Substrate Supporting Table Partitioned Cooling Flow Path
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Solution Overview
Problem
In semiconductor manufacturing, maintaining a substrate's temperature during plasma processing below 90 degrees Celsius is challenging due to heating by radiant plasma heat and heat conduction from the substrate supporting table, especially when the heating operation is stopped.
Innovation Solution
A substrate supporting table with a flow path for a coolant is designed, where the heating operation is stopped, and the coolant is supplied to facilitate heat dissipation, using a partition to control the heat exchange time and enhance cooling efficiency, with a gap formed between the partition and the bottom of the flow path to prevent coolant stagnation and ensure uniform cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a partition is disposed in the flow path to control heat exchange time and enhance cooling efficiency, then the cooling efficiency is improved, but the flux of the coolant is disturbed and cooling efficiency is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The partition divides the flow path into multiple segments, creating a multi-stage cooling process. The coolant flows through each segment sequentially, allowing controlled heat exchange at each stage while maintaining overall coolant movement through the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap between the partition and the bottom portion of the flow path creates a three-dimensional flow path. This additional spatial dimension allows the coolant to flow underneath the partition, preventing complete flow blockage while still providing heat exchange surface area through the partition structure.
2Temperature
If the heating operation is stopped to prevent substrate temperature rise, then temperature control is improved, but the substrate temperature cannot be maintained at desired level
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling operation continues continuously throughout the plasma processing period. By establishing a continuous cooling flow path with the partition structure, the system maintains constant temperature control without interruption, allowing the heating operation to be stopped while ensuring the substrate temperature remains within the desired range.
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 effectively minimizes the substrate's temperature rise during plasma processing, maintaining temperature control and enhancing cooling efficiency and uniformity, even when using liquid coolant, which can otherwise be disturbed by partitions, thereby improving the overall plasma processing uniformity.
Implementation Method 1
heat conduction from the substrate supporting table
Implementation Method 2
the cooling medium can be simultaneously supplied to the flow path
Implementation Method 3
the staying time (heat exchange time) of the medium in the flow path can be controlled
Data Source
AI summary
The substrate supporting table includes a supporting plate that supports a substrate, a peripheral wall that encompasses a flow path of a coolant under the supporting plate and has an upper end enclosed by the supporting plate, a lower cover that encloses a bottom portion of the flow path and encloses a lower end of the peripheral wall. The substrate supporting table further includes a coolant supplying component that supplies a coolant through an upstream input of the flow path, a discharging component that discharges the coolant through a downstream output of the flow path, and a partition disposed between a supplying hole of the coolant supplying component and a discharging hole of the discharging component. A gap is formed between the partition and the bottom portion of the flow path.