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US 7,582,166 B2Granted
Holder for supporting wafers during semiconductor manufacture
AssigneeSgl Carbon SE
InventorsMichael Lampe, Burl Moon
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AssigneeSgl Carbon SE
InventorsMichael Lampe, Burl Moon
Estimating the term…
An improved wafer holder design is described which has manufacturing and performance advantages over present state-of-the-art holders used in various wafer processing applications. The new wafer holder design incorporates a series of short radial grooves. The grooves extend from the base of a circular channel, which runs along the outside diameter of the substrate wafer recess, to a fixed radial location which varies based on wafer size and thickness. The grooves provide a slight overlap with the wafer to facilitate the free exchange of gases beneath the wafer necessary for wafer loading and unloading operations. The short length of the radial grooves make the wafer holder easier to manufacture and offer more robust performance compared to the present state-of-the-art holders.
A wafer holder for holding semiconductor substrate wafers in a chemical vapor deposition system, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Characterised by the method used for supporting substrates in the reaction chamber: characterised by material of construction or surface finish of…
The substrate being supported substantially horizontally: devices at or outside the perimeter of the substrate support, e.g. clamping rings, shrouds
Epitaxial-layer growth: substrate holders or susceptors
The wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support: characterised by edge profile or support profile
Term ended 5 May 2025 (estimated)
1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates generally to the manufacture of substrate wafers of the type used in producing semiconductor devices, and, in particular, to susceptors and other substrate wafer holders for use in a substrate supporting mechanism in a reaction chamber during semiconductor manufacturing processes.
2. Background
Further features, embodiments, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1A is a top view of a typical prior art wafer holder;
FIG. 1B is a side cross-sectional view of the prior art wafer holder of FIG. 1A, taken along line 1B-1B;
Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like components throughout the several views, the preferred embodiments of the present invention are next described. The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to an otherwise-conventional chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”) system 10, because CVD is an example of a typical process for which the wafer holder of the present invention may find application. However, it should be understood that the wafer holder of the present invention may be used in a wide variety of wafer processes, including physical vapor deposition (“PVD”), rapid thermal processing (“RTP”), high temperature etch processing, and other thermal processing, and generally including any other process in which a semiconductor wafer must be lifted from a generally flat surface.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”) system 10. The CVD system 10 includes a reaction chamber 12 and a support mechanism 14. The reaction chamber 12 may be of any conventional design, including the type sometimes referred to as a horizontal flow reaction chamber such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,620, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.