A thin film processing apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a thin film processing device, which comprises: gas inlet and exhaust partitions for separating a longitudinal reaction chamber into a reaction space and a wafer conveying space; a gas inlet area above the gas inlet partition and a gas exhaust area above the exhaust partition; a wafer processing area between the two areas for accommodating a pedestal carrying a wafer to perform a thin film deposition process; the pedestal can be lowered from the wafer processing area to the wafer conveying space, so that the wafer on the pedestal can be transferred to a space outside the reaction chamber by a mechanical arm; a gas inlet flange assembly comprising a plurality of gas inlet nozzles; a gas flow guide assembly comprising flow guide pipes arranged between the gas inlet flange assembly and the wafer processing area, and the gas flow in the plurality of flow guide pipes is independently adjustable. The device can ensure the cleanliness in the reaction space and also realize the regulation and control of the gas flow field distribution in the reaction space, which helps to improve the uniformity of the gas flow distribution and the uniformity of each component, and improves the yield of wafer production.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor equipment, in particular to a thin film processing device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the production process of semiconductor devices, a large number of micro-processing is needed, and the commonly used way is to use the principle of vacuum reaction chamber to process and process semiconductor wafers by using gas deposition or plasma processing technology. According to whether the thin film deposition process contains a chemical reaction, the thin film gas deposition can be divided into physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Among them, CVD is currently the most widely used technology in the semiconductor industry to deposit a variety of materials, including a wide range of insulating materials, most metal materials and metal alloy materials.

[0003] However, as the feature size of semiconductor devices is becoming smaller and the integration of devices is becoming higher, higher and higher requirements are put forward for the uniformity of the gas deposition thin film. Although the thin film deposition device has been updated several times and its performance has been greatly improved, there are still many deficiencies in the uniformity of the thin film deposition. In recent years, with the decrease of the critical dimension (CD) of semiconductor chips, the demand for silicon epitaxial layer growth reactors is increasing. In the growth process of the semiconductor transistor device layer, in addition to the uniformity of the silicon material, the uniformity of the dopant is also an important indicator, but the input amount of the dopant source gas is much smaller than that of the silicon material source gas, so how to accurately adjust the best flow and mixing ratio distribution of the dopant material or silicon material gas on the wafer is particularly important in the design of the silicon epitaxial growth reactor.

[0004] In the thin film deposition process, the growth environment of the wafer thin film is very harsh, and various process conditions will affect the uniformity of the wafer surface thin film deposition, such as the cleanliness of the reaction space, the direction and distribution of the process gas flow, the uniformity of the gas flow field, the heating temperature field of the wafer, the pressure distribution in the reaction chamber, etc., which directly determine the quality of the wafer deposition thin film. If the process environment of the wafer reaction area in the reaction chamber is not completely consistent, it will cause the wafer surface to deposit a thin film with uneven thickness, uneven composition, uneven physical properties and other adverse phenomena, thereby reducing the yield of wafer production. However, in actual application, the process environment in the reaction chamber is often complex, and it is difficult to achieve precise control, especially the distribution of the process gas flow field. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing thin film processing device to improve the uniformity of the wafer thin film deposition. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide a thin film processing device, the gas inlet partition and the gas outlet partition of which divide the reaction chamber into an upper reaction space and a lower wafer transfer space, when wafer transfer is needed, the pedestal carrying the wafer is lowered to the wafer transfer space, and the device further comprises a gas inlet flange assembly and a gas flow guide assembly, the gas flow guide assembly comprises a plurality of gas flow independently adjustable guide pipes, the device can regulate the gas flow field distribution in the reaction space during the process while ensuring the cleanliness of the reaction space for thin film deposition process, which helps to improve the uniformity of the gas flow distribution and the uniformity of each component, ensures the effect of wafer thin film deposition, and improves the yield of wafer thin film production.

[0006] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application is realized by the following technical scheme:

[0007] A thin film processing device comprises:

[0008] An elongated reaction chamber is surrounded by a reaction chamber top wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, and further comprises a gas inlet end opening and a gas outlet end opening;

[0009] A gas inlet partition and a gas outlet partition are respectively arranged near the gas inlet end opening and the gas outlet end opening in the reaction chamber, so as to divide the reaction chamber into an upper reaction space and a lower wafer transfer space;

[0010] The gas inlet partition is above the gas inlet area, and the gas outlet partition is above the gas outlet area, and the wafer processing area between the gas inlet area and the gas outlet area is used to accommodate the pedestal carrying the wafer to carry out the thin film deposition process;

[0011] The pedestal can be lowered from the wafer processing area to the wafer transfer space, so that the wafer on the pedestal can be transferred to the space outside the reaction chamber by the mechanical arm;

[0012] A gas inlet flange assembly is arranged at the gas inlet end opening, and comprises a plurality of gas inlet nozzles arranged in parallel with the gas inlet partition;

[0013] The gas inlet area further comprises a gas flow guide assembly, and the gas flow guide assembly comprises a plurality of guide pipes extending in the longitudinal direction, the guide pipes are arranged between the gas inlet flange assembly and the wafer processing area, and the gas flow in the plurality of guide pipes is independently adjustable.

[0014] Optionally, the first end of the plurality of guide pipes is communicated to at least one gas inlet nozzle of the gas inlet flange assembly, and the second end of the guide pipe has a gas diffusion gap with the wafer processing area.

[0015] Optionally, among the plurality of the gas flow guide pipes, the second end of the first gas flow guide pipe has a first gas outlet, and the second end of the second gas flow guide pipe has a second gas outlet, and the gas outlets of the first gas outlet and the second gas outlet have an included angle therebetween.

[0016] Optionally, the first gas flow guide pipe is used for conveying a first gas, and the second gas flow guide pipe is used for conveying a second gas.

[0017] Optionally, the length of the second gas flow guide pipe is greater than the length of the first gas flow guide pipe, and the gas diffusion gap of the second end of the second gas flow guide pipe is smaller than the gas diffusion gap of the second end of the first gas flow guide pipe.

[0018] Optionally, the first gas flow guide pipe corresponds to a center region or a middle region of the wafer, and the second gas flow guide pipe is close to the side wall of the reaction chamber and corresponds to an edge region of the wafer.

[0019] Optionally, the second gas outlet of the second gas flow guide pipe is directed towards the center of the wafer.

[0020] Optionally, two second gas flow guide pipes are respectively arranged close to the side wall on both sides of the reaction chamber.

[0021] Optionally, the first ends of the plurality of gas flow guide pipes are connected to at least two gas inlets, and the gas outlets of the two gas inlets are mixed before reaching the second ends of the gas flow guide pipes.

[0022] Optionally, the gas inlet flange assembly comprises a wafer transfer port corresponding to a wafer transfer space in the reaction chamber.

[0023] Optionally, the gas inlet flange assembly comprises a purge gas supply plate below the wafer transfer port, and the purge gas supply plate is provided with a purge gas passage to provide purge gas, and the purge gas is sprayed upwards from the purge gas supply plate into the wafer transfer port and flows into the wafer transfer space.

[0024] Optionally, the gas inlet flange assembly comprises a gas inlet flange body and a gas inlet flange baffle, the gas inlet flange body is provided with a plurality of grooves, and the gas inlet flange baffle is arranged on one side of the opening of the groove to cover the groove to form a gas inlet passage.

[0025] Optionally, the gas inlet flange assembly comprises a groove structure, and one end of the gas flow guide assembly is arranged in the groove structure to make the gas flow guide pipes communicate with the gas inlets.

[0026] Optionally, the gas flow guide pipe comprises a vertical passage and a horizontal passage, and a uniform gas chamber is arranged between the vertical passage and the horizontal passage.

[0027] Optionally, the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate and the bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate and the top wall of the reaction chamber.

[0028] Optionally, the gas outlet nozzle of the gas flow guide pipe of the gas flow guide assembly is conical, circular, elliptical or square.

[0029] Optionally, the gas flow guide pipe is provided with a plurality of gas outlet nozzles.

[0030] Optionally, the gas outlet direction of the gas outlet nozzle of the gas flow guide pipe is inclined upward.

[0031] Optionally, the second end of at least one of the plurality of gas flow guide pipes has a plurality of gas outlet nozzles stacked vertically.

[0032] Optionally, the gas outlet end surface of the gas flow guide assembly is concentrically arranged with the wafer to be processed.

[0033] Optionally, the gas flow guide assembly is integrally formed.

[0034] Optionally, the longitudinal reaction chamber is an integrated reaction chamber made of quartz, and the transverse width of the gas inlet end opening and the gas outlet end opening is greater than the height of the reaction chamber.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following advantages:

[0036] In the thin film processing device of the present application, the gas inlet partition plate and the gas outlet partition plate divide the reaction chamber into an upper reaction space and a lower wafer transfer space. When the wafer needs to be transferred, the wafer-carrying pedestal is lowered into the wafer transfer space. The device also includes a gas inlet flange assembly and a gas flow guide assembly. The gas flow guide assembly includes a plurality of gas flow independent adjustable guide pipes. The device can not only ensure the cleanliness of the reaction space during the thin film deposition process, but also can control the gas flow field distribution in the reaction space during the process, which helps to improve the uniformity of the gas flow distribution and the uniformity of each component, ensures the effect of wafer thin film deposition, and improves the yield of wafer thin film production.

[0037] Further, the gas inlet flange assembly and the gas flow guide assembly of the device can be used to transport different reaction gases. According to the requirements of the process conditions, the gas flow in each guide pipe is adjusted, the gas distribution state in the wafer processing area is flexibly controlled, which helps to form a uniform gas flow field, and also realizes the adjustment and control of each process gas entering the wafer surface. In the case of not damaging the vacuum degree, the process gas enters the reaction chamber in a way that is beneficial to the process, and the film formation uniformity is improved.

[0038] Further, the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate and the bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate and the top wall of the reaction chamber, the height of the reaction space for completing the process is less than the height of the wafer transfer space, the volume of the reaction space is small, which is beneficial to the formation of the process gas flow field in the thin film deposition process, helps to improve the utilization rate of the process gas and the cold and hot temperature control precision in the process, and reduces the production cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a thin film processing device according to the present application;

[0040] Figure 2 An assembly diagram of a gas inlet flange assembly and a gas guide assembly according to the present application;

[0041] Figure 3a A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, each side edge of which contains two guide pipes;

[0042] Figure 3b A front view of the gas guide assembly according to the present application; Figure 3a

[0043] Figure 3c A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, one side edge of which contains two guide pipes;

[0044] Figure 3d A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, each side edge of which contains one guide pipe;

[0045] Figure 3e A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, one side edge of which contains one guide pipe;

[0046] Figure 3f A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, each side edge of which contains three guide pipes;

[0047] Figure 3g A schematic diagram of a gas guide assembly according to the present application, one side edge of which contains three guide pipes;

[0048] Figure 4a A schematic diagram of a gas outlet nozzle of a guide pipe according to the present application;

[0049] Figure 4b A schematic diagram of another gas outlet nozzle of a guide pipe according to the present application;

[0050] Figure 5a A schematic diagram of a plurality of gas outlet nozzles according to the present application;

[0051] Figure 5b A schematic diagram of another plurality of gas outlet nozzles according to the present application; ​

[0052] Figure 6a Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an air outlet nozzle according to the present application;

[0053] Figure 6b Fig. 2 is a schematic view of another air outlet nozzle according to the present application;

[0054] Figure 6c Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a further air outlet nozzle according to the present application;

[0055] Figure 6d Fig. 4 is a schematic view of another air outlet nozzle according to the present application;

[0056] Figure 7 Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an air inlet flange assembly according to the present application;

[0057] Figure 8 Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an air inlet flange assembly according to the present application;

[0058] Figure 9 Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a film handling device according to the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In order to make the objects, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0060] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising", "including", "having" or any other variant thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that processes, methods, articles, or terminal devices including a series of elements not only include those elements, but also include other elements not explicitly listed, or further include inherent elements of such processes, methods, articles, or terminal devices. Without more limitations, the elements defined by the statement "comprising" or "including" do not exclude the presence of additional elements in the processes, methods, articles, or terminal devices including the elements.

[0061] It should be noted that the drawings are very simplified and use non-precise ratios, and are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in illustrating the purposes of the embodiments of the present application.

[0062] As Figure 1As shown, it is a schematic diagram of a thin film processing apparatus (chemical vapor deposition apparatus CVD) of the present application, which comprises an elongated reaction chamber 100, which can be used to process one or more wafers W, including depositing material on the upper surface of the wafer W. The reaction chamber 100 is surrounded by a reaction chamber 100 top wall 101 at the top end, a bottom wall 102 at the bottom end, and side walls extending between the top wall 101 and the bottom wall 102 on both sides. Optionally, the top wall 101 and the bottom wall 102 are made of optically transparent or translucent material transparent to thermal energy (such as quartz material transparent to specific infrared wavebands).

[0063] The reaction chamber 100 also includes an inlet end opening 103 and an exhaust end opening 104, and the reaction chamber 100 is provided with an inlet baffle 105 and an exhaust baffle 106 near the inlet end opening 103 and the exhaust end opening 104, respectively. The inlet baffle 105 and the exhaust baffle 106 divide the reaction chamber 100 into an upper reaction space A and a lower wafer transfer space B. Further, the inlet baffle 105 is above the inlet region, and the exhaust baffle 106 is above the exhaust region. The wafer processing region between the inlet region and the exhaust region is used to accommodate the susceptor 110 carrying the wafer W to perform the thin film deposition process. The process gas for deposition flows into the reaction chamber 100 from the inlet end opening 103, performs the thin film deposition process in the wafer processing region, and is discharged from the reaction chamber 100 from the exhaust end opening 104.

[0064] In this embodiment, the elongated reaction chamber 100 is a one-piece reaction chamber made of quartz, and the transverse width of the inlet end opening 103 and the exhaust end opening 104 is greater than the height of the reaction chamber 100.

[0065] In the present embodiment, the pedestal 110 includes a wafer carrier 111 and a support frame 112, the front surface of the wafer carrier 111 is used to carry one or more wafers W for performing thin film deposition process, the support frame 112 is disposed below the wafer carrier 111 and used to support the wafer carrier 111, the support frame 112 can be made of non-metallic material (such as quartz) to reduce the risk of contamination. Further, the pedestal 110 can be lowered from the wafer processing area of the reaction space A to the wafer transfer space B, so that the wafer W on the pedestal 110 can be transferred to the outside of the reaction chamber 100 by the robot. In the process state, the wafer carrier 111 is at the same height as the gas inlet partition plate 105 and the gas outlet partition plate 106 to isolate the reaction space A and the wafer transfer space B, and the two spaces are independent of each other to avoid affecting the thin film deposition process of the wafer W. After the wafer W thin film processing process is completed, the height of the wafer carrier 111 of the pedestal 110 is lowered, so that the wafer carrier 111 together with the wafer W thereon is located in the wafer transfer space B, so that the wafer W can be transferred by the robot. The wafer W is operated in the wafer transfer space B below the wafer processing area, avoiding contamination of the wafer processing area by the robot during wafer transfer, which helps to maintain the cleanliness of the wafer processing area, further ensures that the wafer W will not be contaminated by particles or other metals during the process, and ensures the quality of the wafer W thin film deposition.

[0066] Further, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in combination, the thin film processing device further includes a gas inlet flange assembly 120 disposed at the gas inlet end opening 103, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 includes a plurality of gas inlet channels 121 for conveying process gas, the gas inlet channels 121 include a plurality of gas inlet nozzles 122 arranged in parallel with the gas inlet partition plate 105. The gas inlet area above the gas inlet partition plate 105 also includes a gas flow guide assembly 130, the gas flow guide assembly 130 includes a plurality of flow guide pipes 131 extending in the longitudinal direction, the flow guide pipes 131 are disposed between the gas inlet flange assembly 120 and the wafer processing area, and the gas flow in each of the plurality of flow guide pipes 131 is independently adjustable. The process gas in the gas inlet channels 121 enters the flow guide pipes 131 through the gas inlet nozzles 122, and then enters the reaction chamber 100 through the gas outlet nozzles 132 of the flow guide pipes 131. According to the requirements of the process conditions, the gas flow in each flow guide pipe 131 is adjusted to flexibly control the distribution of the process gas in the wafer processing area, which helps to form a uniform process gas flow field, and also realizes the adjustment and control of each process gas entering the surface of the wafer W, so that the process gas enters the reaction chamber 100 in a way that is beneficial to the process without destroying the vacuum degree, and improves the film uniformity.

[0067] For example, asFigure 2 As shown, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 comprises a groove structure 128, and one end of the gas guide assembly 130 is arranged in the groove structure 128 so that the first end of the guide pipe 131 is in communication with at least one of the gas injection ports 122.

[0068] Optionally, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 is made of metal material, and the gas guide assembly 130 is made of quartz, alumina, titania or graphite, etc. The present application is not limited in this regard as long as it does not affect the vacuum environment in the reaction chamber 100.

[0069] Optionally, the first end of each of the guide pipes 131 is in communication with at least one of the gas injection ports 122 of the gas inlet flange assembly 120, and the second end of the guide pipe 131 is in a gas diffusion gap with the wafer processing area. That is, each guide pipe 131 contains at least one process gas, and the process gas in the guide pipe 131 does not immediately enter the wafer processing area after being introduced into the reaction chamber 100, but first diffuses in the gas diffusion gap and then enters the wafer processing area to participate in the reaction, effectively expanding the diffusion range of the process gas and making the process gas in the wafer processing area more evenly distributed to obtain better film uniformity.

[0070] On the other hand, when the first end of the guide pipe 131 is in communication with two or more (at least two) gas injection ports 122 of the gas inlet flange assembly 120, the process gas injected from each gas injection port 122 is mixed before reaching the second end of the guide pipe 131. If the process gas delivered by each gas injection port 122 connected to the guide pipe 131 is the same, the guide pipe 131 can obtain a higher gas flow speed, which is suitable for delivering a large amount of process gas; if the process gas delivered by each gas injection port 122 connected to the guide pipe 131 is different, the process gas delivered by each gas injection port 122 has been pre-mixed in the guide pipe 131, and when the mixed gas is output from the guide pipe 131 to the reaction chamber 100, it has a higher mixing degree and can be quickly applied to the process reaction, which also ensures the uniformity of the components of the mixed gas and helps to improve the component uniformity of the wafer W thin film deposition and ensure the yield of wafer W production.

[0071] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 comprises a plurality of gas injection ports 122, and the gas guide assembly 130 comprises a plurality of guide pipes 131, each of which is in communication with at least one of the gas injection ports 122. Figure 3aAs shown, among the plurality of the gas flow guide pipes 131 of the gas flow guide assembly 130, the second end of the first gas flow guide pipe 133 has a first gas outlet 134, and the second end of the second gas flow guide pipe 135 has a second gas outlet 136, and there is an included angle between the gas sprayed from the first gas outlet 134 and the second gas outlet 136. The first gas flow guide pipe 133 and the second gas flow guide pipe 135 respectively transport the process gas to the reaction chamber 100 from different directions, flexibly control the distribution of the process gas in the reaction chamber 100 from multiple angles, increase the diffusion range and diffusion speed of the gas, and help to improve the uniformity of the process gas distribution.

[0072] Optionally, the first gas flow guide pipe 133 is used to transport the first gas, and the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is used to transport the second gas, that is, the gases transported by the two gas flow guide pipes 131 are different, and the directions of the gas transportation of the two gases have an included angle. The mixing process of the two gases starts after the two gases are output from the gas flow guide pipes 131. The two gases can have a certain degree of mixing when reaching the wafer W, and the diffusion area is not too large and cannot be effectively controlled. Especially when the second gas flow guide pipe 135 flows in the doping gas (a precursor gas containing phosphorus or boron), since the flow of the doping gas is much smaller than that of the silicon source gas flowing in the first gas flow guide pipe 133, and the doping gas is relatively close to the edge region of the wafer than the first gas, the controllable adjustment of the distribution of the doping gas on the wafer surface in the process can be realized, which is beneficial to obtain better film uniformity and film quality. At the same time, compared with the parallel transportation direction, the present application makes the transportation directions of different gases have an included angle, which helps to quickly mix various gases in the reaction chamber 100, so that the wafer processing area obtains a reaction gas flow field with higher doping degree and more uniform gas distribution, improves the control accuracy of the process, and accurately regulates the process.

[0073] As shown in the drawings, Figure 1 , Figure 3a and Figure 3b In the embodiment, the first gas flow guide pipe 133 corresponds to the center region or the middle region of the wafer W, and the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is close to the side wall of the reaction chamber 100 and corresponds to the edge region of the wafer W. For example, the first gas flow guide pipe 133 is used to transport the main reaction gas to the wafer processing area, and the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is used to transport the auxiliary reaction gas to the wafer processing area. The transportation directions of the main reaction gas and the auxiliary reaction gas have an included angle, so that the two gases are quickly mixed in the reaction chamber 100.

[0074] Further, the length of the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is greater than the length of the first gas flow guide pipe 133, and the gas diffusion gap of the second end of the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is smaller than the gas diffusion gap of the second end of the first gas flow guide pipe 133. The length of the delivery path of the secondary reaction gas is greater than the length of the delivery path of the primary reaction gas, which helps to regulate the delivery speed of the two kinds of reaction gases.

[0075] In the embodiment, the included angle between the gases sprayed by the first gas outlet 134 and the second gas outlet 136 is a right angle. Specifically, the gas direction of the first gas outlet 134 of the first gas flow guide pipe 133 is parallel to the side wall of the reaction chamber 100, and the gas direction of the second gas outlet 136 of the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is perpendicular to the side wall of the reaction chamber 100.

[0076] As Figure 1 and Figure 3a In combination with the drawings, in the embodiment, each of the second gas flow guide pipes 135 is arranged near the side wall on both sides of the reaction chamber 100. Of course, according to the process requirements, the second gas flow guide pipe 135 can also be arranged on only one side of the reaction chamber 100 (see Figure 3c ). The number of second gas flow guide pipes 135 on each side is not limited, and can be regulated according to the required amount or required speed of the secondary gas and other factors, so as to meet the process requirements for the accuracy of regulating the secondary gas (see Figures 3d-3g ).

[0077] The end surface of the gas outlet of the gas flow guide assembly 130 is arranged as a concentric circle with the wafer W to be processed, so that the walking path lengths of the gases delivered by the gas outlets 132 in the reaction chamber 100 are similar, which helps to regulate the reaction gases. Optionally, the gas outlet directions of the gas flow guide pipes 131 of the gas flow guide assembly 130 are different. For example, the gas outlet direction of the first gas flow guide pipe 133 is parallel to the side wall of the reaction chamber 100, and the gas outlet directions of the second gas flow guide pipes 135 are all directed to the center of the wafer W, i.e., the second gas outlet 136 of the second gas flow guide pipe 135 is directed to the center of the wafer W. First, the first gas flow guide pipe 133 delivers the first gas to the wafer processing area, so that the first gas is widely distributed in the wafer processing area. Then, the second gas flow guide pipe 135 delivers the second gas from the edge of the wafer W to the center area of the wafer W in all directions, which helps to quickly mix the two kinds of gases, improves the uniformity of the mixed gas, and improves the film forming effect.

[0078] Further, the horizontal degree of the gas outlet direction of each of the gas guide pipes 131 is not limited, and the gas outlet direction can be upward, downward or parallel to the base 110 according to the requirement. For example, when the conveying direction of the first gas guide pipe 133 is parallel to the base 110 and the gas outlet direction of the second gas guide pipe 135 is downward, the mixed gas can quickly reach the surface of the wafer W. In another embodiment, the gas outlet directions of the first gas guide pipe 133 and the second gas guide pipe 135 are both upward, and the first gas and the second gas conveyed by the two gas guide pipes are mixed above the wafer W first, and then the mixed gas diffuses to the surface of the wafer W to perform the thin film deposition process of the wafer W, which helps to improve the uniformity of the thin film deposition.

[0079] Optionally, the gas guide pipe 131 is provided with a plurality of gas outlet nozzles 132, so that the process gas is dispersedly flowed into the wafer processing area to ensure the process effect (see Figure 4a ). Of course, the number of the gas outlet nozzles 132 of the gas guide pipe 131 is not limited to the above, and one gas outlet nozzle 132 can also be provided according to the actual requirement (see Figure 4b ), which is not limited by the present application. Optionally, the second end of at least one of the plurality of gas guide pipes 131 has a plurality of gas outlet nozzles 132 stacked vertically (see Figure 5a and Figure 5b ). Optionally, the shape of the gas outlet nozzle 132 of the gas guide pipe 131 of the gas guide assembly 130 is conical, circular, elliptical or square, and the size of the gas outlet nozzle 132 and the relative relationship between the size of the gas outlet nozzle 132 and the gas guide pipe 131 can also be set according to the actual requirement (see Figures 6a-6d ) to regulate the flow speed of the process gas, which is not limited by the present application.

[0080] In the embodiment, the gas guide assembly 130 is integrally formed. Of course, the gas guide assembly 130 can also be spliced by several parts, which is not limited by the present application. For example, in another embodiment, the gas guide assembly 130 is spliced by a second gas guide assembly and first and third gas guide assemblies located on both sides of the second gas guide assembly to reduce the processing difficulty, and different gas guide assembly modules can be called according to the actual process requirement.

[0081] As Figure 1 , Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 comprises a wafer transfer port 123 corresponding to a wafer transfer space B in the reaction chamber 100. When the robot transfers the wafer W, the wafer W enters the wafer transfer space B from the wafer transfer port 123 without touching the reaction space A above, avoiding the robot from contaminating the reaction space A when entering and leaving, and helping to maintain the cleanliness of the reaction space A to maintain a good process reaction environment.

[0082] Further, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 comprises a purge gas supply plate 124 below the wafer transfer port 123, the purge gas supply plate 124 is provided with purge gas channels to provide purge gas, the purge gas is sprayed upward from the purge gas supply plate 124 into the wafer transfer port 123 and flows into the wafer transfer space B, and the purge gas is uniformly distributed in the width direction of the chamber. Further, in this embodiment, another path of purge gas is provided along the support frame 112 of the pedestal 110, and the purge gas is uniformly distributed in the vertical direction of the chamber, and the two paths of purge gas work together to protect the wafer transfer space B during the process, prevent the reaction gas from diffusing downward to the wafer transfer space B, and reduce the generation of by-products.

[0083] In this embodiment, the gas inlet channel 121 of the gas inlet flange assembly 120 and the flow guide pipe 131 of the gas flow guide assembly 130 both comprise vertical channels and horizontal channels, and a uniform gas chamber 125 is arranged between the vertical channels and the horizontal channels, so that the gas transported by the gas inlet channel 121 or the flow guide pipe 131 is premixed during transportation. Alternatively, the gas inlet channels 121 or the flow guide pipes 131 can be staggered (see Figure 8 and Figure 2 ).

[0084] As shown in Figure 7 , the gas inlet flange assembly 120 comprises a gas inlet flange body 126 and a gas inlet flange baffle 127, the gas inlet flange body 126 is provided with a plurality of grooves, and the gas inlet flange baffle 127 is arranged on one side of the opening of the groove to cover the groove to form the vertical channel of the gas inlet channel 121. The gas inlet flange assembly 120 is composed of two parts, which reduces the processing difficulty. Of course, the structure of the gas inlet flange assembly 120 is not limited to the above, and according to the process requirements or the processing level, the gas inlet flange assembly 120 can also be integrally formed, and the present application does not limit this.

[0085] In the embodiment, the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate 105 and the bottom wall 102 of the reaction chamber 100 is greater than the height difference between the gas inlet partition plate 105 and the top wall 101 of the reaction chamber 100, that is, the height of the reaction space A for completing the process is less than the height of the wafer conveying space B for conveying the wafer W, the volume of the reaction space A is smaller, which is beneficial to the formation of the process gas flow field in the thin film deposition process, helps to improve the effective utilization of the process gas and the cold and hot temperature control accuracy in the process, and reduces the production cost.

[0086] Further, in order to strengthen the mechanical strength of the reaction chamber 100, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 108 can be arranged on the outer wall of the reaction chamber 100. Figure 9 As shown in the drawings, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 108 are arranged on the top wall 101 and the bottom wall 102 of the reaction chamber 100 to enhance the mechanical strength of the reaction chamber 100 and improve the pressure bearing capacity. Optionally, the reaction chamber 100 and the reinforcing ribs 108 are both made of quartz, which reduces the processing difficulty of the equipment and further ensures the tightness of the combination of the two.

[0087] In summary, the thin film processing device of the present application divides the reaction chamber 100 into the upper reaction space A and the lower wafer conveying space B by the gas inlet partition plate 105 and the gas outlet partition plate 106, and when the wafer W needs to be conveyed, the susceptor 110 carrying the wafer W is lowered to the wafer conveying space B, and the device further comprises a gas inlet flange assembly 120 and a gas flow guide assembly 130, the gas flow guide assembly 130 comprises a plurality of gas flow independent adjustable guide pipes 131, which can ensure the cleanliness of the reaction space A for performing the thin film deposition process, and can also realize the regulation and control of the gas flow field distribution in the reaction space A in the process, which helps to improve the uniformity of the gas flow distribution and the uniformity of each component, ensures the effect of the wafer W thin film deposition, and improves the yield of the wafer W thin film production.

[0088] Although the content of the present application has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be recognized that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present application. After reading the above content, various modifications and alternatives of the present application will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A thin film processing apparatus, characterized by, A thin film processing apparatus comprises: a longitudinal reaction chamber surrounded by a reaction chamber top wall, a bottom wall and two side walls, and further comprising an inlet end opening and an outlet end opening; a gas inlet baffle and a gas outlet baffle are respectively arranged near the inlet end opening and the outlet end opening in the reaction chamber, so as to divide the reaction chamber into an upper reaction space and a lower wafer transfer space; a gas inlet area above the gas inlet baffle and a gas outlet area above the gas outlet baffle, and a wafer processing area between the gas inlet area and the gas outlet area for accommodating a susceptor carrying a wafer to perform a thin film deposition process; the susceptor can be lowered from the wafer processing area to the wafer transfer space, so that the wafer on the susceptor can be transferred to a space outside the reaction chamber by a robot arm; a gas inlet flange assembly arranged at the inlet end opening, comprising a plurality of gas inlet nozzles arranged in parallel with the gas inlet baffle; the gas inlet area further comprises a gas flow guide assembly, which comprises a plurality of flow guide pipes extending in the longitudinal direction, the flow guide pipes being arranged between the gas inlet flange assembly and the wafer processing area, and the gas flow in the plurality of flow guide pipes being independently adjustable; of the plurality of flow guide pipes, a second end of a first flow guide pipe has a first gas outlet nozzle, and a second end of a second flow guide pipe has a second gas outlet nozzle, and there is an included angle between the gases emitted by the first gas outlet nozzle and the second gas outlet nozzle.

2. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: first ends of the plurality of flow guide pipes are connected to at least one gas inlet nozzle of the gas inlet flange assembly, and second ends of the flow guide pipes have a gas diffusion gap with the wafer processing area.

3. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first flow guide pipe is used to transport a first gas, and the second flow guide pipe is used to transport a second gas.

4. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: a length of the second flow guide pipe is greater than a length of the first flow guide pipe, and a gas diffusion gap at the second end of the second flow guide pipe is smaller than a gas diffusion gap at the second end of the first flow guide pipe.

5. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first flow guide pipe corresponds to a center region or a middle region of the wafer, and the second flow guide pipe is close to the side wall of the reaction chamber and corresponds to an edge region of the wafer.

6. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein: the second gas outlet nozzle of the second flow guide pipe is directed towards the center of the wafer.

7. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 5, wherein: two second flow guide pipes are respectively arranged near the side wall on both sides of the reaction chamber.

8. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: first ends of the plurality of flow guide pipes are connected to at least two gas inlet nozzles, and the gases emitted by the two gas inlet nozzles are mixed before reaching the second ends of the flow guide pipes.

9. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the gas inlet flange assembly comprises a wafer transfer port corresponding to the wafer transfer space in the reaction chamber.

10. The thin film processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein: The gas inlet flange assembly comprises a purge gas supply plate below the wafer transfer port, the purge gas supply plate is provided with purge gas channels to provide purge gas, the purge gas is sprayed upward from the purge gas supply plate into the wafer transfer port and flows into the wafer transfer space.

11. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The gas inlet flange assembly comprises a gas inlet flange body and a gas inlet flange baffle, the gas inlet flange body is provided with a plurality of grooves, and the gas inlet flange baffle is arranged on one side of the opening of the groove to cover the groove to form a gas inlet channel.

12. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The gas inlet flange assembly comprises a groove structure, and one end of the gas flow guide assembly is arranged in the groove structure to make the flow guide pipe communicate with the gas inlet nozzle.

13. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The flow guide pipe comprises a vertical channel and a horizontal channel, and a uniform gas chamber is arranged between the vertical channel and the horizontal channel.

14. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The height difference between the gas inlet baffle and the bottom wall of the reaction chamber is greater than the height difference between the gas inlet baffle and the top wall of the reaction chamber.

15. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The gas outlet nozzle of the flow guide pipe of the gas flow guide assembly is conical or circular or elliptical or square; And / or, the flow guide pipe is provided with a plurality of gas outlet nozzles; And / or, the gas outlet direction of the gas outlet nozzle of the flow guide pipe is inclined upward.

16. The thin film processing device of claim 1 or 2 or 15, wherein, The second end of at least one flow guide pipe in the plurality of flow guide pipes is provided with a plurality of gas outlet nozzles stacked vertically.

17. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The end surface of the gas outlet end of the gas flow guide assembly is arranged as a concentric circle with the wafer to be processed.

18. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The gas flow guide assembly is integrally formed.

19. The thin film processing device of claim 1, wherein, The longitudinal reaction chamber is an integrated reaction chamber made of quartz, and the horizontal width of the gas inlet end opening and the gas outlet end opening is greater than the height of the reaction chamber.

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