US 12,129,543 B2
Epitaxial growth apparatus and method of producing epitaxial wafer
Haku Komori, Tokyo (JP); and Kazuhiro Narahara, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to SUMCO CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 17/622,458
Filed by SUMCO CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed May 13, 2020, PCT No. PCT/JP2020/019162
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 23, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/261789, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 30, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-120088 (JP), filed on Jun. 27, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0251726 A1, Aug. 11, 2022
Int. Cl. C30B 25/08 (2006.01); C23C 16/24 (2006.01); C23C 16/44 (2006.01); C30B 25/10 (2006.01); C30B 29/06 (2006.01); H01L 21/02 (2006.01)
CPC C23C 16/4401 (2013.01) [C23C 16/24 (2013.01); C30B 25/08 (2013.01); C30B 25/10 (2013.01); C30B 29/06 (2013.01); H01L 21/02008 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An epitaxial growth apparatus used to vapor deposit an epitaxial layer on a surface of a semiconductor wafer, the epitaxial growth apparatus comprising:
a chamber;
an upper liner and a lower liner that have a ring shape and are disposed on an inner wall of the chamber;
a susceptor on which the semiconductor wafer is to be set, the susceptor being provided inside the chamber; and
a preheat ring that is disposed on a supporting portion protruding in an opening of the lower liner and is disposed on an outer circumference of the susceptor,
wherein the semiconductor wafer is loaded into the chamber through a wafer loading port provided on the chamber with the susceptor being lowered, and is set on the susceptor after being passed below the supporting portion of the lower liner and the preheat ring,
the preheat ring is not supported by the supporting portion in at least a part of a first region that is right above a second region where the semiconductor wafer passes in a transfer path in which the semiconductor wafer is loaded into the chamber to be set on the susceptor,
a gap is provided between the preheat ring and the supporting portion in the at least a part of the first region, and
the preheat ring has a portion at which the preheat ring is in contact with the supporting portion.