High Pressure and High Temperature Anneal Chamber

Content Provider	The Lens
Abstract	Embodiments of the disclosure relate to an apparatus and method for annealing semiconductor substrates. In one embodiment, a batch processing chamber is disclosed. The batch processing chamber includes a chamber body enclosing a processing region, a gas panel configured to provide a processing fluid into the processing region, a condenser fluidly connected to the processing region and a temperature-controlled fluid circuit configured to maintain the processing fluid at a temperature above a condensation point of the processing fluid. The processing region is configured to retain a plurality of substrates during processing. The condenser is configured to condense the processing fluid into a liquid phase.
Related Links	https://www.lens.org/lens/patent/009-618-194-645-36X/frontpage
Language	English
Publisher Date	2019-02-21
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Patent
Jurisdiction	United States of America
Date Applied	2018-07-26
Applicant	Applied Materials Inc
Application No.	201816046119
Claim	A batch processing chamber for annealing substrates under high pressure at high temperature comprising: a chamber body enclosing an internal volume, the internal volume configured to accommodate a plurality of substrates disposed therein; a gas panel configured to provide a processing fluid into the internal volume; a condenser fluidly connected to the internal volume, the condenser configured to condense the processing fluid into liquid phase; and a temperature-controlled fluid circuit configured to maintain the processing fluid at a temperature above a condensation point of the processing fluid, the temperature-controlled fluid circuit comprising: a gas conduit fluidly coupled to a port on the chamber body at a first end, the gas panel at a second end and the condenser at a third end. The batch processing chamber of claim 1 , wherein the temperature-controlled fluid circuit further comprises: a source conduit fluidly coupled to the gas panel at a first end and fluidly coupled to the gas conduit by an inlet isolation valve at a second end; an exhaust conduit fluidly coupled to the condenser at a first end and fluidly coupled to the gas conduit by an outlet isolation valve at a second end; and one or more heaters coupled to each of the source conduit, the exhaust conduit, and the gas conduit, the one or more heaters configured to maintain the processing fluid flowing through the source conduit, the exhaust conduit, and the gas conduit at a temperature above a condensation point of the processing fluid flowing through the temperature-controlled fluid circuit. The batch processing chamber of claim 1 , the chamber further comprising: one or more temperature sensors operable to measure a temperature of the gas conduit. The batching processing chamber of claim 1 further comprising: a cooling channel disposed adjacent to a door configured to sealably close the chamber body. The batch processing chamber of claim 1 , wherein the chamber body is fabricated from a nickel-based superalloy. The batch processing chamber of claim 1 further comprising: an anti-convection plate disposed in the chamber body and separating the internal volume into a hot processing region in which the substrates are processed and a cooler region proximate a chamber body door. A method of annealing substrates in a processing chamber, the method comprising: loading a plurality of substrates into an internal volume of the processing chamber; flowing a processing fluid through a gas conduit into the internal volume; and maintaining the processing fluid in the gas conduit and the internal volume at a temperature above a condensation point of the processing fluid. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: maintaining the processing fluid in the internal volume at a temperature above a temperature of the processing fluid in the gas conduit. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: maintaining the processing fluid in the gas conduit at a temperature above 150 degree Celsius. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: maintaining the substrates at a temperature between about 350 and 500 degrees Celsius. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: maintaining the processing fluid in the internal volume at a pressure above about 5 bars. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: maintaining the processing fluid in the internal volume at a pressure of between about 5 and 80 bars. The method of claim 7 , wherein flowing the processing fluid into the internal volume further comprises: flowing dry steam into the processing chamber. The method of claim 13 further comprising: exposing the substrates to superheated dry steam. The method of claim 7 , wherein flowing the processing fluid into the internal volume further comprises: flowing at least one of an oxygen-containing, nitrogen-containing gas, a silicon-containing gas into the processing chamber.
CPC Classification	Semiconductor Devices Not Covered By Class H10
Extended Family	096-890-527-441-196 165-437-631-639-157 033-328-129-586-652 030-677-298-094-292 005-259-772-654-667 078-420-732-253-670 107-271-840-268-419 177-237-735-065-759 066-426-206-419-943 009-618-194-645-36X 087-490-258-853-889 179-607-334-757-488 045-773-681-405-131 062-164-889-720-280 144-167-674-386-453 003-721-875-612-181 040-547-881-413-542 151-583-982-937-700
Patent ID	20190057879
Inventor/Author	Delmas Jean Verhaverbeke Steven Leschkies Kurtis
IPC	H01L21/324 H01L21/67
Status	Active
Owner	Applied Materials Inc
Simple Family	096-890-527-441-196 165-437-631-639-157 033-328-129-586-652 030-677-298-094-292 005-259-772-654-667 078-420-732-253-670 107-271-840-268-419 177-237-735-065-759 066-426-206-419-943 009-618-194-645-36X 087-490-258-853-889 179-607-334-757-488 045-773-681-405-131 062-164-889-720-280 144-167-674-386-453 003-721-875-612-181 040-547-881-413-542 151-583-982-937-700
CPC (with Group)	H01L21/67017 H01L21/67109 H01L21/67098 H01L21/67248 H01L21/324 H01L21/6723 H01L21/67023
Issuing Authority	United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Kind	Patent Application Publication