Improvement in wafer temperature uniformity and flow pattern in a lamp heated rapid thermal processor

An experimental lamp heated, rapid thermal processor (RTP) for an 8-in sing le silicon wafer was designed and established to investigate the thermal an d flow characteristics in the processing chamber by transient temperature m easurement and flow visualization. Experiments were carried out to explore the effects of placing a highly conducting copper plate right below the waf er on the uniformity of the wafer temperature and effects of the showerhead on the resulting flow distribution in the processing chamber. The measured data indicated that adding the copper plate can effectively reduce the non uniformity of the wafer temperature. Besides, using a showerhead with finer holes in it results in a better flow distribution in the processor. (C) 20 00 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.