MOVABLE INJECTORS IN ROTATING DISC GAS REACTORS
A system and method for uniform deposition of material layers on wafers in a rotating disk chemical vapor deposition reaction system is provided, wherein one or more substrates are rotated on a carrier about an axis while maintaining surfaces of the one or more substrates substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and facing in an upstream direction along the axis of rotation. During rotating a first gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from a first set of gas inlets. A second gas is discharged in the downstream direction towards the one or more substrates from at least one movable gas injector, and the at least one movable gas inlet is moved with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation.
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The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/827,133, filed on Jul. 10, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGas treatment apparatus such as chemical vapor deposition systems are used to treat substrates such as semiconductor wafers. One form of apparatus commonly used is a rotating disk reactor. Such a reactor includes a chamber and a disk-like substrate carrier mounted within the chambers. Substrates such as wafers are disposed on the carrier, and the carrier is rotated about its axis. A component referred to as a gas distribution injector or “injector head” is mounted in fixed position on the chamber. The gas injector head typically includes numerous gas inlets. One or more reactive gases are injected into the chamber through these inlets and flow generally in a downstream direction toward the substrate carrier, and outwardly across the rotating substrate carrier and the surfaces of the substrates disposed on the carrier. Carrier gases may be injected along with the reactive gases.
As the gases pass across the surfaces of the wafers, they react and deposit materials on the wafer surfaces. Merely by way of example, such processes can be used to form compound semiconductors, for example, various layers of compound semiconductors. For example, numerous layers of III-V semiconductors such as gallium nitride, indium nitride, gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and gallium antimonide and the like can be deposited onto a substrate to form electronic devices such as diodes and transistors and optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diodes and semiconductor lasers. II-VI semiconductors can be deposited by similar processes.
Small differences in the properties of each layer can profoundly affect the performance of the resulting device. The properties which can affect performance include thickness, composition, doping and impurity concentration, crystalline quality and atomic interface abruptness. Therefore, considerable effort has been devoted in the art towards development of apparatus and methods which promote uniform deposition across the entire surface of the wafer carrier. Rotation of the wafer carrier helps assure that the deposition will be uniform in the circumferential direction, around the axis of rotation of the carrier. To assure uniformity in the radial direction along the carrier surface perpendicular to the axis, the gas inlets carrying each of the reactive gases typically are subdivided into a plurality of zones. For example, the gas inlets for a particular gas may be subdivided into several zones in the form of rings concentric with the axis of rotation. The gas flow to each zone may be controlled independently of the other zones. It is possible to select a set of gas flows for the various zones which will provide very nearly uniform distribution across the entire extent of the substrate carrier and thus the entire extent of each substrate or wafer processed.
However, still further improvement would be desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne aspect of the invention provides methods of treating substrates. A method according to this aspect of the invention desirably includes the step of rotating the substrates about an axis of rotation while maintaining surfaces of the substrate substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and facing in an upstream direction along the axis of rotation. The method desirably further includes the step of discharging a first gas with a component motion in a downstream direction toward the substrate from at least one first movable gas inlet. The method most preferably further includes the step of moving the at least one first movable gas inlet with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation. The method may further include the step of discharging a second gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction toward the substrates. Numerous factors, including the flux of first gas through the first movable gas inlet and the speed of motion of the first movable gas inlet, can be controlled so as to control the rate of reaction as, for example, the rate of deposition in a chemical vapor deposition reaction, as well as the composition of the deposited material.
A further aspect of the invention provides an injector head for a rotating disk gas treatment reactor. The injector head desirably includes a body having a central axis, the body being arranged for mounting to the reactor with the central axis aligned with the axis of rotation of the substrate carrier in the reactor; a structure defining a first set of gas inlets facing in a downstream direction; at least one movable gas inlet facing in a downstream direction; and, a drive adapted for moving the at least one movable gas inlet with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the central axis.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a rotating disk gas reactor for treating one or more substrates. The reactor according to this aspect of the invention desirably includes a reaction chamber and a carrier mounted within the chamber for rotation therein about an axis of rotation. The carrier is adapted to carry one or more substrates, most typically a plurality of substrates. The reactor desirably also includes a carrier drive for rotating the carrier around the axis of rotation, at least one first movable gas inlet for discharging a first gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates on the carrier and an inlet drive for moving the at least one first movable gas inlet with a component of motion towards and away from the axis of rotation.
While the present invention is particularly well suited for use in MOCVD (metalorganic chemical vapor deposition) rotating disk reactors and is so described herein, it is equally well suited for other rotating disk gas treatment systems. MOCVD is a method of epitaxial growth of materials, especially semiconductors from the surface reaction of metalorganics and metal hydrides containing the required chemical elements. For example, indium phosphide can be grown by introducing trimethylindium (CH3)3In and phosphine PH3. Alternate names for this deposition process include metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE), and organometallic chemical vapor deposition (OMCVD).
The rotating disk gas treatment reactor is a chamber which can withstand high temperatures and has an interior which does not react with the chemicals being used. The chamber contains a rotating susceptor (substrate carrier), gas injection modules, and temperature control systems. To prevent overheating of the reactor the injector head and reactor walls contain channels for water cooling. The wafers or substrates sit on a susceptor which maintains a controlled temperature. Formation of the epitaxial layer occurs by a change caused by heat to the constituent chemicals (pyrolysis) on the wafer surface and is the dominant process for manufacturing laser diodes, solar cells, LEDs and other semiconductor devices.
Pressure within the rotating disk gas treatment reactor chamber in controlled as is the speed of rotation of the susceptor. A carrier gas, such as nitrogen (N2) or hydrogen (H2), is bubbled through a metalorganic liquid and the carrier gas picks up metalorganic vapor which is transported into the reactor chamber. The temperature of the metalorganic liquid and carrier gas as well as the flow rate affect the amount of metalorganic vapor that is transported. Rotating disk gas treatment reactor chamber exhaust gas is collected and processed to minimize waste product products.
A rotating disk gas treatment reactor 100 according to one embodiment of the invention (
An injector head 180 is mounted to chamber 190 at its upstream end. As further discussed below, the injector head 180 provides one or more reaction gases 146, 148 to the reaction chamber 190 for deposition processes to be performed on the substrates 138. The injector head 180 includes a body 182 which is adapted for mounting to chamber 190 of the reactor 100 so that a central axis 184 is coincident with axis of rotation 106 and so that a downstream surface 186 of the body faces in a downstream direction D, toward the substrate carrier 104. As best seen in
As shown in
Push flow inlets (push flow injectors) 114 are disposed within slot 160. The push flow inlets 114 are disposed upstream of the movable gas inlet 108, i.e., further from downstream surface 186. The push flow inlets 114 are in fluid communication through a push flow supply tube 122 with a push gas source 156.
In a method according to an embodiment of the invention, the reactor of
During the steps discussed above, one or more carrier gasses such as nitrogen or hydrogen is supplied as a push gas flow from source 156 through push gas inlets 114 so that the push gas flow issues from slot 160. At the same time, source 158 is operated to supply a flow of the first gas through movable first gas inlet 108, and linear drive 116 is operated to move the movable gas inlet 108 along slot 160, generally radially with respect to the axis of rotation 106. For example, movable gas inlet 108 may operate at linear speeds, in the inward and outward directions, ranging from stationary to approximately 9 inches per second, most typically from stationary to 3 inches per second or 4 inches per second.
The push gas flow from inlets 114 passes around supply tube 112 and around the exterior of movable gas inlet 108. Thus, as schematically depicted in
The first gas supplied through movable gas inlet 108 passes downstream along with the push gas flow to the carrier 104 and substrates 138, so that this additional first gas participates in the reaction to form the semiconductor. At any given time, the first gas flow issuing from the movable gas inlet 108 is concentrated at the radial location of the first gas inlet. The rate at which the first gas in this flow tends contributes to formation of the semiconductor depends on the location of the movable gas inlet 108. For example, curve 200, referred to as a resonance curve, represents a plot of the rate at which the first gas flowing from the gas inlet 108 disposed at the position depicted in solid lines in
By varying the amount of push gas for a fixed amount of first gas flowing through movable outlet 108, the profile of the resonance curve 200 can be changed without changing the flux of the first gas that is injected. Also, the height of the resonance curve for each position varies directly with the flux of first gas through the movable outlet. Also, by varying the speed of motion of the movable gas inlet 108, the speed with which the resonance curve 200 changes can be regulated. Any or all of these factors can be used to control the aggregate reaction rate over time at various radial locations.
Typically, the flows through the fixed gas inlets 170, 172 are selected to provide a rate of reaction which is as nearly uniform as practicable over the entire radial extent of the substrate carrier. However, because there are only a finite number of zones of fixed gas inlets 170, 172, there typically are some slight non-uniformities. As further discussed below, the conditions applied to the movable gas inlet 108 can be used to counteract these non-uniformities.
In a further embodiment (not shown) slot 160 and the movement path of movable gas inlet 108 extend across the central axis 184 and hence across the axis of rotation 106, In another embodiment, the path of motion of the movable gas inlet 108 can also be aligned such that the path of motion has a component of motion that is radial to the axis of rotation 106 but the path of motion is not radial to the axis of rotation 106.
In a further embodiment as shown in
The linear vacuum seal 110 positioned in injector head body 182 permits the separation flow supply tube 128 and the first gas supply tube 112 positioned coaxially within to move slidably therein. The separation flow supply tube 128 is fixed to a drive plate 120.
In a further embodiment as shown in
The movable gas inlet 108 is coupled to the first gas supply tube 112 which is in fluid communication with the first gas source 158. A rotary vacuum seal 159 is mounted to the reactor top flange 124. A rotary drive with controllable speed (not shown) is adapted to rotate the first gas supply tube 112 which passes through the rotary vacuum seal 159. This thereby moves the movable gas inlet 108 in an arcuate movement, back and forth along a sweep path 210. Typically, the speed of movement range from stationary to approximately 9 inches per second.
Although the movable gas inlet 108 is shown with a path of motion 210 which approaches the central axis 184, the path of motion 210 in various other embodiments can extend through the central axis 184 and towards the other side of the rotating disk reactor 100. In a further embodiment the movable gas inlet 108 can be aligned to have a component of motion towards the axis of rotation 106 but not have a path of motion 210 that intersects the central axis 184.
Various embodiments include various configurations of one or more first gas inlets, which may be fixed as well as movable. An embodiment with a single movable first gas inlet 108 is seen in bottom view looking at the downstream surface of the injector head assembly is shown in
In further variants, during operation of the reactor 100, a combination of several movable gas inlets 108 can be employed and may discharge different or the same gases. For example, in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, the injector head can be configured to supply the first gas, such as alkyls from one of the moveable gas inlets 108, hydrides from another of the moveable gas inlets 108 and dopants from yet another of the moveable gas inlets 108.
An exemplary embodiment of the multiple fixed first gas inlets shown in
The injector head assembly has fixed first gas inlets 170, with an opening facing in the downstream direction D, are coupled to a fixed first gas supply tube 117. Inlets 170 are depicted in
Push flow inlets 114 are in fluid communication through with a push flow supply tube 122 through which a push gas flows. The flow of the first gas from the fixed first gas inlets 170 is surrounded by a flow of push gas. This push gas flow tends to isolate the first gas from the second gas issuing from fixed second gas inlets, which tends to suppress premature reaction of the first and second gasses and unwanted deposition on the fixed gas inlets 170. In the arrangement of
An embodiment of the present invention with an optical measurement device is shown in
This embodiment has a mirror 310 which is movable relative to the head and an optical measurement device 320 arranged to observe the substrates through the mirror. In the embodiment of
The detector provides a signal which is used to calculate substrate growth rate, substrate composition and absolute reflectivity of the substrate. By determining the radial position r of the optical path 330 at any given time t and the absolute reflectance R, the absolute reflectance function R(r,t) can be determined and the substrate growth rate and substrate composition calculated as a function of radial position r.
Examples of an optical measurement device are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,270 entitled “Method And Apparatus For Measuring The Temperature Of Objects On A Fast Moving Holder,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,625 entitled “Apparatus And Method For Controlling Temperature Uniformity Of Substrates,” the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein as if fully set out.
A gas bearing assembly is shown in
A seal between the reactor wall 406 and the gas bearing body housing 408 is provided by O-ring 404. Other types of seals may also be employed. A drive motor (linear drive, rotary drive or combined linear/rotary drive) 420 is mounted to the gas bearing body 408 by flange 430. Alternately the drive motor 420 can be mounted to the vacuum tight drive enclosure 418 with the flange 430. A purge channel 410 enables any reactant gas loses (leakage) from the reactor to be extracted through a purge access port 424. A vacuum groove 412 is in fluid communication with a vacuum pump through access port 426. A gas supply inlet port 428 is in fluid communication with a gas bearing body 414 made of material porous to the gas. There is a small gap between the shaft or tube 402 and the gas bearing body 414 which provides for a limited flow of the supply gas from the gas supply inlet 428 to the vacuum groove 412, whereby the shaft or tube 402 can move in a linear and or rotary motion within the gas bearing body 414. A seal between the gas bearing body housing 408 and the vacuum tight enclosure 418 is provided by an O-ring 416. Other types of seals may also be employed. The vacuum tight enclosure 418, which houses the drive 420, is connected to a pressure relief valve 432. A compatible supply gas such as N2, H2 or a combination is provided to the gas supply inlet 428.
A slidable connection to a gas supply tube is shown in
A flexible bellows 524, which can be rubber, plastic, metal or other suitably flexible material, covers the sliding gas supply tube 508 and the movable gas supply inlet tube 504. A linear drive 526 moves drive shaft 530 at a controlled speed. The drive shaft 530 is connected to the drive plate 528 whereby when the drive shaft 530 is moved, the drive plate 528, the moveable gas supply inlet tube 504 and the sliding gas supply tube 508 move.
An embodiment of the movable connection wherein the drive shaft 530 and the movable gas supply tube 504 are in-line is shown in
A further embodiment of the movable connection with a straight tube configuration is shown in
The movable gas inlet 502 moves along a movable gas inlet slide channel or slot 536 in body 582. Inlet 502 is connected to the movable gas supply inlet tube 504 which passes through a first gas bearing 520, and extends in a bore 512 in an extension 583 of body 582. Tube 504 extends through a second gas bearing 521. A drive 526 is connected to the movable gas supply tube 504. Tube 504 has a port 509 disposed within bore 512, between bearings 520 and 521. The gas supply is fluid communication with the movable gas inlet through a gas inlet port 510 which communicates with bore 512, and thus communicates with movable gas supply tube 504 through port 509.
With the straight tube configuration as well as other configurations, the drive 526 can rotate as well as move linearly the movable gas supply tube 504 and thereby rotate the movable gas inlet 502 about its axis when desired. The rotation of the movable gas inlet 502 enables the direction of discharge of the gas flow from the movable gas inlet 502 to be varied dynamically as the movable inlet sweeps back and forth, towards and away from central axis 584. The angle may be set at a predetermined amount for the entire path of movement, at different amounts for different sweeps, or may be varied during a single movement along the path.
The position of the movable gas inlet is shown schematically in
A graphical representation of one scheme for deposition uniformity control using a movable gas inlet is shown in
Another graphical representation of another scheme for deposition uniformity control using a movable gas inlet is shown in
A graphical representation of a yet another scheme for deposition uniformity control is shown in
In addition to the various schemes for deposition uniformity control illustrated in
A graphical representation for a scheme for multi-zone deposition uniformity control for the movable gas inlet of the present invention is shown in
A graphical representation of another scheme for multi-zone deposition uniformity control for the movable gas inlet of the present invention is shown in
A graphical representation of yet another scheme for multi-zone deposition uniformity control for the movable gas inlet of the present invention is shown in
A graphical representation of a further scheme for multi-zone deposition uniformity control for the movable gas inlet of the present invention is shown in
In addition to the various schemes for deposition uniformity control herein described the direction of discharge of the gas flow from the movable gas inlet can be varied during the path of motion.
A graphical representation of uniformity distribution for the thickness of deposited material is shown in
In the foregoing embodiments, the gas treatment process involves metalorganic chemical vapor depositions. The processes and apparatus discussed above can be used to deposit compound semiconductors other than the III-V semiconductors mentioned above. For example, the processes and apparatus discussed above can be used to deposit II-VI semiconductors as, for example, oxide semiconductors. Moreover, the features discussed herein can be applied in other gas treatment processes such as other chemical deposition processes, gas etching, and the like.
Also, in the embodiments discussed above, the movable injectors move in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the substrate carrier. However, this is not essential; the movable injectors can move in paths which are inclined relative to the axis of rotation.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method of treating one or more substrates, comprising:
- (a) rotating the substrates about an axis of rotation while maintaining surfaces of the substrates substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation and facing in an upstream direction along the axis of rotation; and, during the rotating step,
- (b) discharging a first gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates from at least one first movable gas inlet; and, during the discharging step,
- (c) moving the at least one first movable gas inlet with a component of motion in a radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising, during the rotating step, the step of discharging a second gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates from a set of second gas inlets.
3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of moving comprises moving the at least one first movable gas inlet linearly.
4. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein the linear movement is radially aligned with the axis of rotation.
5. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the linear movement extends through the axis of rotation.
6. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of moving comprises moving the at least one first movable gas inlet in an arc about a second axis.
7. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein the arc is aligned with the axis of rotation.
8. The method as recited in claim 7 wherein the arcuate movement extends through the axis of rotation.
9. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the step of moving comprises moving the at least one first movable gas inlet in two opposite directions.
10. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of discharging a gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates from another gas inlet and moving with the at least one first movable gas inlet.
11. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein the another gas inlet is adjacent to the at least one first movable gas inlet.
12. The method as recited in claim 10 wherein the another gas inlet is coaxial with the at least one first movable gas inlet.
13. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of discharging a second gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates from one second movable gas inlet and moving the one second movable gas inlet with a component of motion in radial direction towards or away from the axis of rotation.
14. The method as recited in claim 13 wherein the one second movable gas inlet moves with the at least one first movable gas inlet.
15. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein the one second movable gas inlet moves in a path aligned with a path of movement of the at least one first movable gas inlet.
16. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of discharging the first gas with a component of motion in the downstream direction towards the substrates from at least one fixed gas inlet.
17. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of varying the direction of discharge of the first gas flow of the at least one first movable gas inlet.
18. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of changing flux of the first gas from the at least one first movable gas inlet so that flux is different for different positions of the at least one first movable gas inlet.
19. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of changing speed of movement of the at least one first movable gas inlet at different positions.
20. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of pulse modulating the first gas flow from the at least one first movable gas inlet.
21. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of directing an optical signal onto the surface of the substrates so that the optical signal is reflected from the surface of the substrate and detecting the reflected optical signal, wherein the optical signal path moves along with the movement of the at least one first movable gas inlet.
22. The method as recited in claim 21 further comprising calculating growth rate of the substrates as a function of the detected reflected optical signal.
23. The method as recited in claim 21 further comprising calculating composition of the substrates as a function of the detected reflected optical signal.
24. The method as recited in claim 21 further comprising calculating absolute reflectivity of the substrates as a function of the detected reflected optical signal.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 30, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 22, 2012
Applicant: VEECO INSTRUMENTS INC. (Plainview, NY)
Inventors: Piero Sferlazzo (Marblehead, MA), Alexander I. Gurary (Bridgewater, NJ), Eric A. Armour (Pennington, NJ), William E. Quinn (Whitehouse Station, NJ), Steve Ting (Whitehouse Station, NJ)
Application Number: 13/307,239
International Classification: H01L 21/66 (20060101);