Substrate Support Cooling With Water Trap Vacuum Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate processing methods face challenges in maintaining consistent vacuum levels due to temperature distribution and water molecule presence in the process chamber, leading to continuous pumping needs.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves an apparatus with a substrate support featuring a heat sink and a water trap panel with a pumping ring, where a chiller supplies a cooling fluid through a serial or parallel configuration to both the heat sink and the pumping ring, effectively cooling the substrate support and condensing water vapor to maintain chamber pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a secondary cooling fluid (e.g., cryogenic water trap) is used from one side of a process chamber, then cooling effect is improved, but temperature distribution becomes large and vacuum levels are impacted
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple cooling zones with independent temperature control. The process chamber is divided into sections, each equipped with its own cooling fluid circulation path, allowing localized temperature management to prevent large temperature distributions while maintaining effective cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the process chamber are provided with different cooling characteristics. The cooling fluid temperature, flow rate, and circulation path are optimized for each specific zone based on its thermal requirements, enabling precise temperature control in each area rather than uniform cooling throughout.
2Reliability
If water molecules are pumped continuously to maintain vacuum levels, then vacuum levels are maintained, but process complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is designed to condense water vapor molecules on cooled surfaces within the process chamber, converting the harmful water vapor into beneficial condensed water that can be easily removed. This reduces the water vapor load on the vacuum pumping system, allowing for simpler pumping configurations and reduced continuous pumping requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling surfaces induce phase transition of water vapor from gas phase to liquid phase through condensation. This phase change removes water molecules from the vacuum environment effectively, reducing the burden on pumping systems and enabling simpler vacuum maintenance strategies.
3Device complexity
If cooling fluid lines connect heat sink and pumping ring via serial configuration, then system complexity is reduced, but cooling efficiency may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling fluid line configuration is made dynamic and adaptable. The system can switch between serial and parallel connections based on process requirements, allowing optimization of cooling efficiency for different operating conditions while maintaining manageable system complexity through a single reconfigurable cooling circuit design.
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 approach provides efficient low-temperature heat sinking, symmetric water pumping in ultra-high vacuum environments, and integrates multiple substrate processing functions, such as material heating, vacuum water pumping, and cooling fluid sealing, into a single unit.
Implementation Method 1
a heat sink configured to cool the substrate support during operation
Implementation Method 2
a pumping ring configured to cool the water trap panel such that the water trap panel condenses water vapor molecules
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for processing a substrate are provided herein. For example, an apparatus for processing a substrate comprises a process chamber configured to process a substrate, a substrate support comprising a heat sink configured to cool the substrate support during operation and a water trap panel comprising a pumping ring configured to cool the water trap panel such that the water trap panel condenses water vapor molecules and drops a process chamber pressure during operation, and a chiller operably coupled to the substrate support and configured to supply a cooling fluid to the substrate support via a cooling fluid line that connects to the heat sink and the pumping ring via a serial configuration or a parallel configuration.