Quick Removal of Adsorbed Water Molecules on inner Surface of Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment

Abstract

The chambers of Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) equipment are opened at regular intervals, in order to remove the by-products on the inner surface of the reactor chambers. After regular maintenance, it is difficult to remove water molecules adsorbed on the inner surface of chambers, so the through-put of wafers is difficult to improve. The purpose of this work is to present the method to remove adsorbed water molecules on the inner surface of chambers quickly. For this purpose, we use an in-situ and real-time moisture monitor based on near-infrared laser absorption spectroscopy and continuously measure the moisture concentration in MOCVD equipment exhaust gases at the experiment. It was clarified that the baking efficiency is improved by using the high thermal conductivity gases such as hydrogen (H₂) gas and that the purge time is shorten by introducing trimethylaluminum (TMA) to purge gas under room temperature condition.