High pressure processing chamber for semiconductor substrate
AssigneeTokyo Electron Limited
InventorsMaximilian A. Biberger, Frederick Paul Layman, Thomas Robert Sutton
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Abstract
A high pressure chamber comprises a chamber housing, a platen, and a mechanical drive mechanism. The chamber housing comprises a first sealing surface. The platen comprises a region for holding the semiconductor substrate and a second sealing surface. The mechanical drive mechanism couples the platen to the chamber housing. In operation, the mechanical drive mechanism separates the platen from the chamber housing for loading of the semiconductor substrate. In further operation, the mechanical drive mechanism causes the second sealing surface of the platen and the first sealing surface of the chamber housing to form a high pressure processing chamber around the semiconductor substrate.
Claims24
A high pressure chamber for processing a semiconductor substrate, the high pressure chamber comprising:
- a. a platen comprising a first sealing surface and a region for holding the semiconductor substrate the platen further comprising:
- i. an upper platen having a first aperture;
- and
- ii. a lower platen coupled to the upper platen, the lower platen having a second aperture substantially concentric with the first aperture;
- b. a chamber housing comprising:
- i. a plurality of posts, each pair of posts defining one of a plurality of windows, each window providing access to the platen;
- and
- ii. a second sealing surface;
- and
- c. a single mechanical drive mechanism having a single pressure source for forming and maintaining a wafer cavity containing the region for holding the semiconductor substrate, the single mechanical drive mechanism coupling the platen to the chamber housing and configured (i) to separate the first sealing surface from the second sealing surface for loading of the semiconductor substrate and (ii) to cause the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface to contact, thus forming and maintaining the wafer cavity during high pressure processing;
- d. a spacer, wherein the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface both seal to the spacer;
- e. a pedestal having a neck coupled to an upper portion, the neck slidably mounted within the second aperture, the upper portion sized to fit within the first aperture to form a part of the region for holding the semiconductor substrate;
- and
- f. a first piston coupled to the neck and configured to slide the neck within the second aperture, thereby extending the upper portion from the upper platen and moving the upper portion into the upper platen.
A system for processing a semiconductor substrate, the system comprising:
- a. a platen comprising a first sealing surface and a region for holding the semiconductor substrate the platen further comprising:
- i. an upper platen having a first aperture;
- and
- ii. a lower platen coupled to the upper platen, the lower platen having a second aperture substantially concentric with the first aperture;
- b. a chamber housing comprising:
- i. a second sealing surface;
- ii. an inlet coupled to the region for holding the semiconductor substrate;
- iii. and an outlet coupled to region for holding the semiconductor substrate;
- and
- c. a single mechanical drive mechanism having a single pressure source for forming and maintaining a wafer cavity containing the region for holding the semiconductor substrate, the single mechanical drive mechanism coupling the platen to the chamber housing and configured (i) to separate the first sealing surface from the second sealing surface for loading of the semiconductor substrate and (ii) to cause the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface to contact, thus forming and maintaining the wafer cavity during high pressure processing;
- d. a spacer, wherein the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface both seal to the spacer;
- e. a pedestal having a neck coupled to an upper portion, the neck slidably mounted within the second aperture, the upper portion sized to fit within the first aperture to form a part of the region for holding the semiconductor substrate;
- and
- f. a first piston coupled to the neck and configured to slide the neck within the second aperture, thereby extending the upper portion from the upper platen and moving the upper portion into the upper platen.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.