Air inlet control method for semiconductor processing system and semiconductor processing system

Abstract

The invention provides an air inlet control method for a semiconductor processing system and the semiconductor processing system. The air inlet control method comprises the following steps: controlling a first regulating valve and a second regulating valve on a purging pipeline by adopting any one of the following three control modes in a pulse stage and a purging stage of a substrate treatment process: controlling the first regulating valve to be opened and controlling the second regulating valve to be closed; controlling the first regulating valve to be closed and the second regulating valve to be opened; the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve are controlled to be opened; wherein the purging pipeline comprises a purging main path and an adjusting branch path, the purging main path is connected between the gas source and the reaction cavity, the first adjusting valve is arranged on the purging main path, the second adjusting valve is arranged on the adjusting branch path, and the adjusting branch path is bridged to the purging main path at the two ends of the first adjusting valve. According to the gas inlet control method and the semiconductor processing system, the gas concentration of the reaction source can be conveniently and flexibly adjusted, so that different process conditions for processing the substrate are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application mainly relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to an air intake control method for a semiconductor processing system and a semiconductor processing system. Background Art

[0002] In semiconductor processing, atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology is a common method for processing substrates. ALD technology plays an important role in advanced semiconductor processes due to its unique advantages and broad application prospects. The ALD process forms a thin film by alternately passing gaseous precursor pulses into the reaction chamber and causing a chemical adsorption reaction on the substrate surface. The film formation process includes two basic processes: the inflow of the reaction source and the purge process. Among them, the inflow of the reaction source is that the carrier gas is passed into the source bottle and then enters the reaction chamber through the pipeline. The purge method is that the purge gas enters the reaction chamber through the pipeline. When performing ALD deposition, a complete process includes, for example: (1) precursor A pulse (Pulse) adsorption reaction; (2) purge gas purges (Purge) excess reactants and by-products; (3) precursor B pulse adsorption reaction; (4) purge gas purges excess reactants and by-products; then steps (1) to (4) are repeated in sequence until the desired thin film is formed on the substrate surface.

[0003] For the ALD process, the concentration of the reaction source flowing into the chamber during the pulse phase has a significant impact on the film growth rate, film uniformity, and step coverage; and the total amount of gas during purging also has a significant impact on the efficiency of purging. However, the current ALD film-forming process has a relatively fixed and single method for diluting the concentration of the reaction source, which cannot be flexibly adjusted according to the application scenario. At the same time, the concentration of either the reaction source or other reaction gases cannot be effectively adjusted. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application aims to solve the technical problem that the concentration of reaction sources cannot be adjusted in semiconductor processing technology, and provides an intake control method and a semiconductor processing system for a semiconductor processing system, which can conveniently and flexibly adjust the concentration of reaction source gases to achieve different process conditions for processing substrates.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides an intake control method for a semiconductor processing system of a semiconductor device, the semiconductor processing system comprising a reaction chamber, a gas source, a purge pipeline, at least one reaction source and at least one source intake pipeline, the reaction chamber being used to process a substrate having characteristics, the semiconductor processing process for the substrate comprising at least one cycle of a pulse phase and a purge phase, the intake control method comprising: in the pulse phase and the purge phase of the substrate processing process, respectively using any one of the following three control modes to control a first regulating valve and a second regulating valve on the purge pipeline: controlling the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close; controlling the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open; and controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to open; wherein the purge pipeline comprises a purge main path and a regulating branch path, the purge main path being connected between the gas source and the reaction chamber, the first regulating valve being arranged on the purge main path, the second regulating valve being arranged on the regulating branch path, and the regulating branch path being bridged to the purge main path at both ends of the first regulating valve.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present application, it also includes: in the pulse stage, controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to control the gas amount of the purge gas entering the reaction chamber so that the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber reaches the target concentration; in the purge stage, controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to allow the purge gas to enter the reaction chamber.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present application, the step of controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve on the purge pipeline in the pulse stage includes: controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to open so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a first target concentration; or controlling the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a second target concentration; or controlling the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a third target concentration; wherein the first target concentration is less than the second target concentration, and the second target concentration is less than the third target concentration.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present application, the first target concentration and the second target concentration correspond to a high dilution process, and the third target concentration corresponds to a low dilution process. The high dilution process includes filling features with a small aspect ratio structure, and the low dilution process includes filling features with a large aspect ratio structure.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the step of controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve during the purge stage includes: controlling the first regulating valve and / or the second regulating valve to open.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present application, a gas collecting device is provided on the regulating branch; and in the purge stage, the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve are controlled by the following control mode:

[0011] The first regulating valve is controlled to be opened and the second regulating valve is controlled to be closed. When the pressure inside the gas collecting device reaches a set value, the second regulating valve is opened.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present application, the main purge path includes an upstream pipeline close to the gas source side, the upstream pipeline is located upstream of the regulating branch, and the set value is equal to the pressure value of the upstream pipeline.

[0013] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application also proposes a semiconductor processing system, the semiconductor processing system includes a reaction chamber, including: a gas source, a purge pipeline, at least one reaction source and at least one source air inlet pipeline, wherein the source air inlet pipeline is arranged between the gas source, the reaction source and the reaction chamber, and the source air inlet pipeline is used to provide reactants to the reaction chamber; the purge pipeline includes a purge main path and a regulating branch path, the purge main path is connected between the gas source and the reaction chamber, wherein a first regulating valve is arranged on the purge main path, a second regulating valve is arranged on the regulating branch path, and the regulating branch path is bridged to the purge main path at both ends of the first regulating valve; the semiconductor processing system is configured to: in the pulse stage and the purge stage of the semiconductor process, any one of the following three control modes is used to control the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve: control the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close; control the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open; and control the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to open.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present application, the gas flow rate of the main purge path is greater than the gas flow rate of the regulating branch path.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present application, a flow limiting device is provided on the regulating branch, and the flow limiting device is used to limit the flow of the regulating branch.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present application, a gas collecting device and a pressure sensor are provided on the regulating branch, and the pressure sensor is used to monitor the pressure inside the gas collecting device.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present application, a first flow meter is provided on the main purge circuit, and the regulating branch circuit is bridged to the main purge circuit at both ends of the first regulating valve and the first flow meter. A second flow meter is provided on the regulating branch circuit, and the first flow meter is used to set the flow of the main purge circuit, and the second flow meter is used to set the maximum pressure inside the gas collecting device.

[0018] The purge pipeline of the semiconductor processing system of the present application includes a purge main circuit and a regulating branch circuit, a first regulating valve is arranged on the purge main circuit, and a second regulating valve is arranged on the regulating branch circuit. The semiconductor processing system and the air intake control method of the present application can respectively adopt different control modes in the pulse stage and the purge stage to control the opening or closing of the first regulating valve and the second control valve, so as to control the concentration of the reaction source substance entering the reaction chamber, and will not affect the amount of the reaction source carrier gas. The semiconductor processing system and the air intake control method of the present application have a flexible and simple adjustment method, which is conducive to realizing various different process conditions including high dilution process and low dilution process, so that the features of structures with different aspect ratios can be filled and processed according to different application scenarios, thereby improving deposition efficiency and yield. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present application. They are included and constitute a part of the present application. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present application and together with the present specification serve to explain the principles of the present application. In the accompanying drawings:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a purge pipeline in a semiconductor processing system according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 3 It is an exemplary flow chart of an intake control method for a semiconductor processing system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some examples or embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, the present application can also be applied to other similar scenarios based on these drawings without creative work. Unless it is obvious from the language environment or otherwise explained, the same reference numerals in the figures represent the same structure or operation.

[0024] As shown in this application, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an", "a kind" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular, but also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "include" and "comprise" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0025] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​of the parts and steps set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the application. Meanwhile, it should be understood that, for ease of description, the sizes of the various parts shown in the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to actual proportional relationships. The technology, methods and equipment known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but in appropriate cases, the technology, methods and equipment should be considered as a part of the specification. In all examples shown and discussed here, any specific value should be interpreted as being merely exemplary, rather than as a limitation. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values. It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters represent similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once a certain item is defined in an accompanying drawing, it does not need to be further discussed in subsequent drawings.

[0026] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the directions or positional relationships indicated by directional words such as "front, back, up, down, left, right", "lateral, vertical, perpendicular, horizontal" and "top, bottom" are usually based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present 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, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of the present application; the directional words "inside and outside" refer to the inside and outside relative to the contours of each component itself.

[0027] In addition, it should be noted that the use of words such as "first" and "second" to define components is only for the convenience of distinguishing the corresponding components. If not otherwise stated, the above words have no special meaning and cannot be understood as limiting the scope of protection of this application. In addition, although the terms used in this application are selected from well-known and commonly used terms, some terms mentioned in the specification of this application may be selected by the applicant at his or her discretion, and their detailed meanings are explained in the relevant parts of the description of this article. In addition, it is required to understand this application not only by the actual terms used, but also by the meaning implied by each term.

[0028] Flowcharts are used in the present application to illustrate the operations performed by the system according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations are not necessarily performed accurately in order. On the contrary, various steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. At the same time, other operations may be added to these processes, or one or more operations may be removed from these processes.

[0029] The present application can be used in semiconductor processing systems that require gas or fluid control, including but not limited to ALD processing equipment. The "substrate" described in the present application is also referred to as a wafer, a substrate, a base, etc. The processing process for the substrate may include deposition, etching, ashing, cleaning and other processing.

[0030] During the substrate processing process, the substrate can be patterned to include features such as through holes, holes and / or grooves. The aspect ratio of a feature refers to the ratio between the depth of the feature into the substrate and the size of the feature opening in the substrate. In some processes, the aspect ratio can be relatively large (e.g., greater than 5:1), for example, the high aspect ratio structures in silicon-based MEMS devices, whose aspect ratios are typically between 10:1 and 100:1. Such large aspect ratio features can pose challenges during the manufacturing process because they directly affect the accuracy and complexity of the processing, and the processing of these features plays a key role in improving device performance and reliability. In semiconductor manufacturing, large aspect ratio features generally refer to those with aspect ratios much greater than 1:1, and the specific values ​​may vary depending on different applications and process requirements.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing system according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the semiconductor processing system 100 includes a reaction chamber 110, a substrate carrier 120 and an exhaust device 130. A reaction space is formed in the reaction chamber 110, and the substrate carrier 120 is used to carry the substrate W. The substrate carrier 120 can drive the substrate W to rise and fall and / or rotate in the reaction chamber 110. The reaction chamber 110 has an air inlet 111 and an air outlet 112. The process gas can be provided to the interior of the reaction chamber 110 through the air inlet 111, and flow out of the reaction chamber 110 through the air outlet 112. The exhaust device 130 can be, for example, a vacuum pump for providing exhaust power to extract the gas in the reaction chamber 110. The exhaust device 130 can also include an exhaust valve 131 and a vacuum angle valve 132, which are used to jointly control the gas flow rate of the exhaust pipeline. The exhaust device 130 can also include a pressure gauge 133 for real-time measurement of the air pressure in the exhaust pipeline as a reference indicator for exhaust control.

[0032] like Figure 1As shown, the semiconductor processing system 100 includes a gas source 210, a purge line 220, at least one reaction source and at least one source gas inlet line. Among them, the gas source 210 refers to a container for carrying gas. The present application does not limit what the gas is specifically. The gas can be determined according to actual needs. Functionally speaking, the gas can be a reaction gas participating in a semiconductor reaction, a carrier gas for carrying out a solid precursor, a dilution gas for diluting the concentration of the reaction gas, or a purge gas for purging, etc. A typical semiconductor processing system may include one or more additional gas sources, as an inert gas source, a carrier gas source and / or a purge gas source, etc.; in some embodiments, the gas supplied by the gas source may be an inert gas, such as nitrogen.

[0033] exist Figure 1 The illustrated embodiment includes two reaction sources 231, 232, and two corresponding source air inlet pipes 241, 242. This specification will take this as an example for illustration, but is not intended to limit the number of reaction sources and source air inlet pipes. Reaction sources 231, 232 here refer to containers loaded with precursors / reactants or systems for supplying precursors. The reactants in reaction source 231 may be different from the reactants in reaction source 232. For example, reaction source 231 is loaded with precursor A, and reaction source 232 is loaded with precursor B. The two source air inlet pipes 241, 242 are arranged in basically the same manner. Taking source air inlet pipe 241 as an example, it is arranged between gas source 210, reaction source 231 and reaction chamber 110, and is used to provide reactants to reaction chamber 110. Source air inlet pipe 241 refers to a pipeline for transmitting reaction source gas, which may include multiple sections of pipes. As Figure 1 As shown, taking the reaction source 231 as a node, the first section 241 a of the source gas inlet pipeline 241 is connected between the gas source 210 and the reaction source 231 , and the second section 241 b of the source gas inlet pipeline 241 is connected between the reaction source 231 and the reaction chamber 110 .

[0034] A valve 251 is provided near the gas source 210 in the first section 241a, and the valve 251 can be used to control whether the gas provided by the gas source 210 can enter the source gas inlet pipeline 241, and the amount of gas entering the source gas inlet pipeline 241. A flow controller 258, such as a mass flow controller (MFC) or a pressure flow controller (PFC), can also be provided on the first section 241a to control the flow of the gas in the pipeline. A pressure gauge 262 can also be provided on the first section 241a to monitor the gas pressure in the pipeline.

[0035] A valve 252 is disposed near the reaction chamber 110 in the second section 241 b . The valve 252 can be used to control whether the gas can enter the reaction chamber 110 and the amount of gas entering the reaction chamber 110 .

[0036] In some embodiments, Figure 1 As shown, a third section 241c is bridged between the first section 241a and the second section 241b. At the same time, in the first section 241a near the reaction source 231, a plurality of valves, such as valves 253 and 254, are provided, in the second section 241b near the reaction source 231, a plurality of valves, such as valves 255 and 256, are provided, and a valve 257 is provided on the third section 241c. By providing the third section 241c and these valves, the flow path of the gas in each section of the pipeline can be controlled. For example, when it is necessary for the gas to enter the reaction source 231 to take out the reaction source material, the valves 253, 254, 255, and 256 can be opened, and the valve 257 can be closed, so that the transmission path of the gas is: gas source 210, first section 241a, reaction source 231, second section 241b and reaction chamber 110. Of course, at this time, valves 251 and 252 are also in an open state. When gas is not needed to enter the reaction source 231 , valves 253 , 257 , and 256 can be opened, and valves 254 and 255 can be closed, so that the gas transmission path is: gas source 210 , first section 241a , third section 241c , second section 241b , and reaction chamber 110 .

[0037] The specific configuration of the source air inlet pipeline 242 is the same as that of the source air inlet pipeline 241 and will not be described in detail.

[0038] The valves 251 - 257 may be switch valves, regulating valves, such as ALD valves, but not limited thereto.

[0039] refer to Figure 1 The purge pipeline 220 includes a purge main path 221 and a regulating branch 222. The purge main path 221 is connected between the gas source 210 and the reaction chamber 110. A first regulating valve 261 is provided on the purge main path 221. The regulating branch 222 is connected to the purge main path 221 at both ends of the first regulating valve 261. A second regulating valve 262 is provided on the regulating branch 222. The semiconductor processing system 100 is configured as follows:

[0040] In the pulse stage and the purge stage of the semiconductor process, any of the following three control modes can be used to control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262:

[0041] Control mode 1: control the first regulating valve 261 to be open and the second regulating valve 262 to be closed;

[0042] Control mode 2: control the first regulating valve 261 to be closed and the second regulating valve 262 to be opened; and

[0043] Control mode three: control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 to be open.

[0044] The semiconductor processing system 100 of the present application is capable of flexibly selecting the concentration of gas entering the reaction chamber 110 according to different application scenarios by setting a first regulating valve 261 on the purge main path 221, setting a second regulating valve 262 on the regulating branch 222, and using three different control modes to control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 in the pulse stage and the purge stage, and can simultaneously meet the requirements of film forming efficiency and film forming quality. For example, assuming that the gas flow rate of the regulating branch 222 is less than the gas flow rate of the purge main path 221, in the pulse stage, the control mode 2 is adopted to allow the gas to enter the reaction chamber 110 through the regulating branch 222, that is, less gas flows through the purge line 220 to enter the reaction chamber, and the dilution degree of the source gas is low, so the concentration of the reaction source is high. The application scenario where the concentration of this reaction source is suitable can be for feature filling processing of features with a large aspect ratio structure, such as a substrate pattern, and the features may include at least one of through holes, holes and / or grooves. In the purging stage, control mode three is adopted, and both the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 are opened, so that more airflow enters the reaction chamber 110, which can achieve rapid purging of the reaction chamber 110, thereby improving process efficiency.

[0045] In some embodiments, the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 may be needle valves, but are not limited thereto.

[0046] It should be noted that the current semiconductor processing system adjusts the gas flow or pressure in the source gas inlet pipeline 241 by adjusting the flow controller 258, and once the control parameters of the flow controller 258 are determined, they are often not changed. In addition, if the gas flow is adjusted by adjusting the control parameters of the flow controller 258 to change the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber 110, it will affect the pressure inside the reaction source 231 and the reaction chamber 110, resulting in process instability. Therefore, the concentration of the reactants is often difficult to change.

[0047] The present application adjusts the gas concentration entering the reaction chamber 110 by configuring the purge line 220 to include a main purge line 221 and a regulating branch line 222, and by controlling the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 in the pulse stage and the purge stage, without adjusting the flow controller on the source gas inlet line 241 or 242, thereby ensuring the stable progress of the semiconductor process.

[0048] How to use the above three control modes to control the concentration of the reaction source and the purge air intake in the pulse stage and the purge stage will be explained in the following text by way of examples. Figure 1 Other embodiments of the semiconductor processing system 100 are described.

[0049] refer to Figure 1As shown, in some embodiments, a current limiting device 263 is further provided on the regulating branch 222 of the semiconductor processing system 100 to limit the flow of the regulating branch 222. The current limiting device 263 is a device that can limit the flow of the regulating branch 222, such as a current limiting plate. The flow of the regulating branch 222 can be controlled by adjusting the current limiting device 263.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the purge line 220 may also include a valve 264 and a first flow meter 265. The valve 264 is arranged near the gas source 210, and is used to control whether the gas is introduced into the purge line 220, and the amount of gas entering the purge line 220. The first flow meter 265 may be an MFC or a PFC, and is used to control the flow rate of the gas in the pipeline. As mentioned above, once the control parameters of the first flow meter 265 are set, they are not changed during the semiconductor process. Therefore, the present application adjusts the concentration of the reaction source substance entering the reaction chamber 110 by the first regulating valve 261 on the purge main road 221, the second regulating valve 262 on the regulating branch road 222, and the current limiting device 263, while not affecting the amount of the reaction source carrier gas, that is, by adjusting the speed of the purge gas intake to adjust the reaction source concentration, so as to achieve different process conditions: for example, high dilution process and / or low dilution process.

[0051] In some embodiments, the gas flow rate of the purge main path 221 is greater than the gas flow rate of the adjustment branch path 222 .

[0052] In some embodiments, the purge main path 221 has a first diameter d1, the regulating branch path 222 has a second diameter d2, and the first diameter d1 is equal to the second diameter d2. By setting the flow limiting device 263, the gas flow through the regulating branch path 222 can be significantly smaller than the gas flow through the purge main path 221.

[0053] In some embodiments, the purge main path 221 has a first diameter d1, and the regulating branch path 222 has a second diameter d2, and the first diameter d1 is larger than the second diameter d2. By setting different diameters, the gas flow rate of the purge main path 221 is larger than the gas flow rate of the regulating branch path 222.

[0054] The following examples illustrate exemplary application scenarios of the above three control modes in the pulse stage and the purge stage under different process conditions:

[0055] Embodiment 1

[0056] When a hole filling process is performed on a structure with a small aspect ratio on a substrate, a lower concentration of reaction gas is required in the pulse stage, that is, a high dilute process. Assume that the gas concentration required at this time is the first target concentration C1. The gas source 210 provides a carrier gas through the source inlet pipeline 241 or the source inlet pipeline 242, so that the carrier gas enters the reaction chamber 110 through the reaction source in the reaction source 231 or the reaction source 232. In order to obtain the first target concentration C1, the valve 264, the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 on the purge pipeline 220 are opened at the same time, that is, the control mode three is adopted, more gas enters the purge pipeline 220, and the dilution degree of the reaction source material entering the reaction chamber 110 is higher. This process is also called a low concentration process. In the corresponding purge stage, any one of the control modes one, two and three can be adopted. Preferably, in the process of obtaining the first target concentration C1, the control mode three is adopted in the pulse stage, and the control mode three is also adopted in the purge stage, so that a larger airflow can be provided in the purge stage to achieve rapid purge.

[0057] Embodiment 2

[0058] Embodiment 2 is also a high dilution process. Compared with embodiment 1, the aspect ratio of the structure on the substrate to be processed is slightly greater than that in embodiment 1. Assume that the required gas concentration is the second target concentration C2, and C2>C1. To obtain the second target concentration C2, the valve 264 and the first regulating valve 261 on the purge line 220 are opened at the same time, and the second regulating valve 262 is closed, that is, control mode 1 is adopted. Since the gas flow through the purge main road 221 is greater than the gas flow through the regulating branch 222, more gas enters the purge line 220, and the degree of dilution of the reaction source material entering the reaction chamber 110 is also higher. Of course, the gas flow through the purge line 220 in this embodiment 2 is less than that in embodiment 1, so that C2 greater than C1 can be obtained. In the corresponding purge stage, any one of control modes 1, 2, and 3 can be adopted. Preferably, in the process of obtaining the second target concentration C2, control mode 1 is adopted in the pulse stage, and control mode 3 is adopted in the purge stage, so that a larger airflow can be provided in the purge stage to achieve rapid purge.

[0059] Embodiment 3

[0060] When a hole filling process is performed on a structure with a large aspect ratio on a substrate, a higher concentration of reaction gas is required, that is, a low dilution process. Assume that the gas concentration required at this time is the third target concentration C3. C3>C2>C1. At this time, the valve 264 and the second regulating valve 262 on the purge line 220 are opened at the same time, and the first regulating valve 261 is closed, that is, control mode 2 is adopted. In some embodiments, the first diameter d1 is greater than the second diameter d2. That is, the diameter of the purge main line 221 is large, and the diameter of the regulating branch 222 is small. Since the purge main line 221 is closed by closing the first regulating valve 261, the airflow only flows into the reaction chamber through the regulating branch 222 with a smaller diameter, thereby reducing the purge gas entering the reaction chamber, so the dilution degree of the reaction source material entering the reaction chamber 110 is low. This process is also called a high concentration process. In the corresponding purge stage, any of control modes one, two, and three can be adopted. Preferably, in the process of obtaining the third target concentration C3, control mode 2 is adopted in the pulse stage, and control mode 3 is adopted in the purge stage, so that a larger airflow can be provided in the purge stage to achieve rapid purge.

[0061] The above examples show that the semiconductor processing system 100 of the present application can flexibly and easily adjust the concentration of the reaction gas entering the reaction chamber 110 without adjusting or changing the gas flow on the source gas inlet pipes 241 and 242, which is conducive to achieving various different process conditions including high dilution process and low dilution process.

[0062] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a purge pipeline in a semiconductor processing system according to another embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, a gas collecting device 310 and a pressure sensor 320 are provided on the regulating branch 222, and the pressure sensor 320 is used to monitor the pressure inside the gas collecting device 310. According to this embodiment, the gas collecting device 310 can be quickly filled with gas by controlling the valve, for example, opening the valve 264, closing the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262, and continuously charging the gas collecting device 310. When the pressure sensor 320 monitors that the pressure inside the gas collecting device 310 reaches a set value, the second regulating valve 262 is opened to realize an instantaneous large flow of purge gas, thereby performing rapid purge.

[0063] In some embodiments, the gas collecting device 310 is specifically a gas collecting tank.

[0064] and Figure 1 Compared with the embodiment shown in Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the location of the first flow meter 265 is changed. Figure 1 In the embodiment, the first flow meter 265 is arranged on the upstream branch 220a near the gas source 210, and Figure 2In the embodiment, the first flowmeter 265 is arranged on the purge main path 221. By such arrangement, the flow of the purge main path 221 can be controlled by adjusting the first flowmeter 265. In some embodiments, in order to carry out a low dilution (high concentration) process, the flow of the first flowmeter 265 is generally not very large. By setting the gas collecting device 310, more gas enters the gas collecting device 310, which is equivalent to more gas entering the regulating branch 222. In the purge stage, when the pressure sensor 320 detects that the pressure inside the gas collecting device 310 reaches a set value, the second regulating valve 262 is opened to realize an instantaneous large flow of purge gas, thereby performing rapid purge.

[0065] like Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, a third regulating valve 331 and a second flow meter 332 are provided on the regulating branch 222. The third regulating valve 331 is located near the upstream branch 220a of the regulating branch 222, and is provided in the upstream direction of the second flow meter 332. In other words, the gas collecting device 310 is provided between the second regulating valve 262 and the third regulating valve 331. By setting the flow rate of the second flow meter 332 to be larger, more gas can enter the regulating branch 222, so that the gas collecting device 310 can be filled faster, thereby improving the process efficiency.

[0066] refer to Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, when performing a low dilution process, in the pulse stage, the valve 264 and the first regulating valve 261 may be opened to allow less gas to enter the reaction chamber 110. In the purge stage, the valve 264, the first regulating valve 261 and the third regulating valve 331 may be opened first, and the second regulating valve 262 may be closed to fill the gas collecting device 310 with gas. When it is detected that the internal gas pressure reaches the set value, the second regulating valve 262 is opened to allow a large amount of gas to enter the reaction chamber 110 through the purge pipeline 220 to achieve rapid purge. It should be understood that the second regulating valve 262 here acts as a switch valve.

[0067] In some embodiments, the control timing of each valve can be designed according to the design of the process. For example, the third regulating valve 331 is opened to start the gas collection operation some time before the end of the pulse phase of the previous step. When the purge phase starts, the second regulating valve 262 is opened. In this way, efficient connection of Pulse-Purge can be achieved, and process efficiency can be improved.

[0068] The present application also proposes an air intake control method 300, which can be performed using the semiconductor processing system 100 described above, so all the contents of the above text can be used to illustrate the air intake control method 300. Figure 3As shown, the air intake control method 300 includes: using any one of the following three control modes to control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 on the purge line 220 in the pulse stage and the purge stage of the semiconductor process:

[0069] Control mode 1: control the first regulating valve 261 to be open and the second regulating valve 262 to be closed;

[0070] Control mode 2: control the first regulating valve 261 to be closed and the second regulating valve 262 to be opened; and

[0071] Control mode three: control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 to be open.

[0072] Among them, the purge pipeline 220 includes a purge main path 221 and a regulating branch 222. The purge main path 221 is connected between the gas source 210 and the reaction chamber 110. The first regulating valve 261 is set on the purge main path 221, and the second regulating valve 262 is set on the regulating branch 222. The regulating branch 222 is bridged to the purge main path 221 at both ends of the first regulating valve 261.

[0073] According to the intake control method of the present application, in some embodiments, at least 9 different control modes may be included, as shown in Table 1:

[0074] Table 1:

[0075]

[0076]

[0077] In Table 1, D1 represents control mode 1, D2 represents control mode 2, and D3 represents control mode 3.

[0078] According to the air intake control method of the present application, the concentration of reactants entering the reaction chamber 110 can be flexibly controlled in the pulse stage and the purge stage according to specific process requirements, without adjusting the source air intake pipeline, thereby ensuring the stability of the process. The adjustment method is flexible and simple, which is conducive to realizing various process conditions including high dilution process and low dilution process.

[0079] In some embodiments, during the pulse stage, the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 are controlled to control the amount of the purge gas entering the reaction chamber 110 so that the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber 110 reaches the target concentration; during the purge stage, the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 are controlled to allow the purge gas to enter the reaction chamber 110.

[0080] In some embodiments, during the pulse stage, the steps of controlling the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 on the purge line 220 include:

[0081] Control the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 to open (control mode three), so that the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber 110 reaches the first target concentration C1; or

[0082] Control the first regulating valve 261 to open and the second regulating valve 262 to close (control mode 1), so that the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber 110 reaches the second target concentration C2; or

[0083] Control the first regulating valve 261 to close and the second regulating valve 262 to open (control mode 2), so that the concentration of the reactants entering the reaction chamber 110 reaches a third target concentration C3;

[0084] The first target concentration C1 is less than the second target concentration C2, and the second target concentration C2 is less than the third target concentration C3.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first target concentration C1 and the second target concentration C2 correspond to a high dilution process, and the third target concentration C3 corresponds to a low dilution process. The high dilution process can, for example, be used to fill features with a smaller aspect ratio structure, and the low dilution process can, for example, be used to fill features with a larger aspect ratio structure.

[0086] As described in the above embodiments 1, 2 and 3, in the high dilution process, the first regulating valve 261 is opened, and in the low dilution process, the first regulating valve 261 is closed.

[0087] In some embodiments, during the purge stage, the step of controlling the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 includes: controlling the first regulating valve 261 and / or the second regulating valve 262 to be opened. According to these embodiments, the first regulating valve 261 may be opened (control mode 1), or the second regulating valve 262 may be opened (control mode 2), or both the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 may be opened (control mode 3) according to the needs of the purge stage. It can be understood that in some embodiments, by adopting control mode 3 during the purge stage, a larger purge gas volume can be obtained, which is conducive to improving the purge efficiency.

[0088] refer to Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, a gas collecting device 310 is provided on the regulating branch. Then the air intake control method of the present application also includes controlling the first regulating valve 261 and the second regulating valve 262 in the purge stage using the following control mode:

[0089] The first regulating valve 261 is controlled to be opened, and the second regulating valve 262 is controlled to be closed. When the pressure inside the gas collecting device 310 reaches a set value, the second regulating valve 262 is opened.

[0090] In some embodiments, the purge main path 220 includes an upstream pipeline 220a close to one side of the gas source 210, and the upstream pipeline 220a is located upstream of the regulating branch 222, and the set value is equal to the pressure value of the upstream pipeline 220a. It should be noted that the maximum pressure that can be reached inside the gas collecting device 310 is equal to the pressure in the upstream branch 220a. Therefore, the present application can make the gas collecting device 310 exert its maximum gas collecting capacity by making the set value equal to the pressure value of the upstream branch 220a, so that when the second regulating valve 262 is opened, the gas can quickly enter the reaction chamber 110 to improve the purge capacity.

[0091] The present application uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present application. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or multiple times in different positions in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, some features, structures or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application can be appropriately combined.

[0092] Some aspects of the present application may be performed entirely by hardware, entirely by software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or by a combination of hardware and software. The above hardware or software may be referred to as "data blocks", "modules", "engines", "units", "components" or "systems". The processor may be one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DAPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or combinations thereof. In addition, various aspects of the present application may be expressed as computer products located in one or more computer-readable media, which include computer-readable program codes. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, tapes ...), optical disks (e.g., compact disks CDs, digital versatile disks DVDs ...), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., cards, sticks, key drives ...).

[0093] A computer-readable medium may include a propagated data signal containing computer program code, such as in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The propagated signal may have a variety of manifestations, including electromagnetic, optical, etc., or a suitable combination. A computer-readable medium may be any computer-readable medium other than a computer-readable storage medium, which may be connected to an instruction execution system, device or apparatus to communicate, propagate or transmit a program for use. The program code on the computer-readable medium may be propagated via any suitable medium, including radio, cable, fiber optic cable, radio frequency signal, or similar medium, or any combination of the above mediums.

[0094] Similarly, it should be noted that in order to simplify the description of the disclosure of this application and thus help understand one or more embodiments of the invention, in the above description of the embodiments of the present application, multiple features are sometimes combined into one embodiment, figure or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not mean that the subject of the present application requires more features than the features mentioned. In fact, the features of the embodiment are less than all the features of the single embodiment disclosed above.

[0095] In some embodiments, numbers describing the number of components and attributes are used. It should be understood that such numbers used in the description of the embodiments are modified by the modifiers "about", "approximately" or "substantially" in some examples. Unless otherwise specified, "about", "approximately" or "substantially" indicate that the numbers are allowed to vary by ±20%. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters used in this application are approximate values, which may change according to the required characteristics of individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should take into account the specified significant digits and adopt the general method of retaining the digits. Although the numerical domains and parameters used to confirm the breadth of the range in some embodiments of the present application are approximate values, in specific embodiments, the setting of such numerical values ​​is as accurate as possible within the feasible range.

[0096] 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 may 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 essential spirit of the present application, they will fall within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for controlling gas inlet in a semiconductor processing system, the semiconductor processing system comprising a reaction chamber, a gas source, a purge line, at least one reaction source and at least one source gas inlet line, the reaction chamber being used to process a substrate having a feature, the semiconductor processing process for the substrate comprising at least one cycle of a pulse phase and a purge phase, characterized in that: The air intake control method comprises: In the pulse stage and the purge stage of the substrate processing process, any of the following three control modes are used to control the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve on the purge pipeline: Controlling the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close; Controlling the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open; and Controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to open; Wherein, the purge pipeline includes a purge main line and a regulating branch line, the purge main line is connected between the gas source and the reaction chamber, the first regulating valve is arranged on the purge main line, the second regulating valve is arranged on the regulating branch line, and the regulating branch line is bridged to the purge main line at both ends of the first regulating valve.

2. The intake air control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: In the pulse stage, controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to control the gas amount of the purge gas entering the reaction chamber so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches the target concentration; During the purge stage, the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve are controlled to allow the purge gas to enter the reaction chamber.

3. The intake air control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the pulse stage, the step of controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve on the purge pipeline includes: Controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve to open so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a first target concentration; or Controlling the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a second target concentration; or Controlling the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open so that the concentration of the reactant entering the reaction chamber reaches a third target concentration; Wherein, the first target concentration is less than the second target concentration, and the second target concentration is less than the third target concentration.

4. The intake air control method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first target concentration and the second target concentration correspond to a high dilution process, and the third target concentration corresponds to a low dilution process. The high dilution process includes filling features with a small aspect ratio structure, and the low dilution process includes filling features with a large aspect ratio structure.

5. The intake air control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: In the purge stage, the step of controlling the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve includes: controlling the first regulating valve and / or the second regulating valve to open.

6. The intake air control method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The regulating branch is provided with a gas collecting device; During the purge stage, the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve are controlled by adopting the following control mode: The first regulating valve is controlled to be opened and the second regulating valve is controlled to be closed. When the pressure inside the gas collecting device reaches a set value, the second regulating valve is opened.

7. The intake air control method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The purge main circuit includes an upstream pipeline close to the gas source, the upstream pipeline is located upstream of the regulating branch, and the set value is equal to the pressure value of the upstream pipeline.

8. A semiconductor processing system, characterized in that: The semiconductor processing system includes a reaction chamber, a gas source, a purge pipeline, at least one reaction source and at least one source gas inlet pipeline, wherein: The source air inlet pipeline is disposed between the gas source, the reaction source and the reaction chamber, and the source air inlet pipeline is used to provide reactants to the reaction chamber; The purge pipeline includes a purge main path and a regulating branch path, wherein the purge main path is connected between the gas source and the reaction chamber, wherein a first regulating valve is provided on the purge main path, a second regulating valve is provided on the regulating branch path, and the regulating branch path is connected to the purge main path across two ends of the first regulating valve; The semiconductor processing system is configured to: In the pulse stage and the purge stage of the semiconductor process, any one of the following three control modes is used to control the first regulating valve and the second regulating valve: Controlling the first regulating valve to open and the second regulating valve to close; Controlling the first regulating valve to close and the second regulating valve to open; and The first regulating valve and the second regulating valve are controlled to open.

9. The semiconductor processing system of claim 8, wherein: The gas flow rate of the main purge path is greater than the gas flow rate of the regulating branch path.

10. The semiconductor processing system of claim 8, wherein: A flow limiting device is provided on the regulating branch, and the flow limiting device is used to limit the flow of the regulating branch.

11. The semiconductor processing system of claim 8, wherein: The regulating branch is provided with an air collecting device and a pressure sensor, and the pressure sensor is used to monitor the pressure inside the air collecting device.

12. The semiconductor processing system of claim 11, wherein: A first flow meter is provided on the main purge line, and the regulating branch is bridged to the main purge line at both ends of the first regulating valve and the first flow meter. A second flow meter is provided on the regulating branch, and the first flow meter is used to set the flow of the main purge line, and the second flow meter is used to set the maximum pressure inside the gas collecting device.

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