TWI784600B - Method and equipment for automatic lifting and rotating of wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to devices and equipment for automatic wafer rotation. In one embodiment of the present invention, a wafer processing equipment includes: a chamber; a heating plate, which is located in the chamber and connected to a connecting rod and extends to the outside of the chamber, the heating plate contains a plurality of wafers a support rod, the connecting rod is coupled to the first motor via the heating plate lifting bracket; a rotating unit, which is in the above-mentioned chamber, the above-mentioned rotating unit surrounds the above-mentioned heating plate and is connected to the supporting frame of the rotating unit and extends to the outside of the above-mentioned chamber. , the top of the above-mentioned rotating unit supports and holds the wafer through the wafer supporting frame; and two sets of magnetic fluids are fixedly connected to the above-mentioned rotating unit supporting frame under the above-mentioned outer part of the above-mentioned chamber and are coupled to the second motor.

Description

Method and equipment for automatic lifting and rotating of wafer

The invention relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing, in particular to semiconductor wafer film deposition and vacuum manufacturing technology.

The semiconductor manufacturing process may include deposition processes, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), etc., to form various thin films on wafers or substrates to prepare semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits and Semiconductor light emitting device. The wafer is typically heated using a heated plate to facilitate the deposition process.

An important factor determining the performance of a semiconductor device is the uniformity of the film deposited on the wafer. For example, depositing thin films uniformly minimizes thickness variation across the wafer surface. However, film uniformity can be affected by several adverse factors including, for example, heater temperature, chamber geometry, process gas flow non-uniformity, and plasma non-uniformity. These factors can lead to non-uniform film deposition on the wafer surface, thereby reducing device performance. In particular, during the deposition process, the uneven heating of the wafer can seriously affect the uniformity of the thin film deposition on the wafer.

For this reason, a technology has been developed to rotate the wafer above the heating plate during the deposition process to obtain uniform heating, thereby improving the uniformity of the film. However, the existing intra-cavity wafer rotation mechanism usually has more complex structural parts, and many parts are involved in the movement process, resulting in the generation of excessive particles in the sealed chamber during the movement process, which can affect the film quality of the wafer. cause serious impact. Moreover, in the case of wafer rotation, the existing intra-cavity wafer rotation mechanism is difficult to automatically pick up and transport wafers due to its complicated structural parts, and cannot realize dynamic adjustment of different electrode pitches during the thin film deposition process.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method and equipment for automatically lifting and rotating wafers to solve the above problems.

The purpose of this application is to provide a method and equipment for automatic wafer lifting and rotation, so as to realize dynamic adjustment of different electrode pitches and automatic wafer pickup and delivery, and effectively reduce undesired particulates.

One embodiment of the present application provides a wafer processing equipment, which includes: a chamber; a heating plate, which is located in the chamber and connected to the connecting rod and extends to the outside of the chamber, the heating plate contains a plurality of wafers a round support rod, the connecting rod is coupled to the first motor via the heating plate lifting bracket; a rotating unit, which is in the above-mentioned chamber, and the above-mentioned rotating unit surrounds the above-mentioned heating plate and is connected to the rotating unit supporting frame and extends to the outside of the above-mentioned chamber Below, the top of the above-mentioned rotating unit supports and holds the wafer through the wafer support frame; and two sets of magnetic fluids are fixedly connected to the above-mentioned rotating unit support frame under the above-mentioned outer part of the above-mentioned chamber and are coupled through the pole spacing adjustment bracket to the second motor.

Another embodiment of the present application provides a wafer processing method, which includes: lowering the heating plate and the rotating unit to raise the plurality of wafer support rods relative to the heating plate; moving the wafer into the chamber and placed on the plurality of wafer support rods; raising the rotating unit to support and hold the wafer; adjusting the position of the wafer from the upper plate; and raising the heating plate to heat the wafer and execute thin film deposition.

It should be understood that the broad forms of the invention and their respective features may be used in combination, interchangeably and/or independently and that reference is not intended to limit reference to a single broad form.

In order to better understand the spirit of the present invention, some preferred embodiments of the present invention will be further described below.

In this specification, unless otherwise specified or limited, relative terms such as: "central", "vertical", "lateral", "front", "rear", "right "of", "left", "inner", "outer", "lower", "higher", "horizontal", "vertical", "above", "below" , "above", "below", "top", "bottom" and derivatives thereof (such as "horizontally", "downwardly", "upwardly", etc.) should be construed as referring to directions described in or shown in the attached drawings. These relative terms are used for descriptive convenience only, and do not require that the application be constructed or operated in a particular direction.

Various embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that these implementations are done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an automatic wafer lifting and rotating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wafer automatic lifting and rotating device 100 may include a heating plate 101, a connecting rod 101', a chamber 103, a wafer support frame 104, a rotating unit 105, a double set of magnetic fluid 106, a rotating unit support frame 107, a heating plate lifting support 108, pole pitch adjustment bracket 109 , motor 110 , motor 111 and wafer support bar 116 . As an embodiment, the motor 110 may be a lifting motor, and the motor 111 may be a pole pitch adjusting motor.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the heating plate 101 is located inside the chamber 103 . According to some embodiments of the present invention, the above chamber 103 may be a vacuum chamber. The heating plate 101 may include a plurality of wafer support rods 116 , each of the plurality of wafer support rods 116 runs through the upper and lower surfaces of the heating plate 101 and is movably disposed in the heating plate 101 . In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of wafer support rods 116 may further include a counterweight 117 to facilitate movement of the plurality of wafer support rods 116 in the heating plate 101 . The heating plate 101 may be connected to a link 101 ′ (or called a heating plate link) and extend below the outside of the chamber 103 . In another embodiment, the connecting rod 101 ′ can extend to the outside of the chamber 103 through the lower opening of the chamber 103 . The connecting rod 101 ′ can be coupled to the motor 110 via the heating plate lifting bracket 108 , so that the motor 110 controls the heating plate 101 to perform lifting movement through the heating plate lifting bracket 108 . A heating circuit (not shown) may be further provided in the connecting rod 101 ′ and connected to the heating plate 101 to adjust or control the temperature of the heating plate 101 . As an example, the chamber 103 may further include a chamber upper cover 115 .

The rotating unit 105 surrounds the heating plate 101 . The rotating unit 105 is disposed inside the chamber 103 , and is connected to the rotating unit supporting frame 107 and extends to the outside of the chamber 103 . As an embodiment, the rotating unit supporting frame 107 can extend to the outside of the chamber 103 through the same lower opening of the chamber 103 . In one embodiment, viewed from above or from the top of the wafer automatic lifting and rotating device 100, the heating plate 101 can be generally disc-shaped, the rotating unit 105 can be generally annular, and the diameter of the rotating unit 105 is larger than the heating plate. The diameter of the disk 101. Correspondingly, the diameter of the rotating unit supporting frame 107 connected with the rotating unit 105 is larger than the diameter of the connecting rod 101' connected with the heating plate 101, so that the rotating unit supporting frame 107 is disposed around the connecting rod 101' and separated from the connecting rod 101'. The connection between the rotating unit 105 and the rotating unit supporting frame 107 is a fixed connection (eg engagement), so that there is no relative displacement between the rotating unit 105 and the rotating unit supporting frame 107 during processing.

The wafer support frame 104 can be erected on top of the rotation unit 105 so as to be fixedly connected (eg engaged) with the rotation unit 105 such that the rotation unit 105 and the wafer support frame 104 maintain a fixed relative position during processing. Wafer support frame 104 may be configured to support and hold wafer 102 . When the wafer 102 is supported and held by the wafer support frame 104 , it is located above the heating plate 101 and substantially parallel to the upper surface of the heating plate 101 . In one embodiment, a robotic arm (not shown) can be used to transfer the wafer 102 to the interior of the chamber 103 through the side wall opening 118 of the chamber 103 and place the wafer 102 on the wafer support frame 104 for processing. The wafer 102 undergoes semiconductor wafer processing processes such as (but not limited to) wafer thin film deposition in the chamber 103 . It should be understood that after the deposition process is completed, the robotic arm can enter the chamber 103 through the sidewall opening 118 of the chamber 103 to pick up the processed wafer 102, and pass the processed wafer 102 from the chamber 103 through the sidewall opening 118. take out. The above-mentioned wafer pick-and-place process will be further described in detail below.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the outer lower part of the chamber 103 contains two sets of magnetic fluids 106 to make the chamber 103 reach a high vacuum state. The double sets of magnetic fluids 106 are fixedly connected (for example, meshed) to the rotating unit support frame 107, and coupled to the motor 111 through the pole spacing adjustment bracket 109. The motor 111 can adjust the pole spacing during the deposition process according to the needs of thin film deposition. Since the rotation unit 105 is fixedly connected to the wafer support frame 104, and the rotation unit support frame 107 is also fixedly connected to the rotation unit 105, when the double set of magnetic fluid 106 is fixedly connected to the rotation unit support frame 107 , the double set of magnetic fluid 106 is also indirectly fixedly connected to the rotation unit 105 and the wafer support frame 104 . In one embodiment, during wafer processing, the rotating unit supporting frame 107 , the rotating unit 105 , the wafer supporting frame 104 , and the wafer 102 can be driven to rotate or rotate together by rotating or turning the dual sets of magnetic fluid 106 . In another embodiment, the wafer support frame 104 may further include protrusions that match the lower notches (Notch) of the wafer 102. The wafer 102 can be more firmly supported and held during processing, thereby preventing the wafer 102 from moving during rotation. However, it should be understood that the dual sets of magnetic fluid 106 and the related components directly or indirectly fixedly connected thereto may not be rotated or rotated during the wafer processing. As an example, the double set of magnetic fluid 106 may include an inner ring and an outer ring, the inner ring is arranged between the connecting rod 101' and the rotating unit support frame 107, and the outer ring is arranged outside the rotating unit support frame 107 and can be connected to the inner ring. circles rotate synchronously. In one embodiment, the double sets of magnetic fluid 106 can be further coupled to another motor (not shown in FIG. 1 ) different from the motor 110 and the motor 111 through a power transmission element, so as to achieve Rotation or rotation of the double sets of magnetic fluid 106 . As an example, the other motor may be a rotary motor. The power transmission element can be located at the lower end of the double sets of magnetic fluid 106, and can include gears, synchronous pulleys, or any device or structure suitable for power transmission. In an embodiment, the other motor may further include a speed reducer and be coupled to the power transmission element via the speed reducer. In another embodiment, the automatic wafer lifting and rotating device 100 may further include a connecting brake 114 to brake the double sets of magnetic fluid 106 .

In one embodiment, a small bellows 112 may be further included between the heating plate lifting bracket 108 and the double set of magnetic fluid 106 to assist the motor 110 to more precisely control the lifting motion of the heating plate 101 through the heating plate lifting bracket 108 . The small bellows 112 is generally arranged around the connecting rod 101'. In another embodiment, a large bellows 113 may be further included between the double set of magnetic fluid 106 and the chamber 103 to assist the motor 111 to achieve precise adjustment of different pole distances through the pole distance adjustment bracket 109 . The large bellows 113 is generally arranged around the rotating unit support frame 107 . In addition, the small bellows 112 and/or the large bellows 113 can be further used to obtain a high vacuum of the wafer automatic lifting and rotating equipment.

According to the wafer automatic lifting and rotating equipment of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , a series of method steps for wafer processing can be implemented. In one embodiment, firstly, the heating plate 101 and the rotating unit 105 are lowered to raise the plurality of wafer support rods 116 relative to the heating plate 101 . Further, a robotic arm can be used to move the wafer 102 into the chamber 103 and place it smoothly on the plurality of wafer support rods 116 . Then, the rotating unit 105 is raised to support and hold the wafer 102, and the precise position of the wafer 102 from the upper plate is adjusted. In this step, the wafer 102 can be positioned by further using the bumps on the rotating unit 105 . Next, the heating plate 101 is raised to a proper position below the wafer 102 to heat the wafer 102 to start the film deposition process. After the film deposition process is completed, the rotating unit 108 can be lowered to the lower limit position with the lowering of the heating plate lifting support 108. At this time, the wafer 102 falls on the plurality of wafer support rods 116 again, and then the robot arm automatically lifts the wafer 102 The chamber 103 is taken out, so that the wafer 102 can be automatically picked up and placed during the whole thin film deposition process. In another embodiment, during wafer processing, the rotating unit supporting frame 107, the rotating unit 105, the wafer supporting frame 104, and the wafer 102 can be further driven by rotating or turning the double set of magnetic fluid 106 via another motor. Co-rotate or rotate to further improve the film-forming quality of the thin film and improve the deposition rate.

FIG. 2A shows a top view of a wafer support frame according to one embodiment of the present invention. The wafer support frame 200 can be used, for example, as the wafer support frame 104 shown in FIG. 1 . Looking down from the top or the top of the wafer automatic lifting and rotating equipment, the wafer support frame 200 may include a ring-shaped main body 201 and protrusions 202, 203, 204, wherein the protrusions 202, 203, 204 are directed from above the ring-shaped main body 201 The ring-shaped body 201 extends in the direction of the center of the circle (also referred to as centripetal extension) to support and hold the wafer 205 during processing (the wafer 205 is shown in dotted lines and can be removed from the wafer support frame 200) . In one embodiment, one or more of the protrusions 202, 203, 204 may include one or more bumps or bump structures, as described in detail below. However, it should be understood that the number of protrusions is not limited to three (i.e. protrusions 202, 203, 204) as shown in FIG. 205 is enough. As an example, the protruding portion of the wafer support frame 200 may include a ring or ring-shaped structure concentric with the ring-shaped main body 201. At this time, the ring or ring-shaped protrusion can also be regarded as a single protrusion.

FIG. 2B shows a partially enlarged view of a protruding portion including bumps in the wafer support frame 200 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A . For example (but not limited to), the protruding portion 202 on the annular body 201 of the wafer support frame 200 includes a bump 210, which is located at the end of the protruding portion 202 in contact with the wafer, and can be embedded or snapped into place. Hold the notch below the wafer 205, thereby preventing the wafer 205 from moving during rotation. Since the lower part of the wafer usually contains at least one notch, which is often idle during wafer processing, therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. The ports are effectively utilized to prevent wafer movement during spin without significantly increasing retrofit costs.

As an example, the bumps 210 can be used to assist in wafer positioning at the initial stage of processing. For example (but not limited to), when transferring wafers, the heating plate 101 shown in FIG. Place it on the wafer support frame 104, and use the bumps 210 on the wafer support frame 104 to position the wafer. Once the bumps 210 are embedded in the notches below the wafer, the wafer positioning can be completed, which greatly simplifies transfer logic, and can prevent the wafer 205 from moving due to high-speed rotation during subsequent processing.

FIG. 2C shows a partially enlarged view of the protruding portion of the wafer support frame 200 that does not include bumps according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A . For example, but not limited to, protrusion 203 (or protrusion 204 as shown in FIG. 2A ) on annular body 201 of wafer support 200 may not include bumps or bump structures at its ends. In one embodiment, the protruding portion 203 shown in FIG. 2C may further include a slope 220, which can ensure the centering of the wafer 205, so as to better prevent the wafer 205 from moving during the rotational movement. It should be understood that the slope 220 shown in FIG. 2C can also be applied to the end portion where the protruding portion 202 contacts the wafer 205 shown in FIG. 2B .

The method and equipment for automatically lifting and rotating wafers provided by various embodiments of the present invention are simple in structure, can realize less particulate matter generated during wafer rotating processing, and can be widely used in PECVD, atomic layer deposition ( Atomic Layer Deposition, ALD) and 3D vacuum equipment and other fields.

In addition, the method and equipment for automatic wafer lifting and rotation provided by various embodiments of the present invention make the wafer heated evenly by rotating the wafer above the heating plate, which not only improves the film forming quality of the film, but also improves the deposition rate. Moreover, the present invention realizes the high vacuum seal at the bottom of the rotating unit by means of two sets of magnetic fluids, and realizes high-precision control by using power transmission elements such as gears or synchronous belts to drive the rotating unit to rotate. Moreover, by using different motors to adjust the pole pitch and controlling the heating plate to move up and down, various embodiments of the present invention can realize dynamic adjustment of different pole pitches and automatic wafer pickup and delivery at the same time.

The technical content and technical characteristics of the present invention have been described by the above-mentioned relevant embodiments, but the above-mentioned embodiments are only examples for implementing the present invention. Those skilled in the art may still make various substitutions and modifications based on the teaching and disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments of the present invention do not limit the scope of the present invention. On the contrary, modifications and equivalent arrangements included in the spirit and scope of the claims are included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Wafer automatic lifting and rotating equipment 101: heating plate 101': connecting rod 102: Wafer 103: chamber 104: wafer support frame 105:Rotary unit 106: Double sets of ferrofluid 107: rotating unit support frame 108: Heating plate lifting bracket 109: Pole spacing adjustment bracket 110: motor 111: motor 112: Small bellows 113: Large bellows 114:Connect brake 115: chamber cover 116: Wafer support bar 117: Counterweight 118: side wall opening 200: wafer support frame 201: ring body 202: protrusion 203: protrusion 204: protrusion 205: Wafer 210: bump 220: slope

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an automatic wafer lifting and rotating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a top view of a wafer support frame according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B shows a partial enlarged view of a protruding portion including bumps in the wafer support frame according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A . FIG. 2C shows a partial enlarged view of the protruding portion of the wafer support frame without bumps according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A .

100: Wafer automatic lifting and rotating equipment

101: heating plate

101': connecting rod

102: Wafer

103: chamber

104: wafer support frame

105:Rotary unit

106: Double sets of ferrofluid

107: rotating unit support frame

108: Heating plate lifting bracket

109: Pole spacing adjustment bracket

110: motor

111: motor

112: Small bellows

113: Large bellows

114:Connect brake

115: chamber cover

116: Wafer support bar

117: Counterweight

118: side wall opening

Claims (18)

A wafer processing equipment, which includes: a chamber; a heating plate, which is located in the chamber and connected to a connecting rod and extends to the outside of the chamber, the heating plate includes a plurality of wafer support rods, and the connecting rod passes through The heating plate lifting bracket is coupled to the first motor; the rotating unit is in the chamber, the rotating unit surrounds the heating plate and is connected to the rotating unit supporting frame and extends to the outside of the chamber, and the top of the rotating unit passes through the wafer supporting frame supports and holds the wafer; and two sets of magnetic fluids are fixedly connected to the rotating unit supporting frame under the outer portion of the chamber and coupled to the second motor via the pole pitch adjustment bracket, wherein the rotating The diameter of the unit support frame is larger than the diameter of the connecting rod. According to the wafer processing equipment of claim 1, a small bellows is further included between the heating plate lifting support and the two sets of magnetic fluids to surround the connecting rod. According to the wafer processing equipment of claim 1, a large bellows is further included between the above-mentioned double sets of magnetic fluid and the above-mentioned chamber to surround the above-mentioned rotating unit support frame. According to the wafer processing equipment of claim 1, the above-mentioned two sets of magnetic fluids are further coupled to the third motor through a power transmission element. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 4, wherein the third motor includes a speed reducer and is coupled to the power transmission element via the speed reducer. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 4, wherein the above-mentioned power transmission element is located at the lower end of the above-mentioned double sets of magnetic fluids. The wafer processing equipment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the power transmission element includes gears. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 6, wherein the power transmission element includes a synchronous pulley. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the two sets of magnetic fluids include an inner ring and an outer ring, and the inner ring and the outer ring are configured to rotate synchronously. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting brake configured to brake the two sets of magnetic fluids. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the chamber includes a chamber upper cover. The wafer processing equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotating unit and said wafer supporting frame keep relative positions fixed during processing. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 12, wherein the wafer supporting frame includes bumps matching the lower notches of the wafer. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is a vacuum chamber. A method of processing wafers using the wafer processing equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 14, comprising: lowering the above-mentioned heating plate and the above-mentioned rotating unit to raise the above-mentioned plurality of wafer support rods relative to the above-mentioned heating plate; The wafer is moved into the chamber and placed on the plurality of wafer support rods; the rotating unit is raised to support and hold the wafer; the position of the wafer from the upper plate is adjusted; and the heating plate is raised to heat the wafer and perform thin film deposition. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: after the deposition of the thin film: lowering the heating plate and the rotating unit, so that the plurality of wafer support rods are raised relative to the heating plate and support the wafer; and from the chamber Take out the above wafer. The method of claim 15, further comprising positioning the wafer using bumps that match the underlying notches of the wafer. The method according to claim 15, further comprising rotating the rotating unit to drive the wafer supporting frame and the wafer to rotate together.

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