High throughput semiconductor deposition system

Abstract

A reactor for growing or depositing semiconductor films or devices. The reactor may be designed for inline production of III-V materials grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). The operating principles of the HVPE reactor can be used to provide a completely or partially inline reactor for many different materials. An exemplary design of the reactor is shown in the attached drawings. In some instances, all or many of the pieces of the reactor formed of quartz, such as welded quartz tubing, while other reactors are made from metal with appropriate corrosion resistant coatings such as quartz or other materials, e.g., corrosion resistant material, or stainless steel tubing or pipes may be used with a corrosion resistant material useful with HVPE-type reactants and gases. Using HVPE in the reactor allows use of lower-cost precursors at higher deposition rates such as in the range of 1 to 5 μm/minute.

1 . A reactor for deposition of multiple layers of a semiconductor device using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), the reactor comprising:
 a reaction tube with an interior space defining a travel path for a substrate;   a first reaction chamber defining a first HVPE deposition zone open to the interior space of the reaction tube; and   a second reaction chamber defining a second HVPE deposition zone open to the interior space of the reaction tube, wherein the first and second reaction chambers are physically spaced apart along the reaction tube a predefined distance.   
     
     
         2 . The reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the first HVPE deposition zone is selectively heated to a first temperature range and wherein the second HVPE deposition zone is selectively heated to a second temperature range. 
     
     
         3 . The reactor of  claim 1 , further including a separation mechanism operable to block flow of gases between the first and second HVPE deposition zones. 
     
     
         4 . The reactor of  claim 2 , wherein the separation mechanism comprises an assembly operable to provide a curtain of flowing inert gas in the interior space of the reaction tube between the first and second HVPE deposition zones of the first and second reaction chambers. 
     
     
         5 . The reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the reaction tube and the first and second reaction chambers are formed of material comprising quartz, alumina, or a metal with a corrosion-resistant lining. 
     
     
         6 . The reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the first reaction chamber further comprises:
 an inlet chamber including a first mixing zone that feeds multiple source reactants to the first HVPE deposition zone, wherein the reactor is configured to control a temperature zone of the first mixing zone independently from a temperature zone of the first HVPE deposition zone.   
     
     
         7 . The reactor of  claim 6 , wherein the inlet chamber further comprises a source boat assembly for containing the multiple source reactants, wherein the source boat is positioned within the first mixing zone. 
     
     
         8 . The reactor of  claim 7 , wherein the source boat assembly is configured to position the multiple source reactants within the first mixing zone at a distance from the first HVPE deposition zone that provides uniform mixing of the multiple source reactants prior to the first HVPE deposition zone. 
     
     
         9 . The reactor of  claim 1 , wherein the first reaction chamber further includes an inlet channel including a source boat for containing source material, a carrier gas inlet manifold for feeding carrier gas into the inlet channel, and an outlet into the reaction tube in the first HVPE deposition zone and wherein the second reaction chamber further includes an inlet channel including a source boat for containing source material, a carrier gas inlet manifold for feeding carrier gas into the inlet channel, and an outlet into the reaction tube in the second HVPE deposition zone. 
     
     
         10 . The reactor of  claim 9 , further including four heaters separately operable to heat four temperature zones within the reactor to four different temperature ranges and wherein one of the four heaters heats the first HVPE deposition zone, wherein one of the four heaters heats the inlet channel and the source boat of the first reaction chamber, wherein one of the four heaters heats the second HVPE deposition zone, and wherein one of the four heaters heats the inlet channel and the source boat of the second reaction chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The reactor of  claim 9 , wherein the carrier gas within the first and the second reaction chambers includes hydrogen chloride and forms volatile metal chlorides. 
     
     
         12 . The reactor of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the source boats comprises a body with first and second chambers for receiving source material for HVPE deposition of a semiconductor layer and wherein the carrier gas inlet manifold includes a first carrier gas inlet line connected to the first chamber and a second carrier gas inlet line connected to the second chamber, whereby carrier gas is fed separately into each of the first and second chambers for mixing with the received source materials. 
     
     
         13 . A method of performing HVPE deposition of layers of a semiconductor device, comprising:
 simultaneously providing deposition materials and carrier gas flows in at least two HVPE mixing zones, each of the HVPE mixing zones coupled to an associated deposition zone;   establishing separation between the deposition zones associated with the HVPE mixing zones;   concurrently heating the HVPE mixing zones and the deposition zones to temperatures in two or more temperature ranges;   allowing reactant gases from each of the HVPE mixing zones to flow into an associated one of the deposition zones;   placing a wafer into a first of the deposition zones to grow a layer of a semiconductor device; and   placing the wafer into at least a second of the deposition zones to grow a different layer of the semiconductor device.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further including pre-heating the wafer in a heating zone prior to the first placing step and wherein the first of the deposition zones and the heating zone are heated to one of the temperature ranges. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the establishing separation of the deposition zones comprises providing a curtain of inert gas between each adjacent pair of the deposition zones. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least two of the deposition zones are heated to a first one of the temperature ranges and a second one of the temperature ranges differing from the first one. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the placing of the wafer into the second of the deposition zones occurs within 1 second from the completion of the placing of the wafer in the first of the deposition zones to grow the layer of the semiconductor device. 
     
     
         18 . An inline HVPE deposition reactor, comprising:
 a plurality of spaced apart HVPE reaction chambers each comprising a mixing zone and a growth zone in fluidic communication with the mixing zone to receive reactant gases from the mixing zone;   a separation mechanism operating to limit gas flow between adjacent pairs of the HVPE reaction chambers; and   an inline assembly adapted for transferring a substrate sequentially through the growth zones of the HVPE reaction chambers to grow multiple layers of semiconductor materials on the substrate.   
     
     
         19 . The reactor of  claim 18 , wherein the separation mechanism comprises an inert gas manifold operable to provide a flow of inert gas between the adjacent pairs of the HVPE reaction chambers. 
     
     
         20 . The reactor of  claim 18 , further comprising a plurality of heaters independently operable to concurrently heat each of the mixing zones and each of the deposition zones to temperatures within one of a plurality of temperature ranges. 
     
     
         21 . The reactor of  claim 18 , wherein the HVPE reaction chambers comprise spaced apart inlet chambers each containing a source boat and a carrier gas inlet directing carrier gas over materials in the source boat and wherein the inlet chambers and the source boats are fabricated from quartz, alumina, or a metal with a corrosion-resistant lining. 
     
     
         22 . The reactor of  claim 18 , wherein the HVPE reaction chambers comprise a first chamber adapted for GaAs nucleation in the growth zone, a second chamber adapted for growth of a GaInP back surface field in the growth zone, a third chamber adapted for deposition of a GaAs base layer in the growth zone, a fourth chamber adapted for deposition of a GaAs emitter in the growth zone, a fifth chamber adapted for deposition of a GaInP window layer, and a sixth chamber adapted for deposition of a GaAs contact layer. 
     
     
         23 . A source boat for use in an inlet chamber of a reactor operable to deposit semiconductor materials or devices, the source boat comprising:
 a body defining a recessed surface for receiving a volume of source material;   at least one partition wall extending within the body across the recessed surface, wherein the partition wall defines first and second chambers for receiving the source material for deposition of a semiconductor layer; and   a cover extending over the recessed surface and sealing the body, wherein the cover includes a first carrier gas inlet adjacent the first chamber and second carrier gas inlet adjacent the second chamber allowing carrier gas to be directed over the source material received in the first and second chambers and wherein the cover further includes first and second gas outlets adapted for venting reactant gases from the first and second chambers, respectively.   
     
     
         24 . The source boat of  claim 23 , wherein the first and second chambers have first and second cross sectional areas defining surface areas of the received source material exposed to the carrier gas and wherein the first cross sectional area is greater than the second cross sectional area. 
     
     
         25 . The source boat of  claim 23 , wherein the body, the partition wall, and the cover are formed of material comprising quartz, alumina, or a metal with a corrosion-resistant lining.