Wafer transfer device and method, wafer processing device and method

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of semiconductor processing technology, and specifically discloses a wafer transfer device, a wafer transfer method, a wafer processing device, and a wafer processing method. The wafer transfer device includes a carrying component, a transporting component, and a driving component. The carrying component has a carrying area for placing a wafer; the transporting component is used to move the carrying component to a preset area; the driving component is used to drive the transporting component to move; the carrying component is provided with air outlet holes, and the air outlet holes face the surface or above of the wafer. Thus, during the transmission of the wafer, the wafer can be protected by an air curtain on its surface or above, preventing particulate matter in the environment from adhering to the surface of the wafer. Especially when the wafer passes above the exhaust gas discharge end during transmission, the air curtain on the surface or above of the wafer can protect the wafer from being adhered by particulate matter near the exhaust gas discharge end, avoiding the formation of defects on the wafer surface and improving the product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor processing technologies, and particularly to a wafer transfer device and method, as well as a wafer processing device and method. Background Art

[0002] During the production process of wafers, it is often necessary to use transfer devices such as robotic arms to achieve the spatial transfer of wafers. For example, a wafer to be processed can be pre-placed on a carrier table. When processing is required, the wafer can be moved into a reaction chamber by a robotic arm for processing. After the wafer processing is completed, the wafer can be taken out of the reaction chamber by a robotic arm.

[0003] During the above-mentioned wafer transfer process, due to the residual reaction gas in the environment, particulate matter often adheres to the wafer surface, thereby forming defects on the wafer surface and affecting the product yield. In particular, a tail gas discharge end is generally provided in the reaction chamber, and a large amount of particulate matter often exists near the tail gas discharge end. When passing above the tail gas discharge end during the wafer transfer process, it is easy for the particulate matter at the tail gas discharge end to adhere to the wafer surface, thereby forming defects on the wafer surface and affecting the product yield. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a wafer transfer device, a wafer transfer method, a wafer processing device, and a wafer processing method for the above problems.

[0005] According to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a wafer transfer device is provided, including:

[0006] A carrier member having a carrier area for placing a wafer;

[0007] A transport member for moving the carrier member to a preset area;

[0008] A driving member for driving the transport member to move;

[0009] It is characterized in that: the carrier member is provided with air outlet holes, and the air outlet holes face the surface or above the surface of the wafer.

[0010] In one embodiment, the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole and the wafer surface is between -60° and 60°.

[0011] In one embodiment, the interval between adjacent two air outlet holes is between 2 mm and 50 mm.

[0012] In one embodiment, the air outlet holes are higher than the surface of the wafer.

[0013] In one embodiment, the carrier member has opposite first and second sides, a first air outlet is provided on the first side, a second air outlet is provided on the second side, and the first air outlet and the second air outlet are oppositely arranged.

[0014] In one embodiment, the orthographic projection points of the first air outlet on the vertical plane where the second side is located and the position points of the second air outlet are arranged staggeredly.

[0015] In one embodiment, the heights of the first air outlet and the second air outlet are the same or different.

[0016] In one embodiment, the purge gas includes any one of argon, nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen.

[0017] According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a wafer transfer method for a wafer transfer device as described above, including:

[0018] When the driving member drives the transport member to drive the carrier member on which the wafer is placed to move toward the inside or outside of the process chamber, control the air outlet to discharge the purge gas to form an air curtain on or above the surface of the wafer.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a wafer processing device, including a processing furnace and the wafer transfer device as described above. The processing furnace includes a process chamber, an intake end communicating with the process chamber, and an exhaust gas discharge end, and the wafer transfer device is used to transfer the wafer into the process chamber or transfer the wafer out of the process chamber.

[0020] According to a fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a wafer processing method applied to the wafer processing device as described above, including:

[0021] Place the wafer in the carrying area of the carrier member;

[0022] The wafer transfer device drives the wafer to move toward the process chamber, and before the wafer passes through the exhaust gas discharge end, control the air outlet to discharge the purge gas to form an air curtain on or above the surface of the wafer;

[0023] When the wafer reaches the process chamber, control the air outlet to stop discharging the purge gas, and the wafer transfer device resets;

[0024] Introduce a reaction gas into the reaction chamber through the intake end and process the wafer under preset process conditions;

[0025] The wafer transfer device drives the processed wafer to move outwards towards the outside of the process chamber, and before the wafer passes through the exhaust gas discharge end, it controls the air outlet holes to discharge the purge gas until the wafer reaches the outside of the process chamber.

[0026] In one embodiment, the step of processing the wafer under preset process conditions includes:

[0027] Growing a SiC epitaxial layer under the preset process conditions.

[0028] In the wafer transfer device and method, and the wafer processing device and method provided by the embodiments of the present application, air outlet holes are provided on the bearing member, and the air outlet holes are arranged facing the surface or above the wafer. When the purge gas is introduced, the purge gas is discharged through the air outlet holes, and an air curtain can be formed on the surface or above the wafer. Thus, during the transfer process of the wafer, the wafer can be protected by the air curtain on its surface or above, preventing particulate matter in the environment from adhering to the surface of the wafer. Especially when the wafer passes above the exhaust gas discharge end during the transfer process, the air curtain on the surface or above the wafer can protect the wafer from being adhered by particulate matter near the exhaust gas discharge end, avoiding the formation of defects on the surface of the wafer and improving the product yield. Description of the Drawings

[0029] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer transfer device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a partial enlarged view of the Y region in

[0031] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a bearing member in a wafer transfer device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 5 is a side view of the wafer transfer device passing above the exhaust gas discharge end when transferring the wafer;

[0034] Figure 6 is Figure 5 the corresponding top view.

[0035] Description of the Reference Numerals:

[0036] 110. Carrier component; 111. Carrier area; 112. Wafer; 113. First side; 114. Second side; 121. Air outlet hole; 122. First pipeline; A. First air outlet hole; 123. Second pipeline; B. Second air outlet hole; 210. Driving component; 220. Transport component; 300. Process chamber; 310. Intake end; 320. Tail gas discharge end; 400. Transfer chamber; 500. Chamber door. Detailed implementation manners

[0037] For the convenience of understanding the present invention, the present invention will be described more comprehensively below with reference to the relevant drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure of the present invention can be understood more thoroughly and comprehensively.

[0038] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and other terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium. It can be the communication inside two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly limited. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0039] The terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0040] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The terms used in the description of the present invention herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0041] As described in the background art, in the process of wafer production, it is often necessary to use transfer devices such as robotic arms to achieve the spatial transfer of wafers. For example, the wafer to be processed can be pre-placed on a carrier table. When processing is required, the wafer can be moved into a reaction chamber by a robotic arm for processing. When the wafer processing is completed, the wafer can be taken out of the reaction chamber by a robotic arm.

[0042] During the above-mentioned transfer process of the wafer, due to the residual reaction gas in the environment, particles are often attached to the surface of the wafer. For example, a tail gas discharge end is generally provided in the reaction chamber, and the waste gas generated during the reaction is discharged through the tail gas discharge end. Due to reasons such as the residual reaction gas, a large number of particles exist at the position near the tail gas discharge end. When the wafer is transferred into the reaction chamber and when the processed wafer is transferred out of the reaction chamber, it will pass above the tail gas discharge end, which will cause the particles at the tail gas discharge end to easily adhere to the surface of the wafer, thereby forming defects on the surface of the wafer and affecting the product yield. In practical applications, in addition to the particles at the tail gas discharge end, there are other factors that cause particles to exist in the environment, all of which will cause the wafer to be easily attached by the particles in the environment during the transfer process.

[0043] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a wafer transfer device, a wafer transfer method, a wafer processing device, and a wafer processing method to solve the problem that the wafer is easily attached by the particles in the environment and forms defects on the surface during the transfer process.

[0044] Referring to Figure 1 , according to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a wafer transfer device is provided, including a carrying component 110, a transport component 220, and a driving component 210. Among them, the carrying component 110 has a carrying area 111 for placing the wafer 112; the transport component 220 is used to move the carrying component 110 to a preset area; the driving component 210 is used to drive the transport component 220 to move. In this embodiment, the carrying component 110 is provided with an air outlet hole 121, and the air outlet hole 121 faces the surface or above of the wafer 112. Among them, Figure 2 For Figure 1 the detailed enlarged view of the Y area in

[0045] The wafer transfer device provided by the embodiments of the present application is provided with an air outlet hole on the carrying component, and the air outlet hole is arranged facing the surface or above of the wafer. When the purge gas is introduced, the purge gas is discharged through the air outlet hole, and an air curtain can be formed on the surface or above of the wafer. Thus, during the transfer process of the wafer, the wafer can be protected by the air curtain on its surface or above to prevent the particles in the environment from adhering to the surface of the wafer. Especially when the wafer passes above the tail gas discharge end during the transfer process, the air curtain on the surface or above of the wafer can protect the wafer from being attached by the particles near the tail gas discharge end, avoiding the formation of defects on the surface of the wafer and improving the product yield.

[0046] In this embodiment, the driving component 210 may include a driving motor, the transport component 220 may include a telescopic arm, and the driving motor 210 may control the telescopic arm to expand and contract to drive the carrying component 110 on which the wafer 112 is placed to move, so as to realize the transfer of the wafer 112.

[0047] In this embodiment, the carrier member 110 may include a quartz stage or a quartz carrier. A tray can be placed in the loading area 111 of the quartz stage or the quartz carrier, and the wafer 112 can be placed in the tray.

[0048] A gas pipeline can be provided at the edge of the carrier member 110, and the air outlet hole 121 is opened on one side of the gas pipeline facing the wafer 112. The gas pipeline is externally connected to a gas source device. When the gas source device introduces purge gas into the gas pipeline, the purge gas can be discharged from the air outlet hole 121 to form an air curtain on or above the surface of the wafer 112. Among them, the gas pipeline can be a quartz gas pipe, and the quartz gas pipe can be connected to the periphery of the quartz stage or the quartz carrier in a detachable connection manner, or can be connected to the periphery of the quartz stage or the quartz carrier in a fixed connection manner, such as by welding. The quartz gas pipe can be arranged at some positions outside the loading area 111 according to requirements, or quartz gas pipes can be arranged on the periphery of the loading area 111, as long as the gas discharged from the air outlet holes 121 opened in the quartz gas pipe can form a relatively complete gas curtain wall to protect the surface of the wafer 112. Of course, the gas pipeline can also be an integrally formed structure with the carrier member.

[0049] The number of the air outlet holes 121 is not limited, and can be one, two, three or more, as long as it is ensured that the gas discharged from the air outlet holes 121 can form an air curtain on or above the surface of the wafer 112.

[0050] In one of the embodiments, the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 and the surface of the wafer 112 is between -60° and 60°. Among them, the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 is the gas outlet direction. Different gas outlet directions result in different positions of the formed air curtain. In this embodiment, the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 and the surface of the wafer 112 can be set between -60° and 60°, such as -60°, -30°, 0°, 30°, 60°, etc. For example, when the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 and the surface of the wafer 112 is 0°, the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 is parallel to the surface of the wafer 112 on the loading area 111; when the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 and the surface of the wafer 112 is 60°, the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 deviates 60° in the direction away from the wafer 112; when the included angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 and the surface of the wafer 112 is -60°, the opening direction of the air outlet hole 121 deviates 60° in the direction close to the wafer 112.

[0051] In practical applications, if it is necessary to locate the formation position of the air curtain closer to the wafer 112, the air outlet holes 121 can be opened in the direction closer to the wafer 112. If it is necessary to locate the formation position of the air curtain farther from the wafer 112, the air outlet holes 121 can be opened in the direction away from the wafer 112. That is, the opening direction of the air outlet holes 121 can be set according to actual requirements, as long as an air curtain can be formed on or above the surface of the wafer 112.

[0052] In one embodiment, the interval between two adjacent air outlet holes 121 is between 2 mm and 50 mm. The interval between two adjacent air outlet holes 121 can be 2 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, 50 mm, etc., and preferably 10 mm.

[0053] In one embodiment, the air outlet holes 121 are higher than the surface of the wafer 112. To ensure that the gas discharged from the air outlet holes 121 can form an air curtain on or above the surface of the wafer 112, in this embodiment, the position of the air outlet holes 121 is set to be higher than the surface of the wafer 112. In practical applications, the height of each air outlet hole 121 can be further set according to specific requirements.

[0054] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 3 , the carrier portion 110 has opposite first side 113 and second side 114. The first side 113 is provided with a first air outlet hole A, and the second side 114 is provided with a second air outlet hole B. The first air outlet hole A and the second air outlet hole B are arranged oppositely. That is, the purge gas can be discharged from the first air outlet hole A on the first side 113, and the purge gas can be discharged from the second air outlet hole B on the second side 114. Since the first air outlet hole A and the second air outlet hole B are arranged oppositely, the first air outlet hole A and the second air outlet hole B discharge gas oppositely, which is conducive to forming a dense air curtain in an interleaved manner.

[0055] Referring to Figure 3 , in practical applications, the gas pipeline can include a first pipeline 122 and a second pipeline 123. The first pipeline 122 is arranged on the first side 113, and the second pipeline 123 is arranged on the second side 114. The first air outlet hole A is arranged on the side of the first pipeline 122 facing the wafer 112, and the second air outlet hole B is arranged on the side of the second pipeline 123 facing the wafer 112.

[0056] In one embodiment, the orthographic projection points of the first air outlet A on the vertical plane where the second side 114 is located are arranged staggeredly with the position points of the second air outlet B. Herein, the vertical plane where the second side 114 is located refers to the plane that is perpendicular to the surface of the wafer 112 and where the second side 114 is located. The orthographic projection points of the first air outlet A on the vertical plane where the second side 114 is located are arranged staggeredly with the position points of the second air outlet B, so as to prevent the gas discharged from the first air outlet A from directly facing the gas discharged from the second air outlet B. At the same time, the gas discharged from the first air outlet A can be distributed staggeredly with the gas discharged from the second air outlet B, thereby forming a dense air curtain, which helps to protect the surface of the wafer 112 from being attached with particulate matter.

[0057] In one embodiment, the heights of the first air outlet A and the second air outlet B are the same or different. The height of the first air outlet A can be the same as or different from the height of the second air outlet B, which can be set according to actual requirements.

[0058] In one embodiment, the purge gas can include any one of argon, nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen. Among them, hydrogen can be selected as the purge gas on the premise of safety.

[0059] According to the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided a wafer transfer method for a wafer transfer device as described above, including: when the driving component 210 drives the transport component 220 to drive the carrier component 110 on which the wafer 112 is placed to move towards the inside or outside of the process chamber 300, controlling the air outlet 121 to discharge the purge gas to form an air curtain on the surface or above the wafer 112.

[0060] In the wafer transfer method provided in this embodiment, during the process of the wafer 112 entering and exiting the process chamber 300, the purge gas can be controlled to discharge gas from the air outlet 121 towards the surface or above the wafer, so as to form a gas curtain wall on the surface or above the wafer 112. The wafer 112 can be protected by the gas curtain wall on its surface or above, preventing particulate matter in the environment from adhering to the surface of the wafer 112, avoiding the formation of defects on the surface of the wafer 112, and improving the product yield.

[0061] For the specific description of the wafer transfer device, reference can be made to the description in the wafer transfer device provided in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0062] Refer to Figure 4, according to the third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a wafer processing apparatus is provided, which includes a processing furnace and the wafer transfer device as described above. The processing furnace includes a process chamber 300, an intake end 310 communicating with the process chamber 300, and an exhaust end 320. The wafer transfer device is used to transfer the wafer 112 into the process chamber 300 or transfer the wafer 112 out of the process chamber 300. Among them, the reaction gas can be introduced into the process chamber 300 through the intake end 310, and the exhaust gas generated during the reaction process can be discharged from the process chamber 300 through the exhaust end 320.

[0063] In one embodiment, the wafer processing apparatus may further include a transfer chamber 400. The transfer chamber 400 is adjacent to the process chamber 300, and a hatch 500 is provided between the two. When the wafer 112 is not being transferred, the wafer transfer device is generally located in the transfer chamber 400.

[0064] In the wafer processing apparatus provided in this embodiment, during the process of the wafer 112 entering and leaving the process chamber 300, the purge gas can be controlled to discharge gas from the air outlet holes 121 towards the surface or above the wafer 112, so as to form a gas curtain on the surface or above the wafer 112. The wafer 112 can be protected by the gas curtain on its surface or above to prevent particulate matter in the environment from adhering to the surface of the wafer 112, avoid forming defects on the surface of the wafer 112, and improve the product yield.

[0065] For the specific description of the wafer transfer device, reference can be made to the description in the wafer transfer device provided in the foregoing embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

[0066] The wafer processing apparatus provided in this embodiment may be a chemical vapor deposition device for growing an epitaxial layer, and the epitaxial layer may include a SiC epitaxial layer or the like.

[0067] According to the fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a wafer processing method is provided, which is applied to the wafer processing apparatus in the above embodiments, and includes the following steps:

[0068] Step S100: Place the wafer 112 in the carrying area 111 of the carrying member 110;

[0069] Step S200: The wafer transfer device drives the wafer 112 to move towards the process chamber 300, and before the wafer 112 passes through the exhaust end 320, control the air outlet holes 121 to discharge the purge gas to form an air curtain on the surface or above the wafer 112;

[0070] Step S300: When the wafer 112 reaches the process chamber 300, control the air outlet holes 121 to stop discharging the purge gas, and the wafer transfer device resets;

[0071] Step S400: Introduce reaction gas into the reaction chamber 300 through the gas inlet end 310, and process the wafer 112 under preset process conditions.

[0072] Step S500: The wafer transfer device drives the processed wafer to move out of the process chamber 300. Before the wafer passes through the exhaust gas discharge end 320, control the purge gas to be discharged through the air outlet hole 121 until the wafer reaches outside the process chamber 300.

[0073] Among them, Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows the scenario where the carrier component 110 passes above the exhaust gas discharge end 320.

[0074] In the wafer processing method provided in this embodiment, during the process of the wafer transfer device driving the wafer 112 in and out of the process chamber 300, before passing through the exhaust gas discharge end, the purge gas can be controlled to be discharged towards the surface or above the wafer through the air outlet hole 121. Furthermore, a gas curtain can be formed on the surface or above the wafer 112. The wafer 112 can be protected by the gas curtain on its surface or above to prevent particulate matter above the exhaust gas discharge end from adhering to the surface of the wafer 112, avoid forming defects on the surface of the wafer 112, and improve the product yield.

[0075] In one embodiment, in step S400, a SiC (silicon carbide) epitaxial layer can be grown under preset process conditions. Among them, the preset process conditions include that the internal temperature of the process chamber reaches between 1500 and 1700 °C.

[0076] The technical features of the above-described embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered as the scope described in this specification.

[0077] The above-described embodiments only represent several implementation manners of the present application. Their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, several deformations and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wafer transfer device, comprising: a carrying component having a carrying area for placing a wafer; a transporting component for moving the carrying component to a preset area; a driving component for driving the transporting component to move; characterized in that: the carrying component is provided with air outlet holes, the air outlet holes are higher than the surface of the wafer, the air outlet holes face upward above the wafer, and when purge gas is introduced, the purge gas is discharged through the air outlet holes to form an air curtain above the wafer; a gas pipeline is arranged at the edge of the carrying component, the gas pipeline includes a first pipeline and a second pipeline, the carrying component has opposite first and second sides, the first pipeline is arranged on the first side, the second pipeline is arranged on the second side, a first air outlet hole is arranged on the side of the first pipeline facing the wafer, a second air outlet hole is arranged on the side of the second pipeline facing the wafer, the opening directions of the first air outlet hole and the second air outlet hole are parallel to the surface of the wafer, the first air outlet hole and the second air outlet hole are arranged oppositely, and the orthographic projection points of the first air outlet hole on the vertical plane where the second side is located and the position points of the second air outlet hole are arranged in a staggered manner.

2. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that the interval between two adjacent air outlet holes is between 2 mm and 50 mm.

3. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first air outlet hole and the second air outlet hole have the same or different heights.

4. The wafer transfer device according to claim 1, characterized in that the purge gas includes any one of argon, nitrogen, helium, and hydrogen.

5. A wafer transfer method for the wafer transfer device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that it includes: when the driving component drives the transporting component to drive the carrying component with the wafer placed thereon to move towards the inside or outside of the process chamber, controlling the air outlet holes to discharge purge gas to form an air curtain above the wafer.

6. A wafer processing device, characterized in that it includes a processing furnace and the wafer transfer device according to any one of claims 1-4, the processing furnace includes a process chamber and an intake end and an exhaust gas discharge end communicating with the process chamber, and the wafer transfer device is used to transfer the wafer into the process chamber or transfer the wafer out of the process chamber.

7. A wafer processing method applied to the wafer processing device according to claim 6, characterized in that it includes: placing the wafer in the carrying area of the carrying component; the wafer transfer device drives the wafer to move towards the process chamber, and before the wafer passes through the exhaust gas discharge end, controlling the air outlet holes to discharge purge gas to form an air curtain above the wafer; when the wafer reaches the process chamber, controlling the air outlet holes to stop discharging the purge gas, and the wafer transfer device resets; introducing reaction gas into the reaction chamber through the intake end and processing the wafer under preset process conditions; The wafer transfer device drives the processed wafer to move towards the outside of the process chamber, and before the wafer passes through the exhaust gas discharge end, controls the air outlet to discharge the purge gas until the wafer reaches the outside of the process chamber.

8. The wafer processing method according to claim 7, wherein, the step of processing the wafer under preset process conditions includes: growing a SiC epitaxial layer under the preset process conditions.

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