Showerhead for uniform distribution of process gas
First Claim
1. An apparatus for uniformly distributing process gas over a substrate surface comprising:
- a gas supply conduit supplying process gas to be energized into a plasma state;
a plasma generator in fluid communication with the gas supply conduit, the plasma generator energizing process gas supplied from the gas supply conduit into a plasma state;
a gas delivery conduit in fluid communication with the plasma generator, the gas delivery conduit carrying the process gas energized in the plasma generator;
a process chamber wherein a substrate is processed, the process chamber including a first region in fluid communication with the gas delivery conduit, a second region wherein the substrate is processed, a third region in fluid communication with the second region and through which gas and volatile byproducts are removed from the second region, and a showerhead separating the first and second regions, the process gas supplied from the gas delivery conduit passing into the first region, through the showerhead and into the second region for processing the substrate;
the showerhead including gas inlets and gas outlets, the gas inlets supplying the process gas from the first region to the second region, the gas outlets withdrawing gas and volatile byproducts from the second region to the third region; and
an exhaust conduit in fluid communication with the third region, the gas and volatile byproducts being withdrawn from the process chamber through the exhaust conduit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A showerhead includes a plurality of gas inlets for supplying process gas to a semiconductor substrate surface, and a plurality of gas outlets for removing gas and volatile byproducts produced as a result of reaction of the process gas with the substrate surface. Each gas inlet is concentrically positioned within a respective gas outlet. The showerhead improves the utilization of process gas species at the substrate surface by providing gas flow in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface and avoiding flow of the process gas or volatile byproducts laterally across the substrate surface. The showerhead is useful for uniform stripping of a mask of organic material by direct contact of the incoming reactive gas with the substrate surface and immediate removal of the process gas and volatile byproducts through the concentrically arranged gas outlets.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus for uniformly distributing process gas over a substrate surface comprising:
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a gas supply conduit supplying process gas to be energized into a plasma state; a plasma generator in fluid communication with the gas supply conduit, the plasma generator energizing process gas supplied from the gas supply conduit into a plasma state; a gas delivery conduit in fluid communication with the plasma generator, the gas delivery conduit carrying the process gas energized in the plasma generator; a process chamber wherein a substrate is processed, the process chamber including a first region in fluid communication with the gas delivery conduit, a second region wherein the substrate is processed, a third region in fluid communication with the second region and through which gas and volatile byproducts are removed from the second region, and a showerhead separating the first and second regions, the process gas supplied from the gas delivery conduit passing into the first region, through the showerhead and into the second region for processing the substrate; the showerhead including gas inlets and gas outlets, the gas inlets supplying the process gas from the first region to the second region, the gas outlets withdrawing gas and volatile byproducts from the second region to the third region; and an exhaust conduit in fluid communication with the third region, the gas and volatile byproducts being withdrawn from the process chamber through the exhaust conduit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. In an apparatus for uniformly distributing process gas over a substrate surface comprising a gas supply conduit supplying process gas to be energized into a plasma state, a plasma generator in fluid communication with the gas supply conduit, the plasma generator energizing the process gas supplied from the gas supply conduit into a plasma state, a gas delivery conduit in fluid communication with the plasma generator, the gas delivery conduit carrying the process gas energized in the plasma generator, a process chamber wherein a substrate is processed, the process chamber including a first region in fluid communication with the gas delivery conduit, a second region wherein the substrate is processed, and a showerhead separating the first and second regions, the process gas supplied from the gas delivery conduit passing into the first region, through the showerhead and into the second region for processing the substrate, the improvement comprising:
the showerhead being a removable showerhead having a third region in fluid communication with the second region and through which gas and volatile byproducts are removed from the second region, the showerhead including gas inlets and gas outlets, the gas inlets supplying the process gas from the first region to the second region and the gas outlets withdrawing gas and volatile byproducts from the second region to the third region. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of processing a substrate in an apparatus which uniformly distributes process gas over a surface of the substrate, the method comprising steps of:
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supplying process gas to be energized into a plasma state to a plasma generator; energizing the process gas into a plasma gas state in the plasma generator; withdrawing excited process gas from the plasma generator through a gas delivery conduit in fluid communication with the plasma generator; processing a substrate in a process chamber including a first region in fluid communication with the gas delivery conduit, a second region wherein the substrate is processed, a third region in fluid communication with the second region and through which gas and volatile byproducts are removed from the second region, and a showerhead separating the first and second regions, the showerhead including gas inlets and gas outlets, the gas inlets supplying the process gas from the first region to the second region, the gas outlets withdrawing gas and volatile byproducts from the second region to the third region, the substrate being processed by flowing the process gas supplied from the gas delivery conduit into the first region, through the gas inlets into the second region and contacting the surface of the substrate with the process gas; and withdrawing the gas and volatile byproducts from the process chamber through an exhaust conduit in fluid communication with the third region. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification