Wafer susceptor

Details Wafer susceptor Wafer susceptor

2002-11-18

2004-01-27

Paschall, Mark (Department: 3742)

Electric heating

Metal heating

By arc

C219S121520, C219S121430, C118S725000, C156S345420

Reexamination Certificate

active

06683274

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wafer susceptor, and more particularly, to a wafer susceptor capable of functioning as the RF electrode and the heater.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is widely used as one of processes for manufacturing a semiconductor device. Unlike a typical chemical vapor deposition (CVD), since the PECVD proceeds to a process in a state that a process gas is activated using a plasma, it has several advantages, for example, that the process can be performed at a lower temperature than the conventional CVD.
FIG. 1
is a schematic view of a typical PECVD apparatus. Referring to
FIG. 1
, a susceptor
70
on which a wafer
25
is disposed is mounted within a reaction chamber
10
and an upper RF electrode
30
is mounted on an upper portion of the reaction chamber
10
.
Typically, because the PECVD apparatus does not have a dual RF source, a lower electrode (i.e., the susceptor
70
) is grounded. In addition, the upper electrode is a plate-shaped electrode or a dome-shaped electrode and an RF power is applied to the upper electrode. In some cases, in order to improve a characteristic of film quality, the RF power may be applied to the lower electrode (i.e., the susceptor).
If the RF power is applied to the upper RF electrode
30
, a plasma is generated within the reaction chamber
10
. If the plasma is generated, positive ions existing within the plasma are attracted toward the wafer
25
due to a self-bias, so that a thin film is deposited on the wafer
25
. Typically, the susceptor is grounded. In some cases, however, in order to maximize this effect, the lower RF electrode
22
is mounted within the susceptor
70
and the RF power is also applied to the lower RF electrode
22
. Further, a stress level of the thin film deposited on the wafer
25
can be controlled by applying the RF power to the lower RF electrode
22
. Furthermore, it is possible to protect patterns formed on the wafer from being damaged due to the plasma. This is because the RF power removes charges which are accumulated between the patterns.
Meanwhile, in order to deposit a high-density film on the wafer
25
, it is necessary to heat the wafer at 500° C. or higher. Typically, a heater (not shown) is mounted within the susceptor
70
for the purpose of the heating process.
If the RF power is applied to the lower RF electrode, however, the heater is affected by an RF noise so that a reliable thin film is not formed. This is because an efficiency of the plasma may be degraded and a system for controlling a temperature of the heater may be also affected.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer susceptor functioning as the RF electrode and the heater, thereby capable of minimizing an influence of RF noise on the heater.
To achieve the aforementioned object of the present invention, there is provided a wafer susceptor comprising: a ceramic body; an RF electrode mounted within the ceramic body; a heater mounted within the ceramic body and spaced apart from the RF electrode by a predetermined distance to be disposed below the RF electrode; and an RF shield of a metal material, the RF shield being electrically grounded and mounted within the ceramic body, the RF shield being disposed between the RF electrode and the heater without being in contact with either the heater or the RF electrode.
At this time, the RF shield can be formed using a metal plate, a net or a thin film coated on the ceramic body.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5187347 (1993-02-01), Leef
patent: 5478429 (1995-12-01), Komino et al.
patent: 5581874 (1996-12-01), Aoki et al.
patent: 5817406 (1998-10-01), Cheung et al.
patent: 6082297 (2000-07-01), Pollock et al.
patent: 6308654 (2001-10-01), Schneider et al.

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