IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,531,218
Granted Patent B2
US 12,531,218 · App. 18/157,207 · Granted Jan 20, 2026

Wafer placement table

Inventors: Tatsuya Kuno (Nagoya, JP); Seiya Inoue (Handa, JP)
Assignee: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
H01J37/32724B32B3/266B32B7/12B32B18/00H01J2237/002
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,531,218
App. No.
18/157,207
Granted
Jan 20, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

In a wafer placement table, a cooling plate having a refrigerant flow channel is provided on a bottom surface side of a ceramic plate incorporating an electrode. A gas intermediate passage that is a horizontal space is provided parallel to a wafer placement surface at a location closer to the wafer placement surface than the refrigerant flow channel in the wafer placement table and has an overlapping part that overlaps the refrigerant flow channel along the refrigerant flow channel in plan view.

Claims (25)

1 . A wafer placement table in which a cooling plate having a refrigerant flow channel is provided on a bottom surface side of a ceramic plate having a wafer placement surface on a top surface of the ceramic plate and incorporating an electrode, the wafer placement table comprising

a horizontal space provided parallel to the wafer placement surface at a location closer to the wafer placement surface than the refrigerant flow channel in the wafer placement table and having an overlapping part that overlaps the refrigerant flow channel along the refrigerant flow channel in plan view,

the cooling plate is an electrically conductive plate or includes at least an electrically conductive plate in an upper layer,

the electrically conductive plate is bonded to a bottom surface of the ceramic plate via an electrically conductive bonding layer,

wherein the horizontal space comprises three or more annular shaped gas intermediate passages at a bonding interface of the electrically conductive bonding layer and the cooling plate,

the wafer placement table has a plurality of gas supply passages extending from the three or more annular shaped gas intermediate passages to the wafer placement surface for supplying back-side gas to the wafer placement surface,

wherein the overlapping part of the three or more annular shaped gas intermediate passages that overlap the refrigerant flow channel is greater than or equal to 75% of a total length of a center line of the three or more annular shaped gas intermediate passages when viewed in plan.

2 . The wafer placement table according to claim 1 , wherein

the refrigerant flow channel is provided so as to be routed in a one-stroke pattern from one end to the other end in accordance with multiple circles disposed such that a plurality of imaginary circles having different diameters does not overlap each other in plan view, and

the horizontal space is provided in an annular shape so as to overlap any one of the plurality of imaginary circles in plan view.

3 . The wafer placement table according to claim 2 , wherein

the horizontal space does not overlap an outermost peripheral imaginary circle of the plurality of imaginary circles.

4 . The wafer placement table according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a gas introduction passage provided so as to extend through the cooling plate in an up and down direction between parts of the refrigerant flow channel and communicate with the gas intermediate passage, the number of the gas introduction passages being smaller than the number of the gas supply passages communicating with the gas intermediate passage.

5 . The wafer placement table according to claim 4 , wherein

each of the gas supply passages has an electrical insulating porous plug, and a lower end of the porous plug is in contact with at least one of the electrically conductive bonding layer or the electrically conductive plate.

6 . The wafer placement table according to claim 5 , wherein

each of the gas supply passages has a bonding layer penetrating part extending through the electrically conductive bonding layer and a ceramic plate penetrating part extending through the ceramic plate,

a diameter of the bonding layer penetrating part is less than a diameter of the ceramic plate penetrating part, and

a lower end of the porous plug is in contact with an area around the bonding layer penetrating part in the electrically conductive bonding layer.

7 . The wafer placement table according to claim 6 , wherein

the bonding layer penetrating part is made up of a plurality of holes of which a hole diameter is less than a hole diameter of each ceramic plate penetrating part.

8 . The wafer placement table according to claim 1 , wherein

the three or more annular shaped gas intermediate passages and the plurality of gas supply passages include helium gas therein.

9 . The wafer placement table according to claim 4 , further comprising a gas auxiliary passage interconnecting the gas introduction passage with the gas intermediate passage, and wherein the gas auxiliary passage is parallel to the wafer placement surface and at the interface between the electrically conductive bonding layer and the cooling plate.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 20, 2023
From: KUNO, TATSUYA; INOUE, SEIYA
To: NGK INSULATORS, LTD.
Reel/Frame 062433/0690 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2022-058341 · Mar 31, 2022 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230317432A1 · Oct 5, 2023
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