Pumping ring and assembly method thereof, reaction chamber and thin film deposition method

Abstract

The present invention provides an exhaust ring, an assembly method thereof, a reaction chamber, and a thin film deposition method. The exhaust ring comprises: an inner ring having a plurality of inner exhaust holes distributed thereon; an outer ring having a plurality of outer exhaust holes distributed thereon and connected to a vacuum pump via an exhaust port provided at at least one end of an outer annular exhaust pipe; and at least one baffle circumferentially provided between the inner ring and the outer ring near the exhaust port, for blocking the air path from at least one first inner exhaust hole near the exhaust port to at least one first outer exhaust hole near the exhaust port, thereby increasing the gas flow resistance between the first inner exhaust hole and the first outer exhaust hole.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of thin film deposition, and in particular to an exhaust ring, a reaction chamber, a thin film deposition method, and an assembly method of an exhaust ring. Background Art

[0002] Thin film deposition processes typically require low pressure or vacuum environments to ensure control and precision. Pumps help create and maintain this vacuum environment. By removing or reducing the number of gas molecules, the gas concentration during deposition is lower, which is beneficial for deposition uniformity and quality. Furthermore, pumps provide a suitable environment for the deposition process, ensuring the quality, uniformity, and performance of the thin film. This helps eliminate or reduce impurities in the system, avoid gas interference, control reaction rates, and improve deposition efficiency.

[0003] In conventional semiconductor process equipment (e.g., CVD equipment) using side extraction, the extraction holes of the extraction ring are evenly distributed. Consequently, the extraction rate in the reaction chamber decreases with increasing distance from the extraction port. This uneven pressure throughout the reaction chamber leads to uneven distribution of reactive gases at the wafer, resulting in an eccentric film thickness.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the existing technology, the field urgently needs an exhaust ring technology for balancing the exhaust rate at various positions in the reaction chamber so that the pressure of the reaction chamber is evenly distributed, thereby avoiding the eccentricity of the entire film thickness caused by uneven distribution of reaction gas, so as to improve the uniformity of thin film deposition. Summary of the Invention

[0005] 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.

[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides an exhaust ring, a reaction chamber, a thin film deposition method, and an assembly method of an exhaust ring, which are used to balance the exhaust rate at various positions in the reaction chamber so that the pressure in the reaction chamber is evenly distributed, thereby avoiding the eccentricity of the entire film thickness due to uneven distribution of reaction gas, thereby improving the uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0007] Specifically, the vacuum ring provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: an inner ring, on which a plurality of inner vacuum holes are distributed; an outer ring, on which a plurality of outer vacuum holes are distributed, and connected to a vacuum pump via a vacuum port provided at at least one end of the outer annular vacuum pipe; and at least one baffle, circumferentially provided between the inner ring and the outer ring near the vacuum port, for blocking the air path from at least one first inner vacuum hole near the vacuum port to at least one first outer vacuum hole near the vacuum port, so as to increase the gas flow resistance between the first inner vacuum hole and the first outer vacuum hole.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the exhaust ring is arranged on the inner side of the annular exhaust pipe on the side wall of the reaction chamber. A exhaust port is provided at one end of the annular exhaust pipe. The exhaust ring includes a plurality of baffles. The plurality of baffles are circumferentially distributed in the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring, with isolation plate channels maintained between each two, and the gap is radially divided into a first air channel and a second air channel. The gas inside the reaction chamber near the exhaust port first flows into the first air channel through the at least one first inner exhaust hole under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, and then flows into the second air channel through the isolation plate channel under the blocking action of the baffle, and then flows into the annular exhaust pipe through the at least one first outer exhaust hole, so as to go to the vacuum pump through the exhaust port. The gas inside the reaction chamber away from the gas pumping port, under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, first flows into the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring through at least one second inner gas pumping hole on the inner ring away from the gas pumping port, and then flows into the annular gas pumping pipe through at least one second outer gas pumping hole on the outer ring away from the gas pumping port, so as to go to the vacuum pump through the gas pumping port.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the length of each baffle decreases as the distance from the air extraction port increases.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the width of the isolation plate channel between the baffles increases as the distance from the air extraction port increases.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, each baffle and an adjacent isolation plate channel form a flow resistance compensation unit. The compensation flow resistance of each flow resistance compensation unit is positively correlated to the duty ratio of the baffle length. The compensation flow resistance of each flow resistance compensation unit is equal to the sum of the gas flow resistance between the corresponding at least one first inner air extraction hole and at least one first outer air extraction hole.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the bottom surface of the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring is provided with radially distributed grooves for clamping and installing a plurality of the baffles.

[0013] In addition, the reaction chamber provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes: a chamber body, a ring-shaped exhaust pipe is provided on the side wall of which, wherein the ring-shaped exhaust pipe is connected to a vacuum pump via an exhaust port provided at at least one end thereof; and an exhaust ring as described in the first aspect of the present invention, which is installed on the inner side of the ring-shaped exhaust pipe and is used to extract gas from the interior of the chamber body under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump.

[0014] In addition, the thin film deposition method provided according to the third aspect of the present invention uses the reaction chamber described in the second aspect of the present invention to perform thin film deposition.

[0015] In addition, the assembly method of the air pumping ring provided according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes the following steps: determining the gas flow resistance between the multiple inner air pumping holes and their corresponding outer air pumping holes on the air pumping ring as described in the first aspect of the present invention; determining the compensatory flow resistance required for at least one position on the air pumping ring based on the difference between the gas flow resistances; and installing a baffle of corresponding length and / or duty cycle to the corresponding position based on the required compensatory flow resistance.

[0016] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of determining the gas flow resistance between the multiple internal pumping holes and their corresponding external pumping holes includes: determining the target pumping rate, the pumping starting pressure and / or the pumping ending pressure in the thin film deposition process; pumping the pumping ring without the baffle installed at the target pumping rate according to the pumping starting pressure and / or the pumping ending pressure to measure the gas flow passing through each of the internal pumping holes and their corresponding external pumping holes; and determining the gas flow resistance between each of the internal pumping holes and their corresponding external pumping holes according to the gas flow passing through each of the internal pumping holes and their corresponding external pumping holes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] 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.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a reaction chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of an air pumping ring provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the partial structure of an air pumping ring provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of an assembly method of an air pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Reference numerals:

[0023] 10 Chamber body

[0024] 20 Exhaust pipe

[0025] 21 Exhaust port

[0026] 30 Pumping ring

[0027] 31 Inner Ring

[0028] 311 First inner exhaust hole

[0029] 32 Outer Ring

[0030] 321 First external exhaust hole

[0031] 33 Baffle

[0032] 34 First Airway

[0033] 35 Second Airway DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] 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 contain 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] In conventional semiconductor process equipment (e.g., CVD equipment) using side extraction, the extraction holes in the extraction ring are evenly distributed. Consequently, the extraction rate in the reaction chamber decreases with increasing distance from the extraction port. This uneven pressure throughout the reaction chamber leads to uneven distribution of reactive gases at the wafer, resulting in an eccentric film thickness.

[0039] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides an exhaust ring, a reaction chamber, and an assembly method of an exhaust ring, which are used to balance the exhaust rate at various positions in the reaction chamber so that the pressure in the reaction chamber is evenly distributed, thereby avoiding the eccentricity of the entire film thickness caused by uneven distribution of reaction gas, thereby improving the uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0040] In some non-limiting embodiments, the pumping ring provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured in the reaction chamber provided in the second aspect of the present invention. The thin film deposition method provided in the third aspect of the present invention can be implemented based on the reaction chamber provided in the second aspect of the present invention. The assembly method of the pumping ring provided in the fourth aspect of the present invention can be implemented based on the pumping ring provided in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0041] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3 . Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a reaction chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of an air pumping ring provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the partial structure of an air pumping ring provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0042] like Figure 1As shown, the reaction chamber provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a chamber body 10 and an exhaust ring 30. An annular exhaust pipe 20 is provided on the sidewall of the chamber body 10. The annular exhaust pipe 20 can be connected to a vacuum pump via an exhaust port 21 provided at at least one end thereof. The exhaust ring 30 is mounted on the inner side of the annular exhaust pipe 20 and is used to extract gas from the interior of the chamber body 10 under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump.

[0043] Furthermore, the thin film deposition method provided in the third aspect of the present invention uses the reaction chamber of the second aspect of the present invention to perform thin film deposition.

[0044] like Figures 2 and 3 As shown, the vacuum ring 30 provided in the first aspect of the present invention includes an inner ring 31, an outer ring 32, and at least one baffle 33. A plurality of inner vacuum holes are distributed on the inner ring 31. A plurality of outer vacuum holes are distributed on the outer ring 32, and are connected to the vacuum pump via the vacuum port 21 provided at at least one end of the outer annular vacuum pipe 20. At least one baffle 33 is circumferentially arranged between the inner ring 31 and the outer ring 32 near the vacuum port 21, and is used to block the gas path from at least one first inner vacuum hole 311 near the vacuum port 21 to at least one first outer vacuum hole 321 near the vacuum port 21, so as to increase the gas flow resistance between the first inner vacuum hole 311 and the first outer vacuum hole 321.

[0045] Furthermore, an exhaust ring 30 is disposed inside the annular exhaust duct 20 on the sidewall of the reaction chamber. An exhaust port 21 is provided at one end of the annular exhaust duct 20. The exhaust ring 30 includes a plurality of baffles 33. The baffles 33 are circumferentially distributed in the gap between the inner ring 31 and the outer ring 32, maintaining a separation plate channel between each baffle, and radially dividing the gap into a first air channel 34 and a second air channel 35.

[0046] Specifically, the gas inside the reaction chamber near the exhaust port 21 first flows into the first air channel 34 through at least one first inner exhaust hole 311 under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, and then flows into the second air channel 35 through the isolation plate channel under the blocking action of the baffle 33, and then flows into the annular exhaust pipe 20 through at least one first outer exhaust hole 321, and then goes to the vacuum pump through the exhaust port 21.

[0047] Under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, the gas inside the reaction chamber away from the exhaust port 21 first flows into the gap between the inner ring 31 and the outer ring 32 through at least one second inner exhaust hole on the inner ring 31 away from the exhaust port 21, and then flows into the annular exhaust pipe 20 through at least one second outer exhaust hole on the outer ring 32 away from the exhaust port 21, and then goes to the vacuum pump through the exhaust port 21.

[0048] Furthermore, the length of the baffle 33 can be reduced as the distance to the gas pumping port 21 increases, thereby increasing the gas flow rate at a position farther away from the gas pumping port 21, making the pressure in the reaction chamber evenly distributed, and improving the uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0049] Furthermore, the width of the isolation plate channel between each baffle 33 can increase as the distance to the exhaust port 21 increases, thereby increasing the gas flow rate at a position farther away from the exhaust port 21, making the pressure in the reaction chamber evenly distributed, thereby improving the uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0050] Furthermore, each baffle 33 and an adjacent isolation plate channel form a flow resistance compensation unit. The compensation flow resistance of each flow resistance compensation unit is directly proportional to the duty cycle of the baffle 33 length. The compensation flow resistance of each flow resistance compensation unit is equal to the sum of the gas flow resistance between the corresponding at least one first inner gas extraction hole 311 and at least one first outer gas extraction hole 321, thereby achieving uniform pressure distribution in the reaction chamber and improving uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0051] Furthermore, the bottom surface of the gap between the inner ring 31 and the outer ring 32 is provided with radially distributed grooves for clamping and installing multiple baffles 33.

[0052] In addition, please refer to Figure 4 . Figure 4 A schematic flow chart of an assembly method of an air pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0053] like Figure 4 As shown, during the assembly of the air pumping ring 30 provided by the first aspect of the present invention, technicians can first perform step S1: determine the gas flow resistance between multiple inner air pumping holes and their corresponding outer air pumping holes on the air pumping ring 30 as in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0054] Specifically, in order to determine the gas flow resistance, it is first necessary to determine the target pumping rate, the pumping starting pressure and / or the pumping end pressure in the thin film deposition process; according to the pumping starting pressure and / or the pumping end pressure, the pumping ring 30 without the baffle 33 is pumped at the target pumping rate to measure the gas flow through each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole; and according to the gas flow through each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole, determine the gas flow resistance between each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole.

[0055] Afterwards, the technicians can perform steps S2 and S3 in sequence: determine the compensatory flow resistance required for at least one position on the exhaust ring 30 based on the differences between the gas flow resistances, and install baffles 33 of corresponding length and / or duty cycle at the corresponding positions according to the required compensatory flow resistance, so that there are approximate actual gas flow resistances between the inner exhaust holes and the corresponding outer exhaust holes in all directions of the exhaust ring 30.

[0056] In summary, the above-mentioned exhaust ring 30 and its assembly method, reaction chamber, and thin film deposition method provided by the present invention can all use the baffle 33 between the inner and outer circle exhaust holes to allow the gas to be extracted through the first inner exhaust hole 311, the annular exhaust pipe 20, and the first outer exhaust hole 321, thereby balancing the exhaust rate at various positions in the reaction chamber and making the pressure of the reaction chamber evenly distributed, so as to improve the uniformity of thin film deposition.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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 pumping ring, characterized in that: include: An inner ring having a plurality of inner air extraction holes distributed thereon; An outer ring having a plurality of external air extraction holes distributed thereon and connected to a vacuum pump via an air extraction port provided at at least one end of the outer annular air extraction pipe; at least one baffle, circumferentially disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring near the air pumping port, for blocking an air path from at least one first inner air pumping hole near the air pumping port to at least one first outer air pumping hole near the air pumping port, thereby increasing a gas flow resistance between the first inner air pumping hole and the first outer air pumping hole; as well as The pumping ring is assembled by the following steps: determining a target pumping rate, a pumping starting pressure, and / or a pumping ending pressure in a thin film deposition process; According to the pumping starting pressure and / or the pumping ending pressure, at the target pumping rate, the pumping ring without the baffle installed is pumped to measure the gas flow rate flowing through each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole; based on the gas flow rate flowing through each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole, the gas flow resistance between each inner pumping hole and its corresponding outer pumping hole is determined; According to the difference between the gas flow resistances, the required compensatory flow resistance of at least one position on the pumping ring is determined; and according to the required compensatory flow resistance, a baffle with a corresponding length and / or duty cycle is installed at the corresponding position.

2. The air pumping ring according to claim 1, characterized in that The pumping ring is arranged on the inner side of the annular pumping pipe on the side wall of the reaction chamber, one end of the annular pumping pipe is provided with a pumping port, and the pumping ring includes a plurality of baffles, wherein: The plurality of baffles are circumferentially distributed in the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring, maintaining a separation plate channel between each baffle, and dividing the gap into a first air channel and a second air channel in the radial direction. The gas inside the reaction chamber near the gas pumping port first flows into the first gas channel through the at least one first inner gas pumping hole under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, then flows into the second gas channel through the isolation plate channel under the blocking action of the baffle, and then flows into the annular gas pumping pipe through the at least one first outer gas pumping hole, and then flows to the vacuum pump through the gas pumping port. The gas inside the reaction chamber away from the gas pumping port, under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump, first flows into the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring through at least one second inner gas pumping hole on the inner ring away from the gas pumping port, and then flows into the annular gas pumping pipe through at least one second outer gas pumping hole on the outer ring away from the gas pumping port, so as to go to the vacuum pump through the gas pumping port.

3. The air pumping ring according to claim 2, characterized in that: The length of each baffle decreases as the distance from the air extraction port increases.

4. The air pumping ring according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The width of the isolation plate channel between the baffles increases as the distance to the air extraction port increases.

5. The air pumping ring according to claim 4, characterized in that: Each of the baffles and one of the adjacent isolation plate channels constitutes a flow resistance compensation unit, wherein: The compensation flow resistance of each flow resistance compensation unit is positively correlated to the duty cycle of the baffle length. The compensation flow resistance of each of the flow resistance compensation units is equal to the sum of the gas flow resistance between the corresponding at least one first inner air pumping hole and at least one first outer air pumping hole.

6. The air pumping ring according to claim 5, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the gap between the inner ring and the outer ring is provided with radially distributed clamping grooves for clamping and installing a plurality of the baffles.

7. A reaction chamber, characterized in that: include: The chamber body has an annular exhaust pipe provided on its side wall, wherein the annular exhaust pipe is connected to a vacuum pump via an exhaust port provided at at least one end thereof; as well as The exhaust ring according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is installed on the inner side of the annular exhaust pipe, and is used to extract gas from the interior of the chamber body under the action of the negative pressure provided by the vacuum pump.

8. A thin film deposition method, characterized in that: The reaction chamber as claimed in claim 7 is used to perform thin film deposition.

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