Substrate Heat Treatment Oxygen Control for Film Phase Separation
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate treating methods face challenges in achieving appropriate film deposition due to inadequate phase separation of polymers during heat treatment, which is influenced by the treatment atmosphere in the heat treating space, leading to issues with film properties and throughput.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating method and apparatus that control the oxygen concentration in the heat treating space by a lowering process, including gas exhaustion and inert gas supply, to create a suitable treatment atmosphere for heat treatment, ensuring appropriate film deposition while avoiding excessive oxygen reduction that would reduce throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the oxygen concentration is lowered completely in the heat treating space, then the phase separation of polymers is improved and film deposition is enhanced, but the treatment time is extended and throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the oxygen concentration parameter dynamically during the heat treatment process. Instead of maintaining a constantly low oxygen concentration, the system adjusts the oxygen concentration at different stages: initially lowering it to enable proper phase separation, then increasing it before substrate removal to maintain atmospheric stability. This temporal parameter variation resolves the contradiction by achieving the desired phase separation quality without requiring excessively long treatment times.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention implements periodic changes in the oxygen concentration during heat treatment. The oxygen concentration is periodically adjusted between low and high levels based on the treatment stage. This periodic action allows the system to benefit from low oxygen conditions (improving phase separation) while limiting the duration of these conditions (maintaining throughput), thus resolving the technical contradiction.
2Productivity
If the oxygen concentration is maintained at high levels in the heat treating space, then the throughput is maintained, but the phase separation of polymers is inadequate and film deposition is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the oxygen concentration parameter from high to low during the heat treatment process. This parameter change enables the system to maintain high throughput by limiting the duration of low oxygen exposure while still achieving adequate phase separation during the critical treatment window.
3Manufacturing precision
If the oxygen concentration is lowered uniformly across all treatment conditions, then the film deposition is improved, but the treatment time is extended for all processes
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic control of oxygen concentration based on the specific treatment condition and stage. Rather than uniform oxygen reduction for all treatments, the system adaptively adjusts oxygen levels according to the required treatment outcome and current process state. This dynamic approach achieves high-quality film deposition without uniformly extending treatment times for all processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies periodic oxygen concentration adjustments tailored to different treatment conditions. For treatments requiring high-quality film deposition, low oxygen periods are incorporated; for treatments less sensitive to oxygen, the oxygen concentration remains higher. This selective periodic action resolves the contradiction by avoiding unnecessary time extensions for all processes.
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 controlled oxygen concentration in the heat treating space enables stable and effective film deposition, improving the phase separation of polymers and maintaining throughput by adjusting the oxygen level according to specific recipes, thus overcoming the limitations of conventional methods.
Implementation Method 1
an oxygen concentration lowering step of lowering an oxygen concentration in the heat treating space in accordance with the set lowering process
Implementation Method 2
The oxygen concentration lowering step includes an exhausting step of exhausting gases within the heat treating space, and an inert gas supplying step of supplying an inert gas into the heat treating space
Implementation Method 3
a heat treatment of heating the treated film on the substrate is performed in a heat treating space of a heat treating chamber, whereby (phase) separation of two types of polymers in the treated film is performed
Implementation Method 4
performing a heat treatment to a substrate having a treated film formed thereon within a heat treating space of a heat treatment chamber
Implementation Method 5
in heat treatment processes other than the DSA process, oxidation caused by oxygen adversely affects a property of film deposition
Data Source
AI summary
An oxygen concentration is lowered in accordance with a set lowering process, and thereafter a heat treatment is performed. Accordingly, the heat treatment is performed to a substrate W while the oxygen concentration in a heat treating space HS is lowered. Consequently, a treatment atmosphere within the heat treating space is able to be made suitable for a heat treatment process, leading to appropriate film deposition. In addition, the oxygen concentration is lowered in accordance with a concentration level in recipes. This avoids an excessively lowered oxygen concentration, leading to prevention of reduced throughput.