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US 9,068,266 B2Granted
Door assembly for substrate processing chamber
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorJustin Broeker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A substrate processing apparatus includes an enclosure defining a reaction chamber, a substrate holder in the reaction chamber, and a door assembly. The door assembly has a substrate entrance with a tunnel extending to the reaction chamber, a door movable with respect to the substrate entrance, and a pattern of features. The features are located along a portion of the substrate entrance defining the tunnel. The features promote sticking of processing byproducts, produced in the reaction chamber, to the substrate entrance. A door mates with the entrance to form a seal that reduces flow through the tunnel to control the amount of byproducts that enter the tunnel.
Claims24
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
- an enclosure defining a reaction chamber;
- a substrate holder in the reaction chamber;
- and
- a door assembly comprising:
- a substrate entrance having a front face in a first plane and a tunnel extending from the front face to the reaction chamber, the tunnel having an inner surface,
- a door movable with respect to the substrate entrance to open and close the reaction chamber,
- a pattern of features spaced apart from one another and located along a portion of the substrate entrance defining the tunnel, the pattern of features being configured to promote sticking of processing byproducts to the substrate entrance,
- an annular sealing member coupled to the door and located between the front face of the substrate entrance and the door and contacting the front face of the substrate entrance in the first plane when the reaction chamber is closed and configured to form a seal between the front face of the substrate entrance and the door, and
- an annular raised sealing portion positioned on the front face of the substrate entrance, protruding beyond the first plane, and configured to mate with the door in a second plane, the raised sealing portion being interposed between the sealing member and the tunnel and having a sidewall that is co-planer with the inner surface of the tunnel.
6 more elements
A door assembly for a semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising:
- a door;
- an annular sealing member located on the door;
- and
- a substrate entrance including:
- a main body having a front face in a first plane, and
- a tunnel extending through the main body, the tunnel including a first end, a second end opposing the first end, and a sidewall between the first and second end,
- an annular raised sealing portion positioned on the front face of the main body surrounding the first end of the tunnel and having a sidewall that is co-planar with the sidewall of the tunnel and configured to protrude beyond the first plane and mate with the door in a second plane, the raised sealing portion having a width that is equal to or greater than about ten times a height of the raised sealing portion above the front face of the main body,
- the annular sealing member on the door configured to form a seal with the front face of the main body, contact the front face at the first plane, and being located in a position on the door that when the front face of the main body forms a seal with the annular sealing member the raised sealing portion is located between the annular sealing member and the tunnel, and
- a plurality of discrete geometric features positioned along the tunnel and structured to promote sticking of processing material to the substrate entrance.
6 more elements
An entrance of a semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising:
- a main body having a face in a first plane;
- a tunnel extending through the main body;
- an annular raised sealing portion positioned on the face of the main body surrounding the tunnel and configured to mate with a door of the semiconductor processing apparatus at a second plane, and the annular raised sealing portion protruding beyond the first plane and having a width that is equal to or greater than about ten times a height that the annular raised sealing portion protrudes beyond the first plane of the face of the main body;
- an annular sealing member coupled to the door and configured to form a seal between the front face of the substrate entrance and the door and to contact the door at the second plane, the raised sealing portion being interposed between the sealing member and the tunnel and defining an opening of the tunnel;
- and
- a plurality of means for sticking processing material to the main body to inhibit stringer formation, the plurality of means for sticking formed in a portion of the main body defining and extending along the tunnel.
3 more elements
A door assembly for a semiconductor processing apparatus, comprising:
- a substrate entrance including:
- a main body,
- a tunnel extending through the main body, the tunnel including a first end, a second end opposing the first end, and a sidewall, and
- an annular raised sealing portion positioned on a front face of the main body and defining an opening at the first end of the tunnel and having a sidewall that is co-planer with the sidewall of the tunnel, the front face of the main body having a first plane and the annular raised sealing portion protruding from the first plane;
- and
- a door for closing the tunnel and having an annular sealing member attached to the door, the annular sealing member positioned so that when the door is closed over the first end of the tunnel, the annular raised sealing portion is located between the sealing member and the first end of the tunnel, the annular sealing member contacts the front face of the main body at the first plane and forms a fluid tight seal, and the annular raised sealing portion configured to mate with the door in a second plane.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.