A PVD coating equipment that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain

Abstract

The present invention provides a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain, including a coating cavity, a sputtering component, and a base, a transfer cavity, a shield, a deposition ring and a cover ring located in the coating cavity; the base is located below the sputtering component, and the deposition ring is arranged circumferentially around the base; the shield is connected to the inner wall of the coating cavity and extends downward from the periphery of the sputtering component to above the deposition ring; the transfer cavity is located below the shield, one end of the transfer cavity is connected to the coating cavity, and the other end extends between the deposition ring and the shield, and part of the cover ring is located between the shield and the transfer cavity, and the bottom end of the cover ring is located on the deposition ring. Among them, the shield, the cover ring and the transfer cavity are independently formed and partially overlap longitudinally, at least one of the shield and the cover ring is communicated with a cooling medium, the overlapping areas of the cover ring and the transfer cavity are in contact with each other and are fixedly connected by a plurality of hollow vacuum screws. The present invention helps to reduce the difficulty of equipment maintenance, extend the service life of spare parts, and reduce production costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of integrated circuit manufacturing equipment, and particularly to a thin film deposition device, and more particularly to a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain. Background Art

[0002] In the field of semiconductor manufacturing, physical vapor deposition (PVD) magnetron sputtering technology is a very important process, which is widely used in the thin film deposition process of various wafers. On the cutting-edge track of high-end semiconductor manufacturing, PVD magnetron sputtering technology is deeply embedded in different applications with many advantages such as high film formation quality, precise process control, a wide selection of coating materials, and stable equipment. For example, it has a wide range of applications in semiconductor sub-fields such as packaging, MEMS, IGBT, and radio frequency integration.

[0003] In the stable operation and efficient output process of the PVD magnetron sputtering process, the heat dissipation of cavity workpieces and the cleaning and maintenance of process kits (PK for short) play a crucial role, which is closely related to the yield, continuity, and cost control of the entire process.

[0004] First of all, the heat dissipation and temperature stability of cavity workpieces directly affect the PVD process results. During magnetron sputtering, the high-speed moving plasma carries huge energy and continuously bombards the target and the internal workpieces of the cavity, causing them to heat up rapidly. Once the heat dissipation measures are not in place, the excessive temperature will cause a series of negative effects. On the one hand, the high temperature will cause the gas inside the cavity to thermally expand, change the pressure environment, and interfere with the flight trajectory and deposition process of sputtered atoms. On the other hand, the workpieces being in an overheated state for a long time are extremely prone to thermal deformation, damaging the relative positions of the originally precisely designed components, and even causing equipment failures in severe cases. An effective heat dissipation system for cavity workpieces, including cavity fixed components and movable components, should be maintained within an appropriate temperature range, which is the core element to ensure the stable and long-term operation of the PVD magnetron sputtering equipment, guarantee production, and reduce equipment losses.

[0005] Secondly, the cleaning and maintenance of the process kit (PK) is also a key factor in ensuring high-quality film deposition in PVD. The process kit encompasses a series of component devices closely related to the sputtering process. After long-term operation, it will inevitably accumulate film layers and impurities. During sputtering, target atoms are bombarded and sputtered out towards the wafer. At the same time, impurities such as incompletely ionized target particles, residual reaction gases, and trace amounts of dust in the chamber will also adhere to various components of the PK. As the production batches accumulate, the film layers on the PK continuously pile up, gradually changing the originally precise surface characteristics and structural parameters of the PK components, resulting in uneven coating thickness on the wafer surface. In addition, impurities may interfere with the electric field distribution and reduce the sputtering efficiency. Therefore, if the process kit is not regularly subjected to preventive maintenance (PM), the stability of the PVD sputtering equipment will significantly decline, the coating quality will fluctuate, the yield rate will decrease, which may lead to equipment failures, production wafers not meeting specifications, and in severe cases, production stagnation. Therefore, to maintain the PVD magnetron sputtering equipment in a highly efficient and stable operating state and ensure the quality and output of wafer manufacturing, it is essential to perform regular disassembly, cleaning, and maintenance work on the PK.

[0006] However, due to the structural reasons of the existing PVD sputtering equipment itself, the PM operations generally have problems such as cumbersome disassembly of the chamber process kit and long outsourcing cleaning time, which delays precious production time, reduces the equipment output efficiency, raises the production cost, and weakens the competitiveness of the enterprise in the market. For example, in the existing PVD equipment, the transfer chamber and the cover ring are integrally processed and formed, and the two are a whole and cannot be separated. It is difficult to disassemble during equipment maintenance, and the contact area between the two is small, resulting in poor heat dissipation. In addition, in the existing technology, different process components are usually fixed by directly contacting each other up and down, and it is easy for different components to adhere due to film coating.

[0007] It should be noted that the above introduction of the technical background is only for the convenience of clearly and completely explaining the technical solutions of the present invention and facilitating the understanding of those skilled in the art. It cannot be considered that the above technical solutions are well-known to those skilled in the art just because these solutions are described in the background art part of the present invention. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a PVD coating equipment that is easy to disassemble, assemble, and maintain, so as to solve the problems that the transfer chamber and the cover ring of the existing PVD sputtering equipment are integrally processed and formed, the two are a whole and cannot be separated, resulting in difficult disassembly during equipment maintenance, the small contact area between the two, resulting in poor heat dissipation, and easy adhesion between different components due to mutual contact and fixation.

[0009] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain, including: a coating cavity, a sputtering component located at the top of the coating cavity, and a base, a transfer cavity, a shield, a deposition ring and a cover ring located inside the coating cavity; the base is located below the sputtering component, and the deposition ring is arranged circumferentially around the base; the shield is connected to the inner wall of the coating cavity and extends downward from the periphery of the sputtering component to above the deposition ring; the transfer cavity is located below the shield, one end of the transfer cavity is connected to the coating cavity, and the other end extends between the deposition ring and the shield. The cover ring is partially located between the shield and the transfer cavity, and the bottom end of the cover ring is located on the deposition ring. Among them, the shield, the cover ring and the transfer cavity are each independently formed and partially overlap longitudinally. At least one of the shield and the cover ring is in communication with a cooling medium. The overlapping areas of the cover ring and the transfer cavity are in contact with each other and are tightly connected by a plurality of hollow vacuum screws.

[0010] Optionally, the deposition ring includes an upper deposition ring and a lower deposition ring. The upper deposition ring is placed on the base and extends downward along the side of the base. One end of the lower deposition ring is located between the base and the upper deposition ring, and the other end extends away from the base and bends to form a groove, and the cover ring is placed in the groove of the lower deposition ring.

[0011] Optionally, the shield and the transfer cavity are isolated from each other by an insulating ring, and there are gaps between the shield and the sputtering component and between the shield and the transfer cavity.

[0012] Optionally, the materials of the shield and the transfer cavity include stainless steel, and the materials of the insulating ring and the deposition ring include ceramics.

[0013] Optionally, one end of the shield facing away from the coating cavity adopts an eaves design, and its eaves extend at least to cover the vacuum screws.

[0014] Optionally, the overlapping areas of the shield and the cover ring are correspondingly provided with concave-convex structures that enable them to fit into each other.

[0015] Optionally, the surface of the cover ring facing the coating space is conical.

[0016] Optionally, the vacuum screws are variable-diameter screws, and the size of the part that penetrates into the cover ring is smaller than the size located in the transfer cavity.

[0017] Optionally, the vacuum screw includes an outer ring and an inner ring embedded in the outer ring. The material of the outer ring is the same as that of the shield, and the thermal conductivity coefficient of the inner ring is greater than that of the outer ring.

[0018] Optionally, a plurality of vacuum screws are evenly spaced on the same circumferential plane.

[0019] As described above, a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention adopts a split design for the cover ring and the transfer cavity, and uses a plurality of vacuum screws to fix these two process kits, so that the contact area between the transfer cavity and the cover ring is significantly increased, thereby enhancing the process kits, especially increasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the cover ring. On the premise of ensuring that the heat dissipation effect is not inferior to that of the existing integral connection, it can be ensured that the process kits do not stick to each other and are not misconnected, which is convenient for disassembly and assembly, and the cover ring and the transfer cavity can be independently replaced and used, with an extended service life, significantly reducing the cost and complexity of maintenance and cleaning, improving the efficiency of equipment maintenance operations, and reducing the cost of spare parts. The cover ring and the transfer cavity are independent of each other, and appropriate cover rings can be selected according to different process requirements, such as different wafer sizes and / or the sizes of non-coated areas of the wafers, greatly improving the applicability of the equipment. In addition, the present invention can also adjust the kits, especially the levelness of the cover ring, by adjusting the vacuum screws, which helps to improve the coating quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It shows a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain provided by the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 an enlarged schematic diagram of area A of

[0022] Figure 3 It shows Figure 1 the exploded structure schematic diagram of the process kits in DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The following specific examples are used to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. When describing the embodiments of the present invention in detail, for the convenience of explanation, the cross-sectional views showing the device structure will be enlarged locally out of proportion, and the schematic diagrams are only examples and should not limit the scope of protection of the present invention here. In addition, in actual production, three-dimensional spatial dimensions including length, width and depth should be included.

[0024] For ease of description, spatially relative terms, such as "below", "beneath", "lower", "under", "above", "upper", etc., may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature shown in the drawings to another element or feature. It will be understood that these spatially relative terms are intended to encompass other orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. Further, when a layer is referred to as being "between" two layers, it can be the only layer between the two layers, or one or more intervening layers may also be present.

[0025] In the context of the present invention, the structure in which the first feature described is "above" the second feature may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features are formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.

[0026] It should be noted that the drawings provided in this embodiment only schematically illustrate the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, only the components related to the present invention are shown in the drawings, rather than being drawn according to the number, shape, and size of the components in actual implementation. The types, quantities, and proportions of the components in actual implementation may be arbitrarily changed, and the component layout type may also be more complex. To make the drawings as concise as possible, not all structures are labeled in each drawing.

[0027] As Figures 1 to 3 shown, the present invention provides a PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble, and maintain, which includes: a coating chamber 11, a sputtering assembly located at the top of the coating chamber 11, and a base, a transfer chamber 14, a shield 15, a deposition ring, and a cover ring 18 located within the coating chamber 11. That is, the base, the transfer chamber 14, the shield 15, the deposition ring, and the cover ring 18 are all located within the coating chamber 11, and these components are usually coaxially arranged and coaxially arranged with the substrate to be coated, such as a wafer.

[0028] The coating chamber 11 houses various process kits and provides a coating space. The chamber is usually made of metal materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy, and the inner wall is usually coated with a corrosion-resistant coating such as ceramics. During the coating process, the chamber is usually grounded. The upper part of the coating chamber 11 is provided with a sputtering gas inlet channel. For example, the sputtering gas is argon and is input into the coating chamber 11 through an inlet pipeline disposed near the sputtering assembly. If it is used for preparing an insulating film, a reaction gas inlet channel is also provided. For example, if it is used for coating an oxide film, the reaction gas includes oxygen. If it is used for depositing a nitride film, the reaction gas includes nitrogen. The reaction gas and the sputtering gas can be transported through the same or different inlet pipelines. A wafer inlet / outlet gate valve may be provided on the side wall of the coating chamber 11, and an exhaust port is provided in the middle and lower part of the side wall to timely discharge the residual gas in the chamber and maintain the internal of the chamber at the required vacuum degree.

[0029] The sputtering assembly includes a target disk for fixing the target 12 and a sputtering power supply. Depending on the process, the sputtering power supply can be a DC power supply or an RF power supply. In a preferred example, the present invention provides a magnetron sputtering coating device, so the power supply used is an RF power supply, and the sputtering assembly further includes a magnetron unit. The magnetron unit is, for example, arranged on the back of the target 12 and includes a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. The power supply discharges to ionize argon gas into ions, and under the action of an electric field, these charged ions are accelerated and bombarded on the surface of the target 12, so that the atoms on the surface of the target 12 escape and diffuse to the surface of the wafer to form a thin film. The magnetic field provided by the magnetron unit can guide the movement of charged particles to increase the electron density near the surface of the target 12, form a high-density local plasma, and improve the sputtering efficiency. Since a large amount of heat will be generated during the sputtering process of the target 12, in order to avoid deformation of the target 12 and other process kits caused by local overheating, a cooling device (not shown) can be arranged near the sputtering assembly. For example, a water-cooling cavity can be arranged on the back of the target 12, and the magnetron unit can be placed in the water-cooling cavity. In some examples, a motor (not shown) for driving the rotation of the target 12 and / or the magnetron unit, and / or driving the lifting of the sputtering assembly can also be provided. In addition, an auxiliary magnetic field can be arranged in the circumferential direction of the coating cavity 11 corresponding to the coating space to guide the vertical downward movement of the target 12 particles. These measures all contribute to improving the sputtering efficiency and coating uniformity.

[0030] The base is located below the sputtering assembly and at least includes a stage 131 for carrying the wafer. The stage 131 can fix the wafer based on electrostatic adsorption or vacuum adsorption, so electrodes or vacuum adsorption holes can be correspondingly arranged on the stage 131. In some examples, heating resistance wires and water-cooling pipelines can also be arranged in the stage 131 to heat or cool the wafer according to process requirements. The material of the stage 131 depends on the process. For example, it can be aluminum, aluminum nitride ceramic or other materials. The surface of the stage 131 can be an overall horizontal plane, and its size can be slightly larger than the size of the wafer. In a preferred example of the present invention, the stage 131 has a structure with a thick middle and thin edges, thereby forming a downward step at the circumferential edge, which can be used to support the deposition ring and other process kits. In some examples, through holes for the lifting of the ejector pins can be arranged in the stage 131, and the ejector pins can lift or lower the wafer located on the surface of the stage 131 under the drive of a platform (not marked) located below the stage 131. The base can further include a support shaft 132 connected to the bottom of the stage 131, and the support shaft 132 can extend downward to the outside of the cavity to be connected to an external drive assembly, thereby driving the rotation and / or lifting of the stage 131.

[0031] The deposition ring is disposed circumferentially around the base. For example, in this embodiment, the deposition ring is placed on the circumferential edge of the stage 131, and the deposition ring extends downward along the side surface of the stage 131, thereby covering the side circumferential surface of the stage 131 to prevent the particles of the target 12 from depositing on the surface of the stage 131. In this embodiment, the deposition ring adopts a split structure, which includes an upper deposition ring 16 and a lower deposition ring 17 that are independently formed. The upper deposition ring 16 is placed on the base and extends downward along the side surface of the base. One end of the lower deposition ring 17 is located between the base and the upper deposition ring 16, and the other end extends in a direction away from the base and bends to form a groove, and the cover ring 18 is placed in the groove of the lower deposition ring 17. Refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 It can be seen that the upper deposition ring 16 is clamped on the lower deposition ring 17, and the horizontal parts where they are in contact with each other are hung on the steps at the circumferential edge of the stage 131. The upper deposition ring 16 and the lower deposition ring 17 can be ceramic rings or metal rings with a ceramic layer on the surface, or other materials, which are specifically determined by the process and are not limited thereto.

[0032] The shield 15 is connected to the inner wall of the coating cavity 11 and extends downward from the periphery of the sputtering assembly to above the deposition ring. For example, as Figure 1 shown, the shield 15 is located on the periphery of the target 12 and extends downward. In some examples, the shield 15 and the transfer chamber 14 are isolated from each other by an insulating ring 20. And in a preferred example, there are gaps between the shield 15 and the sputtering assembly and between the shield 15 and the transfer chamber 14. For example, there is a gap of about 2 mm - 3 mm between the shield 15 and the transfer chamber 14 and the target 12. Setting the gap not only ensures the electrical insulation between these process kits, but also ensures that they do not adhere to each other. The insulating ring 20 can be a ceramic ring, and the shield 15 is preferably made of the same material as the coating cavity 11, such as stainless steel. In some examples, the insulating ring 20 is sleeved in the groove at the upper part of the transfer chamber 14, and the shield 15 can be fixed on the insulating ring 20.

[0033] The transfer chamber 14 is located below the shield 15. One end of the transfer chamber 14 is connected to the coating cavity 11, for example, fixed to the coating cavity 11 by a flange. The other end of the transfer chamber 14 extends downward between the deposition ring and the shield 15. A part of the cover ring 18 is located between the shield 15 and the transfer chamber 14, and the bottom end of the cover ring 18 extends to the deposition ring. For example, the lower end of the cover ring 18 is located in the groove of the lower deposition ring 17. In this embodiment, the shield 15, the cover ring 18 and the transfer chamber 14 are independently formed and partially overlap longitudinally. At least one of the shield 15 and the cover ring 18 is in communication with the cooling medium. The overlapping area between the cover ring 18 and the transfer chamber 14 is in contact with each other and is fixedly connected by a plurality of hollow vacuum screws 19.

[0034] That is, in this embodiment, the shield 15, the cover ring 18, and the adapter cavity 14 are each independently detachable components, and the ends of the three extend toward the same area and overlap on the same plane (that is, the shadows of the three on the same horizontal plane have overlapping parts). A plurality of vacuum screws 19 are provided on the mutually contacting surfaces of the cover ring 18 and the adapter cavity 14. For example, a plurality of vacuum screws 19 are evenly spaced along the same circumferential surface where the two overlap. Therefore, in addition to heat conduction through direct contact between the adapter cavity 14 and the cover ring 18, heat can also be conducted through the vacuum screws 19, so as to timely release the heat on the process kit through the cooling medium arranged in the adapter cavity 14 and / or the cover ring 18. Compared with the existing structure in which the adapter cavity 14 and the cover ring 18 are integrally formed and only contact through the side connection, the contact area between the two can be greatly increased, and the heat dissipation efficiency can be improved. Connecting and fixing the cover ring 18 and the adapter cavity 14 with the vacuum screws 19 can not only effectively prevent the influence of the outgassing of the screw itself on the process data result (the outgassing of the material of the vacuum screw 19 can be pumped out through the internal through hole of the screw), but also adjust the levelness of the shield 15 and the cover ring 18 and the fitting degree between the two by adjusting the vacuum screws 19, preventing the cover ring 18 and the adapter cavity 14 from being deformed and damaged due to long-term heating and other reasons, resulting in deviation of the installation position of the process kit, which helps to improve the coating yield. At the same time, the hollow through hole of the vacuum screw 19 can be used as a spare channel for accommodating source lines such as power lines and water cooling pipelines, which helps the installation of the equipment. In addition, the hollow vacuum screw 19 can improve the adaptability of the process kit.

[0035] The present invention adopts a split design for the cover ring and the adapter cavity, and uses a plurality of vacuum screws to fix the two process kits, so that the contact area between the adapter cavity and the cover ring is significantly increased, thereby enhancing the process kit, especially increasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the cover ring. On the premise of ensuring that the heat dissipation effect is not inferior to the existing integral connection, the process kits can be prevented from sticking to each other and being misconnected, which is convenient for disassembly and assembly. Moreover, the cover ring and the adapter cavity can be independently replaced and used, the service life is extended, the cost and complexity of maintenance and cleaning are significantly reduced, the efficiency of equipment maintenance operations is improved, and the cost of spare parts is reduced. The cover ring and the adapter cavity are independent of each other, and a suitable cover ring can be selected according to different process requirements, such as different wafer sizes and / or the size of the non-coated area of the wafer, greatly improving the applicability of the equipment. In addition, the present invention can also adjust the kit, especially the levelness of the cover ring (keeping the cover ring and the base / wafer relatively horizontal) by adjusting the vacuum screws, which helps to improve the coating quality. The present invention is particularly suitable for high-power sputtering processes and can greatly improve the equipment output rate.

[0036] In some examples, the transfer cavity 14 can be in communication with a cooling medium. For example, the cooling medium is cooling water, and the transfer cavity 14 is provided with a water inlet and a water outlet, and a cooling pipeline is meanderingly arranged inside. In some other examples, in addition to the transfer cavity 14 being in communication with the cooling medium, a cooling medium can also be provided in the cover ring 18. For example, in some examples, an air-cooling pipeline can be provided in the cover ring 18 (for example, the cover ring 18 is arranged as a hollow structure with a cavity), and the heat dissipation of the cover ring 18 itself can be significantly improved without significantly increasing the weight of the cover ring 18. If the area where the cover ring 18 extends to the vicinity of the transfer cavity 14 is large enough, a cooling channel can also be provided only in the cover ring 18. Considering multiple factors such as ensuring the heat dissipation effect and the relatively large volume of the transfer cavity 14, it is preferred to provide a cooling channel at least in the transfer cavity 14. In some other examples, an auxiliary cooling device (not shown) that can move up and down can be provided on the bottom surface of the transfer cavity 14. The auxiliary cooling device is, for example, an annular thermoelectric cooler attached to the bottom surface of the transfer cavity 14, so as to discharge the heat in the transfer cavity 14 to the periphery of the coating space and be released to the outside of the cavity through the exhaust of the lower-middle exhaust port of the coating cavity 11.

[0037] The material, length, and size of the hollow through-hole of the vacuum screw 19 can be determined according to parameters such as the cavity structure and the target type. After the vacuum screw 19 is tightened, the entire cover ring 18 is in close contact with the transfer cavity 14 through which cooling water passes to achieve heat dissipation. As an example, a plurality of M4 screw holes can be provided along the contact surface between the two, and the number of vacuum screws 19 that can be installed is N (preferably N≥4, for example, N = 8, 12, 16, etc. complex numbers are preferentially selected according to the situation, and the vacuum screws 19 are preferably symmetrically distributed around the center of the cavity), and convenient installation and disassembly can be carried out through the above-mentioned plurality of holes. This inventive design can adjust the levelness of the cover ring 18 by adjusting the tightened vacuum screw 19 to ensure contact with the large contact surface of the transfer cavity 14. The part where the transfer cavity 14 is in close contact with the cover ring 18 and locked with the vacuum screw 19 can be placed in the inner area near the base edge according to needs, or in the outer area near the side wall of the coating cavity 11, or both areas can be provided (preferably one of the areas), and there is no specific limitation.

[0038] In this embodiment, the cover ring 18 and the transfer cavity 14 are of a split structure. Therefore, the material of the cover ring 18 can be the same as that of the transfer cavity 14 or different. For example, the cover ring 18 can be made of the same metal materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy as the transfer cavity 14, or can be made of the same ceramic material as the deposition ring but different from the transfer cavity 14, or be a composite material, for example, a composite material including a metal layer and a ceramic layer. When the materials of the cover ring 18 and the transfer cavity 14 are different, a thermal interface material layer can be plated on the contacting surfaces of the two to enhance the heat dissipation between the two.

[0039] In the existing integrated design structure, due to the relatively small end gap between the shield and the cover ring, and both being made of metal materials, they are prone to deformation in a long-term high-temperature working environment and are prone to adhesion during the coating process. In a preferred example provided by the present invention, the end of the shield 15 facing away from the coating cavity 11 adopts an eaves design, and its eaves at least extend to cover the vacuum screw 19. The adoption of the eaves design, that is, the end of the shield 15 close to the cover ring 18 (i.e., the end facing away from the cavity wall) is upturned (the end extends slightly in the direction away from the cover ring 18), which can effectively prevent adhesion to the cover ring 18 during the coating process. The eaves wind around from above the vacuum screw 19 to above the slope surface of the cover ring 18 to prevent the particles of the target 12 from diffusing onto the transfer cavity 14.

[0040] To further increase the contact area between the shield 15 and the cover ring 18 to enhance heat dissipation, in some examples, the overlapping area of the shield 15 and the cover ring 18 is correspondingly provided with concave-convex structures that enable the two to fit with each other. For example, a card slot is provided on the transfer cavity 14, and a boss that can be correspondingly embedded in the card slot of the transfer cavity 14 is provided on the cover ring 18, which not only ensures a large-area contact between the two, but also strengthens the fixation between the components.

[0041] In some examples, the surface of the cover ring 18 facing the coating space is a conical surface, that is, the opening size of the upper part of the cover ring 18 is larger than the opening size of the lower part, the opening size of the lower part corresponds to the area of the wafer coating region, and the corner of the inner slope surface is a smooth chamfer. Such a design can better guide the particles of the target 12 to the wafer surface and prevent accumulation on the surface of the cover ring 18. In some examples, when the cover ring 18 is made of metal materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy, the cover ring 18 can be connected to an external power supply through a wire passing through the vacuum screw 19 to adjust the electric potential of the cover ring 18 according to process requirements, which helps to improve the coating efficiency. For example, in some examples, the cover ring 18 can be grounded.

[0042] The vacuum screw 19 can be a regular screw with the same diameter everywhere. In some other examples, the vacuum screw 19 is a stepped screw, and the size of it penetrating into the cover ring 18 is smaller than the size located in the transfer cavity 14 (the screw holes located in the cover ring 18 and the screw holes located in the transfer cavity 14 are adjusted and adapted accordingly). That is, at least two sections of the vacuum screw 19 have different diameters, the diameter located in the cover ring 18 is slightly smaller, and the diameter of the end located in the transfer cavity 14 is slightly larger. Such a design can reduce the installation difficulty on the one hand, and on the other hand, can reduce the adverse effects caused by thermal expansion (for example, in the case where only the transfer cavity 14 is filled with a cooling medium, the heat dissipation of the cover ring 18 may be slower than that of the transfer cavity 14, making the screw hole on the cover ring 18 relatively smaller helps to reduce the overall expansion effect) and extend the service life of the components.

[0043] The vacuum screw 19 can be entirely made of the same metal material, for example, prepared from materials such as stainless steel. In a preferred example provided by the present invention, the vacuum screw 19 includes an outer ring and an inner ring embedded in the outer ring. The material of the outer ring is the same as that of the shield 15, and the thermal conductivity of the inner ring is greater than that of the outer ring. For example, in a specific example, the outer periphery is made of stainless steel to ensure that the overall vacuum screw 19 has good mechanical strength and can be well matched with the shield 15 to reduce wear, while the inner ring is made of graphite to enhance the thermal conductivity of the vacuum screw 19.

[0044] During the PM process of the PVD sputtering coating equipment in a wafer fab or a laboratory, the difficulty, time, frequency, and cost of outsourcing cleaning for disassembling and assembling the process kit are all important considerations. We can combine Figure 3 the partial decomposition diagram of the present invention shown in the schematic diagram to understand the advantages of this solution. As Figure 3 shown, the transfer chamber 14 is located above the coating chamber 11. When performing PM operations, after the vacuum in the coating chamber 11 is broken and the pressure reaches one atmosphere, disassembly can be directly started. The volume and weight of the split transfer chamber 14 are several times larger than those of the cover ring 18. By choosing the split solution, only the coated cover ring 18 can be disassembled and sent for cleaning, and a new cover ring 18 can be installed, without having to disassemble the transfer chamber 14. Only one person is required to operate, saving a lot of time and manpower. In contrast, the existing integrated solution of the cover ring and the transfer chamber requires the entire transfer chamber to be disassembled, sent for cleaning, and reinstalled. The transfer chamber is relatively heavy, and disassembly requires multiple people to operate simultaneously, consuming more than twice the time. Similarly, the advantage of the deposition ring in the present invention adopting a split structure including an upper deposition ring 16 and a lower deposition ring 17 is that when only the cover ring 18 is disassembled during PM, the upper deposition ring 16 and the lower deposition ring 17 can be taken out and replaced. In the prior art, the deposition ring must be taken out after first disassembling the transfer chamber 14, increasing the difficulty of PK replacement. At the same time, the transfer chamber 14 kit has a large size, high cleaning difficulty, long time consumption, and high cleaning cost. While the split type only needs to send the small-sized cover ring 18 for cleaning, which is easy to clean and can be quickly washed. For the equipment user, it also reduces the number of spare parts and the spare part cost.

[0045] The PVD coating equipment provided by the present invention is applicable to wafers of different sizes and different chamber heights, and is suitable for coating different products (such as suitable for coating metal films, semiconductor films, metal compound films). Other structures not mentioned can refer to the prior art and will not be elaborated in detail here.

[0046] In summary, a PVD coating device with easy disassembly and maintenance disclosed by the present invention adopts a split design of a cover ring and a transfer cavity, and uses a plurality of vacuum screws to fix these two process kits, so that the contact area between the transfer cavity and the cover ring is significantly increased, thereby enhancing the process kits, especially increasing the heat dissipation efficiency of the cover ring. On the premise of ensuring that the heat dissipation effect is not inferior to that of the existing integral connection, it can be ensured that there is no adhesion between the process kits and no misconnection, which is convenient for disassembly and assembly, and the cover ring and the transfer cavity can be independently replaced and used, the service life is extended, the cost and complexity of maintenance and cleaning are significantly reduced, the equipment maintenance operation efficiency is improved, and the spare part usage cost is reduced. The cover ring and the transfer cavity are independent of each other, and appropriate cover rings can be selected according to different process requirements, such as according to different wafer sizes and / or the sizes of non-coated areas of the wafers, so that the applicability of the equipment is greatly improved. In addition, the present invention can also adjust the kits, especially the levelness of the cover ring, by adjusting the vacuum screws, which helps to improve the coating quality. Therefore, the present invention effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

[0047] The above embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A PVD coating device that is easy to disassemble, assemble and maintain, characterized in that: include: A coating chamber, a sputtering assembly located at the top of the coating chamber, and a base, a transfer chamber, a shield, a deposition ring and a cover ring located in the coating chamber; The base is located below the sputtering assembly, and the deposition ring is arranged in a circumferential direction of the base; The shield is connected to the inner wall of the coating chamber and extends downward from the periphery of the sputtering assembly to above the deposition ring; The transition chamber is located below the shield, one end of the transition chamber is connected to the coating chamber, and the other end extends between the deposition ring and the shield, the cover ring portion is located between the shield and the transition chamber, and the bottom end of the cover ring is located on the deposition ring, wherein the shield, cover ring and transition chamber are independently formed and partially overlap in the longitudinal direction, at least one of the shield and the cover ring is connected to the cooling medium, and the overlapping areas of the cover ring and the transition chamber are in contact with each other and are fastened together by a plurality of hollow vacuum screws.

2. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The deposition ring includes an upper deposition ring and a lower deposition ring. The upper deposition ring is mounted on a base and extends downward along a side of the base. One end of the lower deposition ring is located between the base and the upper deposition ring, and the other end extends away from the base and bends to form a groove. The cover ring is mounted in the groove of the lower deposition ring.

3. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shield and the transition chamber are isolated from each other by an insulating ring, and there are gaps between the shield, the sputtering assembly and the transition chamber.

4. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The material of the shield and the transfer chamber includes stainless steel, and the material of the insulation ring and the deposition ring includes ceramic.

5. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the shield facing away from the coating chamber adopts an eaves design, and the eaves at least extend to cover the vacuum screw.

6. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The overlapping area of ​​the shield and the cover ring is correspondingly provided with a concave-convex structure to enable the two to fit together.

7. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the cover ring facing the coating space is conical.

8. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum screw is a reducing screw, and its dimension penetrating into the cover ring is smaller than its dimension in the adapter cavity.

9. The PVD coating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum screw comprises an outer ring and an inner ring embedded in the outer ring. The material of the outer ring is the same as that of the shield, and the thermal conductivity of the inner ring is greater than that of the outer ring.

10. The PVD coating equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: A plurality of vacuum screws are evenly spaced and arranged on the same circumferential surface.

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