BATCH TYPE ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION APPARATUS

• US 20100326358A1
• Filed: 02/10/2009
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kyu-Jeong Choi
• Original Assignee: Kyu-Jeong Choi
• Inventors: Choi, Kyu-Jeong
• Application Number:
  US12/866,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20100326358A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 118/725
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45546 specially adapted for a substrate stack in the ALD reactor
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45551 for relative movement of the substrate and the gas injectors or half-reaction reactor compartments

Abstract

Provided is a batch-type Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) apparatus for performing ALD processing collectively for a plurality of substrates, leading to an improved throughput, and achieving perfect uniformity of ALD on the substrates. The batch-type ALD apparatus includes: a chamber that can be kept in a vacuum state; a substrate support member, disposed in the chamber, supporting a plurality of substrates to be stacked one onto another with a predetermined pitch; a substrate movement device moving the substrate support member upward or downward; a gas spray device continuously spraying a gas in a direction parallel to the extending direction of each of the substrates stacked in the substrate support member; and a gas discharge device, disposed in an opposite side of the chamber to the gas spray device, sucking and evacuating the gas sprayed from the gas spray device.

Claims

1. A batch-type Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) apparatus comprising:

a chamber that can be kept in a vacuum state;

a substrate support member, disposed in the chamber, supporting a plurality of substrates to be stacked one onto another with a predetermined pitch;

a substrate movement device moving the substrate support member upward or downward;

a gas spray device continuously spraying a gas in a direction parallel to the extending direction of each of the substrates stacked in the substrate support member; and

a gas discharge device, disposed in an opposite side of the chamber to the gas spray device, sucking and evacuating the gas sprayed from the gas spray device.

2. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate movement device moves the substrate support member periodically in such a way that the substrate support member is moved by a pitch between vertically adjacent ones of the substrates and then stopped for a predetermined time.

3. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas spray device comprises one or more gas spray blocks, each of which includes a plurality of gas spray layers operated independently with respect to each other.

4. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 3, wherein each gas spray block has a sequential vertical array of a first purge gas spray layer, a first reactive gas spray layer, a second purge gas spray layer, a second reactive gas spray layer, and a third purge gas spray layer.

5. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 4, wherein each of the first, second, and third purge gas spray layers is multi-layered.

6. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 4, wherein the gas spray device has a convexly curved cross-sectional shape at least partially surrounding the substrate support member.

7. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 4, wherein the gas discharge device has a convexly curved cross-sectional shape at least partially surrounding the substrate support member.

8. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas discharge device comprises a single outlet disposed to correspond to all the gas spray layers of the gas spray device.

9. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas discharge device comprises one or more outlet layers, disposed to correspond to the one or more gas spray blocks, being operated independently with respect to each other.

10. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas discharge device comprises a plurality of outlet layers, disposed to correspond to a plurality of gas spray units that each consists of a purge gas spray layer, a reactive gas spray layer, and a purge gas spray layer, being operated independently with respect to each other.

11. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 7, wherein the gas discharge device comprises a plurality of outlet layers, disposed to correspond to the plurality of the gas spray layers, being operated independently with respect to each other.

12. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate support member comprises a heating device heating the substrates.

13. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate support member comprises a plurality of buffer layers having no substrate thereon, which are disposed at top and bottom sides of the substrate support member.

14. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate support member comprises a substrate rotation device rotating the substrates disposed thereon.

15. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a blocking plate interposed between a lateral side of the gas spray device and the opposite lateral side of the gas discharge device to surround the substrate support member together with the gas spray device and the gas discharge device.

16. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a protection cover disposed at top sides of the gas spray device and the gas discharge device and insertedly mounted to the substrate support member to protect the substrates.

17. The batch-type ALD apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary gas discharge device disposed at the chamber to suck and evacuate gases in the chamber.