Hydrogen atom generating device

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydrogen atom generation device which comprises a hydrogen atom generation heating assembly, a power source and a hydrogen inlet pipe. Wherein the hydrogen atom generating and heating assembly comprises a catalytic material heating module, the catalytic material heating module and a hydrogen inlet pipe are installed in a vacuum cavity of the vacuum equipment in an independent or combined mode, and the relative positions and distances of the catalytic material heating module and the hydrogen inlet pipe are continuously adjusted; the vacuum cavity external power supply provides adjustable stable direct current for the catalytic material heating module; and the high-temperature catalytic material heating module is used for cracking hydrogen molecules introduced by the hydrogen inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms in the vacuum cavity. The structure is simple, manufacturing cost is low, and mounting and dismounting are easy; the heating power is stable, the hydrogen atom efficiency is high, and the service life is long; the compatibility is high, and installation and addition in an existing system are facilitated, so that multi-device combination is realized; the hydrogen atom generation intensity can be actively adjusted, and the use process parameters are flexible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of material cleaning, and particularly to a hydrogen atom generating device. Background Art

[0002] As the core industry in the information age, the development level and equipment manufacturing capacity of integrated circuits are inseparable from the progress of lithography technology. Extreme ultraviolet light (abbreviated as EUV in English) is the most advanced light source in the current mainstream lithography technology. At the same time, the surface radiation pollution of optical components introduced by EUV is one of the key new challenges faced in the commercialization process of lithography equipment. Since the high-energy extreme ultraviolet photons generated by the EUV light source can directly excite various impurities in the vacuum environment to form highly reactive free radicals and plasmas, the surface of optical components is more easily contaminated compared to the traditional lithography process environment. Its cumulative effect will affect the wave aberration of the optical system, corrode the optical surface of the optical path components, reduce the reflectivity of optical components, thereby causing a decline in the lifespan and exposure performance of the optical system and affecting the long-term normal use of the lithography machine. In addition, the surface pollution of optical components mainly includes two parts: (1) Carbon pollution: The surface carbon deposition layer generated by the adsorption of hydrocarbon molecules in the vacuum background; (2) Oxidation pollution: The surface oxide generated by the deposition of adsorbed water molecules or other oxygen-containing species. The irradiation of the EUV light source may also accelerate the above two types of background pollution.

[0003] Currently, the main pollution control technologies for dealing with the surface pollution of optical components are divided into pollution prevention technologies and in-situ pollution cleaning technologies. Pollution prevention technologies include surface coatings of equipment, pre-introduction of gases that can react with pollution sources, etc., which can play a preventive and protective role for the equipment, but the corresponding costs are relatively high, and it is necessary to comprehensively optimize the equipment and the environment, which also affects the process flow setting and has certain limitations. Therefore, it is first considered to make full use of the in-situ pollution cleaning technology that can be started at any time. The hydrogen atom cleaning technology belongs to the in-situ pollution cleaning technology. It uses the hydrogen atoms generated by the cracking of hydrogen to interact with the surface carbon deposition layer to generate volatile hydrocarbons such as CH3· and CH4, or react with the surface oxide to generate water molecules, so as to achieve the purpose of removing pollution. The hydrogen atom cleaning technology can not only clean various pollutions with high efficiency and high selectivity, but also does not require changing the equipment environment and configuration, and produces little secondary pollution, having good application prospects. At the same time, the hydrogen atom generating device can also simulate the influence of hydrogen atoms excited in the EUV environment on the equipment. Therefore, installing a hydrogen atom generating device is of great significance for both the active cleaning of the equipment and the evaluation of the influence of background hydrogen atoms during the lithography process.

[0004] In addition to being applied to optical surface cleaning, hydrogen atoms also play important roles in fields such as surface science, materials science, and thin film growth. Their main applications are summarized as follows: (1) Surface modification and decoration: Hydrogen atoms can react with oxides on the surfaces of materials such as metals and ceramics, removing the oxide layer, reducing the metal surface, or forming hydrogen dangling bonds to passivate coordinatively unsaturated active sites on the surface, thereby increasing surface chemical reactivity and adhesion; (2) Low-temperature cleaning: Hydrogen atoms can effectively remove organic and oxidation contaminants on the material surface under low-temperature conditions, avoiding irreversible changes that may be caused to the material surface under high-temperature conditions and achieving non-destructive in-situ cleaning. A representative application is the scenario in the semiconductor process mentioned above; (3) Surface catalysis: The strong reducibility of hydrogen atoms can effectively activate the catalyst surface, enhance catalyst performance, and can also be used for the regeneration of deactivated catalysts, playing an important role in surface catalytic reactions; (4) Thin film growth: Hydrogen atoms are crucial for the thin film growth and deposition process. For example, the preparation of hydrogenated silicon films, a common material in optoelectronic devices. In addition, as a reducing agent or reaction source, hydrogen atoms can control the composition, structure, and surface quality of the deposit during the thin film deposition process, helping to remove contaminants on the deposition surface and regulating the thin film growth rate and crystal structure.

[0005] The hydrogen atom generating device is the core component of hydrogen atom cleaning technology. Its working principle is to break down hydrogen molecules into hydrogen atoms through specific methods, mainly including thermal cracking method and plasma method. The plasma method is to make the high-energy particles in the plasma collide inelastically with hydrogen molecules, exciting or directly dissociating the hydrogen molecules into hydrogen atoms. The resulting products generally contain a small amount of hydrogen ions in addition to hydrogen atoms; ions are easily accelerated in an electric field, obtaining a large kinetic energy, and having a strong interaction with the surface and becoming its components. For example, common operations such as combination, deposition, and doping all involve processes related to ion regulation. The thermal cracking method is to heat hydrogen molecules at a high temperature to obtain sufficient energy to break the chemical bonds between molecules and crack them into hydrogen atoms, and the excited products are only hydrogen atoms; the kinetic energy of hydrogen atoms is not affected by the external field and causes little damage to the surface. Therefore, most hydrogen atom generating devices adopt the method of heating and cracking. However, there are the following difficulties in direct heating and cracking: 1) The required temperature is high; 2) It is not easy to directly heat the gas; 3) The energy barrier from hydrogen molecules to hydrogen atoms is 4.48 electron volts. According to the Arrhenius equation, the cracking efficiency of directly heating the gas is very low. Currently, the existing hydrogen atom generating devices promote the cracking of hydrogen into hydrogen atoms by directly heating the catalytic medium heating module or indirectly heating the catalytic medium pipe fittings in a high-vacuum environment, and then transporting the hydrogen atoms to the surface of the object to achieve purposes such as cleaning and reduction. Considering the high-temperature conditions required for hydrogen atom cracking, this may cause problems such as aging, deformation, and outgassing of the surrounding materials, thereby affecting the lifespan and performance of the surrounding devices. Therefore, the specific structure of the hydrogen atom generating device also needs to consider equipping a cooling device to cool it down. Therefore, the structural factors of the entire generating device are complex and need to be designed in combination with the specific environment of the actual vacuum equipment system to optimize the vacuum coupling with other devices. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Aiming at the problems of hydrogen atom generation defects and improvement requirements, a hydrogen atom generating device is proposed. It generates hydrogen atoms by thermally catalytically cracking hydrogen. On the premise of completing the same basic functions, the structure is as simple as possible; it has high working efficiency, and the excited product component is single, which is hydrogen atom; it is easy to install and can be installed on the equipment in a modular manner.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is: A hydrogen atom generating device includes a hydrogen atom generating heating assembly, a power supply, and a hydrogen gas inlet pipe. Among them, the hydrogen atom generating heating assembly includes a catalytic material heating module. The catalytic material heating module and the hydrogen gas inlet pipe are installed in the vacuum chamber of the vacuum equipment independently or in combination, and their relative positions and distances can be continuously adjusted; the power supply outside the vacuum chamber provides adjustable and stable direct current to the catalytic material heating module; the high-temperature catalytic material heating module cracks the hydrogen molecules introduced by the hydrogen gas inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms in the vacuum chamber.

[0008] Preferably, one end of the hydrogen inlet pipe is connected to the vacuum chamber, and the other end is connected to a hydrogen source. Hydrogen can be controllably transported from the hydrogen source to the vicinity of the catalytic material heating module in the vacuum chamber.

[0009] Preferably, the catalytic material of the catalytic material heating module is tungsten, which is made into a heating module in a winding spiral manner to increase the surface area of the catalyst.

[0010] Preferably, the diameter of the tungsten is 0.1 - 1 mm, the winding spiral diameter is 1 - 4 mm, and the pitch is 0.5 - 1.5 mm.

[0011] Preferably, the catalytic material heating module is placed outside one end of the sealed tube body. The energized ends of the catalytic material heating module pass through the vacuum flange at one end of the sealed tube body and are conductively connected to the vacuum connection line inside the sealed tube body. The vacuum connection line passes through the vacuum flange at the other end of the sealed tube body far from the catalytic material heating module and is connected to the power supply outside the sealed tube body. The vacuum flange near the catalytic material heating module is used for sealing connection with the vacuum chamber.

[0012] Preferably, for the vacuum chamber, the vacuum background of the vacuum chamber is maintained at 10 -8 mbar before hydrogen is introduced, and the vacuum degree is controlled at 10 -6 mbar after hydrogen is introduced.

[0013] A method of using a hydrogen atom generator. The vacuum system for semiconductor preparation and processing is interconnected with the described hydrogen atom generator. The high-temperature catalytic material heating module in the vacuum chamber cracks the hydrogen molecules introduced through the hydrogen inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms to clean the carbon deposition layer or surface oxide on the surface of the sample in the vacuum system.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: The hydrogen atom generating device of the present invention has a simple structure, low manufacturing cost, and is easy to install and disassemble; it has a stable heating power, high hydrogen atom efficiency, and a long service life; it has strong compatibility and is convenient to install and add in an existing system to achieve multi-device connection; it can actively adjust the hydrogen atom generation intensity, and the use process parameters are flexible. Description of the Drawings

[0015] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structure schematic diagram of the heating part of the hydrogen atom generating device of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 It is a structure schematic diagram of the hydrogen atom generating device of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 3A It is a physical diagram of the tungsten filament heating in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3B For the present invention Figure 3ATable of the power-temperature correspondence measured by the infrared thermometer in the embodiment

[0019] Figure 4 Application diagram of the hydrogen atom generating device of the present invention on the XPS-HPGC-MS ultra-high vacuum interconnection characterization platform

[0020] Figure 5 Fragment signal diagram with a mass-to-charge ratio of 18 during the treatment of n-La2O3 with hydrogen atoms of the present invention Detailed implementation manners

[0021] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. This embodiment is implemented on the premise of the technical solution of the present invention, and detailed implementation manners and specific operation processes are given, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0022] The present invention provides a hydrogen atom generating device, including a hydrogen atom generating heating component, a power supply, and a hydrogen gas inlet pipe. Among them, the hydrogen atom generating heating component includes a catalytic material heating module. The catalytic material heating module and the hydrogen gas inlet pipe can be installed in the vacuum chamber of the vacuum equipment independently or in combination, and their relative positions and distances can be continuously adjusted; the power supply provides adjustable and stable direct current to the catalytic material heating module; the high-temperature catalytic material heating module cracks the hydrogen molecules introduced through the hydrogen gas inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms in a vacuum environment.

[0023] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the heating part of an assembled hydrogen atom generating device, including three parts: a catalytic material heating module 1.1, a linear drive 1.2, and a vacuum connection line 1.3, all of which are hermetically connected through vacuum flanges. Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the hydrogen atom generating device, in which the assembled part is shown in a sectional view. Combining Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the heating part is a pipe body, and both ends are hermetically sealed by vacuum flanges. Among them, the catalytic material heating module 1.1 is placed outside one end of the pipe body. The two energized ends of the heating module 1.1 pass through the vacuum flange at one end and are conductively connected to the vacuum connection line 1.3 inside the pipe body. The vacuum connection line 1.3 passes through the vacuum flange at the other end of the pipe body far from the heating module 1.1 and is connected to the power supply outside the sealed pipe body. The vacuum flange close to the heating module 1.1 is used for hermetically connecting to the vacuum chamber 5. The heating module 1.1 is placed inside the vacuum chamber 5. The linear drive 1.2 is packaged in the pipe body sealed between the two vacuum flanges through a vacuum bellows as a standard accessory and is used to adjust the position of the catalytic material heating module 1.1 in the vacuum chamber 5. The catalytic material heating module 1.1 is connected to an external adjustable power supply 2 through the vacuum connection line 1.3. After hydrogen gas is introduced into the vacuum chamber 5 through the hydrogen gas inlet pipe 3 equipped with a vacuum micro-leak valve 4, the hydrogen gas diffuses and cracks into hydrogen atoms when it approaches the catalytic material heating module 1.1.

[0024] In this embodiment, the catalytic material of the catalytic material heating module 1.1 is preferably tungsten, with a diameter of 0.1 - 1 mm. To increase the gas - solid interface contact surface area, a wound filament structure is preferably used. Its winding spiral diameter is 1 - 4 mm, and the pitch is 0.5 - 1.5 mm. The optimal solution of the present invention is a diameter of 1 mm, a winding spiral diameter of 4 mm, and a pitch of 1.5 mm. The winding structure is a common choice for optimizing the heating resistance structure. Since the resistive direct heating method is adopted, compared with a strip - shaped tungsten thin film with the same resistance value as the heating material, when the electrode span takes the same length, the cross - section of the strip - shaped tungsten thin film heating material is 0.1 mm x 0.4 mm, and the surface area is only about 1 / 40 of the spiral structure. In this embodiment, the vacuum background is maintained at 10 -8 mbar. After introducing hydrogen, the vacuum micro - leak valve 4 is adjusted to control the vacuum degree at 10 -6 mbar. If the value exceeds this, hydrogen atoms may not reach the sample surface due to too small a mean free path. In this embodiment, the power of the power supply 2 is preferably 130 - 135 W, and the current is preferably 18.5 A. At this current, the temperature of the tungsten wire is about 1600 K. However, the temperature of the tungsten filament is only related to the power after all parameters such as the filament material, wire diameter, pitch, diameter, and the length of the spiral diameter are determined. Therefore, this embodiment cannot be used as a specific limitation on the current value, voltage value, and power value of the power supply 2. The working principle of this embodiment is as follows: The adjustable DC power supply 2 provides a stable direct current. When this current passes through the tungsten wire part of the catalytic material heating module 1.1, the high resistance of the catalytic material heating module 1.1 causes the electron flow to be hindered, and electrical energy is converted into heat energy. The wire part of the vacuum connection line 1.3 is a low - resistivity and large - diameter conductive material, so that only the local temperature of the catalytic material heating module 1.1 rises. Hydrogen enters the vacuum chamber 5 through the hydrogen inlet pipe 3 and contacts and is heated by the high - temperature tungsten wire part of the catalytic material heating module 1.1, and is catalytically cracked into hydrogen atoms.

[0025] The material of the catalytic material heating module 1.1 is preferably tungsten wire. Tungsten metal has a high melting point and good resistance performance, and can withstand temperatures above 2000 K. The installation structure is preferably an equally - spaced spiral winding method, with a winding diameter range of 4.0 mm and a pitch of 1.5 mm.

[0026] The power supply 2 is a high - power adjustable DC regulated power supply, with a voltage range of 0 - 30 V, a current range of 0 - 30 A, and a power upper limit of 900 W. The power range corresponding to the actual effective generation of hydrogen atoms is 110 - 160 W. In addition, the DC power supply has stable heating, uniform temperature, and will not generate additional impedance or eddy current loss.

[0027] In the present invention, an infrared thermometer is used to measure the actual temperature of the heating module of the hydrogen atom generating device, which can verify the tungsten wire temperature change corresponding to 110 - 160 W in the embodiment. Figure 3A , 3B are the physical image after the tungsten filament is heated and the power-temperature correspondence table measured by the infrared thermometer.

[0028] In the present invention, a linear drive 1.2 is adopted to control the position of the tungsten wire heating module 1.1, and the moving range is 0 - 7.5 cm. When it moves to 0 cm, the catalytic material heating module 1.1 is at the interface between the heating part and the vacuum chamber 5. When it moves to 3.5 cm, the tungsten wire part in the catalytic material heating module 1.1 is at the optimal matching position with the hydrogen beam of the vacuum micro leak valve 4.

[0029] The docking verification of the vacuum equipment in this embodiment involves the modification and construction of an existing XPS-HPGC-MS ultra-high vacuum interconnection characterization platform, specifically an in-situ characterization platform where an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) is interconnected with an in-situ high-pressure reaction cell (HPGC) and a mass spectrometer (MS) proposed earlier through ultra-high vacuum (ZL201810206985.1). Since the device structure of the present invention is simple and the modification to the existing vacuum system is small, it can be installed using the existing high-vacuum environment of the platform, and after installation, it can realize the multi-functional combination of hydrogen atom sample processing, HPGC sample processing, MS on-line monitoring, and XPS analysis through ultra-high vacuum interconnection. This combined device can not only use hydrogen atoms to pre-clean and pre-prepare the sample, but also on-line and real-time monitor the signals of high-active hydrogen atom-related products during the cleaning and preparation processes of the hydrogen atom generating device. In addition, after the hydrogen atom treatment is completed, it can be transferred to the XPS spectrometer through vacuum interconnection to analyze and detect the changes in the surface condition of the sample.

[0030] Figure 4 is the combined schematic diagram after the hydrogen atom generating device is installed on the interconnection characterization platform. The hydrogen atom generating device is docked onto the entire ultra-high vacuum system through the reserved flange on the vacuum chamber 5 of the interconnection platform to achieve interconnection with XPS, MS, and HPGC. A vacuum micro leak valve 4 has been reserved on the vacuum chamber 5 of the previous platform. In the embodiment, the gas source of the vacuum micro leak valve 4 is switched to hydrogen, and after a strict gas washing and pressure reduction process, it is docked with the rear end of the vacuum micro leak valve 4 and enters the vacuum chamber 5 through the hydrogen inlet pipe 3. Figure 5Variation of the fragment signal (water) with a mass-to-charge ratio of 18 during the treatment of a lanthanum oxide nanorod (n-La2O3) sample collected by online mass spectrometry with hydrogen atoms. The pre-cleaned La2O3 sample is placed on the sample stage of the vacuum chamber 5. The sample stage is adjusted so that the linear distance between the sample and the tungsten wire is the farthest. The power supply 2 is turned on, and the current of the power supply 2 is set to 18.5 A. At this time, the corresponding power is 130 W, and the tungsten wire temperature is approximately 1280 °C. At this time, the mass spectrometry data shows that there is no fragment signal of water with a mass-to-charge ratio of 18. Hydrogen is introduced, and the vacuum micro-leak valve 4 is adjusted to control the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber 5 at about 5×10 -6 mbar. The fragment signal of water with a mass-to-charge ratio of 18 appears and shows an upward trend with time, indicating that highly reactive hydrogen reacts with the surface; when the hydrogen partial pressure is kept constant and the current is adjusted to 10.0 A and the power is about 30 W, the tungsten wire temperature is lower than 600 °C, and the water signal decreases synchronously, indicating that the hydrogen activity in the background atmosphere decreases at low temperature of the tungsten wire and hydrogen atoms can no longer be generated; the sample stage is adjusted to reduce the distance between the sample and the heating module, and the current is adjusted to 18.5 A again to restore the tungsten wire temperature to 1280 °C to generate hydrogen atoms. The fragment signal of water with a mass-to-charge ratio of 18 rises again and exceeds the intensity of the water signal in the previous round, indicating that the intensity of highly reactive hydrogen is negatively correlated with the distance between the sample and the tungsten wire. The closer the distance, the higher the density / intensity of highly reactive hydrogen; after a period of time, hydrogen is turned off again, and the signal decreases synchronously. From the analysis of the previous work of the research group, water molecules are generated after hydrogen atoms react with the reactive oxygen species on the subsurface of the La2O3 sample. The collected data confirms that the generation of water molecules only occurs when the tungsten wire is at a high temperature and there is hydrogen in the background atmosphere at the same time, and the generation of hydrogen atoms is consistent with the expected working conditions.

[0031] According to the usage characteristics of EUV equipment, the technical problems to be solved by the device of the present invention include:

[0032] I. Heating method: The heating structure for cracking hydrogen molecules to generate hydrogen atoms should be as simple as possible, and the temperature should be easy to adjust;

[0033] II. Yield: The equipment requires that the yield of hydrogen atoms generated from hydrogen molecules is as high as possible and the service life is long;

[0034] III. High-temperature influence: Since the energy barrier from hydrogen molecules to hydrogen atoms is 4.48 electron volts, the local temperature of the hydrogen atom generation device is close to 1600 K at the highest, and because it must be installed in a vacuum environment, conduction and convective heat transfer hardly exist, and heat can only be transferred by radiation. Therefore, it is necessary to consider how to efficiently heat gaseous hydrogen to a high temperature and the possible problems of 1) softening and deformation of the heating module, and 2) secondary pollution around;

[0035] IV. Space volume: The hydrogen atom generation device should have the characteristics of a small overall structure and small occupied space for easy installation;

[0036] V. Cost control: Reduce the parts and assembly costs of the hydrogen atom generator to a controllable range;

[0037] VI. Intensity control: During use, the intensity of hydrogen atom generation should be adjustable within a certain range to meet diverse usage requirements.

[0038] The present invention uses a catalytic material that facilitates hydrogen cracking as the heating module material. For example, but not limited to, tungsten metal is a material that can efficiently crack hydrogen molecules and has high temperature resistance. Its melting point is close to 3700K and it has a stable high-temperature resistivity (Problem 2). On this basis, the inventor selects the method of directly heating the catalytic material with a large surface area. For example, but not limited to, processing the catalytic material into a wound heating module. This heating module has a simple structure, and temperature control can be easily achieved through a simple and low-cost AC / DC signal source. It can achieve a very high temperature (2000K) with a very low power (100 - 200W) (Problems 1 and 3). At the same time, installing the heating module in the form of a catalytic material with a large surface area can enhance the contact between hydrogen and the heating area, effectively improving the temperature transfer efficiency of the generator (Problems 2 and 3). In addition, the heating area of the heating module made of a catalytic material with a large surface area is concentrated, and the resistivity is high, making it easy to obtain a high temperature with a low-power device (Problems 4 and 5). Finally, by adjusting the relative spatial position between the heating module and the molecular beam, the contact probability between the heating module and hydrogen molecules can be changed, thereby changing the production yield of hydrogen atoms and the intensity in actual use (Problem 6). In summary, the concentrated large-surface area structure has the following main advantages: (1) Improving radiation efficiency: Adopting this structure can significantly increase the effective surface area of the heating module, radiate more heat in the same volume, and the large-surface area structure also helps to evenly distribute heat, avoid local overheating, and optimize the overall heat dissipation performance of the heating module; (2) Improving mechanical stability: This structure can absorb part of the stress generated by thermal expansion, reducing the risk of deformation of the heating module during heating and cooling. For example, a spiral structure has good elasticity, which can reduce the destructive force of vibration on the heating module and extend the service life of the heating module (Problem 2); (3) Stable temperature control: The resistivity per unit length of the large-surface area material is higher, making it easy to control power and temperature; (4) Increasing the contact probability with gaseous hydrogen: In a vacuum environment, the mean free path of gas molecules is greater than the radius of the cavity, and linear motion replaces Brownian motion in a pressure environment. Therefore, the larger the surface area, the more opportunities to contact gas molecules; (5) Actively adjusting the intensity of hydrogen atom generation by changing the relative position between the hydrogen molecular beam and the heating module.

[0039] Hydrogen atoms are electrically neutral and not easily accelerated. They have high chemical activity but no high kinetic energy, making them suitable for non-destructive cleaning and activation to remove surface impurities. The present invention is applicable to, but not limited to, the following fields, such as the modification, cleaning, preparation, etc. of materials involved in materials science and surface interface science, especially the removal of contamination in the semiconductor industry.

[0040] The embodiments described above only represent the specific implementation manners of the present invention. The description is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hydrogen atom generating device, characterized in that, It includes a hydrogen atom generation heating component, a power supply, and a hydrogen gas inlet pipe. Among them, the hydrogen atom generation heating component includes a catalytic material heating module. The catalytic material heating module and the hydrogen gas inlet pipe are installed in the vacuum chamber of the vacuum device independently or in combination, and their relative positions and distances are continuously adjustable; the power supply outside the vacuum chamber provides adjustable and stable direct current to the catalytic material heating module; the high-temperature catalytic material heating module cracks the hydrogen molecules introduced through the hydrogen gas inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms in the vacuum chamber.

2. The hydrogen atom generating device according to claim 1, wherein One end of the hydrogen gas inlet pipe is connected to the vacuum chamber, and the other end is connected to a hydrogen gas source. It controllably conveys hydrogen gas from the hydrogen gas source to the vicinity of the catalytic material heating module in the vacuum chamber.

3. The hydrogen atom generating device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The catalytic material of the catalytic material heating module is tungsten, which is made into a heating module in a winding spiral manner to increase the surface of the catalyst.

4. The hydrogen atom generating device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The diameter of the tungsten is 0.1 - 1 mm, the diameter of its winding spiral is 1 - 4 mm, and the pitch is 0.5 - 1.5 mm.

5. The hydrogen atom generating device according to claim 4, wherein, The catalytic material heating module is placed outside one end of a sealed tube body. The energized ends of the catalytic material heating module pass through the vacuum flange at one end of the sealed tube body and are conductively connected to the vacuum connection line inside the sealed tube body. The vacuum connection line passes through the vacuum flange at the other end of the sealed tube body far from the catalytic material heating module and is connected to the power supply outside the sealed tube body. The vacuum flange near the catalytic material heating module is used for sealing connection with the vacuum chamber.

6. The hydrogen atom generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The vacuum chamber has a vacuum background of 10 -8 mbar before introducing hydrogen, and the vacuum degree is controlled at 10 -6 mbar after introducing hydrogen.

7. Use of a hydrogen atom generating device, characterized in that, The vacuum system for semiconductor preparation and processing is interconnected with the hydrogen atom generator described in claim 5. The high-temperature catalytic material heating module cracks the hydrogen molecules introduced through the hydrogen gas inlet pipe into hydrogen atoms in the vacuum chamber to clean the carbon deposition layer or surface oxide on the surface of the sample in the vacuum system.

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