Wafer transmission device and transmission method for reaction chamber
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, in particular to a wafer transmission device and a transmission method for a reaction chamber of epitaxial growth equipment.
Background
The epitaxial growth device mainly picks up the wafer from the material box through the wafer picking mechanism, carries the wafer into the reaction cavity, places the wafer on the rotatable base, introduces reaction gas onto the wafer in the direction parallel to the wafer and carries out epitaxial growth on the surface of the wafer.
The pursuit of larger diameter epitaxial processing capability and higher quality epitaxial growth results has become the mainstream of the development of epitaxial wafer production internationally. The current pick-up devices using bernoulli wands are only suitable for small diameter wafers and cannot meet the requirements of wafers of 12 inches and above.
To avoid damaging the wafers during the transfer process, a wafer drive scheme is proposed to meet the transfer process requirements for wafers of different sizes, depending on the particular application or environment of the wafer transfer process.
Disclosure of Invention
The technical problem to be solved by the invention is to overcome the defects in the prior art and provide a wafer transmission device and a transmission method for a reaction chamber.
In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts the following solution:
a wafer transmission device for a reaction chamber is provided, which comprises a reaction chamber and a carrying chamber; the reaction chamber and the carrying chamber are both of a square cavity structure with hollow inner parts, the reaction chamber and the carrying chamber are communicated through a gate valve, a wafer supporting part is arranged in the reaction chamber, and a mechanical conveying part is arranged in the carrying chamber;
the wafer support member includes an inner ring base and an outer ring base; the inner ring base main body is a disc, a concentric boss is arranged on the lower end face of the disc, and the whole longitudinal cross section of the inner ring base is T-shaped; the outer ring base is annular, the inner ring of the outer ring base is step-shaped, the step size of the inner ring is matched with the outer edge size of the inner ring base, and the inner ring base is embedded in the outer ring base; an inner ring support frame is arranged below the inner ring base and is connected with a lifting mechanism; an outer ring support frame is arranged below the outer ring base and connected with the rotating mechanism; the inner ring base, the outer ring base, the inner ring support frame and the outer ring support frame are coaxially arranged;
the mechanical conveying part comprises an operating element, the operating element is U-shaped, the front end of the operating element is a notch end, and the rear end of the operating element is connected with a conveying arm arranged in the conveying chamber.
As an improvement, the outer ring support frame comprises a support pipe, and the lower end of the support pipe is connected with the rotating mechanism; the top end of the supporting tube supports the lower end surface of the outer ring base through at least three arms.
As an improvement, the inner ring support frame comprises a support tube, and the lower end of the support tube is connected with a lifting mechanism; the top end of the supporting tube is provided with at least three arms and is arranged under the inner ring base, and the upper end surfaces of the arms of the inner ring supporting frame are suspended with the lower end surface of the inner ring base.
As an improvement, the diameter of the outer edge of the inner ring susceptor is smaller than the diameter of the wafer.
As an improvement, the width of the U-shaped notch of the operating element is larger than the diameter of the outer edge of the inner ring base, and the width of the U-shaped notch of the operating element is smaller than the diameter of the wafer.
As an improvement, the outer ring support frame is externally connected with a rotating mechanism, the lifting mechanism is arranged on the rotating mechanism, and the rotating mechanism can drive the outer ring support frame, the outer ring base, the inner ring support frame, the inner ring base and the lifting mechanism to rotate simultaneously.
The present invention also provides a driving method using a wafer apparatus for a reaction chamber, comprising the steps of:
(a) loading an unprocessed wafer onto the handling element at the end of the transfer arm;
(b) after opening the gate valve, laterally extending the transfer arm so that the handling elements are above the wafer support member with the unprocessed wafer directly above the inner ring base;
(c) the lifting mechanism drives the inner ring support frame and the upper inner ring base to ascend, so that the untreated wafer is separated from the operation element while the inner ring base supports the untreated wafer, and the untreated wafer is loaded on the inner ring base;
(d) the transfer arm and the operating element are retracted into the transfer chamber and the gate valve is closed;
(e) the lifting mechanism drives the inner ring support frame and the upper inner ring base to descend, and the inner ring base is descended into the outer ring base, so that unprocessed wafers are loaded on the outer ring base;
(f) in the reaction process, the rotating mechanism drives the outer ring support frame, the outer ring base, the lifting mechanism, the inner ring support frame, the inner ring base and the wafer to rotate simultaneously, and the outer ring support frame, the outer ring base, the lifting mechanism, the inner ring support frame, the inner ring base and the wafer are relatively static.
(g) After the reaction is finished, the rotating mechanism stops rotating, and the lifting mechanism lifts the inner ring support frame and the upper inner ring base thereof to enable the processed wafer to be separated from the outer ring base and loaded on the inner ring base to lift together with the inner ring base;
(h) after opening the gate valve, extending the transfer arm laterally so that the handling elements with no wafers thereon are between the inner ring susceptor and the outer ring susceptor, wherein the processed wafers are directly above the handling elements;
(i) the lifting mechanism drives the inner ring support frame and the upper inner ring base to descend, so that the processed wafer is loaded on the operating element and is separated from the inner ring base, and the inner ring base is descended on the outer ring base;
(j) the transfer arm retracts the handling member with the wafer processed thereon to the transfer chamber and closes the gate valve;
(k) unloading the processed wafer from the handling member and performing steps (a) through (k).
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the technical effects that:
the Bernoulli stick of the pickup device of the Bernoulli stick, its Bernoulli stick is difficult to make, the price is expensive, need to inject high-purity nitrogen into Bernoulli stick while picking up the slice, then need the pressure regulating device of supporting ventilation, greatly increase the cost of apparatus, the interval range from Bernoulli stick to crystal plate is required to be high while picking up the slice, have greatly increased and debugged the cost; the fork sheet mode of the invention has simple operation, better conveying stability and lower sheet dropping rate, and meets the conveying requirements of wafers with different sizes.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of the entire structure of a wafer boat for a reaction chamber.
FIG. 2 is a top cross-sectional view of a wafer drive for a reaction chamber.
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an example sequence of wafer transfer operations steps for a reaction chamber.
The labels in the figure are: 1-reaction chamber, 2-transfer chamber, 3-gate valve, 4-wafer support component, 5-mechanical transfer component, 6-wafer, 7-outer ring base, 8-inner ring base, 9-inner ring support, 10-outer ring support, 11-transfer arm, 12-operation element, 13-lifting mechanism, 14-rotation mechanism.
Detailed Description
The present invention will be further described in detail with reference to the following specific examples:
fig. 1 is a front sectional view showing the entire structure of a wafer driving apparatus for a reaction chamber. A wafer drive for a reaction chamber, comprising: a reaction chamber 1, a transfer chamber 2, a gate valve 3, a wafer support member 4, a mechanical transfer member 5, and a wafer 6. The reaction chamber 1 and the transfer chamber 2 are both of a square cavity structure, the reaction chamber 1 and the transfer chamber 2 are connected through a gate valve 3, a wafer supporting part 4 is installed in the reaction chamber 1, and a mechanical transmission part 5 is installed in the transfer chamber 2.
The wafer support member 4 includes: an outer ring base 7, an inner ring base 8, an inner ring support 9 and an outer ring support 10. The inner ring base 8 comprises a disc main body, a cylindrical boss is arranged on the lower end face of the disc, and the whole cross section is T-shaped. The outer ring base 7 is circular ring type, the inner ring of the outer ring base 7 is step-shaped, and the inner ring base 8 is placed in the inner ring, so that the whole body is disc type. The inner ring support frame 9 comprises a support pipe and at least three arms extending radially from the support pipe, the arms are uniformly distributed around the top end of the support pipe, and the inner ring support frame 9 is arranged below the inner ring base 8. The outer ring support frame 9 comprises a support tube and at least three arms extending radially from the support tube, the arms are uniformly distributed around the top end of the support tube, and the outer ring support frame supports the outer ring base 7 upwards. The arm length of the inner ring support frame 9 is smaller than that of the outer ring support frame 10, the inner ring support frame 9 is sleeved in the outer ring support frame 10, and the inner ring base 8, the outer ring base 7, the inner ring support frame 9 and the outer ring support frame 10 are coaxially arranged. The bottom end of the supporting tube of the inner ring supporting frame 9 is externally connected with a lifting mechanism 13, and the lifting mechanism 13 can drive the inner ring supporting frame 9 to lift, so that the inner ring base 8 can lift. The bottom end of the support tube of the outer ring support frame 10 is externally connected with a rotating mechanism 14, the lifting mechanism 13 is installed on the rotating mechanism 14, and the rotating mechanism 14 can drive the outer ring support frame 10, the outer ring base 7, the inner ring support frame 9, the inner ring base 8 and the lifting mechanism 13 to rotate simultaneously.
FIG. 2 is a top cross-sectional view of a wafer drive for a reaction chamber. The mechanical transmission part 5 includes: a transfer arm 11 and an operating element 12. The handling member 12 is U-shaped for loading and unloading the wafer 6, and the handling member 12 is mounted on the end of the transfer arm 11 with the notch facing outward. The transfer arm 11 is installed in the conveyance chamber 2. The width of the U-shaped gap of the operating element 12 is larger than the diameter of the outer 8 of the inner ring base, and the width of the U-shaped gap of the operating element 12 is smaller than the diameter of the wafer 6. The transfer arm 11 is vertically and laterally movable to extend the handling element 12 and its loaded wafer 6 to any position of the reaction chamber 1.
As shown in fig. 3, the present invention also provides a wafer driving method using the above wafer driving apparatus for a reaction chamber, comprising the steps of:
(a) loading an unprocessed wafer 6 onto the handling element 12 at the end of the transfer arm 11;
(b) after opening the gate valve 3, the transfer arm 11 is extended laterally with the handling elements 12 above the wafer support 4 with the unprocessed wafer 6 directly above the inner ring susceptor 8;
(c) the lifting mechanism 13 drives the inner ring support frame 9 and the upper inner ring base 8 to ascend, so that the inner ring base 8 supports the unprocessed wafer 6, and simultaneously, the unprocessed wafer 6 is separated from the operating element 12, and the unprocessed wafer 6 is loaded on the inner ring base 8;
(d) the transfer arm 11 and the operating element 12 are retracted into the transfer chamber 2 and the gate valve 3 is closed;
(e) the lifting mechanism 13 drives the inner ring support frame 9 and the upper inner ring base 8 to descend, and the inner ring base 8 is descended into the outer ring base 7, so that the unprocessed wafer 6 is loaded on the outer ring base 7;
(f) in the reaction process, the rotating mechanism 14 drives the outer ring support frame 10, the outer ring base 7, the lifting mechanism 13, the inner ring support frame 9, the inner ring base 8 and the wafer 6 to rotate simultaneously, and the outer ring support frame 10, the outer ring base 7, the lifting mechanism 13, the inner ring support frame 9, the inner ring base 8 and the wafer 6 are relatively static;
(g) after the reaction is finished, the rotating mechanism 14 stops rotating, and the lifting mechanism 14 lifts the inner ring support frame 9 and the upper inner ring base 8 thereof, so that the processed wafer 6 is separated from the outer ring base 7 and loaded on the inner ring base 8 to lift together with the inner ring base;
(h) after opening the gate valve 3, the transfer arm 11 is extended laterally with the handling elements 12 without wafers on it between the inner ring base 8 and the outer ring base 7, with the processed wafers 6 directly above the handling elements 12;
(i) the lifting mechanism 13 drives the inner ring support frame 9 and the upper inner ring base 8 to descend, so that the processed wafer 6 is loaded on the operating element 12 and is separated from the inner ring base 8, and the inner ring base 8 is descended on the outer ring base 7;
(j) the transfer arm 11 retracts with the handling element 12 and the wafer 6 processed thereon into the transfer chamber 2 and closes the gate valve 3;
(k) the processed wafer 6 is unloaded from the handling member 12, and steps (a) to (k) are performed.
Finally, it should be noted that the above-mentioned list is only a specific embodiment of the present invention. It is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but many variations are possible. All modifications which can be derived or suggested directly from the disclosure of the present invention by a person skilled in the art are to be considered within the scope of the present invention.