Wafer boat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12412763-B2
Application number	US-202117798049-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 5, 2021
Priority date	Feb 7, 2020
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

A wafer boat according to the present disclosure includes a plurality of support columns, each having a pillar shape and comprising a plurality of grooves configured to have a wafer placed thereon, and support plates configured to support both end portions of the plurality of support columns, respectively. Each of the plurality of support columns are formed of a ceramic containing aluminum oxide or silicon carbide as a main constituent, and an outer side surface of the plurality of support columns is a ground surface and/or a polished surface.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wafer boat comprising:
a plurality of support columns, each having a pillar shape and comprising a plurality of grooves configured to have a wafer placed thereon; and
support plates configured to support both end portions of the plurality of support columns respectively, wherein
each of the plurality of support columns are formed of a ceramic comprising aluminum oxide or silicon carbide as a main constituent, and
an outer side surface of the plurality of support columns is a ground surface and/or a polished surface, wherein
each of both end portions of the plurality of support columns comprises an engaging portion having a flat plate shape and comprising a through hole in a thickness direction,
the support plates are provided with a female screw at an axial center of each through hole, and
a male screw is engaged with the female screw through the through hole.

2. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
a placement surface on which the wafer is placed in the plurality of grooves is the ground surface and/or the polished surface, and
an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the placement surface is smaller than an arithmetic mean roughness Ra of the outer side surface.

3. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
a cross-sectional shape of the plurality of grooves is an isosceles trapezoidal shape whose opening side has a wider width than the placement surface side.

4. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
each of the plurality of support columns, the support plates, and the male screws is formed of a ceramic comprising an identical main constituent, and
the amount of the main constituent in one male screw is smaller than the amount of the main constituent in one support column and smaller than the amount of the main constituent in one support plate.

5. The wafer boat according to claim 4 , wherein
a content of the main constituent comprised in the plurality of support columns is at least 0.15 mass % larger than a content of the main constituent comprised in the male screw.

6. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
at least one of a surface of a complete thread portion of the female screw and a surface of a complete thread portion of the male screw, and an inner wall surface of the through hole is an unground surface and an unpolished surface.

7. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
the through hole is a long hole along an axial direction of the plurality of support columns.

8. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
at least one of the plurality of support columns, the support plates, or the male screw is formed of a ceramic comprising closed pores, and
a value (A) obtained by subtracting an average value of equivalent circle diameters of the closed pores from a distance between centroids of adjacent closed pores is equal to or larger than 20 μm and equal to or smaller than 85 μm.

9. The wafer boat according to claim 1 , wherein
at least one of the support plates comprises a hollow structure.

10. A thermal treatment apparatus comprising:
the wafer boat according to claim 1 .

11. A washing apparatus comprising:
the wafer boat according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Kyocera Corp

Inventors

• Ota Shoichi

Classifications

• H10P72/135 Primary

  characterised by a material, a roughness, a coating or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/13 Primary

  Horizontal boat type carrier whereby the substrates are vertically supported, e.g. comprising rod-shaped elements · CPC title

• C04B35/565

  based on silicon carbide · CPC title

• C04B35/10

  based on aluminium oxide · CPC title

• C04B35/63476

  Phenol-formaldehyde condensation polymers · CPC title