Thin film deposition equipment, thin film deposition method and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a thin film deposition device, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium. The thin film deposition device includes a process chamber, a vacuum pump, a reaction gas source, a purge gas source, and a controller. The process chamber includes a wafer tray. The vacuum pump is connected to the wafer tray via a first valve and a wafer adsorption pipeline. The reaction gas source is connected to the process chamber via a second valve. The purge gas source is connected to the process chamber via a third valve and is connected to the wafer tray via a fourth valve and the wafer adsorption pipeline. The present invention can reduce the maintenance cost of the thin film deposition device by providing a new desorption gas inlet path to alleviate the internal leakage problem of the pneumatic valve.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing, and in particular to a thin film deposition device, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Traditional process chambers include components such as a heating plate, multiple pneumatic valves, a pressure gauge, and connecting gas lines. However, as the number of wafers processed during the deposition process increases, byproduct powder will be introduced at the moment the pneumatic valves in the process chamber are opened and closed, and there will be gas residue, which will cause the valve to leak internally. This internal leakage phenomenon may lead to the failure of the adsorption and desorption processes, thereby increasing the risk of wafer breakage and increasing the maintenance cost of the system. In addition, during the cleaning process after the deposition is completed, the gas will enter the process chamber and accumulate. Due to the slender hole structure of the heating plate, it is difficult for the gas to effectively clean the process chamber, and it will cause the pneumatic valve to accumulate powder, causing internal leakage problems.

[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for an improved thin film deposition equipment to alleviate the internal leakage problem of the pneumatic valve and reduce the maintenance cost of the thin film deposition equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following is a brief summary of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceivable aspects and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be provided later.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition device, a thin film deposition method and a computer-readable storage medium, which can alleviate the internal leakage problem of the pneumatic valve by setting a new desorption gas inlet path, thereby reducing the maintenance cost of the thin film deposition equipment.

[0006] Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a process chamber, a vacuum pump, a reaction gas source, a purge gas source, and a controller. The process chamber includes a wafer tray. The vacuum pump is connected to the wafer tray via a first valve and a wafer suction line. The reaction gas source is connected to the process chamber via a second valve. The purge gas source is connected to the process chamber via a third valve and to the wafer tray via a fourth valve and the wafer suction line. The controller is configured to: after completing the thin film deposition process of the wafer, open the first valve, the second valve and the fourth valve, and by controlling the opening of the first valve, the second valve and the fourth valve, clean the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer; and in response to completing the cleaning of the wafer adsorption pipeline, first desorb the wafer, and then close the second valve, the fourth valve and the first valve in sequence to evacuate the process chamber and transfer the wafer out of the process chamber; and in response to the wafer being transferred out of the process chamber, close the second valve, and open the first valve, the third valve and the fourth valve to synchronously clean the process chamber and the wafer adsorption pipeline.

[0007] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of desorbing the wafer includes: reducing the opening of the first valve and / or the second valve, and / or increasing the opening of the fourth valve to balance the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer and desorbing the wafer.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller is also configured to: open the first valve to provide a negative pressure of a target pressure between the front and back sides of the wafer to adsorb the wafer on the wafer tray; and open the second valve to pass the reaction gas to the front side of the wafer through the reaction gas source to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer.

[0009] Furthermore, some embodiments of the present invention further include a first barometer and a second barometer. The first barometer is located in the process chamber to collect a first air pressure value on the front side of the wafer. The second barometer is located in the wafer adsorption line to collect a second air pressure value on the back side of the wafer. The controller also determines the pressure difference between the front side and the back side of the wafer based on the first and second air pressure values.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of cleaning the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer by controlling the opening of the first valve, the second valve and the fourth valve includes: while introducing the purge gas into the wafer adsorption pipeline through the fourth valve, controlling the opening of the first valve, the second valve and the fourth valve to control the pressure difference between the front and back of the wafer to the target pressure, so as to clean the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller is also configured to: in response to completing the synchronous cleaning of the process chamber and the wafer adsorption pipeline, close the first valve, the second valve, the third valve and the fourth valve.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the purge gas source is selected from at least one of a nitrogen source, a helium source, and an argon source. The purge gas is selected from at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon. And / or the wafer tray utilizes a heating plate for heating the wafer to facilitate the thin film deposition and cleaning processes. And / or the first, second, third, and / or fourth valves utilize pneumatic valves for opening or closing corresponding gas lines.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the gas pipeline leading from the bottom of the heating plate to the back of the wafer has a diameter less than 4 mm and a length greater than 300 mm, and the vacuum pump extracts gas from the back of the wafer through the first valve, the wafer adsorption pipeline and the gas pipeline.

[0014] Furthermore, according to a second aspect of the present invention, the thin film deposition method includes: after completing a thin film deposition process on a wafer, opening a first valve, a second valve, and a fourth valve, and controlling the openings of the first, second, and fourth valves to simultaneously adsorb the wafer and clean the wafer adsorption pipeline. A vacuum pump is connected to a wafer tray via the first valve and the wafer adsorption pipeline. The wafer tray is disposed in a process chamber. A reaction gas source is connected to the process chamber via the second valve. A purge gas source is connected to the process chamber via a third valve and to the wafer tray via the fourth valve and the wafer adsorption pipeline. Upon completion of cleaning the wafer adsorption pipeline, the wafer is first desorbed, and then the second, fourth, and first valves are sequentially closed to evacuate the process chamber and transfer the wafer out of the process chamber. In response to the wafer being transferred out of the process chamber, the second valve is closed and the first, third, and fourth valves are opened to simultaneously clean the process chamber and the wafer adsorption pipeline.

[0015] Furthermore, the computer-readable storage medium provided in accordance with the third aspect of the present invention stores computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the thin film deposition method provided in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The above features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components with similar related properties or characteristics may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 3A A top view of a heating plate according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 3B A cross-sectional view of a heating plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 5A graph showing wafer adsorption force according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0023] Reference numerals:

[0024] 11 Process Chamber

[0025] 111 Wafer Tray

[0026] 12 Vacuum pump

[0027] 13 Reaction gas source

[0028] 14 Purge gas source

[0029] 15 Wafer adsorption pipeline

[0030] V1, V4 first valve

[0031] V6 second valve

[0032] V7 Third Valve

[0033] V8, V5 fourth valve

[0034] G1 First Barometer

[0035] G2 Second Barometer DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following specific embodiments illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. 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, the following description will include many specific details. 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.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed, detachable, or integral connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0038] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood to refer to the orientations depicted in that section and the accompanying drawings. These relative terms are used solely for convenience of description and do not necessarily imply that the devices described herein must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0039] It will be understood that although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or portions, these components, regions, layers, and / or portions should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are merely used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or portions. Thus, a first component, region, layer, and / or portion discussed below may be referred to as a second component, region, layer, and / or portion without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] As mentioned above, as the number of wafers processed during the deposition process increases, by-product powder will be introduced at the moment of opening and closing the pneumatic valve of the process chamber, and there will be gas residue, which will cause the valve to leak internally. This internal leakage phenomenon may lead to the failure of the adsorption and desorption process, thereby increasing the risk of wafer breakage and increasing the maintenance cost of the system. In addition, during the cleaning process after the deposition is completed, the gas will enter the process chamber and accumulate. Due to the slender hole structure of the heating plate, it is difficult for the gas to effectively clean the process chamber, and it will cause the pneumatic valve to accumulate powder, thereby causing internal leakage problems.

[0041] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition device, a thin film deposition method and a computer-readable storage medium, which can alleviate the internal leakage problem of the pneumatic valve by setting a new desorption gas inlet path, thereby reducing the maintenance cost of the thin film deposition equipment.

[0042] In some non-limiting embodiments, the thin film deposition method provided by the second aspect of the present invention can be implemented based on the thin film deposition device provided by the first aspect of the present invention.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0044] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2In the illustrated embodiment, the thin film deposition apparatus provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a process chamber 11, a vacuum pump 12, a reaction gas source 13, a purge gas source 14, and a controller. The process chamber 11 includes a wafer tray 111. The vacuum pump 12 is connected to the wafer tray 111 via first valves V1 and V4 and a wafer adsorption line 15. The reaction gas source 13 is connected to the process chamber 11 via a second valve V6 for passing the reaction gas to the front of the wafer so as to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer. The purge gas source 14 is connected to the process chamber 11 via a third valve V7 for passing the purge gas to the front of the wafer, and is connected to the wafer tray 111 via fourth valves V8 and V5 and a wafer adsorption line 15 for passing the purge gas to the back of the wafer.

[0045] Here, the purge gas source 14 is selected from at least one of a nitrogen source, a helium source, and an argon source, and the purge gas is selected from at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon. The wafer tray 111 is a heating plate for heating the wafer to facilitate the thin film deposition and cleaning processes. The first valves V1, V4, the second valve V6, the third valve V7, and / or the fourth valves V8 and V5 are pneumatic valves for opening and closing the corresponding gas lines.

[0046] Please refer to further Figure 3A and Figure 3B , Figure 3A shows a top view of a heating plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention, Figure 3B A cross-sectional view of a heating plate provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0047] like Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, the gas line 112 leading from the bottom of the heating plate to the back of the wafer has a diameter of less than 4 mm and a length of more than 300 mm. The vacuum pump 12 extracts gas from the back of the wafer via the first valves V1 and V4, the wafer suction line 15, and the aforementioned gas line. However, due to the significant gas flow resistance of the gas line 112, the thin film deposition equipment has difficulty in using the purge gas source 14 to pass purge gas from above the wafer tray 111 to clean the wafer suction line 15 below.

[0048] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the thin film deposition apparatus provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a first barometer G1 and a second barometer G2. The first barometer G1 is disposed in the process chamber 11 to collect a first pressure value on the front surface of the wafer. The second barometer G2 is disposed in the wafer adsorption line 15 to collect a second pressure value on the back surface of the wafer.

[0049] The following describes the operating principles of the thin film deposition apparatus described above, using examples of thin film deposition methods. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these examples of thin film deposition methods are merely non-limiting embodiments of the present invention, intended to clearly illustrate the main concepts of the present invention and provide specific solutions that facilitate implementation by the public, rather than limiting the full functionality or operating methods of the thin film deposition apparatus. Similarly, the thin film deposition apparatus is merely a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the execution entities or execution order of the steps in these thin film deposition methods.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0051] like Figure 4 As shown, before the thin film deposition process, the thin film deposition equipment can open the first valves V1 and V4 to provide a negative pressure of a target pressure (e.g., 550 torr) between the front and back sides of the wafer to adsorb the wafer onto the wafer tray 111. Here, the controller can also determine the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer based on the first pressure value and the second pressure value.

[0052] Afterwards, the thin film deposition equipment may open the second valve V6 to introduce the reaction gas to the front side of the wafer through the reaction gas source 13 to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer.

[0053] Afterwards, after completing the thin film deposition process of the wafer, the thin film deposition equipment can open the first valve V1, V4, the second valve V6 and the fourth valve V8, V5, and by controlling the opening of the first valve V1, V4, the second valve V6 and the fourth valve V8, V5, it can clean the wafer adsorption pipeline 15 while adsorbing the wafer.

[0054] Specifically, while the purge gas is introduced into the wafer adsorption pipeline 15 through the fourth valve V8 and V5, the opening of the first valve V1, V4, the second valve V6 and the fourth valve V8 and V5 are controlled to control the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer at the target pressure, so as to clean the wafer adsorption pipeline 15 while adsorbing the wafer.

[0055] Afterwards, in response to completing the cleaning of the wafer adsorption pipeline 15, the thin film deposition equipment can first desorb the wafer, and then close the second valve V6, the fourth valve V8, V5 and the first valve V1, V4 in sequence to evacuate the process chamber 11 and transfer the wafer out of the process chamber 11.

[0056] Specifically, during the process of desorbing the wafer, the thin film deposition equipment can reduce the opening of the first valve V1, V4 and / or the second valve V6, and / or increase the opening of the fourth valve V8, V5 to balance the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer and desorb the wafer.

[0057] Thereafter, in response to the wafer being transferred out of the process chamber 11 , the thin film deposition equipment may close the second valve V6 and open the first valves V1 , V4 , the third valve V7 , and the fourth valves V8 , V5 to simultaneously clean the process chamber 11 and the wafer adsorption line 15 .

[0058] Finally, in response to the completion of the synchronous cleaning of the process chamber 11 and the wafer adsorption line 15 , the first valve V1 , V4 , the second valve V6 , the third valve V7 , and the fourth valves V8 , V5 are closed.

[0059] Furthermore, in order to verify the adsorption effect of the thin film deposition equipment on the wafer after adding the second purge pipeline between the purge gas source 14 and the wafer adsorption pipeline 15, during the thin film deposition process, 500 sccm of NF3 gas and 500 sccm of Ar gas were respectively introduced into the process chamber 11, and the first pressure value and the second pressure value were continuously monitored.

[0060] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 A wafer adsorption force curve diagram according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0061] like Figure 5 As shown, the wafer adsorption force in the embodiment with the second purge line is consistently higher than the wafer adsorption force in the embodiment without the second purge line. Therefore, a thin film deposition apparatus equipped with a second purge line between the purge gas source 14 and the wafer adsorption line 15 can simultaneously clean the wafer adsorption line 15 while adsorbing the wafer, without affecting the wafer adsorption effect.

[0062] In summary, the above-mentioned thin film deposition equipment, thin film deposition method and computer-readable storage medium provided by the present invention can alleviate the internal leakage problem of the pneumatic valve by setting a new desorption gas introduction path, thereby reducing the maintenance cost of the thin film deposition equipment.

[0063] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity of explanation, it is to be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the acts, as some acts may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other acts from those illustrated and described herein or not illustrated and described herein but understandable to those skilled in the art according to one or more embodiments.

[0064] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A thin film deposition device, characterized in that: include: the process chamber, which includes the wafer tray; a vacuum pump connected to the wafer tray via a first valve and a wafer adsorption pipeline; a reaction gas source connected to the process chamber via a second valve, and configured to pass the reaction gas to the front surface of the wafer to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer; a purge gas source connected to the process chamber via a third valve for passing the purge gas to the front side of the wafer, and connected to the wafer tray via a fourth valve and the wafer adsorption line for passing the purge gas to the back side of the wafer; and The controller is configured to: after completing the thin film deposition process on the wafer, open the first valve, the second valve, and the fourth valve, and clean the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer by controlling the openings of the first valve, the second valve, and the fourth valve; in response to completing the cleaning of the wafer adsorption pipeline, first desorb the wafer, and then sequentially close the second valve, the fourth valve, and the first valve to evacuate the process chamber and transfer the wafer out of the process chamber; In response to the wafer being transferred out of the process chamber, the first valve, the third valve, and the fourth valve are opened to simultaneously clean the process chamber and the wafer adsorption pipeline.

2. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The step of desorbing the wafer comprises: The opening of the first valve and / or the second valve is reduced, and / or the opening of the fourth valve is increased, to balance the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer and desorb the wafer.

3. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The controller is further configured to: opening the first valve to provide a negative pressure of a target pressure between the front and back sides of the wafer to adsorb the wafer onto the wafer tray; and The second valve is opened to introduce the reaction gas into the front side of the wafer through the reaction gas source, so as to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer.

4. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: Also includes: A first barometer, disposed in the process chamber, to collect a first pressure value on the front side of the wafer; as well as A second barometer is provided in the wafer adsorption pipeline to collect a second air pressure value on the back side of the wafer, wherein the controller also determines the pressure difference between the front side and the back side of the wafer based on the first air pressure value and the second air pressure value.

5. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 4, wherein: The step of cleaning the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer by controlling the openings of the first valve, the second valve, and the fourth valve includes: While the purge gas is introduced into the wafer adsorption pipeline through the fourth valve, the openings of the first valve, the second valve and the fourth valve are controlled to control the pressure difference between the front and back sides of the wafer to the target pressure, so as to clean the wafer adsorption pipeline while adsorbing the wafer.

6. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The controller is further configured to: In response to completing the synchronous cleaning of the process chamber and the wafer adsorption line, the first valve, the third valve, and the fourth valve are closed.

7. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The purge gas source is selected from at least one of a nitrogen source, a helium source, and an argon source, and the purge gas is selected from at least one of nitrogen, helium, and argon, and / or The wafer tray uses a heating plate to heat the wafer to promote the thin film deposition process and the cleaning process, and / or The first valve, the second valve, the third valve and / or the fourth valve are pneumatic valves used to open or close corresponding gas pipelines.

8. The thin film deposition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: The gas pipeline from the bottom of the heating plate to the back of the wafer has a diameter less than 4 mm and a length greater than 300 mm. The vacuum pump extracts gas from the back of the wafer through the first valve, the wafer adsorption pipeline and the gas pipeline.

9. A thin film deposition method, characterized in that: include: After completing the thin film deposition process on the wafer, opening the first valve, the second valve, and the fourth valve of the thin film deposition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and by controlling the openings of the first valve, the second valve, and the fourth valve, while adsorbing the wafer, cleaning the wafer adsorption pipeline, wherein a vacuum pump is connected to a wafer tray via the first valve and the wafer adsorption pipeline, the wafer tray is disposed in a process chamber, a reaction gas source is connected to the process chamber via the second valve, a purge gas source is connected to the process chamber via the third valve, and is connected to the wafer tray via the fourth valve and the wafer adsorption pipeline; In response to the completion of cleaning the wafer adsorption pipeline, the wafer is first desorbed, and then the second valve, the fourth valve, and the first valve are closed in sequence to evacuate the process chamber to a vacuum state, and the wafer is transferred out of the process chamber; as well as In response to the wafer being transferred out of the process chamber, the first valve, the third valve, and the fourth valve are opened to simultaneously clean the process chamber and the wafer adsorption line.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the thin film deposition method according to claim 9 is implemented.

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