Air inlet assembly of atomic layer deposition equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses an air inlet assembly of atomic layer deposition equipment, which comprises a loading basket main body, an upper sealing plate and an air inlet bottom plate, an air chamber is arranged in the side wall of the loading basket main body, a main column is arranged on the loading basket main body, the upper sealing plate is fixed on the upper end surface of the loading basket main body, and the air inlet bottom plate is fixed on the lower end surface of the loading basket main body. The main column divides the air chamber into a left side and a right side, an air inlet hole is formed in the air inlet bottom plate and longitudinally penetrates through the air inlet bottom plate, an air uniformizing cavity in the vertical direction is formed in the main column and abuts against the upper end of the air inlet hole, a plurality of air uniformizing holes are formed in the main column, one end of each air uniformizing hole is communicated with the air uniformizing cavity, and the other end of each air uniformizing hole is communicated with the air inlet bottom plate. The loading basket is reasonable in structure, the main column disperses the gas into the left gas chamber, the right gas chamber and the loading cavity, the left gas chamber and the right gas chamber guide the gas, the gas is blown into the loading cavity from the two sides of the loading cavity, and therefore the gas in the loading cavity is evenly fed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of atomic layer deposition equipment, and in particular to an air intake component of atomic layer deposition equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the integrated circuit industry, existing atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment has made significant progress in achieving precise thin film deposition, but most equipment has certain limitations in the design of the air intake component. In order to improve the deposition efficiency of wafers and increase production capacity, these equipment usually use wafer loading baskets and air intake components for batch deposition of multiple wafers. Usually, a cavity with circular inlet and outlet ports is used as the air intake component required for this process. At the same time, a separate wafer loading basket is configured as a wafer carrier for the multi-wafer deposition process.

[0003] However, the above-mentioned air intake components are difficult to achieve precise control of gas flow and pressure, which can easily cause a significant reduction in the uniformity of airflow distribution between wafers and within wafers, thereby reducing deposition efficiency and affecting production capacity. In addition, the wafer loading basket and air intake components need to be configured separately, which increases the useless volume of the reaction chamber, further reducing deposition efficiency. At the same time, the cost of equipment processing and maintenance increases. In response to the above problems, a solution is proposed below. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an air intake assembly for an atomic layer deposition device, which has the advantages of solving the problem of poor uniformity of gas distribution between sheets and within sheets and improving deposition efficiency.

[0005] The above technical objectives of the present invention are achieved through the following technical solutions: The vents in the air vents are connected to the air vents of the main body of the loading basket is connected to the air vents of the main body, and the vents in the air vents are connected to the air vents of the main body are connected to the air vents of the main body, and the vents in the air vents are connected to the air vents of the main body.

[0006] Preferably, the air uniforming holes include a plurality of front air uniforming holes and a plurality of side air uniforming holes, the plurality of front air uniforming holes are arranged along the front side surface of the main column in the vertical direction, the plurality of side air uniforming holes are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the main column, and are all distributed along the vertical direction, the front air uniforming holes are communicated with the loading chamber, the side air uniforming holes located on both sides are respectively communicated with the air chambers on the left and right sides, an air uniforming groove is opened on the inner wall of the air chamber, and the air uniforming groove connects the air chamber with the loading chamber.

[0007] Preferably, the loading basket body includes two air-uniform walls, which are respectively located on both sides of the main column, and the air-uniform walls include an outer baffle plate and an inner spray plate. The gap between the outer baffle plate and the inner spray plate is an air chamber. The two sides of the main column protrude outward and are respectively plugged into the left and right air chambers. The main column seals one side of the left and right air chambers. The inner spray plate is the inner wall of the air chamber. The air-uniform groove is arranged on the inner spray plate, and the air chamber is connected with the loading cavity through the air-uniform groove.

[0008] Preferably, a plurality of rows of gas-uniform grooves are provided on one inner spray plate, and the widths of the plurality of gas-uniform grooves in the same row are the same, and the farther the gas-uniform groove is from the main column, the larger its horizontal width is.

[0009] Preferably, two side columns are further provided on the loading basket body, and the two side columns are respectively clamped on the side of the two air-uniform walls away from the main column, and respectively seal the side of the two air chambers away from the main column. The main column, the two air-uniform walls and the two side columns constitute an air-uniform wall structure, and the curvature of the air-uniform wall structure is greater than 180° and less than 270°.

[0010] Preferably, a plurality of support blocks are provided on the main column and the two side columns on the side facing the loading chamber, and the support blocks are fixed on the main column and the two side columns at equal intervals in the vertical direction. The support blocks on the main column are staggered with the front uniform air holes, and the support blocks on the two side columns are respectively consistent in height with one of the support blocks on the main column. The three support blocks at the same height are used to support the same wafer.

[0011] Preferably, the upper and lower ends of the air chamber are provided with air sealing rings, and the air sealing rings are used to enhance the sealing of the upper and lower ends of the air chamber.

[0012] Preferably, the loading basket body further comprises a gas diffusion wall, which cooperates with the gas uniforming wall structure to form a complete cylindrical shape. The gas diffusion wall is communicated with the outside, and the gas in the loading chamber is diffused through the gas diffusion wall.

[0013] Preferably, the air diffusion wall includes an inner wall and an outer wall, an air diffusion cavity is provided between the inner wall and the outer wall, a plurality of inner air diffusion ports are provided on the inner wall, and the plurality of inner air diffusion ports are used to connect the air diffusion cavity with the loading cavity, and an outer air diffusion port is provided on the outer wall, and the outer air diffusion port is used to connect the air diffusion cavity with the outside world.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. The present invention adopts an integrated gas inlet assembly, and arranges different gas-uniform holes and gas-uniform grooves in the circumferential and vertical directions, so that the precursor vapor flows uniformly and quickly through the surface of each wafer in the vertical and circumferential directions, thereby solving the problem of poor uniformity of gas distribution between wafers and within wafers, and improving deposition efficiency; 2. By combining the loading basket structure and the air intake structure into one design, the volume of the reaction chamber is greatly reduced, ensuring good heating efficiency of the wafer, and further improving the deposition efficiency. At the same time, the integrated air intake assembly reduces equipment costs and is easy to disassemble and maintain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment; Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of an embodiment; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the main column and the uniform air wall structure used in the embodiment; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of the uniform gas wall structure of the embodiment; Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the uniform air wall structure of the embodiment; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main column of an embodiment; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of wafer loading in an embodiment; Figure 8 and Fig. 9 This is a diagram of the simulation result of the airflow inside the chip of the embodiment; Fig.10 and Fig.11 This is a diagram showing the simulation results of the airflow between sheets of the embodiment.

[0016] Figure numerals: 1. Loading basket body; 11. Loading cavity; 2. Upper sealing plate; 3. Air inlet bottom plate; 31. Air inlet hole; 4. Side column; 41. Support block; 5. Main column; 51. Air uniforming cavity; 52. Front air uniforming hole; 53. Side air uniforming hole; 6. Air uniforming wall; 61. Outer baffle plate; 62. Inner spray plate; 63. Air chamber; 64. Air uniforming groove; 7. Air sealing ring; 8. Air diffusion wall; 81. Inner wall; 82. Outer wall; 83. Air diffusion cavity; 84. Inner air diffusion port; 85. Outer air diffusion port; 9. Wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the protection scope is not limited to this embodiment. All technical solutions under the concept of the present invention should belong to the protection scope of the present invention. The same parts are represented by the same figure marks. It should be noted that the words "front", "rear", "left", "right", "up" and "down" used in the following description refer to the directions in the drawings, and the words "bottom" and "top", "inside" and "outside" refer to the directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component, respectively.

[0018] like Figures 1 to 11 As shown, an air intake assembly of an atomic layer deposition device includes a loading basket body 1, and the loading basket body 1 includes a diffuser wall 8 and two uniform gas walls 6. A main column 5 is provided at the junction of the two uniform gas walls 6, and a side column 4 is provided at the junction of the uniform gas wall 6 and the diffuser wall 8. One side of the two uniform gas walls 6 is fixedly connected to the main column 5, and the other side is fixedly connected to the side column 4; the two sides of the diffuser wall 8 are fixedly connected to the two side columns 4 respectively. The diffuser wall 8 and the two uniform gas walls 6 are both arc-shaped plates, which are connected and fixed by the main column 5 and the two side columns 4 to form a complete cylindrical loading basket body 1, and the area surrounded by the cylindrical loading basket body 1 is the loading chamber 11.

[0019] The main column 5, two air-uniform walls 6 and two side columns 4 constitute an air-uniform wall 6 structure, and the curvature of the air-uniform wall 6 structure is greater than 180° and less than 270°. In the present application, the curvature of the air-uniform wall 6 structure is 240°, that is, the curvature between the main column 5 and the two side columns 4, and the curvature between the two side columns 4 are both 120°.

[0020] The air-leveling wall 6 includes an outer baffle plate 61 and an inner spray plate 62. The gap between the outer baffle plate 61 and the inner spray plate 62 is an air chamber 63. The two sides of the two air chambers 63 are blocked by the main column 5 and one of the side columns 4. The cross-sections of the main column 5 and the side columns 4 in this design are both approximately in the shape of a "cross". When fixed to the air-leveling wall 6, the two sides of the main column 5 will be plugged into one side of the two air chambers 63, and one side of each side column 4 will also be plugged into the side of the two air chambers 63 away from the main column 5. This connection method can not only facilitate the fixing of the outer baffle plate 61 and the inner spray plate 62 to the main column 5 and the side column 4 through fasteners, but also enhance the sealing of the main column 5 and the side column 4 to the two sides of the air chamber 63.

[0021] The upper and lower ends of the air chamber 63 are both provided with air sealing rings 7. The four air sealing rings 7 seal the upper and lower ends of the two air chambers 63. The air sealing rings 7 cooperate with the main column 5 and the side column 4 to achieve sealing of the four sides of the air chamber 63: top, bottom, left and right.

[0022] The inner spray plate 62 is provided with a gas-uniform groove 64, which enables the air chamber 63 to communicate with the loading chamber 11. Each inner spray plate 62 is provided with a plurality of rows of gas-uniform grooves 64, and the heights of all the gas-uniform grooves 64 are the same. The widths of the gas-uniform grooves 64 in the same row are the same, and the gas-uniform grooves 64 farther from the main column 5 have a greater horizontal width. The gas in the air chamber 63 can be discharged into the loading chamber 11 through the gas-uniform grooves 64. In this design, the gas in the air chamber is sprayed out to both sides by the main column 5, so the width of the gas-uniform groove 64 far away from the main column 5 is set larger, so that the gas in the air chamber 63 has a larger outlet when the flow rate slows down, thereby balancing the amount of gas flowing out of each gas-uniform groove 64.

[0023] The gas diffusion wall 8 includes an inner wall 81 and an outer wall 82, a gas diffusion cavity 83 is provided between the inner wall 81 and the outer wall 82, and a plurality of inner gas diffusion ports 84 are provided on the inner wall 81. The plurality of inner gas diffusion ports 84 are used to connect the gas diffusion cavity 83 with the loading cavity 11, and an outer gas diffusion port 85 is provided on the outer wall 82, and the outer gas diffusion port 85 is used to connect the gas diffusion cavity 83 with the outside. The gas in the loading cavity 11 will enter the gas diffusion cavity 83 through the inner gas diffusion ports 84, and will gradually be discharged to the outside from the outer gas diffusion ports 85, so that the gas pressure in the loading cavity 11 can be kept stable.

[0024] An upper sealing plate 2 and an air intake bottom plate 3 are also provided on the loading basket body 1. The upper sealing plate 2 is fixed to the upper end surface of the loading basket body 1, and seals the upper end surface of the air chamber 63 and the loading cavity 11; the air intake bottom plate 3 is fixed to the lower end surface of the loading basket body 1, and seals the lower end surface of the air chamber 63 and the loading cavity 11.

[0025] A plurality of support blocks 41 are provided on the side of the main column 5 and the two side columns 4 facing the loading chamber 11. The plurality of support blocks 41 are fixed on the main column 5 and the two side columns 4 at equal intervals in the vertical direction, and the three support blocks 41 located at the corresponding positions of the main column 5 and the two side columns 4 have the same height, which can support the wafer 9. The angles between the three support blocks 41 at the same height are all 120°, which can support the wafer 9 more stably. Since the plurality of support blocks 41 on the same column are arranged at equal intervals, the wafers 9 supported by the support blocks 41 are also distributed at equal intervals.

[0026] An air inlet hole 31 is provided on the air inlet bottom plate 3, and the air inlet hole 31 vertically penetrates the air inlet bottom plate 3. A vertical air homogenizing cavity 51 is provided in the main column 5, and the lower end of the air homogenizing cavity 51 penetrates the lower end of the main column 5 and abuts against the upper end of the air inlet hole 31, and external gas enters the air homogenizing cavity 51 through the air inlet hole 31. A plurality of air homogenizing holes are provided on the main column 5, and one end of the air homogenizing hole is connected to the air homogenizing cavity 51, and the gas in the air homogenizing cavity 51 is discharged through the plurality of air homogenizing holes.

[0027] The air-uniform holes include a plurality of front air-uniform holes 52 and a plurality of side air-uniform holes 53 . The plurality of front air-uniform holes 52 are arranged along the front side of the main column 5 in the vertical direction, and the plurality of side air-uniform holes 53 are arranged on the left and right sides of the main column 5 . The front uniform air hole 52 is communicated with the loading chamber 11, and the gas ejected from the front uniform air hole 52 will enter the loading chamber 11. The support block 41 located on the main column 5 is staggered with the front uniform air hole 52, so that except for the front uniform air hole 52 at the top or bottom, the gas ejected from each of the other front uniform air holes 52 is between the two wafers 9; the side uniform air hole 53 is communicated with the left and right air chambers 63, and the gas ejected from the side uniform air chamber 51 will enter the two air chambers 63 and finally be discharged into the loading chamber 11 through the uniform air groove 64. In the present application, each uniform air groove 64 is at the same height as one of the uniform air holes, and the height of the uniform air groove 64 is the same as the diameter of the uniform air hole. Since the specifications of the uniform air groove 64 are set, the gas ejected from the air chamber 63 through the uniform air groove 64 can also be evenly blown onto the wafer 9.

[0028] Working principle: Precursor vapor (process gas) enters through the air inlet hole 31 of the air inlet bottom plate 3, and is evenly distributed in three directions through the main column 5 of the loading basket, and evenly distributed in the vertical direction. Among them, the sealing ring 7 and the outer baffle 61 will seal the outer side and the upper and lower sides of the circumferential direction of nearly 240° to form a cavity wall with a fixed opening to prevent gas leakage.

[0029] The precursor vapor diffuses rapidly in the loading chamber 11 and forms an airflow in a predetermined direction under the guidance of the air-uniform groove 64 of the inner spray plate 62 and the front air-uniform hole 52 of the main column 5, evenly covering the surface of the wafer 9, thereby solving the problem of poor airflow uniformity within the wafer.

[0030] At the same time, the main column 5 and the inner spray plate 62 are evenly arranged with side uniform air holes 53 and uniform air grooves 64 in the vertical direction, and the height corresponds to the position of the wafer 9 one by one, which can effectively prevent the occurrence of eddy currents and turbulence, and solve the problem of poor air flow uniformity between wafers 9 in the deposition process of multiple wafers 9.

[0031] In addition, the size, shape and arrangement of the gas-uniform holes and the gas-uniform slots 64 can be modified according to process requirements to maximize the compatibility of the gas inlet assembly with the atomic layer deposition process.

[0032] In summary, the invention can effectively solve the problem of poor airflow uniformity between and within wafers, improve deposition efficiency, and increase equipment production capacity.

[0033] The structure of the uniform air wall 6 of the present design is an integrated structure, which is compatible with the function of the wafer 9 loading basket on the basis of satisfying the air intake diversion function, and a set of wafer 9 loading baskets can be omitted. Among them, the direction of the diffuse air wall 8 is the loading direction of the wafer 9, which can cooperate with the wafer 9 robot to complete the batch loading and unloading of the wafer 9, thereby improving work efficiency. In addition, since the structure of the uniform air wall 6 is a regular circular structure, the reaction chamber can be designed to be a circular structure with the smallest size, so as to reduce the ineffective volume of the reaction chamber. And the gap between the loading basket and the wafer 9 is also simultaneously reduced to the minimum on the basis of satisfying the loading process. Therefore, this structure can not only effectively reduce the airflow path, but also effectively improve the heating efficiency of the wafer 9, so that the overall deposition efficiency is further improved.

[0034] Secondly, all parts are connected by special screws to prevent adverse effects caused by high temperature and chemical corrosion. Since the reaction chamber and corresponding parts need to be dismantled and cleaned regularly in the later process, the air intake assembly can be easily disassembled. Considering that each part is detachable, the cleaning work is convenient and thorough, and there will be no particles and dust in the process due to the inability to clean the inside of some parts.

[0035] This design, while meeting the requirements of the multi-wafer deposition process, effectively solves the problem of airflow uniformity between and within wafers, which can greatly improve the overall efficiency and equipment capacity. In addition, the integrated design of the wafer 9 loading basket and the air intake structure facilitates maintenance work such as disassembly and cleaning in the later stage. At the same time, the integrated design effectively reduces the useless volume of the reaction chamber, effectively reduces the airflow path, and can also effectively improve the heating efficiency of wafer 9, further improving the overall deposition efficiency.

[0036] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects solved by the present invention. It should be understood that the above are only specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air intake assembly of an atomic layer deposition device, comprising a loading basket body (1), an upper sealing plate (2) and an air intake bottom plate (3), characterized in that: An air chamber (63) is provided in the side wall of the loading basket body (1), a main column (5) is provided on the loading basket body (1), the upper sealing plate (2) is fixed to the upper end surface of the loading basket body (1) and seals the upper end surface of the air chamber (63), the air intake bottom plate (3) is fixed to the lower end surface of the loading basket body (1) and seals the lower end surface of the air chamber (63), the main column (5) is fixed in the middle of the air chamber (63) and divides the air chamber (63) into left and right sides, and an air intake bottom plate (3) is provided with a The air hole (31) vertically penetrates the air intake bottom plate (3); a vertical air uniformity cavity (51) is provided in the main column (5); the lower end of the air uniformity cavity (51) penetrates the lower end of the main column (5) and abuts against the upper end of the air intake hole (31); a plurality of air uniformity holes are provided on the main column (5); one end of the air uniformity hole is communicated with the air uniformity cavity (51); the air uniformity hole uniformly delivers the gas in the air uniformity cavity (51) to the air chamber (63) and the loading cavity (11) inside the main body of the loading basket.

2. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air-uniform holes include a plurality of front air-uniform holes (52) and a plurality of side air-uniform holes (53). The plurality of front air-uniform holes (52) are arranged along the front side surface of the main column (5) in the vertical direction. The plurality of side air-uniform holes (53) are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the main column (5) and are distributed along the vertical direction. The front air-uniform holes (52) are communicated with the loading chamber (11). The side air-uniform holes (53) located on both sides are respectively communicated with the air chambers (63) on the left and right sides. An air-uniform groove (64) is provided on the inner wall (81) of the air chamber (63). The air-uniform groove (64) connects the air chamber (63) with the loading chamber (11).

3. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The loading basket body (1) comprises two gas-uniform walls (6), which are respectively located on both sides of the main column (5); the gas-uniform walls (6) comprise an outer baffle plate (61) and an inner spray plate (62); the gap between the outer baffle plate (61) and the inner spray plate (62) is an air chamber (63); both sides of the main column (5) protrude outward and are respectively plugged into the left and right air chambers (63); the main column (5) seals one side of the left and right air chambers (63); the inner spray plate (62) is the inner wall (81) of the air chamber (63); the gas-uniform groove (64) is arranged on the inner spray plate (62); the air chamber (63) is communicated with the loading cavity (11) through the gas-uniform groove (64).

4. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A plurality of rows of uniform air grooves (64) are arranged on one inner spray plate (62). The widths of the uniform air grooves (64) in the same row are the same, and the width of the uniform air groove (64) in the horizontal direction increases as the groove is farther from the main column (5).

5. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The loading basket body (1) is also provided with two side columns (4), the two side columns (4) are respectively clamped on the side of the two gas-uniform walls (6) away from the main column (5), and respectively seal the side of the two air chambers (63) away from the main column (5); the main column (5), the two gas-uniform walls (6) and the two side columns (4) form a gas-uniform wall (6) structure, and the curvature of the gas-uniform wall (6) structure is greater than 180° and less than 270°.

6. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 5, characterized in that: A plurality of support blocks (41) are provided on the side of the main column (5) and the two side columns (4) facing the loading chamber (11); the plurality of support blocks (41) are fixed on the main column (5) and the two side columns (4) at equal intervals in the vertical direction; the support blocks (41) on the main column (5) are arranged alternately with the front uniform air holes (52); the support blocks (41) on the two side columns (4) are respectively at the same height as one of the support blocks (41) on the main column (5); and the three support blocks (41) at the same height are used to support the same wafer (9).

7. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper end and the lower end of the air chamber (63) are both provided with air sealing rings (7), and the air sealing rings (7) are used to enhance the sealing performance of the upper end and the lower end of the air chamber (63).

8. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The loading basket body (1) further comprises a gas diffusion wall (8), wherein the gas diffusion wall (8) cooperates with the gas uniforming wall (6) to form a complete cylindrical shape, the gas diffusion wall (8) is communicated with the outside, and the gas in the loading chamber (11) is diffused through the gas diffusion wall (8).

9. The gas inlet assembly of an atomic layer deposition device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The air diffusion wall (8) comprises an inner wall (81) and an outer wall (82); an air diffusion cavity (83) is provided between the inner wall (81) and the outer wall (82); a plurality of inner air diffusion ports (84) are provided on the inner wall (81); the plurality of inner air diffusion ports (84) are used to connect the air diffusion cavity (83) with the loading cavity (11); an outer air diffusion port (85) is provided on the outer wall (82); the outer air diffusion port (85) is used to connect the air diffusion cavity (83) with the outside.

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