KR20090069075A - Suscepter assembly in atomic layer deposition apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A susceptor assembly for atomic layer deposition equipment is provided to facilitate the temperature control of a susceptor by forming a heat and the susceptor in one body. A susceptor assembly for atomic layer deposition equipment comprises a housing(113), a supporting plate(111), a heat generating unit(121), a supporting unit(123) and a terminal. The supporting plate is located on the top of the housing. A plurality of wafers are settled on the supporting plate. The heat generating unit is placed inside the housing. The heat generating unit generates heat when the power is applied. The heat generating unit has a wire or filament shape. The supporting unit is positioned below the heat generating unit. The supporting unit supports the heat generating unit. The terminal applies the power to the heat generating unit.

Description

Susceptor assembly for atomic layer deposition apparatus {SUSCEPTER ASSEMBLY IN ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an atomic layer deposition apparatus, and more particularly, to a structure of a susceptor assembly having a heater for heating a wafer in a susceptor for an atomic layer deposition process.

Recently, as the degree of integration of semiconductor devices increases in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the demand for micromachining increases. That is, in order to form a fine pattern and to highly integrate cells on a single chip, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the thin film and develop a new material having a high dielectric constant.

In particular, when a step is formed on the wafer surface, it is very important to ensure step coverage, step coverage, and within wafer uniformity that smoothly cover the surface. In order to satisfy such requirements, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method, which is a method of forming a thin film having a small thickness in atomic layer units, has been proposed.

The atomic layer deposition process is a method of forming a monoatomic layer using chemical adsorption and desorption processes by surface saturation reaction of a reactant on the wafer surface. It is a thin film deposition method that can be controlled.

In the atomic layer deposition process, two or more source gases are alternately introduced to each other, and the source gases react on the wafer surface by introducing a purge gas, which is an inert gas, between each inlet of each source gas to form a predetermined thin film. That is, when one source gas is chemically adsorbed onto the wafer surface and subsequently another source gas is provided, the two source gases are chemically reacted on the wafer surface to further enhance the wafer surface. Atomic layer of Then, the thin film having a predetermined thickness is formed by repeating such a process as a cycle until a thin film having a desired thickness is formed.

On the other hand, the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus includes a susceptor for supporting a wafer and a heater for heating the wafer. In the atomic layer deposition process, the quality of the thin film deposited on the wafer is affected by the temperature of the wafer.

In the conventional atomic layer deposition apparatus, the temperature distribution of the susceptor varies according to the shape and arrangement of the heater, thereby changing the uniformity of the thin film. While the susceptor is rotatably provided, the heater is fixedly installed in the process chamber, which makes it difficult to uniformly heat the temperature of the susceptor.

In addition, since the lower part of the susceptor is provided with a plurality of structures, in order to install the heater, it should be installed to avoid interference with such a structure, which causes the problem of complicated structure of the conventional heater or susceptor. There is this.

In addition, the conventional heater used a halogen lamp. However, since the halogen heater has a fixed shape, it is not easy to change the shape or position of the halogen heater flexibly in accordance with the peripheral structure under the susceptor. In addition, in order to install the halogen lamp, a plurality of terminals should be provided. As the structure of the lower part of the susceptor becomes more complicated, the number of the halogen lamps and the number of the terminals increase. This makes the structure of the susceptor and the heater more complicated, and it is difficult to design the structure.

In addition, when the heater is exposed to the source gas provided in the atomic layer deposition process, there is a problem that the life of the heater is shortened while the heater is oxidized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus in which a heater is integrally formed.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus having a heater which can avoid the position and interference of the susceptor and surrounding structures and is easy to install.

The present invention also provides a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus that prevents oxidation of a heater.

According to embodiments of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus having a heater unit therein, a housing for receiving the heater unit and forming an appearance, the housing And a support plate on which the wafer is seated at the top. The heater unit includes a heating element in the form of a wire or filament, a support part supporting the heating element under the heating element, and a terminal part for applying power to the heating element.

In an embodiment, the heating elements are arranged in an arbitrary curve shape to prevent interference with the peripheral structures of the susceptor assembly, and at least one heating element is provided. Alternatively, the heating element may include a plurality of heating elements.

In addition, the heat generating element is disposed to form a plurality of heat generating regions corresponding to the respective wafers.

In an embodiment, the housing interior is provided with a vacuum. Therefore, the heater unit is prevented from being exposed to the source gas and oxidized, and the life of the heater unit is prevented from being shortened due to the oxidation.

In an embodiment, the housing is formed of at least two or more cases formed to be mutually coupled to allow replacement of the heater unit. For example, the case is coupled by welding or fastening members. Alternatively, the case may be coupled in a fitting manner.

In an embodiment, the lower portion of the support is provided with a heat insulating member to prevent the heat generated from the heat generating element to be discharged to the lower portion. Therefore, the lower portion of the susceptor assembly is prevented from being damaged by heat emitted from the heat generating element, and the heat of the heat generating element is directed upward.

According to the present invention, first, it is easy to control the temperature of the susceptor by integrally forming the heater and the susceptor.

In particular, since the position of the heater and the susceptor is relatively fixed at all times, it is easy to control the temperature of the susceptor even when the susceptor is rotated, and thus the temperature of the susceptor can be kept constant.

Second, by embedding a heater having a filament or wire form inside the susceptor, the structure of the heater and the susceptor is simplified.

In addition, the filament or wire-shaped heater is free to change the shape and arrangement of the heater is easy to keep the temperature of the susceptor constant. In addition, the heater as described above can be installed by avoiding surrounding structures, thereby simplifying the structure of the heater, effectively reducing the number of terminal portions to which power is applied to the heater, and freely arranging the positions of the terminal portions. have.

Third, since the heater is embedded in the susceptor, the heater is prevented from being exposed to the source gas, thereby effectively preventing the life of the heater due to oxidation and oxidation.

In addition, since the heater is embedded in the susceptor, the space required under the susceptor may be reduced, thereby reducing the required volume of the process chamber and the atomic layer deposition apparatus.

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited by the embodiments.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a susceptor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are plan views illustrating an arrangement of a heating element in the susceptor of FIG. 2.

First, an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

The atomic layer deposition apparatus 100 includes a process chamber 101, a showerhead 105, a susceptor assembly 110, and a heater unit 120.

The process chamber 101 may accommodate a plurality of wafers 10 to form a space in which an atomic layer deposition process is performed on the wafers 10.

The shower head 105 is provided above the process chamber 101 to provide a predetermined source gas into the process chamber 101. For example, the source gas is a gas containing a raw material to be deposited on the wafer 10, and includes a different type of source gas and a purge gas for purging each source gas for atomic layer deposition. do.

One side of the shower head 105 is connected to a source gas supply unit 150 for supplying the source gas.

The susceptor assembly 110 is provided in the process chamber 101 to support the wafer 10. In particular, in order to perform the atomic layer deposition process, the wafer 10 must be heated to a predetermined temperature, and a heater unit 120 for heating the wafer 10 is provided in the susceptor assembly 110.

For example, the susceptor assembly 110 may be a semi-batch type that supports the wafer 10 while being in contact with one surface of the wafer 10 and simultaneously supports the plurality of wafers 10. . Alternatively, the susceptor assembly 110 may be a single type in which one wafer 10 is supported.

In addition, the susceptor assembly 110 is rotatably provided, and a lower driving part 112 is provided below the susceptor assembly 110 to rotate the susceptor assembly 110.

Hereinafter, the susceptor assembly 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

The susceptor assembly 110 includes a support plate 111, a heater unit 120, and a housing 113 on which the wafer 10 is seated.

The support plate 111 is a surface on which the wafer 10 is seated and is provided on the housing 113. Here, the support plate 111 may be formed as a separate object from the housing 113 and may be provided on the housing 113. Alternatively, the support plate 111 may be integrally formed with the housing 113 to form an upper surface of the housing 113.

The housing 113 accommodates the heater unit 120 and forms an exterior of the susceptor assembly 110. For example, the housing 113 has a disk shape having a predetermined height. In addition, a cavity having a predetermined volume is formed in the housing 113 to accommodate the heater unit 120.

In addition, the housing 113 may be formed of a first case 113a and a second case 113b which may be mutually coupled to open and close the inside thereof. For example, the second case 113b forms a lower portion of the susceptor assembly 110 and supports the heater unit 120 at the lower portion. The first case 113a is formed to be coupled to the second case 113b and seals an upper portion of the heater unit 120.

The housing 113 is provided with a vacuum. Here, a vacuum providing unit (not shown) for providing a vacuum in the housing 113 may be provided separately. Alternatively, since the inside of the process chamber 101 is already in a vacuum state, the same degree of vacuum may be provided between the process chamber 101 and the inside of the housing 113. In this case, there is no separate vacuum providing unit for providing a vacuum in the housing 113, and also in the housing 113 through a vacuum providing unit (not shown) that provides a vacuum to the process chamber 101. A vacuum may be formed.

Here, the housing 113 is formed of the first and second casings 113a and 113b which are mutually coupled to each other so that the entire susceptor assembly 110 is not replaced when the life of the heater unit 120 expires. It is possible to replace only the heater unit 120. In addition, the housing 113 is formed to be easily opened and closed by a simple operation has the advantage that the heater unit 120 can be easily replaced.

For example, the first case 113a and the second case 113b may be combined using a simple coupling method such as a simple or interference fit method. In addition, the first case 113a and the second case 113b may be coupled using welding or fastening means.

The heater unit 120 is provided in the housing 113 to heat the wafer 10 to a temperature required for thin film deposition on the wafer 10 when power is applied.

Here, the heater unit 120 may be provided in the housing 113 to prevent the heater unit 120 from being exposed to the source gas during the deposition process. Here, the inside of the housing 113 is a space separated from the process chamber 101. Since the source gas is blocked from flowing into the housing 113, the heater unit 120 is exposed to the source gas. Can be prevented. In particular, in order to effectively prevent the heater unit 120 from being exposed to the source gas, a vacuum is formed inside the housing 113. Therefore, the oxidation of the heater unit 120 can be prevented, and the life of the heater unit 120 can be effectively prevented due to the oxidation.

In detail, the heater unit 120 includes a heating element 121, a support part 123, and a terminal part 122.

The heat generating element 121 may be a resistive heating element disposed in the housing 113. For example, the heating element 121 is a heating element in the form of a wire, and may include a filament, a heating coil or a carbon wire.

The heating element 121 is electrically connected to a power supply unit (not shown). When power is applied, the heating element 121 generates heat to heat the housing 113 and transfers heat to the support plate 111. The wafer 10 is heated.

The terminal unit 122 electrically connects an external power supply unit and the heat generating element 121.

The support part 123 is provided below the heat generating element 121 to support the heat generating element 121 and to fix the housing 113.

The support part 123 is formed of a chemically stable material without deformation due to heat generated from the heat generating element 121. For example, the support part 123 is formed of nitride ceramics or carbide ceramics. Alternatively, the support part 123 is formed of a graphite material.

An inner lower portion of the housing 113 is provided with a heat insulating member 125 to prevent heat emitted from the heat generating element 121 from being transferred to the lower portion of the housing 113. The heat insulating member 125 is provided below the support part 123.

The heat insulating member 125 is also formed of a stable material without deformation due to heat generated from the heat generating element 121. For example, the heat insulating member 125 is formed of nitride ceramics or carbide ceramics. In addition, the heat insulating member 125 may have a plate shape corresponding to the lower portion of the housing 113 to cover all of the lower portion of the housing 113.

Here, the heat insulating member 125 is provided to prevent the heat of the heat generating element 121 from being transferred to the lower portion of the housing 113, thereby preventing thermal deformation of structures provided under the susceptor assembly 110. It is effective. In addition, the heat insulating member 125 has an effect of improving the heat transfer efficiency to the upper portion of the housing 113 by limiting the direction in which the heat of the heat generating element 121 is discharged.

On the other hand, in order to deposit a homogeneous thin film on the entire surface of the wafer 10, it is important to keep the temperature distribution of the wafer 10 uniform. Therefore, the heat generating element 121 is disposed in an arbitrary curved shape with respect to the wafer 10 or the support plate 111.

Since the heating element 121 has a wire shape, the shape of the heating element 121 may be freely deformed so that the heating element 121 may be disposed in an arbitrary shape so that interference with peripheral structures provided inside or under the susceptor assembly 110 does not occur. Can be. In addition, the temperature distribution of the wafer 10 and the support plate 111 is disposed in a suitable form so as to uniformly heat.

According to the present invention, since the heating element 121 in the form of a wire or filament is provided, the heater unit 120 may be freely disposed to flexibly cope with the structures in the susceptor assembly 110.

For example, the susceptor assembly 110 applies power to a lift pin (not shown) and the heater unit 120 that lift and lower the wafer 10 when loading / unloading the wafer 10. The structure is complicated because peripheral structures such as a power supply unit are provided. In addition, the lower part of the susceptor assembly 110 is provided with structures such as a power supply unit and the shaft and the drive unit 112 for the rotation of the susceptor assembly 110 and the lifting operation in the vertical direction.

However, by providing the heater unit 120 in the susceptor assembly 110 as in the present embodiment, the structures of the susceptor assembly 110 and the susceptor assembly 110 are simplified. In addition, since the heater unit 120 and the susceptor assembly 110 are integrally rotated, the temperature of the susceptor assembly 110 may be efficiently and uniformly maintained. In addition, since the heater unit 120 may be reduced as much as the heater unit 120 is omitted below the susceptor assembly 110, it is effective to reduce the size of the process chamber 101.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the heat generating element 121 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 3, the heating element 121 is disposed in an arbitrary curve shape capable of uniformly heating the wafer 10.

Here, the heat generating element 121 is disposed to minimize the number of the terminal portion 122. That is, the heating element 121 having a wire or filament form may be disposed in a curved shape to avoid peripheral structures in the housing 113, and thus, only one heating element 121 may be provided.

In addition, even when a plurality of heat generating elements are provided, power may be applied to the heat generating element 121 through a minimum terminal portion, and the terminal portion 122 may be concentrated to one side of the housing 113. In this case, there is an advantage of simplifying the structures of the susceptor assembly 110 and the heater unit 120.

In this embodiment, the heating element 121 is described as being disposed in an arbitrary curved shape, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the heating element 121 may be formed in various forms such as a spiral structure, a concentric circle structure, and a straight structure. Of course, it can be arranged.

Meanwhile, FIG. 4 is a modified embodiment of FIG. 3, wherein the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 are arranged in a predetermined form so that the plurality of heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14 are formed. It is a figure which shows embodiment of the formed heater unit 120. FIG.

In FIG. 3, the heating element 121 is disposed to uniformly heat the entire housing 113, but as shown in FIG. 4, the housing 113 is divided into a plurality of areas to be heated. The predetermined heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 on which the heating elements are disposed are provided.

In detail, each of the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 is disposed at positions corresponding to the plurality of wafers 10, respectively, to form a plurality of heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14. . For example, the heat generating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14 are formed as circular regions having a diameter corresponding to the wafer 10.

In addition, each of the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be provided so that power can be independently applied to each other, or may be applied to the same one power source to generate the respective heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134. ) Can be provided at the same time. For example, each of the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be provided with a terminal portion 136, and each terminal portion 136 may be supplied with one or a plurality of power sources. Alternatively, each of the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 may be provided with a terminal unit 136, respectively, integrated into one terminal outside the housing 113, and connected to one external power source.

The heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 are substantially concentric, spiral, and arbitrary curved shapes, such as the first heating element patterns 131 to 4th heating element pattern 134 illustrated in FIG. 4. It can have a variety of forms.

In FIG. 4, the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 are illustrated in different forms in each of the heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14, which are the heating element patterns 131, 132, and 133. , 134) to show various arrangements. Each of the heating element patterns 131, 132, 133, and 134 disposed in the heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14 may have the same shape in all the heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14.

In addition, one heating element may be formed in a predetermined heating element pattern 131, 132, 133, and 134 in each of the heating regions 11, 12, 13, and 14, or each of the heating regions 11, 12. Each of the plurality of heating elements 13, 14, and 14 may be formed with a predetermined heating element pattern 131, 132, 133, and 134.

According to this embodiment, by forming the plurality of heat generating regions 11, 12, 13, 14, it is possible to more effectively maintain the temperature distribution of each wafer 10 uniformly. In addition, it is also possible to control the temperature of each of the heat generating regions 11, 12, 13, 14 differently by adjusting the power applied to each of the heat generating regions 11, 12, 13, 14.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the heater unit 120 in the form of a filament or a wire is provided in the susceptor assembly 110, thereby providing the heater unit 120 with the peripheral structures of the susceptor assembly 110. It is possible to form flexibly so that interference does not occur, and the susceptor assembly 110 can be heated efficiently and uniformly.

In addition, since the heater unit 120 is provided in the susceptor assembly 110, the heater unit 120 is provided in a space separated from the inside of the process chamber 101. For example, the heater unit 120 is provided in the housing 120 in which a vacuum is formed. The heater unit 120 may block the exposure to the source gas. Therefore, the heater unit 120 is exposed to the source gas in the atomic layer deposition process, thereby preventing the heater unit 120 from being oxidized and effectively preventing the life thereof from being shortened.

In addition, by forming the heater unit 120 and the susceptor assembly 110 integrally, it is possible to simplify the structures of the susceptor assembly 110 and the heater unit 120, the susceptor assembly 110 It is prevented that the temperature distribution of the susceptor assembly 110 and the wafer 10 is uneven by the rotation of the.

1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an atomic layer deposition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a susceptor assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating an example of an arrangement of a heating element in the susceptor assembly of FIG. 2; FIG.

4 is a plan view illustrating a modified embodiment of the arrangement of the heating element in the susceptor assembly of FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: wafer 11, 12, 13, 14: heat generating region

100: atomic layer deposition apparatus 110: susceptor assembly

110 and 130: heater unit 121: heating element

122, 136: terminal portion 123: support portion

125, 135: insulation member

131, 132, 133, and 134: heating element pattern

Claims (6)

housing; A support plate provided on the housing and on which a plurality of wafers are seated; A heating element provided in the housing and configured to generate heat when a power is applied; A support part provided below the heat generating element and supporting the heat generating element; And A terminal unit for applying power to the heat generating element; Susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, Susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that at least one heating element is arranged in a curved shape. The method of claim 1, The heat generating element is a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that a plurality of heat generating elements are arranged, each heat generating element is arranged to form a plurality of heat generating regions corresponding to each of the wafers. The method of claim 1, Susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that the vacuum is formed inside the housing. The method of claim 1, The housing is a susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that formed of at least two cases formed to be mutually coupled. The method of claim 1, The susceptor assembly for an atomic layer deposition apparatus, characterized in that the lower portion is further provided with a heat insulating member for preventing the heat generated from the heat generating element to be discharged to the bottom.

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