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KR-20260064637-A - OPAQUE QUARTZ GLASS HAVING HIGH ABSORPTION IN THE INFRARED RANGE

KR20260064637AKR 20260064637 AKR20260064637 AKR 20260064637AKR-20260064637-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to opaque quartz glass with a high absorption rate in the near-infrared wavelength region and a method for manufacturing the same. The present invention also relates to the use of the opaque quartz glass according to the present invention or the opaque quartz glass produced from the method according to the present invention in a process chamber for processing semiconductor wafers.

Inventors

  • 괴첸도르퍼 안드레아스
  • 촐리취 나딘
  • 하머슈미트 요르크
  • 제넥 토르스텐
  • 베셀리 프랑크

Assignees

  • 헤래우스 크바르츠글라스 게엠베하 ＆ 컴파니 케이지

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251031
Priority Date
20241031

Claims (15)

  1. A composite material comprising a matrix composed of quartz glass and regions of a silicon carbide-containing phase embedded therein.
  2. The composite material according to claim 1, characterized in that the absorption rate of a disk with a thickness of 3 mm at 1500 nm is greater than 40%, more preferably greater than 50%.
  3. A composite material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the hemispherical reflectance of a disk with a thickness of 3 mm at 1500 nm is less than 60%, more preferably less than 50%.
  4. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the composite material is characterized in that the transmittance of a 3 mm thick disk is less than 10%, more preferably less than 1%, and even more preferably less than 0.6% in a wavelength range of 0.4 to 2.5 μm.
  5. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the change in absorption capacity/emissivity of a 3 mm disk at a wavelength of 1.5 μm at room temperature (20℃) to 1000℃ is less than 0.3, more preferably less than 0.2, and particularly preferably less than 0.1.
  6. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in each case, the weight ratio of the silicon carbide-containing phase is 0.25 to 10 weight%, more preferably 0.5 to 9 weight%, even more preferably 1 to 8 weight%, even more preferably 1.5 to 7 weight%, even more preferably 2 to 6 weight%, and even more preferably 2.5 to 5 weight% based on a matrix composed of quartz glass.
  7. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the d 50 value of the particle size distribution of silicon carbide particles is 0.1 to 100 μm, more preferably 0.5 to 75 μm, even more preferably 1 to 50 μm, and even more preferably 2 to 25 μm.
  8. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the composite material is characterized by having a metal impurity of less than 100 ppm, more preferably less than 50 ppm, and even more preferably less than 25 ppm, wherein the metal impurity is determined by optical emission spectroscopy using inductively coupled plasma.
  9. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the composite material is characterized by having a porosity of less than 8%, more preferably less than 6%, and even more preferably less than 5%, wherein the porosity is defined as the pore volume based on the total volume of the composite material.
  10. A composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein in each case, the carbon content is less than 0.1 weight%, more preferably less than 0.075 weight%, and even more preferably less than 0.05 weight% based on the total weight of the composite material.
  11. A composite material characterized in that, in any one of claims 1 to 10, the composite material is free of carbon.
  12. A method for producing a composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized by the following method steps: a. A step of providing a mixture comprising amorphous quartz glass particles and silicon carbide-containing powder as a suspension; b. A step of obtaining a green body by forming a shaped body through a slip casting method starting from the suspension generated in step a. of the method; c. A step of drying the above-mentioned unprocessed body; and d. Step of sintering the dried raw body produced from method step c.
  13. A method according to claim 12, characterized in that the grain size distribution of the quartz glass particles in the suspension is such that in each case, the d90 value determined by laser diffraction according to ISO 2019:13320 is less than 100 μm, more preferably less than 75 μm, and even more preferably less than 50 μm.
  14. A method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the solid content in the aqueous suspension composed of quartz glass particles is greater than 50 weight%, more preferably greater than 65 weight%, and even more preferably greater than 75 weight%.
  15. Use of a composite material according to any one of claims 1 to 11 for manufacturing a component for a process chamber in which a semiconductor wafer is processed into a chip, a component for a system in which a high-temperature process is performed, a component for which a component is heated by radiation, and a component for which a component blocks thermal radiation.

Description

Opaque quartz glass having high absorption in the infrared range The present invention relates to opaque quartz glass with a high absorption rate in the infrared wavelength range of 1 to 10 μm and a method for manufacturing the same. The present invention also relates to the use of opaque quartz glass according to the present invention or opaque quartz glass manufactured from the method according to the present invention in a process chamber for processing semiconductor wafers. Various devices, such as reactors, apparatus, support plates, bell jars, crucibles, protective shields, or simpler components like tubes, rods, plates, flanges, rings, or blocks, are used in the manufacture of semiconductor components and optical displays. These must meet high requirements in terms of purity, chemical stability, thermal stability, and mechanical strength. While they can be made of stainless steel, for example, they are increasingly being made of quartz glass. This is because silicon dioxide is inert to conventional semiconductor materials when in high purity. Quartz glass is also characterized by high chemical stability against numerous process media and high resistance to thermal shock. Some components of a process chamber, where semiconductor wafers are processed at high temperatures, are heated by radiation from lamps. To ensure rapid and efficient heat transfer, materials used for this purpose must have high absorption rates, particularly in the near-infrared range, i.e., in the 1 to 3 μm range. Since components must also have low thermal mass to enable rapid thermal cycles of heating and cooling, high absorption rates must be achieved even when the components are very thin or have thin wall thicknesses. Because process control is difficult if the material's absorption rate depends heavily on temperature, it is advantageous for the absorption rate to depend on temperature to the smallest possible degree. These (infrared) optical properties should be combined as much as possible with the proven characteristics of high-purity quartz glass for application in process chambers for wafer processing. In addition, other materials, namely components composed of high-purity silicon carbide (e.g., CVD-SiC) and high-purity Si, are also used. However, the manufacturing and processing of these materials are much more complex and costly than that of quartz glass. A corresponding quartz glass material is described, for example, in European Patent EP 3 068 739 A. The described material is a composite material comprising a matrix of quartz glass in which regions of a silicon-containing phase are embedded. The composite material exhibits high absorption rates in the visible light wavelength range and near-infrared up to 1 μm, but the absorption rate drops significantly at room temperature. In the wavelength range greater than 1 μm, the absorption rate increases only at higher temperatures and reaches a constant value starting from approximately 1000°C. However, at lower temperatures, infrared absorption is highly temperature-dependent, which is disadvantageous as it makes process control difficult. Another composite material proposed for application in process chambers for wafer processing is known from U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/025001 A. The composite material consists of quartz glass and a second phase composed of silicon, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, titanium nitride, or titanium carbide. The objective is to provide a material that is less susceptible to crack formation during mechanical processing and has less particle emission than quartz glass. Due to the manufacturing method, the composite material has an open porosity of less than 15% or less than 5%. Open-pored materials are very difficult to clean, particularly with liquids or acids. During mechanical processing, impurities can penetrate into the open pore channels. It is virtually impossible to remove these impurities without leaving residue. Additionally, the optical properties of the resulting material are not described—as long as silicon carbide is the second phase in the composite—and the material produced from U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/025001 A contains carbon. This is due to the manufacturing method used: silicon carbide as a starting material always contains carbon as an impurity, which is not removed in the described manufacturing method of vacuum sintering under pressure. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006/027930 A relates to black quartz glass, the black color being caused by the incorporation of graphite particles. Quartz glass is manufactured by sintering a mixture of graphite powder and amorphous quartz glass powder (soot) having a defined particle size distribution. The carbon particles used constitute 0.05 to 2 weight percent of SiO₂, and have a diameter of 0.07 to 0.5 μm or 0.05 to 1 μm. In particular, crushed quartz glass is used as SiO₂ powder, and quartz glass is manufactured by flame hydrolysis