Deposition Ring, Deposition Assembly and Deposition Equipment for Improving Thick Film Deposition Uniformity

By optimizing the deposition ring structure and support design, the problem of deposition inhomogeneity of thick aluminum films is solved, and higher deposition uniformity and equipment stability are achieved, reducing production costs.

CN120099460BActive Publication Date: 2025-08-01BETONE TECH SUZHOU INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510592284.6
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-05-09
Publication Date
2025-08-01
Estimated Expiration
2045-05-09

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In the prior art, when using physical vapor deposition equipment to deposit thick aluminum films, unevenness of the film's middle thickness is greater than the edge thickness often occurs, which affects device performance and increases production costs.

Method used

An improved deposition ring is designed, including the center part, the inner ring, the outer ring and the support rod from the inside to the outside. By optimizing the structural design, the shading area is reduced and the surface area of the center is increased. A sliding connecting rod is used to release thermal expansion stress, and an insulating isolation sleeve is combined to ensure stable support.

Benefits of technology

It significantly improves the uniformity of film deposition, reduces the problem of thicker film deposition in the center of wafer, improves equipment output rate, reduces production costs, and extends equipment life.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention provides a deposition ring, a deposition assembly and a deposition device that can improve the uniformity of thick film deposition. The deposition ring includes a central part, an inner circular ring and an outer circular ring that are sequentially spaced and concentrically arranged from the inside to the outside; the inner circular ring is connected to the central part through a plurality of first support rods arranged at intervals, and is connected to the outer circular ring through a plurality of second support rods arranged at intervals; the deposition ring further includes a plurality of connecting rods arranged at intervals, one ends of the plurality of connecting rods are connected to the outer circular ring, and the other ends extend in a direction away from the deposition ring for slidably connecting the deposition ring with an external structure. The deposition ring of the present invention has an optimized structural design, and when used in a thin film deposition device, can significantly improve the uniformity of thin film deposition, help to improve the heat distribution on the surface of the wafer, and reduce surface defects such as whiskers. By using a deposition device with the deposition ring of the present invention, the uniformity of thin film deposition can be improved without increasing the process steps, which helps to improve the equipment output rate and reduce the production cost.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of integrated circuit manufacturing equipment, and particularly to a deposition ring, a deposition assembly and a deposition device capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films. Background Art

[0002] Aluminum films are widely used thin films in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and are often used in functional layers such as metal gates, conductive interconnect layers, and electrode material layers. In the prior art, when depositing thick aluminum films using physical vapor deposition and other types of equipment (for example, when the thickness of the aluminum film is greater than 10 KÅ), there is often an adverse phenomenon that the thickness in the middle of the film is greater than the thickness at the edge, and this phenomenon becomes more obvious as the film thickness increases. The uneven thick aluminum film is applied to semiconductor radio frequency (RF) and power devices, which will affect the sheet resistance uniformity of the aluminum film and lead to deterioration of the electrical performance of the product. To improve the deposition uniformity of thick films, a relatively common method is to deposit the film thickness to be greater than the target thickness and then grind and thin it, but this will lead to a decrease in equipment productivity and an increase in production costs, and the increase in process steps is accompanied by an increase in the risk of process defects.

[0003] It should be noted that the above introduction of the technical background is only for the convenience of clearly and completely explaining the technical solution of the present invention and facilitating the understanding of those skilled in the art. It cannot be considered that the above technical solutions are well known to those skilled in the art just because these solutions are described in the background art part of the present invention. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a deposition ring, a deposition assembly and a deposition device capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films, so as to solve the problems in the prior art that when depositing thick films using physical vapor deposition and other types of equipment, there is an adverse phenomenon that the thickness in the middle of the film is greater than the thickness at the edge, affecting the device performance, etc.

[0005] To achieve the above object and other related objects, the present invention provides a deposition ring capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films. The deposition ring includes a central part, an inner ring and an outer ring which are sequentially spaced and concentrically arranged from the inside to the outside; the inner ring is connected to the central part through a plurality of first support rods arranged at intervals, and is connected to the outer ring through a plurality of second support rods arranged at intervals; the deposition ring further includes a plurality of connecting rods arranged at intervals, one end of each of the plurality of connecting rods is connected to the outer ring, and the other end extends in a direction away from the deposition ring for slidably connecting the deposition ring to an external structure.

[0006] Optionally, the number of the first support rods is the same as that of the second support rods, and they are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence along the radial direction of the deposition ring.

[0007] Optionally, there are six first support rods and six second support rods, which are evenly spaced and distributed along the circumference of the deposition ring.

[0008] Optionally, screw holes are provided at the connection between the outer ring and part of the second support rods, and the connecting rods are threadedly embedded in the screw holes in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0009] Optionally, the size of the screw hole near the hole opening is larger than the size of the connecting rod, so that there is a gap between the connecting rod and the screw hole.

[0010] Optionally, a plurality of stress relief holes are provided at the connection between the outer ring and part of the second support rods, and the stress relief holes and the screw holes are alternately arranged on the outer ring.

[0011] Optionally, each connection where stress relief holes are provided has two stress relief holes, the two stress relief holes are symmetrically distributed about the central axis of the second support rod, and the hole diameter of the stress relief holes is 3mm-7mm.

[0012] The present invention also provides a deposition assembly, which includes a support ring, an insulating isolation sleeve and a deposition ring as described in any of the above schemes, wherein the end of the connecting rod of the deposition ring facing away from the deposition ring is slidably mounted on the support ring through the insulating isolation sleeve and extends to the outside of the support ring, and the outer ring and the support ring are spaced apart in the radial direction.

[0013] The present invention also provides a deposition device capable of improving the uniformity of thick film deposition, wherein the deposition device comprises a deposition component as described in any of the above schemes.

[0014] Optionally, the deposition equipment is a physical vapor deposition equipment for aluminum film deposition, the material of the support ring includes stainless steel, the material of the deposition ring includes several of aluminum, stainless steel and titanium, and the material of the insulating isolation sleeve includes ceramic.

[0015] As described above, the deposition ring, deposition assembly and deposition equipment provided by the present invention that can improve the uniformity of thick film deposition have the following beneficial effects: the deposition ring of the present invention has an optimized structural design. When used in thin film deposition equipment, it can reduce the thin film deposition in the center of the wafer by minimizing the horizontal surface area of the inner ring, outer ring and support rod and appropriately increasing the surface area of the center. It can effectively improve the problem of thicker film thickness in the center area of the wafer compared to the edge area during thick film deposition, significantly improve the uniformity of thin film deposition, help improve the heat distribution on the wafer surface, and reduce surface defects such as whiskers. At the same time, the use of the deposition ring and deposition assembly of the present invention can significantly reduce the thermal stress deformation caused by thermal expansion of the deposition ring during the process. The deposition equipment using the deposition ring of the present invention can improve the uniformity of thin film deposition without increasing the process steps, which helps to improve the output rate of the equipment and reduce production costs. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] Figure 1 It shows a top - view structural schematic diagram of the deposition ring provided by the present invention that can improve the uniformity of thick - film deposition.

[0017] Figure 2 Shown as Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of area A of

[0018] Figure 3 Shown as Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of area B of

[0019] Figure 4 It shows a structural schematic diagram of the connecting rod of the deposition ring in an example.

[0020] Figure 5 It shows a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the deposition ring of the present invention and the support ring during use.

[0021] Figure 6 Shown as Figure 5 A partial cross - sectional structural schematic diagram along the direction of line CC.

[0022] Figure 7 Shown as Figure 6 An enlarged schematic diagram of area D of

[0023] Figure 8 It shows an exemplary cross - sectional structural schematic diagram of the insulating isolation sleeve of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 9 It shows a schematic diagram of the deformation direction of the deposition ring provided by the present invention after being subjected to a thermal load during the process. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0025] The following uses specific specific examples to illustrate the implementation manners of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation manners. Various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention. When detailing the embodiments of the present invention, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the cross - sectional views showing the device structure will be enlarged locally out of the general proportion, and the schematic diagrams are only examples and should not limit the scope of protection of the present invention here. In addition, in actual production, three - dimensional spatial dimensions including length, width, and depth should be included.

[0026] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment only schematically illustrate the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, only the components related to the present invention are shown in the drawings, rather than being drawn according to the number, shape, and size of the components in actual implementation. The type, quantity, and proportion of each component in actual implementation can be arbitrarily changed, and the component layout type may also be more complex. To make the illustrations as concise as possible, not all structures are labeled in each drawing.

[0027] In existing vapor deposition equipment, the deposition rings commonly used are generally arranged above the circumferential edge of the wafer to prevent film deposition on the wafer edge. After long-term research, the inventor of this case has proposed a deposition ring with a brand-new structure, which not only has the function of preventing film deposition on the wafer edge, but also can improve the problem of excessive deposition in the center of the wafer, meeting more diverse deposition requirements.

[0028] Specifically, the present invention provides a deposition ring 1 that can improve the uniformity of thick film deposition. The deposition ring 1 is used in deposition equipment, and is particularly suitable for equipment with a relatively large film thickness, such as particularly suitable for depositing films with a thickness greater than 100 Å. The equipment can be physical vapor deposition equipment or chemical vapor deposition equipment. For example, the deposition ring 1 provided by the present invention can be used in physical vapor deposition equipment for aluminum film deposition.

[0029] The structure of the deposition ring 1 can refer to Figures 1 to 4As shown in the figure, it includes a central part 11, an inner ring 12, and an outer ring 13 that are sequentially spaced and concentrically arranged from the inside to the outside. As the name implies, both the inner ring 12 and the outer ring 13 are annular structures. The central part 11 can be an annular structure or a solid disc-shaped structure, preferably a solid disc. The inner ring 12 is connected to the central part 11 through a plurality of first support rods 18 that are spaced apart, and is connected to the outer ring 13 through a plurality of second support rods 19 that are spaced apart. That is, the plurality of first support rods 18 are spaced apart on the same circumferential surface of the inner ring 12, with one end connected to the central part 11 and the other end connected to the inner ring 12, thereby dividing the area between the inner ring 12 and the central part 11 into a plurality of inner deposition regions 1a. The plurality of second support rods 19 are spaced apart on the same circumferential surface of the outer ring 13, with one end connected to the inner ring 12 and the other end connected to the outer ring 13, thereby dividing the area between the inner ring 12 and the outer ring 13 into a plurality of outer deposition regions 1b. The specific number of the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 is not limited, but is preferably more than 3. The first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 are preferably evenly spaced on the corresponding circumferential surfaces to provide uniform support force. Each support rod (including the first support rod 18 and the second support rod 19) can be fixedly connected or detachably connected to the corresponding structure. For example, in some examples, both ends of each support rod are fixedly connected to the adjacent structure by welding. In other examples, both ends of each support rod are detachably connected to the adjacent structure by means such as threaded connection, snap connection, and threaded connection. If a detachable connection method is adopted, the position of the support rod can be adjusted as needed to adjust the size of different deposition regions. In most cases, it is required that the thickness of the film deposited in the same circumferential direction on the wafer surface is the same. Therefore, under the condition of ensuring that the support rod can provide sufficient support force, the smaller the surface area, the better, so as to avoid occlusion as much as possible. However, in some special cases, such as in the experimental research and development stage, different regions on the wafer surface may be used to deposit different types and / or different thicknesses of films, and it is desired that the interference between adjacent regions is minimized. In this case, at least part of the first support rods 18 and / or the second support rods 19 can be set as a structure with an adjustable surface area. For example, it can be set as a structure that is at least partially wound. According to different deposition requirements (depending on the different deposition occlusion regions required), the occlusion position and the folding area size of the support rod can be adjusted by manually winding and unwinding. Or part of the support rod can be set as a folding structure with a similar V-shaped groove, and the occlusion region of the support rod can be adjusted by adjusting the folding degree.

[0030] In addition, in this embodiment, the deposition ring 1 further includes a plurality of connecting rods 14 arranged at intervals. One end of each of the plurality of connecting rods 14 is connected to the outer ring 13, and the other end extends in a direction away from the deposition ring 1 for slidably connecting the deposition ring 1 to an external structure. That is, when the deposition ring 1 provided in this embodiment is applied, it is not fastened to other external structures, or rather, the positional relationship with other external structures, especially the radial spacing, can be adjusted. For example, if it is applied to a physical vapor deposition device, the deposition ring 1 is placed on the support ring 2 through the connecting rods 14, and the outer ring 13 of the deposition ring 1 preferably has a spacing from the support ring 2. For example, in some examples, there are 3 connecting rods 14, and the deposition ring 1 is installed on the support ring 2 through the 3 connecting rods 14, and the connecting rods 14 are only placed on the support rods without being fastened to the support rods. Therefore, the connecting rods 14 do not limit the "radial" degree of freedom along the support ring 2. The plurality of connecting rods 14 are evenly distributed in the circumferential direction of the deposition ring 1 to fix the relative positional relationship between the deposition ring 1 and the support ring 2. During the process, the deposition ring 1 expands radially when heated. Therefore, setting the sliding connection helps to release the stress generated by thermal expansion, and can avoid the deformation caused by the fixed connection between the deposition ring 1 and the support ring 2 after the deposition ring 1 expands due to heating during the process, ensuring stable support connection between the process kits, helping to extend the service life of the deposition ring, and improving the equipment stability.

[0031] When the deposition ring 1 provided in this embodiment is used in a thin film deposition device, it is usually horizontally arranged with its central part 11 coaxial with the center of the deposition chamber (which is also the center of the wafer to be deposited). The central part 11, the inner ring 12 and the outer ring 13 of the deposition ring 1 can play a shielding role to reduce the settlement of sputtered particles in the area corresponding to the lower part of these structures, and there is no shielding directly above the separated inner deposition areas 1a and outer deposition areas 1b. Therefore, by minimizing the horizontal surface areas of the inner ring 12, the outer ring 13 and the support rods and appropriately increasing the surface area of the central part 11, the thin film deposition at the center of the wafer can be reduced. When depositing thick films, it can effectively improve the problem that the film thickness in the central area of the wafer is thicker than that in the edge area, can significantly improve the uniformity of thin film deposition, helps to improve the heat distribution on the wafer surface, and reduces surface defects such as whiskers. Applying the deposition ring 1 of the present invention to a thin film deposition device can improve the thin film deposition uniformity without increasing the process steps, improve the equipment output rate, and reduce the production cost. The structure of the deposition ring 1 is simple, easy to process, and very convenient to install and use.

[0032] The number of the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 may be the same or different, and their set positions can also be adjusted flexibly. In a preferred example, the numbers of both are the same, and they are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence along the radial direction of the deposition ring 1, that is, the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 are arranged along the radial direction of the deposition ring 1 in a one-to-one correspondence manner. It can also be considered that the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 are two segments of the same support rod at different positions. In a further example, both the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 are 6 in number, and they are evenly spaced along the circumferential direction of the deposition ring 1 respectively. Thus, the deposition ring 1 is divided into 6 inner deposition areas 1a with equal areas and 6 outer deposition areas 1b with equal areas, and the area ratio of these two areas is a fixed value. For example, the area ratio of the inner deposition area 1a to the outer deposition area 1b is 1:2, but it is not limited thereto. During the deposition process, the inner deposition area 1a and the outer deposition area 1b correspond to different areas on the surface of the wafer. If it is used for depositing a stress-improving film (for example, depositing a silicon nitride or silicon oxide film on the back of the wafer to improve the warpage of the wafer), the warpage distribution on the surface of the wafer to be deposited can be measured in advance before use, and the positions of the support rods of the deposition ring 1 and / or the sizes of structures such as the central part 11 can be adjusted according to the warpage of the wafer to adjust the sizes of the deposition areas, which helps to further improve the warpage of the wafer surface.

[0033] If it is applied to a conventional thin film deposition process, it is desired that the horizontal surface areas of the inner ring 12, the outer ring 13, the first support rods 18 and the second support rods 19 are as small as possible to reduce the shielding area. For example, in some examples, these structures can be solid or hollow round rods with the same pipe diameter, and the wall thickness is, for example, 5 mm, but it is not limited thereto. The diameter of the central part 11 is determined according to needs, for example, it is 20 mm, but it is not limited thereto.

[0034] The deposition ring 1 can be prepared by machining, and the materials of its various parts are preferably the same, so that each part has the same coefficient of thermal expansion. The deposition ring 1 is preferably made of a metal material, such as one of stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or a combination of multiple materials, and there is no specific limitation. The surface of the deposition ring 1 can be anodized to reduce its own corrosion and at the same time increase the adsorption of blocking particles. When applied to sputtering deposition, during use, the surface of the deposition ring 1 can also be made to present different electrical properties as needed to produce different degrees of adsorption on different sputtering particles. Each part of the deposition ring is preferably located in the same plane during the deposition process.

[0035] The size of the central part 11 can be fixed. In some other examples, the area of the central part 11 can be adjusted according to deposition requirements. Accordingly, each structure connected to the central part 11 has a structure adapted to the change in the area of the central part 11. For example, in some examples, the central part 11 has a pleated structure that can expand and contract radially or a folding structure that can be bent upward or downward, and the first support rod 18 can also be provided with a pleated structure that can expand and contract radially. Therefore, when needed, the pleating degree of the central part 11 and the first support rod 18 can be manually adjusted to adjust the surface area of the central part 11 to meet different deposition requirements. In some other examples, the adjustment of the shielding area of the central part 11 can also be achieved by means of an external driving force, whereby real-time dynamic adjustment of the central shielding area can be realized during the deposition process. For example, the central part 11 and the first support rod 18 can be made of electrostrictive materials, and the surface area of the central part 11 is adjusted by changing the current. In some other examples, the central part 11 and the first support rod 18 can also be made of thermally expandable materials, and the temperature is adjusted within the allowable range of the process to adjust the surface area of the central part 11. Similarly, the inner ring 12, the outer ring 13, and the second support rod 19 can also adopt a similar scheme, that is, a telescopic pleated structure can be adopted, or they can be made of electrostrictive or thermally expandable materials to realize the size and position adjustment of each structure, so as to meet more diverse deposition requirements. For example, the surface area of the outer ring can be adjusted according to the size of the wafer edge area to meet different edge deposition requirements.

[0036] The connecting rod 14 and the outer ring 13 can be fixedly connected, for example, welded together, but preferably detachable, and there is no strict limit on its connection position with the outer ring 13. In a preferred example, as Figure 2As shown, screw holes 15 are provided at the connection between the outer ring 13 and a part of the second support rod 19, and the connecting rods 14 are threadedly embedded in the screw holes 15 one by one. Threaded connection can more flexibly adjust the extension length of the connecting rods 14, thereby more flexibly adjusting the interval between the outer ring 13 and the external support structure. The corresponding arrangement of the connecting rods 14 at the connection between the second support rod 19 and the outer ring 13 can simplify the structure of the deposition ring 1 while ensuring its good mechanical strength. In a further example, the size of the screw hole 15 near the hole opening is larger than the size of the connecting rod 14, so that there is a gap between the connecting rod 14 and the screw hole 15. For the convenience of understanding, the hole section of the screw hole 15 near the hole opening that is larger than the size of the connecting rod 14 is defined as the anti-adhesion hole 16, and the end of the anti-adhesion hole 16 away from the hole opening is the screw hole 15 that is threadedly connected to the connecting rod 14. Since the aperture of the anti-adhesion hole 16 is larger than the size of the connecting rod 14, when the connecting rod 14 is threadedly embedded in the screw hole 15, there is a gap between the connecting rod 14 and the anti-adhesion hole 16, and this gap is, for example, 0.5 mm. This not only helps to reduce the friction between the connecting rod 14 and the outer ring 13 at the hole opening, but also effectively avoids the adhesion between the connecting rod 14 and the deposition ring 1.

[0037] In one example, as Figure 3As shown, a number of stress relief holes 17 are provided at the connection between the outer ring 13 and a part of the second support rods 19, and the stress relief holes 17 and the screw holes 15 are preferably arranged alternately on the outer ring 13. Taking six second support rods 19 as an example, screw holes 15 are provided at the connections between three second support rods 19 and the outer ring 13, while stress relief holes 17 are provided at the connections between the other three second support rods 19 and the outer ring 13 instead of screw holes 15. That is, stress relief holes 17 are not provided at the connection positions of each second support rod 19 and the outer ring 13 to ensure the mechanical strength of the outer ring 13 itself. For the convenience of installing the screw holes 15 and the stress relief holes 17, arc-shaped connecting blocks can be correspondingly provided at the connections between the outer ring 13 and the second support rods 19, so that the outer ring 13 at these corresponding connection positions has a relatively larger surface area than the outer ring 13 at other positions. One of the arc-shaped connecting blocks can also block the deposition at the position of the wafer notch. The stress relief holes 17 at each place can be single or more than two. For example, in this embodiment, there are two stress relief holes 17 at each connection position where the stress relief holes 17 are provided. The stress relief holes 17 can be through holes or blind holes, and their lengths extend along the radial direction of the deposition ring 1. The two stress relief holes 17 are symmetrically distributed with respect to the central axis of the second support rod 19, so that the stress relief is more uniform. The diameter of the stress relief holes 17 is preferably 3 mm - 7 mm, for example, 5.2 mm as shown in the figure. The provision of the stress relief holes 17 can weaken the connection strength at the corresponding positions. When heated and expanded, elastic deformation can occur here, reducing the plastic deformation generated when the deposition ring 1 is subjected to "thermal shock" and improving its installation stability.

[0038] In the case where the anti-adhesion holes 16 are provided, the connecting rod 14 can have a structure with the same dimensions at each place, or can adopt a structure with variable diameters as shown in Figure 4 the figure. That is, the part of the connecting rod 14 located inside the anti-adhesion hole has a larger dimension than the part threadedly sleeved with the screw hole 15, so as to better support the deposition ring 1 on the external support structure.

[0039] The following will further illustrate the installation method and the principle of action of the deposition ring 1 provided in this embodiment when applied to a physical vapor deposition device in combination with Figures 5 to 9 this.

[0040] In the existing physical vapor deposition equipment, a support ring 2 is provided. The support ring 2 has openings at the upper and lower ends and is generally cylindrical in structure. The upper end of the support ring 2 can be fixed to the deposition chamber, and the lower end extends to the periphery of the wafer. A stepped portion for supporting other structures is provided at the lower end. The deposition ring 1 provided in this embodiment is placed on the step on the bottom surface of the support ring 2 through a connecting rod 14 and extends to the outside of the support ring 2 (the side close to the chamber wall). The support ring 2 is usually made of metal materials such as stainless steel and aluminum alloy, and the deposition ring 1 is also made of conductive metal materials such as aluminum and titanium. Therefore, in order to ensure that the support ring 2 and the deposition ring 1 are insulated from each other to prevent the generation of electric arcs, one way is to coat the contacting parts of the two with insulating materials such as ceramics. Another way is as shown in this embodiment, an insulating spacer 3 is provided between the support ring 2 and the connecting rod 14. The insulating spacer 3 is, for example, a ceramic sleeve. The insulating spacer 3 is provided on the support ring 2 and extends outward. One end of the connecting rod 14 facing away from the deposition ring 1 is placed in the hole of the insulating spacer 3 and extends outward to the outside of the support ring 2. Therefore, one end of the connecting rod 14 facing away from the deposition ring 1 is free. It is not fixed to the insulating spacer 3 and the support ring 2, and does not limit the radial freedom of the support ring 2 and can move along the axis of the insulating spacer 3. Therefore, when the deposition ring 1 collides due to heat during the deposition process and the length in the radial direction changes, the connecting rod 14 will move along the Figure 9 direction shown to ensure that the deposition ring 1 is still stably mounted on the support ring 2. Since stress relief holes 17 are provided on the deposition ring 1, it will not be severely deformed when it undergoes thermal expansion, and has good ability to recover the deformed shape after cooling, which can significantly extend the service life of the deposition ring 1 and help reduce the use cost of the equipment. In addition, in this embodiment, when the deposition ring 1 is placed on the support ring 2, there is preferably a gap 4 between its outer ring 13 and the support ring 2 in the radial direction. The gap 4 is, for example, also 0.5 mm. Setting a gap between the two not only helps prevent adhesion between the support ring 2 and the deposition ring 1, but also can avoid contact friction when the two expand due to heat, and extend the service life of the spare parts. The deposition ring provided in this embodiment can be used in various deposition equipment, especially suitable for sputtering deposition equipment. Its central part can effectively block sputtering particles, thereby preventing the film deposition in the central area of the wafer from being too thick.

[0041] The present invention also provides a deposition assembly, and the structure of the deposition assembly can refer to Figures 5 to 9As shown, it includes a support ring 2, an insulating spacer 3, and a deposition ring 1 as described in any of the above solutions. One end of the connecting rod 14 of the deposition ring 1, which is away from the deposition ring 1, is slidably placed on the support ring 2 through the insulating spacer 3 and extends outside the support ring 2. The outer ring 13 of the deposition ring 1 and the support ring 2 preferably have a gap 4 in the radial direction. The description of the deposition ring and the deposition assembly can refer to the foregoing content and will not be elaborated for the sake of brevity. The materials of the structures of the deposition assembly are determined according to its specific application. For example, if it is used for aluminum film deposition, the material of the support ring 2 can be stainless steel, the material of the deposition ring 1 can be several of aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium, and the material of the insulating spacer 3 can be ceramic. The surfaces of the structures of the deposition assembly can be treated with anti-corrosion, such as plating an anti-corrosion coating such as ceramic.

[0042] The deposition assembly provided by the present invention can be used in chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition equipment, especially suitable for sputtering deposition equipment. During the deposition process of the physical vapor deposition equipment using the deposition assembly provided by the present invention, the central part 11 of the deposition ring 1 is correspondingly located above the central area of the wafer, which can reduce the deposition of sputtering particles in this area, avoid excessive film deposition in the central area of the wafer, help improve the film deposition uniformity, and the thicker the film to be deposited, the more prominent the advantages of using the deposition assembly of the present invention. According to the different structures of the deposition ring 1, the surface area of the central part 11 or other parts can also be adjusted in different deposition processes or different stages of the same deposition process, more flexibly adjusting the shielding range to meet more diverse deposition requirements. Except that the structure of the deposition ring is quite different from that of the deposition ring in the prior art, the other structures of the deposition assembly provided in this embodiment and the usage mode of the deposition assembly are basically the same as those in the prior art. For example, if it is applied to a sputtering device, the deposition assembly is arranged in the deposition space between the sputtering target and the base for carrying the wafer. Only in this embodiment, in addition to the outer ring of the deposition ring corresponding to being located above the edge of the wafer, its central part also correspondingly locates above the center of the wafer (also directly below the sputtering target), and together with the inner ring, outer ring, first support rod, and second support rod, multiple inner deposition areas and outer deposition areas are formed. If it is used in chemical vapor deposition equipment, the deposition ring is correspondingly located below the spraying device.

[0043] The structure of the insulating spacer 3 of the deposition assembly can refer to Figure 8 As shown, it has a through hole 31 for the connecting rod 14 to pass through inside, and this through hole 31 can be made into a variable-diameter hole according to the structure of the connecting rod 14. For the convenience of loading and unloading, an outer edge part 32 is provided at one end of the insulating spacer 3 away from the deposition ring 1.

[0044] The present invention also provides a deposition apparatus capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films. The deposition apparatus includes the deposition component described in any of the above solutions. Therefore, the foregoing content can be incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and will not be repeated for the sake of brevity. Except for using the deposition component provided by the present invention, the other structures and usage methods of the deposition apparatus provided by the present invention are basically the same as those of the prior art. Since the structures and usage methods of various deposition apparatuses are well known to those skilled in the art, they will not be repeated for the sake of brevity. By using the deposition apparatus of the present invention, the deposition uniformity of the thin film can be improved without adding additional process steps, the heat distribution on the surface of the wafer can be improved, thereby reducing surface defects such as whiskers, and the production yield and equipment output rate can be increased. Moreover, since the deposition component provided by the present invention is used, the service life of the deposition apparatus provided by the present invention can be greatly extended, which helps to reduce the equipment usage cost.

[0045] Preferably, the deposition apparatus is a physical vapor deposition apparatus, such as a physical sputtering deposition apparatus for aluminum film deposition. When it is used for depositing a thin film with a thickness greater than 10 KÅ, the deposition uniformity of the thin film will be significantly improved, and the electrical performance of the device will be enhanced.

[0046] In summary, the present invention provides a deposition ring, a deposition component, and a deposition apparatus capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films. The deposition ring includes a central portion, an inner ring, and an outer ring that are sequentially spaced and concentrically arranged from the inside to the outside; the inner ring is connected to the central portion by a plurality of first support rods arranged at intervals and is connected to the outer ring by a plurality of second support rods arranged at intervals; the deposition ring further includes a plurality of connecting rods arranged at intervals. One end of each of the plurality of connecting rods is connected to the outer ring, and the other end extends in a direction away from the deposition ring for slidably connecting the deposition ring to an external structure. Through the optimized structural design of the deposition ring of the present invention, when it is used in a thin film deposition apparatus, the horizontal surface areas of the inner ring, the outer ring, and the support rods can be minimized as much as possible, and the surface area of the central portion can be appropriately increased, so as to reduce the thin film deposition at the center of the wafer. When depositing thick films, the problem that the film thickness in the central region of the wafer is thicker than that in the edge region can be effectively improved, the deposition uniformity of the thin film can be significantly improved, which helps to improve the heat distribution on the surface of the wafer and reduce surface defects such as whiskers. By using a deposition apparatus having the deposition ring of the present invention, the deposition uniformity of the thin film can be improved without adding process steps, which helps to increase the equipment output rate and reduce the production cost.

[0047] Therefore, the present invention effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.

[0048] The above embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person familiar with this technology can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field without departing from the spirit and technical idea disclosed by the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A deposition ring capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films, characterized in that, The deposition ring includes a central part, an inner circular ring, and an outer circular ring that are sequentially spaced and concentrically arranged from the inside to the outside; the inner circular ring is connected to the central part by a plurality of first support rods arranged at intervals, and is connected to the outer circular ring by a plurality of second support rods arranged at intervals; the deposition ring further includes a plurality of connecting rods arranged at intervals, one end of the plurality of connecting rods is connected to the outer circular ring, and the other end extends in a direction away from the deposition ring for slidably connecting the deposition ring to an external structure.

2. The deposition ring according to claim 1, wherein The number of the first support rods is the same as that of the second support rods, and they are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence along the radial direction of the deposition ring.

3. The deposition ring according to claim 2, wherein, There are 6 first support rods and 6 second support rods respectively, and they are evenly spaced along the circumferential direction of the deposition ring.

4. The deposition ring according to claim 1, wherein Screw holes are provided at the joints of the outer circular ring and some of the second support rods, and the connecting rods are threadedly embedded in the screw holes in a one-to-one correspondence.

5. The deposition ring according to claim 4, characterized in that, The size of the screw hole near the hole opening is larger than the size of the connecting rod, so that there is a gap between the connecting rod and the screw hole.

6. The deposition ring according to claim 4, wherein A number of stress relief holes are provided at the joints of the outer circular ring and some of the second support rods, and the stress relief holes and the screw holes are arranged alternately on the outer circular ring.

7. The deposition ring according to claim 6, wherein There are 2 stress relief holes at each joint where the stress relief holes are provided, and the 2 stress relief holes are symmetrically distributed with respect to the central axis of the second support rod. The aperture of the stress relief hole is 3 mm - 7 mm.

8. A deposition component, characterized in that, The deposition assembly includes a support ring, an insulating isolation sleeve, and the deposition ring according to any one of claims 1 to 7. One end of the connecting rod of the deposition ring away from the deposition ring is slidably placed on the support ring through the insulating isolation sleeve and extends to the outside of the support ring, and there is a gap between the outer circular ring and the support ring in the radial direction.

9. A deposition device capable of improving the deposition uniformity of thick films, characterized in that, The deposition device includes the deposition assembly according to claim 8.

10. The deposition apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, The deposition device is a physical vapor deposition device for aluminum film deposition. The material of the support ring includes stainless steel, the material of the deposition ring includes several of aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium, and the material of the insulating isolation sleeve includes ceramics.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

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