DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1 and 9-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Ahn teaches of:
A substrate processing method (abstract), comprising:
seating a substrate on a substrate support (Pg. 3, “a susceptor 28 on which a substrate on which an oxide film is to be deposited is mounted”);
during a first temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from a first temperature to a second temperature at a first fast temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, Fig. 2 shows temperature within the processing chamber on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis and therefore the slope of the graph represents the temperature ramping rate, see first temperature ramping step that raises the temperature from 540 degrees Celsius to 600 degrees Celsius over a first period of time);
during a second temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from the second temperature to a third temperature at a second fast temperature ramping rate, wherein the second fast temperature ramping rate is the same as or different from the first fast temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, second ramping step raises the temperature from the second temperature of 600 to a third temperature of 800 degrees Celsius); and
during a third temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from the third temperature to a fourth temperature at a slow temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, third ramping step raises the third temperature of 800 to 1300 degrees Celsius at a slower rate than the previous to ramping steps).
Ahn fails to explicitly teach:
measuring a center substrate temperature using a first pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at a center location of the substrate;
measuring an edge substrate temperature using a second pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an edge location of the substrate;
determining an edge offset temperature between the edge substrate temperature and the center substrate temperature;
and wherein during the second temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a first predetermined range
heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a second predetermined range, wherein the second predetermined range is the same as or different from the first predetermined range
Aderhold teaches of:
measuring a center substrate temperature using a first pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at a center location of the substrate (Fig. 1, see pyrometer 40 connected to light pipe 42 positioned closest to the center 34; ¶ [0036], “If multiple measurements are preferred, one measurement may be taken at the center of the substrate”);
measuring an edge substrate temperature using a second pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an edge location of the substrate (see pyrometer 40 connected to light pipe 42 furthest from the center 34)
determining an edge offset temperature between the edge substrate temperature and the center substrate temperature (the process of Aderhold describes taking any single pyrometer of the plurality of pyrometers positioned along the radius of the substrate as a reference pyrometer and then comparing its temperature reading to the temperature reading of an additional single pyrometer positioned along the radius to determine an offset temperature between the two, therefore the system of Aderhold teaches of determining an edge offset temperature as it teaches of all possible offset temperatures and has pyrometers at the center, edge and an intermediate position of the substrate; ¶ [0040], “The power supplied to the various heating zones of radiant heat energy is controlled based on the temperature gradient between a reference region (e.g., center) and any given point(s) within the substrate. For example, if a single temperature measurement is taken at the center of the substrate, the topography differences between the center of the substrate and any given point(s) within the substrate are used as offsets to adjust the power level of the heating lamps responsible for the temperature gradient so that any shape deviations away from the desired profile at the center are corrected”);
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add a plurality of heat lamps and at least three pyrometers, one positioned at a center position, an intermediate position and an edge position, to the system of Ahn in a similar arrangement to what is shown in Fig. 1 of Aderhold, further collect the data from the pyrometers and compare the temperature data of the three pyrometers between one another by selecting one as a reference temperature and another as a comparative temperature to create temperature offsets to form a temperature gradient, particular creating a center-to-edge offset temperature, a center-to-intermediate offset temperature and an intermediate-to-edge offset temperature, maintain these offsets within a range of tolerance and finally utilizing closed-loop control, manage the temperature gradient of the substrate by regulating the power to the heat lamps based on the offsets
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
minimizing the temperature differentials across the substrate would reduce the occurrence of slip during the various RTP of Ahn (Aderhold, ¶ [0005], “RTP usually requires a substantially uniform temperature profile across the substrate. Temperature uniformity in the substrate is necessary to prevent thermal stress-induced substrate damage such as warpage, defect generation and slip.”)
Porter teaches of:
and wherein during the second temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a first predetermined range
wherein during the third temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a second predetermined range, wherein the second predetermined range is the same as or different from the first predetermined range (Fig. 5 shows a substrate temperature over time graph while undergoing ramping steps for rapid thermal processing, Fig. 5 also shows the edge-center temperature difference or RDT (AKA an edge offset temperature) of the substrate during the ramping process, Porter teaches of the general concept that as the substrate gets hotter the temperature variation between two points on the substrate must be reduced in order to not exceed the stress curve of the substrate and result in damage, therefore Port teaches that during various ramping steps the edge offset temperature is to be maintained under a maximum range between zero and the upper limit of the thermal stress curve, thus creating a variable range for the edge offset temperature during each ramping step that decreases as the ramping step substrate temperature increase; ¶ [0007], “At lower temperatures, a larger RDT can be tolerated without causing excess thermal stress because silicon atom-to-atom bonds are stronger and can withstand more thermal stress at lower temperatures”, ¶ [0023], “According to one embodiment of the present invention, RDT is maintained below the excess thermal stress curve by controlling the temperature ramp rate. This curve of maximum allowable thermal stress is a function of temperature. The present invention provides that the maximum temperature ramp rate varies with temperature to maintain the excess thermal stress curve below the maximum allowable value for the current temperature of the body being heated”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
maintain the center-to-edge offset temperature, a center-to-intermediate offset temperature and an intermediate-to-edge offset temperature within a range of 0 to the maximum allowable difference that remains below the thermal stress curve of the substrate resulting in the ranges narrowing with each subsequent ramping step of Ahn
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the system to maintain the three detected offset temperature at a wider range during lower temperatures, reducing the pressure on the system to maintain unnecessary precision for the temperature uniformity of the substrate, improving efficiency of the system
Regarding claim 9, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein during the first temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within an initial temperature differential range, wherein the initial temperature differential range is wider than the first predetermined range used in the second temperature ramping step (see combination made in the claim 1 with Porter, Ahn as modified maintains the edge offset temperature within a wider range during the first ramping step than the second ramping step because the temperature it lower allowing for more variation in the substrate before exceeding the thermal stress curve limit).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (Ahn as modified, there is a third pyrometer positioned between the center and edge pyrometers in the combined teachings presented in claim 1 above), wherein during the second temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the center substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined temperature range between the center and intermediate temperatures during each of the ramping steps in the combined teachings presented in claim 1)
Regarding claim 11, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 10, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein during the third temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a second predetermined temperature range from the center substrate temperature (in the combination made in claim 1, at each ramping step the temperature range between any the center and intermediate temperature is maintained to be below the thermal stress curve at the given temperature)
Regarding claim 12, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (Ahn as modified, there is a third pyrometer positioned between the center and edge pyrometers in the combined teachings presented in claim 1 above), wherein during the third temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the center substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined temperature range between the center and intermediate temperatures during each of the ramping steps in the combined teachings presented in claim 1).
Regarding claim 13, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (Ahn as modified, there is a third pyrometer positioned between the center and edge pyrometers in the combined teachings presented in claim 1 above), wherein during the second temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the edge substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined temperature range between the intermediate and edge temperatures during each of the ramping steps in the combined teachings presented in claim 1).
Regarding claim 14, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 13, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein during the third temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a second predetermined temperature range from the edge substrate temperature (in the combination made in claim 1, at each ramping step the temperature range between the intermediate and edge temperatures is maintained)
Regarding claim 15, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (Ahn as modified, there is a third pyrometer positioned between the center and edge pyrometers in the combined teachings presented in claim 1 above), wherein during the third temperature ramping step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the edge substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined temperature range between the intermediate and edge temperatures during each of the ramping steps in the combined teachings presented in claim 1).
Claim(s) 2-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and in further view of Park (US 20180334471 A1)
Regarding claim 2, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein after the third temperature ramping step, the method further comprises:
depositing a material layer onto the substrate (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the third ramping step and before the cooling step the temperature is maintained and an oxide film is formed on the substrate; Pg. 4, “When the substrate is heated by the ramp-up process, an oxide film forming process is performed”) using the material layer precursor,
wherein during the flowing and depositing, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a third predetermined range, and wherein the third predetermined range is the same as or different from the second predetermined range (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined edge offset temperature during each of its RTP which would include during the flowing and depositing step following the third ramping step).
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
flowing a material layer precursor across the substrate
depositing a material layer onto the substrate using the material layer precursor
Park teaches of:
flowing a material layer precursor across the substrate
depositing a material layer onto the substrate using the material layer precursor (the system of Park teaches of utilizing a precursors to improve the deposition of oxide films on a substrate; Abstract)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
during the flowing and depositing step, flow a material precursor over the substrate prior to the oxide film deposition, then deposit the oxide film using the precursor
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
utilizing precursors improve certain desired characteristics of the oxide film depending on the particular precursor used
Regarding claim 3, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (In Ahn as modified there is a third pyrometer measuring an intermediate location between the center and edge), wherein during the depositing step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the center substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains the temperature difference between the intermediate and center temperatures within a predetermined range during all steps of the RTP, including the depositing step)
Regarding claim 4, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
measuring an intermediate substrate temperature using a third pyrometer configured to optically measure temperature of the substrate at an intermediate location on the substrate between the center location and the edge location (In Ahn as modified there is a third pyrometer measuring an intermediate location between the center and edge), wherein during the depositing step, heating of the substrate is controlled to place and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the edge substrate temperature (Ahn as modified maintains the temperature difference between the intermediate and edge temperatures within a predetermined range during all steps of the RTP, including the depositing step)
Claim(s) 7-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and in further view of Najm (US 5305417 A) and Favre (FR 3041472 A1)
Regarding claim 7, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 1, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
cooling the substrate to a first cooled temperature (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the deposition step the temperature is cooled to 740 degrees Celsius), wherein during the cooling, heating of the substrate is controlled: (i) to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a controlled temperature differential range (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, the ramp down step to 740 would include controlling the temperature of the substrate based on the inputs received from the three pyrometers, as stated in claim 1, the combined teachings would maintain the temperature uniformity through all steps of the RTP, including cooling)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate.
Najm teaches of:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate (Fig. 5, see the controlled ramp leading to point B which has a shallower slope than the uncontrolled ramp after point b)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the ramp down of Ahn as modified to be slower than natural cooling and then implement natural cooling when the ramp down has reached a predetermined threshold
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
maintaining a ramp down period slower than natural cooling ensures that the temperature of the substrate does not change too fast resulting in thermal shock and the creation of defects and stopping the ramp down period after a predetermined temperature to allow natural cooling would make the process more efficient as the heating elements could be turned off (Favre, ¶ [0041], “Natural cooling may be preferred for economic reasons”)
Regarding claim 8, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 7, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
after the substrate reaches the first cooled temperature, further cooling the substrate using a free fall cooling technique (see rejection of claim 7, Ahn as modified transitions to natural cooling or “free fall cooling technique” after the ramp down has reached a first predetermined temperature)
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1), Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and Park (US 20180334471 A1) and in further view of Najm (US 5305417 A) and Favre (FR 3041472 A1)
Regarding claim 5, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 2, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
cooling the substrate to a first cooled temperature (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the deposition step the temperature is cooled to 740 degrees Celsius), wherein during the cooling, heating of the substrate is controlled: (i) to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a controlled temperature differential range (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, the ramp down step to 740 would include controlling the temperature of the substrate based on the inputs received from the three pyrometers, as stated in claim 1, the combined teachings would maintain the temperature uniformity through all steps of the RTP, including cooling)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate.
Najm teaches of:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate (Fig. 5, see the controlled ramp leading to point B which has a shallower slope than the uncontrolled ramp after point b)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the ramp down of Ahn as modified to be slower than natural cooling and then implement natural cooling when the ramp down has reached a predetermined threshold
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
maintaining a ramp down period slower than natural cooling ensures that the temperature of the substrate does not change too fast resulting in thermal shock and the creation of defects and stopping the ramp down period after a predetermined temperature to allow natural cooling would make the process more efficient as the heating elements could be turned off (Favre, ¶ [0041], “Natural cooling may be preferred for economic reasons”)
Regarding claim 6, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 5, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
after the substrate reaches the first cooled temperature, further cooling the substrate using a free fall cooling technique (see rejection of claim 5, Ahn as modified transitions to natural cooling or “free fall cooling technique” after the ramp down has reached a first predetermined temperature)
Claim(s) 16 and 24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Gronet (US 5155336 A), Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1).
Regarding claim 16, Ahn teaches of:
A substrate processing method (abstract), comprising:
seating a substrate on a substrate support located in a chamber arrangement (Fig. 1, substrate is seated on susceptor 28 within chamber 26; Pg. 3, “a susceptor 28 on which a substrate on which an oxide film is to be deposited is mounted”)
during a first temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from a first temperature to a second temperature at a first fast temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, Fig. 2 shows temperature within the processing chamber on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis and therefore the slope of the graph represents the temperature ramping rate, see first temperature ramping step that raises the temperature from 540 degrees Celsius to 600 degrees Celsius over a first period of time);
during a second temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from the second temperature to a third temperature at a second fast temperature ramping rate, wherein the second fast temperature ramping rate is the same as or different from the first fast temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, second ramping step raises the temperature from the second temperature of 600 to a third temperature of 800 degrees Celsius), and
during a third temperature ramping step, increasing substrate temperature from the third temperature to a fourth temperature at a slow temperature ramping rate (Fig. 2, third ramping step raises the third temperature of 800 to 1300 degrees Celsius at a slower rate than the previous to ramping steps),
Ahn fails to explicitly teach:
wherein the chamber arrangement includes: (i) a chamber body having an upper wall and a lower wall, (ii) the substrate support arranged within an interior of the chamber body and supported for rotation about a rotation axis, (iii) an upper heater element array supported above the upper wall of the chamber body, wherein heater elements of the upper heater element array include a first heating zone and a second heating zone, (iv) a first pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array, optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure a center substrate temperature, (v) a second pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array, optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure an edge substrate temperature, and (vi) a control system to control power applied to the heater elements of the upper heater element array;
measuring the center substrate temperature of the substrate using the first pyrometer;
measuring the edge substrate temperature of the substrate using the second pyrometer;
determining an edge offset temperature between the edge substrate temperature and the center substrate temperature;
and wherein during the second temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a first predetermined range;
wherein during the third temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a second predetermined range, and wherein the second predetermined range is the same as or different from the first predetermined range.
Gronet teaches of:
wherein the chamber arrangement includes: (i) a chamber body (Fig. 3, 13 is the chamber defined by walls) having an upper wall (18) and a lower wall (see lower wall of the chamber through which the vacuum pump outlet passes through), (ii) the substrate support arranged within an interior of the chamber body (62+63 is positioned within 13) and supported for rotation about a rotation axis (Col. 7, lines, 27-28, “The support 63 is rotatably supported from the walls of the chambers 14 by a bearing assembly 64”), (iii) an upper heater element array supported above the upper wall of the chamber body (Figs. 3 and 5, 18 is supported above 17), wherein heater elements of the upper heater element array include a first heating zone and a second heating zone (there are a plurality of heating elements 19 within the array 18, each element 19 has its own heating zone), (iv) a first pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array (Fig. 5, 66 is a pyrometer, there is a pyrometer positioned between each of the individual elements 19 of the array and 66 is clearly shown to be positioned above 19 in Fig. 5 and therefore there would be a first pyrometer positioned to read the temperature of center position of the substrate; Col. 6, lines 35-40, “In accordance with another feature of the present invention the spaces between the, light pipes is provided with small hollow pipes 58 (FIG. 5) to provide a path for light emitted by the wafer to reach an optical pyrometer detector”), optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure a center substrate temperature (see above, there are a plurality of pyrometers along the diameter of the substrate as they are positioned between each of the heating elements 19, the pyrometers are optically coupled to 13 and there would be a pyrometer positioned to measure a center substrate temperature), (v) a second pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array, optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure an edge substrate temperature (see above, there are a plurality of pyrometers, the pyrometer positioned furthers from the center of the substrate would optically measure an edge substrate temperature), and (vi) a control system to control power applied to the heater elements of the upper heater element array (Fig. 10, 74 controls power to each of the heating elements);
measuring the center substrate temperature of the substrate using the first pyrometer (see above first pyrometer as cited);
measuring the edge substrate temperature of the substrate using the second pyrometer (see above second pyrometer as cited);
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
replace the susceptor of Ahn with a rotatable platform, modify the chamber of Ahn so that there is an upper heating element array and a plurality of pyrometers positioned above the top wall of the chamber, particularly so that there is at least a center and edge pyrometer for measuring center and edge temperatures of the substrate, add a control system of Ahn to control the individual heating elements of the heating element array
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
providing multiple pyrometers and including a controllable heating element array would improve temperature uniformity control during RTP
Aderhold teaches of:
determining an edge offset temperature between the edge substrate temperature and the center substrate temperature (the process of Aderhold describes taking any single pyrometer of the plurality of pyrometers positioned along the radius of the substrate as a reference pyrometer and then comparing its temperature reading to the temperature reading of an additional single pyrometer positioned along the radius to determine a temperature differential between the two, therefore the system of Aderhold teaches of determine an edge offset temperature as it teaches of all possible offset temperatures and has pyrometers at the center and edge of the substrate; ¶ [0040], “The power supplied to the various heating zones of radiant heat energy is controlled based on the temperature gradient between a reference region (e.g., center) and any given point(s) within the substrate. For example, if a single temperature measurement is taken at the center of the substrate, the topography differences between the center of the substrate and any given point(s) within the substrate are used as offsets to adjust the power level of the heating lamps responsible for the temperature gradient so that any shape deviations away from the desired profile at the center are corrected”);
and wherein during the second temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone;
wherein during the third temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone (see combination made below for the particular integration of Aderhold into Ahn, Figs. 2-3 show an exemplary rapid thermal process with multiple ramping steps, Aderhold further states that thermal uniformity needs to be maintained during rapid thermal processes (see at least ¶ [0005]), therefore Aderhold teaches of maintaining an edge offset temperature during each of the ramping steps and further Aderhold teaches of controlling power to the heater elements of a plurality of zones during rapid thermal processes to maintain temperature uniformity; ¶ [0035], “A real-time adaptive control algorithm stored in a temperature controller, for example the first controller 44 as shown in FIG. 2, calculates the temperature sensed by the pyrometers and provides power set point to a multi zone lamp driver which in turn causes lamps to provide more or less heat (radiation) to substrate so that the temperature of the substrate in the region of interest can be increased, decreased, or maintained at or to a desired temperature set point provided by a specific process recipe”).
The primary reference can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
add an additional intermediate pyrometer positioned between the edge and center pyrometer to Ahn as modified, further collect the data from the pyrometers and compare the temperature data of the three pyrometers between one another by selecting one as a reference temperature and another as a comparative temperature to create temperature differentials, particular creating a center-to-edge offset temperature, a center-to-intermediate offset temperature and an intermediate-to-edge offset temperature, finally utilizing closed-loop control, manage the temperature gradient of the substrate by maintaining the three offset temperatures within a predetermined range by regulating the power to the heat lamps
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would further improve temperature uniformity by increasing the accuracy of the control of the heating elements by providing an improving the accuracy of the temperature measurements (Aderhold ¶ [0007], “Thus, additional techniques are required for obtaining accurate substrate temperature measurements to provide uniform processing conditions across the substrate surface”) therefore minimizing the temperature differentials across the substrate reducing the occurrence of slip during the various RTP of Ahn (Aderhold, ¶ [0005], “RTP usually requires a substantially uniform temperature profile across the substrate. Temperature uniformity in the substrate is necessary to prevent thermal stress-induced substrate damage such as warpage, defect generation and slip.”)
Porter teaches of:
to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a first predetermined range; and
to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a second predetermined range, and wherein the second predetermined range is the same as or different from the first predetermined range (Fig. 5 shows a substrate temperature over time graph while undergoing ramping steps for rapid thermal processing, Fig. 5 also shows the edge-center temperature difference or RDT (AKA an edge offset temperature) of the substrate during the ramping process, Porter teaches of the general concept that as the substrate gets hotter the temperature variation between two points on the substrate must be reduced in order to not exceed the stress curve of the substrate and result in damage, therefore Port teaches that during various ramping steps the edge offset temperature is to be maintained under a maximum range between zero and the upper limit of the thermal stress curve, thus creating a variable range for the edge offset temperature during each ramping step that decreases as the ramping step substrate temperature increase; ¶ [0007], “At lower temperatures, a larger RDT can be tolerated without causing excess thermal stress because silicon atom-to-atom bonds are stronger and can withstand more thermal stress at lower temperatures”, ¶ [0023], “According to one embodiment of the present invention, RDT is maintained below the excess thermal stress curve by controlling the temperature ramp rate. This curve of maximum allowable thermal stress is a function of temperature. The present invention provides that the maximum temperature ramp rate varies with temperature to maintain the excess thermal stress curve below the maximum allowable value for the current temperature of the body being heated”)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
maintain the center-to-edge offset temperature, a center-to-intermediate offset temperature and an intermediate-to-edge offset temperature within a range of 0 to the maximum allowable difference that remains below the thermal stress curve of the substrate resulting in the ranges narrowing with each subsequent ramping step of Ahn
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
it would allow for the system to maintain the three detected offset temperature at a wider range during lower temperatures, reducing the pressure on the system to maintain unnecessary precision for the temperature uniformity of the substrate, improving efficiency of the system
Regarding claim 24, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 16, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein during the first temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and/or one or more heater elements in the second heating zone to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within an initial temperature differential range, wherein the initial temperature differential range is wider than the first predetermined range used in the second temperature ramping step (see combination made in the claim 16 with Porter, Ahn as modified maintains the edge offset temperature by controlling the heating elements so that the edge offset temperature is held within a wider range during the first ramping step than the second ramping step because the temperature it lower allowing for more variation in the substrate before exceeding the thermal stress curve limit)
Claim(s) 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Gronet (US 5155336 A), Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and in further view Park (US 20180334471 A1)
Regarding claim 17, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 16, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein after the third temperature ramping step, the method further comprises:
depositing a material layer onto the substrate (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the third ramping step and before the cooling step the temperature is maintained and an oxide film is formed on the substrate; Pg. 4, “When the substrate is heated by the ramp-up process, an oxide film forming process is performed”) using the material layer precursor,
wherein during the flowing and depositing, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a third predetermined range, and wherein the third predetermined range is the same as or different from the second predetermined range (Ahn as modified maintains a predetermined edge offset temperature during each of its RTP utilizing the heating element array which would include during the flowing and depositing step following the third ramping step, further Ahn as modified maintains a variable range for the edge offset temperature as temperature changes).
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
flowing a material layer precursor across the substrate
depositing a material layer onto the substrate using the material layer precursor
Park teaches of:
flowing a material layer precursor across the substrate
depositing a material layer onto the substrate using the material layer precursor (the system of Park teaches of utilizing a precursors to improve the deposition of oxide films on a substrate; Abstract)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
during the flowing and depositing step, flow a material precursor over the substrate prior to the oxide film deposition, then deposit the oxide film using the precursor
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
utilizing precursors improve certain desired characteristics of the oxide film depending on the particular precursor used
Regarding claim 18, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 17, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the chamber arrangement further includes a third pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array, optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure an intermediate substrate temperature (see combination made in claim 16 with Gronet and Aderhold, there are three pyrometers positioned above the heating element array that optically measure the substrate within the chamber body), wherein heater elements of the upper heater element array further include a third heating zone located between the first heating zone and the second heating zone (see combination made in claim 16, there are a greater than three heating elements in the array, each one representing its own heating zone that is controlled to maintain temperature uniformity based on the process of the combined teachings), and wherein the method further includes:
measuring the intermediate substrate temperature using the third pyrometer, wherein during the second temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the third heating zone and/or one or more heater elements in the first heating zone to place (In Ahn as modified the third pyrometer measures the intermediate substrate temperature, during each of the ramping steps the temperature is measured at each of the points by each of the pyrometers, the heating elements of each zone are modulated to control the temperature of the substrate) and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the center substrate temperature (see combination with Porter in claim 16 above, the ranges each of the offset temperatures is maintained at are variable based on the temperature of the ramping step).
Regarding claim 19, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method of claim 17, and the combined teachings further teach:
wherein the chamber arrangement further includes a third pyrometer supported above the upper heater element array, optically coupled to the interior of the chamber body, and configured to optically measure an intermediate substrate temperature (see combination made in claim 16 with Gronet and Aderhold, there are three pyrometers positioned above the heating element array that optically measure the substrate within the chamber body), wherein heater elements of the upper heater element array further include a third heating zone located between the first heating zone and the second heating zone (see combination made in claim 16, there are a greater than three heating elements in the array, each one representing its own heating zone that is controlled to maintain temperature uniformity based on the process of the combined teachings), and wherein the method further includes:
measuring the intermediate substrate temperature using the third pyrometer, wherein during the second temperature ramping step, the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the third heating zone and/or one or more heater elements in the second heating zone to place (In Ahn as modified the third pyrometer measures the intermediate substrate temperature, during each of the ramping steps the temperature is measured at each of the points by each of the pyrometers, the heating elements of each zone are modulated to control the temperature of the substrate) and/or hold the intermediate substrate temperature within a first predetermined temperature range from the edge substrate temperature (see combination with Porter in claim 16 above, the ranges each of the offset temperatures is maintained at are variable based on the temperature of the ramping step).
Claim(s) 22-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Gronet (US 5155336 A), Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1) and Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and in further view of Najm (US 5305417 A) and Favre (FR 3041472 A1)
Regarding claim 22, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 16, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
cooling the substrate to a first cooled temperature (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the deposition step the temperature is cooled to 740 degrees Celsius), wherein the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone (each of the heating zones are controlled during all of the RTP steps): (i) to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a controlled temperature differential range (Ahn as modified controls each of the ranges variable during each of the RTP steps)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
(ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate.
Najm teaches of:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate (Fig. 5, see the controlled ramp leading to point B which has a shallower slope than the uncontrolled ramp after point b)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the ramp down of Ahn as modified to be slower than natural cooling and then implement natural cooling when the ramp down has reached a predetermined threshold
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
maintaining a ramp down period slower than natural cooling ensures that the temperature of the substrate does not change too fast resulting in thermal shock and the creation of defects and stopping the ramp down period after a predetermined temperature to allow natural cooling would make the process more efficient as the heating elements could be turned off (Favre, ¶ [0041], “Natural cooling may be preferred for economic reasons”)
Regarding claim 23, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 22, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
after the substrate reaches the first cooled temperature, further cooling the substrate using a free fall cooling technique (see rejection of claim 22, Ahn as modified transitions to natural cooling or “free fall cooling technique” after the ramp down has reached a first predetermined temperature)
Claim(s) 20-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn (KR 20020072034 A) in view of Gronet (US 5155336 A), Aderhold (US 20150170934 A1), Porter (US 20030168442 A1) and Park (US 20180334471 A1) and in further view of Najm (US 5305417 A) and Favre (FR 3041472 A1)
Regarding claim 20, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 17, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
cooling the substrate to a first cooled temperature (Ahn as modified, Fig. 2, after the deposition step the temperature is cooled to 740 degrees Celsius), wherein the control system controls power applied to one or more heater elements in the first heating zone and one or more heater elements in the second heating zone (each of the heating zones are controlled during all of the RTP steps): (i) to place and/or hold the edge offset temperature within a controlled temperature differential range (Ahn as modified controls each of the ranges variable during each of the RTP steps)
The combined teachings fail to explicitly teach:
(ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate.
Najm teaches of:
and (ii) to cool the substrate at a cooling rate that is slower than a free fall cooling rate (Fig. 5, see the controlled ramp leading to point B which has a shallower slope than the uncontrolled ramp after point b)
The combined teachings can be modified to meet this/these limitation(s) as follows:
modify the ramp down of Ahn as modified to be slower than natural cooling and then implement natural cooling when the ramp down has reached a predetermined threshold
A person of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to make the above modification(s) because:
maintaining a ramp down period slower than natural cooling ensures that the temperature of the substrate does not change too fast resulting in thermal shock and the creation of defects and stopping the ramp down period after a predetermined temperature to allow natural cooling would make the process more efficient as the heating elements could be turned off (Favre, ¶ [0041], “Natural cooling may be preferred for economic reasons”)
Regarding claim 21, the combined teachings teach of the substrate processing method according to claim 20, and the combined teachings further teach:
further comprising:
after the substrate reaches the first cooled temperature, further cooling the substrate using a free fall cooling technique (see rejection of claim 20, Ahn as modified transitions to natural cooling or “free fall cooling technique” after the ramp down has reached a first predetermined temperature)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Luckner (US 12080573 B2) teaches of a temperature offset control process for RTP of substrates
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/MICHAEL JAMES GIORDANO/Examiner, Art Unit 3762
/HELENA KOSANOVIC/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3762
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