Patent EP1052309A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP1052309A2
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EP
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Apparatus for fabrication of thin films
Assignee: ASM International NV
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Filing: 2000-05-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2020-05-10
Abstract
Abstract The invention relates to an apparatus for growing thin films onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to alternate surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for forming a thin film onto the substrate by means of said surface reactions. The apparatus comprises a vacuum vessel (1), a reaction chamber (2) with a reaction space into which the substrate can be transferred and which has infeed channels (6) for feeding therein the reactants used in said thin film growth process, as well as outlet channels (4) for discharging gaseous reaction products and excess reactants. According to the invention, said reaction chamber comprises a base part (9, 10) mounted stationary in respect to the interior of said vacuum vessel (1) and a movable part (18) adapted to be sealably closable against said base part of said reaction chamber. The invention makes it possible to improve the cleanliness of the substrate load chamber and to reduce the degree of substrate contamination. The apparatus is intended for use in the fabrication of thin films by means of the ALE method for semiconductor layer structures and display units.
Inventors
- 👤 Niklas Bondestam
- 👤 Janne Kesälä
- 👤 Leif Keto
- 👤 Pekka T. Soininen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 01:51
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C16/00; C23C16/44; C23C16/455; C23C16/45523; C23C16/45525; C23C16/45544; H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/60; C30; C30B; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; C30B25/08; C30B25/12; C30B25/16; C30B25/165
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 31
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
Apparatus for growing thin films onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to
alternate surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for forming a thin film onto the
substrate by means of said surface reactions, the apparatus comprising a reaction chamber (2) into whose reaction space said substrate can be
transferred, inlet channels (6) connected to said reaction chamber for feeding therein
said reactants used in said thin film growth process, and outlet channels (4) connected to said reaction chamber for discharging
gaseous reaction products and excess reactants, characterized in that said reaction chamber (2) comprises at least two parts (9, 10, 18), at least
one part (18) being movable with respect to the remaining part(s) (9, 10)
of the reaction chamber and adapted to be sealably closable against said
remaining part (9, 10) of said reaction chamber.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
136 words
Apparatus for growing thin films onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to
alternate surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for forming a thin film onto the
substrate by means of said surface reactions, the apparatus comprising a reaction chamber (2) into whose reaction space said substrate can be
transferred, inlet channels (6) connected to said reaction chamber for feeding therein
said reactants used in said thin film growth process, and outlet channels (4) connected to said reaction chamber for discharging
gaseous reaction products and excess reactants, characterized in that said reaction chamber (2) comprises at least two parts (9, 10, 18), at least
one part (18) being movable with respect to the remaining part(s) (9, 10)
of the reaction chamber and adapted to be sealably closable against said
remaining part (9, 10) of said reaction chamber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parts of the reaction chamber are
contained in a second chamber (1), both during processing and during loading/
unloading of a substrate.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second chamber comprises a vacuum
vessel.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the said reaction chamber (2) comprises a
base part (9, 10) mounted stationary in respect to the interior of said vacuum vessel
(1) and a movable part (18) adapted to be sealably closable against said base part of
said reaction chamber.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
(18) is made transferable either in a direction essentially parallel to the substrate
plane, or alternatively, perpendicular to said plane.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said movable part (18) is made
transferable in both a direction parallel to the substrate plane and in a direction
perpendicular to the plane.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
51 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein said base part (9, 10) has a rabbet
encircling its edge, while said movable part (18) is provided with an outer edge that
is shaped conforming to said rabbet shape in order to seal said moving part against
said stationary base part.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
(18) of said reaction chamber acts as a substrate support platform on which a
substrate can be positioned.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said base part of said
reaction chamber acts as a substrate support platform on which a substrate can be
positioned.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
53 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said reaction
chamber (2) is adapted to the interior of a vacuum vessel so that said reaction
chamber base part is supported to the walls of said vessel or, alternatively, so that
said base part forms a portion of the wall of said vessel.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
59 words
Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said reaction chamber (2) is
supported to the walls of said vessel so that the center axis of the support means is
coincident with the center point of the substrate in order to prevent mechanical
deformations of thermal origin from affecting the positioning of the substrate when
the reactor chamber is being closed.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least either one
of said base part and said movable part of said reaction chamber is provided with a
heater element (19).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein both said base part and said movable
part of said reaction chamber are provided with a heater element.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus according to claim 12 or 13, wherein said base part (9,10) and said
movable part (18) of said reaction chamber are thermally insulated from said vacuum
vessel by passive insulation, reflective shields and/or active heat insulation elements.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
45 words
Apparatus according any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
(18) is provided with substrate lift means (20), whose upright movement facilitates
the elevation of said substrate off from said substrate support platform and the
subsequent placement of said substrate onto a transfer means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
Apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said transfer means is a robotic arm.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
42 words
Apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said substrate lift means comprises
pins (20) adapted on said substrate support platform so at to be movable at right
angles in respect to said support platform for elevating said substrate off from said
platform surface.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said pins (20) are spring-loaded (21)
and adapted to move in holes made to the said substrate support platform.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
63 words
Apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the top ends of said pins (20)
are shaped downward tapering to seat against said substrate support platform and the
seat holes of said substrate support surface are made similarly downward tapering to
the depth of said pin ends, thus allowing the pins to be sealably lowered into said seat
holes of said support platform.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
is sealed against said base part by means of metal and/or elastomer seals.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
34 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
is sealed against said base part by means of a vacuum pump-out groove that may
optionally be flushed with a protective gas.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
24 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part
is sealed against said base part by means of planar mating surfaces.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said reactor has a
cold-wall structure.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reactant infeed
channels and the discharge channels of gaseous reaction products and excess
reactants are passed via the same wall, advantageously via the bottom, of the
pressure-tight vessel.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
49 words
Apparatus according to any of claims 1 - 24, wherein the reactant infeed
channels and the discharge channels of gaseous reaction products and excess
reactants are passed into the pressure-tight vessel via the top and bottom wall of the
same (relative to location of the reaction space housed therein).
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
44 words
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein by a support
structure adaptable to the interior of said reaction chamber, said support structure
serving to hold at least two substrates for the deposition of thin films on said
substrates in a simultaneous fashion.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus according to claim 27, wherein said support structure comprises a
rack having platform shelves or brackets provided thereon for supporting said
substrates, or alternatively, a cassette unit consisting of stackable modular elements.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
12 words
Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said modular element are mutually
identical.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
20 words
Apparatus according to claim 28 or 29, wherein at least some of said elements are
designed to accomodate a substrate.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said substrate-accomodating elements
exhibit support brackets or platforms for the substrates.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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