Substrate preheating module, device processing assembly having the same, and method

Abstract

A substrate preheating module is presented. In accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, the module comprises: a chamber configured to receive one or more substrates from an equipment front end module (EFEM); a first opening disposed on a wall of the chamber adjacent to the EFEM; a gas inlet configured to deliver a first gas from an external gas source into the chamber; a first valve disposed at the gas inlet and configured to control input of a first gas into the chamber; an exhaust port configured to pump out the first gas from the chamber; a second valve disposed at the exhaust port and configured to control exhaust of the first gas from the chamber; and a heater configured to heat the first gas in the chamber. The module may also include a controller to control the valve and the heater.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to device processing components, and more particularly to a substrate preheating module, a substrate processing component having a substrate preheating function, and a method of operating the processing component. Background Art

[0002] Many semiconductor deposition processing modules require heating a silicon wafer (substrate) to a desired processing temperature. This heating step adds to the processing time overhead and thus reduces the chamber throughput.

[0003] Preheating the substrate before introducing it into the processing module helps reduce the time spent in the chamber and increases the overall system throughput.

[0004] Accordingly, the present disclosure presents a substrate preheating module and a substrate processing component, namely an equipment front end module (EFEM), having one or more substrate preheating modules attached to one side, and a method of how to operate the EFEM to preheat the substrate. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present Summary is provided to introduce a few concepts in a simplified form. These concepts are further described in detail in the following Detailed Description of the example embodiments. The present Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0006] According to one embodiment, a substrate preheating module may be provided, including: a chamber configured to receive more than one substrate from an equipment front end module (EFEM); a first opening provided in a wall of the chamber adjacent to the EFEM; a gas inlet configured to deliver a first gas from an external gas source into the chamber; a first valve provided at the gas inlet and configured to control the input of the first gas into the chamber; an exhaust port configured to pump out the first gas from the chamber; a second valve provided at the exhaust port and configured to control the discharge of the first gas from the chamber; and a heater configured to heat the first gas in the chamber.

[0007] In at least one aspect, the substrate preheating module further includes: a controller electrically coupled to the chamber, the first valve, the second valve, and the heater, and configured to control the opening / closing of the first and second valves and the turning on / off of the heater.

[0008] In at least one aspect, the substrate preheating module further includes: a baffle provided at the mouth of the gas inlet.

[0009] In at least one aspect, the substrate preheating module further includes: a second opening provided in a wall of the chamber opposite to the first opening for maintenance.

[0010] In at least one aspect, the heater includes at least two heating units, and the heating units are disposed at least on the upper sidewall and the lower sidewall of the chamber.

[0011] In at least one aspect, the heater includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser.

[0012] In at least one aspect, the first gas includes nitrogen (N 2 ), argon (Ar), helium (He), or a mixture thereof.

[0013] In at least one aspect, the EFEM is configured to move and provide a substrate for preheating and processing.

[0014] According to another embodiment, a device processing assembly may be provided, including: an equipment front end module (EFEM) including an EFEM chamber having one or more interface openings and a robotic arm for moving substrates; a load lock chamber; a plurality of processing chambers configured to process substrates; and one or more substrate preheating modules attached to one side of the EFEM, each of the one or more substrate preheating modules including: a chamber configured to receive a substrate from the EFEM; a first opening disposed in a wall of the chamber adjacent to the EFEM; a gas inlet configured to deliver a first gas from an external gas source into the chamber; a first valve disposed at the gas inlet and configured to control the input of the first gas into the chamber; an exhaust port configured to pump out the first gas from the chamber; a second valve disposed at the exhaust port and configured to control the discharge of the first gas from the chamber; and a heater configured to heat the first gas in the chamber.

[0015] In at least one aspect, each of the one or more substrate preheating modules further includes: a controller electrically coupled to the substrate preheating module and configured to control the opening / closing of the first and second valves and the turning on / off of the heater.

[0016] In at least one aspect, each of the one or more substrate preheating modules further includes: a baffle disposed at the mouth of the gas inlet.

[0017] In at least one aspect, each of the one or more substrate preheating modules further includes: a second opening disposed in a wall of the chamber opposite to the first opening.

[0018] In at least one aspect, the heater includes at least two heating units, and the heating units are disposed at least on the upper sidewall and the lower sidewall of the chamber.

[0019] In at least one aspect, the heater in each of the one or more substrate preheating modules includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser.

[0020] In at least one aspect, the first gas includes nitrogen (N 2)、one of argon (Ar), helium (He) or a mixture thereof.

[0021] In at least one aspect, one or more substrate preheating modules are mounted on one side of the EFEM in a vertical or horizontal manner.

[0022] According to another embodiment, a method of operating an equipment front-end module (EFEM) can be provided, including: providing an EFEM having an equipment front-end module chamber equipped with a load robot and one or more attached substrate preheating modules; loading a substrate into the substrate preheating module; opening a first valve to allow a first gas to flow into the substrate preheating module; turning on a heater installed in the substrate preheating module; and unloading the substrate from the substrate preheating module.

[0023] In at least one aspect, the method further includes: opening a second valve to pump the first gas out of the substrate preheating module. Description of the Drawings

[0024] It should be understood that the elements in the drawings are shown for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 1 A system overview of a processing module, a load lock chamber, an equipment front-end module (EFEM) and a substrate preheating module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 A side view of an EFEM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and two substrate preheating modules attached to one side of the EFEM is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 A detailed overview of a substrate preheating module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method of operating an EFEM having a substrate preheating module is shown. Detailed Description

[0029] Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments and / or the uses of the present invention and their obvious modifications and equivalents. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of the present invention disclosed should not be limited by the specifically disclosed embodiments described below.

[0030] As used herein, the term "substrate" can refer to any one or more underlying materials, including any one or more underlying materials that can be modified or on which devices, circuits, or films can be formed. A "substrate" can be continuous or discontinuous; rigid or flexible; solid or porous; and combinations thereof. The substrate can be in any form, such as powder, plate, or workpiece. Plate-like substrates can include wafers of various shapes and sizes. Substrates can be made of semiconductor materials, including, for example, silicon, silicon germanium, silicon oxide, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide.

[0031] For example, substrates in powder form can be used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Porous substrates can contain polymers. Examples of workpieces can include medical devices (such as stents and syringes), jewelry, tooling equipment, components for battery manufacturing (such as anodes, cathodes, or separators), or components of photovoltaic cells, etc.

[0032] A continuous substrate can extend beyond the boundaries of the processing chamber where the deposition process occurs. In some processes, the continuous substrate can be moved through the processing chamber so that the process continues until the end of the substrate is reached. A continuous substrate can be provided from a continuous substrate feed system to allow for the manufacture and output of the continuous substrate in any suitable form.

[0033] Non-limiting examples of continuous substrates can include sheets, non-woven membranes, rolls, foils, meshes, flexible materials, bundles of continuous filaments or fibers (such as ceramic fibers or polymer fibers). A continuous substrate can also include a carrier or sheet on which a discontinuous substrate is mounted.

[0034] The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particular material, structure, or device, but are merely idealized representations for describing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] The specific embodiments shown and described are illustrative of the invention and its best mode and are not intended to limit the scope of these aspects and embodiments in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, conventional manufacturing, connection, preparation, and other functional aspects of the system may not be described in detail. Additionally, the connecting lines shown in the various figures are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and / or physical couplings between various elements. Many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may exist in the actual system and / or may not exist in some embodiments.

[0036] It should be understood that the configurations and / or methods described herein are exemplary in nature and these specific embodiments or examples should not be considered limiting as many variations are possible. The specific routines or methods described herein can represent one or more of any number of processing strategies. Accordingly, the various acts shown can be performed in the order shown, in other orders, or in some cases omitted.

[0037] The subject matter of the present disclosure includes all novel and non-obvious combinations and sub-combinations of various processes, systems, and configurations, as well as other features, functions, acts, and / or properties disclosed herein, and any and all equivalents thereof.

[0038] Figure 1 A system overview of a processing module, a load lock chamber, an equipment front end module (EFEM), and a substrate preheating module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] In Figure 1 it, an EFEM 110 with a robot 111 and a substrate preheating module 120 can be shown. The robot 111 can be configured to move substrates between a substrate carrier 112, the substrate preheating module 120, and the load lock chamber 130. In addition, a substrate processing module 140 having a plurality of reaction chambers 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 and a transfer chamber 141 can be provided beside the load lock chamber 130. The transfer chamber 141 can include a transfer robot 148. In addition, the load lock chamber 130 can include a plurality of load lock ports 131, 132. Although not shown, one or more load ports can be provided between the EFEM 110 and the substrate carrier 112.

[0040] A plurality of ports 150 are closed or opened to seal the chambers 142 - 147 respectively or to allow substrates to enter / leave the chambers 142 - 147.

[0041] The substrate preheating module 120 can be attached to one side of the EFEM 110. A port 121 will be used to obtain substrates from the EFEM 110 to preheat the substrates, or to bring the substrates into the EFEM 110 and the substrate processing module 140 to process the preheated substrates. Another port 122 can be placed on the opposite side of the port 121 for maintenance and manual operation by an operator.

[0042] Substrates can be carried by the substrate carrier 112 and can be moved into the EFEM 110, the substrate preheating module 120, and into the load lock chambers 131, 132, and finally into the reaction chambers 142 - 147. The processed substrates in the chambers 142 - 147 can be moved back to the load lock chambers 131, 132 and the EFEM 110.

[0043] Substrates can be preheated in the substrate preheating module 120 before entering the reaction chambers 142 - 147.

[0044] Figure 2 A side view of an EFEM 210 and two substrate preheating modules 220A, 220B attached to one side of the EFEM 210 is shown.

[0045] AsFigure 2 As shown, more than one substrate preheating module 220A, 220B can be attached to the EFEM 210. The robotic arm 211 disposed in the EFEM 210 can be used to move the substrate between the EFEM 210 and one of the substrate preheating modules 220A, 220B. When the substrate can be moved between the EFEM 210 and the substrate preheating modules 220A, 220B respectively, the ports 221A, 221B can be used.

[0046] Although the two substrate preheating modules 220A, 220B can be vertically positioned in Figure 2 it, the substrate preheating modules 220A, 220B can also be horizontally positioned to meet system requirements, and more than one substrate preheating module can be installed on the side of the EFEM 210.

[0047] Figure 3 A detailed view of a substrate preheating module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] The substrate preheating module 300 can have a chamber 320 configured to receive the substrate 324 from the EFEM. The substrate 324 can be vertically placed in the chamber 320 through a first opening 321, and the first opening 321 can be docked to the EFEM. A second opening 322 can be placed on the opposite side of the first opening 321, and this second opening 322 can be used by the operator for maintenance and calibration.

[0049] To preheat the substrate, the substrate preheating module 120 according to the present disclosure can use gas to heat the substrate. The gas can come from an external gas source 390 through a gas pipeline A. A first valve 326 can be placed at the mouth of the gas hole 325, and the gas hole 325 can be used to let the gas for heating the substrate enter the chamber 320. To effectively heat the substrate, the gas may need to be evenly distributed in the chamber 320, so a baffle 329 can be placed directly in front of the gas hole 325 for more effectively dispersing the gas. The gas for heating the substrate can include one of argon (Ar), nitrogen (N 2 )), helium (He) or a mixture thereof. The gas for heating the substrate can be discharged from the chamber 320 through an exhaust port 327. A second valve 328 can be installed at the exhaust port 327 and used to discharge the gas from the chamber 320.

[0050] The heater may include more than two heating units 323A, 323B. The first heating unit 323A may be placed directly below the upper sidewall of the chamber 320. And the second heating unit 323B may also be placed directly above the lower sidewall of the chamber 320. Accordingly, each heater may face the substrate 324 such that the heating units 323A, 323B can heat the substrate 324 by direct radiation and heating gas. The heater may be an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser or any other heating mechanism to directly heat the substrate by radiation and indirectly heat the substrate by heating gas.

[0051] Figure 1 The controller 123 in may be electrically coupled to the substrate preheating module 120, and more specifically, electrically coupled to the first and second valves 326, 328 and the heating units 323A, 323B such that the controller 123 may be configured to control the opening and closing of the first and second valves 326, 328 and is also configured to control the turning on and off of the heating units 323A, 323B.

[0052] The way to operate an EFEM having a substrate preheating module may be shown in Figure 4 as follows.

[0053] At the start of step 410 of the method, an EFEM having a substrate preheating module is provided and a substrate is to be loaded into the preheating module. Next, in step 420 of the method, the first valve is opened to let the gas for heating the substrate enter the preheating module.

[0054] In step 430 of the method, the heater may be turned on to heat the substrate and the gas in the preheating module. And in the last step 450 of the method, the preheated substrate may be unloaded from the preheating module. However, in step 440 of the method, the second (exhaust) valve may be opened to pump out the heating gas from the preheating module. This step 440 may or may not be performed according to system requirements.

[0055] Using a UV lamp and / or a laser heater, the substrate can be heated to 500 degrees Celsius. In addition, the substrate preheating module according to the present disclosure can heat more than one wafer, and the substrate can be rapidly preheated with a specific gas (He / Ar / N 2 ) or a gas mixture in a controlled environment outside a vacuum environment.

[0056] As can be seen from Figure 2 the substrate preheating module according to the present disclosure can be scaled up because it can be modular and can be mounted not only vertically or horizontally on one side of the EFEM.

[0057] The arrangements of the above-described systems and methods are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention, and many other embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should not be determined with reference to the above description, but rather should be determined with reference to the full scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A substrate preheating module, comprising: a chamber configured to receive one or more substrates from an equipment front end module (EFEM); a first opening disposed in a wall of the chamber adjacent to the EFEM; a gas inlet configured to deliver a first gas from an external gas source into the chamber; a first valve disposed at the gas inlet and configured to control input of the first gas into the chamber; an exhaust port configured to pump the first gas out of the chamber; a second valve disposed at the exhaust port and configured to control exhaust of the first gas from the chamber; and A heater is configured to heat the first gas in the chamber.

2. The substrate preheating module according to claim 1, further comprising: A controller is electrically coupled to the chamber, the first valve, the second valve, and the heater, and is configured to control opening / closing of the first and second valves and turning on / off of the heater.

3. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising: A baffle is arranged at the mouth of the gas inlet.

4. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising: The second opening, which is disposed on the opposite side of the first opening, is used for maintenance.

5. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The heater includes at least two heating units, and the heating units are disposed at least on an upper side wall and a lower side wall of the chamber.

6. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2 and 5, wherein: The heater includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser.

7. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The first gas includes at least one of nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar), helium (He) or a mixture thereof.

8. The substrate preheating module according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The EFEM is configured to move and provide a substrate for preheating and processing.

9. A device processing assembly comprising: an equipment front end module (EFEM) comprising an equipment front end module chamber having one or more interface openings and a robotic arm for moving substrates; Load lock chamber; a plurality of processing chambers configured to process substrates; as well as One or more substrate pre-heating modules attached to one side of the EFEM, each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules comprising: a chamber configured to receive a substrate from the EFEM; a first opening disposed in a wall of the chamber adjacent to the EFEM; a gas inlet configured to deliver a first gas from an external gas source into the chamber; a first valve disposed at the gas inlet and configured to control input of the first gas into the chamber; an exhaust port configured to pump the first gas out of the chamber; a second valve disposed at the exhaust port and configured to control exhaust of the first gas from the chamber; and A heater is configured to heat the first gas in the chamber.

10. The device processing assembly of claim 9, each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules further comprising: A controller is electrically coupled to the pre-heating module and configured to control opening / closing of the first and second valves and turning on / off of the heater.

11. The device processing assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 10, each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules further comprising: A baffle is arranged at the mouth of the gas inlet.

12. The device processing assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 10, each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules further comprising: A second opening is disposed on an opposite side of the first opening.

13. The device processing assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein: For each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules, the heater includes at least two heating units, and the heating units are disposed at least on an upper sidewall and a lower sidewall of the chamber.

14. The device processing assembly according to claim 13, wherein: The heater in each of the one or more substrate pre-heating modules includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser.

15. The device processing assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein: The first gas includes at least one of nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar), helium (He) or a mixture thereof.

16. The device processing assembly according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein: The one or more substrate pre-heating modules are mounted on one side of the EFEM in a vertical or horizontal manner.

17. A method of operating an equipment front end module (EFEM), comprising: providing an EFEM having an equipment front end module chamber equipped with a loading robot and one or more attached substrate pre-heating modules; loading a substrate into a substrate preheating module; opening a first valve to allow a first gas to flow into the substrate preheating module; Turning on a heater installed in a substrate preheating module; as well as The substrate is unloaded from the substrate pre-heating module.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: The second valve is opened to pump the first gas out of the substrate pre-heating module.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The first gas includes at least one of nitrogen (N2), argon (Ar), helium (He) or a mixture thereof.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein: The heater installed in the substrate pre-heating module includes an ultraviolet (UV) lamp or an excimer laser.

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