Loading chamber, loading chamber control method and wafer processing system

Abstract

The present application discloses a loading chamber, a loading chamber control method and a wafer processing system, wherein the loading chamber comprises a chamber; a base, which is located in the chamber and is used to carry wafers; an air intake device, which is connected to the chamber and is used to introduce gas into the chamber; and an exhaust device, which is connected to the chamber and is used to exhaust the gas in the chamber; wherein the air intake device is respectively connected to a first gas source, a second gas source and a third gas source, and during a protective layer generation stage, a first reaction gas provided by the first gas source and a second reaction gas provided by the second gas source enter a chamber where no wafer is placed, and react to form a protective layer on at least part of the inner surface of the chamber; during a cleaning stage, a third reaction gas provided by the third gas source is used to clean the chamber and remove the protective layer; the protective layer is used to isolate pollutants from the wafer, and the protective layer is regularly removed and regenerated to avoid the accumulation of pollutants, thereby significantly improving the product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and more specifically, to a loading chamber, a loading chamber control method and a wafer processing system. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous improvement of integrated circuit technology, electronic components are gradually developing in the direction of miniaturization, integration and refinement, which puts higher requirements on the preparation technology related to electronic components. In contemporary semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing processes, metal and other impurity pollutants have become an important factor affecting product yield. In different processes, excessive metal pollutant content will affect transistor performance or other structures. For example, in the production process of logic circuits, when the metal content in the insulating layer near the gate is too high, it will cause the circuit to be broken; in the field of image sensors, excessive metal pollution will cause the white point of the final product to be too high, affecting product imaging.

[0003] In the existing semiconductor manufacturing process, the loading chamber usually only has the functions of preheating and vacuuming. During the wafer transmission process, some impurities on the back of the wafer will inevitably fall on the base of the loading chamber, or impurities generated by the chamber wall will fall on the wafer. These will cause contamination to the wafer, thereby affecting product quality.

[0004] In order to reduce the impact of such pollution, the loading chamber is usually manually cleaned only when it transfers tens of thousands of wafers. However, the cleaning process is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also may bring new pollutants if not paid attention to. In addition, the entire system needs to be powered off during the cleaning process, which seriously affects production efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, it is urgent to design a new type of loading chamber and a corresponding control method to solve the above-mentioned contamination problem. Summary of the invention

[0006] In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a loading chamber, a loading chamber control method and a wafer processing system, wherein an air intake device is added to the loading chamber, the air intake device is connected to multiple gas sources, and the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are reacted in the chamber through the air intake device, and a protective layer facing the wafer placement position is formed inside the chamber, and the contaminants are isolated from the wafer by the protective layer; when the loading chamber needs to be cleaned, a third reaction gas is introduced into the chamber by the air intake device, and the third reaction gas is ionized under the action of a remote control plasma generator. The ionized third gas can clean the chamber and remove the old protective layer, and then the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are introduced to form a new protective layer.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loading chamber, comprising: a chamber; a base located in the chamber, the base being used to carry a wafer; an air intake device connected to the chamber and used to introduce gas into the chamber; an exhaust device connected to the chamber and used to exhaust the gas in the chamber; wherein the air intake device is respectively connected to a first gas source, a second gas source and a third gas source, and in a protective layer generation stage, a first reaction gas provided by the first gas source and a second reaction gas provided by the second gas source enter the chamber where the wafer is not placed, and react to form a protective layer on at least a portion of the inner surface of the chamber; in a cleaning stage, a third reaction gas provided by the third gas source is used to clean the chamber and remove the protective layer.

[0008] Optionally, the susceptor includes a heater, and the heater is used to heat the wafer on the susceptor according to a preset temperature.

[0009] Optionally, a radio frequency power source is further included, and the radio frequency power source is connected to the cavity to cause a plasma enhanced chemical vapor reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.

[0010] Optionally, a remote-controlled plasma generator is further included, and the remote-controlled plasma generator ionizes the third reaction gas to remove the protective layer.

[0011] Optionally, a protective plate is provided on the inner wall of the cavity, and during the protective layer generation stage, the protective layer covers the protective plate.

[0012] Optionally, the air intake device is located above the base, and the protective plate surrounds the base and the air intake device.

[0013] Optionally, the material of the protection plate includes ceramics, and the protection plate is further provided with air holes, and the air holes are connected to the exhaust device.

[0014] Optionally, the protective layer covers a carrying surface of the base for carrying the wafer and / or a surface of the air inlet device facing the base.

[0015] Optionally, the air intake device is a ventilation panel comprising a plurality of air holes, and a diameter of each air hole of the ventilation panel is greater than a thickness of the protective layer.

[0016] Optionally, the first reaction gas includes silane (SiH 4 ), tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS); the second reaction gas includes nitrous oxide (N 2 O), ammonia (NH 3 ), ozone (O 3 ), oxygen (O 2) at least one of; the third reaction gas comprises nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ); the protective layer comprises silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) or at least one of silicon nitride (SiN).

[0017] According to another aspect of the present invention, a control method for a loading chamber is provided, which comprises: when no wafer is placed in the loading chamber, inputting a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas into the loading chamber, so that the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas react to form a protective layer on at least a portion of the inner surface of the loading chamber; and in a cleaning stage, introducing a third reaction gas into the loading chamber to clean the loading chamber and remove the protective layer.

[0018] Optionally, in the cleaning stage, after removing the protective layer, the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are introduced into the loading chamber to reform the protective layer on at least a portion of the inner surface of the loading chamber.

[0019] Optionally, when no wafer is placed in the loading chamber, the chamber is kept in a vacuum state with a vacuum degree between 1 mtorr and 100 mtorr.

[0020] Optionally, the thickness of the protective layer is controlled by controlling the reaction time between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.

[0021] Optionally, the protective layer is silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) or silicon nitride (SiN), the third reaction gas includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ).

[0022] Optionally, the reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas is a plasma enhanced chemical vapor reaction, and the first reaction gas includes silane (SiH 4 ) or tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), the second reaction gas includes nitrous oxide (N 2 O), ammonia (NH 3 ), ozone (O 3 ), oxygen (O 2 ) at least one of.

[0023] Optionally, the reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas is a thermal chemical vapor phase reaction, the first reaction gas includes tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and the second reaction gas includes oxygen (O 2 ) and / or ozone (O 3 ).

[0024] Optionally, the loading chamber enters the cleaning phase after transferring a preset number of wafers.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wafer processing system, comprising: a wafer boat for carrying wafers; a loading chamber, one side of the loading chamber being connected to the wafer boat; a transfer chamber connected to the other side of the loading chamber; a reaction chamber connected to the transfer chamber, the reaction chamber being used to process wafers; wherein the transfer chamber is a vacuum transfer chamber, the wafers in the wafer boat sequentially pass through the loading chamber and the transfer chamber and enter into the reaction chamber for processing, and the protective layer in the loading chamber can be removed and regenerated through a cleaning stage.

[0026] The loading chamber, loading chamber control method and wafer processing system provided by the present invention have an air intake device connected to multiple gas sources, and can introduce a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas into the chamber. The first reaction gas and the second reaction gas can form a protective layer inside the chamber facing the wafer placement position to avoid direct contact between the wafer and the internal surface of the chamber, reducing the impact of contaminants on the wafer; after transmitting a preset number of wafers, the protective layer can also be removed and regenerated in the cleaning stage, effectively blocking the long-term accumulation of contaminants and significantly improving the product yield.

[0027] Furthermore, in the loading chamber, the wafer does not directly contact the base, and the wafer can be effectively isolated from contaminants through the design of the protective layer; the design of the loading chamber also allows it to be automatically cleaned, and when the loading chamber enters the cleaning stage, it will not affect other chambers in the process. Compared with the existing need to shut down the entire system and perform manual cleaning, the control method and wafer processing system avoid the overall shutdown of the system, improve the cleaning efficiency and production efficiency, and avoid the problem of additional contaminants that may be introduced by manual cleaning, which can effectively improve product yield and product quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a prior art loading chamber is shown;

[0030] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a wafer processing system;

[0031] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a loading chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0032] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing a wafer being placed in a loading chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0033] Figure 5a A flow chart showing a method for controlling a load chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5b A flow chart showing a cleaning phase in a method for controlling a load chamber according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0035] Figures 6a to 6c They are shown respectively with Figure 5b Schematic diagram of the state of the loading chamber corresponding to each step;

[0036] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a loading chamber according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0037] Figures 8a to 8e Schematic diagrams of wafer processing systems according to various embodiments of the present invention are shown respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the accompanying drawings, the same elements are represented by the same or similar reference numerals. For the sake of clarity, the various parts in the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0039] Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the loading chamber in the prior art is shown as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the loading chamber 100 includes: a chamber 101 and a base 110 located in the chamber 101, wherein the base 110 also includes a heater 111, through which the wafer 210 located thereon can be preheated, and the loading chamber 100 also includes an air inlet 102 and an exhaust port 103, wherein the air inlet 102 is used to introduce an inert gas, such as argon, helium, nitrogen, etc., into the chamber 101, and the exhaust port 103 is connected to a vacuum pump, and is used to discharge the gas in the chamber 101, and the air pressure in the chamber 101 is balanced by air intake and exhaust, so as to realize the transportation of wafers. The loading chamber 100 is usually in a low pressure state in a closed state, and the air pressure in the chamber 101 is usually 1mtorr to 1torr.

[0040] Specifically, see Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a wafer processing system is shown in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the wafer 210 in the processing system usually includes two transmission paths. One is shown by the solid arrow in the figure, and the wafer 210 in the wafer boat 200 is sent to the reaction chamber 400 through the loading chamber 100 and the transfer chamber 300 for processing; the other is shown by the dotted arrow in the figure, and the processed wafer 210 is taken out from the reaction chamber 400, passes through the transfer chamber 300 and the loading chamber 100 in sequence, and then is placed in the wafer boat 200.

[0041] The wafer boat 200 is usually in a normal pressure environment. In order to reduce pollutants and impurities, the transfer chamber 300 is usually in a low-pressure vacuum state. The air pressure in the transfer chamber 300 is, for example, 1mtorr to 1torr. The loading chamber 100 is located between the wafer boat 200 and the transfer chamber 300. The loading chamber 100 is respectively provided with a sealed door on one side of the wafer boat 200 and one side of the transfer chamber 300. When the loading chamber 100 transfers the wafer, it is necessary to first adjust the air pressure in the cavity 101 through air intake and exhaust to balance the air pressure of the area to be connected, and then open the sealed door for connection.

[0042] like Figure 1 In the loading chamber shown, the back of the wafer 210 is in direct contact with the carrying surface of the pedestal 110. After transporting the wafer 210 for many times, debris, metal and other impurities on the wafer 210 and the inner wall of the chamber will fall on the newly placed wafer 210 or accumulate on the carrying surface of the pedestal 110 and adhere to the back of the wafer 210, causing contamination to the wafer 210. Therefore, the loading chamber 100 needs to be manually cleaned after transferring the wafer 210 for several times to remove the accumulated contaminants therein, ensure the cleanliness of the chamber 101, and reduce the impact of the contaminants on the wafer 210.

[0043] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the loading chamber of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown, the loading chamber 100 includes a chamber 101, a base 110, an air inlet device 120, an exhaust device 130 and a protection plate 140, wherein the base 110 is located at the bottom of the chamber 101 and is used to carry a wafer, and the base 110 also includes a heater 111, and the heater 111 can be used to preheat the wafer 210 located on the base 110; the protection plate 140 is, for example, arranged around the base 110, and the protection plate 140 is used to protect the inner wall of the loading chamber 100, and the protection plate 140 is, for example, The gas inlet device 120 includes, for example, a ventilation panel, the material of which is, for example, aluminum, which is arranged on the top surface of the cavity 101 and opposite to the base 110. The gas inlet device 120 is also located in the surrounding of the protective plate 140. Further, the gas inlet device 120 is also connected to the first gas source 11, the second gas source 12 and the third gas source 13 respectively. The three pipelines connected to the gas sources are also respectively provided with valves P1, valve P2 and valve P3, and gas flow controllers MFC1~MFC3 for controlling the gas flow in each pipeline. The first gas source 11 can provide the first reaction gas 121 to the cavity 101 through the gas inlet device 120. Similarly, the second gas source 12 can provide the second reaction gas 122, and the third gas source can provide the third reaction gas 123. The exhaust device 130 includes, for example, a vacuum pump 131 connected to the cavity 101, and the gas in the cavity 101 is discharged through the exhaust device 130.

[0044] Furthermore, the first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122 can react in the cavity 101 to form a protective layer 150 facing the placement position of the wafer 210 in the cavity 101, and the protective layer 150 at least covers the supporting surface of the base 110, thereby avoiding direct contact between the wafer 210 and the supporting surface of the base 110 and reducing contamination by pollutants; the third reaction gas 123 can remove pollutants such as impure metals in the cavity 101, and the third reaction gas 123 can also react with the protective layer 150 formed in the cavity 101 and remove the protective layer 150.

[0045] Specifically, Figure 4 As shown, before the wafer 210 is transferred, the loading chamber 100 first introduces a certain amount of the first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122 into the cavity 101. The first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122 enter the cavity 101 through the gas inlet device 120 and undergo a chemical vapor phase reaction. After a preset time, a protective layer 150 is formed in the cavity 101. The thickness of the protective layer 150 is, for example, 20nm to 100nm. Since the thickness of the protective layer 150 is much smaller than the channel aperture of the gas inlet device 120 and the exhaust device 130, the protective layer 150 does not affect the normal operation of the gas inlet device 120 and the exhaust device 130. Furthermore, the protective plate 140 may be provided with air holes connected to the exhaust device 130, and the gas in the cavity 101 may be discharged from the exhaust device 130 through the air holes on the protective plate 140.

[0046] Furthermore, since the protective layer 150 is formed by vapor deposition, the formed protective layer 150 covers, for example, the bearing surface of the base 110, the side of the protective plate 140 facing the base 110, and the top surface of the chamber 101 (the side surface of the air inlet device 120 facing the base 110). After the protective layer 150 is formed, the residual reaction gas is exhausted by the exhaust device 130, and the wafer 210 can be transferred into the loading chamber.

[0047] from Figure 4 It can be seen that during the transfer of the wafer 210 in the loading chamber 100, the wafer 210 is surrounded by the protective layer 150, and the back side of the wafer 210 and the supporting surface of the base 110 are isolated by the protective layer 150, thereby avoiding direct contact between the wafer 210 and the base 110. By forming the protective layer 150 facing the placement position of the wafer 210 in the cavity 101, the contaminants are effectively isolated from the wafer 210, thereby reducing the impact of the contaminants in the loading chamber 100 on the wafer 210.

[0048] Of course, if the protective layer 150 only covers the bearing surface of the base 110 or the bearing surface and the top surface of the chamber 101, it can also play a certain isolation effect. After the loading chamber 100 transfers a number of wafers 210, their contaminants may also accumulate on the protective layer 150. At this time, the loading chamber 100 can be cleaned as needed, the loading chamber 100 can be emptied (the wafers are taken out), and the third reaction gas 123 is introduced into the chamber 101 through the third gas source 13 through the gas inlet device 120. Specifically, the gas in the third gas source 13 is ionized by a remote control plasma generator to form the third reaction gas 123. The third reaction gas 123 is used to remove the contaminants in the chamber 101 and react with the protective layer 150 previously formed by the first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122. The third reaction gas 123 removes the old protective layer 150 and the contaminants thereon; then the steps of forming the protective layer 150 are repeated to form a new protective layer 150 in the chamber 101.

[0049] Figure 5a The flowchart of the control method of the loading chamber of the first embodiment of the present invention is shown; the control method of the loading chamber comprises the following steps:

[0050] In step S1, when no wafer is placed in the loading chamber, the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are input into the loading chamber, so that the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas react to form a protective layer on a portion of the inner surface of the chamber; specifically, the protective layer is, for example, a silicon oxide protective layer, which covers the inner surface of the chamber to isolate contaminants on the inner surface of the chamber to prevent the wafer from making direct contact with it.

[0051] In step S2, a wafer is loaded into the loading chamber. Since a protective layer has been formed in the loading chamber in step S1, the protective layer can prevent the wafer from directly contacting the inner surface of the chamber, thereby reducing contamination of the wafer by pollutants.

[0052] After several wafers have been transferred into the loading chamber, it is determined whether the loading chamber needs to be cleaned. If not, wafers continue to be loaded into the loading chamber; if cleaning is required, step S3 is performed to enter the cleaning stage.

[0053] Figure 5b The flowchart of the cleaning phase of the control method for loading a chamber according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown; the third reaction gas includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF 3 ), the first reaction gas includes tetraethyl orthosilicate TEOS (also known as tetraethoxysilane Si (OC 2 H 5 ) 4 , Tetraethoxysilane, the second reaction gas includes ozone (O 3) and / or oxygen (O 2 ), the protective layer includes silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) as an example. Figures 6a to 6c The state schematic diagrams of the loading chamber corresponding to each step of the cleaning stage are shown respectively, and the cleaning stage includes the following steps:

[0054] In step S10, a third reaction gas is introduced into the cavity to clean the cavity and remove the protective layer; specifically, Figure 6a As shown, valves P1 and P2 are closed, valve P3 is opened, and the gas flow controller MFC3 controls the flow rate. The third reaction gas 123 is introduced into the chamber 101 through the gas inlet device 120 from the third gas source 13. The third reaction gas 123 cleans the interior of the chamber 101 and reacts with the protective layer 150, thereby removing the old protective layer 150. The reaction formula between the third reaction gas 123 and the protective layer 150 is: 4NF 3 +3SiO 2 →2N 2 +3SiF 4 +3O 2 Specifically, the third gas source 13 is ionized by a remote plasma source and then participates in a chemical reaction.

[0055] In step S20, the exhaust device is turned on to exhaust the gas in the cavity; specifically, Figure 6b As shown, the valves P1 to P3 are closed, the vacuum pump 131 is turned on, and the gas in the chamber 101 is extracted through the exhaust device 130. The extracted gas includes part of the unreacted third reaction gas 123 and the reaction products of the third reaction gas 123 and the protective layer 150, such as N 2 、SiF 4 , O 2 wait.

[0056] In step S30, the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are introduced into the cavity to form a protective layer; specifically, Figure 6c As shown, the valve P3 is kept closed, the valves P1 and P2 are opened, and the flow rates are controlled by the gas flow controllers MFC1 and MFC2 respectively, and the first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122 are introduced into the chamber 101 for a preset time. The reaction formula of the first reaction gas 121 and the second reaction gas 122 is, for example: Si(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 + 2O 2 → SiO 2 + 4C 2 H 5 OH;O 3It has strong oxidizing properties, and its reaction formula is similar to O 3 Replace O 2 The reaction temperature can be greatly reduced; the generated SiO 2 A new protective layer 150 is formed by covering the position in the cavity 101 facing the wafer. Then, similar to step S20, the residual gas in the cavity 101 is exhausted by the exhaust device, which will not be described in detail here.

[0057] Specifically, in step S30, the gas pressure in the chamber 101 is, for example, 0.1 torr to 600 torr, the temperature in the chamber 101 is, for example, 10°C to 1250°C, and the flow rate of the first reaction gas 121 (TEOS) is, for example, 1 mg / m-40000 mg / m, wherein TEOS is liquid at room temperature, and its gas transmission system and pipeline generally need to be heated and maintained at 110°C to 170°C, and then passed through the injection valve as the first reaction gas through the gas flow controller MFC1 into the chamber 101. The second reaction gas 122 (O 3 and / or 2 )'s flow rate is, for example, 1 sccm-40000 sccm.

[0058] Furthermore, the loading chamber can automatically perform the above cleaning once every 25 wafers are transferred, remove the old protective layer 150 in time, reduce the accumulation of pollutants, and form a new protective layer 150 in the cavity to protect the cavity. The thickness of the protective layer 150 is controlled by controlling the process time of step S30. The thickness of the protective layer 150 is usually 20nm to 100nm. If the protective layer 150 is too thick, it will fall off easily. If the protective layer 150 is too thin, it may not be able to completely cover the surface facing the wafer placement position and cannot play an isolation and protection role. At the same time, the warping of the protective layer 150 cannot be too large, otherwise it will cause the protective layer 150 to fall off.

[0059] Of course, the cleaning frequency of the loading chamber can be adjusted according to actual conditions, and the cleaning can be started manually; the air intake device of the loading chamber can also be connected to an inert gas source to adjust the gas pressure and gas concentration in the chamber 101 by introducing inert gas into the chamber.

[0060] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a loading chamber according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown; the second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, and the same parts thereof are not repeated here. The difference of the second embodiment is that it also includes a radio frequency power supply 160, through which the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas can undergo a plasma enhanced chemical vapor reaction, and the required reaction temperature is lower than that of the thermal chemical vapor reaction in the first embodiment.

[0061] Correspondingly, if the RF power source 160 is used, the first reaction gas 121 may also be SiH 4 The second reaction gas 122 can be N 2 O or NH 3 , correspondingly, its reaction formula includes:

[0062] S H 4 +N 2 O→SiO 2 (+H 2 +N 2 )

[0063] S H 4 +NH 3 →SiN(+H 2 )

[0064] Figures 8a to 8e Schematic diagrams of wafer processing systems of various embodiments of the present invention are shown respectively. Each schematic diagram is, for example, a top view of the layout. Since the reaction chamber is not the focus of the present invention and the reaction chamber is only connected to the transfer chamber, the reaction chamber is not depicted in some of the diagrams.

[0065] like Figure 8a As shown, in the wafer processing system of this embodiment, the loading chamber 100 is, for example, in the shape of a long strip, and its interior is divided into a plurality of sub-spaces, each of which can hold a wafer. The loading chamber 100 transfers the wafer 210 between the robot on the left and the wafer boat 200, and the right side of the loading chamber 100 is the transfer chamber 300, in which a robot is provided to grab and transfer the wafer 210.

[0066] like Figure 8b As shown, in the wafer processing system of this embodiment, the loading chamber 100 is also in a long strip shape, the wafer boat 200 is respectively located at the upper and lower sides of the loading chamber 100 , and the transfer chamber 300 is located on the right side of the loading chamber 100 .

[0067] Similarly, in Figure 8c In the embodiment, the loading chamber 100 is arranged horizontally, the wafer boat 200 is located on the left side of the loading chamber 100, a robot is arranged between the wafer boat 200 and the loading chamber 100, and the right side of the loading chamber 100 is connected to the transfer chamber 300. Figure 8d In the figure, the loading chamber 100 is, for example, circular and can rotate inside to transfer the wafer 210 therein. A robot is also provided in the middle of the loading chamber 100 to pick up and move the wafer. Similarly, the left side of the loading chamber 100 includes a plurality of wafer boats 200 and corresponding robots, and the right side of the loading chamber 100 is a transfer chamber 300.

[0068] exist Figure 8eIn the figure, the wafer processing system of this embodiment includes a hexagonal transfer chamber 300 located in the middle, and two loading chambers 100 located below the transfer chamber 300. The right side of the transfer chamber 300 is a heating chamber 40, and the remaining three sides of the transfer chamber 300 are respectively connected to the first reaction chamber 401, the second reaction chamber 402 and the third reaction chamber 403.

[0069] Of course, the wafer processing system provided in the present application is not limited to the above five types, and the capacity and size position of the loading chamber 100 can be adjusted as needed.

[0070] The loading chamber, loading chamber control method and wafer processing system provided by the present invention have an air intake device connected to multiple gas sources, and can introduce a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas into the chamber. The first reaction gas and the second reaction gas can form a protective layer inside the chamber facing the wafer placement position to avoid direct contact between the wafer and the internal surface of the chamber, reducing the impact of contaminants on the wafer; after transmitting a preset number of wafers, the protective layer can also be removed and regenerated in the cleaning stage, effectively blocking the long-term accumulation of contaminants and significantly improving the product yield.

[0071] Furthermore, in the loading chamber, the wafer does not directly contact the base, and the wafer can be effectively isolated from contaminants through the design of the protective layer; the design of the loading chamber also allows it to be automatically cleaned, and when the loading chamber enters the cleaning stage, it will not affect other chambers in the process. Compared with the existing need to shut down the entire system and perform manual cleaning, the control method and wafer processing system avoid the overall shutdown of the system, improve the cleaning efficiency and production efficiency, and avoid the problem of additional contaminants that may be introduced by manual cleaning, which can effectively improve product yield and product quality.

[0072] According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, in order to highlight the details of the technical solution of the present invention, the proportions of each component are not drawn according to the real proportions. The proportions and sizes shown in the drawings should not limit the essential technical solution of the present invention. These embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to the specific embodiments described. Obviously, many modifications and changes can be made based on the above description. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, so that those skilled in the art can make good use of the present invention and the modified use based on the present invention. The present invention is only limited by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A loading chamber, characterized in that: include: Cavity; A base is located in the cavity, and the base is used to carry the wafer; An air inlet device, connected to the cavity, and used to introduce gas into the cavity; An exhaust device, connected to the cavity, for exhausting the gas in the cavity; The gas inlet device is connected to a first gas source, a second gas source and a third gas source respectively, and in the protective layer forming stage, a first reaction gas provided by the first gas source and a second reaction gas provided by the second gas source enter the cavity where the wafer is not placed, and react to form a protective layer on at least a part of the inner surface of the cavity; In the cleaning phase, the third reaction gas provided by the third gas source is used to clean the chamber and remove the protective layer. The loading chamber balances the air pressure in the chamber by air intake and exhaust to achieve wafer transportation. The wafer is moved into the loading chamber after the protective layer generation stage and is moved out of the loading chamber before the cleaning stage. The third reaction gas includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF3); and the protective layer includes at least one of silicon oxide (SiO2) or silicon nitride (SiN).

2. The loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The susceptor includes a heater, and the heater is used to heat the wafer on the susceptor according to a preset temperature.

3. The loading chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that It also includes a radio frequency power supply, which is connected to the cavity to cause a plasma enhanced chemical vapor reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.

4. The loading chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that The invention also comprises a remote-controlled plasma generator, wherein the remote-controlled plasma generator ionizes the third reaction gas to remove the protective layer.

5. The loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The inner side wall of the cavity is provided with a protection plate, and during the protective layer generation stage, the protective layer covers the protection plate.

6. The loading chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that The air intake device is located above the base, and the protection plate surrounds the base and the air intake device.

7. The loading chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that The material of the protection plate includes ceramics, and air holes are also arranged on the protection plate, and the air holes are connected to the exhaust device.

8. The loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The protective layer covers the supporting surface of the base for supporting the wafer and / or the surface of the air inlet device facing the base.

9. The loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air intake device is a ventilation panel including a plurality of air holes, and the diameter of each air hole of the ventilation panel is greater than the thickness of the protective layer.

10. The loading chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that The first reaction gas includes at least one of silane (SiH4) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS); the second reaction gas includes at least one of nitrous oxide (N2O), ammonia (NH3), ozone (O3), and oxygen (O2).

11. A method for controlling a load chamber, for controlling the load chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: include: In a case where no wafer is placed in the loading chamber, a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas are introduced into the loading chamber, so that the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas react to form a protective layer on at least a portion of the inner surface of the chamber; as well as In the cleaning phase, a third reaction gas is introduced into the cavity to clean the cavity and remove the protective layer.

12. The control method according to claim 11, wherein: In the cleaning phase, after removing the protective layer, the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas are introduced into the loading chamber to reform the protective layer on at least a portion of the inner surface of the chamber.

13. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: When no wafer is placed in the loading chamber, the chamber is kept in a vacuum state with a vacuum degree between 1 mtorr and 100 mtorr.

14. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The thickness of the protective layer is controlled by controlling the reaction time of the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas.

15. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The protective layer is at least one of silicon oxide (SiO2) or silicon nitride (SiN), and the third reaction gas includes nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).

16. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas is a plasma enhanced chemical vapor reaction, the first reaction gas includes silane (SiH4) or tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and the second reaction gas includes at least one of nitrous oxide (N2O), ammonia (NH3), ozone (O3), and oxygen (O2).

17. The control method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The reaction between the first reaction gas and the second reaction gas is a thermal chemical vapor phase reaction, the first reaction gas includes tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), and the second reaction gas includes oxygen (O2) and / or ozone (O3).

18. The control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: After the loading chamber transfers a preset number of wafers, it enters the cleaning stage.

19. A wafer processing system comprising: Wafer boat, used to carry wafers; The loading chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein one side of the loading chamber is connected to the wafer boat; a transfer chamber connected to the other side of the loading chamber; A reaction chamber connected to the transfer chamber, the reaction chamber being used to process the wafer; The transfer chamber is a vacuum transfer chamber, and the wafers in the wafer boat sequentially pass through the loading chamber and the transfer chamber to enter the reaction chamber for processing. The protective layer in the loading chamber can be removed and regenerated through a cleaning stage.

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