Chamber pressure control system, load latching chamber and processing equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a chamber pressure control system, a load latching chamber and processing equipment. The chamber pressure control system comprises an inflation module, a balance valve, a one-way valve and a controller. The inflation module is connected with a cavity of the semiconductor device processing equipment so as to inflate the cavity. The chamber is located between the front end module in an atmospheric state and the rear end module in a vacuum state. One end of the balance valve is connected with the cavity so as to release overcharged gas in the cavity. The one-way valve is connected with the other end of the balance valve so as to prevent external air from entering the cavity through the balance valve. The controller is configured to determine a first air pressure within the chamber after closing the inflation module and before opening an atmospheric valve between the chamber and the front end module; determining the opening duration of the balance valve according to the first air pressure, and opening the balance valve according to the opening duration so as to reduce the first air pressure of the cavity to the target air pressure. The target pressure is greater than the atmospheric pressure of the front-end module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor device processing, and in particular to a chamber pressure control system, a load lock cavity, and semiconductor device processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the existing semiconductor device processing equipment, a balancing valve device is added to the pressure control system to ensure the balance between the pressure value of the semiconductor vacuum chamber and the atmospheric pressure value, so as to avoid the pressure difference between the process chamber and the outside world when the vacuum state is backfilled to the atmospheric state, thereby improving the particle size problem of the wafer, and avoiding excessively high or low pressures causing component damage and abnormal noise when the atmospheric valve is switched on and off. However, when the actual pressure value of the vacuum chamber is equivalent to or too low to the atmospheric pressure target value, after the balancing valve is opened, the atmospheric gas will enter the process chamber from the balancing valve and pollute the wafer transmission channel. In addition, in the process from the closing of the balancing valve to the opening of the atmospheric valve, if the balancing valve is opened for a short time, the actual pressure value of the vacuum chamber is greater than the atmospheric pressure target value. After the atmospheric valve is opened, the pressure difference between the vacuum chamber and the front-end module cannot be guaranteed, and problems such as wafer transmission channel contamination, component damage, and abnormal noise when the atmospheric valve is switched on and off are prone to occur. On the contrary, if the balancing valve is opened for a long time, the mechanical capacity of the machine will be affected.

[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the art is in urgent need of an improved chamber pressure control system to prevent external contamination from entering the chamber through a balancing valve in scenarios such as pressure relief, installation errors, and misoperation, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer transmission path and taking into account both the protection of the atmospheric valve seals and the processing efficiency of semiconductor devices. Summary of the invention

[0004] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or decisive elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its only purpose is to give some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be given later.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a control system for chamber pressure, a load lock chamber and a processing equipment for semiconductor devices. A one-way valve can be set to prevent external contamination from entering the chamber through a balancing valve in scenarios such as pressure relief, installation error, and misoperation, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer transmission path. By quantitatively controlling the opening time of the balancing valve, the protection of the atmospheric valve seal and the processing efficiency of the semiconductor device are taken into account.

[0006] Specifically, the control system of the chamber pressure provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes an inflation module, a balancing valve, a one-way valve and a controller. The inflation module is connected to the chamber of the semiconductor device processing equipment to inflate the chamber. The chamber is located between the front-end module in the atmospheric state and the back-end module in the vacuum state. One end of the balancing valve is connected to the chamber to release the overfilled gas in the chamber. The one-way valve is connected to the other end of the balancing valve to prevent external gas from entering the chamber through the balancing valve. The controller is configured to: determine the first air pressure in the chamber after closing the inflation module and before opening the atmospheric valve between the chamber and the front-end module; determine the opening time of the balancing valve according to the first air pressure, and open the balancing valve accordingly to reduce the chamber from the first air pressure to the target air pressure. The target air pressure is greater than the atmospheric pressure of the front-end module.

[0007] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the inflation module includes an air source and a plurality of inflation branches. A first backfill valve is disposed on the first inflation branch. The air source rapidly inflates the chamber via the first backfill valve. A second backfill valve and a current limiting unit are disposed on the second inflation branch. The air source slowly inflates the chamber via the second backfill valve and the current limiting unit.

[0008] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the inflation module includes multiple inflation modes. In the first inflation mode, the inflation module first slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch below the preset first air pressure threshold, then quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch between the first air pressure threshold and the preset second air pressure threshold, and then slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch between the second air pressure threshold and the preset third air pressure threshold. And / or in the second inflation mode, the inflation module first slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch below the preset fourth air pressure threshold, and then quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch between the fourth air pressure threshold and the preset fifth air pressure threshold. And / or in the third inflation mode, the inflation module quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of determining the first air pressure in the chamber includes: determining the first air pressure in the chamber based on the vacuum pressure of the back-end module in the vacuum state and the inflation speed of the inflation module.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of determining the opening time of the balancing valve based on the first air pressure includes: substituting the first air pressure into the fitting functions of multiple candidate time lengths respectively to determine the second air pressure of the chamber after the balancing valve is opened for each candidate time length; and determining the corresponding candidate time length based on the second air pressure that meets the target air pressure, and determining the opening time length accordingly.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the fitting function is obtained by fitting a plurality of first air pressures greater than a preset sixth air pressure threshold, and a second air pressure of the chamber after the balancing valve is opened for a plurality of the candidate time lengths, and conforms to the following function line shape:

[0012]

[0013] Wherein, x is the first air pressure. y is the second air pressure. 0 、x c , w, and A are all fitting parameters. The sixth air pressure threshold is equal to the sum of the atmospheric pressure and the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve.

[0014] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the one-way valve includes a valve housing, a fixed portion and a valve core. The valve housing includes an air inlet and an air outlet. The fixed portion is located inside the valve housing. The valve core is located inside the valve housing and is connected to the fixed portion via a spring. When the difference between the first air pressure in the chamber and the atmospheric pressure outside is less than or equal to the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve, the valve core is pressed by the spring to seal the inner side of the air inlet, and when the difference between the first air pressure and the atmospheric pressure is greater than the opening pressure difference, the valve core is separated from the inner side of the air inlet to allow the overfilled gas in the chamber to be released to the outside.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the opening pressure difference is 20 torr, and / or the difference between the target pressure and the atmospheric pressure is less than or equal to 10 torr.

[0016] In addition, the load lock chamber provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a chamber body and a chamber pressure control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention. The chamber body is located between the front-end module of the device in the atmospheric state and the rear-end chamber in the vacuum state, and includes an atmospheric valve connected to the front-end module of the device and a vacuum valve connected to the rear-end chamber, which are used to switch between the atmospheric state and the vacuum state. The chamber pressure control system is used to quantitatively control the opening time of its balance valve before opening the atmospheric valve, so as to efficiently reduce the chamber from the first air pressure after inflation to the target air pressure.

[0017] In addition, the processing equipment of the semiconductor device provided according to the third aspect of the present invention includes an equipment front-end module, a load lock cavity as provided in the second aspect of the present invention, and at least one process chamber. The equipment front-end module is used to obtain wafers to be processed from the outside under atmospheric conditions, and to transfer processed wafers to the outside. The load lock cavity is used to convert between atmospheric conditions and vacuum conditions. The at least one process chamber is directly or indirectly connected to the load lock cavity, and is used to obtain wafers to be processed from the load lock cavity under vacuum conditions, process the wafers, and transfer processed wafers to the load lock cavity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The above features and advantages of the present invention can 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 features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0019] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of semiconductor device processing equipment provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a one-way valve provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 3 A curve diagram showing the change in pressure difference value and time in the chamber before and after the balancing valve is closed according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure before and after the balancing valve is closed when the balancing valve is opened for 1s according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure before and after the balancing valve is closed when the balancing valve is opened for 2s according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure when the balancing valve is open for 3s before and after the balancing valve is closed according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 A line graph showing the number of large particles in the chamber under three inflation modes provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 A line graph of inflation time is shown according to some embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention, and 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 implementation. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the implementation is to cover other options or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, the following description will include many specific details. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0029] In addition, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal" and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the directions shown in the paragraph and the related drawings. Such relative terms are only used for the convenience of description and do not mean that the device described therein must be manufactured or operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0030] It is understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. 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 component, region, layer and / or part discussed below may be referred to as a second component, region, layer and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] As mentioned above, when the actual pressure value of the vacuum chamber is equal to or too low to the atmospheric pressure target value, after the balancing valve is opened, atmospheric gas will enter the process chamber from the balancing valve and contaminate the wafer transmission channel. In addition, in the process from the closing of the balancing valve to the opening of the atmospheric gate valve, if the balancing valve is opened for a short time, the actual pressure value of the vacuum chamber is greater than the atmospheric pressure target value. After the atmospheric gate valve is opened, the pressure difference between the vacuum chamber and the front-end module cannot be guaranteed, which may easily cause problems such as wafer transmission channel contamination, component damage, and abnormal noise when opening and closing the atmospheric gate valve. On the contrary, if the balancing valve is opened for a long time, it will affect the mechanical capacity of the machine.

[0032] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a control system for chamber pressure, a load lock chamber and a processing equipment for semiconductor devices. A one-way valve can be set to prevent external contamination from entering the chamber through a balancing valve in scenarios such as pressure relief, installation error, and misoperation, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer transmission path. By quantitatively controlling the opening time of the balancing valve, the protection of the atmospheric valve seal and the processing efficiency of the semiconductor device are taken into account.

[0033] In some non-limiting embodiments, the load-lock cavity provided by the second aspect of the present invention may be configured to be implemented in the processing equipment of the semiconductor device provided by the third aspect of the present invention.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of semiconductor device processing equipment provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0035] exist Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the processing equipment of the semiconductor device provided by the third aspect of the present invention comprises an equipment front-end module 11, the load lock chamber provided by the second aspect of the present invention, and at least one process chamber. Here, the equipment front-end module 11 is used to obtain wafers to be processed from the outside under atmospheric conditions, and to transfer the processed wafers to the outside. The load lock chamber is used to convert between atmospheric conditions and vacuum conditions. The at least one process chamber is directly connected to the load lock chamber, or is indirectly connected to the load lock chamber via at least one level of transfer chamber (TM), and is used to obtain wafers to be processed from the load lock chamber under vacuum conditions, process wafers, and transfer the processed wafers to the load lock chamber.

[0036] Further, in Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the load lock chamber provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a chamber body 121 and a control system for chamber pressure. Here, the chamber body 121 is located between the equipment front-end module 11 (EFEM) in the atmospheric state and the back-end chamber in the vacuum state, and includes an atmospheric valve 111 connected to the equipment front-end module 11 and a vacuum valve connected to the back-end chamber, which are used to convert the atmospheric state and the vacuum state. Here, the back-end chamber can be a transfer chamber (TM) or a process chamber (PM). The control system for chamber pressure is used to quantitatively control the opening time of its balance valve 123 before opening the atmospheric valve 111, so as to efficiently reduce the chamber from the first air pressure after inflation to the target air pressure.

[0037] exist Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the control system of the chamber pressure provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes an inflation module 122, a balancing valve 123, a one-way valve 124 and a controller. Here, the inflation module 122 is connected to the chamber 121 of the semiconductor device processing equipment to inflate the chamber 121. The chamber 121 is located between the front-end module in the atmospheric state and the back-end module in the vacuum state. One end of the balancing valve 123 is connected to the chamber to release the overfilled gas in the chamber. The one-way valve 124 is connected to the other end of the balancing valve 123 to prevent external gas from entering the chamber 121 via the balancing valve 123.

[0038] Furthermore, the inflation module 122 includes an air source and a plurality of inflation branches. Here, a first backfill valve 125 (e.g., a pneumatic diaphragm valve, or an electric diaphragm valve) is disposed on the first inflation branch 21. The air source rapidly inflates the chamber 121 via the first backfill valve. Similarly, a second backfill valve (e.g., a pneumatic diaphragm valve, or an electric diaphragm valve) and a current limiting unit (e.g., a current limiter, or a current limiting gasket) are disposed on the second inflation branch 22. The air source slowly inflates the chamber 121 via the second backfill valve 126 and the current limiting unit 127.

[0039] In addition, in some preferred embodiments, the inflation speed of the inflation module 122 into the chamber 121 may also be related to the number of backfill valves and the installation position of the backfill valves. In this way, the inflation module 122 can flexibly control the inflation speed into the chamber 121 by setting different numbers of backfill valves at different positions.

[0040] Please refer to further Figure 2 . Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a one-way valve provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0041] In addition, Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the one-way valve 124 includes a valve housing, a fixing portion 1241 and a valve core 1242. Here, the valve housing includes an air inlet 1243 and an air outlet 1244. The fixing portion 1241 is located inside the valve housing. The valve core 1242 is located inside the valve housing and is connected to the fixing portion 1241 via a spring 1245. When the difference between the first air pressure in the chamber and the atmospheric pressure outside is less than or equal to the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve 124, the valve core 1242 is pressed by the spring 1245 to seal the inner side of the air inlet 1243, and when the difference between the first air pressure and the atmospheric pressure is greater than the opening pressure difference, the valve core 1242 is separated from the inner side of the air inlet 1243 to allow the overfilled gas in the chamber to be released to the outside.

[0042] Specifically, in some preferred embodiments, the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve 124 is 20torr. When the pressure difference between the two ends of the one-way valve 124 is less than the opening pressure difference, the pressure on the spring 1245 is insufficient to bounce the spring 1245, and the gas cannot flow out, which can prevent atmospheric gas from entering the chamber through the balancing valve 123 and contaminating the wafer transmission channel, and prevent the equipment from breaking vacuum, leaking, and other abnormalities when the balancing valve 123 is installed incorrectly or opened by mistake.

[0043] In addition, in some preferred embodiments, the inflation module 122 includes multiple inflation modes. Specifically, in the first inflation mode Slow mode, the inflation module 122 first slowly inflates the chamber 121 via the second inflation branch 22 below the preset first air pressure threshold (e.g., 0.1 torr), then quickly inflates the chamber 121 via the first inflation branch 21 between the first air pressure threshold and the preset second air pressure threshold (e.g., 20 torr), and then slowly inflates the chamber 121 via the second inflation branch 22 between the second air pressure threshold and the preset third air pressure threshold (e.g., 680 torr).

[0044] For example, in some embodiments, the inflation module 122 can first slowly inflate the chamber 121 through the second inflation branch 22, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is slowly backfilled from the bottom pressure of 0.1 torr to 20 torr. Afterwards, the inflation module 122 can quickly inflate the chamber 121 from 20 torr through the first inflation branch 21, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is quickly backfilled from the bottom pressure of 20 torr to the atmospheric pressure of 680 torr. Afterwards, the inflation module 122 can slowly inflate the chamber 121 through the second inflation branch 22, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is slowly backfilled from 680 torr to the atmospheric pressure of 750 torr.

[0045] In addition, in the second inflation mode Normal mode, the inflation module 122 first slowly inflates the chamber 121 through the second inflation branch 22 below the preset fourth air pressure threshold (for example: 0.1 torr), and then quickly inflates the chamber 121 through the first inflation branch 21 between the fourth air pressure threshold and the preset fifth air pressure threshold (for example: 20 torr).

[0046] For example, in some embodiments, the inflation module 122 may first slowly inflate the chamber 121 via the second inflation branch 22, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is slowly backfilled from the bottom pressure of 0.1 torr to 20 torr. Afterwards, the inflation module 122 may quickly inflate the chamber 121 via the first inflation branch 21, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is quickly backfilled from the bottom pressure of 20 torr to the atmospheric pressure of 750 torr.

[0047] In addition, in the third inflation mode Fast mode, the inflation module 122 quickly inflates the chamber 121 via the first inflation branch 21 .

[0048] For example, in some embodiments, the inflation module 122 can quickly inflate the chamber 121 via the first inflation branch 21, so that the air pressure in the chamber 121 is quickly backfilled from the bottom pressure of 0.1 torr to the atmospheric pressure of 750 torr.

[0049] Please refer to Table 1. Table 1 shows a table of actual pressure values ​​of chambers in three inflation modes according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0050] Table 1 Actual pressure values ​​of the chamber under three inflation modes

[0051]

[0052] As shown in Table 1, in the first inflation mode (slow mode), the pressure difference between the first air pressure in the chamber and the atmospheric pressure outside does not reach the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve 124, so the one-way valve 124 is not opened, and the balancing valve 123 is not opened. In the second inflation mode (normal mode), the chamber pressure can reach a pressure value slightly greater than the front-end module 11 after the balancing valve 123 is opened for 1 second. In the third inflation mode (fast mode), the opening time of the balancing valve 123 is less than 2 seconds, and the first pressure in the chamber 121 is greater than the atmospheric pressure (ATM, Atmosphere) 18~24torr.

[0053] Furthermore, in some preferred embodiments, after closing the inflation module 122 and before opening the atmospheric valve 111 between the chamber 121 and the front-end module 11, the controller can determine the first air pressure in the chamber 121 based on the vacuum air pressure of the back-end module in a vacuum state and the inflation speed of the inflation module 122.

[0054] In addition, in some optional embodiments, the controller may also be provided with an air pressure sensor to detect the first air pressure.

[0055] Afterwards, the controller can determine the opening time of the balancing valve 123 according to the first air pressure, and open the balancing valve 123 accordingly to reduce the chamber 121 from the first air pressure to the target air pressure. Here, the target air pressure is greater than the atmospheric pressure of the front-end module.

[0056] Specifically, when determining the opening time of the balancing valve 123, the controller may first substitute the first air pressure into the fitting functions of the various candidate time lengths to determine the second air pressure of the chamber 121 after the balancing valve 123 is opened for each candidate time length. Afterwards, the controller may determine the corresponding candidate time length according to the second air pressure that meets the target air pressure, and determine the opening time length accordingly. Here, the difference between the target air pressure and the atmospheric pressure is less than or equal to 10 torr.

[0057] Further, in some preferred embodiments, the fitting function is obtained by fitting a plurality of first air pressures greater than the preset sixth air pressure threshold, and a second air pressure of the chamber 121 after opening the balancing valve 123 for a plurality of candidate time lengths, and conforms to the following function line shape:

[0058]

[0059] Where x is the first pressure, y is the second pressure, and y 0 、x c , w, and A are all fitting parameters. The sixth pressure threshold is equal to the sum of the atmospheric pressure and the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve 124.

[0060] Please refer to Table 2 and Figure 3 Table 2 shows a table of pressure difference values ​​before and after the chamber for various candidate time lengths for opening the balancing valve according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 3 A curve diagram showing the change in pressure difference value and time in the chamber before and after the balancing valve is closed according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 4 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure before and after the balancing valve is closed when the balancing valve is opened for 1s according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 5 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure before and after the balancing valve is closed when the balancing valve is opened for 2s according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 6 A curve diagram showing a change in the pressure difference value and the first air pressure when the balancing valve is open for 3s before and after the balancing valve is closed according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0061] Table 2 Pressure difference between the front and rear chambers of the balancing valve for each candidate duration

[0062]

[0063] As shown in Table 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a function fitting is performed based on the curve of the relationship between the first air pressure of the balancing valve opening time 1s and the pressure difference before and after the balancing valve is closed in the pressure-time relationship curve of the balancing system to obtain the corresponding fitting parameters:

[0064] y 0 =18.73431±0.57829

[0065] x c =769.07783±9.39898

[0066] w=0.02239±0.00735

[0067] A=-411.36626±109.41

[0068] In this way, the fitted curve is evaluated and obtained is 0.29872, R 2 is 0.97226, and the adjusted R 2 It is 0.96764.

[0069] As shown in Table 2, Figure 3 and Figure 5 As shown, a function fitting is performed based on the curve of the relationship between the first air pressure of the balancing valve opening time 2s and the pressure difference before and after the balancing valve is closed in the pressure-time relationship curve of the balancing system to obtain the corresponding fitting parameters:

[0070] y 0 =29.8338±0.51518

[0071] x c =770.48798±4.58871

[0072] w=0.01845±0.0032

[0073] A=-803.51829±120.13925

[0074] In this way, the fitted curve is evaluated and obtained is 0.71765, R 2 is 0.98895, and the adjusted R 2 It is 0.98711.

[0075] As shown in Table 2, Figure 3 and Figure 6 As shown, a function fitting is performed based on the curve of the relationship between the first air pressure of the balancing valve opening time 3s and the pressure difference before and after the balancing valve is closed in the pressure-time relationship curve of the balancing system to obtain the corresponding fitting parameters:

[0076] y 0 =32.4632±0.31549

[0077] x c =776.79219±1.17424

[0078] w=0.01315±0.00107

[0079] A=-574.44043±18.29554

[0080] In this way, the fitted curve is evaluated and obtained is 0.60197, R 2 is 0.99358, and the adjusted R 2 It is 0.99251.

[0081] Specifically, due to the different opening times of the balancing valve 123, the air pressure in the chamber 121 will change accordingly, and the CV value of the internal structure of the one-way valve 124 will also change with the different pressure values ​​in the chamber 121. Therefore, the internal structure design of the chamber 121, the size, number and position of the backfill valve will affect the chamber pressure value of the chamber 121 under different inflation modes and at different opening times of the balancing valve 123. In this way, by fitting the curve of the initial pressure of the chamber 121 and the change of the CV value of the one-way valve according to the actual test values, it can be determined whether the different initial pressures of the chamber 121, the different opening times of the balancing valve 123, and the changed pressure of the chamber 121 meet the requirements, which will have better versatility for the pressure control in the chamber 121.

[0082] In addition, in some optional embodiments, the controller may also be provided with an air pressure sensor to determine the closing timing of the balancing valve 123 .

[0083] Please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 . Figure 7 A line graph showing the number of large particles in the chamber under three inflation modes provided in some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 8 A line graph of inflation time is shown according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0084] like Figure 7 As shown, technicians can test the control system of chamber pressure provided by the first aspect of the present invention. Specifically, the particles with a diameter of more than 0.019 um on the A side and the B side in the chamber 121 can be counted. In the three inflation modes, the number of large particles on the A side and the B side of the chamber that is not equipped with the control system of chamber pressure provided by the first aspect of the present invention is significantly larger.

[0085] like Figure 8 As shown, the chamber gas filling time of the chamber equipped with the chamber pressure control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention is longer than that of the chamber gas filling time of the chamber not equipped with the chamber pressure control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention. In this way, the chamber pressure control system provided by the first aspect of the present invention can improve the production capacity of the machine by quantitatively controlling the opening time of the balance valve, taking into account the protection of the atmospheric valve seal and the processing efficiency of the semiconductor device.

[0086] In summary, the above-mentioned chamber pressure control system, load lock chamber and semiconductor device processing equipment provided by the present invention can prevent external contamination from entering the chamber through the balance valve in scenarios such as pressure relief, installation errors, and misoperation by setting a balance valve, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer transmission path, and by quantitatively controlling the opening time of the balance valve, taking into account both the protection of the atmospheric valve seal and the processing efficiency of the semiconductor device.

[0087] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of actions for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, because according to one or more embodiments, some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from those illustrated and described herein or not illustrated and described herein but understandable to those skilled in the art.

[0088] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information, signals, and data may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips cited throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0089] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. The technician may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as resulting in a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0090] 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 should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A chamber pressure control system, characterized in that: include: An air filling module connected to a chamber of a semiconductor device processing equipment to fill the chamber with air, wherein the chamber is located between a front-end module in an atmospheric state and a back-end module in a vacuum state; a balancing valve, one end of which is connected to the chamber to release the overfilled gas in the chamber; a one-way valve connected to the other end of the balancing valve to prevent external gas from entering the chamber through the balancing valve; and The controller is configured to: determine a first air pressure in the chamber after closing the inflation module and before opening the atmospheric valve between the chamber and the front-end module; determine an opening time of the balancing valve according to the first air pressure, and open the balancing valve accordingly to reduce the chamber from the first air pressure to a target air pressure, wherein the target air pressure is greater than the atmospheric pressure of the front-end module.

2. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inflation module includes an air source and a plurality of inflation branches, wherein: The first inflation branch is provided with a first backfill valve, and the gas source rapidly inflates the chamber via the first backfill valve. The second inflation branch is provided with a second backfill valve and a flow limiting unit, and the gas source slowly inflates the chamber via the second backfill valve and the flow limiting unit.

3. The control system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The inflation module includes multiple inflation modes, among which: In the first inflation mode, the inflation module first slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch below a preset first air pressure threshold, then quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch between the first air pressure threshold and a preset second air pressure threshold, and then slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch between the second air pressure threshold and a preset third air pressure threshold, and / or In the second inflation mode, the inflation module first slowly inflates the chamber via the second inflation branch below a preset fourth pressure threshold, and then quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch between the fourth pressure threshold and a preset fifth pressure threshold, and / or In the third inflation mode, the inflation module quickly inflates the chamber via the first inflation branch.

4. The control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of determining the first air pressure in the chamber comprises: The first air pressure in the chamber is determined according to the vacuum air pressure of the back-end module in the vacuum state and the inflation speed of the inflation module.

5. The control system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The step of determining the opening time of the balancing valve according to the first air pressure comprises: Substituting the first gas pressure into the fitting functions of multiple candidate time lengths respectively to determine the second gas pressure of the chamber after the balancing valve is opened for each of the candidate time lengths; and According to the second air pressure that meets the target air pressure, a corresponding candidate duration is determined, and the opening duration is determined accordingly.

6. The control system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The fitting function is obtained by fitting a plurality of first air pressures greater than a preset sixth air pressure threshold value and a second air pressure of the chamber after the balancing valve is opened for a plurality of the candidate time lengths, and conforms to the following function line shape: Wherein, x is the first air pressure, y is the second air pressure, y0, x c , w, and A are all fitting parameters, and the sixth air pressure threshold is equal to the sum of the atmospheric pressure and the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve.

7. The control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The one-way valve comprises: a valve housing, including an air inlet and an air outlet; A fixing portion, located inside the valve housing; A valve core is located inside the valve housing and connected to the fixed portion via a spring, wherein the valve core is compressed by the spring to seal the inner side of the air inlet when the difference between the first air pressure in the chamber and the atmospheric pressure outside is less than or equal to the opening pressure difference of the one-way valve, and is detached from the inner side of the air inlet when the difference between the first air pressure and the atmospheric pressure is greater than the opening pressure difference, so as to allow the overfilled gas in the chamber to be released to the outside.

8. The control system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The opening pressure difference is 20 torr, and / or The difference between the target air pressure and the atmospheric pressure is less than or equal to 10 torr.

9. A load-lock cavity, characterized in that: include: The chamber body is located between the front-end module of the device in the atmospheric state and the back-end chamber in the vacuum state, and includes an atmospheric valve connected to the front-end module of the device and a vacuum valve connected to the back-end chamber, for switching between the atmospheric state and the vacuum state; and The chamber pressure control system as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is used to quantitatively control the opening time of its balance valve before opening the atmospheric valve, so as to efficiently reduce the chamber from the first air pressure after inflation to the target air pressure.

10. A semiconductor device processing equipment, characterized in that: include: The equipment front-end module is used to obtain the wafers to be processed from the outside in the atmospheric state and transmit the processed wafers to the outside; The load lock chamber as claimed in claim 9, configured to switch between an atmospheric state and a vacuum state; and At least one process chamber is directly or indirectly connected to the load lock chamber, and is used to obtain wafers to be processed from the load lock chamber, process the wafers, and transfer the processed wafers to the load lock chamber under vacuum.

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