Processing chamber with annealing mini-environment
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsMichael Honan, David Blahnik, Robert Brent Vopat, Jeffrey Blahnik, Charles Carlson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods to process one or more wafers are described. The apparatus comprises a chamber defining an upper interior region and a lower interior region. A heater assembly is on the bottom of the chamber body in the lower interior region and defines a process region. A wafer cassette assembly is inside the heater assembly and a motor is configured to move the wafer cassette assembly from the lower process region inside the heater assembly to the upper interior region.
Claims11
A method of annealing a plurality of wafers, the method comprising:
- positioning the plurality of wafers in a heater assembly within a lower interior portion of a chamber body, the heater assembly comprising a sidewall with a double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path to provide fluid communication between an interior of the heater assembly and an upper interior portion of the chamber body, the chamber body including a steam source in fluid communication with the interior of the heating assembly through a steam injection port;
- heating the plurality of wafers;
- and
- pressurizing the chamber body to a predetermined pressure by flowing steam into the heater assembly through the steam injection port, wherein the steam injection port provides a fluid path into the interior of the heater assembly and the double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path defining an exit flow path of steam from the interior of the heater assembly into the upper interior portion of the chamber body through the double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path in the heater assembly.
A non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions, that, when executed by a controller of a processing system, cause the processing system to anneal a plurality of wafers, by:
- positioning the plurality of wafers in a heater assembly within a lower interior portion of a chamber body, the heater assembly comprising a sidewall with a double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path to provide fluid communication between an interior of the heater assembly and an upper interior portion of the chamber body, the chamber body comprising a steam source in fluid communication with the interior of the heating assembly through a steam injection port;
- heating the plurality of wafers;
- and
- pressurizing the chamber body to a predetermined pressure by flowing steam into the heater assembly through the steam injection port, wherein the steam injection port provides a fluid path into the interior of the heater assembly and the double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path defining an exit flow path of the steam from the interior of the heater assembly into the upper interior portion of the chamber body through the double-walled labyrinthine exit flow path in the heater assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.