Cleaning system and thin film deposition equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a cleaning system and thin film deposition equipment. The cleaning system is arranged on the thin film deposition equipment. The cleaning system comprises a first valve and a second valve. The first valve is arranged between a cleaning gas source and a corrugated pipe below at least one process chamber of the thin film deposition equipment, and is used for enabling cleaning gas to reach the corrugated pipe to clean the corrugated pipe when the first valve is opened. And the second valve is arranged between the clean gas source and the wafer conveying channel at the top of the at least one process chamber and is used for enabling the clean gas to reach the wafer conveying channel when the second valve is opened so as to clean the wafer conveying channel. According to the invention, after multiple thin film deposition processes are completed, the corresponding valves are opened to clean the by-products accumulated at the local position of the thin film deposition equipment, so that the time of the cleaning process of the thin film deposition equipment is shortened under the condition that the cleanliness of the pipeline of the thin film deposition equipment is ensured, and the efficiency of the thin film deposition processes is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of processing semiconductor devices, and in particular to a cleaning system and a thin film deposition device. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, common semiconductor process equipment, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment, in the process of cleaning the chamber after the process is completed, usually dissociates the cleaning gas through a remote radio frequency plasma source and then passes it into the process chamber. The cleaning gas enters from the top of the process chamber and is then pumped away by a vacuum pump. However, this cleaning method is difficult to completely clean the local special structures in the chamber, such as the film transmission channel between the process chamber and the front module and the space in the bellows for the lifting of the heating plate. After the semiconductor process equipment has been used for a period of time, there is still a risk that the particle size of the output product exceeds the standard (particle out of standard). Therefore, the contaminated local hardware can only be replaced regularly, which seriously affects the cost of the thin film deposition process. In addition, if the above-mentioned local components are cleaned separately every time the process chamber is cleaned, the total time of the entire thin film deposition process is increased, which seriously affects the efficiency and production capacity of the thin film deposition process.

[0003] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for an improved cleaning system for reducing the time of the cleaning process while ensuring the cleanliness of the pipelines of the thin film deposition equipment, so as to improve the efficiency of the thin film deposition process. Summary of the invention

[0004] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or decisive elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its only purpose is to give some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be given later.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a cleaning system and a thin film deposition equipment. A cleaning system with multiple valves can be set up, and after completing multiple thin film deposition processes, the corresponding valves are opened to clean the by-products accumulated in local positions of the thin film deposition equipment. This is used to reduce the time of the cleaning process while ensuring the cleanliness of the pipelines of the thin film deposition equipment, so as to improve the efficiency of the thin film deposition process.

[0006] Specifically, the cleaning system provided according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided in a thin film deposition device. The cleaning system comprises a first valve and a second valve. The first valve is provided between a cleaning gas source and a bellows below at least one process chamber of the thin film deposition device, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach the bellows when opened to clean the bellows. The second valve is provided between the cleaning gas source and a film transfer channel at the top of the at least one process chamber, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach the film transfer channel when opened to clean the film transfer channel.

[0007] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning system also includes a controller, which is configured to: in response to completing a preset number of thin film deposition processes, open the first valve and the second valve to allow the cleaning gas to clean the bellows and the film transfer channel.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning system further comprises at least one third valve. Each of the third valves is disposed between the cleaning gas source and the at least one process chamber, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach each of the process chambers when opened to clean each of the process chambers.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cleaning system further includes a controller configured to: in response to the completion of a thin film deposition process, open each of the third valves to allow the cleaning gas to clean each of the process chambers.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, a bushing structure is provided at the air inlet of each of the wafer conveying channels. A groove is provided at one end of the bushing structure, so that the cleaning gas flows transversely in the bushing structure and then flows into each of the process chambers through a plurality of air outlets below the groove, so as to improve the uniformity of the cleaning gas in the wafer conveying channels.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of air outlets are divided into a first air outlet and a second air outlet. The first air outlet is arranged close to the air inlet. The second air outlet is arranged away from the air inlet. The caliber of the first air outlet is smaller than the caliber of the second air outlet.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the pipeline between the bellows and the first valve is a flexible pipeline, which is used to cooperate with the up and down movement of the heating plate in each of the process chambers.

[0013] In addition, the above-mentioned thin film deposition equipment provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes at least one process chamber, a film transfer channel, a bellows, a clean gas source and a cleaning system as provided in the first aspect of the present invention. The at least one process chamber is used to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer to be processed. The film transfer channel is arranged between each of the process chambers and the front module, and is used to transfer the wafer to be processed from the front module to each of the process chambers. The bellows is arranged at the bottom of each of the process chambers, and is used to ensure the sealing of each of the process chambers. The clean gas source is used to clean each of the process chambers, the film transfer channel and the bellows.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition equipment further comprises a reaction gas source for providing at least one reaction gas required for the thin film deposition process to the at least one process chamber.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition equipment further comprises a radio frequency plasma source, located between the cleaning gas source and the at least one process chamber, for exciting the cleaning gas into plasma. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The above features and advantages of the present invention can be better understood after reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components with similar related properties or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a cleaning system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 A simplified schematic diagram of the structure of a cleaning system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a bushing structure provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Reference numerals:

[0022] 11 Process Chamber

[0023] 12 Film transmission channel

[0024] 13 Bellows

[0025] 14 Clean gas source

[0026] 141 The fourth valve

[0027] 15 Reaction gas source

[0028] 151 The Fifth Valve

[0029] 16 RF plasma source

[0030] 21 First Valve

[0031] 22 Second valve

[0032] 31 Air Inlet

[0033] 32 Air outlet

[0034] 321 First outlet

[0035] 322 Second air outlet DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiment, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this implementation. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the implementation is to cover other options or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, the following description will include many specific details. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusion or blurring the focus of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0038] In addition, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal" and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the directions shown in the paragraph and the related drawings. Such relative terms are only used for the convenience of description and do not mean that the device described therein must be manufactured or operated in a specific direction, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0039] It is understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers and / or parts, these components, regions, layers and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers and / or parts. Therefore, the first component, region, layer and / or part discussed below may be referred to as a second component, region, layer and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] As mentioned above, this cleaning method is difficult to completely clean the local special structures in the chamber, such as the film transfer channel between the process chamber and the front module and the space in the bellows for the heating plate to rise and fall. After the semiconductor process equipment has been used for a period of time, there is still a risk that the particle size of the output product exceeds the standard (particle out of standard). Therefore, the contaminated local hardware can only be replaced regularly, which seriously affects the cost of the thin film deposition process. In addition, if the above-mentioned local components are cleaned separately every time the process chamber is cleaned, the total time of the entire thin film deposition process will be increased, which seriously affects the efficiency and production capacity of the thin film deposition process.

[0041] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present invention provides a cleaning system and a thin film deposition equipment. A cleaning system with multiple valves can be set up, and after completing multiple thin film deposition processes, the corresponding valves are opened to clean the by-products accumulated in local positions of the thin film deposition equipment. This is used to reduce the time of the cleaning process while ensuring the cleanliness of the pipelines of the thin film deposition equipment, so as to improve the efficiency of the thin film deposition process.

[0042] In some non-limiting embodiments, the cleaning system provided in the first aspect of the present invention may be configured to be implemented in the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0044] exist Figure 1In the illustrated embodiment, the above-mentioned thin film deposition equipment provided by the second aspect of the present invention comprises at least one process chamber 11, a film transfer channel 12, a bellows 13, a clean gas source 14 and the above-mentioned cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention. Here, the at least one process chamber 11 is used to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer to be processed. The film transfer channel 12 is arranged between each process chamber 11 and the front module, and is used to transfer the wafer to be processed from the front module to each process chamber 11. The bellows 13 is arranged at the bottom of each process chamber 11, and is used to ensure the sealing of each process chamber 11. The clean gas source 14 is used to clean each process chamber 11, the film transfer channel 12 and the bellows 13.

[0045] Further, in Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, a fourth valve 141 may be optionally provided between the cleaning gas source 14 and the cleaning system and each process chamber 11. The fourth valve 141 is used to allow the cleaning gas to flow into the cleaning system and the process chamber 11 when opened to clean each component in the thin film deposition apparatus.

[0046] In addition, Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the thin film deposition apparatus provided by the second aspect of the present invention further includes a reaction gas source 15. Here, the reaction gas source 15 is used to provide at least one reaction gas required for the thin film deposition process to at least one process chamber 11.

[0047] Further, in Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, a fifth valve 151 may be optionally provided between the reaction gas source 15 and each process chamber 11. The fifth valve 151 is used to control the reaction gas to flow into each process chamber 11 when it is opened, so as to perform a thin film deposition process on the wafer to be processed.

[0048] In addition, Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the thin film deposition apparatus provided by the second aspect of the present invention further includes a radio frequency plasma source 16. Here, the radio frequency plasma source 16 is located between the cleaning gas source 14 and at least one process chamber 11, and is used to excite the cleaning gas into plasma.

[0049] Please refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3 . Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of a cleaning system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 A simplified schematic diagram of the structure of a cleaning system provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0050] exist Figure 1 to Figure 3In the illustrated embodiment, the cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention comprises a first valve 21 and a second valve 22. Here, the first valve 21 is disposed between the cleaning gas source 14 and the bellows 13 below at least one process chamber 11 of the thin film deposition device, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach the bellows 13 when opened to clean the bellows 13. The second valve 22 is disposed between the cleaning gas source 14 and the film transfer channel 12 at the top of at least one process chamber 11, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach the film transfer channel 12 when opened to clean the film transfer channel 12.

[0051] In addition, Figure 1 and Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention further includes at least one third valve 23. Here, each third valve 23 is disposed between the cleaning gas source 14 and at least one process chamber 11, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach each process chamber 11 when opened, so as to clean each process chamber 11.

[0052] Please refer to the following for further reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 . Figure 4 A schematic structural diagram of a bushing structure provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0053] Further, in Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, a bushing structure is provided at the gas inlet 31 of each wafer conveying channel 12. Here, a groove is provided at one end of the bushing structure, so that the cleaning gas flows horizontally in the bushing structure and then flows into each process chamber 11 through a plurality of gas outlets 32 below the groove, so as to improve the uniformity of the cleaning gas in the wafer conveying channel 12.

[0054] Furthermore, in Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of air outlets 32 are divided into a first air outlet 321 and a second air outlet 322. Here, the first air outlet 321 is disposed close to the air inlet 31, and the second air outlet 322 is disposed away from the air inlet 31. The diameter of the first air outlet 321 is smaller than that of the second air outlet 322.

[0055] Specifically, in some preferred embodiments, multiple gas outlets 32 may be provided at positions other than directly below the gas inlet 31 to prevent the clean gas from flowing out of the bushing structure directly from the position directly below. Here, the farther the gas outlet 32 ​​is from the gas inlet 31, the larger the diameter is, so that the inflowing clean gas can flow downward evenly into the process chamber 11.

[0056] In addition, Figure 2In the embodiment shown, the pipeline between the bellows 13 and the first valve 21 is a flexible pipeline. Since the bellows 13 will be compressed and released to cooperate with the up and down movement of the heating plate in each process chamber 11 during the thin film deposition process, the flexible pipeline is used to cooperate with its up and down movement.

[0057] In addition, in some embodiments, the cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention further includes a controller, wherein the controller can be connected to the first valve 21, the second valve 22 and the third valve 23 to clean the thin film deposition device via the cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention.

[0058] Specifically, in response to completing a preset number of (eg, 5 times, 10 times) thin film deposition processes, the controller may open the first valve 21 and the second valve 22 to allow the cleaning gas to clean the bellows 13 and the film transfer channel 12 .

[0059] In this way, the above-mentioned cleaning system provided by the first aspect of the present invention can open the first valve 21 to clean the bellows 13, or open the second valve 22 to clean the film transfer channel 12 after completing multiple thin film deposition processes, so that the by-products accumulated multiple times in the bellows 23 or the film transfer channel 12 can be directly cleaned, so as to reduce the time of the cleaning process while ensuring the cleanliness of the bellows 13 and the film transfer channel 12, thereby improving the efficiency of the thin film deposition process.

[0060] Furthermore, in some preferred embodiments, the above-mentioned cleaning system provided in the first aspect of the present invention can also determine the above-mentioned preset number of times according to the accumulation degree of by-products generated by different processes, so as to better save the cleaning time of the film transfer channel 12 and the bellows 13, and further improve the efficiency of the thin film deposition process.

[0061] Furthermore, in some embodiments, in response to the completion of a thin film deposition process, the controller may open each third valve 23 to allow the cleaning gas to clean each process chamber 11 .

[0062] In this way, the cleaning system provided in the first aspect of the present invention can clean each process chamber 11 after each thin film deposition process is completed to ensure the cleanliness of each process chamber 11, thereby facilitating the next thin film deposition process.

[0063] In summary, the above-mentioned cleaning system and thin film deposition equipment provided by the present invention can be provided with a cleaning system having multiple valves, and after completing multiple thin film deposition processes, the corresponding valves are opened to clean the by-products accumulated in local positions of the thin film deposition equipment, so as to reduce the time of the cleaning process while ensuring the cleanliness of the pipeline of the thin film deposition equipment, so as to improve the efficiency of the thin film deposition process.

[0064] Although the above methods are illustrated and described as a series of actions for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, because according to one or more embodiments, some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from those illustrated and described herein or not illustrated and described herein but understandable to those skilled in the art.

[0065] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information, signals, and data may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips cited throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0066] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. The technician may implement the described functionality in different ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as resulting in a departure from the scope of the present invention.

[0067] Although the controller described in the above embodiments can be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. However, it is understood that the controller can also be implemented in software and hardware. For hardware implementation, the controller can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic devices for performing the above functions, or a selection combination of the above devices. For software implementation, the controller can be implemented by independent software modules such as procedures and functions running on a general-purpose chip, each of which performs one or more functions and operations described herein.

[0068] The various illustrative logic modules and circuits described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in cooperation with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0069] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A cleaning system, provided in a thin film deposition device, characterized in that: The cleaning system comprises: a first valve disposed between a cleaning gas source and a bellows below at least one process chamber of the thin film deposition apparatus, and configured to allow the cleaning gas to reach the bellows when opened to clean the bellows; and The second valve is disposed between the cleaning gas source and the wafer transfer channel at the top of the at least one process chamber, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach the wafer transfer channel when opened to clean the wafer transfer channel.

2. The cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that The cleaning system also includes a controller configured to: In response to completing a preset number of thin film deposition processes, the first valve and the second valve are opened to allow the cleaning gas to clean the bellows and the film transfer channel.

3. The cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: At least one third valve, wherein each of the third valves is disposed between the cleaning gas source and the at least one process chamber, and is used to allow the cleaning gas to reach each of the process chambers when opened, so as to clean each of the process chambers.

4. The cleaning system according to claim 3, characterized in that The cleaning system also includes a controller configured to: In response to the completion of a thin film deposition process, each of the third valves is opened to allow the cleaning gas to clean each of the process chambers.

5. The cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that A bushing structure is provided at the air inlet of each of the wafer transfer channels, wherein a groove is provided at one end of the bushing structure, so that the cleaning gas flows horizontally in the bushing structure and then flows into each of the process chambers through a plurality of air outlets below the groove, so as to improve the uniformity of the cleaning gas in the wafer transfer channels.

6. The cleaning system according to claim 5, characterized in that The multiple air outlets are divided into a first air outlet and a second air outlet, wherein the first air outlet is arranged close to the air inlet, the second air outlet is arranged far away from the air inlet, and the diameter of the first air outlet is smaller than the diameter of the second air outlet.

7. The cleaning system according to claim 1, characterized in that The pipeline between the bellows and the first valve is a flexible pipeline, which is used to cooperate with the heating plate in each process chamber to move up and down.

8. A thin film deposition device, characterized in that: include: At least one process chamber, used for performing a thin film deposition process on a wafer to be processed; A wafer transfer channel is provided between each of the process chambers and the front module, and is used to transfer the wafer to be processed from the front module to each of the process chambers; A bellows, arranged at the bottom of each process chamber, for ensuring the sealing of each process chamber; A cleaning gas source, used for cleaning the process chamber, the film transfer channel and the bellows; as well as A cleaning system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The thin film deposition device according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: The reaction gas source is used to provide at least one reaction gas required for the thin film deposition process to the at least one process chamber.

10. The thin film deposition device according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: The radio frequency plasma source is located between the cleaning gas source and the at least one process chamber, and is used to excite the cleaning gas into plasma.

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