Spatially programmable microelectronics process equipment using segmented gas injection showerhead with exhaust gas recirculation

• US 6,821,910 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2003
• Issued: 11/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Maryland
• Original Assignee: University of Maryland, College Park
• Inventors: Rubloff, Gary W., Adomaitis, Raymond A., Kidder, John N. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): GHYKA, ALEXANDER G
• Application Number:
  US10/333,784
• Publication Number:
  US 20040099213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 118/715, 118/665, 427/10, 438/680, 438/681, 438/758
• US Class Current: 438/758
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/44 characterised by the method of coating C23C16/04 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/4412 Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/455 characterised by the method used for introducing gases into reaction chamber or for modifying gas flows in reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45561 Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45565 Shower nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/45574 Nozzles for more than one gas
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/52 Controlling or regulating the coating process C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67017 Apparatus for fluid treatment H01L21/67126, H01L21/6715 take precedence

Abstract

A multizone, segmented showerhead provides a gas impingement flux distribution which is controllable in two lateral dimensions to achieve programmable uniformity in chemical vapor deposition, in plasma deposition and etching and other processes. Recirculation (pumping) of exhaust gases back through the showerhead reduces intersegment mixing to achieve a high degree of spatial control of the process. This spatial control of the impinging gas flux distribution assures that uniformity can be achieved at process design points selected to optimize materials performance. Spatial control also permits rapid experimentation by enabling the introduction of intentional nonuniformities so that combinatorial data from across the wafer/substrate provides results of simultaneous experiments at different process design points. This ability is useful for process tuning and optimization in manufacturing or for rapid materials and process discovery and optimization in research and development.

Claims

1. A multizone gas injector and distribution showerhead for use in microelectronics substrate processing and equipment, comprising:

a plurality of separately programmable segments, each of said segments having a wall with a first end located in proximity of the substrate and a second end spaced from said substrate and an internal cavity between said first and second ends within said wall;

a gas inlet associated with each of said showerhead segments that introduces gases for processing into said cavities; and

an exhaust gas outlet associated with each of said showerhead segments, said gas outlet including selectively actuatable removal of some of the exhaust gas from said cavities of said segments through a portion of said showerhead segments other than said first end.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said exhaust gas outlet is selectively programmable to remove independently variable amount of gas from each of said plurality of said showerhead segments.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said exhaust gas outlet removes some gas from all of said showerhead segments.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of showerhead segments are arranged to enable a variety of gas impingement patterns, including radial and linear distributions.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of showerhead segments are arranged to enable a variety of gas impingement patterns, including radial, linear and nonradial, nonlinear x y distributions.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said segments are modular and can be selectively connected and disconnected.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the spacing between said showerhead segments can be modified.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for adjusting the distance between the substrate and said gas inlet.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for adjusting the distance between the substrate and said exhaust gas outlet.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising means for adjusting the distance between said segments and the substrate.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein said gas inlet further comprises a plurality of inlet conduits and arranged to be connected to at least one source of process gas, wherein said source of process fluid is capable of providing a combination of different process gases to said inlet.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein said type of combination of said gas and the pressure and volume of gas can be selectively controlled.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein said type of combination of said gas and the pressure and volume of gas can be independently varied from one segment to the next.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising sensors, at least one sensor associated with each of said segments for sensing process parameters characteristic in that segment.

15. The device of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor associated with each of said segments for sensing process parameters characteristic between the substrate and each segment.

16. The device of claim 14 or 15, wherein said sensors include the ability to sample for chemical species, or pressure and generate signals corresponding to these parameters to a central receiving station.

17. The device of claim 16, further comprising actuators to independently modify conditions in respective segments in response to the signals received by the central receiving station.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein said actuators can modify gas flow pressure and temperature within each of said segments.

19. The device of claim 1, further comprising an optical sensing device associated with each of said segments that conveys light from a remote source to the cavity of the segment or to an area of the substrate surface;

means for returning light from these areas to an optical detection system for receiving light from said light returning means.

20. The device of claim 15 or 16, means for processing the signals from said sensors and creating a model of the effects of processing parameters on the substrate.

21. The device of claim 19, a processing means associated with said optical detection for creating a model of the effects of processing parameters on the substrate.

22. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said segments are hexagonally shaped.

37. The device of claim 1, wherein the type or combination of gas can be independently varied from one segment to the next.

38. The device of claim 11, wherein the gas flow rate and composition can be varied independently from one segment to the next.

40. The device of claim 1, wherein the distance between said gas inlets and said first end of said segments is adjustable.

41. The device of claim 1, wherein the distance between said gas outlets and said first end of said segments is adjustable.

42. The device of claim 14, wherein said sensors sense exhaust as in said segments.

48. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said gas inlets is separately selectively actuatable.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein said removing step further comprises minimizing intersegment mixing of gas along said substrate.

51. The method of claim 48, whereby said introducing and removing steps further comprise steps providing a gas impingement distribution on said substrate that is controllable in two lateral dimensions.

52. The method of claim 48, wherein said introducing and removing steps further comprise providing selective uniformity or non-uniformity of gas impingement on said substrate from segment to segment.

23. A multizone gas injector and distribution showerhead for use in microelectronics substrate processing and equipment, comprising:

a plurality of separately programmable modular scalable segments, each of said segments having a wall with a first end located in proximity of the substrate and a second end spaced from said substrate and an internal cavity between said first and second ends within said wall; and

wherein showerhead segments to can be selectively joined and removed to enable a variety of segment patterns, including radial and linear patterns.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein said showerhead segments are arranged to enable gas impingement patters, including nonlinear x-y distributions.

25. A method of processing a microelectronics substrate using a multizone gas injector distribution showerhead having a plurality of programmable segments, comprising the steps of:

selectively positioning the showerhead in close proximity to the substrate;

introducing a gas into each of the showerhead segments through one end of said segments,

selecting the amount of exhaust gas desired to be removed from each of said segments; and

removing exhaust gas from the same segment that said gas was introduced into in response to the selection made in said selection step.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said removing step involves removing exhaust gas from only some of said showerhead segments.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of impinging the gas from each of said segments onto the substrate in a consistent radial distribution.

28. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of impinging the gas from each of said segments onto the substrate in a consistent linear distribution.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of impinging the gas from each of said segments onto the substrate in a consistent nonlinear, nonradial x-y distribution.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising the steps of selectively connecting said showerhead segments prior to gas introduction.

31. The method of claim 25, further comprising adjusting the distance between the substrate and the point at which gas is introduced into said segments in said introducing step.

32. The method of claim 25, independently adjusting the type, pressure and volume of gas introduced in said introducing step.

33. The method of claim 25, sensing process parameters characteristic in each of said segments.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said sensing step includes sensing chemical species, pressure, temperature or volume.

35. The method of claim 25, optically sensing an area of the substrate surface.

36. The method of claim 25, further comprising means for adjusting the distance between the substrate surface and the gas exhaust in the segments.

43. The device of claim 25, further comprising the step of sensing the characteristics of the exhaust gas removed in said removing step in at least one segment.

44. The device of claim 43, wherein said sensing step is done in real time.

45. The device of claim 25, further comprising the step of sensing the characteristics of the exhaust gas removed in said removing step in said segments.

46. The device of claim 25, further comprising independently adjusting the composition, pressure or flow rate of gas introduced in each segment in said introducing step.

50. The method of claim 25, wherein said introducing and removing steps provide a symmetry of exhaust gas about the point of introduction of said gas in each segment.

39. A multizone gas injector and distribution showerhead for us in microelectronics substrate processing and equipment, comprising:

a plurality of separately programmable segments, each of said segments having a wall with a first end located in proximity of the substrate and a second end spaced from said substrate and an internal cavity between said first and second ends within said wall;

a gas inlet associated with each of said showerhead segments that introduces gases for processing into said cavities; and

a selectively actuatable exhaust gas outlet associated with each of said showerhead segments that removes some of the exhaust gas from said cavities of said segments through a portion of said showerhead segments other than said first end.

47. A method of processing a microelectronics substrate using multizone gas injector distribution showerhead having a plurality of programmable segments, comprising the steps of:

selectively positioning the showerhead in close proximity to the substrate;

introducing gas into each of the showerhead segments through one end of said segments;

exiting gas from said showerhead segments toward said substrate; and

removing exhaust gas through at least one of said segments that said gas was introduced into.