A device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing

Abstract

The invention discloses a device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing, comprising a PVD cavity, wherein a heater is arranged in the PVD cavity, and a cooling cover is arranged on the side; an ejector pin is arranged on the heater; a rotating shaft is arranged on the side of the cooling cover, and a cooling structure is arranged on the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is used to rotate the cooling structure to above the cooling cover or the heater, and a first opening structure for the ejector pin to pass through and a second opening structure for the wafer to pass through are arranged on the cooling structure; a circulating refrigerant is arranged inside the cooling structure. The invention mainly realizes the improvement of the process after high-temperature degassing by improving the process, and by designing the cooling structure to wrap the wafer, the wafer after degassing can be quickly cooled, the waiting time of the wafer in the degassing cavity can be reduced, and the time for subsequent entry into the main process cavity can be saved, thereby greatly improving the work efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing. Background Art

[0002] Semiconductor PVD equipment has a degassing chamber to heat the wafer and remove surface impurities.

[0003] The existing technical equipment is composed of: a degassing chamber with a carrier heater inside, and the surface of the heater has grooves. The existing process principle is: there is a metal heating plate on the heater, which is equivalent to a resistor. A direct current is passed for heating, and there is also a metal heat-conducting plate above the heating plate. The heater is generally heated to a surface temperature of between 200 and 400°, and the wafer is transferred to the top of the heater. At this time, argon gas is sent into the chamber. The argon molecules will enter the grooves of the heater, and the argon molecules will contact the heater. The heat is conducted to the argon molecules. As a medium, the argon molecules will conduct the heat to the back of the wafer again. The wafer will be heated. When the temperature of the wafer rises, the water vapor, impurities, etc. adsorbed on the surface of the wafer will be removed. The purpose of degassing is achieved.

[0004] The original process flow is: chamber door opens → wafer is transferred to heater ejector by arm → arm retracts and chamber door closes → ejector drops wafer onto heater surface → argon is introduced for about 10 seconds to reach pressure of 7~10Torr → maintain for 60~90 seconds → evacuate for 10 seconds to vacuum → wafer is transferred out of chamber → change to cooling chamber for cooling.

[0005] The problem with the prior art is that after the wafer is heated and adsorbed water vapor and impurities are removed, it needs to be cooled. In the prior art, it needs to be transferred to other chambers for cooling. In addition, the temperature of the wafer waiting to be transferred in the degassing chamber will further rise during the process of waiting for transfer, resulting in a longer subsequent cooling time, thereby greatly reducing production efficiency.

[0006] That is to say, after high-temperature degassing, the wafer needs to be cooled before entering the main process chamber. Generally, the machine will have a special cooling chamber to cool the wafer. However, in the general process, due to the different process times of each chamber, there will be a phenomenon that the wafer will wait after the degassing chamber is finished. Waiting in the degassing chamber will make the wafer temperature rise higher, which means that it will take longer to cool in the cooling chamber, wasting time. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing. The present invention utilizes the time that the wafer stays in the degassing chamber to cool the wafer, thereby reducing subsequent cooling time and improving machine production capacity.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0009] A device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing, comprising a PVD cavity, wherein a heater is arranged in the PVD cavity, and a cooling cover is arranged on the side; an ejector pin is arranged on the heater; a rotating shaft is arranged on the side of the cooling cover, and a cooling structure is arranged on the rotating shaft, wherein the rotating shaft is used to rotate the cooling structure to above the cooling cover or the heater, and a first opening structure for the ejector pin to pass through and a second opening structure for the wafer to pass through are arranged on the cooling structure; and a circulating refrigerant is arranged inside the cooling structure.

[0010] As a further solution of the present invention, the cooling structure is provided with at least two layers of structures, the first opening structure is located on the lower structure for the passage of the ejector pin; the second opening structure is located on the side of the cooling structure for the passage of the wafer when rotating above the heater.

[0011] As a further solution of the present invention, the orthographic projection area of ​​the cooling structure is larger than the orthographic projection area of ​​the heater.

[0012] As a further solution of the present invention, three ejector pins are arranged on the heater, and three first opening structures are correspondingly arranged on the cooling structure.

[0013] As a further solution of the present invention, the first opening structure is an arc-shaped opening structure; and the cooling structure is a hollow cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped structure.

[0014] As a further embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant is cooling water.

[0015] As a further solution of the present invention, the ejector pins are used to lift up the wafer and place the wafer in the cooling structure or place the wafer on a lower structure of the cooling structure.

[0016] As a further solution of the present invention, a cooling structure is respectively provided on both sides of the PVD cavity, and the cooling cover is communicated with the PVD cavity.

[0017] As a further solution of the present invention, the cooling structure is a hollow disc structure, and cooling water pipelines are arranged inside the upper and lower disc surfaces.

[0018] As a further aspect of the present invention, a cooling structure is used to wrap around the wafer during the cooling process.

[0019] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The present invention adds a cooling cover on the side of the cavity to store the cooling structure when the wafer starts the process. After high-temperature degassing, the cooling structure is used to cover the wafer to isolate the heat source, thereby achieving the effect of cooling the wafer; the heat source above and below the wafer can be isolated. A major feature of the present invention is that it can isolate the local heat source and cool the wafer in a targeted manner, which is different from the existing method of cooling the entire chamber, thereby greatly saving energy and time.

[0021] The present invention improves the process mainly after high-temperature degassing by improving the process. By designing a cooling structure to wrap the wafer, the degassed wafer can be quickly cooled, the waiting time of the wafer in the degassing chamber can be reduced, and the time for subsequent entry into the main process chamber can be saved, thereby greatly improving work efficiency.

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the structural features and effects of the present invention, the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the existing chamber structure mentioned in the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 The present invention is a schematic structural diagram of a device for rapidly cooling semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing.

[0025] Figure 3 It is one embodiment of the cooling cover of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 4 , Figure 5 It is a partial schematic diagram of the cooling structure mentioned in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention will be further explained below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and related knowledge, and described clearly and completely. Obviously, the described application is only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0028] After the existing semiconductor wafers are degassed at high temperature, they need to be cooled before entering the main process chamber. Generally, the machine will have a special cooling chamber to cool the wafers. However, in the general process, due to the different process times of each chamber, there will be a phenomenon that the wafers wait after the degassing chamber is finished. Waiting in the degassing chamber will make the wafer temperature rise higher, and it will need to be cooled in the cooling chamber for a longer time, which wastes time.

[0029] Reference Figure 1As shown in the figure, the schematic diagram of the existing chamber structure, the working process is: the chamber 1 door is opened, and the wafer 2 is transferred to the heater ejector by the arm; the arm retracts the chamber door and closes the door; the ejector 3 drops the wafer and is placed on the surface of the heater 4; the cold pump plug valve 5 is closed; argon is introduced through the argon inlet pipe 6 for about 10 seconds to reach a pressure of 7~10Torr → maintained for 60~90 seconds; the cold pump plug valve evacuates for 10 seconds to vacuum; the wafer is transferred to the cooling chamber for cooling. In the existing technology, the wafer needs to be transferred to the cooling chamber for cooling, and there will be a phenomenon that the wafer waits after the degassing chamber is finished. Waiting in the degassing chamber will make the wafer temperature rise higher, and it needs to be cooled in the cooling chamber for a longer time, which wastes time.

[0030] Based on the above problems, the present invention is proposed, and the specific embodiments are as follows:

[0031] Example 1, see Figure 2-Figure 4 As shown, a device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing includes a PVD cavity, which contains a chamber 1, a heater 4 is arranged in the PVD cavity, and a cooling cover 7 is arranged on the side; a pin 3 is arranged on the heater 4; a rotating shaft 8 is arranged on the side of the cooling cover 7, and a cooling structure 9 is arranged on the rotating shaft 8. The rotating shaft 8 is used to rotate the cooling structure 9 to the top of the cooling cover 7 or the heater 4. The cooling structure 9 is provided with a first opening structure 10 for the pin 3 to pass through, and a second opening structure 11 for the wafer 2 to pass through; a circulating refrigerant is arranged inside the cooling structure 9. Figure 2 As shown, the purpose of the present invention is to cool the wafer after degassing, and to achieve rapid and directional cooling. The specific implementation process is: after the degassing is completed, the wafer 2 is lifted up by the ejector pin 3, and at this time, the cooling structure 9 is rotated above the heater 4 by the rotating shaft 8, referring to Figure 4 As shown, at this time, since the cooling structure 9 is provided with a first opening structure 10 for the ejector pin 3 to pass through, and a second opening structure 11 for the wafer 2 to pass through, the wafer 2 can be wrapped. It should be noted that at this time, the surface of the wafer that can be heated is the heat conducted from the bottom of the second opening structure 11, and the other surfaces are insulated by the cooling structure 9. The advantage of this design is that it can avoid the influence of the upper heating strip and the lower heater 4 on the cooling of the wafer, thereby achieving the effects of directional isolation and directional cooling, which can greatly save cooling time.

[0032] Among them, a circulating refrigerant is arranged on the cooling structure 9, preferably cooling water, which is cooled by wrapping, which can greatly save cooling time. It should be noted that the cooling water method can be a conventional design method as long as the cooling cycle of the upper and lower layers can be achieved.

[0033] It should be noted in the present invention that the process of the present invention is different from other processes, mainly reflected in that when other process chambers are cooled down, the temperature is not cooled down to a large extent, for example, the temperature can be cooled down by cooling gas, while the process of the present invention requires that the temperature be raised to 200~400° during degassing, which is a very high temperature. How to achieve rapid cooling at this high temperature is the core point of the present invention. To achieve rapid cooling after high temperature, the design of the present invention saves cooling time and improves cooling efficiency.

[0034] In the present invention, reference is made to Figure 2 As shown, the cooling structure 9 is provided with at least two layers of structures, the first opening structure 10 is located on the lower structure, and is used for the passage of the ejector pin 3; the second opening structure 11 is located on the side of the cooling structure, and is used for the passage of the wafer when it rotates above the heater, that is, the structure can wrap the wafer and isolate the heat source, mainly the heat source of the heating module below and above, greatly improving the cooling after degassing. It is further explained that the setting of the second opening structure 11 can be determined according to the rotation direction of the shaft, referring to Figure 3 As shown, if it rotates clockwise, the opening structure is located at the surface closest to the wafer, that is, the surface that first meets the wafer. This design method can facilitate the passage of the wafer, and then the wafer is insulated by the lower structure and the upper structure.

[0035] The orthographic projection area of ​​the cooling structure 9 is larger than the orthographic projection area of ​​the heater, that is, the cooling structure 9 can wrap around the wafer.

[0036] In the present invention, three ejector pins are arranged on the heater, and three first opening structures are correspondingly arranged on the cooling structure. The wafer is lifted up by the ejector pins, and then cooled inside the cooling structure, which can greatly improve the cooling efficiency.

[0037] In the present invention, reference is made to Figure 4 As shown, the first opening structure 10 is an arc-shaped opening structure. By designing the arc-shaped structure, it is possible to facilitate the passage of the ejector during the rotation process, and the structure can isolate the heat source of the heater below as much as possible; the cooling structure 9 is a hollow cylindrical or rectangular structure, referring to Figure 3 As shown, a hollow cylindrical structure is preferably used. Figure 3 As shown, in order to achieve better isolation of the heat source, it is preferred that a layer of heat insulation film is coated on both the upper surface and the lower surface of the hollow cylinder.

[0038] In the present invention, the ejector pin 3 is used to lift the wafer 2 and place the wafer 2 in the cooling structure 9 or place the wafer on the lower structure of the cooling structure. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the wafer can be supported in the cooling structure by the ejector pin; or the ejector pin can be retracted and placed directly on the inner surface of the lower structure of the cooling structure. Placing it directly on the inner surface can enable direct contact between the wafer and the refrigerant, which can greatly increase the cooling speed.

[0039] Further preferably, in some embodiments, the upper structure 12 of the cooling structure can be provided with a lifting structure. When the wafer contacts the inner surface of the lower structure 13, the upper structure is lowered and lightly contacts the wafer, which can further enhance the cooling effect.

[0040] In the present invention, the cooling hood is interconnected with the PVD cavity; it can be convenient to wrap the wafer; in the present invention, it should be explained that in order to achieve better cooling, an upper and lower opening and closing structure can be set between the cooling hood and the PVD cavity. When the cooling structure needs to be moved above the heater, the opening and closing structure is opened by the control system, and when it returns to the cooling hood, the opening and closing structure is closed, so that a better cooling effect can be achieved. The present invention adds a cooling hood to the side of the cavity to store the cooling hood when the wafer starts the process. The cooling hood is semicircular and interconnected with the cavity; the cooling hood is a hollow disc, and there are cooling water pipelines inside the upper and lower discs for the cooling hood to maintain a constant low temperature. The lower layer of the cooling hood has three arc-shaped openings to avoid the ejector pins.

[0041] In the present invention, the cooling structure is a hollow disc structure, and cooling water pipes are arranged inside the upper and lower discs, so as to realize rapid cooling of the wafer. The installation method of the cooling water pipe described in the present invention is not particularly limited, for example, a cooling water circulation water circuit can be introduced from the position of the rotating shaft.

[0042] New process flow: chamber door opens → wafer is transferred to heater ejector by arm → arm retracts chamber door and closes → ejector falls and wafer lands on heater surface → argon is introduced for about 10 seconds to reach pressure of 7~10Torr → hold for 60~90 seconds → cooling structure moves out and wraps wafer and holds for 30 seconds → evacuates for 10 seconds to vacuum → cooling structure moves back to stocker → wafer is transferred out of chamber. Thus, after high-temperature degassing, the cooling structure is used to cover the wafer and isolate it from the heat source, thereby achieving the effect of cooling the wafer. Compared with the prior art, the wafer needs to be cooled in the cooling chamber for more than one minute. The new process of the present invention can omit the cooling chamber step, saving more than one minute of cooling time for each wafer.

[0043] The present invention can realize that most of the degassing chambers used in the industry are high-temperature degassing, so the temperature of the wafer after degassing is very high, and a cooling chamber is required to cool the wafer to maintain the stability of the subsequent process. If the wafer can be cooled directly in the high-temperature degassing chamber, the next process can be carried out directly without going to the cooling chamber to cool the wafer. There is cooling water on both the upper and lower surfaces of the cooling hood, and the cooling effect is better and more efficient than the cooling chamber with only a cold plate below. The present invention uses the time that the wafer stays in the degassing chamber to cool the wafer, reduce the subsequent cooling time, and improve the production capacity of the machine.

[0044] Embodiment 2: In this embodiment, in order to achieve better cooling, a cooling cover is provided on both sides of the PVD chamber, and the cooling structure can fully wrap the wafer during the cooling process. Figure 2-Figure 5 In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cooling cover is provided on each side of the PVD chamber, and the two cooling covers are symmetrically arranged. The working principles of the two cooling structures are the same, and the specific working methods are the same, but the movement directions and sizes are different. Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown; the working process of this setting method is that one cooling cover moves from left to right, and the other moves from right to left: first, the cooling structure on one side is rotated to above the heater to wrap the wafer, and then the cooling structure on the other side is rotated to the middle of the cavity. At this time, the cooling structure wraps the cooling structure on the opposite side. In this embodiment, the wafers can be wrapped evenly, and faster cooling can be achieved.

[0045] Reference Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the positions of the first opening structures on the two cooling structures are different, and both are used for the passage of the ejector pins; and the second opening structures of the openings are also different, opening in opposite directions, and one of the cooling structures can just accommodate the other cooling structure, so that when both are rotated above the heater, the two cooling structures combined just wrap the wafer, and the heat sources on all sides can be isolated, especially the heat sources on the upper and lower layers, and in this embodiment, multi-layer heat source isolation can also be achieved through the two cooling structures, specifically two layers on the upper side and two layers on the lower side. Through the multi-layer approach, a better heat source isolation effect can be achieved, and during the rotation of the refrigerant, the cooling effect is also better.

[0046] This preferred implementation is particularly suitable for cooling high-temperature wafers quickly during the wafer cooling process after degassing, and can completely isolate the heat source, and will not cause the temperature of the wafer to rise during the waiting process in the prior art, thereby saving a cooling chamber and greatly improving the cooling efficiency.

[0047] The present invention can be implemented in semiconductor manufacturing, where the high-temperature degassing chamber commonly used in the industry will increase the temperature of the wafer. A cooling chamber is usually required to cool the wafer to ensure the stability of the subsequent process. If the wafer can be directly cooled in the high-temperature degassing chamber, the step of transferring the wafer to the cooling chamber can be omitted, and the next process can be directly entered. This can not only simplify the process flow and improve production efficiency, but also reduce the risk of damage to the wafer during the transfer process, reduce problems such as particle contamination, and help improve product yield. This design of the cooling hood makes its contact area with the wafer larger, and the wafer can be cooled from multiple directions, and the heat transfer is more uniform and efficient, thereby obtaining a better cooling effect and faster cooling efficiency. The cooling water on the upper and lower surfaces of the cooling hood is like a multi-layer cooling structure, which enhances the cooling effect.

[0048] The technical principle of the present invention is described above in combination with the specific embodiments, which are only preferred implementations of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and all technical solutions under the idea of ​​the present invention belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can think of other specific implementations of the present invention without creative work, and these methods will fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing, characterized in that: The invention comprises a PVD chamber, wherein a heater is arranged in the PVD chamber, and a cooling cover is arranged on the side thereof; an ejector pin is arranged on the heater; a rotating shaft is arranged on the side of the cooling cover, and a cooling structure is arranged on the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is used to rotate the cooling structure to above the cooling cover or the heater, and the cooling structure is provided with a first opening structure for the ejector pin to pass through, and a second opening structure for the wafer to pass through; a circulating refrigerant is arranged inside the cooling structure, and the cooling structure is provided with at least two layers of structures, the first opening structure is located on the lower structure, and is used for the ejector pin to pass through; the second opening structure is located on the side of the cooling structure, and is used for the wafer to pass through when rotating above the heater, and the first opening structure is an arc-shaped opening structure; the cooling structure is a hollow cylindrical or rectangular parallelepiped structure, three ejector pins are arranged on the heater, and three first opening structures are correspondingly arranged on the cooling structure, and the cooling structure is a hollow disc structure, and cooling water pipelines are arranged inside the upper and lower disc surfaces, and the cooling structure is used to wrap the wafer during the cooling process.

2. A device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The orthographic projection area of ​​the cooling structure is larger than the orthographic projection area of ​​the heater.

3. A device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The refrigerant is cooling water.

4. A device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The ejector pins are used to lift the wafer and place the wafer in the cooling structure or place the wafer on the lower structure of the cooling structure.

5. A device for rapid cooling of semiconductor components after high-temperature degassing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A cooling structure is respectively arranged on both sides of the PVD cavity, and the cooling cover is communicated with the PVD cavity.

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