Substrate Heating Exhaust Flow Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate heating devices face challenges in independently controlling exhaust flow rates across multiple processing vessels connected to a common exhaust duct, leading to inconsistent film thickness uniformity and reduced sublimate removal efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A substrate heating device with multiple heating modules, each having a processing vessel, a gas inlet port, and an exhaust port, connected through individual and common exhaust paths with a branch path and an exhaust flow rate adjusting mechanism to control the flow rate ratio, allowing for precise adjustment of exhaust flow rates in each module.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the exhaust flow rate in one processing vessel is changed, then the ability to remove sublimate from that vessel is improved, but the exhaust flow rate in another processing vessel sharing the exhaust duct is also changed, reducing its sublimate removal ability and deteriorating film thickness uniformity
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust system is segmented into multiple independent exhaust paths, each connected to a separate processing vessel. Each exhaust path is equipped with its own damper that can be independently adjusted, allowing the exhaust flow rate of one vessel to be changed without affecting the exhaust flow rates of other vessels sharing the common exhaust duct.
2Device complexity
If multiple processing vessels are connected to a common exhaust duct, then device complexity is reduced, but independent control of exhaust flow rates in each vessel becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The exhaust system is divided into multiple independent exhaust paths branching from the common exhaust duct, with each path equipped with its own damper for independent control.
Solution Approach 2:
Each exhaust path is equipped with an adjustable damper that can dynamically control the exhaust flow rate of its corresponding processing vessel. This allows the exhaust flow rates of multiple vessels to be independently adjusted and optimized according to their specific processing requirements.
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 enables accurate control of exhaust flow rates in each heating module, maintaining film thickness uniformity and preventing sublimate contamination, while minimizing variations in exhaust flow rates across modules.
Implementation Method 1
a process of heating a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a 'wafer') as a substrate having a chemical solution coated on the surface thereof by a heating device
Implementation Method 2
In order to remove a sublimate generated from the chemical solution, the heating process is often performed by mounting the wafer on a heating plate installed within a processing vessel and exhausting the interior of the processing vessel
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate heating device includes: heating modules each having a processing vessel within which a heating plate is disposed, an gas inlet port for introducing a purge gas into a processing atmosphere, and an exhaust port for exhausting the processing atmosphere; individual exhaust paths each connected to the exhaust port of the heating modules; a common exhaust path connected to downstream ends of the individual exhaust paths of the heating modules; a branch path branched from the individual exhaust paths and opened to the outside of the processing vessel; and an exhaust flow rate adjusting unit configured to adjust a flow rate ratio of an exhaust flow rate of a gas exhausted from the exhaust port into the common exhaust path and an introduction flow rate of a gas introduced from the outside of the processing vessel into the common exhaust path through the branch path.