Gas Cluster Processing Device and Gas Cluster Processing Method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021107041-A1
Application number	US-201816496714-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 9, 2018
Priority date	Mar 23, 2017
Publication date	Apr 15, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

There is provided a gas cluster processing device for performing a predetermined process on a workpiece by irradiating the workpiece with a gas cluster, including: a processing container in which the workpiece is disposed; a gas supply part configured to supply a gas for generating the gas cluster; a flow rate controller configured to control a flow rate of the gas supplied from the gas supply part; a cluster nozzle configured to receive the gas for generating the gas cluster at a predetermined supply pressure, spray the gas into the processing container maintained in a vacuum state, and convert the gas into the gas cluster through an adiabatic expansion; and a pressure control part provided in a pipe between the flow rate controller and the cluster nozzle and including a back pressure controller configured to control a supply pressure of the gas for generating the gas cluster.

First claim

1 . A gas cluster processing device for performing a predetermined process on a workpiece by irradiating the workpiece with a gas cluster, comprising:
a processing container in which the workpiece is disposed; a gas supply part configured to supply a gas for generating the gas cluster; a flow rate controller configured to control a flow rate of the gas supplied from the gas supply part; a cluster nozzle configured to receive the gas for generating the gas cluster at a predetermined supply pressure, spray the gas into the processing container maintained in a vacuum state, and convert the gas into the gas cluster through an adiabatic expansion; and a pressure control part provided in a pipe between the flow rate controller and the cluster nozzle and including a back pressure controller configured to control a supply pressure of the gas for generating the gas cluster.

2 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 1 , wherein the pressure control part comprises a branch pipe branched from the pipe, and further comprises as the back pressure controller, a first back pressure controller and a second back pressure controller which are provided in the branch pipe in a serial manner,
wherein a high-precision back pressure controller having a relatively narrow pressure difference range is used as the first back pressure controller, and a primary-side pressure of the first back pressure controller is set to be a set value of the gas supply pressure, and wherein a back pressure controller having a pressure difference range wider than the pressure difference range of the first back pressure controller is used as the second back pressure controller, and a primary-side pressure of the second back pressure controller is set to be lower than the set value of the gas supply pressure.

3 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a controller configured to control a set flow rate of the flow rate controller, wherein the controller controls the set flow rate of the flow rate controller to a first flow rate exceeding a flow rate required for reaching the predetermined supply pressure until the supply pressure of the gas supplied from the gas supply part reaches the predetermined supply pressure, and wherein the pressure control part includes a flowmeter configured to measure a flow rate of a gas flowing through the back pressure controller, and wherein the controller controls, based on the measured value obtained by the flowmeter, the set flow rate of the flow rate controller to a second flow rate which is greater than a flow rate enough to maintain the predetermined supply pressure and less than the first flow rate.

4 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 1 , wherein the gas supply part is configured to separately supply at least two types of gases as the gas for generating the gas cluster,
wherein the flow rate controller comprises at least two flow rate controllers provided respectively to correspond to the at least two types of gases, the at least two types of gases are joined in the pipe at downstream sides of the at least two flow rate controllers, and wherein the pressure control part is provided in a portion of the pipe in which the at least two types of gases are joined.

5 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 1 , further comprising: a booster provided at an upstream side of a portion of the pipe in which the pressure control part is provided, the booster being configured to increase a pressure of the gas for generating the gas cluster.

6 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 1 , wherein the pressure control part further comprises:
a bypass flow path provided to bypass the back pressure controller from the pipe; and an opening/closing valve configured to open/close the bypass flow path, wherein, after the gas cluster is processed, the opening/closing valve is opened to exhaust the gas remaining in the cluster nozzle and the pipe through the bypass flow path.

7 . The gas cluster processing device of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to control the first flow rate to fall within a range of 1.5 times to 50 times the flow rate enough to maintain the predetermined supply pressure, and configured to control the second flow rate to fall within a range of 1.02 to 1.5 times the flow rate enough to maintain the predetermined supply pressure.

8 . A gas cluster processing method of performing a predetermined process on a workpiece by supplying a gas for generating a gas cluster to a cluster nozzle through a pipe, spraying the gas from the cluster nozzle into a processing container maintained in a vacuum state, converting the gas into the gas cluster by an adiabatic expansion, and irradiating the workpiece disposed inside the processing container with the gas cluster, the method comprising:
controlling a flow rate of the gas to a predetermined flow rate; discharging a portion of the gas from the pipe; and controlling a supply pressure in the pipe to a predetermined supply pressure.

9 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 8 , wherein the supply pressure is controlled using a back pressure controller.

10 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 9 , wherein the back pressure controller is provided in a branch pipe branched from the pipe such that the gas discharged from the pipe flows into the back pressure controller through the branch pipe, and
wherein a primary-side pressure of the back pressure controller is set to be the predetermined supply pressure, and, when the primary-side pressure reaches the predetermined supply pressure, an excess gas is discharged through the back pressure controller.

11 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 10 , wherein the back pressure controller comprises a first back pressure controller and a second back pressure controller which are provided in the branch pipe in a serial manner,
wherein a high-precision back pressure controller having a narrow pressure difference range is used as the first back pressure controller, and the primary-side pressure of the first back pressure controller is set to be a set value of the gas supply pressure, and wherein a back pressure controller having a pressure difference range wider than the pressure difference range of the first back pressure controller is used as the second back pressure controller, and the primary-side pressure of the second back pressure controller is set to be lower than the set value of the gas supply pressure.

12 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 8 , further comprising:
controlling a set flow rate of the flow rate controller to a first flow rate required for reaching the predetermined supply pressure until the supply pressure of the gas reaches the predetermined supply pressure; measuring a flow rate of the gas discharged from the pipe and flowing through the back pressure controller; and controlling, based on the measured flow rate, the flow rate of the gas to a second flow rate greater than a flow rate enough to maintain the predetermined supply pressure and less than the first flow rate.

13 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 8 , further comprising:
separately supplying, as the gas for generating the gas cluster, at least two types of gases; controlling a flow rate of each of the at least two types of gases; allowing the at least two types of gases, the flow rates of which are controlled, to join with each other in the pipe; and discharging a portion of the joined gas.

14 . The gas cluster processing method of claim 8 , wherein a pressure of the gas for generating the gas cluster is increased by a booster provided at a position

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd
• Iwatani Corp

Inventors

• Dobashi Kazuya
• Orii Takehiko
• Saito Yukimasa
• Koike Kunihiko
• Senoo Takehiko
• Izumi Koichi
• Yoshino Yu
• SHOJO Tadashi
• KANEHIRA Keita

Classifications

• H10P70/20

  Cleaning during device manufacture · CPC title

• H10P72/0406 Primary

  for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like · CPC title

• H10P72/0402 Primary

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

• H10P70/12

  by dry cleaning only (H10P70/52 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B08B5/02 Primary

  Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities {(airguns or nozzles per se B05B1/005)} · CPC title