Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine

Abstract

The application provides a loadlock type ultrahigh vacuum evaporation machine, which comprises a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 which are uniformly arranged and isolated; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is arranged in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected with a carrying plate 60 for carrying a wafer; a lifting device 40 is arranged at the upper portion of the working chamber 20; a hollow annular supporting mechanism 50 is connected to the lower portion of the lifting device 40, and the supporting mechanism 50 is connected with the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is controlled to be lifted and lowered; wherein the supporting mechanism 50 is lowered to the inner cavity thereof, and the carrying plate 60 for carrying the wafer is horizontally moved into the path and is aligned, when the supporting mechanism 50 is lifted, the carrying plate 60 is lifted away from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, and the working chamber 20 is completely prevented from breaking vacuum during the transfer of the carrying plate 60, so that the vacuum degree is stably maintained at ≤10 ‑7 Pa, the film evaporation efficiency is improved by 300%, and the reliability of wafer transmission is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vacuum evaporation equipment technology, and more specifically, to a Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor ultra-high vacuum evaporation processes, traditional loadlock equipment, while reducing the frequency of vacuum breaches in the main chamber through pre-evacuation in the transition chamber, still requires a robotic arm to pass through the chamber isolation valve during wafer transfer, resulting in the working chamber being periodically exposed to a low-vacuum environment. Testing has shown that a single transfer can lower the working chamber vacuum level from 10... -7 Pa degrades to 10 -4 Pa, the time required for re-vacuuming accounts for 35%-60% of the production cycle, which seriously restricts the mass production efficiency of precision devices such as Micro LED.

[0003] Existing improved solutions, such as CN114823432B, include a robotic arm installed in the robotic arm cavity. The robotic arm is used to transfer the wafers from the crystal boat in the carrier cavity one by one to the positioning cavity for positioning. After the carrier cavity and the robotic arm cavity are evacuated through the vacuum pipeline until the pressure of the two is balanced, the wafers are passed through the robotic arm cavity and enter the process cavity for processing.

[0004] However, there are still drawbacks: the rigid contact of the robotic arm with the wafer, especially when handling the edges of brittle wafers (such as GaAs), results in a breakage rate of ≥0.5%.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a vacuum maintenance mechanism that can completely isolate the transmission path while solving the reliability problem of precision device transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine, comprising: a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 with consistent and isolated vacuum levels; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is provided in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected to a support plate 60 carrying the wafer; a lifting device 40 is provided on the upper part of the working chamber 20; a hollow annular support mechanism 50 is connected to the lower part of the lifting device 40, and the support mechanism 50 is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is raised and lowered in a controlled manner; wherein the support mechanism 50 descends until its inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate 60 carrying the wafer, and rises away from the support plate 60 to detach it from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, thus completely avoiding vacuum breaking in the working chamber 20 when transferring the support plate 60, and maintaining the vacuum level stably at ≤10. -7 Pa increases coating efficiency by 300% while solving the reliability problem of wafer transmission.

[0007] A Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation deposition machine is characterized by comprising: a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 with consistent and isolated vacuum levels; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is provided in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected to a support plate 60 that carries the wafer; a lifting device 40 is provided on the upper part of the working chamber 20; an evaporation deposition mechanism is provided at the lower part of a support mechanism 50 and is located at the bottom of the working chamber 20; the lower part of the lifting device 40 is connected to a hollow annular support mechanism 50, and the support mechanism 50 is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is raised and lowered under control; wherein the support mechanism 50 descends until its inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate 60 carrying the wafer, and rises away from the support plate 60 to disengage it from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, thereby achieving vacuum-sealed transfer between chambers. The lifting action of the support mechanism 50 physically isolates the transmission path, completely preventing the working chamber 20 from breaking the vacuum.

[0008] Furthermore, the lifting device 40 includes a motor 41 and a motor shaft. The motor shaft is connected to the support mechanism 50 through a bellows 42, and the intermittent lifting is controlled by a threaded connection.

[0009] In some embodiments, the support mechanism 50 includes a rigid connecting plate 51 and a support ring 52, with an elastic reset component 70 disposed between them; the elastic reset component 70 converts the rigid lifting and lowering of the connecting plate 51 into the buffered lifting and lowering motion of the support ring 52, and the elastic buffer eliminates mechanical impact and prevents the wafer from breaking during the lifting process.

[0010] Furthermore, the elastic reset assembly 70 includes multiple sets of independent adjustment units 71 distributed around the support ring 52; each adjustment unit 71 includes: a height-adjustable pressure transmission component 72, a guide rod 73 fitted with a reset spring 74, the lower end of the pressure transmission component 72 and the upper end of the guide rod 73 are connected by a reset spring 74 with a gap maintained between them, and the lower end of the guide rod 73 is fixed to the support ring 52; when the pressure transmission component 72 presses down to contact the guide rod 73, it compresses the reset spring 74; continued pressure causes the guide rod 73 fitted with the reset spring 74 to move downward synchronously until the support plate 60 carrying the wafer moves horizontally into the inner cavity of the support ring 52; when the pressure transmission component 72 rises to reset, it releases the spring to push the support ring 52 to reset. The gap design achieves staged buffering, and the independent height adjustment compensates for assembly tolerances, ensuring that the horizontal accuracy of the support ring 52 is ≤0.1mm.

[0011] Furthermore, the pressure transmission component 72 is a stepped adjustment rod, with its threaded section passing through the connecting plate 51 and its height fixed by a locking nut. The threaded fine-tuning mechanism achieves ±0.05mm level precision calibration to adapt to the load-bearing requirements of wafers of different thicknesses and ensure the flatness of the wafer load.

[0012] Furthermore, the connecting plate 51 is detachably connected to the corrugated pipe 42 via the clamping structure 43, adapting to the load-bearing requirements of wafers of different thicknesses and ensuring the flatness of the wafer load.

[0013] In some embodiments, the support ring 52 integrates a rotation drive assembly 56 and a cooling assembly 57. The rotation drive assembly 56 drives the support ring 52, the cooling assembly 57, and the wafer to rotate 360° to improve the uniformity of the film layer.

[0014] Furthermore, the outer edge of the cooling component 57 is sleeved with the guide rod 73, allowing the guide rod 73 to move longitudinally along the sleeve but not radially. A rotary drive component 56 is connected to the middle of the cooling component 57. The rotary drive component 56 drives the cooling component 57 to rotate, thereby causing the support ring 52 to rotate 360°, which in turn drives the carrier plate 60 and the supported wafer to rotate 360°, thus achieving uniform coating.

[0015] Furthermore, a linear bushing 75 is provided at the connection between the guide rod 73 and the cooling assembly 57 for one end of the return spring 74 of the retainer.

[0016] In some embodiments, the connecting plate 51 has a spatial topology that avoids rotating components, facilitating maintenance and upgrades.

[0017] Furthermore, the connecting plate 51 has a three-claw radial structure to avoid obstructing the rotating components, while the three-claw structure reduces weight by 40% while maintaining rigidity.

[0018] In some embodiments, the cooling assembly 57 includes: a cooling plate 571 with a built-in spiral flow channel 572, which is disposed in close contact with the upper wafer of the support plate 60; the spiral flow channel 572 is connected to a cooling medium flow channel, which passes through the interior of the rotation drive assembly 56 and is connected to an external cooling device for cooling the wafer that needs to be cooled.

[0019] Furthermore, the outer edge of the cooling plate 571 is surrounded by a shielding cover 573, which covers the moving parts of the support mechanism 50; the integrated cooling and anti-fouling design is optimized to prevent coating contamination.

[0020] In some embodiments, the carrier plate 60 includes: an epitaxial wafer carrier region 61 and an epitaxial transfer region 62. The carrier region 61 is provided with a limiting structure 63 to prevent wafer displacement. The epitaxial wafer carrier region 61 and the epitaxial transfer region 62 are connected by an inclined guide surface 64. The horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 has an open annular clamp, the inner contour of which is slidably coupled to the inclined guide surface 64.

[0021] Furthermore, the inner edge of the supporting ring 52 is provided with a first step 53, which supports the outer edge of the bearing plate 60.

[0022] Furthermore, the outer edge of the supporting ring 52 is provided with a second step 54, which is a horizontal step and forms a concentric tapered guide surface 55 at the bottom, thereby enabling the bearing plate 60 to automatically center and improve positioning accuracy.

[0023] The beneficial effects of this invention: This invention proposes a Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine, comprising: a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 with consistent and isolated vacuum levels; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is provided in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected to a support plate 60 carrying the wafer; a lifting device 40 is provided on the upper part of the working chamber 20; a hollow annular support mechanism 50 is connected to the lower part of the lifting device 40, and the support mechanism 50 is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is raised and lowered under control; wherein the support mechanism 50 descends until its inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate 60 carrying the wafer, and rises away from the support plate 60 to detach it from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, thus completely avoiding vacuum breakage in the working chamber 20 when transferring the support plate 60, and maintaining the vacuum level stably at ≤10. -7 Pa increases coating efficiency by 300% while solving the reliability problem of wafer transmission. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Figure 1 This is an assembly diagram of the Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the lifting device and supporting mechanism of the Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of part A.

[0027] Figure 4 This is an assembly diagram of the rotary drive assembly of the Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine of the present invention.

[0028] Explanation of main component symbols

[0029] Transition chamber 10, working chamber 20, horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, lifting device 40, motor 41, bellows 42, clamp structure 43, support mechanism 50, connecting plate 51, support ring 52, first step 53, second step 54, conical guide surface 55, rotary drive assembly 56, cooling assembly 57, cooling plate 571, spiral flow channel 572, anti-collision shield 573, bearing plate 60, bearing area 61, transfer area 62, limiting structure 63, inclined guide surface 64, elastic reset assembly 70, adjusting unit 71, pressure transmission component 72, guide rod 73, reset spring 74, linear bushing 75.

[0030] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, will further illustrate the present invention. Detailed Implementation Example:

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, a Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine includes: a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 with consistent and isolated vacuum levels; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is provided in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected to a support plate 60 that carries the wafer; a lifting device 40 is provided on the upper part of the working chamber 20; an evaporation mechanism is provided on the lower part of a support mechanism 50 and is located at the bottom of the working chamber 20, and the lower part of the lifting device 40 is connected to a hollow annular support mechanism 50, and the support mechanism 50 is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is raised and lowered in a controlled manner; wherein the support mechanism 50 descends until its inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate 60 carrying the wafer, and when it rises, it lifts away from the support plate 60 to disengage from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, realizing vacuum-sealed transfer between chambers, and physically isolating the transmission path through the lifting action of the support mechanism 50, completely preventing the working chamber 20 from breaking the vacuum.

[0032] like Figure 2 As shown, the lifting device 40 includes a motor 41 and a motor shaft. The motor shaft is connected to the support mechanism 50 through a bellows 42, and the intermittent lifting is controlled by a threaded connection.

[0033] The support mechanism 50 includes a rigid connecting plate 51 and a support ring 52, with an elastic reset component 70 disposed between them. The elastic reset component 70 converts the rigid lifting and lowering of the connecting plate 51 into a buffered lifting and lowering motion of the support ring 52, elastically buffering and eliminating mechanical impact to prevent the wafer from breaking during lifting. The elastic reset component 70 includes multiple sets of independent adjustment units 71 distributed around the support ring 52. Each adjustment unit 71 includes: a height-adjustable pressure transmission component 72, and a guide rod 73 fitted with a reset spring 74. The lower end of the pressure transmission component 72 maintains a gap with the upper end of the guide rod 73 and is connected by the reset spring 74. The lower end of the guide rod 73 is fixed to the support ring 52. When the pressure transmission component 72 presses down to contact the guide rod 73, it compresses the reset spring 74. Continuing to apply pressure... The pressure transmission component 72, when raised and reset, causes the guide rod 73, equipped with a reset spring 74, to move downwards synchronously until the support plate 60, which is allowed to support the wafer, moves horizontally into the inner cavity of the support ring 52. When the pressure transmission component 72 rises and resets, the spring is released to push the support ring 52 to reset. The gap design achieves staged buffering, and the independent height adjustment compensates for assembly tolerances, ensuring that the horizontal accuracy of the support ring 52 is ≤0.1mm. The pressure transmission component 72 is a stepped adjustment rod, whose threaded section passes through the connecting plate 51 and is fixed in height by a locking nut. The threaded fine-tuning mechanism achieves ±0.05mm level accuracy calibration to adapt to the bearing requirements of wafers of different thicknesses and ensure the flatness of the wafer bearing. The connecting plate 51 is detachably connected to the bellows 42 through the clamp structure 43 to adapt to the bearing requirements of wafers of different thicknesses and ensure the flatness of the wafer bearing.

[0034] like Figure 3-4 As shown, the support ring 52 integrates a rotary drive assembly 56 and a cooling assembly 57. The rotary drive assembly 56 drives the support ring 52, the cooling assembly 57, and the wafer to rotate 360°, improving the uniformity of the film layer. The outer edge of the cooling assembly 57 is sleeved with the guide rod 73, allowing the guide rod 73 to move longitudinally along the sleeve but not radially. The rotary drive assembly 56 is connected to the middle of the cooling assembly 57. The rotary drive assembly 56 drives the cooling assembly 57 to rotate, thereby driving the support ring 52 to rotate 360°, which in turn drives the carrier plate 60 and the supported wafer to rotate 360°, thus achieving uniform film deposition. A linear bushing 75 is provided at the sleeve of the guide rod 73 and the cooling assembly 57, which is used for one end of the return spring 74 of the retainer sleeve.

[0035] The connecting plate 51 has a spatial topology structure that avoids the rotating component, which facilitates maintenance and upgrades. The connecting plate 51 has a three-claw radial structure to avoid the rotating component, while the three-claw structure reduces the weight by 40% while maintaining rigidity.

[0036] like Figure 3As shown, the cooling assembly 57 includes: a cooling plate 571 with a built-in spiral flow channel 572, which is disposed in close contact with the upper wafer of the support plate 60; the spiral flow channel 572 is connected to a cooling medium flow channel, which passes through the interior of the rotation drive assembly 56 and is connected to an external cooling device for cooling the wafer that needs to be cooled; the outer edge of the cooling plate 571 is surrounded by a shielding cover 573, which covers the moving parts of the support mechanism 50; the integrated cooling and anti-fouling design is optimized to prevent coating contamination; the support plate 60 includes: an inner epitaxial wafer support area 61 and an outer epitaxial transfer area 62. The bearing area 61 is provided with a limiting structure 63 to prevent wafer displacement; the inner epitaxial wafer bearing area 61 and the outer epitaxial transfer area 62 are connected by an inclined guide surface 64; the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 has an open annular clamp, the inner contour of which is slidably coupled with the inclined guide surface 64; the inner edge of the support ring 52 is provided with a first step 53, which supports the outer edge of the bearing plate 60; the outer edge of the support ring 52 is provided with a second step 54, which is a horizontal step, and the bottom forms a concentric tapered guide surface 55, thereby enabling the bearing plate 60 to automatically center and improving positioning accuracy.

[0037] The beneficial effects of this invention: This invention proposes a Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine, comprising: a transition chamber 10 and a working chamber 20 with consistent and isolated vacuum levels; a horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is provided in the transition chamber 10, and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30 is detachably connected to a support plate 60 carrying the wafer; a lifting device 40 is provided on the upper part of the working chamber 20; a hollow annular support mechanism 50 is connected to the lower part of the lifting device 40, and the support mechanism 50 is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device 40 and is raised and lowered in a controlled manner; wherein the support mechanism 50 descends until its inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate 60 carrying the wafer, and rises away from the support plate 60 to detach it from the horizontal telescopic mechanism 30, thus completely avoiding vacuum breakage in the working chamber 20 when transferring the support plate 60, and maintaining the vacuum level stably at ≤10. -7 Pa increases coating efficiency by 300% while solving the reliability problem of wafer transmission.

[0038] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of this patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation deposition machine, characterized in that, include: A transition chamber (10) and a working chamber (20) with consistent vacuum levels and isolated configuration are provided. A horizontal telescopic mechanism (30) is provided in the transition chamber (10), and the output end of the horizontal telescopic mechanism (30) is detachably connected to a support plate (60) that carries the wafer. A lifting device (40) is provided on the upper part of the working chamber (20). The lower part of the lifting device (40) is connected to a hollow annular support mechanism (50). The lower part of the support mechanism (50) is provided with a vapor deposition mechanism and is located at the bottom of the working chamber (20). The support mechanism (50) is connected to the lifting rod of the lifting device (40) and is raised and lowered in a controlled manner. The support mechanism (50) descends. When the inner cavity is aligned with the horizontal movement path of the support plate (60) carrying the wafer, it is lifted away from the support plate (60) during the rise, so that it is separated from the horizontal telescopic mechanism (30), realizing the vacuum-sealed transfer between the chambers. The transmission path is physically isolated by the lifting action of the support mechanism (50), completely avoiding the vacuum breaking of the working chamber (20). The support mechanism (50) includes a rigid connecting plate (51) and a support ring (52), and an elastic reset component (70) is set between the two. The elastic reset component (70) converts the rigid lifting of the connecting plate (51) into the buffered lifting motion of the support ring (52). The elastic buffer eliminates mechanical impact and prevents the wafer from breaking during the lifting process. The elastic reset assembly (70) includes multiple sets of independent adjustment units (71) distributed around the support ring (52); each adjustment unit (71) includes: a height-adjustable pressure transmission element (72), a guide rod (73) fitted with a reset spring (74), the lower end of the pressure transmission element (72) and the upper end of the guide rod (73) are separated by a gap and connected by the reset spring (74), the lower end of the guide rod (73) is fixed to the support ring (52); when the pressure transmission element (72) presses down to contact the guide rod (73), the reset spring (74) is compressed; continued pressure causes the guide rod (73) fitted with the reset spring (74) to move downward synchronously to the allowable position. The support plate (60) carrying the wafer moves horizontally into the inner cavity of the support ring (52); when the pressure transmission component (72) rises and resets, the release spring pushes the support ring (52) to reset. The gap design realizes staged buffering, and the independent height adjustment compensates for assembly tolerances, ensuring that the horizontal accuracy of the support ring (52) is ≤0.1mm; wherein, the support ring (52) integrates a rotary drive component (56) and a cooling component (57). The outer edge of the cooling component (57) is sleeved with the guide rod (73) so that the guide rod (73) can make longitudinal linear movement along the sleeve but cannot make radial movement. The rotary drive component (56) is connected in the middle of the cooling component (57).

2. The Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting device (40) includes a motor (41) and a motor shaft. The motor shaft is connected to the support mechanism (50) through a bellows (42) and the intermittent lifting is controlled by a threaded connection.

3. The Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The pressure transmission component (72) is a stepped adjustment rod, whose threaded section passes through the connecting plate (51) and is fixed in height by a locking nut. The threaded fine adjustment mechanism achieves ±0.05mm level precision calibration, adapts to the bearing requirements of wafers of different thicknesses, and ensures the flatness of the wafer bearing.

4. The Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling assembly (57) includes: a cooling plate (571) with a built-in spiral flow channel (572) which is set close to the upper wafer of the support plate (60); the spiral flow channel (572) is connected to a cooling medium flow channel, which passes through the interior of the rotary drive assembly (56) and is connected to an external cooling device for cooling the wafer that needs to be cooled; the outer edge of the cooling plate (571) is surrounded by a shielding cover (573) which covers the moving parts of the support mechanism (50); the integrated cooling and anti-fouling design is optimized to prevent coating contamination.

5. The Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The carrier plate (60) includes an epitaxial wafer carrier area (61) and an epitaxial transfer area (62). The carrier area (61) is provided with a limiting structure (63) to prevent wafer displacement. The epitaxial wafer carrier area (61) and the epitaxial transfer area (62) are connected by an inclined guide surface (64). The horizontal telescopic mechanism (30) has an open annular clamp, the inner contour of which is slidably coupled to the inclined guide surface (64).

6. The Loadlock type ultra-high vacuum evaporation machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The inner edge of the support ring (52) is provided with a first step (53), which supports the outer edge of the bearing plate (60); the outer edge of the support ring (52) is provided with a second step (54), which is a horizontal step and forms a concentric tapered guide surface (55) at the bottom, thereby enabling the bearing plate (60) to automatically center and improve positioning accuracy.

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