Patent ID: 11967501
Assignee: KOKUSAI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC H  B  C | IPC B  C  H

Claim 0:
1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a process chamber configured to accommodate a substrate retainer, the process chamber comprising:
an exhaust part configured to discharge a fluid in the process chamber to an outside thereof; and
a supply part disposed at a position opposite to a position of a discharge part and configured to supply process gases capable of processing a plurality of substrates in the process chamber;
a gas supply area configured to communicate with the process chamber through the supply part;
a plurality of injectors extending in an axial direction and arranged in the gas supply area in a circumferential direction and comprising:
a first injector provided with, on a side surface thereof, a plurality of first ejection holes configured to eject an inert gas into the process chamber through the supply part;
a second injector provided with, on a side surface thereof, at least one opening configured to eject a source gas, which is one of the process gases and thermally decomposable, into the process chamber; and
a third injector provided with, on a side surface thereof, a plurality of third ejection holes configured to eject a reactant gas and the inert gas into the process chamber, wherein the third injector is provided such that the second injector is arranged between the first injector and the third injector, and wherein the reactant gas is able to modify a layer formed by supplying the source gas to the substrate;
a plurality of gas supply pipes through which the plurality of injectors communicate with a plurality of gas supply sources, respectively, wherein the plurality of gas supply sources comprise the source gas, the reactant gas and the inert gas, wherein at least one of the source gas or the reactant gas comprises an element constituting a film to be formed on the substrate; and
a controller capable of controlling a supply amount or a flow rate of the inert gas through the plurality of third ejection holes while controlling a supply amount or a flow rate of the source gas ejected through the at least one opening so that the first injector and the third injector simultaneously supply the inert gas so as to lower a concentration of the source gas and uniformize a thickness of a film to be formed on substrates in a middle region of the substrate retainer among the plurality of substrates,
wherein the at least one opening is arranged across the plurality substrates in the middle region of the substrate retainer,
wherein the first injector comprises an ascending pipe that comprises a first hole-free region where no ejection hole is provided, the first hole-free region vertically extending so as to include the middle region,
wherein at least a part of the plurality of first ejection holes are formed only in a lower region vertically extending from a bottom of the middle region to a lower end of the substrate retainer and/or an upper region vertically extending from a top of the middle region to an upper end of the substrate retainer, and
wherein the second injector comprises a second hole-free region where no opening is provided, the second hole-free region vertically extending across the lower region.