Development of Cat-CVD apparatus - a method to control wafer temperatures under thermal influence of heated catalyzer

In the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) method, a heated metal wire is often used as the catalyzer to crack the process gas molecules. Th erefore, the temperature of the wafer near the catalyzer is influenced by h eat from the catalyzer. Thus, a special technique is needed to control the wafer temperature. We examined this matter from the viewpoint of the appara tus. The electrostatic chuck (ESC) is employed in the wafer holder for the Cat-CVD apparatus for the first time. The effects of ESC on the temperature control of Si and GaAs wafers are studied in detail for various process co nditions. A drastic improvement is obtained in the control of the wafer tem perature using ESC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.