densely arranged in the central region, then central substrate temperature control is improved, but the complexity of lamp arrangement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central region employs a honeycomb arrangement pattern that provides dense, uniform coverage specifically where precise temperature control is most critical for substrate processing, while peripheral regions use simpler arrangements, thus optimizing temperature control precision without uniformly increasing complexity across the entire heater block
3Temperature
If multiple lamp arrangement patterns are used in different regions, then temperature uniformity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different arrangement patterns (honeycomb in central region, concentric or linear in peripheral regions) are applied to different regions based on their specific heating requirements. This localized optimization achieves superior temperature uniformity across the entire substrate while keeping the overall system manageable through region-based simplification
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 uniform heat treatment, reducing temperature variations and achieving high economic feasibility, making it suitable for instant thermal processes like spike annealing.
Implementation Method 1
A rapid thermal apparatus transfers heat to a substrate using radiant light from a tungsten halogen lamp
Implementation Method 2
a quartz window to maintain a sealing between the processing chamber and a heating housing and to pass through heat energy reflected by the heating housing to transfer it to the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a heater block and a substrate treatment apparatus, and more particularly to a heater block to perform heat treatment on a substrate and a substrate treatment apparatus having the same. According to embodiments of the present invention, it is provided a heater block for a substrate treatment apparatus having heating lamps on its one side to transfer heat to a target subjected to heat treatment, the heating lamps having different arrangement patterns in a plurality of regions on said one side.