Vertical Inner Liner for Substrate Treating Gas Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current plasma-based substrate treating systems face inefficiencies due to gas loss, uneven gas distribution, and accumulation of by-products between the supporting plate and side rings, which can lead to process failures.
Innovation Solution
A plasma-based substrate treating system with a chamber, supporting unit, gas supplying unit, plasma source, and liner unit, where the liner unit includes an inner liner that moves vertically to optimize gas supply and by-product removal, featuring an auxiliary nozzle and penetration holes to reduce gas loss and by-product accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If process gas is supplied through side nozzles to etch edge region of substrate, then edge region etching is improved, but process gas is discharged through exhaust port causing great loss of supplied process gas
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the exhaust port from the process chamber entirely. By eliminating the exhaust port that caused process gas discharge, the system prevents gas loss while maintaining edge region etching through alternative gas supply paths along the chamber walls and substrate periphery.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces wall nozzles as intermediary structures that supply process gas along the chamber walls. These nozzles act as mediators to deliver gas to the edge region of the substrate without requiring a traditional exhaust port, thereby preventing gas loss while achieving uniform edge etching.
2Reliability
If by-products are removed from space between supporting plate and side ring, then process reliability is improved, but additional cleaning mechanisms increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The wall nozzles serve multiple functions: they supply process gas for etching along the chamber walls and simultaneously provide gas flow paths that enable by-product removal from the space between the supporting plate and side ring. This multi-functionality improves reliability without adding separate cleaning mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The process gas supply system itself performs the cleaning function. The gas flowing through the wall nozzles and along the chamber periphery automatically removes by-products from critical areas, eliminating the need for separate cleaning mechanisms and reducing device complexity.
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 system enhances process efficiency by minimizing gas loss, ensuring uniform gas distribution, and effectively removing by-products, thereby improving the overall substrate treating process.
Implementation Method 1
Gas is ionized under high temperature environment, strong electric field, or a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic field to form plasma including ions, electrons, and radicals
Implementation Method 2
plasma is generated by supplying a process gas into a process chamber and then applying RF power to the process chamber to excite the process gas
Implementation Method 3
the process gas supplied through the center nozzle is mainly used to etch a center region of a substrate, whereas the process gas supplied through the side nozzle is mainly used to etch an edge region of the substrate
Implementation Method 4
a substrate or a layer formed on the substrate is etched through physical collision or chemical reaction with ionic particles contained plasma
Implementation Method 5
a substrate or a layer formed on the substrate is etched through physical collision or chemical reaction with ionic particles contained plasma
Data Source
AI summary
Substrate treating systems are disclosed. The system may include a chamber with a processing space, a supporting unit provided in the processing space to support a substrate, a gas supplying unit provided in the processing space to supply gas into the processing space, a plasma source unit generating plasma from the gas, and a liner unit disposed to enclose the supporting unit. The supporting unit may include a supporting plate supporting a substrate. The liner unit may include an inner liner enclosing the supporting plate and an actuator vertically moving the inner liner.