Bearing device and semiconductor process chamber
By designing a carrier device including a magnetic levitation stator and a magnetic levitation rotor in the semiconductor process chamber, the problem of process uniformity being biased by the exhaust component is solved, and the uniformity of the part to be processed is realized in the cavity, thereby improving the process uniformity.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311552964.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-20
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-11-20
AI Technical Summary
When the decoupling plasma nitriding process is performed in the semiconductor process chamber, the uniformity of the process is relatively poor when biased by the exhaust component.
A bearing device is designed, including a support seat, a carrier member and a first drive assembly. The first drive assembly is composed of a magnetic levitation stator and a magnetic levitation rotor that cooperates with each other. The magnetic levitation stator is sleeved outside the magnetic levitation rotor. Both the magnetic levitation stator and the magnetic levitation rotor are installed on the support seat. The magnetic levitation rotor supports the carrier. The magnetic levitation stator drives the magnetic levitation rotor to rotate, driving the carrier to rotate about its axis.
By rotating the part to be processed in the cavity, it is ensured that even if the aura in the cavity is uneven, it will not adversely affect the process uniformity of the part to be processed, and ensure that the process uniformity of the part to be processed is relatively high.
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Figure CN120020993A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and particularly relates to a carrying device and a semiconductor process chamber. Background Art
[0002] In the decoupled plasma nitridation process, some oxygen atoms in the silicon dioxide layer on the surface of the wafer can be replaced by nitrogen atoms, so that some Si-O bonds are converted into Si-N bonds, and then the silicon dioxide gate oxide layer is adjusted to a SiON gate oxide layer with a certain nitrogen concentration and dielectric constant, and a stable Si-N-O structure can be formed through an annealing process. Currently, in the process equipment for performing the decoupled plasma nitridation process, a carrying device is provided in the cavity, and the workpiece to be processed can be carried on the carrying device, and an air extraction assembly such as a swing valve and a molecular pump is provided at the bottom of the cavity. Since the air extraction assembly is located on one side of the carrying device, during the process, affected by the air extraction assembly, the gas field in the cavity is offset relative to the workpiece to be processed, which will have a greater adverse impact on the uniformity of the decoupled plasma nitridation process. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of this application is to provide a carrying device and a semiconductor process chamber to solve the problem that when the current semiconductor process chamber performs the decoupled plasma nitridation process, due to the bias of the air extraction assembly, the uniformity of the process is relatively poor.
[0004] In a first aspect, the embodiments of this application disclose a carrying device applied to a semiconductor process chamber, which is characterized in that the carrying device includes a support base, a carrier, and a first driving assembly;
[0005] The carrier is used to support the workpiece to be processed;
[0006] The first driving assembly includes a magnetically levitated stator and a magnetically levitated rotor that cooperate with each other. The magnetically levitated stator is sleeved outside the magnetically levitated rotor, and both the magnetically levitated stator and the magnetically levitated rotor are installed on the support base. The magnetically levitated rotor is used to support the carrier, and the magnetically levitated stator is used to drive the magnetically levitated rotor to rotate to drive the carrier to rotate around the axis of the carrier.
[0007] In a second aspect, the embodiments of this application disclose a semiconductor process chamber, which includes a cavity, an air extraction assembly, and the above-mentioned carrying device. The carrying device is installed inside the cavity, the air extraction assembly is communicated with the cavity, and in the axial direction of the cavity, the air extraction port of the air extraction assembly is located on one side of the carrying device.
[0008] An embodiment of the present application discloses a loading device for a semiconductor process chamber. In this loading device, a loading member is used to support a workpiece to be processed, and both the magnetic levitation stator and the magnetic levitation rotor that cooperate with each other in the first driving assembly are installed on a support base. By supporting the loading member with the magnetic levitation rotor and sleeving the magnetic levitation stator outside the magnetic levitation rotor, the magnetic levitation stator can drive the magnetic levitation rotor to rotate, thereby driving the loading member to rotate around the axis of the loading member. In this case, the workpiece to be processed carried on the loading member can be driven by the first driving assembly to rotate in the chamber. Therefore, even if there are unevenness and other conditions in the gas field in the chamber, it will basically not have an adverse impact on the process uniformity of the workpiece to be processed, ensuring that the process uniformity of the workpiece to be processed is relatively high. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The schematic embodiments and descriptions thereof of the present application are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation to the present application. In the drawings:
[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic structural view of a spacer in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0012] Figure 3 is a schematic structural view of a shielding ring in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0013] Figure 4 is an assembly schematic view of a second driving assembly in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0014] Figure 5 is a schematic structural view of a loading ring in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0015] Figure 6 is a schematic structural view of a magnetic levitation stator in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;
[0016] Figure 7 is a schematic structural view of a magnetic levitation rotor in the loading device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application.
[0017] Reference numerals:
[0018] 110 - support base, 111 - annular bottom wall, 112 - tubular side wall, 113 - annular support platform, 114 - base, 121 - quartz disk, 121a - thimble hole, 122 - loading ring, 122a - limit groove, 130 - adapter plate, 140 - interface plate, 151 - first insulating ring, 152 - second insulating ring, 160 - tubular bushing, 170 - cover plate,
[0019] 210 - Magnetic levitation stator, 220 - Magnetic levitation rotor, 221 - Fitting part, 222 - Jacking part,
[0020] 310 - Isolator, 311 - Tubular isolation plate, 312 - Shielding part, 313 - Annular support plate, 314 - Positioning post, 320 - Shielding ring, 321 - Flat ring, 322 - Vertical ring,
[0021] 400 - Second driving component. Detailed implementation mode
[0022] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of the present application.
[0023] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. are usually of the same type, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or multiple. In addition, "and / or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.
[0024] As Figures 1-7 shown, an embodiment of the present application discloses a loading device for a semiconductor process chamber, that is, the loading device can be applied to a semiconductor process chamber. The loading device includes a support base 110, a loading member, and a first driving component. Of course, the loading device usually may also include structures such as an insulating ring, an adapter plate 130, an interface plate 140, and a tubular bushing 160. For the sake of simplicity of the text, these will not be introduced in detail here.
[0025] Among them, the support base 110 is a basic structural component of the loading device. Other devices such as loading components can be directly or indirectly installed on the support base 110. Specifically, the support base 110 can be a cylindrical structural component, and the inner wall of the support base 110 can be provided with structures such as an annular support platform 113 to provide a supporting effect for devices such as the adapter plate 130. More specifically, the support base 110 includes an annular bottom wall 111 and a tubular side wall 112. The tubular side wall 112 is located on the annular bottom wall 111, and the annular support platform 113 can be fixedly connected to the inner side of the tubular side wall 112. Of course, in the processing of the support base 110, an integral molding method can be used to form the support base 110 including the annular bottom wall 111, the tubular side wall 112, and the annular support platform 113. In addition, in order to facilitate the installation of the support base 110 in the cavity of the semiconductor process chamber, the support base 110 can also include a base 114. The base 114 is fixedly connected to the lower side of the annular bottom wall 111, and the base 114 can specifically be a cylindrical structure.
[0026] Specifically, as Figure 1 shown, the insulating ring can include a first insulating ring 151 and a second insulating ring 152. The first insulating ring 151 can be formed of a ceramic material such as alumina, and the first insulating ring 151 can be supported on the aforementioned annular support platform 113. The above-mentioned interface plate 140 and the second insulating ring 152 can be supported on the first insulating ring 151. The adapter plate 130 is stacked above the interface plate 140, that is, the adapter plate 130 is supported on the interface plate 140, and the second insulating ring 152 is disposed outside the interface plate 140 and the adapter plate 130. In this case, the loading component is stacked with the adapter plate 130, and the second insulating ring 152 is disposed on the side of the loading component facing the adapter plate 130, so that the loading component can be supported on the second insulating ring 152, and the interface plate 140 and the adapter plate 130 can be isolated from the support base 110, so that the interface plate 140 and the adapter plate 130 are isolated from the cavity and insulated from each other. At the same time, the second insulating ring 152 is generally located inside the tubular side wall 112 of the support base 110, so as to use the annular support platform 113 and the tubular side wall 112 to provide a limiting effect for devices such as the first insulating ring 151, the second insulating ring 152, the adapter plate 130, and the interface plate 140, and improve the stability of the assembly relationship between the devices.
[0027] The carrier is used to support the workpiece to be processed, and the carrier is made of quartz material. The first insulating ring 151 can be formed of alumina ceramic material, and the second insulating ring 152 can be formed of quartz material. The interface plate 140 and the adapter plate 130 can both be formed of metal material to ensure that they have good heat conduction ability. A positioning pin can be used between the carrier and the adapter plate 130 to form a positioning and fixing relationship. The interface plate 140 is located below the adapter plate 130 and the carrier, and the interface plate 140 is in direct contact with the first insulating ring 151 to provide a good sealing and isolation effect for the adapter plate 130 and the carrier by means of the interface plate 140. The tubular bushing 160 is sleeved outside the tubular side wall 112 of the support seat 110 and surrounds the first insulating ring 151 and the second insulating ring 152. A fixed connection relationship can be formed between the tubular bushing 160 and the annular bottom wall 111 of the support seat 110 through connecting parts such as screws. And, in order to prevent the plasma generated by the process gas from bombarding the screws, a cover plate 170 can be provided above the connecting parts such as screws, and the cover plate 170 is formed of quartz material.
[0028] As described above, the carrier device is installed in the cavity. And, in order to ensure the normal progress of the process, the cavity is usually also connected with an air extraction component. In order to prevent the adverse effect of the uneven flow field in the cavity caused by the suction of the air extraction component on the uniformity of the process, in the carrier device disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, as described above, a first driving component is further included, and the first driving component is installed on the support seat 110. By connecting the first driving component with the carrier, the first driving component can drive the carrier to rotate around the axis of the carrier. Specifically, the first driving component can be a rotary motor, and by connecting the carrier with the rotating shaft of the first driving component, the first driving component can drive the carrier to rotate relative to the support seat 110.
[0029] In order to reduce the assembly difficulty between the first driving component and the carrier, in a specific embodiment of the present application, the first driving component includes a magnetic levitation rotary motor, and the magnetic levitation rotary motor includes a magnetic levitation stator 210 and a magnetic levitation rotor 220, which cooperate with each other. In the case where the first driving component adopts the above technical solution, the connection difficulty between the first driving component and the carrier is relatively low, and the first driving component is located on the outer periphery of the tubular side wall 112 of the support seat 110, so that the installation of the first driving component does not require adaptive improvement of devices such as the adapter plate 130 and the interface plate 140, and the adaptability of the first driving component is improved.
[0030] Specifically, the magnetic levitation stator 210 is sleeved outside the magnetic levitation rotor 220, and both are installed on the support base 110. More specifically, in the case where the support base 110 includes a tubular side wall, the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 can both be installed on the annular bottom wall 111, and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is sleeved outside the tubular side wall 112 of the support base 110. The carrier can be supported on the magnetic levitation rotor 220. Thus, when the first drive assembly is powered on, the magnetic levitation stator 210 drives the magnetic levitation rotor 220 to rotate, so as to drive the carrier to rotate around the axis of the carrier. In addition, in the case where the first drive assembly includes a magnetic levitation rotary motor, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 has the ability to be separated from the support base 110, so that there is no need to provide a support structure for the magnetic levitation rotor 220, and the assembly difficulty of the first drive assembly is relatively low.
[0031] In the case of adopting the above technical solution, the workpiece to be processed carried on the carrier can rotate relative to the cavity. Thus, even if there are certain differences in parameters such as the density of the plasma at different positions in the cavity, it can be ensured that parameters such as the process rate of different parts of the workpiece to be processed are basically equal. Of course, in order to ensure the normal progress of the process, during the process of driving the carrier to rotate by using the first drive assembly, the driven speed of the carrier needs to be relatively low, so that the rotational speed of the carrier is relatively small.
[0032] An embodiment of the present application discloses a carrier device for a semiconductor process chamber. In this carrier device, the carrier is used to support the workpiece to be processed, and the mutually cooperating magnetic levitation stator 210 and magnetic levitation rotor 220 in the first drive assembly are both installed on the support base 110. By supporting the carrier with the magnetic levitation rotor and sleeving the magnetic levitation stator 210 outside the magnetic levitation rotor 220, the magnetic levitation stator 210 can drive the magnetic levitation rotor 220 to rotate, and then drive the carrier to rotate around the axis of the carrier. In this case, the workpiece to be processed carried on the carrier can be driven by the first drive assembly to rotate in the cavity. Thus, even if there are uneven situations such as an uneven gas field in the cavity, it basically will not have an adverse impact on the process uniformity of the workpiece to be processed, and the process uniformity of the workpiece to be processed is ensured to be relatively high.
[0033] As described above, the carrier is formed of quartz material, which makes the density and weight of the carrier relatively large. At the same time, in the case where the first drive assembly includes a magnetic levitation rotary motor, as Figure 1 shown, the carrier can include a carrier ring 122. The carrier ring 122 is an annular structural member, and the carrier ring 122 is used to support the workpiece to be processed. The carrier ring 122 is located above the adapter plate 130 and the second insulating ring 152.
[0034] During the installation of the carrier including the carrier ring 122, the workpiece to be processed can be carried on the carrier ring 122, and the carrier ring 122 is supported on the magnetic levitation rotor 220. Furthermore, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is only used to support the carrier ring 122 and the workpiece to be processed, so that the pressure on the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is relatively small, ensuring relatively high rotational stability of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and improving the reliability of the magnetic levitation rotor 220.
[0035] Specifically, the workpiece to be processed can be directly supported on the surface of the carrier ring 122 facing away from the insulating ring. To improve the assembly reliability between the workpiece to be processed and the carrier ring 122, a limiting groove 122a can be provided on the side of the carrier ring 122 facing away from the insulating ring, and the workpiece to be processed is embedded in the limiting groove 122a, so that the workpiece to be processed and the carrier ring 122 can form a relatively reliable limiting effect in both the gravity direction and the horizontal direction.
[0036] As described above, the carrier ring 122 is a ring-shaped structural member that can be used to carry the workpiece to be processed. When there is no workpiece to be processed on the carrier ring 122, the transfer disk 130 located below the carrier ring 122 is directly exposed to the process environment of the cavity, resulting in the transfer disk 130 being possibly etched and damaged by the plasma in the cavity. For this reason, in the carrier device disclosed in the embodiments of the present application, the carrier can further include a quartz disk 121 supported on the tubular side wall 112, and the quartz disk 121 is also supported on the second insulating ring 152, thereby ensuring relatively high insulation reliability of the quartz disk 121. Specifically, the quartz disk 121 is a circular structural member. The quartz disk 121 is located below the carrier ring 122 and above the transfer disk 130. By making the inner diameter of the carrier ring 122 smaller than the outer diameter of the quartz disk 121, the quartz disk 121 can provide a blocking effect for the circular space vacant inside the carrier ring 122 to prevent the transfer disk 130 from being directly exposed to the process environment of the cavity and improve the service life of the transfer disk 130.
[0037] Among them, the thickness and other dimensions of the quartz disk 121 can be flexibly selected according to the actual situation and are not limited here. For the carrier ring 122, its thickness can be made as small as possible while ensuring its reliable load-bearing capacity. In addition, the outer diameter of the carrier ring 122 can be made larger than the outer diameter of the quartz disk 121, and the inner diameter of the carrier ring 122 can be made smaller than the outer diameter of the quartz disk 121, so that the carrier ring 122 can also block the gaps between the quartz disk 121 and the second insulating ring 152, and between the quartz disk 121 and the tubular side wall 112, preventing the plasma in the cavity from bombarding devices such as the second insulating ring 152 and the tubular side wall 112.
[0038] As described above, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is used to support and connect to the carrier, so as to drive the carrier to rotate by using the magnetic levitation rotor 220. In order to reduce the overall size of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and the carrier, in a specific embodiment of the present application, as Figure 7 shown, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 includes a mating portion 221 and a jacking portion 222. Among them, the mating portion 221 cooperates with the magnetic levitation stator 210, so that when the first driving assembly is powered on, the magnetic levitation stator 210 can drive the mating portion 221 to rotate relative to the magnetic levitation stator 210. The jacking portion 222 is connected to the side of the mating portion 221 facing the carrier, so that during the rotation of the mating portion 221 relative to the magnetic levitation stator 210, the jacking portion 222 can be driven to rotate relative to the magnetic levitation stator 210 together. Of course, during the formation of the magnetic levitation rotor 220, the jacking portion 222 can be formed together with the mating portion 221, that is, the mating portion 221 and the jacking portion 222 can be formed by an integral molding method, which reduces the processing difficulty of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 on the one hand, and on the other hand, can also improve the connection reliability between the jacking portion 222 and the mating portion 221.
[0039] At the same time, in the embodiment of the present application, the wall thickness of the jacking portion 222 is smaller than the wall thickness of the mating portion 221, and the inner wall of the jacking portion 222 and the inner wall of the mating portion 221 are located on the same toroidal surface. That is, the jacking portion 222 is located in the area of the mating portion 221 close to the inside. In this case, on the one hand, the thickness of the jacking portion 222 is relatively small, and on the other hand, in the direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the carrier, that is, in the radial direction of the cavity, the jacking portion 222 can be as close as possible to the tubular side wall 112 of the support seat 110, so that the size of the carrier in the direction perpendicular to its own thickness direction can be relatively small, that is, the diameter of the carrier is relatively small, ensuring that the sizes of the carrier and the jacking portion 222 are both relatively small. This can also reduce the driving force of the first driving assembly and improve the jacking reliability of the jacking portion 222.
[0040] In order to further improve the operation stability of the first driving assembly including the above-mentioned magnetic levitation stator 210 and magnetic levitation rotor 220, in the embodiment of the present application, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown, the bearing device further includes a separator 310. The separator 310 is supported on the support seat 110, and the mating portion 221 of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is arranged between the support seat 110 and the separator 310. The magnetic levitation stator 210 is arranged outside the separator 310, and the separator 310 includes a tubular separator plate 311. The magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 are separated by the tubular separator plate 311 of the separator 310, improving the reliability of their mutual cooperation.
[0041] Specifically, the spacer 310 can form a fixed connection relationship with the support base 110 through a connecting member such as a screw. In order to reduce the connection difficulty between the two, in another embodiment of the present application, a limiting sunk groove can be provided on the upper surface of the annular bottom wall 111 of the support base 110, and a part of the tubular spacer plate 311 of the spacer 310 can be embedded in the limiting sunk groove, so that the spacer 310 can form a limiting cooperation relationship with the support base 110 in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the carrier. As described above, the support base 110 is a special-shaped structure, which includes a tubular side wall 112, and a ring-shaped support platform 113 is provided on the inner wall of the tubular side wall 112. The tubular side wall 112 is disposed on the annular bottom wall 111, and the annular bottom wall 111 can provide a supporting effect for the installation of the tubular bushing 160. Moreover, the magnetic levitation stator 210 can also be installed in the gap between the tubular bushing 160 and the tubular side wall 112, so that the magnetic levitation stator 210 surrounds the tubular spacer plate 311. At the same time, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is clamped between the tubular side wall 112 and the tubular spacer plate 311 of the spacer 310 to ensure that the magnetic levitation rotor 220 can still cooperate with the magnetic levitation stator 210.
[0042] As described above, during the decoupling plasma nitriding process, the carrying device is installed in the cavity. Since there is plasma in the cavity, furthermore, in order to prevent the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 from being bombarded by the plasma as much as possible, in the embodiment of the present application, the spacer 310 further includes a shielding portion 312. Among them, the tubular spacer plate 311 is a ring-shaped structural member, and the tubular spacer plate 311 can be clamped between the mating portion 221 of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and the magnetic levitation stator 210, so as to separate the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and the magnetic levitation stator 210 by using the tubular spacer plate 311, ensuring that the driving stability of the first driving assembly is relatively high. At the same time, the shielding portion 312 is also a ring-shaped structural member. The shielding portion 312 is connected to the tubular spacer plate 311, and the shielding portion 312 is located above the tubular spacer plate 311 to provide a shielding effect for the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 by using the shielding portion 312, so as to prevent the plasma in the cavity from falling on the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 as much as possible, thereby bombarding the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and having a great adverse impact on the service life of the first driving assembly.
[0043] Of course, in order to ensure that the magnetic levitation rotor 220 can still provide a supporting effect for the carrier and drive the carrier to rotate relative to the support base 110, a part of the lifting portion 222 can be clamped between the shielding portion 312 and the tubular side wall 112 of the support base 110, so that a part of the lifting portion 222 can extend out from the gap between the tubular side wall 112 of the support base 110 and the shielding portion 312 to cooperate with the carrier and provide a supporting and driving effect for the carrier.
[0044] In this case, by designing the structure of the shielding portion 312, the shielding portion 312 can extend from the outer peripheral surface of the magnetic levitation stator 210 towards the direction where the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is located and extend to the outer wall of the lifting portion 222, so that the projection of the shielding portion 312 in the plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the carrier can cover the magnetic levitation stator 210, thereby ensuring that the shielding portion 312 can provide a shielding effect for the magnetic levitation stator 210 from above the magnetic levitation stator 210 and preventing the plasma from falling on the magnetic levitation stator 210 from above the magnetic levitation stator 210. At the same time, the projection of the shielding portion 312 in the plane perpendicular to the thickness direction of the carrier can also cover the part of the mating portion 221 located outside the lifting portion 222, so that the shielding portion 312 can shield the magnetic levitation rotor 220 as much as possible without interfering with the operation of the magnetic levitation rotor 220, thereby maximizing the shielding effect for the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and preventing the magnetic levitation rotor 220 from being bombarded by the plasma.
[0045] Specifically, the shielding portion 312 can specifically be an annular plate-like structural member. The shielding portion 312 covers and is connected above the tubular isolation plate 311. The shielding portion 312 and the tubular isolation plate 311 can be formed by an integral molding method to improve the connection reliability between the two. As described above, the shielding portion 312 can provide a shielding effect for the magnetic levitation stator 210 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220, that is, the shielding portion 312 can extend towards the inner side and the outer side of the tubular isolation plate 311 respectively.
[0046] As described above, a part of the lifting portion 222 can extend out from the gap between the shielding portion 312 and the support base 110 to support and drive the carrier, which makes a part of the lifting portion 222 still exposed inside the cavity and thus may be bombarded by the plasma, having an adverse impact on the service life of the lifting portion 222. Based on this, in another embodiment of the present application, the carrier device can further include a shielding ring 320 located at the top of the isolation member 310. More specifically, the shielding ring 320 is supported by the shielding portion 312, so as to use the shielding portion 312 to provide a bearing effect for the shielding ring 320 and ensure that the shielding ring 320 can form a reliable assembly relationship with the support base 110.
[0047] More specifically, the shielding ring 320 can be fixed to the shielding portion 312 by means of connectors such as screws. In order to reduce the difficulty of assembly between the two, in another embodiment of the present application, a positioning column 314 can be provided on one of the shielding ring 320 and the shielding portion 312, and a positioning hole can be provided on the other. By extending the positioning column 314 into the positioning hole, the mutually cooperating positioning column 314 and the positioning hole can form a limited matching relationship in a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the bearing member. More specifically, a plurality of positioning columns 314 distributed along the circumference of the bearing member can be provided on the shielding portion 312 of the isolation member 310, and a corresponding plurality of positioning holes can be provided on the shielding ring 320. By plugging and matching the plurality of positioning columns 314 with the plurality of positioning holes in a one-to-one correspondence, the shielding ring 320 can form a reliable assembly relationship with the shielding portion 312 under the action of its own gravity.
[0048] At the same time, the shielding ring 320 can be arranged around the outside of the carrier, and in the thickness direction of the carrier, the end of the shielding ring 320 away from the shielding part 312 can extend to the top of the lifting part, so that the shielding ring 320 can provide a shielding effect for the lifting part 222 supported below the carrier from the outside of the carrier, so as to prevent plasma from bombarding the part of the lifting part 222 exposed outside the isolation member 310. More specifically, the shielding ring 320 can be extended to the top of the carrier, and the shielding ring 320 and the carrier are arranged adjacent to each other, that is, when the shielding ring 320 does not hinder the rotation of the carrier relative to the support seat 110, the distance between the inner wall of the shielding ring 320 and the outer wall of the carrier is as small as possible, so as to maximize the prevention of plasma from the gap between the isolation member 311 and the carrier to the lifting part 222.
[0049] For example, the height dimension of the portion of the shielding ring 320 extending above the carrier can be about 5 cm, which can basically ensure that the plasma does not act on the lifting portion 222 from the gap between the isolation member 310 and the carrier. Additionally, the shielding ring 320 can specifically include two parts. One part is a circular ring plate-like structure, which is the flat ring 321, and the other part is a cylindrical outer surface-like structure, which is the vertical ring 322. Among them, the flat ring 321 is supported on the top of the isolation member 310, that is, the flat ring 321 can be supported on the upper surface of the shielding portion 312. Moreover, in order to ensure that the flat ring 321 can provide a better shielding effect for the shielding portion 312 and the magnetic levitation rotor 220, the inner side of the flat ring 321 can extend below the carrier. More specifically, in the case where the carrier includes a carrier ring 122 and a quartz disk 121, the flat ring 321 can extend below the carrier ring 122 and be as close as possible to the outer wall of the lifting portion 222 of the magnetic levitation rotor 220; the vertical ring 322 is fixedly connected to one side of the flat ring 321 facing away from the shielding portion 312 of the isolation member 310, and the vertical ring 322 extends upward above the carrier to a certain position beyond the upper surface of the carrier. That is, the vertical ring 322 extends to the side of the carrier ring 122 facing away from the magnetic levitation rotor 220, and the vertical ring 322 is disposed around the outside of the carrier, thereby using the vertical ring 322 to provide a shielding effect for the outside of the lifting portion 222 of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 and the carrier ring 122 of the carrier.
[0050] As described above, the isolation member 310 includes a tubular isolation plate 311 and a shielding portion 312, and the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is located between the tubular isolation plate 311 and the tubular side wall 112. Optionally, the isolation member 310 can further include an annular support plate 313. The annular support plate 313 is fixed to the inner side of the tubular isolation plate 311, and the annular support plate 313 is located on the side of the mating portion 221 of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 facing away from the lifting portion 222. In other words, the magnetic levitation rotor 220 is located on the annular support plate 313, thereby using the annular support plate 313 to provide a limiting effect for the mating portion 221 and preventing the processing effect of the carrier from being poor due to the too low position of the mating portion 221.
[0051] Specifically, the annular support plate 313 and the tubular isolation plate 311 can also be formed by an integral molding method to improve the connection reliability between the annular support plate 313 and the tubular isolation plate 311. Among them, the annular support plate 313 can be a ring-shaped structural member. Of course, the annular support plate 313 can also not be a ring-shaped structural member. By making the number of annular support plates 313 be multiple and making the multiple annular support plates 313 be evenly and spacedly distributed along the circumference of the carrier, it can also ensure that the annular support plate 313 can provide a reliable limiting effect for the magnetic levitation rotor 220.
[0052] In specific implementation, to avoid the bombardment of the plasma, the spacer 311 and the shielding ring 320 in the present application can be formed of quartz material.
[0053] As described above, the carrier is connected to the first driving component so that the carrier can rotate circumferentially relative to the support base 110 along the support member, achieving the purpose of improving the process uniformity of the workpiece to be processed. In a further embodiment of the present application, the carrier device may further include a second driving component 400, and the first driving component is connected to the second driving component 400 to drive the carrier to move relative to the transfer disk 130 in the thickness direction of the carrier itself by using the second driving component 400. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the second driving component 400 can drive the carrier to move up and down in the thickness direction of the carrier itself to change the height of the workpiece to be processed in the cavity.
[0054] Specifically, the second driving component 400 can include a device with linear driving ability such as a linear motor, and by mounting the first driving component on the driving shaft of the second driving component 400, the second driving component 400 can indirectly drive the carrier to move up and down relative to the cavity through the first driving component. More specifically, the magnetic levitation stator 210 can be connected to the second driving component 400, and then the second driving component 400 is used to drive the magnetic levitation stator 210 to generate a lifting action. Furthermore, during the process of the decoupled plasma nitriding process, by making the height of the carrier higher, under the condition that other conditions remain unchanged, the concentration of the plasma sputtered on the workpiece to be processed can be relatively greater, thereby increasing the nitrogen doping concentration of the workpiece to be processed and improving the product quality.
[0055] In a specific embodiment of the present application, the second driving component 400 is mounted on the annular bottom wall 111 of the support base 110. The second driving component 400 can include a servo motor, and the number of servo motors is multiple. By arranging the multiple servo motors circumferentially along the carrier, the driving efficiency and stability of the carrier are relatively higher. Specifically, the number of servo motors can be four, and the four servo motors are evenly and spaced circumferentially along the carrier. When the first driving component includes a magnetic levitation rotary motor, the four servo motors can be connected to the magnetic levitation stator 210 to drive the magnetic levitation stator 210 to move up and down relative to the cavity in the thickness direction of the carrier, and the up and down movement of the magnetic levitation stator 210 acts on the magnetic levitation rotor 220 through magnetic force, so that the magnetic levitation rotor 220 moves up and down synchronously with the magnetic levitation stator 210, thereby driving the carrier to move up and down.
[0056] Of course, even in the case where the annular support plate 313 is provided, the driving parameters of the second driving assembly 400 can also be restricted to prevent the second driving assembly 400 from driving the carrier to move to a relatively low position, thereby further preventing the carrier from being too low. Correspondingly, by making the position of the annular support plate 313 correspond to the height of the lowest driving position of the second driving assembly 400, the position of the magnetic levitation rotor 220 can be prevented from being too low. In addition, in order to prevent the annular support plate 313 from interfering with the normal operation of devices such as the support base 110, in the embodiment of the present application, a gap can be provided between the inner wall of the annular support plate 313 and the outer wall of the tubular side wall 112 of the support base 110, and the gap can be about 1 mm specifically.
[0057] Based on the carrier device disclosed in any of the above embodiments, the embodiment of the present application also discloses a semiconductor process chamber, which includes a chamber body, an air extraction assembly, and any of the above carrier devices. The carrier device is installed inside the chamber body, the air extraction assembly is communicated with the chamber body, and in the axial direction of the chamber body, the air extraction port of the air extraction assembly is located on one side of the carrier device, so as to use the air extraction assembly to extract the process by-products in the chamber body and ensure a high vacuum degree in the chamber body. The air extraction assembly can include devices such as a molecular pump and a swing valve, and through connecting parts such as flanges, a reliable connection relationship is formed between the air extraction assembly and the chamber body.
[0058] It should be noted that in this article, the term "comprising", "including" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, the element defined by the statement "including one..." does not exclude the existence of another identical element in the process, method, article or device including the element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in a reverse order according to the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may also be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.
[0059] The embodiments of the present application have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above specific embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the inspiration of the present application, those of ordinary skill in the art can also make many forms without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, and all of them belong to the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A carrier device, used in a semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that: The bearing device comprises a support seat (110), a bearing member and a first driving assembly; The bearing member is used to support the workpiece to be processed; The first driving component comprises a magnetic suspension stator (210) and a magnetic suspension rotor (220) which cooperate with each other, the magnetic suspension stator (210) is sleeved outside the magnetic suspension rotor (220), and the magnetic suspension stator (210) and the magnetic suspension rotor (220) are both installed on the support seat (110), the magnetic suspension rotor (220) is used to support the bearing member, and the magnetic suspension stator (210) is used to drive the magnetic suspension rotor (220) to rotate so as to drive the bearing member to rotate around the axis of the bearing member.
2. The carrying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support seat comprises: an annular bottom wall and a tubular side wall located on the annular bottom wall; The first driving component is located on the annular bottom wall, and the magnetic suspension rotor (220) is sleeved outside the tubular side wall.
3. The carrying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes an isolation member, which includes a tubular isolation plate and an annular support plate fixed to the inner side of the tubular isolation plate; the magnetic levitation rotor is located on the annular support plate, and the magnetic levitation rotor is located between the tubular isolation plate and the tubular side wall, and the magnetic levitation stator is arranged around the tubular isolation plate.
4. The carrying device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A limiting groove is provided on the upper surface of the annular bottom wall, and a portion of the tubular isolation plate extends into the limiting groove.
5. The carrying device according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a shielding ring located at the top of the isolation member, the shielding ring includes a flat ring and a vertical ring, the flat ring is supported on the top of the isolation member, and the inner side of the flat ring extends to the bottom of the support member; the vertical ring is fixedly connected to the side of the flat ring away from the isolation member, the vertical ring is arranged around the outside of the support member, and the vertical ring extends to the side of the support member away from the magnetic levitation rotor.
6. The carrying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a tubular bushing fixed on the annular bottom wall and arranged around the magnetic suspension stator.
7. The carrying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a second driving component for driving the magnetic suspension stator to rise and fall, and the second driving component is installed on the annular bottom wall.
8. The carrying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The supporting member comprises a supporting ring (122), the supporting ring (122) is used to support the workpiece to be processed, and the supporting ring is supported by the magnetic suspension rotor.
9. The carrying device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The support seat also includes an annular support platform, and the annular support platform is fixedly connected to the inner side of the tubular side wall; The supporting device also includes a first insulating ring, an interface plate, an adapter plate and a second insulating ring, the first insulating ring is supported on the annular support platform, and the interface plate and the second insulating ring are both supported on the first insulating ring, the adapter plate is stacked above the interface plate, the second insulating ring is surrounded by the interface plate and the adapter plate, and the second insulating ring is located on the inner side of the tubular side wall.
10. The carrying device according to claim 9, characterized in that: It also includes a quartz disk (121) supported on the tubular side wall, and the quartz disk (121) is supported on the second insulating ring, the quartz disk (121) is located below the supporting ring, and the inner diameter of the supporting ring is smaller than the outer diameter of the quartz disk.
11. A semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that: It comprises a cavity, an exhaust assembly and a carrying device as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the carrying device is installed in the cavity, the exhaust assembly is connected to the cavity, and in the axial direction of the cavity, the exhaust port of the exhaust assembly is located on one side of the carrying device.
Citation Information
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