Wafer Placement Table Layout for Uniform Cooling and Soaking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wafer placement tables experience uneven cooling, leading to parts of the wafer directly above refrigerant flow channels cooling excessively, which affects soaking performance.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating horizontal spaces or gas intermediate passages parallel to the wafer placement surface, overlapping refrigerant flow channels, and optimizing the configuration of gas supply and introduction passages to enhance heat dissipation and prevent electrical discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If refrigerant flow channel is provided to cool the wafer placement table, then cooling effect is improved, but uneven temperature distribution occurs causing excessive cooling of parts directly above the refrigerant flow channel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces horizontal spaces at different positions and sizes to create local variations in thermal insulation. Specifically, a first horizontal space is provided above a first region of the refrigerant flow channel, and a second horizontal space is provided above a second region, with the second horizontal space having a different size than the first. This creates locally differentiated thermal characteristics that compensate for the non-uniform cooling effect, maintaining consistent wafer temperature across the surface.
2Stability of the object's composition
If horizontal spaces are added to prevent excessive cooling, then temperature uniformity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the horizontal spaces directly into the wafer placement table structure, merging the thermal management function with the existing table architecture. The horizontal spaces are formed as cavities within the table body rather than as separate components, thereby achieving temperature uniformity without proportionally increasing 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
Improves wafer soaking performance by maintaining consistent temperature distribution and preventing electrical discharge, thereby enhancing processing efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Since the horizontal space is a cavity, a part where the horizontal space is formed transfers less heat than a part where the horizontal space is not formed
Implementation Method 2
a cooling plate having a refrigerant flow channel is provided on a bottom surface side of a ceramic plate
Data Source
AI summary
In a wafer placement table, a cooling plate having a refrigerant flow channel is provided on a bottom surface side of a ceramic plate incorporating an electrode. A gas intermediate passage that is a horizontal space is provided parallel to a wafer placement surface at a location closer to the wafer placement surface than the refrigerant flow channel in the wafer placement table and has an overlapping part that overlaps the refrigerant flow channel along the refrigerant flow channel in plan view.