An epitaxial furnace gas supply structure and a gas supply system

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor production, and specifically discloses an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure and a gas supply system. Among them, the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes a first gas supply pipeline connected to the transfer chamber for supplying inert gas to the transfer chamber; a second gas supply pipeline connected to the inlet end of the reaction chamber for supplying initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber; a first gas return pipeline with both ends respectively connected to the transfer chamber and the second gas supply pipeline. The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure is provided with the first gas return pipeline connecting the transfer chamber and the second gas supply pipeline, so that the second gas supply pipeline can finally transport a gas-liquid mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first gas return pipeline to the reaction chamber, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber that needs to be directly discharged to the waste gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor production technology, and in particular to a gas supply structure and a gas supply system for an epitaxial furnace. Background Art

[0002] Existing epitaxial furnaces use inert gas to fill various chambers such as the loading chamber, transfer chamber, and reaction chamber to ensure that wafers are produced in a clean environment.

[0003] Among them, the reaction chamber generally uses an air flotation drive component such as an air flotation seat to drive the wafer to rotate in the reaction chamber and perform a chemical vapor deposition reaction; the existing air flotation seat is driven to rotate by a mixed gas containing an inert gas as the air flotation gas, but its inert gas is directly provided by the inert gas supply component, resulting in an excessive amount of inert gas used in the epitaxial furnace and a disadvantage of high gas cost.

[0004] There is currently no effective technical solution to the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a gas supply structure and a gas supply system for an epitaxial furnace to reduce gas costs.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure for supplying a flotation mixed carrier gas to the epitaxial furnace, wherein the epitaxial furnace includes a loading chamber, a transfer chamber, and a reaction chamber connected in sequence, and the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes:

[0007] a first gas supply pipe connected to the transfer chamber and configured to supply inert gas to the transfer chamber;

[0008] a second gas supply pipeline, connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber, for supplying initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber;

[0009] The first air return duct has two ends connected to the transfer chamber and the second air supply duct respectively.

[0010] The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure of the present application is provided with a first return gas pipe connecting the transfer chamber and the second gas supply pipe, so that the second gas supply pipe can ultimately transport the flotation mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first return gas pipe to the reaction chamber, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present application further provides an epitaxial furnace gas supply system, which is applied to an epitaxial furnace, wherein the epitaxial furnace includes a loading chamber, a transfer chamber, and a reaction chamber connected in sequence, and the epitaxial furnace gas supply system includes an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure, wherein the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes:

[0012] a first gas supply pipe connected to the transfer chamber and configured to supply inert gas to the transfer chamber;

[0013] a second gas supply pipeline, connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber, for supplying initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber;

[0014] a first air return duct, two ends of which are connected to the transfer chamber and the second air supply duct respectively;

[0015] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system also includes:

[0016] The controller is used to control the first gas supply pipeline, the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline to be connected when the reaction is carried out in the reaction chamber, so that the second gas supply pipeline provides the flotation mixed carrier gas to the reaction chamber.

[0017] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the present application is provided with a first return gas duct connecting the transfer chamber and the second gas supply duct, so that when the reaction chamber is reacting, the controller can control the first return gas duct to be turned on so that the second gas supply duct can finally transport the flotation mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first return gas duct to the reaction chamber, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber that needs to be directly discharged into the exhaust gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0018] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein the system further comprises: a second return gas duct, the two ends of which are respectively connected to the transfer chamber and the upper and lower half moons of the reaction chamber;

[0019] The controller is further configured to control the first gas supply pipe and the second gas return pipe to be connected when the reaction chamber is backfilled with the inert gas, so that the second gas return pipe provides the inert gas to the reaction chamber.

[0020] When the reaction chamber needs to be backfilled with inert gas, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the present application uses a second return gas pipe to provide inert gas to the upper and lower halves of the reaction chamber. The inert gas is the inert gas retained in the transfer chamber. The inert gas in the transfer chamber that needs to be directly discharged to the exhaust gas treatment equipment is used for inert gas backfilling, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0021] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein the first gas return pipe and the second gas return pipe are connected to the transfer chamber through a transition pipe.

[0022] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein the transition pipe is provided with a one-way valve and a filter.

[0023] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein the controller is also used to control the first gas supply pipeline and the second gas return pipeline to be connected, and control the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline to be closed when the reaction chamber is cooled.

[0024] In this example, the controller can cut off the supply of the air-floating mixed carrier gas by controlling the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline to close, and can make the inert gas enter the reaction chamber from the upper and lower semi-moon structures by controlling the first gas supply pipeline and the second gas return pipeline to conduct, so as to quickly cool the reaction chamber and the wafer in the reaction chamber.

[0025] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein, the first gas supply pipeline is provided with a first flow controller and a first pressure regulating valve, and the second gas return pipeline is provided with a second pressure regulating valve;

[0026] When the controller cools the reaction chamber, the process of controlling the first gas supply pipeline and the second gas return pipeline to conduct includes:

[0027] Adjust the output flow of the first flow controller according to a preset temperature reduction rate and control the opening degrees of the first pressure regulating valve and the second pressure regulating valve.

[0028] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein, the second gas supply pipeline is provided with a second flow controller, the second flow controller is located on the front side of the connection between the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline, and the first gas return pipeline is provided with a third flow controller;

[0029] When the controller conducts the reaction in the reaction chamber, the process of controlling the first gas supply pipeline, the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline to conduct includes:

[0030] Control the first gas supply pipeline to conduct, and adjust the output flows of the second flow controller and the third flow controller according to a preset mixing ratio of the air-floating mixed carrier gas.

[0031] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein, the second gas supply pipeline is provided with a third pressure regulating valve, and the third pressure regulating valve is located on the rear side of the connection between the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline.

[0032] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system, wherein, the first gas supply pipeline is used to supply argon, and the second gas supply pipeline is used to supply hydrogen.

[0033] As can be seen from the above, the present application provides an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure and a gas supply system. Among them, the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure is provided with a first gas return pipeline connecting the transfer chamber and the second gas supply pipeline, so that the second gas supply pipeline can finally transport the air-floating mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first gas return pipeline to the reaction chamber, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber that needs to be directly discharged to the waste gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment. Description of the Drawings

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the gas supply structure of the epitaxial furnace provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic electrical control structure diagram of the gas supply system of the epitaxial furnace provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0036] Reference numerals: 1, loading chamber; 2, transfer chamber; 3, reaction chamber; 4, first gas supply pipeline; 5, second gas supply pipeline; 6, first gas return pipeline; 7, second gas return pipeline; 8, transition pipe; 9, third gas supply pipeline; 10, first exhaust pipeline; 11, second exhaust pipeline; 12, buffer chamber; 13, controller; MFC1, first flow controller; MFC2, second flow controller; MFC3, third flow controller; MFC4, fourth flow controller; PV1, first pressure regulating valve; PV2, second pressure regulating valve; PV3, third pressure regulating valve; PV4, fourth pressure regulating valve; CV, check valve; FT, filter. Detailed implementation manners

[0037] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of the present application described and shown in the accompanying drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the present application to be protected, but only represents the selected embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0038] It should be noted that: similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings. Therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent drawings. At the same time, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for differential description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0039] In a first aspect, please refer to Figure 1 , some embodiments of the present application provide an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure for supplying a gas-liquid mixed carrier gas to the epitaxial furnace. The epitaxial furnace includes a loading chamber 1, a transfer chamber 2, and a reaction chamber 3 connected in sequence. The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes:

[0040] A first gas supply pipeline 4, connected to the transfer chamber 2, for supplying an inert gas to the transfer chamber 2;

[0041] The second gas supply pipe 5 is connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber 3 and is used to supply the initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber 3;

[0042] The first air return duct 6 has two ends connected to the transfer chamber 2 and the second air supply duct 5 respectively.

[0043] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present application, the epitaxial furnace is preferably an MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition) epitaxial furnace, which generally uses an inert gas or hydrogen gas that does not participate in the reaction or a mixed gas formed by a mixture of multiple gases as a flotation mixed carrier gas.

[0044] More specifically, the air floating mixed carrier gas is a gas used to drive the air floating seat to float and rotate.

[0045] More specifically, the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure of the embodiment of the present application is provided with a first return gas duct 6 connecting the transfer chamber 2 and the second gas supply duct 5, so that the inert gas provided by the first gas supply duct 4 in the transfer chamber 2 can be transported to the second gas supply duct 5 through the first return gas duct 6 and used as part of the carrier gas, that is, the second gas supply duct 5 can finally transport the flotation mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first return gas duct 6 to the reaction chamber 3, thereby reducing the overall carrier gas usage; in the supply process of the flotation mixed carrier gas, the first return gas duct 6 reuses the inert gas filled in the transfer chamber 2 during the previous substrate transfer process. The inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 generally needs to be intermittently discharged into the exhaust gas treatment equipment and supplemented with inert gas by the first gas supply duct 4 for gas renewal. The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure of the embodiment of the present application is equivalent to reusing the inert gas that needs to be directly discharged into the exhaust gas treatment equipment to fill part of the carrier gas, thereby reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0046] More specifically, the step of filling the transfer chamber 2 with inert gas using the first gas supply pipe 4 can be performed continuously or intermittently during the process of using the first return gas pipe 6 to provide inert gas to the second gas supply pipe 5, or can be performed after the process of using the first return gas pipe 6 to provide inert gas to the second gas supply pipe 5. In an embodiment of the present application, it is preferably performed continuously during the process of using the first return gas pipe 6 to provide inert gas to the second gas supply pipe 5, so that the gas pressure in the transfer chamber 2 can be kept balanced; in some other embodiments, the step of filling the transfer chamber 2 with inert gas using the first gas supply pipe 4 is preferably performed after the process of using the first return gas pipe 6 to provide inert gas to the second gas supply pipe 5, so as to maximize the gas replacement rate in the transfer chamber 2 during each reaction process.

[0047] More specifically, the gas type of the initial carrier gas provided by the second gas supply pipe 5 can be the same as the gas type of the inert gas provided by the first gas supply pipe 4, or it can be different. In the embodiment of the present application, it is preferably different, so that the second gas supply pipe 5 can ultimately input a flotation mixed carrier gas composed of a mixed gas into the reaction chamber 3, and can adjust and provide a flotation mixed carrier gas of a specific mixing ratio according to the reaction requirements of the reaction chamber 3.

[0048] The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure of the embodiment of the present application is provided with a first return gas duct 6 connecting the transfer chamber 2 and the second gas supply duct 5, so that the second gas supply duct 5 can finally transport the flotation mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first return gas duct 6 to the reaction chamber 3, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 that needs to be directly discharged into the exhaust gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0049] Second, please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 Some embodiments of the present application further provide an epitaxial furnace gas supply system, which is applied to an epitaxial furnace. The epitaxial furnace includes a loading chamber 1, a transfer chamber 2, and a reaction chamber 3 connected in sequence. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system includes an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure. The epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes:

[0050] a first gas supply pipe 4 connected to the transfer chamber 2 and used for supplying inert gas to the transfer chamber 2;

[0051] The second gas supply pipe 5 is connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber 3 and is used to supply the initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber 3;

[0052] The first air return duct 6 has its two ends connected to the transfer chamber 2 and the second air supply duct 5 respectively;

[0053] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system also includes:

[0054] The controller 13 is used to control the first gas supply pipe 4 , the second gas supply pipe 5 and the first gas return pipe 6 to be connected when the reaction is carried out in the reaction chamber 3 , so that the second gas supply pipe 5 provides the flotation mixed carrier gas to the reaction chamber 3 .

[0055] It should be noted that the controller 13 is electrically connected to the valve-related components on the first air supply pipe 4, the second air supply pipe 5 and the first return air pipe 6, and controls the on / off status of the first air supply pipe 4, the second air supply pipe 5 and the first return air pipe 6 through valve-related component parameters such as the switch or opening of the valve-related components.

[0056] More specifically, when the reaction (chemical vapor deposition reaction) is carried out in the reaction chamber 3, the controller 13 controls the first gas supply pipeline 4, the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first gas return pipeline 6 to be conducted, so that the inert gas provided by the first gas supply pipeline 4 in the transfer chamber 2 can be transported to the second gas supply pipeline 5 through the first gas return pipeline 6 for use as part of the carrier gas, that is, the second gas supply pipeline 5 can finally transport the gas-floating mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first gas return pipeline 6 to the reaction chamber 3, thereby reducing the overall consumption of the carrier gas.

[0057] More specifically, the behavior of the controller 13 to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 to be conducted can be to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 to be intermittently conducted or continuously conducted during the time when the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first gas return pipeline 6 are conducted, or to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 to be conducted after the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first gas return pipeline 6 are closed. In the embodiment of the present application, it is preferably to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 to be continuously conducted during the time when the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first gas return pipeline 6 are conducted.

[0058] The epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiment of the present application is provided with the first gas return pipeline 6 connecting the transfer chamber 2 and the second gas supply pipeline 5, so that when the reaction chamber 3 is reacting, the controller 13 can control the first gas return pipeline 6 to be conducted so that the second gas supply pipeline 5 can finally transport the gas-floating mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first gas return pipeline 6 to the reaction chamber 3, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 that needs to be directly discharged to the waste gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0059] More specifically, the output end of the second gas supply pipeline 5 is connected to the gas-floating seat gas-floating gas input end in the reaction chamber 3 to provide the gas-floating mixed carrier gas for gas-floating rotation of the gas-floating seat.

[0060] In some preferred embodiments, the system further includes: a second gas return pipeline 7, the two ends of which are respectively connected to the upper and lower half moons of the transfer chamber 2 and the reaction chamber 3;

[0061] The controller 13 is further configured to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 and the second gas return pipeline 7 to be conducted when the reaction chamber 3 is backfilled with inert gas, so that the second gas return pipeline 7 provides inert gas for the reaction chamber 3.

[0062] It should be noted that the controller 13 is electrically connected to the valve-related devices on the second gas return pipeline 7, and it controls the on-off state of the second gas return pipeline 7 through valve-related device parameters such as the switch or opening of the valve-related devices.

[0063] It should be noted that when the reaction chamber 3 is backfilled with inert gas, the first gas return pipeline 6 and the second gas supply pipeline 5 are in a shut-off state; before the reaction in the reaction chamber 3, vacuum pumping treatment is required, and after the vacuum pumping treatment is completed, inert gas backfilling treatment is required for the reaction chamber 3 to adjust the gas pressure in the reaction chamber 3. Therefore, before performing the inert gas backfilling treatment, the first gas supply pipeline 4, the second gas supply pipeline 5, the first gas return pipeline 6, and the second gas return pipeline 7 are all in a shut-off state, so that during the inert gas backfilling process, only the controller 13 is required to control the opening of the first gas supply pipeline 4 and the second gas return pipeline 7 to continuously use the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 to backfill the evacuated reaction chamber 3; therefore, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiment of the present application does not limit the controller 13 to control the first gas return pipeline 6 and the second gas supply pipeline 5 to be in a shut-off state during the inert gas backfilling process.

[0064] Specifically, the upper and lower half moons include an upper half moon structure and a lower half moon structure, which are the structural walls of the inner cavity of the reaction chamber 3 of the horizontal MOCVD epitaxial furnace, and generally provided with air guide holes for introducing inert gas for inert gas backfilling treatment in the cavity and wafer cooling treatment in the cavity.

[0065] More specifically, when the reaction chamber 3 of the epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiment of the present application needs to be backfilled with inert gas, the second gas return pipeline 7 is used to provide inert gas for the upper and lower half moons of the reaction chamber 3. The inert gas is the inert gas remaining in the transfer chamber 2. The inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 that needs to be directly discharged to the waste gas treatment equipment is used for inert gas backfilling, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0066] More specifically, in general, the indoor space of the transfer chamber 2 is much larger than the indoor space of the reaction chamber 3. Therefore, when the reaction chamber 3 is backfilled with inert gas, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiment of the present application uses the characteristic of the larger volume of the transfer chamber 2 as a gas buffer structure, which can ensure that the reaction chamber 3 is introduced with inert gas at a lower pressure value at the initial stage of inert gas backfilling, avoiding the problem that the particles in the reaction chamber 3 are lifted by the pressure difference and contaminating the wafer.

[0067] In some preferred embodiments, the first gas return pipeline 6 and the second gas return pipeline 7 are connected to the transfer chamber 2 through a transition pipe 8.

[0068] Specifically, both the first gas return pipeline 6 and the second gas return pipeline 7 utilize the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 for reuse, so sharing the same transition pipe 8 for connection can effectively simplify the pipeline structure and save the equipment cost of the epitaxial furnace.

[0069] In some preferred embodiments, a one-way valve CV and a filter FT are provided on the transition pipe 8.

[0070] Specifically, the transfer chamber 2 is liable to be contaminated due to the entry of gases in the loading chamber 1 or the reaction chamber 3, resulting in the mixing of impurity gases into the inert gas therein (when the corresponding chamber connection valves are opened, the gases conduct, causing the mixing of impurity gases into the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2). The direct reuse of such inert gases by the epitaxial furnace may affect the reaction effect of the reaction chamber 3. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, a filter FT is provided on the transition pipe 8 for filtering the impurity gases in the inert gas.

[0071] More specifically, the filter FT includes at least one impurity gas absorber, and its type is selected according to the reaction type of the epitaxial furnace to ensure that the first return gas pipeline 6 and the second return gas pipeline 7 can return inert gases with a sufficiently high purity.

[0072] More specifically, a check valve CV is also provided on the transition pipe 8 to prevent the gases in the first return gas pipeline 6 and / or the second return gas pipeline 7 from flowing back or being transmitted back into the transfer chamber 2 to contaminate the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2.

[0073] In some preferred embodiments, the controller 13 is further configured to control the first gas supply pipeline 4 and the second return gas pipeline 7 to conduct, and control the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first return gas pipeline 6 to close when the reaction chamber 3 is being cooled.

[0074] Specifically, after the reaction in the reaction chamber 3 is completed, the wafers in the reaction chamber 3 need to be cooled. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiments of the present application uses the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2, whose temperature is much lower than that of the reaction chamber 3, to cool the reaction chamber 3, so that the wafers can quickly drop to a temperature at which they can be unloaded.

[0075] More specifically, the temperature of the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2 is generally at room temperature.

[0076] More specifically, in this embodiment, after the reaction is completed, the controller 13 controls the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first return gas pipeline 6 to close to cut off the supply of the gas-floating mixed carrier gas, and controls the first gas supply pipeline 4 and the second return gas pipeline 7 to conduct, enabling the inert gas to be sent into the reaction chamber 3 from the upper and lower semi-circular structures to quickly cool the reaction chamber 3 and the wafers in the reaction chamber 3.

[0077] More specifically, based on the method of cooling the reaction chamber 3 with the inert gas in the transfer chamber 2, the gas pressures in the reaction chamber 3 and the transfer chamber 2 can be balanced simultaneously. When the connection valve between the two chambers is opened for unloading, the problem of impact caused by the pressure difference between the two chambers can be avoided, effectively saving the time required for actual balance adjustment, thereby improving the production rhythm.

[0078] In some preferred embodiments, the first gas supply pipeline 4 is provided with a first flow controller MFC1 and a first pressure regulating valve PV1, and the second gas return pipeline 7 is provided with a second pressure regulating valve PV2;

[0079] When the reaction chamber 3 is being cooled, the controller 13 controls the first gas supply pipe 4 and the second gas return pipe 7 to be connected, including:

[0080] The output flow of the first flow controller MFC1 is adjusted according to the preset cooling speed, and the openings of the first pressure regulating valve PV1 and the second pressure regulating valve PV2 are controlled.

[0081] Specifically, the cooling efficiency of the reaction chamber 3 depends on the temperature and supply rate of the cooling gas, that is, in the embodiment of the present application, it depends on the supply efficiency of the inert gas provided by the second return gas duct 7; too fast cooling of the chip can easily cause warping problems, so the cooling rate of the reaction chamber 3 needs to be adjusted according to the preset cooling rate; the epitaxial furnace gas supply system of the embodiment of the present application can adjust the supply efficiency of the inert gas in the reaction chamber 3 by adjusting the output flow of the first flow controller MFC1 and controlling the opening of the first pressure regulating valve PV1 and the second pressure regulating valve PV2, so that the cooling rate of the reaction chamber 3 is adjustable, so that the chip can be cooled quickly at the preset cooling rate.

[0082] More specifically, since the first gas supply pipeline 4 is provided with a first flow controller MFC1 and the second return gas pipeline 7 is provided with a second pressure regulating valve PV2, when the reaction chamber 3 needs to be backfilled with argon, the controller 13 can adjust the amount of inert gas replenished by the first gas supply pipeline 4 to the transfer chamber 2 through the first flow controller MFC1, and provide inert gas to the upper and lower halves of the reaction chamber 3 through the second pressure regulating valve PV2 (in the embodiment of the present application, an auxiliary flat nozzle is preferably used for input) to accurately adjust the backfill efficiency of the inert gas.

[0083] In some preferred embodiments, the second air supply pipe 5 is provided with a second flow controller MFC2, which is located in front of the connection between the second air supply pipe 5 and the first air return pipe 6, and the first air return pipe 6 is provided with a third flow controller MFC3;

[0084] When the reaction is carried out in the reaction chamber 3, the controller 13 controls the first gas supply pipe 4, the second gas supply pipe 5 and the first gas return pipe 6 to be connected. The process includes:

[0085] The first gas supply pipeline 4 is controlled to be open, and the output flows of the second flow controller MFC2 and the third flow controller MFC3 are adjusted according to the preset mixing ratio of the flotation mixed carrier gas.

[0086] Specifically, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to the embodiment of the present application can accurately adjust the ratio of the inert gas and the initial carrier gas in the gas-floating mixed carrier gas by adjusting the output flows of the second flow controller MFC2 and the third flow controller MFC3, so as to meet the mixing ratio of the gas-floating mixed carrier gas, and has the characteristic of convenient adjustment.

[0087] In some preferred embodiments, a third pressure regulating valve PV3 is provided on the second gas supply pipeline 5, and the third pressure regulating valve PV3 is located at the rear side of the connection between the second gas supply pipeline 5 and the first gas return pipeline 6.

[0088] Specifically, in this embodiment, the controller 13 can change the input pressure of the gas-floating mixed carrier gas by adjusting the opening of the third pressure regulating valve PV3, so as to more precisely adjust the gas-floating force, thereby ensuring that the gas-floating seat can rotate stably.

[0089] More specifically, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to the embodiment of the present application can accurately adjust the mixing ratio, output pressure and output flow of the gas-floating mixed carrier gas by adjusting the first flow controller MFC1, the second flow controller MFC2, the third flow controller MFC3, the first pressure regulating valve PV1 and the third pressure regulating valve PV3, so as to meet the usage requirements of the gas-floating seat.

[0090] In some preferred embodiments, the first gas supply pipeline 4 is used to supply argon, and the second gas supply pipeline 5 is used to supply hydrogen.

[0091] Specifically, the epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to the embodiment of the present application is particularly suitable for the preparation of SiC (silicon carbide), so hydrogen and argon are used as the gas-floating mixed carrier gas; among them, hydrogen can promote the reaction of reaction gases to deposit and form a silicon carbide film, but hydrogen itself will have a certain corrosive effect on the gas-floating seat, so it is necessary to combine argon dilution adjustment to keep the pressure in the reaction chamber 3 meeting the reaction requirements and the gas-floating force requirements.

[0092] Embodiment 1

[0093] As Figure 1 shown, this example provides an epitaxial furnace device, which includes an epitaxial furnace including a loading chamber 1, a transfer chamber 2 and a reaction chamber 3 connected in sequence. A buffer chamber 12 is also connected to one side of the transfer chamber 2, and a controllable gate valve is provided between entities as a connection valve; among them, the reaction chamber 3 is a graphite chamber heated by an induction coil, and an upper and lower semi-moon structure is provided inside as the upper and lower walls of the reaction cavity (not shown in the figure), and a gas source supply pipeline is provided on the side of the reaction chamber 3 away from the transfer chamber 2;

[0094] The epitaxial furnace device further includes:

[0095] A first gas supply pipeline 4, connected to the transfer chamber 2, for supplying an inert gas to the transfer chamber 2;

[0096] The second gas supply pipeline 5 is connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber 3 and is used to supply the initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber 3;

[0097] The first gas return pipeline 6 has two ends respectively connected to the transfer chamber 2 and the second gas supply pipeline 5;

[0098] The second gas return pipeline 7 has two ends respectively connected to the upper and lower semi - moons of the transfer chamber 2 and the reaction chamber 3. Among them, the first gas return pipeline and the second gas return pipeline are connected to the transfer chamber 2 through a transition pipe 8, and a check valve CV and a filter FT are provided on the transition pipe 8;

[0099] The third gas supply pipeline 9 is connected to the loading chamber 1 and is used to provide inert gas for the loading chamber 1;

[0100] The first exhaust pipeline 10 is connected to the reaction chamber 3 and is used to discharge the reaction waste gas in the reaction chamber 3 to a scrubber for scrubbing treatment;

[0101] The second exhaust pipeline 11 is connected to the loading chamber 1 and the transition pipe 8 and is used to discharge the excess gas in the loading chamber 1 and the transition pipe 8 to waste gas treatment equipment for waste gas treatment.

[0102] Among them, a first flow controller MFC1 and a first pressure regulating valve PV1 are provided on the first gas supply pipeline 4; a second flow controller MFC2 and a third pressure regulating valve PV3 are provided on the second gas supply pipeline 5; a fourth flow controller MFC4 and a fourth pressure regulating valve PV4 are provided on the third gas supply pipeline 9; a third flow controller MFC3 is provided on the first gas return pipeline 6; a second pressure regulating valve PV2 is provided on the second gas return pipeline 7.

[0103] The epitaxial furnace equipment is provided with a controller 13, which is electrically connected to the flow controllers and pressure regulating valves on different pipelines and is used to control the on - off, flow output and pressure output of different pipelines according to production.

[0104] In summary, the embodiment of the present application provides an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure and a gas supply system. Among them, the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure sets the first gas return pipeline 6 to connect the transfer chamber 2 and the second gas supply pipeline 5, so that the second gas supply pipeline 5 can finally transport a gas - floating mixed carrier gas composed of the initial carrier gas originally provided by it and the inert gas provided by the first gas return pipeline 6 to the reaction chamber, that is, the inert gas in the transfer chamber that needs to be directly discharged to the waste gas treatment equipment is used to fill part of the carrier gas, effectively reducing the gas cost of the entire equipment.

[0105] In this article, relational terms such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0106] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations of the present application are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application shall be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. An epitaxial furnace gas supply system is applied to an epitaxial furnace. The epitaxial furnace includes a loading chamber, a transfer chamber, and a reaction chamber that are connected in sequence. It is characterized in that, The epitaxial furnace gas supply system includes an epitaxial furnace gas supply structure, and the epitaxial furnace gas supply structure includes: a first gas supply pipe connected to the transfer chamber and configured to supply inert gas to the transfer chamber; a second gas supply pipeline, connected to the gas inlet end of the reaction chamber, for supplying initial carrier gas to the reaction chamber; a first air return duct, two ends of which are connected to the transfer chamber and the second air supply duct respectively; The epitaxial furnace gas supply system also includes: a controller, configured to control the first gas supply pipeline, the second gas supply pipeline, and the first gas return pipeline to be connected when a reaction is carried out in the reaction chamber, so that the second gas supply pipeline provides the reaction chamber with a flotation mixed carrier gas; The system further comprises: a second air return duct, the two ends of which are respectively connected to the transfer chamber and the upper and lower half moons of the reaction chamber; The controller is further configured to control the first gas supply pipe and the second gas return pipe to be connected when the reaction chamber is backfilled with inert gas, so that the second gas return pipe provides the inert gas to the reaction chamber; The first air return pipe and the second air return pipe are connected to the transfer chamber through a transition pipe; A filter is provided on the transition pipe.

2. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: A one-way valve is provided on the transition pipe.

3. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The controller is further configured to control the first gas supply pipeline and the second gas return pipeline to be connected, and control the second gas supply pipeline and the first gas return pipeline to be closed when the reaction chamber is cooled.

4. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first air supply pipeline is provided with a first flow controller and a first pressure regulating valve, and the second air return pipeline is provided with a second pressure regulating valve; When the reaction chamber is cooled, the controller controls the first gas supply pipe and the second gas return pipe to be connected, comprising: The output flow of the first flow controller is adjusted according to a preset cooling speed, and the openings of the first pressure regulating valve and the second pressure regulating valve are controlled.

5. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second air supply pipe is provided with a second flow controller, the second flow controller is located in front of the connection between the second air supply pipe and the first air return pipe, and the first air return pipe is provided with a third flow controller; When the reaction chamber is reacting, the controller controls the first gas supply pipe, the second gas supply pipe, and the first gas return pipe to be connected, including: The first gas supply pipeline is controlled to be open, and the output flows of the second flow controller and the third flow controller are adjusted according to a preset mixing ratio of the flotation mixed carrier gas.

6. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to claim 1, wherein The second air supply pipe is provided with a third pressure regulating valve, and the third pressure regulating valve is located at the rear side of the connection between the second air supply pipe and the first air return pipe.

7. The epitaxial furnace gas supply system according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that The first gas supply pipeline is used to supply argon gas, and the second gas supply pipeline is used to supply hydrogen gas.

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