# US 2020/0399759 A1 · Substrate processing apparatus, method of manufacturing semiconductor device, and recording medium

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- Number: US 2020/0399759 A1
- Document ID: US20200399759A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/014,420
- Filed: 2020-09-08
- Published: 2020-12-24
- Earliest claimed: 2018-03-22
- Assignees: Kokusai Electric Corporation
- Applicants: Kokusai Electric Corporation
- Inventors: Kazuhiko YAMAZAKI; Takashi YAHATA; Daisuke HARA; Kenji SHINOZAKI
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200399759A1

## CPC

- C23C 16/52: Controlling or regulating the coating process {(C23C16/45557, C23C16/279 take precedence)}
- C23C 16/345: {Silicon nitride}
- C23C 16/4408: {by purging residual gases from the reaction chamber or gas lines}
- C23C 16/4412: {Details relating to the exhausts, e.g. pumps, filters, scrubbers, particle traps}
- C23C 16/45544: {characterized by the apparatus}
- C23C 16/45557: {Pulsed pressure or control pressure}
- C23C 16/46: characterised by the method used for heating the substrate (C23C16/48, C23C16/50 take precedence)
- H10P 14/00: Formation of materials, e.g. in the shape of layers or pillars
- 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

There is provided a technique that includes: process chamber processing substrate; gas supply system supplying precursor gas into the process chamber; exhaust pipe connected to vacuum pump and evacuating inside of the process chamber; gas concentration sensor configured to measure concentration of the precursor gas passing through the exhaust pipe at front stage of the vacuum pump; a pressure sensor measuring pressure in the exhaust pipe at rear stage of the vacuum pump; dilution gas supply system supplying dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the exhaust pipe at the front stage; and a controller controlling the dilution gas supply system to supply the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the exhaust pipe at the front stage at low rate corresponding to the measured concentration of the precursor gas and the measured pressure in the exhaust pipe at the rear stage.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a process chamber configured to process a substrate;
a gas supply system configured to supply a precursor gas into the process chamber;
an exhaust pipe connected to a vacuum pump and configured to evacuate an inside of the process chamber;
a gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas passing through a first portion of the exhaust pipe that is at a front stage of the vacuum pump;
a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure in a second portion of the exhaust pipe that is at a rear stage of the vacuum pump;
a dilution gas supply system configured to supply a dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe that is at the front stage of the vacuum pump; and
a controller configured to be capable of controlling the dilution gas supply system to supply the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the measured concentration of the precursor gas and the measured pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gas concentration sensor configured to measure the concentration of the precursor gas passing through the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump is used as a first gas concentration sensor,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus further comprises:
a second gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump; and
wherein the controller is further configured to be capable of preliminarily acquire and store into a memory a correlation among a concentration of the precursor gas in the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the first gas concentration sensor, the concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the second gas concentration sensor, with respect to the flow rate of the dilution gas supplied into the vacuum pump and a pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the pressure sensor, and
wherein when exhausting the precursor gas, the controller is further configured to be capable of measuring the concentration of the precursor gas with the first gas concentration sensor, measuring the pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump with the pressure sensor, and controlling the dilution gas supply system to supply the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the concentration of the precursor gas measured by the first gas concentration sensor and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, based on the correlation stored in the memory.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the precursor gas is a DCS gas, and
wherein the controller is further configured to be capable of controlling the dilution gas supply system to supply the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump such that the concentration of the DCS gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump becomes 4.0% or less.

### Claim 4

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
loading a substrate into a process chamber of a substrate processing apparatus that includes the process chamber configured to process the substrate, a gas supply system configured to supply a precursor gas into the process chamber, an exhaust pipe connected to a vacuum pump and configured to evacuate an inside of the process chamber, a gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas passing through a first portion of the exhaust pipe at a front stage of the vacuum pump, a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure in a second portion of the exhaust pipe at a rear stage of the vacuum pump, and a dilution gas supply system configured to supply a dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump;
supplying the precursor gas to the substrate in the process chamber from the gas supply system; and
exhausting the precursor gas in the process chamber while supplying the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the concentration of the precursor gas, which is measured by the gas concentration sensor, and the pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the pressure sensor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the gas concentration sensor configured to measure the concentration of the precursor gas passing through the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump is used as a first gas concentration sensor,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus further includes a second gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump,
wherein the method further comprises: preliminarily acquiring and storing a correlation among a concentration of the precursor gas in the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the first gas concentration sensor, a concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the second gas concentration sensor, with respect to the flow rate of the dilution gas supplied into the vacuum pump and a pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the pressure sensor, and
wherein in the act of exhausting the precursor gas, the concentration of the precursor gas is measured with the first gas concentration sensor, the pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump is measured with the pressure sensor, and the dilution gas is supplied into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the concentration of the precursor gas measured by the first gas concentration sensor and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, based on the stored correlation.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the precursor gas is a DCS gas, and
wherein in the act of exhausting the precursor gas, the dilution gas is supplied into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump such that the concentration of the DCS gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump becomes 4.0% or less.

### Claim 7

A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer, a substrate processing apparatus to perform a process comprising:
loading a substrate into a process chamber of the substrate processing apparatus that includes the process chamber configured to process the substrate, a gas supply system configured to supply a precursor gas into the process chamber, an exhaust pipe connected to a vacuum pump and configured to evacuate an inside of the process chamber, a gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas passing through a first portion of the exhaust pipe at a front stage of the vacuum pump, a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure in a second portion of the exhaust pipe at a rear stage of the vacuum pump, and a dilution gas supply system configured to supply a dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump;
supplying the precursor gas to the substrate in the process chamber from the gas supply system; and
exhausting the precursor gas while supplying the dilution gas into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the concentration of the precursor gas, which is measured by the gas concentration sensor, and the pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the pressure sensor.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 7, wherein the gas concentration sensor configured to measure the concentration of the precursor gas passing through the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump is used as a first gas concentration sensor,
wherein the substrate processing apparatus further includes a second gas concentration sensor configured to measure a concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump,
wherein the process further comprises: preliminarily acquiring and storing a correlation among a concentration of the precursor gas in the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the first gas concentration sensor, a concentration of the precursor gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the second gas concentration sensor, with respect to the flow rate of the dilution gas supplied into the vacuum pump and a pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump, which is measured by the pressure sensor, and
wherein in the act of exhausting the precursor gas, the concentration of the precursor gas is measured with the first gas concentration sensor, the pressure in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump is measured with the pressure sensor, and the dilution gas is supplied into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump at a flow rate corresponding to the concentration of the precursor gas measured by the first gas concentration sensor and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor, based on the stored correlation.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The non-transitory computer-readable recording medium of claim 7, wherein the precursor gas is a DCS gas, and
wherein in the act of exhausting the precursor gas, the dilution gas is supplied into the vacuum pump or the first portion of the exhaust pipe at the front stage of the vacuum pump such that the concentration of the DCS gas in the second portion of the exhaust pipe at the rear stage of the vacuum pump becomes 4.0% or less.