Gas delivery system for high pressure processing chamber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10179941-B1
Application number	US-201715835378-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Dec 7, 2017
Priority date	Jul 14, 2017
Publication date	Jan 15, 2019
Grant date	Jan 15, 2019

Abstract

A high-pressure processing system includes a first chamber, a second chamber adjacent the first chamber, a foreline to remove gas from the second chamber, a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second, a valve assembly to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber, a gas delivery system configured to introduce a gas into the first chamber and to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres, an exhaust line to remove gas from the first chamber, and a containment enclosure surrounding a portion of the gas delivery system and the exhaust line to divert gas leaking from the portion of the gas delivery system and the exhaust line to the foreline.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A high-pressure processing system for processing a layer on a substrate, the system comprising:
a first chamber;
a support to hold the substrate in the first chamber;
a second chamber adjacent the first chamber;
a foreline to remove gas from the second chamber;
a vacuum processing system configured to lower a pressure within the second chamber to near vacuum;
a valve assembly between the first chamber and the second chamber to isolate the pressure within the first chamber from the pressure within the second chamber;
a gas delivery system configured to introduce a gas into the first chamber and to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the gas is in the first chamber and while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber;
a controller configured to operate the gas delivery system and the valve assembly;
an exhaust system comprising an exhaust line to remove gas from the first chamber; and
a containment enclosure surrounding a portion of the gas delivery system and the exhaust line, the containment enclosure configured to divert gas leaking from the portion of the gas delivery system and the exhaust line to the foreline.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas delivery system comprises a first pump configured to increase pressure of the gas before delivering the gas to the first chamber.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the portion of the gas delivery system surrounded by the containment enclosure comprises the first pump, and delivery lines connecting the first pump and the first chamber.

4. The system of claim 1 , comprising a second gas delivery system configured to introduce a second gas into the first chamber and to increase the pressure within the first chamber to at least 10 atmospheres while the second gas is in the first chamber and while the first chamber is isolated from the second chamber.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the second gas delivery system comprises a second pump configured to increase pressure of the second gas to at least 40 atmospheres before delivering the second gas to the first chamber.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the gas delivery system comprises a steam delivery system that introduces steam to the first chamber.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the foreline is connected to a dry line pump and a diffuser configured to reduce the pressure of the gas before reaching the dry line pump.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a hydrogen sensor inside the containment enclosure, and wherein the controller is configured to shut off the second pump if the controller receives a signal from the hydrogen sensor indicating a hydrogen leak.

9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a vacuum processing system configured to generate a pressure within the second chamber, the pressure being less than 1 atmosphere.

10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a robot arm configured to transfer the substrate through the valve assembly from the first chamber to the second chamber.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the valve assembly comprises a slit valve between the first chamber and the second chamber.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the slit valve comprises a slit through a wall between the first chamber and the second chamber, and an arm movable between a first position in which the arm covers the slit to form a seal between the first chamber and the second chamber and a second position in which the slit is uncovered and the substrate is transferrable through the slit valve from the first chamber to the second chamber.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the arm is configured to engage an inner surface of the wall defining the first chamber in the first position to compress an O-ring an form the seal between the first chamber and the second chamber.

14. The system of claim 12 , further comprising an actuator to move the arm relative to the slit, the actuator being coupled to an end of the arm outside of the second chamber.

15. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a gas channel internal to the arm, the gas channel connected to a cooling gas source on a first end.

16. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a lift pin assembly to lift the substrate from the support.

17. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a cooling channel to deliver cool gas near the lift pin assembly and cool the lift pin assembly.

18. A semiconductor fabrication apparatus, comprising:
a central vacuum chamber having a robot positioned therein;
a factory interface module coupled to the central vacuum chamber;
a low-pressure processing chamber coupled to the central vacuum chamber by a first vacuum valve;
the high-pressure deposition system of claim 1 , wherein the second chamber is coupled to the central vacuum chamber by a second vacuum valve.

Assignees

• Micromaterials Llc
• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Khan Adib M
• Liang Qiwei
• Malik Sultan
• WONG Keith Tatseun
• Nemani Srinivas D

Classifications

• H10P95/90

  Thermal treatments, e.g. annealing or sintering · CPC title

• H10P72/0462

  characterised by the construction of the processing chambers, e.g. modular processing chambers · CPC title

• H10P72/0441

  Apparatus for sealing, encapsulating, glassing, decapsulating or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/0434

  mainly by convection · CPC title

• H10P72/0402 Primary

  Apparatus for fluid treatment (H10P72/0441, H10P72/0448 take precedence) · CPC title