TW201925520A - Semiconductor wafer processing system and method for processing semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for processing semiconductor wafer is provided. The system includes a processing chamber extending along a longitudinal axis. The system further includes an insulation assembly disposed in the processing chamber. The system also includes a discharging tube extending along a direction that is parallel to the longitudinal axis. The discharging tube has a processing segment with a number of discharging holes formed thereon. In addition, the system includes an exhaust port connected to the chamber. The system also includes a wafer boat disposed on the insulation assembly and positioned between the exhaust port and the discharging tube. The wafer boat includes a number of grooves for receiving semiconductor wafers, and the discharging holes of the processing segment are arranged to align the grooves.

Description

Semiconductor wafer processing system and method of processing semiconductor wafer

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor wafer processing system and a method of processing a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a boiler apparatus and a method of processing a semiconductor wafer using the same.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, and other electronic devices. The semiconductor device is generally fabricated by sequentially depositing an insulating or dielectric layer material, a conductive layer material, and a semiconductor layer material on a semiconductor substrate, and then patterning the various material layers formed using a lithography process to form circuit components and parts. Above the semiconductor substrate. Along with the material of the integrated circuit and the technological advancement in its design, integrated circuits of various generations have been developed. Each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. However, these developments have increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing integrated circuits. In order for these developments to be realized, similar developments in the manufacture and production of integrated circuits are also necessary.

In the fabrication of semiconductor devices, multiple process steps are used to fabricate integrated circuits over a semiconductor wafer. In the evolution of continuous evolution to smaller volumes and higher circuit densities, one of the many difficult causes is the continuous formation of circuits with smaller critical dimensions in a given error range. For example, Flow chemical vapor deposition (FCVD) is a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique that can fill fine-sized pores, including aspect ratios up to 30:1, compared to conventional CVD techniques. Very irregular or fairly complex profile. Therefore, in recent years, the flow chemical gas image deposition process has been widely used. In order to achieve good film quality, FCVD films are generally further subjected to a thermal annealing process to densify them.

Although the existing thermal annealing processes and equipment are sufficient to meet their needs, they are still not fully met. Therefore, there is a need to provide a solution to improve the yield of a thermal annealing process.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wafer processing system. The processing system includes a tube body and a cover body. The tubular body extends from a lower end to an upper end along a long axis. The cover body connects the lower end of the tubular body. The processing system also includes an insulating component. The insulating component is located inside the tube body and disposed on the cover body. The processing system also includes a jet tube. The lance is located within the body and extends in a direction parallel to the major axis. The jet tube includes a processing section. A plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the processing section. In addition, the processing system includes an exhaust port and a boat. The exhaust enthalpy connects the pipe body. The boat is placed on the insulation assembly and located between the jet tube and the exhaust port. The wafer boat includes a plurality of trough structures configured to carry a plurality of semiconductor wafers. The venting holes located in the processing section are aligned with the groove structure.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of processing a semiconductor wafer. The above method includes placing a plurality of semiconductor wafers into a boiler apparatus. The above method further includes heating the semiconductor wafers under a process pressure. The process pressure is between about 96000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa. The above method also includes passing a jet tube A purge gas is supplied to the semiconductor wafer. The gas injection tube includes a processing section and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the processing section. The gas vents supply purge gas to each gap between two adjacent semiconductor wafers.

1‧‧‧Semiconductor Wafer Processing System

3‧‧‧ gas supply equipment

4‧‧‧Supply pipeline

5‧‧‧Airflow control device

6‧‧‧Exclude pipeline

7‧‧‧ gas treatment equipment

10‧‧‧Boiler equipment

20‧‧‧Insulation spacer

30‧‧‧Processing chamber

31‧‧‧ tube body

32‧‧‧ Cover

33‧‧‧Upper end

34‧‧‧ side wall

35‧‧‧Bottom

40‧‧‧Insulation components

41‧‧‧Base

411‧‧‧lower substrate

412‧‧‧Upper substrate

413‧‧‧ Linked Column

414‧‧‧Sheet structure

42‧‧‧Support frame

43‧‧‧Side frame

44‧‧‧Upper body

50‧‧‧The boat

51‧‧‧floor

52‧‧‧ top board

53‧‧‧Cylinder

531‧‧‧ trough structure

531L‧‧‧ trough structure

531U‧‧‧ trough structure

532‧‧‧Under vacant section

533‧‧‧Over the vacant section

60‧‧‧ gas supply unit

61‧‧‧Intake 埠

62‧‧‧Connected tube

63‧‧‧jet tube

630‧‧‧ first end

631‧‧‧Upper buffer section

632‧‧‧Processing section

633‧‧‧Under buffer zone

634‧‧‧Auxiliary section

635‧‧‧Auxiliary section

636‧‧‧ second end

64‧‧‧jet holes

65‧‧‧Clean hole

70‧‧‧Exhaust gas

71‧‧‧External pipeline

72‧‧‧ inside pipeline

90‧‧‧heating unit

91, 92, 93, 94‧‧‧ side wall heaters

A1‧‧‧ first position

A2‧‧‧second position

‧‧‧‧ angle

B1‧‧‧ first border

B2‧‧‧ second border

B3‧‧‧ third border

B4‧‧‧ fourth border

‧‧‧‧角角

DW‧‧‧imitation substrate

P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7‧‧‧ spacing

W‧‧‧ wafer

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a processing system in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a boiler apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a portion of components of a boiler apparatus in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing a part of components of a boiler apparatus according to a part of the embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing a method of processing a semiconductor wafer in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of processing a semiconductor wafer in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the flow rate of the purge gas through the semiconductor wafer and the position of the trench structure in which the semiconductor wafer is located in some embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 8 shows the concentration change of the purge gas through a semiconductor wafer in some embodiments of the present invention.

The following disclosure is provided to illustrate various embodiments of the invention. when However, these specific examples are not intended to limit the invention. For example, if the disclosure of the present specification describes forming a first feature on or above a second feature, that is, it includes an embodiment in which the formed first feature is in direct contact with the second feature. Also included is an embodiment in which additional features are formed between the first feature and the second feature described above, such that the first feature and the second feature may not be in direct contact. In addition, different examples in the description of the invention may use repeated reference symbols and/or words. These repeated symbols or words are not intended to limit the relationship between the various embodiments and/or the appearance structures for the purpose of simplicity and clarity.

Furthermore, for convenience of describing the relationship of one element or feature in the drawings to another (plural) element or (complex) feature, space-related terms such as "below", "below", "lower", "above", "upper" and similar terms. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. The device may also be additionally positioned (eg, rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the description of the spatially relevant terms used may be interpreted accordingly. It will be appreciated that additional operational steps may be provided before, during, and after the method, and in some method embodiments, some of the operational steps may be replaced or omitted.

It should be noted that the embodiments discussed herein may not necessarily describe every component or feature that may be present within the structure. For example, one or more components may be omitted from the drawings, such as may be omitted from the drawings when the description of the components may be sufficient to convey various aspects of the embodiments. Furthermore, the method embodiments discussed herein may be discussed in a particular order, but in other method embodiments, the order may be performed in any reasonable order.

1 shows a semiconductor wafer processing system 1 for processing one or more semiconductor wafers W in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer processing system 1 includes a gas supply device 3, a gas flow control device 5, a gas processing device 7, and a boiler device 10. In an embodiment, the gas supply device 3 supplies a purge gas to the boiler plant 10 via the supply line 4, and thereafter from the boiler device 10 via the gas flow control device 5 and the gas treatment device 7.

In some embodiments, the gas treatment device 7 draws purge gas from the boiler device 10 via a purge line 6. The air flow control device 5 is located between the gas treatment device 7 and the boiler device 10. The gas flow control device 5 is configured to increase the pressure difference of the purge gas located in the purge line 6 to increase the gas flow rate through the purge line 6 per unit time. In one embodiment, the airflow control device 5 includes an automatic pressure controller (APC) and the gas treatment device 7 includes a source of vacuum.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the boiler apparatus 10 is as follows:

Figure 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a boiler apparatus 10 in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the boiler apparatus 10 includes an insulative housing 20 (shown in part in FIG. 2), a processing chamber 30, an insulation assembly 40, a wafer boat 50, and a gas supply unit 60. The number of components of the boiler apparatus 10 can be increased or decreased and is not limited by the embodiments of the present invention.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the insulating spacer 20 is used to provide an insulating containment environment to the periphery of the processing chamber 30 to establish a temperature controlled environment for the processing chamber 30. The processing chamber 30 includes a tube body 31 and a cover 32. The tubular body 31 has a long axis Z passing through the substantial center of the tubular body 31. And the tube body 31 has an upper end portion 33, a Side wall 34 and lower end portion 35.

The upper end portion 33 is closed and the lower end portion 35 is open to allow the wafer boat 50 to be placed into the processing chamber 30 for batch processing of the semiconductor wafer W, or to allow the wafer boat 50 carrying the completed semiconductor wafer W to be self-processed. The machining chamber 30 is removed. The upper end portion 33 and the lower end portion 35 are respectively located on opposite sides of the tubular body 31 and on the long axis Z. The side wall 34 connects the upper end portion 33 and the lower end portion 35. In an embodiment, the lower end portion 35 can have a flange for receiving the cover 32.

The processing chamber 30 can have a cylindrical outer shape and be made of any suitable material, such as quartz or tantalum carbide (SiC). The processing chamber 30 can be coated with a material such as polysilicon or the processing chamber 30 can be coated with a particular material according to the processing desired to be performed within the processing chamber 30. The processing chamber 30 can have any height depending on the number of wafers to be processed in a desired batch. In an exemplary embodiment, the processing chamber 30 can have a vertical height of from about 100 centimeters to about 150 centimeters, although embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. In one embodiment, the processing chamber 30 is an Annealed and Pickled Pipe that operates at atmospheric pressure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the insulation assembly 40 is configured to reduce heat lost through the cover 32. In some embodiments, the insulation assembly 40 includes a base 41 and a support frame 42. The pedestal 41 includes a lower substrate 411, an upper substrate 412, a plurality of connecting pillars 413, and a plurality of sheet structures 414. The lower substrate 411 is fixed to the inner surface of the upper cover 32 facing the processing chamber 30, and the upper substrate 412 and the lower substrate 411 are disposed opposite to each other. The connecting post 413 connects the lower substrate 411 to the upper substrate 412.

In some embodiments, the sheet structures 414 are disposed on the connecting posts 413 and are spaced apart from each other. In some embodiments, the spacing between each two adjacent sheet structures 414 is P7, and the sheet structure 414 and the lower substrate 411 and the upper substrate 412 The spacing is also P7, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the pitch of adjacent two sheet structures 414 has a variation, for example, toward the direction of the cover 32, the spacing of adjacent two sheet structures 414 is gradually reduced. In addition, the sheet structure 414 and the lower substrate 411 and the upper substrate 412 may also be larger or smaller than the pitch of the adjacent two sheet structures 414.

A support frame 42 is placed over the base 41 to support the boat 50. In some embodiments, the support frame 42 includes a side frame 43 and an upper frame 44. The side frame body 43 can be fixed to the upper substrate 412 of the base 41 and extends parallel to the long axis Z (Fig. 2) of the pipe body 31 in a direction away from the cover body 32. The upper frame 44 is coupled to one end of the side frame body 43 and extends parallel to the cover body 32. The support frame 42 can be made of any suitable material, such as tantalum carbide or quartz. The side frame body 43 and the upper frame body 44 may be integrally formed, and the side frame body 43 and the upper frame body 44 may have the same thickness, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The boat 50 is configured to carry and hold a plurality of vertically stacked semiconductor wafers W (Fig. 2) and to allow reactant gases to flow horizontally across the surface of the semiconductor wafer W to deposit a desired thickness of material thereon. In some embodiments, the boat 50 is disposed above the insulating assembly 40 and includes a bottom plate 51, a top plate 52, and a plurality of columns 53 (only one column 53 is shown in FIG. 3). The bottom plate 51 and the top plate 52 are disposed to face each other. The column 53 connects the bottom plate 51 to the top plate 52. Each of the pillars has a plurality of groove-like structures 531 for directly sandwiching the semiconductor wafer W. In some embodiments, the pitch of each of the two adjacent groove-like structures 531 is P6, and the pitch P6 is smaller than the pitch P7 between the sheet-like structures 414.

The above pitch P6 may be between about 6 mm and about 10 mm, for example about 6.3 mm. In addition, the boat 50 can carry a corresponding number according to its height. Wafers, for example 50 to 180 wafers. The boat 50 can be made of any suitable material such as quartz, tantalum carbide or tantalum.

In some embodiments, the post 53 includes a lower vacant section 532 defined between the bottom plate 51 and the trough-like structure 531L closest to the bottom plate 51, and the lower vacant section 532 of the post 53 is not disposed. There is a groove-like structure for the semiconductor wafer W to be placed. In addition, the column body 53 further includes an upper vacant section 533 defined between the top plate 52 and the groove-like structure 531U closest to the top plate 52. The upper vacant section 533 of the column 53 is not provided. A groove-like structure in which the semiconductor wafer W is placed. In some embodiments, the length of the lower vacant section 532 is greater than the length of the upper vacant section 533.

The boat 50 can be secured to the insulative assembly 40 by any suitable means. For example, the bottom plate 51 of the boat 50 can be secured to the upper frame 44 of the insulating assembly 40 through a plurality of locking elements, such as screws. The locking component can pass through the bottom plate 51 and the upper frame 44 to fix the bottom plate 51 on the upper frame 44. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the boat 50 can be fixed on the insulating component 40 by other means. .

Referring to FIG. 4, the gas supply unit 60 is configured to guide the purge gas from the gas supply device 3 into the interior of the processing chamber 30. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the gas supply unit 60 includes an intake port 61, one or more connecting tubes 62, and a jet tube 63.

In some embodiments, the intake port 61 is fixed to the outer surface of the tubular body 31 adjacent to the lower end portion 35, and is fluidly coupled to the gas supply device 3 through the supply line 4 to receive the purge gas supplied from the gas supply device 3. The connecting pipe 62 connects the intake port 61 to the gas injection pipe 63 to guide the purge gas from the intake port 61 to the gas injection pipe 63. In some embodiments, the first end of the connecting tube 62 is coupled to the intake port 61 and extends along the outer surface of the side wall 34 of the tube body 31 to the upper end portion 33 of the tube body 31 (this feature is more clearly shown in Figure 1). The interior of the processing chamber 30 is again accessed through the opening 310 at the upper end portion 33, and finally joined to the lance tube 63 located inside the processing chamber 30 at the second end.

In some embodiments, the connecting tube 62 extends from a first position a1 of the upper end portion 33 of the tubular body 31 to a second position a2 at the upper end portion 33 of the tubular body 31. The first position a1 and the second position a2 are interposed with respect to the long axis Z of the tubular body 31 by an angle β. In an exemplary embodiment, the angle β is approximately 150 degrees. Further, the portion of the connecting pipe 62 located at the upper end portion 33 of the pipe body 31 is offset from the long axis Z of the pipe body 31, and does not pass through the long axis Z of the pipe body 31.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the gas injection tube 63 includes a tube body in the direction of the long axis Z of the parallel tube body 31. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the air duct 63 extends from a first end 630 to a second end 636, and includes an upper buffer section 631, a processing section 632, a lower buffer section 633, and an auxiliary. Section 634 and the next auxiliary section 635.

In some embodiments, the upper buffer section 631 extends from the first end 630 of the lance 63 to the first boundary B1. The processing section 632 extends from the first boundary B1 to the second boundary B2. The lower buffer segment 633 extends from the second boundary B2 to the third boundary B3. The upper auxiliary section 634 extends from the third boundary B3 to the fourth boundary B4. The lower auxiliary section 635 extends from the fourth boundary B4 to the second end 636 of the gas injection tube 63.

The projection of the first boundary B1 in the direction of the vertical long axis Z is located at the upper edge of the groove-like structure 531U. The projection of the second boundary B2 in the direction of the vertical long axis Z is located at the lower edge of the groove-like structure 531L. The projection of the third boundary B3 in the direction of the vertical long axis Z is located at the lower edge of the groove structure 531L and the upper frame of the insulating assembly 40. Between body 44. The projection of the fourth boundary B4 in the direction of the vertical long axis Z is located on the lower surface of the upper substrate 412 of the susceptor 41.

In some embodiments, the upper buffer section 631, the processing section 632, the lower buffer section 633, the upper auxiliary section 634, and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the gas injection tube 63 each include a plurality of gas injection holes 64. The gas injection hole 64 penetrates the pipe wall of the gas injection pipe 63 and communicates with the gas passage located inside the gas injection pipe 63. The purge gas supplied from the connection pipe 62 to the gas injection pipe 63 is supplied to the outside of the gas injection pipe 63 via the above-described gas passage and the gas injection hole 64.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the arrangement of the air blast holes 64 in the upper buffer section 631, the processing section 632, the lower buffer section 633, the upper auxiliary section 634, and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the air nozzle 63 is as follows:

The machined section 632 of the lance 63 includes a predetermined number of vent holes 64. The predetermined number described above corresponds to the number of groove-like structures 531 on the single cylinder 53 on the boat 50. For example, the single cylinder 53 on the boat 50 includes 180 groove-like structures 531, and the processed section 632 of the gas injection tube 63 also includes 180 gas injection holes 64. The gas injection holes 64 of the processing section 632 of the air tube 63 are spaced apart by a pitch P2 which is equal to the pitch P6 of two adjacent groove structures 531, for example, 6.3 mm. Also, the projections of the gas injection holes 64 of the processed section 632 of the gas injection tube 63 in the direction of the vertical long axis Z each correspond to a groove-like structure 531 on the single cylinder 53.

The upper buffer section 631 of the lance 63 includes two gas injection holes 64. The two gas injection holes 64 of the upper buffer section 631 of the gas injection pipe 63 are spaced apart by a distance P1. The pitch P1 between the gas injection holes 64 of the upper buffer section 631 of the gas injection pipe 63 may be equal to the pitch P2 between the gas injection holes 64 of the processed section 632 of the gas injection pipe 63, for example, 6.3 mm. And, the upper buffer section 631 of the air duct 63 and the adjacent first boundary B1 in the processing section 632 The two gas injection holes 64 are also spaced apart by the above-described pitch P2.

The lower buffer section 633 of the lance 63 includes two gas injection holes 64. The two gas injection holes 64 of the lower buffer section 633 of the gas injection pipe 63 are spaced apart by a distance P3. The pitch P3 between the gas injection holes 64 of the lower buffer section 633 of the gas injection pipe 63 may be equal to the pitch P2 between the gas injection holes 64 of the processed section 632 of the gas injection pipe 63, for example, 6.3 mm. Further, the lower buffer section 633 of the gas injection tube 63 is also separated from the two gas injection holes 64 adjacent to the first boundary B2 in the processing section 632 by the above-described pitch P2.

The lower auxiliary section 635 of the lance 63 includes a predetermined number of vent holes 64. The predetermined number described above satisfies the equation N+1, where N is the number of sheet structures 414 of the pedestal 41. For example, the base 41 includes 12 sheet-like structures 414 (Fig. 3 only schematically shows four sheet-like structures 414), and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the jet tube 63 includes 13 jet holes. 64.

The gas injection holes 64 of the lower auxiliary section 635 of the gas injection pipe 63 are spaced apart by a pitch P5 which is equal to the pitch P7 of the two adjacent sheet structures 414, for example, 14 mm. Also, in the direction of the vertical long axis Z, the projection of the sheet-like structure 414 on the lance 63 is staggered with the vent 64 in the lower auxiliary section 635.

The pitch P4 between the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63 is the same as the pitch P5 of the gas injection holes 64 of the lower auxiliary section 635 of the gas injection pipe 63. Further, the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63 and the two gas injection holes 64 adjacent to the fourth boundary B4 of the lower auxiliary section 635 are also separated by the above-described pitch P5. Thus, the number of the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63 is determined according to the length of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63. In an exemplary embodiment, the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection tube 63 includes 13 gas injection holes 64, although the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In other examples, the spacing between the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63 is not exactly the same as the pitch P5 between the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63. For example, the spacing between the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection tube 63 gradually increases from the above-described pitch P3 to the pitch P5 in the direction toward the second end 636. The lower buffer section 633 of the lance 63 is spaced apart from the two vent holes 64 of the adjacent third boundary B3 of the upper auxiliary section 634 by the above-described pitch P3. The upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection pipe 63 is spaced apart from the two gas injection holes 64 of the adjacent fourth boundary B4 of the lower auxiliary section 635 by the above-described pitch P5.

In the above embodiment, the air blast holes 64 of the upper buffer section 631, the processing section 632, the lower buffer section 633, the upper auxiliary section 634, and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the lance 63 are substantially circular and have the same The aperture, but the embodiment of the present invention may not only have the air vents 64 of the upper buffer section 631, the processing section 632, the lower buffer section 633, the upper auxiliary section 634, and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the jet tube 63. Different shapes and different pore sizes.

For example, the upper baffle section 631, the processing section 632, and the lower baffle section 633 of the lance 63 have a first aperture, and the upper auxiliary section 634 and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the lance 63 The gas injection hole 64 has a second aperture which is larger than the first aperture, thereby increasing the flow rate of the purge gas through the gas injection holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 and the lower auxiliary section 635 of the gas injection pipe 63 while increasing the passage of the jet The flow rate of the purge gas of the upper baffle section 631 of the tube 63, the processing section 632, and the gas injection hole 64 of the lower buffer section 633.

In some embodiments, the lower auxiliary section 635 of the lance 63 further includes a cleaning aperture 65 adjacent the second end 636. The cleaning hole 65 is configured to clean the liquid into the interior of the lance 63 after the end of the processing process. In some embodiments, the cleaning holes 65 are omitted.

Referring to Figure 4, in some embodiments, boiler apparatus 10 further includes an exhaust port 70. The exhaust port 70 is coupled to the side wall 34 of the tubular body 30 near the lower end portion 35. In an exemplary embodiment, the intake port 61 is at the same height as the exhaust port 70, and the angle α with respect to the long axis Z of the tube 30 is complementary to the first position a1 and the second position a2 with respect to the tube 30. The angle β of the long axis Z. In an exemplary embodiment, the angle α is about 30 degrees and the angle β is about 150 degrees. With this configuration, the gas injection holes 64 of the gas injection pipe 63 are directed to the exhaust gas enthalpy 70 to optimize the flow path of the purge gas in the processing chamber.

In some embodiments, the exhaust manifold 70 includes an outer conduit 71 and an inner conduit 72. The outer duct 71 is fixed to the side wall 34 of the pipe body 30 and communicates with the opening 311 formed in the side wall 34. The inner end opening of the outer duct 71 is directly connected to the space inside the pipe body 30 without being connected to the pipeline. The inner duct 72 and the outer duct 71 have a substantially identical cross section, such as a circular shape. The outer diameter of the inner tube 72 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the outer tube 71, and the inner tube 72 is removably sleeved inside the outer tube 71.

In some embodiments, the outer tube 71 and the inner tube 72 are made of different materials. For example, the outer pipe 71 is made of quartz (Quartz), and the inner pipe 72 is made of Teflon. The thermal conductance coefficient of the inner pipe 72 is smaller than that of the outer pipe. It is not easy to increase the temperature to prevent the reaction gas from adhering thereto and causing contamination. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the outer pipe 71 and the inner pipe 72 may be made of the same material. In some embodiments, the exhaust manifold 70 omits an inner conduit 72 that is removably attached to the sidewall 34 of the tubular body 30. About exhaust 埠 The advantages of 70 will be further explained in the following examples of the method of processing wafers in FIG.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the heating unit 90 is used to generate thermal energy in the processing of the semiconductor wafer W to bring the processing chamber 30 to a custom temperature. In some embodiments, the heating unit 90 is aligned along the sidewall 34 of the processing chamber 30 and includes four sidewall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94. The side wall heaters 91, 92, 93 and 94 are arranged along the side walls 34 of the processing chamber 30. In some embodiments, the sidewall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 may be substantially equally spaced apart in the vertical direction of the processing chamber 30. In some embodiments, the side wall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 are resistive heaters that regulate input power input to each heater through a power control device, and the side wall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 may each Set at different temperatures. Thus, the heating temperature in each section of the processing chamber 30 can be adjusted by controlling the output temperatures of the side wall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94.

Figure 5 shows a flow diagram of a method 1000 of processing a semiconductor wafer W in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. For the sake of example, the flow is illustrated by the schematic of Figure 6. In different embodiments, some of the stages can be replaced or eliminated. Additional features can be added to the semiconductor device structure. In various embodiments, some of the above characteristics may be replaced or eliminated.

Method 1000 begins at operation S1 by providing boiler apparatus 10. In some embodiments, the boiler apparatus 10 can be placed in a standby mode and in a processing mode. In the standby mode, the processing chamber 30 is open. The cover 32 is separated from the tubular body 31, and the insulating assembly 40 and the boat 50 are located outside the space defined by the tubular body 31. In the processing mode, the processing chamber 30 is closed. The cover 32 is coupled to the tubular body 31, and the insulating assembly 40 and the boat 50 are disposed within a space defined by the tubular body 31.

The method 1000 continues to operation S2 by placing a plurality of semiconductor wafers W on the wafer boat 50 of the boiler apparatus 10. The semiconductor wafer W can be moved into the interior of the wafer boat 50 of the boiler apparatus 10 by a robotic arm (not shown) having a carrier. When the semiconductor wafer W is placed on the wafer boat 50, the semiconductor wafer W is sandwiched by the trench structure on the pillar 53 of the wafer boat 50, and the adjacent two semiconductor wafers W are maintained at equal intervals.

According to some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W is made of tantalum, niobium or other semiconductor material. According to some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W is made of a composite semiconductor such as SiC, GaAs, InAs, or InP. According to some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W is made of an alloy semiconductor such as germanium (SiGe), germanium carbon (SiGeC), gallium arsenide (GaAsP) or indium gallium phosphide (GaInP). According to some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W includes a crystalline film layer. For example, the semiconductor wafer W has a crystalline film layer overlying a bulk semiconductor. According to some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W may be a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or a germanium-on-insulator (GOI) substrate.

A plurality of device components can be included on the semiconductor wafer W. For example, the device component formed on the semiconductor wafer W may include a transistor such as a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistor (complementary). Metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor, bipolar junction transistors (BJT), high voltage transistors, high frequency transistors, P-type field effect transistors (p-channel and/or n- Channel field-effect transistors (PFET) or P-type field effect N-channel field-effect transistors (NFET), etc., or other components. Multiple device components on a semiconductor wafer W have undergone multiple processing processes such as deposition, etching, ion implantation, photolithography, annealing And or other processes.

In some embodiments, in addition to the semiconductor wafer W, one or more dummy wafers DW are disposed in the wafer boat 50 to increase process uniformity. Any number of dummy substrates DW may be disposed in the wafer boat 50. In some embodiments, the two groups of dummy substrates DW are respectively disposed in the section of the wafer boat 50 near the bottom plate 51 and the top plate 52, and are respectively located above and below the batch-stacked semiconductor wafer W to be processed.

The method 1000 continues to operation S3 by moving the wafer boat 50 into the processing chamber 30 of the boiler apparatus 10. The boat 50 can lift the lid 32 by a lifting device (not shown) to move the boat 50 into the tube 31. When the cover 32 is coupled to the lower end portion 35 of the tubular body 31, the boat 50 is located within the airtight processing chamber 30.

The method 1000 continues to operation S4 by heating the processing chamber 30 with the heating unit 90. In some embodiments, the heat output of the sidewall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 can be independently adjusted. The heat output of the side wall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 can be automatically adjusted manually or through a heating controller or computer. The heating controller can be based on the detected value of the temperature detector disposed inside the boiler device 10. A control signal is provided, or the above-described heating controller heats the side wall heaters 91, 92, 93, and 94 in accordance with a predetermined heating temperature.

In some embodiments, the semiconductor wafer W is formed into a film by FCVD process technology and baked and then sent to the boiler device 10 for thermal annealing, wherein the semiconductor wafer W is at a process pressure equivalent to atmospheric pressure. Processing. In an exemplary embodiment, the process pressure is between about 96,000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa. During the thermal annealing process, the semiconductor wafer W surface film may generate a reactive gas (eg, NH3) during processing. Since the reaction gas easily causes contamination of the semiconductor wafer W and the boiler apparatus 10, in order to exclude the above-described reaction gas, the method 1000 proceeds to operation S5 to supply the purge gas to the processing chamber 30.

In some embodiments, the purge gas is supplied relative to each semiconductor wafer W through the gas injection holes 64 of the processing section 632. It is to be noted that, since the gas injection holes 64 of the processing section 632 are disposed in the alignment groove structure 531, the purge gas passes through the gas injection holes 64 from the processing section 632 and passes through the gap between the adjacent two semiconductor wafers W. Flowing, and the purge gas can pass through the surface of each semiconductor wafer W in the horizontal direction to exclude the above reaction gas.

In some embodiments, the purge gas supplied by the gas injection tube 63 passes through the semiconductor wafer W at a flow rate between about 11 mm/s and about 24 mm/s, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the purge gas is The flow rate can be adjusted as needed.

Compared with the embodiment in which the purge gas is supplied from above the boiler device (the flow rate of the purge gas through the semiconductor wafer W is only between about 0.1 mm/s and about 0.4 mm/s), the implementation of supplying the purge gas using the gas injection pipe 63 For example, the reaction gas can be quickly blown off from the surface of the semiconductor wafer W, so that the semiconductor wafer W can be prevented from being contaminated. In one embodiment, the boiler plant 10 reduces particle packing by 11% compared to boiler equipment that supplies purge gas from above, and can increase product yield by about 4%.

Observed according to an experimental result, using the jet as shown in Fig. 6. In the embodiment where the tube 63 supplies purge gas into the processing chamber 30, the flow rate of the purge gas through the semiconductor wafer W over the long axis Z generally assumes a bell-shaped distribution. That is, the flow rate of the purge gas through the semiconductor wafer W arranged at the center position is the largest, and the flow rate of the purge gas passing through the semiconductor wafer W is gradually decreased in the direction toward the bottom plate 51 and the top plate 52.

In order to maintain the flow rate of the purge gas passing through all of the semiconductor wafers W at a threshold, the reaction gases are quickly eliminated. In some embodiments, the method 1000 further includes passing over the gas tubes 63 while the operation S5 is being performed. The buffer holes 631 and the air holes 64 of the lower buffer section 632 supply the purge gas to maintain the flow rate of the purge gas of all the semiconductor wafers W adjacent to the bottom plate 51 and the top plate 52 greater than a threshold value to avoid or reduce the adjacent bottom plate 51 and the top plate. The semiconductor wafer W of 52 is not effectively eliminated by the reaction gas during processing.

However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the upper buffer section 631 and the lower buffer section 632 of the ejector tube 63 are omitted, and the flow rate of the purge gas passing through all the semiconductor wafers W is transmitted through the sections on both sides of the vertical direction of the substrate DW. More than one threshold to avoid or reduce the contamination of the semiconductor wafer W.

In some embodiments, the method 1000 further includes supplying purge gas through the upper auxiliary section 634 of the gas injection tube 63 and the air vent 64 of the lower auxiliary section 635 while the operation S5 is being performed. The purge gas supplied from the air holes 64 of the upper auxiliary section 634 and the lower auxiliary section 635 can increase the airflow stability of the purge gas passing through the semiconductor wafer W, avoiding turbulence of the purge gas passing through the semiconductor wafer W. Thus, the purge gas can pass through the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer W and exclude most of the reactant gases.

In some embodiments, the concentration of the reactive gas on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is between about 16% and about 29%. Compared with the embodiment in which the purge gas is supplied from above the boiler device (the concentration distribution of the reaction gas on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is between 24% and 73%), the embodiment in which the purge gas is supplied by the gas jet 63 can effectively reduce the semiconductor Since the concentration of the reaction gas of the wafer W is such that the semiconductor wafer W is contaminated.

On the other hand, the purge gas supplied from the upper auxiliary section 634 and the air vent 64 of the lower auxiliary section 635 can simultaneously remove the reaction gas accumulated in the section near the insulating member 40. As a result, the maintenance cycle of the boiler equipment can be extended to increase the capacity of the boiler equipment.

The method 1000 continues to operation S6 to purge the purge gas from the processing chamber 30. In some embodiments, the gas processing apparatus 7 generates a vacuum to evacuate the purge gas in the processing chamber 30, the reactive gases generated from the semiconductor wafer W, and the contaminating particles away from the processing chamber 30 via the exhaust port 70 and the purge line 6. Since the reaction gas in the processing chamber 30 can be quickly removed from the processing chamber 30, contamination of the semiconductor wafer W and the boiler device 10 by the reaction gas can be avoided. Operation S6 can be started simultaneously with operation S5 and ended at the same time. Alternatively, operation S6 may start earlier than operation S5 and end after operation S5. After the end of operation S6, the method 1000 continues to operation S7 to remove the semiconductor wafer W from the boiler apparatus 10 to end the processing process performed by the boiler apparatus 10.

In some embodiments, the airflow control device 5 can be selectively turned on while the operation S6 is being performed. The airflow control device 5 can expand the pressure difference between the upstream of the exclusion line 6 (near the end of the processing chamber) and the downstream of the exclusion line 6 (near the end of the gas treatment device 7) to increase the flow of gas removed from the processing chamber 30 per unit time.

In an embodiment, the pressure differential upstream of the automatic pressure controller and downstream of the automatic pressure controller is between about 96000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa. Thus, not only can the reactive gas be quickly removed from the processing chamber 30, but also the opportunity for the cured and bulky contaminating particles to be removed from the processing chamber 30 can be increased. On the other hand, by raising the pressure difference, it is also possible to prevent the gas from flowing back to the processing chamber 30 from the elimination line 6.

In some embodiments, the contaminating particles therein will accumulate in the exhaust gas enthalpy 70 as it passes through the exhaust gas enthalpy 70, resulting in a decrease in gas flow through the exhaust gas enthalpy 70 per unit time. To improve this phenomenon, in an embodiment where the exhaust port 70 has an inner conduit 72, maintenance can be quickly performed on the boiler device 10 by replacing the inner conduit 72 of the exhaust port 70 to allow gas flow through the exhaust port 70 per unit time. Restore the established value. Alternatively, in the embodiment in which the outer duct 71 of the exhaust port 70 can be removed from the machining chamber 30, the outer duct 71 of the exhaust port 70 can be replaced to quickly perform maintenance on the boiler device 10 to pass the exhaust unit per unit time. The gas flow rate of 70 is restored to the established value.

As a result, the cycle of maintenance of the processing chamber 30 can be extended, and the semiconductor wafer W and the processing chamber 30 can be ensured to be free from contamination. Since the working time of the maintenance processing chamber 30 is much longer than the operation time for maintaining the exhaust port 70, even if the exhaust port 70 is frequently maintained, the number of operating hours of the boiler device 10 can be greatly extended, thereby increasing the production capacity. In one embodiment, the boiler plant 10 is about 40% more productive than the boiler plant that supplies the purge gas from above.

Figure 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the flow rate of the purge gas through the semiconductor wafer and the position of the trench structure in which the semiconductor wafer is located in some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the purge gas is passed through the boat at a higher flow rate. The semiconductor wafer W in the intermediate position is 50, and the purge gas passes through the semiconductor wafer W adjacent to both ends of the wafer boat 50 (adjacent to the top plate 52 and the bottom plate 53) at a lower flow rate. The flow rate of purge gas through the semiconductor wafer W can be between about 0.01 mm/s and about 0.03 mm/s. Figure 8 shows the concentration change of the purge gas through a semiconductor wafer in some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the purge gas has a fairly uniform concentration in the region of the semiconductor wafer W closest to the edge of the gas injection hole 64 and about two-thirds the width of the semiconductor wafer W from the gas injection hole 64. The concentration of the purge gas is slightly increased in a region from the gas jet hole 64 about two-thirds of the width of the semiconductor wafer W to the edge of the semiconductor wafer W farthest from the gas injection hole 64.

The semiconductor wafer processing system in various embodiments of the present invention excludes reactive gases on the semiconductor wafer from unfavorable product yields by purge gases blown from the sides. Since most of the reactive gases can be quickly removed from the semiconductor wafer, contamination of the semiconductor wafer can be avoided. In addition, when the semiconductor wafer is processed in the processing chamber, the purge gas and other contaminated particles can be quickly removed from the processing chamber by the optimized gas removal mechanism, so that the contamination of the processing chamber can also be improved. As a result, the number of maintenance of the semiconductor wafer processing system can be reduced, thereby increasing the output capacity.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a semiconductor wafer processing system. The semiconductor wafer processing system includes a processing chamber. The processing chamber extends along a long axis. The semiconductor wafer processing system further includes an insulating component. The insulating component is located within the processing chamber. Semiconductor wafer processing systems also include jet tubes. The lance is located within the processing chamber and extends in a direction parallel to the major axis. The jet tube includes a processing section. A plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the processing section. In addition, the semiconductor wafer processing system includes an exhaust gas crucible and a wafer boat. The exhaust port is connected to the processing chamber. The boat is placed on the insulation assembly and is located on the spray Between the trachea and the exhaust enthalpy. The wafer boat includes a plurality of trough structures configured to carry a plurality of semiconductor wafers. The venting holes located in the processing section are aligned with the groove structure.

In the above embodiment, the number of equal venting holes located in the processing section is the same as the number of grooved structures, and each of the venting holes located in the processing section is aligned with one of the grooved structures.

In the above embodiment, the gas injection tube includes a lower auxiliary section in which a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the lower auxiliary section, and the insulating member includes a plurality of sheet-like structures arranged in a direction parallel to the major axis. In the direction of the vertical long axis, the projection of the sheet-like structure on the jet tube is staggered with the venting holes in the lower auxiliary section.

In the above embodiment, the lance tube includes an upper auxiliary section between the processing section and the lower auxiliary section. A plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the upper auxiliary section, and the spacing between the gas injection holes in the upper auxiliary section is the same as the spacing between the gas injection holes located in the lower auxiliary section.

In the above embodiment, the gas injection tube includes an upper buffer section adjacent to the processing section, and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the upper buffer section. In the direction of the parallel long axis, the height of the gas injection holes located in the upper buffer section is higher than that of the groove structure.

In the above embodiment, the gas injection tube includes a lower buffer section adjacent to the processing section, and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the lower buffer section. In the direction of the parallel long axis, the height of the gas injection holes located in the lower buffer section is lower than that of the groove structure.

In the above embodiment, the exhaust enthalpy and the lance are located on opposite sides of the boat, and the angle between the exhaust enthalpy and the lance tube with respect to the long axis is approximately 180 degrees.

In the above embodiment, the exhaust port includes an outer pipe and an inner pipe. The outer pipe joins a side wall of the pipe body. The inner pipe is sleeved inside the outer pipe.

In the above embodiment, the semiconductor wafer wafer processing system further includes an automatic pressure controller (APC) coupled to the exhaust manifold, wherein a pressure difference upstream of the automatic pressure controller and downstream of the automatic pressure controller It is between about 96000Pa and about 100000Pa.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of processing a semiconductor wafer. The above method includes placing a plurality of semiconductor wafers into a boiler apparatus. The above method further includes heating the semiconductor wafer under a process pressure. The process pressure is between about 96000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa. The above method also includes supplying a purge gas to the semiconductor wafer through a jet tube. The gas injection tube includes a processing section and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the processing section. The gas vents supply purge gas to each gap between two adjacent semiconductor wafers.

The embodiments and their advantages are described in detail above, and it is understood that various changes, substitutions and modifications may be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments of the process, the machine, the manufacture, the material composition, the tool, the method and the steps described in the specification. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that, in accordance with the present disclosure, substantially the same functions or implementations as those of the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized. The resulting process, machine, manufacturing, material composition, tool, method or procedure. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims is intended to cover such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, tools, methods or steps. In addition, each patent application scope constitutes a separate reality. The embodiments, and combinations of different patent applications and embodiments, are within the scope of the disclosure.

Claims (10)

A semiconductor wafer processing system comprising: a processing cavity extending along a long axis; an insulating component located within the processing cavity; a jet tube located within the processing cavity and extending in a direction parallel to the major axis, wherein The lance tube includes a processing section, and a plurality of gas vent holes are formed in the processing section; an exhaust enthalpy is coupled to the processing chamber; and a wafer boat is disposed on the insulating component and located in the vent tube and the row Between the gas cylinders, wherein the wafer boat includes a plurality of trough-like structures configured to carry a plurality of semiconductor wafers, and the venting holes located in the processing section are aligned with the trough-like structures. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the number of the vent holes in the processing section is the same as the number of the groove structures, and each is located in the processing section. The venting holes are all aligned with one of the slotted structures. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the gas injection tube comprises a lower auxiliary section, a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the lower auxiliary section, and the insulating component comprises a plurality of sheet structures, The sheet structures are arranged in a direction parallel to the major axis; wherein, in the direction perpendicular to the major axis, the projection of the sheet structures on the jet tube is interleaved with the vent holes in the lower auxiliary section Settings. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 3, wherein the gas injection tube comprises an upper auxiliary section, the upper auxiliary section being located in the processing section Between the lower auxiliary section and the lower auxiliary section; wherein a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the upper auxiliary section, and a spacing between the gas injection holes in the upper auxiliary section is the same as that in the lower auxiliary section The spacing between the jet holes. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the gas jet tube comprises an upper buffer section adjacent to the processing section, and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the upper buffer section; wherein Parallel to the major axis, the height of the gas jets located in the upper buffer section is higher than the trench structures. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the gas jet tube comprises a lower buffer section adjacent to the processing section, and a plurality of gas injection holes are formed in the lower buffer section; wherein, in parallel In the direction of the major axis, the height of the gas jet holes in the lower buffer section is lower than the groove structure. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the exhaust enthalpy and the lance are located on opposite sides of the boat, and the exhaust enthalpy and the lance are opposed to the long axis The angle is approximately equal to 180 degrees. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, wherein the exhaust gas enthalpy comprises: an outer tube connecting a side wall of the processing chamber; and an inner tube sleeved inside the outer tube. The semiconductor wafer processing system of claim 1, further comprising an automatic pressure controller (APC) coupled to the exhaust manifold, wherein the automatic pressure controller is upstream of the automatic pressure controller The pressure differential downstream of the pressure controller is between about 96000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa. A method of processing a semiconductor wafer, comprising: placing a plurality of semiconductor wafers into a boiler apparatus; heating the semiconductor wafers under a process pressure, the process pressure being between about 96000 Pa and about 100,000 Pa; The ejector tube supplies a purge gas to the semiconductor wafers; wherein the vent tube includes a processing section, and a plurality of gas vents are formed in the processing section, the gas vents facing the adjacent two of the semiconductor wafers The purge gas is supplied for each gap therebetween.