Substrate Table Cooling via Heat Absorption Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method of gradually cooling a substrate table using a gas cooling method is time-consuming, leading to increased downtime and reduced working efficiency in film deposition processes for semiconductor manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a substrate processing system that transfers a substrate between a heated substrate table and a cooler substrate table to absorb heat, reducing the temperature of the heated table, potentially using a second substrate table with a cooling mechanism or a load-lock chamber for enhanced cooling, and utilizing a substrate as a heat medium to simplify equipment and reduce temperature lowering time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If gas cooling method is used to lower substrate table temperature, then substrate table temperature is reduced, but time required for cooling increases
Solution Approach 1:
A substrate is introduced as an intermediary heat transfer medium between the heated substrate table and the cooling environment. The substrate absorbs heat from the substrate table during heating processes and transports it away, significantly accelerating the cooling rate compared to direct gas cooling methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate serves dual purposes: it is both the object being processed and the cooling medium. By utilizing the substrate itself to carry away heat from the substrate table, the system achieves self-service cooling without requiring additional active cooling mechanisms on the substrate table.
2Temperature
If gas cooling method is used to lower substrate table temperature, then substrate table temperature is reduced, but apparatus downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate acts as a heat transfer intermediary that enables rapid temperature reduction of the substrate table. This accelerated cooling process directly reduces apparatus downtime between processing cycles, thereby improving overall productivity and working rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thermal parameters of the system by introducing a substrate with specific thermal properties that facilitate rapid heat transfer. This parameter change enables the substrate table to transition from slow gas cooling to fast substrate-mediated cooling, reducing downtime and improving productivity.
3Temperature
If substrate is repeatedly transferred between substrate tables, then heat is effectively removed from first substrate table, but transfer time is added
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate transfer process is designed to be continuous and integrated with the heating process. The substrate that has just completed heating is immediately used for cooling, eliminating idle time and ensuring continuous useful action. The transfer time is minimized by coordinating it with the heating cycle timing.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate transfer operates on a periodic cycle where substrates are alternately heated and used for cooling. This periodic action creates a rhythmic heat transfer pattern that efficiently removes heat from the substrate table while maintaining continuous production flow, making the transfer time a small fraction of the total cycle time.
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 effectively reduces the time required to lower the substrate table temperature, minimizing downtime and improving working efficiency while avoiding damage to the substrate table, and can be applied to existing equipment without additional cooling mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
a heat of the first substrate table is absorbed by the substrate placed on the first substrate table
Implementation Method 2
a substrate placed on the second substrate is cooled by a cooling mechanism provided with the second substrate table
Data Source
AI summary
A method of lowering a temperature of a substrate table uses a substrate W processing system including a first substrate table 2b; one or more processing chambers 1b, in each of which the first substrate table 2b is disposed, the processing chamber being configured to perform a predetermined process, with the substrate being placed on the first substrate table 2b; a substrate transfer apparatus 31 configured to transfer the substrate to the processing chamber 1b; a transfer chamber in which the substrate transfer apparatus 31 is disposed; and a second substrate table configured to cool the substrate. The method of lowering a temperature of a substrate table comprises the steps of first transfer in which the substrate W placed on the first substrate table 2b is transferred to the second substrate table by the substrate transfer apparatus 31, and second transfer in which the substrate placed on the second substrate table is transferred to the first substrate table 2b. By repeating the step of first transfer and the step of second transfer, a heat of the first substrate table 2b is absorbed by the substrate W placed on the first substrate table 2b, so that a temperature of the first substrate table 2b is lowered.