A protective structure, process chamber, protective piece, and semiconductor process equipment
By using AlN-based ceramic materials and a plasma corrosion resistant layer on the process chamber liner substrate, the problems of oxide film cracking and peeling were solved, resulting in higher process yield and longer chamber life.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BEIJING NAURA MICROELECTRONICS EQUIP CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-02
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-05
Smart Images
Figure CN122158436A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor technology, specifically to a protective structure, a process chamber, a protective component, and semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology
[0002] In the process chamber used for plasma etching, various violent chemical reactions occur inside, generating complex byproducts such as halides and oxides. Most of these byproducts are discharged from the process chamber through the vacuum system, but some remain on the inner wall of the process chamber, causing corrosion of the inner wall and various components inside, which seriously affects the service life of the process chamber and its components.
[0003] The components within the reaction chamber are typically made of aluminum and aluminum alloys. Protection of these components usually involves growing an anodized film on the surface of the aluminum alloy substrate, followed by a plasma protective coating to prevent corrosion of the process chamber. However, due to the inherent structure and manufacturing method, this structure is prone to oxide film cracking and peeling during plasma etching, leading to particulate contamination within the chamber and impacting process yield. Summary of the Invention
[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a protective structure, a process chamber, a protective component, and semiconductor process equipment, which can improve the problem of particulate contamination generated by existing linings during use.
[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, in a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a protective structure for installation on the inner wall of a process chamber to isolate the inner wall from plasma. The protective structure includes:
[0006] An inner lining substrate, for being disposed on the inner sidewall;
[0007] A protective element is disposed on the side of the inner liner substrate away from the inner sidewall. The protective element is made of AlN-based ceramic material and has an anti-plasma corrosion layer on the side away from the inner liner substrate.
[0008] Optionally, the inner lining matrix is annular with the axial direction as the vertical direction, and the inner lining matrix includes an upper annular region and a lower annular region;
[0009] The protective component is disposed on the inner side of the inner liner substrate, and the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer in the area of the upper annular region covered by the protective component is greater than the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer in the area of the lower annular region covered by the protective component.
[0010] Optionally, the protective element includes:
[0011] An upper annular plate covers the upper annular area;
[0012] A lower annular plate covers the lower annular area and is spliced to the bottom end of the upper annular plate, with the splicing surface being lower than the bearing surface of the base used to support the wafer; the roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer of the upper annular plate is greater than the roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer of the lower annular plate.
[0013] Optionally, the roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer of the upper annular plate is Ra 4μm~6.3μm; and / or,
[0014] The roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the lower annular plate is less than Ra 2.5μm.
[0015] Optionally, the upper annular plate includes:
[0016] The lower ring body is spliced to the lower annular plate at its bottom end;
[0017] The upper ring extends inward from the top of the lower ring, with a bending angle of less than 90°.
[0018] The roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the upper ring is greater than that of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the lower ring.
[0019] Optionally, a first flange is provided on the inner side of the bottom end of the lower annular region;
[0020] The lower annular plate simultaneously covers the first flange.
[0021] Optionally, a positioning groove is provided on the inner side of the top of the upper annular region;
[0022] The upper annular plate has a second flange on its outer top surface, and the bottom surface of the second flange has a step that mates with the positioning groove.
[0023] Optionally, the lining substrate is made of aluminum alloy and its surface is oxidized.
[0024] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a process chamber, including a chamber body and a protective structure as described in the above embodiments;
[0025] The protective structure is disposed within the chamber body and is used to isolate the chamber body from the internal process environment.
[0026] Optionally, the process chamber further includes:
[0027] A base, disposed within the chamber body, is used to support the wafer; the protective structure is disposed around the outside of the base;
[0028] The base has a bearing surface for supporting the wafer, and the roughness of the protective member in the area above the bearing surface is greater than the roughness of the protective member in the area below the bearing surface.
[0029] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a protective component made of AlN-based ceramic material, with an anti-plasma corrosion layer on one side. The protective component is used to isolate components in semiconductor process equipment from plasma. The component is at least one of an inner door, an adjustment bracket, a dielectric window, and an aluminum alloy part.
[0030] Fourthly, embodiments of this application also provide a semiconductor process apparatus, including the process chambers described in the above embodiments.
[0031] As described above, in the protective structure of this application, the protective component is disposed on the inner liner substrate. Since the protective component is made of AlN-based ceramic material, the anti-plasma corrosion layer is formed on the AlN-based ceramic component, not directly on the substrate. AlN-based ceramic material has high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion, as well as good thermal shock resistance and bending strength. During the fabrication of the anti-plasma corrosion layer, the AlN-based ceramic plate will not crack, preventing the anti-plasma corrosion layer from detaching with the broken AlN-based ceramic plate and contaminating the wafer. In other words, this application uses a more stable AlN-based ceramic plate as the substrate for the anti-plasma corrosion layer, thereby achieving a denser isolation between the anti-plasma corrosion layer and the inner liner substrate from corrosive gases, minimizing damage from the process environment, significantly extending the maintenance cycle of the process chamber, and reducing the maintenance costs of related components. Attached Figure Description
[0032] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.
[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a process chamber in a related technology.
[0034] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of a liner in a related technology;
[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a crack on a lining of a related technology, where (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a plan view;
[0036] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the protective structure provided in the embodiments of this application;
[0037] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of an inner liner substrate provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a schematic diagram of an aluminum alloy plate after oxidation without sealing, (b) is a schematic diagram of the gel formed during sealing deposited on the pore wall and surface, (c) is a schematic diagram of the gel condensation forming a pseudo-bohm, and (d) is a schematic diagram of recrystallization to form a bohm.
[0038] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a protective structure provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0039] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0040] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of another process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0041] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a lower annular plate provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a sectional view and (b) is a top view;
[0042] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an upper annular plate provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view.
[0043] The realization of the objectives, functional features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings have illustrated specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation
[0044] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.
[0045] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, components, features, and elements with the same names in different embodiments of this application may have the same meaning or different meanings, the specific meaning of which must be determined by its interpretation in that specific embodiment or further in conjunction with the context of that specific embodiment.
[0046] It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" or "including" indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups. The terms "or," "and / or," and "comprising at least one of the following," as used in this application, can be interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination thereof. For example, "comprising at least one of the following: A, B, C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C," and similarly, "A, B, or C" or "A, B, and / or C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C." Exceptions to this definition only occur when the combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.
[0047] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this document to describe various types of information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this document, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used in this document are intended to also include the plural forms, unless the context indicates otherwise.
[0048] It should be understood that the terms "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on this application.
[0049] For ease of description, the following embodiments are all illustrated using an orthogonal space defined by a horizontal plane and a vertical direction. This premise should not be construed as a limitation of this application.
[0050] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a process chamber structure in a related technology. Process gas enters the process chamber 10a and forms plasma 20a. Plasma 20a etches the wafer 40a located on the support component 30a. The etching reaction generates complex byproducts such as halides and oxides. Most of these byproducts are discharged from the process chamber 10a through the vacuum system 50a, but some remain inside the process chamber 10a, causing corrosion of the inner wall of the process chamber 10a and other components, severely affecting the service life of the process chamber 10a. In related technologies, to protect the inner wall of the chamber, a liner can be installed inside the process chamber, and a protective layer of corrosion-resistant material can be formed inside the liner.
[0051] Please see Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a liner in the related technology. The liner 60a includes: an aluminum alloy substrate 61a, a hard anodized layer 62a formed on the surface of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a, and a thermal spray coating 63a formed on the surface of the hard anodized layer 62a. The thermal spray coating 63a can be used to protect the inner wall of the process chamber 10a from plasma corrosion.
[0052] The applicant's research found that because the thermal spray coating 63a uses high-speed sandblasting particles to treat the hard anodized layer 62a, it can cause cracks or even breakage in the thermal spray coating 63a. Furthermore, the hard anodized layer 62a has poor temperature resistance and is prone to developing ductile cracks during thermal shock cycling (heating up → cooling down → heating up), leading to a broken oxide film layer. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a crack on a liner in a related technology, where (a) is a cross-sectional view, A is the impact fracture area, and (b) is a planar view showing the crack structure. The oxide film fracture layer is highly susceptible to detachment under high-energy ion processing conditions, leading to the detachment of the thermally sprayed coating 63a and causing particle contamination of the wafer. Based on this, this application provides a protective structure, a process chamber, a protective component, and semiconductor process equipment.
[0053] Please see Figure 4 , Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the protective structure provided in this application embodiment. The protective structure may include an inner liner substrate 10 and a protective component 20. The inner liner substrate 10 is disposed on the inner wall of the process chamber. As the main carrier of the protective structure, and considering reducing the assembly difficulty between the protective component and the protected structure (e.g., the process chamber), lightweight, high-strength materials with a certain degree of corrosion resistance are preferred, such as aluminum and aluminum alloys. Other materials may also be used; this application embodiment does not impose any particular limitation. When the inner liner substrate 10 is made of aluminum alloy, it is preferable to perform an oxidation treatment on its surface to improve its surface hardness.
[0054] Taking aluminum alloy material as an example, the inner lining substrate 10 may include an aluminum alloy plate 110 and an aluminum oxide film 120 formed on the surface of the aluminum alloy plate 110. Please also refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the fabrication process of an inner liner substrate provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a schematic diagram of an aluminum alloy plate before pore sealing after oxidation, (b) is a schematic diagram of gel deposited on the pore walls and surface during pore sealing, (c) is a schematic diagram of gel concentration forming pseudo-bohms, and (d) is a schematic diagram of recrystallization to form bohms. A honeycomb-structured alumina film 120 can be formed on the surface of the aluminum alloy plate 110 by electrolysis (e.g., ...). Figure 4 (a) Then, the alumina film 120 is sealed with steam or boiling water (e.g., ...). Figure 4 (b) and (c)) and recrystallization (e.g.) Figure 4 In step (d), expanded boehmite (hydrated alumina: AlO(OH)) is generated within the pores to seal the pores of the alumina film 120, thereby improving the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of the inner liner substrate 10. The thickness of the alumina film 120 can be 20-80 μm, which can greatly improve the surface corrosion resistance of the aluminum alloy plate 110.
[0055] The protective component 20 is disposed on the inner side wall of the liner substrate 10 away from the process chamber. For example, it can be pasted onto the liner substrate 10 or the two can be fixed by screws. The protective component 20 is made of AlN-based ceramic material (preferably with a purity > 95.0%), and has an anti-plasma corrosion layer on the side away from the inner liner substrate 10. As an example, the AlN-based ceramic plate 210 can be made by powder sintering or tape casting, and the surface of the AlN-based ceramic plate 210 is formed with uneven grooves by sandblasting (white corundum, diamond or other media) to increase the roughness. Then, molten or semi-molten anti-plasma corrosion particles are sprayed onto the surface of the AlN-based ceramic plate 210 using thermal spraying technology (or atmospheric plasma spraying technology) to form an anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 with good adhesion. The material of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can be yttrium oxide (Y2O3), yttrium fluoride (YF3), yttrium oxyfluoride (YOF), yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG / YAM / YAP) or other yttrium-doped materials, or other Y-containing materials or compounds containing elements IIIB in the periodic table. Besides plasma spraying, anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can also be fabricated using methods such as chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, suspension spraying, and aerosol deposition. The thickness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can be 50-300 μm, for example, 150-200 μm. Among these, aerosol deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and physical vapor deposition, due to their reactive deposition processes, result in stronger adhesion between the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 and the AlN-based ceramic plate 210. The AlN-based ceramic plate 210 does not require sandblasting, and a grinding process is unnecessary after the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 is applied.
[0056] In the protective structure of this embodiment, the protective component 20 is disposed on the inner liner substrate 10. Since the protective component 20 is made of AlN-based ceramic material, the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 is formed on the AlN-based ceramic component, not directly on the substrate 10. AlN-based ceramic material has high thermal conductivity (approximately 320 W / m·K, which is 5 times that of Al2O3 ceramic) and low coefficient of thermal expansion (4.5 × 10⁻⁶). -6 The temperature is close to that of SiC, and it has good thermal shock resistance and bending strength (350-400 MPa). When fabricating the plasma etch-resistant layer 220, the AlN-based ceramic plate 210 will not crack, preventing the plasma etch-resistant layer 220 from detaching along with the broken AlN-based ceramic plate 210 and contaminating the wafer. In this embodiment, the more stable AlN-based ceramic plate 210 is used as the substrate for the plasma etch-resistant layer 220, thus achieving denser isolation between the plasma etch-resistant layer 220 and the inner substrate 10 from corrosive gases, minimizing damage from the process environment. This significantly extends the maintenance cycle of the process chamber and reduces the maintenance costs of related components.
[0057] Understandably, when the inner lining substrate 10 is made of aluminum alloy, although the aluminum alloy substrate 61a in traditional structures has good toughness and plasticity, and the surface hardness of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a can be improved by forming a hard anodized layer 62a on the surface. For example, the bending strength of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a containing a 50-micron hard anodized layer 62a is about 250 MPa. However, under long-term vacuum bending stress, the material plasticity of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a exhibits slight deformation. Especially when a protective coating is attached to the surface of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a, the deformation of the thermally sprayed coating 63a does not match the deformation of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a, which easily leads to the risk of coating peeling. Furthermore, in a gas environment with strong water absorption (such as etching gases Cl2, HBr, etc.), water molecules in the air will combine with the gas to generate highly corrosive acid, thereby reducing the corrosion resistance of the hard anodized layer 62a. The reaction principle is as follows:
[0058] AlO(OH) + HCl → AlCl3 + H2O.
[0059] The AlN-based ceramic plate 210 has extremely high hardness, and its mechanical bending strength is higher than that of the aluminum alloy plate (350-400 MPa) 110, significantly improving its mechanical properties. Therefore, in structural components such as linings, compared to directly forming a protective coating on the hard anodized layer 62a of the aluminum alloy substrate 61a, this application adds an AlN-based ceramic plate 210 to the lining substrate 10, forming a plasma corrosion resistant layer 220 on the ceramic plate. The AlN-based ceramic plate 210 exhibits better resistance to material deformation than the conventional lining 60a, thereby reducing the risk of coating peeling due to minor deformation of the aluminum alloy plate 110.
[0060] Taking the application in protecting the inner wall of a process chamber as an example, in one embodiment, please refer to... Figure 6 and Figure 7 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a protective structure provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application. The inner liner substrate 10 of the protective structure is annular with the axial direction as the vertical direction. The inner liner substrate 10 includes an upper annular region 11 and a lower annular region 12. The upper annular region 11 and the lower annular region 12 can be integrally formed or assembled from separate components. The protective member 20 is disposed on the inner surface of the inner liner substrate 10. The roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the area (upper region) covered by the protective member 20 covering the upper annular region 11 is greater than the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the area (lower region) covered by the protective member 20 covering the lower annular region 12.
[0061] During the etching process, in the high-concentration plasma region B corresponding to the upper region, the plasma is accelerated to the wafer surface to undergo the etching reaction. Etching byproducts are pumped out of the process chamber. Before the etching process, a silicon dioxide coating (WAC) is formed on the inner surface of the process chamber by introducing gas to protect the components within the chamber. Within a certain range of surface roughness, higher surface roughness facilitates the deposition of a process coating, and the adhesion of the deposited coating is also stronger. Setting a higher roughness in the upper region of the high-concentration plasma region B increases the adhesion of the process coating and byproducts, preventing insufficient adhesion and the resulting particle contamination from falling onto the wafer. As an example, the roughness of the anti-plasma etching layer in the upper region is Ra4–6.3 μm.
[0062] It is understood that the aforementioned protective component 20 can be integrally formed or assembled from discrete components. As an example of a discrete assembly structure, the protective component 20 may include: an upper annular plate 21 and a lower annular plate 22, the upper annular plate 21 covering the upper annular region 11, the lower annular plate 22 covering the lower annular region 12, the roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer 220 of the upper annular plate 21 being greater than the roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer 220 of the lower annular plate 22, and the upper annular plate 21 being spliced to the bottom end of the lower annular plate 21, and the splicing surface 101 being lower than the bearing surface of the base 300 used to support the wafer. In this embodiment, the splicing surface 101 is positioned lower than the bearing surface of the base 300, meaning the splicing surface 101 is located in the byproduct region A (the region below the dotted line in the figure). This ensures that the surface of the complete upper annular plate 21 is in contact with the high-concentration plasma region B. Exposing the splicing surface 101 to the byproduct region A reduces the risk of it coming into contact with discrete plasma, and also reduces the risk of particles attached to the splicing surface 101 detaching onto the wafer surface. It should be noted that the splicing surface 101 can rely on the inherent corrosion resistance of the ceramic itself, eliminating the need for additional coatings to improve its resistance to plasma corrosion. For example, the upper annular region 11 can be connected to the chamber body 100 via screws, and the lower annular region 12 can be connected to the inner liner substrate 10 via screws.
[0063] The lower annular plate 22 corresponds to the by-product region A below the wafer. During etching, this region mainly consists of rarefied plasma and by-product gases generated by the etching reaction. The surface of the lower annular plate 22 is mainly affected by the deposition and corrosion of by-products. If the roughness is too large, the by-products will be adsorbed and deposited on the lower annular plate 22 and will not be easily removed by the molecular pump, which will greatly affect the lifespan of the lower annular plate 22. Therefore, the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 of the lower annular plate 22 is low, which facilitates the rapid removal of by-products generated by the etching process and avoids the accumulation of by-products.
[0064] As an example, when the upper and lower annular plates are separate assembly structures, a high-roughness anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can be fabricated simultaneously on both the upper annular plate 21 and the lower annular plate 22. Then, the lower annular plate 22 can be ground separately to remove sharp surface irregularities, thereby reducing the surface roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 on the lower annular plate 22. After grinding, the roughness can be reduced to less than Ra 2.5 μm. Specifically, the lower annular plate 22 can be clamped on a rotary table, and the surface of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can be ground using a scouring pad. During the grinding process, ultrapure water is used to rinse and remove impurities. When the upper and lower annular plates are an integral structure, a high-roughness anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 can be fabricated simultaneously on the entire structure, and only the corresponding area of the lower annular plate can be ground to reduce the roughness.
[0065] In one embodiment, see Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of another process chamber provided in this embodiment. The upper annular plate 21 may include a lower annular body 211 and an upper annular body 212. The bottom end of the lower annular body 211 is spliced with the lower annular plate 22. The upper annular body 212 extends inward from the top end of the lower annular body 211, and the bending angle is less than 90°. Furthermore, the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 of the upper annular body 212 is greater than the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer 220 of the lower annular body 211. The protective component 20 of this embodiment is generally divided into an upper part (upper annular body 212, high roughness), a middle part (lower annular body 211, medium roughness), and a lower part (lower annular plate 22, low roughness) from top to bottom. The upper annular body 212, as an inclined surface, has more contact with by-products and therefore has the highest roughness. It can adsorb a large amount of by-products to improve the adsorption capacity of the upper annular plate 21 and increase the maintenance cycle.
[0066] In one embodiment, see Figure 6 and Figure 7 A first flange 121 is provided on the inner side of the bottom end of the lower annular region 12 of the inner lining substrate 10, and the lower annular plate 22 of the protective component 20 simultaneously covers the first flange 121. By providing the first flange 121, the lower annular plate 22 can be supported, facilitating assembly. Please refer to... Figure 9 , Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a lower annular plate provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a top view. Positioning holes 221 and fixing holes 222 can be provided on the lower annular plate 22. During assembly, positioning pins 223 pass through positioning holes 221 to position the lower annular plate 22 and the inner liner substrate 10 onto the lower electrode, and screws 224 lock the lower annular plate 22 and the inner liner substrate 10 onto the lower electrode through fixing holes 222.
[0067] In one embodiment, see Figure 7 and Figure 10 , Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of an upper annular plate structure provided in an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a bottom view. A positioning groove 111 is provided on the inner side of the top end of the upper annular area 11 of the inner lining substrate 10. A second flange 213 is provided on the outer side of the top end of the upper annular plate 21 of the protective member 20. A step 214 that cooperates with the positioning groove 111 is provided on the bottom surface of the second flange 213. When the upper annular plate 21 covers the upper annular area 11 of the inner lining substrate 10, it can be assembled and positioned by the cooperation structure of the positioning groove 111 and the step 214. The second flange 213 of the upper annular plate 21 and the top end of the upper annular area 11 of the inner lining substrate 10 can be positioned by a pin hole structure 215. The second flange 213 of the upper annular plate 21 and the top surface of the side wall of the chamber body 100 can be fixed by screws 216.
[0068] In one embodiment, see Figure 6 and Figure 8 This application also provides a process chamber, including a chamber body 100 and a protective structure 200 as described in the above embodiments. The protective structure 200 is disposed within the chamber body 100 and is used to isolate the chamber body 100 from the internal process environment.
[0069] Further, please refer to Figures 6-8 The process chamber may also include a base 300, which is disposed within the chamber body 100 for supporting the wafer, and a protective structure 200 is disposed around the outside of the base 300.
[0070] In other embodiments, this application also provides a protective component made of AlN-based ceramic material, with one side having an anti-plasma corrosion layer. That is, the structure of the protective component includes an AlN-based ceramic plate 210 and an anti-plasma corrosion layer 220, without the need for an inner substrate 10. The protective component 20 of the aforementioned embodiments can be directly used to isolate components in semiconductor process equipment from plasma. The components in the semiconductor process equipment can be at least one of an inner door, an adjustment bracket, a dielectric window, and an aluminum alloy part.
[0071] This application also provides a semiconductor process apparatus, which may include the process chambers described in the above embodiments.
[0072] For other working principles and processes of the process chamber and semiconductor process equipment in this embodiment, please refer to the description of the protective structure in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.
[0073] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of the protective structure, process chamber, protective component, and semiconductor process equipment provided in this application. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. It should be noted that the descriptions of each embodiment in this application have different emphases; parts not described in detail or in a particular embodiment can be referred to in the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.
[0074] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and do not limit the patent scope of this application. The technical features of the technical solution of this application can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are also included within the patent protection scope of this application, as long as the combination of these technical features does not contradict each other.
Claims
1. A protective structure for installation on the inner wall of a process chamber to isolate the inner wall from plasma, characterized in that, The protective structure includes: An inner lining substrate, for being disposed on the inner sidewall; A protective element is disposed on the side of the inner liner substrate away from the inner sidewall. The protective element is made of AlN-based ceramic material and has a plasma corrosion resistant layer on the side away from the inner liner substrate.
2. The protective structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner lining matrix is annular with the axial direction as the vertical direction, and the inner lining matrix includes an upper annular region and a lower annular region; The protective component is disposed on the inner side of the inner liner substrate, and the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer in the area of the upper annular region covered by the protective component is greater than the roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer in the area of the lower annular region covered by the protective component.
3. The protective structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The protective component includes: An upper annular plate covers the upper annular area; A lower annular plate covers the lower annular area and is spliced to the bottom end of the upper annular plate, with the splicing surface being lower than the bearing surface of the base used to support the wafer; The roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the upper annular plate is greater than that of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the lower annular plate.
4. The protective structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The surface roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer of the upper annular plate is Ra 4μm~6.3μm; and / or, The roughness of the plasma corrosion resistant layer of the lower annular plate is less than Ra 2.5μm.
5. The protective structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The upper annular plate includes: The lower ring body is spliced to the lower annular plate at its bottom end; The upper ring extends inward from the top of the lower ring, with a bending angle of less than 90°. The roughness of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the upper ring is greater than that of the anti-plasma corrosion layer of the lower ring.
6. The protective structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, A first flange is provided on the inner side of the bottom end of the lower annular region; The lower annular plate simultaneously covers the first flange.
7. The protective structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, A positioning groove is provided on the inner side of the top of the upper annular area; The upper annular plate has a second flange on its outer top surface, and the bottom surface of the second flange has a step that mates with the positioning groove.
8. The protective structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner lining substrate is made of aluminum alloy and its surface has been oxidized.
9. A process chamber, characterized in that, It includes a chamber body and a protective structure as described in any one of claims 1-8; The protective structure is disposed within the chamber body and is used to isolate the chamber body from the internal process environment.
10. The process chamber according to claim 9, characterized in that, Also includes: A base, disposed within the chamber body, is used to support the wafer; the protective structure is disposed around the outside of the base; The base has a bearing surface for supporting the wafer, and the roughness of the protective member in the area above the bearing surface is greater than the roughness of the protective member in the area below the bearing surface.
11. A protective component, characterized in that, Made of AlN-based ceramic material, and having a plasma-resistant corrosion layer on one side, the protective component is used to isolate components in a semiconductor process equipment from plasma, wherein the component is at least one of an inner door, an adjustment bracket, a dielectric window, and an aluminum alloy part.
12. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, Includes the process chamber as described in claim 9 or 10.