Air inlet pipe and furnace tube equipment

Abstract

The air inlet pipe comprises an air inlet end and a tail end, a plurality of air outlet holes are distributed between the air inlet end and the tail end, the air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the air inlet end is larger than that of the air outlet holes close to the tail end, and the air outlet angle is the included angle between the opening orientation of the air outlet holes and a datum line. The datum line is a horizontal connecting line between the gas inlet pipe center of the gas inlet pipe and the substrate center of the substrate in the furnace tube equipment. By changing the air outlet angle of the air outlet hole, the larger the air outlet angle of the air outlet hole is, the more airflow can be distributed in the peripheral area of the substrate, and under the condition that the air outlet amount of the air outlet hole is not changed, the adsorption amount of the precursor in the edge area of the substrate can be increased; through the adjustment, the thickness difference between the peripheral area of the substrate close to the air inlet end and the central area of the substrate is effectively reduced, so that the difference of in-plane uniformity of different substrates in the vertical direction caused by non-uniform air output of the air inlet pipe in the vertical direction is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and in particular to an air intake pipe and furnace pipe equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, furnace tube equipment is widely used in multiple key process steps, such as oxidation, thin film deposition and annealing, due to its excellent substrate throughput and machine stability. The furnace tube equipment includes a wafer boat and an air inlet pipe. The wafer boat carries multiple substrates and drives the substrates to rotate. The air inlet pipe is used to provide gas to the furnace tube equipment.

[0003] Since the gas output of the inlet pipe in its extension direction is different, the gas output near the inlet end is larger, and the gas output near the end is smaller, resulting in a difference in the in-plane uniformity of the substrate near the inlet end and the substrate near the end of the current furnace tube equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the technical problem that there is a difference in in-plane uniformity between a substrate near an air inlet end of an air inlet pipe of a furnace tube device and a substrate near an end of the air inlet pipe, the present application proposes an air inlet pipe for a furnace tube device, wherein the furnace tube device is used to process substrates, comprises an air inlet end and an end, a plurality of air outlet holes are distributed between the air inlet end and the end, an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes near the air inlet end is greater than an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes near the end, wherein the air outlet angle is the angle between the opening direction of the air outlet holes and a reference line, and the reference line is a horizontal line between the air inlet pipe center of the air inlet pipe and the substrate center of the substrate in the furnace tube device.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present application, the multiple air outlet holes are divided into multiple air outlet hole groups, the air outlet angles of the air outlet holes in each of the air outlet hole groups are the same, and the air outlet angles of the multiple air outlet hole groups increase sequentially from the end to the air inlet end.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present application, the outlet angle of the air outlet hole closest to the end is 0°.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present application, the plurality of air outlet holes are divided into a plurality of first air outlet hole columns, and in each of the first air outlet hole columns, an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the air inlet end is greater than an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the end end.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present application, in each of the first air outlet hole rows, the air outlet angles of the air outlet holes closest to the end are all greater than 0°.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present application, the air outlet angle ranges from 0° to 15°.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present application, the outlet angles of the plurality of outlet holes gradually increase from the end to the inlet end.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, the plurality of air outlet holes have the same size.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present application, the air inlet pipe further includes a second air outlet row, and the second air outlet row includes a plurality of air outlet holes with the same air outlet angle.

[0013] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present application also proposes a furnace tube device, comprising: a process tube; a crystal boat, comprising a plurality of bearing positions arranged along the vertical direction, the bearing positions being used to bear substrates, and the crystal boat being used to drive the substrates into the process tube and rotate; at least one air inlet pipe as described above, arranged in the process tube and extending along the vertical direction, each of the bearing positions corresponding to at least one of the air outlet holes.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present application, it also includes an air supply pipeline and a pressurizer, wherein the air supply pipeline is connected to the air intake end of the air intake pipe and is used to supply air to the air intake pipe, and the pressurizer is arranged on the air supply pipeline and is used to increase the air supply pressure of the air supply pipeline.

[0015] The positive progress of the present application is that by changing the outlet angle of the outlet hole, the distribution of the air flow can be changed. The closer to the air inlet end, the more the opening direction of the outlet hole deviates from the center of the substrate. In the ALD process, the larger the outlet angle of the outlet hole, the more the air flow can be distributed in the peripheral area of ​​the substrate. Without changing the air outlet volume of the outlet hole, the adsorption amount of the precursor in the edge area of ​​the substrate can be increased. This adjustment effectively reduces the thickness difference between the peripheral area of ​​the substrate near the air inlet end and the central area of ​​the substrate, so as to reduce the difference in in-plane uniformity of different substrates in the vertical direction caused by the uneven air outlet volume of the air inlet pipe in the vertical direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an intake pipe according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an air outlet angle and a substrate according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an air outlet angle and a substrate according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an air outlet angle and a substrate according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake pipe according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake pipe according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of an air intake pipe according to another embodiment of the present application; Figure 8 This is a schematic structural diagram of a furnace tube device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present application is further described below by way of examples, but the present application is not limited to the scope of the examples.

[0018] In the relevant processes of furnace tube equipment, taking the ALD process as an example, a precursor is first introduced to be adsorbed on the surface of the substrate, and then a reaction gas is introduced to react with the precursor to form a film layer. The opening directions of multiple air outlets on the existing air inlet pipe are all the same and face the center of the substrate. Since the opening direction of the air outlet faces the center of the substrate, the adsorption amount of the precursor in the central area of ​​the substrate is larger than that in the edge area, which will result in a phenomenon of thick middle and thin edges. And the air outlet volume is larger at the lower part of the air inlet pipe, which will cause the trend of increasing thickness in the middle of the substrate closer to the bottom to be greater than the trend of increasing thickness in the edge area, which will lead to worse in-plane uniformity of the substrate closer to the bottom. In order to change the situation where the uneven air outlet volume of multiple air outlets in the air inlet pipe leads to differences in in-plane uniformity of the substrate at different positions, the existing scheme is usually to change the size of the air outlet.

[0019] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a different solution, an air inlet pipe 100 for a furnace tube device, the furnace tube device is used to process substrates, the air inlet pipe 100 includes an air inlet end 130 and an end 120, and a plurality of air outlet holes 110 are distributed between the air inlet end 130 and the end 120, and the air outlet angle θ of the air outlet holes 110 close to the air inlet end 130 is greater than the air outlet angle θ of the air outlet holes 110 close to the end 120, wherein the air outlet angle θ is the angle between the opening direction of the air outlet hole 110 and the reference line, and the reference line is the horizontal line connecting the air inlet pipe center of the air inlet pipe 100 and the substrate center of the substrate W of the furnace tube device. Figure 2 As shown, the opening direction is indicated by a dotted line, the reference line is indicated by a solid line, and the opening direction and the reference line are both parallel to the substrate W. The air inlet end 130 is at the bottom, and the end 120 is at the top. The punching direction (i.e., the opening direction) of the air outlet hole 110 is toward the center of the air inlet pipe 100.

[0020] By changing the outlet angle θ of the outlet hole 110, the distribution of the air flow can be changed. The closer to the air inlet end 130, the more the opening direction of the outlet hole 110 deviates from the center of the substrate W. In the ALD process, the larger the outlet angle θ of the outlet hole, the more the air flow can be distributed in the peripheral area of ​​the substrate W. Without changing the air outlet amount of the outlet hole 110, the adsorption amount of the precursor in the edge area of ​​the substrate W can be increased. This adjustment effectively reduces the thickness difference between the peripheral area of ​​the substrate W near the air inlet end 130 (lower part) and the central area of ​​the substrate W, so as to reduce the difference in in-plane uniformity of different substrates W in the vertical direction caused by the uneven air outlet amount of the inlet pipe 100 in the vertical direction.

[0021] in, Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 5-Figure 8 The air outlet holes 110 are all punched in a direction toward the center of the air intake pipe 100 .

[0022] like Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the air outlet hole 110 may be perforated at an angle, and the perforation direction may not be toward the center of the air intake pipe 100 .

[0023] In some embodiments, the air inlet pipe 100 may also be arranged horizontally for use in a horizontal furnace pipe.

[0024] like Figure 5 As shown, in some embodiments, the multiple air outlet holes 110 are divided into multiple air outlet hole groups from the end 120 to the air inlet end 130, and the air outlet angles of the multiple air outlet holes 110 in each air outlet hole group are the same, and the air outlet angles of the multiple air outlet hole groups increase from the end 120 to the air inlet end 130. Among them, the multiple air outlet holes 110 in each air outlet hole group are the same in size, and the grouping design can reduce the complexity of the angle adjustment of each air outlet hole 110. The air outlet angles of each air outlet hole group are the same, which reduces the processing difficulty, helps to reduce the manufacturing cost, and makes the production process more operable. Among them, in some embodiments, the sizes of the multiple air outlet holes 110 in each air outlet hole group can also be different. When the sizes of the multiple air outlet holes 110 in each air outlet hole group are different, the sizes of the multiple air outlet holes 110 tend to gradually decrease along the direction from the end 120 to the air inlet end 130 to balance the difference in air outlet volume.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, in some embodiments, the outlet angle of the outlet hole 110 gradually increases from the end 120 to the inlet end 130. This solution can more accurately adjust the difference in in-plane uniformity of different substrates caused by the uneven outlet volume of the inlet pipe 100 in the vertical direction.

[0026] like Figures 1 to 5In some embodiments, the outlet angle of the outlet hole 110 closest to the end 120 is 0°. When the sizes of the multiple outlet holes 110 are the same, the outlet hole 110 at the top has the least amount of gas. The outlet angle of 0° can obtain more gas than the outlet angle greater than 0°. Because the substrate is in a rotating state, this design ensures that the gas is more evenly distributed on the entire surface of the substrate. The outlet hole 110 closest to the end 120 is the highest in the vertical direction.

[0027] In some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, the plurality of air outlet holes 110 are divided into a plurality of first air outlet hole columns S1, and in each first air outlet hole column S1, the air outlet angle of the air outlet holes 110 close to the air inlet end 130 is greater than the air outlet angle of the air outlet holes 110 close to the end 120. Through the design of multiple air outlet holes, compared with the single air flow formed by a single air outlet hole column, the gas distribution range of the multiple air outlet holes is wider, and multiple regions (such as the middle and the periphery) of the substrate can be covered, and the uniformity of the air flow distribution is further optimized.

[0028] like Figure 6 As shown, the outlet angles of the multiple outlet holes of the two first outlet hole rows S1 of the air inlet pipe 100 gradually increase. In some embodiments, one row of outlet holes with gradually increasing outlet angles may be provided, and the other row of outlet holes with gradually increasing outlet angles may be provided. Figure 5 The air outlet holes 110 are increased in groups according to the air outlet angle.

[0029] In some embodiments, Figure 6 As shown, the outlet angle of the outlet hole 110 closest to the end 120 in each first outlet hole row S1 is greater than 0°. The total outlet volume of the multiple columns of air holes is large, and the outlet angle is greater than 0°, and the outlet gas will not face the center of the substrate. This design can alleviate the problem of excessive gas adsorption in the middle area of ​​the substrate due to excessive concentration of air flow.

[0030] In some embodiments, in one first air outlet hole row, the air outlet angle of the air outlet hole 110 closest to the end 120 may be equal to 0°, and in the other first air outlet hole rows, the air outlet angle of the air outlet hole 110 closest to the end 120 may be greater than 0°.

[0031] In some embodiments, the range of the outlet angle is 0-15°. By adjusting the outlet angle within this range, the outlet angle will not be too large, causing the air flow to be excessively concentrated on the peripheral area of ​​the substrate.

[0032] In some embodiments, the multiple air outlet holes 110 have the same size, and the difference in in-plane uniformity of different substrates caused by uneven air outlet volume of the multiple air outlet holes 110 can be adjusted only by adjusting the air outlet angle, without adjusting the size of the air outlet holes 110.

[0033] like Figure 7 As shown, the air inlet pipe 100 further includes a second air outlet hole array S2, and the second air outlet hole array S2 includes a plurality of air outlet holes 110 with the same air outlet angle.

[0034] like Figure 8 As shown, this embodiment also provides a furnace tube device, which includes a process tube 200, a wafer boat 300 and at least one of the above-mentioned air inlet pipes 100. The wafer boat 300 includes a plurality of bearing positions arranged in the vertical direction, the bearing positions are used to bear a plurality of substrates W, and the wafer boat 300 is used to drive the substrates W into the process tube 200 and rotate. The air inlet pipe 100 is arranged in the process tube 200 and extends in the vertical direction, and a plurality of air outlets 110 correspond to the plurality of bearing positions. Among them, the wafer boat 300 enters or moves out of the process tube 200 through the wafer boat lifting device.

[0035] The rotation of the wafer boat 300 makes the gas more evenly distributed on the substrate W. The rotation of the wafer boat 300 and the increase in the outlet angle of the outlet hole 110 of the inlet pipe 100 from the end 120 to the inlet end 130 can improve the in-plane uniformity of the substrate W at different positions.

[0036] Each carrier position corresponds to at least one gas outlet 110. Specifically, the gas outlet 110 corresponds to the gap between the carrier positions at the corresponding positions to supply gas to the surface of the substrate W on the carrier position. The design of each gas outlet 110 corresponding to each carrier position enables the gas to be accurately distributed to each substrate W.

[0037] In some embodiments, the furnace tube device further includes a gas supply line 410 and a pressurizer 430, the gas supply line 410 is connected to the gas inlet pipe 100, and is used to supply gas to the gas inlet pipe 100, and the pressurizer 430 is arranged on the gas supply line 410, and is used to increase the gas supply pressure of the gas supply line 410. By increasing the gas supply pressure, the gas can quickly cover the surface of the substrate W, and the gas adsorption on the surface of the substrate W is completed. Among them, a valve 420 is also provided on the gas supply line 410, which is used to open or close the gas supply line 410. The pressurizer 430 can use a gas storage tank to store gas in advance, and when gas supply is needed, it can quickly release gas into the process tube 200.

[0038] In some embodiments, the furnace tube equipment is used for ALD, LPCVD and other processes.

[0039] The size, number and shape of the air outlet holes 110 in the above figures are for illustration only and are not intended to be limiting.

[0040] Although the specific implementation of the present application is described above, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that this is only for illustration. Those skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications to these implementations without departing from the principles and essence of the present application, but these changes and modifications all fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. An air inlet pipe for a furnace tube device, wherein the furnace tube device is used for processing substrates, characterized in that: It includes an air inlet end and an end, and a plurality of air outlet holes are distributed between the air inlet end and the end, and the air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the air inlet end is greater than the air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the end, wherein the air outlet angle is the angle between the opening direction of the air outlet holes and a reference line, and the reference line is a horizontal line between the center of the air inlet pipe of the air inlet pipe and the center of the substrate of the substrate in the furnace tube equipment.

2. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple air outlet holes are divided into multiple air outlet hole groups, the air outlet angles of the air outlet holes in each of the air outlet hole groups are the same, and the air outlet angles of the multiple air outlet hole groups increase sequentially from the end to the air inlet end.

3. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The outlet angle of the air outlet hole closest to the end is 0°.

4. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The plurality of air outlet holes are divided into a plurality of first air outlet hole columns. In each of the first air outlet hole columns, an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the air inlet end is greater than an air outlet angle of the air outlet holes close to the end end.

5. The air intake pipe according to claim 4, characterized in that In each of the first air outlet hole rows, the air outlet angles of the air outlet holes closest to the end are all greater than 0°.

6. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The range of the air outlet angle is 0-15°.

7. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The outlet angles of the plurality of outlet holes gradually increase from the end to the inlet end.

8. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple air outlet holes have the same size.

9. The air intake pipe according to claim 1, characterized in that The air inlet pipe further comprises a second air outlet hole row, wherein the second air outlet hole row comprises a plurality of air outlet holes having the same air outlet angle.

10. A furnace tube device, characterized in that: include: Process pipe; A wafer boat, comprising a plurality of bearing positions arranged in a vertical direction, wherein the bearing positions are used to bear substrates, and the wafer boat is used to drive the substrates into the process tube and rotate; At least one air inlet pipe as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 is arranged in the process pipe and extends along the vertical direction, and each of the bearing positions corresponds to at least one of the air outlet holes.

11. The furnace tube equipment according to claim 10, characterized in that: It also includes an air supply pipeline and a pressurizer. The air supply pipeline is connected to the air inlet end of the air inlet pipe and is used to supply air to the air inlet pipe. The pressurizer is arranged on the air supply pipeline and is used to increase the air supply pressure of the air supply pipeline.

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