Plasma treatment equipment

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and provides a plasma processing device, including: an equipment cavity, including: a first cavity and a second cavity located below the first cavity and connected to the first cavity; the first cavity is used to introduce gas; a guide member, which is arranged outside the bottom opening of the first cavity in a ring to form a guide channel with a variable diameter; a gas-leveling member, which is arranged below the guide member in the second cavity and can be raised and lowered, and has a plurality of gas guide holes; the gas guide holes are inclined relative to the up and down directions; a carrier for carrying samples; a lifting component that drives the gas-leveling member; a control unit that controls the movement of the lifting component, which adjusts the distance between the gas-leveling member and the sample to change the plasma density distribution of the plasma at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample to be processed. Through the combined effect of the liftable gas-leveling member and the gas guide holes and the guide member, direct adjustment of the gas distribution is achieved to efficiently and quickly adjust the distribution of the plasma.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and more particularly to a plasma processing device. Background Art

[0002] The plasma processing device usually includes an equipment chamber and a carrier at the bottom of the equipment chamber, such as an electrostatic chuck (ESC) or a hot plate, etc. The carrier is used to carry and adsorb the wafer. When the wafer is subjected to etching or deposition processing, gas will be introduced into the equipment chamber, and the gas will form plasma under the excitation of the radio frequency electric field in the equipment chamber, and the plasma will chemically react and / or physically act on the surface of the wafer. Generally, in the etching process, there are two types of plasma formed by the plasma processing equipment. One is capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), which forms a high-frequency electric field by applying radio frequency voltage to the upper and lower electrode plates of the equipment chamber. Electrons gain energy under the action of the electric field, which triggers the ionization of gas molecules to form plasma; the other is inductively coupled plasma (ICP), which generates high-density plasma by applying radio frequency current to a vortex-shaped plasma source coil (which can be a plane or spiral cylindrical shape). The formed plasma can be used to etch the semiconductor material on the surface of the wafer, or to remove the photoresist.

[0003] In order to make the surface treatment of the wafer uniform, that is, the processing rate between the center and the edge should be uniform, in the relevant technology, the air intake device, the plasma source coil that forms the plasma, etc. will be structurally designed, such as the movable structure, the shape design of the plasma source coil, etc., but in fact they all indirectly act on the gas that forms the plasma, and the effect is not significant enough. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a plasma processing device to solve the problems in the related art.

[0005] The first aspect of the present disclosure provides a plasma processing device, comprising: a device chamber, comprising: a first chamber with a bottom opening; and a second chamber located below the first chamber and connected to the bottom opening of the first chamber; the first chamber is provided with a vent hole for introducing a gas used to form plasma; a guide member is arranged outside the bottom opening of the first chamber to form a guide channel of a variable diameter connecting the bottom opening and the second chamber; a gas leveling member is arranged in a movably movable manner in the second chamber and is located below the guide member; a plurality of gas guide holes are arranged on the gas leveling member from the center to the edge; wherein each of the gas leveling members is provided with a plurality of gas guide holes; The depth direction of the gas guide hole is inclined relative to the up and down direction; wherein, the variable diameter structure of the guide channel of the guide member and the inclined structure of each gas guide hole form a combined gathering and dispersion effect on the passing gas; a carrier, located in the second cavity and below the gas uniformizing member, is used to carry the sample to be treated by plasma; a lifting component, connected to drive the lifting of the gas uniformizing member; a control unit, connected to the lifting component, is used to control the lifting of the gas uniformizing member to adjust the distance between the gas uniformizing member and the carrier, so as to adjust the plasma density distribution of the plasma at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample to be treated.

[0006] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the guide member presents a decrease in cross-sectional area along the direction approaching the air leveling member to form a gathering effect; in the direction away from the guide member, the air guide holes of the air leveling member from the center to the edge deviate outward relative to the central axis to form a diffusion effect.

[0007] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the gas uniformizing element can be horizontally rotatable around the central axis to adjust the plasma density distribution in the circumferential direction of the sample surface; and / or, the gas uniformizing element can be horizontally flipped to switch between gathering and diffusion effects.

[0008] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the combined gathering and dispersing action includes at least one of the following: gathering first and then spreading; gathering first and then gathering.

[0009] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the lifting assembly includes: a lifting mechanism, which is arranged to be able to move up and down, connected to and drives the gas uniforming member to move up and down; a lifting drive unit, which is connected to the lifting mechanism and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit, and is used to drive the movement of the lifting mechanism.

[0010] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the lifting drive unit and the control unit are located outside the equipment cavity; the lifting mechanism can move relatively up and down and is sealed through the shell wall of the equipment cavity to connect to the lifting drive unit; the lifting drive unit and the control unit are connected by wire.

[0011] In an embodiment of the first aspect, a rotating assembly is connected between the lifting mechanism and the air leveling member, and the rotating assembly includes: a rotating mechanism, which is arranged to be horizontally rotatable and connected to and drives the air leveling member to rotate horizontally; a rotating driving unit, which is connected to the rotating mechanism and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit, and is used to drive the movement of the rotating mechanism;

[0012] Alternatively, a flip assembly is connected between the lifting mechanism and the air leveling member, and the flip assembly includes: a flip mechanism, which is rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis, connected to and drives the air leveling member to flip; a flip driving unit, which is connected to the flip mechanism and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit, and is used to drive the movement of the flip mechanism;

[0013] Alternatively, a second rotating component and a second flipping component are connected between the lifting mechanism and the air equalizing member; the second rotating component includes a second rotating mechanism and a rotation driving unit; the second flipping component includes a second flipping mechanism and a flipping driving unit; the second rotating mechanism can be arranged to move horizontally, the second flipping mechanism includes a flipping member that can be driven to rotate horizontally and is combined with the second rotating mechanism, and the air equalizing member is flippably connected to the flipping member and is driven to flip by the flip driving unit.

[0014] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the lifting assembly is located in the equipment cavity and is wirelessly connected to the control unit or is wired to be communicatively connected to the control unit through a vacuum interface on the shell wall of the equipment cavity.

[0015] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the plasma forms an etchant for photoresist or semiconductor material on the surface of the sample.

[0016] In an embodiment of the first aspect, the plasma processing equipment is an inductively coupled plasma processing equipment; the first cavity is protruding relative to the second cavity, and a cylindrical spiral plasma source coil is wound around the outside of the first cavity, or a flat coiled plasma source coil is arranged outside the cavity of the equipment.

[0017] As described above, the present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and provides a plasma processing device, including: an equipment cavity, including: a first cavity and a second cavity located below the first cavity and connected to the first cavity; the first cavity is used to introduce gas; a guide member, which is arranged outside the bottom opening of the first cavity in a ring to form a guide channel with a variable diameter; a gas leveling member, which is arranged below the guide member in the second cavity in a liftable manner and has a plurality of gas guide holes; the gas guide holes are inclined relative to the up and down directions; the diameter change of the guide channel and the inclination of each of the gas guide holes form a gathering and dispersion combination effect on the passing gas; a carrier for carrying a sample; a lifting component that drives the gas leveling member; a control unit that controls the movement of the lifting component, which adjusts the distance between the gas leveling member and the sample to change the plasma density distribution of the plasma at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample to be processed. Through the liftable gas leveling member and the gathering and dispersion combination effect of the gas guide holes and the guide member, direct adjustment of the gas distribution is achieved to efficiently and quickly adjust the distribution of the plasma. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a plasma processing device in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2 exhibit Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the internal structure of the plasma processing equipment after the gas homogenizing member is lowered.

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the movement of the gas leveling member rotating horizontally in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the structure of the rotation of the gas leveling member in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the movement of the gas leveling member flipping horizontally in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing the structure of the gas leveling member flipping in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure for realizing the rotation and flipping of the gas leveling member in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a computer device in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following is an explanation of the embodiments of the present disclosure by specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present disclosure from the information disclosed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in the present disclosure can also be modified or changed in various ways according to different viewpoints and application modules without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0027] The following is a detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0028] In the representations of the present disclosure, the reference terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" and the like mean that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics represented in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics represented may be combined in any one or a group of embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine different embodiments or examples represented in the present disclosure and the features of different embodiments or examples, unless they are mutually contradictory.

[0029] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the representation of the present disclosure, "a group" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0030] In order to clearly describe the present disclosure, components not related to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar components throughout the specification.

[0031] Throughout the specification, when a device is said to be "connected" to another device, this includes not only the case of "direct connection" but also the case of "indirect connection" by placing other elements therebetween. In addition, when a device is said to "include" a certain component, unless otherwise stated, it does not exclude other components, but means that other components may be included.

[0032] Although the terms first, second, etc. are used to represent various elements in this article in some examples, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, the first interface and the second interface, etc. are represented. Moreover, as used in this article, the singular forms "one", "one" and "the" are intended to also include plural forms, unless there is an opposite indication in the context. It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" and "including" indicate that there are the described features, steps, operations, elements, modules, projects, kinds, and / or groups, but do not exclude the existence, occurrence or addition of one or a group of other features, steps, operations, elements, modules, projects, kinds, and / or groups. The terms "or" and "and / or" used herein are interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. Therefore, "A, B or C" or "A, B and / or C" means "any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C". Only when the combination of elements, functions, steps or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way, will there be an exception to this definition.

[0033] The technical terms used herein are only used to refer to specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular form used herein also includes the plural form unless the sentence clearly indicates the contrary meaning. The meaning of "including" used in the specification is to specify specific characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, and does not exclude the existence or addition of other characteristics, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components.

[0034] Although not defined differently, all terms, including technical and scientific terms used herein, have the same meaning as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are additionally interpreted as having meanings consistent with relevant technical literature and the message of the present disclosure, and shall not be overly interpreted as ideal or very formal meanings unless defined.

[0035] In the related art, a plasma processing device generates plasma by applying a radio frequency electric field to a gas, so as to process semiconductor materials on a wafer surface or photoresist.

[0036] In order to make the surface treatment of the wafer uniform, structural designs are usually performed on the air intake device, the plasma source coil that forms the plasma, etc., such as movable structures, the shape design of the plasma source coil, etc. However, in fact, they all indirectly act on the gas that forms the plasma, and the effect is not significant enough.

[0037] In view of this, a plasma processing device is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, which can directly adjust the plasma density distribution at different positions of the plasma relative to the sample through a structure that can adjust the gas distribution in the device cavity.

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a plasma processing device in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] In some embodiments, the sample 200 can be implemented as a wafer, and the plasma processing equipment 100 can be used to perform a process on the surface of the wafer, such as etching the semiconductor material on the surface of the wafer or stripping the photoresist.

[0040] The plasma processing device 100 includes a device chamber 110 , a guide member 120 , a gas uniforming member 130 , a lifting assembly 140 , a carrier 150 and a control unit 160 .

[0041] In some embodiments, the device chamber 110 includes a first cavity 111 and a second cavity 112. The first cavity 111 and the second cavity 112 are arranged in the up-down direction, and the first cavity 111 is located above the second cavity 112. As an example, the first cavity 111 and the second cavity 112 can be coaxially arranged. The first cavity 111 and the second cavity 112 can be cylindrical structures. The first cavity 111 and the second cavity 112 are connected. Specifically, the bottom of the first cavity 111 is open, and the top of the second cavity 112 is open to communicate with the bottom opening. The first cavity 111 is provided with a vent 1111 for entering the gas used to form the plasma 300. As an example, the vent 1111 can be located on the top surface of the first cavity 111. Optionally, the vent 1111 can be located at the center of the top surface of the first cavity 111, or on the side, or the vent 1111 is respectively provided in the center and the side for the entry of the optional gas. The type of gas can be selected according to the process requirements, such as a reaction gas (such as hydrogen, oxygen, etc.), and can also include an exciting gas for the reaction gas (such as an inert gas, such as argon, etc.).

[0042] exist Figure 1In the example of, the plasma processing device 100 can be implemented as an inductively coupled plasma processing device. As an example, the second cavity 112 can be implemented as a reaction cavity for plasma and sample reaction, and the first cavity 111 can be implemented as a generating cavity for forming plasma 300. The cross-sectional diameter length of the first cavity 111 is smaller than the diameter length of the second cavity 112, so that it is arranged to protrude from the second cavity 112, so that a cylindrical spiral plasma source coil 113 can be wound around the outside of the first cavity 111. The cylindrical spiral plasma source coil 113 is connected to the radio frequency source to apply a radio frequency electric field to the gas entering the first cavity 111 from the vent 1111 to form plasma 300. Among them, plasma 300 is also called plasma, which is an ionized gas-like substance composed of positive and negative ions generated after atoms and atomic groups are ionized after some electrons are deprived. Plasma 300 is a gas mixture of ions, electrons, free radicals, neutral atoms and molecules. The ions in plasma 300 are atoms or molecules with positive or negative charges. They are formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons in an atom or molecule. The type and number of ions depend on the composition and generation method of the plasma 300. Free electrons break away from the constraints of atoms or molecules and become negatively charged particles. Free electrons have high energy and can move and conduct electricity under the action of an electric field. In addition to free electrons and ions, there are also some neutral particles in the plasma 300, that is, atoms or molecules that are not ionized. These neutral particles play a role in balancing ions and electrons in the plasma 300 and maintaining the overall electrical neutrality of the plasma 300. Free radicals are a class of chemical substances with unpaired electrons, which play an important role in chemical reactions and in living organisms. Free radicals are generally very reactive because they tend to pair electrons by capturing electrons or donating electrons.

[0043] In some embodiments, the top surface of the first cavity 111 is a dielectric window of a non-metallic insulating material, and the annular side wall of the first cavity 111 can be an electrostatic shielding material. Figure 1 The top surface of the first cavity 111 can extend outside the inner wall and be connected to the upper end of an outer wall surrounding the inner wall, and the lower end of the outer wall is connected to the top surface of the second cavity 112 to form a third cavity (not shown) that houses the first cavity 111 and the cylindrical spiral plasma source coil 113.

[0044] In other embodiments, a flat coiled plasma source coil is disposed outside the device cavity 110. When a flat coiled plasma source coil is used, the first cavity 111 and the second cavity 112 have the same diameter, and thus the first cavity 111 is not disposed protruding relative to the second cavity 112.

[0045] The guide member 120 is disposed outside the bottom opening of the first cavity 111. For example, the guide member 120 can be fixed on the top surface of the second cavity 112. The guide member 120 forms a guide channel 121 of variable diameter that connects the bottom opening and the second cavity 112. As an example, Figure 1 In the figure, the hollow part of the guide member 120 is a guide channel 121, and the guide member 120 is configured to present an inverted frustum shape with a decreasing cross-sectional area in the direction close to the gas leveling member 130 (i.e., from top to bottom in the figure), so that the guide channel 121 is configured to have a shape with a decreasing cross-sectional area from top to bottom, thereby forming a gathering effect on the gas, that is, a gathering effect on the electrons, ions, etc. contained in the plasma 300. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the guide member 120 may also be configured to present a shape with an increasing cross-sectional area in the direction close to the gas leveling member 130, thereby forming a diffusion effect on the gas.

[0046] The gas leveling member 130 can be raised and lowered in the second cavity 112 and is located below the guide member 120. In some embodiments, the gas leveling member 130 can be a circular disk, ring or plate placed horizontally. A plurality of gas guide holes 131 are distributed from the center to the edge of the gas leveling member 130, and the plurality of gas guide holes 131 are through holes that penetrate the thickness of the gas leveling member 130. The depth direction of each of the gas guide holes 131 is inclined relative to the up and down direction to guide the gas to the inclined direction of the gas guide hole 131. As a result, the gas can be diffused or aggregated downward through each of the gas guide holes 131. For example, in Figure 1 and Figure 4 In the embodiment, the air guide holes 131 of the air leveling member 130 from the center to the edge deviate outward relative to the central axis, that is, the spacing relative to the central axis in the Z direction increases from top to bottom to form a diffusion effect. In some embodiments, the air guide holes 131 can be straight holes extending along a straight line; or, the air guide holes 131 can be holes extending along a broken line; or, the air guide holes 131 can also be holes extending along a curve; or, the air guide holes 131 can be holes extending along a combination of a straight line and a curve.

[0047] The carrier 150 is located in the second cavity 112 and below the gas homogenizing member 130, and is used to carry the sample 200 treated by the plasma 300. The gas forms the plasma 300 in the first cavity 111, and the electrons, ions, free radicals, etc. contained therein fall down, pass through the guide channel 121 and the gas guide holes on the gas homogenizing member 130, and then fall to the surface of the sample 200 carried by the carrier 150 for reaction treatment. In some embodiments, the carrier 150 can be implemented as a heat stage (HEATER) or an electrostatic chuck (ESC). Optionally, an exhaust gas homogenizing member 190 can be arranged around the carrier 150 to homogenize the gas discharged from the device cavity.

[0048] Combination Figure 1 , specifically describing the processing process of the plasma processing device 100. The gas enters the first cavity 111 through the through hole at the top of the device cavity 110 of the plasma processing device 100, and the plasma source coil generates an RF current by applying an RF voltage, and induction heats the gas to form a plasma 300. The free radicals and ions in the plasma 300 fall, pass through the guide 120 and the gas homogenizer 130, and then react with the surface of the sample 200 on the carrier 150, including but not limited to wafer etching, degumming, deposition, etc., and the generated by-products are extracted from the exhaust port to complete the process.

[0049] It can be understood that the guide 120 is exemplarily configured to have a gathering effect on the gas, and the gas leveling member 130 has a diffusion effect on the gas after the gathering to be evenly distributed on each point on the surface of the sample 200. Gathering first and then diffusing can make the plasma 300 be concentrated in the center before diffusion and first align it with the central area of ​​the sample 200, and then diffusing can make the distribution of the plasma 300 gradually disperse to obtain a regular plasma 300 density distribution suitable for the sample 200. In contrast, if it is not gathered by the guide 120 first, since the structure of the gas guide hole on the gas leveling member 130 is a diffusion effect, more gas may diffuse to the area on the outer peripheral side of the sample 200, reducing the processing efficiency of the sample 200. Therefore, the variable diameter structure of the guide channel 121 and the inclined structure of each of the gas guide holes 131 form a gathering and dispersion combination effect on the passing gas, which can achieve the density distribution of the plasma 300 in the effective area above the wafer, thereby ensuring the processing efficiency.

[0050] In some embodiments, the lifting assembly 140 includes a lifting mechanism 141 and a lifting drive unit 142. The lifting mechanism 141 is configured to be movable in a lifting manner, connected to and drives the gas leveling member 130 to be lifted and lowered. As an example, the lifting mechanism 141 includes one or a pair of lifting members 1411 (for example, implemented as a lifting rod, a lifting frame or a lifting seat, etc.), the lifting member 1411 can be extended in the up and down direction and can be lifted and lowered, and the lifting member 1411 is connected to the gas leveling member 130. Optionally, a through hole can be formed on the top wall of the second cavity 112 for the lifting member 1411 to be movable in a lifting manner, and a slidable sealed contact can be maintained between the lifting member 1411 and the through hole, for example, contact through a sealing member (such as a sealing ring), etc.

[0051] The lifting drive unit 142 is connected to the lifting mechanism 141 to drive the movement of the lifting mechanism 141. In some embodiments, the lifting drive unit 142 may include a cylinder or a motor. In some embodiments, the lifting drive unit 142 may be located outside the equipment cavity 110 and connected to the lifting mechanism 141 extending outside the equipment cavity 110 to drive the lifting mechanism 141 to move up and down. When the lifting drive unit 142 is implemented as a cylinder, it may be extended in the up and down direction, for example, the cylinder piston rod is erected upward or downward, and the piston rod may be connected to the lifting member 1411 of the lifting mechanism 141 through a connecting member. When the lifting drive unit 142 includes a motor, it may be connected to a linear motion mechanism that converts the rotational motion of the motor into a lifting motion, such as a lead screw. In other embodiments, the lifting drive unit 142 and the lifting mechanism 141 may both be located inside the equipment cavity 110, such as fixedly connected to the inner wall of the equipment cavity 110. When the lifting drive unit 142 is located outside the equipment cavity 110, it may be conductively connected to an external power source to obtain power supply. When the lifting drive unit 142 is located in the equipment chamber 110 , it can be connected to an external power source through a vacuum interface on the inner wall of the equipment chamber 110 .

[0052] The control unit 160 is connected to the lifting assembly 140 to control the lifting of the gas-leveling member 130. In some embodiments, the control unit 160 is connected to the lifting drive unit 142 in communication to control the lifting of the lifting mechanism 141 to drive the lifting of the gas-leveling member 130. The communication connection mode between the control unit 160 and the lifting drive unit 142 is illustrated by way of example. In one example, the lifting assembly 140 is located in the equipment cavity 110 and is wirelessly connected to the control unit 160 (for example, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.). In another example, the lifting drive unit 142 can also be wired through the vacuum interface on the shell wall of the equipment cavity 110 to be connected to the control unit 160 outside the equipment cavity 110 by wired communication. In another example, if the lifting drive unit 142 and the control unit 160 are located outside the equipment cavity 110, the lifting drive unit 142 can be conveniently connected to the control unit 160 by wired communication (if it is not convenient to wire, wireless communication connection can also be adopted).

[0053] The control unit 160 can adjust the distance between the gas leveling member 130 and the carrier 150 by controlling the lifting and lowering of the gas leveling member 130. Therefore, due to the inclined arrangement of the gas guide holes 131 on the gas leveling member 130, the density distribution of the plasma 300 at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample 200 to be processed can be adjusted in conjunction with the lifting and lowering of the gas leveling member 130. Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 2 Display Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure after the middle lifting mechanism 141 is lowered, Figure 1 and Figure 2 The arrows indicate the direction of the gas in the guide channel 121 of the guide member 120 and the gas guide holes 131 on the gas leveling member 130. It can be seen that when the gas leveling member 130 is at a higher position and is spaced farther away from the sample 200, a higher density of plasma 300 will be formed at the center of the surface of the sample 200, and the ion center and edge distribution at the edge of the surface of the sample 200 will be adjusted. For example, when the gas leveling member 130 is at a high position, more gas guide holes 131 will guide the falling gas to be located in the central area of ​​the sample 200, while relatively less will fall in the edge area. Therefore, at this time, the distribution density of plasma 300 in the central area of ​​the surface of the sample 200 is higher and that at the edge is relatively lower. Figure 1 to Figure 2The gas leveling member 130 falls to a low position. Due to the diffusion effect of the gas guide holes 131 tilting outward from top to bottom, more and more gas guide holes 131 guide the falling gas to be located in the edge area of ​​the sample 200, while the gas falling in the central area is relatively reduced. Therefore, at this time, the distribution density of plasma 300 in the edge area of ​​the surface of the sample 200 can be increased to a higher level while the center area is relatively low. It can be seen that the size of the distribution density of plasma 300 determines the processing speed of the corresponding surface area of ​​the sample 200. The higher the density, the faster the processing speed may be (for example, the faster the etching and deposition). Therefore, by controlling the lifting and lowering of the gas leveling member 130, the processing speed of the center area and the edge area of ​​the surface of the sample 200 can be adjusted.

[0054] It is understandable that in the actual sample 200 processing process, when some online detection means (such as optical interference method or OES method, etc.) detect that there is a difference in processing speed between the central area and the edge area of ​​the surface of the sample 200, the difference can be adjusted and compensated by raising / lowering the gas uniformizing member 130 to make the surface treatment of the sample 200 uniform.

[0055] In some optional embodiments, since the gas uniformity member 130 may not be able to ensure that the processing speed of each area of ​​the sample 200 is relatively uniform in the circumferential direction when the gas uniformity member 130 is in a stationary state, Figure 3 As shown by the middle arrow, the gas leveling member 130 can be configured to rotate horizontally around the central axis Z to adjust the density distribution of the plasma 300 in the circumferential direction of the sample 200. In some application scenarios, the density distribution of the plasma 300 in the circumferential direction of the sample 200 can be homogenized by rotating the gas leveling member 130 horizontally for a certain period of time. Alternatively, the gas leveling member 130 can have different structural areas that can achieve different plasma 300 density distributions (i.e., corresponding to different processing speeds). By rotating the gas leveling member 130, the structural area that achieves a higher plasma 300 density distribution stays in the surface area of ​​the sample 200 corresponding to the slower processing speed, thereby achieving compensation for the processing speed.

[0056] An example is given to illustrate the structural implementation of the gas homogenizing member 130. Figure 4 , which is a schematic structural diagram showing the rotation of the gas leveling member 130 in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0057] A rotating assembly 170 is connected between the lifting mechanism 141 and the gas leveling member 130. The rotating assembly 170 includes a rotating mechanism 171 and a rotating drive unit 172. The rotating mechanism 171 is arranged to be horizontally rotatable, connected to and drives the gas leveling member 130 to rotate horizontally, so as to adjust the density distribution of the plasma 300 in the circumferential direction of the surface of the sample 200. The rotating drive unit 172 is connected to the rotating mechanism 171, and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit 160, and is used to drive the movement of the rotating mechanism 171. Figure 4 , the rotating mechanism 171 may include a horizontally arranged and rotatable gear 1711, and the side edge of the gas leveling member 130 is provided with a toothed portion meshing with the gear 1711. The rotating drive unit 172 may include a first motor, the output shaft of the first motor is connected to the central axis of the gear 1711, the output shaft of the first motor rotates to drive the rotation of the gear 1711, and the rotation of the gear 1711 drives the rotation of the meshed gas leveling member 130. As an example, the lifting assembly 140 may be fixedly connected to a frame or include a frame part, for example, the lifting member 1411 is fixedly connected or integrally connected to the frame. The gear 1711 and the gas leveling member 130 may be rotatably supported and arranged on the frame. In some examples, the frame may be provided with an annular groove member, the annular groove member is concave to form a circular groove that is shape-fittingly combined with the gas leveling member 130, and the middle area of ​​the circular groove is hollowed out. The air leveling member 130 is supported by the annular groove and is combined with the circular groove and can rotate in the circular groove, and the bottom of the air leveling member 130 is exposed in the hollow. Alternatively, in order to better position the air leveling member 130, the frame may also have an extension extending from the edge to the bottom of the air leveling member 130, the extension may have an upwardly protruding shaft, and the center of the air leveling member 130 may have an axial hole that is rotatably combined with the shaft. Of course, if the extension is provided (not shown), it is necessary to avoid the opening of the air guide hole 131, which will require the distribution density of the air guide hole 131.

[0058] In some other embodiments, the gas leveling member 130 can also be arranged to be horizontally flipped to switch between the gathering and diffusion effects. Figure 5 As shown, Figure 5 The air guide holes of the gas leveling member 130 at the upper middle position are inclined outward from the central axis Z from top to bottom, so as to achieve diffusion. Figure 5In the middle and lower part, each air guide hole 131 is inclined inward from top to bottom to achieve a gathering effect. By flipping and changing the diffusion or gathering effect of the gas leveling member 130 on the gas, different gathering and dispersion combination effects can be formed with the guide member 120. For example, the guide member 120 plays a gathering role and the gas leveling member 130 plays a diffusion role, so the gas gathers first and then diffuses. Or, the guide member 120 plays a gathering role and the gas leveling member 130 plays a gathering role, so the gas gathers twice (defined as strengthening the gathering effect). Or, the guide member 120 plays a diffusion role and the gas leveling member 130 plays a gathering role. Or, the guide member 120 plays a diffusion role and the gas leveling member 130 plays a diffusion role (defined as strengthening the diffusion effect). Therefore, through the above various gathering and diffusion effects, combined with the gas leveling member 130 lifting and lowering to adjust the processing speed between the central area and the edge area of ​​the sample 200 surface, the purpose of increasing the adjustment speed is achieved, such as by strengthening the diffusion or strengthening the gathering combined with lifting to achieve the effect of quickly adjusting the processing speed of the edge or central area.

[0059] like Figure 6 As shown, a schematic diagram of the structure for realizing the flipping of the gas uniforming member in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0060] In some embodiments, a flip assembly 180 is connected between the lifting mechanism 141 and the gas leveling member 130 , so that the gas leveling member 130 can be flipped by the flip assembly 180 .

[0061] The flip assembly 180 includes a flip mechanism 181 and a flip drive unit 182. The flip mechanism 181 is rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis, connected to and drives the gas leveling member 130 to flip. The flip drive unit 182 is connected to the flip mechanism 181 and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit 160, and is used to drive the movement of the flip mechanism 181. In some embodiments, the flip mechanism 181 may include a first rotating shaft 1811 and a first shaft hole 1812. As an example, the first rotating shaft 1811 is rotatably protruded on the side wall of the gas leveling member 130 and extends horizontally. The wall surface of the first rotating shaft 1811 may be protruded with an elastically floating clamp 18111. The lifting member 1411 of the lifting mechanism 141 for connecting the gas leveling member 130 (or the frame) may be provided with a first shaft hole 1812 combined with the first rotating shaft 1811. The inner wall of the first shaft hole 1812 may form a clamp hole 18121 that is engaged with the clamp 18111, so that the rotation of the first rotating shaft 1811 can drive the rotation of the gas leveling member 130. Correspondingly, the flip driving unit 182 may include a second motor, the output shaft of which is connected to and drives the rotation of the first rotating shaft 1811, so that the gas leveling member 130 can be flipped. Of course, the locations of the first rotating shaft 1811 and the first shaft hole 1812 can be interchanged. For example, the first rotating shaft 1811 can be arranged on the lifting member 1411 , and the first shaft hole 1812 can be arranged on the gas homogenizing member 130 .

[0062] In some further embodiments, the gas leveling member 130 may also be configured to be both horizontally rotatable and horizontally flippable, so as to have the capabilities of both circumferential gas leveling and switching between gathering / dispersion effects in the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0063] like Figure 7 As shown, a schematic diagram of the structure for realizing the rotation and flipping of the gas leveling member in one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0064] In this embodiment, a second rotating assembly 170' and a second flipping assembly 180' are connected between the lifting mechanism 141 and the gas leveling member 130. The second rotating assembly 170' includes a second rotating mechanism 171' and a rotation driving unit 172. The second flipping assembly 180' includes a second flipping mechanism 181' and a flip driving unit 182. In this embodiment, the second rotating mechanism 171' includes a second gear 1711' horizontally rotatably disposed on the lifting mechanism 141. The rotation driving unit 172 includes a first motor that is shaft-connected and drives the second gear 1711' to rotate.

[0065] The second flip mechanism 181' includes a flip member 1813' that can be driven to rotate horizontally and is coupled to the second rotating mechanism 171'. As an example, the outer periphery of the flip member 1813' can form a tooth portion that meshes with the second gear 1711' so as to be driven to rotate horizontally. The gas leveling member 130 can be flipped and coupled to the flip member 1813' so as to be driven to flip by the flip driving unit 182. As an example, it can be similar to Figure 7 In the flipping structure, the second flipping mechanism 181' also includes a second rotating shaft 1811' and a second shaft hole 1812', which are respectively located at the gas leveling member 130 and the flipping member 1813' (interchangeable), and the second rotating shaft 1811' and the second shaft hole 1812' are combined and the second clamping member 18111' and the second clamping hole 18121' of the two are engaged, so that the rotation of the second rotating shaft 1811' can drive the gas leveling member 130 to flip horizontally relative to the flipping member 1813'. The flipping drive unit 182 includes a second motor, and the second motor is connected to and drives the rotation of the second rotating shaft 1811'.

[0066] Therefore, in Figure 7 In an embodiment, the gas leveling member 130 can be driven by the second motor to perform horizontal flipping motion relative to the flipping member 1813', and the flipping member 1813' can be driven by the first motor to carry the gas leveling member 130 to perform horizontal rotational motion, so that the gas leveling member 130 can be switched to have a gathering / dispersion effect and can also be used to swirl the gas.

[0067] like Figure 8 , which shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a computer device in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] The control unit 160 may be implemented based on the computer device 800 .

[0069] The computer device 800 includes a bus 801, a processor 802, and a memory 803. The processor 802 and the memory 803 can communicate with each other through the bus 801. The memory 803 can store a computer program or instruction. The processor 802 implements the functions of the control unit 160 in the previous embodiment by running the computer program or instruction in the memory 803. As an example, the memory 803 can store program instructions for controlling various combinations of the lifting drive unit 142, the rotation drive unit 172, and the flip drive unit 182 in the previous embodiment.

[0070] The bus 801 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, although only one thick line is used in the figure, it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0071] In some embodiments, the processor 802 may be implemented as a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a system on chip (System On Chip), or a field programmable logic array (FPGA). The memory 803 may include a volatile memory (Volatile Memory) for temporary storage of data when running a program, such as a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM).

[0072] The memory 803 may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory) for data storage, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid-state disk (SSD).

[0073] In some embodiments, the computer device 800 may further include a communicator 804. The communicator 804 is used to communicate with the outside. In a specific example, the communicator 804 may include one or a group of wired and / or wireless communication circuit modules. For example, the communicator 804 may include one or more of a wired network card, a USB module, a serial interface module, etc. The wireless communication protocols followed by the wireless communication module include: for example, near field communication (NFC) technology, infrared (IR) technology, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Time-Division Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Bluetooth (BT), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), etc. One or more.

[0074] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be provided, storing a computer program or instructions, which implement the functions of the control unit 160 in any of the previous embodiments when executed.

[0075] That is, the method steps in the above embodiments are implemented as software or computer code that can be stored in a recording medium (such as a CD ROM, RAM, floppy disk, hard disk or magneto-optical disk), or are implemented as computer code originally stored in a remote recording medium or a non-temporary machine-readable medium downloaded via a network and to be stored in a local recording medium, so that the method represented herein can be stored in such software processing on a recording medium using a general-purpose computer, a dedicated processor, or programmable or dedicated hardware (such as an ASIC or FPGA).

[0076] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product may be provided, one or more computer programs or instructions, which, when executed, fully or partially perform the functions of the control unit 160 in the embodiment of the present disclosure. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions.

[0077] The computer program or instructions may be stored in a readable storage medium or transmitted from one readable storage medium to another readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it may also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; it may also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state drive. The computer readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0078] In summary, the present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and provides a plasma processing device, including: an equipment cavity, including: a first cavity and a second cavity located below the first cavity and connected to the first cavity; the first cavity is used to introduce gas; a guide member, which is arranged outside the bottom opening of the first cavity in a ring to form a guide channel with a variable diameter; a gas leveling member, which can be raised and lowered below the guide member in the second cavity, and has a plurality of gas guide holes; the gas guide holes are inclined relative to the up and down directions; the diameter change of the guide channel and the inclination of each of the gas guide holes form a gathering and dispersion combination effect on the passing gas; a carrier for carrying a sample; a lifting component that drives the gas leveling member; a control unit that controls the movement of the lifting component, which adjusts the distance between the gas leveling member and the sample to change the plasma density distribution of the plasma at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample to be processed. Through the lifting and lowering gas leveling member and the gathering and dispersion combination effect of the gas guide holes and the guide member, direct adjustment of the gas distribution is achieved to efficiently and quickly adjust the distribution of the plasma.

[0079] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Anyone familiar with the technology may modify or change the above embodiments without violating the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed in the present disclosure shall still be covered by the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A plasma processing device, characterized in that: include: The equipment chamber comprises: a first chamber with a bottom opening; and a second chamber located below the first chamber and connected to the bottom opening of the first chamber; the first chamber is provided with a vent hole for introducing a gas for forming plasma; A guide member is disposed outside the bottom opening of the first cavity to form a guide passage of variable diameter connecting the bottom opening and the second cavity; A gas leveling member is escalably disposed in the second cavity and is located below the guide member; a plurality of gas guide holes are distributed from the center to the edge of the gas leveling member; wherein the depth direction of each of the gas guide holes is inclined relative to the up-down direction; wherein the variable diameter structure of the guide channel of the guide member and the inclined structure of each of the gas guide holes form a combined effect of gathering and dispersing the passing gas; A carrier, located in the second chamber and below the gas homogenizing member, for carrying a sample to be processed by plasma; A lifting component, connected to drive the gas leveling member to rise and fall; A control unit is connected to the lifting assembly and is used to control the lifting of the gas homogenizing member to adjust the distance between the gas homogenizing member and the carrier, so as to adjust the plasma density distribution of the plasma at the radial position between the center and the edge of the sample to be processed.

2. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cross-sectional area of ​​the guide member decreases in the direction approaching the air leveling member to form a gathering effect; in the direction away from the guide member, the air guide holes of the air leveling member from the center to the edge deviate outward relative to the central axis to form a diffusion effect.

3. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that The gas leveling member can be arranged to rotate horizontally around the central axis to adjust the plasma density distribution on the circumference of the sample surface; and / or, the gas leveling member can be arranged to flip horizontally to switch between gathering and diffusion effects.

4. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gathering and dispersing combined action includes at least one of the following: gathering first and then spreading; gathering first and then gathering.

5. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting assembly comprises: A lifting mechanism is provided to be capable of lifting and lowering movement, connected to and driving the gas leveling member to lift and lower; The lifting drive unit is connected to the lifting mechanism and communicates with and is controlled by the control unit, and is used to drive the movement of the lifting mechanism.

6. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that The lifting drive unit and the control unit are located outside the equipment cavity; the lifting mechanism can move relatively up and down and is sealed through the shell wall of the equipment cavity to be connected to the lifting drive unit; the lifting drive unit and the control unit are connected by wire.

7. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that A rotating assembly is connected between the lifting mechanism and the gas leveling member, and the rotating assembly includes: A rotating mechanism, which can be arranged to rotate horizontally, is connected to and drives the gas leveling member to rotate horizontally; A rotation driving unit, connected to the rotation mechanism and communicating with and controlled by the control unit, for driving the movement of the rotation mechanism; Alternatively, a flip assembly is connected between the lifting mechanism and the gas leveling member, and the flip assembly includes: A turning mechanism, rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis, connected to and driving the gas leveling member to turn; A flipping driving unit, connected to the flipping mechanism and communicating with and controlled by the control unit, for driving the movement of the flipping mechanism; Alternatively, a second rotating assembly and a second flipping assembly are connected between the lifting mechanism and the gas leveling member; The second rotating assembly includes a second rotating mechanism and a rotating driving unit; The second flip assembly includes a second flip mechanism and a flip driving unit; The second rotating mechanism can be arranged to rotate horizontally, the second flipping mechanism includes a flipping member that can be driven to rotate horizontally and is coupled to the second rotating mechanism, and the air homogenizing member is flippably connected to the flipping member and is driven to flip by the flip driving unit.

8. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that: The lifting assembly is located in the equipment cavity and is wirelessly connected to the control unit or wiredly connected to the control unit through a vacuum interface on the equipment cavity shell wall.

9. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plasma forms an etchant for the photoresist or semiconductor material on the surface of the sample.

10. The plasma processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that The plasma processing equipment is an inductively coupled plasma processing equipment; the first cavity is protruding relative to the second cavity, and a cylindrical spiral plasma source coil is wound outside the first cavity, or a flat coiled plasma source coil is arranged outside the equipment cavity.

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