Film-forming manufacturing apparatus and method

US9873941B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9873941-B2
Application numberUS-201514812130-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateJul 29, 2015
Priority dateAug 27, 2010
Publication dateJan 23, 2018
Grant dateJan 23, 2018

How to read this patent

A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.

  1. Title

    What the patent document calls the invention.

  2. Abstract

    A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.

  3. Assignees and inventors

    Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.

  4. Key dates

    Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.

  5. First independent claim

    The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.

  6. CPC / IPC classifications

    Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.

  7. Citations and related patents

    Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.

Abstract

Official abstract text for this publication.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a film-forming apparatus and a film-forming method that can prolong the lifetime of heaters used under high temperature conditions in an epitaxial growth technique. An inert gas discharge portion supplies an inert gas into the space containing the heater, gas is then discharged through the gas discharge portion without influence on the semiconductor substrate during film formation. It is therefore possible to prevent the reaction gas entering into the space containing the high-temperature heaters. This makes it possible to prevent a reaction between hydrogen gas contained in the reaction gas and SiC constituting the heaters. Therefore, it is possible to prevent carbon used as a base material of the heaters from being exposed due to the decomposition of SiC and then reacting with hydrogen gas. This makes it possible to prolong the lifetime of the heaters.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

What is claimed is: 1. A film-forming apparatus comprising: a film-forming chamber; a hollow liner provided in the film-forming chamber; a susceptor provided in the film-forming chamber to place a substrate thereon; an upper heater located between the liner and the inner wall of the film-forming chamber and located above the susceptor in order to heat the substrate from above; a lower heater located below the susceptor in order to heat the substrate from below; a reaction gas supply portion for supplying a reaction gas for forming a SiC film on the substrate; a first inert gas supply portion that supplies a first inert gas into a space around the hollow liner; a second inert gas supply portion that supplies a second inert gas into a space around the lower heater; an inert gas discharge portion for discharging the second inert gas from a space around the lower heater; and a gas discharge portion located at a position lower than a position of the susceptor in the film-forming chamber, the gas discharge portion discharging the reaction gas, the first inert gas, and the second inert gas outside the film-forming chamber. 2. The film-forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the hollow liner is cylindrically-shaped. 3. The film-forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction gas supply portion is located in the upper part of the film-forming chamber. 4. The film-forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is argon gas.

Assignees

Inventors

Classifications

  • C23C16/325Primary

    Silicon carbide · CPC title

  • Pulsed pressure or control pressure · CPC title

  • characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber · CPC title

  • characterised by the method used for heating the substrate (C23C16/48, C23C16/50 take precedence) · CPC title

  • characterised by the method used for supporting substrates in the reaction chamber · CPC title

Patent family

Related publications grouped by family.

External sources

Frequently asked questions

Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.

What does patent US9873941B2 cover?
It is an object of the present invention to provide a film-forming apparatus and a film-forming method that can prolong the lifetime of heaters used under high temperature conditions in an epitaxial growth technique. An inert gas discharge portion supplies an inert gas into the space containing the heater, gas is then discharged through the gas discharge portion without influence on the semicon…
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Nuflare Technology Inc, Toyota Motor Co Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification C23C16/325. Mapped technology areas include Chemistry & Metallurgy.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue Jan 23 2018 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 9 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).