Apparatus and method for controlling temperature uniformity of substrates
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlled heating of a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber comprising:
- a carrier for holding at least one substrate in the reaction chamber, said carrier including a first zone and a second zone;
first and second heating elements arranged to heat the carrier and the at least one substrate, said first heating element being arranged to heat said first zone preferentially;
at least one substrate pyrometer for measuring a process temperature by measuring radiation from at least one of said one or more substrates; and
a first carrier pyrometer operative to provide a first zone signal representing radiation from said first zone of the carrier and a second carrier pyrometer operative to provide a second zone signal representing radiation from said second zone of the carrier.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for providing substantially uniform substrate temperature in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber is provided. The method and apparatus utilize a carrier for holding at least one substrate in the reaction chamber and a plurality of heating elements arranged to heat the carrier and the at least one substrate. At least one substrate pyrometer measures the temperature of the substrates to provide a signal representing the process temperature. This signal is used in a feedback loop to control one or more of the heating elements. At least two carrier pyrometers focused at different zones of the carrier are provided. The signals from the carrier pyrometers are compared to one another to provide an indication of temperature non-uniformity. This indication is used in a separate feedback loop to adjust other heating elements so as to maintain temperature uniformity across the carrier.
384 Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for controlled heating of a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber comprising:
-
a carrier for holding at least one substrate in the reaction chamber, said carrier including a first zone and a second zone;
first and second heating elements arranged to heat the carrier and the at least one substrate, said first heating element being arranged to heat said first zone preferentially;
at least one substrate pyrometer for measuring a process temperature by measuring radiation from at least one of said one or more substrates; and
a first carrier pyrometer operative to provide a first zone signal representing radiation from said first zone of the carrier and a second carrier pyrometer operative to provide a second zone signal representing radiation from said second zone of the carrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An apparatus for controlled heating of a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition reaction chamber comprising:
-
a carrier for holding at least one substrate in the reaction chamber, said carrier including a first zone and a second zone;
means for heating said carrier;
means for measuring a process temperature by measuring the temperature of at least one of said one or more substrates;
means for providing a first zone signal representing a parameter related to temperature of said first zone of the carrier and a second zone signal representing a parameter related to temperature of said second zone of the carrier; and
means for controlling said heating means so as to maintain said process temperature at a target temperature based at least in part upon comparison of said measured process temperature with a setpoint temperature and maintain temperature uniformity between said zones of said carrier based at least in part upon comparison of said zone signals.
-
-
11. A method of controlling the temperature of a substrate in a chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprising:
-
providing a carrier for supporting said substrate in said chemical vapor deposition apparatus;
heating said carrier and said substrate;
measuring the temperature of said substrate;
obtaining indications of a parameter related to carrier temperature from at least two zones of said carrier;
comparing said parameter indications from said at least two zones to obtain a difference signal; and
adjusting heat transfer to said zones responsive to said measured temperature and said difference signal so as to maintain said measured temperature at a setpoint and so as to maintain said difference signal at a preselected level. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method of thermally processing one or more semiconductor wafers in a chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprising:
-
providing a carrier supporting said one or more semiconductor wafers in said chemical vapor deposition apparatus;
heating said one or more semiconductor wafers on said carrier to a target operating temperature;
measuring the temperature of said semiconductor wafer using an emissivity compensated pyrometer;
providing a difference signal related to the temperature difference between at least two zones on said carrier; and
adjusting the temperature in one of the at least two zones of said carrier based at least in part upon said difference signal. - View Dependent Claims (18)
-
Specification