Semiconductor reaction chamber and method of using the same

Abstract

The present invention provides a semiconductor reaction chamber and a method for using the same, wherein the semiconductor reaction chamber includes a chamber body and an air inlet flange, wherein the chamber body includes a chamber body and a chamber flange fixed to one side of the chamber body, wherein a guide plate and a preheating ring adjacent to the guide plate and located downstream of the guide plate are provided within the chamber body, wherein the area above the guide plate and the preheating ring is the upper chamber of the chamber, and the area below the guide plate and the preheating ring is the lower chamber of the chamber; wherein the air inlet flange is located on the side of the chamber flange away from the chamber body, wherein the air inlet flange has a film transfer port and an air inlet channel; wherein the film transfer port is connected to the lower chamber of the chamber, and the air inlet channel is provided within the air inlet flange and located above the film transfer port, and wherein the air outlet of the air inlet channel is connected to the upper chamber of the chamber. The substrate is fed into the chamber of the present invention by lower chamber transfer, which improves the quality of thin film deposition and reduces the amount of deposition reaction gas used.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention mainly relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and in particular to a semiconductor reaction chamber and a method for using the same. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of semiconductor technology and the expansion of its application areas, semiconductor manufacturing equipment is also constantly being upgraded to meet the manufacturing needs of higher precision, higher efficiency, and lower costs. Semiconductor reaction chambers are one of the indispensable equipment in the semiconductor manufacturing process. They are mainly used for reactions such as material deposition and etching. They are one of the most important components in the semiconductor industry and play a vital role in the manufacture of semiconductor devices.

[0003] In the related art, the semiconductor reaction chamber mainly adopts the method of transferring the substrate through the upper cavity. This transfer method requires the upper cavity to have sufficient space or height so that the substrate can be smoothly transferred to the semiconductor reaction chamber. Because the upper cavity space is large and the height is high, the stability of the reaction gas flowing through the upper cavity will be reduced, which will in turn have an adverse effect on the thin film deposition quality of the substrate. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a semiconductor reaction chamber and a method for using the same, wherein the substrate is introduced into the chamber by lower chamber transmission, thereby improving the quality of thin film deposition and reducing the amount of reaction gas used.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, in the first aspect, the present invention provides a semiconductor reaction chamber, comprising: a cavity, wherein the cavity comprises a cavity body and a chamber flange fixed to one side of the cavity body, a guide plate and a preheating ring adjacent to the guide plate and located on the downstream side of the guide plate are arranged inside the cavity body, the area above the guide plate and the preheating ring is the upper cavity of the cavity, and the area below the guide plate and the preheating ring is the lower cavity of the cavity; and an air inlet flange, wherein the air inlet flange is located on the side of the chamber flange away from the cavity body, the air inlet flange has a film transfer port and an air inlet channel; the film transfer port is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity, the air inlet channel is arranged inside the air inlet flange and above the film transfer port, and the air outlet of the air inlet channel is connected to the upper cavity of the cavity.

[0006] Optionally, the air inlet flange further includes a scavenging channel, which is arranged in the air inlet flange and located below the blade transfer port; an air outlet of the scavenging channel is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity.

[0007] Optionally, the air inlet channel includes a first vertical section and a first horizontal section, the first end of the first vertical section is an air inlet, the second end of the first vertical section is connected to the first end of the first horizontal section; the second end of the first horizontal section is an air outlet.

[0008] Optionally, the air intake channel further includes a first bending channel; the first bending channel is connected between the first vertical segment and the first horizontal segment; or the air intake channel further includes a first buffer zone; the first buffer zone is connected between the first vertical segment and the first horizontal segment.

[0009] Optionally, the scavenging passage includes a second vertical section and a second horizontal section, the first end of the second vertical section is an air inlet, the second end of the second vertical section is connected to the first end of the second horizontal section; the second end of the second horizontal section is an air outlet.

[0010] Optionally, the scavenging channel further includes a second curved channel; the second curved channel is connected between the second vertical section and the second horizontal section; or the scavenging channel further includes a second buffer zone, which is connected between the second vertical section and the second horizontal section.

[0011] Optionally, the air outlet of the air inlet channel and / or the air scavenging channel is one or multiple parallel outlet slits; or the air outlet of the air inlet channel and / or the air scavenging channel is one or multiple rows of outlet holes.

[0012] Optionally, the air outlet of the scavenging channel is a plurality of rows of outlet holes with different inclination angles.

[0013] Optionally, the air outlet of the scavenging channel is directed toward a first area, wherein the first area is an area where the gap between the preheating ring and the guide plate is located.

[0014] Optionally, the outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel is toward at least a portion of the second area, wherein the second area is the area where the gap between the preheating ring and the cavity body is located.

[0015] Optionally, a guide channel is provided on the side of the guide plate close to the preheating ring, the guide channel is located inside the guide plate and the air inlet of the guide channel is located below the guide plate, the air outlet of the guide channel faces the preheating ring, and the air outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel is also toward the air inlet of the guide channel.

[0016] Optionally, a guide arc surface is provided on one side of the guide plate close to the preheating ring, and the guide arc surface is configured to guide the purge gas to blow toward the preheating ring; the outlet direction of the scavenging channel is also toward the guide arc surface.

[0017] Optionally, the outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel has an angle with the process plane, and the outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel is toward the lower cavity of the cavity; the process plane is the plane where the upper surface of the substrate is located when the substrate is processed in the semiconductor reaction chamber.

[0018] Optionally, the air inlet flange further includes a scavenging channel, which is arranged in the air inlet flange and located above the blade transfer port; the air outlet of the scavenging channel is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity.

[0019] Optionally, a support member is further included, wherein the support member includes a tray bracket, a substrate tray and an ejector pin; the substrate tray is arranged on the tray bracket; the ejector pin is movably arranged on the substrate tray, and when the ejector pin is supported by the substrate tray, the upper surface of the ejector pin is flush with the upper surface of the substrate tray or is located below the upper surface of the substrate tray; the tray bracket includes a support shaft and a plurality of support arms; one end of the plurality of support arms is connected to the support shaft, and the other end of the plurality of support arms is connected to the substrate tray.

[0020] Optionally, a variable column is connected to the upper end of each support arm, and the variable column is configured to adjust the horizontality of the substrate tray.

[0021] Optionally, the upper end of the support arm has a first groove, the lower end of the variable column matches the first groove, and the lower end of the variable column is located in the first groove.

[0022] Optionally, a stopper is further provided in the cavity body, and the stopper is configured to adjust the height of the ejector pin; each of the stoppers is located below its corresponding ejector pin.

[0023] Optionally, the lower wall of the cavity body has a second groove, which is recessed downward from the upper surface of the lower wall, and the upper surface of the lower wall is a plane; the stop member includes a lower mounting portion and an upper supporting portion, the lower surface of the mounting portion of the stop member abuts against the bottom of the second groove for positioning, and the supporting portion of the stop member is used to support the ejector pin.

[0024] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for using a semiconductor reaction chamber, using the semiconductor reaction chamber as described in the first aspect, comprising: after the ejector pin is supported on the lower wall of the semiconductor reaction chamber or the ejector pin is supported on a stopper, the robot is configured to transfer the substrate from the film transfer port of the semiconductor reaction chamber into the semiconductor reaction chamber and drop the substrate onto the upper surface of the ejector pin; the robot exits the semiconductor reaction chamber; the tray support drives the substrate tray to rise to a process position, and the process position is the position where the substrate undergoes thin film deposition.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: the film transfer port of the air inlet flange is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity, so the substrate enters the cavity by transmission from the lower cavity, which makes the upper cavity space of the semiconductor reaction chamber smaller and the height lower, the flow rate of the reaction gas is more stable, the quality of thin film deposition is improved, and the amount of reaction gas used is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present application. They are incorporated into and constitute a part of this application. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with this specification, serve to explain the principles of the present application. In the accompanying drawings:

[0027] Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 1 is a schematic diagram of the side wall structure of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 ;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 ;

[0031] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle air intake flange;

[0032] Figure 6 is a top view of the interior of a reaction chamber according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a schematic structural diagram of a guide plate in a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is another structural schematic diagram of a guide plate in a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a schematic structural diagram of an improved preheating ring in a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 10 This is another structural schematic diagram of a guide plate in a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 11 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 ;

[0038] Figure 12 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 ;

[0039] Figure 13 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 ;

[0040] Figure 14 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 ;

[0041] Figure 15 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 ;

[0042] Figure 16 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an exit slit in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 17 is another structural schematic diagram of an exit slit in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 18 This is a schematic structural diagram of an exit hole in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 19 is another structural schematic diagram of an exit hole in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 20 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 ;

[0047] Figure 21 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 ;

[0048] Figure 22 1 is a schematic diagram of the support structure of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 23 This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 10 ;

[0050] Figure 24 FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for using a semiconductor reaction chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] The continuous arrows in the figure indicate the gas flow direction.

[0052] The numbers in the figure are:

[0053] 100-cavity;

[0054] 110- chamber body, 120- chamber flange;

[0055] 111- guide plate, 112- preheating ring, 113- first wall plate, 114- second wall plate, 115- third wall plate, 116- fourth wall plate, 117- guide channel, 118- guide arc surface, 119- heating plate, 121- guide arc surface;

[0056] 200-inlet flange;

[0057] 210- film transmission port, 220- air intake channel, 230- scavenging channel, 240- exit hole, 250- exit slit;

[0058] 221-first vertical section, 222-first buffer zone, 223-first horizontal section, 224-first bending channel;

[0059] 231 - second vertical section, 232 - second buffer zone, 233 - second horizontal section, 234 - second bending channel;

[0060] 300-support member;

[0061] 310-tray support, 320-substrate tray, 330-thrust pin, 340-stopper;

[0062] 311-support shaft, 312-support arm, 313-variable column, 341-annular groove;

[0063] 400-substrate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely examples or embodiments of this application. Those skilled in the art can apply this application to other similar scenarios based on these drawings without inventive effort. Unless otherwise apparent from the context or otherwise noted, the same reference numerals in the figures represent the same structure or operation.

[0065] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the directions or positional relationships indicated by directional words such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "horizontal, vertical, vertical, horizontal" and "top, bottom" are usually based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description. Unless otherwise specified, these directional words do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction or be constructed and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of this application; the directional words "inside and outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the outline of each component itself.

[0066] Furthermore, it should be noted that the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to define components is solely for the purpose of distinguishing the corresponding components. Unless otherwise stated, these terms have no special meaning and therefore should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this application. Furthermore, while the terms used in this application are selected from commonly known and commonly used terms, some terms mentioned in this specification may have been selected by the applicant at his or her discretion, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant sections of this description. Furthermore, this application should be understood not only by the actual terms used, but also by the meaning implied by each term.

[0067] Flowcharts are used throughout this application to illustrate operations performed by a semiconductor reaction chamber according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations do not necessarily need to be performed in exact order. Instead, various steps may be performed in reverse order or simultaneously. Furthermore, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more operations may be removed from these processes.

[0068] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the semiconductor reaction chamber of this embodiment includes a chamber 100, which includes a chamber body 110 and a chamber flange 120 fixed to one side of the chamber body 110. In one chamber structure, the side wall of the chamber body 110 is composed of four wall panels spliced ​​together in sequence. Figure 2 The figure shows a first rear wall panel 113, a second upper wall panel 114, a third front wall panel 115, and a fourth lower wall panel 116. All four wall panels are plate-shaped. These four wall panels are sequentially assembled to form the side walls of the chamber body 110. Specifically, the first wall panel 113 and the third wall panel 115 are positioned opposite each other, while the second wall panel 114 and the fourth wall panel 116 are positioned opposite each other, forming the semiconductor reaction chamber of this embodiment. In one implementation, all four wall panels of the chamber body 110 are flat.

[0069] refer to Figure 3 As shown, the cavity body 110 is provided with a guide plate 111 and a preheating ring 112 adjacent to the guide plate 111 and located on the downstream side of the guide plate 111. The area above the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 is the upper cavity of the cavity, and the area below the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 is the lower cavity of the cavity; and an air inlet flange 200, the air inlet flange 200 is located on the side of the chamber flange 120 away from the cavity body 110, the air inlet flange 200 has a sheet transfer port 210 and an air inlet channel 220, the sheet transfer port 210 is connected to the fluid of the lower cavity of the cavity, the air inlet channel 220 is provided inside the air inlet flange 200 and is located above the sheet transfer port 210, and the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 is connected to the upper cavity of the cavity.

[0070] In this embodiment, the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 are substantially at the same horizontal position, and the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 separate the chamber body 110 into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. When working in a semiconductor reaction chamber, for example, when performing an epitaxial process, the substrate 400 (such as a wafer) is stabilized in the area surrounded by the preheating ring 112 by the relevant support structure. The substrate 400 is also substantially at the same horizontal position as the preheating ring 112, and the thin film deposition process is performed at this position, which is the process position for thin film deposition. Therefore, it can also be said that the area above the process position is the upper chamber of the chamber, and the area below the process position is the lower chamber of the chamber.

[0071] In this embodiment, the film transfer port 210 of the air inlet flange 200 is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity, and the substrate 400 is transferred to the lower cavity of the cavity through the lower cavity transfer method, and then the substrate 400 is lifted to the process position by the support structure for thin film deposition. It can be seen that since the semiconductor reaction chamber adopts the lower cavity transfer method, the upper cavity space of the semiconductor reaction chamber can be designed to be smaller and lower in height, thereby reducing the Reynolds number of the reaction gas flow field, making the flow rate of the reaction gas more stable and easier to control, and the controllability and flexibility of the semiconductor preparation process will be higher, ultimately improving the quality of thin film deposition. In addition, the lower cavity transfer method also reduces the consumption of reaction gas accordingly, which has a positive effect on cost reduction control in the production process.

[0072] exist Figure 3In the embodiment, the air inlet channel 220 is disposed within the air inlet flange 200 and above the film transfer port 210. The air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 is connected to the upper chamber of the chamber. It should be understood that a clearance is provided on the chamber flange 120 between the air inlet flange 200 and the chamber body 110 to facilitate unimpeded transport of the substrate 400, reactant gases, and purge gases into the reaction chamber. Furthermore, the air inlet channel 220 includes a first vertical section 221 and a first horizontal section 223. The first end of the first vertical section 221 serves as the air inlet. In the illustrated embodiment, the air inlet of the air inlet channel 220 extends through the upper end surface of the air inlet flange 200. The second end of the first vertical section 221 is connected to the first end of the first horizontal section 223, the second end of which serves as the air outlet. The scavenging air channel 230 includes a second vertical section 231 and a second horizontal section 233. The first end of the second vertical section 231 serves as an air inlet. In the illustrated embodiment, the air inlet of the scavenging air channel 230 extends through the lower end surface of the air inlet flange 200. The second end of the second vertical section 231 connects to the first end of the second horizontal section 233, the second end of which serves as an air outlet. It should be noted that the term "horizontal" in the first horizontal section 223 and / or the second horizontal section 233 refers to a substantially horizontal position. In some embodiments, this section of the gas channel (the first horizontal section 223 and / or the second horizontal section 233) is horizontally arranged. In other embodiments, this section of the gas channel (the first horizontal section 223 and / or the second horizontal section 233) can also be arranged at a certain inclination angle relative to the horizontal. For ease of description, in this embodiment, the aforementioned types of gas channel sections are referred to as horizontal sections.

[0073] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the intake channel 220 further includes a first buffer zone 222, which is connected between the first vertical section 221 and the first horizontal section 223. The scavenging channel 230 further includes a second buffer zone 232, which is connected between the second vertical section 231 and the second horizontal section 233. The cross-sectional areas of the first buffer zone 222 and the second buffer zone 232 perpendicular to the airflow direction are larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the upstream channel. Based on this, the buffer zones can reduce the gas flow rate and also allow the gas to be mixed evenly. Figure 5 As shown, it can be seen that no matter the air intake channel 220 or the scavenging channel 230, their air outlets can be a single row of perforations or multiple rows of perforations.

[0074] On the one hand, the air inlet channel 220 is separated from the film transfer port 210, and the reaction gas has an independent flow channel, which will not affect the process of transmitting the substrate 400 to the cavity 100; on the other hand, when the reaction gas flows from the first vertical section 221 into the first buffer zone 222, because the cross-sectional area of ​​the first buffer zone 222 is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the first vertical section 221, the first buffer zone 222 reduces the flow rate of the reaction gas, the gas pressure is more stable, and the reaction gas is mixed more evenly, thereby providing favorable conditions for the reaction gas to have smoother fluidity and better uniformity after flowing into the upper cavity of the cavity. The second buffer zone 232 of the purge channel 230 also operates on the same principle. The cross-sectional area of ​​the second buffer zone 232 is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the second vertical section 231. Therefore, when the purge gas flows from the second vertical section 231 into the second buffer zone 232, the second buffer zone 232 reduces the flow rate of the purge gas, the gas pressure becomes more stable, and the purge gas is mixed more evenly. Then, the purge gas can flow more smoothly to the set area after passing through the second horizontal section 233.

[0075] In one implementation, the outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 is toward the first area, wherein the first area is the area where the gap between the preheating ring 112 and the guide plate 111 is located.

[0076] refer to Figure 6 As shown in the figure, area A is the area where the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 is located. Areas B and C are the second area. The second area is the area where the gap between the preheating ring 112 and the chamber body 110 is located. Specifically, the area where the gap between the preheating ring 112 and the first wall plate 113 is located is area B, and the area where the gap between the preheating ring 112 and the third wall plate 115 is located is area C. Area D is the area where the gap between the preheating ring 112 and the heating plate 119 is located. In this embodiment, the purge channel 230 is separated from the film transfer port 210, and the purge gas has an independent circulation channel and will not affect the process of transferring the substrate 400 into the chamber 100. The outlet direction of the purge channel 230 is toward the first area. Under the action of the purge gas, the reaction gas flowing in the upper cavity of the cavity will not flow into the lower cavity of the cavity through the gap in area A, thereby ensuring the stability of the reaction gas flow.

[0077] In one implementation, the outlet of the scavenging channel 230 is directed toward at least part of the second region (region B and region C). Preferably, the outlet of the scavenging channel 230 is directed toward the upstream portion of the second region.

[0078] Furthermore, the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 may be partially oriented toward the first area and partially oriented toward the second area (or the upstream part of the second area). Accordingly, the scavenging channel 230 includes at least two exhaust ports, wherein at least one exhaust port has a first inclination angle (the meaning of "the air outlet has a certain inclination angle" described in this article is: there is a section of guide channel in the channel (inlet channel or scavenging channel) (for example, it may correspond to the "horizontal section" of at least the downstream part mentioned in other positions of this patent), the outlet of the guide channel is the "air outlet" of the channel (inlet channel or scavenging channel), the air outlet has a certain inclination angle, that is, the guide channel is set to have a certain inclination angle, so that the gas flowing through the air outlet can be blown out of the air intake flange along the aforementioned certain inclination angle), the air outlet with the first inclination angle is responsible for blowing the scavenging gas toward the first area; at least another exhaust port has a second inclination angle, and the air outlet with the second inclination angle is responsible for blowing the scavenging gas toward the second area (or the upstream part of the second area). Furthermore, due to the Figure 6 In the horizontal direction, different positions of the second area have different distances from the scavenging channel. In order to blow the scavenging gas to different places in the second area respectively, the scavenging channel 230 also includes at least one row of air outlets with a third inclination angle, and the air outlets with the third inclination angle are responsible for blowing the scavenging gas to another part of the second area (the other part is different from the part blown to by the air outlets with the second inclination angle).

[0079] In a semiconductor reaction chamber, the area close to the gas inflow side is called the upstream area, and the area far from the gas inflow side is called the downstream area.

[0080] This embodiment provides purge gas in a first region, or in combination with a second region, near the gas inlet side to reduce the flow of reactant gas into the lower chamber, thereby preventing reactant gas deposition in the lower chamber and improving the stability of reactant gas flow in the upper chamber, thereby enhancing thin film deposition quality. Less reactant gas flowing into the lower chamber indicates high reactant gas utilization, reducing reactant gas usage and preventing reactant gas from entering the lower chamber and causing undesirable deposition there.

[0081] In another embodiment, the outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 may also be toward the third region (region D).

[0082] Accordingly, the purge channel 230 further includes at least one row of gas outlets with a fourth inclination angle, which are responsible for blowing the purge gas toward the third region. In other words, this embodiment allows the purge gas to be blown into as many gaps as possible to prevent the reaction gas from flowing into the lower chamber of the chamber.

[0083] This embodiment can provide purge gas not only in the upstream area, but also in the downstream area (i.e., the third area), isolating the reaction gas and making the reaction gas flow only in the upper cavity of the cavity as much as possible, thereby avoiding the disadvantage of excessive reaction gas deposition in the lower cavity of the cavity due to long-term use of the semiconductor reaction chamber and being difficult to remove.

[0084] refer to Figure 7 As shown, a guide channel 117 is provided on one side of the guide plate 111 near the preheating ring 112. The air inlet of the guide channel 117 is located below the guide plate 111, and the air outlet of the guide channel 117 faces the preheating ring 112. The outlet direction of the air outlet refers to the direction of fluid outflow from the outlet. The outlet of the scavenging channel 230 is oriented toward the air inlet of the guide channel 117.

[0085] refer to Figure 8 As shown, a guide arc surface 118 is provided on one side of the guide plate 111 close to the preheating ring 112 , and the outlet direction of the scavenging channel 230 is also toward the guide arc surface 118 , and the guide arc surface 118 is configured to guide the scavenging gas to blow toward the preheating ring 112 .

[0086] There are two ways to improve the guide plate 111 . One is to provide a guide channel 117 in the guide plate 111 , and the other is to provide a guide arc surface 118 on the guide plate 111 , the purpose of which is to guide the purge gas to blow toward the preheating ring 112 .

[0087] In an optimized implementation, reference Figure 9 As shown, a guide arc surface 121 is provided on one side of the preheating ring 112 near the guide plate 111. The guide arc surface 121 guides the airflow downward. After passing the guide arc surface 118, the airflow flows through the guide arc surface 121 at the bottom of the preheating ring 112, preventing the airflow from flowing directly onto the preheating ring 112, causing the airflow to flow into the upper cavity and affecting the stability of the airflow in the upper cavity.

[0088] Similarly, in Figure 7 On the basis of the embodiment shown, the following configuration can also be made: the preheating ring 112 can also be provided with a guide arc surface 118 to receive and guide the gas to the bottom surface of the preheating ring 112, analogously referring to Figure 9 Alternatively, the preheating ring 112 may be designed to be thinner so that the bottom surface of the preheating ring 112 is higher than the highest position of the guide channel 117 .

[0089] Whether to direct the gas directly to the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 (or to direct the gas to blow toward the preheating ring 112) or to direct the gas so that the gas flows through the lower surface of the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112 can be determined by factors such as the upper and lower chamber pressures, the purge gas flow pressure and speed in actual operation.

[0090] Further, refer to Figure 10 As shown, the bottom surface of the guide plate 111 can be provided with a guide arc surface 118, as shown in the figure. The gas is intercepted and then directed to the lower surface of the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112. Preferably, the guide arc surface 118 has an upwardly protruding first section, a downwardly protruding second section, and a horizontally extending third section. The first, second, and third sections transition smoothly, thereby directing the gas in a nearly horizontal manner between the lower surface of the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112.

[0091] In another embodiment of the present invention, neither the guide plate 111 nor the preheating ring 112 is designed to guide the purge gas. Instead, the purge gas passage is configured to be blown obliquely toward the upstream side of the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112. After being intercepted by the guide plate 111, the purge gas generates turbulent flow, which flows through the lower side of the gap between the guide plate 111 and the preheating ring 112. The intercepted turbulent flow has a low velocity, multiple directions, and a high and stable pressure, which can better and more steadily prevent the reaction gas from flowing downward.

[0092] In the embodiment described above, the scavenging passage is configured to make the purge gas independent of the vane transfer port and blow obliquely upward toward the lower cavity. In other embodiments of the present invention, the scavenging passage may also be configured to make the purge gas blow obliquely upward toward the vane transfer port.

[0093] refer to Figure 11 As shown, the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 may be an outlet slit or an outlet hole, and the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 may also be an outlet slit or an outlet hole. Figure 12 As shown, the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 can be a plurality of mutually parallel outlet slits or outlet holes, and the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 can also be a plurality of mutually parallel outlet slits or outlet holes. Of course, whether it is the outlet slits or outlet holes, the direction of the outflow of gas can be set to be horizontal or inclined, that is, at a certain angle to the horizontal direction.

[0094] refer to Figure 13 As shown, the outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 has an angle with the process plane, and the outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 is toward the lower cavity of the cavity, wherein the process plane is the plane where the upper surface of the substrate 400 is located when the substrate 400 is processed in the semiconductor reaction chamber, and the outlet direction of the air outlet refers to the direction in which the fluid flows out of the air outlet.

[0095] refer to Figure 14As shown, the air inlet passage 220 is disposed within the air inlet flange 200 and is located above the vane transfer port 210. The first horizontal section 223 of the air inlet passage 220 communicates with the upper chamber of the cavity. The air inlet flange 200 also includes a scavenging passage 230, which is also disposed within the air inlet flange 200 and is also located above the vane transfer port 210. The second horizontal section 233 of the scavenging passage 230 communicates with the lower chamber of the cavity.

[0096] refer to Figure 15 As shown, the intake passage 220 further includes a first curved passage 224 (it should be understood that the curved passage includes at least one bend), which connects between the first vertical section 221 and the first horizontal section 223. The scavenging passage 230 further includes a second curved passage 234, which connects between the second vertical section 231 and the second horizontal section 233. This embodiment utilizes the curved passages to achieve uniform mixing of gases, a function comparable to that achieved by designing a buffer zone for uniform gas flow.

[0097] In one embodiment of the present invention, the intake passage 220 or the scavenging passage 230 may include both a bending passage (eg, the first bending passage 224 and the second bending passage 234 ) and a buffer zone (eg, the first buffer zone 222 and the second buffer zone 232 ).

[0098] In this embodiment, the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 and / or the scavenging channel 230 may be an outlet slit 250 (e.g., Figure 16 as shown) or multiple parallel exit slits 250 (as shown Figure 17 shown).

[0099] In one embodiment, the air outlets of the air inlet channel 220 and / or the scavenging channel 230 may be a plurality of collinear outlet slits 250. For example, in the direction perpendicular to the paper (in Figure 15 (For reference in understanding the orientation description herein), the air inlet flange 200 includes multiple independent air inlet channels 220 and / or scavenging channels 230. Each independent air inlet channel 220 and / or scavenging channel 230 has an outlet slit 250 extending perpendicular to the page. It should be understood that when the horizontal sections of each independent air inlet channel 220 and / or scavenging channel 230 are at the same level, the air outlet is manifested as multiple collinear outlet slits. When the horizontal sections of the independent air inlet channels 220 and / or scavenging channels 230 are not at the same level, the air outlet is manifested as multiple parallel outlet slits.

[0100] Based on the embodiment described in the previous paragraph, each independent intake channel 220 and / or scavenging channel 230 may also have multiple exit slits 250 extending perpendicular to the paper. For example, in one embodiment, the intake flange 200 includes multiple independent intake channels 220 and / or scavenging channels 230 perpendicular to the paper. Taking the intake channel 220 as an example (the scavenging channels 230 are the same), each intake channel 220 includes a first buffer zone 222. Multiple exit slits 250 are connected to each first buffer zone 222. The multiple exit slits 250 connected to the same first buffer zone 222 may be arranged in one or more rows perpendicular to the paper.

[0101] Each independent air inlet channel 220 may be connected to a plurality of first vertical sections 221 .

[0102] In other embodiments, the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220 and / or the scavenging channel 230 may also be a discharge hole 240 (e.g., Figure 18 ) or multiple rows of exit holes 240 (as shown Figure 19 As shown in FIG. 2 , the air outlet of the scavenging channel 230 may also be a plurality of rows of outlet holes 240 with different inclination angles.

[0103] Similar to the embodiment in which the air outlet is the outlet slit 250 , when the air outlet is the outlet hole 240 , the air intake channel 220 and the scavenging channel 230 also have various implementations.

[0104] The following description will be made by taking the air inlet channel 220 as an example. Figure 15 (For reference, please refer to the description of the orientation herein), the air inlet flange 200 includes one or more independent air inlet channels 220. The air outlet of each independent air inlet channel 220 is represented by one or more outlet holes 240. To illustrate, an embodiment is given: each independent air inlet channel 220 includes a first buffer zone 222, each first buffer zone 222 is connected to one or more horizontal sections, and each air inlet channel 220 corresponds to one or more air outlets. It should be noted that since the air inlet channel 220 generally consists of a vertical section and a horizontal section, the downstream end of the horizontal section is the air outlet, i.e., the air outlet of the air inlet channel 220.

[0105] It should be understood that a plurality of first vertical segments 221 may be included in an independent air intake channel 220 .

[0106] refer to Figure 20 As shown, in the above embodiments, the chamber body 110 of the semiconductor reaction chamber is a square chamber. In other embodiments of the present invention, the chamber body 110 may also be a circular chamber, or an inclined chamber with a larger cross-sectional area in the middle than at both ends, or an arc-shaped chamber with a larger cross-sectional area in the middle than at the periphery.

[0107] refer to Figure 21 and Figure 22 As shown, the semiconductor reaction chamber of this embodiment further includes a support member 300. The support member 300 includes a tray holder 310, a substrate tray 320, and an ejector pin 330. The substrate tray 320 is mounted on the tray holder 310; the ejector pin 330 is movably mounted on the substrate tray 320. When the ejector pin 330 is supported by the substrate tray 320 (i.e., when the ejector pin 330 is suspended from the substrate tray 320), the upper surface of the ejector pin 330 is flush with or below the upper surface of the substrate tray 320; the tray holder 310 includes a support shaft 311 and a plurality of support arms 312; one end of the plurality of support arms 312 is connected to the support shaft 311, and the other end of the plurality of support arms 312 is connected to the substrate tray 320. The support member 300 in the semiconductor reaction chamber of this embodiment is a single-axis support, which has less light blocking and better light transmission uniformity.

[0108] In this embodiment, one implementation of "disposing the substrate tray 320 on the tray support 310" may be to define a recess on the bottom surface of the substrate tray 320 and to provide positioning pins on the tray support 310. When the positioning pins extend into the recess, that is, when the substrate tray 320 is mounted on the tray support 310, at least a portion of the positioning pins are located in the recess, allowing the tray support 310 to rotate the substrate tray 320. Ejector pins 330 are movably disposed on the substrate tray 320. When supported by the substrate tray 320, the upper surface of the ejector pins 330 is flush with or below the upper surface of the substrate tray 320.

[0109] The support member 300 is crucial for ensuring the smooth progress of the thin film deposition process. When the substrate 400 is transferred into the semiconductor reaction chamber, the lower ends of the ejector pins 330 abut against the inner surface of the lower wall (or the upper surface of the lower wall, which is a flat surface) of the chamber body 110. The upper surface of the ejector pins 330 is higher than the upper surface of the substrate tray 320, and the substrate 400 is supported by the ejector pins 330, whose upper surface is higher than the upper surface of the substrate tray 320. Then, the tray support 310 rises, driving the substrate tray 320 upward. When the substrate tray 320 rises to a certain height, the substrate tray 320 can provide support for the ejector pins 330. At this point, because the upper surface of the ejector pins 330 is flush with or located below the upper surface of the substrate tray 320, the substrate 400 is supported by the substrate tray 320. When the tray support 310 continues to rise, driving the substrate 400 to the process position, the thin film deposition process begins.

[0110] In this embodiment, a variable post 313 is connected to the upper end of each support arm 312 , and the variable post 313 is configured to adjust the levelness of the substrate tray 320 .

[0111] Specifically, refer to Figure 22 As shown, the support arm 312 supports the substrate tray 320 thereon. Due to the manufacturing process or structural changes of the support member 300 during use, the height of the support arm 312 may vary. In this case, the substrate tray 320 supported by the support arm 312 will tilt, causing the substrate 400 on the substrate tray 320 to tilt. If the tilt is too large, the substrate 400 will overturn under the action of gravity, resulting in the substrate 400 being trapped in the semiconductor reaction chamber and unable to be removed, or even breaking. If the tilt angle is small, when the substrate 400 approaches the upper surface of the substrate tray 320, the residual gas in the lower part of the substrate 400 is unevenly discharged along the four sides, which can easily cause the substrate 400 to slide off the center position.

[0112] To ensure the substrate 400 remains level as best as possible while supported by the substrate tray 320, the thickness of the struts 313 is varied, with slight differences between each strut 313. This allows for a set of struts 313, each with a different height. Alternatively, there can be multiple struts 313 of each height. This allows for leveling of the substrate tray 320 by placing struts 313 of varying or uniform heights on the upper end of the support arm 312. This ensures that the substrate tray 320 maintains a consistent height when receiving or supporting the substrate 400, preventing the substrate 400 from tilting.

[0113] Furthermore, the upper end of the support arm 312 has a first groove, the lower end of the variable column 313 matches the first groove, and the lower end of the variable column 313 is located in the first groove.

[0114] refer to Figure 23 As shown, in one implementation, the ejector pin 330 is located within the range of the support arm 312 of the tray support 310 .

[0115] refer to Figure 22 As shown, a stopper 340 may be further provided in the cavity body 110 , and the stopper 340 is configured to adjust the height of the ejector pins 330 ; each stopper 340 is located below its corresponding ejector pin 330 .

[0116] In this embodiment, the stopper 340 supports the ejector pins 330 after the substrate tray 320 is lowered. The lower ends of the ejector pins 330 contact the stopper 340, and the upper surfaces of the ejector pins 330 contact the substrate 400. The upper surfaces of the ejector pins 330 on the substrate tray 320 form a contact surface. If the upper surfaces of the ejector pins 330 are uneven, the substrate 400 may tilt.

[0117] In order to keep the substrate 400 as horizontal as possible when being caught by the ejector pins 330, the thickness of the stoppers 340 is made into different sizes, and there is a slight difference in thickness between each type of stopper 340. Of course, there can be multiple stoppers 340 of the same thickness. Using stoppers 340 of different or the same thickness can ensure that the ejector pins 330 have the same height when catching or supporting the substrate 400, thereby ensuring that the substrate 400 does not tilt.

[0118] In one implementation, the lower wall of the cavity body 110 has a second groove, which is recessed downward from the upper surface of the lower wall, and the upper surface of the lower wall is flat; the stop member 340 includes a lower mounting portion and an upper supporting portion, and the lower surface of the mounting portion of the stop member 340 abuts against the bottom of the second groove for positioning, and the supporting portion of the stop member 340 is used to support the ejector pin 330.

[0119] In this embodiment, a second groove is provided on the inner surface of the lower wall of the chamber body 110. A stopper 340 is positioned within the second groove. Vertically, the stopper 340 and the ejector pin 330 are engaged. Stoppers 340 of the same or different specifications (i.e., different thicknesses) can be used to achieve leveling of the ejector pin 330. The mounting portion of the stopper 340 extends into the second groove, supporting the stopper 340 within the chamber body 110. The mounting portion below the stopper 340 is slightly longer than the depth of the second groove to ensure that the lower surface of the mounting portion of the stopper 340 can smoothly abut the bottom of the second groove, enhancing the stability and accuracy of the stopper 340 and, in turn, ensuring greater stability for the ejector pin 330 when supporting the substrate 400.

[0120] In one embodiment, the stopper 340 is installed and removed using a corresponding installation and removal tool. When the installation portion of the stopper 340 is used to position the stopper 340, a gap generally exists between the lower surface of the support portion of the stopper 340 and the upper surface of the lower wall of the cavity body 110. In this embodiment, this gap is configured as an operating space for the installation and removal tool, thereby facilitating smooth installation and removal of the stopper 340. Exemplarily, the height of the gap is 2 mm to 5 mm.

[0121] In one implementation, the side surface of the support portion of the stopper 340 has an annular groove. In addition to leaving a gap between the stopper 340 and the upper surface of the lower wall of the cavity body 110, this embodiment can also directly form an annular groove on the stopper 340, which can also facilitate the clamping of the stopper 340 by the installation and removal tool.

[0122] The annular groove on the stopper 340 cooperates with the installation and removal tool, and clamping is achieved by shape matching and friction, thereby ensuring the stability and accuracy of the stopper 340 during the assembly process.

[0123] In this embodiment, the film transfer port 210 of the air inlet flange 200 of the semiconductor reaction chamber is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity, so the substrate 400 enters the cavity by transmission from the lower cavity, so that the upper cavity space of the semiconductor reaction chamber is smaller and the height is lower, the flow rate of the reaction gas is more stable, the quality of thin film deposition is improved, and the usage of deposition reaction gas is reduced.

[0124] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for using a semiconductor reaction chamber, which can be used as described above. Figure 24 As shown, method 2400 includes: S2410, after the ejector pin is supported on the lower wall of the semiconductor reaction chamber or the ejector pin is supported on the stopper, the robot is configured to transfer the substrate from the film transfer port of the semiconductor reaction chamber into the semiconductor reaction chamber and drop the substrate onto the upper surface of the ejector pin; S2420, the robot exits the semiconductor reaction chamber; S2430, the tray support drives the substrate tray to rise to the process position, which is the position where the substrate undergoes thin film deposition.

[0125] In this embodiment, the process location is the location for thin film deposition. The substrate 400 is transferred into the semiconductor reaction chamber through the film transfer port 210. Since the ejector pins 330 cannot actively unload the substrate 400, a robot is required to drop the substrate 400 onto the upper surface of the ejector pins 330. During the process of transferring the substrate 400 into the semiconductor reaction chamber, both the robot and the support member 300 move within the lower chamber of the semiconductor reaction chamber. Therefore, the upper chamber of the semiconductor reaction chamber is mainly used for the flow of reaction gases, and there is no need to design a larger upper chamber space or a higher upper chamber height.

[0126] The semiconductor reaction chamber mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the previous embodiments, and the corresponding component structural details are not elaborated here. The method of using the semiconductor reaction chamber of this embodiment can be applied to the semiconductor reaction chamber of the previous embodiments. When the semiconductor reaction chamber is in use, because the film transfer port 210 of the inlet flange 200 is connected to the lower chamber of the chamber, the substrate 400 is transferred into the chamber through the lower chamber. The upper chamber space of the semiconductor reaction chamber is smaller and lower, and the flow rate of the reaction gas is more stable, thereby improving the quality of thin film deposition and reducing the amount of deposition reaction gas used.

[0127] The basic concepts have been described above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above disclosures are merely illustrative and do not constitute limitations on this application. Although not explicitly stated herein, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and amendments to this application. Such modifications, improvements, and amendments are suggested in this application and remain within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

[0128] It should be noted that, in order to simplify the presentation of this disclosure and thus facilitate understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments of this application sometimes combine multiple features into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not mean that the subject matter of this application requires more features than those recited in the claims. In fact, an embodiment may have fewer features than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

[0129] Although the present application has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, ordinary technicians in this technical field should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present application, and various equivalent changes or substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present application. Therefore, as long as the changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the scope of the essential spirit of the present application, they will fall within the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A semiconductor reaction chamber, characterized in that: include: The cavity comprises a cavity body and a chamber flange fixed to one side of the cavity body, a guide plate and a preheating ring adjacent to the guide plate and located on the downstream side of the guide plate are provided inside the cavity body, the area above the guide plate and the preheating ring is the upper cavity of the cavity, and the area below the guide plate and the preheating ring is the lower cavity of the cavity; as well as an air inlet flange, the air inlet flange being located on a side of the chamber flange away from the chamber body, the air inlet flange having a film transmission port and an air inlet channel; the film transmission port being in fluid communication with the lower chamber of the chamber, the air inlet channel being disposed within the air inlet flange and above the film transmission port, the air outlet of the air inlet channel being in communication with the upper chamber of the chamber; The air inlet flange also includes a scavenging channel, which is arranged in the air inlet flange and located below the transmission plate; the air outlet of the scavenging channel is connected to the lower cavity of the cavity; the air outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel is toward the first area, wherein the first area is the area where the gap between the preheating ring and the guide plate is located.

2. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The air inlet passage includes a first vertical section and a first horizontal section, the first end of the first vertical section is an air inlet, the second end of the first vertical section is fluidically connected to the first end of the first horizontal section; the second end of the first horizontal section is an air outlet.

3. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 2, wherein: The air inlet passage further includes a first bending passage; the first bending passage is connected between the first vertical section and the first horizontal section; and / or The air intake passage further includes a first buffer zone; the first buffer zone is connected between the first vertical section and the first horizontal section.

4. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The scavenging passage comprises a second vertical section and a second air outlet section, wherein the first end of the second vertical section is an air inlet, and the second end of the second vertical section is fluidically connected to the first end of the second air outlet section; the second end of the second air outlet section is an air outlet, and the air flow direction of the second air outlet section is toward the first area; The scavenging passage further comprises a second bending passage; the second bending passage is connected between the second vertical section and the second air outlet section; and / or The scavenging passage further includes a second buffer zone connected between the second vertical section and the second air outlet section.

5. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The air outlet of the scavenging channel is arranged in multiple rows; The outlet directions of the multiple rows of air outlets have different inclination angles.

6. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The outlet direction of at least part of the air outlet of the scavenging channel is toward at least part of the second area, wherein the second area is the area where the gap between the preheating ring and the cavity body is located.

7. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: A guide channel is provided on one side of the guide plate close to the preheating ring. The guide channel is located inside the guide plate and the air inlet of the guide channel is located below the guide plate. The air outlet of the guide channel faces the preheating ring, and the air outlet direction of the air outlet of the scavenging channel faces the air inlet of the guide channel.

8. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: A guide arc surface is provided on one side of the guide plate close to the preheating ring, and the guide arc surface is configured to guide the purge gas to blow toward the preheating ring; the outlet direction of the scavenging channel is toward the guide arc surface.

9. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel has an angle with the process plane, and the outlet direction of the air outlet of the air inlet channel is toward the lower cavity of the cavity; the process plane is the plane where the upper surface of the substrate is located when the substrate is processed in the semiconductor reaction chamber.

10. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 1, wherein: Also included is a support member, the support member including a tray holder, a substrate tray, and an ejector pin; The substrate tray is arranged on the tray support; the ejector pin is movably arranged on the substrate tray, and when the ejector pin is supported by the substrate tray, the upper surface of the ejector pin is flush with the upper surface of the substrate tray or is located below the upper surface of the substrate tray; The tray support includes a supporting shaft and a plurality of supporting arms; one end of the plurality of supporting arms is connected to the supporting shaft, and the other end of the plurality of supporting arms is connected to the substrate tray.

11. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 10, wherein: A variable column is connected to the upper end of each support arm, and the variable column is configured to adjust the horizontality of the substrate tray.

12. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 11, wherein: The upper end of the support arm has a first groove, the lower end of the variable column matches the first groove, and the lower end of the variable column is located in the first groove.

13. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 12, wherein: A stopper is further provided in the cavity body, and the stopper is configured to adjust the height of the ejector pin; each of the stoppers is located below the corresponding ejector pin.

14. The semiconductor reaction chamber according to claim 13, wherein: The lower wall of the cavity body has a second groove, which is recessed downward from the upper surface of the lower wall, and the upper surface of the lower wall is a plane; the stopper includes a lower mounting portion and an upper supporting portion, the lower surface of the mounting portion of the stopper abuts against the bottom of the second groove for positioning, and the supporting portion of the stopper is used to support the ejector pin.

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