Substrate Bake Plate Gas Layer for Uniform Heating of Warped Wafers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate heat treatment apparatuses fail to ensure uniform heating of substrates due to warpage, leading to temperature gradients and quality issues in semiconductor device manufacturing, and are prone to contamination from organic solvents.
Innovation Solution
A substrate heat treatment apparatus featuring a bake plate with gas passages, support components, a baffle plate, and a driving device that supplies hot gas between the substrate and the bake plate, forming an isothermal layer and exhausting organic solvents, ensuring even heating and preventing solvent flowback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the substrate is placed directly on the bake plate to heat, then the heating process is simple, but the substrate is heated unevenly due to warpage causing temperature gradient
Solution Approach 1:
A layer of hot gas is introduced as an intermediary between the substrate and the bake plate. This gas layer acts as a thermal mediator that conforms to the substrate's warpage, ensuring uniform heat transfer across the entire substrate surface regardless of its topography, thereby resolving the temperature uniformity issue while maintaining process simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses pneumatic principles by supplying hot gas through nozzles to create a pressurized gas layer beneath the substrate. This pneumatic cushion compensates for substrate warpage and ensures consistent thermal contact across the substrate surface, achieving uniform heating without complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms
2Productivity
If the substrate is heated directly on the bake plate, then the heating efficiency is high, but organic solvent flows back and dirties the bake plate requiring frequent cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The hot gas layer serves as a protective intermediary barrier between the substrate and the bake plate. This gas cushion prevents direct contact between organic solvents evaporating from the substrate and the bake plate surface, eliminating contamination while maintaining efficient heat transfer through the gas medium
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the direct mechanical contact heating system with a gas-phase heating system. By substituting solid-to-solid thermal contact with gas-to-solid convection and conduction, the system achieves both efficient heating and automatic prevention of solvent contamination, eliminating the need for frequent cleaning operations
3Adaptability or versatility
If the substrate has warpage, then the substrate may still be processed, but the distance from different points to the bake plate varies causing non-uniform heating
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts to substrate warpage by allowing the substrate to float on the hot gas layer. The gas pressure and flow are dynamically adjusted to maintain uniform thermal contact across the substrate surface, compensating for topographical variations and ensuring consistent temperature distribution throughout the heating process
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thermal transfer parameter from direct solid contact to gas-phase convection and conduction. By controlling gas temperature, pressure, and flow rate, the system achieves uniform heat distribution across substrates with varying topographies, transforming the heating mechanism to accommodate substrate warpage effectively
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 achieves uniform heating of substrates regardless of warpage and reduces solvent contamination, maintaining high-quality semiconductor device production by creating a consistent heat conduction layer and continuous gas flow.
Implementation Method 1
a hot gas is supplied to the space between the substrate and the top surface of the bake plate through the gas passage of the bake plate
Implementation Method 2
form the isothermal layer between the substrate and the top surface of the bake plate
Implementation Method 3
the hot gas flows out through the gap formed between the inner circumferential wall of the baffle plate and the substrate
Implementation Method 4
A driving device drives the plurality of support components to move up or down
Implementation Method 5
the mixed gas of the hot gas and organic solvent is exhausted continuously
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a substrate heat treatment apparatus for heat treating a substrate, including a bake plate, support components, a baffle plate, and a driving device. The bake plate defines at least one gas passage. The support components support the substrate. The baffle plate is fixed on a top surface of the bake plate. The baffle plate surrounds the substrate and a gap is formed between an inner circumferential wall of the baffle plate and the substrate. A driving device drives the plurality of support components to move up or down. When heat treating the substrate, a hot gas is supplied to the space between the substrate and the top surface of the bake plate through the gas passage of the bake plate, and the hot gas flows out through the gap formed between the inner circumferential wall of the baffle plate and the substrate.