# US 12,000,061 B2 · Epi-growth apparatus of separate chamber type

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- Number: US 12,000,061 B2
- Document ID: US12000061B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/106,471
- Filed: 2020-11-30
- Published: 2021-10-07
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2020-04-06
- Assignees: T.O.S Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: T.O.S Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Bum Ho Choi; Seung Soo Lee; Yeong Geun Jo; Yong Sik Kim
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12000061B2

## CPC

- C30B 23/066: {Heating of the material to be evaporated}
- C23C 14/086: {of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth}
- C23C 14/30: by electron bombardment
- C23C 14/56: Apparatus specially adapted for continuous coating; Arrangements for maintaining the vacuum, e.g. vacuum locks
- C30B 23/08: by condensing ionised vapours (by reactive sputtering C30B25/06)
- C30B 29/16: Oxides
- C30B 35/00: Apparatus not otherwise provided for, specially adapted for the growth, production or after-treatment of single crystals or of a homogeneous polycrystalline material with defined structure
- H10P 14/2921: {being crystalline insulating materials}
- H10P 14/3444: {P-type}
- H10P 14/22: using physical deposition, e.g. vacuum deposition or sputtering
- H10P 14/3426: {Oxides}
- 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
- 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)
- H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10

## Abstract

Disclosed herein is a separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus including a reaction chamber having a growth space, a substrate mounting unit disposed in the growth space and allowing a substrate to be mounted thereon, a metal oxide treating unit treating a metal oxide in a space independent from the growth space so that metal ions and oxygen ions generated from the metal oxide are supplied to the substrate, an arsenic supply unit installed to face the substrate and supplying arsenic ions to the substrate, an oxygen radical supply unit installed to face the substrate, dissociating oxygen molecules in a gaseous state, and supplying oxygen radicals to the substrate, and a vacuum control unit independently controlling a vacuum state of the reaction chamber and the metal oxide treating unit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus comprising:
a reaction chamber having a growth space;
a substrate mounting unit disposed in the growth space and allowing a substrate to be mounted thereon;
a metal oxide treating unit having a metal oxide treatment chamber for treating a metal oxide in an evaporation space which is independent from the growth space so that metal ions and oxygen ions generated within the evaporation space from the metal oxide are supplied from the evaporation space to the substrate mounted in the growth space within the reaction chamber;
an arsenic supply unit installed to face the substrate and supplying arsenic ions to the substrate mounted in the growth space;
an oxygen radical supply unit installed to face the substrate and additionally supplying oxygen radicals to the substrate mounted in the growth space; and
a vacuum control unit independently controlling a vacuum state of the reaction chamber and the metal oxide treating unit such that the metal ions and the oxygen ions pass from the evaporation space to the growth space; and
wherein the substrate mounting unit is coupled, via at least one electromagnet, to a cradle that is installed in the reaction chamber.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein
the metal oxide treating unit includes:
the metal oxide treatment chamber having the evaporation space which is independent of the growth space, a connection passage being located between the reaction chamber and the metal oxide treatment chamber such that the connection passage separates the evaporation space from the growth space;
a mount disposed in the evaporation space to face the growth space and allowing a zinc oxide plate as the metal oxide to be installed thereon;
an electron beam irradiator irradiating the zinc oxide plate with an electron beam to cause zinc ions and oxygen ions to be evaporated from the zinc oxide plate; and
the connection passage being a gate valve which is installed on a partition, the gate valve is configured to selectively open allowing the evaporation space to communicate with the growth space so that the evaporated zinc ions and the oxygen ions move toward the substrate located in the growth space.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 2, wherein
the vacuum control unit includes:
a first pump acting on the growth space; and
a second pump acting on the evaporation space, and
wherein the second pump operates to control a vacuum state of the evaporation space independently from the growth space when the gate valve is closed.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 2, wherein the gate valve is selected to have a size proportional to a size of the substrate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 2, wherein the metal oxide treatment chamber further includes a replacement door allowing access to the mount for replacement of the zinc oxide plate.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 2, wherein the substrate mounting unit and the electron beam irradiator are located at a level corresponding to an upper side of the reaction chamber, and the mount is located at a level corresponding to a lower side of the reaction chamber.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 2, wherein the metal oxide treating unit further includes a camera installed in the evaporation space and imaging an evaporation state of the zinc oxide plate.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein the arsenic supply unit operates in a range of 500° C. to 1,100° C. to ionize arsenic, and supply As2+ as the arsenic ions.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein the oxygen radical supply unit and the arsenic supply unit are located on mutually opposite sides with respect to the substrate mounting unit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein a driving unit is mounted to the reaction chamber and the cradle is coupled to the driving unit, and the driving unit is actuatable to move the substrate mounting unit, within the reaction chamber, along a vertical axis and to rotate the substrate mounting unit about the vertical axis.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein the oxygen radical supply unit and the metal oxide treating unit are operable to supply a ratio of Zn:O of 1:1.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The separate chamber type epi-growth apparatus of claim 1, wherein a heater unit is installed on a mount to surround the zinc oxide plate such that a zinc oxide plate is divided into at least five temperature regions, and the heater unit differentially heats the at least five temperature regions such that a temperature difference between each of the regions is less than or equal to 300° C.