Gas delivery device, gas delivery system and plasma processing device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a gas delivery device, a gas delivery system and a plasma processing device. The gas delivery device is used to deliver process gas to the edge area of ​​a processing chamber distributed along its circumference, and the gas delivery device includes: a first gas inlet unit, including a plurality of gas channels distributed along its circumference and configured to deliver process gas to the processing chamber respectively; a second gas inlet unit, which cooperates with the first gas inlet unit and includes a plurality of gas inlet pipes extending to the first gas inlet unit, wherein the gas inlet pipes are connected to the gas channels. In addition, the gas delivery device also includes a first control unit, which is configured to control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the processing chamber via each gas inlet pipe. The gas delivery device according to the present disclosure can improve the uniformity of gas intake.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and more particularly to a gas delivery apparatus and a gas delivery system for delivering gas, for example, to a workpiece in a processing chamber, and a plasma processing apparatus including the processing chamber. Background Art

[0002] Plasma processing devices usually input etching gas and ionize process gas (e.g., etching gas) into plasma to achieve etching processing on workpieces (e.g., wafers). The distribution uniformity of etching gas inside the plasma device plays a key role in the etching result (e.g., consistency of etching morphology) of the workpiece (e.g., wafer). Summary of the invention

[0003] Aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be learned from the description, or may be learned through practice of the embodiments.

[0004] An exemplary aspect of the present disclosure relates to a gas delivery device, which is configured to deliver process gas to an edge region of a processing chamber distributed along the circumference thereof, the gas delivery device comprising: a first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumference and configured to deliver the process gas to the processing chamber respectively; a second gas inlet unit, cooperating with the first gas inlet unit and comprising a plurality of gas inlet pipes extending to the first gas inlet unit, wherein the gas inlet pipes are connected to the gas channels; and a first control unit, configured to control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the processing chamber via each gas inlet pipe. The gas delivery device according to the exemplary aspect of the present disclosure can improve the uniformity of edge gas inlet.

[0005] An exemplary aspect of the present disclosure relates to a gas delivery system, the gas delivery system comprising: a first gas delivery device configured to deliver process gas to an edge region of a processing chamber distributed along the circumference thereof, wherein the first gas delivery device comprises: a first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumference and configured to deliver the process gas to the processing chamber respectively; and a second gas inlet unit, cooperating with the first gas inlet unit and comprising a plurality of gas inlet pipes extending to the first gas inlet unit, wherein the gas inlet pipes are connected to the gas channels; and a second gas delivery device configured to deliver the process gas to a central region of the processing chamber. The gas delivery system according to the exemplary aspect of the present disclosure can improve the uniformity of gas intake.

[0006] An exemplary aspect of the present disclosure relates to a plasma processing device, the plasma processing device comprising: a processing chamber configured to accommodate a workpiece; and a gas delivery system, comprising: a first gas delivery device, arranged at a first side of the processing chamber, configured to deliver a process gas for processing the workpiece to an edge region of the processing chamber distributed along its circumference, the first gas delivery device comprising: a first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumference, and configured to deliver the process gas to the processing chamber respectively; a second gas inlet unit, cooperating with the first gas inlet unit, and comprising a plurality of gas inlet pipes extending to the first gas inlet unit, wherein the gas inlet pipes are connected to the gas channels; and a second gas delivery device, arranged at the first side of the processing chamber, and configured to deliver the process gas to a central region of the processing chamber. The plasma processing device according to the exemplary aspect of the present disclosure can improve the uniformity of gas inlet.

[0007] It should be understood that the content described in this section is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The accompanying drawings are used to better understand the present solution and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] Figure 2 is another schematic diagram of a plasma processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 3 is a schematic top view of a plasma processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 4 is along Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of line BB shown;

[0013] Figure 5 is along Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of line AA shown;

[0014] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a sensing element of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a first sensing element among the sensing elements of an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0016] Figure 8is a schematic diagram of a second sensing element in the sensing element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Similarly, for clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description. For example, a feature shown or described as part of an embodiment can be used together with another embodiment to produce yet another embodiment. Therefore, aspects of the present disclosure are intended to cover such modifications and variations.

[0018] Variations and modifications may be made to these exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. As used in the specification, the singular forms "a", "an", "and", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The use of "first", "second", "third", etc. are used as identifiers and do not necessarily indicate any order, implied or otherwise. For purposes of illustration and discussion, the exemplary aspects may be discussed with reference to a "substrate" or "workpiece". Using the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure may be used with any suitable workpiece. The term "approximately" used in conjunction with a numerical value means within 20% of the stated numerical value.

[0019] It should also be understood that when describing specific embodiments herein, the thickness, size and shape of the components have been slightly adjusted for ease of description. The accompanying drawings are only examples and are not strictly drawn to scale. In addition, the cross-sectional diagrams showing the system structure are only schematic structural diagrams for describing some steps and components of the present application and the relationship between the components, which should not limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0020] Generally speaking, the gas delivery system of the plasma processing device can be designed to deliver process gas (e.g., etching gas) to the plasma processing chamber, and the ion source of the plasma processing device can be used to ionize the delivered etching gas into plasma. In an embodiment, the consistency of the etching morphology of the workpiece (e.g., wafer) is related to the uniformity of the etching gas.

[0021] Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure provide many technical effects and benefits. For example, a gas delivery device, a gas delivery system, and a plasma processing device including the gas delivery system are provided herein. Each of the above devices can improve the uniformity of the intake gas. Figures 1 to 7 Various embodiments of the present application are described in detail.

[0022] refer to Figure 1 The plasma processing apparatus 100 includes a gas delivery system 10 and a processing chamber 20. The gas delivery system 10 includes a first gas delivery device 11 and a second gas delivery device 12. The first gas delivery device 11 and the second gas delivery device 12 may be disposed together at a first side of the processing chamber 20 (e.g., at a side of the top of the processing chamber 20). In some examples, the first gas delivery device 11 may be disposed at an edge position of the top of the processing chamber 20 and configured to deliver gas for processing a workpiece (e.g., gas) to an edge region of the processing chamber 20 distributed along its circumference. Figure 2 In some examples, the second gas delivery device 12 may be disposed at a central position on the top of the processing chamber 20 and configured to deliver the process gas (eg, etching gas) to the central area of ​​the processing chamber 20.

[0023] refer to Figure 2 , a workpiece 80 to be processed may be accommodated in the processing chamber 20. An edge portion of the workpiece 80 may be located in an edge region of the processing chamber 20, and a center portion of the workpiece 80 may be located in a center region of the processing chamber 20. The workpiece 80 may be or include any suitable workpiece, such as a semiconductor workpiece, such as a silicon wafer. In some embodiments, the workpiece 80 may be or include a doped silicon wafer. For example, the silicon wafer may be doped so that the resistivity of the silicon wafer is greater than about 0.1 Ω·cm, such as greater than about 1 Ω·cm.

[0024] It should be noted that the processing chamber can be a chamber that has both a processing chamber and a plasma chamber. That is to say, in practical applications, the present application scheme is applicable to a plasma processing device in which the processing chamber and the plasma chamber are separated. In this case, the workpiece 80 is arranged in the processing chamber. Similarly, the present application scheme is also applicable to a plasma processing device 100 in which the plasma sub-chamber and the processing chamber belong to the same chamber. In a specific example, the plasma processing device 100 can be specifically a plasma etcher.

[0025] In some examples, the plasma processing apparatus 100 further includes a workpiece support 50, and the workpiece 80 is supported by the workpiece support 50 in the processing chamber 20. The workpiece support 50 (e.g., a workpiece support plate) can be operated to support the workpiece 80 during thermal processing. In some embodiments, the workpiece support 50 can be configured to support multiple workpieces 80 for simultaneous processing.

[0026] In some embodiments, the workpiece support 50 can rotate the workpiece 80 before, during, and / or after plasma processing. In some embodiments, the workpiece support 50 can include one or more support pins 40 extending from the workpiece support 50. The support pins 40 can have a smaller surface area than the workpiece support 50, so that when the support pins 40 contact the workpiece 80, the contact area between the workpiece support 50 and the workpiece 80 can be minimized.

[0027] In some embodiments, the plasma processing apparatus 100 may further include a rotating shaft 60 connected to the workpiece support 50. The rotating shaft 60 is configured to support the workpiece support 50 in the processing chamber 20. Specifically, one end of the rotating shaft 60 may be connected to a surface of the workpiece support 50 that is away from the support pin 40, and the other end may pass through the processing chamber 20 and be connected to a rotating device (not shown) that can rotate the rotating shaft 60 360°.

[0028] Continue to refer Figure 3 In some examples, the first gas delivery device 11 may include a first gas inlet unit 111 and a second gas inlet unit 112 that cooperate with each other. Figure 5 , the first air inlet unit 111 can be set as an annular structure with a groove, and the second air inlet unit 112 can be set as an annular structure with a flange. When the first air inlet unit 111 and the second air inlet unit 112 cooperate with each other, the second air inlet unit 112 extends to the groove of the first air inlet unit 111 and cooperates with the bottom of the groove (for example, forming the second cooperation area 116 described below). The flange of the second air inlet unit 112 can cooperate with the top of the first air inlet unit 111 (for example, the first cooperation area 115). The above arrangement allows the first air inlet unit 111 and the second air inlet unit 112 to cooperate closely.

[0029] In some examples, the first gas inlet unit 111 is configured to deliver a process gas (eg, an etching gas) to the processing chamber 20. The second gas inlet unit 112 is configured to deliver the process gas to the first gas inlet unit 111. Figure 4 , the first air inlet unit 111 may include a plurality of gas channels 111-1 distributed along the circumference of the processing chamber 20 and an injection member (e.g., a nozzle) 111-2 connected to each gas channel 111-1. The lengths of the plurality of gas channels 111-1 may be set to be the same. The injection member 111-2, for example, extends to the interior of the processing chamber 20. The injection member 111-2 may include a plurality of injection holes, which may be, for example, circumferentially distributed on the main structure of the injection member 111-2. In some cases, the gas channel 111-1 and the injection member 111-2 may be evenly distributed in the circumferential direction in an even number of pairs, for example. In other cases, the gas channel 111-1 and the injection member 111-2 may be unevenly distributed in the circumferential direction in an even number of pairs, for example.

[0030] refer to Figure 5 The second air intake unit 112 includes a plurality of air intake pipes 112-1 extending to the first air intake unit 111, and the air intake pipes 112-1 may be connected to the gas channel 111-1. In some examples, the air intake pipes 112-1 and the gas channels 111-1 may be arranged in a one-to-one correspondence, and each air intake pipe 112-1 may be connected to a corresponding gas channel 111-1. The lengths of the plurality of air intake pipes 112-1 may be set to be the same, for example. The air intake pipes 112-1 and the corresponding gas channels 111-1 and the injection member 111-2 constitute a gas delivery pipeline. A plurality of independent gas delivery pipelines may be formed inside the first air intake unit 111 and the second air intake unit 112. Reference Figure 5 In some cases, the air inlet duct 112-1 may extend to the top of the gas channel 111-1 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the top of the processing chamber 20. The air inlet duct 112-1 may also be substantially perpendicular to the top of the first air inlet unit 111. The above arrangement may make the extending direction of the air inlet duct 112-1 and the extending direction of the gas channel 111-1 perpendicular to each other.

[0031] Back to Figure 2 , the first gas delivery device 11 may further include a plurality of delivery lines 114. Each delivery line 114 is in communication with the gas inlet pipe 112-1 of the second gas inlet unit 112. In some cases, a process gas (e.g., an etching gas) from, for example, a gas supply (not shown) may be delivered to the gas inlet pipe 112-1 of the second gas inlet unit 112 via the delivery line 114, and then delivered in the gas channel 111-1 of the first gas inlet unit 111 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the gas inlet pipe 112-1, and injected into the interior of the processing chamber 20 via the injection hole of the injection member 111-2.

[0032] According to some first gas delivery devices 11 disclosed in the present invention, by setting a plurality of inlet pipes 112-1 and gas channels 111-1 having a one-to-one correspondence, different process gases or the same process gas can be separately delivered to the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20. The above arrangement is conducive to independently controlling the gas distribution in the edge area distributed along the circumference of the processing chamber 20, thereby improving the uniformity of edge gas intake, so as to further improve the uniformity of plasma deposition. Moreover, the lengths of the gas delivery pipelines for the process gas to be delivered from the plurality of inlet pipes 112-1 to the corresponding injection parts 111-2 are substantially the same, thereby ensuring the transmission speed of the process gas in different pipeline paths.

[0033] In addition, according to some first gas delivery devices 11 disclosed in the present invention, the uniformity of the process gas transmission in the gas channel 111-1 can be improved by changing the transmission direction of the process gas during the transmission process (for example, changing it to be perpendicular to the original transmission direction), which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the gas distribution in the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20, thereby further improving the uniformity of plasma deposition.

[0034] In some examples, the diameter of each gas channel 111-1 of the first gas inlet unit 111 is the same everywhere. In some examples, each gas channel 111-1 may have a gradually decreasing radial width (e.g., diameter) along the transmission direction of the process gas, so that the uniformity of the transmission of the process gas in the gas channel 111-1 can be effectively controlled, thereby facilitating the improvement of the uniformity of the gas distribution in the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20.

[0035] refer to Figure 5 In some examples, the mating interface between the first air inlet unit 111 and the second air inlet unit 112 includes a plurality of first mating regions 115. The first mating region 115 is close to the connection between each air inlet pipe 112-1 and the corresponding gas channel 111-1. In other words, the air inlet end of the gas channel 111-1 of the first air inlet unit 111 and the air inlet pipe 112-1 of the second air inlet unit 112 are connected near the first mating region 115. In addition, the mating interface between the first air inlet unit 111 and the second air inlet unit 112 also includes a plurality of second mating regions 116. The second mating region 116 is close to the connection between the gas channel 111-1 and the corresponding injection member 111-2. In other words, the air outlet end of the gas channel 111-1 of the air inlet unit 111 and the injection member 111-2 are connected near the second mating region 116. The above arrangement improves the firmness and air tightness of the mating connection between the air inlet pipe 112-1 and the corresponding gas channel 111-1 and the injection member 111-2.

[0036] In some cases, the first gas delivery device 11 further includes a first seal 117 and a second seal 118. The first seal 117 is disposed in the first mating region 115, and the second seal 118 is disposed in the second mating region 116. When the process gas is transmitted to the connection between the gas inlet pipe 112-1 and the corresponding gas channel 111-1, the first seal 117 can prevent the process gas therefrom from leaking outward. When the process gas is transmitted to the connection between the gas channel 111-1 and the corresponding injection member 111-2, the first seal 118 can prevent the process gas therefrom from leaking outward.

[0037] In other examples, the gas delivery system 10 may further include a control system 113, which may be configured to control the flow rate of the process gas (e.g., etching gas) delivered to the edge region of the processing chamber 20 via the first gas delivery device 11. The first gas delivery device 11 further includes a first control unit, which is, for example, a part of the control system 113, so that the first control unit may be configured to control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge region of the processing chamber 20 via each gas inlet pipe 112-1. The detailed description of the first control unit here can be found in the first control unit involved in the description of the gas delivery device 11 below, which will not be repeated here.

[0038] refer to Figure 5 , the control system 113 may include at least two control valves 113-1 and at least two flow controllers 113-2. The control valve 113-1 is correspondingly arranged at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline 114, and is configured to control the on-off of the process gas transmitted in the delivery pipeline 114. The control valve 113-1 can be set as a normally closed pneumatic diaphragm valve, for example. The flow controller 113-2 is correspondingly arranged at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline 114. The flow controller 113-2 can be set between adjacent control valves 113-1, for example, and is configured to control the flow rate of the process gas in the delivery pipeline 114. In some cases, the flow controller 113-2 is, for example, a mass flow controller (MFC). By controlling the control valves 113-1 and the flow controllers 113-2 of different pipelines, the on / off and flow rate of the process gas injected by each injection member 111-2 into the processing chamber 20 can be realized, so that the gas distribution (for example, concentration and uniformity) of different sub-regions of the edge region of the processing chamber 20 can be independently adjusted and controlled. For example, according to actual needs, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge region through each gas inlet pipe 112-1 can be controlled to be at least partially different. In addition, different types of process gases can be introduced into different pipelines, so that different types of process gases introduced into different sub-regions of the edge region of the processing chamber 20 can be independently adjusted and controlled.

[0039] In some cases where the first gas delivery device 11 is not included, the process gas may diffuse toward the edge region during the process of delivering the process gas to the central region of the processing chamber 20 via the second gas delivery device 12. However, the concentration of the process gas in the edge region is generally lower than that in the central region. In the example where the process gas is an etching gas, the concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion of the workpiece 80 will be lower than that of the central portion thereof, which may easily lead to a large difference in the etching morphology between the edge portion and the central portion of the workpiece 80.

[0040] Considering the above situation, the control system 113 in this article can also adjust the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each inlet pipe 112 - 1 according to the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20 .

[0041] In some examples, the control system 113 is further configured to control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the central area of ​​the processing chamber 20 via the second gas delivery device 12. In a specific example, the second gas delivery device 12 further includes a second control unit, which can be, for example, a part of the control system, so that the second control unit can be configured to control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the central area of ​​the processing chamber 20, thereby controlling the concentration of the process gas in the central area.

[0042] In some examples, the control system 113 may also be configured to control the control valve 113-1 and the flow controller 113-2 according to the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20, thereby adjusting the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area via each inlet pipe 112-1 to reduce the difference in concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion and the central portion of the workpiece 80.

[0043] Through the control processing of the control system 113 , the difference between the morphology of the edge portion and the morphology of the central portion of the workpiece 80 can be controlled within a smaller range, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the etching morphology of the workpiece 80 .

[0044] In some examples, the gas concentration in each area can be monitored by gas concentration sensors disposed in the central area and edge areas of the processing chamber 20. When the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area is greater than a threshold value, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each air inlet pipe 112-1 can be increased (at this time, the gas channel 111-1 of the first air inlet unit 111 and the air inlet pipe 112-1 of the second air inlet unit 112 are, for example, both in an open state), thereby increasing the concentration of the process gas in the edge area until the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area is less than a threshold value.

[0045] In other examples, there may be a plurality of gas concentration sensors disposed in the edge region, for example, the plurality of gas concentration sensors may be evenly distributed along the circumference of the processing chamber 20, so as to monitor the gas concentrations of the plurality of sub-regions in the edge region of the processing chamber 20. When the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central region and any sub-region of the edge region is greater than a threshold value, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the vicinity of the sub-region through the gas inlet pipe 112-1 and the gas channel 111-1 may be increased, so as to increase the concentration of the process gas in the sub-region, until the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central region and the sub-region of the edge region is less than the threshold value.

[0046] It can be understood that the process gas near the above-mentioned sub-area can be, for example, the process gas ejected by the injection member 111-2 closest to the sub-area. The injection member 111-2 can be connected to the corresponding gas channel 111-1 intake pipe 112-1, and the transmission speed of the process gas can be increased by controlling the valve of the flow controller 113-2 corresponding to the intake pipe 112-1.

[0047] In some examples, the threshold range of the central area and the edge area or the central area and the sub-area of ​​the edge area is, for example, 5% to 10%. In other words, when the ratio of the difference in concentration between the central area and the edge area or the sub-area of ​​the processing chamber 20 is within the range of 5% to 10%, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area or the sub-area through each inlet pipe 112-1 can be increased. In a specific example, the threshold can be, for example, any one of 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9% and 10%.

[0048] Continue to refer Figure 2 The plasma processing device 100 further includes a plasma source 30, which includes, for example, an inductively coupled plasma source. Using the disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any plasma source (e.g., an inductively coupled plasma source, a capacitively coupled plasma source, etc.) may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0049] Continue to refer Figure 2 The plasma source 30 can ionize the process gas (e.g., etching gas) transmitted to the inside of the processing chamber 20 (i.e., the plasma generation area) via the gas delivery system 10. The process gas generates plasma after ionization, and the plasma can be transmitted to the surface of the workpiece 80 (e.g., the surface away from the workpiece support 50) and perform an etching process on the surface of the workpiece 80. Specifically, the plasma contains a large number of active particles such as electrons, ions, excited atoms, molecules and free radicals. The above active particles can undergo various physical and chemical reactions with the surface of the workpiece 20, so that the surface morphology of the workpiece 20 changes, that is, the etching process is completed.

[0050] refer to Figure 2, at least a portion of the sidewall of the processing chamber 20 (e.g., the top plate) can be formed of a dielectric material, such as quartz and / or alumina, for example. The plasma source 30 can include an inductive element 31 and a power generator 32. The inductive element 31 is disposed at a second side of the processing chamber 20 (e.g., adjacent to the first side). Optionally, the inductive element 31 can also be adjacent to a portion of the sidewall of the processing chamber 20 composed of a dielectric material. In some cases, the inductive element 30 can be coupled to the power generator (e.g., an RF power generator) 32 through a suitable matching network (not shown). The inductive element 30 can be formed of any suitable material, including a conductive material suitable for inducing plasma in the processing chamber 20. Specifically, when the inductive element 31 is excited by RF power from, for example, the RF power generator 32, a plasma can be generated in the processing chamber 20. In certain embodiments, the plasma processing apparatus 100 may include an optional grounded Faraday shield (not shown) to reduce capacitive coupling of the inductive element 31 to the plasma. The grounded Faraday shield may be formed of any suitable material or conductor, including materials similar or substantially similar to the inductive element 31 .

[0051] refer to Figure 6 The sensing element 31 includes, for example, a first sensing element 31 - 1 and a second sensing element 31 - 2 that cooperate with each other. The first sensing element 31 - 1 and the second sensing element 31 - 2 can be suspended on, for example, the side wall of the processing chamber 20 described above through a plurality of sensing element resin support blocks 33 .

[0052] refer to Figure 7 In some examples, the first sensing element 31-1 may be composed of a concentric first sub-sensing element 31-11 and a second sub-sensing element 31-12. The first sub-sensing element 31-11 may be a half-circle structure, and the second sub-sensing element 31-12 may be a full-circle structure. Specifically, the diameter of the first sub-sensing element 31-11 is smaller than the diameter of the second sub-sensing element 31-12.

[0053] refer to Figure 8 In some examples, the second sensing element 31-2 is composed of a concentric third sub-sensing element 31-21 and a fourth sub-sensing element 31-22. The third sub-sensing element 31-21 may be a half-circle structure, and the fourth sub-sensing element 31-22 may be a full-circle structure. Specifically, the diameter of the third sub-sensing element 31-21 is greater than the diameter of the fourth sub-sensing element 31-22. In some examples, the diameter of the second sub-sensing element 31-12 is greater than the diameter of the third sub-sensing element 31-21, and the diameter of the fourth sub-sensing element 31-22 is less than the diameter of the first sub-sensing element 31-11.

[0054] Back to Figure 6, the first sub-sensing element 31-11 and the third sub-sensing element 31-21 are concentrically arranged and have a first preset height difference, and the first preset height difference is, for example, 2mm to 5mm. In some examples, the first preset height difference is, for example, 3mm. In some examples, the fourth sub-sensing element 31-22 has a second preset height difference with the second sub-sensing element 31-12, and the second preset height difference is, for example, 2mm to 5mm. In some examples, the second preset height difference is, for example, 4mm. The assembly structure of the sensing element 31 consists of three concentric circles located at different height layers. Optionally, the fourth sub-sensing element 31-22 can be used as the sensing element close to the inner side of the four sensing elements mentioned above, and the second sub-sensing element 31-12 can be used as the sensing element close to the outer side of the four sensing elements mentioned above. The assembly structure can achieve a uniform electromagnetic field, making the plasma distribution in the plasma region more uniform, thereby improving the uniformity of etching.

[0055] According to some plasma processing apparatuses 100 of the present disclosure, the uniformity of plasma deposition and etching can be achieved by providing a gas delivery system 10 and a plasma source 30 having an induction element 31 , thereby improving the consistency of the etching morphology of the workpiece 80 .

[0056] In some examples, a gas delivery device is further provided herein, which includes, for example, the first gas delivery device 11 and a first control unit described above, and the first control unit may be, for example, a part of the control system 113, so that the first control unit may control the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20 via each gas inlet pipe 112-1. Specifically, the first control unit of the gas delivery device may adjust the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area via each gas inlet pipe 112-1 according to the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20 described above.

[0057] In some examples, the first control unit of the gas delivery device may also be configured to control the on / off of the control valve 113-1 and the flow controller 113-2 according to the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber 20, thereby adjusting the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area via each inlet pipe 112-1, so as to reduce the difference in concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion and the central portion of the workpiece 80. After the above processing, the difference in morphology between the edge portion and the central portion of the workpiece 80 can be controlled within a smaller range, thereby ensuring the uniformity of the etching morphology of the workpiece 80.

[0058] In some examples, the gas concentration in each area can be monitored by gas concentration sensors disposed in the central area and edge areas of the processing chamber 20. When the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area is greater than a threshold value, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each air inlet pipe 112-1 can be increased, thereby increasing the concentration of the process gas in the edge area until the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area is less than the threshold value.

[0059] In other examples, there may be a plurality of gas concentration sensors disposed in the edge region, for example, the plurality of gas concentration sensors may be evenly distributed along the circumference of the processing chamber 20, so as to monitor the gas concentrations of the plurality of sub-regions in the edge region of the processing chamber 20. When the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central region and any sub-region of the edge region is greater than a threshold value, the controller may increase the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the vicinity of the sub-region through the gas inlet pipe 112-1 and the gas channel 111-1, so as to increase the concentration of the process gas in the sub-region, until the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central region and the sub-region of the edge region is less than the threshold value.

[0060] It can be understood that the process gas near the above-mentioned sub-area can be, for example, the process gas ejected by the injection member 111-2 closest to the sub-area. The injection member 111-2 can be connected to the corresponding gas channel 111-1 intake pipe 112-1, and the controller increases the transmission speed of the process gas by controlling the valve of the flow controller 113-2 corresponding to the intake pipe 112-1.

[0061] In some examples, the threshold range of the central area and the edge area or the central area and the sub-area of ​​the edge area is, for example, 5% to 10%. In other words, when the ratio of the difference in concentration between the central area and the edge area or the sub-area of ​​the processing chamber 20 is within the range of 5% to 10%, the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area or the sub-area through each inlet pipe 112-1 can be increased by the controller. In a specific example, the threshold can be, for example, any one of 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9% and 10%.

[0062] The above specific implementations do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent substitution and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A gas delivery device configured to deliver process gas to an edge region of a processing chamber distributed along its circumference, the gas delivery device comprising: A first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumferential direction and configured to respectively deliver the process gas to the processing chamber; a second air intake unit, cooperating with the first air intake unit and comprising a plurality of air intake pipes extending to the first air intake unit, wherein the air intake pipes are in communication with the gas channel, and an extending direction of the air intake pipes is perpendicular to an extending direction of the gas channel; and a first control unit configured to control a flow rate of the process gas delivered to the processing chamber via each gas inlet pipe; Wherein, the first control unit is further configured as: The gas concentration in each area is monitored by gas concentration sensors disposed in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber, and the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is adjusted according to the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber; Wherein, the first control unit is further configured as: The flow rates of the process gas delivered to the edge region via the respective gas inlet ducts are controlled to be at least partially different.

2. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing chamber has a workpiece built in it, and the first control unit is further configured as follows: By adjusting the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe, the difference in concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion and the center portion of the workpiece is reduced, wherein the edge portion of the workpiece is located in the edge area and the center portion of the workpiece is located in the center area.

3. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The first control unit is further configured as: In response to a difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber being greater than a threshold, a flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is increased.

4. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The first control unit is further configured to control the types of the process gases delivered to the edge region via the respective gas inlet ducts to be at least partially different.

5. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The radial width of the gas channel gradually decreases along the transmission direction of the process gas.

6. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The first air intake unit further comprises: A plurality of injection members are communicated with the corresponding gas channels and are configured to inject the process gas into the processing chamber.

7. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The mating interface between the first air inlet unit and the second air inlet unit includes a plurality of first mating areas, the first mating areas are close to the connection between the air inlet pipe and the gas channel, and the gas delivery device further includes: A first sealing member is disposed in the first matching area and is used for sealing a connection between the air intake duct and the gas channel.

8. The gas delivery device according to claim 6, wherein: The mating interface between the first air inlet unit and the second air inlet unit includes a plurality of second mating areas, the second mating areas are close to the connection point where the gas channel is connected to the injection member; and the gas delivery device further includes: A second sealing member is disposed in the second matching area and is used for sealing the connection between the gas channel and the injection member.

9. The gas delivery device according to claim 1, wherein: The gas delivery device also includes: At least two delivery pipelines are connected to the air intake duct, wherein: The first control unit comprises: At least two control valves, respectively disposed at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline and configured to control the on-off of the transmission of the process gas in the delivery pipeline; and At least two flow controllers are correspondingly arranged at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline and configured to control the flow rate of the process gas in the delivery pipeline.

10. The gas delivery device according to claim 9, wherein: The first control unit is also configured to control at least one of the control valve and the flow controller according to the difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber to adjust the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each inlet pipe.

11. Gas delivery system, including: A first gas delivery device is configured to deliver process gas to an edge region of the processing chamber distributed along the circumference thereof, wherein the first gas delivery device comprises: a first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumferential direction and configured to respectively deliver the process gas to the processing chamber; and a second air intake unit, cooperating with the first air intake unit and comprising a plurality of air intake pipes extending to the first air intake unit, wherein the air intake pipes are in communication with the gas channel, and an extending direction of the air intake pipes is perpendicular to an extending direction of the gas channel; and a control system configured to control a flow rate of the process gas delivered to an edge region of the processing chamber via the first gas delivery device; Wherein, the control system is configured as follows: The gas concentration in each area is monitored by gas concentration sensors disposed in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber, and the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is adjusted according to the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber; Wherein, the control system is further configured as: Controlling the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge region via each gas inlet duct to be at least partially different; The second gas delivery device is configured to deliver the process gas to the central area of ​​the processing chamber.

12. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The control system is also configured as: A flow rate of the process gas delivered to the central area of ​​the processing chamber via the second gas delivery device is controlled.

13. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The processing chamber has a workpiece built in it, and the control system is further configured as follows: By adjusting the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe, the difference in concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion and the center portion of the workpiece is reduced, wherein the edge portion of the workpiece is located in the edge area and the center portion of the workpiece is located in the center area.

14. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The control system is also configured as: In response to a difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber being greater than a threshold, a flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is increased.

15. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The control system is further configured to control the types of the process gases delivered to the edge region via the respective gas inlet ducts to be at least partially different.

16. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The radial width of the gas channel gradually decreases along the transmission direction of the process gas.

17. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The first air intake unit further comprises: A plurality of injection members are communicated with the corresponding gas channels and are configured to inject the process gas into the processing chamber.

18. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The mating interface between the first air inlet unit and the second air inlet unit includes a plurality of first mating areas, the first mating areas are close to the connection between the air inlet pipe and the gas channel, and the first gas delivery device further includes: The first sealing member is arranged in the first matching area and is used for sealing the connection between the air intake duct and the gas channel.

19. The gas delivery system of claim 17, wherein: The mating interface between the first air inlet unit and the second air inlet unit includes a plurality of second mating regions, wherein the second mating regions are close to a connection point where the gas channel is connected to the injection member; And the second gas delivery device also includes: The second sealing member is arranged in the second matching area and is used for sealing the connection between the gas channel and the injection member.

20. The gas delivery system of claim 11, wherein: The first gas delivery device also includes: At least two delivery pipelines are connected to the air intake duct, wherein: The control system comprises: At least two control valves, respectively disposed at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline and configured to control the on-off of the transmission of the process gas in the delivery pipeline; and At least two flow controllers are correspondingly arranged at the inlet end of each delivery pipeline and configured to control the flow rate of the process gas in the delivery pipeline.

21. The gas delivery system of claim 20, wherein: The control system is also configured to control at least one of the control valve and the flow controller according to the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber to adjust the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each inlet pipe.

22. A plasma treatment device comprising: a processing chamber configured to receive a workpiece; as well as Gas delivery system, including: A first gas delivery device is disposed at a first side of the processing chamber and is configured to deliver a process gas for processing the workpiece to an edge region of the processing chamber distributed along a circumference thereof, wherein the first gas delivery device comprises: A first gas inlet unit, comprising a plurality of gas channels distributed along the circumferential direction and configured to respectively deliver the process gas to the processing chamber; a second air intake unit, cooperating with the first air intake unit and comprising a plurality of air intake pipes extending to the first air intake unit, wherein the air intake pipes are in communication with the gas channel, and an extending direction of the air intake pipes is perpendicular to an extending direction of the gas channel; and a control system configured to control a flow rate of the process gas delivered to an edge region of the processing chamber via the first gas delivery device; Wherein, the control system is configured as follows: The gas concentration in each area is monitored by gas concentration sensors disposed in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber, and the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is adjusted according to the difference in concentration of the process gas in the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber; Controlling the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge region via each gas inlet duct to be at least partially different; The second gas delivery device is disposed at the first side of the processing chamber and is configured to deliver the process gas to a central area of ​​the processing chamber.

23. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein: The control system is also configured as: A flow rate of the process gas delivered to the central area of ​​the processing chamber via the second gas delivery device is controlled.

24. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein: The processing chamber has a workpiece built in it, and the control system is further configured as follows: By adjusting the flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe, the difference in concentration of the process gas received by the edge portion and the center portion of the workpiece is reduced, wherein the edge portion of the workpiece is located in the edge area and the center portion of the workpiece is located in the center area.

25. The plasma processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein: The control system is also configured as: In response to a difference in concentration of the process gas between the central area and the edge area of ​​the processing chamber being greater than a threshold, a flow rate of the process gas delivered to the edge area through each gas inlet pipe is increased.

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