Dynamic Temperature Control is...
…accomplished by sensing the temperature of
the process fluid returned from the process chamber
(wafer chuck) and varying the temperature of the process
fluid supplied to the chamber to compensate for changing
process conditions, in real-time.
This will result in through-the-lot uniformity and
chamber-to-chamber wafer processing uniformity.
- temperature control at the
point-of-use
- rapid ramp rates equal greater
chamber productivity
- compressor-free POU system
consumes ~50% less power
- entire system has one (1) moving
part for higher reliability
- use of perfluorinated fluids
requires no filtration or highly specialized
components
- zero footprint with sub-floor
mount
- modular system design results
in simplified troubleshooting and fast MTTR
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Static Heating & Cooling Units...
...maintain the temperature set-point in a very large
reservoir by cylcing heaters and cooling control valves
on & off, thus consuming about 50% more power
than the Noah POU System. The fluid is pumped to the
chamber from the static unit’s remote location,
typically in the sub-fab or 2nd level below the chamber.
This distance can be as much as 50-75 feet away from
the surface of the wafer. This results in large ambient
losses that will vary from chamber-to-chamber, depending
on the length of the process fluid hose, the type
of hose used, routing of the hose from the sub-fab
to the chamber and ambient conditions.
When static units are employed, the wafer chuck will
eventually reach a new equilibrium temperature since
the static unit is not designed to compensate for
changing process conditions.
- large footprint consumes valuable
fab tool space
- large reservoir & long
process fluid hose length requires ~6X more
fluid than a Noah POU system
- static heating/cooling units
typically in remote locations increase cost
& decrease efficiency
- compressors and large pumps
require frequent maintenance & consume
50% more power than Noah POU systems
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Dynamic Temperature Control results in process improvement
for our customers
The example below illustrates several key benefits
of Dynamic Temperature Control. The charts immediately
below illustrate the functionality of a Noah POU system
vs. a static heating/cooling system:
The data shown above is from an Asia Pacific wafer
foundry. The 300mm chamber temperature profile comparison
illustrates the performance of Noah’s Dynamic
POU system vs. a static unit on a high aspect ratio
Etch process. Perhaps the most compelling aspects
of this data set are the temperature uniformity and
rapid response times accomplished under very high
RF power conditions. (~3.8kW) Note the wafer-to-wafer
repeatability and constant baseline temperature performance
when using the Noah POU system. |
