CN114754585B - Sintering equipment - Google Patents
Sintering equipment Download PDFInfo
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- CN114754585B CN114754585B CN202210422134.7A CN202210422134A CN114754585B CN 114754585 B CN114754585 B CN 114754585B CN 202210422134 A CN202210422134 A CN 202210422134A CN 114754585 B CN114754585 B CN 114754585B
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- gas
- air inlet
- heating
- sintering apparatus
- inner shell
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- 238000005245 sintering Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 66
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 79
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 67
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 28
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 24
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 claims description 93
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 16
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 claims description 16
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 16
- 230000001276 controlling effect Effects 0.000 claims description 15
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 claims description 11
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon dioxide Inorganic materials O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 11
- HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon carbide Chemical compound [Si+]#[C-] HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 10
- 229910010271 silicon carbide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000001105 regulatory effect Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000010425 asbestos Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052895 riebeckite Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- YKTSYUJCYHOUJP-UHFFFAOYSA-N [O--].[Al+3].[Al+3].[O-][Si]([O-])([O-])[O-] Chemical compound [O--].[Al+3].[Al+3].[O-][Si]([O-])([O-])[O-] YKTSYUJCYHOUJP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000011144 upstream manufacturing Methods 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000005368 silicate glass Substances 0.000 description 14
- 239000011449 brick Substances 0.000 description 12
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 8
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 8
- 235000012431 wafers Nutrition 0.000 description 6
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0.000 description 4
- 238000001179 sorption measurement Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 229910018072 Al 2 O 3 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- MYMOFIZGZYHOMD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Dioxygen Chemical compound O=O MYMOFIZGZYHOMD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910010293 ceramic material Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000009770 conventional sintering Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000011810 insulating material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000002955 isolation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004321 preservation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 description 2
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Chemical compound O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000002159 abnormal effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000015556 catabolic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000013078 crystal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000008021 deposition Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000151 deposition Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005530 etching Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002241 glass-ceramic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005468 ion implantation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000002156 mixing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- GALOTNBSUVEISR-UHFFFAOYSA-N molybdenum;silicon Chemical compound [Mo]#[Si] GALOTNBSUVEISR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000004901 spalling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F27—FURNACES; KILNS; OVENS; RETORTS
- F27B—FURNACES, KILNS, OVENS, OR RETORTS IN GENERAL; OPEN SINTERING OR LIKE APPARATUS
- F27B17/00—Furnaces of a kind not covered by any preceding group
- F27B17/0016—Chamber type furnaces
- F27B17/0025—Especially adapted for treating semiconductor wafers
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F27—FURNACES; KILNS; OVENS; RETORTS
- F27D—DETAILS OR ACCESSORIES OF FURNACES, KILNS, OVENS, OR RETORTS, IN SO FAR AS THEY ARE OF KINDS OCCURRING IN MORE THAN ONE KIND OF FURNACE
- F27D7/00—Forming, maintaining, or circulating atmospheres in heating chambers
- F27D7/06—Forming or maintaining special atmospheres or vacuum within heating chambers
-
- 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
- H01L21/683—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 supporting or gripping
- H01L21/6831—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 supporting or gripping using electrostatic chucks
- H01L21/6833—Details of electrostatic chucks
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F27—FURNACES; KILNS; OVENS; RETORTS
- F27D—DETAILS OR ACCESSORIES OF FURNACES, KILNS, OVENS, OR RETORTS, IN SO FAR AS THEY ARE OF KINDS OCCURRING IN MORE THAN ONE KIND OF FURNACE
- F27D7/00—Forming, maintaining, or circulating atmospheres in heating chambers
- F27D7/06—Forming or maintaining special atmospheres or vacuum within heating chambers
- F27D2007/063—Special atmospheres, e.g. high pressure atmospheres
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Furnace Details (AREA)
- Powder Metallurgy (AREA)
Abstract
The invention provides sintering equipment, which comprises an inner shell, an outer shell and a heating device, wherein the outer shell surrounds the periphery of the inner shell at intervals; the heating device is arranged between the outer shell and the inner shell and is used for heating the inner shell and the inside of the inner shell; the inner shell encloses a closed space for accommodating the piece to be sintered, and the inner shell is made of compact materials capable of avoiding particles, and can isolate gas in the closed space from gas outside the inner shell. The sintering equipment provided by the invention can solve the problems that a large amount of particles and external gas are generated in the prior art to influence the sintering process and the like.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to sintering equipment.
Background
Electrostatic chucks are used to attract objects to be processed, such as wafers or trays, in semiconductor processes, and are widely used in processes such as deposition, etching, and ion implantation. The electrostatic chuck generally has one or more metal electrodes and a dielectric layer, which may be glass or ceramic, is wrapped around the metal electrodes, wherein silicate glass has very good voltage resistance and is resistant to Al 2 O 3 And AlN and other traditional ceramic materials, which can be manufactured by adopting printing and sintering modes, and the manufacturing mode can realize the accurate control of the thickness of the dielectric layer, thereby ensuring the adsorption of the electrostatic chuckUniformity of force and radio frequency efficiency.
However, the existing sintering equipment generally adopts refractory bricks to enclose a process space for accommodating a piece to be sintered (for example, silicate glass), and because the surface of the refractory bricks is loose, spalling phenomenon is easy to occur, so that a large amount of particles are generated, especially after process gas is introduced into the process space, the gas flow carries a large amount of particles to flow in the process space, and part of the particles finally fall on the piece to be sintered, so that the process result is often affected when the piece to be sintered is put into use.
In addition, the process space surrounded by the refractory bricks is communicated with the external atmosphere (through gaps among the refractory bricks), so that the external gas can pass through the refractory bricks to enter the process space when the existing sintering equipment is used for performing the process, and water vapor or other components in the external gas can influence the sintering process.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems in the prior art, and provides sintering equipment which can solve the problems that a large amount of particles and external gas are generated in the prior art to influence the sintering process and the like.
In order to achieve the object of the invention, a sintering device is provided, comprising an inner housing, an outer housing and a heating device, wherein the outer housing surrounds the inner housing at intervals; the heating device is arranged between the outer shell and the inner shell and is used for heating the inner shell and the inside of the inner shell;
the inner shell encloses a closed space for accommodating a piece to be sintered, and is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet which are communicated with the closed space; the inner shell is made of compact materials capable of avoiding particles, and gas in the closed space can be isolated from gas outside the inner shell.
Optionally, the material of the inner shell includes quartz or silicon carbide.
Optionally, the sintering device further comprises a pressure control device, wherein the pressure control device is connected with the air inlet and the air outlet or connected with the air inlet and is used for controlling the air pressure of the closed space.
Optionally, the pressure control device comprises an air inlet pipeline, an air outlet pipeline, an air suction pump and a process gas source, wherein,
the two ends of the air inlet pipeline are respectively connected with the air inlet and the process gas source, and a first flow control device is arranged on the air inlet pipeline; the process gas source is used for introducing process gas into the closed space through the gas inlet pipeline;
two ends of the exhaust pipeline are respectively communicated with the exhaust port and the air extracting pump, and a second flow control device is arranged on the exhaust pipeline; the air pump is used for pumping the gas in the closed space through the exhaust pipeline.
Optionally, the pressure control device comprises a gas inlet pipeline and a process gas source, wherein,
the two ends of the air inlet pipeline are respectively connected with the air inlet and the process gas source, and a first flow control device is arranged on the air inlet pipeline; the process gas source is used for introducing process gas into the closed space through the gas inlet pipeline;
the exhaust port is communicated with the external atmospheric environment.
Optionally, the number of the gas inlets is two, and the process gas source comprises an oxygen source and an inert gas source;
the two air inlet pipelines are respectively communicated with one air inlet and the oxygen source at two ends of one air inlet pipeline; two ends of the other air inlet pipeline are respectively communicated with the other air inlet and the inert gas source; the first flow control device is arranged on each of the two air inlet pipelines.
Optionally, the air inlet pipe is further provided with a pressure regulating valve, and the pressure regulating valve is located upstream of the first flow control device.
Optionally, a filter is further disposed on the air inlet pipe, and the filter is used for filtering particles in the air inlet pipe.
Optionally, the air pump comprises a variable frequency pump, and the variable frequency pump can adjust the air pumping speed.
Optionally, the heating device comprises a heating component, and the heating component is uniformly arranged along the circumference of the inner shell.
Optionally, the heating device further comprises a temperature detection unit and a control unit, wherein the temperature detection unit is used for detecting the temperature in the closed space and sending the temperature to the control unit;
the control unit is electrically connected with the heating component and is used for controlling the heating power of the heating component according to the temperature.
Optionally, the heating component includes a plurality of sub-heating components, and the plurality of sub-heating components correspond to a plurality of different areas divided in the enclosed space;
each area is correspondingly provided with at least one temperature detection unit, and the temperature detection units are used for detecting the temperature in the area and sending the temperature to the control unit;
the control unit is electrically connected with the plurality of sub-heating components and is used for controlling the heating power of the sub-heating components of the corresponding areas according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit corresponding to each area.
Optionally, a heat insulating member is disposed between the outer case and the inner case, the heat insulating member surrounding the inner case and being located outside the heating device.
Optionally, the insulating member comprises at least one of aluminum silicate and asbestos.
The invention has the following beneficial effects:
the sintering equipment provided by the invention comprises the inner shell and the outer shell, wherein the inner shell encloses a closed space for accommodating the to-be-sintered part, and the material of the inner shell has higher compactness compared with the prior art, and the material with high compactness is not easy to peel off, so that the generation of particles can be avoided, a large number of particles can be avoided when the sintering process is carried out, and the possibility that the particles fall on the to-be-sintered part to influence the process result is reduced or avoided; meanwhile, the inner shell is made of high-compactness materials, and gas in the closed space can be isolated from gas outside the inner shell, so that the influence on the sintering process caused by the fact that the gas outside the inner shell enters the closed space can be avoided.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electrostatic chuck;
FIG. 2 is a side view of a prior art sintering apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4A is a side view of a sintering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4A;
FIG. 5A is another cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 4A;
FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram of the pressure control device in FIG. 5A;
fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another sintering apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the sintering device provided by the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An electrostatic chuck for adsorbing an object to be processed such as a wafer or a tray in a semiconductor process generally has one or more metal electrodes, and a dielectric layer is wrapped outside the metal electrodes, and the bipolar electrostatic chuck shown in fig. 1 is exemplified as the electrostatic chuck, which includes two electrodes 11 and a dielectric layer 12 wrapped outside the two electrodes 11, wherein both electrodes 11 are connected to a dc power supply for applying a dc voltage to both electrodes 11 to adsorb the object to be processed such as a wafer or a tray on the dielectric layer 12 by electrostatic attraction. In addition, bumps 121 are provided on the dielectric layer 12 for reducing the contact area between the wafer 13 and the dielectric layer 12 to reduce particle contamination of the wafer 13. The bump 121 may be made of the same material as the dielectric layer 12 or of a different material.
In practical applications, increasing the dc voltage U applied to the electrode 11 and decreasing the thickness d of the dielectric layer 12 are key means for increasing the adsorption force, and the ratio of the dc voltage to the thickness U/d represents the dielectric strength of the dielectric layer 12. When the dielectric strength of the dielectric layer 12 cannot meet the requirement, the dielectric layer 12 will break down, resulting in abnormal adsorption force, the electrostatic chuck cannot be used normally, and even the wafer is damaged, so that on the material selection of the dielectric layer 12, the dielectric strength of the dielectric layer 12 is generally better when the dielectric strength is higher without affecting other performances. Based on this, silicate glass has high dielectric strength, excellent pressure resistance, and relative to Al 2 O 3 And AlN and other traditional ceramic materials, can be manufactured in a printing and sintering mode, and can realize accurate control of the thickness of the dielectric layer by the manufacturing mode, so that consistency of the adsorption force and the radio frequency efficiency of the electrostatic chuck can be ensured.
Fig. 2 is a side view of a conventional sintering apparatus. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of fig. 2. Referring to fig. 2 and 3, a conventional sintering apparatus 2 for sintering glass ceramics (e.g., silicate glass) includes a metal housing 21, wherein the metal housing 21 has a cover (not shown), and a process space 23 surrounded by a refractory brick wall 22 is disposed inside the metal housing 21, and the refractory brick wall 22 is used for heat preservation and insulation. And, there is a heating pipe 24 in the process space 23, which may be a silicon molybdenum rod specifically, for heating the process space 23; a thermocouple 25 is also provided in the process space 23 for detecting the temperature of the process space 23 and sending to a control unit 26; the control unit 26 is used for controlling the heating power of the heating pipe 24 according to the detected temperature. In addition, in order to ensure that the process space 23 has sufficient oxygen during the sintering process, compressed air may be fed into the process space 23 by means of the inlet line 27.
However, since the surface of the refractory brick cavity 22 is relatively loose, flaking is easily generated, which causes a large amount of particles to be generated, especially in the case of delivering compressed air into the process space 23, the air flow carries a large amount of particles to flow in the process space 23, and part of the particles finally fall on the workpiece to be sintered, so that the process result is often affected when the workpiece to be sintered is put into use. Taking the to-be-sintered piece as silicate glass as an example, if a large number of particles enter the silicate glass, the pressure resistance of the silicate glass can be greatly reduced, and breakdown of the silicate glass under high voltage is easy to occur, so that the electrostatic chuck cannot be normally used.
In addition, since the process space 23 surrounded by the refractory brick walls 22 is communicated with the outside atmosphere (through gaps between refractory bricks), the existing sintering equipment 2 can only be applied to normal-pressure sintering, the pressure in the space is uncontrollable, the applicable sintering process is limited, and when the process is performed, outside air can pass through the refractory brick walls 22 to enter the process space 23, and water vapor or other components in the outside air can influence the sintering process.
In order to solve at least one of the above problems, referring to fig. 4A and 4B together, an embodiment of the present invention provides a sintering apparatus 3, which can be applied to a component to be sintered in a semiconductor processing apparatus, such as a dielectric layer in an electrostatic chuck, for example, silicate glass.
The sintering apparatus 3 includes an outer case 31, an inner case 33, a heating device 35, and a pressure control device 39, wherein the outer case 31 may be, for example, a metal case, and the outer case 31 may be, for example, a case, which may have a square, rectangular, circular, or the like cross-sectional shape along the line B-B in fig. 4A. The outer case 31 has an opening therein and a cover (not shown) for opening or closing the opening, and the member to be sintered can be moved into or out of the outer case 31 when the cover is opened; the cover body and the outer shell 31 can be sealed by a sealing ring or other sealing structures so as to seal the opening and ensure that the inner part of the outer shell 31 is isolated from the outside. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in practical applications, the inside of the outer case 31 may be in communication with the outside according to different needs, in which case the cover and the outer case 31 may not be provided with a sealing structure or a gap between the cover and the outer case 31 may be filled with a heat insulating material such as asbestos, and the outside of the outer case 31 may be covered with the heat insulating material to reduce heat loss, improve heating efficiency, and avoid the influence of the outside environment temperature on the inside temperature of the heat insulating member 32.
Further, the outer case 31 is surrounded around the inner case 33 at intervals, that is, an annular space 34 is provided between the outer case 31 and the inner case 33, and a heating device 35 is provided in the annular space 34 for heating the inner case 33 and the inside thereof to perform a sintering process on the member to be sintered. In some alternative embodiments, as shown in fig. 4B, an insulating member 32 is further disposed in the annular space 34, and the insulating member 32 surrounds the inner casing 33 and is located outside the heating device 35 to perform the functions of heat preservation and heat insulation, so that heat loss can be reduced, heating efficiency can be improved, and the influence of the outside environment temperature on the inside temperature of the insulating member 32 can be avoided. The insulating member 32 includes, for example, at least one of aluminum silicate and asbestos.
The inner housing 33 encloses a closed space 36 for accommodating the member to be sintered, and the cross-sectional shape of the inner housing 33 along the line B-B in fig. 4A may be the same as or different from the cross-section of the outer housing 31 along the line B-B in fig. 4A, and the volume of the closed space 36 should be larger than the volume of the member to be sintered to ensure that the member to be sintered can be accommodated. The inner case 33 also has an opening for moving the member to be sintered in and out, which is provided corresponding to the opening of the outer case 31 described above, and after moving the member to be sintered into the closed space 36 via the opening, a cover may be additionally provided to open or close the opening, and a sealing structure such as a gasket or the like is provided on the cover to seal the opening on the inner case 33 to ensure that the closed space 36 is isolated from the outside of the inner case 33, i.e., that the outside air does not enter the closed space 36 from the opening.
Moreover, the inner housing 33 has gas inlets and gas outlets communicating with the closed space 36, and in practical use, the number of gas inlets is the same as the number of kinds of process gases, for example, and different kinds of process gases can enter the closed space 36 from different gas inlets, for example, two gas inlets and one gas outlet are shown in fig. 4B, and specific positions are shown by arrows in fig. 4B, for example. The material of the inner housing 33 is a dense material capable of avoiding generation of particles, so as to avoid generation of particles, and the gas in the closed space 36 can be isolated from the gas outside the inner housing 33. Because the material of the inner shell 33 has higher compactness compared with the prior art (such as a refractory brick wall body), the material with high compactness is not easy to peel off, so that the generation of particles can be avoided, a large number of particles can be avoided when the sintering process is carried out, and the possibility that the particles fall on a piece to be sintered to influence the process result is reduced or avoided; meanwhile, the inner shell 33 is made of a high-compactness material, and can isolate the gas in the closed space 36 from the gas outside the inner shell 33, so that the gas outside the inner shell 33 can be prevented from entering the closed space 36 to influence the sintering process.
In some alternative embodiments, the material of the inner housing 33 comprises quartz or silicon carbide. Both materials have higher compactness, and can not generate particles, but also realize gas isolation at the inner side and the outer side of the inner shell 33, namely, outside gas cannot enter the inner side of the inner shell 33 through quartz or silicon carbide, but the embodiment of the invention is not limited to the above, and in practical application, other high-compactness materials which can not generate particles and can realize gas isolation at the inner side and the outer side of the inner shell 33 can also be adopted.
Specifically, when the material of the inner casing 33 is silicon carbide, since the heating device 35 is located at the outer side of the inner casing 33, the generated heat can heat the inner casing 33 made of silicon carbide by heat convection and heat radiation, and then the heat is conducted to the to-be-sintered part in the enclosed space 36 by the inner casing 33 by heat convection and heat radiation. When the inner shell 33 is made of quartz, the heat generated by the heating device 35 can heat the inner shell 33 made of quartz by heat convection and heat radiation, and then the inner shell 33 can transmit the heat to the to-be-sintered part in the enclosed space 36 by heat convection and heat radiation, meanwhile, the heat generated by the heating device 35 can also directly radiate to the to-be-sintered part in the enclosed space 36 through the quartz, so that the inner shell 33 made of quartz has higher heating efficiency relative to silicon carbide, but the heat resistance of the silicon carbide is better than that of the quartz, therefore, the inner shell 33 made of quartz or silicon carbide can be selected according to sintering processes with different temperatures, for example, when the working temperature is below 1200 ℃, the inner shell 33 can be made of quartz, and when the working temperature is above 1200 ℃, the inner shell 33 can be made of silicon carbide.
In some alternative embodiments, as shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the sintering apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention may further include a pressure control device 39, where the pressure control device 39 is connected to the air inlet and the air outlet, or is connected to only the air inlet, for controlling the air pressure of the enclosed space 36, on the basis that the material of the inner casing 33 can isolate the air in the enclosed space 36 from the air outside the inner casing 33.
On the basis of isolating the gas in the closed space 36 from the gas outside the inner shell 33 by utilizing the inner shell 3 with high compactness, the pressure control device 39 can be connected with the gas inlet and the gas outlet, or only connected with the gas inlet, so as to control the gas pressure of the closed space 36 to meet the requirements of different sintering processes on the gas pressure, and compared with the prior art which can only be applied to normal-pressure sintering, the method can be applied to more different sintering processes, thereby expanding the application range of sintering equipment.
For example, the pressure of the enclosed space 36 may be controlled by the pressure control device 39 to be about one atmosphere, or the enclosed space 36 may be in a vacuum state, so as to meet the requirement of different sintering processes on the air pressure, which may be applied to more different sintering processes than the prior art, so as to expand the application range of the sintering device.
In some alternative embodiments, the pressure control device 39 is connected to the air inlet and the air outlet of the inner housing 33 to be able to control the air pressure of the enclosed space 36 by controlling the air flow at the air inlet and the air outlet, respectively. Specifically, as shown in fig. 5B, the pressure control device 39 includes an air inlet pipe 391, an air outlet pipe 397, an air pump 398 and a process gas source, wherein the process gas source includes an oxygen source 392 and an inert gas source 393, and correspondingly, two air inlets of the inner housing 33 are provided, two air inlet pipes 391 are provided, and two ends of one air inlet pipe 391 are respectively communicated with one air inlet and one oxygen source 392; two ends of the other air inlet pipeline 391 are respectively communicated with the other air inlet and the inert gas source 393; a first flow control device 394 is disposed on each of the two air inlet lines 391 for controlling the flow of air in the air inlet line 391 to control the air pressure in the enclosed space 36. The first flow control device 394 is, for example, a gas Mass Flow Controller (MFC).
An oxygen source 392 is provided for supplying oxygen to enclosure 36 via inlet line 391. Taking the silicate glass as an example, oxygen can react with the silicate glass to generate Al in the sintering process 2 O 3 Crystals which greatly contribute to the improvement of the pressure resistance of silicate glass, and on the basis of this, al can be improved by introducing sufficient oxygen into the closed space 36 during the sintering process 2 O 3 The ratio of the silicate glass to the glass can improve the pressure resistance of the silicate glass.
The inert gas source 393 is used for introducing inert gas into the enclosed space 36 through the gas inlet pipeline 391, the inert gas and oxygen are simultaneously introduced into the enclosed space 36 in a certain proportion in the process of sintering process, the inert gas does not participate in the reaction, and the proportion of the inert gas and the oxygen is as follows: on the premise that enough oxygen is introduced into the enclosed space 36, the air pressure of the enclosed space 36 reaches a preset air pressure value. The inert gas is, for example, nitrogen.
In practical applications, the number and types of the process gas sources may be adaptively designed according to different sintering processes, and the number of the gas inlets, the gas inlet pipelines, and the like may be correspondingly adjusted, for example, only an oxygen source may be provided for introducing pure oxygen into the enclosed space 36, in which case, the gas inlet and the gas inlet pipelines are one, which is not a particular limitation in the embodiments of the present invention.
As shown in fig. 5B, two ends of the exhaust pipe 397 are respectively communicated with the exhaust port and the air pump 398, and a second flow control device 399 is provided on the exhaust pipe 397 for controlling the flow rate of the air in the exhaust pipe 397, which can be combined with the first flow control device 394 to control the air pressure in the enclosed space 36. The second flow control device 399 is, for example, a flow regulating valve. The pump 398 is for pumping the gas in the enclosed space 36 through the exhaust line 397.
In practical applications, the pump 398 can be selected according to different requirements on the vacuum degree of the enclosed space 36, and the pump 398 is, for example, a molecular pump, a vacuum pump, or the like. In some alternative embodiments, the air pump 398 may be a variable frequency pump, which can adjust the air suction speed, and besides adjusting the air flow of the air inlet pipe 391 by using the first flow control device 394 and adjusting the air flow of the air outlet pipe 397 by using the second flow control device 399, the air pressure of the enclosed space 36 may also be controlled by adjusting the air suction speed of the variable frequency pump, in practical applications, these three adjusting modes may be freely combined according to specific needs, for example, by simultaneously controlling the air flow of the air inlet pipe 391 and the air suction speed of the variable frequency pump (and/or the air flow of the air outlet pipe 397), the air flow flowing into the enclosed space 36 may be consistent with the air flow of the air flowing out of the enclosed space 36, when the air pressure of the enclosed space 36 reaches a dynamic balance, and on the basis, if it is desired to increase the air pressure of the enclosed space 36, the air suction speed of the air inlet pipe 391 or decrease the air flow of the variable frequency pump (and/or the air flow of the air outlet pipe 397) may be achieved; conversely, if it is desired to reduce the pressure in enclosure 36, this may be accomplished by reducing the flow of gas through inlet line 391 or by increasing the pumping speed of the variable frequency pump (and/or the flow of gas through exhaust line 397). Thus, the gas pressure in the enclosed space 36 can be controlled to an operating pressure of from a few mTorr to a few hundred Torr, so that the gas pressure requirements of different sintering processes can be met.
In some alternative embodiments, in order to ensure the stability of the front pressure of the first flow control device 394, the air inlet pipe 391 is further provided with a pressure regulating valve 395, where the pressure regulating valve 395 is located upstream of the first flow control device 394 and is used to regulate the pressure of the air inlet pipe 391 located at the front end of the first flow control device 394, so as to improve the control accuracy of the first flow control device 394.
In some alternative embodiments, to prevent particulate mixing in the process gas, a filter 396 is also provided on the inlet line 391, the filter 396 being adapted to filter the particulate in the inlet line 391 so as to avoid the introduction of particulate from the inlet line into the enclosure 36.
In other alternative embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the embodiment of the invention also provides a sintering device 3', which differs from the sintering device 3 shown in fig. 5B only in that: the pressure control device 39' is connected to the air inlet of the inner case 33, but is not connected to an air outlet which communicates with the outside atmosphere. In this case, the above-mentioned pressure control means 39' controls the air pressure of the closed space 36 by controlling the flow rate of the air at the air inlet. In order to communicate the exhaust port with the external atmosphere, for example, an exhaust structure such as an exhaust pipe may be provided.
Specifically, the pressure control device 39' includes an air inlet pipe and a process gas source, which have the same structure and function as the air inlet pipe and the process gas source in the pressure control device 39, and are used for introducing the process gas (such as pure oxygen or a certain proportion of oxygen and inert gas) into the enclosed space 36, which are not described herein.
The pressure control device 39' eliminates the exhaust line and the suction pump as compared to the pressure control device 39 described above and shown in fig. 5B. In this case, the first flow control device 394 may be used to control the flow rate of the gas in the gas inlet line 391 to control the gas pressure in the enclosed space 36 within a range greater than the atmospheric pressure, so that the enclosed space 36 may form a micro positive pressure environment, and thus the gas outside the inner housing 33 may be effectively prevented from entering the enclosed space 36 from the gas outlet, so that the relatively pure gas in the enclosed space 36 may be ensured even if the enclosed space 36 is in communication with the atmospheric environment.
In some alternative embodiments, to improve the heating temperature uniformity, the heating device 35 includes heating members that are circumferentially and uniformly disposed along the circumference of the inner housing 33 to ensure uniform heating of the inner housing 33 and the inside thereof in the circumferential direction of the inner housing 33. The heating means is for example a heating tube or a heating wire or the like.
In some alternative embodiments, to improve the automation and accuracy of the temperature control, the heating device 35 further comprises a temperature detection unit 37 and a control unit 38, wherein the temperature detection unit 37 is configured to detect the temperature in the enclosed space 36 and send the temperature to the control unit 38; the temperature detection unit 37 is, for example, a thermocouple. The control unit 38 is electrically connected to the heating element for controlling the heating power of the heating element in dependence of the detected temperature to increase or decrease the temperature in the enclosed space 36. The control unit 38 is, for example, a controller.
In some alternative embodiments, to further increase heating temperature uniformity, and flexibility in temperature control, the heating elements include a plurality of sub-heating elements corresponding to a plurality of distinct regions divided in the enclosed space 36; at least one temperature detecting unit 37 is provided corresponding to each region, and the at least one temperature detecting unit 37 corresponding to each region is configured to detect a temperature in the region and send the temperature to the control unit 38; the control unit 38 is electrically connected to the plurality of sub-heating members for independently controlling the heating power of the sub-heating members of the corresponding regions according to the temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit 37 of each region. The various regions in the enclosed space 36 may, for example, be divided in sequence along a first axis, which is the axis of the inner housing 33 perpendicular to the section along line B-B in fig. 4A; and/or divided sequentially in the circumferential direction of the inner case 33. Of course, in practical applications, the dividing manner of the multiple different areas may also be any other manner, which is not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present invention.
In summary, the sintering device provided by the embodiment of the invention includes an inner shell and an outer shell, wherein the inner shell encloses a closed space for accommodating a piece to be sintered, and the material of the inner shell has higher compactness compared with the prior art, and the material with high compactness is not easy to peel, so that the generation of particles can be avoided, a large number of particles can be avoided when the sintering process is performed, and the possibility that the particles fall on the piece to be sintered to influence the process result is reduced or avoided; meanwhile, the inner shell is made of high-compactness materials, and gas in the closed space can be isolated from gas outside the inner shell, so that the influence on the sintering process caused by the fact that the gas outside the inner shell enters the closed space can be avoided.
It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention, but not in limitation thereof. Various modifications and improvements may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and substance of the invention, and are also considered to be within the scope of the invention.
Claims (14)
1. A sintering apparatus comprising an inner housing, an outer housing, and a heating device, wherein the outer housing is spaced around the inner housing; the heating device is arranged between the outer shell and the inner shell and is used for heating the inner shell and the inside of the inner shell;
the inner shell encloses a closed space for accommodating a piece to be sintered, and is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet which are communicated with the closed space; the inner shell is made of compact materials capable of avoiding particles, and gas in the closed space can be isolated from gas outside the inner shell.
2. The sintering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material of the inner housing comprises quartz or silicon carbide.
3. Sintering apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising pressure control means connected to the air inlet and the air outlet or to the air inlet for controlling the air pressure of the enclosed space.
4. The sintering apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressure control device comprises a gas inlet line, a gas outlet line, a gas pump and a source of process gas, wherein,
the two ends of the air inlet pipeline are respectively connected with the air inlet and the process gas source, and a first flow control device is arranged on the air inlet pipeline; the process gas source is used for introducing process gas into the closed space through the gas inlet pipeline;
two ends of the exhaust pipeline are respectively communicated with the exhaust port and the air extracting pump, and a second flow control device is arranged on the exhaust pipeline; the air pump is used for pumping the gas in the closed space through the exhaust pipeline.
5. The sintering apparatus according to claim 3 or wherein the pressure control means comprises a gas inlet line and a source of process gas, wherein,
the two ends of the air inlet pipeline are respectively connected with the air inlet and the process gas source, and a first flow control device is arranged on the air inlet pipeline; the process gas source is used for introducing process gas into the closed space through the gas inlet pipeline;
the exhaust port is communicated with the external atmospheric environment.
6. Sintering apparatus according to claim 4 or 5 wherein there are two gas inlets and the source of process gas comprises a source of oxygen and a source of inert gas;
the two air inlet pipelines are respectively communicated with one air inlet and the oxygen source at two ends of one air inlet pipeline; two ends of the other air inlet pipeline are respectively communicated with the other air inlet and the inert gas source; the first flow control device is arranged on each of the two air inlet pipelines.
7. Sintering apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the inlet line is further provided with a pressure regulating valve, which is located upstream of the first flow control device.
8. Sintering apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the inlet line is further provided with a filter for filtering particles in the inlet line.
9. The sintering apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the suction pump comprises a variable frequency pump capable of adjusting a suction rate.
10. Sintering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating means comprises heating members which are circumferentially and uniformly arranged around the inner casing.
11. The sintering apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the heating device further comprises a temperature detection unit and a control unit, wherein the temperature detection unit is configured to detect a temperature in the closed space and send the temperature to the control unit;
the control unit is electrically connected with the heating component and is used for controlling the heating power of the heating component according to the temperature.
12. The sintering apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the heating member comprises a plurality of sub-heating members, and a plurality of the sub-heating members correspond to a plurality of different regions divided in the closed space;
each area is correspondingly provided with at least one temperature detection unit, and the temperature detection units are used for detecting the temperature in the area and sending the temperature to the control unit;
the control unit is electrically connected with the plurality of sub-heating components and is used for controlling the heating power of the sub-heating components of the corresponding areas according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection unit corresponding to each area.
13. Sintering apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a heat insulating member is arranged between the outer casing and the inner casing, the heat insulating member surrounding the inner casing and being located outside the heating means.
14. The sintering apparatus of claim 13, wherein the insulating member comprises at least one of aluminum silicate and asbestos.
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| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202210422134.7A CN114754585B (en) | 2022-04-21 | 2022-04-21 | Sintering equipment |
| TW112114606A TW202342927A (en) | 2022-04-21 | 2023-04-19 | Sintering device |
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| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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| CN202210422134.7A CN114754585B (en) | 2022-04-21 | 2022-04-21 | Sintering equipment |
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| CN114754585A CN114754585A (en) | 2022-07-15 |
| CN114754585B true CN114754585B (en) | 2024-03-26 |
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| CN202210422134.7A Active CN114754585B (en) | 2022-04-21 | 2022-04-21 | Sintering equipment |
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| TW (1) | TW202342927A (en) |
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| US5777300A (en) * | 1993-11-19 | 1998-07-07 | Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha | Processing furnace for oxidizing objects |
| JP2003172126A (en) * | 2001-12-04 | 2003-06-20 | Apex:Kk | Exhaust emission control device provided with reflecting plate |
| DE20316520U1 (en) * | 2002-10-25 | 2004-02-26 | Eberl, Karl | Device for generating, storing and giving off heat to a room to be heated |
| CN207688132U (en) * | 2017-11-08 | 2018-08-03 | 广州金关节能科技发展有限公司 | Height heat preservation dore furnace |
| CN113140487A (en) * | 2021-04-14 | 2021-07-20 | 北京北方华创微电子装备有限公司 | Semiconductor heat treatment equipment |
| CN214199733U (en) * | 2020-12-30 | 2021-09-14 | 湖南维尚科技有限公司 | Discharge structure of impurity gas in pressure sintering furnace |
| CN113847806A (en) * | 2021-10-20 | 2021-12-28 | 四川大学 | Sintering furnace and sintering device |
| CN114046655A (en) * | 2021-12-01 | 2022-02-15 | 四川大学 | Sintering device and method with uniform sintering atmosphere field |
Family Cites Families (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP3421660B2 (en) * | 2001-05-09 | 2003-06-30 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Heat treatment apparatus and method |
-
2022
- 2022-04-21 CN CN202210422134.7A patent/CN114754585B/en active Active
-
2023
- 2023-04-19 TW TW112114606A patent/TW202342927A/en unknown
Patent Citations (8)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5777300A (en) * | 1993-11-19 | 1998-07-07 | Tokyo Electron Kabushiki Kaisha | Processing furnace for oxidizing objects |
| JP2003172126A (en) * | 2001-12-04 | 2003-06-20 | Apex:Kk | Exhaust emission control device provided with reflecting plate |
| DE20316520U1 (en) * | 2002-10-25 | 2004-02-26 | Eberl, Karl | Device for generating, storing and giving off heat to a room to be heated |
| CN207688132U (en) * | 2017-11-08 | 2018-08-03 | 广州金关节能科技发展有限公司 | Height heat preservation dore furnace |
| CN214199733U (en) * | 2020-12-30 | 2021-09-14 | 湖南维尚科技有限公司 | Discharge structure of impurity gas in pressure sintering furnace |
| CN113140487A (en) * | 2021-04-14 | 2021-07-20 | 北京北方华创微电子装备有限公司 | Semiconductor heat treatment equipment |
| CN113847806A (en) * | 2021-10-20 | 2021-12-28 | 四川大学 | Sintering furnace and sintering device |
| CN114046655A (en) * | 2021-12-01 | 2022-02-15 | 四川大学 | Sintering device and method with uniform sintering atmosphere field |
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| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| CN114754585A (en) | 2022-07-15 |
| TW202342927A (en) | 2023-11-01 |
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