Shower plate assembly and thin film deposition equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a spray plate assembly and a thin film deposition device. The spray plate assembly comprises: a spray plate and an upper cover plate. The upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, and an air inlet is provided at the center of the upper cover plate. Multiple rows of ventilation units are radially arranged on the upper cover plate from the air inlet, and the lower parts of the multiple rows of ventilation units penetrate the lower surface of the upper cover plate and ventilate toward the upper part of the spray plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and in particular to thin film deposition equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor processing process, such as the thin film deposition process, a shower plate is used to spray gas onto the semiconductor surface to be processed. In the spray chamber inside the shower plate, how to enhance the uniformity of the gas flow inside the chamber is crucial to improving the process quality of the product.

[0003] Usually, when the gas pipeline is passed to the spray assembly, the gas slowly diffuses from the middle to the edge, resulting in the target film having a stepped thickness and poor thickness uniformity, generally thick in the middle and thin at the edge, which will affect the product yield and even cause product abnormalities.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a shower plate assembly that can improve the uniformity of thin film deposition. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to improve the problems of uneven reaction gas flow and uneven film formation in a thin film deposition process of a thin film deposition device, the present invention provides a shower plate assembly.

[0006] The spray plate assembly includes a spray plate and an upper cover plate. The upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, and has an air inlet at its center. Multiple rows of ventilation units are radially arranged on the upper cover plate from the air inlet, and the lower parts of the multiple rows of ventilation units penetrate the lower surface of the upper cover plate and ventilate toward the upper part of the spray plate.

[0007] In one embodiment, each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and a plurality of circular tubes, the duct is arranged axially along the radial direction of the upper cover plate, one end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed; the plurality of circular tubes are arranged side by side, the axial directions of the plurality of circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct, the upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate, and the apertures of the plurality of circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumferential direction of the upper cover plate.

[0008] In one embodiment, the air inlet is communicated with a lower portion of an air inlet pipeline, and a side surface of the lower portion of the air inlet pipeline is provided with a plurality of through holes, which are respectively communicated with the conduit.

[0009] In one embodiment, a plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate.

[0010] In one embodiment, the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

[0011] In one embodiment, the tip of the water drop shape faces toward the center of the shower plate.

[0012] The present invention also provides a thin film deposition device comprising the spray assembly.

[0013] The thin film deposition equipment comprises an air intake pipeline, a shower plate assembly and a reaction chamber.

[0014] The spray plate assembly comprises a spray plate and an upper cover plate.

[0015] Among them, the upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, and the spray plate is located above the reaction chamber. The center of the upper cover plate has an air inlet, and the air inlet pipeline is connected to the air inlet. The upper cover plate is radially arranged with multiple rows of ventilation units extending radially from the air inlet. The lower part of the multiple rows of ventilation units passes through the lower surface of the upper cover plate and ventilates toward the upper part of the spray plate.

[0016] In one embodiment, each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and a plurality of circular tubes, the duct is arranged axially along the radial direction of the upper cover plate, one end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed; the plurality of circular tubes are arranged side by side, the axial directions of the plurality of circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct, the upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate, and the apertures of the plurality of circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumferential direction of the upper cover plate.

[0017] In one embodiment, a side surface of the lower portion of the air intake pipeline is provided with a plurality of through holes, which are respectively connected to the conduit.

[0018] In one embodiment, a plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate.

[0019] In one embodiment, the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

[0020] In one embodiment, the tip of the water drop shape faces toward the center of the shower plate.

[0021] According to the technical solution of the present invention, after the reaction gas enters the top of the chamber of the thin film deposition equipment, it passes through the circular tubes with gradually increasing apertures on the upper cover plate and the impedance effect of the spray holes, and the air flow rate gradually increases from the center to the edge of the spray plate and evenly reaches the sample stage in the chamber. The uniformity of the air pressure in the spray channel is improved, and the amount of air sprayed from each area of ​​the outlet surface is more balanced, thereby improving the uniformity of the sample coating. In addition, several circles of water drop-shaped through-hole spray holes are distributed on the spray plate; and the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the overall arrangement is in a swirl type. This structure makes the air intake more sufficient and uniform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above invention content and the following specific embodiments of the present invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are only examples of the claimed invention. In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0024] Figure 2 A bottom view of an upper cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0025] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of an upper cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0026] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of an upper cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0027] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the arrangement of spray holes on a spray plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0028] Figure 6 A partial schematic diagram of a shower plate according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are described in detail in the specific embodiments below, and the content is sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art to understand the technical content of the present invention and implement it accordingly, and according to the description, claims and drawings disclosed in this specification, those skilled in the art can easily understand the relevant purposes and advantages of the present invention. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiment, 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 options 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 using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0030] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" 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 a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0031] In addition, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal" and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the directions shown in the paragraph and the related drawings. Such relative terms are only used for the convenience of description and do not mean that the device described therein must be manufactured or operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0032] It is understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. may be used herein to describe various components, channels, components, regions, layers and / or parts, these components, channels, components, regions, layers and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, channels, components, regions, layers and / or parts. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0033] As shown in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an", "an" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular and may also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "include" and "comprise" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0034] In some embodiments, the numerals describing the composition and the number of attributes are used. It should be understood that such numerals or numerical parameters used for the embodiment description can be approximate values, and the approximate values ​​can be changed according to the required characteristics of the individual embodiments. In certain embodiments, the numerical parameters should consider the significant digits of the regulations and adopt the method of retaining the general digits. Although the numerical domain and the parameters used to confirm the breadth of the range in some embodiments of the present application are approximate values, in a specific embodiment, the setting of such numerical values ​​is as accurate as possible within the feasible range.

[0035] At the same time, the present application uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present application. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or more in different positions in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, some features, structures or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application can be appropriately combined.

[0036] When the gas pipeline is passed to the traditional spray assembly, the gas slowly diffuses from the middle to the edge, resulting in a stepped thickness of the target film with poor thickness uniformity, generally thick in the middle and thin at the edge, which will affect the product yield and even cause product abnormalities.

[0037] In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a shower plate assembly for improving the uniformity of film formation in a chamber of a thin film deposition device (eg, chemical vapor deposition CVD) and a thin film deposition device including the shower plate assembly.

[0038] The thin film deposition equipment comprises an air inlet pipeline, a spray plate assembly, and a reaction chamber. The spray plate assembly comprises an upper cover plate and a spray plate. The upper cover plate is located above the spray plate. The spray plate is located at the upper part of the reaction chamber. The air inlet pipeline is connected to the central part of the upper cover plate. Multiple rows of ventilation units are arranged on the upper cover plate in a radial direction from the central position. Each row of ventilation units has multiple circular tubes, and the diameters of these circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumference. The circular tubes are opened downward to connect to the upper part of the spray plate, so that the reaction gas entering the air inlet pipeline enters from the central part of the upper cover plate and is then transported from the circular tube to the spray plate. After the reaction gas enters the top of the chamber of the thin film deposition equipment, it passes through the small holes of the upper cover plate and the impedance of the spray hole, and the air flow rate gradually increases from the center to the edge of the spray plate and evenly reaches the sample stage in the chamber. The uniformity of the air pressure in the spray channel is improved, and the air flow rate sprayed from each area of ​​the outlet surface is also more balanced, thereby improving the uniformity of the sample coating. In addition, a number of circles of water drop-shaped through-hole spray holes are distributed on the spray plate; and the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the overall arrangement is in a swirl type. This structure makes the air intake more sufficient and uniform.

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a thin film deposition device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The thin film deposition device of the present invention includes an air inlet pipeline 103, a shower plate assembly, and a reaction chamber 104. The shower plate assembly includes an upper cover plate 101 and a shower plate 102. The upper cover plate 101 is located above the shower plate 102. The shower plate 102 is located at the upper part of the reaction chamber 104. The reaction gas enters the upper cover plate 101 through the air inlet pipeline 103 and then passes into the shower plate 102, and finally enters the reaction chamber 104.

[0040] Figure 2 101 shows a bottom view of an upper cover according to an embodiment of the present invention. The center of the upper cover 101 has an air inlet. The upper cover 101 is radially provided with multiple rows of ventilation units ( Figure 2 (shown as multiple straight lines in the figure).

[0041] Figure 3 A cross-sectional view of an upper cover according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The air inlet of the upper cover is connected to the lower part of the air inlet pipeline 103. However, the air inlet pipeline does not pass through the bottom of the upper cover, but ends inside the upper cover. A plurality of through holes are provided on the side of the lower part of the air inlet pipeline 103, which are respectively connected to the plurality of rows of ventilation units of the upper cover. Each through hole is connected to the conduit of a row of ventilation units.

[0042] Each row of ventilation units includes a duct and multiple circular tubes. The axial direction of the duct is arranged along the radial direction of the upper cover plate. One end of the duct close to the center of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed. Multiple circular tubes are arranged in parallel, and the axial direction of the multiple circular tubes is perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct. The upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate and leads to the upper part of the spray plate. The aperture of the multiple circular tubes gradually increases from the center to the circumference.

[0043] Figure 4 FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an upper cover plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 In the embodiment, the aperture of the first circular tube closest to the air inlet is 1.2 mm, the aperture of the second circular hole is 1.22 mm, and the aperture increases radially to the last aperture of 1.98 mm.

[0044] Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the arrangement of the spray holes on the spray plate according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. A plurality of circles of water drop-shaped through-hole spray holes (water drop-shaped as shown in FIG. 1 ) are distributed on the spray plate. Figure 6 The number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the overall arrangement is swirl-like. The airflow is directly sprayed into the reaction chamber, and the holes outside the swirl are more evenly distributed and the air intake is more sufficient.

[0045] Figure 6 FIG. 2 shows a partial schematic diagram of a shower plate according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 As shown, the spray holes on the spray plate are in the shape of water drops.

[0046] In one embodiment, the tip of the teardrop shape faces toward the center of the shower plate.

[0047] The present invention provides a spray plate assembly. The spray plate assembly comprises a spray plate and an upper cover plate. The upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, and an air inlet is provided at the center of the upper cover plate. Multiple rows of ventilation units are radially arranged on the upper cover plate from the air inlet, and the lower parts of the multiple rows of ventilation units penetrate the lower surface of the upper cover plate to ventilate toward the upper part of the spray plate.

[0048] In one embodiment, each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and a plurality of circular tubes, the duct is arranged axially along the radial direction of the upper cover plate, one end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed; the plurality of circular tubes are arranged side by side, the axial directions of the plurality of circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct, the upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate, and the apertures of the plurality of circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumferential direction of the upper cover plate.

[0049] In one embodiment, the air inlet is communicated with a lower portion of an air inlet pipeline, and a side surface of the lower portion of the air inlet pipeline is provided with a plurality of through holes, which are respectively communicated with the conduit.

[0050] In one embodiment, a plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate.

[0051] In one embodiment, the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

[0052] In one embodiment, the tip of the water drop shape faces toward the center of the shower plate.

[0053] The present invention also provides a thin film deposition device comprising the spray assembly.

[0054] The thin film deposition equipment comprises an air intake pipeline, a shower plate assembly and a reaction chamber.

[0055] The spray plate assembly comprises a spray plate and an upper cover plate.

[0056] Among them, the upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, and the spray plate is located above the reaction chamber. The center of the upper cover plate has an air inlet, and the air inlet pipeline is connected to the air inlet. The upper cover plate is radially arranged with multiple rows of ventilation units extending radially from the air inlet. The lower part of the multiple rows of ventilation units passes through the lower surface of the upper cover plate and ventilates toward the upper part of the spray plate.

[0057] In one embodiment, each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and a plurality of circular tubes, the duct is arranged axially along the radial direction of the upper cover plate, one end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed; the plurality of circular tubes are arranged side by side, the axial directions of the plurality of circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct, the upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate, and the apertures of the plurality of circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumferential direction of the upper cover plate.

[0058] In one embodiment, a side surface of the lower portion of the air intake pipeline is provided with a plurality of through holes, which are respectively connected to the conduit.

[0059] In one embodiment, a plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate.

[0060] In one embodiment, the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

[0061] In one embodiment, the tip of the water drop shape faces toward the center of the shower plate.

[0062] According to the technical solution of the present invention, after the reaction gas enters the top of the chamber of the thin film deposition equipment, it passes through the circular tubes with gradually increasing apertures on the upper cover plate and the impedance effect of the spray holes, and the air flow rate gradually increases from the center to the edge of the spray plate and evenly reaches the sample stage in the chamber. The uniformity of the air pressure in the spray channel is improved, and the amount of air sprayed from each area of ​​the outlet surface is more balanced, thereby improving the uniformity of the sample coating. In addition, several circles of water drop-shaped through-hole spray holes are distributed on the spray plate; and the number of holes in the inner circle of the spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the overall arrangement is in a swirl type. This structure makes the air intake more sufficient and uniform.

[0063] The terms and expressions used above are for descriptive purposes only, and the present invention should not be limited to these terms and expressions. The use of these terms and expressions does not mean to exclude any equivalent features of the illustrations and descriptions (or parts thereof), and it should be recognized that various modifications that may exist should also be included in the scope of the claims. Other modifications, changes and substitutions may also exist. Accordingly, the claims should be deemed to cover all such equivalents.

[0064] Similarly, it should be noted that in order to simplify the description of the disclosure of this application and thus facilitate the understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, in the foregoing description of the embodiments of this application, multiple features are sometimes combined into one embodiment, drawing or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not mean that the features required by the object of this application are more than the features mentioned in the claims.

[0065] Similarly, it should be pointed out that although the present invention has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, ordinary technicians in this technical field should realize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and various equivalent changes or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, as long as the changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the scope of the essential spirit of the present invention, they will fall within the scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A shower plate assembly, characterized in that: include: Sprinkler panels; An upper cover plate, the upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, the center of the upper cover plate has an air inlet, the upper cover plate is radially provided with multiple rows of ventilation units from the air inlet, the lower parts of the multiple rows of ventilation units penetrate the lower surface of the upper cover plate, and ventilate toward the upper part of the spray plate; A plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate, the number of holes in the inner circle of the water drop-shaped spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the water drop-shaped spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

2. The shower plate assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and multiple circular tubes. The axial direction of the duct is arranged along the radial direction of the upper cover plate. One end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed. The multiple circular tubes are arranged side by side, and the axial directions of the multiple circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct. The upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate. The apertures of the multiple circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumference of the upper cover plate.

3. The shower plate assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air inlet is communicated with the lower part of an air inlet pipeline, and a plurality of through holes are arranged on the side surface of the lower part of the air inlet pipeline, which are communicated with the conduit respectively.

4. The shower plate assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tip of the water drop shape faces the center direction of the spray plate.

5. A thin film deposition device, characterized in that: include: Inlet pipeline, spray plate assembly, reaction chamber; The spray plate assembly comprises: a spray plate and an upper cover plate; The upper cover plate is located above the spray plate, the spray plate is located above the reaction chamber, the upper cover plate has an air inlet at the center, the air inlet pipeline is connected to the air inlet, a plurality of rows of ventilation units are radially arranged on the upper cover plate from the air inlet, the lower parts of the plurality of rows of ventilation units penetrate the lower surface of the upper cover plate, and ventilate toward the upper part of the spray plate; A plurality of circles of water drop-shaped spray holes are distributed on the spray plate, the number of holes in the inner circle of the water drop-shaped spray holes is less than that in the outer circle, and the water drop-shaped spray holes on the spray plate are arranged in a swirl pattern as a whole.

6. The thin film deposition device according to claim 5, characterized in that: Each row of ventilation units in the multiple rows of ventilation units includes a duct and multiple circular tubes. The axial direction of the duct is arranged along the radial direction of the upper cover plate. One end of the duct close to the center direction of the upper cover plate is connected to the air inlet, and the other end is sealed. The multiple circular tubes are arranged side by side, and the axial directions of the multiple circular tubes are perpendicular to the axial direction of the duct. The upper end of each circular tube is connected to the duct, and the lower end passes through the bottom of the upper cover plate. The apertures of the multiple circular tubes gradually increase from the center to the circumference of the upper cover plate.

7. The thin film deposition device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The side surface of the lower part of the air inlet pipeline is provided with a plurality of through holes which are respectively communicated with the conduit.

8. The thin film deposition device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The tip of the water drop shape faces the center direction of the spray plate.

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