Filling tank and semiconductor device processing equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a filling tank and processing equipment of a semiconductor device. The filling tank is arranged between an air source and a reaction chamber of semiconductor device processing equipment, and comprises a tank body, a piston and an air cylinder, a gas inlet of the tank body is connected with a gas source, and a gas outlet is connected with the reaction chamber and used for pre-storing gas provided by the gas source to the reaction chamber. And the piston is positioned in the tank body. The air cylinder is connected with the piston and used for driving the piston to move towards the air outlet of the tank body in the process that the filling tank provides air for the reaction cavity, the volume of the tank body on the side, close to the air outlet, of the piston is reduced, and the pressure intensity of the air in the tank body is stabilized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor device processing, and more particularly to a filling tank and semiconductor device processing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor industry, a filling tank is an intermediate unit connecting the upstream material supply system and the downstream process equipment. Its main functions are to achieve stable storage, stable supply, buffering and regulation, and purification and pretreatment of materials.

[0003] Existing filling tanks suffer from pressure fluctuations and unstable flow rates during the gas supply process. When gas is supplied from the cylinder to the reaction chamber, fluctuations in gas flow rate and pressure may lead to thin film defects (such as particulate contamination) or device short circuits in downstream processes, causing a chain of negative impacts on product yield, production costs, and equipment safety.

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a filling tank and a semiconductor device processing equipment for stabilizing the gas pressure during the gas supply process, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of them. This overview is not an exhaustive summary of all conceived aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or decisive elements of all aspects, nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed descriptions that follow.

[0006] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a filling tank and a semiconductor device processing equipment. By setting a piston inside the filling tank and using a cylinder to drive the piston to reduce the effective volume of the tank during the process of supplying gas from the filling tank to the reaction chamber, the pressure of the gas during the gas supply process is stabilized, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow.

[0007] Specifically, the filling tank provided in the first aspect of the present invention is disposed between a gas source and a reaction chamber of a semiconductor device processing equipment. The filling tank includes a tank body, a piston, and a cylinder. The inlet of the tank body is connected to the gas source, and the outlet is connected to the reaction chamber, for pre-storing the gas supplied by the gas source to the reaction chamber. The piston is located inside the tank body. The cylinder is connected to the piston and is used to drive the piston towards the outlet of the tank body during the process of the filling tank supplying the gas to the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the volume of the tank body on the side of the piston near the outlet to stabilize the gas pressure therein.

[0008] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cylinder includes a flow valve, a cylinder body, and a drive unit. A first end of the flow valve is connected to a drive air source, and a second end is connected to the cylinder body. The moving end of the cylinder body is displaced according to the volume of gas injected into the cylinder body. A first end of the drive unit is connected to the piston, and a second end is connected to the moving end of the cylinder body.

[0009] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the second volume of the cylinder is less than 0.5 times the first volume of the tank.

[0010] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the filling tank further includes a controller. The controller is configured to: determine the gas volume V1 supplied by the filling tank to the reaction chamber within a gas supply window t; determine the corresponding piston stroke L based on the gas volume V1 and the cross-sectional area S1 of the tank body; and determine the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve based on the piston stroke L, the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder body, and the gas supply window t.

[0011] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the controller is configured to: determine the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve based on the piston stroke L, the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder, and the gas supply window t, comprising: determining the gas volume V2 to be injected into the cylinder based on the piston stroke L and the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder; and determining the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve based on the gas volume V2 and the gas supply window t.

[0012] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the filling tank further includes a pressure gauge and a controller. The pressure gauge is disposed inside the tank to detect the measured pressure of the gas therein. The controller is connected to the pressure gauge and is configured to: acquire a target pressure of the gas inside the tank; and, based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure, perform closed-loop control of the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve.

[0013] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the step of the controller controlling the flow rate Q of the flow valve in a closed loop based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure includes: performing PID calculation on the flow rate Q of the flow valve based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure to determine the corresponding adjustment amount; and adjusting the opening degree of the flow valve based on the adjustment amount.

[0014] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, each position of the piston maintains a gap of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm with the inner wall of the tank.

[0015] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the piston is made of PTFE, Hastelloy, 316L stainless steel or 5052 aluminum alloy.

[0016] Furthermore, a semiconductor device processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a gas source, a process chamber, and a filling tank as provided in the first aspect of the present invention. The gas source is used to provide the gas required for the processing of the semiconductor device. The process chamber is used to contain the semiconductor device and to process it using the gas provided by the gas source. The filling tank is used to pre-store the gas provided by the gas source and to quantitatively supply gas to the reaction chamber. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The above-described features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood after reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, components are not necessarily drawn to scale, and components having similar related characteristics or features may have the same or similar reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a filling tank provided according to some embodiments of this application is shown.

[0019] Figure Labels

[0020] Tank 1

[0021] Piston 2

[0022] Cylinder 3

[0023] Pressure gauge 4

[0024] Air intake 11

[0025] Air outlet 12

[0026] Flow valve 31

[0027] Cylinder 32

[0028] Drive unit 33 Detailed Implementation

[0029] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. Although the description of the present invention is presented in conjunction with preferred embodiments, this does not mean that the features of the invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in conjunction with embodiments is to cover other options or modifications that may be derived based on the claims of the present invention. To provide a thorough understanding of the invention, many specific details will be included in the following description. The invention may also be implemented without using these details. Furthermore, to avoid confusion or obscuring the focus of the invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description.

[0030] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0031] Furthermore, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "horizontal," and "vertical" used in the following description should be understood as the orientations shown in the relevant paragraphs and accompanying drawings. These relative terms are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply that the described apparatus must be manufactured or operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0032] It is understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers, and / or parts, these components, regions, layers, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms, and these terms are only used to distinguish different components, regions, layers, and / or parts. Therefore, the first components, regions, layers, and / or parts discussed below may be referred to as second components, regions, layers, and / or parts without departing from some embodiments of the present invention.

[0033] As mentioned above, existing filling tanks suffer from pressure fluctuations and unstable flow rates during the gas supply process. When gas is supplied from the cylinder to the reaction chamber, fluctuations in gas flow rate and pressure may lead to thin film defects (such as particulate contamination) or device short circuits in downstream processes, resulting in a chain of negative impacts on product yield, production costs, and equipment safety.

[0034] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present invention provides a filling tank and a semiconductor device processing equipment. By setting a piston inside the filling tank and using a cylinder to drive the piston to reduce the effective volume of the tank during the process of supplying gas from the filling tank to the reaction chamber, the pressure of the gas therein is stabilized, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow.

[0035] In some non-limiting embodiments, the filling container provided in the first aspect of the present invention can be configured into a processing apparatus for a semiconductor device provided in the second aspect of the present invention.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 1 . Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a filling tank provided according to some embodiments of this application is shown.

[0037] exist Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the filling tank provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a tank body 1, a piston 2, and a cylinder 3. The inlet 11 of the tank body 1 is connected to a gas source, while its outlet 12 is connected to a reaction chamber for pre-storing gas supplied by the gas source to the reaction chamber. The piston 2 is located inside the tank body 1. The cylinder 3 is connected to the piston 2 and is used to drive the piston 2 towards the outlet 12 of the tank body 1 during the process of the filling tank supplying gas to the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the volume of the tank body 1 on the side of the piston 2 near the outlet 12 to stabilize the gas pressure therein.

[0038] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the cylinder 3 further includes a flow valve 31, a cylinder body 32, and a drive unit 33. One end of the flow valve 31 is connected to a driving air source (e.g., compressed dry air), and the other end is connected to the cylinder body 32 of the cylinder 3. One end of the cylinder body 32 is movable, and its movable end is displaced according to the volume of gas injected into the cylinder body 32. One end of the drive unit 33 is connected to the piston 2, and the other end is connected to the movable end of the cylinder body 32. In this way, the solution of the present invention enables the piston 2 to reduce the effective volume of the tank 1 during the process of supplying gas from the filling tank to the reaction chamber, thereby stabilizing the gas pressure therein and improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow.

[0039] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the volume of the cylinder 32 is set to less than 0.5 times the volume of the tank 1 to meet the requirements of stable air supply and the accuracy and real-time performance of stroke control. Thus, the present invention improves the accuracy and real-time performance of the drive air source's control over the piston 2's stroke by using a smaller cylinder 3.

[0040] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the filling tank also includes a controller (not shown). This controller is configured to calculate the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve 31. Specifically, the controller can first determine the volume V1 of gas supplied to the reaction chamber by the filling tank within a gas supply time window t, and then calculate the stroke L corresponding to the change in piston 2 based on the gas volume V1 and the cross-sectional area S1 of the tank body 1.

[0041]

[0042] Where V1 is the volume of gas supplied to the reaction chamber, and S1 is the cross-sectional area of ​​tank 1.

[0043] Then, the controller can determine the flow rate Q of the flow valve 31 based on the stroke L of piston 2, the cross-sectional area S2 of cylinder 32, and the air supply window t.

[0044] Specifically, the controller can first determine the volume of gas V2 that needs to be injected into the cylinder 32 based on the piston stroke L and the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder 32:

[0045] V2=L*S2

[0046] Where L is the piston stroke 2 and S2 is the cross-sectional area of ​​cylinder 32.

[0047] Then, based on the gas volume V2 and the gas supply window t, determine the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve 31.

[0048] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the filling tank may also include a pressure gauge 4 and a controller. The pressure gauge 4 is located inside the tank 1 near the outlet 12 and is used to detect the actual pressure of the gas inside the tank 1. The pressure gauge 4 is also connected to the controller. The controller is configured to first acquire the target pressure of the gas inside the tank 1, and then, based on the difference between the target pressure and the actual pressure, to control the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve 31 in a closed loop. Specifically, the controller can determine the adjustment amount through PLC / PID control based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure, thereby controlling the opening of the proportional valve to achieve stepless speed regulation (speed regulation accuracy can reach ±2%). In this way, through the pressure gauge 4 and the controller, the gas flow rate of the filling tank can respond in real time to the actual pressure inside the tank 1, improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow rate.

[0049] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, each position of the piston 2 maintains a gap of 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm with the inner wall of the tank 1, which avoids particulate contamination caused by friction and also avoids gas leakage caused by a large gap.

[0050] Furthermore, in some embodiments of the present invention, the piston 2 may be made of materials that are both corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant, such as PTFE, Hastelloy, 316L stainless steel or 5052 aluminum alloy.

[0051] As described above, the filling tank provided by the first aspect of the present invention can drive the piston 2 to reduce the effective volume of the tank body 1 during the process of supplying gas to the reaction chamber, thereby stabilizing the pressure of the gas therein and improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow.

[0052] Furthermore, a second aspect of the present invention provides a semiconductor device processing apparatus (e.g., an atomic layer deposition apparatus). This semiconductor device processing apparatus includes a gas source, a process chamber, and a filling tank as provided in the first aspect of the present invention. The gas source is used to provide the gases required for the semiconductor device processing. These gases include, but are not limited to, process gases, carrier gases, and purge gases. The process chamber is used to contain the semiconductor device and to perform the processing on the semiconductor device using the gases provided by the gas source. The filling tank is used to pre-store the gases provided by the gas source and to stably supply gas to the reaction chamber at constant pressure and constant flow.

[0053] In summary, the present invention provides a filling tank and a semiconductor device processing equipment. By setting a piston 2 inside the filling tank and using a cylinder 3 to drive the piston 2 to reduce the effective volume of the tank 1 during the process of supplying gas from the filling tank to the reaction chamber, the pressure of the gas therein is stabilized, thereby improving the stability and accuracy of the gas supply flow.

[0054] Although the methods described above are illustrated and depicted as a series of actions for the sake of simplicity, it should be understood and appreciated that these methods are not limited by the order of the actions, as some actions may occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other actions from the illustrations and descriptions herein or not illustrated and described herein but which may be understood by those skilled in the art, according to one or more embodiments.

[0055] Those skilled in the art will understand that information, signals, and data can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and arts. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips described throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0056] The prior description of this disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A filling container, disposed between a gas source and a reaction chamber of a semiconductor device processing equipment, characterized in that, include: The tank has an inlet connected to the gas source and an outlet connected to the reaction chamber, for pre-storing the gas supplied by the gas source to the reaction chamber; The piston is located inside the tank. as well as A cylinder, connected to the piston, is used to drive the piston toward the outlet of the tank body during the process of the filling tank supplying the gas to the reaction chamber, thereby reducing the volume of the tank body on the side of the piston near the outlet of the gas to stabilize the pressure of the gas therein.

2. The filling tank as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cylinder includes: A flow valve, the first end of which is connected to a drive air source, and the second end of which is connected to the cylinder body of the cylinder; The cylinder body, the movable end of which is displaced according to the volume of gas injected into the cylinder; and The drive unit has a first end connected to the piston and a second end connected to the moving end of the cylinder.

3. The filling tank as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The second volume of the cylinder is less than 0.5 times the first volume of the tank.

4. The filling tank as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The filling tank also includes a controller configured to: Determine the gas volume V1 supplied to the reaction chamber within a gas supply window t of the filling tank; The corresponding piston stroke L is determined based on the gas volume V1 and the cross-sectional area S1 of the tank. as well as The flow rate Q of the flow valve is determined based on the piston stroke L, the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder, and the air supply window t.

5. The filling tank as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The step of determining the flow rate Q of the flow valve based on the piston stroke L, the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder, and the air supply window t includes: Based on the piston stroke L and the cross-sectional area S2 of the cylinder, determine the gas volume V2 to be injected into the cylinder; and The flow rate Q of the flow valve is determined based on the gas volume V2 and the gas supply window t.

6. The filling tank as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: A pressure gauge is installed inside the tank to detect the measured pressure of the gas inside. as well as The controller, connected to the pressure gauge, is configured to: acquire the target pressure of the gas inside the tank; and, based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure, perform closed-loop control of the gas flow rate Q of the flow valve.

7. The filling tank as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The step of controlling the flow rate Q of the flow valve in a closed loop based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure includes: Based on the difference between the target pressure and the measured pressure, a PID calculation is performed on the outflow rate Q of the flow valve to determine the corresponding adjustment amount; and The opening degree of the flow valve is adjusted according to the adjustment amount.

8. The filling tank as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each position of the piston maintains a gap of 0.1mm to 0.5mm with the inner wall of the tank.

9. The filling tank as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The piston is made of PTFE, Hastelloy, 316L stainless steel or 5052 aluminum alloy.

10. A semiconductor device processing apparatus, characterized in that, include: A gas source is used to provide the gas required for the processing of the semiconductor device. A process chamber for housing the semiconductor device and for processing it using gas supplied by the gas source; as well as The filling tank according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is used to pre-store the gas provided by the gas source and to supply the gas to the reaction chamber in a metered manner.

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