Gas supply manifold and method of supplying gases to chamber using same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10683571-B2
Application number	US-201414188760-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2014
Priority date	Feb 25, 2014
Publication date	Jun 16, 2020
Grant date	Jun 16, 2020

Abstract

A gas inlet system for a wafer processing reactor includes a tubular gas manifold conduit adapted to be connected to a gas inlet port of the wafer processing reactor; and gas feeds including a first feed for feeding a first gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit and a second feed for feeding a second gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit. Each feed has two or more injection ports connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at a first axial position of the tubular gas manifold conduit, and the injection ports of each of the gas feeds are evenly distributed along a circumference of the tubular gas manifold conduit at the first axial position.

First claim

We claim:

1. A gas inlet system in combination with a wafer processing reactor, comprising:
a wafer processing reactor having a reaction chamber and a showerhead disposed inside the reaction chamber,
a tubular gas manifold conduit having:
a lower end connected to a gas inlet port of the reaction chamber, the gas inlet port being upstream of the reaction chamber of the wafer processing reactor for supplying a gas mixed in the tubular gas manifold conduit to the showerhead,
a first axial position being upstream of the lower end,
a downstream position being downstream of the first axial position and upstream of the lower end, the downstream position having a first diameter and the first axial position having a second diameter, the second diameter being smaller than the first diameter, and
gas feeds comprising:
a first feed for feeding a first gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit to the downstream position and
a second feed for feeding a second gas, which is different from the first gas, into the tubular gas manifold conduit to the downstream position, the first and the second feeds each having two or more injection ports attached to the tubular gas manifold conduit at the first axial position of the tubular gas manifold conduit such that the first gas and the second gas are separately fed into the tubular gas manifold conduit at the first axial position,
wherein the injection ports of the first feed and the injection ports of the second feed are evenly distributed along the circumference of the second diameter and coplanar with the second diameter at the first axial position, and
wherein the injection ports of the first feed and the injection ports of the second feed open into the tubular gas manifold conduit at the first axial position to feed the first and second gases to the downstream position.

2. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the number of the injection ports of the first feed and the number of the injection ports of the second feed are the same, and the injection ports of the first feed and the injection ports of the second feed are disposed alternately along the circumference of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

3. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the first feed further includes a C-shaped common channel having an inlet for inflow of the first gas and multiple outlets for outflow of the first gas connected to the two or more injection ports of the first feed, respectively, and the second feed further includes a C-shaped common channel having an inlet for inflow of the second gas and multiple outlets for outflow of the second gas connected to the two or more injection ports of the second feed, respectively.

4. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection ports of each of the first and second gas feeds are connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at an angle of about 0° to about 45° relative to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

5. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection ports of each of the first and second gas feeds are connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at an angle of about 90° relative to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

6. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the first feed is connected to a gas source providing a reactive gas, and the second feed is connected to a gas source providing an inert gas.

7. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , the tubular gas manifold conduit further having
a second axial position being upstream of the first axial position, the second axial position having a third diameter, the third diameter being smaller than the second diameter,
wherein the first and second gas feeds serve as lower gas feeds, and the gas inlet system further comprises upper gas feeds, the upper gas feeds comprising
a third feed for feeding a third gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit to the first axial position and
a fourth feed for feeding a fourth gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit to the first axial position,
each of the third and fourth gas feeds having two or more injection ports connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at the second axial position of the tubular gas manifold conduit,
wherein the injection ports of the third feed and the injection ports of the fourth feed are evenly distributed along the circumference of the third diameter and coplanar with the third diameter at the second axial position, and
wherein the injection ports of the third feed and the injection ports of the fourth feed open into the tubular gas manifold conduit at the second axial position to feed the third and fourth gases to the first axial position.

8. The gas inlet system according to claim 7 , wherein the third diameter is smaller than the first diameter.

9. The gas inlet system according to claim 7 , wherein the third feed further includes a C-shaped common channel having an inlet for inflow of the third gas and multiple outlets for outflow of the third gas connected to the two or more injection ports of the third feed, respectively, and the fourth feed further includes a C-shaped common channel having an inlet for inflow of the fourth gas and multiple outlets for outflow of the fourth gas connected to the two or more injection ports of the fourth feed, respectively.

10. The gas inlet system according to claim 7 , wherein the injection ports of each of the third and fourth feeds are connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at an angle of about 0° to about 45° relative to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

11. The gas inlet system according to claim 10 , wherein the injection ports of each of the third and fourth feeds are connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit approximately in parallel to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tubular gas manifold conduit, and the injection ports of each of the first and second feeds are connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at an angle of about 15° to about 25° relative to the vertical longitudinal axis of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

12. The gas inlet system according to claim 11 , wherein the top feed is connected to a gas source providing a dry gas.

13. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , the tubular gas manifold conduit further having:
an upstream end being upstream of the second axial position, the upstream end having a fourth diameter, the fourth diameter being smaller than the third diameter, and
the gas inlet system further comprises
a top feed for feeding an auxiliary gas into the tubular gas manifold conduit to the second axial position, the top feed having an injection port connected to the tubular gas manifold conduit at the upstream end of the tubular gas manifold conduit.

14. The gas inlet system according to claim 1 , wherein the wafer processing reactor is a reactor for atomic layer deposition (ALD) or a reactor for chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and the tubular gas manifold conduit is connected to the gas inlet port of the reactor for ALD or CVD.

15. The gas inlet system according to claim 14 , wherein the tubular gas manifold conduit is adapted to be the gas inlet port disposed centrally above a wafer accommodation area of the wafer processing reactor.

16. The gas inlet system and processing reactor combination of claim 1 , wherein the first axial position of the tubular gas manifold conduit is spaced away from the inlet port of the processing reactor by a distance of more than 56 mm.

17. A method for feeding a mixed gas to a wafer processin

Assignees

• Asm Ip Holding Bv

Inventors

• Jdira Lucian C
• Terhorst Herbert
• Halpin Michael
• White Carl
• Dunn Todd Robert
• Shero Eric
• Verbass Melvin
• Wuester Christopher
• Fondurulia Kyle

Classifications

• H10P72/0402

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

• C23C16/45582

  Expansion of gas before it reaches the substrate · CPC title

• C23C16/45574

  Nozzles for more than one gas · CPC title

• C23C16/45525

  Atomic layer deposition [ALD] · CPC title

• C23C16/45512 Primary

  Premixing before introduction in the reaction chamber · CPC title