Showerhead with air-gapped plenums and overhead isolation gas distributor

US10472716B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Lam Research Corporation · US

Inventors

• Nagraj Shankar · Tualatin, US
• Jeffrey Womack · Lake Oswego, US
• Meliha Gozde Rainville · Lake Oswego, US
• Emile C. Draper · Molalla, US
• Pankaj G. Ramnani · Tigard, US
• Feng Bi · Lo Wu, CN
• Pengyi Zhang · Tigard, US
• Elham Mohimi · Hillsboro, US
• Kapu Sirish Reddy · Portland, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 17, 2018
• Grant date: Nov 12, 2019
• Expiry date: May 17, 2038

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/0228
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

Showerheads for independently delivering different, mutually-reactive process gases to a wafer processing space are provided. The showerheads include a first gas distributor that has multiple plenum structures that are separated from one another by a gap, as well as a second gas distributor positioned above the first gas distributor. Isolation gas from the second gas distributor may be flowed down onto the first gas distributor and through the gaps in between the plenum structures of the first gas distributor, thereby establishing an isolation gas curtain that prevents the process gases released from each plenum structure from parasitically depositing on the plenum structures that provide other gases.