Rotatable Pump Liner for Uniform Gas Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing processing chambers face challenges in achieving uniform gas flow due to non-uniform pumping, which affects film deposition uniformity on wafers, particularly at fore line pumping port locations.
Innovation Solution
The use of rotatable ring-shaped pump liners with adjustable openings, where a fringe patterning ring can alter flow conductance by overlapping with pumping liner holes, allowing for in-situ optimization of pumping liner hole sizes without re-machining, to ensure uniform pressure and reduce pressure skewness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional fixed pump liners are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but flow uniformity and pumping efficiency deteriorate due to non-uniform pumping at fore line locations
Solution Approach 1:
The pump liner is divided into multiple modular sections with different opening sizes arranged in specific patterns. This segmentation allows each section to address local flow uniformity issues at different positions (e.g., fore line vs. back line), transforming a single complex component into optimized modular units that improve flow uniformity without requiring complete redesign of the entire pump liner system.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the pump liner are equipped with openings of different sizes tailored to local requirements. Fore line locations receive different opening configurations compared to back line locations, allowing each region to be optimized for its specific flow characteristics. This local quality approach improves overall flow uniformity while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
2Productivity
If pump liner holes are re-machined to optimize flow conductance, then pumping efficiency improves, but manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pump liner is designed with pre-configured opening patterns and sizes that are optimized during the initial manufacturing process. This preliminary action embeds the flow optimization directly into the liner structure, eliminating the need for subsequent re-machining operations to achieve flow conductance optimization, thereby saving manufacturing time while maintaining high pumping efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates variable opening sizes and patterns as fixed parameters during manufacturing. By establishing the optimal opening parameters upfront, the system achieves high pumping efficiency without requiring time-consuming adjustments or re-machining operations later, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity improvement and time loss.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform opening sizes are used in pump liner, then manufacturing is easier, but pressure uniformity deteriorates due to pressure skewness at different chamber locations
Solution Approach 1:
The pump liner employs non-uniform opening sizes distributed according to specific patterns that account for pressure skewness at different chamber locations. Fore line positions receive different opening configurations than back line positions, allowing each location to be compensated for its specific pressure characteristics. This approach achieves pressure uniformity across the chamber while maintaining reasonable manufacturing complexity through systematic design.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening size parameter is varied systematically across different locations in the pump liner to compensate for pressure skewness. By changing this critical parameter based on location-specific requirements, the design achieves pressure uniformity without requiring complex manufacturing processes, as the variations follow predictable patterns that can be manufactured using standard techniques.
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
This solution enhances pumping efficiency and uniformity, improving film deposition consistency across wafers by adjusting flow conductance as needed, even in high-pressure processes, without the need for expensive re-machining of pumping liners.
Implementation Method 1
Reduced pressure is applied to one side of the first ring-shaped body to draw gases through the at least partially overlapping first plurality of openings and second plurality of openings
Data Source
AI summary
Pumping liners for process chambers including a first ring-shaped body and a second ring-shaped body are described. The first ring-shaped body has a first plurality of openings and the second ring-shaped body has a second plurality of openings. The first ring-shaped body and the second ring-shaped body are rotatable relative to each other around a central axis to at least partially overlap the first plurality of openings and the second plurality of openings to change the area of conductance through the openings. Methods of removing gases from a processing chamber are also described.