Wafer Loading Chamber and Semiconductor Device Processing Apparatus

Abstract

The present invention provides a wafer loading chamber and a processing apparatus for a semiconductor device. The wafer loading chamber includes a lower cover assembly located at the lower part of the wafer loading chamber and provided with a bracket accommodation groove, wherein a lifting rod through hole is provided in the bracket accommodation groove; a thimble bracket located in the bracket accommodation groove, the lower part of which is connected to a lifting rod, and the upper part of which is connected to a plurality of thimbles, wherein the lifting rod extends from below the lower cover assembly to above through the lifting rod through hole to connect the thimble bracket, and the thimble bracket moves up and down in the bracket accommodation groove under the drive of the lifting rod; and a cooling plate mounted on the thimble bracket and provided with a plurality of thimble through holes, wherein the plurality of thimbles move up and down in the thimble through holes under the drive of the thimble bracket.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and particularly to a wafer loading chamber and a processing apparatus for a semiconductor device. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor field, the cooling of the wafer surface coating is crucial. Currently, the prior art generally balances the functions of cooling the wafer surface coating and wafer transfer by lifting and lowering a cooling plate in the wafer loading chamber or adding a wafer support frame above the cooling plate. However, the solution of lifting and lowering the cooling plate in the wafer loading chamber or adding a wafer support frame above the cooling plate to lift and lower the wafer will inevitably increase the volume of the wafer loading chamber, reduce the efficiency of evacuating and backfilling the wafer loading chamber with gas, reduce the wafer transfer efficiency of the wafer loading chamber, and thus reduce the processing efficiency of the entire semiconductor processing apparatus.

[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for a compact design of a wafer loading chamber to reduce the volume of the loading chamber, shorten the time required for evacuating and backfilling the loading chamber, improve the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber, and thus enhance the processing efficiency of the semiconductor processing apparatus. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following presents a brief overview of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not an exhaustive survey of all contemplated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects nor to attempt to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a wafer loading chamber, which can effectively reduce the volume of the loading chamber, shorten the time required for evacuating and backfilling the loading chamber, improve the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber, and thus enhance the processing efficiency of the semiconductor processing apparatus, as compared with the solutions of lifting and lowering a cooling plate and arranging a support frame above the cooling plate.

[0006] Specifically, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: a lower cover assembly located at the lower part of the wafer loading chamber and provided with a bracket receiving groove, wherein a lifting rod through hole is provided in the bracket receiving groove; a thimble bracket located in the bracket receiving groove, the lower part of which is connected to a lifting rod, and the upper part of which is connected to a plurality of thimbles, wherein the lifting rod extends from below the lower cover assembly to above through the lifting rod through hole to connect the thimble bracket, and the thimble bracket moves up and down in the bracket receiving groove under the drive of the lifting rod; and a cooling plate installed above the thimble bracket and provided with a plurality of thimble through holes, wherein the plurality of thimbles move up and down in the thimble through holes under the drive of the thimble bracket.

[0007] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, a raised mounting block is further provided at the lower part of the central region of the cooling plate, wherein the edge region of the cooling plate is fixedly connected to the edge region of the lower cover assembly, and the mounting block passes through the central region of the lower cover assembly to fixedly connect and mount the base of the lower cover assembly, and a notch is provided in the central region of the thimble bracket to avoid the mounting block.

[0008] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, both the bracket receiving groove and the thimble bracket are of an L-shaped structure, wherein the lifting rod through hole is eccentrically provided at the bending position of the bracket receiving groove, and the plurality of thimbles are respectively connected to the bending position and two end points of the thimble bracket.

[0009] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, at least one water cooling pipe is further provided in the cooling plate, wherein the at least one water cooling pipe is distributed in the loading area of the wafer to be cooled and is bent or transferred from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction through the mounting block to connect to the water cooling system below the lower cover assembly. The cooling plate is made of aluminum, and the water cooling pipe is selected as a stainless steel pipe.

[0010] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, a quick-insert self-sealing joint is provided at the end of the at least one water cooling pipe, and the at least one water cooling pipe is connected to the water cooling system through the quick-insert self-sealing joint.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber further includes a thimble lifting mechanism and a thimble leveling mechanism, wherein the thimble lifting mechanism is connected to the lifting rod through the thimble leveling mechanism and is used to drive the lifting rod to move up and down in the lifting rod through hole, and the thimble leveling mechanism is used to control the thimble bracket to maintain a horizontal posture.

[0012] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of wafer support points are provided in the loading area of the cooling plate for carrying the wafer to be cooled, wherein the height of each of the wafer support points is determined according to the cooling deformation trend of the wafer.

[0013] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, it includes a plurality of laterally distributed chambers, wherein each of the laterally distributed chambers is formed by sealing and connecting an upper cover assembly and the lower cover assembly, and is used for synchronously performing air extraction, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end.

[0014] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber includes an air extraction component and a backfilling component, wherein each of the laterally distributed chambers has an air inlet hole communicating with each other and an air outlet hole communicating with each other, and is used for synchronously evacuating and synchronously backfilling each of the laterally distributed chambers.

[0015] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber includes a plurality of longitudinally distributed chambers, wherein the plurality of longitudinally distributed chambers are respectively formed by sealing and connecting an upper cover assembly, an intermediate partition and the lower cover assembly, and are used for independently performing air extraction, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end.

[0016] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the first chamber formed by sealing and connecting the intermediate partition and the lower cover assembly of the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber drives the plurality of thimble pins to move up and down in the thimble pin through holes through the thimble bracket to lift the wafer, and the second chamber formed by sealing and connecting the upper cover assembly and the intermediate partition bears the wafer through a wafer support provided above its cooling plate, and the wafer is picked and placed by a lifting manipulator.

[0017] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber includes an air extraction component and a backfilling component, wherein each of the longitudinally distributed chambers has an independent air inlet hole and an air outlet hole, and is used for independently evacuating and independently backfilling each of the longitudinally distributed chambers.

[0018] In addition, a semiconductor device processing apparatus provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes: the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber, which is used for performing air extraction, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end; a transfer chamber, located at the vacuum end, which is used for transferring wafers between the wafer loading chamber and the reaction chamber; and the reaction chamber, located at the vacuum end, which is used for processing the wafers. Description of the Drawings

[0019] After reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings, the above features and advantages of the present invention can be better understood. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components with similar relevant characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0020] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of a wafer loading chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 2 The structural schematic diagram of a cooling plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 The structural schematic diagram of a thimble bracket provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0023] Figure 4 The structural schematic diagram of a thimble bracket provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0024] Figure 5 The structural schematic diagram of a wafer cooling plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0025] Figure 6 The structural schematic diagram of the lower part of a water-cooled plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 7 The structural schematic diagram of a wafer loading cavity provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0027] Figure 8 The structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Detailed Embodiments

[0028] The following specific embodiments illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this embodiment. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the embodiment is to cover other alternatives or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The present invention can also be implemented without these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusing or obscuring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0029] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0030] In addition, the "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal", and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in this section and the related drawings. This relative term is only for convenience of description and does not represent that the device described needs to be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, so it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0031] It can be understood that although terms such as "first", "second", and "third" can be used here to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first component, region, layer, and / or part discussed below can be referred to as the second component, region, layer, and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0032] As described above, in the semiconductor field, the cooling of the coating on the wafer surface is crucial. The current prior art cannot cool the wafer to a specific temperature before the coating on the wafer surface is exposed to the atmosphere to prevent oxidation of the coating on the wafer surface.

[0033] To overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a wafer loading chamber and a processing device for semiconductor devices, which can effectively reduce the volume of the loading chamber, shorten the time required for evacuating and backfilling the loading chamber, improve the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber, and thus improve the processing efficiency of the semiconductor processing device.

[0034] In some non-limiting embodiments, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be installed in the above-mentioned processing device for semiconductor devices provided in the second aspect of the present invention to improve the processing efficiency of the semiconductor processing device.

[0035] First, please refer to Figures 1 to 5 . Figure 1 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer loading chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 2 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer loading chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 3Shows a schematic structural diagram of a thimble bracket provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 4 Shows a schematic position diagram of a thimble bracket provided by some embodiments. Figure 5 Shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer cooling plate provided by some embodiments.

[0036] As Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 shown, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber provided by the first aspect of the present invention may include a lower cover assembly 11, a thimble bracket 12, and a cooling plate 13. The above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11 may be located at the lower part of the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber and is provided with a bracket accommodation groove 41. Here, a lifting rod through hole may be provided in the bracket accommodation groove 41. The thimble bracket 12 may be located in the above-mentioned bracket accommodation groove 41, its lower part may be connected to a lifting rod (not shown), and its upper part may be connected to a plurality of thimbles 14. Here, the above-mentioned lifting rod may extend from below the above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11 to above through the above-mentioned lifting rod through hole to connect the above-mentioned thimble bracket 12. The thimble bracket 12 may move up and down in the above-mentioned bracket accommodation groove 41 under the drive of the above-mentioned lifting rod. The above-mentioned cooling plate 21 may be installed on the above-mentioned thimble bracket 12 and may be provided with a plurality of thimble through holes 22. Here, the above-mentioned plurality of thimbles 14 may move up and down in the above-mentioned thimble through holes 22 under the drive of the above-mentioned thimble bracket 12. Thus, compared with the reaction chamber that has been in a vacuum environment for a long time, the cavity size has no significant impact on the processing efficiency of the wafer. The loading chamber needs to continuously switch between the atmosphere and the vacuum environment to achieve wafer transfer. Therefore, by reducing the volume of the loading chamber, the present invention can greatly improve the efficiency of vacuum pumping and gas backfilling, thereby improving the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber to improve the production capacity of the semiconductor processing device.

[0037] Furthermore, as Figure 1 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, a raised mounting block 15 may further be provided at the lower part of the central region of the above-mentioned cooling plate 13. Here, the edge region of the above-mentioned cooling plate 13 may be fixedly connected to the edge region of the above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11. The mounting block 15 may pass through the central region of the above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11 to fixedly connect and install the base of the above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11. Correspondingly, a notch may be provided in the central region of the above-mentioned thimble bracket 12, and the above-mentioned lifting rod through hole may also be eccentrically arranged adaptively to avoid the mounting block 15.

[0038] Specifically, as Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned bracket accommodation groove 41 and the above-mentioned ejector pin bracket 12 are both L-shaped structures to avoid the mounting block 15 protruding downward in the central area of the cooling plate 13. Here, the lifting rod through-hole can be located at the bending position of the bracket accommodation groove 41, and the above-mentioned multiple ejector pins 14 can be respectively connected to the bending position and the two end points of the above-mentioned ejector pin bracket 12. By setting the L-shaped ejector pin bracket 12 to synchronously lift and lower the ejector pins 14, the present invention can achieve the consistency of the ejector pin lifting action while avoiding the mounting block 15 in the central area of the cooling plate 13, and ensure the precise height adjustment and leveling of the wafer transfer plane.

[0039] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading cavity may further include an ejector pin lifting mechanism 17 and an ejector pin leveling mechanism 16. Here, the ejector pin lifting mechanism 17 can be connected to the above-mentioned lifting rod via the ejector pin leveling mechanism 16 to drive the lifting rod to move up and down in the above-mentioned lifting rod through-hole. The ejector pin leveling mechanism 16 can be used to control the ejector pin bracket to maintain a horizontal posture, thereby further improving the consistency of the ejector pin lifting action and ensuring the precise height adjustment and leveling of the wafer transfer plane.

[0040] In addition, in some embodiments, the ejector pins 14 can also be installed in the corresponding ejector pin through-holes via guide sleeves. By installing the ejector pins 14 in the ejector pin through-holes via guide sleeves, the present invention is more conducive to avoiding the skew of the ejector pins and is conducive to the vertical lifting of the ejector pins 14.

[0041] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, as Figure 5 shown, at least one water-cooling pipe 51 can also be provided in the above-mentioned cooling plate 13. Here, the at least one water-cooling pipe 51 can be distributed in the loading area of the wafer to be cooled and is connected to the water-cooling system below the lower cover assembly 11 via the above-mentioned downwardly protruding mounting block 15, so as to uniformly cool the wafers located in the loading area. Here, the cooling plate 13 can be made of aluminum, and the water-cooling pipe 51 can preferably be made of stainless steel pipe to improve the corrosion resistance of the water-cooling pipe 51.

[0042] Compared with directly bending / transferring the water-cooling pipe 51 horizontally or vertically inside or outside the flat cooling plate 13, the present invention realizes the bending / transfer of the water-cooling pipe 51 from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction by designing the downwardly protruding mounting block 15, thereby further improving the reliability of the bending / transfer part. Further, by designing the L-shaped ejector pin bracket 12 to synchronously lift and lower the ejector pins 14, and eccentrically setting the lifting rod through-hole and the lifting rod, the present invention can achieve the consistency of the ejector pin lifting action while avoiding the mounting block 15 in the central area of the cooling plate 13, and ensure the precise height adjustment and leveling of the wafer transfer plane, thus taking into account the cooling efficiency, mechanical reliability and wafer transfer accuracy of the loading cavity.

[0043] Furthermore, the water cooling system can preferably be a cavity constant temperature system, which maintains the cooling tray 13 at a constant temperature by continuously introducing a cooling medium such as facility water into the at least one water cooling pipe 51, and ensures the cooling efficiency.

[0044] In addition, as Figure 5 shown, in the bearing area of the above-mentioned cooling tray 13 for bearing the wafers to be cooled, a plurality of wafer support points 52 can preferably be provided. Here, the height of each of the above-mentioned wafer support points 52 can be determined according to the cooling deformation trend of the above-mentioned wafers. Specifically, for the wafer support points at positions where the cooling deformation trend is upward, their height can be designed to be smaller. On the contrary, for the wafer support points at positions where the cooling deformation trend is downward, their height can be designed to be larger. In this way, the present invention can avoid uneven cooling and warping of the wafers, thereby improving the wafer processing quality.

[0045] Please further refer to Figure 6 . Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the lower structure of the water cooling tray according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0046] As Figure 6 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, a quick-connect self-sealing joint 62 can be provided at the end of the at least one water cooling pipe 51. The water cooling pipe 51 can be connected to the water cooling system via the quick-connect self-sealing joint 62. In this way, the present invention does not require pre-blowing water to empty the pipeline, and avoids leakage of the internal cooling medium during maintenance and replacement, thereby improving the maintenance efficiency of the wafer loading chamber.

[0047] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 7 . Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer loading chamber according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0048] As Figure 1 and Figure 7 shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the wafer loading chamber can preferably include a plurality of horizontally distributed chambers 71, 73 and 72, 74. Here, the horizontally distributed chambers 71, 73 can be respectively sealed and connected by an upper cover assembly 75 and an intermediate partition 77, and the horizontally distributed chambers 72, 74 can be respectively sealed and connected by the intermediate partition 77 and a lower cover assembly 11, for synchronously performing pumping, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end. Here, the backfill gas can be an inert gas such as N2, He, Ar or a mixed gas of different proportions thereof, and is preferably N2 with low cost.

[0049] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber may include an air extraction assembly 76 and a backfill assembly 78. Each of the laterally distributed chambers 72, 74 may have air inlet holes communicating with each other and air outlet holes communicating with each other, for simultaneously performing synchronous evacuation and synchronous backfilling on the laterally distributed chambers 72, 74, thereby further improving the wafer transfer efficiency of the wafer loading chamber.

[0050] In addition, in Figure 7 the illustrated embodiment, the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber may further include a plurality of longitudinally distributed chambers 71-72 and 73-74. Herein, the longitudinally distributed chambers 71-72 may be respectively sealed and connected by an upper cover assembly 75, an intermediate partition 77 and the above-mentioned lower cover assembly 11, for independently performing air extraction, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmosphere end and the vacuum end. Thus, the present invention can simultaneously perform the operations of evacuating and backfilling in the longitudinally distributed chambers 71, 72 respectively, thereby further improving the wafer transfer efficiency of the wafer loading chamber.

[0051] Further, for the second chamber 72 formed by sealing and connecting the intermediate partition 77 and the lower cover assembly 11, the present invention can drive a plurality of thimbles 14 to move up and down in the thimble through holes via a thimble bracket 12 to lift and lower the wafer, so as to reduce the volume of the wafer loading chamber to improve its wafer transfer efficiency. However, for the first chamber 71 formed by sealing and connecting the upper cover assembly 75 and the intermediate partition 77, since the above-mentioned cooling plate structure provided in the first aspect of the present invention cannot be designed, the present invention can carry the wafer via a wafer support disposed above its cooling plate, and the wafer is picked and placed by a lifting robot. Herein, the wafer support is a conventional means in the art, having a circular arc surface matching the outer diameter of the wafer to fix the wafer, and is fastened to the wafer support tray by screws, and then fastened to the bottom surface of the chamber by screws. Compared with the wafer support used in the first chamber 71, the above-mentioned thimble bracket 12 provided by the present invention can effectively reduce the volume of the loading chamber (i.e., above the cooling plate), shorten the time required for evacuating and backfilling the loading chamber, thereby improving the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber.

[0052] Further, as Figure 7As shown, in some embodiments of the present invention, the vertically distributed chambers 71 and 72 may have a stepped decreasing diameter size from top to bottom. The side walls of the four vertically and horizontally distributed chambers 71, 72, 73, and 74 may be provided with corresponding connection interface areas for the observation window assembly. The connection interface areas for the intake and exhaust systems of the upper and lower chambers may be provided at the middle position of the bottom of the cavity. The connection interface area for the pressure monitoring system may be provided at the middle position of the upper surface of the cavity, which is communicated with the upper and lower evacuation holes respectively. The front and rear ends of the cavity may be provided with connection areas for the front and rear end isolation valve assemblies. A ring of 316L stainless steel pipes may be embedded along the outer side of the bottom of the cavity, and can be fixedly connected to the inside of the cavity with high-temperature thermal conductive glue and connected to the cavity constant temperature system. By using 316L stainless steel pipes to connect the cavity constant temperature system, the present invention can improve the corrosion resistance of the cavity while controlling the constant temperature of the loading cavity. Here, the vertically distributed chambers among the four chambers 71, 72, 73, and 74 can be independently controlled for vacuum pumping and backfilling of the atmosphere state, and the wafer loading and transfer do not affect each other, thereby improving the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment. In addition, the horizontally distributed chambers among the four chambers 71, 72, 73, and 74 can simultaneously transfer two wafers to be processed, thus also improving the production capacity of the semiconductor processing equipment.

[0053] Please refer to Figure 8 。 Figure 8 FIG. shows a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0054] As Figure 8 shown, the processing apparatus for semiconductor devices provided according to the second aspect of the present invention may include the above-mentioned wafer loading chamber 81, transfer chamber 82, and reaction chamber 83 provided according to the first aspect of the present invention. Here, the transfer chamber 82 may be located at the above-mentioned vacuum end for transferring wafers between the wafer loading chamber 81 and the reaction chamber 83. The reaction chamber 83 may be located at the above-mentioned vacuum end for processing the wafers. Further, each reaction chamber 83 may preferably be of a double-wafer structure for synchronously performing chemical vapor deposition reactions on two wafers. From Figure 8 this, it can be seen that compared with the reaction chamber 83 that has been in a vacuum environment for a long time, the size of its cavity has no significant impact on the processing efficiency of the wafers. The loading chamber 81 needs to continuously switch between the atmosphere and vacuum environments to achieve wafer transfer. Therefore, by reducing the volume of the loading chamber 81, the present invention can greatly improve the efficiency of vacuum pumping and gas backfilling, thereby improving the wafer transfer efficiency of the loading chamber 81 and enhancing the production capacity of the semiconductor processing apparatus.

[0055] Although the foregoing methods have been illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts not illustrated and described herein or other acts that are understandable to those skilled in the art, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

[0056] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A wafer loading chamber, characterized in that, Comprising: A lower cover assembly, located at the lower part of the wafer loading cavity, with a downwardly recessed bracket receiving groove in the middle thereof, wherein a lifting rod through hole is provided in the bracket receiving groove; A thimble bracket, located in the bracket receiving groove, with a lifting rod connected to its lower part and multiple thimbles connected to its upper part. Among them, the bracket receiving groove and the thimble bracket are in a mutually matching L-shaped structure. The lifting rod extends from below the lower cover assembly to above through the lifting rod through hole to connect the thimble bracket. The thimble bracket moves up and down in the bracket receiving groove under the drive of the lifting rod; and A cooling plate, installed above the thimble bracket and provided with multiple thimble through holes. Among them, the multiple thimbles move up and down in the thimble through holes under the drive of the thimble bracket.

2. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 1, wherein A raised mounting block is further provided at the lower part of the central area of the cooling plate. Among them, the edge area of the cooling plate is fixedly connected to the edge area of the lower cover assembly. The mounting block passes through the central area of the lower cover assembly to be fixedly connected to and mounted on the base of the lower cover assembly. A notch is provided in the central area of the thimble bracket to avoid the mounting block.

3. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lifting rod through hole is eccentrically arranged at the bending position of the bracket receiving groove, and the multiple thimbles are respectively connected to the bending position and two end points of the thimble bracket.

4. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 2, wherein, At least one water cooling pipe is further provided in the cooling plate. Among them, the at least one water cooling pipe is distributed in the loading area of the wafer to be cooled and is bent or transferred from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction via the mounting block to connect to the water cooling system below the lower cover assembly.

5. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 4, wherein The cooling plate is made of aluminum, and the water cooling pipe is selected as a stainless steel pipe.

6. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 4, wherein A quick-insert self-sealing joint is provided at the end of the at least one water cooling pipe, and the at least one water cooling pipe is connected to the water cooling system via the quick-insert self-sealing joint.

7. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a thimble lifting mechanism and a thimble leveling mechanism. Among them, the thimble lifting mechanism is connected to the lifting rod via the thimble leveling mechanism and is used to drive the lifting rod to move up and down in the lifting rod through hole. The thimble leveling mechanism is used to control the thimble bracket to maintain a horizontal posture.

8. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 1, wherein Multiple wafer support points are provided in the loading area of the cooling plate for loading the wafer to be cooled. Among them, the height of each wafer support point is determined according to the cooling deformation trend of the wafer.

9. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 1, wherein It includes multiple horizontally distributed chambers. Among them, each of the horizontally distributed chambers is formed by sealing and connecting an upper cover assembly and the lower cover assembly, and is used for synchronously performing air extraction, backfilling, and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end.

10. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 9, characterized in that, It includes an air extraction assembly and a backfilling assembly. Among them, each of the horizontally distributed chambers has mutually communicating air inlet holes and mutually communicating air outlet holes, and is used for synchronously evacuating and synchronously backfilling each of the horizontally distributed chambers.

11. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 1 or 9, characterized in that, It includes multiple vertically distributed chambers. Among them, the multiple vertically distributed chambers are respectively formed by sealing and connecting an upper cover assembly, an intermediate partition plate, and the lower cover assembly, and are used for independently performing air extraction, backfilling, and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end.

12. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 11, wherein, The first chamber formed by the sealed connection of the middle partition plate and the lower cover assembly drives the multiple ejector pins to move up and down in the ejector pin through holes via the ejector pin bracket to lift and lower the wafer. The second chamber formed by the sealed connection of the upper cover assembly and the middle partition plate bears the wafer via the wafer bracket provided above its cooling plate, and the wafer is picked up and placed by the lifting and lowering robot.

13. The wafer loading chamber according to claim 11, wherein It includes an air extraction assembly and a backfill assembly. Among them, each of the longitudinally distributed chambers has independent air inlet holes and air outlet holes for independently evacuating and independently backfilling each of the longitudinally distributed chambers.

14. A processing device for a semiconductor device, characterized in that, It includes: The wafer loading chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 13, which is used for air extraction, backfilling and wafer transfer between the atmospheric end and the vacuum end; The transfer chamber, which is located at the vacuum end and is used for transferring the wafer between the wafer loading chamber and the reaction chamber; and The reaction chamber, which is located at the vacuum end and is used for processing the wafer.

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