Patent EP0619381A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0619381A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Chemical vapor deposition chamber
Assignee: Applied Materials Inc
•
Filing: 1994-03-31
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2014-03-31
Abstract
Abstract Vacuum CVD chambers are disclosed which provide a more uniformly deposited thin film on a substrate (14). The chamber susceptor mount (210) for the substrate (14) is heated resistively with a single coil firmly contacting the metal of the susceptor on all sides, providing uniform temperatures across the susceptor mount (210) for a substrate (14). A purge gas line (222) is connected to openings in the susceptor outside of the periphery of the substrate (14) to prevent edge and backside contamination of the substrate (14). A vacuum feed line mounts the substrate to the susceptor (210) during processing. A refractory purge guide (226), or a plurality of placement pins, maintain a fixed gap passage for the purge gases to pass alongside the edge of the wafer (14) and into the processing area of the chamber. An exhaust pumping plate improves the uniformity of exhaustion of spent gases from the chamber.
Inventors
- 👤 Lawrence Chung-Lai Lei
- 👤 Ilya Perlov
- 👤 Karl Anthony Littau
- 👤 Alan Ferris Morrison
- 👤 Mei Chang
- 👤 Ashok K. Sinha
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:38
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/455; C23C16/45519; C23C16/4412; C23C16/45521; C23C16/458; C23C16/4582; C23C16/4583; C23C16/4585; C23C16/46; H; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/04; H10P72/0431; H10P72/0432; H10P72/50; H10P72/70; H10P72/76; H10P72/7604; H10P72/7606; H10P72/7608; H10P72/7611; H10P72/7614; H10P72/7624; H10P72/7626; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S438/00; Y10S438/935
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A chemical vapor deposition single substrate vacuum chamber comprising a source of precursor gas, a heated metal susceptor support (210) for a substrate (14) to be processed and a vacuum exhaust system for the chamber, characterized by a) a resistance coil (200) mounted in said susceptor (210) so that metal contacts the coil (200) on all sides; b) a vacuum feed line (216) through said susceptor (210) connected to a vacuum source separate from the chamber exhaust vacuum source for mounting the substrate (14) to said susceptor (210); c) a purge gas line (222) through said susceptor that is connected to a plurality of openings (224) beyond the edge of the substrate (14) mounted on said susceptor (210); and d) means (226; 260A - 260F) to provide a fixed gap passage for purge gas with said substrate (14).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
15 words
A chamber according to claim 1, wherein the heating coil (200) is a single coil.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A chamber according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating coil (200) can provide a temperature across the susceptor (210) of from about 250 to 650 °C.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
A chamber according to claim 3, wherein the heating coil (200) can provide a temperature across the susceptor plate (210) from its center to its edge that is constant within +/-2 °C.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
A chamber according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vacuum feed line (216) is connected to a source of inert gas and a source of reactive gas to control the vacuum and temperature uniformity across the susceptor (210).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
A chamber according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the susceptor (210) has a plurality of openings (218) connected to channels which are connected to a vacuum feed line (216) through said susceptor (210), said channels (220) and openings (218) being within the area occupied by the substrate (14) during processing.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A chamber according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein a refractory purge guide (226) supported on said susceptor (210) provides a fixed gap between the susceptor (210) and the substrate (14) to provide a purge gas passage.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
34 words
A chamber according to claim 7, wherein the susceptor (210) has a plurality of fine grooves (221) beyond the area of the purge gas openings (224) for supporting said purge guide (226) without sticking.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
48 words
A chamber according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein a set of placement pins (260A - 260F) on the susceptor (210) guide the substrate (14) to an optimal position on the susceptor (210), to fix a predetermined gap between the substrate (14) and the purge gas.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
58 words
A chamber according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an exhaust plate (244) in said exhaust system (240) having a plurality of small vertical passages (248) that connect to a channel (250) about the whole circumference of the back of said plate (244) so that exhaust gases are more uniformly withdrawn from about said substrate (14).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
33 words
A chamber according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the susceptor (210) has a face plate affixed thereto having openings that connect to the purge and vacuum lines in said susceptor (210).
Claim 12
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of depositing a thin film onto a substrate in a single substrate chemical vapor deposition chamber (300) which comprises: supporting said substrate (14) on a susceptor plate (210) heated to a temperature of from about 250 - 650 °C at a chamber pressure of from about 13,33 Pa (100 millitorr) to about 93325 Pa (700 Torr); affixing said substrate (14) by means of a vacuum connected to said plate (210); passing a purge gas from a plurality of openings (224) in said plate (210) outside of the edge of the substrate (14) through a fixed gap means (226; 260A - 260F) to prevent process gases from contacting said edge; and passing a deposition precursor gas into said chamber (300).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
12 words
A process according to claim 12, wherein said precursor gas is WF₆.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
A process according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said purge gas contains a reactive gas.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said purge gas comprises a mixture of inert gas and hydrogen.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A process according to any of claims 12 to 15, wherein said purge gas is directed against the bottom edge of the substrate (14).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
27 words
A process according to any of claims 12 to 16, wherein an inert gas is used to regulate the pressure in the vacuum to said substrate (14).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.