Process chamber, thin film deposition apparatus, thin film deposition method, and storage medium

Abstract

This invention provides a process chamber, a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium. The process chamber includes a heating plate, a lifting mechanism, a ceramic ring, and a controller. The heating plate is used to hold the wafer to be processed. The lifting mechanism is used to drive the heating plate to move up and down. The ceramic ring is disposed on the heating plate and aligned with it. The ceramic ring has a multi-layer structure: the lower layer has an opening facing the wafer transfer direction, the middle layer has fully enclosed ceramic sidewalls, and the upper layer has multiple circumferentially arranged vent holes. The controller is configured to: during the wafer transfer stage, adjust the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism; during the heating stage, adjust the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism; and during the process stage, adjust the heating plate to the upper layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor device processing, and in particular, to a process chamber, a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the thin film deposition process, in order to improve the film quality of the wafer and ensure the stability of the deposition process, it is very important to maintain uniform temperature distribution in the thin film deposition apparatus. However, in the existing thin film deposition apparatus, due to the non-uniform temperature distribution in the process chamber, the thickness of the film obtained after deposition is not uniform. The film is thicker at a position closer to the wafer transfer passage of the process chamber, and the film is thinner at a position farther away from the wafer transfer passage of the process chamber. Moreover, the deposition rate in the chamber is unstable, which may affect the film quality.

[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects, the prior art provides an improved technology of adding a ceramic or aluminum bushing at the wafer entrance of the chamber passage to close the wafer transfer opening and improve the temperature uniformity in all directions of the wafer. However, this improved technology of adding a moving bushing on the one hand needs to add moving parts, greatly increasing the hardware cost and maintenance cost of the thin film deposition apparatus, and on the other hand may cause wafer transfer risk due to hardware sliding friction and generate micro-particle contamination on the wafer, thereby affecting the performance, reliability and yield of the wafer.

[0004] In order to further overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for an improved process chamber for improving the temperature of the wafer to be processed at the wafer transfer passage of the process chamber, thereby controlling the uniform distribution of the temperature in the chamber and avoiding the wafer transfer risk and micro-particle contamination risk caused by hardware sliding friction, so as to improve the film quality of the wafer. SUMMARY

[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate 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 is presented later.

[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present application provides a process chamber, a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method and a computer readable storage medium for improving the temperature of the wafer to be processed at the wafer transfer passage of the process chamber, thereby controlling the uniform distribution of the temperature in the chamber, so as to improve the film quality of the wafer.

[0007] Specifically, the process chamber provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a heating plate, a lifting mechanism, a ceramic ring, and a controller. The heating plate is used to hold the wafer to be processed. The lifting mechanism is used to drive the heating plate to move up and down. The ceramic ring is disposed on the heating plate and aligned with it. The ceramic ring has a multi-layer structure, with a lower layer having an opening facing the wafer transfer direction, a middle layer having fully enclosed ceramic sidewalls, and an upper layer having multiple circumferentially arranged vent holes. The controller is configured to: during the wafer transfer stage, adjust the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism; during the heating stage, adjust the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism; and during the process stage, adjust the heating plate to the upper layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller is also configured to: in response to the completed wafer being transferred out of the process chamber, during the cleaning phase of the process chamber, adjust the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism for heat preservation until re-entering the wafer transfer phase.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the top and / or bottom of the outer side of the ceramic ring are provided with multiple positioning structures for fixedly connecting to the inner wall of the process chamber, so as to realize the positioning of the ceramic ring in the process chamber.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the ceramic ring is composed of multiple ring bodies spliced ​​together. The top of the lower ring and the bottom of the middle ring are respectively provided with multiple positioning structures to achieve positioning of the lower ring and the middle ring, and / or the top of the middle ring and the bottom of the upper ring are respectively provided with multiple positioning structures to achieve positioning of the middle ring and the upper ring.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the positioning structure includes a serrated structure. A first serrated structure located on the first component and a second serrated structure located on the second component engage with each other to achieve positioning of the first component and the second component.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the opening in the lower layer of the ceramic ring is aligned with the heating plate, its width is greater than the width of the wafer to be transferred, and its height is adapted to the height of the wafer to be transferred.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of vent holes are uniformly distributed circumferentially on the upper layer of the ceramic ring, or the diameter and / or distribution density of the plurality of vent holes decrease as they approach the main vent port eccentrically located in the process chamber. The main vent port is located on the side of the ceramic ring.

[0014] Furthermore, the thin film deposition apparatus provided according to a second aspect of the present invention includes the process chamber and wafer transfer mechanism provided in the first aspect of the present invention. The wafer transfer mechanism is aligned with an opening in the lower layer of the ceramic ring in the process chamber for inserting a wafer to be processed into the opening and removing the processed wafer from the opening.

[0015] Furthermore, the thin film deposition method provided by the third aspect of the present invention includes the following steps: adjusting a heating plate to the lower layer of a ceramic ring in a process chamber as provided by the first aspect of the present invention, so that a wafer transfer mechanism can place a wafer to be processed into the heating plate through an opening provided in the lower layer of the ceramic ring; adjusting the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring to uniformly heat the wafer to be processed; adjusting the heating plate to the upper layer of the ceramic ring and extracting process exhaust gas through a plurality of vent holes provided in the upper layer of the ceramic ring to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer; and adjusting the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring so that the wafer transfer mechanism can remove the processed wafer from the opening.

[0016] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, after the wafer transfer mechanism removes the processed wafer from the opening, the thin film deposition method further includes the following steps: during the cleaning of the process chamber, adjusting the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring for heat preservation until the wafer transfer stage is entered again.

[0017] Furthermore, the computer-readable storage medium provided according to the fourth aspect of the present invention stores computer instructions thereon. When the computer instructions are executed by a processor, the thin film deposition method as provided in the second aspect of the present invention is implemented. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The above-described features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure label:

[0022] 10 Process Chambers

[0023] 11 Heating Plate

[0024] 12 Lifting Mechanism

[0025] 13 Ceramic Rings

[0026] 131 Air extraction port Detailed Implementation

[0027] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a thorough understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0028] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0029] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in the relevant paragraphs and accompanying drawings. These relative terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply that the described apparatus must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0030] It is understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first components, regions, layers, and / or parts discussed below may be referred to as second components, regions, layers, and / or parts without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] As mentioned above, in existing thin film deposition equipment, the uneven temperature distribution within the process chamber results in uneven film thickness distribution after deposition. Thicker films are deposited closer to the wafer transfer channel within the process chamber, while thinner films are deposited further away. Furthermore, the unstable deposition rate within the chamber can negatively impact film quality.

[0032] To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a process chamber, a thin film deposition apparatus, a thin film deposition method, and a computer-readable storage medium for increasing the temperature at the wafer transfer channel of the wafer to be processed entering the process chamber, thereby controlling the uniform temperature distribution within the chamber to improve the film deposition quality of the wafer.

[0033] In some non-limiting embodiments, the process chamber provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured in the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the second aspect of the present invention. Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the second aspect of the present invention further includes a wafer transfer mechanism (e.g., a vacuum manipulator). This wafer transfer mechanism is aligned with the opening in the lower layer of the ceramic ring in the process chamber for inserting the wafer to be processed into the opening and removing the processed wafer from the opening.

[0034] Furthermore, the process chamber provided in the first aspect of the present invention may be equipped with a memory and a controller. The memory includes, but is not limited to, the computer-readable storage medium described in the fourth aspect of the present invention, on which computer instructions are stored. The controller is connected to the memory and configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory to implement the thin film deposition method described in the third aspect of the present invention.

[0035] Please refer to the details. Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0036] exist Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the process chamber 10 provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a heating plate 11, a lifting mechanism 12, a ceramic ring 13, and a controller. The heating plate 11 is used to hold the wafer to be processed. The lifting mechanism 12 is used to drive the heating plate 11 to move up and down. The ceramic ring 13 is disposed on the heating plate 11 and aligned with the heating plate 11. Here, the ceramic ring 13 includes a multi-layer structure. The lower layer of the ceramic ring 13 has an opening facing the wafer transfer direction for receiving the wafer to be processed transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism. The middle layer of the ceramic ring 13 has a fully enclosed ceramic sidewall for heat preservation of the heating plate and to ensure uniform temperature distribution in all directions of the wafer. The upper layer of the ceramic ring 13 has a plurality of circumferentially arranged vent holes 131 for extracting residual gas during the thin film deposition process.

[0037] Furthermore, the plurality of vent holes 131 are evenly distributed circumferentially on the upper layer of the ceramic ring 13. Alternatively, the diameter and / or distribution density of the plurality of vent holes 131 decrease as they approach the main vent port eccentrically located in the process chamber 10. Here, the main vent port is located on the side of the ceramic ring 13.

[0038] In addition, the top and / or bottom of the outer side of the ceramic ring 13 are provided with multiple positioning structures for fixing and connecting to the inner wall of the process chamber 10, so as to realize the positioning of the ceramic ring 13 in the process chamber 10.

[0039] Furthermore, the ceramic ring 13 is composed of multiple ring bodies spliced ​​together. Multiple positioning structures are provided at the top of the lower ring and the bottom of the middle ring to achieve positioning between the lower and middle rings. Alternatively, multiple positioning structures are provided at the top of the middle ring and the bottom of the upper ring to achieve positioning between the middle and upper rings. Here, the positioning structure includes a serrated structure. The first serrated structure located in the first component and the second serrated structure located in the second component engage with each other to achieve positioning between the first and second components.

[0040] Furthermore, the opening of the lower layer of the ceramic ring 13 is aligned with the heating plate 11, and its width is greater than the width of the wafer to be transferred, while its height (e.g., 20-30 mm) is adapted to the height of the wafer to be transferred, so that the wafer transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism can be directly transferred to the lower layer of the ceramic ring 13.

[0041] The working principle of the above-described thin film deposition apparatus will be described below with reference to some embodiments of thin film deposition methods. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments of thin film deposition methods are merely non-limiting implementations provided by the present invention, intended to clearly demonstrate the main concepts of the invention and provide specific solutions convenient for public implementation, rather than limiting all functions or operating methods of the thin film deposition apparatus. Similarly, the thin film deposition apparatus is also only one non-limiting implementation provided by the present invention, and does not constitute a limitation on the subject or order of execution of each step in these thin film deposition methods.

[0042] Please refer to the details. Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a thin film deposition method according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0043] like Figure 2As shown, the controller can first adjust the heating plate 11 to the lower layer of the ceramic ring 13 in the process chamber 10 provided in the first aspect of the invention, so that the wafer transfer mechanism can place the wafer to be processed into the heating plate 11 through the opening provided in the lower layer of the ceramic ring 13. Then, the controller can adjust the heating plate 11 to the middle layer of the ceramic ring 13 to uniformly heat (e.g., 550°C) the wafer to be processed. Next, the controller can adjust the heating plate 11 to the upper layer of the ceramic ring 13 and extract the process exhaust gas through a plurality of vent holes 131 provided in the upper layer of the ceramic ring 13 to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer. Finally, the controller can adjust the heating plate 11 to the lower layer of the ceramic ring 13 so that the wafer transfer mechanism can remove the processed wafer from the opening.

[0044] Subsequently, during the cleaning process chamber 10, the heating plate 11 is adjusted to the middle layer of the ceramic ring 13 for heat preservation until the transfer stage is entered again.

[0045] Therefore, the controller can control the lifting mechanism 12 to drive the heating plate 11 to move up and down between the lower, middle and upper layers of the ceramic ring 13 to complete different stages in the thin film deposition process.

[0046] In summary, compared with conventional techniques that result in uneven temperature distribution in the process chamber, and improved techniques that add moving bushings, the process chamber, thin film deposition equipment, thin film deposition method, and computer-readable storage medium provided by the present invention can, on the one hand, increase the temperature at the wafer transfer channel of the wafer to be processed entering the process chamber, thereby controlling the uniform temperature distribution within the chamber; on the other hand, they can avoid the wafer transfer risks and microparticle contamination risks caused by hardware sliding friction, thereby improving the film deposition quality of the wafer.

[0047] Although the methods described above are illustrated and depicted as a series of actions for the sake of simplicity, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from the illustrations and descriptions herein or not illustrated and described herein but which may be understood by those skilled in the art, according to one or more embodiments.

[0048] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this 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 this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A process chamber, comprising: The process chamber comprises: a heating plate for carrying a wafer to be processed; a lifting mechanism for driving the heating plate to lift up and down; a ceramic ring arranged above and aligned with the heating plate, the top and / or bottom of the outer side of the ceramic ring is provided with a plurality of first positioning structures for fixedly connecting the inner wall of the process chamber to realize the positioning of the ceramic ring in the process chamber, wherein the ceramic ring comprises a multi-layer structure, the lower layer is provided with an opening facing the wafer transfer direction, the middle layer has a fully enclosed ceramic side wall, and the upper layer is provided with a plurality of exhaust holes in the circumferential direction, the ceramic ring is composed of a plurality of ring bodies, the top of the lower layer ring and the bottom of the middle layer ring are respectively provided with a plurality of second positioning structures to realize the positioning of the lower layer ring and the middle layer ring, and the top of the middle layer ring and the bottom of the upper layer ring are respectively provided with a plurality of second positioning structures to realize the positioning of the middle layer ring and the upper layer ring; and a controller configured to: in the wafer transfer stage, adjust the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism; in the heating stage, adjust the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism, and in the process stage, adjust the heating plate to the upper layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism.

2. The process chamber of claim 1, wherein, The controller is further configured to: in response to the wafer completing the process being transferred out of the process chamber, in the stage of cleaning the process chamber, adjust the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring via the lifting mechanism for heat preservation until the wafer transfer stage is entered again.

3. The process chamber of claim 1, wherein, The second positioning structure comprises a sawtooth structure, wherein the first sawtooth structure located on the first component and the second sawtooth structure located on the second component are engaged with each other to realize the positioning of the first component and the second component.

4. The process chamber of claim 1, wherein, The opening of the lower layer of the ceramic ring is aligned with the heating plate, the width of the opening is greater than the width of the wafer to be transferred, and the height of the opening is adapted to the height of the wafer to be transferred.

5. The process chamber of claim 1, wherein, The plurality of exhaust holes are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction of the upper layer of the ceramic ring, or The plurality of exhaust holes are arranged in a distribution density and / or aperture that decreases as they approach the total exhaust port arranged eccentrically in the process chamber, wherein the total exhaust port is located on the side of the ceramic ring.

6. A thin film deposition apparatus characterized by comprising: The process chamber comprises: The process chamber according to any one of claims 1-5; and A wafer transfer mechanism aligned with the opening of the lower layer of the ceramic ring in the process chamber for putting the wafer to be processed into the opening and taking the wafer completing the process out of the opening. The process chamber comprises the following steps:

7. A thin film deposition method, characterized by, Adjusting the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring in the process chamber according to any one of claims 1-5 for the wafer transfer mechanism to put the wafer to be processed into the heating plate via the opening provided in the lower layer of the ceramic ring; Adjusting the heating plate to the middle layer of the ceramic ring to uniformly heat the wafer to be processed; Adjusting the heating plate to the upper layer of the ceramic ring and exhausting the process tail gas via the plurality of exhaust holes provided in the upper layer of the ceramic ring to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer; and Adjusting the heating plate to the lower layer of the ceramic ring for the wafer transfer mechanism to take the wafer completing the process out of the opening. The process chamber comprises the following steps: ​ 8. The thin film deposition method of claim 7, wherein, After the wafer is removed from the opening by the wafer transfer mechanism, the thin film deposition method further comprises the following steps: During the cleaning phase of the process chamber, the heating plate is adjusted to the middle layer of the ceramic ring for heat preservation until the wafer transfer phase is entered again.

9. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, wherein, The computer instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the thin film deposition method as claimed in claim 7 or 8.

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