Load Lock Substrate Retention With Heat Shields and Rapid Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reactor systems for substrate processing face challenges with surface oxidation and thermal crosstalk, leading to unwanted process variations and prolonged cooling times, which increase costs and risk contamination.
Innovation Solution
A substrate retaining apparatus with a baseplate, sidewalls, and heat shields, incorporating cooling fluid and gas conduits to rapidly cool substrates, minimize thermal crosstalk, and reduce oxidation, featuring pads and a load lock assembly with moving mechanisms and seals to maintain vacuum conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If substrates are retained in a load lock at elevated temperatures, then substrate processing can be maintained, but surface oxidation occurs and thermal crosstalk between substrates increases
Solution Approach 1:
Heat shields are introduced as intermediary elements positioned between substrates in the load lock. These heat shields act as thermal barriers that prevent direct thermal radiation between substrates, thereby reducing thermal crosstalk and associated surface oxidation while allowing substrates to remain at processing temperatures
Solution Approach 2:
The load lock is maintained in a vacuum or inert atmosphere environment to prevent oxidation of substrate surfaces. By eliminating or replacing oxygen in the load lock chamber, substrates can be held at elevated temperatures without undergoing unwanted oxidative reactions
2Loss of time
If substrates are cooled rapidly in a load lock, then cooling time is reduced, but thermal crosstalk between substrates increases
Solution Approach 1:
Heat shields serve as thermal barriers between substrates during the cooling process. By placing these shields between substrates, the patent prevents direct thermal radiation exchange that would cause thermal crosstalk, while still allowing rapid cooling to occur through controlled heat removal
Solution Approach 2:
The load lock chamber is segmented by introducing heat shields that divide the space between substrates. This segmentation creates separate thermal zones that prevent thermal coupling between adjacent substrates, enabling independent temperature control and rapid cooling without thermal crosstalk
3Productivity
If multiple substrates are stored in a load lock, then substrate batch processing is enabled, but thermal crosstalk between substrates causes process variation
Solution Approach 1:
Heat shields are positioned between multiple substrates stored in the load lock to act as thermal barriers. This prevents thermal radiation from one substrate from affecting adjacent substrates, thereby eliminating thermal crosstalk and the associated process variations while maintaining batch processing capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The heat shields provide localized thermal isolation between specific substrate positions in the load lock. By creating local thermal barriers where needed, the system maintains uniform thermal conditions across all substrates in the batch, ensuring consistent processing results
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 apparatus effectively mitigates surface oxidation, reduces thermal crosstalk, and accelerates substrate cooling, thereby improving processing efficiency and reducing contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one sidewall can additionally or alternatively include a gas conduit
Implementation Method 2
The flow of the cooling fluid through a cooling fluid conduit can facilitate rapid cooling of the substrate(s)
Implementation Method 3
The heat shield can include an emissive coating proximate a bottom surface of a substrate and a reflective coating proximate a top surface of another substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate retaining apparatus, a load lock assembly comprising the substrate retaining apparatus, and a system including the substrate retaining apparatus are disclosed. The substrate retaining apparatus can include at least one sidewall and one or more heat shields. One or more of the at least one sidewall can include a cooling fluid conduit to facilitate cooling of substrates retained by the substrate retaining apparatus. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the at least one sidewall can include a gas conduit to provide gas to a surface of a retained substrate.