Shower Head Exhaust Layout for Uniform Substrate Gas Processing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses face challenges in achieving uniform processing and high exhaust performance due to non-uniform gas flow patterns caused by varying distances from discharge holes to exhaust ports, leading to inconsistencies in substrate processing.
Innovation Solution
A shower head design with a main body portion, exhaust hole forming regions, diffusion space, and exhaust paths that ensure uniform gas distribution and efficient exhaust, featuring a configuration with staggered exhaust hole forming regions and separate exhaust paths for each region, enhancing gas flow uniformity and throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a conventional shower head with single exhaust port is used, then the structure is simple, but the processing uniformity across substrate surface deteriorates due to varying gas flow lengths
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust function is segmented into multiple exhaust ports (first exhaust port and second exhaust port) positioned at different locations on the shower head. This segmentation allows gas to be exhausted from multiple points simultaneously, equalizing the flow path lengths from different discharge holes to exhaust ports and thereby improving processing uniformity across the substrate surface.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the shower head are equipped with exhaust ports positioned according to their specific gas flow characteristics. The first exhaust port handles gas flow from one region while the second exhaust port handles another region, optimizing the exhaust efficiency and flow uniformity for each local area rather than using a single centralized exhaust port.
2Manufacturing precision
If discharge holes are arranged to cover entire substrate surface, then processing coverage is improved, but exhaust performance deteriorates due to insufficient exhaust capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust system is segmented into multiple exhaust ports distributed across the shower head surface. Each exhaust port serves a specific region with discharge holes, creating localized exhaust zones that maintain high exhaust capacity while ensuring comprehensive substrate coverage. This segmentation prevents gas accumulation and maintains efficient exhaust performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The exhaust ports are arranged in multiple dimensions and orientations on the shower head surface rather than relying on a single exhaust point. This multi-dimensional arrangement of exhaust ports working in parallel significantly increases the total exhaust capacity while maintaining uniform gas distribution across the entire substrate surface.
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 design achieves uniform processing and high exhaust performance, ensuring consistent gas distribution and rapid gas removal, thereby improving substrate processing uniformity and throughput.
Implementation Method 1
a diffusion space disposed to be shared by the plurality of discharge holes, where the gas supplied to the main body portion is diffused to be supplied to each of the plurality of discharge ports
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a shower head disposed in a processing container where a substrate is accommodated and configured to discharge a gas to the substrate in a shower pattern, comprising: a main body portion having a facing surface facing a stage disposed in the processing container to place the substrate thereon; a covering section that covers a surface formed on an opposite side of the facing surface of the main body portion, and forms, between the surface and the covering section, an exhaust space that is exhausted by an exhaust mechanism; a plurality of exhaust hole forming regions disposed on the facing surface apart from each other and each having a plurality of exhaust holes; a plurality of discharge holes disposed for each of the exhaust hole forming regions on the facing surface to surround each of the plurality of exhaust hole forming regions and configured to discharge the gas; a diffusion space disposed to be shared by the plurality of discharge holes, where the gas supplied to the main body portion is diffused to be supplied to each of the plurality of discharge holes; and an exhaust path disposed in the main body portion to be connected to the exhaust holes and opened to the exhaust space in order to exhaust the gas discharged from the discharge holes into the exhaust space.