Non-Metallic Thermal CVD/ALD Gas Injector And Purge System

• US 20170191159A1
• Filed: 12/28/2016
• Published: 07/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/01/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Applied Materials Incorporated
• Inventors: Polyak, Alexander S., Yudovsky, Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 10,415,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4401 Means for minimising impurities, e.g. dust, moisture or residual gas, in the reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4408 by purging residual gases from the reaction chamber or gas lines
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45544 characterized by the apparatus
• 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 16/45563 Gas nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45572 Cooled nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45576 Coaxial inlets for each gas
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/463 Cooling of the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/54 Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD

Abstract

Gas distribution assemblies and processing chambers using same are described. The gas distribution assemblies comprise a cooling plate with a quartz puck, a plurality of reactive gas sectors and a plurality of purge gas sectors suspended therefrom. The reactive gas sectors and purge gas sectors having a coaxial gas inlet with inner tubes and outer tubes, the inner tubes and outer tubes in fluid communication with different gas or vacuum ports in the front faces of the sectors. The sectors may be suspended from the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods comprising a metal rod body with an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame with a silicon washer around the enlarged lower end.

Claims

1. A gas distribution assembly comprising:

a cooling plate; and

a plurality of reactive gas sectors axially arranged around a central axis;

a plurality of purge gas sectors axially arranged around the central axis, each of the purge gas sectors positioned between reactive gas sectors; and

a quartz puck at the central axis.

2. The gas distribution assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the reactive gas sectors comprise a wedge-shaped housing having a back face and a front face.

3. The gas distribution assembly of claim 2, wherein each of the reactive gas sectors has a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the wedge-shaped housing, the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube.

4. The gas distribution assembly of claim 3, wherein the inner tube is in fluid communication with a plenum within the wedge-shaped housing and the reactive gas sector includes a diffuser plate adjacent the plenum, the diffuser plate comprising a plurality of apertures to allow a gas flowing through the inner tube to pass into the plenum and diffuse through the plurality of apertures and out a reactive gas port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing into a process region of a processing chamber.

5. The gas distribution assembly of claim 4, wherein the outer tube is in fluid communication with a vacuum port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing, the vacuum port surrounding the diffuser plate of the reactive gas port.

6. The gas distribution assembly of claim 5, wherein the wedge-shaped housing and diffuser plate are quartz.

7. The gas distribution assembly of claim 6, wherein each of the reactive gas sectors are suspended from the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods.

8. The gas distribution assembly of claim 7, wherein each suspension rod comprises a metal rod body that passes through an opening in the back face of the wedge-shaped housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the wedge-shaped housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end.

9. The gas distribution assembly of claim 8, wherein each reactive gas sector is suspended from the cooling plate by at least three suspension rods.

10. The gas distribution assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of purge gas sectors comprises a housing with a back face, a front face, an outer peripheral leg and a radial leg.

11. The gas distribution assembly of claim 10, wherein each of the purge gas sectors has a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the housing, the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube.

12. The gas distribution assembly of claim 11, wherein the inner tube is in fluid communication with a purge gas port in the front face of the radial leg of the housing and the outer tube is in fluid communication a purge gas port in the front face of the outer peripheral leg of the housing.

13. The gas distribution assembly of claim 12, wherein the housing of each of the purge gas sectors are quartz.

14. The gas distribution assembly of claim 13, wherein each of the purge gas sectors are suspended from the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods.

15. The gas distribution assembly of claim 14, wherein each suspension rod comprises a metal rod body that passes through an opening in the back face of the housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end.

16. The gas distribution assembly of claim 15, wherein each purge gas sector is suspended from the cooling plate by at least two suspension rods.

17. The gas distribution assembly of claim 1, the quartz puck comprises a housing with at least one vacuum port and at least one purge gas port and is suspended from the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods, each suspension rod comprising a metal rod body that passes through an opening in a back face of the housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end.

18. The gas distribution assembly of claim 17, wherein the cooling plate comprises a conductive body with a channel therethrough to flow a fluid from an inlet end of the channel to an outlet end of the channel.

19. A gas distribution assembly comprising:

a cooling plate having a conductive body with a channel therethrough to flow a fluid from an inlet end of the channel to an outlet end of the channel; and

a plurality of reactive gas sectors axially arranged around a central axis, each of the reactive gas sectors comprising

a quartz wedge-shaped housing with a back face and a front face and a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the wedge-shaped housing,

the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube is in fluid communication with a plenum within the wedge-shaped housing and the reactive gas sector includes a diffuser plate adjacent the plenum, the diffuser plate comprising a plurality of apertures to allow a gas flowing through the inner tube to pass into the plenum and diffuse through the plurality of apertures and out a reactive gas port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing into a process region of a processing chamber,

the outer tube is in fluid communication with a vacuum port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing, the vacuum port surrounding the diffuser plate of the reactive gas port,

each reactive gas sector suspended from the cooling plate by at least three suspension rods, each suspension rod comprises a metal rod body that passes through an opening in the back face of the wedge-shaped housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the wedge-shaped housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end;

a plurality of purge gas sectors axially arranged around the central axis, each of the purge gas sectors positioned between reactive gas sectors, each purge gas sector comprising

a quartz housing with a back face, a front face, an outer peripheral leg, a radial leg and a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the housing, the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube,

the inner tube is in fluid communication with a purge gas port in the front face of the radial leg of the housing,

the outer tube is in fluid communication a purge gas port in the front face of the outer peripheral leg of the housing,

each of the purge gas sectors suspended from the cooling plate by at least two suspension rods, each suspension rod comprises a metal rod body that passes through an opening in the back face of the housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end; and

a quartz puck at the central axis, the plurality of reactive gas sectors and purge gas sectors alternatingly arranged around an outer edge of the quartz puck, the quartz puck comprises at least one vacuum port and at least one purge gas port and is suspended from the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods, each suspension rod comprising a metal rod body that passes through an opening in a back face of the housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end.

20. A processing chamber comprising:

a gas distribution assembly comprising

a cooling plate,

a quartz puck suspended from a central axis of the cooling plate by a plurality of suspension rods, the quartz puck comprising a plurality of vacuum ports and purge gas ports in a front face of the quartz puck,

a plurality of reactive gas sectors axially arranged around an outer edge of the quartz puck, each reactive gas sector suspended from the cooling plate by at least three suspension rods, each of the reactive gas sectors comprising a quartz wedge-shaped housing with a back face and a front face and a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the wedge-shaped housing, the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube is in fluid communication with a plenum within the wedge-shaped housing and the reactive gas sector includes a diffuser plate adjacent the plenum, the diffuser plate comprising a plurality of apertures to allow a gas flowing through the inner tube to pass into the plenum and diffuse through the plurality of apertures and out a reactive gas port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing into a process region of the processing chamber, the outer tube is in fluid communication with a vacuum port in the front face of the wedge-shaped housing, the vacuum port surrounding the diffuser plate of the reactive gas port,

a plurality of purge gas sectors axially arranged around the outer edge of the quartz puck and alternating with the reactive gas sectors, each purge gas sector comprising a quartz housing with a back face, a front face, an outer peripheral leg, a radial leg and a coaxial gas inlet in fluid communication with the housing, the coaxial gas inlet having an inner tube and an outer tube, the inner tube is in fluid communication with a purge gas port in the front face of the radial leg of the housing, the outer tube is in fluid communication a purge gas port in the front face of the outer peripheral leg of the housing,

each suspension rod comprises a metal rod body that passes through an opening in the back face of the housing, the rod body having an enlarged lower end positioned within a quartz frame within the housing, and a silicon washer is positioned within the quartz frame around the enlarged lower end; and

a susceptor assembly having a top surface comprising a plurality of recesses therein, each recess sized to support a substrate, the susceptor assembly having a support post to rotate and move the susceptor assembly to form a gap between the gas distribution assembly and the top surface of the susceptor assembly to form a gap.