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AssigneeASM International N.V.
InventorsNiklas Bondestam, Janne Kesala, Leif Keto, Pekka T. Soininen
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The invention relates to an apparatus for growing thin-films onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to alternate surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for forming a thin-film onto the, substrate by means of said surface reactions. The apparatus comprises a vacuum vessel (1), a reaction chamber (2) with a reaction space into which the substrate can be transferred and which has infred channels (6) for feeding therein the reactants used in said thin-film growth process, as well as outlet channels (4) for discharging gaseous reaction products and excess reactants'. According to the invention, said reaction chamber comprises a base part (9, 10) mounted stationary in respect to the interior of said vacuum vessel (1) and a movable part (18) adapted to be sealably closable against said'base part of said reaction chamber. The invention makes it possible to improve the cleanliness of the substrate load chamber and to reduce the degree of substrate contamination. The apparatus is intended for use in the fabrication of thin-films by means of the ALE method for semiconductor layer structures and display units.
Apparatus for growing thin-films onto a substrate by exposing the substrate to alternate surface reactions of vapor-phase reactants for forming a thin-film onto the substrate by means of said surface reactions, the apparatus comprising
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part (18) is made transferable either in a direction essentially parallel to the substrate plane, or alternatively, perpendicular to said plane.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part (18) of said reaction chamber acts as a substrate support platform on which a substrate can be positioned.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said base part of said reaction chamber acts as a substrate support platform on which a substrate can be positioned.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said reaction chamber (2) is adapted to the interior of a vacuum vessel so that said reaction chamber base part is supported to the walls of said vessel or, alternatively, so that said base part forms a portion of the wall of said vessel.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least either one of said base part and said movable part of said reaction chamber is provided with a heater element (19).
Apparatus according any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part (18) is provided with substrate lift means (20), whose upright movement facilitates the elevation of said substrate off from said substrate support platform and the subsequent placement of said substrate onto a transfer means.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part is sealed against said base part by means of metal and/or elastomer seals.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part is sealed against said base part by means of a vacuum pump-out groove that may optionally be flushed with a protective gas.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said movable part is sealed against said base part by means of planar mating surfaces.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said reactor has a cold-wall structure.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the reactant infeed channels and the discharge channels of gaseous reaction products and excess reactants are passed via the same wall, advantageously via the bottom, of the pressure-tight vessel.
Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein by a support structure adaptable to the interior of said reaction chamber, said support structure serving to hold at least two substrates for the deposition of thin-films on said substrates in a simultaneous fashion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.