Substrate rapid thermal heating system and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9239192-B2
Application number	US-201313771260-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2013
Priority date	Feb 20, 2013
Publication date	Jan 19, 2016
Grant date	Jan 19, 2016

Abstract

A method and apparatus for rapid thermal heat treatment of semiconductor and other substrates is provided. A number of heat lamps arranged in an array or other configuration produce light and heat radiation. The light and heat radiation is directed through a heat slot that forms a radiation beam of high intensity light and heat. The radiation beam is directed to a platen that includes multiple substrates. The apparatus and method include a controller that controls rotational and translational motion of the platen relative to the heat slot and also controls the power individually and collectively supplied to the heat lamps. A program is executed which maneuvers the platen such that all portions of all substrates receive the desired thermal treatment, i.e. attain a desired temperature for a desired time period.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for heat treating substrates, said system comprising:
a lamp module including at least one wall defining a heat slot that directs heat from a plurality of heat lamps to at least a section of a platen, said platen having a plurality of substrate receiving stations and being rotatable and translatable with respect to said lamp module, wherein said at least one wall tapers from a first size adjacent to the plurality of heat lamps to a second size at the heat slot, wherein the second size is smaller than the first size, and wherein said heat slot is disposed between said platen and said plurality of heat lamps; and
a controller that controls rotation and translation of said platen such that all portions of each of a plurality of substrates received on said substrate receiving stations are heated by said heat directed by said heat slot.

2. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said plurality of substrate receiving stations comprise at least five said substrate receiving stations.

3. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said platen is translatable one of continuously and incrementally.

4. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said heat slot directs a beam of said heat onto an area substantially the same size as an area of one of said substrate receiving stations and wherein said plurality of heat lamps are disposed throughout an area greater than said area of one of said substrate receiving stations.

5. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said heat slot directs a beam of said heat onto an area having an area less than about 15% of a size of one of said substrate receiving stations.

6. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said heat slot directs a beam of said heat onto a beam area of said platen and said heat lamps are arranged over an area greater than said beam area.

7. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said controller further controls power supplied to said heat lamps.

8. The system as in claim 7 , wherein said controller individually controls heat intensity of each of said plurality of heat lamps.

9. The system as in claim 7 , wherein said controller includes a processor that receives program instructions from a non-transitory computer readable electronic storage medium and causes said controller to execute a program that causes all said portions of each said substrate received on said substrate receiving stations to attain a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

10. A method for heat treating substrates using the system of claim 1 , said method comprising:
directing heat radiation from a plurality of heat lamps through a heat slot thereby forming a heat radiation beam and directing said heat radiation beam onto a beam area portion on a platen;
positioning a plurality of substrates on said platen;
rotating said platen; and
translating said platen relative to said heat slot,
wherein said rotating and translating cause said heat radiation beam to heat all portions of each said substrate.

11. The method as in claim 10 , wherein said rotating includes a speed of about 10-800 revolution per minute, said rotation and said translating occur simultaneously, said substrates comprise semiconductor substrates and said method is an annealing operation.

12. The method as in claim 10 , wherein said translating comprises said platen translating incrementally with respect to said heat slot.

13. The method as in claim 12 , wherein said translating incrementally includes a step size of about 4-20 mm and said beam area is less than about 15% of an area of said substrate.

14. The method as in claim 10 , further comprising providing a controller and said controller controlling power supplied to said heat lamps and said rotating and translating such that all said portions of each said substrate attain a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

15. The method as in claim 10 , wherein said rotating and translating cause all said portions of each said substrate attain a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

16. A method for rapid thermal heat treatment of substrates using the system of claim 1 , said method comprising:
providing a beam of heat radiation having a beam area at a surface level;
providing a plurality of substrates on a platen disposed substantially at said surface level, each said substrate having an area greater than said beam area; and
maneuvering said platen according to a program that causes motion of said platen along said surface level, such that all areas of each of said substrates are exposed to said beam of heat radiation.

17. The method as in claim 16 , wherein all said areas of each of said substrates are exposed to said beam of heat radiation a plurality of times and each said area of each of said substrates achieves a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

18. The method as in claim 16 , wherein said maneuvering comprises rotating and translating and said maneuvering causes said all areas of each of said substrates to be exposed to said beam of heat radiation for a time in the millisecond or microsecond range.

19. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said at least one wall comprises a reflective coating disposed over an inner surface of said wall.

20. The system as in claim 1 , wherein said at least one wall comprises an opaque wall.

Assignees

• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cheng Nai-Han
• Yang Chi-Ming

Classifications

• H10P72/7621

  characterised by supporting two or more semiconductor substrates · CPC title

• H10P72/7618

  characterised by a movable susceptor, stage or support, others than those only rotating on their own vertical axis, e.g. susceptors on a rotating carrousel · CPC title

• H10P72/0436

  mainly by radiation · CPC title

• H10P95/90 Primary

  Thermal treatments, e.g. annealing or sintering · CPC title

• F27D99/0006

  Electric heating elements or system · CPC title