A flow uniformity structure, process chamber, and semiconductor processing apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a flow uniformizing structure, a process chamber and a semiconductor process equipment. The flow uniformizing structure comprises a partition ring, a gas inlet uniformizing plate arranged on one end surface of the partition ring along an axial direction, a plurality of gas inlet uniformizing holes arranged on the gas inlet uniformizing plate, a gas outlet uniformizing plate arranged on the other end surface of the partition ring along the axial direction, a first flow uniformizing cavity formed by the partition ring, the gas inlet uniformizing plate and the gas outlet uniformizing plate, a plurality of gas outlet uniformizing holes arranged on the gas outlet uniformizing plate, a ring-shaped baffle arranged in the first flow uniformizing cavity, and a driving mechanism connected with the ring-shaped baffle and used for driving the ring-shaped baffle to move between the gas inlet uniformizing plate and the gas outlet uniformizing plate. The application can adjust the flow field distribution and improve the utilization rate of process gas.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment technology, specifically to a flow uniform structure, a process chamber, and semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor etching equipment, after the process gas enters the process chamber, it flows through the flow equalization holes on the flow equalization plate to reach the process area. The flow equalization holes can homogenize the process gas to improve the uniformity of etching.

[0003] Under this structure, the flow field distribution of process gas is limited by the existing uniform flow orifice design and cannot be adjusted, resulting in low gas utilization when performing small-size wafer processes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a flow uniform structure, a process chamber, and semiconductor process equipment, which can improve the problem of low gas utilization in existing process chamber flow uniform plates when switching to small-size wafer processes.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, in a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a flow uniformity structure, comprising:

[0006] Spacer ring;

[0007] An air intake equalization plate is disposed on one end face of the partition ring along the axial direction, and an air intake equalization hole is provided on the air intake equalization plate;

[0008] An outlet flow equalizer is disposed on the other end face of the partition ring along the axial direction, and together with the partition ring and the inlet flow equalizer, forms a first flow equalizer cavity. The outlet flow equalizer is provided with a plurality of outlet flow equalizer holes.

[0009] An annular baffle is disposed in the first uniform flow cavity, and along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle, the projection of the air inlet uniform flow hole and part of the projection of the air outlet uniform flow hole are located inside the inner ring of the annular baffle, while the projection of another part of the air outlet uniform flow hole is located on the annular baffle.

[0010] A drive mechanism, connected to the annular baffle, is used to drive the annular baffle to move between the inlet flow equalizer and the outlet flow equalizer.

[0011] Optionally, multiple air intake flow equalization holes are provided and are evenly distributed on a circle with the center of the air intake flow equalization plate as the center.

[0012] Optionally, the diameter of the air inlet uniform flow hole is 5 to 15 times the diameter of the air outlet uniform flow hole.

[0013] Optionally, the air intake uniform plate is provided with a central heating zone and at least one annular heating zone;

[0014] The central heating zone is concentric with the circle, and the at least one annular heating zone surrounds the outer side of the central heating zone in sequence.

[0015] Optionally, the heating temperatures of the central heating zone and the at least one annular heating zone are set to increase sequentially from the center of the air intake uniform plate to the edge.

[0016] Optionally, the plurality of outlet flow equalization holes are evenly distributed on the outlet flow equalization plate, and the outlet flow equalization holes projected into the inner circle of the annular baffle along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle include:

[0017] Multiple first flow equalization holes projected to the inner center of the annular baffle and multiple second flow equalization holes located at the edge of the annular baffle, wherein the diameter of the first flow equalization holes is larger than the diameter of the second flow equalization holes; and / or,

[0018] The diameter of the second uniform flow orifice is equal to the diameter of the outlet uniform flow orifice projected onto the annular baffle.

[0019] Optionally, the drive mechanism includes:

[0020] A guide rod movably passes through the air intake equalization plate and is connected to the annular baffle;

[0021] A drive source, connected to the guide rod, is used to drive the guide rod to move the annular baffle between the air inlet baffle and the air outlet baffle.

[0022] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a process chamber, including the flow uniform structure described in the above embodiments, and,

[0023] The main body of the chamber has an open top;

[0024] A top cover is provided to seal the opening, and the top cover is provided with an air inlet.

[0025] The air intake equalization plate is disposed below the upper cover, and forms a second equalization cavity between the plate and the upper cover;

[0026] The outlet air distribution plate is disposed at the bottom of the inlet air distribution plate;

[0027] The air inlet is connected to the second uniform flow chamber.

[0028] Optionally, the inner wall of the chamber body is provided with a supporting step near the opening;

[0029] The process chamber also includes an annular mounting base. The outer wall of the annular mounting base is provided with a first flange that mates with the support step. The annular mounting base is supported on the support step, and its top surface does not exceed the top surface of the chamber body.

[0030] The inner wall of the annular mounting base is provided with a second flange, and the air outlet flow equalization plate is supported on the second flange;

[0031] The air intake baffle, the upper cover, and the inner wall of the annular mounting base form the second baffle cavity.

[0032] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a semiconductor process apparatus, including a plasma generator and a process chamber as described in the above embodiments;

[0033] The plasma generator is connected to the air inlet and is used to input process gas into the process chamber.

[0034] As described above, the flow equalization structure of this application includes an inlet flow equalization plate, an outlet flow equalization plate, an annular baffle, and a driving mechanism. Under the action of the driving mechanism, the annular baffle can move between the inlet and outlet flow equalization plates. When processing large-size wafers, the driving mechanism can drive the annular baffle to the surface of the inlet flow equalization plate. Since the inlet flow equalization holes are exposed in the inner ring of the annular baffle, gas can be normally input into the first flow equalization cavity through the inlet flow equalization holes of the inlet flow equalization plate regardless of the position of the annular baffle. At this time, all the outlet flow equalization holes of the outlet flow equalization plate are connected to the first flow equalization cavity, thus enabling processing of large-size wafers. When processing small-size wafers, the driving mechanism can drive the annular baffle to the surface of the outlet flow equalization plate, blocking the outlet flow equalization holes at the edge of the outlet flow equalization plate to prevent the process gas at the edge from being directly drawn away without participating in the reaction. Therefore, the uniform flow structure of this application can adjust the flow field distribution, thereby accurately accommodating the processes of large-size wafers and small-size wafers, and can greatly reduce the probability of process gases being directly extracted without reaction when processing small-size wafers, thereby improving the utilization rate of process gases. Attached Figure Description

[0035] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0036] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber in a related technology.

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake flow equalizer provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air outlet flow equalizer provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an annular baffle provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a bottom view;

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the axial overlap of an air intake baffle and annular baffle provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the overlap of an exhaust flow equalizer and an annular baffle in the axial direction provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a flow uniform plate based on related technologies;

[0044] Figure 9 yes Figure 8 The flow field and oxygen free radical distribution cloud map corresponding to the flow uniform plate;

[0045] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another process chamber structure in the related technology;

[0046] Figure 11 This is a flow field and oxygen free radical distribution cloud map corresponding to a uniform flow structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a semiconductor process equipment provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] The realization of the objectives, functional features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings have illustrated specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0049] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0050] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, components, features, and elements with the same names in different embodiments of this application may have the same meaning or different meanings, the specific meaning of which must be determined by its interpretation in that specific embodiment or further in conjunction with the context of that specific embodiment.

[0051] It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" or "including" indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups. The terms "or," "and / or," and "comprising at least one of the following," as used in this application, can be interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination thereof. For example, "comprising at least one of the following: A, B, C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C," and similarly, "A, B, or C" or "A, B, and / or C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C." Exceptions to this definition only occur when the combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

[0052] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this document to describe various types of information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this document, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used in this document are intended to also include the plural forms, unless the context indicates otherwise.

[0053] It should be understood that the terms "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this application.

[0054] For ease of description, the following embodiments are all illustrated using an orthogonal space defined by a horizontal plane and a vertical direction. This premise should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0055] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a process chamber structure in related technology. Process gas enters the chamber from the top cover 10a, flows through the flow equalization holes 21a on the flow equalization plate 20a, and reaches the surface of the wafer 101a located on the lifting base 30a to etch the wafer. The diagram uses an 8-inch wafer as an example. However, when processing 6-inch wafers, the flow field distribution of the process gas is limited by the existing flow equalization hole design, and the gas at the edges is not fully utilized before being extracted, resulting in low gas utilization. Based on this, this application provides a flow equalization structure, a process chamber, and semiconductor process equipment.

[0056] Please see Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application. The flow equalization structure may include a partition ring 10, an inlet flow equalization plate 20, an outlet flow equalization plate 30, an annular baffle 40, and a drive mechanism 50.

[0057] In practical application scenarios, the axial direction of the partition ring 10 is defined as vertical, and the two end faces of the partition ring 10 along the axial direction are arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction. The air inlet uniform flow plate 20 is disposed on one end face (i.e., the upper end face) of the partition ring 10. The air inlet uniform flow plate 20 is provided with air inlet uniform flow holes 21. There can be one or more air inlet uniform flow holes 21, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. The air outlet uniform flow plate 30 is disposed on the other end face (i.e., the lower end face) of the partition ring 10, and together with the partition ring 10 and the air inlet uniform flow plate 20, it forms a first uniform flow cavity 110. The air outlet uniform flow plate 30 is provided with multiple air outlet uniform flow holes 31. It should be noted that the intake flow equalizer 20, the partition ring 10 and the outlet flow equalizer 30 can be separate components assembled to form the first flow equalizer cavity 110, or two of them can be an integrated structure. For example, the partition ring 10 and the intake flow equalizer 20 are integrally formed, or the partition ring 10 and the outlet flow equalizer 30 are integrally formed, etc.

[0058] Please also refer to Figures 3-7 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake flow equalizer provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an air outlet flow equalizer provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an annular baffle provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a bottom view. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the axial overlap of an air intake baffle and an annular baffle provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram showing the axial overlap of an exhaust flow equalizer and an annular baffle provided in an embodiment of this application. The annular baffle 40 is disposed in the first flow equalizer cavity 110. Along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle 40, the projections of the intake flow equalizer 21 and a portion of the exhaust flow equalizer 31A are located within the inner ring of the annular baffle 40, while the projections of another portion of the exhaust flow equalizer 31B are located on the annular baffle 40. In other words, along the axial direction of the annular baffle 40, the intake flow equalizer 21 and the near-center exhaust flow equalizer 31A are exposed within the inner ring of the annular baffle 40, while the exhaust flow equalizer 31B near the edge is blocked by the annular baffle 40. A drive mechanism 50 is connected to the annular baffle 40 and is used to drive the annular baffle 40 to move between the intake flow equalizer 20 and the exhaust flow equalizer 30.

[0059] The working principle of the uniform flow structure in this embodiment is as follows: Please refer to... Figure 2 Gas enters the first uniform flow chamber 110 through the air inlet uniform flow hole 21 of the air inlet uniform flow plate 20, and then flows out through the air outlet uniform flow hole 31 of the air outlet uniform flow plate 30 to reach the process area for processing. When performing large-size wafer 101 (e.g., 8-inch) processing, the drive mechanism 50 can drive the annular baffle 40 to move to the surface of the air inlet uniform flow plate 20 ( Figure 2 The bottom surface of the inlet equalization plate 20), since the inlet equalization hole 21 is exposed in the inner ring of the annular baffle 40, gas can be normally input into the first equalization cavity 110 through the inlet equalization hole 21 of the inlet equalization plate 20, no matter where the annular baffle 40 moves to. At this time, all the outlet equalization holes 31 of the outlet equalization plate 30 are connected to the first equalization cavity 110, so the large-size wafer 101 can be processed. When processing the small-size wafer 102, the drive mechanism 50 can drive the annular baffle 40 to move to the surface of the outlet equalization plate 30 ( Figure 2 The top surface of the gas flow equalization plate 30 blocks the gas flow equalization holes 31B at the edge of the gas flow equalization plate 30, preventing the process gas at the edge from being directly drawn away without participating in the reaction, thereby improving the utilization rate of the process gas.

[0060] Understandably, the inner and outer diameters of the annular baffle 40 can be set according to the dimensions of small and large wafers. For example, the inner diameter can be slightly larger than the diameter of the small wafer, and the outer diameter can be slightly larger than the diameter of the large wafer. This baffle also blocks the outlet flow equalization holes 31B at the edge of the outlet flow equalization plate 30. The flow equalization structure of this embodiment can adjust the flow field distribution, thereby accurately accommodating both large and small wafer processes. Furthermore, it can significantly reduce the probability of process gases being directly extracted without reaction during small wafer processes, thus improving the utilization rate of process gases.

[0061] In this embodiment, the specific structures of the inlet air flow equalizer 20 and the outlet air flow equalizer 30 are not particularly limited, and existing mature technology flow equalizers can be used. For an example, please refer to... Figure 1 and Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a flow equalization plate in related technology. The diameter of the flow equalization holes 21a on the flow equalization plate 20a increases radially, that is, the hole diameter is small at the center and large at the edge. This arrangement can improve the airflow uniformity inside the cavity, but it will result in a slower flow velocity at the center of the wafer. For an example using N2+O2 as the process gas, please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 9 , Figure 9 yes Figure 8 The flow field and oxygen free radical distribution cloud map corresponding to the flow uniform plate. The process gas enters from the center. The oxygen (O) free radical concentration is high in the center of the flow uniform plate 20a. O free radicals will accumulate in the center of the wafer, which makes the center desizing rate too fast, the uniformity poor, and the failure phenomenon such as pitting easy to occur.

[0062] Based on this, please continue reading Figure 6 As an improved example, multiple intake flow equalization holes 21 can be provided on the intake flow equalization plate 20 and evenly distributed on a circle with the center of the intake flow equalization plate 20 as the center. Figure 6 There are 6 air inlet uniform flow holes 21. By setting the air inlet uniform flow holes 21 off-center, excessive O free radicals can be prevented from entering the first uniform flow cavity 110 from the center and then directly entering the center of the process chamber through the exhaust uniform flow plate 30. This can reduce the resist removal rate at the wafer center and improve etching uniformity.

[0063] Please see Figure 10 , Figure 10This is a schematic diagram of another process chamber structure in related technologies. The flow equalization structure includes an upper flow equalization plate 11b and a lower flow equalization plate 12b. Both the upper and lower flow equalization plates 11b and 12b employ a multi-hole distribution structure, with the upper and lower flow equalization holes arranged alternately to adjust the flow field distribution inside the chamber. By setting up dual flow equalization plates, a more uniform flow field can be obtained at the outlet end of the lower flow equalization plate 12b. However, this structure leads to a decrease in the flow rate of the process gas, and the number of O free radicals passing through will also decrease accordingly, resulting in a decrease in the overall degumming rate.

[0064] Based on this, please continue reading Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 7 As an improved example, the diameter D1 of the inlet uniform flow hole 21 can be set to be larger than the diameter D2 of the outlet uniform flow hole 31. Preferably, D1 = (5~15)D2. For example, D1 = 15~25mm, D2 = 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm, etc. By setting a larger inlet uniform flow hole 21, sufficient process gas can be input to improve the overall descaling rate. If the diameter D1 of the inlet uniform flow hole 21 is set too small, the flow rate will decrease, the amount of gas passing through will decrease, and thus the descaling rate cannot be improved; if D1 is too large, the number of inlet uniform flow holes 21 that can be set on the inlet uniform flow hole 21 will decrease, and the uniform flow effect will decrease. This embodiment achieves a good balance between descaling rate and uniform flow effect through reasonable hole diameter setting.

[0065] In one embodiment, see Figure 7 The outlet flow equalization holes 31 are evenly distributed on the outlet flow equalization plate 30. For example, they can be like this: Figure 7 The rectangular array distribution shown can also be uniformly distributed in a circular, polygonal, or other manner. Along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle 40, the outlet flow equalization holes 31A projected into the inner ring of the annular baffle 40 may include multiple first flow equalization holes 311 and multiple second flow equalization holes 312. The projection of the first flow equalization holes 311 is located at the center of the inner ring of the annular baffle 40, and the projection of the second flow equalization holes 312 is located at the edge of the annular baffle 40. The diameter of the first flow equalization holes 311 is larger than the diameter of the second flow equalization holes 312. That is, among the outlet flow equalization holes 31A exposed in the inner ring of the annular baffle 40, the diameter of the first flow equalization hole 311 located near the center of the outlet flow equalization plate 30 is larger than the diameter of the second flow equalization hole 312 located near the edge of the outlet flow equalization plate 30. For example, the diameter of the outlet flow equalization hole 31B projected onto the annular baffle 40 can be equal to the diameter of the second flow equalization hole 312 to improve the uniformity of the flow field at the edge.

[0066] In this embodiment, the exhaust flow equalization plate 30 adopts densely and uniformly distributed exhaust flow equalization holes 31, which can effectively improve the flow field uniformity in the process chamber. Since the edge of the wafer is closer to the exhaust port, the exhaust flow equalization holes 31A projected in the inner circle of the annular baffle 40 adopt an inner-large and outer-small distribution pattern, which can prevent excessive gas from directly entering the chamber through the edge of the exhaust flow equalization hole 31 and being directly extracted, resulting in low utilization. At the same time, increasing the diameter of the central exhaust flow equalization hole 31 is beneficial to increasing the flow field velocity in the central region above the wafer, avoiding excessive accumulation of O free radicals in the central region of the wafer, and improving the uniformity of O free radical distribution above the wafer.

[0067] In addition, due to the limitations of the radio frequency source structure of the Qihui chamber, the plasma mainly bombards the gas inlet uniform plate 20 from the center, which will cause the center temperature of the gas inlet uniform plate 20 to be significantly higher than the edge temperature. This results in the O free radicals above the wafer having a high center temperature and a low edge temperature, which will also lead to the excessively fast removal rate of the resist at the center of the wafer, poor uniformity, and pitting failure.

[0068] Based on this, please continue reading Figure 3 and Figure 6 As an improved example, the intake manifold 20 is provided with a central heating zone 22 and at least one annular heating zone. The central heating zone 22 is concentrically arranged with the intake manifold 20, and the annular heating zones surround the outer side of the central heating zone 22 in sequence. The figure shows two annular heating zones 23A and 23B as an example, where the dashed lines are the boundaries between the zones. In other embodiments, only one or more annular heating zones may be provided. As an example, resistance wires can be separately installed in the areas corresponding to each heating zone inside the intake manifold 20 for individual heating and temperature control, thereby compensating for the temperature unevenness of the intake manifold 20 from the center to the edge. For example, the heating temperature of the central heating zone 22 and all the annular heating zones 23 increases sequentially from the center to the edge of the intake manifold 20. For example, the temperature of the central heating zone 22 can be set to 80–100°C, the temperature of the central annular heating zone 23A can be set to 100–120°C, and the temperature of the annular heating zone 23B at the edge can be set to 120–140°C.

[0069] Please see Figure 11 , Figure 11 This application provides a flow field and oxygen free radical distribution cloud map corresponding to a uniform flow structure, wherein the inlet uniform flow plate 20, the outlet uniform flow plate 30, and the annular baffle 40 are respectively as shown in the embodiments. Figure 3-5As shown, a simulation of the process for an 8-inch wafer is performed. The annular baffle 40 rises to the bottom surface of the inlet flow equalizer 20. The diameter of the inlet flow equalizer hole 21 of the inlet flow equalizer 20 is 20mm, and the pitch circle diameter tangent to the inlet flow equalizer hole 21 is 100mm. The diameter of the outlet flow equalizer hole 31 (first flow equalizer hole 311) at the center of the outlet flow equalizer 30 is 3mm, and the diameter of the outlet flow equalizer holes 31 (second flow equalizer hole 312 and the second flow equalizer hole 312 blocked by the annular baffle 40) at the edge is 2mm. The diameter of the boundary circle between the large and small flow equalizer holes is 100mm. (Comparison) Figure 9 and Figure 11 As can be seen, the flow field distribution and O radical distribution of the uniform flow structure in this application are more uniform, which can improve the uniformity of degumming.

[0070] In one embodiment, please refer to... Figure 2 and Figure 5 The drive mechanism 50 may include a guide rod 51 and a drive source 52. The guide rod 51 movably passes through the inlet gas equalization plate 20 and is connected to the annular baffle 40. For example, a connection hole 41 may be provided on the annular baffle 40, and the guide rod 51 is connected to the connection hole 41. Two or more sets of guide rods 51 may be provided to improve the stability of the drive mechanism. The drive source 52 is connected to the guide rod 51 and is used to drive the guide rod 51 to move the annular baffle 40 between the inlet gas equalization plate 20 and the outlet gas equalization plate 30, thereby switching between blocking and opening the outlet gas equalization hole 31 at the edge of the outlet gas equalization plate 30 to adapt to the process of wafers of different sizes, and the process gas utilization rate is high.

[0071] This application also provides a process chamber, please refer to the embodiments therein. Figure 2 and Figure 12 , Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor process apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. In this semiconductor process apparatus, the process chamber may include the flow equalization structure 100, the chamber body 200, and the upper cover 300 as described in the above embodiments. The top of the chamber body 200 is open, and the upper cover 300 seals the open portion 210. The upper cover 300 is provided with an air inlet 310, and a nozzle can be installed at the air inlet 310 to connect to an air source. The air inlet flow equalization plate 20 of the flow equalization structure 100 is disposed below the upper cover 300, forming a second flow equalization cavity 120 between it and the upper cover 300. The air outlet flow equalization plate 30 is disposed at the bottom of the air inlet flow equalization plate 20, and the air inlet 310 of the upper cover 300 communicates with the second flow equalization cavity 120.

[0072] In one embodiment, please refer to... Figure 12The inner wall of the chamber body 200 is provided with a supporting step 220 near the opening. The process chamber also includes an annular mounting seat 400. The outer wall of the annular mounting seat 400 is provided with a first flange 410 that mates with the supporting step 220. The annular mounting seat 400 is supported on the supporting step 220, and its top surface does not exceed the top surface of the chamber body 200; for example, the top surfaces of the two can be flush. The inner wall of the annular mounting seat 400 is provided with a second flange 420, and the exhaust flow equalization plate 30 is supported on the second flange 420. The intake flow equalization plate 20, the upper cover 300, and the inner wall of the annular mounting seat 400 form a second flow equalization cavity 120.

[0073] This application also provides a semiconductor process apparatus; please continue reading. Figure 12 The semiconductor process equipment may include a plasma generator 500 and a process chamber as described in the embodiments above. The plasma generator 500 is connected to an inlet 310 for introducing process gas into the process chamber. The plasma generator 500 can dissociate the process gas outside the process chamber to form a remote plasma source.

[0074] For other working principles and processes of the process chamber and semiconductor process equipment in this embodiment, please refer to the description of the uniform flow structure in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.

[0075] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of the uniform flow structure, process chamber, and semiconductor process equipment provided in this application. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. It should be noted that the descriptions of each embodiment in this application have different emphases; parts not described in detail in a particular embodiment can be referred to in the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0076] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and do not limit the patent scope of this application. The technical features of the technical solution of this application can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are also included within the patent protection scope of this application, as long as the combination of these technical features does not contradict each other.

Claims

1. A uniform flow structure, characterized in that, include: Spacer ring; An air intake equalization plate is disposed on one end face of the partition ring along the axial direction, and an air intake equalization hole is provided on the air intake equalization plate; An outlet flow equalizer is disposed on the other end face of the partition ring along the axial direction, and together with the partition ring and the inlet flow equalizer, forms a first flow equalizer cavity. The outlet flow equalizer is provided with a plurality of outlet flow equalizer holes. An annular baffle is disposed in the first uniform flow cavity, and along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle, the projection of the air inlet uniform flow hole and part of the projection of the air outlet uniform flow hole are located inside the inner ring of the annular baffle, while the projection of another part of the air outlet uniform flow hole is located on the annular baffle. A drive mechanism, connected to the annular baffle, is used to drive the annular baffle to move between the inlet flow equalizer and the outlet flow equalizer.

2. The uniform flow structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The air intake equalization holes are provided in multiple ways and are evenly distributed on a circle with the center of the air intake equalization plate as the center.

3. The uniform flow structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The diameter of the air inlet uniform flow hole is 5 to 15 times the diameter of the air outlet uniform flow hole.

4. The uniform flow structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The air intake uniform plate is provided with a central heating zone and at least one annular heating zone; The central heating zone is concentric with the circle, and the at least one annular heating zone surrounds the outer side of the central heating zone in sequence.

5. The uniform flow structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The heating temperatures of the central heating zone and the at least one annular heating zone increase sequentially from the center of the air intake uniform plate towards the edge.

6. The uniform flow structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of air outlet equalization holes are evenly distributed on the air outlet equalization plate, and the air outlet equalization holes projected into the inner circle of the annular baffle along the axial projection direction of the annular baffle include: Multiple first flow equalization holes projected to the inner center of the annular baffle and multiple second flow equalization holes located at the edge of the annular baffle, wherein the diameter of the first flow equalization holes is larger than the diameter of the second flow equalization holes; and / or, The diameter of the second uniform flow orifice is equal to the diameter of the outlet uniform flow orifice projected onto the annular baffle.

7. The uniform flow structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive mechanism includes: A guide rod movably passes through the air intake equalization plate and is connected to the annular baffle; A drive source, connected to the guide rod, is used to drive the guide rod to move the annular baffle between the air inlet baffle and the air outlet baffle.

8. A process chamber, characterized in that, Including the flow uniform structure according to any one of claims 1-7, and, The main body of the chamber has an open top; A top cover is provided to seal the opening, and the top cover is provided with an air inlet. The air intake equalization plate is disposed at the bottom of the upper cover, and forms a second equalization cavity between the upper cover and the upper cover; The outlet air distribution plate is located below the inlet air distribution plate; The air inlet is connected to the second uniform flow chamber.

9. The process chamber according to claim 8, characterized in that, The inner wall of the chamber body is provided with a supporting step near the opening; The process chamber also includes an annular mounting base. The outer wall of the annular mounting base is provided with a first flange that mates with the support step. The annular mounting base is supported on the support step, and its top surface does not exceed the top surface of the chamber body. The inner wall of the annular mounting base is provided with a second flange, and the air outlet flow equalization plate is supported on the second flange; The air intake baffle, the upper cover, and the inner wall of the annular mounting base form the second baffle cavity.

10. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, Includes a plasma generating device and the process chamber as described in claim 8 or 9; The plasma generator is connected to the air inlet and is used to input process gas into the process chamber.

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