Wafer Placement Table with Tapered Cooling Channel
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing wafer placement tables have a uniform distance from the refrigerant flow channel's ceiling surface to the wafer, leading to uneven cooling, where wafers are easily cooled near the inlet but harder to cool near the outlet, resulting in insufficient soaking performance.
Innovation Solution
The wafer placement table design features a refrigerant flow channel with a varying distance from the ceiling surface to the wafer placement surface, being shorter at the downstream part than the upstream part, allowing refrigerant to dissipate heat more efficiently and reducing thermal resistance, thereby enhancing soaking performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the distance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface is uniform, then the structure is simple, but the soaking performance is insufficient due to uneven cooling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the distance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface non-uniform. Specifically, the distance is set to be shorter at the downstream part and longer at the upstream part of the refrigerant flow channel. This local variation in geometric parameters enables differentiated heat transfer characteristics across different regions, allowing the downstream area to receive enhanced cooling despite the refrigerant being warmer there, thereby improving overall soaking performance.
2Reliability
If the distance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface is shorter at the downstream part, then the soaking performance increases, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs parameter changes by systematically varying the distance parameter between the refrigerant flow channel ceiling surface and the wafer placement surface along the flow direction. The distance is designed to change from a first value at the upstream part to a second value at the downstream part, where the second value is shorter than the first. This controlled parameter variation optimizes heat transfer efficiency while maintaining manufacturability through defined geometric relationships.
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 configuration increases the soaking performance of wafers by reducing temperature differences across the wafer placement surface, ensuring consistent and efficient heat dissipation, while also minimizing the risk of cracks and stress-related issues due to the use of a metal matrix composite material and metal bonding layer.
Implementation Method 1
refrigerant flows from the most upstream part of the refrigerant flow channel toward the most downstream part while dissipating heat from a high-temperature wafer
Implementation Method 2
refrigerant flows from the most upstream part of the refrigerant flow channel toward the most downstream part while dissipating heat from a high-temperature wafer
Implementation Method 3
since the distance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface at the most downstream part of the refrigerant flow channel is shorter than the distance at the most upstream part of the refrigerant flow channel, thermal resistance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface at the most downstream part is lower than thermal resistance from the ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface at the most upstream part
Data Source
AI summary
A wafer placement table includes a ceramic base having a wafer placement surface on its top surface where a wafer is able to be placed and incorporating an electrode, a cooling base having a refrigerant flow channel, and a bonding layer that bonds the ceramic base with the cooling base, wherein in an area that overlaps the wafer placement surface in plan view of the refrigerant flow channel, a distance from a ceiling surface of the refrigerant flow channel to the wafer placement surface at a most downstream part of the refrigerant flow channel is shorter than the distance at a most upstream part of the refrigerant flow channel.