Gas flow control during semiconductor fabrication
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsYu-Liang YEH, Chih-Kang CHAO, Bing Kai HUANG
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Abstract
A method is provided. The method includes introducing a process gas into an interior space of a processing chamber through a gas inlet port, wherein a substrate is supported within the interior space. The process gas is evacuated from the interior space by a vacuum source through an exhaust port in fluid communication with the interior space of the process chamber. A flow of the process gas is controlled by supporting an exhaust baffle within a flow path of the process gas being evacuated from the interior space through the exhaust port.
Claims21
A process chamber for semiconductor fabrication comprising:
- a peripheral wall extending upward from a floor to define an interior space;
- a substrate support disposed within the interior space;
- a gas inlet port through which a process gas enters the interior space to be exposed to a surface of a substrate supported by the substrate support;
- an exhaust port through which the process gas is removed from the interior space, wherein the exhaust port is configured to be fluidly coupled to a vacuum source to generate a vacuum that establishes a flow of the process gas over the substrate supported by the substrate support;
- and
- an exhaust baffle supported within a flow path of the process gas being removed from the interior space through the exhaust port, wherein the exhaust baffle comprises a first region that restricts to a first degree the flow path of the process gas toward the exhaust port, and a second region that restricts to a second degree, different than the first degree, the flow path of the process gas toward the exhaust port.
A semiconductor processing system comprising:
- a gas source that supplies a process gas;
- a vacuum source;
- and
- a process chamber comprising:
- a peripheral wall extending upward from a floor to define an interior space;
- a substrate support disposed within the interior space;
- a gas inlet port through which the process gas enters the interior space to be exposed to a surface of a substrate supported by the substrate support;
- a vacuum aperture in fluid communication with the vacuum source, wherein the vacuum source establishes a partial vacuum at the vacuum aperture to establish a flow of the process gas through the process chamber;
- an exhaust port through which the process gas is removed from the interior space, wherein the vacuum aperture is offset from the exhaust port;
- and
- an exhaust baffle supported adjacent to the exhaust port within a flow path of the process gas being removed from the interior space through the exhaust port, wherein the exhaust baffle comprises a first region that restricts to a first degree the flow path of the process gas toward the exhaust port, and a second region that restricts to a second degree, different than the first degree, the flow path of the process gas toward the exhaust port, and wherein a portion of the first region of the exhaust baffle is arranged in vertical alignment with a portion of the vacuum aperture to influence the flow of the process gas through the process chamber.
-20. (canceled)
An exhaust baffle of a process chamber for semiconductor fabrication comprising:
- a first region comprising a shield surface comprising a material that is impermeable by a process gas of the process chamber, wherein the shield surface defines a plurality of vent apertures;
- and
- a second region comprising a first aperture having a cross-sectional flow area providing a first flow path of the process gas toward an exhaust port of the process chamber, wherein:
- a collective cross-sectional flow area of the plurality of vent apertures providing a second flow path of the process gas toward the exhaust port of the process chamber is less than the cross-sectional flow area of the first aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.