Substrate processing apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11015248-B2
Application number	US-201916422301-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 24, 2019
Priority date	May 25, 2018
Publication date	May 25, 2021
Grant date	May 25, 2021

Abstract

Described herein is a technique capable of suppressing a deviation in a thickness of a film formed on a substrate. According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure, a substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate retainer capable of supporting substrates; a cylindrical process chamber including a discharge part and supply holes; partition parts arranged in the circumferential direction to partition supply chambers communicating with the process chamber through the supply holes; nozzles provided with an ejection hole; and gas supply pipes. The supply chambers includes a first nozzle chamber and a second nozzle chamber, the process gas includes a source gas and an assist gas, the nozzles includes a first nozzle for the assist gas flows and a second nozzle disposed in the second nozzle chamber and through which the source gas flows, and the first nozzle is disposed adjacent to the second nozzle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a substrate retainer capable of supporting a plurality of substrates while the plurality of the substrates is aligned in an axial direction;
a tubular part having a cylindrical process chamber extending in the axial direction and capable of accommodating the substrate retainer, comprising:
a discharge part capable of discharging a fluid in the process chamber to an outside thereof; and
a plurality of supply holes configured to supply at least one of process gases capable of processing the plurality of the substrates into the process chamber and disposed at positions different from the discharge part in a circumferential direction of the process chamber;

a plurality of partition parts provided on an outer circumferential surface of the tubular part and arranged in the circumferential direction, the plurality of the partition parts being configured to partition a plurality of supply chambers communicating with the process chamber through the plurality of the supply holes;
a plurality of nozzles extending in the axial direction, each of which is provided with, on a side surface thereof, at least one ejection hole configured to be able to eject at least one of the process gases flowing in the nozzle into the process chamber through the plurality of the supply holes, wherein one or more nozzles among the plurality of the nozzles are provided in a supply chamber among the plurality of the supply chambers; and
a plurality of gas supply pipes through which the plurality of the nozzles communicate with a plurality of gas supply sources, respectively,
wherein the plurality of the supply chambers comprises a first nozzle chamber and a second nozzle chamber,
the process gases comprise an assist gas and a source gas that is different from the first gas assist gas, and
the plurality of the nozzles comprises a first nozzle through which the assist gas flows and a second nozzle disposed in the second nozzle chamber and through which the source gas flows, and the first nozzle being disposed adjacent to the second nozzle,
wherein the first nozzle through which the assist gas flows and the second nozzle through which the source gas flows are disposed in the second nozzle chamber, and each of the first nozzle and the second nozzle comprises the ejection hole.

2. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of flow rate controllers provided at some of the gas supply pipes communicating with the first nozzle and the second nozzle, and configured to control flow rates of the assist gas and the source gas,
wherein the source gas serves as a source material of a film formed on the plurality of the substrates and the assist gas is capable of controlling a flow rate of the source gas in the process chamber.

3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein a pair of the first nozzles through which the assist gas flows is disposed in the second nozzle chamber such that the second nozzle through which the source gas flows is interposed between the pair of the first nozzles in the circumferential direction.

4. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a timing at which the assist gas flows and a timing at which the source gas flows are partially overlapped, and
an ejection direction of the assist gas ejected through each ejection hole of a pair of the first nozzles is substantially parallel to an ejection direction of the source gas ejected through the ejection hole of the second nozzle.

5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of flow rate controllers is configured to control a flow rate or a flow velocity of the assist gas ejected through each ejection hole of a pair of the first nozzles and a flow rate or a flow velocity of the source gas ejected through the ejection hole of the second nozzle such that the flow rate or the flow velocity of the assist gas becomes greater than the flow rate or the flow velocity of the source gas.

6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of the nozzles further comprises a third nozzle disposed in the first nozzle chamber and through which a reactive gas flows.

7. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein each of the first nozzle, the second nozzle and the third nozzle is provided with a plurality of ejection holes respectively corresponding to the plurality of the substrates.

8. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second nozzle is disposed closer to a center of the process chamber than the first nozzle.

9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of communication pipes through which an inside of the second nozzle communicates with an outside of the first nozzle and the source gas flows,
wherein the second nozzle through which the source gas flows is disposed inside the first nozzle chamber through which the assist gas flows, and two ejection holes of the first nozzle is provided at each of the plurality of the communication pipes.

10. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising:
providing the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 , and
processing a plurality of substrates by performing:
(a) ejecting the source gas into a process chamber through a gas nozzle provided in a second nozzle chamber while ejecting the assist gas into the process chamber through another gas nozzle provided in the second nozzle chamber; and
(b) ejecting another gas into the process chamber through a gas nozzle provided in a first nozzle chamber.

11. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a substrate retainer capable of supporting a plurality of substrates while the plurality of the substrates is aligned in an axial direction;
a tubular part having a cylindrical process chamber extending in the axial direction and capable of accommodating the substrate retainer, comprising:
a discharge part capable of discharging a fluid in the process chamber to an outside thereof; and
a plurality of supply holes configured to supply at least one process gas of process gases capable of processing the plurality of the substrates into the process chamber and disposed at positions different from the discharge part in a circumferential direction of the process chamber;

a plurality of partition parts provided on an outer circumferential surface of the tubular part and arranged in the circumferential direction, the plurality of the partition parts being configured to partition a plurality of supply chambers communicating with the process chamber through the plurality of the supply holes;
a plurality of nozzles extending in the axial direction, each of which is provided with, on a side surface thereof, at least one ejection hole configured to be able to eject the at least one process gas of the process gases flowing in the nozzle into the process chamber through the plurality of the supply holes, wherein one or more nozzles among the plurality of the nozzles are provided in a supply chamber among the plurality of the supply chambers;
a plurality of gas supply pipes through which the plurality of the nozzles communicate with a plurality of gas supply sources, respectively, the process gases comprise an assist gas and a second source gas that is different from the assist gas; and
a plurality of flow rate controllers provided at some of the gas supply pipes communicating with a first nozzle and a second nozzle, and configured to control flow rates of the assist gas and the second source gas,
wherein the plurality of the supply chambers comprises a first nozzle chamber and a second nozzle chamber,
the plurality of the nozzles c

Assignees

• Kokusai Electric Corp

Inventors

• Shimada Hironori
• Kamimura Daigi

Classifications

• H10P72/0604

  Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0434

  mainly by convection · CPC title

• H10P72/0402 Primary

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

• H10P72/70

  for supporting or gripping · CPC title

• H10P72/04

  Apparatus for manufacture or treatment · CPC title