TWM597976U - Replaceable bellows structure and heating module using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A heating module suitable for use in semiconductor equipment to heat semiconductor wafer is provided herein. The heating module includes a heater, a bellows structure, a linear bearing and a lifting mechanism. The heater comprises a heater portion and a fixed portion, said fixed portion is located on a bottom surface of the heater portion with a plurality of fixing structures on the fixed portion. The lifting mechanism is also located on the bottom surface of the heater portion. The bellows structure wraps around the lifting structure and seals the fixed portion of the heater. Said bellows structure comprises a first ring shape end portion, a second ring shape end portion and a bellows portion. A plurality of fixing structures is located in the first ring shape end portion to fix with the fixing structures of the heater. The second ring shape end portion also has a plurality of fixing structures. The bellows portion comprises a plurality of mutually sealed ring shape reeds, and two ends of the bellows portion are connected to and seal the first ring shape end portion and the second ring shape end portion respectively. The linear bearing wraps around the lifting mechanism and couples to the second ring shape end portion of the bellows structure.

Description

Detachable bellows structure and heating module using the same

This creation is generally about the heating module used in the reaction chamber of the semiconductor device, especially the heating module with a detachable bellows structure, which is easy to disassemble and separate from the heater.

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is one of the most widely used processes for depositing thin films in semiconductor processes. In the high-vacuum reaction chamber of the PVD equipment, relatively heavy atoms such as argon (Ar) or other inert gas plasma are used to bombard the target under negative bias, so that the raw material of the target is ejected, and The film is deposited on a wafer provided above the heater. The wafer for film deposition is usually set above the heater, and the heater is used to heat the wafer to increase the temperature of the wafer to facilitate the film deposition process.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a heating module 100 traditionally used in semiconductor PVD equipment. The heating module 100 includes a heater body 110, a bellows 120, a linear bearing 130 and a lifting mechanism 140. Lift The mechanism 140 is connected to the bottom 111 of the heater body 110, and the bellows 120 and the linear bearing 130 are respectively sleeved in the lifting mechanism 140. The bellows structure 120 includes a bellows portion 124 and an annular end portion 126. The two ends of the bellows portion 124 are welded to the bottom 111 and the annular end portion 126 of the heater body 110, respectively. The linear bearing 130 is sleeved on the lifting mechanism 140 and adjacent to the bellows structure 120. The linear bearing 130 includes a sleeve 132 and a plurality of balls (not shown), and the balls are disposed between the lifting structure 140 and the sleeve 132. The sleeve 132 of the linear bearing 130 further includes a locking portion 136 having a plurality of locking structures 138 on the locking portion 136 for lockingly engaging with the annular end portion 126 of the bellows structure 120.

In detail, during the physical vapor deposition process (or sputtering process), it is necessary to maintain the distance between the wafer and the target to obtain uniform film deposition. Therefore, when the film deposition process is in progress, the heater body 110 and the wafer located above the heater body 110 are lifted by the lifting mechanism 140 to a proper position in the vacuum reaction chamber; and after the film process is completed, the heater body 110 is lowered To the preset initial position. As the heater body 110 rises, the distance between the bottom 111 of the heater body 110 and the annular end 126 of the bellows structure 120 increases, and the bellows portion 124 also stretches; on the contrary, the heater body 110 descends During the process, the distance between the bottom 111 of the heater body 110 and the annular end 126 of the bellows structure 120 is reduced, and the bellows 124 is also shortened accordingly. After multiple wafer film deposition processes, the bellows portion 124 is likely to be damaged due to multiple stretching and shortening operations.

As a result, the high vacuum environment required in the reaction chamber will be unable to continue the thin film deposition of the semiconductor wafer due to the leakage of the damaged part of the bellows portion 124. At this time, the machine needs to shut down and replace the entire heater module 100 including the heater body 110, the bellows structure 120, the linear bearing 130, and the lifting mechanism 140. Since the entire heating module 100 needs to be removed from the equipment, the fab cannot replace it on its own and needs to be replaced by the equipment manufacturer. Therefore, the machine needs to be shut down for a long time, resulting in a substantial increase in production costs. On the other hand, if the fab makes replacements in the factory itself in order to reduce the downtime, the entire heating module 100 needs to be prepared in advance, which will greatly increase the cost of preparation.

In view of this, the present invention provides a heating module with a detachable bellows structure. The bellows structure and the heater are airtightly joined by a detachable locking structure and an airtight gasket. Therefore, it is convenient to disassemble the bellows structure and replace the spare parts of the bellows structure.

The present invention provides a bellows structure including a first annular end, a bellows and a second annular end. Both the first annular end and the second annular end are provided with a plurality of locking structures. The bellows portion includes a plurality of annular reeds that are airtightly joined to each other. Both ends of the bellows portion are airtightly joined to the first and second annular ends, and the longitudinal length of the bellows is as the first The distance between the ring end and the second ring end changes.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the outer diameter of the first annular end portion is larger than the outer diameter of the bellows portion.

In an embodiment of this creation, the outer diameter of the second annular end is larger than the wave The outer diameter of the corrugated tube portion, and the outer diameter of the second annular end portion is greater than the outer diameter of the first annular end portion.

In an embodiment of the invention, one side of the first annular end is airtightly connected to the bellows, and the opposite side further includes a concave portion and a convex ring. The convex ring is located in the concave portion and the height of the convex ring is smaller than The depth of the recess.

This creation also provides a heating module suitable for heating semiconductor wafers. The heating module includes a heater, a bellows structure, a linear bearing and a lifting mechanism. The heater includes a heater body and a locking part, the locking part is located at the bottom of the heater body, and the locking part has a plurality of locking structures. The lifting mechanism is arranged at the bottom of the heater body. The bellows structure is sleeved on the lifting mechanism and is airtightly joined with the locking part of the heater, wherein the bellows structure includes a first annular end, a bellows and a second annular end. A plurality of locking structures are provided on the first annular end to engage with the locking structures of the heater. A plurality of locking structures are provided on the second annular end. The bellows portion includes a plurality of annular reeds airtightly joined to each other, and two ends of the bellows portion are respectively joined to the first annular end and the second annular end in airtightness. The linear bearing is sleeved on the lifting mechanism and joined with the second annular end of the bellows structure.

In an embodiment of the invention, the linear bearing includes a sleeve and a plurality of balls. The balls are arranged between the lifting mechanism and the sleeve. The sleeve further includes a locking portion and a second annular end of the bellows structure.部合。 Unit joint.

In an embodiment of the invention, the locking portion of the heater further includes a first concave portion and a first convex ring. The first convex ring is located in the first concave portion, and the height of the first convex ring is smaller than the depth of the first concave portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, one side of the first annular end of the bellows structure is airtightly connected to the bellows portion, and the opposite side further includes a second concave portion and a second convex ring, and the second convex ring is located at the second In the concave portion, the height of the second convex ring is smaller than the depth of the second concave portion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the heating module further includes an airtight gasket sleeved in the lifting mechanism, and the airtight gasket is disposed in the accommodation space formed by the first recess and the second recess. A convex ring and the second convex ring are respectively embedded in the airtight gasket.

In an embodiment of this creation, the airtight gasket is a copper gasket.

In the heating module of one embodiment of the present invention, the bellows structure and the heater are airtightly joined by a detachable locking structure and an airtight gasket. Therefore, when the multiple reeds of the bellows part are damaged due to the heater being raised and lowered many times, and the high vacuum of the reaction chamber chamber space cannot be maintained, it is convenient to disassemble the bellows structure and replace the spare parts of the bellows structure . It can not only reduce the downtime of semiconductor thin film deposition equipment and increase the production capacity of semiconductor thin film deposition equipment, but also greatly reduce equipment maintenance costs and spare inventory costs.

In order to make the above-mentioned purpose, features and advantages of this creation more obvious and understandable, the following is a detailed description of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

100, 200: heating module

110, 211: heater body

111, 212, 302: bottom

120, 220: bellows structure

124, 224: Bellows Department

126, 226: second ring end

130, 230: Linear bearing

132, 232: sleeve

136, 213, 236: locking part

138, 228, 229, 238: locking structure

140, 240: lifting mechanism

215: positioning pin

216: first recess

217: first convex ring

218: accommodating space

222: first ring end

223: second recess

225: second convex ring

234: Ball

300: reaction chamber

304: side wall

306: Target

320: chamber space

H1, H2: height

210: heater

214: Locking screw hole

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a heating module traditionally used in semiconductor PVD equipment.

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the heating module according to this creative embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the heating module according to this creative embodiment.

Figure 4 is a cross-section and partial enlarged view of the heating module according to this creative embodiment.

Fig. 5(a) to Fig. 5(b) are schematic diagrams showing the application of the heating module according to this creative embodiment to different process stages in the reaction chamber of the PVD device.

FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional exploded view of the heating module 200 according to this creative embodiment. FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the heating module 200 according to this creative embodiment. Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3 at the same time. This creative embodiment discloses a heating module 200 that is easy to disassemble. The heating module 200 is suitable for use in semiconductor equipment for heating semiconductor wafers, such as applications In physical vapor deposition (PVD) vacuum sputtering (Sputter) equipment or chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment. The heating module 200 includes a heater 210, a bellows structure 220, a linear bearing 230 and a lifting mechanism 240.

The heater 210 includes a heater body 211 and a locking part 213, and the locking part 213 is located at the bottom 212 of the heater body 211. In this embodiment, the locking portion 213 is, for example, an annular convex portion, on which a plurality of locking screw holes 214 and a positioning pin 215 are distributed, but the invention is not limited to this. The bottom 212 of the heater body 211 and the center of the locking portion 213 form a first recess 216. The heater 210 is adapted to carry and heat a semiconductor wafer (not shown), so that the temperature of the semiconductor wafer rises to facilitate the film deposition reaction. In detail, the wafer is carried on a lifting pin (not shown) on the surface of the heater 210 and spaced a proper distance from the surface of the heater 210 for uniform heating. The lifting mechanism 240 is, for example, a stainless steel tube, which One end is disposed in the first recess 216 and connected to the bottom 212 of the heater body 211, and the other end is coupled to the motor. The motor pushes the lifting mechanism 240 to push up or down the heater 210 in the reaction chamber.

The bellows structure 220 is sleeved on the lifting mechanism 240 and adjacent to the bottom 212 of the heater 210. The bellows structure 220 includes a first annular end 222, a bellows 224 and a second annular end 226. The first annular end 222 has a plurality of locking structures 228, such as bolts, which engage with the locking screw holes on the locking portion 213 of the heater 210 and are fixed below the locking portion 213 of the heater 210. The first annular end portion 222 may further include a positioning hole (not shown), which can correspond to the positioning pin 215 on the locking portion 213 of the heater 210 for positioning to facilitate the locking portion 213 and the first annular end portion The positioning of the 222 is locked. The second annular end 226 also has a plurality of locking structures 229, such as locking screw holes, which can be fixedly connected with the linear bearing 230. The bellows portion 224 is located between the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226, and both ends of the bellows portion 224 are airtightly joined to the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226, respectively. For example, both ends of the bellows portion 224 are welded to the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226, respectively. The bellows portion 224 is composed of a plurality of annular reeds that are airtightly joined to each other, and these reeds can expand and change with the distance between the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226 and maintain the airtight joint. The outer diameters of the first annular end portion 222 and the second annular end portion 226 are both larger than the outer diameter of the bellows portion 224, so as to facilitate the setting of the locking structure 228 of the first annular end portion 222 and the second annular end portion 226 respectively , 229. The outer diameters of the first ring-shaped end 222 and the second ring-shaped end 226 can be appropriately selected according to the design. In this embodiment, the first The outer diameter of an annular end portion 222 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the locking portion 213 of the heater 210, and is smaller than the outer diameter of the second annular end portion 226. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the heating module 200 and a partial enlarged view of the detachable and airtight combination of the heater 210 and the bellows structure 220 according to the creative embodiment. Please refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 at the same time. In this creative embodiment, compared to the traditional heating module 100, the bellows portion 124 of the bellows structure 120 is directly welded to the bottom 111 of the heater 110 to form an airtight Joining, this creation proposes a detachable airtight joining method. In detail, an airtight gasket 221 is also included between the heater 210 and the bellows structure 220, such as a copper gasket or an O-ring. As mentioned above, the bottom 212 of the heater body 211 and the center of the locking portion 213 form a first concave portion 216, and the first concave portion 216 also includes a first convex ring 217, and the height of the first convex ring 217 is smaller than that of the first convex ring 217. The depth of the recess 216. Similarly, one side of the first annular end 222 of the bellows structure 220 is airtightly connected to the bellows portion 224, and a second concave portion 223 and a second convex ring 225 are also formed in the center of the opposite side, and the second convex ring 225 is located on the first Among the two concave portions 223, the height of the second convex ring 225 is smaller than the depth of the second concave portion 223. The first recess 216 and the second recess 223 jointly form an accommodating space 218, and the airtight gasket 221 is sleeved on the lifting mechanism 240 and located in the accommodating space 218. In addition, the locking part 213 of the heater 210 and the first annular end 222 of the bellows structure 220 are locked by the locking structure 228, so that the first convex ring 217 and the second convex ring 225 are respectively embedded in the airtight gasket The two opposite sides of 221 are airtightly joined.

Please refer to Figures 2 to 4 at the same time, the linear bearing 230 is arranged below the bellows structure 220 and is connected to the second annular end 226 of the bellows structure 220 Together. The linear bearing 230 includes a sleeve 232 and a plurality of balls 234. The balls 234 are arranged between the lifting mechanism 240 and the sleeve 232. The plurality of balls 234 of the linear bearing 230 enables the lifting mechanism 240 to move linearly and smoothly. The bearing 230 moves to raise and lower the heater 210. The sleeve 232 further includes a locking portion 236 on which a plurality of locking structures 238 are provided. The locking structures 238 are in locking engagement with the plurality of locking structures 229 on the second annular end 226 of the bellows structure 220. In this embodiment, the locking structure 238 is, for example, a bolt, and the locking structure 229 is, for example, a locking screw hole, but the invention is not limited to this.

Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b) respectively show schematic diagrams of the heating module 200 of this creative embodiment applied to different process stages in the reaction chamber of a physical vapor deposition equipment. Please refer to FIG. 5(a), which shows a schematic diagram of the first stage of the process in which the heating module 200 of the creative embodiment is applied to the reaction chamber 300 of the physical vapor deposition equipment. In detail, for example, when the thin film deposition process has not yet started or the thin film deposition process has ended, the heater 211 is set at the initial preset position in the reaction chamber 300, or has been set from the process position in the thin film deposition process. Descend to the initial position. When the heater 211 is in the initial position, the height of its upper surface from the bottom 302 of the reaction chamber is H1. The reaction chamber 300 is formed by a bottom 302, a side wall 304, and a target 306. The heating module 200 of this creative embodiment is fixed to the bottom 302 of the reaction chamber by the second annular end 226 of the bellows structure 220. In other words, the heater 211 and the bellows structure 220 of the heating module 200 are arranged in the chamber space 320 of the reaction chamber 300, and the linear bearing 230 is arranged outside the chamber space 320. One end of the lifting mechanism 240 is located outside the chamber space 320 and is coupled to the motor (not shown), and the other end extends to the chamber space The bottom 212 of the heater 211 in 320 is used to lift the heater 211.

Please refer to FIG. 5(b), which illustrates a schematic diagram of the second process stage when the heating module 200 of the creative embodiment is applied to the reaction chamber 300 of the physical vapor deposition equipment. In detail, for example, during the film deposition process, the heater 211 rises from the initial preset position to the process setting position. The height of the upper surface of the heater 211 from the bottom 302 of the reaction chamber 300 is H2, H2 >H1. The height of the heater 211 is pushed up by the lifting mechanism 240, and the bellows portion 124 of the bellows structure 220 extends its length as the heater 211 rises, that is, the longitudinal length of the bellows portion follows the first ring shape The distance between the end and the second annular end changes. Before the film deposition process is performed, the chamber space 320 of the reaction chamber 300 needs to be evacuated by a vacuum pump, so that the chamber space 320 maintains a high vacuum state for film deposition. The bellows portion 124 includes a plurality of annular reeds airtightly joined to each other, and two ends of the bellows portion 124 are respectively joined to the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226 of the bellows structure 220 in an airtight manner. For example, an airtight joint between the plurality of annular reeds and the two ends of the bellows portion 124 with the first annular end 222 and the second annular end 226 is achieved by welding. In this way, even if the bellows portion 124 extends or contracts as the position of the heater 211 rises or falls, the high vacuum state in the chamber space 320 can still be maintained.

The bellows structure of the heating module provided by this creation and the heater are airtightly joined by the aforementioned detachable locking structure and matched with an airtight gasket. Therefore, when the multiple reeds of the bellows part are damaged due to the heater being raised and lowered several times, and the high vacuum of the reaction chamber chamber space cannot be maintained, the disassembly and replacement of the bellows structure can be facilitated Corrugated pipe structure spare parts. On the contrary, the reed of the bellows part of the traditional heating module is directly welded to the bottom of the heater. Therefore, when the bellows reed is damaged, the entire set of heating molds including the heater, bellows structure, linear bearing and lifting mechanism need to be replaced. group. In this way, the heating module provided by this creation can not only reduce the downtime of semiconductor thin film deposition equipment, increase the production capacity of semiconductor thin film deposition equipment, but also greatly reduce equipment maintenance costs and spare inventory costs.

Although the technical content and features of this disclosure are as described above, those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of this disclosure can still make many changes and modifications without departing from the teaching and disclosure of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but includes other changes and modifications that do not depart from this disclosure. The scope of protection is subject to the scope of the attached patent application.

200: Heating module

210: heater

211: heater body

212: bottom

213, 236: Locking part

214: Locking screw hole

228, 229, 238: locking structure

215: positioning pin

216: first recess

220: bellows structure

222: first ring end

224: Bellows Department

226: second ring end

230: Linear bearing

232: sleeve

240: Lifting mechanism

Claims (10)

A bellows structure, including: A first annular end, the first annular end has a plurality of locking structures; A second annular end with a plurality of locking structures on the second annular end; and A bellows portion includes a plurality of annular reeds that are airtightly joined to each other. Two ends of the bellows portion are respectively airtightly joined to the first annular end and the second annular end. The longitudinal direction of the bellows The length varies with the distance between the first annular end and the second annular end. According to the bellows structure described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, the outer diameter of the first annular end portion is larger than the outer diameter of the bellows portion. The bellows structure according to the second item of the patent application, wherein the outer diameter of the second annular end is greater than the outer diameter of the bellows, and the outer diameter of the second annular end is greater than the first annular end The outer diameter of the part. As for the bellows structure described in claim 1, wherein one side of the first annular end is airtightly connected to the bellows portion, and the opposite side further includes a concave portion and a convex ring, and the convex ring is located at the In the concave portion, and the height of the convex ring is smaller than the depth of the concave portion. A heating module suitable for heating a semiconductor wafer, including: A heater, the heater includes a heater body and a locking part, the locking part is located at the bottom of the heater body, and the locking part has a plurality of locking structures; A lifting mechanism arranged at the bottom of the heater body; A bellows structure sleeved on the lifting mechanism and airtightly joined with the locking part of the heater, the bellows structure comprising: A first ring-shaped end, the first ring-shaped end has a plurality of locking structures to engage with the locking structures of the heater; A second annular end with a plurality of locking structures on the second annular end; and A bellows portion comprising a plurality of annular reeds airtightly joined to each other, and two ends of the bellows portion are respectively airtightly joined to the first annular end and the second annular end; and A linear bearing is sleeved on the lifting mechanism and joined with the second annular end of the bellows structure. As for the heating module described in claim 5, the linear bearing includes a sleeve and a plurality of balls, the balls are arranged between the lifting mechanism and the sleeve, and the sleeve further includes a locking The part is engaged with the second annular end of the bellows structure. According to the heating module described in claim 5, the locking portion of the heater further includes a first concave portion and a first convex ring, the first convex ring is located in the first concave portion, and the The height of the first convex ring is smaller than the depth of the first concave portion. As for the heating module described in claim 7, wherein one side of the first annular end of the bellows structure is air-tightly connected to the bellows portion, and the opposite side further includes a second recess and a first Two convex rings, the second convex ring is located in the second concave portion, and the height of the second convex ring is smaller than the depth of the second concave portion. The heating module described in item 8 of the scope of patent application further includes an airtight gasket sleeved in the lifting mechanism, and the airtight gasket is disposed in a container formed by the first recess and the second recess. In the setting space, the first convex ring and the second convex ring are respectively embedded in the airtight gasket. As for the heating module described in item 9 of the scope of patent application, the airtight gasket is a copper gasket.

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