Heating Stage with Gradient Thermal Plate for Wafer Warping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor manufacturing processes involving elevated wafer temperatures often result in severe bowing or warping of wafers, leading to damage during techniques like CVD, PVD, and RTP, necessitating improved wafer holding apparatuses for even temperature distribution without damage.
Innovation Solution
A heating stage apparatus with a thermal-conductive pedestal and plate configuration, including a central and edge portion with a gradually decreasing height, and pins for uniform heat distribution, supports wafers to prevent bowing and warping, ensuring even temperature across the wafer substrate during processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If elevated wafer temperatures are used for semiconductor processing, then desired processes such as CVD, PVD, and dry etching can be performed, but severe bowing or warping occurs leading to wafer damage
Solution Approach 1:
The heating stage employs a non-planar surface with varying heights (first height at center, second height at periphery) to create localized thermal zones. This gradient structure enables different regions of the wafer to experience optimized temperature distributions, preventing uniform overheating that causes bowing while still achieving the necessary processing temperatures for CVD, PVD, and dry etching processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the heating stage surface from a uniform planar structure to a non-planar structure with controlled height variations. This parameter modification alters the thermal field distribution, enabling temperature gradients that suppress wafer bowing while maintaining process-required temperatures, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving high temperature processing and preventing wafer deformation.
2Manufacturing precision
If uniform heat distribution is achieved across the wafer, then bowing and warping are suppressed, but complex heating stage structures with varying heights are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a two-dimensional planar heating surface to a three-dimensional non-planar surface with controlled height variations. By introducing the vertical dimension (height variation from center to periphery), the system achieves uniform thermal field distribution and suppresses wafer bowing without requiring complex external control mechanisms, thus balancing manufacturing precision improvement with acceptable device complexity.
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 suppresses bowing and warping effects, ensuring uniform heat distribution and preventing damage to wafers during semiconductor manufacturing processes, allowing for consistent and reliable processing outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
a thermal-conductive plate located on the pedestal
Data Source
AI summary
A heating stage includes a pedestal and a thermal-conductive plate. The thermal-conductive plate is located on the pedestal. The thermal-conductive plate has a central portion and an edge portion surrounding the central portion, and the edge portion comprises a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion, where the first portion is sandwiched between the central portion and the second portion. A height of the second portion gradually decreases along a direction from the central portion toward the edge portion.