Carrier device and semiconductor process chamber

Abstract

The present invention discloses a carrier device and a semiconductor process chamber, belonging to the technical field of semiconductor process equipment. The carrier device includes a plurality of carrier boats stacked in sequence, wherein each carrier boat includes a plurality of boat sheets and a plurality of conductive structures. In each carrier boat, one of the two adjacent boat sheets is an odd-numbered boat sheet and the other is an even-numbered boat sheet; all the odd-numbered boat sheets and all the even-numbered boat sheets in each carrier boat are electrically connected through corresponding conductive structures; in two adjacent carrier boats, the conductive structure of the upper carrier boat is supported on the conductive structure of the lower carrier boat and is electrically connected to the conductive structure of the lower carrier boat. The above solution can solve the problem that the carrier device in the background art will cause the structure of the semiconductor process chamber to be more complicated and the cost to be higher.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor process equipment, and specifically relates to a carrier device and a semiconductor process chamber. Background Art

[0002] Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment performs the CVD process and plays a crucial role in semiconductor manufacturing. During this process, semiconductor wafers are placed on a carrier boat and carried in and out of the process chamber. For example, in solar cell production, silicon wafers (a specific type of semiconductor wafer) used to manufacture solar cells are placed on a carrier boat and then transported into the CVD equipment's process chamber to deposit a silicon nitride film. This film reduces reflections, thereby improving the solar cell's photoelectric conversion efficiency.

[0003] To increase process throughput, chemical vapor deposition processes involving related technologies have increased the size of carrier boats in the hope of loading more semiconductor wafers per process, but this has had limited success. Related technologies have also attempted to increase the number of semiconductor wafers loaded per process by stacking carrier boats. However, the stacked carrier boats create a loading mechanism that requires more RF power supplies to input radio frequency, leading to a more complex semiconductor process chamber structure and higher manufacturing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present invention disclose a carrier device and a semiconductor process equipment to solve the problem in the prior art that the carrier device may lead to a more complex structure and higher cost of a semiconductor process chamber.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a carrying device, comprising a plurality of carrying boats stacked in sequence, wherein each of the carrying boats comprises a plurality of boat plates and a plurality of conductive structures, and in each of the carrying boats, one of two adjacent boat plates is an odd-numbered boat plate and the other is an even-numbered boat plate;

[0007] All the odd-numbered boats and all the even-numbered boats in each of the carrying boats are electrically connected via the corresponding conductive structures;

[0008] In two adjacent carrier boats, the conductive structure of the upper carrier boat is supported on the conductive structure of the lower carrier boat and is electrically connected to the conductive structure of the lower carrier boat.

[0009] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses a semiconductor process chamber, which includes a chamber body and the carrier device described in the first aspect, wherein the chamber body is provided with a process space, and the carrier device is provided in the process space.

[0010] The carrying device disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention has the following technical effects:

[0011] The multiple carrier boats included in the carrier device disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can be electrically connected to each other through the conductive structure included in the carrier boats. This structure allows fewer carrier boats in the carrier device to be directly electrically connected to the RF power supply, without the need for each carrier boat to be directly electrically connected to the RF power supply. This also means that the semiconductor process chamber does not need to be equipped with a large number of electrical connection structures that are directly electrically connected to the carrier boats, nor does it need to be equipped with a dedicated RF power supply for each carrier boat in the semiconductor process chamber. This can simplify the structure of the semiconductor process chamber. At the same time, the conductive structure of each carrier boat not only serves to electrically connect all odd-numbered or even-numbered boat slices in the carrier boat in which it is located, but also serves to electrically connect the carrier boat in which it is located with the adjacent carrier boat. In this case, the carrier device does not need to be specially equipped with an electrical connection structure to electrically connect two adjacent carrier boats, which can simplify the structure of the carrier device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a portion of the structure of a semiconductor process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of a part of the structure;

[0014] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure shown in other viewing angles;

[0015] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a portion of the structure of a semiconductor process chamber disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figures 5 to 8 They are partial structural schematic diagrams of the first sub-conductive structure including the supporting protrusions.

[0017] Description of reference numerals:

[0018] 01-carrying device, 10-carrying boat, 11-boat sheet, 12-conductive structure, 121-support protrusion, 13-sheet groove, 14-first connection structure, 15-second connection structure, 101-odd boat sheet, 102-even boat sheet, 103-first sub-conductive structure, 104-second sub-conductive structure, 111-first boat ear, 112-second boat ear, 113-first electrical connection block, 114-second electrical connection block, 115-electrode plug-in hole, 1211-plug-in slot, 1212-plug-in protrusion,

[0019] 02-chamber body, 021-process space, 022-electrode end. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application more clear, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the specific embodiments of this application and the corresponding drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] The technical solutions disclosed in various embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Please refer to Figures 1 to 8 The embodiment of the present invention discloses a carrier device 01. The disclosed carrier device 01 can be used as a part of a semiconductor process chamber. The semiconductor process chamber is a part of a semiconductor process equipment, and the semiconductor process equipment can be a chemical vapor deposition equipment, etc.

[0023] The carrier device 01 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of carrier boats 10 stacked in sequence. The plurality of carrier boats 10 may be two carrier boats 10 or more (two or more) carrier boats 10. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the number of carrier boats 10 included in the carrier device 01. In the embodiment of the present invention, each carrier boat 10 includes a plurality of boat segments 11 and a plurality of conductive structures 12.

[0024] In each carrier boat 10, one of the two adjacent boats 11 is an odd-numbered boat 101, and the other is an even-numbered boat 102. All odd-numbered boats 101 and all even-numbered boats 102 in each carrier boat 10 are electrically connected via corresponding conductive structures 12. That is, in each carrier boat 10, all odd-numbered boats 101 are electrically connected via corresponding conductive structures 12, thereby ensuring that all odd-numbered boats 101 have the same electrical potential, and all even-numbered boats 102 are electrically connected via corresponding conductive structures 12, thereby ensuring that all even-numbered boats 102 have the same electrical potential. It should be noted that in each carrier boat 10, the odd-numbered boats 101 are insulated from the even-numbered boats 102, namely, the odd-numbered boats 101 and the even-numbered boats 102 are not electrically connected. Each of the two adjacent boats 11 is provided with a sheet slot 13 facing the other. The sheet slot 13 is used to place semiconductor wafers (e.g., silicon wafers) during semiconductor processing.

[0025] The semiconductor process chamber involved in an embodiment of the present invention includes an RF power supply. The odd-numbered boats 101 are used to electrically connect to one electrode terminal (e.g., the first electrode terminal) 022 of the RF power supply, and the even-numbered boats 102 are used to electrically connect to another electrode terminal (e.g., the second electrode terminal) 022 of the RF power supply with a different potential. In this case, the two adjacent boats 11 in each carrier boat 10 have different potentials during the semiconductor process, so that the semiconductor sheet located between the two adjacent boats 11 can be placed in the electric field formed by the adjacent odd-numbered boats 101 and even-numbered boats 102 to undergo semiconductor processing. It should be noted that one of the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal is used for RF positive input, and the other is used for RF negative input.

[0026] In two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrier boat 10 is supported on the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10 and is electrically connected to the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10. In this case, the odd-numbered boat slices 101 or even-numbered boat slices 102 connected to the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrier boat 10 will be connected to the odd-numbered boat slices 101 or even-numbered boat slices 102 of the lower carrier boat 10 through the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10, thereby making the potentials of the two adjacent boat slices 11 in the upper carrier boat 10 and the lower carrier boat 10 different, thereby satisfying the electrical connection between the two adjacent carrier boats 10 to meet semiconductor process conditions. By extension, this electrical connection structure between two adjacent carrier boats 10 can achieve electrical connection between all carrier boats 10 in the carrier device 01. It is not difficult to see that this electrical connection method shows that the conductive structure 12 in each carrier boat 10 not only electrically connects all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 or all even-numbered boat pieces 102 in the carrier boat 10 , but also electrically connects two adjacent carrier boats 10 .

[0027] The multiple carrier boats 10 included in the carrier device 01 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention can be electrically connected to each other through the conductive structure 12 included in the carrier boat 10. This structure allows a smaller number of carrier boats 10 in the carrier device 01 to be directly electrically connected to the RF power supply, without the need for each carrier boat 10 to be directly electrically connected to the RF power supply. This also means that the semiconductor process chamber does not need to be equipped with a large number of electrical connection structures that are directly electrically connected to the carrier boat 10, nor does the semiconductor process chamber need to be equipped with a dedicated RF power supply for each carrier boat 10, which can simplify the structure of the semiconductor process chamber. At the same time, the conductive structure 12 of each carrier boat 10 not only serves to electrically connect all odd-numbered boat slices 101 or even-numbered boat slices 102 in the carrier boat 10 in which it is located, but also serves to electrically connect the carrier boat 10 in which it is located with the adjacent carrier boat 10. In this case, the carrier device 01 does not need to be specially equipped with an electrical connection structure to electrically connect two adjacent carrier boats 10, which can simplify the structure of the carrier device 01.

[0028] In a further technical solution, the conductive structure 12 of at least one of the two adjacent carrier boats 10 may include a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the other and supports and cooperates with the conductive structure 12 of the other. The boat sheets 11 of the two adjacent carrier boats 10 can be separated by the support protrusion 121, that is, the support protrusion 121 protrudes from the boat sheet 11 of the carrier boat 10 in which it is located, so that the boat sheets 11 of the two adjacent carrier boats 10 are not in contact with each other and a gap is formed, which can be referred to as a first gap. During the semiconductor process, since the process gas can flow between the two adjacent carrier boats 10 through the first gap, the semiconductor sheets in the carrier boat 10 above the first gap and the semiconductor sheets in the carrier boat 10 below the first gap can be more evenly coated, which is beneficial to improving process uniformity.

[0029] It should be noted that there are various embodiments in which the conductive structure 12 of at least one of two adjacent carrier boats 10 may include a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the other (i.e., protrudes in the stacking direction) and supports and cooperates with the other conductive structure 12. In one embodiment, of two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrier boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the lower carrier boat 10 and supports and cooperates with the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10, while the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10 does not form a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the upper carrier boat 10. In another embodiment, of two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrier boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the upper carrier boat 10 and supports and cooperates with the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrier boat 10, while the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrier boat 10 does not form a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the lower carrier boat 10.

[0030] In another embodiment, in two adjacent carrying boats 10, the conductive structure 12 of the lower carrying boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121 protruding toward the upper carrying boat 10, and the conductive structure 12 of the upper carrying boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121 protruding toward the lower carrying boat 10. The support protrusion 121 of the upper carrying boat 10 can be supported on the support protrusion 121 of the lower carrying boat 10, or, one of the support protrusion 121 of the upper carrying boat 10 and the support protrusion 121 of the lower carrying boat 10 can be supported on a portion of the other conductive structure 12 where the support protrusion 121 is not provided.

[0031] In other embodiments, the conductive structures 12 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 may not include the support protrusions 121, that is, the boats 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 may directly contact each other without being separated. In this case, the boats 11 of the two adjacent carrier boats 10 are in corresponding contact with each other, and it is necessary to ensure that the potentials of the two adjacent boats 11 in each carrier boat 10 are different. For example, the odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are in one-to-one contact with the odd-numbered boats 101 of the lower carrier boat 10, and the even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are in one-to-one contact with the even-numbered boats 102 of the lower carrier boat 10. For another example, the odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are in one-to-one contact with the even-numbered boats 102 of the lower carrier boat 10, and the even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are in one-to-one contact with the odd-numbered boats 101 of the lower carrier boat 10. Since the carrier device 01 of this structure does not separate the two adjacent carrier boats 10, the process gas flowability between the two adjacent carrier boats 10 is poor. However, since there is no first gap, the carrier device 01 of this structure is more compact and can reduce the occupied space.

[0032] In the embodiment where the boat pieces 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 are separated by support protrusions 121, there are various numbers and distribution patterns of the support protrusions 121, which are not limited by the embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the boat pieces 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 can be separated by at least one group of support protrusions 121. Each group of support protrusions 121 can include at least two support protrusions 121 spaced apart along the width direction of the carrier boat 10. In this structure, the support protrusions 121 included in each group of support protrusions 121 are spaced apart along the width direction of the carrier boat 10, so that the process gas can flow from the gap between each group of support protrusions 121 (which can be called the second gap) during the semiconductor process, which is beneficial to improve the uniformity of the process gas in the carrier device 01 and the uniformity of the process.

[0033] Of course, in other embodiments, all the support protrusions 121 included in each group of support protrusions 121 may not be arranged at intervals.

[0034] In an embodiment of the present invention, the boat pieces 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 can be separated by a group of supporting protrusions 121. In order to ensure the stability of the support, a group of supporting protrusions 121 can be supported between the middle parts of the boat pieces 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10. In order to improve the stability of the support, the boat pieces 11 of two adjacent carrier boats 10 can be separated by multiple groups of supporting protrusions 121. In a further embodiment, the multiple groups of supporting protrusions 121 can be distributed at intervals in the length direction of the carrier boat 10. It should be noted that the direction in which the carrier device 01 enters and exits the semiconductor process chamber through the chamber port of the semiconductor process chamber can be considered as the length direction of the carrier boat 10. The arrangement direction of the boat pieces 11 in each carrier boat 10 can be considered as the width direction of the carrier boat 10. The length direction of the carrier boat 10 is perpendicular to the width direction of the carrier boat 10, and is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the carrier boat 10.

[0035] As described above, each carrier boat 10 includes a conductive structure 12, odd-numbered boat pieces 101, and even-numbered boat pieces 102. The odd-numbered boat pieces 101 are configured with corresponding conductive structures 12, and the even-numbered boat pieces 102 are also configured with corresponding conductive structures 12. In one embodiment, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121; and / or, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 includes a support protrusion 121. In this case, the support protrusion 121 can also serve as the foot of the upper carrier boat 10.

[0036] That is, in one embodiment, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 may include support protrusions 121, while the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 may not include support protrusions 121. In this case, the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to a portion of the boat pieces 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the lower carrier boat 10), while the even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are not electrically connected to another portion of the boat pieces 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the lower carrier boat 10). In this case, the even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 and the other portion of the boat pieces 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 need to be connected to RF electrodes with the same potential.

[0037] In another embodiment, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 may include support protrusions 121, while the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 may not include support protrusions 121. In this case, the even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to a portion of the boats 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the even-numbered boats 102 of the lower carrier boat 10), while the odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are not electrically connected to another portion of the boats 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the odd-numbered boats 101 of the lower carrier boat 10). In this case, the odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 and the other portion of the boats 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 need to be connected to the same RF electrodes.

[0038] In another embodiment, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 includes support protrusions 121, while the conductive structure 12 electrically connecting all even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 also includes support protrusions 121. In this case, the odd-numbered boats 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to a portion of the boats 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the odd-numbered boats 101 of the lower carrier boat 10), and the even-numbered boats 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to another portion of the boats 11 of the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the even-numbered boats 102 of the lower carrier boat 10). In this case, only the odd-numbered boats 101 and even-numbered boats 102 of one of the two adjacent carrier boats 10 need to be connected to RF electrodes with different potentials. This structure can minimize the number of RF power supplies required for the semiconductor process chamber.

[0039] To improve stacking stability, the support protrusions 121 can be provided with plug-in protrusions 1212 that protrude in the stacking direction of the carrier boats 10. The conductive structure 12 that supports and cooperates with the support protrusions 121 can be provided with plug-in slots 1211, and the plug-in protrusions 1212 plug into and mate with the plug-in slots 1211. This structure enables two adjacent carrier boats 10 to be positioned and stacked together through the plug-in engagement of the plug-in protrusions 1212 with the plug-in slots 1211, preventing the two adjacent carrier boats 10 from sliding sideways. Alternatively, the support protrusions 121 can be provided with plug-in slots 1211, and the conductive structure 12 that supports and cooperates with the support protrusions 121 can include plug-in protrusions 1212 that protrude in the stacking direction of the carrier boats 10, and the plug-in protrusions 1212 plug into and mate with the plug-in slots 1211.

[0040] To further improve stacking stability, there can be multiple insertion slots 1211 and multiple insertion protrusions 1212. Multiple insertion protrusions 1212 can be inserted into multiple insertion slots 1211 in a one-to-one correspondence. Of course, two adjacent carrier boats 10 can be positioned by interlocking one insertion slot 1211 with one insertion protrusion 1212. The embodiments of the present invention do not limit the number of insertion protrusions 1212 and insertion slots 1211 between two adjacent carrier boats 10.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present invention, the plug-in slot 1211 is adapted to the shape of the plug-in protrusion 1212. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific shapes of the plug-in slot 1211 and the plug-in protrusion 1212. In one embodiment, the plug-in slot 1211 can be a through slot extending along the length of the carrier boat 10. In another embodiment, the plug-in slot 1211 can be a closed slot formed by connecting multiple inner walls end to end to form a slot opening. If the plug-in slot 1211 is a closed slot, it can restrict the plug-in protrusion 1212 in more directions, thereby achieving better positioning with the plug-in protrusion 1212, which is conducive to further improving the stability of the stacking of two adjacent carrier boats 10.

[0042] In the same carrier boat 10, the conductive structure 12 connecting all the odd-numbered boat sheets 101 and the conductive structure 12 connecting all the even-numbered boat sheets 102 can have various structures. For example, in the same carrier boat 10, the conductive structure 12 connecting all the odd-numbered boat sheets 101 can be located at the first end of the carrier boat 10, and the conductive structure 12 connecting all the odd-numbered boat sheets 101 protrudes from the top and bottom of the boat sheet 11 at both ends in the stacking direction to form support protrusions 121. The conductive structure 12 connecting all the even-numbered boat sheets 102 can be located at the second end of the carrier boat 10, and the conductive structure 12 connecting all the even-numbered boat sheets 102 protrudes from the top and bottom of the boat sheet 11 at both ends in the stacking direction to form support protrusions 121.

[0043] It should be noted that, in this article, the first end of the carrying boat 10 and the second end of the carrying boat 10 are respectively two ends of the carrying boat 10 distributed in the length direction thereof.

[0044] The embodiment of the present invention discloses a specific conductive structure 12. The disclosed conductive structure 12 may include a first sub-conductive structure 103 and a second sub-conductive structure 104.

[0045] In the conductive structure 12 connecting the odd-numbered boat pieces 101, a first sub-conductive structure 103 electrically connects all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 in the carrier boat 10 at the bottom of the first end of the carrier boat 10, and a second sub-conductive structure 104 electrically connects all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 in the carrier boat 10 at the top of the second end of the carrier boat 10. This type of conductive structure 12 enables multiple electrical connections between all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 in the carrier boat 10, thereby improving the stability of the electrical connections among all odd-numbered boat pieces 101 in the carrier boat 10.

[0046] In the conductive structure 12 connecting the even-numbered boats 102, a first sub-conductive structure 103 electrically connects all the even-numbered boats 102 at the bottom of the second end of the carrier boat 10, and a second sub-conductive structure 104 electrically connects all the even-numbered boats 102 at the top of the first end of the carrier boat 10. Similarly, this type of conductive structure 12 enables multiple electrical connections between all the even-numbered boats 102 in the carrier boat 10, thereby improving the stability of the electrical connections among all the even-numbered boats 102 in the carrier boat 10.

[0047] In two adjacent carrier boats 10, the first sub-conductive structure 103 of the upper carrier boat 10 is supported on the second sub-conductive structure 104 of the lower carrier boat 10 and is electrically connected to the second sub-conductive structure 104 of the lower carrier boat 10. For example, the first sub-conductive structure 103 connected to the odd-numbered boat segments 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 is electrically connected to the second sub-conductive structure 104 connected to the odd-numbered boat segments 101 of the lower carrier boat 10, and the first sub-conductive structure 103 electrically connected to the even-numbered boat segments 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 is electrically connected to the second sub-conductive structure 104 electrically connected to the even-numbered boat segments 102 of the lower carrier boat 10.

[0048] In a further embodiment, in the conductive structure 12 connecting the odd-numbered boat pieces 101, the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 can be respectively connected at the two diagonals of the odd-numbered boat pieces 101; in the conductive structure 12 connecting the even-numbered boat pieces 102, the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 can be respectively connected at the two diagonals of the even-numbered boat pieces 102.

[0049] Since one of the two adjacent boat pieces 11 in each carrier boat 10 is an odd-numbered boat piece 101 and the other is an even-numbered boat piece 102, and the potentials of the odd-numbered boat piece 101 and the even-numbered boat piece 102 are different during the semiconductor process, the conductive structure 12 electrically connected to the odd-numbered boat piece 101 needs to be insulated from the even-numbered boat piece 102 in the same carrier boat 10. Similarly, the conductive structure 12 electrically connected to the even-numbered boat piece 102 needs to be insulated from the odd-numbered boat piece 101 in the same carrier boat 10. To provide insulation, in a further embodiment, the bottoms of the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 at the first end of the carrier boat 10 and the bottoms of the even-numbered boat pieces 102 at the second end of the carrier boat 10 are both electrically connected to first boat ears 111 protruding along the length of the carrier boat 10. The tops of the even-numbered boat pieces 102 at the first end of the carrier boat 10 and the tops of the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 at the second end of the carrier boat 10 are both electrically connected to second boat ears 112 protruding along the length of the carrier boat 10. The first boat ears 111 are electrically connected to the corresponding first sub-conductive structures 103, and the second boat ears 112 are electrically connected to the corresponding second sub-conductive structures 104.

[0050] In this embodiment, the provision of the first boat ear 111 and the second boat ear 112 easily prevents the conductive structure 12 electrically connected to the odd-numbered boat piece 101 from contacting the even-numbered boat piece 102, thereby achieving the purpose of insulation, and also easily prevents the conductive structure 12 electrically connected to the even-numbered boat piece 102 from contacting the odd-numbered boat piece 101, thereby achieving the purpose of insulation.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present invention, the structures of the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 can be various. In one embodiment, the first sub-conductive structure 103 is a monolithic conductive base. The conductive base can extend multiple fins to electrically connect to all odd-numbered boats 101 or even-numbered boats 102. At the same time, all odd-numbered boats 101 or even-numbered boats 102 electrically connected to the conductive base can be supported on the conductive base. Similarly, the structure of the second sub-conductive structure 104 can be the same as that of the first sub-conductive structure 103.

[0052] In another embodiment, the first sub-conductive structure 103 may include a plurality of first electrical connection blocks 113 distributed in a row and respectively clamped between the first boat ears 111 corresponding to the odd-numbered boat sheets 101 or between the first boat ears 111 corresponding to the even-numbered boat sheets 102. Two adjacent odd-numbered boat sheets 101 can be electrically connected through a corresponding first electrical connection block 113 located between the first boat ears 111 of the odd-numbered boat sheets 101, and two adjacent even-numbered boat sheets 102 can be electrically connected through a corresponding first electrical connection block 113 located between the first boat ears 111 of the even-numbered boat sheets 102. Similarly, the second sub-conductive structure 104 may include a plurality of second electrical connection blocks 114 distributed in a row and respectively clamped between the second boat ears 112 corresponding to the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 or between the second boat ears 112 corresponding to the even-numbered boat pieces 102. Two adjacent odd-numbered boat pieces 101 may be electrically connected via a corresponding second electrical connection block 114 located between the second boat ears 112 of the two adjacent odd-numbered boat pieces 101, and two adjacent even-numbered boat pieces 102 may be electrically connected via a corresponding second electrical connection block 114 located between the second boat ears 112 of the two adjacent even-numbered boat pieces 102. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention do not limit the specific structures of the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104.

[0053] The load-carrying boat 10 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include at least one first connecting structure 14, which is used to securely connect all of the boat segments 11 within the load-carrying boat 10 while ensuring insulation between adjacent boat segments 11. In one embodiment, the first connecting structure 14 may include a first bolt, a first nut, and a plurality of insulating isolation blocks (e.g., ceramic blocks). Each of the adjacent boat segments 11 in the load-carrying boat 10 may be insulated and isolated by an insulating isolation block. The first bolt passes through all of the boat segments 11 and insulating isolation blocks in the load-carrying boat 10 and is then threadedly locked with the first nut, thereby securing all of the boat segments 11 and insulating isolation blocks in the load-carrying boat 10 between the first nut and the nut cap of the first bolt.

[0054] To improve the stability of the fastening, each carrier boat 10 may include multiple first connection structures 14, which are distributed at different positions of the carrier boat 10, thereby fastening multiple parts of the carrier boat 10. Under the fastening of the first connection structures 14, the multiple first electrical connection blocks 113 are clamped and fixed between the first boat ears 111, and the multiple second electrical connection blocks 114 are clamped and fixed between the second boat ears 112.

[0055] To prevent the first electrical connection block 113 and the second electrical connection block 114 from falling, the carrier boat 10 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention may further include multiple second connection structures 15. Each first sub-conductive structure 103 and each second sub-conductive structure 104 may be configured with at least one second connection structure 15. The second connection structures 15 may include a second bolt and a second nut. The second bolt passes through all first boat ears 111 and the first electrical connection block 113 or the second boat ears 112 and the second electrical connection block 114, and is threadedly engaged with the second nut. This ensures that all first boat ears 111 and the first electrical connection block 113 are fastened between the corresponding second bolt nuts and the second nuts, and also ensures that all second boat ears 112 and the second electrical connection block 114 are fastened between the corresponding second bolt nuts and the second nuts. This structure allows the second bolt to pass through the first electrical connection block 113 or the second electrical connection block 114, thereby preventing the first electrical connection block 113 or the second electrical connection block 114 from falling. At the same time, this approach can enable the conductive structure 12 to be more stably connected to the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 or the even-numbered boat pieces 102 , thereby enabling the conductive structure 12 to more stably achieve conductive support cooperation between two adjacent carrying boats 10 .

[0056] In order to facilitate support and conductive cooperation between two adjacent carrier boats 10 and the upper carrier boat 10, in an optional solution, the top edge of the second boat ear 112 in the lower carrier boat 10 can be flush with the top edges of the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 and the even-numbered boat pieces 102 in the carrier boat 10 in which it is located. This structure can bring the second sub-conductive structure 104 located on the top of the lower carrier boat 10 closer to the upper carrier boat 10, thereby facilitating support and conductive cooperation with the first sub-conductive structure 103 of the upper carrier boat 10.

[0057] In a further embodiment, in two adjacent carrier boats 10, the second electrical connection block 114 in the lower carrier boat 10 may be no lower than the top edges of the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 and the even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the lower carrier boat 10, so that the second sub-conductive structure 104 is closer to the upper carrier boat 10, making it easier to achieve supporting conductive cooperation with the first sub-conductive structure 103 of the upper carrier boat 10.

[0058] There are various ways to connect the carrier boat 10 to an RF power supply. In the carrier device 01 disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention, the conductive structure 12 of each carrier boat 10 can be provided with an electrode insertion hole 115 to allow for insertion and mating with electrodes of different potentials from the RF power supply. In embodiments where the conductive structure 12 includes a first sub-conductive structure 103 and a second sub-conductive structure 104, both the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 located at the first or second end of the carrier boat 10 are provided with an electrode insertion hole 115.

[0059] In an embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent carrier boats 10 are electrically connected via a conductive structure 12, thereby enabling semiconductor process equipment to be equipped with at least one less electrode terminal of an RF power supply. In two adjacent carrier boats 10, the conductive structure 12 of each carrier boat 10 can have two electrode plugging holes 115, one of which is a positive electrode plugging hole for RF positive input, and the other is a negative electrode plugging hole for RF negative input. The two electrode plugging holes 115 are respectively plugged and electrically connected to the first electrode terminal and the second electrode terminal of the RF power supply. In the case where the conductive structure 12 includes a first sub-conductive structure 103 and a second sub-conductive structure 104, both the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 located at the first end or the second end of the carrier boat 10 are provided with an electrode plugging hole 115.

[0060] In two adjacent carrier boats 10, the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to the conductive structures 12 of a portion of the boat pieces 11 electrically connected to the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the odd-numbered boat pieces 101 of the lower carrier boat 10) via corresponding conductive structures 12. The even-numbered boat pieces 102 of the upper carrier boat 10 are electrically connected to the conductive structures 12 of another portion of the boat pieces 11 electrically connected to the lower carrier boat 10 (e.g., the lower carrier boat 10) via corresponding conductive structures 12. In this case, of all the positive and negative electrode plug-in holes in the carrier device 01, simply connecting one positive and one negative electrode plug-in hole to the electrode terminals corresponding to the RF power supply allows the entire carrier device 01 to be connected to the RF power supply.

[0061] Among all the positive and negative electrode plug-in holes in the carrier device 01 , at least two positive or negative plug-in holes are connected to the electrode ends corresponding to the RF power supply, so that the potential at various locations of the carrier boat 10 can be more balanced.

[0062] As described above, the conductive structure 12 of at least one of the two adjacent carrying boats 10 may include a support protrusion 121 that protrudes toward the other and supports and cooperates with the other conductive structure 12. In the case where the conductive structure 12 includes the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104, at least one of the first sub-conductive structure 103 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 includes the support protrusion 121.

[0063] In an embodiment where the first sub-conductive structure 103 includes a supporting protrusion 121 and the first sub-conductive structure 103 includes a plurality of first electrical connection blocks 113, at least two of the plurality of first electrical connection blocks 113 may protrude in the stacking direction and collectively form the supporting protrusion 121. To reduce assembly of fragmented components, the plurality of first electrical connection blocks 113 collectively forming the supporting protrusion 121 may be an integrated structure.

[0064] Similarly, in embodiments where the second sub-conductive structure 104 includes a supporting protrusion 121 and the second sub-conductive structure 104 includes a plurality of second electrical connection blocks 114, at least two of the plurality of second electrical connection blocks 114 may protrude in the stacking direction and collectively form the supporting protrusion 121. Similarly, to reduce the assembly of fragmented components, the plurality of second electrical connection blocks 114 collectively forming the supporting protrusion 121 may also be an integrated structure.

[0065] Based on the carrier device 01 disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, the embodiment of the present invention discloses a semiconductor process chamber. The disclosed semiconductor process chamber includes a chamber body 02 and the carrier device 01 described in the above embodiment. The chamber body 02 is provided with a process space 021, and the carrier device 01 is arranged in the process space 021.

[0066] When process space 021 is open, carrier 01 can enter and exit process space 021. Before semiconductor processing, carrier 01 loaded with semiconductor wafers (e.g., silicon wafers) enters process space 021. After semiconductor processing, carrier 01 loaded with semiconductor wafers is removed from process space 021.

[0067] The above embodiments of this application focus on the differences between the various embodiments. As long as the different features of the various embodiments are not contradictory, they can be combined to form more specific embodiments. Considering the simplicity of the text, they will not be repeated here.

[0068] The embodiments of the present application are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods. The above-mentioned specific implementation methods are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the guidance of this application, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of this application and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of this application.

Claims

1. A carrying device, characterized in that: It comprises a plurality of carrier boats (10) stacked in sequence, wherein each of the carrier boats (10) comprises a plurality of boat sheets (11) and a plurality of conductive structures (12), and in each of the carrier boats (10), one of two adjacent boat sheets (11) is an odd-numbered boat sheet (101) and the other is an even-numbered boat sheet (102); All the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) and all the even-numbered boat pieces (102) in each of the carrying boats (10) are electrically connected via corresponding conductive structures (12); In two adjacent carrier boats (10), the conductive structure (12) of the upper carrier boat (10) is supported on the conductive structure (12) of the lower carrier boat (10) and is electrically connected to the conductive structure (12) of the lower carrier boat (10); the conductive structure (12) of at least one of the two adjacent carrier boats (10) includes a support protrusion (121) protruding toward the other and supporting and cooperating with the conductive structure (12) of the other; the boat sheets (11) of the two adjacent carrier boats (10) are separated by the support protrusion (121).

2. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The boat pieces (11) of two adjacent carrying boats (10) are separated by at least one group of supporting protrusions (121); wherein: Each group of the supporting protrusions (121) comprises at least two supporting protrusions (121) spaced apart and distributed along the width direction of the carrying boat (10).

3. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: In two adjacent carrier boats (10), the conductive structure (12) electrically connecting all the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) of the upper carrier boat (10) includes the supporting protrusion (121); and / or, in two adjacent carrier boats (10), the conductive structure (12) electrically connecting all the even-numbered boat pieces (102) of the upper carrier boat (10) includes the supporting protrusion (121).

4. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting protrusion (121) is provided between the first ends of the boat pieces (11) of two adjacent carrying boats (10), and the supporting protrusion (121) is provided between the second ends of the boat pieces (11) of two adjacent carrying boats (10); the first end of the boat piece (11) and the second end of the boat piece (11) are the two ends of the boat piece (11) distributed along the length direction of the carrying boat (10).

5. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting protrusion (121) is provided with a plug-in protrusion (1212) protruding in the stacking direction of the carrying boat (10); the conductive structure (12) supported and matched with the supporting protrusion (121) is provided with a plug-in slot (1211); and the plug-in protrusion (1212) is plug-fitted with the plug-in slot (1211).

6. The carrying device according to claim 5, characterized in that: There are a plurality of the plugging slots (1211), and a plurality of the plugging protrusions (1212), and the plurality of the plugging protrusions (1212) are plugged into the plurality of the plugging slots (1211) in a one-to-one correspondence.

7. The carrying device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The plug-in slot (1211) is a through slot that passes through along the length direction of the carrying boat (10); or, the plug-in slot (1211) is a closed slot formed by connecting multiple slot inner walls end to end to form a slot opening.

8. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductive structure (12) comprises a first sub-conductive structure (103) and a second sub-conductive structure (104); wherein: In the conductive structure (12) connecting the odd-numbered boat pieces (101), the first sub-conductive structure (103) is electrically connected to all the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) at the bottom of the first end of the carrier boat (10), and the second sub-conductive structure (104) is electrically connected to all the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) at the top of the second end of the carrier boat (10); in the conductive structure (12) connecting the even-numbered boat pieces (102), the first sub-conductive structure (103) is electrically connected to all the even-numbered boat pieces (102) at the bottom of the second end of the carrier boat (10), and the second sub-conductive structure (104) is electrically connected to all the even-numbered boat pieces (102) at the top of the first end of the carrier boat (10); The first end of the carrying boat (10) and the second end of the carrying boat (10) are two ends of the carrying boat (10) distributed along the length direction thereof; in two adjacent carrying boats (10), the first sub-conductive structure (103) of the upper carrying boat (10) is supported on the second sub-conductive structure (104) of the lower carrying boat (10), and is electrically connected to the second sub-conductive structure (104) of the lower carrying boat (10).

9. The carrying device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The bottom of the odd-numbered boat piece (101) located at the first end of the carrying boat (10) and the bottom of the even-numbered boat piece (102) located at the second end of the carrying boat (10) are both electrically connected to a first boat ear (111) protruding along the length direction; the top of the odd-numbered boat piece (101) located at the first end of the carrying boat (10) and the top of the even-numbered boat piece (102) located at the second end of the carrying boat (10) are both electrically connected to a second boat ear (112) protruding along the length direction; The first boat ear (111) is electrically connected to the corresponding first sub-conductive structure (103), and the second boat ear (112) is electrically connected to the corresponding second sub-conductive structure (104).

10. The carrying device according to claim 9, characterized in that: In two adjacent carrying boats (10), the top edge of the second boat ear (112) in the lower carrying boat (10) is flush with the top edges of the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) and the even-numbered boat pieces (102).

11. The carrying device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The second sub-conductive structure (104) includes a plurality of second electrical connection blocks (114) distributed in a row and respectively clamped between the second boat ears (112) corresponding to the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) or between the second boat ears (112) corresponding to the even-numbered boat pieces (102); in two adjacent carrying boats (10), the second electrical connection block (114) in the lower carrying boat (10) is not lower than the top edges of the odd-numbered boat pieces (101) and the even-numbered boat pieces (102) of the lower carrying boat (10).

12. The carrying device according to claim 8, characterized in that: In each of the carrying boats (10), the first sub-conductive structure (103) and the second sub-conductive structure (104) located at the first end or the second end of the carrying boat (10) are both provided with electrode plugging holes (115).

13. A semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that: It comprises a chamber body (02) and a carrying device (01) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the chamber body (02) is provided with a process space (021), and the carrying device (01) is arranged in the process space (021).

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