Upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment

Abstract

The invention provides an upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment, the upper electrode device comprises a shielding shell, a first coil, a second coil, a grounding assembly and a plurality of connecting parts, the grounding assembly and the plurality of connecting parts are arranged in the shielding shell, and the plurality of connecting parts are used for being electrically connected with a matching part arranged outside the shielding shell; the first coil surrounds the second coil, the first coil and the second coil are respectively provided with a feed-in end and a feed-out end, and the feed-in end of the first coil, the feed-out end of the first coil and the feed-in end of the second coil are respectively and electrically connected with the matching component through three connecting components in a one-to-one correspondence manner; the feed-out end of the second coil is connected with the shielding shell through the grounding assembly and is grounded. According to the top electrode device and the semiconductor process equipment provided by the invention, the voltage endurance capability can be improved, the ignition risk can be reduced, and the use reliability can be further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to an upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment. Background Art

[0002] The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching process is a dry etching process that generates a high-frequency electromagnetic field by passing a high-frequency current through a coil, thereby exciting the process gas to generate plasma, which etches the wafer to be processed.

[0003] An upper electrode device of an inductively coupled plasma etching device in the related art includes an inner coil, an outer coil, a matcher and four copper sheet connecting bars. The inner coil and the outer coil each have two feed ends and two feed ends. The matcher has four connection ports. The matcher is electrically connected to the radio frequency source. The two feed ends of the inner coil are connected in parallel through a copper sheet connecting bar and are electrically connected to one connection port of the matcher. The two feed ends of the inner coil are connected in parallel through another copper sheet connecting bar and are electrically connected to another connection port of the matcher. The two feed ends of the outer coil are connected in parallel through another copper sheet connecting bar and are electrically connected to another connection port of the matcher. The two feed ends of the outer coil are connected in parallel through another copper sheet connecting bar and are electrically connected to another connection port of the matcher. The four copper sheet connecting bars have spaced and stacked parts.

[0004] However, in actual applications, as process requirements become increasingly higher, RF power is also increasing, and the four copper connecting strips of the upper electrode device in the related technology have low voltage resistance, which causes the upper electrode device to easily spark in high-power application scenarios, resulting in poor reliability of the upper electrode device. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the related art, and proposes an upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment, which can improve the pressure resistance, reduce the risk of ignition, and thus improve the reliability of use.

[0006] To achieve the object of the present invention, an upper electrode device is provided, comprising a shielding shell, a first coil, a second coil, a grounding assembly, and a plurality of connecting components, wherein the grounding assembly and the plurality of connecting components are disposed within the shielding shell, and the plurality of connecting components are configured to be electrically connected to a matching component disposed outside the shielding shell;

[0007] The first coil surrounds the second coil, and the first coil and the second coil both have a feed-in end and a feed-out end. The feed-in end of the first coil, the feed-out end of the first coil, and the feed-out end of the second coil are electrically connected to the matching component through the three connecting components, and the feed-out end of the second coil is grounded to the shielding shell through the grounding component.

[0008] Optionally, the second coil has a plurality of feed-out terminals, the grounding assembly includes a plurality of grounding components, and the plurality of feed-out terminals are connected to the shielding shell and grounded one by one through the plurality of grounding components.

[0009] Optionally, the multiple feed-out ends of the second coil are distributed at intervals on the first axis, each of the grounding components has multiple grounding segments, and the multiple grounding segments of each grounding component are axially symmetrically distributed with the first axis as the axis of symmetry.

[0010] Optionally, at least one of the grounding components further has an extension section, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-out end, extends along a first horizontal direction, and is electrically connected to multiple grounding sections, so that there is a preset spacing between the multiple grounding sections and the multiple connecting components.

[0011] Optionally, each of the grounding components further has a transition section, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-out end and extends along the second horizontal direction, and the plurality of grounding sections are electrically connected to the transition section respectively.

[0012] Optionally, the feed-out end of the second coil is connected to the top of the shielding shell and grounded through the grounding component.

[0013] Optionally, the connecting component includes a front section, a middle section and a rear section, the front section is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-in end or the feed-out end, the rear section is used to be electrically connected to the matching component, the two ends of the middle section are respectively electrically connected to the front section and the rear section, and the middle section of at least one of the connecting components extends along a straight line.

[0014] Optionally, each of the connecting components has a stacking segment, and the stacking segments of the multiple connecting components are stacked at intervals, and the distance between two adjacent stacking segments with a larger voltage difference is larger than the distance between two adjacent stacking segments with a smaller voltage difference.

[0015] Optionally, the distance between two adjacent stacked sections with a larger voltage difference is 43 mm-47 mm, and / or the distance between two adjacent stacked sections with a smaller voltage difference is 13 mm-17 mm.

[0016] The present invention further provides a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a radio frequency source and the upper electrode device provided by the present invention, wherein the radio frequency source is electrically connected to the matching component of the upper electrode device.

[0017] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The upper electrode device provided by the present invention is grounded by connecting the feed-out end of the second coil to the shielding shell through a grounding component. Compared with the related art, the feed-out end of the second coil does not need to be connected to the matching component through a connecting component. This can reduce the number of connecting components and increase the design space of multiple connecting components, so that the spacing between the stacked parts of two adjacent connecting components can be increased, thereby improving the pressure resistance of multiple connecting components and reducing the ignition risk of multiple connecting components, thereby improving the pressure resistance of the upper electrode device and reducing the ignition risk of the upper electrode device, thereby improving the reliability of the upper electrode device.

[0019] The semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention can improve the pressure resistance of the semiconductor process equipment, reduce the ignition risk of the semiconductor process equipment, and thus improve the reliability of the semiconductor process equipment by means of the upper electrode device provided by the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the main structure of an upper electrode device and a semiconductor device in the related art;

[0021] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of an inner coil and an outer coil in the related art;

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a radio frequency circuit of an upper electrode device in the related art;

[0023] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of a matcher in related art;

[0024] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an upper electrode device in the related art;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure in which an outer coil and a connecting bar are electrically connected in the related art;

[0026] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of an inner coil electrically connected to a connecting bar in the related art;

[0027] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of an equivalent circuit of an upper electrode device in the related art;

[0028] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an upper electrode device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure in which a second coil provided by an embodiment of the present invention is electrically connected to a grounding component and a connecting component respectively;

[0030] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure in which a first coil is electrically connected to a connecting component according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 12 A schematic diagram illustrating the uniformity of etching effects when an upper electrode device in the related art is used for etching;

[0032] Figure 13 A schematic diagram illustrating the uniformity of etching effects when the upper electrode device provided by an embodiment of the present invention is used;

[0033] Description of reference numerals:

[0034] 01-inner coil; 011-sub-coil of the inner coil; 012-feeding end of the inner coil; 013-feeding end of the inner coil; 02-outer coil; 021-sub-coil of the outer coil; 022-feeding end of the outer coil; 023-feeding end of the outer coil; 03-matching device; 031-connecting port; 04-connecting bar; 05-metal shell; 06-reaction chamber; 07-dielectric window; 09-plasma; 11-feeding end of the first coil; 12-feeding end of the first coil; 21-feeding end of the second coil; 22-feeding end of the second coil; 30-shielding shell; 40-matching component; 50-connecting component; 51-front section; 52-middle section; 53-back section; 54-stacked section; 60-grounding component; 61-grounding section; 62-extension section; 63-transfer section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, an upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment in the related art are first introduced in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0036] like Figure 1-Figure 7As shown, in the related art, the semiconductor process equipment includes a reaction chamber 06 and an upper electrode device. A dielectric window 07 is provided on the top of the reaction chamber 06 , and the upper electrode device is provided on the dielectric window 07 . The upper electrode device includes an inner coil 01, an outer coil 02, a matcher 03 and four connecting bars 04. The inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 are located on the same plane, and the outer coil 02 surrounds the inner coil 01. The inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 each include two sub-coils. The two sub-coils 011 of the inner coil 01 and the two sub-coils 021 of the outer coil 02 are both 1.5-turn involute structures and are distributed 180° rotationally symmetrically along the axial direction. The two inner ends of the two sub-coils 011 of the inner coil 01 serve as the two feeding ends 012 of the inner coil 01, and the two outer ends of the two sub-coils 011 of the inner coil 01 serve as the two feeding ends 013 of the inner coil 01. The two inner ends of the two sub-coils 021 of the outer coil 02 serve as the two feeding ends 022 of the outer coil 02, and the two outer ends of the two sub-coils 021 of the outer coil 02 serve as the two feeding ends 023 of the outer coil 02. In other words, the inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 each have two feeding ends and two feeding ends.

[0037] The matcher 03 has four connection ports 031, which are used to electrically connect to the radio frequency source. The four connection bars 04 are all copper sheet connection bars. The two feeding ends 012 of the inner coil 01, the two feeding ends 013 of the inner coil 01, the two feeding ends 022 of the outer coil 02, and the two feeding ends 023 of the outer coil 02 are connected to the four connection ports 031 of the matcher 03 through the four connection bars 04 in a one-to-one correspondence. That is, one of the four connection bars 04 connects the inner coil 01 to the outer coil 02. The two feeding ends 012 are connected in parallel and connected to a connection port 031 of the matcher 03. Another connecting bar 04 connects the two feeding ends 013 of the inner coil 01 in parallel and connects to another connection port 031 of the matcher 03. Another connecting bar 04 connects the two feeding ends 022 of the outer coil 02 in parallel and connects to another connection port 031 of the matcher 03. Another connecting bar 04 connects the two feeding ends 023 of the outer coil 02 in parallel and connects to another connection port 031 of the matcher 03.

[0038] In actual applications, since the two feed-in terminals 012 and two feed-out terminals 013 of the inner coil 01, as well as the two feed-in terminals 022 and two feed-out terminals 023 of the outer coil 02, are spaced apart along a straight line, and the four connection ports 031 of the matcher 03 are arranged in a 2x2 array, the four connecting bars 04 need to bend along the path from the feed-in terminals or the feed-out terminals to the connection ports 031. This results in the four connecting bars 04 having spaced and stacked portions, and the spaced and stacked portions of the four connecting bars 04 are stacked vertically in sequence. In high-power applications, the voltage withstand capability of the connecting bars 04 depends on the spacing between the spaced and stacked portions of two adjacent connecting bars 04 and the maximum voltage difference between the spaced and stacked portions of two adjacent connecting bars 04.

[0039] like Figure 8 As shown, in the related art, the equivalent circuit of the upper electrode device loop includes a source generator part, a source match part, a coil part, and a plasma 09 part. The radio frequency (RF) power provided by the radio frequency source (SRF) is effectively fed to the inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 through the matcher 03. The inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 transmit the RF power to the plasma 09 part by inductive coupling. C1 and C2 in the equivalent circuit are the tuning capacitors of the matcher 03, and R M is the line loss resistance of the matching device 03, C3, C4, and C5 are the shunt impedance adjustment capacitors of the matching device 03, Rc1 is the loss resistance of the inner coil 01, Rc2 is the loss resistance of the outer coil 02, and L 11 is the inductance of the inner coil 01, L 21 is the inductance of the outer coil 02, L 12 , L 22 is the secondary inductance of the plasma 09 part, Z L1 , Z L2 is the equivalent impedance of the plasma 09 portion, and ①-④ are the feed-in terminal 012 of the inner coil 01, the feed-out terminal 013 of the inner coil 01, the feed-in terminal 022 of the outer coil 02, and the feed-out terminal 023 of the outer coil 02, respectively. Since the impedance of the connecting strip 04 itself is very small compared to the impedance of the inner coil 01, the impedance of the outer coil 02, and the impedance of the RF loop, the voltage change caused by the four connecting strips 04's own impedance can be ignored. Therefore, the voltage at the four points ①-④ is approximately equal to the voltage of the four connecting strips 04 stacked vertically from bottom to top. In addition, the material of the inner coil 01 and the outer coil 02 can both be copper, and the voltage change caused by the loss resistance is also very small and can be ignored. Therefore, based on the equivalent circuit, the voltage at the four points ①-④ can be calculated:

[0040] U1=I1·ωL 11 ;

[0041] U2=0;

[0042] U3=I2·(ωL 21 -1 / (ωC5));

[0043] U4=-I2·1 / (ωC5);

[0044] In the related art, the spacing between the stacked portions of two adjacent connecting bars 04 is equal. Therefore, the bottleneck point of the voltage resistance of the four connecting bars 04 depends on the maximum voltage difference between the stacked portions of the two adjacent connecting bars 04, that is, the maximum value of the following three voltages:

[0045] U 12 =U1-U2=I1·ωL 11 ;

[0046] U 23 =U3-U2=I2·(ωL 21 -1 / (ωC5));

[0047] U 34 =U3-U4=I2·ωL 21 .

[0048] Since the area of ​​the inner coil 01 is smaller than that of the outer coil 02, the inductive reactance ωL of the inner coil 01 is 11 Less than the capacitive reactance 1 / (ωC5) of the shunt impedance adjustment capacitor C5 of the matching device 03, and the capacitive reactance 1 / (ωC5) of C5 is less than the inductive reactance ωL of the external coil 02 21 Therefore, the voltage difference between the spaced stacked parts of two adjacent connecting bars 04 is very different, usually satisfying U 12 <U 23 <U 34. When the voltage difference between the spaced-apart laminated parts of two adjacent connecting bars 04 is large, a very strong transient electric field will be generated between the spaced-apart laminated parts of the two adjacent connecting bars 04. The strong electric field will cause the surrounding air molecules to be broken down, causing the risk of ignition, which limits the maximum current and voltage of the upper electrode device. Due to the space limitations of semiconductor process equipment, the total height of the four connecting bars 04 (H≈3d) is very limited, where H is the total height of the four connecting bars 04, and d is the distance between two adjacent connecting bars 04. In the related art, the spacing between the spaced-apart laminated parts of two adjacent connecting bars 04 is equal, that is, the spacing between the two adjacent connecting bars 04 with a smaller voltage difference is equal to the spacing between the two adjacent connecting bars 04 with a larger voltage difference, resulting in excessive redundant space being wasted at the positions of the four connecting bars 04 with smaller voltage resistance requirements, which restricts the space at the positions with larger voltage resistance requirements. In a high-power application scenario where the maximum operating power of the upper electrode device is increased from 2kW to 3kW, the spacing between the two adjacent connecting bars 04 with the largest voltage difference can no longer meet the usage requirements.

[0049] In the related art, the maximum electric field usually appears between the spaced-apart laminated portion of the connecting bar 04 connected to the feed-in terminal 021 of the external coil 02 and the connecting bar 04 connected to the feed-out terminal 022 of the external coil 02, and the voltage difference is U 34 , high field strength will cause nearby air molecules to be broken down (under standard atmospheric pressure, the breakdown field strength of direct current (DC) is 3kV / mm, under engineering conditions, the breakdown field strength of DC is 2kV / mm, and under radio frequency conditions, the breakdown field strength is about 0.6kV / mm-0.7kV / mm), causing a risk of ignition. In the related art, the spacing between the stacked parts of two adjacent connecting strips 04 is d=20mm. When the working power of the upper electrode device is 2kW, the voltage difference between the three layers of the four connecting strips 04 under extreme conditions is 2.5kV, 7.5kV and 15kV respectively, and the maximum field strength is about 0.75kV / mm. It has been working under conditions that exceed the safety threshold (i.e., the radio frequency breakdown field strength), and there is a high risk of ignition. When the working power of the upper electrode device is increased to 3kW, the maximum voltage difference between the stacked parts of the two adjacent connecting strips 04 will increase to 18.4kV (increased to the original times), the maximum field strength will increase to 0.92kV / mm, which will greatly increase the risk of ignition and may even lead to inevitable ignition.

[0050] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment provided by the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0051] like Figures 9-11As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides an upper electrode device, including a shielding shell 30, a first coil, a second coil, a grounding assembly and a plurality of connecting components 50, the grounding assembly and the plurality of connecting components 50 are all arranged in the shielding shell 30, and the plurality of connecting components 50 are all used to electrically connect to the matching component 40 arranged outside the shielding shell 30; the first coil surrounds the second coil, that is, the first coil is the outer coil and the second coil is the inner coil. Those skilled in the art should understand that as the wafer size continues to increase, more coils are also feasible. The first coil and the second coil both have a feed-in end and a feed-out end, the feed-in end 11 of the first coil, the feed-out end 12 of the first coil and the two feed-out ends 21 of the second coil are electrically connected to the matching component 40 respectively through three connecting components 50, and the feed-out end 22 of the second coil is connected to the shielding shell 30 and grounded through the grounding assembly.

[0052] The upper electrode device provided in the embodiment of the present invention is grounded by connecting the feed-out end 22 of the second coil to the shielding shell 30 through a grounding component. Compared with the related art, the feed-out end 22 of the second coil does not need to be connected to the matching component 40 through the connecting component 50. This can reduce the number of connecting components 50 and increase the design space of multiple connecting components 50, so that the spacing between the spaced stacked parts of two adjacent connecting components 50 can be increased, thereby improving the pressure resistance of the multiple connecting components 50 and reducing the ignition risk of the multiple connecting components 50, thereby improving the pressure resistance of the upper electrode device and reducing the ignition risk of the upper electrode device, thereby improving the reliability of the upper electrode device.

[0053] For example, the first coil and the second coil can each have two feed-in terminals and two feed-out terminals, the matching component 40 can have four connection ports, the number of connection components 50 can be three, the number of grounding components can be one, the two feed-in terminals 11 and the two feed-out terminals 12 of the first coil, and the two feed-in terminals 21 and the two feed-out terminals 22 of the second coil can be distributed along a straight line, and the four connection ports of the matching component 40 can be distributed in a 2*2 array.

[0054] The two feeding ends 11 of the first coil, the two feeding ends 12 of the first coil and the two feeding ends 21 of the second coil are electrically connected to the three connection ports of the matching component 40 in a one-to-one correspondence through three connecting components 50. That is, one connecting component 50 of the three connecting components 50 connects the two feeding ends 11 of the first coil in parallel and connects to one connection port of the matching component 40, another connecting component 50 connects the two feeding ends 12 of the first coil in parallel and connects to another connection port of the matching component 40, and another connecting component 50 connects the two feeding ends 21 of the second coil in parallel and connects to another connection port of the matching component 40, thereby realizing that the feeding end 11 of the first coil, the feeding end 12 of the first coil and the two feeding ends 21 of the second coil are electrically connected to the matching component 40 in a one-to-one correspondence through the three connecting components 50, and the two feeding ends 22 of the second coil are grounded to the shielding shell 30 through a grounding component. Compared with the related art, the two feed-out ends 013 of the inner coil 01 are no longer connected to the connection port 031 of the matcher 03, but are grounded to the shielding shell 30, so that the connecting strips 04 connected to the two feed-out ends 013 of the inner coil 01 can be removed, thereby reducing the number of connecting strips 04 and increasing the design space and safety distance of the remaining three connecting strips 04.

[0055] With this design, the spacing between the spaced stacked parts of two adjacent connecting components 50 with the maximum voltage difference can be increased from d in the related art to d2, while the spacing between the spaced stacked parts of another two adjacent connecting components 50 can be adjusted to d1, satisfying d1+d2=3d. In this way, while the maximum voltage difference between the layers of the spaced stacked parts of two adjacent connecting components 50 remains unchanged, the maximum field strength can be reduced, thereby improving the voltage resistance of the upper electrode device, reducing the risk of ignition, and further improving the reliability of the upper electrode device.

[0056] The voltage of the stacked parts of the three connecting members 50 from bottom to top in the vertical direction is approximately equal to Figure 8 The voltages at points ①, ③, and ④ can be calculated based on the equivalent circuit:

[0057]

[0058]

[0059]

[0060] The voltage differences between the spaced stacked portions of two adjacent connecting components 50 are:

[0061]

[0062]

[0063] In order to minimize the average interlayer electric field of the stacked portion between two adjacent connecting components 50, the spacing (d1 and d2) between the stacked portions between two adjacent connecting components 50 needs to be reasonably adjusted to meet the following conditions:

[0064]

[0065] d1+d2=3d;

[0066] After calculation, the spacing between the stacked portions of two adjacent connecting components 50 can be obtained as follows:

[0067]

[0068]

[0069] The voltage difference between the stacked portions of two adjacent connection members 50 is because However, d2>d, therefore, when the maximum voltage difference between the spaced stacked parts of two adjacent connecting components 50 remains unchanged, the maximum field strength can be reduced, thereby improving the voltage resistance of the upper electrode device, reducing the risk of ignition, and further improving the reliability of the upper electrode device.

[0070] For example, the total height of the three connecting components 50 is still H = 60 mm, and the spacing of the spaced stacked parts of the two adjacent connecting components 50 with the maximum voltage difference can be designed to be increased from d = 20 mm in the related art to d2 = 43 mm-47 mm, preferably d2 = 45 mm, and the spacing of the spaced stacked parts of the other two adjacent connecting components 50 can be adjusted to d1 = 13 mm-17 mm, preferably d1 = 15 mm. When the working power of the upper electrode device is 2 kW, under extreme conditions, the voltage difference between the two layers of the three connecting components 50 is 5 kV and 15 kV respectively, and the maximum field strength is about 0.33 kV / mm, which is reduced to less than 0.5 times of that in the related art, and is already working under conditions below the safety threshold. When the working power of the upper electrode device is increased to 3 kW, the maximum voltage difference of the spaced stacked parts of the two adjacent connecting components 50 will increase to 18.4 kV, and the maximum field strength will increase to 0.41 kV / mm, but it is still below the safety threshold, thereby being able to meet the needs of high-power application scenarios.

[0071] Furthermore, during the actual test, when the upper electrode device of the related art was used at a working power of more than 2kW, the connecting strip 04 repeatedly sparked, leaving black marks on the surface of the copper sheet. However, the upper electrode device provided by the embodiment of the present invention was still safe when verified to the extreme condition of 3kW working power in the marathon test, and no sparks occurred in the marathon test. Figure 12 and Figure 13 As shown, the upper electrode device provided in the embodiment of the present invention will not cause the uniformity of the etching effect to deteriorate when used in an etching device for an etching process. Therefore, the upper electrode device provided in the embodiment of the present invention can directly replace the upper electrode device in the related art.

[0072] The inventors of the present invention were able to think of adopting this design because they found during the research process that in the relevant technology, since the matcher 03 usually has four connection ports 031, those skilled in the art, under the influence of inertial thinking, would always naturally think that it is also necessary to set four connection bars 04 to be connected to the four connection ports 031 of the matcher 03 in a one-to-one correspondence to form a one-to-one closed loop. If the matcher 03 has only three connection ports 031 connected to the connection bars 04, those skilled in the art would intuitively have the illusion that the use is wrong, unreliable, and unsafe, which leads to those skilled in the art habitually setting the four connection bars 04 to be connected to the four connection ports 031 of the matcher 03 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0073] However, during the research process, the inventors of the present invention discovered through careful analysis of the circuit structure inside the matcher 03 that, in the related art, the connection port 031 of the matcher 03 to which the connecting bar 04 connected to the two feed-out terminals 013 of the inner coil 01 is connected is not connected to any circuit components inside the matcher 03, but is directly connected to the metal shell 05 of the matcher 03. From the perspective of circuit principle, it only realizes the grounding function. That is, the connecting bar 04 connected to the two feed-out terminals 013 of the inner coil 01 is connected to this connection port 031 and then grounded inside the matcher 03. The voltage of the connecting bar 04 connected to the two feed-out terminals 013 of the inner coil 01 is always zero. Even if this connection port 031 is left floating, as long as the load circuit is grounded through other paths, it will not affect the normal operation of the matcher 03. The matcher 03 usually has four connection ports 031 because the design of the matcher 03 usually takes into account various usage requirements. In some non-etching machine application scenarios, the load circuit is not convenient to be grounded, and it is necessary to use the connection port provided by the matcher 03 for grounding. For the etching machine, each component is usually provided with a metal shell 05 for shielding radio frequency signals, which itself has good grounding conditions and does not have to be grounded through the connection port 031 provided by the matcher 03.

[0074] Therefore, the inventors of the present invention discovered that connecting the connecting strip 04 connected to the two feed ends 013 of the inner coil 01 in the related art to the metal shell 05 can also form a radio frequency loop, and the equivalent circuit will not change. Therefore, based on a careful analysis and full understanding of the working principle of the matcher 03 and the radio frequency loop, the inventors of the present invention came up with the idea that the two feed ends 013 of the inner coil 01 can no longer be connected to the ground with the connection port 031 of the matcher 03, but the two feed ends 013 of the inner coil 01 can be connected to the ground with the metal shell 05, thereby removing the connecting strip 04 connected to the two feed ends 013 of the inner coil 01, thereby reducing the number of connecting strips 04, increasing the design space and safety distance of the remaining three connecting strips 04, and thus improving the voltage resistance of multiple connecting strips 04 in high-power application scenarios.

[0075] like Figure 9 As shown, optionally, the matching component 40 may be disposed outside the shielding shell 30 , and the matching component 40 may have a plurality of connection ports. The matching component 40 is used to be electrically connected to the radio frequency source.

[0076] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the second coil may have multiple feed-out terminals 22, and the grounding assembly may include multiple grounding components 60. The multiple feed-out terminals 22 are connected to the shielding shell 30 for grounding through the multiple grounding components 60 in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0077] For example, the second coil may have two feed-out terminals 22 , and the grounding assembly may include two grounding components 60 , one feed-out terminal 22 being grounded to the shielding shell 30 via one grounding component 60 , and the other feed-out terminal 22 being grounded to the shielding shell 30 via another grounding component 60 .

[0078] like Figures 9-11 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the multiple feed-out ends 22 of the second coil can be distributed at intervals on the first axis, each grounding component 60 has multiple grounding segments 61, and the multiple grounding segments 61 of each grounding component 60 are axially symmetrically distributed with the first axis as the symmetry axis.

[0079] For example, each grounding component 60 may have two grounding segments 61, and the two grounding segments 61 of each grounding component 60 are symmetrically distributed about the first axis. Such a design can improve the symmetry of the RF path and reduce the impact on the uniformity of semiconductor process results.

[0080] Optionally, the first coil may have multiple feed-in terminals 11 (for example, may have two feed-in terminals 11 ), the first coil may have multiple feed-out terminals 12 (for example, may have two feed-out terminals), and the second coil may have multiple feed-in terminals 21 (for example, may have two feed-in terminals).

[0081] Optionally, the multiple feeding ends 11 of the first coil, the multiple feeding ends 12 of the first coil, the multiple feeding ends 21 of the second coil, and the multiple feeding ends 22 of the second coil may be distributed at intervals on the first axis.

[0082] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, at least one grounding component 60 may further have an extension section 62, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-out terminal 22, extends along the first horizontal direction, and is electrically connected to the plurality of grounding segments 61, so that there is a preset spacing between the plurality of grounding segments 61 and the plurality of connecting components 50.

[0083] For example, Figure 9 and Figure 10 The connecting component 50 on the left side of the center has an extension section 62. The extension section 62 is electrically connected to the feed-out terminal 22 on the left side of the second coil, extends leftward relative to the feed-out terminal 22 on the left side of the second coil, and is electrically connected to the two grounding sections 61. This design increases the spacing between the two grounding sections 61 and the multiple connecting components 50, ensuring a predetermined spacing between the two grounding sections 61 and the multiple connecting components 50, thereby preventing sparks from occurring due to the two grounding sections 61 being too close to the multiple connecting components 50.

[0084] like Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, each grounding component 60 may further have a transition section 63, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed end 22 and extends along the second horizontal direction. Multiple grounding sections 61 are electrically connected to the transition section 63 respectively.

[0085] For example, Figure 9 and Figure 10 The two connecting parts 50 both have a transition section 63, Figure 9 and Figure 10The transition section 63 on the left side is perpendicular to the extension section 62, that is, the second direction can be perpendicular to the first direction, and the multiple grounding sections 61 of the grounding component 60 on the left are arranged on the transition section 63 on the left side at intervals along the second direction and are electrically connected to the transition section 63 on the left side. The extension section 62 is electrically connected to the multiple grounding sections 61 through the transition section 63. The transition section 63 on the right side is directly electrically connected to the feed end 22 on the right side of the second coil and extends along the second direction. That is, the transition section 63 on the right side can be parallel to the transition section 63 on the left side, and the multiple grounding sections 61 of the grounding component 60 on the right side are arranged on the transition section 63 on the right side at intervals along the second direction.

[0086] like Figure 9 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the feed-out end 22 of the second coil can be grounded to the top of the shielding shell 30 through a grounding component.

[0087] Optionally, the grounding section 61 may be arranged vertically so that the feed-out end 22 of the second coil can be connected to the top of the shielding shell 30 for grounding through a grounding component.

[0088] like Figures 9-11 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the connecting component 50 may include a front section 51, a middle section 52 and a rear section 53, the front section 51 is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-in end or feed-out end, the rear section 53 is used to be electrically connected to the matching component 40, and the two ends of the middle section 52 are electrically connected to the front section 51 and the rear section 53 respectively, and the middle section 52 of at least one connecting component 50 extends along a straight line.

[0089] That is, the front section 51, the middle section 52, and the rear section 53 are electrically connected in sequence, with the front section 51 being electrically connected to the corresponding feed-in or feed-out terminal, and the rear section 53 being electrically connected to the corresponding connection port of the matching component 40. The front section 51 and the rear section 53 are electrically connected via the middle section 52. Because the upper electrode device provided by the embodiment of the present invention reduces the number of connecting components 50 compared to the related art, thereby increasing the design space for multiple connecting components 50, the middle section 52 of the connecting component 50 of the upper electrode device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, compared to the related art, does not need to be complicatedly bent to increase the spacing from the other connecting components 50. In other words, the middle section 52 of the connecting component 50 of the upper electrode device provided by the embodiment of the present invention can extend in a straight line with fewer bends compared to the related art. Furthermore, by reducing the number of bends in the middle section 52 and extending in a straight line, the electric field mutation and tip amplification effect caused by corners and sharp angles can be reduced, thereby further reducing the risk of sparking of the upper electrode device and further improving the reliability of the upper electrode device.

[0090] like Figures 9-11As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, each connecting component 50 may have a stacking segment 54, and the stacking segments 54 of multiple connecting components 50 are stacked at intervals, and the distance between two adjacent stacking segments 54 with a larger voltage difference is greater than the distance between two adjacent stacking segments 54 with a smaller voltage difference.

[0091] The stacking section 54 of two adjacent connecting components 50 is the spaced stacking portion between the two adjacent connecting components 50. Since two adjacent stacking sections 54 with a larger voltage difference require a larger spacing to avoid sparks, while two adjacent stacking sections 54 with a smaller voltage difference require a smaller spacing to avoid sparks, in the limited space of semiconductor process equipment, the spacing between two adjacent stacking sections 54 needs to be reasonably adjusted to avoid sparks between all two adjacent stacking sections 54.

[0092] Optionally, the front section 51 may be electrically connected to the middle section 52 via the stacked section 54 .

[0093] In one embodiment of the present invention, the distance between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a larger voltage difference may be 43 mm-47 mm, and / or the distance between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a smaller voltage difference may be 13 mm-17 mm.

[0094] Optionally, the distance between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a larger voltage difference may be 45 mm, and / or the distance between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a smaller voltage difference may be 15 mm.

[0095] For example, when the spacing between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a larger voltage difference is 45 mm, and the spacing between two adjacent stacked sections 54 with a smaller voltage difference is 15 mm, and the working power of the upper electrode device is 2 kW, the voltage difference between the two layers of the three connecting components 50 under extreme conditions is 5 kV and 15 kV respectively, and the maximum field strength is about 0.33 kV / mm, which is lower than the safety threshold (0.6 kV / mm-0.7 kV / mm). Moreover, when the working power of the upper electrode device is increased to 3 kW, the maximum voltage difference between the spaced stacked parts of the two adjacent connecting components 50 will increase to 18.4 kV, and the maximum field strength will increase to 0.41 kV / mm, but it is still lower than the safety threshold, thereby meeting the needs of high-power application scenarios.

[0096] An embodiment of the present invention further provides a semiconductor process equipment, comprising a radio frequency source and the upper electrode device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, wherein the radio frequency source is electrically connected to the matching component 40 of the upper electrode device.

[0097] The semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention, with the help of the upper electrode device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, can improve the pressure resistance of the semiconductor process equipment, reduce the risk of ignition of the semiconductor process equipment, and thus improve the reliability of the use of the semiconductor process equipment.

[0098] In summary, the upper electrode device and semiconductor process equipment provided by the embodiments of the present invention can improve voltage resistance, reduce the risk of sparking, and thus improve reliability in use.

[0099] It will be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments for illustrating the principles of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and substance of the present invention, and such modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An upper electrode device, characterized in that: It comprises a shielding shell, a first coil, a second coil, a grounding component and a plurality of connecting components, wherein the grounding component and the plurality of connecting components are arranged inside the shielding shell, and the plurality of connecting components are used to be electrically connected to a matching component arranged outside the shielding shell; The first coil surrounds the second coil, and the first coil and the second coil both have a feed-in end and a feed-out end. The feed-in end of the first coil, the feed-out end of the first coil, and the feed-in end of the second coil are electrically connected to the matching component through the three connecting components respectively, and the feed-out end of the second coil is grounded to the shielding shell through the grounding component.

2. The upper electrode device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second coil has a plurality of feed-out terminals, the grounding assembly includes a plurality of grounding components, and the plurality of feed-out terminals are connected to the shielding shell and grounded via the plurality of grounding components in a one-to-one correspondence.

3. The upper electrode device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The multiple feed-out ends of the second coil are distributed at intervals on the first axis, each of the grounding components has a plurality of grounding segments, and the multiple grounding segments of each of the grounding components are distributed in an axisymmetric manner with the first axis as a symmetry axis.

4. The upper electrode device according to claim 3, characterized in that: At least one of the grounding components further has an extension section, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-out end, extends along a first horizontal direction, and is electrically connected to the plurality of grounding sections, so that a preset spacing exists between the plurality of grounding sections and the plurality of connecting components.

5. The upper electrode device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Each of the grounding components further has a transition section, which is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-out end and extends along the second horizontal direction, and the plurality of grounding sections are electrically connected to the transition section respectively.

6. The upper electrode device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feed-out end of the second coil is grounded to the top of the shielding shell through the grounding component.

7. The upper electrode device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting component includes a front section, a middle section and a rear section, the front section is electrically connected to the corresponding feed-in end or the feed-out end, the rear section is used to be electrically connected to the matching component, both ends of the middle section are electrically connected to the front section and the rear section respectively, and the middle section of at least one of the connecting components extends along a straight line.

8. The upper electrode device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the connecting components has a stacking section, and the stacking sections of the multiple connecting components are stacked and distributed at intervals, and the distance between two adjacent stacking sections with a larger voltage difference is larger than the distance between two adjacent stacking sections with a smaller voltage difference.

9. The upper electrode device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The spacing between two adjacent stacked sections with a larger voltage difference is 43 mm-47 mm, and / or the spacing between two adjacent stacked sections with a smaller voltage difference is 13 mm-17 mm.

10. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: It comprises a radio frequency source and an upper electrode device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the radio frequency source is electrically connected to the matching component of the upper electrode device.

Images