KR-20260066654-A - Microwave annealing for low thermal budget applications

Abstract

The system includes a chamber body that defines a processing volume. The system further includes a substrate support pedestal operable to be located within the processing volume and to support a substrate, the substrate support pedestal including one or more channels, through which a coolant medium flows to facilitate heat transfer from the substrate to the coolant medium. The system further includes a coolant medium circulator to circulate the coolant medium through one or more channels. The system further includes a substrate temperature sensor operably coupled to the chamber body, the substrate temperature sensor measuring the temperature of the substrate. The system further includes a coolant medium circulation controller coupled to the coolant medium circulator and the substrate temperature sensor to control the circulation rate of the coolant medium circulating through one or more channels.

Inventors

• 샤르마, 샤샹크
• 애더홀드, 볼프강 로버트
• 반티아, 비카시

Assignees

• 어플라이드 머티어리얼스, 인코포레이티드

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240911

Priority Date

20230912

Claims (20)

1. As a system, A chamber body defining the processing volume; A substrate support pedestal positioned within the above processing volume and operable to support a substrate — the substrate support pedestal comprises one or more channels, through which a coolant medium flows to facilitate heat transfer from the substrate to the coolant medium —; A coolant medium circulator for circulating the coolant medium through one or more of the above channels; A substrate temperature sensor operably coupled to the chamber body — the substrate temperature sensor measures the temperature of the substrate —; and A coolant circulation controller coupled to the coolant medium circulator and the substrate temperature sensor to control the circulation rate at which the coolant medium is circulated through the one or more channels. A system including
2. In paragraph 1, The above substrate is a system that receives microwaves during a microwave annealing operation.
3. In paragraph 2, A system in which the wavelengths of the microwaves for the microwave annealing operation are in the range of 2 gigahertz to 7 gigahertz.
4. In paragraph 1, The above coolant medium circulation controller determines the circulation rate at which the coolant medium is circulated based on the substrate support temperature setpoint and closed-loop control, and the closed-loop control is, The above substrate temperature sensor; The above-mentioned coolant medium circulation controller; and The above-mentioned coolant medium circulator A system including
5. In paragraph 1, The above-described coolant medium circulation controller is a system that determines the circulation rate of the coolant medium using a look-up table.
6. In paragraph 5, The above sightseeing table is, Input key values, each corresponding to an individual microwave power value; and Output values, each corresponding to an individual coolant medium flow rate A system including
7. In paragraph 5, The above sightseeing table is, Input key value pairs ― each of the input key value pairs corresponds to an individual microwave power value and an individual ambient gas type within the processing volume ―; and Output values, each corresponding to an individual coolant medium flow rate A system including
8. In Paragraph 7, A system in which the individual microwave power values are in the range of 100 watts to 20 kilowatts, the individual ambient gas types are at least one of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, fluorine, or chlorine, and the coolant medium is at least one of water, liquid nitrogen, liquid helium, liquid argon, liquid oxygen, liquid neon, liquid xenon, liquid krypton, liquid carbon dioxide, liquid propane, liquid methane, ethanol, liquid Freon, liquid ammonia, or liquid ethylene.
9. In paragraph 1, A system in which a gas is circulated within the processing volume to cool the substrate, wherein the substrate support pedestal leaves a significant portion of the surface area of the substrate exposed to the processing volume.
10. As a method, A step of determining a microwave power value for a microwave annealing operation by a coolant medium circulation controller — said microwave annealing operation is performed on a substrate supported by a substrate support pedestal located within a processing volume defined by a chamber body —; and A step of causing the coolant medium to flow at a coolant medium flow rate through at least one channel disposed within the substrate support pedestal by the coolant medium circulation controller. A method including
11. In Paragraph 10, The above coolant medium flow rate is determined using a checklist table, and the checklist table is, Input key values, each corresponding to an individual microwave power value; and Output values, each corresponding to an individual coolant medium flow rate A method including
12. In Paragraph 10, The above coolant medium flow rate is determined using a checklist table, and the checklist table is, Input key value pairs ― each of the input key value pairs corresponds to an individual microwave power value and an individual ambient gas type within the processing volume ―; and Output values, each corresponding to an individual coolant medium flow rate A method including
13. In Paragraph 12, The above-mentioned individual ambient gas types are at least one of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, fluorine, or chlorine.
14. In Paragraph 10, A method in which the wavelengths of the microwaves for the microwave annealing operation are in the range of 2 gigahertz to 7 gigahertz.
15. In Paragraph 10, A method in which the microwave power value of the microwave annealing operation is in the range of 100 watts to 20 kilowatts.
16. As a method, A step of determining the temperature of a substrate supported by a substrate support pedestal located within a processing volume defined by a chamber body by a coolant medium circulation controller — said substrate is undergoing a microwave annealing operation —; and A step of changing a first coolant medium flow rate to a second coolant medium flow rate for a coolant medium flowing through at least one channel disposed within a substrate support pedestal, based on the temperature of the substrate, by the coolant medium circulation controller. A method including
17. In Paragraph 16, A method in which the temperature of a substrate undergoing the above-mentioned microwave annealing operation is determined using a substrate temperature sensor.
18. In Paragraph 16, The above at least one channel facilitates heat transfer from the substrate to the coolant medium, a method.
19. In Paragraph 16, A method wherein the substrate support pedestal leaves a significant portion of the surface area of the substrate exposed to the processing volume, and the coolant medium comprises a gas circulating within the processing volume to cool the substrate.
20. In Paragraph 16, A method in which the wavelengths of the microwaves for the microwave annealing operation are in the range of 2 gigahertz to 7 gigahertz.

Description

Microwave annealing for low thermal budget applications The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for manufacturing semiconductor devices. More specifically, the present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for heat-treating a substrate. Substrate processing can utilize operations that generate a large amount of heat, which can damage semiconductor devices during manufacturing. By removing heat from substrates undergoing a microwave annealing process in a processing chamber (e.g., a microwave annealing chamber), heat-induced damage can be mitigated while realizing the beneficial effects of microwave energy on device features. The following is a simplified overview of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present disclosure. This overview is not a comprehensive overview of the present disclosure. It is not intended to identify major or core elements of the present disclosure or to describe any scope of specific embodiments of the present disclosure or any scope of claims. The sole purpose of this overview is to present some concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description that follows. In one aspect of the present disclosure, a system for implementing methods such as those described below is disclosed. The system comprises a chamber body that defines a processing volume. The system further comprises a substrate support pedestal operable to be located within the processing volume and to support a substrate, wherein the substrate support pedestal comprises one or more channels, through which a coolant medium flows to facilitate heat transfer from the substrate to the coolant medium. The system further comprises a coolant medium circulator to circulate the coolant medium through one or more channels. The system further comprises a substrate temperature sensor operably coupled to the chamber body, wherein the substrate temperature sensor measures the temperature of the substrate. The system further comprises a coolant medium circulation controller coupled to the coolant medium circulator and the substrate temperature sensor to control the circulation rate of the coolant medium circulating through one or more channels. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method comprises the step of determining a microwave power value for a microwave annealing operation by means of a coolant medium circulation controller, wherein the microwave annealing operation is performed on a substrate supported by a substrate support pedestal located within a processing volume defined by a chamber body. The method further comprises the step of causing a coolant medium to flow at a coolant medium flow rate through at least one channel disposed within the substrate support pedestal by means of a coolant medium circulation controller. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method comprises the step of determining, by means of a coolant medium circulation controller, the temperature of a substrate supported by a substrate support pedestal located within a processing volume defined by a chamber body, wherein the substrate undergoes a microwave annealing operation. The method further comprises the step of changing a first coolant medium flow rate to a second coolant medium flow rate for a coolant medium flowing through at least one channel disposed within the substrate support pedestal, by means of a coolant medium circulation controller, based on the temperature of the substrate. The present disclosure is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as an example, not as a limitation. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an exemplary electronic device manufacturing system according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a processing chamber (e.g., a semiconductor wafer processing chamber) according to some embodiments. FIGS. 3a and 3b are flowcharts of methods associated with microwave annealing for low thermal budget applications according to specific embodiments. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system according to specific embodiments. Techniques for microwave annealing for low thermal budget applications are described herein. Manufacturing equipment is used to produce substrates, such as semiconductor wafers. The characteristics of these substrates are controlled by the conditions under which they are processed. The importance of defects in semiconductor materials, such as single-crystal silicon, is generally recognized in relation to the physical, optical, and electronic properties of these materials. For example, the diffusion rates of dopants during annealing have been shown to depend significantly on the type and abundance of defects, such as gaps and vacancies, in the implanted silicon. Furthermore, the presence of defects in bulk semiconductor materials has been shown to affect other physical properties, such as current flow in integrated circuit (IC