Method for the heat treatment of substrates
AssigneeASM International N.V., a Netherlands corporation
InventorsErnst Granneman, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Xavier Pages, Pascal Vermont, Herbert Terhorst, Gert-Jan Snijders
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A substrate undergoes a semiconductor fabrication process at different temperatures in a reactor without changing the temperature of the reactor. The substrate is held suspended by flowing gas between two heated surfaces of the reactor. Moving the two heated surfaces in close proximity with the substrate for a particular time duration heats the substrate to a desired temperature. The desired temperature is then maintained by distancing the heated surfaces from the substrate and holding the heated surface at the increased distance to minimize further substrate heating.
Claims28
A heat treatment apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising:
- two furnace bodies disposed opposite each other and separated by a separation distance, each furnace body having a boundary surface positioned to face a substrate upon retention of the substrate therebetween, wherein the furnace bodies are movable relative to each other;
- and
- one or more heaters configured to heat each furnace body,
- wherein the apparatus is configured to maintain the substrate at a temperature below temperatures of the furnace bodies during an entire time the substrate is retained between the furnace bodies.
A heat treatment apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates one at a time, comprising:
- two furnace bodies, the furnace bodies opposite each other and separated by a separation distance, each furnace body having a boundary surface oriented to face a substrate upon positioning of the substrate in the heat treatment apparatus for heat treatment, wherein the furnace bodies are movable relative to each other;
- and
- heaters associated with and configured to heat each furnace body during substrate treatment,
- wherein the apparatus is configured to heat a substrate to a first substrate treatment temperature or a second substrate treatment temperature, wherein the heaters have a substantially constant temperature set-point during treatment whether the substrate is heated to the first treatment temperature or the second treatment temperature.
A heat treatment apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates one at a time, comprising:
- two furnace bodies, the furnace bodies opposite each other and separated by a separation distance, each furnace body having a boundary surface oriented to face a substrate upon positioning of the substrate in the heat treatment apparatus for heat treatment, wherein the furnace bodies are movable relative to each other;
- and
- heaters configured to heat each furnace body during an initial substrate heat-up period and a subsequent substrate holding time, wherein each furnace body is provided with an associated heater,
- wherein the apparatus is configured to establish a first heat transfer rate between each of the furnace bodies and the substrate during the initial heat-up period and a second heat transfer rate between each of the furnace bodies and the substrate during the subsequent holding time, wherein the heater has a substantially constant temperature set-point during treatment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.