Porous Plug Gas Channel for Dielectric-Safe Wafer Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus members are prone to dielectric breakdown between the wafer and the cooling plate due to the gas flow path's length being insufficient to prevent such occurrences.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus member with a ceramic plate, a plug having a dense body and a gas flow channel that extends through the body in a thickness direction, where at least a portion of the gas flow channel is formed from a porous member with insulating properties and breathability, creating a longer substantial flow path to reduce dielectric breakdown.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the gas flow path is made long to prevent dielectric breakdown, then reliability improves, but the flow path becomes more complex and gas flow resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plug incorporates a porous body where the gas flow path extends through the porous structure in a winding manner. The porous material provides both mechanical support and a controlled flow path that increases length without adding external complexity. The interconnected pores allow gas to flow through a tortuous path, achieving the desired flow path length while maintaining a compact overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas flow path transitions from a simple linear channel to a three-dimensional winding path through the porous body. By utilizing the volumetric space within the plug and creating a path that winds through multiple dimensions rather than a straight line, the flow path length is substantially increased without proportionally increasing the external dimensions or visual complexity of the device.
2Reliability
If the gas flow path length is increased to prevent dielectric breakdown, then reliability improves, but gas flow resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The porous body provides a flow path with distributed void spaces that reduce flow resistance. The interconnected pore structure allows gas to flow through multiple parallel pathways rather than a single narrow channel, distributing the flow and reducing resistance. The porous structure maintains adequate cross-sectional area for gas flow while achieving increased path length through the winding configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The plug is formed as a composite structure combining solid matrix material with porous regions. This composite approach allows the solid portions to provide structural strength while the porous regions provide low-resistance flow paths. The combination of dense and porous materials enables the plug to simultaneously achieve structural integrity and optimized gas flow characteristics with reduced resistance despite the winding path.
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 structure effectively prevents dielectric breakdown by increasing the length of the gas flow path within the porous member, ensuring smooth gas flow and reducing the likelihood of electric discharges between the wafer and the cooling plate.
Implementation Method 1
at least a portion in length of the gas flow channel is formed from a porous member with insulating properties and breathability. In the porous portion, pores that are formed in the porous member and three-dimensionally continuous with each other form a gas flow path
Implementation Method 2
the length of a substantial flow path in the gas flow channel is longer than when the entire gas flow channel is hollow. Thus, the semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus member less easily causes an electric discharge (dielectric breakdown) between a wafer and a cooling plate via the gas flow path
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor-manufacturing apparatus member includes a ceramic plate having an upper surface serving as a wafer placement surface, a plug disposed in an undersurface of the ceramic plate and including a dense body and a gas flow channel that extends through the body in a thickness direction of the body while winding, a gas outlet port that extends through the ceramic plate in a thickness direction of the ceramic plate to be connected to an upper portion of the gas flow channel, and a metal cooling plate joined to the undersurface of the ceramic plate, and including a gas supply channel through which gas is supplied from a lower portion of the gas flow channel. In the plug, at least a portion in length of the gas flow channel is formed from a porous member.