GAS SHOWERHEAD, METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME AND THIN FILM GROWTH REACTOR

• US 20130299009A1
• Filed: 05/09/2013
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc.
• Inventors: Jiang, Yong, Ho, Henry, Du, Zhiyou, Zhou, Ning
• Granted Patent: US 9,534,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 137/334
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45514 Mixing in close vicinity to the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45517 Confinement of gases to vicinity of substrate
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45565 Shower nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45572 Cooled nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gas
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45578 Elongated nozzles, tubes with holes
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/14 Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67109 mainly by convection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/0402 Cleaning, repairing, or assembling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/6416 With heating or cooling of the system

Abstract

The present application provides a gas showerhead including a gas distribution and diffusion plate and a water cooling plate, the gas distribution and diffusion plate includes several columns of first gas diffusion passages connecting to a first reactant gas source and several columns of second gas diffusion passages connecting to a second reactant gas source; the water cooling plate having cooling liquid passages is arranged below the gas distribution and diffusion plate, and the water cooling plate is provided with first gas outlet passages provided for the reactant gas in the first gas diffusion passages to flow out and second gas outlet passages provided for the reactant gas in the second gas diffusion passages to flow out, so as to isolatedly feed at least two reactant gases into a reaction chamber.

Claims

1. A gas showerhead, for isolatedly feeding at least a first reactant gas and a second reactant gas into a reaction chamber, comprising:

a gas distribution and diffusion plate, comprising a plurality of columns of first gas diffusion passages connecting to a first reactant gas source and a plurality of columns of second gas diffusion passages connecting to a second reactant gas source, and the plurality of columns of the first gas diffusion passages and the plurality of columns of the second gas diffusion passages are arranged alternately, and each column of the first gas diffusion passages and each column of the second gas diffusion passages both comprise a plurality of separated gas diffusion paths; and

a water cooling plate, located below the gas distribution and diffusion plate, comprising a plurality of columns of cooling liquid passages, a plurality of first gas outlet passages provided for a reactant gas in the first gas diffusion passages to flow out, and a plurality of second gas outlet passages provided for a reactant gas in the second gas diffusion passages to flow out;

wherein, the gas distribution and diffusion plate and the water cooling plate are two separated components and are assembled integrally in a detachable mechanical manner, and the first reactant gas and the second reactant gas are isolated from each other before escaping from the gas showerhead and entering the reaction chamber.

2. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution and diffusion plate comprises an upper plate and a lower plate, the first gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of first conduits extending through the upper plate and the lower plate, and the second gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of second conduits extending through the lower plate;

an upper conduit opening of the second conduit is lower than a lower surface of the upper plate, and an upper conduit opening of the first conduit is higher than or flush with an upper surface of the upper plate.

3. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution and diffusion plate comprises an upper plate and a lower plate, the first gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of conduits extending through the upper plate and the lower plate, and the second gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of holes extending through the lower plate.

4. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution and diffusion plate comprises an upper plate and a lower plate, the first gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of conduits extending through the upper plate and the lower plate, a plurality of columns of bosses are uniformly distributed on the lower plate, an upper surface of the boss is higher than an upper surface of the lower plate, and the second gas diffusion passages are a plurality of columns of holes extending through the bosses and the lower plate.

5. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution and diffusion passage is a flat plate having a certain thickness, the first gas diffusion passages are a plurality of separated first drill holes extending through upper and lower surfaces of the flat plate, a plurality of columns of gas passages substantially parallel to the upper and lower surfaces of the flat plate are arranged inside the flat plate, and the second gas diffusion passages are a plurality of separated second drill holes extending through a lower surface of the flat plate from the gas passages.

6. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the water cooling plate is a flat plate having a certain thickness and comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, each of the first gas outlet passage and the second gas outlet passage is a longitudinal groove extending through upper and lower surfaces of the water cooling plate, and the cooling liquid passage is between the first gas outlet passage and the second gas outlet passage.

7. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the water cooling plate is a flat plate having a certain thickness and comprises an upper surface and a lower surface, the first gas outlet passage and the second gas outlet passage each comprises a hole having a certain depth and extending through the upper surface of the water cooling plate, and a longitudinal groove extending through the lower surface and communicated with the hole, and the cooling liquid passage is between the first gas outlet passage and the second gas outlet passage.

8. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the first gas outlet passages constitute first loop structures, each of which is intercommunicated, on a lower surface of the water cooling plate, and the second gas outlet passages constitute second loop structures, each of which is intercommunicated, on the lower surface of the water cooling plate, and the first loop structures and the second loop structures are arranged alternately, or nested within each other.

9. The gas showerhead according to claim 8, wherein the first loop structure and the second loop structure both are of a regular polygonal structure or a circular structure.

10. The gas showerhead according to claim 8, wherein the water cooling plate further comprises a plurality of columns of holes extending downwards by a certain depth from an upper surface of the water cooling plate, and the plurality of holes are communicated with the first loop structures and the second loop structures correspondingly.

11. The gas showerhead according to claim 6, wherein for each of the first gas outlet passage and the second gas outlet passage of the water cooling plate, a cross sectional area at one end, close to workpieces to be processed, of the passage gradually increases as getting close to the workpieces to be processed.

12. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of gas buffering openings are selectively arranged on the water cooling plate, the plurality of gas buffering openings are communicated with at least part of the plurality of the first gas outlet passages correspondingly or at least part of the plurality of the second gas outlet passages correspondingly.

13. The gas showerhead according to claim 12, wherein the gas buffering opening is of a stepped shape, or a slope shape, or a circular arc shape.

14. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of separated gas diffusion paths comprise a plurality of conduits or holes;

and the plurality of separated gas diffusion paths are distributed on the gas distribution and diffusion plate uniformly or nonuniformly but regularly.

15. The gas showerhead according to claim 1, wherein the gas distribution and diffusion plate comprises a first distribution zone and a second distribution zone, the first distribution zone is close to a gas inlet of a reactant gas source, and a distance between the second distribution zone and the gas inlet of the reactant gas source is larger than a distance between the first distribution zone and the gas inlet of the reactant gas source;

an inner diameter of the first gas diffusion passage in the first distribution zone is smaller than an inner diameter of the corresponding first gas diffusion passage in the second distribution zone, and an inner diameter of the second gas diffusion passage in the first distribution zone is smaller than an inner diameter of the corresponding second gas diffusion passage in the second distribution zone.

16. A thin film growth reactor, comprising a reaction chamber, and a supporting member and workpieces to be processed provided on the supporting member are provided in the reaction chamber, and the supporting member is rotatable in a substantially horizontal direction, wherein the thin film growth reactor comprises the gas showerhead according to any one of the preceding claims.

17. A method for making a gas showerhead adapted to isolatedly feed at least a first reactant gas and a second reactant gas into a reaction chamber, comprising the following steps:

a step for making a gas distribution and diffusion plate;

arranging a plurality of columns of first gas diffusion passages connecting to a first reactant gas source and a plurality of columns of second gas diffusion passages connecting to a second reactant gas source on a first plate body, wherein the plurality of columns of the first gas diffusion passages and the plurality of columns of the second gas diffusion passages are arranged alternately, and each column of the first gas diffusion passages and each column of the second gas diffusion passages both comprise a plurality of separated gas diffusion paths;

a step for making the water cooling plate;

arranging, on a second plate body, a plurality of columns of cooling liquid passages, a plurality of first gas outlet passages provided for a reactant gas in the first gas diffusion passages to flow out, and a plurality of second gas outlet passages provided for a reactant gas in the second gas diffusion passages to flow out;

a step for assembling;

assembling the gas distribution and diffusion plate and the water cooling plate in a detachable mechanical manner, enabling the plurality of columns of the first gas diffusion passages to be communicated with the first gas outlet passages, and enabling the plurality of columns of the second gas diffusion passages to be communicated with the second gas outlet passages.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step for making the gas distribution and diffusion plate comprises:

making an upper plate, and drilling a first group of a plurality of holes on the upper plate;

making a lower plate and arranging a plurality of columns of bosses uniformly on the lower plate, with an upper surface of the boss being higher than an upper surface of the lower plate;

drilling a second group of a plurality of holes in the lower plate, and a position of each hole in the second group of holes is corresponding to a position of each hole in the first group of holes;

inserting a corresponding number of conduits into the first group of holes in the upper plate and the second group of holes in the lower plate; and

drilling a third group of a plurality of holes in the bosses, wherein the second group of a plurality of holes and the third group of a plurality of holes both are arranged by columns, and columns of the second group of holes and columns of the third group of holes are arranged uniformly and alternately.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step for making the water cooling plate comprises:

making a flat plate having a certain thickness, arranging a plurality of columns of cooling liquid passages substantially parallel to upper and lower surfaces of the flat plate inside the flat plate uniformly, arranging a longitudinal gas outlet groove between each two adjacent cooling liquid passages, and wherein two columns of the gas outlet grooves are respectively corresponding to the second group of holes and the third group of holes of the gas distribution and diffusion plate.