Thin film deposition device and process chamber

Abstract

The invention provides a thin film deposition device and a process chamber. The thin film deposition device comprises a heating disc, a plurality of ejector pin bodies and a plurality of height limiting flanges. A plurality of ejector pin through holes are formed in the heating disc; the tops of the ejector pin bodies penetrate through the corresponding ejector pin via holes so as to support the wafers on the heating disc; and the plurality of height limiting flanges are respectively arranged on the corresponding ejector pin bodies and keep the same distance with the tops of the ejector pin bodies so as to limit the maximum length of each ejector pin body extending out of the upper part of the heating disc, and the height limiting flanges are used for correcting the deviation of height inconsistency generated by the plurality of ejector pins, so that the wafer conveying stability and the product yield of semiconductor devices are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a thin film deposition apparatus and a process chamber. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor manufacturing process, wafers need to be accurately transferred to the surface of a hot plate through a thimble system for process treatment. The prior art generally adopts a fixed thimble structure, and its height adjustment mechanism has inherent limitations: one solution is to force the thimble to contact an aluminum cake with a weight by raising the hot plate to achieve passive lifting, and another solution relies on the height adjustment of an external thimble support plate to indirectly control the position of the thimble. Both of these methods form a strong coupling relationship between the thimble height and the hot plate or the external mechanical structure.

[0003] When the hot plate is horizontally calibrated, since the thimble height is directly related to the position of the hot plate, its vertical coordinate will inevitably change accordingly. Especially in a multi-point support structure, thimbles at different positions will have inconsistent heights due to mechanical linkage deviations. This height mismatch causes non-uniform stress on the contact surface between the wafer and the thimble during wafer transfer, resulting in wafer plane offset. It not only reduces the position repeatability during wafer transfer, but also causes abnormal temperature field distribution due to poor fitting between the wafer and the hot plate, ultimately affecting the yield of key processes such as thin film deposition and etching.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, there is an urgent need in the art for a thin film deposition technology to correct the deviation of inconsistent heights generated by multiple thimbles, thereby improving the stability of wafer transfer and the product yield of semiconductor devices. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following presents a brief overview of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not an exhaustive survey of all contemplated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or decisive elements of any or all aspects nor to attempt to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition and a process chamber for correcting the deviation of inconsistent heights generated by multiple thimbles, thereby improving the stability of wafer transfer and the product yield of semiconductor devices.

[0007] Specifically, the thin film deposition apparatus provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes: a heating plate provided with a plurality of thimble through holes thereon; a plurality of thimble bodies whose tops pass through the corresponding thimble through holes to support a wafer on the heating plate; and a plurality of height-limiting flanges respectively provided on the corresponding thimble bodies and maintaining the same distance from their tops to limit the maximum length of each thimble body protruding above the heating plate.

[0008] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the height-limiting flange is a disc structure, and the diameter of the disc is greater than the diameter of the thimble body.

[0009] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the height-limiting flange and the thimble body are integrally formed.

[0010] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, a bolt is provided at the top end of the thimble body, and the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: a support head having a nut at its bottom end and rotatably connected to the bolt at the top end of the thimble body, and having a support surface at its top end for supporting the wafer on the heating plate.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the heating plate is located between the support head and the height-limiting flange, and the back surface of the heating plate abuts against the height-limiting flange to limit the maximum length of the thimble body protruding above the heating plate.

[0012] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: a plurality of weights mechanically connected to the bottom ends of the thimble bodies for providing a downward pulling force to the thimble bodies.

[0013] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the number of the thimble bodies, the height-limiting flanges and the weights is three.

[0014] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the weight has a cavity structure and a card slot inside, and the thimble body further includes: a locking flange provided at the bottom end of the thimble body, wherein the thimble body is disposed in the cavity structure of the weight, and the locking flange is locked with the card slot to form a connection between the weight and the bottom end of the thimble body.

[0015] Further, in some embodiments of the present invention, the thin film deposition apparatus further includes: a spring provided below the card slot for buffering the downward displacement of the thimble body in the vertical direction; and a fixing pin provided at the bottom end of the thimble body and extending into the hollow region of the spring to limit the thimble body.

[0016] In addition, the process chamber provided according to the second aspect of the present invention includes the thin film deposition device as described in any one of the first aspects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] After reading the detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the following drawings, the above features and advantages of the present invention can be better understood. In the drawings, the components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1 The structural schematic diagram of a thin film deposition device provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2 The structural schematic diagram of a support head provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 3A The front structural schematic diagram of a locking flange provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0021] Figure 3B The side structural schematic diagram of a locking flange provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0022] Figures 4A to 4B The combined structural schematic diagram of a weight and a thimble body provided according to some embodiments of the present invention is shown.

[0023] REFERENCE NUMERALS:

[0024] 10 Heating plate

[0025] 20 Thimble body

[0026] 21 Height limiting flange

[0027] 22 Locking flange

[0028] 23 Support head

[0029] 24 Fixed pin

[0030] 30 Weight

[0031] 31 Card slot

[0032] 32 Spring

[0033] 33 Cavity structure DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0034] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation manners of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention will be introduced in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of this invention are limited to this implementation manner. On the contrary, the purpose of introducing the invention in conjunction with the implementation manner is to cover other alternatives or modifications that may be extended based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deep understanding of the present invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The present invention can also be implemented without using these details. In addition, in order to avoid confusing or obscuring the key points of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "mounted", "connected", and "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0036] In addition, the "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal", and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in this section and the related drawings. This relative term is only for convenience of description, and it does not mean that the device described needs to be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, so it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0037] It can be understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. can be used here to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first component, region, layer, and / or part discussed below can be referred to as the second component, region, layer, and / or part without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] As described above, in the semiconductor manufacturing process, the wafer needs to be accurately transferred to the surface of the hot plate through the thimble system to complete the process. The prior art generally adopts a fixed thimble structure, and its height adjustment mechanism has inherent limitations: one solution is to force the thimble to contact the aluminum cake with the weight by raising the hot plate to achieve passive lifting, and the other solution relies on the height adjustment of the external thimble support plate to indirectly control the position of the thimble. Both of these methods form a strong coupling relationship between the thimble height and the hot plate or the external mechanical structure.

[0039] When the heating plate is horizontally calibrated, since the height of the ejector pin is directly related to the position of the heating plate, its vertical coordinate will inevitably change accordingly. Especially in a multi-point support structure, the ejector pins at different positions may have inconsistent heights due to mechanical linkage deviation. This height mismatch causes non-uniform stress on the contact surface between the wafer and the ejector pins during wafer transfer, leading to wafer plane offset. This not only reduces the position repeatability during wafer transfer but also causes abnormal temperature field distribution due to poor fitting between the wafer and the heating plate, ultimately affecting the yield of key processes such as thin film deposition and etching.

[0040] To overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a thin film deposition and a process chamber for correcting the deviation of inconsistent heights generated by multiple ejector pins, thereby improving the stability of wafer transfer and the product yield of semiconductor devices.

[0041] In some non-limiting embodiments, the thin film deposition apparatus provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured in the process chamber provided in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0042] Specifically, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which shows a schematic structural diagram of a thin film deposition apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0043] As Figure 1 shown, the thin film deposition apparatus includes a heating plate 10, a plurality of ejector pin bodies 20, and a plurality of height-limiting flanges 21. The heating plate 10 is provided with a plurality of ejector pin through-holes. The tops of the plurality of ejector pin bodies 20 pass through the corresponding ejector pin through-holes to support the wafer on the heating plate 10. The plurality of height-limiting flanges 21 are respectively provided on the corresponding ejector pin bodies 20 and are at the same distance from their tops to limit the maximum length of each ejector pin body 20 extending above the heating plate 10.

[0044] Here, by machining the height-limiting flange 21 on the ejector pin, the heating plate 10 drives the flange to move synchronously during horizontal calibration, so as to always keep the extension height from the top of the ejector pin to the flange consistent. This design can correct the deviation of inconsistent heights generated by multiple ejector pins without an additional adjustment mechanism, which not only reduces the complexity and difficulty of operation, shortens the equipment preparation time, thereby improving the consistency of wafer processing, but also helps to improve the performance and quality of semiconductor devices.

[0045] Furthermore, the thin film deposition apparatus also reduces the manufacturing cost of the equipment, as well as the labor and material costs required for later maintenance and calibration, thus saving a large amount of costs and improving economic benefits.

[0046] In some embodiments, the height-limiting flange 21 is a disc structure, and the diameter of the disc is greater than the diameter of the ejector pin body 20.

[0047] In some embodiments, the height-limiting flange 21 is integrally formed with the thimble body 20.

[0048] Those skilled in the art can understand that the specific structure and connection method of the height-limiting flange 21 are only some non-limiting implementation manners provided by the present invention, aiming to clearly show the main concept of the present invention and provide some specific solutions convenient for the public to implement, rather than limiting all the structures or connection methods of the height-limiting flange 21.

[0049] Optionally, the height-limiting flange 21 can also be a rectangular structure or an elliptical structure, and the diameter of the rectangular structure or the elliptical structure is greater than the diameter of the thimble body 20.

[0050] Optionally, the height-limiting flange 21 can be detachably connected to the thimble body 20, so that the thimble body 20 can be adapted to height-limiting flanges 21 of different sizes and shapes.

[0051] Furthermore, a plurality of height-limiting flange mounting structures are provided at different heights of the thimble body 20, so as to correspondingly adjust the mounting height of the height-limiting flange 21 to meet the adjustment requirements for the thimble to extend out of the heating plate 10.

[0052] With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 2 shows a schematic structural diagram of a support head provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0053] As Figures 1 to 2 shown, a bolt is provided at the top end of the thimble body 20, and the thin film deposition equipment further includes a support head 23. A nut is provided at the bottom end of the support head 23, and it is rotatably connected to the bolt at the top end of the thimble body 20, and a support surface is provided at its top end for supporting the wafer on the heating plate 10.

[0054] Furthermore, the heating plate 10 is located between the support head 23 and the height-limiting flange 21, and the back surface of the heating plate 10 is abutted against the height-limiting flange 21 to limit the maximum length of the thimble body 20 extending above the heating plate 10.

[0055] Please refer to Figures 3A to 3B and Figures 4A to 4B , Figure 3A shows a front structural schematic diagram of a locking flange provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figure 3B shows a side structural schematic diagram of a locking flange provided according to some embodiments of the present invention. Figures 4A to 4B shows a combined structural schematic diagram of a weight and a thimble body provided according to some embodiments of the present invention.

[0056] As Figures 3A to 3B and Figures 4A to 4BAs shown, the thin film deposition apparatus further includes a plurality of weights 30, which are mechanically connected to the bottom end of the thimble body 20 and used to provide a downward pulling force to the thimble body 20.

[0057] In some embodiments, the number of the thimble body 20, the height limiting flange 21, and the weights 30 is three each.

[0058] The weight 30 has an internal cavity structure 33 and a card slot 31. The thimble body 20 further includes a locking flange 22. The locking flange 22 is provided at the bottom end of the thimble body 20. The thimble body 20 is disposed in the cavity structure 33 of the weight 30, and the locking flange 22 is locked with the card slot 31, so that the weight 30 is connected to the bottom end of the thimble body 20.

[0059] Here, as Figures 4A to 4B shown, the locking flange 22 can extend into the card slot 31 through the cavity structure 33 of the weight 30. After the locking flange 22 rotates 90 degrees, it falls into the card slot 31. Thus, the weight 30 and the locking flange 22 can be connected, and the weight 30 can be hung on the thimble body 20.

[0060] Thus, through the 90-degree rotation of the locking flange 22, mechanical interlocking can be completed without bolt fastening or special tools, which effectively improves the installation efficiency. In addition, since the rotation angle of the flange matches the contour of the card slot 31, it is ensured that it can only be positioned when it is completely in place, avoiding accidental detachment caused by non-locking.

[0061] In some embodiments, the thin film deposition apparatus further includes a spring 32 and a fixing pin 24. The spring 32 is disposed below the card slot 31 and used to provide buffering for the downward displacement of the thimble body 20 in the vertical direction. The fixing pin 24 is disposed at the bottom end of the thimble body 20 and extends into the hollow area of the spring 32 to limit the thimble body 20.

[0062] Thus, when the wafer is lowered to the thimble or the heating plate 10 rises to contact the thimble, the spring 32 absorbs the instantaneous impact force through elastic deformation, avoiding the chipping of the wafer edge or the damage to the thimble surface caused by rigid collision. At the same time, during the wafer transfer process, the mechanical vibration of the equipment (for example: the movement of the robotic arm or the start and stop of the vacuum pump) can be attenuated by the damping characteristic of the spring 32, preventing the vibration from being transmitted to the contact interface between the thimble and the wafer, thereby maintaining the stability of the wafer horizontal posture.

[0063] In summary, the present invention provides a thin film deposition and a process chamber. By processing a height limiting flange on the thimble, the heating plate can drive the flange to move synchronously during the horizontal calibration process, so as to always keep the extension height from the top end of the thimble to the flange consistent. This design can correct the deviation of the inconsistent heights generated by multiple thimbles without an additional adjustment mechanism, thereby improving the stability of wafer transfer and the product yield of semiconductor devices.

[0064] Although the foregoing methods are illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity of explanation, it should be understood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the order of the acts, as some acts may occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts that are illustrated and described herein or other acts that are not illustrated and described herein but would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, in accordance with one or more embodiments.

[0065] The foregoing description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A thin film deposition device, characterized in that: include: A heating plate, on which a plurality of ejector pin holes are provided; A plurality of ejector pin bodies, the tops of which pass through corresponding ejector pin through holes to support the wafer on the heating plate; as well as A plurality of height limiting flanges are respectively arranged on corresponding ejector bodies and keep the same distance from the top of the ejector bodies to limit the maximum length of each ejector body extending above the heating plate.

2. The thin film deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height limiting flange is a disc structure, and the diameter of the disc is greater than the diameter of the ejector body.

3. The thin film deposition device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The height limiting flange and the ejector body are integrally formed.

4. The thin film deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bolt is disposed at the top of the ejector pin body, and the thin film deposition device further comprises: The supporting head has a nut at its bottom end, which is rotatably connected to the bolt at the top end of the ejector body, and a supporting surface at its top end, which is used to support the wafer on the heating plate.

5. The thin film deposition device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The heating plate is located between the supporting head and the height limiting flange, and the back side of the heating plate is in contact with the height limiting flange to limit the maximum length of the ejector body extending above the heating plate.

6. The thin film deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A plurality of weights are mechanically connected to the bottom end of the ejector body and are used to provide a downward pulling force to the ejector body.

7. The thin film deposition device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of the ejector body, the height limiting flange and the weight are all three.

8. The thin film deposition device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The interior of the heavy hammer has a cavity structure and a slot, and the ejector body also includes: A locking flange is arranged at the bottom end of the ejector body, wherein the ejector body is arranged in the cavity structure of the weight, and the locking flange is locked and connected with the slot, so that the weight is connected to the bottom end of the ejector body.

9. The thin film deposition device according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: A spring, disposed below the slot, for providing a buffer for the downward displacement of the ejector body in the vertical direction; as well as A fixing pin is arranged at the bottom end of the ejector body and extends into the hollow area of ​​the spring to limit the ejector body.

10. A process chamber, characterized in that: The invention comprises the thin film deposition device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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