3D-Printed RF Gas Breaks for Impedance and Flow Consistency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional RF gas breaks in semiconductor processing systems face challenges in impedance matching and gas flow consistency due to manufacturing variability, limiting precision and control over etch rates in plasma processing chambers.
Innovation Solution
The use of additive manufacturing techniques to fabricate RF gas breaks with complex gas flow geometries and internal structures provides improved impedance matching and design flexibility, reducing variability and enhancing control over gas conductance and etch rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional manufacturing techniques are used to fabricate RF gas breaks, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but manufacturing precision and gas flow consistency deteriorate due to variability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing method from conventional techniques (machining, molding) to additive manufacturing, fundamentally altering the production parameter to achieve complex internal geometries and consistent gas flow paths that were previously impossible to manufacture with high precision
Solution Approach 2:
Additive manufacturing enables the creation of three-dimensional complex internal structures and optimized gas flow paths within the RF gas break that cannot be achieved with traditional two-dimensional machining or molding approaches, allowing precise control over gas conductance
2Manufacturing precision
If RF gas breaks are manufactured with complex gas flow geometries, then gas conductance control is improved, but manufacturing capability requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing parameter is changed from conventional methods to additive manufacturing, which can directly fabricate complex three-dimensional gas flow geometries and internal structures without the limitations of traditional machining or molding capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the ability of additive manufacturing to create controlled porous or lattice structures within the RF gas break, enabling optimized gas flow paths and conductance control through three-dimensional infill patterns that were impossible with conventional manufacturing
3Manufacturing precision
If additive manufacturing is used to fabricate RF gas breaks, then manufacturing precision and design flexibility are improved, but manufacturing cost may increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the manufacturing approach to additive manufacturing, which provides superior precision for impedance matching and gas flow characteristics, enabling consistent performance across multiple components despite potentially higher per-unit manufacturing costs
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
Additive manufacturing of RF gas breaks results in consistent gas flow characteristics across multiple components, improving etch rate control and precision in semiconductor processing, reducing material usage while maintaining structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
The RF gas break is configured to provide a mixing of different component process gases and to provide an electromagnetic barrier that isolates a grounded input gas line from an electrically charged gas delivery nozzle
Implementation Method 2
a plasma source configured to direct RF energy into the chamber
Implementation Method 3
an etching gas mixture flows through a gas delivery nozzle to form a plasma in a processing region of the chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatus including designs embodied in machine-readable media for a gas break used in semiconductor processing systems. The apparatus includes a gas break structure comprising an insulating material and having one or more gas flow paths formed within a body of the gas break structure, the gas break structure configured to provide a specified impedance when coupled between a grounded gas distribution manifold and an electrically charged gas delivery nozzle, the gas break structure further comprising an internal structure having a specified geometry comprising a repeating structure and one or more empty gaps between elements of the repeating structure. The gas break can be formed using additive manufacturing.