US 2004/0103844 A1 · [GAS DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM FOR DELIVERING PLASMA GAS TO A WAFER REACTION CHAMBER]

Abstract

A gas distributing system and a method of operating the distributing system is provided. After setting a few control valve parameters, the gas distributing system automatically adjusts the distribution of plasma gas inside a wafer processing chamber during a dry etching or a film deposition process so that uniform single wafer is produced. First, a main gas conduit is redirected into two separate gas conduit inside a gas separator. One conduit connects with a gas nozzle near the central region of an upper electrode panel distributor and the other conduit connects with a gas nozzle near the peripheral region of the upper electrode panel distributor. An O-ring between the central region and the peripheral region prevents any mixing of gas from the nozzles in these two regions. Gas distribution inside the reaction chamber can be changed to meet the need of different processing conditions by adjusting the flow control valves mounted on the two conduits.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A gas distributing system for delivering gaseous reactant to a reaction chamber during a wafer fabrication process, comprising:

a main gas distributing conduit branching out to a first gas distributing conduit and a second gas distributing conduit;
a first flow control valve along the first gas distributing conduit for controlling the gas flow rate inside the first gas distributing conduit;
a second flow control valve along the second gas distributing conduit for controlling the gas flow rate inside the second gas distributing conduit;
a top plate having a first gas nozzle at the outlet of the first gas distributing conduit, a second gas nozzle at the outlet of the second gas distributing conduit, and a gas barrier disposed in the top plate between the first gas nozzle and the second gas nozzle for preventing the mixing of gas from the first gas nozzle and the second gas nozzle;
and
an upper electrode panel gas distributor having a first set of gas holes and a second set of gas holes thereon, wherein gas from the first gas nozzle passes into the reaction chamber through the first set of gas holes and gas from the second gas nozzle passes into the reaction chamber through the second set of gas holes.

3 more elements

A method of distributing gaseous reactant to the reaction chamber of a semiconductor wafer processing station, comprising the steps of:

setting two gas flow rates inside a first and a second gas distributing conduits and two permissible deviation ratios of the two gas flow rates respectively;
detecting the gas flow rates inside the first and the second gas distributing conduits and returning two signals corresponding to the gas flow rates to a control system respectively;
computing two dynamic deviation ratios by comparing the gas flow rate inside the first and the second gas distributing conduits with the preset gas flow rates of both conduits respectively;
comparing the dynamic deviation ratios of the first and the second gas distributing conduits with the permissible deviation ratios of both conduits respectively, and
providing two control signals from the control system for informing the control valves on the first and the second gas distributing conduits to adjust the gas flow rates inside the first and the second gas distributing conduits.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

[gas distributing system for delivering plasma gas to a wafer reaction chamber]

Life of this patent

[gas distributing system for delivering plasma gas to a wafer reaction chamber]

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16