Supercritical Fluid Baffle Structure for Pattern-Safe Substrate Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing substrate processing apparatuses using supercritical fluids for drying substrates often result in pattern collapse and defects due to insufficient fluid density and high-speed fluid collisions with the substrate.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a chamber design that includes a baffle member with baffle plates having holes, which reduces the speed of the supercritical fluid and equalizes the differential pressure between the center and edge of the substrate, preventing fluid film rupture and pattern collapse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a high-pressure supercritical fluid is supplied at high speed from a small-diameter supply port, then the drying efficiency is improved, but the fluid density is insufficient and pattern collapse occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The supply port is divided into multiple small holes in the baffle plate, distributing the fluid flow across multiple pathways. This segmentation allows the fluid to be supplied at high efficiency while maintaining sufficient density through distributed flow paths, preventing pattern collapse caused by concentrated high-speed impact.
Solution Approach 2:
A baffle plate is introduced as an intermediary component between the supply port and the substrate. The baffle plate with multiple holes mediates the fluid flow, converting the direct high-speed jet into distributed flow that maintains both drying efficiency and fluid density, thereby preventing pattern collapse.
2Speed
If the fluid speed is increased to improve drying speed, then productivity is improved, but the differential pressure between center and edge increases causing pattern collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The single high-speed flow path is segmented into multiple flow paths through the holes in the baffle plate. This reduces the speed of individual fluid jets while maintaining overall drying speed, and equalizes the differential pressure between center and edge regions, preventing pattern collapse.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle plate creates different flow characteristics at different locations. The multiple holes distribute fluid to various regions with appropriate local flow rates, ensuring that no single region experiences excessive pressure differential that would cause pattern collapse, while maintaining overall high drying speed.
3Productivity
If a small-diameter supply port is used to concentrate fluid flow, then the fluid impact force is increased improving drying efficiency, but the fluid density is insufficient leading to defects
Solution Approach 1:
The single small-diameter supply port is replaced by multiple holes in the baffle plate. This segmentation maintains the concentrated flow benefit for drying efficiency while distributing the total flow to maintain sufficient fluid density, preventing defects caused by insufficient density.
Solution Approach 2:
The baffle plate acts as an intermediary that transforms the flow from a single concentrated stream into multiple distributed streams. This maintains the high-velocity impact needed for drying efficiency while ensuring sufficient fluid density through the distributed flow paths, preventing defects.
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 apparatus efficiently dries substrates without leaving particles, reducing the risk of pattern collapse and improving substrate processing performance by uniformly distributing the supercritical fluid across the substrate.
Implementation Method 1
the baffle member may reduce a speed of the supercritical fluid supplied to an upper surface of the substrate through an upper supply port
Implementation Method 2
a drying process using a supercritical fluid may be performed to dry a substrate including a developer coated thereon
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a chamber including an upper chamber and a lower chamber coupled to each other to provide a space for processing a substrate, a substrate support configured to support the substrate within the chamber, an upper supply port provided in the upper chamber and configured to supply a supercritical fluid on an upper surface of the substrate within the chamber, a recess provided in a lower surface of the upper chamber, the recess including a horizontal extension portion extending in a direction parallel with the upper surface of the substrate in a radial direction from an outlet of the upper supply port and an inclined extension portion extending obliquely at an angle from the horizontal extension portion, and a baffle member disposed within the recess between the upper supply port and the substrate.