Continuous substrate processing system

US9748125B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Applied Materials, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Banqiu Wu · San Jose, US
• Nag B. Patibandla · Pleasanton, US
• Toshiaki Fujita · Hirakata, JP
• Ralf Hofmann · Heidenheim, DE
• Pravin K. Narwankar · Sunnyvale, US
• Jeonghoon Oh · San Jose, US
• Srinivas Satya · Sunnyvale, US
• Li-Qun Xia · Santa Clara, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 31, 2013
• Grant date: Aug 29, 2017
• Expiry date: Aug 27, 2035

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L21/677
• WIPO field: Surface technology, coating
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A processing chamber having a plurality of movable substrate carriers stacked therein for continuously processing a plurality of substrates is provided. The movable substrate carrier is capable of being transported from outside of the processing chamber, e.g., being transferred from a load luck chamber, into the processing chamber and out of the processing chamber, e.g., being transferred into another load luck chamber. Process gases delivered into the processing chamber are spatially separated into a plurality of processing slots, and/or temporally controlled. The processing chamber can be part of a multi-chamber substrate processing system.