Multi-Side Cooling Plates for High-Temperature Process Chambers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional process chambers for semiconductor manufacturing experience elevated temperatures, leading to reduced efficiency and safety hazards due to high chamber body temperatures, particularly when processing substrates at high temperatures.
Innovation Solution
The integration of multiple cooling plates on different sides of the chamber body, each with coolant channels, to maintain the chamber body temperature below 100 degrees Celsius, enhancing thermal management and component efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If substrate processing is performed at high temperatures (>700°C), then material deposition quality is improved, but chamber body temperature becomes too high to touch and pump efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber body is segmented into multiple zones with independent cooling plates attached to different sides (front, rear, top, bottom). Each cooling plate can be controlled independently to manage temperature distribution, allowing the processing zone to maintain high temperature while the chamber body remains cool through distributed thermal management segments
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling plates serve as intermediary thermal management components between the high-temperature processing environment and the chamber body. These plates conduct heat away from critical chamber regions through coolant channels, acting as thermal mediators that protect the chamber structure while allowing process temperatures to reach >700°C
2Use of energy by moving object
If chamber body temperature is maintained at high levels for processing, then substrate heating efficiency is improved, but pump efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Thermal management is applied locally to specific chamber regions rather than uniformly throughout. Cooling plates are strategically positioned on sides where heat accumulation would most adversely affect pump performance, while allowing the substrate processing zone to maintain high temperatures for efficient heating and deposition
Solution Approach 2:
Cooling plates are positioned and configured to preemptively remove heat from chamber regions before excessive temperature buildup can occur. By actively cooling the chamber body structure in advance, the system prevents temperature rise that would degrade pump efficiency, while maintaining substrate heating efficiency during processing
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 plates effectively regulate chamber body temperature, improving safety and maintaining component performance by reducing heat-related issues, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the process chamber.
Implementation Method 1
a first cooling plate coupled to the view port side and having one or more first coolant channels; a second cooling plate coupled to the pump side and having one or more second coolant channels; and a third cooling plate coupled to the shutter side and having one or more third coolant channels
Implementation Method 2
one or more first coolant channels; one or more second coolant channels; and one or more third coolant channels
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of process chambers having cooling plate are provided herein. In some embodiments, a process chamber includes: a chamber body defining an interior volume therein, the chamber body having a view port side having an opening configured as a view port, a pump side having a pump port, and a shutter side opposite the view port side, wherein the port view side, the pump side, and the shutter side are all different sides of the chamber body; a first cooling plate coupled to the view port side and having one or more first coolant channels; a second cooling plate coupled to the pump side and having one or more second coolant channels; and a third cooling plate coupled to the shutter side and having one or more third coolant channels.