Heat treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention provides heat treatment equipment, and relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing. The heat treatment equipment comprises a reaction cavity, the top of the reaction cavity is provided with a top air inlet side, and the reaction cavity is further provided with an exhaust side; the supporting piece is positioned in the reaction cavity; the gas inlet device is connected with the top wall of the reaction cavity; the air outlet end of the air inlet device extends towards the central area of the workpiece; the exhaust device is positioned in the reaction cavity and is connected with the exhaust side; the exhaust device is provided with a center hole; the exhaust device is provided with a plurality of suction ports, and the suction ports are used for sucking process gas from different directions around the workpiece. According to the heat treatment equipment disclosed by the invention, the process gas is exhausted into the central area of the workpiece from the top of the reaction cavity and is exhausted out of the reaction cavity from the edge of the workpiece through the exhaust device, and the moving path of the process gas in the reaction cavity is short, so that ionization of partial process gas due to absorption of excessive heat energy in the reaction cavity is avoided, and the utilization rate of the process gas is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly to thermal processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the heat treatment process of wafers, process gas enters the reaction chamber from one side of the chamber and participates in the oxidation reaction of the workpiece before being discharged from the opposite side of the chamber, and the utilization rate of the process gas is low. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present disclosure provides a heat treatment device, comprising: a reaction chamber, the top of the reaction chamber having a top air inlet side, and the reaction chamber also having an exhaust side; a support member, located in the reaction chamber; the support member is used to carry a workpiece; an air inlet device, connected to the top wall of the reaction chamber; the air outlet end of the air inlet device extends toward the central area of ​​the workpiece; an exhaust device, located in the reaction chamber and connected to the exhaust side; the exhaust device has a central hole; the workpiece is arranged in the central hole; the exhaust device is provided with a plurality of suction ports, and the plurality of suction ports are used to draw process gas from different directions around the workpiece.

[0004] In some embodiments, the exhaust device includes a vacuum suction cup; the vacuum suction cup is provided with a central hole, and a plurality of suction ports are evenly distributed on the inner wall of the central hole facing the central axis of the reaction chamber.

[0005] In some embodiments, a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber is taken as a horizontal plane, and centers of at least two suction ports are located on the same horizontal plane.

[0006] In some embodiments, a top end of the suction port located above is lower than a lower surface of the workpiece carried by the support member.

[0007] In some embodiments, the air intake device includes an air intake pipe and a mixing element, wherein an air outlet is formed at one end of the air intake pipe facing the workpiece, and an end of the air intake pipe facing away from the air outlet is connected to the mixing element; an air cavity is defined inside the mixing element, and the air cavity is used to provide a buffer space for reducing the gas flow rate, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the air cavity perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake channel in the air intake pipe; a mixing block is provided in the mixing element, and the mixing block is used to divide the air cavity into a plurality of sub-cavities; the mixing block has a plurality of air channels connecting two adjacent sub-cavities, so that the process gas in the sub-cavity away from the air intake pipe is mixed through the plurality of air channels and discharged into the sub-cavity close to the air intake pipe.

[0008] In some embodiments, multiple air channels are distributed in pairs on the mixing block, and the distance between the center points of the two air inlets of each pair of air channels is smaller than the distance between the center points of the two air outlets of each pair of air channels; the length of one of the air channels in each pair of air channels is greater than the length of the other air channel in each pair of air channels.

[0009] In some embodiments, the mixing block includes a plurality of mixing blocks, and the plurality of mixing blocks are spaced apart and distributed along the axial direction of the mixing element.

[0010] In some embodiments, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the plurality of air passages is at least twice the cross-sectional area of ​​the air inlet pipe.

[0011] In some embodiments, at least four pairs of air channels are distributed on the mixing block.

[0012] In some embodiments, the exhaust device includes at least one hundred and twenty suction ports.

[0013] In the heat treatment equipment provided in this embodiment, the process gas is discharged from the top of the reaction chamber into the central area of ​​the workpiece, and is discharged from the reaction chamber through the edge of the workpiece through the exhaust device. The movement path of the process gas in the reaction chamber is short, which avoids part of the process gas absorbing too much heat energy in the reaction chamber and ionizing, thereby improving the utilization rate of the process gas.

[0014] It should be understood that the contents described in the summary of the invention are not intended to limit the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of process gas flow in a chamber of the related art;

[0017] Figure 2 It is a gas density distribution diagram on a wafer in a related art chamber;

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a heat treatment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a heat treatment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a heat treatment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a mixing element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the hybrid block of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Description of reference numerals:

[0024] 100: Heat treatment equipment;

[0025] 101: reaction chamber;

[0026] 1011: Top air intake side;

[0027] 1012: Exhaust side;

[0028] 102: support member;

[0029] 103: air intake device;

[0030] 1031: Intake pipe;

[0031] 1032: Mixed parts;

[0032] 1033: air cavity;

[0033] 1034: sub-cavity;

[0034] 1035: Mixed blocks;

[0035] 1036: Airway;

[0036] 104: Exhaust device;

[0037] 1041: center hole;

[0038] 1042: Suction port;

[0039] 105: Workpiece;

[0040] 1051: Edge protection ring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following is a description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Similarly, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description.

[0042] Heat treatment is an important part of the semiconductor wafer manufacturing environment. The heat treatment process requires the introduction of a variety of process gases, which react chemically with the surface materials of the wafer under high temperature to form an extremely thin and relatively uniform oxide layer. In the related art, the heat treatment chamber has the process gas inlet set on one side of the wafer and the process gas outlet set on the opposite side of the wafer. Figure 1The arrows show a schematic diagram of the process gas flow in the chamber of the related technology. Since the path of the process gas from one side of the chamber to the opposite side is long, the energy absorption in the process is large. When some process gases (such as hydrogen) absorb too much heat and reach the thermal ionization state, they no longer participate in the oxidation reaction, which reduces the utilization rate of the process gas. In order to solve the above technical problems, the heat treatment equipment disclosed in the present invention can shorten the path length of the process gas moving in the chamber by discharging the process gas into the central area of ​​the wafer at the top of the chamber and sucking out the process gas at the edge of the wafer, thereby avoiding some process gases absorbing too much energy and being ionized, and improving the utilization rate of the process gas.

[0043] like Figures 3 to 7 As shown, the present disclosure provides a heat treatment device 100, including: a reaction chamber 101, the top of the reaction chamber 101 has a top air inlet side 1011, and the reaction chamber 101 also has an exhaust side 1012 located on the side; a support member 102, located in the reaction chamber 101; the support member 102 is used to carry a workpiece 105; an air inlet device 103, connected to the top wall of the reaction chamber 101; the air outlet end of the air inlet device 103 extends toward the central area of ​​the workpiece 105; an exhaust device 104, located in the reaction chamber 101 and connected to the exhaust side 1012; the exhaust device 104 has a central hole 1041; the workpiece 105 is configured in the central hole 1041; the exhaust device 104 is provided with a plurality of suction ports 1042, and the plurality of suction ports 1042 are used to draw process gas from different directions around the workpiece 105.

[0044] The heat treatment device 100 is a device for heat treatment of a workpiece 105 (i.e., a wafer) during semiconductor manufacturing. The portion of the heat treatment device 100 for accommodating the wafer is a reaction chamber 101, and the wafer can be placed in the reaction chamber 101 for heat treatment. The reaction chamber 101 can be columnar, for example, the reaction chamber 101 can be cylindrical, prismatic, or conical, and the specific shape of the reaction chamber 101 can be set as needed.

[0045] For the convenience of description, in this embodiment, the direction from the top of the reaction chamber 101 to the bottom of the reaction chamber 101 is defined as the direction from top (or top) to bottom (or bottom), and the up and down direction is the vertical direction of the heat treatment device 100 (that is, the axial direction of the reaction chamber 101); the axial direction of the reaction chamber 101 is Figure 3 Middle up and down direction.

[0046] The reaction chamber 101 may include: a top and a bottom, and a side portion connected between the top and the bottom. The chamber wall of the reaction chamber 101 may include: a top wall and a bottom wall, and a side wall connected between the top wall and the bottom wall. The top wall, the bottom wall and the side wall together enclose a relatively closed internal space, the shape of which may be the same as or different from the shape of the reaction chamber 101, and the workpiece 105 and the support member 102 may be located in the internal space.

[0047] The top wall of the reaction chamber 101 may be provided with a top air inlet side 1011, which may be understood as a structure cooperating with the air inlet device 103. The top air inlet side 1011 and the top wall may be an integrally formed structure or two independent parts connected to each other. The top air inlet side 1011 may have various positions relative to the top wall. For example, the top air inlet side 1011 may be approximately located in the central area of ​​the top wall or in a partial area close to the center of the top wall. In some embodiments, the central area of ​​the top wall may be arranged relative to the central area of ​​the workpiece 105.

[0048] The exhaust side 1012 of the reaction chamber 101 can be understood as a structure that cooperates with the exhaust device 104, which can be an integrally formed structure with the reaction chamber 101, or an independently configured structure. The exhaust side 1012 of the reaction chamber 101 can be located on the side wall of the reaction chamber 101 or the bottom wall of the reaction chamber 101, and can be arranged as needed.

[0049] The support member 102 can be understood as a device for carrying the workpiece 105, such as a tray, an air-floating turntable, etc. During heat treatment, the workpiece 105 is placed on the tray, and after the heat treatment is completed, the workpiece 105 can be removed from the tray.

[0050] The gas inlet device 103 may be partially located in the reaction chamber 101 and extend as far as possible toward the center of the workpiece 105 to discharge the process gas to the center of the workpiece 105 . After contacting the workpiece 105 , the process gas may freely diffuse toward the edge of the workpiece 105 .

[0051] The connection between the air intake device 103 and the top air intake side 1011 can be a fixed connection or a movable connection. For example, the air intake device 103 and the top air intake side 1011 are movably connected, thereby adjusting the distance between the air outlet end of the air intake device 103 and the workpiece 105 to adapt to different process requirements.

[0052] The exhaust device 104 is a structure for exhausting process gas from the reaction chamber 101. The exhaust device 104 can be disposed between the exhaust side 1012 and the workpiece 105. After the workpiece 105 is heat treated, the exhaust device 104 can extract process gas from the edge of the workpiece 105 and exhaust it to the outside of the reaction chamber 101.

[0053] The exhaust device 104 and the exhaust side 1012 may be fixedly connected or detachably connected to facilitate subsequent maintenance of the reaction chamber 101 and the exhaust device 104. The exhaust device 104 may be provided with a central hole 1041 to avoid the workpiece 105; when performing heat treatment, the workpiece 105 may be arranged in the central hole 1041 to improve the utilization rate of the space in the reaction chamber 101.

[0054] The multiple suction ports 1042 of the exhaust device 104 can be configured on a partial area close to the center hole 1041. Among them, the suction port 1042 can be a circular hole or a polygonal hole. For the convenience of description, the suction port 1042 will be taken as an example for explanation below. The number of suction ports 1042 can be limited by the caliber of the suction port 1042. For example, when more suction ports 1042 are set, suction ports 1042 with small calibers can be selected. There can be many ways to arrange the multiple suction ports 1042 with each other. For example, the multiple suction ports 1042 can be set corresponding to different positions on the edge of the workpiece 105, so that the process gas can be sucked from different directions around the workpiece 105. In some examples, the multiple suction ports 1042 can be evenly distributed along a preset circumference. In other examples, multiple suction ports 1042 can be distributed on multiple circles, taking the suction ports 1042 distributed on the same circle as a row of suction ports 1042 as an example, that is, multiple suction ports 1042 can also be distributed in multiple rows in parallel or multiple rows of staggered arrangements, and some suction ports 1042 located in the same row correspond to different positions on the edge of the workpiece 105.

[0055] According to the heat treatment equipment 100 disclosed in the present invention, the process gas is discharged from the top of the reaction chamber 101 into the central area of ​​the workpiece 105, and is discharged from the reaction chamber 101 through the edge of the workpiece 105 through the exhaust device 104. The movement path of the process gas in the reaction chamber 101 is short, which avoids part of the process gas absorbing too much heat energy in the reaction chamber 101 and ionizing, thereby improving the utilization rate of the process gas.

[0056] In some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, when the heat treatment equipment 100 is used, the process gas is directly sent down from the top and directly downward from the gas outlet of the gas inlet device 103, so that the process gas can be evenly diffused outward after contacting the workpiece 105. Multiple suction ports 1042 can be evenly arranged outside the circumference of the edge of the workpiece 105 to improve the uniformity of the outward diffusion of the process gas, and the gas path is relatively short, and the gas stratification phenomenon caused by different gas densities is no longer obvious; at the same time, the energy absorption of the process gas during the diffusion process is greatly reduced, and the thermal ionization state of part of the process gas is greatly reduced, which effectively improves the utilization rate of the process gas, improves the film quality, and saves production costs.

[0057] In some embodiments, the plurality of suction ports 1042 may be connected to the exhaust side 1012 via the same connecting pipe.

[0058] In some embodiments, Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the exhaust device 104 includes a vacuum suction cup; the vacuum suction cup is provided with a central hole 1041, and a plurality of suction ports 1042 are evenly distributed on the inner wall of the central hole 1041 facing the central axis of the reaction chamber 101.

[0059] The vacuum suction cup can be understood as Figure 4 The structure shown in the figure is generally an annular structure, and the hole-like structure of the inner ring can be understood as the central hole 1041. A plurality of suction ports 1042 are distributed on the inner hole wall of the central hole 1041 and are arranged relative to the edge of the workpiece 105.

[0060] The distances between the center points of two adjacent suction ports 1042 may be equal, so that the process gas can be uniformly sucked by the multiple suction ports 1042 .

[0061] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a stable gas flow field can be formed on the workpiece 105 to avoid affecting the quality of film formation due to different process gas densities on the workpiece 105 .

[0062] In some embodiments, a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber 101 is taken as a horizontal plane, and the centers of at least two suction ports 1042 are located in the same horizontal plane.

[0063] The plane where the bottom wall of the reaction chamber 101 is located is defined as the reference horizontal plane, and the multiple suction ports 1042 can be located at horizontal planes of different heights. For example, some suction ports 1042 are located at a horizontal plane of a first height, and other suction ports 1042 are located at a horizontal plane of a second height. The first height and the second height can be horizontal planes of different heights. It can be understood that the multiple suction ports 1042 can be distributed in multiple rows on the inner hole wall of the center hole 1041.

[0064] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the process gas on the upper surface of the workpiece 105 is sucked from different heights, thereby improving the efficiency of sucking the process gas.

[0065] In other embodiments, the exhaust device 104 at least includes an arc-shaped suction cup, the curvature of the arc-shaped suction cup is the same as the curvature of the workpiece 105, the workpiece 105 is disposed on the inner side of the arc-shaped suction cup, and the plurality of suction ports 1042 are evenly distributed on the inner side wall of the arc-shaped suction cup facing the central axis of the reaction chamber 101. Furthermore, the exhaust device 104 may also include multiple sections of arc-shaped suction cups that are interconnected, and the multiple sections of arc-shaped suction cups are disposed around the edge of the workpiece 105.

[0066] In some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, the top of the suction port 1042 located at the top is lower than the lower surface of the workpiece 105 supported by the support member 102; the distance between the top of the suction port 1042 and the lower surface of the workpiece 105 can be set according to actual needs. By configuring the suction port 1042 to be lower than the lower surface of the workpiece 105, the process gas can fully participate in the heat treatment of the edge of the workpiece 105.

[0067] In some embodiments, Figure 5As shown, the workpiece 105 can be placed on an air-floating turntable, and the workpiece 105 can be evenly heated and oxidized by the rotation of the air-floating turntable, which is fixed on the bottom wall.

[0068] In some embodiments, Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, the outer ring of the workpiece 105 is provided with an edge protection ring 1051, which is used to avoid the temperature and airflow defects at the edge of the workpiece 105; a vacuum suction cup is provided below the outer ring position of the edge protection ring 1051 and concentric with the edge protection ring 1051, and there are suction ports 1042 on the vacuum suction cup that are aligned with the edge of the edge protection ring 1051, and at least 120 suction ports 1042 are evenly distributed to ensure the consistency of the process gas at any point on the workpiece 105; the suction port 1042 is connected to the inside of the vacuum suction cup, and finally connected to the vacuum pump through the exhaust side 1012 to realize the discharge of the process gas. According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance from the process gas to the farthest process oxidation point is reduced, the existence of stratified flow is greatly reduced, the effective oxidation reaction is improved, and thus the film formation quality and process gas utilization rate are improved.

[0069] In some embodiments, due to the different densities of the process gases in the heat treatment chamber, and the maximum density difference can reach 21 times, there is a stratified flow phenomenon in actual working conditions, resulting in a decrease in the effective oxidation reaction. Figure 1 The arrows show a schematic diagram of the flow of process gases in the chamber of the related technology. Multiple process gases need to exist simultaneously on the surface of the wafer to effectively react chemically and form the required oxide film; however, the lightest of the process gases is hydrogen, which is 1 / 14 of the density of air, and the heaviest is nitrous oxide, which is 1.5 times the density of air. In actual working conditions, the process gases have a stratified flow phenomenon when entering the chamber, with the top layer being hydrogen, the bottom layer being nitrous oxide, and the middle being others; especially after entering the chamber from the quartz gas tube, most of the nitrous oxide will only stick to the upper surface of the wafer and eventually flow out from the exhaust port, while after hydrogen enters the chamber from the quartz gas tube, it first moves downward due to inertia, and then moves upward due to buoyancy. The farther the inlet pipe is from the exhaust port, the more obvious the hydrogen floats. According to the air intake device 103 of the heat treatment equipment 100 disclosed in the present invention, the process gas can be mixed to avoid stratification of the process gas.

[0070] In some embodiments, Figures 4 to 7As shown, the air intake device 103 includes an air intake pipe 1031 and a mixing piece 1032, wherein one end of the air intake pipe 1031 facing the workpiece 105 forms an air outlet, and the end of the air intake pipe 1031 away from the air outlet is connected to the mixing piece 1032; the interior of the mixing piece 1032 defines an air cavity 1033, and the air cavity 1033 is used to provide a buffer space for reducing the gas flow rate, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the air cavity 1033 perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber 101 is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake channel in the air intake pipe 1031; the mixing piece 1032 has a mixing block 1035 therein, and the mixing block 1035 is used to divide the air cavity 1033 into a plurality of sub-cavities 1034; the mixing block 1035 has a plurality of air channels 1036 connecting two adjacent sub-cavities 1034, so that the process gas in the sub-cavity 1034 away from the air intake pipe 1031 is mixed through the plurality of air channels 1036 and discharged into the sub-cavity 1034 close to the air intake pipe 1031.

[0071] The air inlet pipe 1031 is used to connect the mixing element 1032 with the internal space of the reaction chamber 101, and is used to guide the process gas in the mixing element 1032 to the area of ​​the reaction chamber 101 near the workpiece 105. It can be understood that a part of the air inlet pipe 1031 extends into the reaction chamber 101, and another part is located outside the reaction chamber 101; or, the bottom end of the mixing element 1032 extends into the reaction chamber 101, and the air inlet pipe 1031 is located in the reaction chamber 101. In some examples, the air inlet pipe 1031 can be a quartz gas pipe.

[0072] The air intake pipe 1031 can be integrated with the mixing element 1032 to improve integrity and sealing effect. Alternatively, the air intake pipe 1031 and the mixing element 1032 are independent components and can be sealed to facilitate cleaning or replacement of one of the air intake pipe 1031 and the mixing element 1032, thereby reducing subsequent maintenance costs.

[0073] The mixing element 1032 is a device for achieving gas mixing. Optionally, the mixing element 1032 can be arranged outside the reaction chamber 101 to facilitate miniaturization and light weight of the reaction chamber 101. The internal space of the mixing element 1032 is divided into a plurality of sub-cavities 1034 by the mixing block 1035. The cross-sectional area of ​​the sub-cavity 1034 is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet pipe 1031. After the process gas enters the sub-cavity 1034, the gas flow rate will be reduced.

[0074] The plurality of sub-cavities 1034 are connected via air passages 1036 in the mixing block 1035, as shown in FIG. Figure 6As shown, the process gas that reduces the gas flow rate in the uppermost sub-chamber 1034 will increase the gas flow rate again when entering the gas channel 1036 to promote the mixing of different types of process gases. It can be understood that the length of the gas channel 1036 determines the degree of gas mixing, that is, it can be understood that the longer the gas channel 1036, the more fully the multiple gases are mixed. The length of the gas channel 1036 is the path distance of the gas flowing from the gas inlet of the gas channel 1036 to the gas outlet.

[0075] There are many ways to arrange the gas channel 1036 on the mixing block 1035. Optionally, at least one gas channel 1036 extends in a direction inclined to the vertical direction, that is, the extension direction of at least one gas channel 1036 has a preset angle with the vertical direction, thereby increasing the flow path of the gas in the gas channel 1036 and improving the gas mixing effect. Alternatively, at least one gas channel 1036 extends in a direction parallel to the vertical direction to simplify the structure of the mixing block 1035.

[0076] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the mixing element 1032 is provided to mix the process gas, thereby effectively solving the problem of stratified flow of the process gas due to different densities before the process gas enters the reaction chamber 101 .

[0077] In some embodiments, Figure 7 As shown, multiple air channels 1036 are distributed in pairs on the mixing block 1035, and the distance between the center points of the two air inlets of each pair of air channels 1036 is smaller than the distance between the center points of the two air outlets of each pair of air channels 1036; the length of one of the air channels 1036 in each pair of air channels 1036 is greater than the length of the other air channel 1036 in each pair of air channels 1036.

[0078] The straight-line distance between the center points of the two air inlets of the paired air passages 1036 is smaller than the distance between the center points of the air outlets of the two air passages 1036. It can be understood that at least one of the air passages 1036 extends in a direction inclined to the vertical direction; the other air passage 1036 can extend in a direction parallel to the vertical direction or in a direction inclined to the vertical direction. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the uniformity of gas mixing can be improved.

[0079] In some embodiments, Figure 7 As shown, the two air outlets in each pair of air passages 1036 extend obliquely in two directions away from each other, for example Figure 7 The circle indicated by the solid line is the air inlet, the circle indicated by the dotted line is the air outlet, and the arrow indicates the extension direction of the airway 1036.

[0080] In some embodiments, the mixing block 1035 includes a plurality of mixing blocks 1035, and the plurality of mixing blocks 1035 are spaced apart and distributed along the axial direction of the mixing element 1032. Figure 6As shown, the mixing element 1032 is composed of sub-chamber one (the uppermost sub-chamber 1034), sub-chamber two (the middle sub-chamber 1034), sub-chamber three (the lowermost sub-chamber 1034), and two mixing blocks 1035. The function of sub-chamber one is to ensure that the external gas has a sufficiently large contact area with the contact mixing block 1035 and has a gas buffering and blocking effect. The function of sub-chamber two is to separate the two mixing blocks 1035 and to ensure uniform mixing of the gas in the middle transition. The function of sub-chamber three is to ensure that the external gas has a sufficiently large contact area with the contact mixing block 1035 to recover the gas and to ensure uniform mixing of the gas buffer. The mixing element 1032 performs two uniform gas mixing to ensure uniform mixing of different types of gases. If a higher degree of mixing is required, the number of mixing blocks 1035 and sub-chamber two can be increased. No further details are given. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the mixing uniformity of the process gas in the thermal oxidation reaction can be improved.

[0081] The distribution of the air passages 1036 on the multiple mixing blocks 1035 may be the same or different. For example, in some embodiments, the distribution of the air passages 1036 on two adjacent mixing blocks 1035 is the same. Or in some embodiments, on two adjacent mixing blocks 1035, the air outlet on the mixing block 1035 far from the air inlet pipe 1031 is staggered with the air inlet on the mixing block 1035 close to the air inlet pipe 1031. It can be understood that, on two adjacent mixing blocks 1035, the air outlet on the upper mixing block 1035 is not completely opposite to the air inlet on the lower mixing block 1035, and it can be a part of the opposite arrangement, another part of the staggered arrangement, or all of the staggered arrangement. So that the gas can enter the middle sub-chamber 1034 as fully as possible to reduce the flow rate before being discharged into the next air passage 1036 for mixing.

[0082] In some embodiments, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the plurality of air passages 1036 may be at least twice the cross-sectional area of ​​the air inlet pipe 1031 .

[0083] In some embodiments, at least four pairs of air passages 1036 may be distributed on the mixing block 1035; Figure 7 As shown, the mixing block 1035 has 8 air inlets on the upper end and 8 air outlets of the same diameter on the lower end. The sum of the cross-sectional areas of the 8 air outlets is twice the cross-sectional area of ​​the inner diameter of the port just entering the device, ensuring that the mixing element 1032 will not affect the process gas flow rate as much as possible; the 8 air inlets are divided into 4 groups and evenly distributed around the uniform block. The two air inlets in each group need to be very close, while the two air outlets corresponding to the two air inlets in each group are far apart, so that the gases near the adjacent air inlets are evenly split, thereby achieving uniform mixing. If a higher degree of mixing is required, the number of mixing blocks 1035 can be increased, which will not be repeated here.

[0084] In some embodiments, the wafer requires a stable environment in the thermal processing chamber. Figure 2As shown, as the wafer rotates, the process gas density in the three irregular areas on the upper surface of the wafer will be different from that in other areas of the wafer, thereby affecting the uniformity of the oxide film. According to the heat treatment equipment 100 disclosed in the present invention, the process gas is discharged into the central area of ​​the workpiece 105 through the gas inlet device 103 and discharged from the edge of the workpiece 105, so that a uniform gas flow field can be formed on the workpiece 105, thereby improving the uniformity of the generated oxide film.

[0085] In the description of this specification, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0086] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0087] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection, an electrical connection, or a communication; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0088] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, a first feature being “above” or “below” a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being “above”, “above”, and “above” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being “below”, “below”, and “below” a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0089] The disclosure above provides many different embodiments or examples to realize different structures of the present disclosure. In order to simplify the disclosure of the present disclosure, the components and settings of specific examples are described above. Of course, they are only examples, and the purpose is not to limit the present disclosure. In addition, the present disclosure can repeat reference numbers and / or reference letters in different examples, and this repetition is for the purpose of simplification and clarity, and does not itself indicate the relationship between the various embodiments and / or settings discussed.

[0090] The above specific implementations do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent substitution and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A heat treatment device, characterized in that: include: A reaction chamber, the top of the reaction chamber having a top air inlet side, and the reaction chamber also having an exhaust side; A support member, located in the reaction chamber; The support member is used to carry the workpiece; An air inlet device is connected to the top wall of the reaction chamber; the air outlet end of the air inlet device extends toward the central area of ​​the workpiece; An exhaust device is located in the reaction chamber and connected to the exhaust side; the exhaust device has a central hole; the workpiece is arranged in the central hole; the exhaust device is provided with a plurality of suction ports, and the plurality of suction ports are used to draw process gas from different directions around the workpiece.

2. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, wherein: The exhaust device comprises a vacuum suction cup; the vacuum suction cup is provided with the central hole, and a plurality of suction ports are evenly distributed on the inner hole wall of the central hole facing the central axis of the reaction chamber.

3. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 2, wherein: Taking a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber as a horizontal plane, centers of at least two suction ports are located on the same horizontal plane.

4. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 3, wherein: The top end of the suction port located at the top is lower than the lower surface of the workpiece carried by the support member.

5. The heat treatment equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The air intake device comprises an air intake pipe and a mixing element, wherein one end of the air intake pipe facing the workpiece forms the air outlet, and one end of the air intake pipe away from the air outlet is connected to the mixing element; an air cavity is defined inside the mixing element, and the air cavity is used to provide a buffer space for reducing the gas flow rate, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the air cavity perpendicular to the central axis of the reaction chamber is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake channel in the air intake pipe; The mixing element has a mixing block therein, and the mixing block is used to divide the gas cavity into a plurality of sub-cavities; the mixing block has a plurality of air passages connecting two adjacent sub-cavities, so that the process gas in the sub-cavity away from the air inlet pipe can be mixed through the plurality of air passages and discharged into the sub-cavity close to the air inlet pipe.

6. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 5, wherein: A plurality of the air passages are distributed in pairs on the mixing block, and the distance between the center points of the two air inlets of each pair of the air passages is smaller than the distance between the center points of the two air outlets of each pair of the air passages; and the length of one of the air passages in each pair of the air passages is greater than the length of the other air passage in each pair of the air passages.

7. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 5, wherein: The mixing blocks include a plurality of mixing blocks, and the plurality of mixing blocks are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the mixing element.

8. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 5, wherein: The sum of the cross-sectional areas of the plurality of air passages is at least twice the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake pipe.

9. The heat treatment equipment according to claim 5, wherein: At least four pairs of air passages are distributed on the mixing block.

10. The heat treatment equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The exhaust device includes at least one hundred and twenty suction ports.

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