CN115497866A - Lifting thimble assembly and plasma reaction device - Google Patents
Lifting thimble assembly and plasma reaction device Download PDFInfo
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- CN115497866A CN115497866A CN202110679258.9A CN202110679258A CN115497866A CN 115497866 A CN115497866 A CN 115497866A CN 202110679258 A CN202110679258 A CN 202110679258A CN 115497866 A CN115497866 A CN 115497866A
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/683—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
- H01L21/687—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 mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
- H01L21/68714—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 mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support
- H01L21/68742—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 mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a susceptor, stage or support characterised by a lifting arrangement, e.g. lift pins
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32009—Arrangements for generation of plasma specially adapted for examination or treatment of objects, e.g. plasma sources
- H01J37/32082—Radio frequency generated discharge
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J37/00—Discharge tubes with provision for introducing objects or material to be exposed to the discharge, e.g. for the purpose of examination or processing thereof
- H01J37/32—Gas-filled discharge tubes
- H01J37/32431—Constructional details of the reactor
- H01J37/32715—Workpiece holder
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01J—ELECTRIC DISCHARGE TUBES OR DISCHARGE LAMPS
- H01J2237/00—Discharge tubes exposing object to beam, e.g. for analysis treatment, etching, imaging
- H01J2237/32—Processing objects by plasma generation
- H01J2237/33—Processing objects by plasma generation characterised by the type of processing
- H01J2237/334—Etching
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Abstract
The invention provides a lifting thimble assembly, which is used in a vacuum reaction cavity, wherein the vacuum reaction cavity comprises a base and an electrostatic chuck, each through hole on the base and a corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck form a channel in the vertical direction, and the lifting thimble assembly comprises: the lifting thimble is used for lifting the wafer through the corresponding channel to realize the separation of the wafer and the surface of the electrostatic chuck; the sleeve is fixedly connected and arranged below the base and corresponds to the position of the channel where the lifting thimble is located; the first flange is arranged in the sleeve and is in clearance fit with the sleeve, and the bottom of the lifting thimble is fixedly connected with the first flange; the first flange is driven to move up and down in the sleeve by a driving device; the elastic device is arranged between the outer wall of the first flange and the inner wall of the sleeve in an elastic connection mode, and the first flange and the sleeve are equipotential. The invention also provides a plasma reaction device. The lifting thimble assembly can prevent discharge ignition in a radio frequency environment.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of plasma etching, in particular to a lifting thimble assembly for preventing discharge under high radio frequency power and a plasma reaction device.
Background
At present, plasma etching, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition and other processes are commonly used to perform micro-processing on semiconductor processing pieces or wafers, such as manufacturing flexible display screens, flat panel displays, light emitting diodes, solar cells and the like. The various steps of microfabrication manufacturing may include plasma-assisted processes, which are typically performed in a vacuum reaction chamber of a plasma processing apparatus. In order to ensure the uniformity of the process wafer, the horizontal placement of the wafer is required to be ensured, the uniformity of the process is ensured, and the cleanliness of the vacuum reaction chamber is also required to be ensured, so that the wafer sample is prevented from being polluted.
Conventional plasma processing apparatuses generally include: the vacuum reaction chamber comprises a base used for supporting the wafer, and the base comprises an electrostatic chuck used for placing the wafer to be processed. In the plasma processing process, a wafer is placed on an electrostatic chuck, and electrostatic charges with opposite polarities are generated between the electrostatic chuck and the wafer, so that electrostatic adsorption force is generated. The wafer is clamped or fixed by the electrostatic attraction force of the electrostatic chuck. A patterned microelectronic layer is formed on the wafer. Emitting radio frequency energy into the vacuum reaction cavity through a radio frequency power emitting device to form a radio frequency electric field; then various reaction gases (etching gases or deposition gases) are injected into the vacuum reaction cavity, and the injected reaction gases are excited into a plasma state above the wafer under the action of the radio frequency electric field; finally, chemical reaction and/or physical action (such as etching, deposition and the like) are carried out between the plasma and the wafer to form various characteristic structures, and volatile reaction products formed in the chemical reaction are separated from the surface of the etched substance and are pumped out of the vacuum reaction cavity by a vacuum pumping system.
Not only is tight control of the wafer processing required to meet process requirements, but loading and dechucking of the wafer is also involved, which is a critical step in wafer processing. The base and the electrostatic chuck are provided with a plurality of through holes, each through hole on the base and the corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck form a channel in the vertical direction, some channels are used for accommodating a vertically arranged lifting thimble, and the lifting thimble passes through the corresponding channel to be in contact with the back of the wafer.
An ejector pin lifting mechanism is generally fixedly connected below the ejector pin and used for realizing the up-and-down movement of the ejector pin in the vertical direction. Along with the continuous improvement of the radio frequency voltage applied to the vacuum reaction cavity, the ignition phenomenon is easy to occur in the thimble lifting mechanism, and on the other hand, because the upper end and the lower end of the thimble lifting mechanism are respectively communicated with the vacuum environment in the reaction cavity and the external atmospheric environment, how to realize the absolute isolation of the vacuum environment and the atmospheric environment through the thimble lifting mechanism is another problem which needs to be considered.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a lifting thimble assembly and a plasma reaction device, wherein the lifting thimble assembly is provided with a plurality of conductive elastic devices, so that the lifting thimble assembly is prevented from discharging and igniting in a radio frequency field environment, the friction force generated in the up-and-down moving process of the lifting thimble assembly can be reduced, the abrasion of the lifting thimble assembly is effectively reduced, the yield of wafers is improved, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly is prolonged.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lift pin assembly for use in a vacuum reaction chamber, the vacuum reaction chamber including a base, an electrostatic chuck for placing a wafer disposed above the base, the base and the electrostatic chuck having a plurality of through holes, each through hole on the base and a corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck forming a vertical channel, the lift pin assembly comprising:
the lifting thimble is used for lifting the wafer through the corresponding channel to realize the separation of the wafer and the surface of the electrostatic chuck;
the sleeve is fixedly connected and arranged below the base and corresponds to the position of the channel where the lifting thimble is located;
the first flange is arranged in the sleeve and is in clearance fit with the sleeve, and the bottom of the lifting thimble is fixedly connected with the first flange; the first flange is driven to move up and down in the sleeve by a driving device;
the elastic device is arranged between the outer wall of the first flange and the inner wall of the sleeve in an elastic connection mode, and the first flange and the sleeve are equipotential.
Optionally, the elastic means has an arc surface protruding towards the first flange and abutting against the outer wall of the first flange.
Optionally, the inner wall of the sleeve is provided with a plurality of mounting holes, and each mounting hole is used for mounting a corresponding elastic device.
Optionally, the elastic device is an arc-shaped first reed; two ends of the first reed are arranged in the mounting hole and abut against the inner wall of the mounting hole; the arc-shaped surface in the middle of the first reed protrudes from the mounting hole and is abutted against the outer wall of the first flange; when the first flange moves up and down, the first reed is in sliding connection with the first flange.
Optionally, the elastic device includes: the first spring leaf is arc-shaped, and the ball is matched with the mounting hole;
the first reed is arranged in the mounting hole and keeps a deformation state; the arc surface of the first reed protrudes towards the first flange, and the distance between the two ends of the first reed is larger than that in a natural state;
the ball is arranged in the mounting hole and is positioned between the arc-shaped surface of the first reed and the outer wall of the first flange; the ball is extruded through the deformation restoring force of the first spring plate, so that the ball extends out of the mounting hole part and abuts against the outer wall of the first flange; when the first flange moves up and down, the ball is connected with the first flange in a rolling way.
Optionally, the elastic device further comprises a second spring leaf and a third spring leaf which are arc-shaped; the second reed and the third reed are arranged in the mounting hole, the arc-shaped surface of the second reed protrudes downwards, the arc-shaped surface of the third reed protrudes upwards, and the ball is arranged between the second reed and the third reed and is abutted against the arc-shaped surface of the second reed and the third reed.
Optionally, a second flange is further fixedly arranged on the end face of the top end of the sleeve; the base below is equipped with the mounting panel, the sleeve top the second flange all is located the mounting panel.
Optionally, the lifting thimble assembly further includes a bellows corresponding to the position of the channel; the top end and the bottom end of the corrugated pipe are respectively and fixedly connected with the bottom surface of the second flange and the top surface of the first flange; the bottom of the lifting thimble is positioned in the corrugated pipe.
Optionally, the plurality of conductive elastic devices are uniformly or non-uniformly distributed on both sides of the first flange.
Optionally, the material of the first to third resilient springs may be any one of copper alloy and silver-copper alloy.
Optionally, the corrugated pipe, the first flange and the second flange are made of stainless steel, and the sleeve is made of copper.
Optionally, the ball is made of stainless steel, and the outer surface of the ball is coated with a conductive coating.
Optionally, the conductive coating comprises any one of a graphene coating and an MXene coating.
Optionally, a disc-shaped structure is arranged at the top end of the lifting thimble, and the diameter of the disc-shaped structure is larger than that of the lifting thimble and smaller than that of the through hole.
Optionally, the driving device includes any one of a cylinder, a motor, and a hydraulic cylinder.
The invention also provides a plasma reaction device, which comprises a vacuum reaction cavity, wherein the vacuum reaction cavity comprises a base, an electrostatic chuck for placing a wafer is arranged above the base, the base and the electrostatic chuck are respectively provided with a plurality of through holes, each through hole on the base and the corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck form a channel in the vertical direction, and the plasma reaction device comprises:
a plurality of lift pin assemblies according to the present invention.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the beneficial effects that:
1) According to the lifting thimble assembly, the plurality of conductive reeds are arranged between the sleeve and the first flange, and the sleeve and the first flange are in good electrical contact through the reeds, so that the sleeve and the first flange are always kept at the same potential, the sleeve and the first flange are prevented from generating potential difference in a radio frequency field environment to cause discharge ignition and welding death, pollutants are effectively reduced, the working stability of an electrostatic chuck is ensured, the yield of wafers is ensured, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly is prolonged;
2) The inner wall of the sleeve is provided with the plurality of mounting holes, the ball and the at least one reed are arranged in the mounting holes, and the ball is extruded by the reed, so that the ball extends out of the mounting hole part and is abutted against the outer wall of the first flange, the ball is ensured to be electrically connected with the first flange well, and the sleeve and the first flange are always kept at the same potential; the first flange is connected with the sleeve in a rolling mode through the balls, so that the surface contact between the first flange and the sleeve is changed into point contact between the first flange and the balls, the sliding friction force between the first flange and the sleeve is changed into the rolling friction force between the first flange and the balls, the abrasion of the sleeve and the first flange is obviously reduced, the clamping of the lifting thimble in the lifting process due to the fact that the sleeve and the first flange are not concentric due to abrasion is effectively avoided, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly is further prolonged;
3) According to the invention, metal precipitates generated in friction of the sleeve and the first flange are reduced, and the vacuum environment and the atmospheric environment in the reaction cavity are effectively isolated through the corrugated pipe, so that the metal precipitates are prevented from entering the reaction cavity, and the yield of wafers is effectively improved;
4) According to the invention, the plurality of reeds apply pressure to the ball from multiple directions, so that virtual connection between the ball and the first flange is prevented, the stability of electrical connection between the ball and the first flange is further ensured, and discharge and ignition between the sleeve and the first flange in a radio frequency field environment are effectively avoided;
5) The first flange is connected with the ball bearings in a rolling manner, so that the friction force between the ball bearings and the first flange is greatly reduced, and the first flange is prevented from being too tightly matched with the sleeve, therefore, the clearance of tolerance fit between the sleeve and the first flange can be further reduced, the concentricity between the first flange and the sleeve in the up-and-down movement process is improved, and the lifting thimble is prevented from being blocked in the lifting process.
Drawings
In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the drawings used in the description will be briefly introduced, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are an embodiment of the present invention, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts according to the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a plasma reactor apparatus without the lift pin assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ejector pin lifting mechanism for discharging and striking sparks;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plasma reaction apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a lift pin assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4A is an enlarged partial schematic view of FIG. 4;
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a lift pin assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a lift pin assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6A is an enlarged partial schematic view of FIG. 6;
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a lifting pin assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 7A is a partially enlarged schematic view of fig. 7.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without making any creative effort based on the embodiments in the present invention, belong to the protection scope of the present invention.
Fig. 1 shows a plasma processing apparatus before the lift pin assembly of the present invention is used, and as shown, the plasma processing apparatus 1 has a reaction chamber 10, the reaction chamber 10 is substantially cylindrical, and the side wall of the reaction chamber is substantially vertical, and the reaction chamber 10 has an upper electrode 11 and a lower electrode 13 disposed in parallel with each other. Generally, the region between the upper electrode 11 and the lower electrode 13 is a processing region a that will form high frequency energy to ignite and sustain plasma. The bottom electrode 13 includes a base 131, and an electrostatic chuck 1311 for placing a wafer W to be processed is disposed on the base 131, and an electrode 1312 for generating an electrostatic force is disposed in the electrostatic chuck 1311. Reactant gases are supplied into the chamber 10 from a gas source 12, and one or more rf power supplies 14 may be applied to the lower electrode 13 individually or to both the upper electrode 11 and the lower electrode 13 to deliver rf power to the lower electrode 13 or to both the upper electrode 11 and the lower electrode 13, thereby generating a large electric field inside the chamber 10. Most of the electric field is contained in the process region a between the upper electrode 11 and the lower electrode 13, and accelerates electrons, which are present in a small amount inside the reaction chamber 11, to collide with gas molecules of the input reaction gas. These collisions result in ionization of the reaction gas and excitation of the plasma, thereby generating plasma within the reaction chamber 10. Neutral gas molecules of the reactant gas lose electrons when subjected to these strong electric fields, leaving positively charged ions behind. The positively charged ions are accelerated toward the lower electrode 13, and combine with neutral substances in the wafer W to be processed, thereby exciting the processing, i.e., etching, deposition, etc., of the wafer W. At a suitable location in the plasma processing apparatus 1, an exhaust region is provided, which is connected to an external exhaust device (e.g., a vacuum pump 15) for pumping the used reactant gases and byproduct gases out of the processing region a during processing, through the gas flow and establishing a suitable pressure in the processing region a.
The base 131 and the electrostatic chuck 1311 are provided with a plurality of through holes, each through hole on the base 131 and the corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck 1311 form a vertical channel, and some of the channels are used for accommodating a vertically arranged lifting thimble which passes through the corresponding channel to contact with the back surface of the wafer. Before the process starts, a robot outside the reaction chamber transfers the wafer W into the reaction chamber and places it on a lift pin lifted out of the electrostatic chuck 1311. During the process, the lift pins fall down, and the wafer W is supported and adsorbed by the electrostatic chuck 1311. After the process is finished, the top of the lifting thimble lifts out of the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck and lifts the wafer W to separate the wafer W from the electrostatic chuck 1311, and at this time, the mechanical arm outside the reaction chamber extends into the space between the wafer W and the electrostatic chuck 1311 to unload the wafer.
As shown in fig. 2, a pin lifting mechanism 16 is generally fixedly connected below the lifting pin 161 for moving the lifting pin 161 up and down in the vertical direction. The thimble lifting mechanism 16 includes a sleeve 162 fixed to be vertically disposed, a first flange 163 embedded in the sleeve 162 (the sleeve 162 is a stator, and the first flange 163 is a mover), and a bellows 164 connected between the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163. The sleeve 162 corresponds to the channel position, and the bottom of the lift pin 161 is located in the sleeve 162 and fixedly connected to the first flange 163. By driving the first flange 163 to move up and down along the axial direction of the sleeve 162, the top of the lift pin is lifted out of or retracted into the electrostatic chuck from the upper surface of the electrostatic chuck.
The RF power applied to the pedestal 131 excites the RF field in the vacuum chamber, thereby placing the pin lift mechanism 16 in the RF field. The sleeve 162 and the first flange 163 are made of metal, and ideally, the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163 are concentric and do not contact with each other. In the rf field environment, a large capacitance is equivalent between the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163. After the radio frequency is transmitted to the inner surface of the sleeve through the outer surface of the sleeve, the radio frequency is continuously transmitted in two paths: the first radio frequency continuously propagates upwards along the inner surface of the sleeve; the second rf is capacitively coupled to the first flange 163 through the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163, and then propagates up the bellows 164. Since the bellows 164 is equivalent to a larger inductance, the impedance of the second rf path is larger than the impedance of the first rf path, resulting in a potential difference between the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163.
Because the first flange 163 is in clearance fit with the sleeve 162, when the first flange 163 slides in the sleeve 162, unstable short-time contact is generated with the inner wall of the sleeve, and the potential difference at the contact point (shown by a dashed circle in fig. 2) is instantaneously reduced, so that discharge ignition is easy to occur at the contact point, which causes disturbance/fluctuation of the radio frequency signal, and generates particles, which causes the friction between the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 to be intensified until jamming occurs. Meanwhile, the sleeve 162 is oxidized and discolored due to local high temperature generated by discharge ignition, and the sleeve 162 and the first flange 163 are welded together due to high temperature generated in a severe case, which greatly threatens the working stability and safety of the electrostatic chuck 1311. Therefore, a solution is urgently needed to meet the requirement of high radio frequency power.
As shown in FIG. 2, the tolerance gap d between the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 is set between 0.015mm and 0.036 mm. Too large a gap d tends to cause the first flange 163 to swing laterally within the sleeve 162, and the first flange 163 becomes eccentric with respect to the sleeve 162, causing the first flange 163 to jam and wear the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162. In actual use, the tolerance gap d between the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 exceeds 0.04mm due to the abrasion of the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162, so that the first flange 163 is more likely to swing transversely in the sleeve 162, and the first flange 163 is more likely to make unstable short-time contact with the inner wall of the sleeve. When the tolerance gap d between the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 is too small, the sliding friction between the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 is increased, and the first flange 163 is jammed and wears the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162. The wear of the first flange 163 and the sleeve 162 may cause metal precipitation, and how to reduce the metal precipitation and prevent the metal precipitation from entering the reaction chamber is also a problem.
Example one
The present invention provides a lift pin assembly 26, as shown in fig. 3, for use in a vacuum reaction chamber, the vacuum reaction chamber includes a base 231, an electrostatic chuck 2311 for placing a wafer W is disposed above the base 231, and an electrode 2312 for generating an electrostatic force is disposed in the electrostatic chuck 2311. The base 231 and the electrostatic chuck 2311 are both provided with a plurality of through holes, and each through hole on the base 231 and the corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck 2311 form a channel in the vertical direction.
As shown in fig. 4, the lift pin assembly 26 includes: the lifting thimble 261, the sleeve 262, a first flange 263, a plurality of conductive first reeds 266, a second flange 265, and a bellows 264.
The lifting thimble 261 is used for lifting the wafer W through the corresponding channel to realize the separation of the wafer W from the surface of the electrostatic chuck; as shown in fig. 4, optionally, a disk-shaped structure 2611 is disposed at a top end of the lift pin 261, and a diameter of the disk-shaped structure 2611 is larger than a diameter of the lift pin and smaller than a diameter of the through hole, so that the disk-shaped structure 2611 can lift the wafer W more stably.
The sleeve 262 is fixedly connected and arranged below the base and corresponds to the channel position where the lifting thimble 261 is located;
the first flange 263 is arranged in the sleeve 262 and is in clearance fit with the sleeve 262, and the bottom of the lifting thimble 261 is fixedly connected with the first flange 263; the first flange 263 is driven up and down within the sleeve 262 by a driving means. The driving device comprises any one of an air cylinder, a motor and a hydraulic cylinder.
As shown in fig. 3, a mounting plate 27 is provided below the susceptor, and a plurality of sealing rings 28 are provided between the mounting plate 27 and the inner wall of the reaction chamber in order to prevent leakage of the reaction gas in the reaction chamber. The fixed setting of second flange 265 is at sleeve top terminal surface, and second flange 265, sleeve top all are located in the mounting panel 27, in this embodiment, the top periphery of sleeve 262 is equipped with annular edgewise 2621, wears to establish according to the preface through the bolt second flange 265, edgewise 2621, mounting panel 27 realize lifting thimble assembly 26 fixed connection mounting panel 27.
The bellows 264 corresponds to the channel for isolating the vacuum environment of the reaction chamber from the atmospheric environment. In fig. 4, the vacuum environment is indicated at B, and the atmospheric environment is indicated at C. The top end and the bottom end of the corrugated tube 264 are respectively and fixedly connected with the bottom surface of the second flange and the top surface of the first flange, and the bottom of the lifting thimble 261 is located in the corrugated tube 264. The vacuum environment and the atmospheric environment are isolated by the corrugated pipe 264, and precipitates generated by friction can be effectively prevented from entering the reaction cavity.
In this embodiment, the bellows 264, the first flange 263 and the second flange 265 are made of stainless steel, and the sleeve 262 is made of copper.
The inner wall of the sleeve is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 267, and each mounting hole 267 is used for mounting a corresponding first spring plate 266. In this embodiment, in order to ensure high conductivity and sufficient rigidity of the first spring piece 266, the first spring piece 266 may be made of any one of copper alloy and silver-copper alloy. First reed 266 keeps the deformation state, and the both ends setting of first reed 266 is in mounting hole 267 and the butt mounting hole inner wall, and the arcwall face in first reed middle part is outstanding from mounting hole 267 and is the butt first flange outer wall. Is elastically connected with the outer wall of the first flange through a first spring plate 266Between the inner walls of the sleeves, the first flange 263 and the sleeve 262 are at the same potential. When the first flange 263 moves up and down, the first spring plate 266 is slidably connected with the first flange 263. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 4A, to facilitate installation of first spring plate 266, first spring plate 266 is prevented from being removed from installation hole 267, and in this embodiment, inner diameter d of installation hole 267 is 2 Greater than the diameter d of the mounting hole 267 1 . In this embodiment, a plurality of first reeds 266 are uniformly distributed on both sides of the first flange.
As shown in fig. 4A, when the first flange 263 swings, the pressure applied to the first spring plate 266 on one side of the first flange increases (the distance between the two ends of the first spring plate on the side increases), the pressure applied to the first spring plate 266 on the other side of the first flange decreases (the distance between the two ends of the first spring plate on the side decreases), but the first spring plates 266 on both sides of the first flange always maintain the deformed state and abut against the outer wall of the first flange (the first spring plates 266 do not connect to the first flange 263 in a virtual manner). Therefore, the first flange 263, the first spring plate 266 and the sleeve 262 always keep good electrical connection no matter how the first flange 263 swings. Even if the inner wall of the mounting hole and the outer wall of the first flange 263 are worn, and the tolerance gap between the first flange 263 and the sleeve 262 is increased, the first spring plate 266 can still abut against the outer wall of the first flange by changing the deformation state of the first spring plate, and the sleeve 262, the first spring plate 266 and the first flange 263 are always kept in good electrical connection. Through the good electrical connection, the sleeve 262 and the first flange 263 are at the same potential, and discharge and ignition are avoided.
Example two
As shown in fig. 5, in the present embodiment, the first spring of the first embodiment is replaced by a ball 360 disposed in the mounting hole. The balls 360 are disposed between the sleeve 362 and the first flange 363, the ball diameter matching the inner diameter of the mounting hole, the balls 360 extending from the mounting hole portion and abutting the outer wall of the first flange. During the up-and-down movement of the first flange 363, the balls 360 are connected with the outer wall of the first flange in a rolling manner. In order to ensure high conductivity and sufficient rigidity of the ball 360, in the present embodiment, the ball 360 is made of stainless steel, and the outer surface of the ball is coated with a conductive coating, which includes any one of a graphene coating and a Mxene coating. The MXene coating, namely the graphene-like 2D conductive material, has higher hardness. In this embodiment, the sleeve 362 is electrically connected to the first flange 363 through the balls 360, so that the sleeve 362 and the first flange 363 have the same potential, thereby avoiding the occurrence of discharge and ignition.
The balls 360 are connected with the first flange 363 in a rolling mode, so that friction force is reduced, the lifting thimble is easy to lift, meanwhile, abrasion of the sleeve 362 and the first flange 363 is reduced, metal precipitates generated by friction are effectively prevented, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly 36 is greatly prolonged.
EXAMPLE III
In the second embodiment, due to long-term use, the rolling of the balls 360 will wear the mounting holes, resulting in an increase in the diameter of the mounting holes, which results in uncontrollable electrical contact between the balls 360 and the outer wall of the first flange (the balls 360 cannot be guaranteed to protrude from the mounting holes). At this time, due to the swing of the first flange 363, a short contact between the first flange 363 and the sleeve 362 still occurs, so that the discharge is ignited. To solve this problem, as shown in fig. 6 and 6A, in the present embodiment, an arc-shaped first spring 466 and a ball 460 matching with the mounting hole 467 are disposed in the mounting hole 467 of the lift pin assembly 46.
As shown in fig. 6 and 6A, the first spring 466 is disposed in the mounting hole 467 and held in a deformed state with the arc shape of the first spring 466 projecting toward the first flange 463. The balls 460 are disposed between the arcuate surface of the first reed 466 and the outer wall of the first flange. The ball 460 is pressed by the deformation restoring force of the first reeds 466 so that the ball 460 partially protrudes from the mounting hole 467 and abuts against the outer wall of the first flange. As shown in fig. 6A, in order to prevent the balls 460 from coming out of the mounting holes 467, in the present embodiment, the hole diameter of the mounting holes is larger than the orifice diameter of the mounting holes. The balls 460 roll against the first flange 463 as the first flange 463 moves up and down. By the cooperation of the first spring 466 and the ball 460, the sliding friction between the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463 is changed into the rolling friction between the ball 460 and the first flange 463, and the surface contact between the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463 is changed into the point contact between the ball 460 and the first flange 463, so that the thimble 461 can be lifted and lowered easily, the abrasion of the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463 is reduced, and the first flange 463 is not necessary to be jammed because the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463 are tightly engaged. Therefore, in this embodiment, the tolerance gap between the first flange 463 and the sleeve 462 may be less than 0.015mm, which further improves the concentricity between the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463, and prevents the first flange 463 from being jammed.
Even if the ball 460 wears the mounting hole 467 due to long-term use, the ball 460 can be ensured to abut against the first flange outer wall under the deformation restoring force of the first reed 466. The ball 460 is not virtual connected to the first flange 463. While reducing the friction force, the first spring 466 and the balls ensure good electrical contact between the sleeve 462 and the first flange 463, and prevent spark-over.
Example four
As shown in fig. 7 and 7A, in order to further ensure the stability of the rolling connection between the ball 560 and the first flange 563, the mounting hole 567 of the lift pin assembly 56 of the present embodiment is provided with a second spring plate 568 and a third spring plate 569 in addition to the first spring plate 566 and the ball 560 in the mounting hole 567. The arc-shaped surface of the second spring 568 projects downward, the arc-shaped surface of the third spring 569 projects upward, and the ball is disposed between and abuts against the arc-shaped surfaces of the second spring 568, the third spring 569.
In order to ensure high electrical conductivity and sufficient rigidity of the second reed 568 and the third reed 569, the second reed 568 and the third reed 569 may be made of any one of a copper alloy and a silver-copper alloy.
As shown in fig. 3, the present invention further provides a plasma reaction apparatus 2, which includes a vacuum reaction chamber 20, the vacuum reaction chamber includes a base 231, an electrostatic chuck 2311 for placing a wafer W is disposed above the base 231, the base 231 and the electrostatic chuck 2311 are both provided with a plurality of through holes, each through hole on the base 231 and the corresponding through hole on the electrostatic chuck 2311 form a vertical channel, and the plasma reaction apparatus 2 includes:
at least three lift pin assemblies 26 according to the present invention.
In the embodiment of the invention, the first flanges of the lifting thimble assemblies are synchronously driven by the driving device, so that the lifting thimbles of the lifting thimble assemblies are always kept on the same plane to stably lift the wafer W.
According to the lifting thimble assembly, the plurality of conductive elastic devices are arranged between the sleeve and the first flange and are always in electric contact with the sleeve and the first flange, so that the sleeve and the first flange are always kept at the same electric potential, the sleeve and the first flange are prevented from generating electric potential difference in a radio frequency field environment to cause discharge ignition and welding, pollutants are effectively reduced, the working stability of the electrostatic chuck is ensured, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly is prolonged. The resilient means may be a spring, a combination of at least one spring and a ball.
According to the invention, the spring plate is matched with the ball, so that the ball is stably connected with the first flange in a rolling manner, and good electric contact between the sleeve and the first flange is ensured, so that the sleeve and the first flange are always kept at the same electric potential in a radio frequency field environment, and discharge and ignition between the sleeve and the first flange in the radio frequency field environment are effectively avoided. The first flange is connected with the sleeve in a rolling mode through the balls, so that the surface contact between the first flange and the sleeve is changed into point contact between the first flange and the balls, the sliding friction force between the first flange and the sleeve is changed into the rolling friction force between the first flange and the balls, the phenomenon that the lifting thimble is blocked in the lifting process due to the fact that the sleeve and the first flange are not concentric due to abrasion is effectively prevented, metal precipitates generated due to friction are reduced, the yield of wafers W is guaranteed, and the service life of the lifting thimble assembly is further prolonged.
Through the matching of the spring plate and the ball, the clearance of tolerance fit between the sleeve and the first flange can be further reduced, the concentricity between the first flange and the sleeve in the up-and-down movement process is improved, and the clamping of the lifting thimble in the lifting process is avoided.
The invention effectively isolates the vacuum environment and the atmospheric environment in the reaction cavity through the corrugated pipe, prevents pollutants generated by discharge ignition and metal precipitates generated by friction from entering the reaction cavity, and ensures the yield of wafers W.
While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not limited thereto, and various equivalent modifications and substitutions can be easily made by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Claims (16)
1. The utility model provides a lift thimble assembly for in a vacuum reaction chamber, the vacuum reaction intracavity contains the base, the top of base is equipped with the electrostatic chuck that is used for placing the wafer, and base and electrostatic chuck all are equipped with a plurality of through-holes, and the through-hole that corresponds on each through-hole on the base and the electrostatic chuck forms the passageway of vertical direction, its characterized in that, lift thimble assembly contains:
the lifting thimble is used for lifting the wafer through the corresponding channel to realize the separation of the wafer and the surface of the electrostatic chuck;
the sleeve is fixedly connected and arranged below the base and corresponds to the position of the channel where the lifting thimble is located;
the first flange is arranged in the sleeve and is in clearance fit with the sleeve, and the bottom of the lifting thimble is fixedly connected with the first flange; the first flange is driven to move up and down in the sleeve by a driving device;
and the elastic devices are elastically connected between the outer wall of the first flange and the inner wall of the sleeve, so that the first flange and the sleeve are equipotential.
2. The lift pin assembly of claim 1, wherein the resilient means has an arcuate surface projecting toward the first flange and abutting the outer wall of the first flange.
3. A lift pin assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve has a plurality of mounting holes formed in an inner wall thereof, each mounting hole being adapted to receive a corresponding resilient means.
4. The lift pin assembly of claim 3, wherein said resilient means is an arcuate first spring; two ends of the first reed are arranged in the mounting hole and are abutted against the inner wall of the mounting hole; the arc-shaped surface in the middle of the first reed protrudes from the mounting hole and is abutted against the outer wall of the first flange; when the first flange moves up and down, the first reed is in sliding connection with the first flange.
5. The lift pin assembly of claim 3, wherein said resilient means comprises: the first spring leaf is arc-shaped, and the ball is matched with the mounting hole;
the first reed is arranged in the mounting hole and keeps a deformation state; the arc-shaped surface of the first reed protrudes towards the first flange;
the ball is arranged in the mounting hole and is positioned between the arc-shaped surface of the first reed and the outer wall of the first flange; extruding the ball through the deformation restoring force of the first reed, so that the ball extends out of the mounting hole part and abuts against the outer wall of the first flange; when the first flange moves up and down, the ball is connected with the first flange in a rolling way.
6. The lift pin assembly of claim 5, wherein said resilient means further comprises second and third arcuate springs; the second reed and the third reed are arranged in the mounting hole, the arc-shaped surface of the second reed protrudes downwards, the arc-shaped surface of the third reed protrudes upwards, and the ball is arranged between the second reed and the third reed and is abutted against the arc-shaped surface of the second reed and the third reed.
7. The lift pin assembly of claim 1, wherein a second flange is fixedly disposed on the top end surface of the sleeve; the base below is equipped with the mounting panel, the sleeve top the second flange all is located the mounting panel.
8. The lift pin assembly of claim 7, further comprising a bellows corresponding to the position of the channel; the top end and the bottom end of the corrugated pipe are respectively and fixedly connected with the bottom surface of the second flange and the top surface of the first flange; the bottom of the lifting thimble is positioned in the corrugated pipe.
9. The lift pin assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive resilient means are uniformly or non-uniformly distributed on both sides of the first flange.
10. The lifting pin assembly of claim 6, wherein the first to third resilient springs are made of any one of copper alloy and silver-copper alloy.
11. The lift pin assembly of claim 8, wherein the bellows, the first flange, and the second flange are stainless steel, and the sleeve is copper.
12. A lift pin assembly according to claim 5, wherein said ball is stainless steel and an outer surface of said ball is coated with an electrically conductive coating.
13. The lift thimble assembly of claim 12, wherein the conductive coating comprises any one of a graphene coating, an MXene coating.
14. The lift pin assembly of claim 1, wherein the top end of the lift pin has a disk-like structure having a diameter greater than the diameter of the lift pin and less than the diameter of the through hole.
15. The lift pin assembly of claim 1, wherein said drive means comprises any one of a pneumatic cylinder, an electric motor, and a hydraulic cylinder.
16. The utility model provides a plasma reaction device, the device contain the vacuum reaction chamber, the vacuum reaction intracavity contains the base, the top of base is equipped with the electrostatic chuck that is used for placing the wafer, and base and electrostatic chuck all are equipped with a plurality of through-holes, and the through-hole that corresponds on each through-hole on the base and the electrostatic chuck forms the passageway of vertical direction, its characterized in that, plasma reaction device contains:
a plurality of lift pin assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 15.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202110679258.9A CN115497866A (en) | 2021-06-18 | 2021-06-18 | Lifting thimble assembly and plasma reaction device |
| TW111116478A TWI831196B (en) | 2021-06-18 | 2022-04-29 | Lifting ejector component and plasma reaction device |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202110679258.9A CN115497866A (en) | 2021-06-18 | 2021-06-18 | Lifting thimble assembly and plasma reaction device |
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| Publication Number | Publication Date |
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| CN115497866A true CN115497866A (en) | 2022-12-20 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| CN202110679258.9A Pending CN115497866A (en) | 2021-06-18 | 2021-06-18 | Lifting thimble assembly and plasma reaction device |
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| CN (1) | CN115497866A (en) |
| TW (1) | TWI831196B (en) |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN116741677B (en) * | 2023-08-14 | 2023-10-27 | 上海图双精密装备有限公司 | Apparatus and method for pin position detection |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| US8257546B2 (en) * | 2003-04-11 | 2012-09-04 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Method and system for monitoring an etch process |
| US7825038B2 (en) * | 2006-05-30 | 2010-11-02 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Chemical vapor deposition of high quality flow-like silicon dioxide using a silicon containing precursor and atomic oxygen |
| US8970820B2 (en) * | 2009-05-20 | 2015-03-03 | Nikon Corporation | Object exchange method, exposure method, carrier system, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method |
| US10892180B2 (en) * | 2014-06-02 | 2021-01-12 | Applied Materials, Inc. | Lift pin assembly |
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| TW202314774A (en) | 2023-04-01 |
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