Process furnace and coating equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to a process furnace and coating equipment, and solves the problem that only single wafer coating can be completed at a time and the productivity and the coating quality cannot be considered in the prior art. The process furnace comprises a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber is provided with a gas inlet, and the gas inlet is configured to allow gas to enter; the second cavity is connected to the side, away from the gas inlet, of the first cavity, a plurality of gas outlets are formed in the second cavity, the gas inlet is located above the gas outlets, and the gas outlets are configured to lead gas out of the second cavity; wherein the second chamber is provided with a plurality of sub-chambers which are arranged at intervals around the peripheral side of the first chamber, the plurality of sub-chambers are respectively communicated with the first chamber, each sub-chamber is configured to accommodate a sheet, and each sub-chamber is communicated with an air outlet. According to the process furnace and the coating equipment provided by the invention, the coating efficiency can be improved while the coating quality is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a process furnace and coating equipment. Background Art

[0002] In the semiconductor process, the thin film deposition process is used to deposit a thin film on a wafer that has completed the etching process to produce corresponding electrical properties. The equipment that deposits thin films on the surface of the wafer is called Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) equipment. Existing CVD equipment includes equipment that completes the coating of multiple wafers at a time and equipment that completes the coating of a single wafer at a time. In order to meet the higher quality requirements of the wafers, equipment that completes the coating of a single wafer at a time is generally used to process the wafers. However, with the increase in production capacity requirements, equipment that completes the coating of a single wafer at a time cannot meet the growing production capacity requirements, and when equipment that completes the coating of multiple wafers at a time is used for process processing, the resulting wafers cannot meet the higher quality requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a process furnace and coating equipment to solve the problem in the related art that only a single wafer can be coated at a time and both production capacity and coating quality cannot be taken into account.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a process furnace configured to process a plurality of sheets, the process furnace comprising: a first chamber provided with an air inlet, the air inlet being configured to supply gas to enter; a second chamber connected to a side of the first chamber away from the air inlet, the second chamber being provided with a plurality of air outlets, the air inlet being located above the plurality of air outlets, the air outlets being configured to supply gas to be discharged from the second chamber to the outside; wherein the second chamber is provided with a plurality of sub-chambers arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber, the plurality of sub-chambers being respectively connected to the first chamber, each sub-chamber being configured to accommodate a sheet of material, and each sub-chamber being connected to an air outlet.

[0005] In some embodiments, an end portion of the first chamber away from the air inlet extends into the second chamber, and a plurality of connecting channels are arranged on the side wall of the first chamber extending into the second chamber. The plurality of connecting channels are arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber, and each connecting channel passes through the side wall of a corresponding sub-chamber to connect the first chamber and the sub-chamber.

[0006] In some embodiments, the plurality of sub-chambers are arranged at equal intervals around the circumference of the first chamber.

[0007] In some embodiments, the plurality of communication channels are arranged at equal intervals around a circumference of the first chamber.

[0008] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional areas of the plurality of communication channels are the same.

[0009] In some embodiments, a first connecting line is formed between the center of the first chamber and the center of a sub-chamber. Along an extension direction of the first connecting line, the communication channel and the air outlet are disposed on opposite sides of the sub-chamber.

[0010] In some embodiments, it also includes: multiple carriers, each disposed in a sub-chamber, the carriers being configured to carry a sheet of material; multiple sets of rotating components, each disposed in a sub-chamber, the carriers being connected to the rotating components, the rotating axes of the rotating components being parallel to the vertical direction, and the rotating components being able to drive the carriers to rotate around the rotating axes.

[0011] In some embodiments, the system further includes: a plasma generating assembly disposed in the first chamber, the plasma generating assembly being configured to provide an electromagnetic field for exciting plasma to the first chamber so that the passing gas is ionized into plasma.

[0012] In some embodiments, the plasma generating assembly includes: an induction coil, which is spirally wound around the side wall of the first chamber, and the induction coil is located between the air inlet and the sub-chamber in the vertical direction; wherein the induction coil has a preset height in the vertical direction, and the preset height enables the gas to be ionized entering the first chamber to be completely ionized after passing through the induction coil in the vertical direction.

[0013] In some embodiments, the process furnace includes: a cavity, including a first recess with an opening, a first chamber is provided on the side of the cavity facing away from the opening, and a plurality of sub-recesses are provided in the first recess and are arranged around the first chamber and connected to the first chamber; a cavity cover, covering the opening so that the first recess forms a closed second chamber, and each sub-recess forms a closed sub-chamber.

[0014] In some embodiments, it further includes: multiple groups of heating components, each disposed on the carrier, and the heating components are configured to heat the sheet carried by the carrier.

[0015] In some embodiments, it further includes: multiple groups of lifting components, each connected to at least one of the rotating component and the platform, and the lifting components are configured to allow the platform to rise or fall in a vertical direction.

[0016] In the second aspect, the embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a coating device, including: the process furnace described above, configured to perform a coating process on multiple sheets; a loading and unloading mechanism, arranged on at least one side of the process furnace, and the loading and unloading mechanism is configured to load the sheets before the process into the process furnace or unload the sheets after the process from the process furnace.

[0017] A process furnace and coating equipment provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure divides a chamber into a first chamber and a second chamber that are interconnected, and at the same time, a plurality of independent sub-chambers arranged around the first chamber are provided in the second chamber, and each sub-chamber is used to accommodate a wafer, so that gas can enter the first chamber through the air inlet for buffering, and then enter each sub-chamber separately after diffusion to be used for coating the surface of the wafer in each sub-chamber at the same time. The process furnace can realize the simultaneous coating of multiple wafers at a time, and can ensure the high coating quality requirements of the wafers.

[0018] In addition, by providing an air inlet in the first chamber and air outlets in each of the multiple second chambers, gas can be taken in from the center of the first chamber located above and then discharged from the surrounding sub-chambers respectively, so that the gas entering from the air inlet can enter the surrounding sub-chambers as evenly and stably as possible after sufficient diffusion and buffering. The coating consistency of the same batch of wafers placed in each sub-chamber is higher, and the coating uniformity of the wafer surface in each sub-chamber is also higher, which is conducive to improving the coating quality of the wafer surface in each sub-chamber. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The above and other purposes, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In the drawings, the same reference numerals generally represent the same components or steps.

[0020] Figure 1 Shown is a schematic diagram of a coating device provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic diagram of a process furnace provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 3 Shown is a top view of a process furnace provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a process furnace according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 5 Shown is a schematic diagram of a first cavity provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 6 Shown is a schematic diagram of a second cavity provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Reference numerals:

[0027] 100, coating equipment; 10, process furnace; 10a, air inlet; 10b, air outlet; 1, cavity; 11, first cavity; 111, first chamber; 112, through hole; 1a, connecting channel; 12, second cavity; 121, second chamber; 122, through hole; 1211, sub-chamber; 2, plasma generating assembly; 3, cavity cover; 4, carrier; 20, air inlet mechanism; 30, air outlet mechanism; 40, loading and unloading mechanism; 1N, first connecting line; H, vertical direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 1 Shown is a schematic diagram of a coating device provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 Shown is a schematic diagram of a process furnace provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a top view of a process furnace according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the direction indicated by arrow H is the vertical direction, which is also the axis direction of the rotating shaft and the thickness direction of the wafer.

[0030] The present disclosure provides a process furnace, such as Figures 1 to 3 , the process furnace 10 is configured to process a plurality of sheets.

[0031] It is understood that the process furnace 10 can be applied to a coating device 100 to coat the surfaces of multiple sheets. The coating device 100 can be, for example, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) device, specifically a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) device, a low pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) device, etc., without specific limitation.

[0032] Alternatively, the sheet material may be a substrate made of a silicon-based semiconductor or photovoltaic material. The shape of the substrate may include square, circular, etc., and the specific size may be adjusted according to the application field. In the embodiment of the present application, the sheet material is configured as a wafer, and the process furnace 10 is used for depositing a coating on the surface of the wafer.

[0033] Specifically, the process furnace 10 includes a chamber 1 and a chamber cover 3. The chamber 1 is provided with a recess having an opening, and the chamber cover 3 covers the opening of the chamber 1 to form a hollow chamber. The chamber cover 3 can be rotatably or detachably connected to the chamber 1. When the chamber cover 3 is open, wafers to be processed can be placed in the chamber or processed wafers can be removed from the chamber. When the chamber cover 3 covers the opening, the chamber is in a vacuum environment and can be used to process the surface of the wafers contained therein.

[0034] It is understandable that a sealing member may be provided between the cavity body 1 and the cavity cover 3 to ensure the sealing performance of the cavity, which will not be described in detail.

[0035] Optionally, the coating equipment 100 may also include a loading and unloading mechanism 40, which is arranged on one side of the process furnace 10. When the chamber cover 3 is opened, the loading and unloading mechanism 40 is used to load the wafers before processing into the chamber, and to unload the wafers after processing in the process furnace 10.

[0036] The process furnace 10 also includes an air inlet 10a and an air outlet 10b communicating with the chamber. The air inlet 10a can communicate with an air inlet mechanism 20 and is configured to allow gas to enter. The air outlet 10b can communicate with an air outlet mechanism 30 and is configured to allow gas to be discharged from the chamber to the outside. The air inlet mechanism 20 is used to sequentially introduce the gases required for processing wafers into the chamber through the air inlet 10a. The air outlet mechanism 30 is used to discharge excess gases in the chamber to the outside through the air outlet 10b.

[0037] Generally, in order to meet the high coating quality requirements of the wafer surface, the process furnace 10 can only coat the surface of a single wafer at a time. That is, when the chamber cover 3 is open, the loading and unloading mechanism 40 places a single unprocessed wafer in the chamber. After the chamber cover 3 is closed, the single wafer is in a vacuum environment in the chamber. The air inlet mechanism 20 sequentially introduces reactive gas into the chamber to coat the surface of the wafer, and the air outlet mechanism 30 is used to discharge excess reactive gas and other exhaust gas from the chamber. Although this process furnace 10 that can only coat a single wafer at a time can ensure the high coating quality requirements of the wafer, it cannot meet the growing production demand. In other embodiments, in order to increase production capacity, multiple wafers are placed on a movable conveying mechanism so that multiple wafers are coated while moving in the process furnace 10. When coating using this solution, it is found that the coating quality of the wafer surface cannot meet the requirements, resulting in the inability to balance the coating quality and coating efficiency.

[0038] Therefore, the process furnace 10 that can only complete the coating of a single wafer surface at a time is modified to solve the problem of not being able to take into account both the coating quality and the coating efficiency.

[0039] Specifically, the chambers in the process furnace 10 include a first chamber 111 and a second chamber 121. The first chamber 111 is provided with an air inlet 10a. The second chamber 121 is connected to a side of the first chamber 111 away from the air inlet 10a. The second chamber 121 is provided with multiple air outlets 10b. The air inlet 10a is located above the multiple air outlets 10b. The air outlets 10b are configured to allow gas to be discharged from the second chamber 121 to the outside. The second chamber 121 is provided with multiple sub-chambers 1211 arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber 111. The multiple sub-chambers 1211 are respectively connected to the first chamber 111. Each sub-chamber 1211 is configured to accommodate a wafer, and each sub-chamber 1211 is connected to a air outlet 10b.

[0040] The process furnace provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure divides the chamber into a first chamber 111 and a second chamber 121 which are interconnected, and at the same time, provides a plurality of independent sub-chambers 1211 arranged around the first chamber 111 in the second chamber 121. Each sub-chamber 1211 is used to accommodate a wafer, so that gas can enter the first chamber 111 through the air inlet 10a for buffering and diffusion, and then enter each sub-chamber 1211 respectively for coating the surface of the wafer in each sub-chamber 1211 at the same time. The process furnace 10 can realize the simultaneous coating of multiple wafers at a time, and can ensure the high coating quality requirements of the wafers.

[0041] In addition, by providing an air inlet 10a in the first chamber 111 and air outlets 10b in each of the multiple second chambers 121, gas can be taken in from the center of the first chamber 111 located above, and then discharged from the surrounding sub-chambers 1211 respectively, so that the gas entering from the air inlet 10a can enter the surrounding sub-chambers 1211 as evenly and stably as possible after sufficient diffusion and buffering. The coating consistency of the same batch of wafers placed in each sub-chamber 1211 is higher, and the coating uniformity of the wafer surface in each sub-chamber 1211 is also higher, which is conducive to improving the coating quality of the wafer surface in each sub-chamber 1211.

[0042] Optionally, when the air outlet 10b is set to be connected to the sub-chamber 1211 respectively, each air outlet 10b can be connected to an air outlet mechanism 30 respectively, or multiple air outlets 10b can be connected to one air outlet mechanism 30 through a pipeline, without specific limitation.

[0043] It is understood that the number of sub-chambers 1211 disposed in the second chamber 121 surrounding the first chamber 111 can be adaptively adjusted based on actual needs, such as three, four, five, or six, and the multiple independent sub-chambers 1211 surrounding the first chamber 111 can be arranged at equal intervals or at unequal intervals, without specific limitation. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of sub-chambers 1211 is set to five, and the five sub-chambers 1211 are evenly spaced around the first chamber 111.

[0044] Optionally, when the process furnace 10 includes a chamber 1 and a chamber cover 3, the recess specifically includes a first recess and multiple sub-recesses. The chamber 1 specifically includes a first chamber 11 having a first chamber 111 and a second chamber 12 having a second chamber 121. The first chamber 11 having the first chamber 111 can be pre-set on the side of the chamber facing away from the opening. The first recess is provided with multiple sub-recesses arranged around the first chamber 111 and connected to the first chamber 111. The first chamber 11 and the multiple sub-recesses are connected separately. After the chamber cover 3 is closed over the opening, the first recess forms a closed second chamber 121, and each recess forms a closed sub-chamber 1211. After the gas passes through the first chamber 111 through the gas inlet 10a, it can be buffered and diffused in the first chamber 111 before entering each sub-chamber 1211, thereby being used to coat the surface of the wafer in the sub-chamber 1211.

[0045] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a process furnace according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 Shown is a schematic diagram of a first cavity provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 Shown is a schematic diagram of the second cavity 12 provided in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] In some embodiments, as Figures 4 to 6 The end portion of the first chamber 111 away from the air inlet 10a extends into the second chamber 121, and a plurality of communication channels 1a are arranged on the sidewall of the first chamber 111 that extends into the second chamber 121. The plurality of communication channels 1a are arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber 111, and each communication channel 1a penetrates the sidewall of a corresponding sub-chamber 1211 to connect the first chamber 111 with the sub-chamber 1211. The arrangement of the plurality of communication channels 1a on the circumference of the sidewall of the first chamber 111 away from the air inlet 10a, each communicating with the sub-chamber 1211, allows the gas entering from the air inlet 10a to be fully buffered and diffused by the first chamber 111, and then relatively evenly enter the sub-chambers 1211 through the communication channels 1a. This facilitates a higher consistency in the amount of gas entering the sub-chambers 1211 from the communication channels 1a.

[0047] It is understandable that if Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the process of preparing the process furnace 10, a through hole 122 can be opened in the center of the second cavity 12 in advance, and a sub-chamber 1211 connected to the through hole 122 is set around the through hole 122 in the second cavity 12, and the connected position is used as a connecting channel 1a. A first chamber 111 extending along the vertical direction H is set in the first cavity 11, and an air inlet 10a and an air outlet 10b are made at corresponding positions of the first cavity 11 and the second cavity 12. After that, the first cavity 11 and the second cavity 12 are assembled together. During the assembly process, part of the first cavity 11 can be extended from the through hole 122 into the second cavity 121, so that the first cavity 111 and the sub-chamber are connected. 1211 can be removably connected to the first cavity 11 and the second cavity 12 through multiple ends, and the first cavity 111 and each sub-cavity 1211 are connected only through the connecting channel 1a. Alternatively, during the assembly process, the first cavity 11 will not extend into the second cavity 121 through the through hole 122. Instead, a through hole 112 is provided at the end of the first cavity 11 away from the air inlet 10a. The first cavity 11 is removably connected to one side of the second cavity 12. The through hole 112 and the through hole 122 correspond to each other. Gas entering from the air inlet 10a can enter each sub-cavity 1211 through the through hole 112, the through hole 122, and the connecting channel 1a. Therefore, the specific matching structure of the first cavity 11 forming the first cavity 111 and the second cavity 12 forming the second cavity 121 can be adaptively adjusted according to actual needs and is not specifically limited.

[0048] Optionally, multiple connecting channels 1a are arranged at equal intervals around the circumference of the first chamber 111, which is conducive to the gas buffered by the first chamber 111 to enter each sub-chamber 1211 relatively evenly through each connecting channel 1a, ensuring that each sub-chamber 1211 has the same coating effect.

[0049] Optionally, the cross-sectional areas of the plurality of communication channels 1 a are the same, thereby further improving the uniformity of the amount of gas entering each sub-chamber 1211 after being buffered by the first chamber 111 .

[0050] It is understandable that the shape and size of the cross section of each communication channel 1a can be adaptively adjusted according to actual needs and are not specifically limited.

[0051] In some optional embodiments, such as Figure 3A first line 1N is defined between the center of the first chamber 111 and the center of a sub-chamber 1211. Along the extension of the first line 1N, the communication channel 1a and the gas outlet 10b are positioned oppositely on either side of the sub-chamber 1211. Positioning each communication channel 1a and gas outlet 10b oppositely on either side of the sub-chamber 1211 further improves the uniformity and rate of gas diffusion within the sub-chamber 1211, thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of film coating on wafers within the sub-chamber 1211.

[0052] Optionally, the cross-sectional size of the communication channel 1a may be the same as or different from the cross-sectional size of the air outlet 10b, for example, the cross-sectional size of the communication channel 1a is larger than the cross-sectional size of the air outlet 10b.

[0053] In some optional embodiments, a carrier 4 may be provided in each sub-chamber 1211, each carrier 4 being configured to carry a wafer, and each carrier 4 being rotatably connected to a sub-chamber 1211 via a rotating assembly, the rotation axis of the rotating assembly being parallel to the vertical direction H, and the rotating assembly being capable of driving the carrier 4 to rotate around the rotation axis. For example, the rotating assembly may include a rotating shaft, one end of the rotating shaft being connected to the carrier 4 in the vertical direction H, and the other end passing through the sub-chamber 1211 and connected to an external driving unit, the driving unit being used to drive the rotating shaft to rotate, thereby driving the carrier 4 to rotate with the wafer, which will not be described in detail. After each wafer is placed on the corresponding carrier 4, during the process of coating the surface of the wafer, the rotating assembly can drive the wafer to rotate as the gas enters the sub-chamber 1211 through the connecting channel 1a, thereby further improving the uniformity of the coating on the surface of the wafer.

[0054] Optionally, the process furnace 10 further includes a plurality of heating components (not shown), each of which is disposed on the carrier 4 and configured to heat the wafer carried by the carrier 4. For example, the heating components can be disposed on a heating plate formed by heating tubes wound around the upper surface of the carrier 4, and the wafer can be placed on the heating plate. The heating plate is used to directly heat the wafer, thereby increasing the temperature rise rate of the wafer and further improving the coating rate.

[0055] Optionally, the process furnace 10 further includes a plurality of lifting assemblies (not shown in the figure), the lifting assemblies being respectively connected to at least one of the rotating assembly and the carrier 4, and the lifting assemblies being configured to allow the carrier 4 to rise or fall along the vertical direction H. For example, the rotating shaft may be configured as a retractable connecting rod structure, or a driving cylinder may be provided inside the rotating shaft to drive the rotating shaft to rise or fall along the vertical direction H, without specific limitation. When the chamber cover 3 is opened, the lifting assembly can cause the rotating shaft to rise, thereby driving the carrier 4 to extend out of the corresponding sub-recess, so that the loading and unloading mechanism 40 can remove the processed wafers carried on each carrier 4, and place the unprocessed wafers on the carrier 4 respectively, to facilitate wafer loading and unloading.

[0056] In some embodiments, as Figures 2 to 4 The process furnace 10 also includes a plasma generating assembly 2, which is disposed in the first chamber 111. The plasma generating assembly 2 is configured to provide an electromagnetic field to the first chamber 111 to excite plasma, thereby ionizing the gas passing through it into plasma. The plasma generating assembly 2 disposed in the first chamber 111 allows the gas entering the first chamber 111 from the gas inlet 10a to be first ionized into plasma before passing through each connecting channel 1a into the sub-chamber 1211. After the various plasma carriers enter the sub-chamber 1211, they react and are deposited on the wafer surface, thereby achieving film coating on the wafer surface. This method of first ionizing the gas and then allowing the plasma to diffuse into each sub-chamber 1211 can reduce gas waste, and each sub-chamber 1211 does not need to be equipped with a separate plasma generating assembly 2, thus saving costs.

[0057] Optionally, the plasma generating assembly 2 includes an induction coil, which is spirally wound around the side wall of the first chamber 111 (i.e., the outer wall of the first chamber 11), and is located between the air inlet 10a and the sub-chamber 1211 in the vertical direction H. By winding the induction coil around the side wall of the first chamber 111, the induction coil can form an electric field in the first chamber 111 between the air inlet 10a and the sub-chamber 1211 when energized, and the gas entering from the air inlet 10a can be ionized during the process of moving from top to bottom.

[0058] Optionally, the induction coil has a preset height in the vertical direction H. The preset height enables the gas to be ionized entering the first chamber 111 to be fully ionized after passing through the induction coil in the vertical direction H. It should be emphasized that the induction coil is wound around the outer wall of the first chamber 111 along the vertical direction H, with the end of the first chamber 111 provided with the air inlet 10a as a reference (also referred to as the starting point). In this case, one end of the induction coil can be flush with the reference of the first chamber 111, or it can be at a smaller distance from the reference of the first chamber 111. The preset height refers to the distance between one end and the other end of the induction coil wound along the vertical direction H. The greater the distance between the two ends, the longer the electric field formed in the first chamber 111 extends along the vertical direction H, and the more fully the gas can be ionized after passing through it. The preset height can be adaptively adjusted according to actual conditions, for example, it can be three-quarters of the total height of the first chamber 111, or it can be two-thirds of the total height of the first chamber 111, without specific limitation.

[0059] Optionally, along the vertical direction H, there may be a preset distance between the end of the induction coil and the connecting channel 1a, which may be, for example, 10 cm, 20 cm, etc., so that the plasma after being ionized by the electric field can be buffered and diffused and then dispersed as evenly as possible to each sub-chamber 1211.

[0060] It can be understood that the plasma generating assembly 2 also includes a power supply (not shown in the figure), which is arranged outside the process furnace 10. The power supply is electrically connected to the induction coil so that the induction coil can generate an electric field in the corresponding first chamber 111 when it is energized. In the process of the gas entering the first chamber 111 from the air inlet 10a and moving from top to bottom, the gas enters the electric field and can be ionized into plasma.

[0061] The present disclosure also provides a coating device, such as Figure 1 The coating equipment 100 includes a process furnace 10 and a loading and unloading mechanism 40. The process furnace 10 is configured to perform a coating process on multiple wafers. The loading and unloading mechanism 40 is arranged on at least one side of the process furnace 10. The loading and unloading mechanism 40 is configured to load the wafers before the process into the process furnace 10 or unload the wafers after the process from the process furnace 10.

[0062] It is understandable that the process furnace 10 and the corresponding coating equipment 100 can refer to the relevant descriptions of the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0063] In the various embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the connection may be in the form of bolts and nuts, screws, snaps, magnets, etc. For some connections, if there is no particular requirement for a detachable connection, a non-detachable connection may be achieved by welding, bonding, etc.

[0064] The basic principles of the present disclosure have been described above in conjunction with specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, strengths, and effects mentioned in this disclosure are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and should not be construed as necessarily possessed by each embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the specific details disclosed above are provided for illustrative purposes and to facilitate understanding, rather than as limitations. These details do not limit the present disclosure to necessarily being implemented using these specific details.

[0065] The block diagrams of the devices, devices, equipment, and systems involved in this disclosure are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that they must be connected, arranged, or configured in the manner shown in the block diagrams. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these devices, devices, equipment, and systems can be connected, arranged, or configured in any manner. Words such as "include," "comprise," "have," and the like are open-ended words, meaning "including but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith. The words "or" and "and" used herein refer to the words "and / or" and can be used interchangeably therewith, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The word "such as" used herein refers to the phrase "such as but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably therewith.

[0066] It should also be noted that in the apparatus, device, and method of the present disclosure, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. Such decomposition and / or recombination should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present disclosure.

[0067] The above description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but rather to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0068] The above description has been provided for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although a number of example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, alterations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A process furnace, characterized in that: Configured to process a plurality of sheets, the process furnace comprises: A first chamber is provided with an air inlet, wherein the air inlet is configured to allow gas to enter; a second chamber connected to a side of the first chamber away from the air inlet, the second chamber being provided with a plurality of air outlets, the air inlet being located above the plurality of air outlets, the air outlets being configured to allow gas to be discharged from the second chamber to the outside; The second chamber is provided with a plurality of sub-chambers arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber, the plurality of sub-chambers are respectively connected to the first chamber, each of the sub-chambers is configured to accommodate one of the sheets, and each of the sub-chambers is connected to one of the air outlets.

2. The process furnace according to claim 1, characterized in that One end portion of the first chamber away from the air inlet extends into the second chamber, and a plurality of connecting channels are arranged on the side wall of the first chamber extending into the second chamber. The plurality of connecting channels are arranged at intervals around the circumference of the first chamber, and each of the connecting channels passes through the side wall of a corresponding sub-chamber to connect the first chamber and the sub-chamber.

3. The process furnace according to claim 2, characterized in that The plurality of sub-chambers are arranged at equal intervals around the circumference of the first chamber; and / or, The plurality of communication channels are arranged at equal intervals around the circumference of the first chamber; and / or, The cross-sectional areas of the plurality of communication channels are the same.

4. The process furnace according to claim 2, characterized in that A first connecting line is formed between the center of the first chamber and the center of one of the sub-chambers. Along an extending direction of the first connecting line, the communicating channel and the air outlet are arranged on opposite sides of the sub-chamber.

5. The process furnace according to claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: A plurality of carriers are respectively disposed in the sub-chambers, and the carriers are configured to carry one of the sheets; A plurality of rotating components are respectively arranged in the sub-chambers. The carrier is connected to the rotating components. The rotating axes of the rotating components are parallel to the vertical direction. The rotating components can drive the carrier to rotate around the rotating axes.

6. The process furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes: The plasma generating assembly is disposed in the first chamber and is configured to provide an electromagnetic field for exciting plasma to the first chamber so that the gas passing through the first chamber is ionized into plasma.

7. The process furnace according to claim 6, characterized in that The plasma generating assembly comprises: an induction coil spirally wound around a side wall of the first chamber, the induction coil being vertically located between the air inlet and the sub-chamber; The induction coil has a preset height in the vertical direction, and the preset height enables the gas to be ionized entering the first chamber to be completely ionized after passing through the induction coil in the vertical direction.

8. The process furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The process furnace comprises: The cavity comprises a first recess having an opening, the first chamber is provided on a side of the cavity away from the opening, and a plurality of sub-recesses are provided in the first recess and are arranged around the first chamber and communicated with the first chamber; A cavity cover is covered on the opening so that the first recess forms the second closed cavity, and each sub-recess forms a closed sub-cavity.

9. The process furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Also includes: A plurality of heating components are respectively arranged on the carrier, and the heating components are configured to heat the sheet carried by the carrier; and / or, A plurality of lifting assemblies are respectively connected to at least one of the rotating assembly and the carrier, and the lifting assemblies are configured to allow the carrier to rise or fall in a vertical direction.

10. A coating device, characterized in that: include: The process furnace according to any one of claims 1 to 9, configured to perform a coating process on a plurality of sheets; A loading and unloading mechanism is provided on at least one side of the process furnace, and is configured to load the sheet before processing into the process furnace or unload the sheet after processing from the process furnace.

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