Apparatus and method for processing gas, and storage medium

• US 10,410,876 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2017
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Yamashita, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Zervigon, Rudy
• Application Number:
  US15/629,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20170372914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 118715, 15634533, 15634534
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/3322 Problems associated with coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/32449 Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02263 deposition from the gas or vapour phase
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/311 Etching the insulating layers by chemical or physical means H01L21/31058 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/31116 by dry-etching

Abstract

An apparatus for processing a gas includes: a mounting part installed in a processing container and on which a substrate is mounted; a first gas flow path where a first gas is supplied from a first gas supply mechanism to an upstream portion of the first gas flow path, and a downstream portion of the first gas flow path is branched to form first branch paths; a second gas flow path where a second gas is supplied from a second gas supply mechanism to an upstream portion of the second gas flow path, and a downstream portion of the second gas flow path is branched to form second branch paths; an annular mixing chamber to which a discharge path is connected; and a gas discharge part discharging a mixture gas.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing a gas, comprising:

a mounting part installed in a processing container having a vacuum atmosphere and on which a substrate is mounted;

a first gas flow path in which a first gas is supplied from a first gas supply mechanism to an upstream portion of the first gas flow path, and a downstream portion of the first gas flow path is branched to form a plurality of first branch paths;

a second gas flow path in which a second gas is supplied from a second gas supply mechanism to an upstream portion of the second gas flow path, and a downstream portion of the second gas flow path is branched to form a plurality of second branch paths;

an annular mixing chamber to which a discharge path is connected; and

a gas discharge part being configured to discharge a mixture gas supplied from the discharge path onto the substrate,

wherein the annular mixing chamber includes a plurality of first positions separated from each other in a circumferential direction, each of downstream ends of the plurality of first branch paths being connected to each of the plurality of first positions; and

a plurality of second positions separated from each other in the circumferential direction, each of downstream ends of the plurality of second branch paths being connected to each of the plurality of second positions, and is configured to generate the mixture gas by mixing the first gas and the second gas flowing from the first branch paths and the second branch paths into the discharge path.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of first positions and each the plurality of second positions coincide with each other.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge path is connected to a position separated from the plurality of first positions and the plurality of second positions in the circumferential direction of the mixing chamber.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first gas flow paths and the plurality of second gas flow paths are connected to an upper portion of the mixing chamber, and

wherein the discharge path is connected to a lower portion of the mixing chamber.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the gas discharge parts and a plurality of the discharge paths are provided,

wherein a gas shower head having a flat surface facing the mounting part and a plurality of gas discharge holes formed in the flat surface is installed in a lower portion of a ceiling part of the processing container, and

wherein each of the gas discharge parts is installed to discharge a gas laterally into a gas diffusion space formed between the ceiling part of the processing container and the gas shower head.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first gas supply mechanism is configured to independently supply a first inert gas and a first processing gas, which constitute the first gas, into the first gas flow path, and

wherein the second gas supply mechanism is configured to independently supply a second inert gas and a second processing gas, which constitute the second gas, into the second gas flow path, and

the apparatus further comprising:

a control part outputting a control signal to cause, while the first inert gas and the second inert gas being continuously supplied in parallel into the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path, respectively, the first processing gas and the second processing gas to be intermittently supplied into the first gas flow path and the second gas flow path, respectively.