Reaction chamber and rapid heat treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a reaction chamber and rapid heat treatment equipment, the reaction chamber comprises a chamber main body, an air inlet device and an air exhaust device, and the side wall of the chamber main body is provided with a wafer conveying port and a pump port opposite to the wafer conveying port; the gas inlet device is arranged at the pump opening and is communicated with an external gas source so as to provide process gas to the interior of the cavity main body; and the exhaust device is arranged at the wafer conveying opening and is used for exhausting gas in the chamber main body out of the chamber main body. Process gas enters the chamber main body from the gas inlet device and is exhausted from the gas exhaust device, the wafer is conveyed into the chamber main body from the wafer conveying opening, at the moment, the wafer conveying opening is opened, air enters the chamber main body along with the wafer, the process gas entering from the gas inlet device and the air entering from the wafer conveying opening are headed, and the process gas enters the chamber main body. Therefore, air is prevented from entering the chamber main body in the wafer transfer process, the oxygen content in the chamber main body is reduced, the later oxygen removal and analysis time is shortened, and the wafer productivity is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more specifically, relates to a reaction chamber and a rapid thermal processing device. Background Art

[0002] Rapid thermal processing (RTP) is an advanced single-wafer heat treatment process. Compared with the traditional batch heat treatment process, it first appeared due to the need of materials research. It has now been widely used in semiconductor production processes such as integrated circuits and MEMS. Its typical applications include rapid thermal annealing RTA, rapid thermal oxidation RTO and rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition RTCVD. Rapid thermal annealing is generally used to activate the doping elements in semiconductor materials and restore the amorphous structure caused by ion implantation to a complete lattice structure. In particular, as semiconductors develop towards deep submicron, the requirements for advanced process mechanical design are becoming more and more stringent. While ensuring the process requirements, how to optimize the process and improve wafer production capacity is becoming more and more important. At present, when the rapid thermal processing equipment transfers the wafer, the valve at the transfer port on the reaction chamber is opened, and the wafer passes through the transfer port into the reaction chamber. At this time, the outside air will enter the reaction chamber with the wafer and then be discharged from the pump port on the other side of the reaction chamber. A large amount of air will enter the reaction chamber at the moment the valve is opened. Therefore, after the wafer transfer is completed, a considerable amount of cleaning time is required to reduce the oxygen content in the reaction chamber to less than 1ppm. Due to the long cleaning time, the wafer production capacity is low. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a reaction chamber and rapid thermal processing equipment, aiming to solve the technical problem that during the wafer transfer process, air enters the reaction chamber along with the wafer, so that a long cleaning time is required to reduce the oxygen content in the reaction chamber to less than 1ppm, resulting in low wafer production capacity.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, according to one aspect of the present invention, a reaction chamber is provided, which is applied to rapid thermal processing equipment, and includes a chamber body, an air intake device and an exhaust device. The side wall of the chamber body is provided with a film transfer port and a pump port arranged opposite to the film transfer port; the air intake device is arranged at the pump port and is connected to an external gas source to provide process gas to the interior of the chamber body; the exhaust device is arranged at the film transfer port, and is used to discharge the gas inside the chamber body out of the chamber body.

[0005] Optionally, a transfer device is provided between the film transfer port and the exhaust device, and a film transfer channel for transferring the wafer into or out of the chamber body is provided on the transfer device. The exhaust device is provided with an exhaust channel, and the film transfer channel is connected to the film transfer port and the exhaust channel respectively.

[0006] Optionally, the exhaust channel is located below the film transfer channel.

[0007] Optionally, the air intake device includes an air intake pipe, an air intake channel and an air intake hole, one end of the air intake pipe is connected to an external air source, the other end of the air intake pipe is connected to the air intake channel, the air intake hole is located at the pump port and is respectively connected to the pump port and the air intake channel.

[0008] Optionally, there are multiple air intake pipes, and the multiple air intake pipes are evenly arranged along the length direction of the air intake device.

[0009] Optionally, there are two air intake pipes, which are respectively located at two ends of the air intake passage along the length direction.

[0010] Optionally, there are multiple air inlet holes, and the multiple air inlet holes are evenly distributed at the pump port.

[0011] Optionally, the plurality of air inlet holes are distributed in an array.

[0012] Optionally, the cross-sectional shape of the air inlet hole is a circular, elliptical, oblong, rectangular, triangular or polygonal hole.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a rapid thermal processing device is provided, comprising the above-mentioned reaction chamber.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the reaction chamber provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention provides process gas to the chamber body by arranging an air intake device at the pump port, and discharges the gas in the chamber body out of the chamber body by arranging an exhaust device at the wafer transfer port. The pump port and the wafer transfer port are arranged relative to each other, and the process gas enters the chamber body from the air intake device and is discharged from the exhaust device. The wafer is transferred from the wafer transfer port to the chamber body. At this time, the wafer transfer port is opened, and air enters the chamber body with the wafer, so that the process gas entering from the air intake device and the air entering from the wafer transfer port are collided, thereby preventing air from entering the chamber body during the wafer transfer process, reducing the oxygen content in the chamber body, and reducing the subsequent oxygen removal and analysis time, thereby improving the wafer production capacity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of a reaction chamber provided for some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 2A schematic diagram of a simulation of wafer transfer in a reaction chamber provided by some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a chamber body provided for some embodiments of the present invention; Figure 4 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake device provided in some embodiments of the present invention; The reference numerals in the above drawings are as follows: 10. Chamber body; 101. Film transfer port; 102. Pump port; 20. air intake device; 201. air intake pipe; 202. air intake passage; 203. air intake hole; 30. Exhaust device; 301. Exhaust passage; 40. Transfer device; 401. Film transmission channel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0018] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0019] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0020] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like 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 an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0021] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0022] Please refer to Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a reaction chamber, which is applied to rapid thermal processing equipment, including a chamber body 10, an air intake device 20 and an exhaust device 30. The side wall of the chamber body 10 is provided with a wafer transfer port 101 and a pump port 102 arranged opposite to the wafer transfer port 101; the air intake device 20 is arranged at the pump port 102, and is connected to an external gas source to provide process gas to the inside of the chamber body 10; the exhaust device 30 is arranged at the wafer transfer port 101, and is used to discharge the gas inside the chamber body 10 out of the chamber body 10. Specifically, the chamber body 10 has an internal space, and the internal space is provided with a process position for processing a wafer. The chamber body 10 is generally a cylinder, and of course it can also be other shapes, such as a cuboid. The wafer transfer port 101 is arranged on the side wall of the chamber body 10, and the wafer transfer port 101 is connected to the internal space of the chamber body 10, and is used to transfer the wafer into or out of the internal space of the chamber body 10. The pump port 102 is disposed on the side wall of the chamber body 10 and is communicated with the inner space of the chamber body 10 for delivering process gas to the inner space of the chamber body 10. Figure 2 As shown, when transferring wafers, the transfer port 101 is in an open state, and the wafer enters the internal space of the chamber body 10 through the transfer port 101 and is placed at the process position. The external air will enter the internal space of the chamber body 10 along with the wafer through the transfer port 101. At this time, the external gas source is turned on, and the air intake device 20 allows the process gas to enter the internal space of the chamber body 10 through the pump port 102. Since the transfer port 101 and the pump port 102 are arranged relative to each other, the process gas entering from the pump port 102 and the air entering from the transfer port 101 collide with each other, thereby preventing the air from entering the internal space of the chamber body 10, and the air is discharged from the chamber body 10 through the exhaust device 30. The oxygen content inside the chamber body 10 is always lower than 1ppm. Therefore, the cleaning time after the transfer is completed can be greatly reduced, and the process stage can be directly entered, thereby greatly improving the wafer production capacity.

[0023] See also Figure 3As shown, in some embodiments, the size and shape of the film transfer port 101 are the same as those of the pump port 102. Alternatively, the length of the film transfer port 101 is smaller than the length of the pump port 102, so that the flow rate of the process gas entering through the pump port 102 is greater than the flow rate of the air entering through the film transfer port 101, thereby effectively preventing air from entering the chamber body 10.

[0024] By applying the above technical scheme of the present invention, an air intake device 20 is arranged at the pump port 102 to provide process gas to the chamber body 10, and an exhaust device 30 is arranged at the wafer transfer port 101 to discharge the gas in the chamber body 10 out of the chamber body 10. The pump port 102 and the wafer transfer port 101 are arranged opposite to each other, and the process gas enters the chamber body 10 from the air intake device 20 and is discharged from the exhaust device 30. The wafer is transferred from the wafer transfer port 101 to the chamber body 10. At this time, the wafer transfer port 101 is opened, and air enters the chamber body 10 with the wafer, so that the process gas entering from the air intake device 20 and the air entering from the wafer transfer port 101 are collided, thereby preventing the air from entering the chamber body 10 during the wafer transfer process, reducing the oxygen content in the chamber body 10, and reducing the subsequent oxygen removal and analysis time, thereby improving the wafer production capacity.

[0025] See also Figure 1 As shown, in some embodiments, a transfer device 40 is provided between the wafer transfer port 101 and the exhaust device 30, and a wafer transfer channel 401 for transferring wafers into or out of the chamber body 10 is provided on the transfer device 40, and an exhaust channel 301 is provided on the exhaust device 30, and the wafer transfer channel 401 is respectively connected with the wafer transfer port 101 and the exhaust channel 301. By providing the transfer device 40, the transfer device 40 is installed on the chamber body 10, and the exhaust device 30 is installed on the transfer device 40, and on the basis of not changing the original chamber structure, the exhaust channel 301 of the exhaust device 30 is connected with the wafer transfer port 101 through the wafer transfer channel 401, so that the gas in the reaction chamber can be discharged, and the transfer device 40 is easy to install and saves costs.

[0026] See also Figure 1 As shown, in some embodiments, the exhaust channel 301 is located below the film transmission channel 401. By setting as above, it is convenient to exhaust the gas from top to bottom of the cavity.

[0027] In some embodiments, the exhaust device 30 is also provided with a cooling chamber, which is arranged outside the exhaust channel 301 along the length direction of the exhaust channel 301. Cooling liquid or cooling gas is passed into the cooling chamber to cool and reduce the temperature of the gas in the exhaust channel 301 so that the temperature of the exhaust device 30 is within the national safety range.

[0028] See also Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, in some embodiments, the air intake device 20 includes an air intake pipe 201, an air intake channel 202 and an air intake hole 203. One end of the air intake pipe 201 is connected to an external air source, and the other end of the air intake pipe 201 is connected to the air intake channel 202. The air intake hole 203 is located at the pump port 102 and is respectively connected to the pump port 102 and the air intake channel 202. Exemplarily, the air intake of the air intake pipe 201 is connected to an external air source, the air outlet of the air intake pipe 201 is connected to the air intake channel 202, the length direction of the air intake channel 202 is consistent with the length direction of the pump port 102, and the air intake hole 203 is arranged between the air intake channel 202 and the pump port 102.

[0029] See also Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the number of the air inlet pipes 201 is multiple, and the multiple air inlet pipes 201 are evenly arranged along the length direction of the air inlet channel 202. The air inlet device 1 uses multiple air inlet pipes 201 to intake air at the same time, which can ensure the uniformity of the process gas intake and improve the process effect. In this embodiment, the number of the air inlet pipes 201 is not limited to multiple, and can also be one.

[0030] See also Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the number of the air intake pipes 201 is two, and the two air intake pipes 201 are respectively located at two ends of the air intake channel 202 along the length direction.

[0031] See also Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, there are multiple air inlet holes 203, and the multiple air inlet holes 203 are evenly distributed at the pump port 102. The multiple evenly distributed air inlet holes 203 cooperate with the multiple evenly distributed air inlet pipes 201 to ensure the uniformity of the speed of the process gas after entering the chamber, and to better prevent air from entering the reaction chamber.

[0032] See also Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the plurality of air inlet holes 203 are distributed in an array. For example, the plurality of air inlet holes 203 may be distributed in an annular array or a rectangular array to increase the amount of air intake. In this embodiment, the plurality of air inlet holes 203 may be staggered to improve air intake uniformity.

[0033] See also Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the air inlet 203 is circular, elliptical, oblong, rectangular, triangular or polygonal, preferably circular. It is understandable that the cross-sectional shape of the air inlet 203 can also be an irregular shape, but a regular shape is easy to process and has a low cost.

[0034] Another aspect of the present invention provides a rapid thermal processing device, comprising a reaction chamber as described in any one of the above embodiments. It is understood that the beneficial effects of the above another aspect can be found in the relevant description of the above reaction chamber, which will not be repeated here.

[0035] In summary, the reaction chamber and rapid thermal processing equipment provided by this embodiment have at least the following beneficial technical effects: (1) When the wafer of the present invention is transferred from the wafer transfer port 101 to the chamber body 10, air enters the chamber body 10 along with the wafer, so that the process gas entering from the air inlet device 20 and the air entering from the wafer transfer port 101 collide with each other, thereby preventing air from entering the chamber body 10 during the wafer transfer process, reducing the oxygen content in the chamber body 10 and reducing the subsequent oxygen removal and analysis time, thereby improving the wafer production capacity; (2) The present invention can ensure the uniformity of the speed of the process gas after entering the chamber by cooperating with multiple evenly distributed air inlet holes 203 and multiple evenly distributed air inlet pipes 201, and can also better suppress the entry of air into the reaction chamber, thereby improving the process effect; (3) The exhaust device 30 of the present invention is provided with a cooling chamber, into which coolant or cooling gas is introduced to cool and reduce the temperature of the gas in the exhaust passage 301, so that the temperature of the exhaust device 30 is within the national safety range; (4) The reaction chamber provided by the present invention is not only applicable to rapid thermal processing equipment, but also to semiconductor equipment with the same type of gas intake.

[0036] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and only specifically describe the technical principles of the present invention. These descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention and cannot be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention in any way. Based on the explanations here, any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention, and other specific implementations of the present invention that can be associated with by technicians in this field without creative labor, should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reaction chamber, characterized in that: The invention is applied to rapid thermal processing equipment, comprising a chamber body, an air intake device and an exhaust device, wherein the side wall of the chamber body is provided with a film transfer port and a pump port arranged opposite to the film transfer port; the air intake device is arranged at the pump port and is connected with an external gas source to provide process gas to the interior of the chamber body; the exhaust device is arranged at the film transfer port and is used to discharge the gas inside the chamber body out of the chamber body.

2. The reaction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: A transfer device is provided between the wafer transfer port and the exhaust device, and a wafer transfer channel for transferring wafers into or out of the chamber body is provided on the transfer device. The exhaust device is provided with an exhaust channel, and the wafer transfer channel is connected to the wafer transfer port and the exhaust channel respectively.

3. The reaction chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: The exhaust passage is located below the film transmission passage.

4. The reaction chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air intake device includes an air intake pipe, an air intake channel and an air intake hole. One end of the air intake pipe is connected to the external air source, and the other end of the air intake pipe is connected to the air intake channel. The air intake hole is located at the pump port and is connected to the pump port and the air intake channel respectively.

5. The reaction chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: There are multiple air intake pipes, and the multiple air intake pipes are evenly arranged along the length direction of the air intake device.

6. The reaction chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that: The number of the air intake pipes is two, and the two air intake pipes are respectively located at two ends of the air intake passage along the length direction.

7. The reaction chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The number of the air inlet holes is multiple, and the multiple air inlet holes are evenly distributed at the pump port.

8. The reaction chamber according to claim 7, characterized in that: Multiple air inlet holes are distributed in an array.

9. The reaction chamber according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the air inlet hole is a circular, elliptical, oblong, rectangular, triangular or polygonal hole.

10. A rapid thermal processing device, characterized in that: Comprising the reaction chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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