Source supply apparatus, source supply method and storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016281231-A1
Application number	US-201615079435-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 29, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A source supply apparatus configured to supply a source material sublimated from a solid source material together with a carrier gas to a source consumption zone, includes a source material supplier defining a sealed space and resolidifying and precipitating the source material in a thin film form of, a carrier gas supply passage through which the carrier gas is supplied to the source material supplier, a temperature adjustment part configured to adjust temperature of the source material supplier, a supply passage through which the source material and the carrier gas are supplied from the source material supplier to the source consumption zone, a flow rate measurement part measuring a flow rate of the source material supplied from the source material supplier to the source consumption zone, and a controller configured to control the temperature adjustment part based on a measured flow rate obtained from the flow rate measurement part.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A source supply apparatus configured to supply a source material sublimated from a solid source material together with a carrier gas to a source consumption zone, comprising:
a source material supply source defining a sealed space and configured to resolidify and precipitate the source material sublimated from the solid source material in a form of a thin film therein; a carrier gas supply passage through which the carrier gas is supplied to the source material supply source; a temperature adjustment part configured to adjust temperature of the source material supply source; a supply passage through which the source material sublimated from the solid source material and the carrier gas are supplied from the source material supply source to the source consumption zone; a flow rate measurement part configured to measure a flow rate of the source material supplied from the source material supply source to the source consumption zone; and a controller configured to control the temperature adjustment part based on a measured flow rate value obtained from the flow rate measurement part.

2 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the temperature adjustment part comprises a heating part and a cooling part.

3 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the flow rate measurement part comprises:
a flow rate controller provided in the carrier gas supply passage; a gas flow rate measurement part provided in the supply passage; and a calculation part configured to calculate the flow rate of the source material based on a measured flow rate value obtained from the gas flow rate measurement part and a preset value of a flow rate of the carrier gas or a measured flow rate value of the carrier gas obtained from the flow rate controller.

4 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the source material supply source includes a plurality of source material capturing plates constituting a bent gas flow passage.

5 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the source material supply source includes a barrel-shaped container body connected at one end thereof to the carrier gas supply passage and at the other end thereof to the supply passage, and the plurality of source material capturing plates alternately extends from at least one of a left, right, upper and lower inner walls of the barrel-shaped container body so as to constitute the bent gas flow passage bent at a plurality of places.

6 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the source material supply source includes a barrel-shaped container body connected at one end thereof to the carrier gas supply passage and at the other end thereof to the supply passage, and the temperature adjustment part includes a heater and a coolant passage installed in walls of the barrel-shaped container body, respectively.

7 . The source supply apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a main source container configured to heat the solid source material to a sublimation temperature or more and to receive the solid source material, the carrier gas supply passage being connected to an upstream side of the main source container; a supplementing passage configured to supply the carrier gas and a source gas containing the source material sublimated from the solid source material from the main source container to the source material supply source; a discharge passage configured to discharge a gas from the source material supply source while the source gas is supplied from the main source container to the source material supply source; a valve configured to block the supply passage when the source gas is supplied from the main source container to the source material supply source in order to supplement the source material supply source with the source material; and a valve configured to block the supplementing passage when the source gas is supplied from the source material supply source to the source consumption zone, wherein the source material supply source re-solidifies and captures the source material from the source gas supplied from the main source container.

8 . A source supply method for supplying a carrier gas together with a source material sublimated from a solid source material to a source consumption zone, comprising:
sublimating the solid source material precipitated in a source material supply source by heating the source material supply source which defines a sealed space and which resolidifies and precipitates the source material sublimated from the solid source material in a form of a thin film therein; supplying the carrier gas and a sublimated source material from the source material supply source to the source consumption zone though a supply passage by providing the carrier gas into the source material supply source; measuring a flow rate of the source material supplied from the source material supply source to the source consumption zone; and controlling a temperature of the source material supply source based on the measured flow rate value of the source material measured in the measuring the flow rate of the source material.

9 . The source supply method according to claim 8 , wherein, in the measuring the flow rate of the source material, the flow rate of the source material is calculated based on a measured flow rate value of a mixed gas of the source material and the carrier gas flowing through the supply passage disposed at a downstream side of the source material supply source, and a flow rate of the carrier gas flowing through a carrier gas supply passage disposed at an upstream side of the source material supply source.

10 . The source supply method according to claim 8 , wherein, in order to change a preset value of the flow rate of the source material from a first preset value to a second preset value, the method further comprises:
adjusting a flow rate of the carrier gas to a flow rate at which the flow rate of the source material becomes the second preset value; and returning the flow rate of the carrier gas, from the adjusted flow rate at which the flow rate of the source material becomes the second preset value to the flow rate available before the adjusting the flow rate of the carrier gas, while the flow rate of the source material is maintained at the second preset value, by adjusting the temperature of the source material supply source.

11 . The source supply method according to claim 8 , wherein a dilution gas passage connected to the supply passage is used to add a dilution gas to the mixed gas of the carrier gas and the source material sublimated from the source material supply source, and a flow rate of the dilution gas is controlled such that the flow rate of the source material with respect to a total flow rate of the carrier gas and the dilution gas becomes a preset value.

12 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program used in a source supply apparatus for supplying a carrier gas together with a source material sublimated from a solid source material to a source consumption zone,
wherein the computer program comprises a step group for implementing the source supply method as set forth in claim 8 .

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Moroi Masayuki
• Maekawa Koji

Classifications

• C23C16/4481

  by evaporation using carrier gas in contact with the source material (C23C16/4486 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C23C16/45525 Primary

  Atomic layer deposition [ALD] · CPC title

• C23C16/52 Primary

  Controlling or regulating the coating process {(C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence)} · CPC title

• C23C16/14

  Deposition of only one other metal element · CPC title

• C23C16/45561

  Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber · CPC title