CN114334729A - Flange devices and semiconductor manufacturing systems - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a flange device, which is connected between a processing chamber and a transfer chamber. The device includes a body having a first annular inner wall and a wafer transfer channel defined by the first annular inner wall. The first annular inner wall is defined by a top surface, a pair of side surfaces and a bottom surface, wherein the top surface of the first annular inner wall is provided with a plurality of diffusion holes for supplying purge gas to the wafer channel. In addition, the present invention also discloses a semiconductor manufacturing system.

Description

Flange devices and semiconductor manufacturing systems

technical field

The invention relates to semiconductor manufacturing equipment technology, in particular to a flange device and a semiconductor manufacturing system arranged between a processing chamber (PM chamber) and a transfer chamber (TM chamber).

Background technique

Cluster tool (clustertool) has been widely used in semiconductor manufacturing, mainly including the front-end interface (such as load lock chamber) that performs environment transfer, the transfer chamber (TM chamber) that moves the wafer with robotic fingers, and can perform different processes. of multiple processing chambers (PM chambers). Process chambers are known to receive wafers to be processed and exit processed wafers via wafer transfer ports. During the process, although the wafer transfer port is closed by a valve, the space covered by the wafer transfer port is not the reaction area, so the temperature of the space is usually lower than the process temperature of the reaction area.

In order to prevent the process gas from flowing excessively to the low temperature wafer transfer port during the process reaction, it is necessary to develop special solutions to combat this problem and avoid condensation of the process gas at the relatively low temperature wafer transfer port, thereby causing contamination. Particles or deposition are not uniform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a flange device and a semiconductor manufacturing system to avoid the problems of gas condensation and pollution at the wafer transfer port.

The flange device provided by the present invention is used for connecting between a processing chamber and a transfer chamber. The device comprises: a body having a first annular inner wall and a wafer transfer channel defined by the first annular inner wall , the first annular inner wall has a top surface, a pair of side surfaces and a bottom surface, and the top surface of the first annular inner wall is provided with a plurality of diffusion holes for supplying purge gas to the wafer channel.

The beneficial effect of the flange device provided by the present invention is that: the top surface of the first annular inner wall is provided with a plurality of diffusion holes for supplying purification gas to the wafer channel, so as to avoid the gas in the wafer transfer port Condensation occurs and contamination particles are generated.

Optionally, the body is provided with an air inlet for receiving the purification gas, and an annular diffusion channel is formed in the body and extends between the air inlet and the plurality of diffusion holes, and is used for dispersing the gas. The purge gas is dispersed from the gas inlet to the plurality of diffusion holes, and the annular diffusion channel surrounds the wafer channel.

Optionally, the body is composed of an air window and an outer frame, the air window has the first annular inner wall and an annular outer wall, and an annular groove is formed on the annular outer wall of the air window and along the air window. The annular outer wall of the outer frame extends, and the outer frame has a second annular inner wall. When the annular outer wall of the louver and the second annular inner wall of the outer frame are combined, the groove and the second annular inner wall of the outer frame are combined. The inner wall forms the annular diffusion channel.

Optionally, the body is composed of a louver and an outer frame, the louver has an annular outer wall, an annular groove and a long slit, and the annular groove is formed on the annular outer wall of the louver and Extending along the annular outer wall of the air window, the elongated slit is formed on the top surface of the first annular inner wall, so that the elongated slot communicates with the groove, and the outer frame is provided with a diffuser pipe , the diffusion pipe is formed with a plurality of diffusion holes, and when the diffusion pipe is located between the air window and the outer frame, the plurality of diffusion holes of the diffusion pipe are exposed to the wafer channel.

Optionally, the diffuser tube is configured to be detachably inserted into the body, and when the diffuser tube is inserted into the body, a plurality of diffuser holes of the diffuser tube correspond to the long slits of the air window, The diffuser tube, the outer frame, and the gas window define the annular diffuser channel, and purification gas can enter the wafer channel through the annular diffuser channel and the plurality of diffuser holes.

Optionally, a gap is formed at both ends of the diffuser tube. When the diffuser tube is inserted into the body, the gap is in fluid communication with the groove of the gas window, so that the purification gas can pass through the gap. into the diffuser.

Optionally, one end of the diffuser tube is connected to a rotating means, so that the diffuser tube can be rotated with its insertion direction as the rotation axis, thereby changing the directions of the plurality of diffuser holes.

In addition, the present invention also provides a semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising: a processing chamber for performing a manufacturing process, having a first wafer transfer port; a transfer chamber for transferring wafers between stations, There is a second wafer transfer port; the flange device is connected between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber, and the wafer channel is connected to the first wafer transfer port and the second wafer The transfer port corresponds to; and a gas source, which is connected to and supplies the purge gas to the flange device.

The semiconductor manufacturing system employs the flange device to which the gas source is connected and supplies purge gas, and the top surface of the first annular inner wall of the flange device is provided with a plurality of diffusers. Through these diffusion holes, the purge gas can enter the wafer channel downward and form the gas barrier at the wafer transfer port of the reaction chamber, so as to avoid the problems of condensation and contamination of the gas at the transfer port.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the flange device of the present invention connected between a processing chamber and a transfer chamber, wherein the flange device and the processing chamber are shown in cross section.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing that the flange device of the present invention is connected between the processing chamber and the transfer chamber, wherein the flange device and the processing chamber are shown in cross section.

Figure 3 shows the relationship of the flange arrangement of the present invention to the gas source.

FIG. 4 is a first embodiment of the flange device of the present invention.

5A to 5C are the second embodiment of the flange device of the present invention, wherein the cross-sections of FIGS. 5A and 5B and the cross-section of FIG. 5C are mutually orthogonal planes.

6A-6B show a front view and a cross-sectional view of the diffuser.

7A-7B show other embodiments of diffuser tubes.

Detailed ways

The invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration specific example embodiments. However, the claimed subject matter may be embodied in many different forms, and thus the construction of the claimed subject matter covered or claimed is not limited to any example embodiments disclosed in this specification; the example embodiments are merely illustrative. Likewise, the present invention is intended to provide a reasonably broad scope for claimed subject matter as applied for or covered.

The phrase "in one embodiment" used in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same specific embodiment, and the use of "in other (some/some) embodiments" in this specification does not necessarily refer to a different specific embodiment. It is intended, for example, that the claimed subject matter includes combinations of all or part of the exemplary embodiments.

1 and 2 show that the flange device 1 of the present invention is connected to the processing chamber 2 and the transfer chamber 3 , especially the processing chamber 2 and the transfer chamber 3 are part of a cluster type process equipment. More specifically, the flange device 1 of the present invention is connected between the wafer transfer port 20 of the processing chamber 2 and the wafer transfer port 30 of the transfer chamber 3 . Although many parts of the processing chamber 2 shown in the figure are omitted and not shown, the not shown parts include the upper cover and the heating plate, but those skilled in the art can still understand that this is a double-chamber chamber, and is usually used for performing The same process, but the present invention is not limited by this. As well known to those skilled in the art, the processing area for processing the wafer is generally the area surrounded by the suction ring 21 , and the space below the suction ring 21 to the wafer transfer port 20 is the non-reaction area. It is also the area where the process gas should be avoided as much as possible to prevent condensation of the process gas. The space between the underside of the suction ring 21 and the wafer transfer port 20 is a flat channel extending laterally from the columnar space.

As can be seen from the figure, the bottom of the flange device 1 of the present invention is also connected with a gas supply line 4, which is further connected to a gas source 5, especially a purge gas source. In this way, the flange device 1 of the present invention can supply purge gas to the wafer transfer port 20 of the processing chamber 2 and control the pressure, flow rate, temperature and flow direction of the gas. Although the gas source 5 shown in the figure is more like an additionally connected gas box (gas box), those skilled in the art should understand that the gas source 5 can also be the gas source provided in the cluster type equipment, which means the original factory The gas source used by the service equipment can further pull out the gas supply line 4 to the flange device 1 . The purge gas is an inert gas in an embodiment of the present invention. In other words, the gas source 5 described herein is not limited to an existing gas source or an additionally configured gas source in the factory. The arrows in FIG. 1 indicate that the purge gas enters the flange device 1 from the gas supply line 4 and is supplied from the flange device 1 to the wafer transfer port 20 , and the purge gas is exhausted through the exhaust ring 21 . In this way, the space at the wafer transfer port 20 is filled with the purge gas to form a gas barrier, which can effectively prevent the process gas from entering the non-reaction area.

Figure 3 shows a flange arrangement 1 and a gas supply line 4 of the present invention, wherein the gas supply line 4 can be configured to supply purge gas to both flange arrangements 1 at the same temperature, flow rate and pressure. The gas supply line 4 may include components such as heating jacket, filter, mass flow controller (MFC), pressure valve and manual valve, but the invention is not limited thereto, and these components can also be realized by the gas source 5 . As mentioned above, the gas source 5 can be the gas source used by the transfer chamber 3, which means that the flange device 1 and the transfer chamber 3 can share the same gas source. In addition, the flange device 1 of the present invention has two opposite connection interfaces, which can be respectively connected to the outer side of the processing chamber 2 and the outer side of the transfer chamber 3 in an appropriate manner. The connection interface can be any combination of mechanisms for the connection of the mechanical interface. According to the actual mechanism design of the processing chamber and the transfer chamber, the connection interface of the flange device of the present invention can be configured by different mechanisms, and is not limited to the appearance disclosed in the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a first embodiment of the flange device of the present invention, which is mainly a body composed of a louver 10 and an outer frame 15 .

The air window 10 is an elongated annular body having a first annular inner wall 101 and an opposite annular outer wall 102 . The first annular inner wall 101 includes a top surface 101A, a pair of side surfaces 101B and a bottom surface 101C, thereby defining a wafer channel whose width and height are equivalent to the wafer transfer ports 20 and 30 shown in FIG. 1 . Wafers can pass through this channel from the transfer chamber into the process chamber, or from the process chamber back into the transfer chamber.

The annular outer wall 102 of the louver 10 is formed with an annular groove 103 that extends along the annular outer wall 102 and surrounds the wafer channel, but does not penetrate the wall. A plurality of diffusion holes 104 are formed on the top surface 101A in a region corresponding to the annular groove 103 , and the diffusion holes 104 are uniformly arranged along the length direction of the air window 10 .

The outer frame 15 has a second annular inner wall 151 , which includes a top surface 151A, a pair of side surfaces 151B and a bottom surface 151C, all of which are substantially flat surfaces to define an accommodating space for accommodating the transom 10 . Specifically, the second annular inner wall 151 is configured to match with the annular outer wall 102 of the louver 10 , that is, when the louver 10 and the outer frame 15 are assembled together, the annular outer wall 102 and the second annular inner wall 151 are almost abutted and therebetween. There are only minor gaps, which can be sealed without exposure using known means. The second annular inner wall 151 can be provided with a limiting mechanism that cooperates with the annular outer wall 102 to ensure that the louver 10 is positioned in the outer frame 15, or restrict the assembly and separation of the louver 10 and the outer frame 15 only in a specific direction.

The second annular inner wall 151 is formed with an air inlet 152 extending between the bottom surface 151C and the bottom of the outer frame 15 to connect the gas supply line 4 as shown in FIG. 3 . The purge gas then enters the flange assembly through the air inlet 152 . In other embodiments, more air inlets 152 may be formed on the bottom surface 151C of the second annular inner wall 151 .

When the louver 10 and the outer frame 15 are assembled, the annular groove 103 of the annular outer wall 102 and the second annular inner wall 151 of the outer frame 15 together define an annular diffusion channel. During assembly, the position of the air inlet 152 of the second annular inner wall 151 corresponds to the position of the annular groove 103 , so the annular diffusion channel formed after assembly is communicated with the air inlet 152 . The purge gas enters the annular diffusion channel from the air inlet 152 and diffuses to both sides (width direction of the wafer channel) and flows upward to the top of the annular diffusion channel, that is, the section where the diffusion holes 104 are distributed. Finally, the purge gas can enter the wafer channel down through these diffusion holes 104 and form the gas barrier at the wafer transfer port of the reaction chamber.

Figures 5A to 5C are the second embodiment of the flange device of the present invention, wherein Figures 5A and 5B show the internal structure based on the same cross-section, and the cross-section of Figure 5C is in an orthogonal relationship with the previous two cross-sections and is located in the flange device the center of. Specifically, the cross-sections of FIGS. 5A and 5B are parallel to the connection interface of the flange device, and the cross-section of FIG. 5C is orthogonal to the connection interface, so the complete annular diffusion channel can be seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B path, and FIG. 5C shows a cross-sectional detail of the annular diffusion channel, where H is the height of the wafer channel, that is, the distance between the top surface 101A and the bottom surface 101C.

The main difference between the second embodiment of the flange device of the present invention and the first embodiment is that the diffusion holes provided by the first annular inner wall of the second embodiment are adjustable. More specifically, the diffuser hole provided by the first annular inner wall of the second embodiment is a diffuser hole provided by a movable member, which will be described in detail below.

5A-5C show that the louver 10 has been assembled into the outer frame 15 . Although FIGS. 5A to 5C do not show the separated louvers 10, the louvers 10 of the second embodiment also have the same annular outer wall 102 and annular grooves 103 formed on the outer walls as the first embodiment shown in FIG. 10 and the outer frame 15 are combined to form a diffusion channel extending laterally and upward from both sides of the air inlet 152 .

The only difference is that the air window 10 of the second embodiment has a long slit 105 formed on the top surface 101A of its inner wall. Specifically, the louver 10 of the second embodiment does not have a plurality of diffusion holes 104 as shown in FIG. 4 , but is replaced by a long slit 105 , so that the annular groove 103 and the long slit are formed between the annular outer wall and the top surface 101A. The slit 105 runs through. The cross section of Figure 5 C shows that the louver 10 has the annular groove 103 and the elongated slit 105 from the outer wall 102 to the top surface 101A of the inner wall, and the elongated slit 105 also forms a diffusion funnel structure near the top surface 101A.

An insertion hole is formed in the outer frame 15 near the elongated slit 105 of the air window 10 for inserting a diffuser tube 6 . Fig. 6 A shows an embodiment of the diffuser 6, and Fig. 6 B shows a cross-sectional structure according to line AA thereof. The diffuser tube 6 is basically a tube body with an end 61 and a coupling end 62 . The end 61 has a structure matching the end of the socket, and the coupling end 62 is used for connecting to a rotating means, which is the motor 7 in this embodiment. The length of the diffuser tube 6 is appropriately selected so that the coupling end 62 of the diffuser tube 6 inserted into the insertion hole can be connected to the motor 7 located outside the outer frame 15 . As the manual rotation, the motor 7 can force the diffuser 6 to rotate relative to the outer frame 15 with the insertion direction (as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5A ) as the axis. The diameter of the diffuser tube 6 is appropriately selected so that the part of the diffuser tube 6 inserted into the insertion hole is accommodated in the annular groove 103 , as shown in FIG. 5C , even slightly into the elongated slit 105 . In addition, for the purpose of smooth rotation, chamfers can be formed on both sides of the annular groove 103 to reduce friction when the diffuser hole 6 rotates.

The diffuser tube 6 is formed with notches 63 near the end 61 and the coupling end 62 respectively, and a plurality of diffusion holes 64 are formed between the two notches 63 . The diffusing holes 64 are basically arranged along the length of the pipe body in a linear direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto. According to Fig. 6B, the channel in the diffuser tube 6 fluidly communicates the gap 63 and the diffuser hole 64, so that the gas can enter the tube from the gap 63 and be released to the outside of the tube through the diffuser hole 64.

7A and 7B respectively show other embodiments of the diffuser tube. Unlike the cylindrical hole (or tapered hole) of Fig. 6A, the diffusion hole may be replaced by a plurality of slot-shaped diffusion holes 64' or a single slit-shaped diffusion hole 64".

Referring back to FIGS. 5A to 5C , when the diffusion tube 6 is inserted into the insertion hole, the tube wall and the outer wall of the air window 10 are in contact, so that the two upper ends of the diffusion channel are not directly connected to the space of the wafer channel by fluid. , and the two notches 63 on the pipe body are respectively located above the two upper ends of the diffusion channel, so that the diffusion channel and the inner channel of the diffusion tube 6 form an annular diffusion channel. Specifically, the louver 10 has a pair of shoulders 106, and a long slit 105 is defined between the pair of shoulders 106, and the shoulders 106 contact the surface of the diffuser 6 to form a barrier, so that the gas cannot directly pass from the diffuser. into the wafer channel, but is forced through the notch 63 into the tube.

When the diffuser tube 6 is inserted between the louver 10 and the outer frame 15 , the top surface 101A of the first annular inner wall is provided with the diffuser hole 64 of the diffuser tube 6 , which is exposed to the wafer through the annular groove 103 and the elongated slit 105 channel, as shown in Figure 5C. The purge gas diffuses into the wafer channel through diffusion holes 64 to form a gas barrier.

Based on the rotation means provided by the motor 7, the diffuser tube 6 rotates about the insertion direction as the axis, as described above. Thereby, the direction of the diffusion hole 64 is deflected. As shown in FIG. 5C , the direction of the diffusion holes 64 can be deflected clockwise or counterclockwise to allow the gas barrier to selectively approach the wafer transfer port of the processing chamber or the wafer transfer port of the transfer chamber port. In other words, the second embodiment of the flange device proposed by the present invention has a mechanism for adjusting the direction of the diffusion hole 64 and controlling the displacement of the gas barrier.

In the cluster-type process equipment equipped with the flange device according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment, a gas barrier can be formed in the space near the wafer transfer port of the processing chamber, and the gas can be heated by means of heating and control means The barrier is maintained at a specific temperature, pressure and flow rate. In this way, during the process, the temperature of the wafer transfer port can be the same as that of the reaction area, and the reaction gas is blocked by the gas barrier so that it is difficult to flow to the wafer transfer port, thereby preventing the reaction gas from condensing at the wafer transfer port and generating contamination particles.

Claims (8)

1. A flange apparatus for coupling between a process chamber and a transfer chamber, the apparatus comprising: a body having a first annular inner wall and a wafer transfer channel defined by said first annular inner wall, said first annular inner wall having a top surface, a pair of side surfaces and a bottom surface, wherein: the top surface of the first annular inner wall is provided with a plurality of diffusion holes for supplying purge gas toward the wafer passage.

2. The flange apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body is provided with a gas inlet for receiving a purge gas, an annular diffusion channel is formed in the body and extends between the gas inlet and the plurality of diffusion holes for distributing the purge gas from the gas inlet to the plurality of diffusion holes, and the annular diffusion channel surrounds the wafer channel.

3. The flange apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the body is composed of a louver and an outer frame, the louver having the first annular inner wall and an annular outer wall, an annular groove being formed in and extending along the annular outer wall of the louver, and the outer frame having a second annular inner wall, the groove and the second annular inner wall of the outer frame forming the annular diffusion channel when the annular outer wall of the louver and the second annular inner wall of the outer frame are combined.

4. The flange apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the body is composed of a louver and an outer frame, the louver has an annular outer wall, an annular groove formed in and extending along the annular outer wall of the louver, and an elongated slit formed in a top surface of the first annular inner wall so that the elongated slit communicates with the groove, the outer frame is provided with a diffuser pipe formed with a plurality of diffusion holes, and the plurality of diffusion holes of the diffuser pipe are exposed to the wafer passage through the elongated slit when the diffuser pipe is positioned between the louver and the outer frame.

5. The flange apparatus of claim 4, wherein the diffuser pipe is configured to be removably inserted into the body, when the diffuser pipe is inserted into the body, the plurality of diffuser holes of the diffuser pipe correspond to the elongated slots of the louvers, the diffuser pipe, the outer frame and the louvers define the annular diffuser channel, and purge gas is allowed to enter the wafer passage through the annular diffuser channel and the plurality of diffuser holes.

6. A flange apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the diffuser pipe is formed with a notch at each end thereof, and the notch is in fluid communication with the groove of the louver when the diffuser pipe is inserted into the body, so that purge gas can enter the diffuser pipe through the notch.

7. The flange apparatus according to claim 5, wherein one end of the diffuser pipe is connected to a rotating means so that the diffuser pipe can be rotated about its insertion direction as a rotation axis to change the direction of the plurality of diffusion holes.

8. A semiconductor manufacturing system, comprising: a processing chamber for performing a fabrication process, the processing chamber having a first wafer transfer port; a transfer chamber for transferring wafers between stations, having a second wafer transfer port; the flange apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 7, coupled between a process chamber and a transfer chamber, and the wafer passage corresponds to the first wafer transfer port and the second wafer transfer port; and a gas source connected to and supplying a purge gas to the flange apparatus.

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