Substrate Waiting Chamber Inert Gas Handling for Oxidation Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In semiconductor device manufacturing, substrates experience waiting times between processes, exposing them to the outer atmosphere and leading to oxidation and particle adhesion, which reduces throughput and quality.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with decompressed transfer and waiting chambers that use inert gas to maintain a controlled environment, preventing oxidation and particle adhesion by supplying inert gas to substrates during standby periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If substrates are transferred between process chambers using conventional atmospheric transfer methods, then the transfer process is simple and fast, but the substrate surface is exposed to the outer atmosphere causing oxidation and particle adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The transfer chamber is maintained at a decompressed state with inert gas atmosphere to prevent oxidation and particle adhesion on substrate surfaces during transfer and waiting periods. This resolves the contradiction by creating a protective environment that eliminates harmful atmospheric exposure while managing the complexity through controlled gas pressure and composition.
Solution Approach 2:
The decompressed transfer chamber acts as an intermediary environment between process chambers, providing a controlled atmosphere that protects substrates during transitions. This mediator approach allows substrates to be transferred without direct atmospheric exposure while maintaining system connectivity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If substrates wait in atmospheric conditions between processes, then no additional waiting chamber infrastructure is needed, but substrate quality deteriorates due to oxidation and particle contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The waiting chamber is configured to maintain substrates in a decompressed inert gas environment, preventing surface oxidation and particle adhesion during standby periods. This approach protects substrate quality while the chamber design integrates with existing transfer infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Substrates are prepared and held in the decompressed waiting chamber before subsequent processing steps, ensuring their surfaces remain protected from atmospheric contamination. This preliminary protection prevents quality deterioration before substrates enter the next process stage.
3Productivity
If multiple substrates are processed sequentially through multiple process chambers, then each substrate receives dedicated processing, but throughput is reduced due to waiting times between processes
Solution Approach 1:
The decompressed transfer and waiting chambers enable continuous substrate handling by eliminating atmospheric exposure interruptions. Substrates can be transferred and held without quality degradation, allowing uninterrupted processing sequences and improving overall throughput while maintaining dedicated processing for each substrate.
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
Improves throughput by minimizing standby times and preventing surface oxidation and particle adhesion, ensuring higher substrate quality.
Implementation Method 1
an inert gas is supplied for every predetermined number of substrates among the plurality of substrates respectively supported by the plurality of supports
Implementation Method 2
a transfer chamber provided adjacent to the plurality of process chambers and maintained in a decompressed state; a waiting chamber capable of communicating with the transfer chamber in the decompressed state
Data Source
AI summary
According to the present disclosure, there is provided a technique capable of improving a throughput and suppressing an oxidation of a surface of a substrate and an adhesion of particles to the surface of the substrate. According to one aspect thereof, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a plurality of process chambers; a transfer chamber provided adjacent to the plurality of process chambers and maintained in a decompressed state; a waiting chamber capable of communicating with the transfer chamber in the decompressed state, provided with a plurality of supports capable of supporting a plurality of substrates after a process set for a first process chamber among the plurality of process chambers is completed, and configured such that an inert gas is supplied for every predetermined number of substrates among the plurality of substrates respectively supported by the plurality of supports.