Process chamber and thin film deposition equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a process chamber and thin film deposition equipment. The process chamber comprises a heating disc used for bearing a to-be-processed wafer and carrying out a thin film deposition process on the to-be-processed wafer; the spraying upper plate is used for spraying process gas to the surface of the wafer; the exhaust lining is carried on the periphery of the heating disc and matched with the upper spraying plate to form a first air exhaust slit, and the lower edge of the first air exhaust slit is not lower than the upper surface of the heating disc all the time. By adopting the process chamber, the gas distribution at the edge of the wafer in the process chamber can be improved, so that the uniformity of the thickness of the edge of the wafer is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a process chamber and a thin film deposition device. Background Art

[0002] Atomic layer deposition technology is a high-precision thin film deposition technology based on chemical vapor deposition, which has been widely used in advanced semiconductor process technology. Furthermore, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), 3D NAND flash memory and some advanced node logic devices have structures with high aspect ratios and extremely narrow groove openings. Therefore, in order to improve the step coverage of thin film deposition of such devices, a pressurized tank with a pressurized effect is often installed in the reaction source air inlet pipeline structure of the atomic layer deposition equipment. Here, the reaction source gas is accumulated and pressurized in the pressurized tank in advance, and then has a higher pressure when entering the reaction chamber, so as to fully contact the bottom of the deep and narrow groove.

[0003] In the existing thin film deposition process, the exhaust mechanism is usually set on one side below the heating plate, and the gas flows out through the shower plate, diffuses from the top of the wafer to the outside, and then flows downward and is discharged. However, due to the poor gas flowability above the edge of the wafer, the process gas is more likely to gather near the exhaust port of the bushing, resulting in poor uniformity of the film here, which seriously affects the performance of the device.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for a thin film deposition technology for improving the gas distribution at the edge of the wafer in the process chamber, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness at the edge of the wafer. Summary of the invention

[0005] 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.

[0006] In the existing thin film deposition process, the exhaust mechanism is usually set on one side below the heating plate, and the gas flows out through the shower plate, diffuses from the top of the wafer to the outside, and then flows downward and is discharged. However, due to the poor gas flowability above the edge of the wafer, the process gas is more likely to gather near the exhaust port of the bushing, resulting in poor uniformity of the film here, which seriously affects the performance of the device.

[0007] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a process chamber and a thin film deposition device for improving the gas distribution at the edge of a wafer in the process chamber, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness of the wafer edge.

[0008] Specifically, the process chamber provided according to the first aspect of the present invention includes: a heating plate, used to carry the wafer to be processed and perform a thin film deposition process on it; a spray upper plate, used to spray the process gas onto the surface of the wafer; and an exhaust sleeve, which is mounted on the periphery of the heating plate and cooperates with the spray upper plate to form a first exhaust slit, wherein the lower edge of the first exhaust slit is always not lower than the upper surface of the heating plate.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the process chamber also includes: an edge sleeve, whose radial cross-section is Z-shaped, wherein a first transverse portion of the Z-shape extends inwardly to be carried on the periphery of the heating plate, and a second transverse portion of the Z-shape extends outwardly to carry the exhaust sleeve.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the process chamber also includes: a baffle bushing having an L-shaped radial cross-section, wherein the horizontal portion of the L-shape extends inwardly to be carried on the second horizontal portion of the edge bushing, and the vertical portion of the L-shape cooperates with the vertical portion of the Z-shape to form a carrying groove of the exhaust bushing to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the exhaust sleeve includes: a transverse exhaust portion, whose radial cross-section is n-shaped, wherein the first vertical portion of the n-shape is inserted into the carrying groove to be carried on the periphery of the heating plate, and the upper edge of the transverse portion cooperates with the lower surface of the spray upper plate to form the first exhaust slit; and a longitudinal exhaust portion, whose radial cross-section is U-shaped, wherein the first vertical portion of the U-shape is fixedly connected to the second vertical portion of the n-shaped portion, and cooperates with the second vertical portion of the U-shaped portion to form a second exhaust slit, and the transverse portion of the U-shape is provided with a plurality of exhaust holes for the exhaust mechanism to extract process exhaust gas from above the heating plate through the first exhaust slit and the second exhaust slit in sequence.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the exhaust mechanism is arranged on one side below the heating plate, wherein the width of the second exhaust slit increases with the increase of the distance from the second exhaust slit to the exhaust mechanism, and / or the size of the exhaust hole increases with the increase of the distance from the second exhaust hole to the exhaust mechanism, and / or the density of the exhaust hole increases with the increase of the distance from the second exhaust hole to the exhaust mechanism.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the width of the second air pumping slit is in the range of 1 to 5 mm.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the process chamber further comprises: a heating plate lifting mechanism, which is used to lift and lower the heating plate according to a target exhaust rate to adjust the width of the first exhaust slit.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the width of the first air extraction slit is in the range of 0.5 to 5 mm.

[0016] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the process chamber also includes: a purge gas source, which is used to spray the purge gas onto the overlapping position of the edge sleeve and the heating plate while the spray upper plate sprays the process gas onto the surface of the wafer, so as to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate.

[0017] In addition, the thin film deposition equipment provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes: a process chamber as described in any one of the first aspect of the present invention; and an exhaust mechanism, which is arranged below the process chamber and is used to extract process exhaust gas from above the heating plate through the exhaust sleeve of the process chamber. 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 a thin film deposition device provided according to the first aspect of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a second air pumping slit provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Reference numerals:

[0022] 10 Heating plate

[0023] 20 Spraying the upper plate

[0024] 21 Gas input pipeline

[0025] 30 Exhaust Bushing

[0026] 31 First exhaust slit

[0027] 32 Second exhaust slit

[0028] 40 Edge Bushing

[0029] 50 choke bushing

[0030] 60 Air extraction mechanism DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] As mentioned above, atomic layer deposition technology is a high-precision thin film deposition technology based on chemical vapor deposition, which has been widely used in advanced semiconductor process technology. Furthermore, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), 3D NAND flash memory, and some advanced node logic devices have structures with high aspect ratios and extremely narrow groove openings. Therefore, in order to improve the step coverage of thin film deposition of such devices, a pressurized tank with a pressurized effect is often installed in the reaction source air inlet pipeline structure of the atomic layer deposition equipment. Here, the reaction source gas is accumulated and pressurized in the pressurized tank in advance, and then has a higher pressure when entering the reaction chamber, so as to fully contact the bottom of the deep and narrow groove.

[0036] In the existing thin film deposition process, the exhaust mechanism is usually set on one side below the heating plate, and the gas flows out through the shower plate, diffuses from the top of the wafer to the outside, and then flows downward and is discharged. However, due to the poor gas flowability above the edge of the wafer, the process gas is more likely to gather near the exhaust port of the bushing, resulting in poor uniformity of the film here, which seriously affects the performance of the device.

[0037] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for a thin film deposition technology for improving the gas distribution at the edge of the wafer in the process chamber, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness at the edge of the wafer.

[0038] In some non-limiting embodiments, the process chamber provided in the first aspect of the present invention may be configured in the thin film deposition equipment provided in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0039] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to the first aspect of the present invention is shown.

[0040] like Figure 1 As shown, the thin film deposition apparatus comprises the process chamber and an exhaust mechanism 60. The exhaust mechanism 60 is disposed below the process chamber and is used to extract process exhaust gas from above the heating plate 10 via the exhaust liner 30 of the process chamber.

[0041] The process chamber includes a heating plate 10, a spray upper plate 20 and an exhaust sleeve 30. Here, the heating plate 10 is used to carry the wafer to be processed and perform a thin film deposition process on it. The spray upper plate 20 is used to spray the process gas onto the surface of the wafer. The process gas may include a precursor gas and a reaction gas input through a gas input pipeline 21. The exhaust sleeve 30 is mounted on the periphery of the heating plate 10 and cooperates with the spray upper plate 20 to form a first exhaust slit 31. The lower edge of the first exhaust slit 31 is always not lower than the upper surface of the heating plate 10 to prevent the process gas from gathering near the exhaust port of the sleeve.

[0042] Furthermore, the exhaust bushing 30 is provided with two exhaust paths, including a transverse exhaust portion and a longitudinal exhaust portion, so as to improve exhaust uniformity.

[0043] Specifically, the radial cross section of the transverse air extraction part is n-shaped. The first vertical part of the n-shaped part is inserted into the mounting groove to be mounted on the periphery of the heating plate 10 , and the upper edge of the transverse part cooperates with the lower surface of the spray upper plate 20 to form a first air extraction slit 31 .

[0044] In some embodiments, the height of the lateral pumping portion can be adjusted up and down, and those skilled in the art can adjust the pumping rate by adjusting the height of the upper edge of the lateral pumping portion, thereby further adjusting the uniformity of the pumping.

[0045] In some embodiments, the width of the first air extraction slit 31 is in the range of 0.5 to 5 mm.

[0046] The longitudinal air extraction portion has a U-shaped radial cross section. The first vertical portion of the U-shaped portion is fixedly connected to the second vertical portion of the U-shaped portion (for example, by bonding, clamping or integral molding), and cooperates with the second vertical portion of the U-shaped portion to form a second air extraction slit 32. The second air extraction slit 32 can further adjust the air extraction uniformity, thereby reducing the difficulty of implementation.

[0047] In some embodiments, the U-shaped horizontal portion is provided with a plurality of exhaust holes, so that the exhaust mechanism 60 can sequentially extract the process exhaust gas from above the heating plate 10 through the first exhaust slit 31 and the second exhaust slit 32. Here, the exhaust holes include but are not limited to round holes, square holes, triangular holes, and strip holes.

[0048] Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a second air extraction slit 32 provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0049] like Figure 2 As shown, the first vertical portion and the second vertical portion of the U-shaped portion are connected through a plurality of connection points to form a strip-shaped hole.

[0050] Further, the air extraction mechanism 60 is disposed on one side below the heating plate 10. The width of the second air extraction slit 32 increases as the distance from the second air extraction mechanism 60 increases, and / or the size of the air extraction holes increases as the distance from the second air extraction mechanism 60 increases, and / or the density of the air extraction holes increases as the distance from the second air extraction mechanism 60 increases. Here, the width of the second air extraction slit 32 may range from 1 to 5 mm.

[0051] In some embodiments, the process chamber may further include an edge liner 40 , whose radial cross section is Z-shaped. A first transverse portion of the Z-shape extends inwardly to be carried on the periphery of the heating plate 10 , and a second transverse portion of the Z-shape extends outwardly to carry the exhaust liner 30 .

[0052] Optionally, the process chamber may not be provided with the edge bushing 40 , and the exhaust bushing 30 may be directly mounted on the periphery of the heating plate 10 .

[0053] In some embodiments, the process chamber may further include a flow blocking bushing 50, whose radial cross section is L-shaped. The horizontal portion of the L-shape extends inward to be carried on the second horizontal portion of the edge bushing 40, and the vertical portion of the L-shape cooperates with the vertical portion of the Z-shape to form a carrying groove of the exhaust bushing 30 to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate 10.

[0054] In addition, the process chamber also includes a heating plate 10 lifting mechanism, which can be used to lift the heating plate 10 according to the target pumping rate to adjust the width of the first pumping slit 31. At the same time, the liftable heating plate 10 can facilitate the robotic arm to pick up and place the wafer. Those skilled in the art can understand that, unlike the structure in the prior art where the pumping ring and the heating plate 10 are separated, no matter how the heating plate 10 is lifted or lowered, the lower edge of the first pumping slit 31 is always ensured not to be lower than the upper surface of the heating plate 10, thereby avoiding the process gas from gathering near the exhaust port of the bushing.

[0055] In addition, the process chamber also includes a purge gas source for spraying purge gas onto the overlap position of the edge sleeve 40 and the heating plate 10 while the spray upper plate 20 sprays process gas onto the surface of the wafer to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate 10.

[0056] In summary, the process chamber and thin film deposition equipment provided by the present invention can be used to improve the gas distribution at the edge of the wafer in the process chamber, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness of the wafer edge.

[0057] 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.

[0058] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A process chamber, characterized in that: include: A heating plate, used to carry the wafer to be processed and perform a thin film deposition process on it; A spray upper plate, used for spraying process gas onto the surface of the wafer; as well as An exhaust bushing is mounted on the periphery of the heating plate and cooperates with the spray upper plate to form a first exhaust slit, wherein the lower edge of the first exhaust slit is always not lower than the upper surface of the heating plate.

2. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The edge bushing has a Z-shaped radial cross section, wherein a first transverse portion of the Z-shape extends inwardly to be carried on the periphery of the heating plate, and a second transverse portion of the Z-shape extends outwardly to carry the exhaust bushing.

3. The process chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: Also includes: The baffle bushing has an L-shaped radial cross-section, wherein the horizontal portion of the L-shape extends inwardly to be carried on the second horizontal portion of the edge bushing, and the vertical portion of the L-shape cooperates with the vertical portion of the Z-shape to form a carrying groove of the exhaust bushing to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate.

4. The process chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: The exhaust bushing includes: A transverse air extraction portion, whose radial cross section is n-shaped, wherein the first vertical portion of the n-shaped portion is inserted into the mounting groove to be mounted on the periphery of the heating plate, and the upper edge of the transverse portion cooperates with the lower surface of the spray upper plate to form the first air extraction slit; and The longitudinal exhaust portion has a U-shaped radial cross-section, wherein the first vertical portion of the U-shape is fixedly connected to the second vertical portion of the n-shaped portion, and cooperates with the second vertical portion of the U-shaped portion to form a second exhaust slit, and the horizontal portion of the U-shape is provided with a plurality of exhaust holes, so that the exhaust mechanism can extract the process exhaust gas from above the heating plate through the first exhaust slit and the second exhaust slit in sequence.

5. The process chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The air extraction mechanism is arranged on one side below the heating plate, wherein: The width of the second air pumping slit increases as the distance from the second air pumping slit to the air pumping mechanism increases, and / or The size of the air extraction hole increases as the distance from the air extraction hole to the air extraction mechanism increases, and / or The density of the air extraction holes increases as the distance from the air extraction holes to the air extraction mechanism increases.

6. The process chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The width of the second air extraction slit is in the range of 1 to 5 mm.

7. The process chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: The heating plate lifting mechanism is used to lift the heating plate according to a target exhaust rate to adjust the width of the first exhaust slit.

8. The process chamber according to claim 7, characterized in that: The width of the first air extraction slit is in the range of 0.5 to 5 mm.

9. The process chamber according to claim 2, wherein: Also includes: A purge gas source is used to spray purge gas to the overlapping position of the edge sleeve and the heating plate while the spray upper plate sprays the process gas to the surface of the wafer, so as to prevent the process gas from entering the lower area of ​​the heating plate.

10. A thin film deposition device, characterized in that: include: The process chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 9; as well as The exhaust mechanism is arranged below the process chamber and is used to extract process exhaust gas from above the heating plate through the exhaust sleeve of the process chamber.

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