CN114460814A - Lithographic apparatus, gas bath device and gas bath generator therefor - Google Patents
Lithographic apparatus, gas bath device and gas bath generator therefor Download PDFInfo
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- CN114460814A CN114460814A CN202210068296.5A CN202210068296A CN114460814A CN 114460814 A CN114460814 A CN 114460814A CN 202210068296 A CN202210068296 A CN 202210068296A CN 114460814 A CN114460814 A CN 114460814A
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- XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicon Chemical compound [Si] XUIMIQQOPSSXEZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 40
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 40
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 40
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000001259 photo etching Methods 0.000 abstract description 15
- 239000013618 particulate matter Substances 0.000 abstract description 6
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 182
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 48
- 238000001459 lithography Methods 0.000 description 9
- 230000000903 blocking effect Effects 0.000 description 8
- 239000003344 environmental pollutant Substances 0.000 description 8
- 231100000719 pollutant Toxicity 0.000 description 8
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 6
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 6
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 5
- 238000000206 photolithography Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000004888 barrier function Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000002508 contact lithography Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 3
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000000265 homogenisation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000000059 patterning Methods 0.000 description 2
- -1 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 2
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000004215 Carbon black (E152) Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000009471 action Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000356 contaminant Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229930195733 hydrocarbon Natural products 0.000 description 1
- 150000002430 hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229920001343 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000004810 polytetrafluoroethylene Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000746 purification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000006467 substitution reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000758 substrate Substances 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
- G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
- G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
- G03F7/708—Construction of apparatus, e.g. environment aspects, hygiene aspects or materials
- G03F7/70908—Hygiene, e.g. preventing apparatus pollution, mitigating effect of pollution or removing pollutants from apparatus
- G03F7/70916—Pollution mitigation, i.e. mitigating effect of contamination or debris, e.g. foil traps
Abstract
The invention provides a photoetching device, a gas bath device and a gas bath generator thereof, wherein the gas bath generator comprises a closed ring body, the closed ring body is arranged around a working area, an annular flow channel is formed inside the closed ring body, the closed ring body is also provided with circumferentially distributed gas outlets communicated with the annular flow channel, and the gas outlets generate a closed airflow layer distributed around the working area. The gas bath generator provided by the invention can be used for a photoetching device, is arranged around an exposure area of the photoetching device along the circumferential direction, and forms a circle of closed airflow layer isolated from the outside at the periphery of the exposure area, so that the problem of reducing the gas pollution and particle pollution of the microenvironment of a silicon wafer in the exposure area in the photoetching device is solved.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of photoetching, in particular to photoetching equipment, a gas bath device and a gas bath generator thereof.
Background
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure only and is not necessarily prior art.
The photolithography technique is one of the key techniques for manufacturing very large scale integrated circuits, and whether the photolithography technique is projection lithography, proximity lithography, contact lithography, etc., the photolithography equipment has very strict requirements on the working environment, which mainly shows that particle pollution and gas pollution of the silicon wafer microenvironment are prevented, the particle pollution and the gas pollution in the photolithography equipment can reduce the photolithography yield, and the service life of optical elements is shortened.
Therefore, tight control of gaseous and particulate contaminants in the microenvironment of the silicon wafers within the lithographic apparatus is required.
Disclosure of Invention
The object of the present invention is to at least solve the problem of how to reduce gas and particle contamination of the silicon wafer microenvironment within a lithographic apparatus. The purpose is realized by the following technical scheme:
a first aspect of the invention provides a gas bath generator comprising:
the closed ring body is arranged around the working area, an annular flow channel is formed inside the closed ring body, gas outlets which are communicated with the annular flow channel and distributed in the circumferential direction are further formed in the closed ring body, and the gas outlets generate a closed airflow layer which is distributed around the working area.
According to the gas bath generator, the gas outlet generates the closed airflow layer distributed around the working area, the closed airflow layer prevents external particle pollutants and gas pollutants from entering the working area through the barrier, the gas bath generator is arranged around the exposure area of the photoetching equipment along the circumferential direction under the condition that the gas bath generator is used for the photoetching equipment, a circle of closed airflow layer isolated from the outside is formed on the periphery of the exposure area, and gas and particle pollution of a silicon wafer microenvironment in the photoetching equipment is well reduced.
In addition, the gas bath generator according to the invention may also have the following additional technical features:
in some embodiments of the present invention, the gas bath generator is annular, the gas outlet is disposed at the top of the gas bath generator, and the side wall of the gas bath generator is provided with at least one gas inlet communicated with a gas source.
In some embodiments of the invention, the pore size and/or the open cell density of the gas outlets at different locations is different; the aperture of the air outlet close to the air inlet is smaller than that of the air outlet far away from the air inlet; the density of the openings of the air outlet close to the air inlet is smaller than that of the openings of the air outlet far away from the air inlet.
In some embodiments of the invention, at least one annular baffle is mounted inside the gas bath generator, and a flow gap is provided between the top or bottom of each annular baffle and the gas bath generator.
In some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of annular baffles form a plurality of said flow-through gaps radially dividing the annular flow path of the gas bath generator into an S-shaped channel, the gas inlet being upstream of the S-shaped channel and the gas outlet being downstream of the S-shaped channel.
In some embodiments of the invention, the annular flow passage of the gas bath generator is fitted with at least one annular perforated plate, and the at least one annular perforated plate is disposed at intervals in a radial direction of the annular flow passage.
In some embodiments of the invention, an annular porous medium is disposed between the top and bottom interior surfaces of the gas bath generator.
The present invention also provides a gas bath apparatus comprising: a gas bath generator as described above; the gas cylinder, the gas pretreatment system and the gas bath generator are communicated in sequence.
In some embodiments of the invention, the gas pretreatment system comprises a purifier, a flow controller and a temperature control device which are communicated in sequence, wherein the purifier is communicated with the gas cylinder, and the temperature control device is communicated with the gas inlet of the gas bath generator.
The gas bath apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention has the same advantages as the gas bath generator of the above-described gas bath apparatus, and thus, the detailed description thereof is omitted.
The invention also provides a lithographic apparatus comprising: a gas bath apparatus as described above; the silicon wafer exposure device comprises a silicon wafer, a wafer bearing table and a silicon wafer table, wherein the silicon wafer, the wafer bearing table and the silicon wafer table are sequentially arranged from top to bottom, an exposure area is formed between the silicon wafer and the exposure device, and a gas bath generator of the gas bath device is arranged around the exposure area.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the air outlet of the air bath generator generates a first laminar air flow flowing upwards, the first laminar air flow collides with the bottom surface of the exposure device to form a second laminar air flow flowing from inside to outside, and the first laminar air flow and the second laminar air flow form a closed air flow layer surrounding the exposure area between the air bath generator and the exposure device.
According to the gas bath generator, firstly, clean gas sequentially flows through the gas inlet, the annular flow channel and the gas outlet to generate a plurality of circles of first laminar gas flows which flow upwards, are uniform and stable, the first laminar gas flows collide with the bottom surface of the exposure device in the exposure area to form second laminar gas flows which flow from inside to outside, are uniform and stable, and due to the action of the uniform and stable first laminar gas flows and the uniform and stable second laminar gas flows, the first laminar gas flows and the second laminar gas flows form a high-pressure space with a closed shape and a constant shape, external particle pollutants and gas pollutants cannot cross a barrier to enter a silicon wafer microenvironment in photoetching equipment, and the gas and particle pollution of the silicon wafer microenvironment in the photoetching equipment is well reduced.
Drawings
Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 schematically depicts a schematic structural diagram of a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a top view of a gas bath generator according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 1 of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 2 of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 3 of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 4 of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 5 of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the internal structure of a gas bath generator according to example 6 of the present invention;
fig. 9 schematically shows an internal structural view of a gas bath generator according to embodiment 7 of the present invention.
The reference numbers are as follows:
1 is a gas bath generator, 11 is a gas inlet, 12 is a gas outlet, 13 is a mounting lug, 14 is a first laminar flow, 15 is a second laminar flow, 16 is an annular baffle plate, 17 is an S-shaped channel, 18 is an annular porous plate, and 19 is an annular porous medium;
2 is an exposure device, 21 is a projection objective;
3 is a silicon wafer; 4 is a wafer bearing platform; 5 is a silicon wafer stage; 6 is a gas cylinder;
the purifier is indicated at 71, the flow controller at 72 and the temperature control device at 73.
Detailed Description
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," and "having" are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order described or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It should also be understood that additional or alternative steps may be used.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
For convenience of description, spatially relative terms, such as "inner", "outer", "lower", "below", "upper", "above", and the like, may be used herein to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. Such spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" or "over" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below … …" can include both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
As shown in fig. 1 to 2, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a gas bath generator 1 including: the sealing ring body is arranged around a working area, an annular flow channel is formed inside the sealing ring body, gas outlets 12 which are communicated with the annular flow channel and distributed in the circumferential direction are further formed in the sealing ring body, and the gas outlets 12 generate a sealing airflow layer which is distributed around the working area.
According to the gas bath generator 1, the gas outlet 12 generates a closed airflow layer distributed around a working area, the closed airflow layer prevents external particle pollutants and gas pollutants from entering the working area through a barrier, and the gas bath generator is arranged around an exposure area of the photoetching equipment along the circumferential direction under the condition that the gas bath generator is used for the photoetching equipment, and a circle of closed airflow layer isolated from the outside is formed on the periphery of the exposure area, so that the gas and particle pollution of the microenvironment of a silicon wafer in the photoetching equipment is well reduced.
Further, the gas bath generator 1 is annular, the gas outlet 12 is arranged at the top of the gas bath generator 1, and the side wall of the gas bath generator 1 is provided with at least one gas inlet 11 communicated with a gas source.
Furthermore, the outer side surface of the gas bath generator 1 is also provided with a mounting ear 13; the gas bath generator 1 is mounted on the top surface of the silicon wafer stage 5 or the top surface of the wafer stage 4 through the mounting lugs 13. it is noted that the gas bath generator 1 may be mounted on the top surface of the silicon wafer stage 5 or the top surface of the wafer stage 4, as long as it is ensured that the gas outlet can generate a closed gas flow layer distributed around the working area.
Because the gas bath generator 1 has one or a limited number of gas inlets 11, and the gas bath generator 1 is circular and has a long and narrow annular structure, the flowing paths of the gas are different from the gas inlets 11 to the gas outlets 12 at different positions in the direction of the annular flow passage, so that different internal gas pressures are formed at different positions of the gas outlets 12, which can result in poor uniformity of the closed gas flow layer flowing out of the gas outlets 12, and in order to make the closed gas flow layer flowing out of the top surface of the gas bath generator 1 have good uniformity, the invention also provides several embodiments of the internal structure of the gas bath generator 1.
It should be noted that the gas bath generator 1 is provided in a circular ring shape, which is a preferred embodiment of the present application, and the shape and structure of the gas bath generator 1 are not limited, and for example, according to another embodiment of the present application, the gas bath generator 1 may be provided in a rectangular ring or an elliptical ring structure, and such structural adjustment is within the scope of the present application.
Example 1
Referring to fig. 3, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed gas flow layer, the arrangement of the openings of the gas outlets 12 in the annular direction may be designed to be non-uniform, for example, the hole diameters and/or the opening density of the gas outlets 12 at different positions are different, wherein the hole diameter of the gas outlet 12 near the gas inlet 11 is smaller than that of the gas outlet 12 far from the gas inlet 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Since the air pressure formed at a position close to the air inlet 11 is relatively large and the air pressure formed at a position far from the air inlet 11 is relatively small, the aperture of the air outlet 12 close to the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11 in order to ensure that the average flow velocity of the air flowing out of the closed air flow layer from the air outlet 12 is the same; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 2
Referring to fig. 4, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed airflow layer, an annular baffle plate 16 is installed on the inner top surface of the gas bath generator 1, and a flow gap exists between the annular baffle plate 16 and the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1, the flow gap is convenient for the working gas to pass through, the value of the flow gap ranges from several micrometers to several millimeters, and the flow gap may be a constant value or a variable value in the annular direction.
The annular baffle plate 16 is used for blocking air flow, air entering from the air inlet 11 firstly passes through the annular baffle plate 16 to be blocked, then flows out from a circulation gap between the annular baffle plate 16 and the air bath generator 1 to enter a space where the air outlet 12 is located, and can well homogenize the uneven air pressure in the space where the air inlet 11 is located due to the blocking effect of the annular baffle plate 16, so that the internal air pressure in the space where the air outlet 12 is located tends to be uniform and consistent, and further the uniform and stable closed air flow layer from the air outlet 12 is ensured. The arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer coming out of the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the apertures and/or the opening density of the air outlets 12 at different positions are different, wherein the apertures of the air outlets 12 near the air inlets 11 are smaller than the apertures of the air outlets 12 far away from the air inlets 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 3
Referring to fig. 5, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed airflow layer, an annular baffle plate 16 is installed on the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1, and a flow gap exists between the annular baffle plate 16 and the inner top surface of the gas bath generator 1, the flow gap is convenient for the working gas to pass through, the value of the flow gap ranges from several micrometers to several millimeters, and the flow gap may be a constant value or a variable value in the annular direction.
The effect of installing an annular baffle plate 16 on the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1 is the same as that of installing an annular baffle plate 16 on the inner top surface of the gas bath generator 1, and the description is omitted here. Similarly, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer from the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the openings 12 at different positions have different hole diameters and/or opening densities, wherein the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 4
Referring to fig. 6, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed air flow layer, a plurality of annular baffles 16 are alternately arranged on the inner bottom surface and the inner top surface of the gas bath generator 1, a plurality of flow gaps are formed by the annular baffles 16, the annular flow channels of the gas bath generator 1 are radially divided into S-shaped channels 17, the air inlet 11 is positioned on the upstream of the S-shaped channels 17, and the air outlet 12 is positioned on the downstream of the S-shaped channels 17.
The plurality of annular baffle plates 16 are alternately arranged on the inner bottom surface and the inner top surface of the gas bath generator 1, compared with one annular baffle plate 16, the internal gas pressure of the space where the gas outlet 12 is positioned can be better stabilized, the homogenization effect on the gas pressure is stronger, and the number of the annular baffle plates 16 is not limited here. Similarly, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer from the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the openings 12 at different positions have different hole diameters and/or opening densities, wherein the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 5
Referring to fig. 7, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed air layer, an annular porous plate 18 is installed between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface of the air bath generator 1, the aperture of the annular porous plate 18 has a range of several micrometers to several millimeters, and the aperture can have a constant value or a variable value in the annular direction.
The annular porous plate 18 is also used for blocking the gas flow, the gas entering from the gas inlet 11 firstly passes through the blocking of the annular porous plate 18 and then flows out of the through holes of the annular porous plate 18 to enter the space where the gas outlet 12 is located, and due to the blocking effect of the annular porous plate 18, the non-uniform gas pressure in the space where the gas inlet 11 is located can be well homogenized, so that the internal gas pressure in the space where the gas outlet 12 is located tends to be uniform, and the uniform and stable closed gas flow layer coming out of the gas outlet 12 is further ensured. The arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer coming out of the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the apertures and/or the opening density of the air outlets 12 at different positions are different, wherein the apertures of the air outlets 12 near the air inlets 11 are smaller than the apertures of the air outlets 12 far away from the air inlets 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 6
Referring to fig. 8, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed air flow layer, a plurality of annular porous plates 18 are installed between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1, and the annular porous plates 18 are arranged at intervals along the radial direction of the annular flow channel, the aperture of the annular porous plates 18 ranges from several micrometers to several millimeters, and the aperture can be a constant value or a variable value in the annular direction.
The plurality of annular porous plates 18 are arranged between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1, compared with one annular porous plate 18, the inner gas pressure of the space where the gas outlet 12 is positioned can be better stabilized, the homogenization effect on the gas pressure is stronger, and the number of the annular porous plates 18 is not limited here. Similarly, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer from the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the openings 12 at different positions have different hole diameters and/or opening densities, wherein the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than the hole diameter of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
Example 7
Referring to FIG. 9, in order to improve the uniformity of the closed gas flow layer, an annular porous medium 19 is installed between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator 1.
The annular porous medium 19 is also used for blocking the air flow, the air coming from the air inlet 11 firstly passes through the annular porous medium 19 for blocking, and then flows out of the through holes of the annular porous medium 19 to enter the space where the air outlet 12 is located, and due to the blocking effect of the annular porous medium 19, the air pressure in the space where the air inlet 11 is located can be well homogenized, so that the air pressure in the space where the air outlet 12 is located tends to be uniform, and the uniform and stable closed air flow layer coming out of the air outlet 12 is further ensured. The arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be designed to be non-uniform, or may also be designed to be uniform, preferably, in order to ensure that the closed airflow layer coming out of the air outlets 12 is completely uniform and stable, the arrangement of the openings of the air outlets 12 in the annular direction may also be non-uniform, for example, the apertures and/or the opening density of the air outlets 12 at different positions are different, wherein the apertures of the air outlets 12 near the air inlets 11 are smaller than the apertures of the air outlets 12 far away from the air inlets 11; the aperture density of the air outlet 12 near the air inlet 11 is smaller than that of the air outlet 12 far from the air inlet 11.
The material of the annular porous medium 19 is foamed metal, porous polytetrafluoroethylene, or the like.
The present invention also provides a gas bath apparatus comprising: the gas bath generator 1 as described above;
the gas cylinder 6, the gas pretreatment system and the gas bath generator 1 are communicated in sequence.
Further, the gas pretreatment system comprises a purifier 71, a flow controller 72 and a temperature control device 73 which are sequentially communicated, wherein the purifier 71 is communicated with the gas cylinder 6, and the temperature control device 73 is communicated with the gas inlet of the gas bath generator 1.
Specifically, the gas cylinder 6 is used to provide clean working gas; the gas pretreatment system is used to pretreat the process gas including, but not limited to, gas purification, particulate filtration, flow control, and temperature control type pretreatment functions.
Furthermore, the working gas in the gas cylinder 6 is preferably nitrogen, and then dry air or other inert gases; the gas pretreatment system comprises a purifier 71, a flow controller 72 and a temperature control device 73, wherein the purifier 71 can filter particles in the working gas and absorb polluting gases such as water, hydrocarbon and the like, so that the silicon wafer 3 is prevented from being possibly polluted by the polluting gases; the flow controller 72 is used for accurately controlling the gas flow and providing a basis for the uniformity and stability of the closed gas flow layer, and the temperature control device 73 is used for carrying out constant temperature control on the working gas to ensure that the working gas entering the gas bath generator 1 has constant temperature. It should be noted that the structures of the purifier 71, the flow controller 72 and the temperature control device 73 are all in the prior art, and are not described herein.
The gas bath apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention has the same advantages as the gas bath generator 1 of the above-described gas bath apparatus, and thus, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The invention also provides a lithographic apparatus comprising: a gas bath apparatus as described above;
the device comprises an exposure device 2, a silicon wafer 3, a wafer bearing table 4 and a silicon wafer table 5, wherein the exposure device 2, the silicon wafer 3, the wafer bearing table 4 and the silicon wafer table 5 are sequentially arranged from top to bottom, an exposure area is formed between the exposure device 2 and the silicon wafer 3, and a gas bath generator 1 of the gas bath device is arranged around the exposure area.
Specifically, the exposure device 2 mainly generates a beam with a desired pattern and performs patterning on the surface of the silicon wafer 3, and current lithography apparatuses can be classified into three broad categories, proximity lithography, contact lithography, direct-write lithography, and projection lithography. Copying a pattern on a mask plate by approaching and contacting through infinite approaching; projection type photoetching adopts a projection objective 21 to project the structure on a mask plate to the surface of a substrate; in direct writing, the light beam is focused to one point, any pattern processing is realized by moving a workpiece table or a lens for scanning, and optical projection lithography is always the mainstream lithography technology of integrated circuits by virtue of the advantages of high efficiency and no damage, so that for projection lithography, the bottom of the exposure device 2 is a projection objective 21; whereas for proximity, contact lithography, the bottom of the exposure apparatus 2 is the mask.
The air outlet 12 of the gas bath generator 1 generates a first laminar air flow 14 flowing upwards, the first laminar air flow 14 collides with the bottom surface of the exposure device 2 to form a second laminar air flow 15 flowing from inside to outside, and the first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 form a closed air flow layer surrounding the exposure area between the gas bath generator 1 and the exposure device 2.
Further, the silicon wafer 3, the wafer bearing table 4 and the silicon wafer table 5 are located below the exposure device 2, wherein the wafer bearing table 4 is used for bearing the silicon wafer, the silicon wafer 3 is stably connected to the top of the wafer bearing table 4, the influence of the first laminar air flow 14, the second laminar air flow 15 and the like on the position of the silicon wafer 3 is avoided, and finally the exposure device 2 is convenient for performing graphic processing on the surface of the silicon wafer 3; the wafer stage 5 is used for moving the silicon wafer 3 to the bottom of the exposure apparatus 2 for patterning, and it should be noted that how the wafer stage 5 moves belongs to the prior art in the field, and is not described herein again.
The first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 must be uniform and stable, and because the gas bath generator 1 is sleeved on the wafer bearing table 4 or the wafer table 5, a relative high pressure area is formed in a silicon wafer microenvironment at the inner side of the gas bath generator 1, and the second laminar air flow 15 flows from inside to outside and does not flow from outside to inside; however, when the first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 are not uniform and stable, that is, when the first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 are turbulent, the first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 with changed wind directions and wind speeds move irregularly inside, which causes turbulence of the inside air flow and generation of a large amount of vortexes, further causes that the first laminar air flow 14 and the second laminar air flow 15 may flow to the silicon wafer microenvironment inside the gas bath generator 1, and finally drives the gas pollutants and the particle pollutants to flow to the silicon wafer microenvironment, or even causes a problem of aggravation of pollution.
The above description is only for the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Claims (11)
1. A gas bath generator, comprising;
the closed ring body is arranged around the working area, an annular flow channel is formed inside the closed ring body, gas outlets which are communicated with the annular flow channel and distributed in the circumferential direction are further formed in the closed ring body, and the gas outlets generate a closed airflow layer which is distributed around the working area.
2. The gas bath generator according to claim 1, wherein the gas bath generator is circular, the gas outlet is arranged at the top of the gas bath generator, and the side wall of the gas bath generator is provided with at least one gas inlet communicated with a gas source.
3. The gas bath generator according to claim 2, wherein the pore size and/or pore density of the gas outlets at different positions are different;
the aperture of the air outlet close to the air inlet is smaller than that of the air outlet far away from the air inlet;
the density of the openings of the air outlet close to the air inlet is smaller than that of the openings of the air outlet far away from the air inlet.
4. The gas bath generator according to claim 2, wherein at least one annular baffle is mounted inside the gas bath generator, and a flow gap is provided between the top or bottom of each annular baffle and the gas bath generator.
5. The gas bath generator according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of flow gaps formed by the plurality of annular baffles radially divide the annular flow path of the gas bath generator to form an S-shaped channel, the gas inlet is located upstream of the S-shaped channel, and the gas outlet is located downstream of the S-shaped channel.
6. The gas bath generator according to claim 1, wherein the annular flow passage of the gas bath generator is provided with at least one annular perforated plate, and the at least one annular perforated plate is arranged at intervals in a radial direction of the annular flow passage.
7. The gas bath generator according to claim 1, wherein an annular porous medium is installed between the inner top surface and the inner bottom surface of the gas bath generator.
8. A gas bath apparatus, comprising the gas bath generator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:
the gas cylinder, the gas pretreatment system and the gas bath generator are communicated in sequence.
9. The gas bath apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the gas pretreatment system comprises a purifier, a flow controller and a temperature control device which are communicated in sequence, the purifier is communicated with the gas cylinder, and the temperature control device is communicated with a gas inlet of the gas bath generator.
10. A lithographic apparatus comprising the gas bath device of claim 8, further comprising:
the device comprises an exposure device, a silicon wafer, a wafer bearing table and a silicon wafer table, wherein the exposure device, the silicon wafer, the wafer bearing table and the silicon wafer table are sequentially arranged from top to bottom, an exposure area is formed between the exposure device and the silicon wafer, and a gas bath generator of the gas bath device is arranged around the exposure area.
11. The lithographic apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the gas outlet of the gas bath generator generates a first laminar gas flow flowing upward, the first laminar gas flow impinging on the bottom surface of the exposure device forming a second laminar gas flow flowing from inside to outside, the first laminar gas flow and the second laminar gas flow forming a closed gas flow layer around the exposure area between the gas bath generator and the exposure device.
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| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202210068296.5A CN114460814B (en) | 2022-01-20 | 2022-01-20 | Lithographic apparatus, gas bath device and gas bath generator |
| PCT/CN2022/137428 WO2023138251A1 (en) | 2022-01-20 | 2022-12-08 | Photolithography device, gas bath apparatus and gas bath generator thereof |
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| CN202210068296.5A CN114460814B (en) | 2022-01-20 | 2022-01-20 | Lithographic apparatus, gas bath device and gas bath generator |
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| CN114460814B CN114460814B (en) | 2024-04-02 |
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| WO (1) | WO2023138251A1 (en) |
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| WO2023138251A1 (en) * | 2022-01-20 | 2023-07-27 | 中国科学院微电子研究所 | Photolithography device, gas bath apparatus and gas bath generator thereof |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN116841137B (en) * | 2023-08-31 | 2023-11-21 | 光科芯图(北京)科技有限公司 | Gas bath device, temperature control system and exposure equipment |
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| CN114460814B (en) | 2024-04-02 |
| WO2023138251A1 (en) | 2023-07-27 |
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