CN107275249B - Vacuum chamber device and method for processing silicon wafer - Google Patents
Vacuum chamber device and method for processing silicon wafer Download PDFInfo
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- CN107275249B CN107275249B CN201610215070.8A CN201610215070A CN107275249B CN 107275249 B CN107275249 B CN 107275249B CN 201610215070 A CN201610215070 A CN 201610215070A CN 107275249 B CN107275249 B CN 107275249B
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- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 title claims abstract description 214
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 title claims abstract description 214
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 214
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 31
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 title claims description 11
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 claims abstract description 265
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 claims description 12
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 230000005484 gravity Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000012546 transfer Methods 0.000 description 6
- NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N novaluron Chemical compound C1=C(Cl)C(OC(F)(F)C(OC(F)(F)F)F)=CC=C1NC(=O)NC(=O)C1=C(F)C=CC=C1F NJPPVKZQTLUDBO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000007689 inspection Methods 0.000 description 2
- 240000006829 Ficus sundaica Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000005856 abnormality Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000014509 gene expression Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000284 resting effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
- H01L21/67155—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations
- H01L21/67196—Apparatus for manufacturing or treating in a plurality of work-stations characterized by the construction of the transfer chamber
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
- H01L21/67763—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading
- H01L21/67778—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations the wafers being stored in a carrier, involving loading and unloading involving loading and unloading of wafers
- H01L21/67781—Batch transfer of wafers
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Abstract
The invention relates to a vacuum chamber device for transferring a silicon wafer between a first pressure environment and a second pressure environment, the vacuum chamber device comprising: the silicon wafer support device comprises a shell, a first gate valve, a second gate valve and a silicon wafer support device capable of supporting a plurality of silicon wafers. The first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber can be connected or disconnected by the first gate valve, and the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber can be connected or disconnected by the second gate valve. The vacuum cavity device is simple in structure, fast and convenient to operate and capable of improving yield.
Description
Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more particularly, to a vacuum chamber device and a method for processing a silicon wafer using the same.
Background
The inspection process of the semiconductor silicon wafer is generally carried out in a vacuum environment. In order to improve the yield of semiconductor inspection equipment operating under vacuum conditions, it is generally necessary to add a load lock chamber between the working chamber of the equipment and the wafer cassette in the atmospheric environment. The working chamber volume is generally large and the time required to draw a rated vacuum is relatively long. The load lock chamber has a much smaller chamber volume than the other chambers, and thus requires much less time to evacuate to a vacuum state, thereby increasing the throughput of the apparatus. In addition, in the field of semiconductor silicon wafer detection, the silicon wafer is prevented from being damaged and polluted in a detection link, namely, the safety of the silicon wafer in the detection process is ensured.
Disclosure of Invention
This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the invention and to briefly describe some preferred embodiments. Simplifications and omissions may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of this section. These simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vacuum chamber apparatus for transferring a silicon wafer between a first pressure environment and a second pressure environment, the vacuum chamber apparatus comprising:
a housing defining a vacuum chamber;
a first gate valve provided on the housing and configured to enable communication between the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber such that the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber are at the same substantially same pressure, or to disable communication between the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber such that the vacuum chamber is capable of maintaining a predetermined vacuum state;
a second gate valve disposed on the housing and configured to enable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber such that the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber are at the same substantially same pressure, or to disable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber such that the vacuum chamber is capable of maintaining the predetermined vacuum state;
the silicon wafer supporting device is arranged in the vacuum cavity and used for supporting a plurality of silicon wafers;
wherein the silicon wafer support device is configured to comprise a plurality of layers of silicon wafer support structures, each layer of silicon wafer support structure being used for supporting one silicon wafer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing a silicon wafer using the vacuum chamber apparatus described above, wherein,
opening the first gate valve to enable the first pressure environment and the vacuum cavity to be at the same pressure intensity and approximately the same pressure intensity, loading the silicon wafer onto a layer of silicon wafer supporting structure through an external device, and enabling the silicon wafer position adjusting device to automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer to enable the silicon wafer to be at a balance position;
after a preset number of silicon wafers are loaded into the vacuum cavity device, cutting off the first gate valve, and vacuumizing the vacuum cavity to a preset vacuum state;
the second gate valve is opened so that the vacuum chamber and the second pressure environment are at the same substantially same pressure, and the wafer is transferred to the second pressure environment.
Many objects, features, advantages and advantages of the invention, as well as the foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention, will be obtained in the practice of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
FIG. 1 shows a front view and a top view of a vacuum chamber device according to one embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a sensor group according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a silicon wafer support shelf according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates a silicon wafer position adjustment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
fig. 5 shows two states of a silicon wafer position adjusting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The following generally describes in detail the processes, steps, logic components, processes, or other terminology that directly or indirectly reflect the operation of a mechanical device of the present invention. These descriptions and terminology are generally used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the principle of their work to others skilled in the art. This disclosure presents numerous specific details in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures or processes, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention.
Reference herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments.
The expressions "first" and "second" are not used herein for ordering purposes, and do not relate to the importance of the components, but merely for distinguishing between different components.
Embodiments of the present invention are discussed herein with reference to fig. 1-5. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.
One embodiment of the present invention provides a vacuum chamber apparatus, as shown in fig. 1, for transferring a silicon wafer between a first pressure environment and a second pressure environment. The vacuum chamber device comprises: a housing defining a vacuum chamber 2. On the housing, a first gate valve 3a and a second gate valve 3b are provided. The first gate valve 3a is configured to be able to communicate the first pressure environment with the vacuum chamber 2 so that the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber 2 are at the same substantially same pressure, or to cut off communication between the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber 2 so that the vacuum chamber 2 can be maintained at a predetermined vacuum state. The first pressure environment may be, for example, an atmospheric environment, and the wafer to be processed may be placed in the atmospheric environment. The second gate valve is arranged to enable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber 2 such that the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber 2 are at the same substantially same pressure, or to disable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber 2 such that the vacuum chamber 2 can be maintained in said predetermined vacuum state. The second pressure environment may be, for example, a vacuum chamber for subsequent processing, typically the second pressure environment comprises a much larger volume. If the wafer in the atmospheric environment is directly transferred into a vacuum chamber for processing the wafer, the large vacuum chamber needs to be evacuated and pumped down, resulting in a reduction in yield. The vacuum cavity device of the embodiment of the invention only needs to be deflated and evacuated, so that the efficiency is improved and the yield is improved. The vacuum chamber 2 body device may further include: a silicon wafer supporting device 8 arranged inside the vacuum chamber 2 and used for supporting a plurality of silicon wafers; wherein the wafer support apparatus 8 is configured to include a plurality of layers of wafer support structures 802, each layer of wafer support structures 802 being configured to support a wafer. The silicon wafer supporting device can support a plurality of silicon wafers, so the vacuum cavity device can improve the efficiency. Compared with the device which needs to load the silicon wafer into the vacuum environment together with the silicon wafer box and the schemes in the prior art which do not load the silicon wafer box but load a plurality of silicon wafers at the same time, the invention improves the safety and the reliability of the operation of the silicon wafer by monitoring and correcting the position of the silicon wafer to a certain position deviation.
In one embodiment, the housing may comprise a vacuum chamber cover 1 and a vacuum chamber body 2, wherein the vacuum chamber cover 1 and the vacuum chamber body 2 are hermetically connected to form a vacuum chamber 2. Two sides of the vacuum cavity 2 are respectively connected with a gate valve 3a and a gate valve 3b which are used for controlling the communication condition of the cavity and the atmosphere and the in-out of the silicon wafer. If one gate valve 3a is used to load a wafer from a first pressure environment, the other 3b is used to transfer the wafer to a second pressure environment. That is, the gate valve 3a may be a first gate valve, and the gate valve 3b may be a second gate valve. However, in FIG. 1 gate valve 3b may be a first gate valve and gate valve 3a may be a second gate valve.
Illustratively, the wafer support 8 comprises at least two wafer supports 8a, 8b configured such that each wafer support structure defines a circle having a center coincident with the center of the wafer when held thereon. By way of example, FIG. 1 shows a vacuum chamber arrangement in which the wafer support arrangement comprises 3 wafer supports 8a, 8b and 8 c. However, the wafer support apparatus may comprise other numbers of wafer supports.
In an embodiment of the invention shown in fig. 3, the silicon wafer support 8 may include a fixing base 801 and a silicon wafer position adjusting device 802 as shown in fig. 3. The silicon wafer position adjusting device 802 is fixedly connected to the fixing base 801. In fig. 1, 3 silicon wafer supports 8 are provided to support the silicon wafer. However, other numbers of wafer supports 8 may be provided. As shown in fig. 1, the 3 silicon wafer supports 8 in this embodiment define a circle having a center located at the desired center of the silicon wafer. The radius of the circle is a wafer center-to-rotatable base side wall 802s of the wafer position adjusting apparatus 802 (the state shown in fig. 5 (b)).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the silicon wafer support structure 8 of each of the at least two silicon wafer supports comprises a silicon wafer position adjusting device 802. Each silicon wafer support frame comprises a plurality of silicon wafer position adjusting devices to form a silicon wafer support structure 8 capable of supporting a plurality of layers of silicon wafers. The wafer position adjusting device 802 may comprise a rotatable mount, wherein the wafer support structure 8 is configured such that when not holding a wafer, the rotatable mount is in a first state suitable for placing a wafer onto the rotatable mount of the wafer support structure, and by the weight of the wafer being applied, the rotatable mount rotates to adjust the position of the wafer so that the wafer support structure 8 can hold the wafer in a balanced state.
In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotatable pedestal has a rotatable pedestal base 802b for supporting the silicon wafer and rotatable pedestal sides 802s, the rotatable pedestal sides 802s extending in a vertical direction. The rotatable base is similar to an L shape as a whole, and can be in other shapes, such as a C shape. When a silicon wafer is to be placed on the rotatable base bottom 802b as shown in fig. 5 (a), with the rotatable base bottom 802b in the first state, in the embodiment shown in fig. 5 (a), with the rotatable base bottom 802b facing upward, and the rotatable base sides 802s in the tilted state, the arrangement is such that a substantially circle defined by the plurality of rotatable base sides 802s in the space between the plurality of rotatable base sides has a diameter greater than the diameter of the silicon wafer, which facilitates placement of the silicon wafer on the rotatable base 802b and reduces the likelihood of the silicon wafer contacting or colliding with the rotatable base sides 802 s. Fig. 5 (a) is not intended to limit the first state of the rotatable base, and the first state of the rotatable base may be in other forms, and the side portion 802s of the rotatable base may have other inclination angles with respect to the vertical direction, as long as it is convenient for the silicon wafer to be placed on the rotatable base. When the silicon wafer is pressed against the bottom 802b of the rotatable base, the rotatable base rotates downward and the sides of the rotatable base rotate simultaneously. If the silicon wafer contacts with one rotatable seat side portion 802s, the rotatable seat side portion 802s pushes the silicon wafer when rotating, so that the silicon wafer is adjusted to a predetermined position, such that the center of the circle determined by the silicon wafer support structure 8 coincides with the center of the silicon wafer resting on the silicon wafer support structure 8, as shown in fig. 5 (b). The silicon wafer supporting device 8 in the embodiment of the invention can automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer through the gravity of the silicon wafer, and has a simple structure.
Fig. 4 is a detailed diagram showing the specific structure of the silicon wafer supporting device 8, and as shown in fig. 4, the elastic device 802f and the push rod 802g apply force to the rotatable base, so that the rotatable base is in the first state when the silicon wafer is not held, that is, the bottom 802b of the rotatable base tilts upwards in an inclined manner, and the side 802s of the rotatable base is in an inclined state, so as to facilitate the placement of the silicon wafer on the rotatable base. The spring force of the spring means against the rotatable mount is adjustable, for example by a set screw 802e, so that after the silicon wafer is placed on the rotatable mount, the rotatable mount is in a predetermined second state to enable the silicon wafer to be held in balance and so that the center of the circle defined by the silicon wafer support structure coincides with the center of the silicon wafer. In other words, with the rotatable mount in the second state, the rotatable mount remains stationary so the silicon wafer is held stationary and the silicon wafer remains substantially horizontal. In one embodiment, the resilient means comprises a set screw for adjusting the force applied by the resilient means to the rotatable mount. The elastic means may be a spring, the elastic coefficient of which is determined by considering the weight of the silicon wafer, the rotation of the rotatable base, and the like, so as to obtain the second state of the rotatable base.
In one embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, the wafer support structure includes a wafer position adjustment apparatus 802. The silicon wafer position adjusting means 802 includes a rotatable base bottom 802b and a rotatable base side 802s on the right side as shown in fig. 4, and a tip 802a having a top on the rotatable base bottom 802b, in other words, the tip 802a is fixedly attached to the rotatable base bottom 802 b. The lower part of the silicon wafer position adjusting device 802 is a mounting base 802d, a rotating shaft 802c passes through the mounting base 802d, and the rotatable base is mounted on the mounting base 802d through the rotating shaft 802c, so that the rotatable base can freely rotate around the rotating shaft 802 c. The set screw 802e blocks the spring 802f in the hole inside the mounting seat, and the spring 802f pushes the push rod 802g to prop against the rotatable seat bottom 802b, so that the rotatable seat bottom 802b can rotate by a certain angle. The silicon wafer position adjusting device 802 specifically operates as follows: when the silicon wafer is not placed on the silicon wafer position adjusting means 802, the rotatable base is in a state as shown in (a) of fig. 5, and the rotatable base side portions 802s are inclined so that the rotatable base side portions 802s of the plurality of silicon wafer position adjusting means 802 form a circle having a diameter slightly larger than that of the silicon wafer so that the silicon wafer can be easily placed on the rotatable base of the plurality of silicon wafer position adjusting means 802; when a silicon wafer is placed on the plurality of silicon wafer position adjusting means 802, when the center of the silicon wafer is not coincident with the center determined by the 3 silicon wafer position adjusting means 802 (see fig. 5 (a)), the tip 802a is pressed downward by the gravity of the silicon wafer, so that the bottom 802b of the rotatable base is rotated against the spring force, and the side 802s of the rotatable base generates a horizontal pushing force against the edge of the silicon wafer due to the rotation. This pushing force will shift the wafer horizontally until the position shown in fig. 5 (b) is reached. In the equilibrium position shown in fig. 5 (b), or the silicon wafer rest position, the surface of the rotatable base side portion 802s is in a vertical state, and the silicon wafer is orthogonal to the rotatable base side portion 802 s. Thereby completing the adjustment of the position of the silicon chip. The distance that the silicon wafer position adjusting device 802 can adjust depends on the design requirements.
In an embodiment according to the invention, the vacuum chamber arrangement further comprises a plurality of sets of sensors 7. Each set of sensors 702 corresponds to each layer of the wafer support structure for determining whether the wafer support structure holds a wafer and whether the wafer is held correctly. Each of the plurality of sets of sensors includes a plurality of sensors for detecting a position of the silicon wafer by sensing the laser beam reflected from the silicon wafer, as shown in fig. 1. The sets of sensors are held by a plurality of sensor holders 7. The plurality of sensor supports 7 are configured to include a plurality of layers of sensor support structures, each layer of sensor support structures defining a circle having a center coinciding with the center of the silicon wafer when the silicon wafer is held on the at least two wafer supports.
In one embodiment according to the present invention, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the sensor group 7 is specifically shown in fig. 2, and the sensor group 7 in fig. 2 includes a support 701, a plurality of sensors 702 and a plurality of connecting pieces 703, and each sensor 702 is fixedly connected with the support 701 through the connecting piece 703. At least 3 sensor groups 7 as shown in fig. 2 are used in fig. 1 to determine the position of the silicon wafer. As shown in fig. 1, in this embodiment, 3 sensor groups 7 determine a circle, the center of which is located at the ideal center position of the silicon wafer, and the radius of the circle is the distance between the detection point of the sensor and the center of the circle. The radius of the circle is slightly larger than the radius of the silicon wafer, and the specific size is determined according to the adjustable distance of the silicon wafer position adjusting device 802. In one embodiment, the circle defined by the sensor group may be approximately the diameter of the circle defined by the silicon wafer support structure 8.
In one embodiment, the sensors may share a single support with the silicon wafer support structure, rather than providing the support 701 of the sensor group separately as in the previous embodiment.
When the silicon chip is positioned in the circle range, the sensor outputs no signal, thereby determining whether the silicon chip is held on the silicon chip adjusting device or not, and simultaneously, the silicon chip position adjusting device can correct the existing position error. In another embodiment, the sensor has a signal output when the wafer is within the circle to determine if a wafer is held on the wafer adjustment assembly.
In one embodiment, the vacuum chamber device further comprises a viewing window configured to enable viewing of the interior of the vacuum chamber device from outside the vacuum chamber device and to enable generation of the laser beam from outside towards the interior of the vacuum chamber device. In one embodiment, a laser is also included that emits a laser beam through the window toward the vacuum chamber so that the sensor determines the presence of the wafer by detecting whether the laser beam is reflected from the wafer.
Specifically, the silicon wafer 4 is placed on the wafer support 8 when it is placed in the vacuum chamber 2. Sensors, such as a photo-sensor array 7, are mounted on the floor inside the vacuum chamber 1 in a position such that each sensor can detect a silicon wafer. The vacuum chamber cover 1 is provided with an observation window 6. The laser 5 may be fixed on top of the observation window 6 so that the laser light can be projected from the observation window 6 into the vacuum chamber. A laser 5a and a laser 5b may be provided with a distance between them slightly larger than the silicon wafer size. When the laser is irradiated onto the silicon wafer, the reflected laser beam is sensed by the sensor, so that the presence of the silicon wafer can be determined. Therefore, when the silicon wafer enters the cavity or leaves the cavity, the silicon wafer approaches and leaves the laser sensor, the silicon wafer reflects laser to the laser sensor, the laser sensor outputs signals, the control system is informed of closing or opening the gate valve, and safety of the silicon wafer transfer process is guaranteed. And the sensing results of a plurality of sensors can be combined, and the state of the silicon chip, such as levelness and the like, can be calculated through a processor. In one embodiment, the laser may be disposed inside the vacuum chamber.
In one embodiment, the vacuum chamber assembly further comprises a vacuum pump for pumping gas from the vacuum chamber to bring the vacuum chamber to a predetermined vacuum state. In this embodiment, the vacuum chamber device further comprises a vacuum pump interface 9 for connecting a vacuum generating device, such as a vacuum pump, so that the vacuum chamber can form a rated vacuum degree when in a closed state.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for processing a silicon wafer using the vacuum chamber apparatus is provided. The method comprises the following steps: opening the first gate valve to enable the first pressure environment and the vacuum cavity to be at the same pressure intensity and approximately the same pressure intensity, loading the silicon wafer onto a layer of silicon wafer supporting structure through an external device, and enabling the silicon wafer position adjusting device to automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer to enable the silicon wafer to be at a balance position; after a preset number of silicon wafers are loaded into the vacuum cavity device, cutting off the first gate valve, and vacuumizing the vacuum cavity to a preset vacuum state; and opening a second gate valve to enable the vacuum chamber and the second pressure environment to be at the same and approximately the same pressure, and transferring the silicon wafer to the second pressure environment. This embodiment still includes: after the silicon wafer is subjected to subsequent processes, transferring the silicon wafer to a silicon wafer supporting structure in the vacuum cavity device, wherein the silicon wafer position adjusting device can automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer so that the silicon wafer is in a balance position; closing the second gate valve; and opening the first gate valve, and transferring the silicon wafers out of the vacuum cavity device one by one.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the process of processing the silicon wafer by using the vacuum cavity device can be as follows: the gate valve 3a of the vacuum chamber is opened, and the gate valve 3b is kept closed. And the external mechanical arm transfers the silicon wafer with the corrected position into the cavity, and the transfer number is determined according to the number of the silicon wafers which can be accommodated in the cavity. The vacuum chamber gate valve 3a is closed, the vacuum generating device is started, and the vacuum chamber is pumped to the rated vacuum degree. After the rated vacuum is reached, the vacuum chamber gate valve 3b is opened. In the subsequent process, the silicon wafers are taken out one by one and put back to the original position after the treatment. After all the silicon wafers are completely processed, the vacuum cavity gate valve 3b is closed, and then the vacuum generating device is stopped. The exhaust valve is opened and the flow is controlled. When the air pressure in the vacuum cavity reaches the atmospheric pressure, the exhaust valve is closed, and the valve 3a of the vacuum cavity is opened. And the external mechanical arm puts the silicon wafers back to the silicon wafer box one by one. And repeating the processes, vacuumizing once every time, transferring a plurality of unprocessed silicon wafers to a vacuum environment, and transferring the processed silicon wafers out of the vacuum environment. The state of the silicon wafer is detected by a sensor in the process of transferring and transferring the silicon wafer out of the vacuum cavity, and the silicon wafer stops moving once abnormality occurs. The operation method requires the follow-up process to wait for the time for transferring the vacuum chamber and evacuating the silicon wafer in each cycle.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the process of processing a silicon wafer using the vacuum chamber device described above may be as follows: the vacuum chamber gate valve 3a is opened, and the vacuum chamber gate valve 3b is kept closed. And the external mechanical arm transfers the silicon wafer with the corrected position into the cavity, and the transfer number is determined according to the number of the silicon wafers which can be accommodated in the cavity. The vacuum chamber gate valve 3a is closed, the vacuum generating device is started, and the vacuum chamber is pumped to the rated vacuum degree. After the rated vacuum is reached, the vacuum chamber gate valve 3b is opened. In the subsequent working procedures, the silicon wafers are taken out one by one, processed and then put back to the original position. And when the last silicon wafer is obtained, after the silicon wafer is taken out in the subsequent process, closing the vacuum cavity gate valve 3b, and then stopping the vacuum generating device. The exhaust valve is opened and the flow is controlled. When the air pressure in the vacuum cavity reaches the atmospheric pressure, the exhaust valve is closed, and the valve 3a of the vacuum cavity is opened. The external robot arm returns the silicon wafers processed in the chamber one by one to the silicon wafer cassette and then puts the same number of unprocessed silicon wafers. Then, the vacuum chamber gate valve 3a is closed, the vacuum generating device is started, and the vacuum chamber is pumped to a rated vacuum degree. After the rated vacuum is reached, the vacuum chamber gate valve 3b is opened. At this time, if the subsequent process has finished processing the last silicon wafer, the wafer is directly returned to the empty position of the vacuum chamber, and if the wafer has not been processed, the wafer waits. The silicon wafers are still taken out and processed one by one in the subsequent process and then put back to the original position, and when the last silicon wafer is reached, the gate valve 3b of the vacuum cavity is closed after the subsequent process is taken out. The subsequent process is similar to the foregoing.
The present invention has been described in considerable detail with respect to a certain degree of particularity. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are disclosed herein by way of example only, and that numerous modifications in the arrangement and combination of parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the claims, rather than the foregoing embodiments.
Claims (14)
1. A vacuum chamber apparatus for transferring a silicon wafer between a first pressure environment and a second pressure environment, the vacuum chamber apparatus comprising:
a housing defining a vacuum chamber;
a first gate valve provided on the housing and configured to enable communication between the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber so that the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber are at the same pressure, or to disable communication between the first pressure environment and the vacuum chamber so that the vacuum chamber can maintain a predetermined vacuum state;
a second gate valve provided on the housing and configured to enable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber so that the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber are at the same pressure, or to disable communication between the second pressure environment and the vacuum chamber so that the vacuum chamber can maintain the predetermined vacuum state;
the silicon wafer supporting device is arranged in the vacuum cavity and used for supporting a plurality of silicon wafers;
the silicon wafer supporting device comprises at least two silicon wafer supporting frames, wherein the at least two silicon wafer supporting frames are configured to enable each layer of silicon wafer supporting structure to determine a circle, and the circle center of the circle coincides with the circle center of the silicon wafer when the silicon wafer is held on the at least two silicon wafer supporting frames;
wherein the silicon wafer support structure of each of the at least two silicon wafer support frames comprises a silicon wafer position adjustment device and the silicon wafer position adjustment device comprises a rotatable mount, wherein the silicon wafer support structure is configured to: when the silicon wafer is not held, the rotatable seat is in a first state to be suitable for placing the silicon wafer to the rotatable seat of the silicon wafer supporting structure, and the rotatable seat can rotate through the gravity of the silicon wafer so as to adjust the position of the silicon wafer, so that the silicon wafer supporting structure can keep the silicon wafer in a balanced state;
when the silicon wafer is pressed at the bottom of the rotatable seat, the rotatable seat rotates and pushes the silicon wafer through the side part of the rotatable seat so as to adjust the silicon wafer to a preset position, and the center of a circle determined by the silicon wafer supporting structure is coincided with the center of the silicon wafer.
2. The vacuum chamber device of claim 1, wherein the spring means applies a force to the rotatable base, the rotatable base being in the first state when not holding the wafer to facilitate placement of the wafer on the rotatable base.
3. The vacuum chamber device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the elastic force applied to the rotatable base by the elastic means is adjustable so that after the silicon wafer is placed on the rotatable base, the rotatable base is in the predetermined second state to keep the silicon wafer balanced and to make the center of the circle defined by the silicon wafer support structure coincide with the center of the silicon wafer.
4. The vacuum chamber assembly of claim 1, wherein the rotatable base comprises a tip configured to have a top portion for contacting the wafer with the top end when the wafer is placed on the rotatable base.
5. The vacuum chamber device according to claim 3, wherein the resilient means comprises a set screw for adjusting the force applied by the resilient means to the rotatable base.
6. The vacuum chamber device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sets of sensors, each set of sensors corresponding to each layer of the wafer support structure for determining whether the wafer support structure holds the wafer and whether the wafer is properly held.
7. The vacuum chamber device of claim 6, wherein each set of sensors of the plurality of sets of sensors comprises a plurality of sensors for detecting the position of the silicon wafer by sensing the laser beam reflected from the silicon wafer, and the detection results of the plurality of sensors are combined to determine whether the silicon wafer is properly held.
8. The vacuum chamber device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of sets of sensors are held by a plurality of sensor holders.
9. The vacuum chamber device of claim 8, wherein the plurality of sensor supports are configured to include a plurality of layers of sensor support structures, each layer of sensor support structures defining a circle having a center that coincides with a center of the silicon wafer when the silicon wafer is held on the at least two wafer supports.
10. The vacuum chamber device of claim 1, further comprising a viewing window configured to enable viewing of the interior of the vacuum chamber device from outside the vacuum chamber device.
11. The vacuum chamber assembly of claim 10, further comprising a laser that emits a laser beam through the window toward the interior of the vacuum chamber such that the sensor determines whether the wafer enters and exits the vacuum chamber by detecting whether the laser beam is reflected from the wafer.
12. The vacuum chamber assembly of claim 1, further comprising a vacuum pump for pumping gas from the vacuum chamber to bring the vacuum chamber to a predetermined vacuum state.
13. A method of processing a silicon wafer using the vacuum chamber apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
opening the first gate valve to enable the first pressure environment and the vacuum cavity to be under the same pressure, loading the silicon wafer onto a layer of silicon wafer supporting structure through an external device, and enabling the silicon wafer position adjusting device to automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer to enable the silicon wafer to be in a balance position;
after a preset number of silicon wafers are loaded into the vacuum cavity device, cutting off the first gate valve, and vacuumizing the vacuum cavity to a preset vacuum state;
and opening the second gate valve to make the vacuum chamber and the second pressure environment at the same pressure, and transferring the silicon wafer into the second pressure environment.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: after the silicon wafer is subjected to subsequent processes, transferring the silicon wafer to a silicon wafer supporting structure in the vacuum cavity device, wherein the silicon wafer position adjusting device can automatically adjust the position of the silicon wafer so that the silicon wafer is in a balance position; closing the second gate valve; and opening the first gate valve, and transferring the silicon wafers out of the vacuum cavity device one by one.
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| CN113035758B (en) * | 2020-12-31 | 2022-06-24 | 中科晶源微电子技术（北京）有限公司 | Chamber device, wafer conveying equipment and wafer processing method |
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| CN1937197A (en) * | 2005-12-08 | 2007-03-28 | 北京圆合电子技术有限责任公司 | Vacuum lock transitional cavity |
| CN103594401A (en) * | 2012-08-16 | 2014-02-19 | 盛美半导体设备（上海）有限公司 | Load lock chamber and method of using load lock chamber to process substrates |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN1937197A (en) * | 2005-12-08 | 2007-03-28 | 北京圆合电子技术有限责任公司 | Vacuum lock transitional cavity |
| CN103594401A (en) * | 2012-08-16 | 2014-02-19 | 盛美半导体设备（上海）有限公司 | Load lock chamber and method of using load lock chamber to process substrates |
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