Gas shower structure and substrate processing apparatus

• US 9,550,194 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2011
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
• Inventors: Hayashi, Daisuke, Murakami, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lund, Jeffrie R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yu, Yuechuan
• Application Number:
  US13/020,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20110186229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,182 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 1/18 Roses; Shower heads with means for adding soap or the like E03C1/046; jet regulators E03C1/08
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/00 Chemical coating by decomposition of gaseous compounds, without leaving reaction products of surface material in the coating, i.e. chemical vapour deposition [CVD] processes reactive sputtering or vacuum evaporation C23C14/00
• 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 16/45565 Shower nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/5096 Flat-bed apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: C23F 1/08 Apparatus, e.g. for photomechanical printing surfaces photo- mechanical reproduction G03F
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3244 Gas supply means

Abstract

Screws 4 are inserted from a bottom surface of a ceiling plate 32 and screwed to a base plate 31, and the ceiling plate 32 and the base plate 31 are press-connected to each other by an elastic restoring force of an elastic member 51 interposed between a head of the screw 4 and the ceiling plate 32. A gap is formed between the head and the ceiling plate 32. Further, a periphery of the head is covered with a cover via a ring-shaped elastic member 52. In another embodiment, a periphery of a base plate 31 is protruded from a periphery of a ceiling plate 32, and the protruded portion of the base plate 31 and a ring-shaped clamp positioned at an outer side of the ceiling plate 32 are joined by screws. Here, an elastic member is interposed between the clamp and the ceiling plate 32.

Claims

1. A gas shower structure that is provided to face a substrate within a processing chamber and supplies a processing gas to the substrate as in a shower device, the structure comprising:

a plate-shaped member disposed so as to be exposed to a processing atmosphere and having a plurality of gas discharge holes;

a base member stacked on and press-connected to the plate-shaped member and having gas discharge holes at positions corresponding to positions of the gas discharge holes of the plate-shaped member;

a joining member for press-connecting the plate-shaped member sandwiched between the joining member and the base member to the base member; and

a press-connecting elastic member interposed between the joining member and a lowest bottom surface of the plate-shaped member, and deformed to have an elastic restoring force when the joining member approaches the plate-shaped member,

wherein the plate-shaped member is press-connected to the base member by the elastic restoring force of the press-connecting elastic member,

the elastic restoring force of the press-connecting elastic member is applied to the lowest bottom surface of the plate-shaped member,

a gap is formed between the joining member and the lowest bottom surface of the plate-shaped member,

the joining member includes a flat portion and a shaft which is protruded from a center of the flat portion,

the shaft has a diameter smaller than that of the flat portion,

a ring-shaped groove is formed on a surface of the flat portion on a side of the shaft, and

the press-connecting elastic member is provided within the ring-shaped groove, and

wherein the flat portion is covered by a cover made of a material capable of protecting the joining member from being damaged by the processing atmosphere,

an outer side surface of the flat portion is inclined so that an upper portion of the outer side surface is protruded outwards, and an inner side surface of the cover is inclined so that an upper portion of the inner side surface is protruded inwards, such that the outer side surface of the flat portion and the inner side surface of the cover are inclined when viewed along an axis direction of the shaft of the joining member,

a topmost surface of the flat portion and a topmost surface of the cover are in a co-planar relationship, and

a cover elastic member for absorbing a thermal expansion difference between the joining member and the cover is interposed between the outer side surface of the flat portion and the inner side surface of the cover with the cover elastic member being in contact with the outer side surface of the flat portion that is inclined and the inner side surface of the cover that is inclined, and is entirely nested below the topmost surfaces of the flat portion and the cover.

2. The gas shower structure of claim 1, wherein the joining member is screwed to the base member, and

the press-connecting elastic member is interposed between the flat portion and the plate-shaped member.

3. The gas shower structure of claim 2, wherein the press-connecting elastic member is formed in a ring shape so as to surround the shaft.

4. The gas shower structure of claim 2, wherein the joining member is made of a metal.

5. The gas shower structure of claim 4, wherein a surface layer of the cover elastic member is made of a material capable of protecting the joining member from the processing atmosphere.

6. The gas shower structure of claim 1, wherein the substrate is processed by plasma and the gap is smaller than or equal to about 0.2 mm.

7. The gas shower structure of claim 1, wherein the press-connecting elastic member is formed by coating fluorine resin around an elastic core.

8. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

a processing chamber accommodating therein a substrate mounting table;

a gas shower structure as claimed in claim 1 disposed to face the substrate mounting table;

a gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas through gas discharge holes of the gas shower structure; and

a vacuum exhaust unit for exhausting an inside of the processing chamber.