ALD systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9777371-B2
Application number	US-201013203602-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2010
Priority date	Feb 27, 2009
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

A gas deposition system ( 1000 ) configured as a dual-chamber “tower” includes a frame ( 1140 ) for supporting two reaction chamber assemblies ( 3000 ), one vertically above the other. Each chamber assembly ( 3000 ) includes an outer wall assembly surrounding a hollow chamber ( 3070 ) sized to receive a single generation 4.5 (GEN 4.5) glass plate substrate through a load port. The substrate is disposed horizontally inside the hollow chamber ( 3070 ) and the chamber assembly ( 3000 ) includes removable and cleanable triangular shaped input ( 3150 ) and output ( 3250 ) plenums disposed external to the hollow chamber ( 3070 ) and configured to produce substantially horizontally directed laminar gas flow over a top surface of the substrate. Each chamber includes a cleanable and removable chamber liner assembly ( 6000 ) disposed inside the hollow chamber ( 3070 ) to contain precursor gases therein thereby preventing contamination of chamber outer walls ( 3010, 3020, 3030, 3040 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A reaction chamber assembly for depositing thin film layers onto one or more substrates comprising:
an outer wall assembly for enclosing a hollow chamber comprising substantially opposing top and bottom outer walls attached to substantially opposing left and right outer side walls and substantially opposing front and back outer walls;
a gas supply module for delivering one or more gas and vapor phase materials into the hollow chamber;
a vacuum pump for removing gas and vapor phase materials from the hollow chamber;
an input rectangular aperture extending through one of the left and right outer side walls;
an output rectangular aperture extending through the other of the left and right outer side walls wherein the input rectangular aperture and the output rectangular aperture are opposing and the input rectangular aperture has substantially identical aperture dimensions as the output rectangular aperture;
an input plenum disposed external to the outer wall assembly comprising an input end and in fluid communication with the gas supply module for delivering the one or more gas and vapor phase materials into the hollow chamber through the input rectangular aperture, wherein the input plenum is shaped to expand a volume of the gas and vapor phase materials passing from the input end to the input rectangular aperture, the input plenum further including an output end opposite the input end and defining an input plenum chamber between the two ends and wherein the input plenum chamber has a triangular cross-section in a substantially horizontal plane with the input end forming an apex of the triangular cross-section and the output end forming a base of the triangular cross-section, and wherein the input plenum chamber has a trapezoidal cross-section in a substantially vertical plane where the trapezoidal cross-section increases in height from the input end to the output end;
an output plenum disposed external to the outer wall assembly and in fluid communication with the vacuum pump for removing gas and vapor phase materials from the hollow chamber through the output rectangular aperture;
wherein the output plenum forms an output plenum chamber having an output end for removing the one or more gas and vapor phase materials out of the output plenum chamber through an exit port module disposed proximate to the output end;
wherein the output plenum is formed with an input end for withdrawing the one or more gas and vapor phase materials out of the hollow chamber through the output rectangular aperture substantially over an entire area of the aperture dimensions of the output rectangular aperture;
wherein the output plenum chamber is formed with a shape that causes a velocity of the one or more gas and vapor phase materials flowing there through to increase as the gas approaches the exit port module, and;
one or more substrate support surfaces substantially horizontally disposed inside the hollow chamber and between the input rectangular aperture and the output rectangular aperture.

2. The reaction chamber assembly of claim 1 further comprising:
a front aperture passing through the front outer wall for providing access to the hollow chamber for loading and unloading the one or more substrates; and,
an access door movable with respect to the front aperture for gas sealing the front aperture during deposition coating cycles when the access door is closed and for providing access to the hollow volume through the front aperture when the access door is opened.

3. The reaction chamber assembly of claim 1 wherein the output plenum chamber has a first triangular cross-section substantially in a horizontal plane with the output end forming an apex of the first triangular cross-section and the input end forming a base of the first triangular cross-section.

4. The reaction chamber assembly of claim 1 wherein the exit port module comprises:
a circular exit port passing through one of a top and a bottom output plenum wall;
a pressure gage for sensing gas pressure inside the exit port module; and,
a stop valve for isolating the exit port module from the vacuum pump when the stop valve is in a closed position.

5. The reaction chamber of claim 1 wherein the hollow volume has a first rectangular cross-section in a substantially horizontal plane with a hollow volume longitudinal length and a hollow volume transverse width wherein each of the one or more substrate support surfaces has rectangular dimensions with a support surface longitudinal length and a support surface transverse width each sized to fit inside the hollow volume first rectangular cross-section and to support a rectangular substrate having rectangular dimensions defined anyone of the substrate size standards GEN 1 (300×400 mm) through GEN 7 (2160×2460 mm).

6. The reaction chamber of claim 1 further comprising a liner assembly disposed inside the hollow chamber and wherein the liner assembly when assembled together is installable into the hollow chamber as a unit.

7. The reaction chamber assembly of claim 6 wherein the liner assembly includes a substantially horizontally disposed liner base wall positioned between the left and right apertures and wherein the liner base wall comprises at least one of the one or more substrate support surfaces.

8. The reaction chamber assembly of claim 7 wherein the liner assembly comprises a liner base wall opposing a liner top wall, a liner front wall opposing a liner back wall and two opposing liner side walls wherein the base wall and the top wall are coupled together with each of the liner front wall, liner back wall and two opposing liner side walls and wherein each of the liner base wall, the liner top wall, the liner front wall, the liner back wall and the two liner side walls is fabricated from a material that is cleanable by an acid etch to remove built up atomic layer deposition layers from inside surfaces thereof.

9. The reaction chamber of claim 7 further comprising a back aperture passing through a back outer wall of the outer wall assembly wherein the liner assembly when assembled together as a unit can be installed into the hollow chamber through the back aperture.

10. The reaction chamber of claim 1 further comprising an output plenum liner comprising a rectangular tube shaped element installed through the output rectangular output aperture.

11. The reaction chamber of claim 1 further comprising a trap disposed between the output plenum and the vacuum pump wherein the trap includes a catalytically active hydrocarbon (He) oxidation matrix suitable for reacting with undesirable hydrocarbon gases being withdrawn from the exit plenum.

12. The reaction chamber of claim 1 further comprising a precursor trap disposed between the output plenum and the vacuum pump wherein the precursor trap comprises a high surface area matrix heated to a reaction temperature suitable for reacting with unreacted precursor materials exiting from the output plenum.

Assignees

• Coutu Roger R
• Becker Jill Svenja
• Sundaram Ganesh M
• Deguns Eric W
• Ultratech Inc

Inventors

• Coutu Roger R
• Becker Jill Svenja
• Sundaram Ganesh M
• Deguns Eric W

Classifications

• C23C16/45582

  Expansion of gas before it reaches the substrate · CPC title

• C23C16/4401 Primary

  Means for minimising impurities, e.g. dust, moisture or residual gas, in the reaction chamber · CPC title

• C23C16/45504

  Laminar flow · CPC title

• C23C16/45546

  specially adapted for a substrate stack in the ALD reactor · CPC title