Process chamber assembly, semiconductor process equipment and method thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a process chamber assembly of a semiconductor process equipment and a semiconductor process equipment and method thereof, in which a first air inlet and a first exhaust port connected to the upper chamber are arranged between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, and the first exhaust port is used to communicate with an exhaust device; a plurality of second exhaust ports are arranged at the bottom of the lower chamber; the process chamber assembly also includes a uniform gas structure and a switching structure, the uniform gas structure is located outside the lower chamber, the uniform gas structure has a uniform gas chamber, the uniform gas chamber is connected to the lower chamber through the second exhaust port, a third exhaust port connected to the uniform gas chamber is provided on the uniform gas structure, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the exhaust device; the switching structure is used to selectively connect one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port to the exhaust device. The technical solution of the present invention can effectively remove deposits without performing chamber opening maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a process chamber component of semiconductor process equipment, semiconductor process equipment and a method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the development of semiconductor technology, integrated circuit silicon epitaxial wafers are developing towards larger sizes, and integrated circuit feature sizes are developing towards smaller sizes, accompanied by the emergence of many complex new process requirements. In order to meet the new process requirements, decompression epitaxy technology came into being. Decompression epitaxy has great advantages in controlling self-doping and pattern distortion and drift.

[0003] The existing reduced pressure epitaxial process chamber is composed of an upper and lower cavity to form a closed space, and the closed space is divided into an upper and lower chamber by the bearing surface of the base as the dividing line. The air inlet and the exhaust port connected to the upper chamber are arranged in the upper chamber in a horizontal direction. The process gas enters the upper chamber from the air inlet and is discharged to the exhaust pipeline from the exhaust port. In addition, the upper and lower cavities are composed of transparent quartz, and the infrared heating lamps outside the upper and lower cavities radiate energy toward the base through the upper and lower cavities, so that the base is quickly heated to provide the energy required for the epitaxial reaction.

[0004] However, under reduced pressure conditions, the diffusion free path of the process gas entering the process chamber is larger, and the process gas can easily deposit on the lower chamber to form deposits. The presence of the deposits will absorb the heat radiation from the heating lamp to increase the temperature of the lower chamber, making it easier for deposits to occur on the lower chamber, forming a vicious circle. When the deposits reach a certain thickness, it will affect the uniformity of the chamber temperature field. Moreover, the presence of deposits will also affect the accuracy of the temperature measurement of the pyrometer and cause the process results to drift. At present, when a certain thickness of deposits appears in the lower chamber, the lower chamber must be replaced or cleaned through chamber maintenance, which shortens the maintenance cycle of the process chamber, resulting in a shortened online time of the equipment and an increase in production costs. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and proposes a process chamber assembly of semiconductor process equipment and semiconductor process equipment and method, which can effectively remove deposits without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0006] To achieve the purpose of the present invention, a process chamber assembly of a semiconductor process equipment is provided, comprising an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a susceptor for carrying a wafer disposed between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, an upper chamber is formed between the upper chamber and the carrying surface of the susceptor, a lower chamber is formed between the lower chamber and the carrying surface, the upper chamber is communicated with the lower chamber, a first air inlet and a first exhaust port communicated with the upper chamber are disposed between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, the first exhaust port is used to communicate with an exhaust device; a plurality of second exhaust ports are disposed at the bottom of the lower chamber;

[0007] The process chamber assembly further includes a gas uniformity structure and a switching structure, wherein the gas uniformity structure is located outside the lower chamber, the gas uniformity structure has a gas uniformity chamber, the gas uniformity chamber is connected to the lower chamber through the second exhaust port, a third exhaust port connected to the gas uniformity chamber is provided on the gas uniformity structure, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the exhaust device;

[0008] The switching structure is used to selectively connect one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port to the air extraction device.

[0009] Optionally, the switching structure includes a first exhaust pipeline and a second exhaust pipeline, wherein the air inlet end of the first exhaust pipeline is connected to the first exhaust port, the air outlet end of the first exhaust pipeline is used to connect to the air extraction device, and a first on-off valve is arranged on the first exhaust pipeline; the air inlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected to the third exhaust port, the air outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is used to connect to the air extraction device, and a second on-off valve is arranged on the second exhaust pipeline.

[0010] Optionally, the gas uniforming structure includes a gas uniforming outer wall, which is located outside the lower cavity and fixedly connected to the lower cavity; the inner surface of the gas uniforming outer wall and the area of ​​the outer surface of the lower cavity opposite to the gas uniforming outer wall form the gas uniforming chamber, and the third exhaust port is arranged on the gas uniforming outer wall.

[0011] Optionally, the lower cavity includes a tapered cylindrical portion and a straight cylindrical portion, wherein the inner diameter of the tapered cylindrical portion decreases in a direction away from the upper chamber; the upper end of the straight cylindrical portion is connected to the lower end of the tapered cylindrical portion; a plurality of the second exhaust ports are all arranged on the tapered cylindrical portion and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the tapered cylindrical portion;

[0012] The gas-uniform outer wall is annular and is arranged around the connection between the conical cylinder portion and the straight cylinder portion. The inner surface of the gas-uniform outer wall and the areas of the outer surfaces of the conical cylinder portion and the straight cylinder portion that are opposite to the gas-uniform outer wall together form the gas-uniform chamber.

[0013] Optionally, the gas-uniform outer wall is in a conical cylindrical shape, and the inner diameter of the gas-uniform outer wall decreases in a direction away from the upper chamber.

[0014] Optionally, 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 base, and the other end of the rotating shaft passes through the bottom of the straight tube portion in a direction away from the upper chamber, extends to the outside of the straight tube portion and is connected to the driving device;

[0015] The straight cylinder portion is also provided with a second air inlet for conveying a purge gas toward the lower chamber in a direction close to the upper chamber.

[0016] Optionally, 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 cavity opposite to the gas uniforming outer wall is greater than or equal to one third and less than or equal to one half.

[0017] Optionally, a flow control valve is also provided on the second exhaust pipeline, the first exhaust pipeline is connected to the second exhaust pipeline, and the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected to a position between the downstream of the first on-off valve and the upstream of the flow control valve.

[0018] As another technical solution, the present invention further provides a semiconductor process equipment, including the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention.

[0019] As another technical solution, the present invention further provides a process method for semiconductor process equipment, which is applied to the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention, and the method comprises:

[0020] When performing a deposition process, introducing a process gas into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and connecting the first gas outlet to the gas extraction device;

[0021] When performing an in-situ etching process of the deposit, the etching gas is introduced into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the third exhaust port is connected to the gas extraction device.

[0022] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] The process chamber component of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention selectively connects one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port to the exhaust device through a switching structure. When performing a deposition process, the first exhaust port can be connected to 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 device through the first exhaust port; when it is necessary to etch and remove the deposits on the inner surface of the lower chamber, the third exhaust port can be connected to the exhaust device so that the etching gas can flow into the upper chamber through the first air inlet, and be discharged through the second exhaust port at the bottom of the lower chamber. The etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached thereto during the process of flowing through the inner surface of the lower chamber, so that in-situ etching of the deposits can be achieved without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0024] 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 opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 A top view of the lower cavity used in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 A side view of the lower cavity used in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 A gas flow path diagram of a process chamber assembly provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the process chamber assembly of the semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment and the method thereof provided by the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0030] See also Figure 1 The process chamber assembly of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes an upper cavity 11, a lower cavity 12 and a base 5 for carrying a wafer arranged between the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, an upper chamber 111 is formed between the upper cavity 11 and the carrying surface of the base 5, a lower chamber 112 is formed between the lower cavity 12 and the above-mentioned carrying surface, and the upper chamber 111 is connected to the lower chamber 112.

[0031] Moreover, a first gas inlet 3 and a first gas outlet 4 communicating with the upper chamber 111 are provided between the upper chamber 11 and the lower chamber 12. The first gas inlet 3 and the first gas outlet 4 are arranged opposite to each other in a horizontal direction, for example. The first gas inlet 3 is used to introduce process gas into the upper chamber 111, and the type of the process gas can be set according to the deposition process to be performed; the first gas outlet 4 is used to communicate with the gas extraction device 10 so as to be able to exhaust the gas in the upper chamber 111.

[0032] In some optional embodiments, an upper liner 22 and a lower liner 21, both of which are annular, may be provided between the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12. The upper cavity 11, the lower cavity 12, the upper liner 22 and the lower liner 21 together constitute a closed space, the area of ​​the closed space located above the bearing surface of the base 5 is the upper chamber 111, and the area below the bearing surface is the lower chamber 112. In addition, a first air inlet 3 and a first air outlet 4 are formed between the upper liner 22 and the lower liner 21, which are opposite to each other.

[0033] In some optional embodiments, the first air inlet 3 and the first exhaust port 4 are, for example, both one, and optionally, in order to increase the gas flow rate and improve the gas diffusion efficiency, thereby improving the distribution uniformity of the process gas in the upper chamber 111, the first air inlet 3 and the first exhaust port 4 are both arc-shaped and extend along the circumference of the upper chamber 111. Of course, the number of the first air inlet 3 and the first exhaust port 4 can also be multiple, and other structures can be adopted, and the embodiment of the present invention has no special limitation on this.

[0034] Moreover, if Figure 2 As shown, a plurality of second exhaust ports 123 communicating with the lower chamber 112 are also provided at the bottom of the lower cavity 12 to exhaust the gas in the lower chamber 112. For example, Figure 2 8 second exhaust ports 123 are shown, and optionally, the plurality of second exhaust ports 123 are evenly distributed along the circumference of the lower cavity 12. In this way, the gas in the lower cavity 112 can be evenly exhausted, so that the etching gas entering the lower cavity 112 can evenly flow through the inner surface of the lower cavity 12, thereby ensuring that each position of the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 has a good etching effect.

[0035] It should be noted that, in practical applications, the plurality of second exhaust ports 123 may be arranged in one or more circles around the circumference of the lower cavity 12 .

[0036] In some optional embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of each second exhaust port 123 includes an ellipse, a circle, a triangle or any other shape. Preferably, the cross-sectional shape of each second exhaust port 123 is an ellipse or other shape with an aspect ratio greater than 1, and the major axis of the shape is arranged along the radial direction of the lower cavity 12, which helps to improve the uniformity of gas distribution.

[0037] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the process chamber assembly further 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, and the gas-uniform chamber 113 is connected to the lower cavity 12 through a second exhaust port 123, and a third exhaust port (not shown in the figure) connected to the gas-uniform chamber 113 is provided on the gas-uniform structure 9, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the exhaust device 10. The gas-uniform chamber 113 is connected to each of the second exhaust ports 123, and the third exhaust port is connected to the gas-uniform chamber 113 and the exhaust device 10, respectively. In this way, the gas discharged from each of the second exhaust ports 123 will be discharged into the exhaust device 10 successively through the gas-uniform chamber 113 and the third exhaust port. With the aid of the gas-uniform structure 9, the uniformity of gas distribution in the lower chamber 112 can be improved.

[0038] The switching structure is used to selectively connect the first exhaust port 4 and one of the third exhaust port to the exhaust device 10, that is, when the first exhaust port 4 is connected to the exhaust device 10, the third exhaust port is disconnected from the exhaust device 10 and exhaust cannot be discharged; when the third exhaust port is connected to the exhaust device 10, the first exhaust port 4 is disconnected from the exhaust device 10 and exhaust cannot be discharged.

[0039] When a deposition process is performed, such as an epitaxial growth process, the above-mentioned switching structure can be used to connect the first exhaust port 4 to the exhaust device 10. At this time, the epitaxial growth gas flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first air inlet 3, and after flowing through the wafer surface on the base 5, it can be discharged into the exhaust device 10 through the first exhaust port 4, thereby realizing the epitaxial growth process.

[0040] When a certain thickness of deposits (such as silicon) is generated on the lower chamber 12, an in-situ etching process is required to remove the deposits. In this case, the third exhaust port can be connected to the exhaust device 10 by using the switching structure. At this time, the etching gas (such as hydrogen chloride) flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first air inlet 3. The flow path is as follows: Figure 4As shown by the arrow A in the figure, the airflow is divided into two parts. After one part flows through the surface of the base 5, since the first exhaust port 4 is not connected to the exhaust device 10, 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. The other 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. Then, the etching gas entering the lower chamber 112 will flow along the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 toward the second exhaust port 123. During this process, the etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached to the inner surface of the lower cavity 12, so that in-situ etching of the deposits can be achieved without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0041] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the switching structure includes a first exhaust pipeline 7 and a second exhaust pipeline 8, wherein the air inlet end of the first exhaust pipeline 7 is communicated with the first exhaust port 4, the air 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 disconnecting the first exhaust pipeline 7. The air inlet end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 is communicated with the third exhaust port, the air outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 is used to communicate with the air extraction device 10, and a second on-off valve 81 is provided on the second exhaust pipeline 8.

[0042] When a 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 exhaust device 10 and disconnect the third exhaust port from the exhaust device 10; when an in-situ etching process is performed, the second on-off valve 81 can be opened and the first on-off valve 71 can be closed to connect the third exhaust port with the exhaust device 10 and disconnect the first exhaust port 4 from the exhaust device 10.

[0043] In some optional embodiments, a flow control valve 72 is further provided on the first exhaust pipeline 7 for adjusting the gas flow in the first exhaust pipeline 7 , so as to control the pressure of the cavity 1 .

[0044] In some optional embodiments, in order to simplify the equipment structure and reduce the equipment cost, the exhaust device 10 includes an exhaust pump, and the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 share the exhaust pump. In this case, the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 are connected, and the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline 8 is connected to the position between the downstream of the first on-off valve 71 and the upstream of the flow control valve 72. 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 accurately control the pressure of the cavity 1 and the gas flow rate in the cavity 1. Of course, in practical applications, the exhaust device 10 can also include two exhaust pumps, the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 are respectively connected to the two exhaust pumps, and the first exhaust pipeline 7 and the second exhaust pipeline 8 are provided with flow control valves.

[0045] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, 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. In addition, the inner surface of the gas-uniform outer wall and the area of ​​the outer surface of the lower cavity 12 opposite to the gas-uniform outer wall form a gas-uniform chamber 113, and the third exhaust port is arranged on the gas-uniform outer wall. The gas-uniform outer wall can be fixedly connected to the lower cavity 12 by welding, for example.

[0046] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all the second exhaust ports 123 and the area of ​​the outer surface of the lower cavity 12 opposite to the above-mentioned uniform air outer wall (for example Figure 2 By setting the above ratio within this numerical range, it is possible to avoid the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the second exhaust ports 123 being too large, thereby ensuring that the lower cavity 12 has good mechanical properties, and to avoid the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the second exhaust ports 123 being too small, thereby ensuring that the in-situ etching process for the deposits on the lower cavity 12 has a good etching effect.

[0047] The process chamber component provided in the embodiment of the present invention may be, for example, an epitaxial growth process chamber component. In this case, Figure 1As shown, the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12 are both made of transparent materials, such as transparent quartz. An infrared heating lamp 6 is also arranged above the upper cavity 11 and below the lower cavity 12, which is used to radiate heat toward the base 5 through the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, so that the base 5 is quickly 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 respectively arranged above the upper cavity 11 and below the lower cavity 12, which are used to detect the temperature of the wafer surface and the temperature of the lower surface of the base 5 through the upper cavity 11 and the lower cavity 12, respectively, so as to accurately control the heating temperature of the infrared heating lamp 6. By adopting transparent quartz, the above-mentioned cavity 1 can provide favorable conditions for the infrared radiation heating of the infrared heating lamp 6 to heat the base 5, the upper pyrometer 16 to measure the wafer surface temperature, and the lower pyrometer 17 to measure the base temperature.

[0048] In some optional embodiments, an annular support portion 13 is provided at the upper end of the lower cavity 12 for supporting the upper lining 22 and the lower lining 21. Optionally, the annular support portion 13 is made of foamed quartz, which can provide higher mechanical strength and good thermal isolation performance.

[0049] In some optional embodiments, a preheating ring 18 is disposed around the susceptor 5, which can be made of the same material as the susceptor 5, and is used to preheat the process gas entering the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, thereby improving the reaction efficiency of the process gas. In addition, there is an annular gap between the preheating ring 18 and the susceptor 5, and the gas in the upper chamber 111 can flow into the lower chamber 112 through the annular gap.

[0050] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the lower cavity 12 includes a tapered cylinder 121 and a straight cylinder 122, wherein the inner diameter of the tapered cylinder 121 decreases in the direction away from the upper chamber 111 (e.g., from top to bottom), and is, for example, funnel-shaped, so that the lower cavity 12 as a whole has better pressure resistance. The upper end of the straight cylinder 122 is connected to the lower end of the tapered cylinder 121, for example, connected as one; a plurality of second exhaust ports 123 are all arranged on the tapered cylinder 121, and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the tapered cylinder 121, so that when the deposits on the lower cavity 12 are subjected to an in-situ etching process, it is helpful to enable the etching gas to flow through various positions on the inner surface of the lower cavity 12, thereby ensuring that each position on the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 has a good etching effect. Optionally, the plurality of second exhaust ports 123 are all located near the lower end of the tapered cylinder 121, so that the etching gas can flow through various positions on the inner surface of the lower cavity 12.

[0051] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, in the gas-uniform structure 9, the gas-uniform outer wall is annular and is arranged around the connection between the tapered cylinder 121 and the straight cylinder 122. The inner surface of the gas-uniform outer wall, the outer surface of the tapered cylinder 121 and the straight cylinder 122, and the areas opposite to the gas-uniform outer wall together enclose the gas-uniform chamber 113. Optionally, the gas-uniform outer wall is tapered and the inner diameter of the gas-uniform outer wall decreases in the direction away from the upper chamber 111 (for example, from top to bottom). This can reduce the space occupied by the gas-uniform structure 9 and simplify the gas-uniform structure 9, thereby preventing the gas-uniform structure 9 from interfering with the radiation of the infrared heating lamp 6. Of course, the structure of the gas-uniform outer wall is not limited to this. In practical applications, the gas-uniform outer wall can also be in the shape of a straight cylinder (with a closed bottom), an arc-shaped cylinder, an irregular cylinder or any other shape. The embodiment of the present invention has no particular limitation on this.

[0052] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, 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 passes through the bottom of the straight tube portion 122 in a direction away from the upper chamber 111 (e.g., vertically downward), extends to the outside of the straight tube portion 122 and is connected to the driving device 15. When performing a deposition process, the rotating shaft 14 can drive the base 5 to rotate under the drive of the driving device 15, so that the temperature field and the air flow field of the upper chamber 111 can be made more uniform.

[0053] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, a second gas inlet (not shown in the figure) is further provided at the bottom of the straight tube portion 122 for delivering a purge gas to the lower chamber 112 in a direction close to the upper chamber 111 (e.g., from bottom to top). When a deposition process is performed, such as an epitaxial growth process, the purge gas is delivered from bottom to top to the lower chamber 112 through the second gas inlet, so that the portion of the rotating shaft 14 located at the straight tube portion 122 (generally made of metal) can be protected from being corroded by the process gas, thereby increasing the service life of the rotating shaft 14.

[0054] When the deposition process is performed, after the purge gas enters the lower chamber 112, it enters the upper chamber 111 through the annular gap between the preheating ring 18 and the susceptor 5, and then is exhausted from the first exhaust port 4. When the deposit on the lower chamber 12 is subjected to an in-situ etching process, the purge gas still needs to pass through the straight cylinder portion 122 to protect the portion of the rotating shaft 14 located in the straight cylinder portion 122. However, since each second exhaust port 123 is located near the lower end of the tapered cylinder portion 121, the purge gas flowing out of the straight cylinder portion 122 can be directly discharged through each second exhaust port 123 without causing any interference to the flow of the etching gas. The flow path of the purge gas is as follows: Figure 4As shown by arrow B in FIG. It should be noted that the straight tube portion 122 surrounds the rotating shaft 14 , which helps the purge gas to protect the rotating shaft 14 .

[0055] In summary, 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 to the exhaust device through a switching structure. When performing a deposition process, the first exhaust port can be connected to the exhaust device so that the deposition 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 device through the first exhaust port; when it is necessary to etch and remove the deposits on the inner surface of the lower chamber, the third exhaust port can be connected to the exhaust device so that the etching gas can flow into the upper chamber through the first air inlet, and be discharged through the second exhaust port at the bottom of the lower chamber. The etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached thereto during the process of flowing through the inner surface of the lower chamber, so that in-situ etching of the deposits can be achieved without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0056] As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a semiconductor process equipment, which includes the process chamber assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The process chamber assembly adopts, for example, Figure 1 As the structure and function of the process chamber assembly shown in the figure have been described in detail above, they will not be described again here.

[0057] The semiconductor processing equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention, can realize in-situ etching of deposits without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0058] As another technical solution, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a process method for a semiconductor process equipment, which is applied to the process chamber assembly provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 Taking the process chamber assembly shown as an example, the semiconductor process method includes:

[0059] When performing a deposition process, such as an epitaxial growth process, process gas is introduced into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and the first exhaust port 4 is connected to the exhaust device 10; at this time, the process gas flows into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and after flowing through the surface of the wafer on the base 5, it can be discharged into the exhaust device 10 through the first exhaust port 4, thereby realizing the epitaxial growth process.

[0060] When performing the in-situ etching process of the deposit, the etching gas (such as hydrogen chloride) is introduced into the upper chamber 111 through the first gas inlet 3, and the third exhaust port is connected to 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 as follows: Figure 4 As shown by the arrow A in the figure, the airflow is divided into two parts. After one part flows through the surface of the base 5, since the first exhaust port 4 is not connected to the exhaust device 10, 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. The other 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. Then, the etching gas entering the lower chamber 112 will flow along the inner surface of the lower cavity 12 toward the second exhaust port 123. During this process, the etching gas will chemically react with the deposits attached to the inner surface of the lower cavity 12, so that in-situ etching of the deposits can be achieved without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0061] The process method of the semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, by adopting the above-mentioned process chamber assembly provided by the present invention, can realize in-situ etching of deposits without opening the chamber for maintenance, thereby greatly saving the maintenance time of the chamber, extending the online time of the equipment, and reducing production costs.

[0062] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill 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 considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A process chamber assembly of a semiconductor process equipment, comprising an upper chamber, a lower chamber and a pedestal disposed between the upper chamber and the lower chamber for carrying a wafer, wherein an upper chamber is formed between the upper chamber and a carrying surface of the pedestal, a lower chamber is formed between the lower chamber and the carrying surface, and the upper chamber is communicated with the lower chamber, characterized in that: A first air inlet and a first exhaust port communicating with the upper chamber are provided between the upper chamber and the lower chamber, wherein the first exhaust port is used to communicate with the air extraction device; and a plurality of second exhaust ports are provided at the bottom of the lower chamber; The process chamber assembly further includes a gas uniformity structure and a switching structure, wherein the gas uniformity structure is located outside the lower chamber, the gas uniformity structure has a gas uniformity chamber, the gas uniformity chamber is connected to the lower chamber through the second exhaust port, a third exhaust port connected to the gas uniformity chamber is provided on the gas uniformity structure, and the third exhaust port is used to communicate with the exhaust device; The switching structure is used to selectively connect one of the first exhaust port and the third exhaust port to the air extraction device; The switching structure includes a first exhaust pipeline, an air inlet end of the first exhaust pipeline is connected to the first exhaust port, an air 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.

2. The process chamber assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The switching structure also includes a second exhaust pipeline, the air inlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected to the third exhaust port, the air outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is used to communicate with the air extraction device, and a second on-off valve is arranged on the second exhaust pipeline.

3. The process chamber assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The gas uniforming structure includes a gas uniforming outer wall, which is located outside the lower cavity and fixedly connected to the lower cavity; the inner surface of the gas uniforming outer wall and the area of ​​the outer surface of the lower cavity opposite to the gas uniforming outer wall form the gas uniforming chamber, and the third exhaust port is arranged on the gas uniforming outer wall.

4. The process chamber assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The lower cavity comprises a conical cylinder and a straight cylinder, wherein the inner diameter of the conical cylinder decreases in a direction away from the upper chamber; the upper end of the straight cylinder is connected to the lower end of the conical cylinder; a plurality of the second exhaust ports are all arranged on the conical cylinder and are evenly distributed along the circumference of the conical cylinder; The gas-uniform outer wall is annular and is arranged around the connection between the conical cylinder portion and the straight cylinder portion. The inner surface of the gas-uniform outer wall and the areas of the outer surfaces of the conical cylinder portion and the straight cylinder portion that are opposite to the gas-uniform outer wall together form the gas-uniform chamber.

5. The process chamber assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: The gas-uniform outer wall is in a conical cylindrical shape, and the inner diameter of the gas-uniform outer wall decreases in a direction away from the upper chamber.

6. The process chamber assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: 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 of the rotating shaft passes through the bottom of the straight tube portion in a direction away from the upper chamber, extends to the outside of the straight tube portion and is connected to the driving device; The straight cylinder portion is also provided with a second air inlet for conveying a purge gas toward the lower chamber in a direction close to the upper chamber.

7. The process chamber assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: The ratio of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all the second exhaust ports to the area of ​​the region of the outer surface of the cavity opposite to the gas uniforming outer wall is greater than or equal to one third and less than or equal to one half.

8. The process chamber assembly according to claim 2, wherein: The second exhaust pipeline is also provided with a flow control valve, the first exhaust pipeline is connected to the second exhaust pipeline, and the outlet end of the second exhaust pipeline is connected to a position between the downstream of the first on-off valve and the upstream of the flow control valve.

9. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: A process chamber assembly comprising any one of claims 1-8.

10. A process method for semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: Applied to the process chamber assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the method comprising: When performing a deposition process, introducing a process gas into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and connecting the first gas outlet to the gas extraction device; When performing an in-situ etching process of the deposit, the etching gas is introduced into the upper chamber through the first gas inlet, and the third exhaust port is connected to the gas extraction device.

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