Substrate Cooling Chamber Using Conduction and Radiative Heat Absorption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current substrate cooling methods, such as using a cooling plate, are not scalable for efficiently cooling multiple wafers simultaneously in substrate processing systems.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cooling apparatus with a load lock chamber that includes a chamber housing with specific port configurations and supports, where the supports are designed with curved inner portions and lips to enhance cooling by conductance, and the chamber uses bodies with high emissivity to absorb heat radiantly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling plate is used for cooling substrates, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but scalability for multiple wafers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The single cooling plate is segmented into multiple independent cooling elements (first cooling element, second cooling element, third cooling element, fourth cooling element), each capable of cooling a separate substrate simultaneously. This segmentation allows the system to maintain effective cooling performance while scaling to handle multiple wafers in parallel, thereby resolving the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and scalability.
2Productivity
If multiple substrates are cooled simultaneously, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The chamber housing serves multiple functions: it contains the vacuum environment, supports multiple cooling elements, provides structural framework for substrate positioning, and facilitates heat dissipation. By designing the chamber housing as a multi-functional component that integrates these diverse functions, the system achieves high productivity for multiple substrates without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling elements are nested within the chamber housing structure, with each cooling element positioned to cool a specific substrate location. The supports and cooling elements are arranged in a nested configuration that maximizes space utilization. This nesting approach allows multiple substrates to be cooled simultaneously while maintaining a compact chamber design, thus improving productivity without excessive complexity increase.
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 apparatus enables efficient cooling of multiple substrates simultaneously by combining conductive and radiative cooling methods, thereby improving throughput without increasing tool footprint or particle generation.
Implementation Method 1
a first body disposed just below the top wall; and a second body disposed just above the bottom wall, wherein the first body and the second body can absorb a heat emitted from a first substrate placed on the first support and a second substrate placed on the second support respectively
Implementation Method 2
a first support disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom wall
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for cooling substrates is presented. The apparatus comprising: a chamber housing; a first port disposed in the first wall configured to be sealable from a first environment; a second port disposed in the second wall configured to be sealable from a second environment; a first support disposed between the top and the bottom of the chamber housing; a second support disposed between the first support and the bottom of the chamber housing; a first body disposed just below the top wall; and a second body disposed just above the bottom wall, wherein an emissivity of the first body and an emissivity of the second body are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.