Multi-zone atomic layer deposition apparatus and method
First Claim
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1. An ALD apparatus comprising:
- a chamber part having two or more precursor regions, each precursor region having one or more inlet zones bounded by one or more exhaust zones;
a substrate holder located in close proximity to the chamber part for cyclically moving substrates through the precursor regions, wherein movement of a substrate past the inlet zones of a precursor region forms a deposition zone for the precursor region; and
deposition zones for adjacent precursor regions are separated by a gap formed between the chamber part and the substrate holder, the gap having a lower gas conductance than the exhaust zones; and
wherein, for each precursor region;
the inlet zones are for injecting a precursor gas into the deposition zone, the exhaust zones are for exhausting excess precursor gas and/or reaction by-products from the deposition zone, the exhaust zones have a higher gas conductance than the deposition zone, and the gap and the exhaust zones are positioned to limit cross-flow of the precursor gas to other precursor regions.
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Abstract
Method and apparatus for producing a thin film on a substrate set in a moving substrate holder is disclosed. Within a deposition chamber, a substrate is moved across a series of dedicated deposition zones and is subjected to repeated surface reactions with at least two different reactants. The reactants are fed into the dedicated deposition zones from a gas supply system that may include high speed valves that are timed to coordinate with the passage of the substrate so as to inject reactive gases repeatedly into the deposition zones. The dedicated deposition zones are separated by dedicated exhaust zones that direct each reactive gas along separate paths so as to minimize or eliminate mixing of different reactive species in the exhaust thus decreasing deposition within the exhaust system.
150 Citations
62 Claims
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1. An ALD apparatus comprising:
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a chamber part having two or more precursor regions, each precursor region having one or more inlet zones bounded by one or more exhaust zones;
a substrate holder located in close proximity to the chamber part for cyclically moving substrates through the precursor regions, wherein movement of a substrate past the inlet zones of a precursor region forms a deposition zone for the precursor region; and
deposition zones for adjacent precursor regions are separated by a gap formed between the chamber part and the substrate holder, the gap having a lower gas conductance than the exhaust zones; and
wherein, for each precursor region;
the inlet zones are for injecting a precursor gas into the deposition zone, the exhaust zones are for exhausting excess precursor gas and/or reaction by-products from the deposition zone, the exhaust zones have a higher gas conductance than the deposition zone, and the gap and the exhaust zones are positioned to limit cross-flow of the precursor gas to other precursor regions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An ALD apparatus comprising:
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a chamber part having two or more precursor regions arranged in a circular array about a central axis, each precursor region having one or more inlet zones bounded by one or more exhaust zones;
a rotatable substrate holder located in close proximity to the chamber part, wherein rotation of the substrate holder cyclically moves substrates through the precursor regions, movement of a substrate past the inlet zones of a precursor region forms a deposition zone for the precursor region, and deposition zones for adjacent precursor regions are separated by a gap formed between the chamber part and the substrate holder, the gap having a lower gas conductance than the exhaust zones; and
wherein, for each precursor region;
the inlet zones are for injecting a precursor gas into the deposition zone, the exhaust zones are for exhausting excess precursor gas and/or reaction by-products from the deposition zone, the exhaust zones have a higher gas conductance than the deposition zone, and the gap and the exhaust zones are positioned to limit cross-flow of the precursor gas to other precursor regions. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A method for ALD deposition of a substrate comprising:
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moving a substrate through at least two precursor regions wherein, during the movement through each precursor region;
forming a deposition zone as a result of movement of the substrate past one or more inlet zones;
injecting a precursor gas from the inlet zones into the deposition zone;
exhausting excess precursor gas and/or reaction by-products from the deposition zone via one or more exhaust zones that bound the inlet zones and have a higher gas conductance than the deposition zone; and
limiting cross-flow of the precursor gas to other precursor regions by placement of the exhaust zones and of a gap around the deposition zone; and
cyclically repeating the step of moving a substrate through at least two precursor regions.
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Specification
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Current AssigneeAtomicity Systems Incorporated
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Original AssigneeAtomicity Systems Incorporated
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InventorsAntonissen, Eric
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Application NumberUS11/239,966Publication NumberTime in Patent OfficeDaysField of SearchUS Class Current427/248.100CPC Class CodesC23C 16/4412 Details relating to the exh...C23C 16/45525 Atomic layer deposition [ALD]C23C 16/45551 for relative movement of th...
