# US 10,501,849 B2 · Film forming apparatus and film forming method

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- Number: US 10,501,849 B2
- Document ID: US10501849B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/797,008
- Filed: 2017-10-30
- Published: 2018-05-03
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2016-10-31
- Assignees: NuFlare Technology, Inc.
- Applicants: NuFlare Technology, Inc.
- Inventors: Yoshiaki Daigo; Kiyotaka Miyano
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10501849B2

## CPC

- C23C 16/45565: {Shower nozzles}
- C23C 16/18: from metallo-organic compounds
- C23C 16/4408: {by purging residual gases from the reaction chamber or gas lines}
- C23C 16/4412: {Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps}
- C23C 16/45523: {Pulsed gas flow or change of composition over time}
- C23C 16/45561: {Gas plumbing upstream of the reaction chamber}
- C23C 16/45578: {Elongated nozzles, tubes with holes}
- C23C 16/52: Controlling or regulating the coating process {(C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence)}
- C30B 25/14: Feed and outlet means for the gases; Modifying the flow of the reactive gases
- C30B 25/165: {the flow of the reactive gases}
- C30B 29/403: {AIII-nitrides}
- C30B 29/68: Crystals with laminate structure, e.g. "superlattices"
- H10H 20/01: Manufacture or treatment
- H10H 20/812: within the light-emitting regions, e.g. having quantum confinement structures
- H10P 14/24: using chemical vapour deposition [CVD]
- H10P 14/3416: {Nitrides}
- C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04)
- C30B: SINGLE-CRYSTAL GROWTH (by using ultra-high pressure, e.g. for the formation of diamonds, B01J3/06); UNIDIRECTIONAL SOLIDIFICATION OF EUTECTIC MATERIAL OR UNIDIRECTIONAL DEMIXING OF EUTECTOID MATERIAL; REFINING BY ZONE-MELTING OF MATERIAL (zone-refining of metals or alloys C22B); PRODUCTION OF A HOMOGENEOUS POLYCRYSTALLINE MATERIAL WITH DEFINED STRUCTURE (casting of metals, casting of other substances by the same processes or devices B22D; working of plastics B29; modifying the physical structure of metals or alloys C21D, C22F); SINGLE CRYSTALS OR HOMOGENEOUS POLYCRYSTALLINE MATERIAL WITH DEFINED STRUCTURE; AFTER-TREATMENT OF SINGLE CRYSTALS OR A HOMOGENEOUS POLYCRYSTALLINE MATERIAL WITH DEFINED STRUCTURE (for producing semiconductor devices or parts thereof H10); APPARATUS THEREFOR
- H10H: INORGANIC LIGHT-EMITTING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES HAVING POTENTIAL BARRIERS
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

The film forming apparatus includes a reaction chamber in which a substrate subjected to film forming processing can be placed, a gas supplier provided in an upper part of the reaction chamber, having a portion where gas is introduced and gas supply holes to face the substrate, a source-gas introducing line introducing a source gas into the gas supplier, a replacement-gas introducing line introducing a replacement gas into the gas supplier, a discharge line discharging the replacement gas along with a remaining source gas which is the source gas remaining in the gas supplier from the gas supplier; and a controller controlling one of an introduction amount of the replacement gas and a discharge amount of the remaining source gas and the replacement gas to be an amount corresponding to the other amount.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A film forming apparatus comprising:
a reaction chamber in which a substrate subjected to film forming processing can be placed;
a gas supplier provided in an upper part of the reaction chamber, having a portion where gas is introduced and gas supply holes to face the substrate;
a source-gas introducing line introducing a source gas into the gas supplier, the source-gas introducing line comprising a valve;
a vent line through which a vent gas flows, the vent line being connected to the source-gas introducing line via the valve;
a replacement-gas introducing line introducing a replacement gas into the gas supplier;
a discharge line discharging the replacement gas along with a remaining source gas which is the source gas remaining in the gas supplier from the gas supplier; and
a mass flow controller controlling one of an introduction flow rate of the replacement gas and a discharge flow rate of the remaining source gas and the replacement gas to be a flow rate corresponding to the other flow rate,
wherein the valve is capable of allowing the vent line to discharge the source gas from the source-gas introducing line along with the vent gas,
the valve is interchangeable between a first state and a second state,
the valve in the first state opens a connection between the source-gas introducing line and the gas supplier and closes a connection between the source-gas introducing line and the vent line, and
the valve in the second state closes the connection between the source-gas introducing line and the gas supplier and opens the connection between the source-gas introducing line and the vent line to discharge the source gas from the source-gas introducing line along with the vent gas through the vent line.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the replacement-gas introducing line is a line independent of the source-gas introducing line.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the replacement-gas introducing line comprises a bypass line communicated with the source-gas introducing line and having a replacement gas introduced thereinto, and
the replacement gas is introduced from the bypass line into the reaction chamber through the source-gas introducing line.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mass flow controller controls the introduction flow rate of the replacement gas and the discharge flow rate of the remaining source gas and the replacement gas to be an equal flow rate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein
the mass flow controller comprises
a first mass flow controller controlling the introduction flow rate of the replacement gas, and
a second mass flow controller controlling the discharge flow rate of the remaining source gas and the replacement gas, and
the first mass flow controller and the second mass flow controller control flow rates of gases flowing therethrough, respectively, to be an equal flow rate.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the source-gas introducing line comprises
a group-III run line introducing a group-III source gas into the gas supplier, and
a group-V run line introducing a group-V source gas into the gas supplier.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A film forming method using the apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
placing the substrate in the reaction chamber;
introducing a first source gas containing a component of a first film into the gas supplier facing the substrate and having the gas supply holes provided thereon through the source-gas introducing line communicated with the gas supplier, and supplying the first source gas into the reaction chamber from the gas supplier through the gas supply holes, to form the first film on the substrate;
stopping introduction of the first source gas and discharging the first source gas from the source-gas introducing line along with the vent gas through the vent line connected to the source-gas introducing line; and
introducing the replacement gas into the gas supplier, discharging the replacement gas along with a first remaining source gas which is the first source gas remaining in the gas supplier from the gas supplier through the discharge line communicated with the gas supplier, and controlling one of the introduction flow rate of the replacement gas and the discharge flow rate of the first remaining source gas and the replacement gas to be the flow rate corresponding to the other flow rate by the mass flow controller.

### Claim 8

A film forming method comprising:
placing a substrate in a reaction chamber;
introducing a first source gas containing a component of a first film into a gas supplier facing the substrate and having gas supply holes provided thereon through a source-gas introducing line communicated with the gas supplier, and supplying the first source gas into the reaction chamber from the gas supplier through the gas supply holes, to form the first film on the substrate;
stopping introduction of the first source gas and discharging the first source gas from the source-gas introducing line along with a vent gas through a vent line connected to the source-gas introducing line via a valve provided on the source-gas introducing line; and
introducing a replacement gas into the gas supplier, discharging the replacement gas along with a first remaining source gas which is the first source gas remaining in the gas supplier from the gas supplier through a discharge line communicated with the gas supplier, and controlling one of an introduction flow rate of the replacement gas and a discharge flow rate of the first remaining source gas and the replacement gas to be a flow rate corresponding to the other flow rate by a mass flow controller, wherein
the introducing the first source gas comprises causing the valve to be in a first state in which the valve opens a connection between the source-gas introducing line and the gas supplier and closes a connection between the source-gas introducing line and the vent line, and
the stopping introduction of the first source gas comprises causing the valve to be in a second state in which the valve closes the connection between the source-gas introducing line and the gas supplier and opens the connection between the source-gas introducing line and the vent line to discharge the source gas from the source-gas introducing line along with the vent gas through the vent line.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, further comprising discharging the replacement gas along with the first remaining source gas, then introducing a second source gas containing a component of a second film into the gas supplier through the source-gas introducing line, and supplying the second source gas from the gas supplier into the reaction chamber through the gas supply holes, to form the second film on the first film.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the first source gas contains a group-III source gas and a group-V source gas.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the second source gas contains a group-III source gas and a group-V source gas.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vent line is not connected to the gas supplier.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the vent line is not connected to the gas supplier.