Flow guide structures and heat shield structures, and related methods, for deposition uniformity and process adjustability

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12428731-B2
Application number	US-202218085371-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2022
Priority date	Jul 12, 2022
Publication date	Sep 30, 2025
Grant date	Sep 30, 2025

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to flow guide structures and heat shield structures, and related methods, for deposition uniformity and process adjustability. In one implementation, an apparatus for substrate processing includes a chamber body that includes a processing volume. The apparatus includes one or more heat sources. The apparatus includes a flow guide structure positioned in the processing volume. The flow guide structure includes one or more first flow dividers that divide the processing volume into a plurality of flow levels, and one or more second flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more first flow dividers and divide each flow level of the plurality of flow levels into a plurality of flow sections. The flow guide structure includes one or more third flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more second flow dividers and divide the plurality of flow sections into a plurality of flow zones.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for substrate processing, comprising:
a chamber body comprising:
a processing volume,
a plurality of gas inject passages formed in the chamber body, and
one or more gas exhaust passages formed in the chamber body;

one or more heat sources configured to generate heat;
a substrate support assembly positioned in the processing volume;
a flow guide structure positioned in the processing volume, the flow guide structure comprising:
one or more first flow dividers that divide the processing volume into a plurality of flow levels,
one or more second flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more first flow dividers and divide each flow level of the plurality of flow levels into a plurality of flow sections, and
one or more third flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more second flow dividers and divide the plurality of flow sections into a plurality of flow zones,

wherein the plurality of gas inject passages are positioned at a plurality of inject levels, each inject level aligns with a respective flow level, the gas inject passages of each inject level are open to an outermost flow section of the respective flow level, and the gas inject passages of each inject level comprise:
one or more first gas openings aligned with a first flow zone of the plurality of flow zones,
one or more second gas openings aligned with a second flow zone of the plurality of flow zones, wherein the second flow zone is on a first side of the first flow zone, and
one or more third gas openings aligned with a third flow zone of the plurality of flow zones, wherein the third flow zone is on a second side of the first flow zone.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each flow zone of the plurality of flow zones has an angular size that is within a range of 15 degrees to 25 degrees.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each flow section of the plurality of flow sections comprises a plurality of inner voids defined by the plurality of flow zones.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more liners configured to line one or more sidewalls of the chamber body, wherein the one or more first flow dividers are coupled to the one or more liners.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising a heat shield structure positioned in the processing volume, the heat shield structure comprising:
a first shield plate positioned inwardly of the one or more second flow dividers; and
a second shield plate oriented to intersect the first shield plate and supported at least partially by the one or more liners.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the substrate support assembly comprises a cassette, and the apparatus further comprises:
one or more upper pyrometers positioned above the second shield plate of the heat shield structure and oriented toward a top of the cassette;
one or more side pyrometers positioned outwardly of the one or more second flow dividers of the flow guide structure, the one or more side pyrometers oriented toward the first shield plate; and
one or more pyrometers positioned below the processing volume and oriented toward a bottom of the cassette.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein each of the one or more first flow dividers, the one or more second flow dividers, the one or more third flow dividers, the first shield plate, and the second shield plate is formed of one or more of quartz, silicon carbide (SiC), or graphite coated with SiC.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the one or more third flow dividers extend radially outward between the first shield plate and the chamber body such that the plurality of flow zones are pie-shaped.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein:
the one or more second flow dividers comprises a plurality of divider inlet openings and a plurality of divider outlet openings formed therein; and
the first shield plate comprises a plurality of shield inlet openings and a plurality of shield outlet openings formed therein.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of divider inlet openings are offset from the plurality of shield inlet openings in a direction parallel to the one or more third flow dividers.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein:
the plurality of divider inlet openings comprise one or more divider inlet openings aligned with each respective flow zone of the plurality of flow zones;
the plurality of divider outlet openings comprise one or more divider outlet openings aligned with each respective flow zone of the plurality of flow zones;
the plurality of shield inlet openings comprise one or more shield inlet openings aligned with each respective flow zone of the plurality of flow zones; and
the plurality of shield outlet openings comprise one or more shield outlet openings aligned with each respective flow zone of the plurality of flow zones.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of divider inlet openings, the plurality of divider outlet openings, the plurality of shield inlet openings, and the plurality of shield outlet openings is aligned between a floor of the processing volume and a ceiling of the processing volume.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a substrate transfer opening formed in the chamber body and positioned below the flow guide structure, wherein the substrate support assembly comprises an outer ring supporting a plate, and the plate is movable relative to the outer ring.

14. An apparatus for substrate processing, comprising:
a chamber body comprising:
one or more sidewalls,
a processing volume,
a plurality of gas inject passages formed in the chamber body, and
one or more gas exhaust passages formed in the chamber body;

a substrate support assembly positioned in the processing volume;
one or more liners configured to line the one or more sidewalls of the chamber body, the one or more liners comprising a plurality of liner gaps;
a flow guide structure positioned in the processing volume, the flow guide structure comprising:
one or more first flow dividers that divide the processing volume into a plurality of flow levels, the one or more first flow dividers coupled to the one or more liners,
one or more second flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more first flow dividers and divide each flow level of the plurality of flow levels into a plurality of flow sections, and
a plurality of third flow dividers oriented to intersect the one or more second flow dividers and divide the plurality of flow sections into a plurality of flow zones, and
a plurality of flow gaps between the plurality of third flow dividers, the plurality of flow gaps aligned with the plurality of liner gaps; and

a plurality of windows aligned at least partially with the plurality of liner gaps.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising:
a plurality of side heat sources configured to generate heat through the plurality of windows and the plurality of flow gaps, wherein the plurality of side heat sources are arranged in a plurality of heat source levels that correspond to the plurality of flow levels, and each of the plurality of heat source levels is independently controlled to independently heat each flow level of the plurality of flow levels;
one or more upper heat sources configured to generate heat through a ceiling of the processing volume;
one or more lower heat sources configured to generate heat through a floor of the processing volume; and
one or more side pyrometers positioned outwardly of the one or more second flow dividers of the flow guide structure, each of the one or more side pyrometers radially aligned with one of

Assignees

• Applied Materials Inc

Inventors

• Zhu Zuoming
• Moradian Ala
• Lau Shu-Kwan
• Tolle John
• Subbanna Manjunath
• Salinas Martin Jeffrey
• Chin Chia Cheng
• Kirschenheiter Thomas
• Chopra Saurabh

Classifications

• C30B25/14 Primary

  Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases · CPC title

• C30B25/10

  Heating of the reaction chamber or the substrate · CPC title

• C30B25/12

  Substrate holders or susceptors · CPC title

• C30B25/08

  Reaction chambers; Selection of materials therefor · CPC title

• C23C16/46

  characterised by the method used for heating the substrate (C23C16/48, C23C16/50 take precedence) · CPC title