Solid Material Preprocessing for Semiconductor Deposition
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Solution Overview
Problem
The semiconductor industry faces challenges in refining solid precursor materials due to laborious and contaminant-prone transfer processes after sublimation or recrystallization, which complicates the supply of high-purity materials for semiconductor layer deposition.
Innovation Solution
A preprocessing method that heats solid materials within a container to a temperature below their melting point, removing impurities without phase changes, using a smaller heating mechanism and carrier gas to facilitate impurity removal and sintering, maintaining the solid material in a stable crystalline state for consistent semiconductor layer deposition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sublimation or recrystallization is used to refine solid precursor materials, then impurity removal is achieved, but the process becomes laborious and contamination-prone due to transfer to containers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the refinement process and the container filling process into a single integrated system. The solid material container serves as both the processing vessel and the storage container, eliminating the need for transfer operations. The preprocessing device heats the solid material directly in the container to remove impurities through sublimation, and the refined material remains in the same container for subsequent use in semiconductor layer deposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the harmful transfer step from the refinement process. By removing the intermediate transfer operation to separate containers, the system eliminates the source of contamination and operational complexity while maintaining the essential impurity removal function through direct heating in the original container.
2Manufacturing precision
If complex equipment like boilers and condensers is used for sublimation refinement, then impurity removal is effective, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complex boiler and condenser equipment from the refinement system. Instead, it uses a simple heating mechanism that directly heats the solid material in its container to a temperature below the melting point, allowing impurities to sublime and be removed through a discharge valve without requiring complex phase change equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical phase change system (boiler-condenser) with a thermal field-based approach. By using controlled heating to a specific temperature range below the melting point, the system achieves impurity removal through selective sublimation without the need for mechanical compression, condensation, or complex phase transition equipment.
3Manufacturing precision
If solid material is heated to or past boiling point for sublimation, then impurity removal is effective, but the solid material undergoes phase changes that complicate the process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent precisely controls the heating temperature parameter to be below the melting point of the solid material. This parameter optimization allows impurities to sublime while the main solid material maintains its crystalline structure, achieving purification without disrupting the stability of the desired solid material composition.
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 method enables efficient and contamination-free removal of impurities, providing a stable and uniform semiconductor layer deposition process by maintaining the solid material in a consistent crystalline state, reducing the need for complex equipment and minimizing transfer-related contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
a solid material which fills a solid material container is heated at a temperature lower than the melting point of the solid material, and at least part of the impurities contained in the solid material are removed
Implementation Method 2
using a smaller heating mechanism and carrier gas to facilitate impurity removal
Data Source
AI summary
A preprocessing method comprises a sintering step of heating a solid material container filled with a solid material using a temperature which is lower than either the melting point or sublimation of the solid material, whichever is lower, and crystallizing at least part of the solid material, and an impurity removal step of heating the solid material container filled with the solid material using a temperature which is lower than either the melting point or sublimation of the solid material, whichever is lower, and removing at least part of the impurities included in the solid material.