WO2023134456A1

WO2023134456A1 - Process chamber assembly, semiconductor process device and method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2023134456A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/143168
Authority: WO
Inventors: 赵万辉; 邓晓军
Original assignee: 北京北方华创微电子装备有限公司
Priority date: 2022-01-17
Filing date: 2022-12-29
Publication date: 2023-07-20
Also published as: TWI828498B; CN114420604A; TW202331895A

Abstract

The present invention provides a process chamber assembly of a semiconductor process device, the semiconductor process device and a method therefor. In the process chamber assembly, a first air inlet and a first air outlet communicating with an upper cavity are formed between the upper cavity and a lower cavity, and the first air outlet is used for communicating with an air extraction apparatus; a plurality of second air outlets are formed in the bottom of the lower cavity; the process chamber assembly further comprises an air uniformizing structure and a switching structure, wherein the air uniformizing structure is located outside the lower cavity, the air uniformizing structure is provided with an air uniformizing chamber, the air uniformizing chamber communicates with the lower cavity by means of the second air outlets, a third air outlet communicating with the air uniformizing chamber is formed in the air uniformizing structure, and the third air outlet is used for communicating with the air extraction apparatus; the switching structure is used for selectively communicating one of the first air outlet and the third air outlet with the air extraction apparatus. According to the technical solution of the present invention, sediments can be effectively removed under the condition that cavity maintenance is not carried out.

Description

Process chamber assembly, semiconductor process equipment and method thereof

technical field

The invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a process chamber assembly of semiconductor process equipment, semiconductor process equipment and a method thereof.

Background technique

With the development of semiconductor technology, silicon epitaxial wafers of integrated circuits are developing to larger dimensions, and the feature size of integrated circuits is developing to smaller dimensions, accompanied by the emergence of many complex new process requirements. In order to meet the needs of new processes, decompression epitaxy technology has emerged, and decompression epitaxy has great advantages in controlling self-doping and pattern distortion and drift.

The existing decompression epitaxial process chamber consists of an upper chamber and a lower chamber to form a closed space, and the closed space is divided into upper and lower chambers with the bearing surface of the base as the dividing line, which is arranged in the upper chamber and is connected with the The air inlet and the exhaust port connected to the upper chamber are set opposite to each other in the horizontal direction, and the process gas enters the upper chamber through the air inlet, and is discharged to the exhaust pipeline through the exhaust port. Moreover, the upper and lower chambers are made of transparent quartz, and the infrared heating lamps outside the upper and lower chambers radiate energy toward the base through the upper and lower chambers, so that the base can be heated rapidly to provide the energy required for the epitaxial reaction.

However, under the condition of reduced pressure, the diffusion free path of the process gas entering the process chamber is larger, and the process gas is easy to deposit on the lower chamber to form deposits. The existence of the deposits will absorb the heat radiation of the heating lamp and make the The temperature of the lower chamber rises, which makes deposition more likely to occur on the lower chamber, forming a vicious circle. When the deposit reaches a certain thickness, it will affect the uniformity of the room temperature field. Moreover, the existence of deposits will also affect the accuracy of pyrometer temperature measurement, causing drift of process results. At present, when deposits of a certain thickness appear in the lower chamber, the lower chamber must be replaced or cleaned through chamber maintenance, which will shorten the maintenance cycle of the process chamber, resulting in shortened equipment online time and increased production costs.

Contents of the invention

The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and proposes a process chamber component of semiconductor process equipment, semiconductor process equipment and method, which can effectively remove the deposits, which can greatly save the maintenance time of the chamber, prolong the online time of the equipment, and reduce the production cost.

In order to realize the purpose of the present invention, a process chamber assembly of semiconductor process equipment is provided, including an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a base for carrying wafers arranged between the upper chamber and the lower chamber , an upper chamber is formed between the upper cavity and the bearing surface of the base, a lower chamber is formed between the lower cavity and the bearing surface, and the upper chamber communicates with the lower chamber , a first air inlet and a first exhaust port communicating with the upper chamber are provided between the upper cavity and the lower cavity, and the first exhaust port is used to communicate with the air extraction device; A plurality of second exhaust ports are provided at the bottom of the lower cavity;

The process chamber assembly also includes a gas uniform structure and a switching structure, wherein the gas uniform structure is located outside the lower chamber, the gas uniform structure has a gas uniform chamber, and the gas uniform chamber passes through the first The second exhaust port communicates with the lower chamber, and a third exhaust port communicated with the uniform gas chamber is opened on the uniform gas structure, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the air extraction device connected;

The switching structure is used for selectively communicating one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port with the air extraction device.

Optionally, the switching structure includes a first exhaust pipeline and a second exhaust pipeline, wherein the intake end of the first exhaust pipeline communicates with the first exhaust port, and the second exhaust pipeline The outlet end of an exhaust pipeline is used to communicate with the air extraction device, and a first on-off valve is arranged on the first exhaust pipeline; the inlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected to the The third exhaust port is connected, the gas outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is used to communicate with the suction device, and a second on-off valve is arranged on the second exhaust pipeline.

Optionally, the gas uniform structure includes a gas uniform outer wall, the gas uniform outer wall is located outside the lower cavity, and is fixedly connected with the lower cavity; the inner surface of the gas uniform outer wall is connected to the lower cavity The area of the outer surface of the cavity opposite to the gas uniform outer wall encloses the gas uniform chamber, and the third exhaust port is arranged on the gas uniform outer wall.

Optionally, the lower chamber includes a tapered cylindrical portion and a straight cylindrical portion, wherein the inner diameter of the tapered cylindrical portion decreases gradually along the direction away from the upper chamber; the upper end of the straight cylindrical portion is connected to the tapered The lower end of the barrel part is connected; a plurality of the second exhaust ports are all arranged on the tapered barrel part, and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the tapered barrel part;

The gas uniform outer wall is ring-shaped, and is arranged around the junction of the tapered cylinder part and the straight cylinder part, the inner surface of the gas uniform outer wall, the tapered cylinder part and the straight cylinder part are respectively outer The area of the surface opposite to the gas uniform outer wall jointly encloses the gas uniform chamber.

Optionally, the outer wall of the uniform gas is in the shape of a cone, and the inner diameter of the outer wall of the uniform gas decreases gradually along the direction away from the upper chamber.

Optionally, the process chamber assembly further includes a rotating shaft and a driving device for driving the rotating shaft to rotate, wherein, one end of the rotating shaft is connected to the base, and the other end is away from the upper chamber. The direction of the chamber runs through the bottom of the straight cylinder, extends to the outside of the straight cylinder and connects with the drive device;

A second air inlet is also provided at the bottom of the straight barrel portion for delivering purge gas to the lower chamber along a direction close to the upper chamber.

Optionally, the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all the second exhaust ports to the area of the area of the outer surface of the cavity opposite to the uniform gas outer wall is greater than or equal to one-third and less than or equal to half one.

Optionally, a flow control valve is also provided on the second exhaust pipeline, the first exhaust pipeline communicates with the second exhaust pipeline, and the gas outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline connected at a position between downstream of the first on-off valve and upstream of the flow control valve.

As another technical solution, the present invention also provides a semiconductor process equipment, including the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention.

As another technical solution, the present invention also provides a process method for semiconductor processing equipment, which is applied to the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention, and the method includes:

When the deposition process is performed, a process gas is introduced into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the first exhaust port is communicated with the pumping device;

When performing the in-situ etching process of the deposit, the etching gas is fed into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the third gas outlet is communicated with the pumping device.

The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

The process chamber assembly of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention selectively connects one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port with the pumping device through a switching structure. When performing a deposition process, the The first exhaust port communicates with the exhaust device, so that the process gas can flow into the upper chamber through the first air inlet, and after flowing through the wafer surface on the base, it can be discharged into the exhaust port through the first exhaust port. gas device; when it is necessary to etch and remove the deposits on the inner surface of the lower chamber, the third gas outlet can be communicated with the gas extraction device, so that the etching gas can flow into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet , and discharged into the uniform gas chamber through each second exhaust port at the bottom of the lower chamber, and then discharged into the exhaust device through the third exhaust port, the etching gas will be combined with the inner surface of the lower chamber during the process The deposit attached to it reacts chemically, so that the in-situ etching of the deposit can be realized without the maintenance of the chamber opening, which can greatly save the maintenance time of the chamber, prolong the online time of the equipment, and reduce the Cost of production.

The semiconductor processing equipment provided by the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention, can realize in-situ etching of deposits without performing chamber opening and maintenance, thereby greatly saving the cost of the chamber. Maintenance time is extended, equipment online time is extended, and production costs are reduced.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a process chamber assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is the top view of the lower cavity adopted in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the lower cavity used in the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a gas flow path diagram of a process chamber assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present invention, the process chamber components of the semiconductor process equipment, semiconductor process equipment and methods thereof provided by the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , the process chamber assembly of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, which includes an upper chamber 11, a lower chamber 12 and a device for carrying crystals arranged between the upper chamber 11 and the lower chamber 12. Round base 5, an upper chamber 111 is formed between the upper chamber 11 and the bearing surface of the base 5, a lower chamber 112 is formed between the lower chamber 12 and the above-mentioned bearing surface, and the upper chamber 111 and the lower chamber 112 connected. That is to say, the upper chamber 11 and the lower chamber 12 form a closed space, and the closed space is divided into an upper chamber 111 and a lower chamber 112 with the bearing surface of the base 5 as a boundary.

Moreover, a first air inlet 3 and a first exhaust port 4 communicating with the upper chamber 111 are provided between the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, the first air inlet 3 and the first exhaust port 4 For example, they are relatively arranged along the horizontal direction. Wherein, the first gas inlet 3 is used to pass process gas into the upper chamber 111, and the type of the process gas can be set according to the deposition process carried out; the first exhaust port 4 is used to communicate with the pumping device 10 , so that the gas in the upper chamber 111 can be discharged.

In some optional embodiments, an annular upper lining 22 and a lower lining 21 may be provided between the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, the upper cavity 11, the lower cavity 12, the upper cavity The inner liner 22 and the lower inner liner 21 together form a closed space, the upper chamber 111 is the area above the bearing surface of the base 5 in the airtight space, and the lower chamber 112 is the area below the bearing surface. And, between the upper liner 22 and the lower liner 21 are formed a first intake port 3 and a first exhaust port 4 facing each other.

In some optional embodiments, the above-mentioned first gas inlet 3 and the first exhaust port 4 are, for example, one, and optionally, in order to increase the gas flow rate and improve the gas diffusion efficiency, thereby improving the flow rate of the process gas in the upper chamber The uniformity of distribution in the chamber 111 , the above-mentioned first air inlet 3 and the first air outlet 4 are arc-shaped, and extend along the circumferential direction of the upper chamber 111 . Certainly, the number of the above-mentioned first air inlet 3 and the first air outlet 4 may also be multiple, and other structures may be adopted, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2 , a plurality of second exhaust ports 123 communicating with the lower chamber 112 are provided at the bottom of the lower chamber 12 to discharge the gas in the lower chamber 112 . For example, eight second exhaust ports 123 are shown in FIG. 2 . Optionally, multiple second exhaust ports 123 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the lower cavity 12 . In this way, the gas in the lower chamber 112 can be uniformly discharged, so that the etching gas entering the lower chamber 112 can evenly flow through the inner surface of the lower chamber 12, thereby ensuring that the inner surface of the lower chamber 12 Each position on the surface has a better etching effect.

It should be noted that, in practical applications, the plurality of second exhaust ports 123 may be arranged around the circumference of the lower cavity 12 in one or more circles.

In some optional embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of each second exhaust port 123 includes oval, circular, triangular or other arbitrary shapes, preferably, the cross-sectional shape of each second exhaust port 123 is oval Or other shapes with an aspect ratio greater than 1, and the long axis of the shape is arranged along the radial direction of the lower cavity 12, which helps to improve the uniformity of gas distribution.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the above-mentioned process chamber assembly also includes a gas uniform structure 9 and a switching structure, wherein the gas uniform structure 9 is located outside the lower cavity 12, and the gas uniform structure 9 has a gas uniform chamber 113. The uniform gas chamber 113 communicates with the lower cavity 12 through the second exhaust port 123, and a third exhaust port (not shown) communicated with the gas uniform chamber 113 is provided on the gas uniform structure 9. The third row The air port is used to communicate with the air extraction device 10 . The uniform gas chamber 113 communicates with each second exhaust port 123 , and the above-mentioned third exhaust port communicates with both the gas uniform chamber 113 and the air extraction device 10 . In this way, the gas discharged from each of the second exhaust ports 123 will be discharged into the air extraction device 10 through the uniform gas chamber 113 and the third exhaust port successively. With the help of the gas uniform structure 9 , the gas can be uniformly flowed, so that the gas distribution uniformity in the lower chamber 112 can be improved.

The switching structure is used to selectively connect one of the first exhaust port 4 and the third exhaust port with the air extraction device 10, that is, when the first exhaust port 4 communicates with the air extraction device 10, the above-mentioned first exhaust port 4 communicates with the air extraction device 10. The three exhaust ports are disconnected from the air extraction device 10 and cannot be exhausted; when the above-mentioned third exhaust port is connected to the air extraction device 10, the first exhaust port 4 is disconnected from the air extraction device 10 and cannot be exhausted.

When performing a deposition process, such as an epitaxial growth process, the above-mentioned switching structure can be used to communicate the first exhaust port 4 with the pumping device 10. At this time, the epitaxial growth gas flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, And after flowing through the wafer surface on the susceptor 5, it can be exhausted into the exhaust device 10 through the first exhaust port 4, so as to realize the epitaxial growth process.

When a deposit (such as silicon) of a certain thickness is produced on the lower cavity 12, an in-situ etching process is required to remove the deposit. In this case, the above-mentioned switching structure can be used to connect the above-mentioned third exhaust port with The pumping device 10 is communicated. At this time, etching gas (such as hydrogen chloride) flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and its flow path is shown by arrow A in FIG. 4. The gas flow is divided into two parts, one of which is After flowing through the surface of the susceptor 5, since the first exhaust port 4 is not in communication with the pumping device 10, it cannot be exhausted, and the etching gas will pass through the annular space between the susceptor 5 and the preheating ring 18 from the right side of the susceptor 5. The gap flows into the lower chamber 112, and another part will flow into the lower chamber 112 directly from the left side of the base 5 through the annular gap between the base 5 and the preheating ring 18, and then, the etching gas entering the lower chamber 112 It will flow toward the second exhaust port 123 along the inner surface of the lower chamber 12, and in the process, the etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached to the inner surface of the lower chamber 12, so that the etching gas can be processed without the chamber. In the case of chamber opening maintenance, in-situ etching of deposits can be realized, which can greatly save chamber maintenance time, prolong equipment online time, and reduce production costs.

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the switching structure above includes a first exhaust pipeline 7 and a second exhaust pipeline 8, wherein the intake end of the first exhaust pipeline 7 is connected to the above-mentioned The first exhaust port 4 communicates, the outlet end of the first exhaust pipeline 7 is used to communicate with the air extraction device 10, and a first on-off valve 71 is provided on the first exhaust pipeline 7 for connecting Or disconnect the first exhaust pipeline 7. The intake end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 communicates with the above-mentioned third exhaust port, and the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 is used to communicate with the air extraction device 10, and is arranged on the second exhaust pipeline 8 There is a second on-off valve 81 .

When the deposition process is performed, the first on-off valve 71 can be opened, and the second on-off valve 81 can be closed to connect the first exhaust port 4 with the pumping device 10, and connect the above-mentioned third exhaust port to the pumping device 10. The device 10 is disconnected; during the in-situ etching process, the second on-off valve 81 can be opened, and the first on-off valve 71 can be closed to connect the above-mentioned third exhaust port with the air extraction device 10, and the first The exhaust port 4 is disconnected from the suction device 10 .

In some optional embodiments, a flow control valve 72 is also provided on the first exhaust pipeline 7 to adjust the gas flow in the first exhaust pipeline 7, so that the pressure in the cavity 1 can be controlled .

In some optional embodiments, in order to simplify the equipment structure and reduce equipment cost, the air extraction device 10 includes an air extraction pump, and the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 share the air extraction pump. In this In this case, the first exhaust pipeline 7 communicates with the second exhaust pipeline 8, and the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 is connected between the downstream of the first on-off valve 71 and the upstream of the flow control valve 72 at the location. In this way, whether the first exhaust pipeline 7 is connected or the second exhaust pipeline 8 is connected, the flow control valve 72 can control the pressure of the cavity 1 and the gas flow rate in the cavity 1 and other parameters. for precise control. Of course, in practical applications, the air extraction device 10 can also include two air extraction pumps, the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 communicate with the two air extraction pumps respectively, and the first exhaust pipeline Both the pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 are provided with flow control valves.

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the gas uniform structure 9 includes a gas uniform outer wall, which is located outside the lower cavity 12 and is fixedly connected to the lower cavity 12 . Moreover, the inner surface of the outer wall of the gas uniformity and the area of the outer surface of the lower chamber 12 opposite to the outer wall of the gas uniformity form a uniform gas chamber 113 , and the above-mentioned third exhaust port is arranged on the outer wall of the gas uniformity. The outer wall of the uniform gas can be fixedly connected with the lower cavity 12 by welding, for example.

In some optional embodiments, as shown in Figure 2, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all the second exhaust ports 123 is equal to the area of the outer surface of the lower cavity 12 opposite to the above-mentioned uniform gas outer wall (for example, in Figure 2 The ratio of the area of the area C in ) is greater than or equal to one-third and less than or equal to one-half. By setting the above-mentioned ratio within this value range, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the second exhaust ports 123 can be avoided from being too large, ensuring that the lower cavity 12 has better mechanical properties, and the second exhaust port can be avoided. The sum of the cross-sectional areas of 123 is too small to ensure that the in-situ etching process for deposits on the lower cavity 12 has a good etching effect.

The process chamber assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be, for example, an epitaxial growth process chamber assembly. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper chamber 11 and the lower chamber 12 are made of transparent materials, such as quartz. An infrared heating lamp 6 is also arranged above the upper cavity 11 and below the lower cavity 12, for radiating heat toward the base 5 through the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, so that the base 5 can be rapidly heated to provide The energy required for the epitaxial reaction. Optionally, the material of the base 5 is, for example, a graphite base, and the outer surface of the graphite base is covered with a silicon carbide layer. In addition, an upper pyrometer 16 and a lower pyrometer 17 are arranged above the upper chamber 11 and below the lower chamber 12 respectively, to measure the temperature and temperature of the wafer surface through the upper chamber 11 and the lower chamber 12 respectively. The temperature of the lower surface of the base 5 is detected to accurately control the heating temperature of the infrared heating lamp 6 . By using transparent quartz in the cavity 1, favorable conditions can be provided for the infrared heating lamp 6 to heat the pedestal 5, the upper pyrometer 16 to measure the wafer surface temperature, and the lower pyrometer 17 to measure the pedestal temperature.

In some optional embodiments, the upper end of the lower cavity 12 is provided with an annular support portion 13 for supporting the above-mentioned upper lining 22 and lower inner lining 21. Optionally, the annular support portion 13 is made of foamed quartz As a result, the foamed quartz can provide higher mechanical strength and have good thermal insulation properties.

In some optional embodiments, a preheating ring 18 is provided around the base 5, which can be made of the same material as the base 5, and is used to prevent the heat from entering the upper chamber 111 through the first air inlet 3. The process gas plays a preheating role, which can improve the reaction efficiency of the process gas. Moreover, there is an annular gap between the preheating ring 18 and the base 5 , through which the gas in the upper chamber 111 can flow into the lower chamber 112 .

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , the lower chamber 12 includes a tapered cylindrical portion 121 and a straight cylindrical portion 122, wherein the inner diameter of the tapered cylindrical portion 121 is along a direction away from the upper chamber 111 (for example, by from top to bottom), which is funnel-shaped, for example, so that the lower cavity 12 as a whole can have better pressure resistance. The upper end of the straight barrel portion 122 is connected to the lower end of the tapered barrel portion 121, such as being integrated; a plurality of second exhaust ports 123 are all arranged on the tapered barrel portion 121, and are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the tapered barrel portion 121 , so that when the deposit on the lower cavity 12 is subjected to an in-situ etching process, it helps to enable the etching gas to flow through various positions on the inner surface of the lower cavity 12, thereby ensuring that the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 Each position has a better etching effect. Optionally, a plurality of second exhaust ports 123 are all located near the lower end of the tapered barrel portion 121 , so that the etching gas can flow through various positions on the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 .

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3 , in the gas uniform structure 9 , the gas uniform outer wall is ring-shaped, and is arranged around the junction of the tapered cylinder part 121 and the straight cylinder part 122 , and the gas uniform outer wall The inner surface, the area of the respective outer surfaces of the tapered cylindrical portion 121 and the straight cylindrical portion 122 , which are opposite to the outer wall of the gas uniformity, together define the gas uniformity chamber 113 . Optionally, the above-mentioned gas uniform outer wall is in the shape of a conical cylinder, and the inner diameter of the gas uniform outer wall decreases along the direction away from the upper chamber 111 (for example, from top to bottom), so that the occupied space of the gas uniform structure 9 can be reduced, simplifying The gas uniform structure 9 can prevent the gas uniform structure 9 from interfering with the radiation of the infrared heating lamp 6 . Of course, the structure of the above-mentioned uniform gas outer wall is not limited thereto. In practical applications, the above-mentioned gas uniform outer wall can also be straight cylindrical (closed at the bottom), arc cylindrical, irregular cylindrical or other arbitrary shapes. The present invention The embodiment has no particular limitation on this.

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the process chamber assembly further includes a rotating shaft 14 and a driving device 15 for driving the rotating shaft 14 to rotate, wherein one end of the rotating shaft 14 is connected to the base 5 , and the other end runs through the bottom of the straight barrel 122 in a direction away from the upper chamber 111 (for example, vertically downward), and extends to the outside of the straight barrel 122 to connect with the driving device 15 . During the deposition process, driven by the driving device 15 , the rotating shaft 14 can drive the base 5 to rotate, so that the temperature field and air flow field of the upper chamber 111 can be made more uniform.

In some optional embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , a second air inlet (not shown in the figure) is also provided at the bottom of the straight cylinder portion 122, for Bottom-up) delivers purge gas to the lower chamber 112 . When performing a deposition process, such as an epitaxial growth process, by sending purge gas from bottom to top to the lower chamber 112 through the second gas inlet, the part of the rotating shaft 14 located in the straight cylinder part 122 (generally metal Material) is not corroded by the process gas, so that the service life of the rotating shaft 14 can be improved.

When the deposition process is performed, the purge gas enters the lower chamber 112 , enters the upper chamber 111 through the annular gap between the preheating ring 18 and the susceptor 5 , and then is discharged from the first exhaust port 4 . When performing an in-situ etching process on the deposits on the lower cavity 12, the purge gas still needs to pass into the straight barrel 122 to protect the part of the rotating shaft 14 inside the straight barrel 122, but due to the The ports 123 are all located near the lower end of the tapered barrel portion 121, so that the purge gas flowing out of the straight barrel portion 122 can be directly discharged through each second exhaust port 123 without any impact on the flow of the etching gas. interference, the flow path of the purge gas is shown by arrow B in Figure 4. It should be noted that the above-mentioned straight cylindrical portion 122 surrounds the rotating shaft 14 and helps the purge gas to protect the rotating shaft 14 .

To sum up, the process chamber assembly of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention selectively connects one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port with the exhaust device through a switching structure, and performs During the deposition process, the deposition process gas can flow into the upper chamber through the first air inlet by connecting the first exhaust port with the pumping device, and after flowing through the wafer surface on the base, it can pass through The first exhaust port is discharged into the air extraction device; when it is necessary to etch and remove the deposits on the inner surface of the lower cavity, the third exhaust port can be communicated with the air extraction device so that the etching gas can pass through the first exhaust port. The gas inlet flows into the upper chamber, and is discharged into the uniform gas chamber through each second exhaust port at the bottom of the lower chamber, and then discharged into the suction device through the third exhaust port, and the etching gas flows through the lower chamber The inner surface of the body will chemically react with the deposits attached to it, so that the in-situ etching of the deposits can be realized without the maintenance of the chamber opening, which can greatly save the maintenance of the chamber Time, prolong equipment online time, reduce production cost.

As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a semiconductor process equipment, which includes the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention. The process chamber assembly is, for example, the process chamber assembly shown in FIG. 1 , because The structure and function of the process chamber components have been described in detail above, and will not be repeated here.

The semiconductor processing equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention can achieve in-situ etching of deposits without performing chamber opening maintenance by using the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention, thereby greatly improving the Save chamber maintenance time, extend equipment online time, and reduce production costs.

As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a semiconductor process equipment processing method, which is applied to the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention. Taking the process chamber assembly shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the Semiconductor process methods include:

When performing a deposition process, such as an epitaxial growth process, a process gas is introduced into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and the first exhaust port 4 is communicated with the pumping device 10; at this time, the process gas passes through the first gas inlet 3 An air inlet 3 flows into the upper chamber 111 , and after flowing through the surface of the wafer on the base 5 , it can be exhausted into the exhaust device 10 through the first exhaust port 4 , so as to realize the epitaxial growth process.

When performing the in-situ etching process of deposits, an etching gas (such as hydrogen chloride) is introduced into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3 , and the third gas exhaust port is communicated with the exhaust device 10 . At this time, the etching gas flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and its flow path is shown by arrow A in FIG. One exhaust port 4 is not in communication with the exhaust device 10, so it cannot be exhausted. The etching gas will flow into the lower chamber 112 from the right side of the base 5 through the annular gap between the base 5 and the preheating ring 18, and the other part Will directly flow into the lower chamber 112 from the left side of the base 5 through the annular gap between the base 5 and the preheating ring 18, and then, the etching gas entering the lower chamber 112 will flow along the inner surface of the lower chamber 12 towards The second exhaust port 123 flows, and during this process, the etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached to the inner surface of the lower chamber 12, so that the deposition can be realized without performing chamber opening maintenance. The in-situ etching of objects can greatly save the maintenance time of the chamber, prolong the online time of the equipment, and reduce the production cost.

The process method of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by using the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention, can realize in-situ etching of deposits without performing chamber opening maintenance, so that It greatly saves the maintenance time of the chamber, prolongs the online time of the equipment, and reduces the production cost.

It can be understood that, the above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments adopted for illustrating the principle of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are also regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

A process chamber assembly of a semiconductor process equipment, comprising an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a base for carrying a wafer arranged between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, the upper chamber and the An upper chamber is formed between the bearing surfaces of the base, a lower chamber is formed between the lower cavity and the bearing surface, and the upper chamber communicates with the lower chamber, and it is characterized in that, in the A first air inlet and a first exhaust port communicating with the upper chamber are provided between the upper cavity and the lower cavity, and the first exhaust port is used to communicate with the air extraction device; The bottom of the cavity is provided with a plurality of second exhaust ports;

The process chamber assembly also includes a gas uniform structure and a switching structure, wherein the gas uniform structure is located outside the lower chamber, the gas uniform structure has a gas uniform chamber, and the gas uniform chamber passes through the first The second exhaust port communicates with the lower chamber, and a third exhaust port communicated with the uniform gas chamber is opened on the uniform gas structure, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the air extraction device connected;

The switching structure is used for selectively communicating one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port with the air extraction device.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 1, wherein the switching structure comprises a first exhaust pipeline and a second exhaust pipeline, wherein the inlet end of the first exhaust pipeline is connected to the The first exhaust port is connected, the outlet end of the first exhaust pipeline is used to communicate with the air extraction device, and a first on-off valve is arranged on the first exhaust pipeline; The inlet end of the second exhaust pipeline communicates with the third exhaust port, the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is used to communicate with the air extraction device, and is connected to the second exhaust pipe. A second on-off valve is provided on the road.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gas uniform structure comprises a gas uniform outer wall, and the gas uniform outer wall is located outside the lower cavity and is fixed to the lower cavity connection; the inner surface of the outer wall of the uniform gas and the area of the outer surface of the lower cavity opposite to the outer wall of the uniform gas surround the uniform gas chamber, and the third exhaust port is arranged on the outer wall of the uniform gas .
The process chamber assembly according to claim 3, wherein the lower chamber comprises a tapered cylindrical portion and a straight cylindrical portion, wherein the inner diameter of the tapered cylindrical portion decreases gradually in a direction away from the upper chamber The upper end of the straight barrel part is connected to the lower end of the tapered barrel part; a plurality of the second exhaust ports are all arranged on the tapered barrel part, and are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the tapered barrel part distributed;

The gas uniform outer wall is ring-shaped, and is arranged around the junction of the tapered cylinder part and the straight cylinder part, the inner surface of the gas uniform outer wall, the tapered cylinder part and the straight cylinder part are respectively outer The area of the surface opposite to the gas uniform outer wall jointly encloses the gas uniform chamber.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 4, wherein the gas uniform outer wall is in the shape of a cone, and the inner diameter of the gas uniform outer wall decreases along a direction away from the upper chamber.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 4, wherein the process chamber assembly further comprises a rotating shaft and a driving device for driving the rotating shaft to rotate, wherein one end of the rotating shaft is connected to the The base is connected, and the other end passes through the bottom of the straight cylinder in a direction away from the upper chamber, and extends to the outside of the straight cylinder to connect with the driving device;

A second air inlet is also provided at the bottom of the straight barrel portion for delivering purge gas to the lower chamber along a direction close to the upper chamber.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 3, wherein the ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all the second exhaust ports to the area of the outer surface of the chamber opposite to the uniform gas outer wall Greater than or equal to one-third, and less than or equal to one-half.
The process chamber assembly according to claim 2, wherein a flow control valve is further arranged on the second exhaust pipeline, the first exhaust pipeline communicates with the second exhaust pipeline, And the gas outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected at a position between the downstream of the first on-off valve and the upstream of the flow control valve.
A semiconductor process equipment, characterized by comprising the process chamber assembly described in any one of claims 1-8.
A process method for semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that it is applied to the process chamber assembly described in any one of claims 1-8, the method comprising:

When the deposition process is performed, a process gas is introduced into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the first exhaust port is communicated with the pumping device;

When performing the in-situ etching process of the deposit, the etching gas is fed into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the third gas outlet is communicated with the pumping device.