KR20080046797A - Connector and heater assembly having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector and a heater assembly having the same are provided to obtain electric conductivity such as oxidation resistance, to increase electric stability in the high oxidative atmosphere, and to simplify a structure thereof by connecting a connecting member with a hollow conductor by filler metals. A connector(10) comprises a hollow conductor(11), and a supporting body(12). The supporting body is closely combined with the hollow conductor in the hollow conductor, and made of a material whose thermal expansion rate is smaller than the hollow conductor. The supporting body is made of one of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, an alloy of molybdenum, KOVAR, INVAR, and Fe-Ni lower thermal expansion alloy. The hollow conductor is made of higher oxidation resistance than the supporting body. The hollow conductor and the supporting body are combined by conductive filler metals(13,13a).

Description

Connector and heater assembly having the same

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a heater assembly having a connector of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1 Body 1a Connection

3: electrode 5: connecting member

10 connector 11 hollow conductor

12: support 13,13a: filler material

The present invention relates to a connector and a heater assembly, and more particularly, to a heater assembly used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a connector for supplying power to the heater assembly.

In general, a semiconductor device includes a Fab process for forming an electrical circuit including electrical elements on a silicon substrate used as a semiconductor substrate, and inspecting electrical characteristics of a plurality of chips on the silicon substrate formed in the fab process. An electrical die sorting (EDS) process and a package assembly process for encapsulating and chipping each chip with an epoxy resin and individualizing the chips into individual chip units.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, a heater for heating the semiconductor substrate is used for forming a thin film or etching a semiconductor substrate and forming a photoresist pattern.

The heater is formed of a ceramic member made of dense material such as aluminum nitride, alumina, yttria, and an electrode for heating and supplying power. In particular, because of the characteristics of the semiconductor manufacturing process, the heater is used in a rapid temperature change, high temperature environment and high oxidizing environment, the heater is required to have high thermal shock resistance and corrosion resistance.

Here, the heater is provided with a connector for supplying power from the outside, the connector is installed outside the heater. Therefore, the connector also requires high thermal shock resistance and corrosion resistance.

In particular, at high temperatures, the mechanical strength of the connector is reduced, and the bond strength between the connector and the electrode and / or the connector and the ceramic member is due to a difference in thermal expansion between the ceramic member and the connector constituting the main body of the heater. Deteriorates, there is a problem that the electrical connection is unstable.

On the other hand, since the semiconductor manufacturing process rapidly repeats not only high temperature but also high temperature and low temperature, stress may be concentrated between the heater and the connector due to the thermal cycle, and such stress concentration may cause micro peeling and cracking. In addition, the defect of the semiconductor device due to the non-uniform temperature of the heating surface of the heater is a problem.

On the other hand, Korean Patent No. 0279650 (hereinafter referred to as the prior art) is an example of a connector for supplying power to the device used in the semiconductor manufacturing process as described above.

Specifically, the prior art proposes a connector for supplying electric power in a plasma generating apparatus, and the connector has a structure in which a power supply connector is inserted into a tubular shield member.

However, the connector according to the prior art is a shield member and the connector is coupled with a predetermined gap, it is composed of a complex structure and a plurality of parts, high failure rate in the process of assembling and producing the connector, the product performance There is a problem that the reliability is lowered. In addition, there is a problem that the quality of the life and performance of the connector, such as a large deviation depending on the product.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems described above, one object of the present invention is to provide a power supply connector that can maintain a stable performance and bonding strength in a high temperature and high oxidizing environment, the structure is simple and It is to provide a connector with improved reliability of performance and quality.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heater assembly having the connector.

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, the power supply connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, the hollow conductor, the hollow conductor in the hollow conductor is closely coupled with the hollow conductor, It includes a support formed of a material having a lower thermal expansion coefficient than the type conductor.

In an embodiment, the support may be made of any one of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, molybdenum alloy, KOVAR, INVAR, and iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) based low thermal expansion alloy.

In an embodiment, the hollow conductor may use a metal having higher oxidation resistance than the support. Here, the hollow conductor may be made of any one metal of nickel, copper, gold, silver, platinum, and alloys thereof.

In an embodiment, the hollow conductor and the support may be joined by a conductive filler metal. Here, it is preferable that the filler metal contains any one metal of gold, silver, and palladium.

On the other hand, the heater assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving another object of the present invention, the body is an electrode embedded therein, a hollow conductor, a support disposed in the hollow conductor And a connector embedded in the main body, one end of which is connected to the electrode, and the other end of which is coupled to the connector assembly, and a connection member electrically connecting the electrode and the connector.

In an embodiment, the connecting member may be coupled by the support and the conductive filler metal, and the hollow conductor and the connecting member may be electrically connected through the filler metal. Here, it is preferable that the filler metal contains any one metal of gold, silver, and palladium.

In an embodiment, the connection member and the support may be formed of a material having the same coefficient of thermal expansion. Here, the connection member may be made of any one metal of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, molybdenum alloy.

Thus, the connector has high oxidation resistance and stable electrical conductivity at high temperatures, and structurally maintains a good bond strength between the connector and the heater assembly, thus operating stable and improving performance reliability.

Hereinafter, a connector and a heater assembly having the same according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail.

However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and those skilled in the art may implement the present invention in various other forms without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings, the dimensions of the structures are shown in an enlarged scale than actual for clarity of the invention. In the present invention, when each structure is referred to as being located "on", "top" or "bottom" of other structures, it means that each structure is located directly above or below other structures, or Still further structures may be additionally formed between the structures. In addition, where each structure is referred to as "first," "second," and / or "third," it is not intended to limit these members, but merely to distinguish each structure. Thus, "first", "second" and / or "third" may be used either selectively or interchangeably for each structure.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a heater assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

connector

Hereinafter, a connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 10 includes a hollow conductor 11 and a support 12 disposed inside the hollow conductor 11.

Here, the hollow conductor 11 is made of a metal having high electrical conductivity and high oxidation resistance at a high temperature, and the support 12 is made of a metal having a low thermal expansion coefficient at a high temperature as compared with the hollow conductor 11. Is done.

The hollow conductor 11 is connected to an external power supply unit (not shown) and is a part for supplying power to a device such as a heater assembly, which will be described later. Is made of high metal.

In addition, since the hollow conductor 11 is exposed to high temperature and high oxidizing environment, it is preferable to use a metal having high oxidation resistance for stable power supply.

In particular, the hollow conductor 11 is preferably any one of nickel, copper, gold, silver, platinum and alloys thereof, which have high oxidation resistance and high electrical conductivity, and more preferably nickel or Nickel alloys are used.

The support 12 is disposed inside the hollow conductor 11 to suppress thermal expansion of the hollow conductor 11 at a high temperature and to support the hollow conductor 11, and thus, a high temperature. In the use of a metal having a low thermal expansion coefficient compared to the hollow conductor (11).

The support 12 is preferably formed thicker than the thickness of the hollow conductor 11, in order to suppress thermal expansion of the hollow conductor 11, the hollow conductor 11 is stable performance In order to ensure the thickness of the hollow conductor 11 is preferably formed uniformly.

Specifically, since the hollow conductor 11 and the support 12 have different thermal expansion rates, in particular, the support 12 sufficiently supports the force of the hollow conductor 11 to expand at a high temperature. To form the support 12.

In particular, the support 12 preferably uses any one of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, molybdenum alloy, KOVAR, INVAR, and iron-nickel low thermal expansion alloy having a low thermal expansion coefficient at high temperature. More preferably, tungsten or molybdenum is used.

The hollow conductor 11 and the support 12 are tightly joined by a filler metal 11.

In particular, the filler metal 13 is excellent in electrical conductivity, it is preferable to use a solder containing any one metal of gold, silver, palladium excellent in the bonding force between the hollow conductor 11 and the support 12. Do.

On the other hand, the force generated by the thermal expansion of the hollow conductor 11 and the support 12 is concentrated at the portion where the hollow conductor 11 and the support 12 is coupled. Therefore, the filler metal 13 does not cause breakage or peeling due to the stress due to thermal expansion as described above, and adheres the hollow conductor 11 and the support 12 as closely as possible.

Here, the metal constituting the hollow conductor 11 is large in electrical conductivity and large in oxidation resistance, but has a large coefficient of thermal expansion at high temperatures. The metal constituting the support 12 is a metal having a high oxidative property at a high temperature although the thermal expansion coefficient at a high temperature is lower than that of the hollow conductor 11.

Therefore, as described above, by placing a metal having a high oxidation resistance outside the connector 10 and a metal having a high thermal expansion rate inside, the support 12 is thermally expanded of the hollow conductor 11 at a high temperature. Since the thermal expansion coefficient of the connector 10 is reduced. In addition, since the support 12 itself is disposed inside the connector 10, oxidation is prevented, and thus, the performance of the connector 10, such as a decrease in bonding strength or an increase in electrical resistance, is prevented from being degraded by oxidation. There is this.

Heater assembly

Hereinafter, a heater assembly having the connector 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Since the connector 10 is the same as the connector described in the first embodiment, the same name and reference numerals are given, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the heater assembly according to the present embodiment, a main body 1 having an electrode 3 embedded therein and a connecting portion 1a in which the connector 10 is accommodated is provided, and for supplying electric power to the electrode 3. And a connecting member 5 disposed between the connector 10 and the electrode 3 and the connector 10 and electrically connecting the electrode 3 and the connector 10.

The main body 1 should be excellent in thermal conductivity and workability, and especially there should be no thermal deformation at high temperature. In addition, since the heater assembly is used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, the main body 1 should be chemically stable in a high oxidizing environment such as an etching process or a plasma process. For example, the main body 1 uses a ceramic of dense material such as aluminum nitride, alumina or yttria.

One surface of the main body 1 has a cylindrical shape on which a semiconductor substrate is seated and has an upper surface that becomes a heating surface for heating the semiconductor substrate. However, the shape of the main body 1 is not limited thereto, and may have substantially various shapes depending on the apparatus in which the heater assembly is installed.

The connection portion 1a is a groove or recess formed at a predetermined depth so that the connector 10 can be accommodated on a surface opposite to the surface on which the semiconductor substrate is seated in the main body 1. For example, the connector 10 may have a rod shape having a circular cross section, and the connection portion 1a may be a groove having a predetermined depth having a circular cross section larger than that of the connector 10. However, the shape of the connecting portion 1a is not limited thereto.

The connecting portion 1a guides the coupling position of the connector 10, and also allows the connector 10 to be stably coupled by installing the connector 10 inside the connecting portion 1a.

The electrode 3 is embedded in the main body 1, and may be sintered like the main body 1.

The electrode 3 is disposed to correspond to the shape of the top surface of the main body 1, and in the main body 1 to uniformly heat the main body 1 and the semiconductor substrate seated on the main body 1. It is preferable to arrange uniformly. For example, the electrode 3 may be formed in a plate shape having a relatively thin thickness inside the main body 1.

The electrode 3 preferably uses a metal having high electrical conductivity and electrical stability at high temperature. For example, the electrode 3 may be formed of any one of tungsten, molybdenum, platinum, and an alloy thereof. It is preferable to use.

The connecting member 5 is embedded in the main body 1, one surface is in contact with the electrode 3, the surface opposite to the surface is disposed to be exposed to the outside through the connecting portion (1a).

Since the connection member 5 is a part which electrically connects the connector 10 and the electrode 3, it is preferable to use a metal having high electrical conductivity. On the other hand, since the electrode 3 is embedded in the main body 1, it is not necessary to use a metal having a high oxidation resistance like the hollow conductor 11, the electrode 3 has a high electrical conductivity, It is preferable to use a metal having stable performance even at high temperatures.

On the other hand, since the connection member 5 is coupled to the support 12, the electrode 3 preferably uses a metal having the same thermal expansion coefficient as the support 12.

When the connector 10 and the connection member 5 are inflated at a high temperature, if the expansion ratios of the connector 10 and the connection member 5 are different, the connector 10 and the connection member 5 may be separated. Mismatches can make electrical connections impossible. Therefore, the above problems can be solved by using a metal having the same thermal expansion coefficient as the support 12 and the connecting member 5.

For example, the connecting member 5 preferably uses any one of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum and molybdenum alloy, and more preferably molybdenum.

The connector 10 is a device for supplying power to the heater assembly from the outside, and is formed of a hollow conductor 11 and a support 12 disposed inside the hollow conductor 11.

The connector 10 is accommodated in the connecting portion 1a of the main body 1 and is coupled to the exposed surface of the connecting member 5. In particular, the end of the support 12 and the connecting member 5 is coupled by a conductive filler material (13a).

The filler metal 13a formed on the connection member 5 is preferably formed to be connected to the filler metal 13 for coupling the support 12 and the hollow conductor 11 to each other. Alternatively, when the filler metal 13 is applied to the support 12, the filler metal 13 is not only coupled to the hollow conductor 11 but also coupled to the connection member 5. It is also possible to apply.

The reason for coupling the support 12 to the connecting member 5 is that the hollow conductor 11 is a metal having a high thermal expansion coefficient at a high temperature, and thus the connecting member 5 and the hollow conductive material at a high temperature. This is to prevent the sieve 11 from slipping due to different thermal expansion.

Therefore, the connection member 5 and the hollow conductor 11 are not directly coupled, but the connection member 5 and the hollow conductor 11 are formed through the filler metal 13 and 13a. Electrically connected.

In the present embodiment, the ceramic heater provided to control the temperature of the semiconductor substrate has been described, but the connector according to the present invention is a connector for supplying power to the electrode in an apparatus in which an electrode is embedded in a member such as ceramic. The same applies as, and is particularly suitable for use as a power supply connector for devices used in high temperature and / or high oxidizing environment.

For example, it can be easily used as a connector for supplying electric power to an electrostatic chuck supporting a semiconductor substrate in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a high frequency generator incorporating a high frequency electrode for generating plasma, or the like.

As described above, the connector according to the present invention has characteristics such as oxidation resistance and high electrical conductivity, and has good bonding strength and electrical stability between the connector and the heater assembly even in a high temperature and oxidizing atmosphere.

In addition, since the structure of the connector is simple, productivity and economical efficiency are high, and quality such as performance or lifespan according to the connector product is uniformly displayed.

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated.

Claims (11)

Hollow conductors; And A connector including a support that is closely coupled to the hollow conductor inside the hollow conductor and formed of a material having a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than the hollow conductor. The method of claim 1, wherein the support is made of any one of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, molybdenum alloy, KOVAR, invar (INVAR) and iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) -based low thermal expansion alloy. Connector. The connector of claim 1, wherein the hollow conductor is made of a metal having higher oxidation resistance than the support. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the hollow conductor is made of any one metal of nickel, copper, gold, silver, platinum, and alloys thereof. The connector of claim 1, wherein the hollow conductor and the support are joined by a conductive filler metal. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the filler metal comprises any one metal of gold, silver, and palladium. A main body in which electrodes are embedded; A connector comprising a hollow conductor and a support disposed within the hollow conductor; A heater assembly embedded in the main body, one end is connected to the electrode, the other end is coupled to the connector, the heater assembly including a connecting member for electrically connecting the electrode and the connector. 8. The heater assembly of claim 7, wherein the connection member is coupled to the support by the conductive filler metal, and the hollow conductor and the connection member are electrically connected through the filler metal. 9. The heater assembly of claim 8, wherein the filler metal comprises any one metal of gold, silver, and palladium. 8. The heater assembly of claim 7, wherein the connection member and the support are formed of a material having the same coefficient of thermal expansion. 8. The heater assembly of claim 7, wherein the connection member is made of any one metal of tungsten, tungsten alloy, molybdenum, and molybdenum alloy.

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