Lifting and rotating mechanism and semiconductor process chamber

By designing a lifting and rotating mechanism for semiconductor process chambers, the direction of movement is restricted by using a guide rod, the problem of wafer shift during lifting and rotating is solved, and the film thickness uniformity of the coating and the effect of semiconductor process are improved.

CN120119219APending Publication Date: 2025-06-10BEIJING NAURA MICROELECTRONICS EQUIP CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202311675592.2
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-12-07
Publication Date
2025-06-10

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The existing semiconductor process chamber cannot avoid wafer offset when driving wafer lifting and rotating, resulting in difficult to improve the film thickness uniformity of the wafer coating.

Method used

A lifting and rotating mechanism is designed, including a drive bearing, a lifting seat, a lifting and driving assembly, a rotating driving assembly and a plurality of guide rods. The guide rod limits the movement direction of the central shaft and the base to ensure the stability of the wafer position.

Benefits of technology

Through this lifting and rotating mechanism, the horizontal or horizontal position deviation of the base and wafer can be effectively avoided, and the stability and accuracy of the horizontal position and horizontal degree of the wafer can be improved, thereby improving the film thickness uniformity of the coating and ensuring the semiconductor process effect.

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Abstract

The invention provides a lifting and rotating mechanism and a semiconductor process chamber, the lifting and rotating mechanism comprises a driving bearing, a lifting seat, a lifting driving assembly, a rotating driving assembly and a plurality of guide rods, the plurality of guide rods are arranged in parallel, the tops of the guide rods are used for being fixedly connected with the bottom of a cavity, the lifting seat is movably arranged on the plurality of guide rods, and the rotating driving assembly is arranged on the lifting seat. A shaft sleeve of the driving bearing is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat, the top end of a center shaft of the driving bearing is used for penetrating through the cavity and being connected with a base located in the cavity, and the lifting driving assembly is used for driving the lifting seat to do lifting motion along the guide rod so as to drive the center shaft and the base to do lifting motion. The rotation driving assembly is used for driving the center shaft to rotate around the axis of the center shaft in the shaft sleeve so as to drive the base to rotate. According to the invention, the plurality of guide rods can limit the movement direction of the central shaft and the base in the extension direction of the guide rods, so that the stability and accuracy of the horizontal position and levelness of the base and the wafer carried on the base are improved, and the semiconductor process effect is ensured.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor process equipment, and in particular, to a lifting and rotating mechanism and a semiconductor process chamber. Background Art

[0002] Integrated circuit film formation preparation processes mainly include Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD), Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), etc. Among them, physical vapor deposition is a technology that, under vacuum conditions, uses physical methods to vaporize the material source: solid or liquid surface into gaseous atoms, molecules, or partially ionize them into ions, and through a low-pressure gas process, deposits a thin film with certain characteristics on the substrate surface. Physical vapor deposition can not only deposit metal films and alloy films, but also deposit compounds, polymers, etc.

[0003] In the chemical vapor deposition process, the main indicators for testing the performance of the prepared thin film include:

[0004] Resistance uniformity, film thickness uniformity, particle requirements, reflectivity, etc. Among them, film thickness uniformity is particularly important, and it is relatively difficult to improve its uniformity. During the chemical vapor deposition coating process, the wafer is placed on a pedestal in the deposition equipment. At the same time, the deposition chamber is required to be a vacuum chamber to prevent particles and impurity gases from entering the wafer during the deposition coating process. Therefore, to improve the uniformity of the film coated on the wafer, it is required that the wafer can maintain a very high level during the placement on the equipment pedestal and the movement along with the pedestal. At the same time, experimental studies have found that: during the chemical vapor deposition coating process, if the wafer is in rotational motion, the film thickness uniformity of the film coated on the wafer will be significantly improved. To sum up, in order to improve the film thickness uniformity of the wafer in the chemical vapor deposition process, it is required that the pedestal of the chemical vapor deposition has good levelness, and at the same time, the pedestal can perform rotational lifting motion.

[0005] However, when the existing semiconductor process chamber drives the wafer to lift and rotate, it is often impossible to avoid wafer offset. Therefore, how to provide a stable lifting and rotating mechanism has become an urgent technical problem in this field. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a lifting and rotating mechanism and a semiconductor process chamber, and the lifting and rotating mechanism can ensure the stability of the wafer position.

[0007] To achieve the above object, as one aspect of the present invention, a lifting and rotating mechanism for a semiconductor process chamber is provided, including a driving bearing, a lifting seat, a lifting driving component, a rotating driving component, and a plurality of guide rods, wherein:

[0008] A plurality of the guide rods are arranged in parallel, and the tops of the plurality of guide rods are used for fixedly connecting with the bottom of the cavity of the semiconductor process chamber;

[0009] The lifting seat is movably arranged on the plurality of guide rods;

[0010] The bushing of the driving bearing is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat, and the top end of the central axis of the driving bearing is used for passing through the cavity and connecting with the base located in the cavity;

[0011] The lifting drive assembly is used for driving the lifting seat to move up and down along the guide rods so as to drive the central axis and the base to move up and down;

[0012] The rotary drive assembly is used for driving the central axis to rotate around its own axis in the bushing so as to drive the base to rotate.

[0013] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the lifting seat includes a lifting plate and a plurality of linear bearing sleeves. The lifting plate is provided with a plurality of guide avoidance holes. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves are fixedly arranged on the lifting plate and the positions thereof correspond to the positions of the plurality of guide avoidance holes one by one. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves are sleeved on the plurality of guide rods one by one.

[0014] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the driving bearing is a magnetic fluid bearing.

[0015] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the lifting and rotating mechanism further includes an upper mounting flange and a lower mounting flange. The tops of the plurality of guide rods are all fixedly connected with the upper mounting flange, and the bottoms of the plurality of guide rods are all fixedly connected with the lower mounting flange. A docking opening is formed at the center of the upper mounting flange. The docking opening is used for docking with the bottom opening of the cavity of the semiconductor process chamber. The top end of the central axis is used for passing through the docking opening and the bottom opening to be fixedly connected with the base.

[0016] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the lifting drive assembly includes a lifting electric cylinder. A drive avoidance hole is formed at the center of the lower mounting flange. The cylinder body of the lifting electric cylinder is fixedly connected with the lower mounting flange. The top end of the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder passes through the drive avoidance hole. The push rod of the lifting electric cylinder is connected with the lifting seat.

[0017] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the lifting drive assembly further includes a lifting adapter shaft and a floating joint. The bottom end of the lifting adapter shaft is connected with the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder through the floating joint. The top of the lifting adapter shaft is fixedly connected with the lifting seat.

[0018] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the lifting drive assembly further includes a lifting connection seat, the top of the lifting connection seat is fixedly connected to the lifting seat, and the bottom of the lifting connection seat is fixedly connected to the top of the lifting adapter shaft.

[0019] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the top of the lifting connection seat is fixedly connected to the bottom of the lifting plate of the lifting seat.

[0020] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the lifting adapter shaft includes a shaft body and a mounting plate, the top end of the shaft body is connected to the mounting plate and formed as a whole, the bottom end of the shaft body is connected to the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder through the floating joint, and the top of the mounting plate is fixedly connected to the bottom of the lifting connecting seat.

[0021] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the lifting connection seat has a transmission space therein, a first transmission avoidance hole connected to the transmission space is formed at the top of the lifting connection seat, a second transmission avoidance hole is formed at the center of the lifting seat, the bottom end of the central shaft passes through the second transmission avoidance hole and the first transmission avoidance hole in sequence to enter the transmission space, and the rotation drive assembly is arranged on the lifting connection seat and connected to the bottom end of the central shaft.

[0022] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the rotation drive assembly includes a driving member, a driving pulley, a driven pulley and a transmission synchronous belt, the driving member is fixedly arranged on the lifting connecting seat, the driving pulley is sleeved on the output shaft of the driving member, the driven pulley is sleeved on the center shaft, the transmission synchronous belt is sleeved on the driving pulley and the driven pulley, and the driving member is used to drive its own output shaft to drive the driving pulley to rotate, so as to drive the driven pulley to rotate the center shaft through the transmission synchronous belt.

[0023] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the driving member is a rotating motor.

[0024] As an optional implementation manner of the present invention, the lifting and rotating mechanism further includes a bellows, and the bellows is sealingly connected between the mounting flange and the sleeve of the driving bearing.

[0025] As a second aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor process chamber is provided, comprising a chamber body, a base and the aforementioned lifting and rotating mechanism.

[0026] In the lifting and rotating mechanism and semiconductor process chamber provided by the present invention, the sleeve of the driving bearing of the lifting and rotating mechanism is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat, and the lifting seat is movably arranged on a plurality of guide rods, so that when the lifting driving component drives the lifting seat to drive the central axis and the base to move up and down, the plurality of guide rods can limit the movement direction of the central axis and the base to the extension direction of the guide rods (i.e., the vertical direction), and then when the lifting driving component drives the central axis to drive the base to move up and down or the rotating driving component drives the central axis to drive the base to rotate, the horizontality or horizontal position of the lifting seat is avoided from being offset, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the horizontal position and horizontality of the base and the wafer carried thereon, and ensuring the semiconductor process effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the following specific embodiments, they are used to explain the present invention but do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings:

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the lifting and rotating mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Description of reference numerals:

[0031] 100: Base

[0032] 200: Drive bearing

[0033] 300: Lifting seat

[0034] 310: Lifting plate

[0035] 320: Linear bearing sleeve

[0036] 400: Lifting drive assembly

[0037] 410: Lifting cylinder

[0038] 420: Lifting transfer shaft

[0039] 421: Axis

[0040] 422: Mounting plate

[0041] 430: Floating joint

[0042] 440: Lifting connection seat

[0043] 500: Rotary drive assembly

[0044] 510: Driving parts

[0045] 520: Driving pulley

[0046] 530: Driven pulley

[0047] 540: Transmission timing belt

[0048] 600: Guide rod

[0049] 710: Install the upper flange

[0050] 720: Install the lower flange

[0051] 800: Bellows

[0052] 10: Cavity DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The specific implementation of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific implementation described here is only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and is not used to limit the present invention.

[0054] To solve the above technical problems, as one aspect of the present invention, a lifting and rotating mechanism is provided for use in a semiconductor process chamber, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, it includes a driving bearing 200, a lifting seat 300, a lifting driving assembly 400, a rotating driving assembly 500 and a plurality of guide rods 600, wherein:

[0055] A plurality of guide rods 600 are arranged in parallel, and the tops of the plurality of guide rods 600 are used to be fixedly connected to the bottom of the cavity 10 of the semiconductor process chamber;

[0056] The lifting seat 300 is movably arranged on a plurality of guide rods 600;

[0057] The shaft sleeve of the driving bearing 200 is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat 300, and the top end of the central axis of the driving bearing 200 is used to pass through the cavity 10 and connect with the base 100 located in the cavity 10;

[0058] The lifting drive assembly 400 is used to drive the lifting seat 300 to move up and down along the guide rod 600, so as to drive the central axis and the base 100 to move up and down;

[0059] The rotation drive assembly 500 is used to drive the central shaft to rotate around its own axis in the shaft sleeve, so as to drive the base 100 to rotate.

[0060] In the lifting and rotating mechanism provided by the present invention, the sleeve of the driving bearing 200 is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat 300, and the lifting seat 300 is movably arranged on a plurality of guide rods 600, so that when the lifting driving component 400 drives the lifting seat 300 to drive the central axis and the base 100 to move up and down, the plurality of guide rods 600 can limit the movement direction of the central axis and the base 100 to the extension direction (i.e., the vertical direction) of the guide rods 600, and then when the lifting driving component 400 drives the central axis to drive the base 100 to move up and down or the rotating driving component 500 drives the central axis to drive the base 100 to rotate, the horizontality or horizontal position of the lifting seat 300 is avoided from being offset, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the horizontal position and horizontality of the base 100 and the wafer carried thereon, ensuring the uniformity of the film thickness of the film coated on the wafer after magnetron sputtering coating, and ensuring the semiconductor process effect.

[0061] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the lifting seat 300 includes a lifting plate 310 and a plurality of linear bearing sleeves 320. The lifting plate 310 has a plurality of guide avoidance holes. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves 320 are fixedly arranged on the lifting plate 310 and their positions correspond one-to-one to the positions of the plurality of guide avoidance holes. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves 320 are correspondingly arranged on the plurality of guide rods 600.

[0062] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the driving bearing 200 is a magnetic fluid bearing.

[0063] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the lifting and rotating mechanism also includes an upper mounting flange 710 and a lower mounting flange 720. The top ends of the plurality of guide rods 600 are fixedly connected to the upper mounting flange 710, and the bottom ends of the plurality of guide rods 600 are fixedly connected to the lower mounting flange 720. A docking opening is formed at the center of the upper mounting flange 710, and the docking opening is used to dock with the bottom opening of the cavity 10 of the semiconductor process chamber. The top end of the central axis is used to pass through the docking opening and the bottom opening of the cavity 10 to be fixedly connected to the base 100.

[0064] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the lifting drive assembly 400 includes a lifting electric cylinder 410, and a driving avoidance hole is formed in the center of the mounting lower flange 720. The cylinder body of the lifting electric cylinder 410 is fixedly connected to the mounting lower flange 720, and the top end of the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder 410 passes through the driving avoidance hole, and the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder 410 is connected to the lifting seat 300.

[0065] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 ,Figure 2 As shown, the lifting drive assembly 400 also includes a lifting adapter shaft 420 and a floating joint 430. The bottom end of the lifting adapter shaft 420 is connected to the push rod of the lifting cylinder 410 through the floating joint 430, and the top of the lifting adapter shaft 420 is fixedly connected to the lifting seat 300.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present invention, the lifting electric cylinder 410 is connected to the lifting adapter shaft 420 through the floating joint 430, so as to avoid over-positioning of the lifting adapter shaft 420 and the lifting electric cylinder 410 due to processing and installation errors, resulting in horizontal force, and ensure that the lifting electric cylinder 410 only provides a force in the vertical direction to the lifting adapter shaft 420, further reducing the swing of the central axis of the driving bearing 200, thereby ensuring the stability of the position of the base and the wafer carried thereon.

[0067] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the lifting drive assembly 400 also includes a lifting connection seat 440 , the top of the lifting connection seat 440 is fixedly connected to the lifting seat 300 , and the bottom of the lifting connection seat 440 is fixedly connected to the top of the lifting adapter shaft 420 .

[0068] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the top of the lifting connection seat 440 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the lifting plate 310 of the lifting seat 300 .

[0069] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the lifting adapter shaft 420 includes a shaft body 421 and a mounting plate 422. The top end of the shaft body 421 is connected to the mounting plate 422 and forms a whole. The bottom end of the shaft body 421 is connected to the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder 410 through a floating joint 430. The top of the mounting plate 422 is fixedly connected to the bottom of the lifting connecting seat 440.

[0070] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 As shown, there is a transmission space in the lifting connection seat 440, a first transmission avoidance hole connected to the transmission space is formed at the top of the lifting connection seat 440, a second transmission avoidance hole is formed at the center of the lifting seat 300, and the bottom end of the central axis passes through the second transmission avoidance hole and the first transmission avoidance hole in sequence to enter the transmission space, and the rotation drive assembly 500 is arranged on the lifting connection seat 440 and connected to the bottom end of the central axis.

[0071] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1As shown, the rotation drive assembly 500 includes a driving member 510, a driving pulley 520, a driven pulley 530 and a transmission synchronous belt 540. The driving member 510 is fixedly arranged on the lifting connection seat 440, the driving pulley 520 is sleeved on the output shaft of the driving member 510, the driven pulley 530 is sleeved on the central shaft, and the transmission synchronous belt 540 is sleeved on the driving pulley 520 and the driven pulley 530. The driving member 510 is used to drive its own output shaft to drive the driving pulley 520 to rotate, so as to drive the driven pulley 530 to drive the central shaft to rotate through the transmission synchronous belt 540.

[0072] As an optional embodiment of the present invention, the driving member 510 is a rotating motor.

[0073] In order to ensure the airtightness inside the cavity 10, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, the lifting and rotating mechanism further includes a bellows 800 , which is sealingly connected between the mounting flange 710 and the sleeve of the driving bearing 200 .

[0074] As a second aspect of the present invention, a semiconductor process chamber is provided, such as Figure 1 As shown, the semiconductor process chamber includes a chamber body 10, a base 100 and a lifting and rotating mechanism provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0075] In the semiconductor process chamber provided by the present invention, the sleeve of the driving bearing 200 of the lifting and rotating mechanism is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat 300, and the lifting seat 300 is movably arranged on a plurality of guide rods 600, so that when the lifting driving component 400 drives the lifting seat 300 to drive the central axis and the base 100 to move up and down, the plurality of guide rods 600 can limit the movement direction of the central axis and the base 100 to the extension direction (i.e., the vertical direction) of the guide rods 600, and then when the lifting driving component 400 drives the central axis to drive the base 100 to move up and down or the rotating driving component 500 drives the central axis to drive the base 100 to rotate, the horizontality or horizontal position of the lifting seat 300 is avoided from being offset, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the horizontal position and horizontality of the base 100 and the wafer carried thereon, and ensuring the semiconductor process effect.

[0076] It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary embodiments used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A lifting and rotating mechanism for a semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that, it includes a driving bearing, a lifting seat, a lifting driving component, a rotating driving component and a plurality of guide rods, wherein: The plurality of guide rods are arranged in parallel, and the tops of the plurality of guide rods are used for fixedly connecting with the bottom of the cavity of the semiconductor process chamber; The lifting seat is movably arranged on the plurality of guide rods; The bushing of the driving bearing is fixedly arranged on the lifting seat, and the top end of the central axis of the driving bearing is used to pass through the cavity and connect with the base located in the cavity; The lifting driving component is used to drive the lifting seat to move up and down along the guide rod, so as to drive the central axis and the base to move up and down; The rotating driving component is used to drive the central axis to rotate around its own axis in the bushing, so as to drive the base to rotate.

2. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting seat includes a lifting plate and a plurality of linear bearing sleeves. The lifting plate is provided with a plurality of guide avoidance holes. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves are fixedly arranged on the lifting plate and the positions thereof correspond to the positions of the plurality of guide avoidance holes one by one. The plurality of linear bearing sleeves are sleeved on the plurality of guide rods one by one.

3. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The driving bearing is a magnetic fluid bearing.

4. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The lifting and rotating mechanism further includes an upper mounting flange and a lower mounting flange. The tops of the plurality of guide rods are all fixedly connected with the upper mounting flange, and the bottoms of the plurality of guide rods are all fixedly connected with the lower mounting flange. A docking opening is formed at the center of the upper mounting flange. The docking opening is used for docking with the bottom opening of the cavity of the semiconductor process chamber. The top end of the central axis is used to pass through the docking opening and the bottom opening and fixedly connect with the base.

5. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lifting driving component includes a lifting electric cylinder. A driving avoidance hole is formed at the center of the lower mounting flange. The cylinder body of the lifting electric cylinder is fixedly connected with the lower mounting flange. The top end of the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder passes through the driving avoidance hole, and the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder is connected with the lifting seat.

6. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, The lifting driving component further includes a lifting adapter shaft and a floating joint. The bottom end of the lifting adapter shaft is connected with the push rod of the lifting electric cylinder through the floating joint, and the top of the lifting adapter shaft is fixedly connected with the lifting seat.

7. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that, The lifting driving component further includes a lifting connecting seat. The top of the lifting connecting seat is fixedly connected with the lifting seat, and the bottom of the lifting connecting seat is fixedly connected with the top of the lifting adapter shaft.

8. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that, The lifting connection seat has a transmission space. A first transmission avoidance hole communicating with the transmission space is formed at the top of the lifting connection seat. A second transmission avoidance hole is formed at the center of the lifting seat. The bottom end of the central shaft sequentially passes through the second transmission avoidance hole and the first transmission avoidance hole and enters the transmission space. The rotation driving assembly is arranged on the lifting connection seat and connected to the bottom end of the central shaft.

9. The lifting and rotating mechanism according to claim 8, wherein, the rotation driving assembly includes a driving member, a driving pulley, a driven pulley and a transmission synchronous belt. The driving member is fixedly arranged on the lifting connection seat. The driving pulley is sleeved on the output shaft of the driving member. The driven pulley is sleeved on the central shaft. The transmission synchronous belt is sleeved on the driving pulley and the driven pulley. The driving member is used to drive its output shaft to drive the driving pulley to rotate, so as to drive the driven pulley to drive the central shaft to rotate through the transmission synchronous belt.

10. A semiconductor process chamber, wherein, it includes a cavity body, a base and the lifting and rotating mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9.