Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
  • H10P72/04—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
  • H10P72/0431—Apparatus for thermal treatment
  • H10P72/0434—Apparatus for thermal treatment mainly by convection
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
  • H10P72/70—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping
  • H10P72/72—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using electrostatic chucks
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
  • H10P72/70—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping
  • H10P72/76—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches
  • H10P72/7604—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
  • H10P72/7614—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by a plurality of individual support members, e.g. support posts or protrusions
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
  • H10P72/70—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping
  • H10P72/76—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches
  • H10P72/7604—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
  • H10P72/7616—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by a coating, a hardness or a material
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
  • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
  • H10P72/70—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping
  • H10P72/76—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches
  • H10P72/7604—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
  • H10P72/7624—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by the mechanical construction of the susceptor, stage or support

Definitions

• semiconductor manufacturing equipment components used for wafer holding, temperature control, transport, etc. have been known. These types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment components are also called wafer mounting tables, electrostatic chucks, susceptors, etc., and generally have the function of applying electrostatic attraction power to built-in electrodes to attract the wafer using electrostatic force. Some are also known to have the function of controlling the wafer temperature by flowing gas between the wafer mounting surface and the wafer to be attracted.
• a known component for semiconductor manufacturing equipment is one that includes a ceramic substrate with an upper surface on which a wafer is placed, a gas passage that passes through the ceramic substrate in the vertical direction, and a conductive base plate bonded to the underside of the ceramic substrate.
• a cooling gas such as helium gas is introduced to the backside of the wafer through the gas passage.
• Plugs are often made of porous material. Without a plug, for example, electrons generated when gas molecules are ionized by the application of RF voltage accelerate and collide with other gas molecules, causing a glow discharge and eventually an arc discharge. However, with a plug, the electrons hit the plug before colliding with other gas molecules, suppressing discharge.
• Patent Document 1 proposes a plug having a gas flow path that bends and penetrates a dense main body in the thickness direction. It also proposes making at least a portion of the entire length of the gas flow path porous, insulating, and breathable.
• Patent Document 2 discloses an electrostatic chuck comprising: a ceramic dielectric substrate having a first main surface on which an object to be attracted is placed and a second main surface opposite the first main surface; a base plate supporting the ceramic dielectric substrate and having a gas inlet passage; and a first porous portion disposed between the base plate and the first main surface of the ceramic dielectric substrate and facing the gas inlet passage, wherein the ceramic dielectric substrate has a first hole portion located between the first main surface and the first porous portion, and the first porous portion has a porous portion having a plurality of holes and a first dense portion that is denser than the porous portion, and when projected onto a plane perpendicular to a first direction from the base plate toward the ceramic dielectric substrate, the first dense portion overlaps with the first hole portion, but the porous portion does not overlap with the first hole portion.
• Patent Document 4 describes an invention aimed at providing a holding device capable of controlling the temperature of an object with high precision while reducing the occurrence of abnormal discharge.
• the holding device described includes a ceramic substrate having a first surface for holding an object and a second surface opposite the first surface; a base member disposed on the second surface side of the ceramic substrate, the base member having a third surface opposite the ceramic substrate; and a bonding material disposed between the ceramic substrate and the base member.
• the plug 55 is more likely to stop at a predetermined height position in the plug arrangement hole 50 when embedded in the plug arrangement hole 50, resulting in the effect of being able to embed the plug 55 in the plug arrangement hole 50 with high positioning accuracy. Additionally, while the plug 55 is less likely to come out in the downward direction, it is relatively easy to remove in the upward direction, which makes it easier to replace the plug 55. Furthermore, the increased creepage distance also has the effect of suppressing discharge.
• the plug placement hole 50 can have a space shaped like a truncated cone or a truncated pyramid, for example.
• the opening shape can be straight, curved, or a combination of both.
• the flow path shape can be rectangular. Among these, a long, narrow rectangular shape is preferred for the flow path in order to ensure sufficient opening area and plug area.
• the gas flow path 55d may be hollow, or at least a portion thereof may be porous as long as it allows gas flow.
• gas flowing in from the lower end opening 55b1 of the plug 55 flows through the gas flow path 55d formed by a large number of continuous pores and flows out from the upper end opening 55a1 of the plug 55.
• the outflowing gas is supplied between the wafer W and the ceramic substrate 20. Because the three-dimensionally connected pores (e.g., a three-dimensional network) present within the porous structure form the gas flow path, the effective flow path length within the gas flow path 55d is longer than when the gas flow path 55d is hollow, resulting in the effect of making discharge less likely to occur. It is also possible to form one or more additional gas flow paths within the porous gas flow path.
• Figure 1-4 shows a schematic example of the structure of the gas flow path 55d near the upper opening 55a1 of the plug 55.
• Figure 1-5 also shows a schematic example of the structure of the gas flow path 55d near the lower opening 55b1 of the plug 55.
• the maximum height D1 in the vertical direction from the upper end opening 55a1 to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow path 55d and the maximum height D2 in the vertical direction from the lower end opening 55b1 to the surface of the gas flow path 55d satisfy the relationship D1 ⁇ D2 .
• the plug 55 has multiple gas flow paths 55d, it is preferable that all of the multiple gas flow paths 55d satisfy the relationship D1 ⁇ D2 .
• the plug 55 has multiple gas flow passages 55 d, it is preferable that all of the multiple gas flow passages 55 d satisfy the conditions for those preferred embodiments.
• the relationship D1 / D2 ⁇ 0.9 is satisfied, more preferably that the relationship D1 / D2 ⁇ 0.7 is satisfied, and even more preferably that the relationship D1 / D2 ⁇ 0.5 is satisfied.
• the relationship 0.1 ⁇ D1 / D2 is satisfied, more preferably that the relationship 0.3 ⁇ D1 /D2 is satisfied, and even more preferably that the relationship 0.5 ⁇ D1 / D2 is satisfied.
• the relationship 0.1 ⁇ D1 / D2 ⁇ 0.9 is satisfied. Furthermore, it is also possible to satisfy the relationship 0.5 ⁇ D1/D2 ⁇ 0.7 or the relationship 0.3 ⁇ D1 / D2 ⁇ 0.5.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow path 55d increases continuously or in stages as the gas flow path 55d progresses downward.
• the maximum height D1 in the vertical direction from the upper end opening 55a1 to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow channel 55d refers to the length of the longest straight line that can be extended downward from the upper end opening 55a1 to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow channel 55d, as shown in Fig. 1-4.
• the maximum height D2 in the vertical direction from the lower end opening 55b1 to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow channel 55d refers to the length of the longest straight line that can be extended upward from the lower end opening 55b1 to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow channel 55d, as shown in Fig. 1-5.
• the maximum height D1 the greater the effect of suppressing discharge. Furthermore, if the maximum height D1 is set with a safety margin in mind, the risk of discharge can be reduced even when the vertical distance from the back surface of the wafer W to the surface 55d1 of the gas flow path 55d exposed at the upper end opening 55a1 increases due to some factor. Possible reasons for this include, for example, (a) chipping occurring near the upper end opening 55a1 of the plug 55, resulting in chipping of the gas flow path 55d, (b) the plug 55 sinking below its predetermined position when embedded in the plug placement hole 50, or (c) low machining accuracy of the plug 55 itself.
• the maximum height D1 is preferably 10 to 300 ⁇ m, more preferably 40 to 100 ⁇ m, and even more preferably 60 to 100 ⁇ m.
• the maximum height D2 is preferably 50 to 500 ⁇ m, more preferably 50 to 300 ⁇ m, and even more preferably 100 to 200 ⁇ m.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow passage 55d be large, except for the vicinity of the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55, where the vertical height D of the gas flow passage 55d needs to be set small to reduce the risk of discharge. Therefore, taking a coordinate axis in the vertical direction (see FIG.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow passage 55d preferably satisfies the relationship D ⁇ 1.5D1, and more preferably satisfies the relationship D ⁇ 2D1 , within a range of coordinate values at least from 0.5 ⁇ H to 1.0 ⁇ H, preferably at least from 0.1 ⁇ H to 1.0 ⁇ H.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow channel 55d preferably satisfies the relationship 30D 1 ⁇ D, more preferably satisfies the relationship 20D 1 ⁇ D, and even more preferably satisfies the relationship 10D 1 ⁇ D.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow channel 55d preferably satisfies the relationship 30D 1 ⁇ D ⁇ 1.5D 1 , more preferably satisfies the relationship 20D 1 ⁇ D ⁇ 2D 1 , and even more preferably satisfies the relationship 10D 1 ⁇ D ⁇ 2D 1 .
• the vertical height D of the gas flow passage 55d satisfy the relationship D1 ⁇ D ⁇ 1.5D1 at least in the range of coordinate values from 0 to less than 0.1 ⁇ H.
• the vertical height D of the gas flow path 55d at a particular coordinate value is the length of the longest line extending in the vertical direction connecting the opposing surfaces 55d1 of the gas flow path 55d and capable of intersecting or tangent to a horizontal plane passing through the particular coordinate value.
• FIG. 1-5 schematically shows the height D of the gas flow path 55d at the coordinate value 0.95H.
• five lines satisfying this condition are drawn here.
• the lengths of the five lines are Da , Db , Dc , Dd , and De, respectively. Of these, the length of the longest line is De . Therefore, the height D of the gas flow path 55d at the coordinate value 0.95H is De .
• the vertical height D of the gas flow path 55d can be measured by, for example, obtaining three-dimensional shape information of the gas flow path 55d by X-ray CT. Regardless of the above definition, the height D of the gas flow path 55d at coordinate value 0 is set to D1 , and the height D of the gas flow path 55d at coordinate value H is set to D2 .
• the plug 55 In order to prevent chipping from occurring near the upper end opening 55a1 of the plug 55, it is desirable for the plug 55 to have a large fracture toughness value (KIC). Specifically, it is preferable that the fracture toughness value (KIC) of the portion of the plug 55 made up of the dense body 55c be greater than the fracture toughness value (KIC) of the ceramic substrate 20. Because the processing conditions for semiconductor manufacturing equipment components are often set based on the ceramic substrate 20, if the fracture toughness value (KIC) of the portion of the plug 55 made up of the dense body 55c is greater than the fracture toughness value (KIC) of the ceramic substrate 20, the risk of chipping occurring in the plug 55 is reduced.
• KIC fracture toughness value
• the fracture toughness (K) of the portion of the plug 55 formed by the dense body 55c is preferably 2 MPa ⁇ m or more , more preferably 3 MPa ⁇ m or more , and even more preferably 4 MPa ⁇ m or more .
• No particular upper limit is set for the fracture toughness (K) of the portion of the plug 55 formed by the dense body 55c, but from the viewpoint of ease of manufacture, it is preferably 13 MPa ⁇ m or less , more preferably 12 MPa ⁇ m or less , and even more preferably 11 MPa ⁇ m or less . Therefore, the fracture toughness (K) of the portion of the plug 55 formed by the dense body 55c is preferably 2 to 13 MPa ⁇ m, more preferably 3 to 12 MPa ⁇ m, and even more preferably 4 to 11 MPa ⁇ m.
• the fracture toughness (KIC) of the portion of the plug 55 consisting of the dense body 55c and the ceramic substrate 20 is measured in accordance with the SEPB method specified in JIS R1607:2015.
• the material constituting the plug 55 can be an electrically insulating ceramic, and can contain, for example, one or more selected from aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and silicon dioxide. It can also be composed of only one or two selected from aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and silicon dioxide, excluding impurities. Quartz is preferable as the silicon dioxide.
• KIC fracture toughness value
• the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the plug 55 and the ceramic substrate 20 is small.
• the material constituting the plug 55 and the material constituting the ceramic substrate 20 both contain one or more selected from aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride, and it is even more preferable that the material compositions are the same.
• the height position of the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is not limited. Therefore, the height position of the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 may be the same height as the reference surface 21c of the ceramic substrate 20, or may be a different height. If the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is made lower than the reference surface 21c, it is preferable to place it at a lower position within the range of 0.5 mm or less (preferably 0.2 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or less) in order to suppress the occurrence of discharge. If the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is made higher than the reference surface 21c, it should be lower than the upper surface of the protrusion 21b, and there are no particular restrictions as long as the outflow of gas from the plug 55 is not hindered.
• the height position of the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may be the same height as the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20, or may be a different height.
• the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may protrude below the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20, or the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may be located above the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20.
• a green body may be formed within the mold using an outer mold and a core (a mold of the same shape as the gas flow path 55d) made of a low-melting-point material such as wax.
• the green body may then be produced by heating the green body to a temperature above the melting point of the mold, melting and removing the green body, or burning it away.
• a porous raw material is then placed in the cavity of the resulting green body corresponding to the gas flow path 55d.
• the base plate 30 may be, for example, a circular plate (a circular plate with the same diameter as or larger than the ceramic substrate 20) with good electrical and thermal conductivity.
• a refrigerant flow path 32 through which a refrigerant circulates may be formed inside the base plate 30.
• the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant flow path 32 is preferably a liquid, and is preferably electrically insulating. Examples of electrically insulating liquids include a fluorine-based inert liquid.
• the refrigerant flow path 32 may be formed, for example, in a single stroke across the entire base plate 30 in a plan view from one end (inlet) to the other end (outlet).
• One end and the other end of the refrigerant flow path 32 are connected to a supply port and a recovery port of an external refrigerant device (not shown), respectively.
• the refrigerant supplied from the supply port of the external refrigerant device to one end of the refrigerant flow path 32 passes through the refrigerant flow path 32, returns from the other end of the refrigerant flow path 32 to the recovery port of the external refrigerant device, has its temperature adjusted, and is then supplied again from the supply port to one end of the refrigerant flow path 32.
• the base plate 30 is connected to a radio frequency (RF) power source and can also be used as an RF electrode.
• RF radio frequency
• the height position of the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is not limited. Therefore, the height position of the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 may be the same height as the reference surface 21c of the ceramic substrate 20, or may be a different height. If the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is made lower than the reference surface 21c, it is preferable to place it at a lower position within the range of 0.5 mm or less (preferably 0.2 mm or less, more preferably 0.1 mm or less) in order to suppress the occurrence of discharge. If the upper end surface 55a of the plug 55 is made higher than the reference surface 21c, it should be lower than the upper surface of the protrusion 21b, and there are no particular restrictions as long as the outflow of gas from the plug 55 is not hindered.
• the height position of the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may be the same height as the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20, or may be a different height.
• the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may protrude below the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20, or the lower end surface 55b of the plug 55 may be located above the lower surface 23 of the ceramic substrate 20.
• the material constituting the plug 55 can be an electrically insulating ceramic, and can contain, for example, one or more selected from aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and silicon dioxide. It can also be composed of only one or two selected from aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and silicon dioxide, excluding impurities. Quartz is preferable as the silicon dioxide.
• KIC fracture toughness value
• the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the plug 55 and the ceramic substrate 20 is small.
• the material constituting the plug 55 and the material constituting the ceramic substrate 20 both contain one or more selected from aluminum oxide and aluminum nitride, and it is even more preferable that the material compositions are the same.
• multiple protrusions 21b and a seal band 21a are formed on the top surface of the ceramic sintered plate by laser processing or the like.
• the multiple protrusions 21b and the seal band 21a may be formed after the ceramic substrate 20 and the base plate 30 are bonded.
• the base plate 30 has a refrigerant flow path 32 and a gas hole 34.
• the gas hole 34 has a large diameter portion 34a facing the upper surface 31.
• the base plate 30 having the refrigerant flow path 32 can be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple MMC plate members, on which grooves and holes corresponding to the refrigerant flow path 32 have been formed by machining, using a method such as TCB (thermal compression bonding).
• the gas hole 34 can be formed by machining the base plate 30 after the refrigerant flow path 32 has been formed.
• the metal bonding material 90 has a through hole 92 at a position facing the large diameter portion 34a of the gas hole 34.
• the through hole 92 can be formed by machining.
• a metal bonding material 90 is sandwiched between the underside 23 of the ceramic substrate 20 and the upper side 31 of the base plate 30 to form a laminate. It is preferable to laminate the ceramic substrate 20 so that the plug placement hole 50, the through-hole 92 of the metal bonding material 90, and the gas hole 34 of the base plate 30 are coaxial. The laminate is then pressed and bonded at a temperature below the solidus temperature of the metal bonding material 90 (e.g., a temperature 20°C below the solidus temperature but below the solidus temperature), and then returned to room temperature (TCB).
• a temperature below the solidus temperature of the metal bonding material 90 e.g., a temperature 20°C below the solidus temperature but below the solidus temperature
• a plug 55 having dimensions and a shape that can fit into the plug placement hole 50 is prepared (Figure 4B).
• the height of the plug 55 is the same as the depth of the plug placement hole 50.
• the plug 55 is press-fit into the plug placement hole 50 from the upper opening 50a toward the lower opening 50b of the ceramic substrate 20.
• a male thread portion may be formed on the outer peripheral surface 55e of the plug 55, which has been formed in advance by firing or the like, and a female thread portion may be formed on the inner peripheral surface 50c of the plug placement hole 50.
• the plug 55 may then be attached by threading the plug 55 into the plug placement hole 50 and engaging the male thread portion of the plug 55 with the female thread portion of the plug placement hole 50.
• the semiconductor manufacturing equipment component 10 is completed by appropriately performing processes such as adjusting the overall shape ( Figure 4C).

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• Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)
• Drying Of Semiconductors (AREA)

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• 2024
  • 2024-02-22 WO PCT/JP2024/006631 patent/WO2025177564A1/ja active Pending
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  • 2024-08-26 US US18/814,783 patent/US20250273507A1/en active Pending
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