Vapor deposition apparatus and method for forming thin film

• US 6,059,885 A
• Filed: 12/16/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Globalwafers Japan Co., Ltd. (Sino-American Silicon Products Incorporated), NuFlare Technology, Inc. (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Ceramics Co Ltd (Momentive Performance Materials Incorporated), Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha (Shibaura Machine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fujii, Tatsuo, Xin, Ping, Chaki, Katuhiro, Mitani, Shinichi, Iwata, Katsuyuki, Ohashi, Tadashi, Honda, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): LUND, JEFFRIE ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US08/991,407
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 118/715, 118/730, 204/298.7, 204/298.28
• US Class Current: 118/730
• 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 16/4412 Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45502 Flow conditions in reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45519 Inert gas curtains
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45565 Shower nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gas
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45576 Coaxial inlets for each gas
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4584 the substrate being rotated
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/14 Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases

Abstract

A vapor deposition apparatus includes a cylindrical hollow reactor having gas supply ports at its upper portion and an exhaust port at its bottom portion. A rotational substrate holder, which seats a wafer substrate, is concentrically placed inside the reactor. The reactor has a straightening vane having gas holes concentrically positioned at its upper portion. Reaction gas is supplied into the reactor to form a thin film on the surface of the wafer substrate on the rotational substrate holder by vapor deposition. In one embodiment, the straightening vane is configured so that the flow rate of the reaction gas in the center portion covering the area of the wafer substrate and the gas flow rate of the reaction gas in the outer portion of the center portion are different from each other. In another embodiment, the reactor is sectioned into upper and lower portions. The inner diameter of the upper portion is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower portion. A link portion connects the lower end of the upper portion and the upper end of the lower portion. The link portion is provided with straightening gas flow-out holes. The rotational substrate holder is positioned below the lower end of the upper portion of the reactor by a predetermined height difference.

Claims

1. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising:

a hollow reactor having a gas supply port at a top portion thereof and an exhaust port at a bottom portion thereof, said gas supply port being adapted to supply reaction gas into said reactor to form a thin film on a surface of a wafer substrate;

a rotational substrate holder positioned inside said reactor, said substrate holder being adapted to seat a wafer substrate; and

a straightening vane having a central portion and an outer portion extending radially outwardly from said central portion,

wherein said central portion is defined by an area at least as large as an area of said substrate holder and concentric with said substrate holder, and

wherein said central portion has first gas holes and said outer portion has second gas holes, the total area of the openings of said second gas holes being larger than that of the first gas holes.

2. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said straightening vane and said substrate holder each are circular and said reactor has a cylindrical wall, said straightening vane extending to an inner peripheral surface of said reactor cylindrical wall, and wherein said outer portion has a radial distance (X), which is equal to less than a difference (Y) between the radius (R_D) of the reactor cylindrical wall and the radius (R_S) of the substrate holder or an equivalent projected radius (R_P) thereof.

3. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein a ratio (X/Y) between said radial distance (X) of said outer portion and said difference (Y=R_D -R_P (or R_S)) is set to 0.02 to 1.0.

4. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reactor is designed to be circular in horizontal section, and said straightening vane and said rotational substrate holder are coaxially disposed in said reactor.

5. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a space area is defined between the top portion of said reactor and said rotational substrate holder, the space area being divided into at least two sections by a partition member disposed radially outwardly from said rotational substrate holder, and at least two reaction gas supply ports being provided to each of the sections.

6. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said straightening vane and said substrate holder each are circular and said reactor has a cylindrical wall, said straightening vane extending to an inner peripheral surface of said reactor cylindrical wall, wherein said outer portion has a radial distance (X), which is equal to less than a difference (Y) between the radius (R_D) of the reactor cylindrical wall and the radius (R_S) of the substrate holder or an equivalent projected radius (R_P) thereof, and wherein a ratio (X/Y) between said radial distance (X) of said outer portion and said difference (Y=R_D -R_P (or R_S)) is set to 0.02 to 1.0.

7. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said reactor is designed to be circular in horizontal section, and said straightening vane and said rotational substrate holder are coaxially disposed in said reactor.

8. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein an individual reaction gas supply system is connected through said reaction gas supply ports to each of said sections.

9. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reactor is divided into upper and lower portions having different inner diameters, the inner diameter of said upper portion is smaller than the inner diameter of said lower portion, and the lower end of said upper portion and the upper end of said lower portion are connected to each other, forming continuous hollow upper and lower portions.

22. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the reactor is designed to be circular in horizontal section, and the straightening vane and the rotational substrate holder are coaxially disposed in the reactor.

10. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising:

a hollow reactor having a gas supply port in the upper portion thereof and an exhaust port in the lo wer portion thereof, said gas supply port being adapted to supply reaction gas into said reactor to form a thin film on a surface of a wafer substrate, said reactor being sectioned into upper and lower portions having different inner diameters, the inner diameter of said upper portion being smaller than the inner diameter of said lower portion;

a link portion connecting the lower end of said upper portion to the upper end of the lower portion, said link portion having straightening gas flow-out holes;

a rotational substrate holder, which is adapted to seat a wafer substrate, positioned inside said reactor below the lower end of said upper portion; and

a straightening vane having a plurality of gas holes situated in the upper portion of the reactor,

wherein said straightening gas flow-out holes are directed either vertically downwardly or downwardly and outwardly toward the lower portion to direct straightening gas away from the substrate holder.

11. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a space portion is provided above said link portion so as to hermetically envelop said straightening gas flow-out holes, and straightening gas supply ports are provided in said space portion.

12. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein said space portion and said upper portion are constructed in a dual-wall structure, and an outside surface of the space portion extends from the upper end of the lower portion through said link portion.

13. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the side surface of said upper portion is vertical to the upper surface of said rotational substrate holder.

14. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the hollow inside of said reactor is designed to be circular in horizontal section, the diameter of said upper portion (D₁) is larger than the diameter of said wafer substrate, said rotational substrate holder is designed in a circular shape, and the ratio (D₁ /D_S) between the diameter of said upper portion (D₁) and the diameter of said rotational substrate holder (D_S) is set to 0.7 to 1.2.

15. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the ratio (D₂ /D₁) between the diameter of said upper portion (D₁) and the diameter of said lower portion (D₂) is set to 1.2 or more.

16. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein the ratio (D₂ /D_S) between the diameter of said lower portion (D₂) and the diameter of said rotational substrate holder (D_S) is set to 1.2 or more.

17. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 14, the ratio (D₂ /D_S) between the diameter of said lower portion (D₂) and the diameter of said rotational substrate holder (D_S) is set to 1.2 or more.

18. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a transition layer thickness (T) of gas flow above an upper surface of said rotational substrate holder is calculated from T=3.22(ν

/ω

)^1/2, where ν

represents coefficient of kinematic viscosity (mm² /s) and ω

represents an angular velocity of rotation (rad/s).

19. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the rotation of said rotational substrate holder is controlled so that the transition layer thickness (T) is smaller than a height difference (H) between the lower end of said upper portion and the upper surface of said rotational substrate holder.

20. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a part of said link portion and the upper surface of said rotational substrate holder are located on the same horizontal plane.

21. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising:

a hollow reactor having a gas supply port at a top portion thereof and an exhaust port at a bottom portion thereof, the gas supply port being adapted to supply reaction gas into the reactor to form a thin film on a surface of a wafer substrate;

a rotational substrate holder positioned inside the reactor, the substrate holder being adapted to seat a wafer substrate; and

a straightening vane having a central portion and an outer portion extending radially outwardly from the central portion, wherein a space area is defined between the top portion of the reactor and the rotational substrate holder, the space area being divided into at least two sections by a partition member disposed radially outwardly from the rotational substrate holder, at least two reaction gas supply ports being provided to each of the sections.

23. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein an individual reaction gas supply system is connected through the reaction gas supply ports to each of the sections.

24. A vapor deposition apparatus comprising:

a hollow reactor having a gas supply port in the upper portion thereof and an exhaust port in the lower portion thereof, the gas supply port being adapted to supply reaction gas into the reactor to form a thin film on a surface of a wafer substrate, the reactor being sectioned into upper and lower portions having different inner diameters, the inner diameter of the upper portion being smaller than the inner diameter of the lower portion;

a link portion connecting the lower end of the upper portion to the upper end of the lower portion, the link portion having straightening gas flow-out holes;

a rotational substrate holder, which is adapted to seat a wafer substrate, positioned inside the reactor below the lower end of the upper portion; and

a straightening vane having a plurality of gas holes situated in the upper portion of the reactor,

wherein a space portion is provided above the link portion so as to hermetically envelop the straightening gas flow-out holes, the space portion being provided with straightening gas supply ports.

25. The vapor deposition apparatus as claimed in claim 24, wherein the space portion and the upper portion are constructed in a dual-wall structure, and an outside surface of the space portion extends from the upper end of the lower portion through the link portion.