Scanning deposition head for depositing particles on a wafer

• US 6,746,539 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2001
• Issued: 06/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MSP Corporation (TSI Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: MSP Corporation (TSI Incorporated)
• Inventors: Sun, James J., Liu, Benjamin Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): CROWELL, ANNA M
• Application Number:
  US09/772,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20020100424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: 118/715, 118/723.E, 118/730, 118/726, 118/723.R, 156/345.55, 156/345.33
• US Class Current: 118/715
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/00 Chemical coating by decomposition of either liquid compounds or solutions of the coating forming compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating; Contact plating
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 7/00 Single-crystal growth from solutions using solvents which are liquid at normal temperature, e.g. aqueous solutions from molten solvents C30B9/00; by normal or gradient freezing C30B11/00; under a protective fluid C30B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6715 Apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like H01L21/67126 takes precedence

Abstract

A deposition chamber is formed in a housing that has a substrate carrier on the interior. The substrate carrier is rotatable about a central axis, and a particle deposition head is mounted in the chamber on a support that can be moved linearly along lines that are substantially radial to the central axis of the substrate carrier. The deposition head thus can be moved to different radial positions of a substrate carried on the substrate carrier as the carrier rotates during deposition from the head to provide for a wide variety of deposition patterns on the substrate. The deposition head has a pair of aerosol discharge openings, one being the end of a substantially tubular central passageway and the other being the end of an annular passageway that surrounds the central tubular passageway.

Claims

1. A chamber in which particles of a selected size carried in an aerosol gas are deposited onto a substrate comprising a housing defining the chamber, a vacuum source connected to the chamber to provide a vacuum in the chamber, a substrate support in said chamber, said substrate support being rotatable about a central axis, a particle deposition head having a sliding support mounted on the housing in the chamber and including a seal for slidably sealing the sliding support on the housing, a source of an aerosol carrying particles which will deposit on the substrate under vacuum, the deposition head having an aerosol outlet and being moveable radially relative to said central axis, and being positioned to overlie the substrate support to discharge particles in the aerosol in a direction toward the substrate support under vacuum in the chamber from the vacuum-source, and a control for selectively controlling the rotation of the substrate support and the radial movement of said deposition head relative to the central axis, said control including means to keep at least one of the deposition head and the substrate support in a stationary fixed position while the solid particles are being deposited on a substrate.

2. The chamber of claim 1, and a source of voltage to establish a voltage differential between the deposition head and the substrate support, and wherein the control includes a controller controlling the source of voltage to vary the voltage to change the area of particle deposition on the substrate support.

3. The chamber of claim 1, wherein said deposition head comprises a head having a first tubular wall forming a first central passageway around a central axis that is parallel to the central axis of the substrate support, and the deposition head having an annular passageway around the first tubular wall.

4. The chamber of claim 3, wherein there is a first source of aerosol connected to the central passageway, and a second source of particles connected to the annular passageway of the deposition head.

9. The chamber of claim 1, wherein said means for forming a part of said control provides for maintaining the deposition head in a plurality of stationary fixed positions relative to the substrate support, to deposit a spot of particles on a semi-conductor wafer on the substrate support.

10. The chamber of claim 1, wherein the means forming part of the control keeps the deposition head in a stationary fixed position, and causes the substrate support to rotate to deposit a circular band of particles on a substrate.

5. A particle deposition head for depositing individual solid particles carried in a gas aerosol onto a substrate held in a substrate carrier in a vacuum chamber, a support for the particle deposition head sealingly supporting the deposition head within the chamber, said particle deposition head having a first tubular member in a central portion thereof positioned with an axis of the tubular member overlying the substrate carrier, and an outer housing surrounding the tubular member and being spaced therefrom to form an annular passageway around the first tubular member, and separate connections to separate sources of particle carrying gas aerosol from the first tubular member and from the annular passageway, the particles from the separate sources being discharged from the first tubular member and the annular passageway, respectively, onto the substrate under vacuum.

6. The deposition head of claim 5, wherein said deposition head has a flange at an end thereof that forms a plane perpendicular to the axis of the first tubular member.

7. The particle deposition head of claim 5, wherein the deposition head is mounted onto the support in a deposition housing forming a chamber, a vacuum source connected to the chamber, said support being movable linearly, and a substrate carrier in the chamber rotatable about an axis, with movement of the deposition head and the wafer being controlled by a controller so as to create a substantially uniform number of deposited solid particles per unit area on part or all of the substrate surface.

8. The particle deposition head of claim 7, wherein there is a voltage source connected to at least one of the particle deposition head and the substrate carrier, and a controller for controlling the voltage differential between the particle deposition head and the substrate carrier to permit changing the path of particles that are discharged from the first tubular member and the annular passageway, respectively.

11. A vacuum deposition chamber for semi-conductor substrate on which particles are to be deposited, a housing having walls defining the chamber, a vacuum source connected to the chamber to provide a vacuum in the chamber for deposition of particles onto the semi-conductor substrate, a substrate support in said chamber for mounting said semi-conductor substrate, said substrate support being rotatable about a central axis, a deposition head positioned within the chamber, a linearly movable support mounting the deposition head on the housing and sealing passing through a wall of the housing, a drive for the linear support on the exterior of the housing, said deposition head being spaced from the semi-conductor substrate when the semi-conductor substrate is supported on the substrate support, a source of an aerosol carrying particles which will deposit on the semi-conductor substrate connected to the deposition head, said deposition head having an aerosol outlet and the linearly movable support being positioned to move the deposition head radially relative to said central axis, said aerosol outlet being positioned to overlie the semi-conductor substrate when supported on the substrate support to deposit particles in the aerosol onto the semi-conductor substrate, and a controller to control the rotation of the substrate support and the drive to provide radial movement of said deposition head relative to said central axis.