FILM DEPOSITION APPARATUS, SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, FILM DEPOSITION METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20100055312A1
• Filed: 09/02/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Aikawa, Katsuyoshi, Honma, Manabu, KATO, HITOSHI, Haneishi, Tomoki
• Application Number:
  US12/552,315
• Publication Number:
  US 20100055312A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/255.260
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45502 Flow conditions in reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45508 Radial flow
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45551 for relative movement of the substrate and the gas injectors or half-reaction reactor compartments
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4585 Devices at or outside the perimeter of the substrate support, e.g. clamping rings, shrouds
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence

Abstract

In a film deposition apparatus which deposits a thin film on a substrate by supplying first and second reactive gases in a vacuum chamber, there are provided a turntable, a first reactive gas supplying portion and a second reactive gas supplying portion which are arranged to extend from circumferential positions of the turntable to a center of rotation of the turntable, a first separation gas supplying portion arranged between the first and second reactive gas supplying portions, a first space having a first height and including the first separation gas supplying portion, a second space having a second height and including the second reactive gas supplying portion, a third space having a height lower than the first height and the second height and including the first separation gas supplying portion, a position detecting unit detecting a rotation position of the turntable, and a detection part arranged at a circumferential portion of the turntable and detected by the position detecting unit.

Claims

1. A film deposition apparatus which deposits a thin film on a substrate by performing a cycle of alternately supplying at least two kinds of source gases, including a first reactive gas and a second reactive gas, to produce a layer of a reaction product in a vacuum chamber, comprising:

a turntable that is rotatably arranged in the vacuum chamber and includes a substrate mounting part on which the substrate is mounted;

first and second reactive gas supplying portions that are arranged to extend from mutually different circumferential positions of the turntable to a center of rotation of the turntable to respectively supply the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas;

a first separation gas supplying portion that is arranged to extend from a circumferential position of the turntable between the first reactive gas supplying portion and the second reactive gas supplying portion to the center of rotation to supply a first separation gas that separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas;

a first undersurface area in an undersurface of a top plate of the vacuum chamber which area is arranged at a first height from the turntable to include the first reactive gas supplying portion;

a first space that is arranged between the first undersurface area and the turntable;

a second undersurface area in an undersurface of the top plate which area is arranged at a position apart from the first undersurface area and at a second height from the turntable to include the second reactive gas supplying portion;

a second space that is arranged between the second undersurface area and the turntable;

a third undersurface area in an undersurface of the top plate which area is arranged at a third height from the turntable to include the first separation gas supplying portion, the third height smaller than the first height and the second height, and the third undersurface area extending on both sides of the first separation gas supplying portion along a rotational direction of the turntable;

a third space that is arranged between the third undersurface area and the turntable, the third space having the third height from the turntable and allowing the first separation gas supplied from the first separation gas supplying portion to flow into the first space and the second space;

a position detecting unit that detects a rotation position of the turntable;

a detection part that is arranged at a circumferential position of the turntable and detected by the position detecting unit;

a core area in an undersurface of the top plate, the core area including a second separation gas supplying portion arranged on a side of the substrate mounting part around the center of rotation of the turntable to supply a second separation gas which separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas; and

an exhaust port that is arranged to exhaust the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas together with both the first separation gas discharged to both sides of the third space and the second separation gas discharged from the core area.

2. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position detecting unit is a laser sensor.

3. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the laser sensor detects the detection part in accordance with a change of a distance between the laser sensor and a surface of the turntable.

4. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the detection part is arranged on the surface of the turntable and includes a first step part and a second step part, the first and second step parts having mutually different depths from the surface of the turntable, and

wherein the second step part is arranged adjacent to the first step part in the rotational direction of the turntable.

5. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the position detecting unit comprises:

a photosensor which includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element and detects a rotation position of a rotary shaft of the turntable; and

a shade part which is arranged on a circumferential side face of the rotary shaft and detected by the photosensor when the shade part located between the light emitting element and the light receiving element prevents light emitted by the light emitting element from entering the light receiving element.

6. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the detection part is arranged on the surface of the turntable to include a step part having a depth from the surface of the turntable.

7. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection part is a scribed line which is formed in a circumferential portion of an upper surface of the turntable and extends in a radial direction of the turntable.

8. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third separation gas supplying portion that is arranged beneath the center of rotation of the turntable to supply a third separation gas that separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas.

9. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth separation gas supplying portion that is arranged between a bottom of the vacuum chamber and the turntable to supply a fourth separation gas that separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas.

10. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a fourth undersurface area and a fifth undersurface are substituted for the first undersurface area, wherein

the fourth undersurface area is arranged at a height, lower than the first height, from the turntable to include the first reactive gas supplying portion;

and

the fifth undersurface area is adjacent to the fourth undersurface area and arranged at the first height from the turntable.

11. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sixth undersurface area and a seventh undersurface area are substituted for the second undersurface area, wherein

the sixth undersurface area is arranged at a height, lower than the second height, from the turntable to include the second reactive gas supplying portion;

and

the seventh undersurface area is adjacent to the sixth undersurface area and arranged at the second height from the turntable.

12. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the substrate placed on the substrate mounting part is flush with an upper surface of the turntable or at a height lower than the upper surface of the turntable.

13. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein gas inlet ports for introducing gases to the first reactive gas supplying portion, the second reactive gas supplying portion, and the first separation gas supplying portion respectively are arranged on either a side of the center of rotation of the turntable or a side of the circumference of the turntable.

14. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein discharge holes are arranged in the first separation gas supplying portion along a line extending from the center of rotation of the turntable to the circumference of the turntable.

15. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the third undersurface area is divided into two areas by the discharge holes of the first separation gas supplying portion included in the third undersurface area, a width of each of the two areas along a circular line in the rotational direction of the turntable through which a center of the substrate placed in the substrate mounting part passes is equal to 50 mm or larger.

16. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the undersurface of the top plate including the third undersurface area is formed into a plane or a curved surface.

17. The film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first exhaust port and a second exhaust port which are respectively arranged at circumferential positions of a bottom of the vacuum chamber adjacent to the first space and the second space.

18. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

the film deposition apparatus according to claim 1;

a vacuum conveyance chamber connected to the film deposition apparatus in an airtight manner and including a substrate conveying part arranged inside the vacuum conveyance chamber; and

a reserve vacuum chamber connected to the vacuum conveyance chamber in an airtight manner and arranged to switch an internal atmosphere of the reserve vacuum chamber between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere.

19. A film deposition method which deposits a thin film on a substrate by performing a cycle of alternately supplying at least two kinds of source gases, including a first reactive gas and a second reactive gas, to produce a layer of a reaction product in a vacuum chamber, wherein a height of an area, to which a first separation gas that separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas is supplied, between an upper surface of a turntable and a top plate of the turntable on which the substrate is placed is lower than a height of an area, to which the first reactive gas and the second reaction gas are supplied, between the turntable upper surface and the top plate, and wherein the first separation gas is supplied to a narrow space arranged between the turntable upper surface and the top plate, a second separation gas that separates the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas is supplied to a core area in an undersurface of the top plate around a center of rotation of the turntable, and the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas which are separated from each other are exhausted together with the first separation gas and the second separation gas, the film deposition method comprising:

correcting a rotation position of the turntable;

placing the substrate on the turntable the rotation position of which is corrected;

rotating the turntable on which the substrate is placed;

depositing a thin film on a surface of the substrate by repeating a cycle of heating the turntable from a bottom of the turntable, supplying the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas respectively from a first reactive gas supplying portion and a second reactive gas supplying portion, which are arranged at mutually different circumferential positions of the turntable, supplying the first separation gas from a first separation gas supplying portion arranged between the first reactive gas supplying portion and the second reactive gas supplying portion, moving the substrate while the turntable is rotated, supplying the first reactive gas to the surface of the substrate, stopping the supply of the first reactive gas, supplying the second reactive gas to the surface of the substrate, and stopping the supply of the second reactive gas; and

taking out the substrate from the turntable the rotation position of which is corrected.

20. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the film deposition method according to claim 19.