Substrate carrier using a proportional thermal fluid delivery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10490429-B2
Application number	US-201414555467-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 26, 2014
Priority date	Nov 26, 2014
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

A substrate carrier is described that uses a proportional thermal fluid delivery system. In one example the apparatus includes a heat exchanger to provide a thermal fluid to a fluid channel of a substrate carrier and to receive the thermal fluid from the fluid channel, the thermal fluid in the fluid channel to control the temperature of the carrier during substrate processing. A proportional valve controls the rate of flow of thermal fluid from the heat exchanger to the fluid channel. A temperature controller receives a measured temperature from a thermal sensor of the carrier and controls the proportional valve in response to the measured temperature to adjust the rate of flow.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a heat exchanger to provide a thermal fluid to a fluid channel of a substrate carrier and to receive the thermal fluid from the fluid channel, the substrate carrier having a temperature, the thermal fluid in the fluid channel to control the temperature of the substrate carrier during substrate processing;
a proportional valve to control a flow rate of the thermal fluid from the heat exchanger to the fluid channel, wherein the proportional valve comprises a pressure regulated valve, wherein the proportional valve comprises a valve body with an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein an upper diaphragm in the upper chamber is coupled to a lower diaphragm in the lower chamber, wherein the lower chamber receives the thermal fluid from a three-way valve; and
a temperature controller to receive a measured temperature from a thermal sensor of the substrate carrier and to control the proportional valve in response to the measured temperature to adjust the flow rate, wherein the temperature controller generates an analog voltage as a signal to a pressure regulator to provide a regulated pressure to the pressure regulated valve, wherein the proportional valve is an analog flow valve with a passageway that is opened or closed by an amount that depends on the regulated pressure.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the temperature controller provides an analog voltage signal to the pressure regulator and wherein the pressure regulator provides a fluid pressure to the pressure regulated valve in response to the analog voltage signal to control the pressure regulated valve.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the analog voltage signal is stepless and wherein the fluid pressure is stepless.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the fluid pressure provided to the pressure regulated valve is supplied by compressed dry air.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a pressure sensor and a flow meter coupled to the fluid channel and wherein the temperature controller controls the proportional valve in response to the pressure sensor and the fluid channel.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pressure regulator further comprises a compressed dry air inlet to receive a compressed dry air and a compressed dry air outlet coupled to the proportional valve to provide the compressed dry air to the proportional valve, the provided compressed dry air having a pressure, the pressure regulator further comprising a solenoid valve between the compressed dry air inlet and the compressed dry air outlet to regulate the pressure of the compressed dry air at the compressed dry air outlet.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a second heat exchanger to provide a second thermal fluid to the fluid channel and a valve to determine whether the heat exchanger thermal fluid or the second heat exchanger thermal fluid flows to the proportional valve.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the heat exchanger provides a cold thermal fluid and the second heat exchanger provides a hot thermal fluid.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the thermal fluid and the second thermal fluid comprise polyethers.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the substrate carrier comprises a plurality of different independent cooling channels to carry the thermal fluid to transfer heat from the substrate carrier, each fluid cooling channel of the plurality of different independent cooling channels including a respective supply and return and wherein the proportional valve controls the flow rate of the thermal fluid into each supply.

11. A workpiece processing system comprising:
a plasma chamber;
a plasma source to generate a plasma containing gas ions in the plasma chamber;
a workpiece holder in the chamber to hold a workpiece during plasma processing and to control a temperature of the workpiece, the workpiece holder having a fluid channel and a temperature sensor;
a heat exchanger to provide a thermal fluid to the fluid channel of the workpiece holder and to receive the thermal fluid from the fluid channel, the thermal fluid in the fluid channel to control the temperature of the workpiece holder during substrate processing;
a proportional valve to control a flow rate of the thermal fluid from the heat exchanger to the fluid channel, wherein the proportional valve comprises a pressure regulated valve, wherein the proportional valve comprises a valve body with an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein an upper diaphragm in the upper chamber is coupled to a lower diaphragm in the lower chamber, wherein the lower chamber receives the thermal fluid from a three-way valve; and
a temperature controller to receive a measured temperature from a thermal sensor of the substrate carrier and to control the proportional valve in response to the measured temperature to adjust the flow rate, wherein the temperature controller generates an analog voltage as a signal to a pressure regulator to provide a regulated pressure to a pressure regulated valve, wherein the proportional valve is an analog flow valve with a passageway that is opened or closed by an amount that depends on the regulated pressure.

12. The workpiece processing system of claim 11 , further comprising a pressure sensor and a flow meter coupled to the fluid channel and wherein the temperature controller controls the proportional valve in response to the pressure sensor and the fluid channel.

13. The workpiece processing system of claim 11 , further comprising a second heat exchanger to provide a second thermal fluid to the fluid channel and a valve to determine whether the first thermal heat exchanger fluid or the second thermal heat exchanger fluid flows to the proportional valve.

14. The workpiece processing system of claim 11 , wherein the workpiece holder comprises an electrostatic chuck.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Criminale Phillip
• Phi Justin
• Marohl Dan A
• Shoji Sergio Fukuda
• Mays Brad L

Classifications

• H10P72/72

  using electrostatic chucks · CPC title

• H10P72/0434 Primary

  mainly by convection · CPC title

• H10P72/0402

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

• H10P72/0602 Primary

  Temperature monitoring · CPC title

• H01J37/32724

  Temperature · CPC title