Tokyo Electron Limited

Ckd Corporation

Tokyo Electron Limi Ted

Soken-industries

Shigeyuki Okura

Tsuneyuki Okabe

Hitoshi Kato

Ken Nakao

Yasunori Nishimura

Takashi Yajima

Yu Nunoshige

Minoru Ito

Hiroki Doi

Yoji Mori

Yukio Ozawa

Hajime Yamanaka

Masayuki Hirose

Yuki Keimoto

Kazuo Ujiie

A technology, when forming a film by supplying TiClgas and NHgas a plurality of times in alternation to a substrate, can increase the amount of gas flow while suppressing cooling of a valve device, and contribute to an increase in throughput. In the formation of the film, the gas for atmosphere replacement supplied into a processing vessel between supplying one processing gas and supplying the other processing gas is heated ahead of time. Thus, the flow rate of gas can be increased while suppressing cooling of the gas-contacting sites such as a wafer and the inner wall of the processing vessel, and so it is possible to reduce the time necessary to replace the atmosphere, resulting in being able to contribute to increased throughput, and problems such as adhesion of reaction products due to cooling at the valve device are suppressed.

Gas supply device and valve device

A gas supply apparatus for forming a film by supplying a source gas, a substitution gas, and a reaction gas to a substrate in a processing chamber includes a source gas flow passage; a reaction gas flow passage; a first and second carrier gas flow passages connected to the source gas flow passage and the reaction gas flow passage; a substitution gas flow passage configured to supply the substitution gas into the processing chamber through a supply control device; a gas storage part installed in the substitution gas flow passage, and configured to store the substitution gas; a valve installed in the substitution gas flow passage, and installed in a downstream side of the gas storage part; and a control unit configured to control opening/closing of the valve such that the substitution gas is stored in the gas storage part to increase an internal pressure of the gas storage part.

Gas supply apparatus and gas supply method

In a substrate processing method for processing a substrate by alternately performing a processing gas supply step of supplying a processing gas for processing the substrate into a processing chamber which accommodates the substrate and to which a gas exhaust line is connected and a replacement gas supply step of supplying a replacement gas for replacing an atmosphere in the processing chamber into the processing chamber multiple times, a ballast gas is introduced into the gas exhaust line when the processing gas supply step is performed.

Substrate processing method that includes step of introducing ballast gas to exhaust line while supplying processing gas

A source gas supply unit includes a carrier gas supply unit for supplying a carrier gas into a raw material tank, and a control unit. The control unit executes steps of: supplying the carrier gas to the raw material tank while varying a flow rate of the carrier gas without forming a film on a substrate, and storing a vaporization flow rate table showing the correspondence between a vaporization flow rate of the vaporized raw material contained in a source gas and a carrier gas flow rate set value; obtaining a carrier gas flow rate set value corresponding to a specified vaporization flow rate set value by using the vaporization flow rate table; and generating the source gas by supplying the carrier gas into the raw material tank based on the obtained carrier gas flow rate set value and supplying the generated source gas to a film forming unit.

Source gas supply unit, film forming apparatus and source gas supply method

STEP(Pressure increasing step) increases pressure within a raw material container to first pressure by supplying carrier gas to the inside of the raw material container by PCV. STEP(Pressure decreasing step) decreases the pressure within the raw material container to second pressure by operating an exhaust device and discarding the raw material gas from a raw material gas supply pipe via an exhaust bypass pipe. STEP(Stabilization step) stabilizes the vaporization efficiency for vaporizing the raw material inside the raw material container by operating the exhaust device and discarding the raw material gas while introducing the carrier gas into the raw material container. STEP(Film forming step) supplies the raw material gas to the inside of the processing container via the raw material gas supply pipe and deposits a thin film on a wafer by CVD.

Film forming method and film forming device

A vaporizer for generating a process gas from a liquid material includes a container defining a process space of the vaporizer, and an injector having a spray port configured to spray the liquid material in an atomized state downward in the container. A lower block is disposed below the spray port inside the container such that a run-up space for the atomized liquid material is defined between the spray port and the lower block, and an annular space continuous to the run-up space is defined between an inner surface of the container and the lower block. First and second heaters are respectively provided to the container and the lower block, and configured to heat the atomized liquid material flowing through the annular space to generate the process gas. A gas delivery passage is connected to the container to output the process gas from the annular space.

Vaporizer and semiconductor processing system

A rotary valve () includes a valve body () formed with a chamber communication passage () for flowing a main fluid and a vent communication passage () for discharging the main fluid and a cylindrical valve member () rotatably held in the valve body () and formed with a main passage () for flowing the main fluid. The cylindrical valve member () is rotated to switch the connection of the main passage () between the chamber communication passage () and the vent communication passage (). The rotary switching valve () further includes a purge gas passage for passing purge gas in a clearance () between the valve body () and the cylindrical valve member (), the purge gas being supplied to the clearance () to prevent the main fluid from leaking out of the main passage ().

Rotary switching valve

A vaporizer for generating a process gas from a liquid material includes a heat-exchange lower block having a hollow internal space and disposed below the spray port of an injector inside the container. A run-up space for the atomized liquid material is defined between the spray port and the heat-exchange lower block, and an annular space continuous to the run-up space is defined between an inner surface of the container and the heat-exchange lower block. An internal heater is disposed in the internal space of the heat-exchange lower block and includes a carbon wire formed of woven bundles of carbon fibers and sealed in a ceramic envelope. The internal heater is configured to heat the atomized liquid material flowing through the annular space to generate the process gas.

A semiconductor processing system includes a gas supply system configured to supply water vapor into a process chamber that accommodates a target substrate. The gas supply system is provided with a gas generating apparatus for generating water vapor from purified water. The gas generating apparatus includes a first vaporizing section configured to spray the purified water along with a carrier gas and heat the purified water, so as to generate preparatory water vapor containing mist, and a second vaporizing section configured to vaporize mist contained in the preparatory water vapor, so as to generate process water vapor from the preparatory water vapor. In the second vaporizing section, a thin film having a mesh structure is disposed across a passage for the preparatory water vapor and configured to trap mist between the first vaporizing section and the process chamber.

Semiconductor processing system and vaporizer

A vaporizing apparatus for generating a process gas from a liquid material includes a vaporizing container defining a vaporizing space of the vaporizing apparatus; an injector connected to the vaporizing container to spray the liquid material in an atomized state into the vaporizing space; and a heater attached to the vaporizing container to heat the liquid material sprayed in the vaporizing space. The vaporizing apparatus further includes a gas delivery passage connected to the vaporizing container to output from the vaporizing space a generation gas generated from the liquid material; a filter disposed inside the gas delivery passage or between the gas delivery passage and the vaporizing space to trap mist contained in the generation gas; and an infrared irradiation mechanism configured to irradiate the filter with infrared rays.

Vaporizing apparatus and semiconductor processing system

A vaporizer for generating a process gas from a gas-liquid mixture fluid includes a container defining a process space of the vaporizer. A supply head having a plurality of spray holes to spray the fluid is disposed within the container. A heating passage is disposed below the spray holes within the container. The heating passage is configured to heat the fluid passing therethrough and thereby generate the process gas. A gas delivery passage is connected to the container to laterally deliver the process gas from below the heating passage. A mist receiver is provided at the container below the gas delivery passage.

Vaporizer

A liquid raw material supply unit for a vaporizer is adapted to supply a liquid raw material to the vaporizer that vaporizes the liquid raw material. The unit comprises: a manifold internally formed with a flow passage; and a plurality of fluid control valves mounted on the manifold, wherein the plurality of fluid control valves includes: a liquid raw material control valve for controlling supply of the liquid raw material to the flow passage; a cleaning solution control valve for controlling supply of a cleaning solution to the flow passage; a purge gas control valve for controlling supply of a purge gas to the flow passage; and a first introducing control valve connectable to the vaporizer for controlling supply of a fluid from the flow passage to the vaporizer, the purge gas control valve, the cleaning solution control valve, the liquid raw material control valve, and the first introducing control valve being mounted on the manifold in this order from an upstream side of the manifold, wherein the flow passage is connected to valve ports of the plurality of control valves respectively, the valve ports communicating with valve openings of the respective control valves, and the flow passage is configured to allow the purge gas supplied from the purge gas control valve to directly flow in the valve ports of the cleaning solution control valve and the liquid raw material control valve placed downstream from the purge gas control valve.

Growing community of inventors

Nirasaki, Japan

Shigeyuki Okura