Wafer Cooling Apparatus with Circumferential Gas Diffusion Grooves
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wafer cooling apparatuses face challenges in achieving uniform cooling, leading to nonuniform film thickness and pattern line width issues due to limitations in cooling water temperature control and the inefficiency of using cooling gases, which can result in increased costs and reduced throughput.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cooling apparatus with a mounting table featuring a coolant flow path, gas discharge ports, a gas suction port, and grooves to diffuse cooling gas uniformly around the substrate, allowing for precise temperature control and efficient cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If cooling water temperature is controlled to achieve uniform cooling, then cooling uniformity is improved, but cooling speed is limited by the cooling target temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent cooling circuits, each capable of controlling cooling water temperature separately. This allows different mounting tables to receive cooling water at different temperatures, enabling rapid cooling while maintaining uniformity through independent temperature control for each circuit.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions (mounting tables) are provided with locally optimized cooling water temperatures according to their specific cooling requirements. Each cooling circuit can be independently controlled to provide the appropriate cooling intensity for its designated mounting table, achieving both speed and uniformity.
2Productivity
If multiple chillers are provided to control cooling water temperature independently for each wafer cooling apparatus, then cooling speed and throughput are improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single chiller system is designed to serve multiple cooling circuits simultaneously, with each circuit independently controllable. The cooling water supply system is configured to distribute temperature-controlled water to multiple mounting tables, allowing one chiller to perform the function of multiple independent chillers through proper system design and control.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple cooling circuits are merged into a unified cooling system that shares common infrastructure (piping, control mechanisms) while maintaining independent temperature control capabilities for each circuit. This consolidation reduces the total number of chillers needed while preserving the ability to independently control cooling for each mounting table.
3Speed
If cooling gas is supplied to cool the substrate rapidly, then cooling speed is improved, but cooling uniformity deteriorates due to difficulty in controlling gas flow
Solution Approach 1:
Cooling gas is introduced as an intermediary cooling medium between the substrate and the mounting table surface. The gas flows in the space between them, providing rapid cooling through convection while the mounting table's cooling water system maintains uniform temperature distribution, combining the advantages of both gas and liquid cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes pneumatic cooling by supplying cooling gas through the mounting table to the space between the substrate and table surface. This pneumatic approach enables rapid heat removal while the hydraulic cooling water system underneath maintains temperature uniformity, leveraging the complementary strengths of gas and liquid cooling mechanisms.
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 enables high uniformity in substrate cooling, improving cooling speed and throughput by effectively diffusing cooling gas in a circumferential direction, thereby maintaining consistent film thickness and pattern line width.
Implementation Method 1
circulation paths through which cooling water temperature-controlled by a common chiller flows are provided in mounting tables, and the cooling water cools the mounting table surfaces
Implementation Method 2
cooling of the wafer by supplying a cooling gas to a space between the mounting table and the rear surface of the wafer mounted there on
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate cooling apparatus is configured to include: a mounting table including a mounting surface for mounting a substrate thereon; a projection provided on the mounting surface for supporting a rear surface of the substrate; a coolant flow path through which a coolant flows, provided in the mounting table for cooling the mounting surface; a plurality of gas discharge ports provided in a circumferential direction at a peripheral edge portion of the mounting surface for discharging a cooling gas for cooling the substrate; a gas suction port provided at a center portion of the mounting surface for sucking the cooling gas; and a groove provided in the mounting surface for diffusing the cooling gas in a circumferential direction of the substrate. The substrate cooling apparatus configured as described above can cool the substrate mounted on the mounting surface with high uniformity.