Multi-zone gas injection assembly with azimuthal and radial distribution control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10008368-B2
Application number	US-201414762219-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2014
Priority date	Mar 12, 2013
Publication date	Jun 26, 2018
Grant date	Jun 26, 2018

Abstract

A gas injection system includes (a) a side gas plenum, (b) a plurality of N gas inlets coupled to said side gas plenum, (c) plural side gas outlets extending radially inwardly from said plenum, (d) an N-way gas flow ratio controller having N outputs coupled to said N gas inlets respectively, and (e) an M-way gas flow ratio controller having M outputs, respective ones of said M outputs coupled to said tunable gas nozzle and a gas input of said N-way gas flow ratio controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A plasma reactor comprising:
a chamber, a tunable gas nozzle coupled to said chamber and a side gas plenum around said chamber;
a plurality of N gas inlets coupled to said side gas plenum, and plural side gas outlets extending radially from said side gas plenum;
an N-way gas flow ratio controller having N outputs coupled to said N gas inlets respectively; and
an M-way gas flow ratio controller having an input configured to be coupled to a process gas source and M outputs, respective ones of said M outputs coupled to said tunable gas nozzle and a gas input of said N-way gas flow ratio controller.

2. The plasma reactor of claim 1 wherein said tunable gas nozzle has two gas inputs coupled to two of said M outputs, and wherein M is three and N is four.

3. The plasma reactor of claim 1 further comprising:
a gas supply panel coupled to a gas input of said M-way gas flow controller.

4. The plasma reactor of claim 3 further comprising:
a process controller coupled to said M-way gas flow ratio controller and to said N-way gas flow ratio controller; and
a user interface coupled to said process controller.

5. The plasma reactor of claim 1 wherein said side gas plenum comprises plural sets of gas flow channels, each one of said sets of gas flow channels comprising:
an arcuate gas distribution channel having a pair of ends coupled to a corresponding pair of said plural side gas outlets; and
an arcuate gas supply channel, one end of said arcuate gas supply channel connected to a corresponding one of said plurality of N gas inlets, and an opposite end of said arcuate gas supply channel coupled to said gas distribution channel near a middle point of said gas distribution channel.

6. The plasma reactor of claim 5 wherein said plural sets of gas flow channels are of equal path lengths.

7. The plasma reactor of claim 5 wherein said chamber comprises a chamber interior and said side gas plenum comprises a liner edge, said plasma reactor further comprising:
a gas delivery ring over said liner edge, said plural sets of gas flow channels being formed in said gas delivery ring; and
a top liner ring over said gas delivery ring, said plural side gas outlets extending into said top liner ring, said top liner ring comprising a top liner ring surface facing said chamber interior.

8. The plasma reactor of claim 7 wherein each of said plural side gas outlets comprises:
a side gas injection nozzle extending radially within said top liner ring toward said chamber interior and comprising an axially extending gas delivery insert-receiving hole; and
a gas delivery insert extending from said gas delivery ring into said axially extending gas delivery insert-receiving hole.

9. The plasma reactor of claim 8 further comprising:
an axial internal gas flow passage in said gas delivery insert and a radial internal gas flow nozzle passage through a side wall of said axially extending gas delivery insert-receiving hole, said axial internal gas flow passage being in registration with said radial internal gas flow nozzle passage.

10. The plasma reactor of claim 9 wherein:
said top liner ring comprises plural nozzle pockets in said top liner ring surface, said side gas injection nozzle extending into a corresponding one of said nozzle pockets; and
said side gas injection nozzle comprises plural O-ring nozzle grooves concentric with said side gas injection nozzle, said plasma reactor further comprising first plural O-rings in said plural O-ring nozzle grooves compressed against an interior side wall of a corresponding one of said nozzle pockets.

11. The plasma reactor of claim 10 wherein said side gas injection nozzle further comprises:
a cylindrical outer nozzle surface, wherein said O-ring nozzle grooves define nozzle groove surfaces indented with respect to said cylindrical outer nozzle surface; and
an axial evacuation slot comprising: (a) slot sections in said cylindrical outer nozzle surface extending from an end of said side gas injection nozzle inside said nozzle pocket, and (b) slot sections in said nozzle groove surfaces.

12. The plasma reactor of claim 11 further comprising a gap between said cylindrical outer nozzle surface and said interior side wall of a corresponding one of said nozzle pockets.

13. The plasma reactor of claim 12 each of said plural gas outlets further comprises an axial port in said gas delivery ring extending to said axial internal gas flow passage of said gas delivery insert.

14. The plasma reactor of claim 10 wherein:
each of said side gas injection nozzles comprises a ceramic material, and said gas delivery ring and each of said gas delivery inserts comprise steel;
said top liner ring and said interior side wall comprises a protective layer comprising an anodized material or Yttria.

15. The plasma reactor of claim 10 wherein:
said top liner ring further comprises plural gas delivery insert pockets facing said gas delivery ring, a portion of said gas delivery insert extending into a corresponding one of said gas delivery insert pockets;
said gas delivery inert comprises plural O-ring insert grooves concentric with said gas delivery insert, said plasma reactor further comprising second plural O-rings in said plural O-ring insert grooves compressed against an interior side wall of a corresponding one of said plural gas delivery insert pockets.

16. A side gas injection kit, comprising:
a top liner ring comprising plural nozzle pockets and plural gas delivery insert pockets;
plural side gas injection nozzles extending into said nozzle pockets, each of said plural side gas injection nozzles comprising:
a cylindrical outer nozzle surface and plural O-ring nozzle grooves in said outer nozzle surface and concentric with said side gas injection nozzle;
first plural O-rings in said plural O-ring nozzle grooves compressed against an interior side wall of a corresponding one of said nozzle pockets; and

plural gas delivery inserts extending into said gas delivery insert pockets, each of said gas delivery inserts comprising:
plural O-ring insert grooves concentric with said gas delivery insert, and
second plural O-rings in said plural O-ring insert grooves compressed against an interior side wall of a corresponding one of said plural gas delivery insert pockets.

17. The side gas injection kit of claim 16 wherein each of said side gas injection nozzles further comprises:
nozzle groove surfaces indented with respect to said outer nozzle surface and formed in said O-ring nozzle grooves;
an axial evacuation slot comprising slot sections in said cylindrical outer nozzle surface extending from an end of said side gas injection nozzle inside said nozzle pocket, and slot sections in said nozzle groove surfaces.

18. The side gas injection kit of claim 17 further comprising a gap between said cylindrical outer nozzle surface and an interior side wall of a corresponding one of said nozzle pockets, said slot sections in said nozzle groove surfaces providing an evacuation path around said first plural O-rings, said slot sections in said cylindrical outer nozzle surface providing an evacuation path to said gap.

19. The side gas injection kit of claim 16 wherein:
each of said side gas injection nozzle comprises a ceramic material, each of said gas delivery inserts comprises steel, and said top liner ring comprises a protective layer comprising an anodized material or Yttria.

20. A side gas injection nozzle for placement into a nozzle pocket of a top liner ring, the side ga

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Rozenzon Yan
• Tantiwong Kyle
• Yousif Imad
• Knyazik Vladimir
• Keating Bojenna
• Banna Samer

Classifications

• H01J37/3244 Primary

  Gas supply means · CPC title

• H01J37/32449 Primary

  Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow · CPC title

• C23C16/45561

  Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber · CPC title

• C23C16/45563

  Gas nozzles · CPC title

• C23C16/45578

  Elongated nozzles, tubes with holes · CPC title