Seed layer pretreatment device and method and substrate treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a seed layer processing device and method and substrate processing equipment, the seed layer processing device comprises a processing cavity, the processing cavity comprises a cavity door, a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the cavity door is used for allowing a substrate to enter and exit from the processing cavity, the surface of the substrate is provided with a seed layer, the gas inlet is used for introducing a reducing gas into the processing cavity, and the gas outlet is used for discharging the reducing gas; the exhaust port is used for exhausting gas in the processing cavity; the plasma generating device is used for exciting the reducing gas guided into the processing cavity to generate plasma; the substrate holding assembly is arranged in the processing cavity and used for holding a plurality of substrates at the same time. According to the invention, seed layer pretreatment is carried out on multiple substrates at the same time, so that the seed layer pretreatment efficiency is effectively improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, in particular to a seed layer pretreatment device and method, and a substrate processing equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] To realize higher performance integrated circuits (ICs), many features of integrated circuits are manufactured with smaller feature sizes and higher component densities. The formation of metal wiring interconnects in integrated circuits can be achieved using metal deposition processes such as Damascene or Dual Damascene processes. These processes generally require a seed layer to be deposited on the surface to be deposited on first, followed by a bulk deposition of metal.

[0003] As the width of the interconnect lines continues to shrink, the seed layer is extremely important for the stability of the subsequent interconnect lines. The seed layer is a metal element, which is prone to react with air, causing the surface of the seed layer to be oxidized into a metal oxide. Although the oxidation reaction can be limited to a thin surface layer of certain metals, the oxidized seed layer makes the subsequent electroplating process more prone to defects, which adversely affects the stability of the interconnect lines, especially for thin seed layers that can be used in processes below the 10nm node, the oxidation layer can occupy a large part or the entire thickness of the seed layer, which has a greater impact on the subsequent electroplating process. Therefore, it is necessary to pretreat the seed layer before electroplating.

[0004] In known technical solutions, the metal oxide on the surface of the seed layer is usually reduced by remote plasma, which cannot achieve batch processing and has low processing efficiency. Therefore, how to provide a seed layer pretreatment device and method to efficiently reduce the metal oxide on the surface of the seed layer to the metal of the seed layer itself before electroplating has become a technical problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a seed layer pretreatment device and method to solve the technical problem of low pretreatment efficiency in the existing seed layer pretreatment scheme.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned and other related purposes, the present application provides a seed layer pretreatment device, comprising: a processing cavity comprising a cavity door, a gas inlet and a gas outlet, wherein the cavity door is used for the substrate to enter and exit the processing cavity, the surface of the substrate has a seed layer, the gas inlet is used to introduce a reducing gas into the processing cavity, and the gas outlet is used to exhaust the gas in the processing cavity; a plasma generating device for exciting the reducing gas introduced into the processing cavity to generate plasma; and a substrate holding assembly arranged in the processing cavity for simultaneously holding multiple substrates.

[0007] Optionally, a rotating driving mechanism is further included for driving the substrate holding assembly to rotate, and the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly is parallel to the extending direction of the substrate holding assembly.

[0008] Optionally, a deflecting driving mechanism is further included for driving the substrate holding assembly to deflect to change the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate.

[0009] The present application further provides a seed layer pre-treatment method, comprising the following steps: S1, holding a plurality of substrates on a substrate holding assembly in a processing chamber, wherein the surface of the substrate has a seed layer; S2, vacuumizing the processing chamber; S3, introducing a reducing gas into the processing chamber; S4, starting a plasma generating device to excite the reducing gas introduced into the processing chamber to generate plasma, so that the seed layer is exposed to the plasma to reduce the oxide on the surface of the seed layer into the metal constituting the seed layer.

[0010] Optionally, the S4 further comprises: driving the substrate holding assembly to rotate around the substrate holding assembly, and the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly is parallel to the extending direction of the substrate holding assembly.

[0011] Optionally, the S4 further comprises: deflecting the substrate holding assembly to change the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the seed layer.

[0012] The present application further provides a substrate processing device comprising the seed layer pre-treatment device as described above.

[0013] As described above, the present application provides a seed layer pre-treatment device and method, which at least has the following effects:

[0014] 1) multiple substrates can be simultaneously subjected to seed layer pre-treatment, thereby improving the processing efficiency;

[0015] 2) different regions on the substrate can be allowed to contact the plasma in different regions in the processing chamber, thereby reducing or even avoiding the negative effects caused by the different concentrations of the plasma in different regions in the processing chamber;

[0016] 3) the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the seed layer can be adjusted according to the topographical features of the surface of the different substrates, thereby adjusting the reaction intensity of the seed layer pre-treatment and optimizing the seed layer pre-treatment effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 a mechanism diagram showing the reduction of metal oxide by plasma;

[0018] Figure 2 a front view schematic diagram of the seed layer pre-treatment device in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 3 shown as Figure 2 a side view schematic diagram of the substrate holding assembly in the embodiment one of the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 shown as a front view schematic diagram of the substrate holding assembly in the embodiment one of the present application;

[0021] Figure 5 shown as Figure 4 a schematic diagram of the substrate holding assembly in deflection;

[0022] Figure 6a and Figure 6b a schematic diagram of the angle relationship between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the seed layer;

[0023] Figure 7 shown as a front view schematic diagram of the holding mechanism in the embodiment two of the present application;

[0024] Figure 8 shown as a top view schematic diagram of the holding mechanism in the embodiment two of the present application;

[0025] Figure 9 shown as an exemplary flow chart of the seed layer pretreatment method in the embodiment three of the present application; and

[0026] Figure 10 shown as a layout schematic diagram of the substrate processing apparatus in the embodiment four of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The foregoing disclosure of the application has been set forth in a manner that is illustrative of the best present embodiment of the application. Other embodiments of the application will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure. The principles and application of the present application may be employed in any of the illustrative embodiments and variations thereof as described herein and as will occur to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this description. Therefore, it is intended that the application not be limited to the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed, but that the claims should be construed to include all embodiments falling within the scope of the application. All such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the claims.

[0028] It is to be understood that the drawings are to be used only as a general guide of the basic concepts disclosed herein. While the drawings depict preferred embodiments of the application, the drawings only include the components particularly relevant to the present application and are not drawn to scale or to their actual size and shape. The actual size, shape, and number of components may vary from what is depicted in the drawings, and the layout of the components may be more complex.

[0029] The following description refers to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise noted, like elements in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The following description of the example embodiments is not meant to limit the application in any way. Rather, it is intended to provide an example of the application in practice.

[0030] The terminology used in the description of the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used in the description of the present disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It also will be understood that the term "and / or," as used herein, refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0031] In the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be understood that the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connection" should be interpreted broadlyly, for example, can be mechanical connection or electrical connection, can be the internal communication of two elements, can be direct connection, or indirect connection through intermediate medium, and the specific meaning of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances by those skilled in the art.

[0032] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used in the present disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other.

[0033] In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present disclosure and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present disclosure.

[0034] Embodiment one

[0035] Referring to Figure 1 , which shows an example of reducing seed layer metal oxide by plasma. The substrate 200 includes, from bottom to top, a dielectric layer 201, a barrier layer 202, a seed layer 203 and an oxidized thin layer 204, wherein the oxidized thin layer 204 is formed by the oxidation reaction of the seed layer 203 with air. As shown in Figure 1 , the plasma 1001 in the remote plasma source 100 is introduced to the surface of the substrate 200 through the diffusion plate 600, and the oxidized thin layer 204 is reduced to the metal constituting the seed layer 203, and the by-product 1002 after reaction is pumped out of the reaction chamber. For example, when the seed layer 203 is copper, the composition of the oxidized thin layer 204 includes copper oxide, and the plasma 1001 reduces the copper oxide to copper.

[0036] However, the conventional plasma processing device has many problems. First, the device can only process one substrate at a time and cannot realize batch processing, so the processing efficiency is low. Second, the concentration of the plasma 1001 in different regions of the reaction cavity can be different, which can cause the surface of the substrate 200 to react unevenly. Third, the remote plasma source 100 is arranged relative to the surface of the substrate 200, and the flow direction of the plasma 1001 is basically perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 200, which can damage the seed layer 203. Fourth, different substrates 200 have different aspect ratio structures, such as grooves, trenches, and passages with different aspect ratios, and the pre-processing reaction of the seed layer 203 is also different. The device is difficult to adjust the intensity of the pre-processing reaction for different substrates 200.

[0037] To solve at least one of the above problems, the first embodiment of the present application discloses a seed layer pre-processing device. Figure 2 A front view schematic diagram of the seed layer pre-processing device in the first embodiment is shown, Figure 3 A front view schematic diagram of the seed layer pre-processing device in the first embodiment is shown, Figure 2 A side view schematic diagram of the seed layer pre-processing device in the first embodiment is shown.

[0038] Referring to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the seed layer pre-processing device includes a processing cavity 1, a plasma generating device 3, and a substrate holding assembly 4. The processing cavity 1 includes a cavity door 11, a gas inlet 12, and a gas outlet 13. The cavity door 11 is used for the substrate 2 to enter and exit the processing cavity 1, and the surface of the substrate 2 has a seed layer 21. The gas inlet 12 is used to introduce a reducing gas, such as H2, CO, NH3, etc., into the processing cavity 1. The gas outlet 13 is used to exhaust the gas in the processing cavity 1, such as unreacted gas and by-products after reaction, etc. During the pre-processing of the seed layer 21, a vacuum environment needs to be maintained in the processing cavity 1, so the gas in the processing cavity 1 can also be exhausted through the gas outlet 13 to vacuumize the inside of the processing cavity 1. After the seed layer 21 is pre-processed, the vacuum needs to be stopped and the substrate 2 is taken out of the processing cavity 1. In order to protect the pre-processed substrate 2 from being oxidized again, the gas inlet 12 can also be used to externally connect a device for providing a protective gas (such as N2, inert gas, etc.), and after the seed layer 21 is pre-processed, the protective gas is introduced into the processing cavity 1 through the gas inlet 12.

[0039] The plasma generating device 3 is used to excite the reducing gas introduced into the processing chamber 1 to generate plasma. The substrate holding assembly 4 is arranged in the processing chamber 1 and used to hold a plurality of substrates 2 simultaneously. In this embodiment, the plasma generating device 3 includes a radio frequency power source RF and two electrode plates 31 arranged on opposite sidewalls of the processing chamber 1. The radio frequency power source RF is used to apply radio frequency discharge to decompose the reducing gas molecules in the processing chamber 1 to generate plasma for pre-treating the seed layer 21 on the plurality of substrates 2 on the substrate holding assembly 4, i.e. reducing the oxides on the surface of the seed layer 21 to the metal constituting the seed layer 21 by plasma. In other possible embodiments, other types of plasma generating devices can be used to excite the reducing gas to generate plasma.

[0040] The following description will be made in combination with Figure 4 and Figure 5 , Figure 4 Fig. 1 shows a front view of the substrate holding assembly 4 of this embodiment, Figure 5 Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the deflection of the substrate holding assembly 4 of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the substrate holding assembly 4 includes a plurality of supports 41 and a plurality of sets of holding mechanisms 42. Each set of holding mechanisms 42 is arranged on a support 41 and corresponds to holding one substrate 2. In order to clearly show the structure, a plurality of sets of holding mechanisms 42 in the middle are shown as a string of black dots.

[0041] In order to make the substrate holding assembly 4 more stable, the substrate holding assembly 4 further includes a fixing portion 43 arranged parallel to the holding mechanisms 42 at the upper end of the support 41. In combination with Figure 4 and Figure 5 , the fixing portion 43 is in the form of a plate. In other possible embodiments, the fixing portion 43 can also be in other forms, such as a strip structure connecting a plurality of supports 41, etc. It should be noted that the function of the fixing portion 43 is not limited to this, which will be described in detail below.

[0042] In this embodiment, the substrate holding assembly 4 holds the substrates 2 by adsorption. Specifically, the support 41, each set of holding mechanisms 42 and the fixing portion 43 are all provided with a gas path 40 for pumping. The gas path 40 is connected to a pumping device through a pumping pipeline. The holding mechanism 42 has a substrate adsorption portion 421 provided with a substrate adsorption port 420 facing the back surface of the substrate 2 (i.e. the surface opposite to the surface on which the seed layer 21 is arranged). The substrate adsorption port 420 is connected to the pumping device through the gas path 40. The pumping device pumps air outside to enable the substrate adsorption port 420 to adsorb the substrate 2 above the substrate adsorption portion 421, so that the substrate 2 is held above the substrate adsorption portion 421.

[0043] In combination Figure 2 and Figure 3 In this embodiment, the substrate holding assembly 4 can hold up to 11 substrates 2, alternatively, in other possible embodiments, the substrate holding assembly 4 can hold more or less than 11 substrates 2. For example, as shown in Figure 10 In a substrate processing apparatus equipped with the seed layer pre-treatment device 302, the equipment front end module (EFEM) is provided with a substrate loading table 301, and the substrate loading table 301 is loaded with a substrate cassette (FOUP) (not shown) for holding the substrates 2. The number of substrates 2 held by the substrate holding assembly 4 can match the capacity of the substrate cassette. Alternatively, in other possible embodiments, other forms of substrate holding assembly 4 can be used.

[0044] Alternatively, the first embodiment further comprises a rotation driving mechanism 5 for driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate, and the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly 4 is parallel to the extension direction of the substrate holding assembly 4. Referring to Figure 4 and Figure 5 For example, the fixed portion 43 serves as a connection, and the rotation driving mechanism 5 is arranged above the fixed portion 43. Specifically, a rotation driving mounting plate 51 is arranged above the fixed portion 43, and the fixed portion 43 is rotationally connected to the rotation driving mounting plate 51 through a rotation transmission member 52 (e.g. a bearing), and the rotation driving mechanism 5 is mounted on the rotation driving mounting plate 51 to drive the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate. The substrates 2 are held on the substrate holding assembly 4, and thus the substrates 2 can rotate with the substrate holding assembly 4. In the first embodiment, the center of the fixed portion 43 is located on the center line of the substrate holding assembly 4, and the bearing is arranged at the center of the fixed portion 43, so that the substrate holding assembly 4 can rotate around the center line of the substrate holding assembly 4, and the center line of the substrate holding assembly 4 serves as the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly 4, which is parallel to the extension direction of the substrate holding assembly 4. In other possible embodiments, the bearing is arranged eccentrically relative to the fixed portion 43.

[0045] On one hand, since the reducing gas in the processing chamber 1 can not be uniformly distributed everywhere, it can cause the plasma density on different areas on the surface of the same substrate 2 to be different, and further cause the pre-treatment of the seed layer 21 on different areas on the substrate 2 to be non-uniform. On the other hand, the topographies of different areas on the surface of the substrate 2 can be different, i.e. different substrates 2 can have different aspect ratio structures, such as grooves, trenches, vias, etc. with different aspect ratios, so even if the reducing gas in the processing chamber 1 is uniformly distributed everywhere, since the consumption rate and amount of the plasma by different aspect ratio structures are different, as the reaction proceeds, the plasma density in different areas in the processing chamber 1 will be different, thus causing the plasma density on different areas on the surface of the same substrate 2 to be different, and further causing the pre-treatment of the seed layer 21 on different areas on the substrate 2 to be non-uniform. In the first embodiment, by driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate, the substrate 2 held on the substrate holding assembly 4 can rotate with it, and further the different areas on the substrate 2 can be able to contact the plasma in different areas in the processing chamber 1, reducing or even avoiding the negative effects caused by the different plasma densities in different areas in the processing chamber 1.

[0046] It should be noted that in order to avoid interference between the gas path 40 and the gas extraction pipeline between the gas extraction device, in the first embodiment, the gas path 40 extends to the edge of the rotary drive mounting plate 51 through the fixed part 43 and the rotary transmission part 52 (for example, through the inner hole of the bearing), and the gas extraction pipeline is outside the rotary drive mounting plate 51 in the direction of arrow E. When the rotary drive mechanism 5 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate, the rotary drive mounting plate 51 does not rotate, so the gas extraction pipeline will not be interfered. Figure 4

[0047] It should be understood that when the rotary drive mechanism 5 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate, the gas path 40 in the rotary drive mounting plate 51 does not rotate, and the gas path 40 below the rotary drive mounting plate 51 needs to rotate with the substrate holding assembly 4, so the part of the gas path 40 that does not rotate and the part that can rotate can be connected through a known gas path rotary joint.

[0048] Optionally, in order to adjust the angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2 according to the different topographies of the substrate surface, to change the reaction intensity of the plasma and the seed layer 21 on the surface of the substrate 2, the first embodiment also includes a deflection drive mechanism 6 for driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to deflect to change the angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2. It should be understood that the angle is a line-plane angle, which should theoretically be no less than 0° and no more than 90°. The size range of the angle will be described in more detail below.

[0049] The following will be described in combination with Figure 4 and Figure 5 ​, and a specific description is made on the deflection implementation of the substrate holding assembly 4 in the first embodiment, wherein, Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the deflection of the substrate holding assembly 4 is shown. A deflection mechanism mounting plate 61 is arranged above the rotation driving mounting plate 51, and the deflection driving mechanism 6 is mounted on the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61, and the moving end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 abuts against the rotation driving mounting plate 51. It should be understood that in other implementations of the first embodiment, the moving end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 can also be fixedly connected with the rotation driving mounting plate 51.

[0050] Exemplarily, the upper end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 extends upward through the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61, is fixedly mounted on the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61 by the deflection mechanism fixing member 60, and the lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 abuts against the rotation driving mounting plate 51. The lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 as the moving end can move in the vertical direction. A connecting mechanism 62 is arranged between the rotation driving mounting plate 51 and the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61, and the connecting mechanism 62 includes a first connecting mechanism 621 and a second connecting mechanism 622 which are hingedly connected with each other. The first connecting mechanism 621 is fixedly mounted on the rotation driving mounting plate 51, and the second connecting mechanism 622 is fixedly mounted on the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61.

[0051] The lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 can move in the vertical direction. Since the first connecting mechanism 621 and the second connecting mechanism 622 are hingedly connected with each other, when the lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 moves in the vertical direction, the rotation driving mounting plate 51 and the substrate holding assembly 4 can be deflected (the deflection direction is shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6), and by controlling the moving distance of the deflection driving mechanism 6, the deflection angle of the substrate holding assembly 4 can be adjusted. Figure 5

[0052] As mentioned above, the topographies of different surfaces of the substrate 2 can be different. Therefore, it can be necessary to adjust the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2 according to the topography characteristics of the different surfaces of the substrate 2. For example, for the substrate 2 with narrower and deeper grooves, a larger included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the substrate 2 should be maintained, so that the reaction between the plasma and the seed layer 21 of the substrate 2 is more intense, thereby improving the pretreatment efficiency of the seed layer 21.

[0053] Referring to Figure 6a and Figure 6b , Figure 6a and Figure 6b A schematic diagram showing the angle relationship between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2 is shown, wherein the arrow A represents the flow direction of the plasma. Figure 6a In this case, the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2 is 0°, Figure 6b ​In the embodiment, the angle between the direction of the plasma flow and the surface of the seed layer 21 is α, and α > 0°. In comparison with the prior art, Figure 6a Figure 6b In the embodiment, the direction of the plasma flow has a component perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 2, which can promote the reduction reaction between the plasma and the surface of the seed layer 21 in the narrower and deeper groove, and improve the pretreatment efficiency of the seed layer 21.

[0054] It should be understood that the angle α is a linear surface angle, and should be no more than 90°. As for the upper limit of the angle α, at least the following factors should be considered: first, the larger the angle α, the larger the component of the direction of the plasma flow perpendicular to the surface of the substrate 2, and the more intense the reaction between the plasma and the surface of the seed layer 21. While improving the pretreatment efficiency of the seed layer 21, the seed layer 21 may also be damaged due to the large bombardment force of the plasma; second, in the case that the accommodation space of the processing chamber 1 is limited, the spacing between the groups of holding mechanisms 42 is also limited. When the angle α is too large, the substrate 2 held by the groups of holding mechanisms 42 may be blocked by each other, affecting the normal process; third, when the angle α is too large, the holding mechanism 42 may not be able to stably hold the substrate 2, causing the substrate 2 to be detached. Therefore, the angle α should generally be kept within a range of a relatively small acute angle, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the size of the angle α according to at least the above three factors under the guidance of the embodiment.

[0055] It should be understood that in other possible embodiments, the rotating driving mechanism 5 can also be omitted, and the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61 can be connected to the fixed part 43 of the substrate holding assembly 4 through the connecting mechanism 62, the lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 abuts against the fixed part 43, and when the deflection driving mechanism 6 moves, the lower end of the deflection driving mechanism 6 can drive the substrate holding assembly 4 to deflect.

[0056] It should be understood that the rotating driving mechanism 5 and the deflection driving mechanism 6 are only exemplary and do not constitute a limitation on the seed layer pretreatment device in the embodiment, and the rotating driving mechanism 5 and / or the deflection driving mechanism 6 can also be other implementations.

[0057] Optionally, in order to avoid the contamination of the processing chamber 1 by the contaminants possibly generated by the rotating driving mechanism 5 and the deflection driving mechanism 6 and the like, the embodiment one further comprises a protective sleeve 8 sleeved between the rotating driving mounting plate 51 and the deflection mechanism mounting plate 61. In order not to affect the deflection driving of the deflection driving mechanism 6, in the embodiment one, the protective sleeve 8 is a telescopic protective sleeve, such as a bellows.

[0058] Optionally, the embodiment one further comprises a moving mechanism for driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to move between the process position and the loading and unloading position. As shown in Figure 3 ​As shown, in this example, the moving mechanism is a slide rail assembly 7, which includes a slide rail 71, a slider 72, and a connecting portion 73. The slide rail 71 is fixedly installed inside the processing cavity 1 and extends vertically. The slider 72 is configured to slide along the slide rail 71. One end of the connecting portion 73 is fixedly connected to the slider 72, and the other end is fixedly connected to the substrate holding assembly 4, for example, via... Figure 4 The deflection mechanism mounting plate 61 is indirectly fixedly connected to the substrate holding assembly 4. The slide rail assembly 7 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to move in the vertical direction, so that the substrate holding assembly 4 moves between the process position and the loading and unloading position, thereby cooperating with the substrate transfer mechanism R to sequentially remove or place multiple substrates 2 from the substrate holding assembly 4.

[0059] It should be understood that in other possible embodiments, without the deflection drive mechanism 6, the connecting part 73 may also be fixedly connected to the rotation drive mounting plate 51, and without the rotation drive mechanism 5 and the deflection drive mechanism 6, the connecting part 73 may also be directly fixedly connected to the fixing part 43 of the substrate holding assembly 4.

[0060] Specifically, taking the placement of substrate 2 as an example, firstly, the slider 72 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to move upward through the connecting part 73, so that the holding mechanism 42 located at the lowermost end of the substrate holding assembly 4 (please refer to) Figure 4 The holding mechanism 42 in the middle moves to the position corresponding to the cavity door 11 (i.e., the loading / unloading position). Then, the substrate transfer mechanism R carrying the substrate 2 extends into the processing cavity 1 through the cavity door 11, places the substrate 2 on the holding mechanism 42 located at the lowest end, and then exits the processing cavity 1. After the holding mechanism 42 located at the lower end of the substrate holding assembly 4 holds the substrate 2 placed on it, the slide rail assembly 7 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to move downward, so that the second set of holding mechanisms 42 from bottom to top moves to the position corresponding to the cavity door 11. The substrate transfer mechanism R repeats the above steps, extending into the processing cavity 1 through the cavity door 11, placing the second substrate 2 on the second set of holding mechanisms 42 from bottom to top, and then exiting the processing cavity 1. In this way, the placement and holding of multiple substrates 2 are completed.

[0061] It should be noted that the above process of placing the substrate 2 is only exemplary, in other possible embodiments, first, the slider 72 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to move downward through the connecting part 73, so that the holding mechanism 42 located at the uppermost end moves to the position corresponding to the cavity door 11, then the slide rail assembly 7 drives the substrate holding assembly 4 to move upward, and the substrate 2 is placed from top to bottom. Alternatively, in other possible embodiments, the slide assembly 7 can also drive the substrate holding assembly 4 to move in a certain order, and can move the substrate holding assembly 4 so that any group of holding mechanisms 42 not holding the substrate 2 moves to the position corresponding to the cavity door 11, and the substrate 2 is placed on the holding mechanism 42.

[0062] As to how to take out the substrate 2 from the plurality of holding mechanisms 42, reference can be made to the above process of placing the substrate 2, which will not be repeated here. In addition, it should be understood that when the substrate loading is completed, the slide assembly 7 can drive the substrate holding assembly 4 to move in the vertical direction to a predetermined process position to perform a seed layer pretreatment process.

[0063] It should be understood that in the example of the first embodiment, the processing cavity 1 includes one cavity door 11, that is, the substrate 2 enters and exits the processing cavity 1 through the same cavity door 11. In other implementations of the first embodiment, the processing cavity 1 can also be provided with two cavity doors 11, one cavity door 11 for the substrate 2 to be pretreated to enter the processing cavity 1, and the other cavity door 11 for the pretreated substrate 2 to exit the processing cavity 1.

[0064] Optionally, the first embodiment also includes a gas curtain mechanism 14 arranged at the cavity door 11 for spraying protective gas to form a protective gas curtain at the cavity door 11 to prevent air outside the cavity door 11 from entering the processing cavity 1.

[0065] Optionally, the first embodiment also includes a diffusion plate 15 having a plurality of through holes, and the diffusion plate 15 faces the substrate holding assembly 4. Referring to Figure 2 In the first embodiment, diffusion plates 15 are arranged near the gas inlet 12 and the gas outlet 13, respectively, and the substrate holding assembly 4 is located between the two diffusion plates 15, which can play a role in uniformizing the gas flow field in the processing cavity 1, so that the reducing gas in the processing cavity 1 is uniformly distributed.

[0066] Embodiment II

[0067] The second embodiment discloses a seed layer pretreatment device, which mainly differs from the first embodiment in that the holding manner of the substrate holding assembly 4 to the substrate 2 is different. In the second embodiment, the substrate holding assembly 4 holds the substrate 2 in a clamping manner.

[0068] In combination with Figure 7 and Figure 8 , Figure 7A front view schematic diagram of the holding mechanism 42 in this second embodiment is shown, in which the substrate 2 is omitted, Figure 8 A top view schematic diagram of the holding mechanism 42 in this second embodiment is shown. The holding mechanism 42 has a substrate bearing portion 422 at the center of the holding mechanism 42 for bearing the substrate 2, and a plurality of substrate clamping portions 423 distributed at the edges of the holding mechanism 42 for enclosing a clamping space to clamp the substrate 2.

[0069] Exemplarily, the holding mechanism 42 has an opening and closing driving member 424 and an opening and closing transmission member 425, which are respectively in transmission connection with the opening and closing driving member 424 and the substrate clamping portions 423, for driving the substrate clamping portions 423 to open and close under the driving of the opening and closing driving member 424. For example, the opening and closing transmission member 425 is sleeved on the opening and closing driving member 424, and is in transmission connection with the substrate clamping portions 423 through a transmission rod 4251. The opening and closing driving member 424 generates a rotary motion, drives the opening and closing transmission member 425 to move in the vertical direction (please refer to the H1 direction in Figure 7 , and in turn drives the substrate clamping portions 423 to move in the horizontal direction (please refer to the H2 direction in Figure 7 ) through the transmission rod 4251, i.e. drives the substrate clamping portions 423 to move between the current position in Figure 7 and the position in the dashed box, so as to realize the opening and closing of the substrate clamping portions 423.

[0070] It should be understood that the substrate clamping portions 423 can have various opening and closing modes. For example, in some embodiments, the opening and closing driving member 424 can be fixedly connected with the opening and closing transmission member 425, the opening and closing driving member 424 moves in the vertical direction (please refer to the H1 direction in Figure 7 , and in turn drives the substrate clamping portions 423 to move in the horizontal direction (please refer to the H2 direction in Figure 7 ) through the transmission rod 4251.

[0071] It should be noted that other structures in this second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and will not be described here.

[0072] Embodiment Three

[0073] This third embodiment discloses a seed layer pretreatment method, which is shown in Figure 9 , which shows an exemplary flowchart of the seed layer pretreatment method in this third embodiment. The seed layer pretreatment method of this third embodiment will be specifically described below by taking the seed layer pretreatment device in the first embodiment as an application example. The seed layer pretreatment method comprises the following steps:

[0074] S1, a plurality of substrates 2 are held on the substrate holding assembly 4 in the processing cavity 1, wherein the surface of the substrate 2 has a seed layer 21;

[0075] S2, vacuumizing the processing chamber 1;

[0076] S3, introducing a reducing gas into the processing chamber 1;

[0077] S4, activating the plasma generating device 3 to excite the reducing gas introduced into the processing chamber 1 to generate plasma, so that the seed layer 21 is exposed to the plasma to reduce the oxide on the surface of the seed layer 21 into the metal constituting the seed layer 21.

[0078] Exemplarily, the step S1 comprises driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to move along the vertical direction to hold the plurality of substrates 2 on the substrate holding assembly 4 through the chamber door 11. For details, please refer to the description of the embodiment one, which will not be repeated here. Figure 3 The substrate holding assembly can be driven to move by the slide rail assembly 7. For details, please refer to the description of the embodiment one, which will not be repeated here.

[0079] Exemplarily, in the step S2, the processing chamber 1 can be vacuumized by the vacuum pump connected to the exhaust port 13, and the vacuum state inside the processing chamber 1 is maintained.

[0080] Optionally, in other possible embodiments, the step S4 further comprises driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to rotate, and the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly 4 is parallel to the extending direction of the substrate holding assembly 4.

[0081] Optionally, in other possible embodiments, the step S4 further comprises deflecting the substrate holding assembly 4 to change the included angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate 2.

[0082] Optionally, in other possible embodiments, the step S4 further comprises:

[0083] S5, turning off the plasma generating device 3 and stopping vacuumizing;

[0084] S6, introducing a protective gas into the processing chamber 1;

[0085] S7, taking out the plurality of substrates 2 on the substrate holding assembly 4 through the chamber door 11.

[0086] Exemplarily, in the step S6, the protective gas can be introduced into the processing chamber 1 through the gas inlet 12 to avoid the seed layer 21 from being oxidized again after the pre-treatment. The step S7 comprises driving the substrate holding assembly 4 to move along the vertical direction to take out the plurality of substrates 2 held on the substrate holding assembly 4 through the chamber door 11. For details about how to take out the substrates 2 from the plurality of holding mechanisms 42, please refer to the above description about the process of placing the substrates 2, which will not be repeated here.

[0087] Embodiment four

[0088] The fourth embodiment discloses a substrate processing apparatus, which comprises a substrate plating device 303 and a seed layer pretreatment device 302. The seed layer pretreatment device 302 comprises the seed layer pretreatment device in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. Please refer to Figure 10 Fig. 4 shows a layout of the substrate processing apparatus in the fourth embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus comprises a substrate loading station 301, a seed layer pretreatment device 302 and a substrate plating device 303 from front to back. The substrate loading station 301 loads a plurality of substrates, which have seed layers. The seed layer surface can form an oxide layer due to exposure to air. A first substrate transfer robot 304 is arranged between the substrate loading station 301 and the seed layer pretreatment device 302, which is used to transfer the substrate on the substrate loading station 301 to the seed layer pretreatment device 302 to reduce the oxide layer on the seed layer surface.

[0089] Exemplarily, the fourth embodiment further comprises a second substrate transfer robot 305, which is used to transfer the substrate between the seed layer pretreatment device 302 and the substrate plating device 303. In other possible embodiments, other treatments are needed before the substrate is plated, such as pre-wetting treatment. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a pre-wetting treatment device. After the seed layer pretreatment device 302 performs seed layer pretreatment on the substrate, the substrate is transferred to the pre-wetting treatment device to perform pre-wetting treatment, and then is transferred to the plating device to perform plating treatment.

[0090] It should be understood that in other possible embodiments, the substrate processing apparatus can further comprise a cleaning device, which is used to clean the substrate after plating treatment, and an annealing device, which is used to anneal the substrate after plating treatment.

[0091] The above embodiments are only illustrative of the principles and effects of the present application, but not used to limit the present application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or adjust the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or adjustments completed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical thought of the present application should be covered by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A seed layer pretreatment device, characterized in that, include: The processing chamber includes a chamber door, an air inlet, and an air outlet. The cavity door is used for the substrate to enter and exit the processing cavity, the surface of the substrate has a seed layer, the air inlet is used to introduce reducing gas into the processing cavity, and the exhaust port is used to discharge the gas in the processing cavity. A plasma generator is used to excite a reducing gas introduced into the processing chamber to generate plasma; A substrate holding assembly is disposed in the processing cavity for simultaneously holding multiple substrates.

2. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The substrate holding assembly includes a support and multiple sets of holding mechanisms. The multiple sets of holding mechanisms are mounted on the support and arranged along the extension direction of the support. Each set of holding mechanisms is used to hold one substrate.

3. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a rotation drive mechanism for driving the substrate holding assembly to rotate, wherein the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly is parallel to the extension direction of the substrate holding assembly.

4. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a deflection drive mechanism for driving the substrate holding assembly to deflect in order to change the angle between the flow direction of the plasma and the surface of the substrate.

5. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a moving mechanism connected to the substrate holding assembly for driving the substrate holding assembly to move between a process position and a loading / unloading position.

6. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes an air curtain mechanism, which is located at the cavity door.

7. The seed layer pretreatment apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a diffuser plate having multiple through holes, the diffuser plate having its surface facing the substrate holding assembly, and the diffuser plate being located between the air inlet and / or the exhaust port and the substrate holding assembly.

8. A seed layer pretreatment method, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1, holding multiple substrates on a substrate holding assembly within a processing cavity, wherein the surface of the substrate has a seed layer; S2, Evacuate the processing chamber; S3, introduce reducing gas into the processing chamber; S4, the plasma generator is activated to excite the reducing gas introduced into the processing chamber to generate plasma, thereby exposing the seed layer to the plasma to reduce the oxide on the surface of the seed layer to the metal constituting the seed layer.

9. The seed layer pretreatment method according to claim 8, characterized in that, S4 further includes: The substrate holding assembly is driven to rotate, and the rotation axis of the substrate holding assembly is parallel to the extension direction of the substrate holding assembly.

10. The seed layer pretreatment method according to claim 8, characterized in that, S4 further includes: The substrate holding assembly is deflected to change the angle between the plasma flow direction and the surface of the seed layer.

11. The seed layer pretreatment method according to claim 8, characterized in that, S1 includes: The substrate holding assembly is driven to move between a process position and a loading / unloading position to hold multiple substrates on the substrate holding assembly through a cavity.

12. The seed layer pretreatment method according to claim 8, characterized in that, Following S4, the following is also included: S5, shut down the plasma generator and stop vacuuming; S6, introduce protective gas into the processing chamber; S7, take out multiple substrates from the substrate holding assembly through the cavity door in sequence.

13. The seed layer pretreatment method according to claim 12, characterized in that, S7 includes: The substrate holding assembly is driven to move between a process position and a loading / unloading position to remove multiple substrates held on the substrate holding assembly through a cavity.

14. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that, Includes the seed layer pretreatment apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images