Apparatus and Methods for Isolating A Reaction Chamber from A Loading Chamber Resulting in Reduced Contamination

Content Provider	The Lens
Abstract	The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus having a reaction chamber which can include a baseplate having an opening; a moveable substrate support configured to support a substrate; a movement element configured to move a substrate held on the substrate support towards the opening of the baseplate; a plurality of gas inlets positioned above and configured to direct gas downwardly towards the substrate support; and a sealing element configured to form a seal between the baseplate and the substrate support, the seal positioned at a greater radial distance from a center of the substrate support than an outer edge of the substrate support. In some embodiments, the sealing element can also include a plurality of apertures extend through the sealing element, the apertures configured to provide a flow path between a position below the sealing element to a position above the sealing element. Some embodiments include two or more stacked sealing elements.
Related Links	https://www.lens.org/lens/patent/010-824-015-659-882/frontpage
Language	English
Publisher Date	2019-05-09
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Patent
Jurisdiction	United States of America
Date Applied	2018-07-10
Applicant	Asm Ip Holding Bv
Application No.	201816031613
Claim	1 - 29 . (canceled) A semiconductor processing apparatus comprising: a reaction chamber comprising a baseplate including an opening; a moveable substrate support configured to support a substrate; a movement element configured to move a substrate held on the substrate support towards the opening of the baseplate; and a metal sealing element extending around the substrate support and configured to form a seal between the baseplate and the substrate support, wherein a plurality of apertures extend through the sealing element, the apertures configured to provide a flow path between a position below the sealing element to a position above the sealing element. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the seal comprises a metal to metal contact between the sealing element and at least one of the baseplate and the substrate support. The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the baseplate comprises bellows, wherein the seal is formed between the sealing element and the bellows. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the sealing element comprises a flexible diaphragm comprising at least one of hastelloy C22, Nimonic-90, or Grade 2 titanium. (canceled) The apparatus of claim 30 , further comprising an exhaust port, wherein at least one of the apertures and the seal is positioned at a radial distance that is less than or equal to the exhaust port, relative to a center of the substrate support. The apparatus of claim 35 , further comprising a gap extending radially between the substrate support and the baseplate, wherein the apertures are arranged at a greater radial distance from the center of the substrate support than the gap. The apparatus of claim 36 , wherein the seal is formed without a substantial vertical gap between the substrate support and the baseplate. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein each aperture comprises a slot. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the apertures are configured to allow about 50 sccm to about 200 sccm of flow through the sealing element when the seal is formed between the baseplate and the substrate support. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the substrate support comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, wherein the sealing element is affixed to an underside of the upper portion of the substrate support. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the baseplate comprises a surface, the surface including an apex, the seal formed between the apex and the sealing element, wherein the apertures extend radially across the apex. The apparatus of claim 51 , wherein the total circumference where the curved surface contacts the sealing element is greater than the total circumference of the apertures. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the sealing element comprises a first sealing element, further comprising a second sealing element stacked with the first sealing element. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein a first portion of the sealing element forms a first contact seal with the baseplate, and a second portion of the sealing element forms a second contact seal with the substrate support. A semiconductor processing apparatus comprising: a reaction chamber comprising a baseplate including an opening; a moveable substrate support configured to support a substrate; a movement element configured to move a substrate held on the substrate support towards the opening of the baseplate; and two or more stacked metal sealing elements extending around the substrate support, at least one of the metal sealing elements configured to form a seal between the baseplate and the substrate support. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein the two or more metal sealing elements comprises three or more sealing elements. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein the two or more sealing elements are substantially aligned with respect to each other. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein each of the sealing elements directly contacts an adjacent corresponding sealing element. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein a portion of a first sealing element of the two or more sealing elements forms a first contact seal with the baseplate, and a portion of a second sealing element of the two or more sealing elements forms a second contact seal with the substrate support. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 61 , wherein the two or more sealing elements are attached to at least one of the baseplate and the substrate support with a floating attachment. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 62 , wherein the two or more sealing elements are attached to both the baseplate and the substrate support with a floating attachment. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 61 , wherein the first contact seal is an outer contact seal, and the second contact seal is an inner contact sea The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 64 , wherein the first contact seal is an upward facing seal, and the second contact seal is a downward facing sea The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein each of the two or more stacked sealing elements comprise an aperture extending therethrough, to form an annular shape. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 66 , wherein each of the two or more stacked sealing elements have no additional apertures extending therethrough. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein the two or more sealing elements are configured to seal at a pressure differential between about 0.1 to about 60 Torr. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 68 , wherein the two or more sealing elements are configured to seal at a pressure differential greater than about 15 Torr. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein the substrate support is positioned relative to the baseplate to provide an overdrive of between about 1 mm to about 5 mm. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein each of the stacked sealing elements comprises a flexible diaphragm comprising at least one of hastelloy C22, Nimonic-90, or Grade 2 titanium. The semiconductor processing apparatus of claim 57 , wherein each of the stacked sealing elements are about 0.4 mm to about 3 mm thick.
CPC Classification	Semiconductor Devices Not Covered By Class H10 COATING METALLIC MATERIAL;COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL;SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE; BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION;COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION; BY SPUTTERING; BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION; IN GENERAL
Extended Family	196-393-301-108-380 141-744-940-855-151 037-364-953-650-441 036-843-702-593-480 059-705-462-969-539 048-620-186-495-194 044-014-890-640-791 073-563-790-792-003 193-187-653-493-212 169-490-337-760-309 063-183-037-706-163 097-340-570-663-640 010-824-015-659-882 130-647-802-676-485 031-477-532-364-327 135-115-964-377-298 072-165-858-631-864
Patent ID	20190139808
Inventor/Author	White Carl Louis Fondurulia Kyle Shugrue John Kevin Marquardt David
IPC	H01L21/687 C23C16/44 C23C16/455 C23C16/458
Status	Active
Owner	Asm Ip Holding B.v
Simple Family	141-744-940-855-151 037-364-953-650-441 059-705-462-969-539 036-843-702-593-480 048-620-186-495-194 044-014-890-640-791 193-187-653-493-212 169-490-337-760-309 010-824-015-659-882 031-477-532-364-327 130-647-802-676-485 135-115-964-377-298 072-165-858-631-864
CPC (with Group)	H01L21/68735 C23C16/4409 C23C16/4412 C23C16/45544 C23C16/45565 C23C16/4585 H01L21/67126 H01L21/6719 H01L21/67017 H01L21/0228 H01L21/683 C23C16/458 H01L21/68764
Issuing Authority	United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Kind	Patent Application Publication