Configuration independent gas delivery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10128087-B2
Application number	US-201514680244-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 7, 2015
Priority date	Apr 7, 2014
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A gas delivery apparatus for supplying process gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus includes a mixing manifold having a plurality of gas inlets on a surface thereof, the gas inlets being equally spaced from a center mixing point of the mixing manifold; and optionally a plurality of gas supplies in communication with the plurality of gas inlets on the surface of the mixing manifold. A method of supplying gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus using such a gas delivery apparatus involves providing a plurality of gas supplies in communication with a plurality of gas inlets on a surface of a mixing manifold; flowing at least two different gases from the plurality of gas supplies to the mixing manifold to create a first mixed gas; and supplying the first mixed gas to a plasma processing chamber coupled downstream of the mixing manifold.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A plasma processing apparatus having a gas delivery apparatus for supplying process gas to a plasma processing chamber of the semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, the gas delivery apparatus comprising:
a mixing manifold, the mixing manifold including:
a center mixing chamber;
a plurality of gas inlets on one or more surfaces of the center mixing chamber, the gas inlets each configured to interface with a corresponding gas supply, wherein the gas inlets are fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber via flow paths of equal length; and
at least one mixing manifold outlet fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber.

2. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the gas inlets are spaced such that radial lines drawn from the gas inlets to a center point of the center mixing chamber are the same length.

3. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of gas supplies, each gas supply component including a pressure transducer and a valve;
a single mass flow controller configured to control a flow set point for each gas supply of the plurality of gas supplies by adjusting a positioning of the valve for that gas supply based on measurements from the pressure transducer for that gas supply.

4. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the center mixing chamber comprises a cylindrical mixing chamber,
the gas inlets are at circumferentially spaced locations on the one or more surfaces, and
the one or more surfaces selected from the group consisting of: a side surface of the mixing manifold, an axial end surface of the mixing manifold, and combinations thereof.

5. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the mixing manifold is in fluidic communication with a second manifold.

6. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of gas supplies, wherein:
the number of gas inlets in the plurality of gas inlets is at least as great or greater than the number of gas supplies in the plurality of gas supplies, and
each gas supply is interfaced to, and in fluidic communication with, a corresponding one of the gas inlets.

7. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising: a plurality of mass flow controllers, wherein:
each mass flow controller is in communication with one of the gas supplies and is configured to individually control a flow set-point for that gas supply.

8. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the radial distance from each of the mass flow controllers of the plurality of mass flow controllers to the center mixing chamber is approximately equal length.

9. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the mixing manifold comprises a cylindrical mixing body, and each of the mass flow controllers is mounted to one or more surfaces of the cylindrical mixing body selected from the group consisting of: a side surface of the cylindrical mixing body, an axial end surface of the cylindrical mixing body, and combinations thereof.

10. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of gas supplies and the plurality of gas inlets are configured such that absence of any of the gas supplies does not result in a dead leg within the mixing manifold.

11. The plasma processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising the plasma processing chamber, wherein the plasma processing chamber is fluidically connected with the at least one mixing manifold outlet downstream of the mixing manifold.

12. A method of supplying process gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, the method comprising:
flowing at least two different gases from a plurality of gas supplies to a gas delivery apparatus for supplying process gas to a processing chamber of a semiconductor plasma processing apparatus, the gas delivery apparatus including:
a mixing manifold that includes:
a center mixing chamber,
a plurality of gas inlets on one or more surfaces of the center mixing chamber, the gas inlets each interfaced with a corresponding one of the gas supplies, wherein the gas inlets are fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber via flow paths of equal length, and
at least one mixing manifold outlet fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber, wherein the gases flow into the mixing manifold to create a first mixed gas in the center mixing chamber;

supplying the first mixed gas to an interior of a processing chamber;
energizing the first mixed gas into a plasma state within the processing chamber; and
processing a semiconductor substrate within the processing chamber using the first mixed gas in the plasma state.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising initiating a flow set point for each of the at least two different gases with a single mass flow controller.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the single mass flow controller releases the at least two different gases simultaneously for mixing in the mixing manifold.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising individually initiating a flow set point for each of the at least two different gases with separate mass flow controllers.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
flowing, after the first mixed gas is supplied to the processing chamber, gas from the plurality of gas supplies and gas from at least one additional gas supply to the mixing manifold to create a second mixed gas; and
supplying the second mixed gas to the processing chamber.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least three different gases are flowed from the plurality of gas supplies to the mixing manifold to create the first mixed gas, and wherein the process further comprises:
terminating the supply of gas from at least one gas supply of the plurality of gas supplies after the first mixed gas is supplied to the processing chamber,
flowing gas from the remaining gas supplies of the plurality of gas supplies to the mixing manifold to create a second mixed gas in the center mixing chamber;
supplying the second mixed gas to the processing chamber; wherein terminating the supply of gas from the at least one gas supply of the plurality of gas supplies does not create a dead leg within the mixing manifold.

18. The method of claim 12 , further comprising mixing the first mixed gas with at least one additional gas before supplying the first mixed gas to the processing chamber.

19. A method of configuring a gas delivery apparatus for supplying process gas to a processing chamber of a plasma processing apparatus, the method comprising:
providing a mixing manifold that includes:
a center mixing chamber,
a plurality of gas inlets on one or more surfaces of the center mixing chamber, the gas inlets each interfaced with a corresponding one of the gas supplies, wherein the gas inlets are fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber via flow paths of equal length, and
at least one mixing manifold outlet fluidically connected with the center mixing chamber, wherein the gases flow into the mixing manifold to create a first mixed gas in the center mixing chamber;

providing a plurality of gas supplies;
arranging the plurality of gas supplies such that each gas supply is in fluidic communication with a corresponding gas inlet of the plurality of gas inlets.

Assignees

• Lam Res Corp

Inventors

• Taskar Mark
• Shareef Iqbal

Classifications

• B01F3/02

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• H01J37/3244 Primary

  Gas supply means · CPC title

• B01F5/048

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• Y10T29/49826

  Assembling or joining · CPC title

• B01F25/31423

  with a plurality of perforations in the circumferential direction only and covering the whole circumference · CPC title