Method of controlling contamination of vapor deposition apparatus and method of producing epitaxial wafer
US-2020392618-A1 · Dec 17, 2020 · US
Method of producing epitaxial layer wafers in a chamber of a deposition reactor
US12503791B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-12503791-B2 |
| Application number | US-202218548938-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Feb 25, 2022 |
| Priority date | Mar 10, 2021 |
| Publication date | Dec 23, 2025 |
| Grant date | Dec 23, 2025 |
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Abstract
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A method produces semiconductor wafers in a chamber of a deposition reactor of a plant. The method includes: repeatedly depositing an epitaxial layer on a substrate wafer in the chamber, producing semiconductor wafers, and at the same time: conditioning a replacement chamber outside the plant by purging the replacement chamber with a purge gas; interrupting the deposition of the epitaxial layer; replacing the chamber with the replacement chamber, after the conditioning, the replacement chamber being sealed and transported in a closed state to the plant or after the conditioning, the replacement chamber is transported to the plant and in this process purge gas is passed through the replacement chamber; and continuing the deposition of the epitaxial layer in the replacement chamber, producing a second number of semiconductor wafers.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
The invention claimed is: 1 . A method for producing semiconductor wafers with epitaxial layer in a chamber of a deposition reactor of a plant, the method comprising repeatedly depositing a respective epitaxial layer on a respective substrate wafer in the chamber of the deposition reactor, producing a first number of semiconductor wafers with epitaxial layer, and at the same time: conditioning a replacement chamber of the deposition reactor outside the plant by purging the replacement chamber with a purge gas; interrupting the repeated deposition of the respective epitaxial layer on the respective substrate wafer; replacing the chamber with the replacement chamber, wherein after the conditioning, the replacement chamber is sealed and transported in a closed state to the plant or after the conditioning, the replacement chamber is transported to the plant and in this process purge gas is passed through the replacement chamber; and continuing the repeated deposition of the respective epitaxial layer on the respective substrate wafer in the replacement chamber of the deposition reactor, producing a second number of semiconductor wafers with epitaxial layer. 2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the purge gas is passed through the replacement chamber, and a fraction of water in the purge gas on entry into the replacement chamber is less than 50 ppm. 3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the purge gas used comprises nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, argon, or a mixture of at least two of the stated gases. 4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein during the conditioning of the replacement chamber, a temperature in an interior of the replacement chamber is increased in comparison to a temperature of surroundings of the replacement chamber. 5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein during the conditioning of the replacement chamber, a pressure in an interior of the replacement chamber is changed at least once in comparison to a pressure in surroundings of the replacement chamber. 6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a humidity of the purge gas is measured after departure from the replacement chamber, and the conditioning of the replacement chamber is continued for as long as the humidity is not yet at or below a predetermined threshold value.
Assignees
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Classifications
Nitrides · CPC title
Silicon, silicon germanium or germanium · CPC title
Silicon, silicon germanium or germanium · CPC title
using chemical vapour deposition [CVD] · CPC title
Silicon · CPC title
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- What does patent US12503791B2 cover?
- A method produces semiconductor wafers in a chamber of a deposition reactor of a plant. The method includes: repeatedly depositing an epitaxial layer on a substrate wafer in the chamber, producing semiconductor wafers, and at the same time: conditioning a replacement chamber outside the plant by purging the replacement chamber with a purge gas; interrupting the deposition of the epitaxial layer…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Siltronic Ag
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification C30B25/165. Mapped technology areas include Chemistry & Metallurgy.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Dec 23 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 6 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).