WO2014061979A1

WO2014061979A1 - Gas flow controller for manufacturing high flatness wafer

Info

Publication number: WO2014061979A1
Application number: PCT/KR2013/009217
Authority: WO
Inventors: In-Kyum Kim; Yu-Jin Kang; Yong-Moon HUR
Original assignee: Lg Siltron Inc.
Priority date: 2012-10-15
Filing date: 2013-10-15
Publication date: 2014-04-24
Also published as: KR20140047844A

Abstract

A gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer that effectively controls a gas flow vapor disposed on a surface of a wafer is provided. The gas flow controller includes a susceptor on which a wafer is placed, a gas guide member disposed to surround the susceptor on which the wafer is placed, a suction passage in which a gas for forming an epitaxial layer on a surface of the wafer is injected, the suction passage being disposed one side of the gas guide member, and a plurality of partitions detachably mounted in the suction passage, the plurality of partitions distributing an input gas.

Description

GAS FLOW CONTROLLER FOR MANUFACTURING HIGH FLATNESS WAFER

The present disclosure relates to a gas flow controller for manufacturing a high-flatness wafer that effectively controls a gas flow vapor disposed on a surface of a wafer.

Silicon wafers may be classified into a polished wafer, an epitaxial wafer, a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer, a diffused wafer, a HI wafer, or the like.

Among these wafers, the epitaxial wafer is a wafer on which another single crystal layer, i.e., an epitaxial layer, is grown on an existing silicon wafer. The epitaxial wafer has advantages that surface defects are lower than those of an existing silicon wafer and the concentration and type of impurities can be controlled. Since the epitaxial layer has high purity and an excellent crystal property, yield and characteristics of a highly-integrated semiconductor device may improve.

An epitaxial wafer may be formed basically using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique, a source gas including silicon is supplied onto a surface of a silicon wafer so that a silicon epitaxial layer is grown.

An existing apparatus for manufacturing the epitaxial wafer includes a process chamber in which an epitaxial process is performed by accommodating the silicon wafer, a transfer chamber transferring a wafer into the process chamber, and a load lock chamber.

In recent years, it is difficult to uniformly form the epitaxial layer to an edge region of the wafer because a diameter of the wafer has been larger. Therefore, there have been various attempts to overcome this limitation. Particularly, fluid flow within the process chamber may serve as an important variable so as to uniformly form the epitaxial layer up to the edge of the wafer in a large-scale wafer having a diameter of about 300 mm or more.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2003-86524 relates to a vapor growth apparatus and a method for manufacturing the epitaxial wafer, the apparatus including a gas guide member having partitions for uniformly distributing a source gas in a width direction of a surface of the wafer. Here, the partitions are provided with fixed shape on a suction side of the gas guide member and controls a flatness and thickness of an epitaxial layer by adjusting the gas flow between the partitions.

However, in case of the gas flow controller for manufacturing the epitaxial wafer according to the related art is manufactured as a part in which the partitions are fixed in a predetermined position to adjust the gas flow, thereby limiting improvement of product quality.

Furthermore, whenever regions with inferior wafer flatness are different in each product, the design for the part should be changed such that positions of the partitions are modified, a part may be changed according to the position of the partition changed. Next, existing part is separated so as to mount the changed part, and an operation of a vapor deposition apparatus is stopped. Thus, both an operating rate of the vapor deposition apparatus and production yield of the epitaxial wafer may decrease.

Moreover, since gas flow introduced through a plurality of inlets is mixed within the part in which the gas flow is introduced or the linearity of the gas flow is poor, it is difficult to ensure linearity of the gas flow. Thus, gas flow lose may be generated, and also performance of the epitaxial wafer may decrease.

The embodiment is contrived to solve the problems in prior art and an object of the embodiment is to provide a gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer in which a gas flow injected to form an epitaxial layer of an epitaxial wafer is easily controlled.

In one embodiment, a gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer, the gas flow controller includes: a suceptor on which a wafer is placed; a gas guide member disposed to surround the suceptor on which the wafer is placed; a suction passage in which a gas for forming an epitaxial layer on a surface of the wafer is injected, the suction passage being disposed one side of the gas guide member; and a plurality of partitions detachably mounted in the suction passage, the plurality of partitions distributing an input gas.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

A gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer that effectively controls a gas flow vapor disposed on a surface of a wafer is provided.

Fig. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a main part of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view of an injector cap applied in Fig. 1.

FIG. 4 is a frontal view of a baffle applied in FIG. 1.

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention may be determined by the disclosure of the embodiments, and the concept of the embodiments includes modification such as adding, removing, and altering of elements.

As shown in Fig. 1, a gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer according to the embodiment may include a susceptor 110, a gas guide member 120, a suction passage 130, and a partition 140.

The susceptor 110 has a diameter that is smaller than that of a wafer so that the wafer W is loaded and the susceptor 110 is rotatably installed. Here, the susceptor 110 is configured to reduce a contact area with the substrate W.

The gas guide member 120 accommodates the susceptor 110 and provides a space in which a gas may horizontally flow to form an epitaxial layer on the substrate W.

A plurality of heaters (not shown) may be disposed above and under the gas guide member 120. Also, the plurality of heaters may be controlled according to control conditions for vapor-depositing the epitaxial layer.

For example, the gas guide member 120 is configured so that a dome-type lower cover 122 and a cone-type upper cover 121 are engaged with each other. The gas guide member 120 may include the suction passage 130 and a discharge passage 150 at both sides, horizontally.

Here, the suction passage 130 and the discharge passage 150 may be disposed at a position lower than that of the wafer W and an embankment member 123 is provided for guiding a gas flow from the suction passage 130 to the top surface of the wafer W or from the top surface of the wafer W to the discharge passage 150.

Also, an auxiliary heater 124 may be provided in the inside of the embankment member 123 to heat the gas flow guided from the top surface of the wafer W.

The suction passage 130 is disposed on one direction side on which the upper cover 121 and the lower cover 122 are engaged with each other to horizontally guide the gas flow.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a main part of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are front views of an injector cap and baffle applied in Fig. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the suction passage 130 according to the embodiment may include an injector 131, an injector cap 132 disposed at a front end of the injector 131, and a baffle 133.

The injector 131 may guide an input gas from the outside into the gas guide member 120.

Here, the injector 131 is engaged with a predetermined range along a circumference of the lower cover 122. Also, the injector 131 is engaged with the embankment member 123 so that the input gas is introduced in a horizontal direction. The input gas collides with the embankment member 123 to move upward, thereby again guiding the flow in the horizontal direction.

The injector cap 132 may have a plurality of

suction holes

132H, 132h, and 132h in a line. Here, a relatively large suction hole 132H is disposed at a center, and relatively

small suction holes

132h and 132h are disposed at both sides.

Also,

injection supply lines

132a and 132b injecting the input gas into each of

suction holes

132H, 132h, and 132h are separately disposed in the injector cap 132, and a type of flow rate of the input gas may be controlled through the

injection supply lines

132a and 132b.

The baffle 133 may include a plurality of distribution holes 133h to distribute the gas suctioned from the plurality of the

suction holes

132H, 132h, and 132h. The plurality of the distribution holes 133h may be parallely disposed in a line.

Particularly, a protrusion part 133a protruding rearward is disposed around a rear surface of the baffle, and a plurality of mounting grooves133b is disposed on the protrusion part 133a so that the partition 140 is detachably attached.

Here, since each of the mounting grooves 133b is disposed on the protrusion part 133a, an upper/lower portion of a front end of the partition 140 may be inserted. The plurality of the mounting grooves 133b may be disposed between the plurality of the distribution holes 133h.

Also, the front end of the partition 140 may be detached in a position selected among the plurality of the mounting grooves 133b. A rear end of the partition 140 may be mounted to extend to the embankment member 123. The partition 140 may be arranged parallel to a flow direction of the input gas.

An operation of the gas flow controller for manufacturing the high flatness wafer configured as above will be described below.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the partition 140 is selectively mounted among the plurality of the mounting grooves 133b of the baffle 133 to control a flow rate or a flow speed of the input gas that is vapor deposited on the surface of the wafer, thereby selecting a mounting position with consideration for a flatness of the epitaxial layer that is required according to a product of a wafer W.

As described above, after the partition 140 is mounted and the wafer is built in the gas guide member 120, the heater is heated, and the input gas is injected through the suction passage 130 at the same time.

Thus, the input gas is injected into the plurality of the

suction holes

132H, 132h, and 132h of the injector cap 132 through the

injection supply lines

132a and 132b and is distributed through the distribution holes 133h of the baffle 133. The input gas flows to the embankment member 123 in a horizontal direction along a passage separated by the partition 140.

Thereafter, the input gas collides with the embankment member 123 to move upward and flows in a horizontal direction along a top surface of the wafer W that is disposed on the susceptor 110. Here, the input gas is deposited on the top surface of the wafer W at high temperature to form the epitaxial layer.

Thereafter, the gas that has passed through the top surface of the wafer W is discharged through the discharge passage 150.

As described above, the epitaxial layer may be formed on the surface of the wafer W by the vapor deposition to adjust the flow rate along a position in which the input gas is introduced, thereby controlling the flatness by a thickness of the epitaxial layer. Thus, since the partition 140 is mounted to select a position among the mounting grooves 133b that are provided in the line in the baffle 133, the flow rate may be easily adjusted according to a position in which the input gas is introduced, thereby manufacturing wafer products of different kinds without manufacturing suction passage parts as different forms.

In the gas flow controller for manufacturing the high flatness wafer according to the embodiment, since the partitions are selectively detached in a desired position in which the input gas flows, the flow of the input gas may be controlled, thereby improving the quality of the wafer.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment, by modifying the positions of the partitions on the passage of the existing vapor deposition apparatus even when wafer products are changed, various types of wafers may be manufactured even without additionally and separately manufacturing the part in which the flow of the input gas is changed.

Also, since the input gas is introduced through the plurality of suction holes and then distributed through the plurality of distribution holes that are disposed on the baffle, the lose of the gas flow on the suction passage may be prevented. Furthermore, the linearity increases by the partitions horizontally disposed with the flow direction so that uniformity of the entire epitaxial layer of the epitaxial wafer increases.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art.

The embodiment may be used for a gas flow controller and thus, has industrial applicability.

Claims

A gas flow controller for manufacturing a high flatness wafer, the gas flow controller comprising:

a suceptor on which a wafer is placed;

a gas guide member disposed to surround the suceptor on which the wafer is placed;

a suction passage in which a gas for forming an epitaxial layer on a surface of the wafer is injected, the suction passage being disposed one side of the gas guide member; and

a plurality of partitions detachably mounted in the suction passage, the plurality of partitions distributing an input gas.
The gas flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the suction passage comprises:

an injector communicating with the one side of the gas guide member;

an inject cap in which a plurality of suction holes are defined in a line, the injector cap communicating with a front end of the injector; and

a baffle in which a plurality of distribution holes are defined in a line to distribute the gas suctioned from the plurality of suction holes, the baffle being defined in the inside of the front end of the injector,

wherein the plurality of partitions are detachably disposed to partition the plurality of distribution holes in the inside of the injector.
The gas flow controller according to claim 2, wherein the partitions is detachably disposed on the baffle.
The gas flow controller according to claim 3, wherein the baffle has a plurality of mounting grooves to which front ends of the partitions are fit.
The gas flow controller according to claim 4, wherein the mounting grooves are defined between the distribution holes.
The gas flow controller according to claim 5, wherein the mounting grooves are provided on protrusion parts protruding around an inner circumference of the baffle such that a portion of the front ends of the partition is inserted.
The gas flow controller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the suction passage is disposed at a position higher than a susceptor,

wherein the gas guide member further comprises an embankment member guiding a gas introduced from the suction passage to the susceptor,

wherein the partitions is disposed to extend from the suction passage to the embankment member.
The gas flow controller according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the partitions are arranged in parallel in a flow direction of an input gas.