Spraying head and jig for deposition and precursor dosage evaluation device and method

Abstract

The invention provides a spray head and a jig for deposition and a precursor dosage evaluation device and method. According to the embodiment, the spraying head comprises at least one spraying hole which is eccentrically or asymmetrically arranged on the spraying surface of the spraying head, and the spraying hole is used for enabling the precursor to pass through and spray to the surface of the sample.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of deposition technology, and in particular, to a spraying head and a jig for deposition, a precursor dosage evaluation device and a method. Background Art

[0002] In deposition processes such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes, the cost of materials (CoM) is usually higher than 30% of the cost of equipment (CoT), and in some cases even higher than CoT. In order to increase product competitiveness, it is desirable to reduce costs, such as precisely controlling the dosage of precursors.

[0003] Currently, in the ALD process using a spraying head reactor, the dosage of precursors per single chip can be calculated by dividing the weight difference of the source bottle recorded before and after running a large number of chips in a factory or laboratory by the cumulative number of atomic layer deposition cycles during that period. However, this method not only consumes huge costs but also has poor timeliness. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, in order to at least partially solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems, the present disclosure provides a spraying head and a jig for deposition, a precursor dosage evaluation device and a method.

[0005] According to an embodiment of one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a spraying head for deposition, including: at least one spraying hole eccentrically or asymmetrically arranged on its spraying surface, for allowing a precursor to pass through and spray onto the surface of a sample.

[0006] Optionally, the cross-sectional shape of the spraying hole includes a circle, an ellipse, a sector ring, and a strip.

[0007] According to an embodiment of another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a jig for deposition, including: the above-mentioned spraying head and an air flow guiding part having an air guiding port; wherein, the spraying head and the air flow guiding part are configured to cooperate with each other to allow the precursor to spray onto one side of the sample during deposition and flow to the opposite side of the sample and be discharged through the air guiding port.

[0008] Optionally, the spraying head and the air flow guiding part cooperate with each other in the following manner: in a top view, the spraying holes of the spraying head are arranged on one side with respect to the sample, and the air guiding port of the air flow guiding part is arranged on the opposite side with respect to the sample.

[0009] According to an embodiment of still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a precursor dosage evaluation device, including: a reaction chamber, a chip carrier, and the jig according to any one of the above. The chip carrier is disposed in the reaction chamber and is configured to carry a chip sample. The jig is disposed in the reaction chamber, wherein the spraying head is used to spray a precursor onto the surface of the chip sample, and the air flow guiding part is used to guide the air flow direction of the precursor discharged from the surface of the chip sample.

[0010] According to an embodiment of another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for evaluating the precursor dosage is provided. The precursor dosage is evaluated by using the aforementioned evaluation device. The evaluation method includes: depositing a first thin film on the surface of a chip sample at a first dosage time according to a process menu, where the first dosage time is a deliberately insufficient dosage time; depositing a second thin film on the surface of another chip sample at a second dosage time according to the process menu, where the second dosage time is a deliberately sufficient dosage time; obtaining the thickness of the first thin film and the thickness of the second thin film; and evaluating the expected dosage time for achieving the target thin film thickness according to the process menu based on the first dosage time, the thickness of the first thin film, and the target thin film thickness. Optionally, the process menu may be an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process menu.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the evaluation method may further include controlling the rotation of the chip carrier during the deposition of the first thin film and the second thin film so that the first thin film and the second thin film have a substantially uniform distribution, where the thickness of the first thin film and the thickness of the second thin film respectively take the average thickness values of the first thin film and the second thin film.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the thickness of the first thin film is less than the target thickness value, and the thickness of the second thin film is greater than or equal to the target thickness value.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, assuming the thickness of the first thin film is D1, the thickness of the second thin film is D2, the first dosage time is T1, and the time for satisfying the target thin film thickness under a process margin of m in percentage is T, then T is evaluated as:

[0014] 。

[0015] Optionally, m is 60% in excess.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method capable of instantaneously evaluating the process menu at the initial stage of process development, quantifying the precursor dosage required by the process menu, and obtaining the optimal precursor dosage per single-chip to avoid excessive consumption of money and time in developing a process with no mass production value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Through the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become clearer. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of the spraying head for deposition according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of the air flow guiding part according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 3 The schematic structural diagram of the deposition jig from a top-down perspective according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 4 The schematic composition structure diagram of the precursor dosage evaluation device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 5 The flowchart of the precursor dosage evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 6 The schematic principle diagram of the precursor dosage evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed implementation manners

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure clearer and more understandable, the present disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0025] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a spraying head and a jig for deposition, a precursor dosage evaluation device, and a method, which are used to evaluate the expected dosage of a precursor during a deposition process for a semiconductor sample (such as a chip) through the spraying head. The above deposition process may be, for example, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may also be applicable to other deposition processes. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the (optimal) dosage of the precursor for deposition can be evaluated, greatly saving costs and time.

[0026] Figure 1 The schematic structural diagram of the spraying head for deposition according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] As Figure 1 shown, the spraying head 10 according to this embodiment includes at least one spraying hole 11 that is eccentrically or asymmetrically arranged on its spraying surface, and is used to allow the precursor to pass through and spray onto the sample surface.

[0028] According to the embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the spraying hole 11 of the spraying head 10 may include a circle, an ellipse, a fan-shaped ring (referring to the part intercepted by a sector from a ring), a long strip, etc. For example, Figure 1 Part A in shows an example where three circular spraying holes 11 are arranged on the left side of the spraying surface, Figure 1 Part B in shows an example where one circular spraying hole 11 is arranged on the left side of the spraying surface, Figure 1Part C shows an example where a fan-shaped ring of spraying holes 11 is provided on the left side of the spraying surface. It should be noted that, in addition to the examples listed above, the shape of the spraying holes 11 can also be other hole shapes such as square, fan-shaped, or irregular shapes. The number of spraying holes can also be 1, 2 - 10, or more. Additionally, the size of the holes can also be adjusted according to the actual application. For example, the size of a single hole or the total size of several holes can be less than 1 square millimeter, or greater than several hundred square millimeters, or between 1 square millimeter and several hundred square millimeters, or a mixture of holes of the above various sizes can be used.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, "eccentric or asymmetric setting" means that the overall layout of all the spraying holes 11 provided on the spraying surface of the spraying head 10 is eccentric or asymmetric with respect to the center of the spraying surface. The spraying holes 11 can be closer to the edge of the spraying surface and farther from the center of the spraying surface (e.g., the center of the circle). In contrast, according to the related art, for achieving uniform deposition, all the spraying holes provided on the spraying surface of the spraying head 10 are uniformly distributed as a whole, forming a centered symmetric setting.

[0030] According to the embodiment, the spraying holes 11 can be arranged in a circumferential direction on the spraying surface of the spraying head 10. For example, in Figure 1 the example shown in Part A of Figure 1 three spraying holes 11 can be arranged in the circumferential direction (with the center of the spraying surface as the center of the circle). Similarly, in

[0031] the example shown in Part C of A, the fan-shaped ring of spraying holes 11 can occupy a part of the circumference (with the center of the spraying surface as the center of the circle).

[0031] Furthermore, the present disclosure also provides a deposition jig, including the spraying head 10 described above and an air flow guiding portion 20. As shown in combination with Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4 this deposition jig is disposed in the reaction chamber R, such as the reaction chamber of an ALD reactor. The spraying head 10 can be disposed above the chip carrier portion 30 in the reaction chamber R, and its spraying surface faces the sample S carried on the chip carrier portion 30 (upper carrier). The air flow guiding portion 20 can be disposed above, below, or around the chip carrier portion 30 in the reaction chamber R. The air flow guiding portion 20 can have a hollow area adapted to the chip carrier portion 30 to expose the sample S carried on the chip carrier portion 30 (for deposition). Additionally, the air flow guiding portion 20 can have an edge portion, which can surround the chip carrier portion 30 and has an air guiding port 21 therein to guide the gas flow direction. For example, the edge portion of the air flow guiding portion 20 can seal the outer periphery of the chip carrier portion 30, and only the air guiding port 21 can allow the gas to pass through.

[0032] The spray head 10 and the gas flow guiding part 20 are configured to cooperate with each other to spray the precursor from the spray holes 11 onto one side of the sample S during the deposition of the precursor, and flow to the opposite side of the sample S and be discharged through the air guiding port during the deposition of the precursor.

[0033] Optionally, the spray head 10 and the gas flow guiding part 20 cooperate with each other in such a way that in a top view (i.e., from a top-down perspective), the spray holes 11 of the spray head 10 are located on one side with respect to the sample S, and the air guiding ports 21 of the gas flow guiding part 20 are located on the opposite side with respect to the sample S. For example, in a top view, the spray holes 11 are located on one side with respect to the center (or, the center of the circle, which can correspond to the center or the center of the circle of the sample S loaded on the chip carrier 30) of the chip carrier 30, and the air guiding ports 21 are located on the other side with respect to the center (or, the center of the circle) of the chip carrier 30. For example, the line connecting the layout centers of the spray holes 11 and the air guiding ports 21 can pass through the substantially center (or, the center of the circle) of the chip carrier 30. Thus, the flow direction of the precursor can span the surface of the sample S loaded on the chip carrier 30, for example, leaving from the side of the sample S surface facing the spray holes 11 to the side of the sample S surface close to the air guiding ports 21.

[0034] Combined Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the gas flow guiding part 20 is integrally annular, the air guiding port 21 is arranged on the right side of the gas flow guiding part 20, and the air guiding port 21 can include a notch in the edge part (such as Figure 2 the air guiding port 21 shown in part A) or a through hole in the edge part (such as Figure 2 the air guiding port 21 shown in part B), and the number, size, and shape of the notch and the through hole can be set according to the actual application situation. Combined Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the hollow area of the gas flow guiding part 20 can be substantially the same as the area of the spray head 10. Three circular spray holes 11 are arranged on the left side of the spraying surface of the spray head 10, and there is a notch on the right side of the gas flow guiding part 20 as the air guiding port 21.

[0035] The present disclosure also provides a precursor dosage evaluation device for evaluating the expected dosage of the precursor when depositing a semiconductor sample through a spray head. Taking the evaluation device for evaluating the dosage of the precursor in an ALD reactor during an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process as an example.

[0036] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the composition structure of the precursor dosage evaluation device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As Figure 4 shown, the evaluation device can include a reaction chamber R, a chip carrier 30, and the fixture described above.

[0037] The chip carrier part 30 is disposed in the reaction chamber R and is configured to carry the chip sample S. The jig is disposed in the reaction chamber R. Among them, the spraying head 10 is used to spray the precursor onto the surface of the chip sample S, and the gas flow guiding part 20 is used to guide the precursor gas flow direction.

[0038] The chip sample S is located on the chip carrier part 30 and is exposed through the hollow area of the gas flow guiding part 20. After the precursor is ejected from the spraying hole 11 on the left side of the spraying head, it is sprayed onto the left side of the sample. Due to the function of the gas flow guiding part 20, especially the gas guiding port 21 on the right side, the precursor can flow laterally from the left side of the sample to the right side of the sample and then be discharged through the gas guiding port 21. In addition, while spraying the precursor, the chip carrier part 30 can be rotated so that a substantially uniform film layer can be formed on the surface of the chip sample S.

[0039] According to an embodiment of another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for evaluating the precursor dosage is further provided, which uses the aforementioned evaluation device to evaluate the precursor dosage, such as evaluating the precursor dosage of an ALD reactor.

[0040] Figure 5 The flowchart of the precursor dosage evaluation method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] As Figure 5 shown, the method may include, in operation S1, according to the process menu (such as the ALD process menu to be developed), depositing a first thin film on the surface of the chip sample at a first dosage time. Here, the first dosage time can be selected to be a deliberately insufficient dosage time. In the present disclosure, "deliberately insufficient dosage time" refers to a time deliberately selected, within which the deposition is insufficient to form a film layer with a thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle according to the ALD process menu on the surface of the chip sample. More specifically, according to the ALD process menu, a film layer with a certain thickness can be achieved in a single deposition cycle (as described below, this thickness can converge with time), but the thickness of the first thin film deposited within the "deliberately insufficient dosage time" does not reach this achievable thickness. For example, within this deliberately insufficient dosage time, the change in the thickness of the deposited film with time can be greater than a threshold. For the convenience of subsequent estimation and calculation, the first dosage time can be selected as a unit time, such as 1 second.

[0042] The method may further include depositing a second thin film on the surface of another chip sample at a second dose time according to the same process menu as described above in operation S2. Here, the second dose time can be selected to be a deliberately sufficient dose time. In the present disclosure, the "deliberately sufficient dose time" refers to a time that is intentionally selected, within which deposition can form a film layer on the chip sample surface with a thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle according to the ALD process menu. More specifically, the thickness of the second thin film deposited within the said "deliberately sufficient dose time" is close to or reaches the thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle according to the ALD process menu. For example, at the deliberately sufficient dose time, the change in the thickness of the deposited thin film with time can be less than a threshold value.

[0043] Although operations S1 and S2 are shown as being performed sequentially in Figure 5 , the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the order of operations S1 and S2 can be changed, or they can be performed in parallel.

[0044] The method may further include obtaining a first thin film thickness and a second thin film thickness in operation S3. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first thin film and / or the second thin film may be substantially uniformly distributed, and the thickness value may take an average thickness value.

[0045] Although in Figure 5 operation S3 is shown as being performed after operations S1 and S2, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the first thin film thickness can be obtained after operation S1, and the second thin film thickness can be obtained after operation S2.

[0046] The method may further include evaluating, in operation S4, an optimal dose time for achieving a target thin film thickness according to the first dose time, the first thin film thickness, and the second thin film thickness according to the process menu described above.

[0047] Figure 6 Fig. shows a schematic diagram of the principle of the precursor dosage evaluation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] As Figure 6 shown, during deposition, in a single deposition cycle, the thickness of the deposited film layer can gradually increase with the dose time and gradually tend to converge due to the self-limiting nature of the ALD process. The region where the thickness changes with time exceeding a first threshold value can be referred to as the "thickness / dose time insufficient region", and the region where the thickness changes with time below a second threshold value can be referred to as the "thickness / dose time excessive region". According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the deliberately insufficient dose time and the deliberately sufficient dose time as described above can be determined, for example, through experiments or experience. For example, in combination with Figure 6As shown, the deliberately insufficient dose time as the first dose time can be selected as 1 s in the thickness / dose insufficient region (as mentioned above, it is easier to calculate in terms of unit time), and the deliberately sufficient dose time as the second dose time can be selected as 5 s in the thickness / dose excessive region. The first film thickness D1 deposited at the first dose time T1 and the second film thickness D2 deposited at the second dose time T2 can be obtained. D1 can be normalized with respect to D2, for example, D1 / D2 (in this example, assumed to be 0.625). That is, the second film thickness D2 can be regarded as the unit thickness (“1”), and in this case, the first film thickness D1 deposited at the first dose time T1 is 0.625 of the film thickness achieved by this process menu under sufficient dose conditions (i.e., the thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle). Note that in this example, the second film thickness D2 deposited at the second dose time T2 represents the film thickness achieved by this process menu under sufficient dose conditions because in the thickness / dose excessive region, the film thickness can remain substantially unchanged with time. That is, although the film thickness deposited in 5 s is taken as the second film thickness D2 in this example, at other times in the thickness / dose excessive region, such as 6 s, 7 s, etc., the substantially same second film thickness D2 can be obtained without substantially changing the subsequent evaluation results.

[0049] However, note that the second film with the thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle or the unit thickness (“1”) actually does not require a 5 - s dose time (i.e., the 5 - s dose time is the “deliberately sufficient dose time”). For example, a 5 - s dose time can correspond to a dose of 5×0.625 = 3.125, that is, an excess of 212.5% (assuming the precursor is introduced at a constant flow rate, the dose used in 5 s can be 5 times the dose used in 1 s; if the films formed from these doses of precursor in deposition cycles of 1 - s dose time are combined, the thickness of these films together will be 5×0.625 = 3.125, which is 212.5% in excess of the thickness of 1 achievable in a single deposition cycle). If this process menu is carried out with a 5 - s dose time, it will cause material waste. To achieve this unit thickness (“1”), perhaps less time is needed. Thus, in the case where the process margin is m in percentage terms, the time T for this process menu to achieve the film thickness under sufficient dose conditions can be evaluated as follows:

[0050] 。

[0051] For example, if m is set to be 60% in excess (which can be determined based on experiments or experience), then T = [(1 + 60%) / 0.625] × 1s = 2.56s. That is, considering the safety process margin, the optimal dosage time can be 2.56 seconds, thereby obtaining the optimal precursor dosage. Since there is no need to use a longer deposition time (such as more than 2.56 seconds, like 3 seconds, 4 seconds, etc.), the precursor dosage can be saved, reducing the manufacturing cost. It should be noted that the process margin can be adjusted according to the actual situation. For example, m can be set to be 10%, 20%, 30%, or 50% in excess. Figure 6 The gray shadow extending horizontally in the middle shows the area where the dosage time exceeds the evaluated T (= 2.56s). The dosage time within this area is sufficient to achieve a thickness of "1".

[0052] Through the above method, the (optimal) dosage time for a single deposition cycle can be evaluated. If a film layer of a certain thickness needs to be deposited, then the number of deposition cycles required can be determined based on the thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle and the thickness of the film layer to be deposited (= the thickness of the film layer to be deposited / the thickness achievable in a single deposition cycle). The precursor dosage for the film layer can be determined based on the dosage time of a single deposition cycle and the number of deposition cycles (the product of the two).

[0053] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is no need to evaluate the precursor dosage through a large number of trial runs. Therefore, the cost required can be evaluated immediately in the initial stage of process development to judge whether the process has development value, quantify the optimal precursor dosage required for a single chip, so as to save money and time and avoid developing a process with no mass production value.

[0054] So far, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that in the accompanying drawings or the main text of the specification, the implementation manners that are not illustrated or described are all forms known to those of ordinary skill in the art and have not been described in detail. In addition, the above definitions of each element and method are not limited to the specific structures, shapes, or manners mentioned in the embodiments, and those of ordinary skill in the art can make simple changes or substitutions to them.

[0055] It should be noted that in this article, unless otherwise specified, an element with "a" does not mean only having a single such element, but may have one or more such elements.

[0056] In addition, in this document, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first", "second", etc. are only used to distinguish multiple elements with the same name, and do not indicate the existence of a rank, level, execution order, or process order between them. A "first" element and a "second" element may appear together in the same component or separately in different components. The existence of an element with a larger ordinal number does not necessarily imply the existence of another element with a smaller ordinal number.

[0057] In this document, unless otherwise specified, the so-called feature A "or" (or) or "and / or" (and / or) feature B means that A exists alone, B exists alone, or A and B exist simultaneously; the so-called feature A "and" (and) or "with" (and) or "and" (and) feature B means that A and B exist simultaneously; the so-called "comprising", "including", "having", "containing" means including but not limited to this.

[0058] In addition, in this document, terms such as "above", "below", "left", "right", "front", "rear", or "between" are only used to describe the relative positions between multiple elements, and in the interpretation can be extended to include cases of translation, rotation, or mirroring. In addition, in this document, unless otherwise specified, the statement "one element is on another element" or a similar statement does not necessarily mean that the element contacts the other element.

[0059] In addition, unless steps are specially described or must occur in sequence, the order of the above steps is not limited to those listed above and can be changed or rearranged according to the required design. And the above embodiments can be used in combination with each other or combined with other embodiments based on considerations of design and reliability, that is, the technical features in different embodiments can be freely combined to form more embodiments.

[0060] The specific embodiments described above further elaborate on the purpose, technical solutions, and beneficial effects of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the above are only specific embodiments of the present disclosure and are not used to limit the present disclosure. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present disclosure shall be included within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A spraying head for deposition, comprising: At least one spraying hole eccentrically or asymmetrically arranged on its spraying surface for spraying a precursor through it onto the surface of a sample.

2. The spray head according to claim 1, wherein The cross-sectional shape of the spraying hole includes circular, elliptical, sector-annular, and strip-shaped.

3. A fixture for deposition, comprising: The spraying head according to claim 1 or 2; And An air flow guiding part having an air guiding port, Wherein, the spraying head and the air flow guiding part are configured to cooperate with each other to enable the precursor to be sprayed from the spraying hole onto one side of the sample during deposition and flow to the opposite side of the sample and be discharged through the air guiding port.

4. The jig according to claim 3, wherein, The spraying head and the air flow guiding part cooperate with each other in the following manner: in a top view, the spraying hole of the spraying head is arranged on one side with respect to the sample, and the air guiding port of the air flow guiding part is arranged on the opposite side with respect to the sample.

5. A precursor dosage evaluation device, comprising: A reaction chamber; A chip carrier part arranged in the reaction chamber and configured to carry a chip sample; And The fixture according to claim 3 or 4, arranged in the reaction chamber, wherein the spraying head is used to spray a precursor onto the surface of the chip sample, and the air flow guiding part is used to guide the air flow direction of the precursor.

6. A precursor dosage evaluation method for evaluating the dosage of a precursor by using the evaluation device according to claim 5, the evaluation method comprising: According to the process menu, depositing a first thin film on the surface of the chip sample at a first dosage time, wherein the first dosage time is a deliberately insufficient dosage time; According to the process menu, depositing a second thin film on the surface of another chip sample at a second dosage time, wherein the second dosage time is a deliberately sufficient dosage time; Obtaining the thickness of the first thin film and the thickness of the second thin film; Evaluating the expected dosage time for achieving the target thin film thickness according to the process menu based on the first dosage time, the thickness of the first thin film, and the thickness of the second thin film.

7. The evaluation method according to claim 6, further comprising: During the deposition of the first thin film and the second thin film, controlling the rotation of the chip carrier part so that the first thin film and the second thin film have a substantially uniform distribution, wherein the thickness of the first thin film and the thickness of the second thin film respectively take the average thickness values of the first thin film and the second thin film.

8. According to the evaluation method according to claim 6, setting the thickness of the first thin film as D1, the thickness of the second thin film as D2, the first dosage time as T1, and the time for meeting the target thin film thickness at a process margin of m in percentage as T, then T is evaluated as: 。 9. The evaluation method according to claim 8, wherein, m is 60% in excess.

10. The evaluation method according to claim 6, wherein The process menu is an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process menu.

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