A thermal insulation structure for rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of semiconductor process equipment technology, and discloses a high-uniformity thermal insulation structure for semiconductor heat treatment equipment capable of rapid cooling. The structure includes a main body assembly and a positioning assembly. The main body assembly includes a furnace shell and a crystal boat disposed inside the furnace shell. An inner high thermal conductivity layer is disposed on the outer side of the crystal boat, and an outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer is disposed on the outer side of the inner high thermal conductivity layer. The positioning assembly includes a heat sink and a fixing component mounted on the outer side of the heat sink, with a locking component connected to the fixing component. The heat sink includes a heat dissipation pipe and a heat dissipation medium channel formed inside the heat dissipation pipe, with a connecting pipe connected to the outer side of the heat dissipation pipe. This invention solves the problems in the prior art where the axial thermal field uniformity of the inner wall of the furnace heating chamber is poor, leading to a reduced constant temperature zone. Simultaneously, localized overheating causes the insulation material to pulverize and crack, reducing the furnace's service life. Furthermore, the slow cooling rate leads to uncontrolled process cooling curves, affecting product quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor process equipment technology, and more specifically to a heat preservation structure for a high-uniformity semiconductor heat treatment equipment that can be rapidly cooled. Background Technology

[0002] High-temperature, medium-temperature, and low-temperature processes in semiconductor manufacturing, such as thin film growth, diffusion annealing, oxidation, and chemical vapor deposition, all rely on heating devices to provide precise temperature control. This heating device is called the furnace body for a vertical furnace. A crucial component of the furnace body is the insulation structure. This insulation structure must maintain uniformity under extreme temperatures to prevent heat loss, while simultaneously ensuring the stability and process repeatability of the vertical furnace equipment.

[0003] Currently, process equipment often employs rod-shaped, sheet-shaped, and ring-shaped heaters of various structural forms, which serve as heat sources within the furnace space. Poor axial thermal uniformity in the inner wall of the furnace heating chamber leads to a reduction in the isothermal zone, decreasing the heat transfer rate (WPH) of the process equipment. Furthermore, with a fixed internal size of the heating chamber in a semiconductor vertical furnace, as wafer sizes increase, radial temperature non-uniformity can easily lead to defects such as cracks, slippage, and poor film thickness uniformity at the wafer edges, reducing product yield.

[0004] The heater is in close contact with the inner side of the insulation layer. The part in contact with the heater may overheat for a long time, which can easily cause defects such as cracking and pulverization. This can further lead to problems such as deterioration of the uniformity of the furnace thermal field, environmental pollution, and increased energy consumption, which can have an adverse effect on the yield of finished wafers and the service life of equipment.

[0005] Insulation materials are generally selected with low thermal conductivity, which helps control heat loss from the furnace body. Conversely, when the furnace body needs to be cooled, the current methods of heat dissipation are mostly achieved by circulating cooling water through the insulation material and increasing the air flow. However, the low thermal conductivity means that the heat accumulated inside the heating chamber can only be conducted through the insulation material to a limited extent, resulting in a slow cooling rate. This leads to the loss of control over the process cooling curve and affects product quality. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the problems in the prior art where the axial thermal field uniformity of the inner wall of the furnace heating chamber is poor, resulting in a reduced constant temperature zone, local overheating leading to pulverization and cracking of the insulation material, thus reducing the furnace's service life, and slow cooling rate causing uncontrolled process cooling curves and affecting product quality, this invention provides a highly uniform insulation structure for semiconductor heat treatment equipment that can cool rapidly. This invention is achieved through the following technical solutions.

[0007] A high-uniformity semiconductor heat treatment equipment insulation structure that can be rapidly cooled includes a main body component and a positioning component. The main body component includes a furnace shell and a crystal boat disposed inside the furnace shell. An inner high thermal conductivity layer is disposed on the outside of the crystal boat, and an outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer is disposed on the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer.

[0008] The positioning component includes a heat sink and a fixing component installed on the outside of the heat sink. A locking component is connected to the fixing component, and a heating element is provided on the inner side of the locking component.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure of the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the crystal boat is disposed inside the positioning component, and there is a preset gap between the crystal boat and the positioning component.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the heat sink includes a heat sink pipe and a heat dissipation medium channel formed inside the heat sink pipe, and a connecting pipe is connected to the outside of the heat sink pipe.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the heat dissipation components are evenly distributed at equal intervals on the outer side of the inner high thermal conductivity layer.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, one side of the heat dissipation pipe is attached to the outer side of the inner high thermal conductivity layer, and the other side of the heat dissipation pipe is connected to a connecting pipe.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for a rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment device described in this invention, the fixing component includes a fixing plate and connecting plates connected to both ends of the fixing plate.

[0014] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the fixed pressure plate has a "U" shaped cross-section, and the connecting plate has a through-hole structure for mating and connecting with the locking component.

[0015] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the locking component includes a positioning block and a limiting baffle connected to the positioning block, and a positioning pin is connected to one side of the positioning block. A connecting screw is fixedly connected to the positioning block, and a connecting nut is connected to the other end of the connecting screw.

[0016] As a preferred embodiment of the heat preservation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the locking members are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the furnace wire, and the connecting screw passes through the inner high thermal conductivity layer and is fixedly connected to the fixing member.

[0017] As a preferred embodiment of the thermal insulation structure for the rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment described in this invention, the positioning pin is fixedly connected to the inner high thermal conductivity layer, and the positioning pin is connected to the positioning block.

[0018] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] 1. By using an inner high thermal conductivity layer and an outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer, the insulation material is designed in layers, with each layer playing a different role. The inner high thermal conductivity layer uses high thermal conductivity materials such as boron nitride ceramic, which are in contact with the furnace wires. This allows the heat generated by the furnace wires to be quickly conducted along the inner high thermal conductivity layer. Compared with existing materials, this avoids local heat accumulation on the inner wall of the furnace, achieving a more uniform temperature distribution on the inner wall. The heat from the furnace wires is evenly distributed to the inner wall of the furnace, which helps to solve the problem of poor thermal field uniformity near the inner wall of the furnace, thereby maximizing the distribution ratio of the constant temperature zone. At the same time, it helps to solve problems such as pulverization and cracking of the insulation material caused by local overheating, thereby extending the service life of the furnace body and avoiding debris contamination of the equipment, deterioration of thermal field uniformity leading to reduced wafer yield, and increased energy consumption due to effective heat loss from the furnace body.

[0020] 2. By setting up heat dissipation components, the heat dissipation components are arranged in the middle layer between the inner high thermal conductivity layer and the outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer. The pipeline is close to the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer. Compared with existing products that use low thermal conductivity insulation layer and place heat dissipation components outside the furnace body, the higher thermal conductivity and smaller conduction distance allow heat to be conducted to the heat dissipation components more quickly through the inner high thermal conductivity layer, thereby achieving rapid cooling. Attached Figure Description

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0022] Figure 1 : A schematic diagram of the overall front cross-sectional structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This invention Figure 1 Enlarged structural diagram at point A;

[0024] Figure 3 : A schematic diagram of the overall side cross-sectional structure of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 : A schematic diagram of the positioning component in this invention;

[0026] Figure 5 : A cross-sectional structural diagram of the positioning component in this invention;

[0027] Figure 6 : A schematic diagram of the connection between the locking element and the heating element in this invention;

[0028] Figure 7 : A schematic diagram of the connection between the positioning block and the positioning pin in this invention.

[0029] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0030] 10. Main body components; 11. Furnace shell; 12. Crystal boat; 13. Inner high thermal conductivity layer; 14. Outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer; 20. Positioning components; 21. Heat dissipation components; 211. Heat dissipation pipe; 212. Heat dissipation medium channel; 213. Connecting pipe; 22. Fixing components; 221. Fixing pressure plate; 222. Connecting plate; 23. Locking components; 231. Positioning block; 232. Limiting baffle; 233. Connecting screw; 234. Connecting nut; 235. Positioning pin; 24. Furnace wire. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] Example

[0033] Reference Figures 1-7 As shown, this is the first embodiment of the present invention, which provides a heat preservation structure for a rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment device, including a main body component 10 and a positioning component 20. The main body component 10 includes a furnace shell 11 and a crystal boat 12 disposed inside the furnace shell 11. An inner high thermal conductivity layer 13 is disposed on the outer side of the crystal boat 12, and an outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer 14 is disposed on the outer side of the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13. The crystal boat 12 is disposed inside the positioning component 20, and there is a preset gap between the crystal boat 12 and the positioning component 20.

[0034] The outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer 14 is made of low thermal conductivity materials such as graphite felt to provide insulation and control heat loss from the heating chamber and inner layer. The outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer 14 is bound to the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13 using heat-resistant metal wires. The metal wires are flexible and have a certain degree of elasticity, which can prevent the insulation layer from cracking or detaching due to thermal expansion differences. At the same time, compared with bolts, clamps and other fixing methods, it is more suitable for complex geometric structures and causes less damage to the integrity of the insulation layer, which is conducive to improving the insulation performance. Compared with adhesives and other methods, it avoids the risk of high-temperature aging failure and contamination of the chamber.

[0035] The inner high thermal conductivity layer 13 is made of high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity materials such as boron nitride ceramic, which can evenly distribute the heat of the furnace wire 24 during heating and quickly conduct the heat to the heat sink 21 and carry it out of the furnace body during cooling. At the same time, compared with existing loose materials such as aluminum silicate cotton with low thermal conductivity, it is not easy to pulverize and crack due to local overheating for a long time.

[0036] The positioning component 20 includes a heat sink 21 and a fixing component 22 installed on the outside of the heat sink 21. A locking component 23 is connected to the fixing component 22, and a heating wire 24 is provided on the inner side of the locking component 23. The heat sink 21 is evenly distributed on the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13, while the fixing component 22 is evenly distributed on the outside of the heat sink 21. The fixing component 22 and the locking component 23 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0037] The heat sink 21 includes a heat sink 211 and a heat dissipation medium channel 212 formed inside the heat sink 211. A connecting pipe 213 is connected to the outside of the heat sink 211. One side of the heat sink 211 is attached to the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13, and the other side of the heat sink 211 is connected to the connecting pipe 213.

[0038] The heat dissipation medium is driven by a liquid or gas circulation device corresponding to the actual situation, flows through the heat dissipation medium channel 212 and the connecting pipe 213, and carries away the heat accumulated in the furnace body. The heat dissipation pipe 211 can be made of high thermal conductivity materials such as copper and surrounds the outer side of the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13. For actual use needs, the heat dissipation component 21 can be partitioned to achieve precise temperature control of each area of ​​the heating chamber.

[0039] The fastener 22 includes a fixed pressure plate 221 and connecting plates 222 connected to both ends of the fixed pressure plate 221. The fixed pressure plate 221 has a "U" shaped cross section. The heat sink 21 is disposed inside the "U" shape of the fixed pressure plate 221, so that the fixed pressure plate 221 can position and fix the heat sink 21 to facilitate fixing the heat sink 21 to the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13.

[0040] Preferably, the fixing plate 221 and the connecting plate 222 can also be made in one piece.

[0041] The locking component 23 includes a positioning block 231 and a limiting baffle 232 connected to the positioning block 231. A positioning pin 235 is connected to one side of the positioning block 231, and a connecting screw 233 is fixedly connected to the positioning block 231. A connecting nut 234 is connected to the other end of the connecting screw 233.

[0042] Preferably, the positioning block 231 and the limiting baffle can also be made in one piece.

[0043] The positioning pin 235 is fixedly connected to the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13, and the positioning pin 235 is correspondingly set with the positioning block 231. The positioning block 231 has a plug hole, so that the positioning pin 235 is snapped into the plug hole on the positioning block 231. The positioning pin 235 is used to limit the position of the positioning block 231, so as to ensure that the installation position of the heat sink 21 and the heating wire 24 will not shake.

[0044] The locking components 23 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the heating wire 24. The upper and lower locking components 23 are used to position and fix the heating wire 24 with the limiting baffle 232 to prevent the heating wire 24 from shifting. The connecting screw 233 passes through the inner high thermal conductivity layer 13 and is fixedly connected to the connecting plate 222. The threaded connection between the connecting screw 233 and the connecting nut 234 can fix the positions of the fixing component 22 and the locking component 23 at the same time, thereby completing the fixation of the positions of the heat sink 21 and the heating wire 24.

[0045] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely illustrative of the invention. These preferred embodiments do not exhaustively describe all details, nor do they limit the invention to any specific implementation. Clearly, many modifications and variations can be made based on the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments to better explain the principles and practical applications of the invention, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and utilize the invention. The invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. A heat preservation structure for a rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment device, characterized in that: It includes a main body component (10) and a positioning component (20). The main body component (10) includes a furnace shell (11) and a crystal boat (12) disposed inside the furnace shell (11). The crystal boat (12) is provided with an inner high thermal conductivity layer (13) on the outside and an outer low thermal conductivity insulation layer (14) on the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer (13). The positioning component (20) includes a heat sink (21) and a fixing component (22) installed on the outside of the heat sink (21). A locking component (23) is connected to the fixing component (22), and a heating wire (24) is provided on the inner side of the locking component (23). The heat sink (21) includes a heat sink pipe (211) and a heat dissipation medium channel (212) opened inside the heat sink pipe (211). A connecting pipe (213) is connected to the outside of the heat sink pipe (211). The heat sink (21) is evenly distributed at equal intervals on the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer (13). One side of the heat sink pipe (211) is attached to the outside of the inner high thermal conductivity layer (13), and the other side of the heat sink pipe (211) is connected to the connecting pipe (213). The locking component (23) includes a positioning block (231) and a limiting baffle (232) connected to the positioning block (231). A positioning pin (235) is connected to one side of the positioning block (231). A connecting screw (233) is fixedly connected to the positioning block (231), and a connecting nut (234) is connected to the other end of the connecting screw (233). The locking component (23) is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the heating wire (24). The connecting screw (233) passes through the inner high thermal conductivity layer (13) and is fixedly connected to the fixing component (22). The positioning pin (235) is fixedly connected to the inner high thermal conductivity layer (13), and the positioning pin (235) and the positioning block (231) are connected in a cooperative manner.

2. The heat preservation structure for rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The crystal boat (12) is disposed inside the positioning component (20) and there is a preset gap between it and the positioning component (20).

3. The heat preservation structure for rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fastener (22) includes a fixed pressure plate (221) and connecting plates (222) connected to both ends of the fixed pressure plate (221).

4. The heat preservation structure for rapidly cooling, highly uniform semiconductor heat treatment equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fixed pressure plate (221) has a "U" shaped cross section, and the connecting plate (222) has a through hole structure for connecting with the locking member (23).

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