DETACHABLE THERMAL LEVELER
An apparatus is shown and described herein that is suitable for supporting a substrate in a process chamber or other application and providing a desired thermal leveling profile. The apparatus is configured to provide a thermal leveler that is detachable from the apparatus.
1 . An apparatus comprising a thermal leveler releasably associated with a cover plate.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermal leveler is releasably associated with the cover plate via a clamp, a bolt, a thread, a cam lock, a retaining groove, a retaining ring, a spring, a vacuum, electrostatic forces, electromagnetic forces, magnetic forces, an adhesive, a solder, or a paste.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a base plate, wherein the thermal leveler is disposed between the cover plate and the base plate.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the thermal leveler is detachably associated with the base plate.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein:
the base plate comprises a lower surface, one or more sidewalls extending around the perimeter of the base plate, and an opening defined between the one or more side walls, the thermal leveler disposed within the opening, and the one or more sidewalls having a threaded surface adjacent an upper end of the one or more sidewalls;
wherein the cover plate is sized to fit within the opening of the base plate and includes a threaded side surface to engage the threaded surface of the base plate.
6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein:
the base plate comprises an upper surface, a lower surface, and a threaded side surface, the upper surface supporting the thermal leveler;
the cover plate includes an upper surface, and one or more side walls extending downwardly from the upper surface of the cover plate and extending around the perimeter thereof, and an opening defined between the one or more side walls and sized to surround the thermal leveler and the base plate, wherein the one or more walls of the cover plate include a threaded surface to engage the threaded surface of the base plate.
7 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein
the cover plate includes one or more apertures;
the thermal leveler includes one more apertures aligned with the one or more apertures of the cover plate; and
the base plate includes one or more recesses aligned with the one or more apertures of the thermal leveler, wherein the cover plate, thermal leveler, and base plate are releasably connected to one another via fasteners disposed through the one or more apertures of the cover plate and the thermal leveler and the recesses of the base plate.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the fasteners is a pin that locks into one of the one or more recesses of the base plate.
9 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the one or more recesses in the base plate has a threaded surface, and at least one of the fasteners is a threaded fastener suitable for threaded engagement of the at least one or more recesses with the threaded surface.
10 . The apparatus of any of claim 1 , wherein an upper surface of the thermal leveler includes a recess, and a lower surface of the cover plate includes a projection aligned with and sized to mate with the recess in the upper surface of the thermal leveler.
11 . The apparatus of any of claim 1 , wherein the thermal leveler comprises thermal pyrolytic graphite.
12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the thermal leveler comprises a sheet of thermal pyrolytic graphite disposed between an upper sheet and a lower sheet.
13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the thermal leveler is encapsulated by a cover layer.
14 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the upper sheet, the lower sheet, or the cover layer are independently chosen from a metal or ceramic material.
15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the upper sheet, the lower sheet, or the cover layer are independently chosen from aluminum, copper, silver, gold, nickel, beryllium, tin, lead, steel, a steel alloy, copper-tungsten, copper-molybdenum, Invar, aluminum-beryllium, tin-lead; an oxide, nitride, carbide, carbonitride or oxynitride of elements selected from a group consisting of B, Al, Si, Ga, Y, refractory hard metals, transition metals.
16 . The apparatus of any of claim 1 , wherein the thermal leveler comprises plural sheets of thermal pyrolytic graphite.
17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the plural sheets of thermal pyrolytic graphite with graphene basal planes parallel or perpendicular to the substrate surface.
18 . The apparatus of any of claim 1 comprising a plurality of thermal levelers.
19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , where in the plural thermal levelers comprises thermal pyrolytic graphite with graphene basal planes parallel or perpendicular to the substrate surface.
20 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the base plate includes a heater and/or a cooler.
21 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus comprises an electrode disposed therein.
22 . A process for heating or cooling a substrate comprising heating or cooling a substrate disposed on the upper surface of the cover plate of claim 1 .
23 . The process of claim 22 comprising:
heating the substrate to an end point,
removing the substrate from the apparatus,
releasing the cover plate from the thermal leveler,
providing a fresh cover plate and releasably connecting it to the thermal leveler, and
providing a second substrate to the apparatus and heating the second substrate.