A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a semiconductor manufacturing method

Abstract

The application discloses a semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a semiconductor manufacturing method, and belongs to the technical field of semiconductor equipment. The equipment comprises a transfer chamber, a pre-cleaning chamber and an epitaxial chamber connected with the transfer chamber. A heating assembly is arranged on the top of the transfer chamber and covers a wafer transfer path between the pre-cleaning chamber and the epitaxial chamber, and is used for heating a front surface of the wafer during the transfer process. A mechanical arm assembly is arranged in the chamber, and a wafer bearing part of a second mechanical arm is provided with a heating piece and is used for heating a back surface of the wafer to keep the front and back surfaces at a same temperature. The wafer is heated during the transfer process, water and oxygen adsorption is inhibited, a temperature gradient is eliminated, thermal stress and dislocation defects are reduced, and therefore the uniformity of the thickness of an epitaxial layer and the crystal quality are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, and in particular to a semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a semiconductor manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] Epitaxial growth is a crucial process for depositing thin films on wafers, and the quality of these films determines the electrical characteristics and yield of the final devices. To ensure the quality of the epitaxially grown crystals, wafers must undergo pre-cleaning in a pre-cleaning chamber before entering the epitaxial chamber to remove the oxide layer on the surface and obtain a clean surface. After pre-cleaning in the pre-cleaning chamber, the wafers are transferred to the epitaxial chamber via a transfer chamber.

[0003] However, in actual production, it has been found that although the pre-cleaning chamber can remove the oxide layer on the wafer surface, when the wafer is transferred through the transfer chamber for epitaxial growth, the wafer surface still exhibits uneven distribution of epitaxial layer thickness, accompanied by the generation of crystal defects such as dislocations, which affects the performance and reliability of semiconductor devices. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a semiconductor manufacturing method to solve the problem in the prior art that when a wafer is transferred from a pre-cleaning process to an epitaxial growth chamber through a transfer chamber, uneven distribution of epitaxial layer thickness and crystal defects such as dislocations still occur on the wafer surface.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solution: In a first aspect, this application provides a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: Wafer loading chamber, used for loading wafers; The transfer chamber is connected to the wafer loading chamber; A pre-cleaning chamber, connected to the transfer chamber, is used to receive wafers from the wafer loading chamber for surface cleaning of the wafers; An epitaxial chamber, connected to the transmission chamber, is used to receive the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber and to grow a thin film on the wafer; The transmission chamber includes: Vacuum cavity; A robotic arm assembly, located within the vacuum chamber, is used to transfer wafers between the wafer loading chamber, the pre-cleaning chamber, and the epitaxial chamber; A heating assembly, located at the top of the vacuum chamber, is used to heat the front side of the wafer during wafer transfer; the irradiation area of ​​the heating assembly within the vacuum chamber covers the wafer transfer path along which the robotic arm assembly transfers the wafer, after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber, to the epitaxial chamber.

[0006] In some embodiments, the transmission chamber includes: The upstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the wafer loading chamber and the pre-cleaning chamber; The downstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the pre-cleaning chamber and the epitaxial chamber; The heating component is located in the downstream transmission zone and is used to make the temperature of the downstream transmission zone higher than that of the upstream transmission zone.

[0007] In some embodiments, the robotic arm assembly includes: A first robotic arm is configured to transfer a wafer from the wafer loading chamber to the pre-cleaning chamber via the upstream transfer area. A second robotic arm is configured to transfer a wafer, after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber, through the downstream transfer area to the epitaxial chamber. The second robotic arm includes: The arm body has a wafer carrier at its end, which is used to contact the back side of the wafer; A heating element is disposed on the arm body and is used to heat the wafer carrier portion so that the temperature of the back side of the wafer is the same as the temperature of the front side of the wafer.

[0008] In some embodiments, the robotic arm assembly further includes: A first motion controller is electrically connected to the second robotic arm; the first motion controller is configured to control the second robotic arm to control the transfer time of the wafer after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber to the epitaxial chamber to a first preset time. A first temperature controller is electrically connected to the heating element; the first temperature controller is configured to control the heating element to heat the wafer carrier to a first preset temperature.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first preset duration is 3 to 5 seconds, and the first preset temperature is 180 to 200°C.

[0010] In some embodiments, the transmission chamber further includes: A cooling assembly, located in the upstream transport region, is used to cool the wafer retrieved from the epitaxial chamber; The second robotic arm is further configured to transfer the wafer from the epitaxial chamber to the cooling assembly; The first robotic arm is also configured to transfer a wafer cooled by the cooling assembly to the wafer loading chamber.

[0011] In some embodiments, the cooling assembly includes: A cooling tray for holding and cooling the wafers removed from the epitaxial chamber; A second temperature controller is electrically connected to the cooling plate; the second temperature controller is configured to control the cooling plate to cool the wafer on the cooling plate to a second preset temperature.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first motion controller is further configured to control the second robotic arm to keep the wafer removed from the epitaxial chamber in the downstream transmission area for a second preset duration.

[0013] In some embodiments, the second preset duration is 5~8s, and the second preset temperature is 30~40℃.

[0014] In some embodiments, the edge of the wafer carrier is arc-shaped, and the radius of the arc is greater than or equal to the radius of the wafer; the wafer carrier is provided with three parallel clearance grooves.

[0015] In some embodiments, the heating assembly includes: Several heating lamps; A reflector having a downward-facing concave surface; The heating lamp is located within the concave surface of the reflector; the reflector is used to focus the infrared thermal energy emitted by the plurality of heating lamps to cover the wafer transfer path from the pre-cleaning chamber to the epitaxial chamber.

[0016] In some embodiments, the irradiation areas of any two adjacent heating lamps at least partially overlap.

[0017] Secondly, this application provides a semiconductor manufacturing method applied to the aforementioned semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the semiconductor manufacturing method comprising the following steps: The wafers in the wafer loading chamber are transferred to the pre-cleaning chamber using a robotic arm assembly; The pre-cleaning chamber is used to perform surface cleaning on the wafer; The pre-cleaned wafer is transferred to the epitaxial chamber by a robotic arm assembly, and the wafer is heated by a heating assembly at the top of the transfer chamber during the transfer process to suppress the adsorption of water and oxygen on the wafer surface. Thin films are grown on the wafer surface using the epitaxial chamber.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: This application uses a combination of irradiation by the heating components of the transfer chamber and heating by the robotic arm during the wafer transfer process to uniformly heat the wafer to a first preset temperature. The desorption effect generated by the high temperature inhibits the adsorption of water and oxygen on the wafer surface, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the wafer surface before epitaxial growth. The uniformity of temperature on both sides of the wafer eliminates the longitudinal temperature gradient inside the wafer, avoids warping and non-uniform thermal expansion caused by temperature differences, ensures uniform heating after the wafer enters the epitaxial chamber, and optimizes the thickness, doping uniformity and stress distribution of the epitaxial film; at the same time, the full contact design between the wafer carrier and the back of the wafer promotes uniform heat transfer and further ensures heating consistency. Compared to traditional cold-arm transport, the preheated robotic arm delivers the wafer into the epitaxial chamber at a higher temperature, reducing the temperature rise range, decreasing the accumulation of thermal stress inside the wafer, and avoiding initial slip and dislocation nucleation caused by severe thermal shock. After epitaxy, the preheated robotic arm enables the slow and uniform cooling of the high-temperature wafer, suppressing mismatch stress and uniaxial tensile stress caused by the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of heterojunctions, and preventing dislocation regeneration, thin film deterioration, and wafer warping. The heating assembly adopts a lamp array design with overlapping adjacent irradiation areas, which eliminates the cold zone formed by edge light intensity attenuation and ensures that the wafer is always in a blind-zone-free, continuous and uniform thermal irradiation field on the transfer path, so that it is heated evenly. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are one embodiment of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the robotic arm assembly provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a semiconductor manufacturing method provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following detailed description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, further illustrates the solution proposed by the present invention. The advantages and features of the present invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, used only to facilitate and clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention. Please refer to the drawings to make the objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrative purposes to aid those skilled in the art and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of the present invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in proportions, or adjustments to the size, without affecting the effects and objectives achieved by the present invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the present invention.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall structure of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided in this application embodiment is shown. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes a front-end module 1, a wafer loading chamber 2, a transfer chamber 3, a pre-cleaning chamber 4, and an epitaxial chamber 5. The transfer chamber 3, serving as the hub connecting the wafer loading chamber 2, the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and the epitaxial chamber 5, is located in the central region of the equipment. The wafer loading chamber 2, the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and the epitaxial chamber 5 are all arranged around and connected to the transfer chamber 3 to facilitate the transfer and processing of wafers between different chambers.

[0022] Specifically, the wafer loading chamber 2 is connected to the front-end module 1 of the equipment and is located on one side of the transfer chamber 3, used to hold wafers to be processed or wafers that have already been processed. The pre-cleaning chamber 4 and the epitaxial chamber 5 are respectively connected to the transfer chamber 3. The pre-cleaning chamber 4 is used for surface cleaning of the wafers, and the epitaxial chamber 5 is used for growing thin films on the wafer surface. A vacuum environment is formed inside the transfer chamber 3 to transfer wafers between the aforementioned chambers, thus isolating them from external atmospheric contamination. A robotic arm assembly 301 for transferring wafers is installed inside the transfer chamber 3. The robotic arm assembly 301 is configured to move between the wafer loading chamber 2, the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and the epitaxial chamber 5 to achieve wafer transfer.

[0023] After being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber 4, the wafer is transferred to the epitaxial chamber 5 via the transfer chamber 3 for epitaxial growth. However, in actual production, it has been found that even after the surface cleaning treatment in the pre-cleaning chamber 4, the wafer still exhibits uneven epitaxial layer thickness distribution on its surface after transfer and growth in the epitaxial chamber 5, accompanied by the generation of crystal defects such as dislocations, which affects the performance of semiconductor devices.

[0024] While the industry has extensively discussed the mechanisms underlying the uneven thickness distribution and crystal defects such as dislocations that occur during epitaxial growth of wafers after pre-cleaning, and has attempted to improve the situation through various optimization methods, the results have been minimal. The root cause lies in the failure to understand the fundamental reason for this problem. Through in-depth theoretical analysis and experimental research, the applicant discovered that the fundamental cause of this problem is: after pre-cleaning, the wafer surface has high atomic activity. However, when the robotic arm assembly 301 transfers the wafer within the transfer chamber 3, residual moisture and oxygen within the chamber cause water and oxygen impurities to be adsorbed onto the wafer surface. This adsorption leads to the re-formation of an uneven oxide layer on the wafer surface. This oxide layer affects the growth sites for subsequent epitaxial growth, resulting in uneven epitaxial layer thickness distribution and crystal defects such as dislocations.

[0025] Based on the discovery of the mechanism by which water and oxygen adsorption on the wafer surface leads to uneven epitaxial layer thickness distribution and crystal defects, the applicant provides a semiconductor manufacturing device that aims to suppress the adsorption of water and oxygen on the wafer surface by controlling the environment in which the wafer is located during the transport process, thereby ensuring the quality of epitaxial growth.

[0026] Please continue reading. Figure 1 The semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided in this application includes: Wafer loading chamber 2 is used for loading wafers; The transfer chamber 3 is connected to the wafer loading chamber 2; The pre-cleaning chamber 4 is connected to the transfer chamber 3 and is used to receive wafers from the wafer loading chamber 2 for surface cleaning treatment of the wafers. Epitaxial chamber 5, connected to the transmission chamber 3, is used to receive the wafer after it has been processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and to grow a thin film on the wafer; The transmission chamber 3 includes: A vacuum chamber is used to provide a vacuum transport environment to reduce contamination of the wafer during transport. The robotic arm assembly 301 is located inside the vacuum chamber and is used to transfer wafers between the wafer loading chamber 2, the pre-cleaning chamber 4 and the epitaxial chamber 5; Heating component 302, located at the top of the vacuum chamber, is used to heat the front side of the wafer during wafer transfer; the irradiation area of ​​heating component 302 in the vacuum chamber covers the wafer transfer path of the robotic arm assembly 301 transferring the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5.

[0027] For details, please continue reading. Figure 1 The wafer processing process includes: The robotic arm assembly 301 transfers the wafer located in the wafer loading chamber 2 to the pre-cleaning chamber 4; The pre-cleaning chamber 4 performs surface cleaning on the received wafers to remove the oxide layer and impurities on the surface, making the wafer surface clean. The robotic arm assembly 301 transfers the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 back to the transfer chamber 3 and continues to transfer it to the epitaxial chamber 5; during this transfer process, the heating assembly 302 irradiates and heats the front side of the wafer located on the wafer transfer path from the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5. The robotic arm assembly 301 transfers the heated wafer to the epitaxial chamber 5, where thin film growth is performed on the wafer surface.

[0028] The transmission chamber 3 further includes: Vacuum assembly (not in) Figure 1 As shown in the figure, it is connected to the vacuum chamber and is used to evacuate the vacuum chamber to maintain the vacuum environment of the vacuum chamber.

[0029] Through the above-described structural design, this application achieves at least the following technical effects: On the one hand, in traditional semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the ambient temperature inside the transfer chamber 3 is maintained at around 25°C. However, the applicant's research found that at a temperature of around 25°C, residual water vapor and oxygen in the vacuum chamber are easily adsorbed onto the pre-cleaned wafer surface, leading to the formation of an uneven oxide layer on the wafer surface. This application, by using a heating component 302 installed in the transfer chamber 3, can actively heat the front side of the wafer during wafer transfer. The increased wafer surface temperature after heating reduces the adsorption rate and amount of water and oxygen impurities on the wafer surface, suppressing water and oxygen adsorption during the vacuum transfer period after pre-cleaning and before epitaxy, thereby preventing the reformation of the oxide layer, ensuring the surface cleanliness of the wafer when it enters the epitaxial chamber 5, and thus ensuring the quality of epitaxial growth.

[0030] On the other hand, during operation, the heating component 302 not only heats the wafer located on the robotic arm component 301, but also irradiates and heats the path area through which the robotic arm component 301 transfers the wafer, creating a localized high-temperature environment in this transfer path area. Because the temperature in this path area is increased, the thermal energy within the area increases, thereby reducing the adsorption tendency of water vapor and oxygen in this area and on the wafer surface, and promoting the thermal desorption and volatilization of residual water vapor molecules. Combined with the vacuuming operation performed by the vacuuming component on the vacuum chamber, free and volatilized water and oxygen impurities can be extracted from the vacuum chamber more quickly and efficiently.

[0031] For the best options, please continue reading. Figure 1 ,by Figure 1 Based on the orientation shown, the transmission chamber 3 is divided into two transmission regions. With the horizontally extending virtual center line (i.e., the horizontal geometric center line of the transmission chamber 3) as the boundary, the region located on the side of the virtual center line closer to the wafer loading chamber 2 constitutes the upstream transmission region, and the region located on the side of the virtual center line closer to the epitaxial chamber 5 constitutes the downstream transmission region. by Figure 1 Taking the semiconductor manufacturing equipment shown as an example, given that it includes two pre-cleaning chambers 4 arranged opposite each other on both sides of the transfer chamber 3, the virtual center line can be the line connecting the centers of the two pre-cleaning chambers 4; in addition, the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is also equipped with two wafer loading chambers 2 and two epitaxial chambers 5, and all of the above chambers are connected to the transfer chamber 3; in terms of spatial layout, the two wafer loading chambers 2 are located on one side of the virtual center line, while the two epitaxial chambers 5 are distributed on the other side of the virtual center line; It should be noted that the specific number of the wafer loading chamber 2, the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and the epitaxial chamber 5 is only an example, and those skilled in the art can flexibly adjust the number of each chamber according to actual process requirements; The upstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the wafer loading chamber 2 and the pre-cleaning chamber 4; the downstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the pre-cleaning chamber 4 and the epitaxial chamber 5; the heating component 302 is located in the downstream transport area and is configured to heat the downstream transport area so that the ambient temperature of the downstream transport area is higher than that of the upstream transport area, thereby creating a high-temperature transport environment in the downstream transport area.

[0032] Preferably, no heating component is provided in the upstream transport area; the surface of the wafer needs to be pre-cleaned before entering the pre-cleaning chamber 4, so heating is not required in the upstream transport area; by providing heating component 302 only in the downstream transport area, the energy consumption of the equipment is reduced.

[0033] Preferably, the robotic arm assembly 301 includes: A first robotic arm 3011 is configured to transfer a wafer from the wafer loading chamber 2 to the pre-cleaning chamber 4 via the upstream transfer area. The second robotic arm 3012 is configured to transfer the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5 through the downstream transfer area. The second robotic arm 3012 includes: The arm body has a wafer carrier at its end, which is used to contact the back side of the wafer; Heating element 30121 is disposed on the arm body and is used to heat the wafer carrier portion so that the temperature of the back side of the wafer is the same as the temperature of the front side of the wafer.

[0034] The technical advantages of providing a heating element 30121 on the second robotic arm 3012 include at least the following: After the wafer is processed in the pre-cleaning chamber 4, its surface is in a clean state. During the transfer to the epitaxial chamber 5, it is easy to adsorb water and oxygen from the environment of the transfer chamber 3, which leads to the regeneration of the oxide layer on the wafer surface or surface contamination. The wafer is continuously heated by the heating element 30121 of the second robotic arm 3012 to keep the wafer at a high temperature. The high temperature generates a desorption effect, which inhibits the adsorption of water and oxygen on the wafer surface and provides a clean substrate for high-quality epitaxial growth. During the wafer transfer process where the second robotic arm 3012 transfers the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5, the temperature of the back side of the wafer is kept consistent with that of the front side by controlling the heating element 30121. This consistency of front and back temperatures eliminates the longitudinal temperature gradient inside the wafer, suppressing warping deformation or non-uniform thermal expansion caused by the longitudinal temperature gradient. The uniform heating state ensures the uniformity of the wafer's heating, so that after the wafer enters the epitaxial chamber 5, all positions of the wafer can reach the epitaxial process temperature more uniformly, eliminating the growth rate difference caused by local temperature differences, thus optimizing the thickness uniformity, doping uniformity, and stress distribution of the epitaxial film and improving the consistency of the epitaxial layer material. After the second robotic arm 3012 with heating element 30121 preheats the wafer to a first preset temperature, it is transferred to the epitaxial chamber 5. The wafer temperature is then raised from the first preset temperature (which can be 180~200℃, for example, 200℃) to the epitaxial process temperature (which can be 600~1200℃, for example, 600℃) to begin epitaxial growth. Compared with traditional cold arm transfer, this process only needs to withstand a small temperature jump, achieving a gentle temperature rise. This low thermal stress heating process reduces the accumulation of thermal stress inside the wafer, thereby suppressing the initial slip and dislocation nucleation caused by severe thermal shock before epitaxial growth, ensuring the quality of the wafer. After epitaxial growth is completed, a second robotic arm 3012 with a heating element 30121 extends into the epitaxial chamber 5 to grasp the wafer at the epitaxial process temperature (≥600°C). Since the second robotic arm 3012 has been preheated to the first preset temperature, the process of the wafer cooling down from the epitaxial process temperature to the first preset temperature is a slow cooling rather than a sudden cooling. This is especially important for wafers with heterojunction thin films such as germanium-silicon. Slow cooling suppresses the shrinkage mismatch caused by the large difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the silicon substrate and the germanium-silicon epitaxial layer, thereby eliminating the resulting thermal stress. This not only prevents the nucleation of new dislocations and the regeneration or slippage of existing dislocations, but also ensures the stability of the lattice structure of the germanium-silicon thin film and improves the uniformity of the germanium composition. When the wafer is removed from epitaxial chamber 5, it carries a high epitaxial process temperature. If the second robotic arm 3012 is not heated (i.e., in a cold arm state), the low-temperature robotic arm will cause a rapid local cooling of the wafer upon contact with the high-temperature wafer, resulting in thermal shock. This thermal shock will generate thermal stress inside the wafer, easily inducing irreversible crystal defects such as dislocations and slip lines. This thermal shock is particularly fatal to lattice-mismatched materials (such as SiGe and Si). The SiGe epitaxial layer itself has lattice mismatch; if it encounters a sudden large temperature difference, the strain energy accumulated inside cannot be released through a smooth relaxation process, instead inducing sudden lattice distortion, leading to… Dislocations penetrate from the substrate to the SiGe epitaxial layer, forming a high-density dislocation network. In this application, the second robotic arm 3012 is preheated to a first preset temperature by the heating element 30121, so that the hot second robotic arm 3012 contacts the hot wafer at the epitaxial process temperature. This reduces the temperature difference at the contact interface, thereby preventing strain instability caused by sudden cooling, suppressing the generation of penetrating dislocations, and improving the crystal quality and device yield of the epitaxial film. Furthermore, reducing the temperature difference at the contact interface can also reduce the warpage of the wafer, maintain the flatness of the wafer, thereby eliminating the risk of transfer cards and fragments caused by wafer warpage and improving the transfer safety of the epitaxial process. After the wafer is removed from the epitaxial chamber 5, its heat dissipation rate is relatively slow because the upper surface of the wafer is covered by the epitaxial film; while the lower surface is in contact with the second robotic arm 3012. If a cold arm is used, the lower surface of the wafer will cool down and shrink rapidly, while the upper surface will remain in a high-temperature expansion state. This difference in cooling rate between the upper and lower surfaces will form uniaxial tensile stress inside the film. This tensile stress will not only lead to the deterioration of the film quality, but also affect the subsequent electrical performance of the device. This application reduces the cooling rate of the lower surface of the wafer by preheating with a thermal robotic arm, so that the entire wafer can achieve uniform cooling, thereby suppressing the uniaxial tensile stress caused by asymmetric heat dissipation and ensuring the quality of the film and the reliability of the device.

[0035] Optionally, the first robotic arm 3011 is not equipped with a heating element 30121, and the temperature of the first robotic arm 3011 is at room temperature, for example, 25°C; the first robotic arm 3011 is configured to perform wafer transfer operations under no heating conditions.

[0036] Optionally, the pre-cleaning temperature of the pre-cleaning chamber 4 is 40-80℃, the pre-cleaning pressure is 0.1-10 torr, and the temperature of the wafer entering and exiting the pre-cleaning chamber 4 is close to room temperature. Therefore, the first robotic arm is used to transfer the wafer from the wafer loading chamber 2 to the pre-cleaning chamber 4, and from the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the wafer loading chamber 2.

[0037] Optionally, the epitaxial chamber 5 can be an atmospheric pressure epitaxial chamber or a depressurized epitaxial chamber; If the epitaxial chamber 5 is an atmospheric pressure epitaxial chamber, then the epitaxial process temperature is 600-1200℃ and the epitaxial process pressure is 10-300 torr; If the epitaxial chamber 5 is a depressurized epitaxial chamber, then the epitaxial process temperature is 1000-1200℃ and the epitaxial process pressure is 750 torr.

[0038] Optionally, the first robotic arm 3011 and / or the second robotic arm 3012 may be made of high-temperature resistant silicon oxide ceramic.

[0039] Optionally, the robotic arm assembly 301 further includes: A first motion controller is electrically connected to the second robotic arm 3012. The first motion controller is configured to control the second robotic arm 3012 to transfer the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5 for a first preset time, that is, the heating time in the downstream transfer area of ​​the transfer chamber 3 is the first preset time. A first temperature controller is electrically connected to the heating element 30121; the first temperature controller is configured to control the heating element 30121 to heat the wafer carrier to a first preset temperature. The heating element 30121 may be a heating resistance wire embedded in the second robotic arm 3012. The second robotic arm 3012 also has a thermocouple sensor 30122 embedded in it. The thermocouple sensor 30122 is connected to the first temperature controller. The first temperature controller adjusts the heating power of the heating element 30121 based on the temperature measured by the thermocouple sensor 30122, so that the wafer carrier is heated to a first preset temperature.

[0040] Preferably, the first preset duration is 3~5s and the first preset temperature is 180~200℃.

[0041] Optionally, the transmission chamber 3 further includes: Cooling assembly 303, located in the upstream transport region, is used to cool the wafer taken out from the epitaxial chamber 5; The second robotic arm 3012 is also configured to transfer the wafer in the epitaxial chamber 5 to the cooling assembly 303, so that the wafer is further cooled on the cooling assembly 303; The first robotic arm 3011 is also configured to transfer the wafer cooled by the cooling assembly 303 to the wafer loading chamber 2.

[0042] Optionally, the cooling assembly 303 includes: A cooling tray is used to hold and cool the wafers taken out from the epitaxial chamber 5; A second temperature controller is electrically connected to the cooling plate; the second temperature controller is configured to control the cooling plate to cool the wafer on the cooling plate to a second preset temperature, which may be 30~40°C.

[0043] Optionally, the first motion controller is further configured to control the second robotic arm 3012 to keep the wafer taken out of the epitaxial chamber 5 in the downstream transmission area for a second preset time, that is, to pre-cool the wafer taken out of the epitaxial chamber 5 in the transmission chamber 3 for a second preset time before it enters the cooling assembly 303. It should be noted that the "stay" here does not mean that the second robotic arm 3012 must remain stationary or in a fixed position within the second preset time period. Rather, it refers to the duration during which the wafer taken out from the epitaxial chamber 5 is physically located within the downstream transmission area and has not entered the cooling component 303. In other words, within the second preset time period, the second robotic arm 3012 can carry the wafer for pose adjustment, rotation, or smooth movement. As long as the wafer has not left the downstream transmission area and has not entered the cooling component 303, it is considered to be within the second preset time period of staying in the downstream transmission area.

[0044] Optionally, the second preset duration is 5~8s, and the second preset temperature is 30~40℃.

[0045] Optional, such as Figure 2 As shown, the edge of the wafer carrier is arc-shaped, and the radius of the arc is greater than or equal to the radius of the wafer; the wafer carrier is provided with three parallel clearance grooves.

[0046] Optional, please continue reading Figure 2The three clearance slots include a first clearance slot, a second clearance slot, and a third clearance slot. The three clearance slots are parallel to each other and are used to avoid the lifting pin in the extension chamber 5. The second clearance slot is located between the first clearance slot and the third clearance slot, and the length of the second clearance slot is shorter than that of the first clearance slot and the length of the second clearance slot is also shorter than that of the third clearance slot.

[0047] Optionally, the outline of the wafer carrier is greater than or equal to the outline of the wafer to increase the contact area between the two; this full-surface support method enables heat to be uniformly transferred to the back of the wafer through the carrier, ensuring the uniformity of heating of the wafer during the transfer process.

[0048] Optionally, the heating assembly 302 includes: Several heating lamps; A reflector having a downward-facing concave surface; The heating lamp is located within the concave surface of the reflector; the reflector is used to focus the infrared heat energy emitted by the plurality of heating lamps to cover the wafer transfer path from the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to the epitaxial chamber 5.

[0049] Optionally, the irradiation areas of any two adjacent heating lamps overlap at least partially. By making the irradiation areas of any two adjacent heating lamps overlap at least partially, the cold zone formed by the edge light intensity attenuation of the heating lamp is eliminated, thereby ensuring that a blind-zone-free and continuous, uniform thermal irradiation field can be formed at each position of the wafer transfer path, making the wafer more uniformly heated.

[0050] like Figure 3 As shown, this application also provides a semiconductor manufacturing method applied to the aforementioned semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the semiconductor manufacturing method comprising the following steps: S1. The wafers in the wafer loading chamber 2 are transferred to the pre-cleaning chamber 4 by the robotic arm assembly 301; Specifically, the first robotic arm 3011 transfers the wafer to be processed in the wafer loading chamber 2 to the pre-cleaning chamber 4; in this step, the wafer is at room temperature (e.g., 25°C), and the first robotic arm 3011 moves in the unheated upstream transfer area to send the wafer into the pre-cleaning chamber 4. S2. The received wafers are surface-cleaned using the pre-cleaning chamber 4. Specifically, the pre-cleaning chamber 4 is controlled to pre-clean the wafer at a pre-cleaning temperature (40~80℃) and a pre-cleaning pressure (0.1~10 torr) to remove the oxide layer on the wafer surface; S3. The wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber 4 is transferred to the epitaxial chamber 5 by the robotic arm assembly 301. During the transfer process, the wafer is heated by the heating assembly 302 at the top of the transfer chamber 3 to suppress the adsorption of water and oxygen in the transfer chamber 3 on the wafer surface. The transfer process specifically includes the following steps: After the pre-cleaning chamber 4 has completed the process, the second robotic arm 3012 extends into the pre-cleaning chamber 4 to remove the cleaned wafer; The second robotic arm 3012 carries the wafer to the downstream transfer area of ​​the transfer chamber 3; at this time, the heating component 302 located at the top of the transfer chamber 3 irradiates and heats the front side of the wafer on the wafer transfer path in the downstream transfer area. While the heating component 302 is heating, the heating element 30121 set on the second robotic arm 3012 is controlled to heat the wafer carrier. The wafer carrier conducts heat with the back of the wafer, so that the temperature of the back of the wafer is consistent with the temperature of the front of the wafer. The second robotic arm 3012 is controlled to transfer in the downstream transmission area for a first preset duration (3~5s). During this period, the wafer is uniformly heated to a first preset temperature (180~200℃). The desorption effect generated by the high temperature is used to suppress the adsorption of residual water vapor and oxygen on the clean wafer surface in the vacuum transmission environment, and prevent the oxide layer from regenerating. Once the wafer temperature reaches the first preset temperature, the second robotic arm 3012 transfers the heated wafer to the epitaxial chamber 5. Before entering the epitaxial chamber 5, the high-temperature environment in the downstream transport area promotes the thermal desorption and volatilization of residual water and oxygen, and in conjunction with the vacuum environment, keeps the wafer surface clean. S4. A thin film is grown on the wafer surface using the epitaxial chamber 5; After the preheated wafer enters the epitaxial chamber 5, the temperature is raised from the first preset temperature (180~200℃) to the epitaxial process temperature (600~1200℃). Compared with traditional cold arm transfer, this temperature rise process with a smaller temperature span reduces the accumulation of thermal stress inside the wafer and suppresses the initial slip and dislocation nucleation caused by thermal shock. Subsequently, under the set epitaxial process pressure, an epitaxial thin film is grown on the wafer surface.

[0051] Optionally, the semiconductor manufacturing method further includes the following steps: S5. After the epitaxial growth is completed, the second robotic arm 3012 extends into the epitaxial chamber 5 to grab the wafer at the epitaxial process temperature and carries it to stay in the downstream transport area for a second preset time (5~8s). In this step, because the wafer carrier of the second robotic arm 3012 is heated, the temperature difference between the high-temperature wafer and the carrier interface is small, and the wafer undergoes a slow cooling process, which suppresses the thermal shock caused by sudden cooling. In particular, for heterojunction thin films such as germanium-silicon, slow cooling eliminates the shrinkage mismatch stress caused by the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the silicon substrate and the epitaxial layer, preventing dislocation nucleation and regeneration. At the same time, uniform cooling suppresses the uniaxial tensile stress caused by the difference in cooling rates between the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer, ensuring the quality of the thin film. S6. The pre-cooled wafer is transferred to the cooling assembly 303 located in the upstream transport area by the second robotic arm 3012; S7. The wafer is cooled to a second preset temperature (30~40°C) using the cooling component 303. S8. The wafer cooled by the cooling assembly 303 is transferred back to the wafer loading chamber 2 by the first robotic arm 3011.

[0052] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, 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 said element. Additionally, the term "connection" in this document indicates a direct connection between A and B, or an indirect connection between A and B, such as an indirect connection between A and B via C, or even via C and D, or more components. The connection between A and B can be integral or separate, detachable or fixed. The term "optional" in this document indicates that the technical feature can be combined with or not combined with any feature in the document.

[0053] Although the present invention has been described in detail through the preferred embodiments above, it should be understood that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the present invention. Various modifications and substitutions to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the above description. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that, The semiconductor manufacturing equipment includes: Wafer loading chamber, used for loading wafers; The transfer chamber is connected to the wafer loading chamber; A pre-cleaning chamber, connected to the transfer chamber, is used to receive wafers from the wafer loading chamber for surface cleaning of the wafers; An epitaxial chamber, connected to the transmission chamber, is used to receive the wafer processed by the pre-cleaning chamber and to grow a thin film on the wafer; The transmission chamber includes: Vacuum cavity; A robotic arm assembly, located within the vacuum chamber, is used to transfer wafers between the wafer loading chamber, the pre-cleaning chamber, and the epitaxial chamber; A heating assembly, located at the top of the vacuum chamber, is used to heat the front side of the wafer during wafer transfer; the irradiation area of ​​the heating assembly within the vacuum chamber covers the wafer transfer path along which the robotic arm assembly transfers the wafer, after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber, to the epitaxial chamber.

2. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The transmission chamber includes: The upstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the wafer loading chamber and the pre-cleaning chamber; The downstream transport area is located on the wafer transfer path between the pre-cleaning chamber and the epitaxial chamber; The heating component is located in the downstream transmission zone and is used to make the temperature of the downstream transmission zone higher than that of the upstream transmission zone.

3. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The robotic arm assembly includes: A first robotic arm is configured to transfer a wafer from the wafer loading chamber to the pre-cleaning chamber via the upstream transfer area. A second robotic arm is configured to transfer a wafer, after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber, through the downstream transfer area to the epitaxial chamber. The second robotic arm includes: The arm body has a wafer carrier at its end, which is used to contact the back side of the wafer; A heating element is disposed on the arm body and is used to heat the wafer carrier portion so that the temperature of the back side of the wafer is the same as the temperature of the front side of the wafer.

4. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The robotic arm assembly also includes: A first motion controller is electrically connected to the second robotic arm; the first motion controller is configured to control the second robotic arm to control the transfer time of the wafer after being processed in the pre-cleaning chamber to the epitaxial chamber to a first preset time. A first temperature controller is electrically connected to the heating element; the first temperature controller is configured to control the heating element to heat the wafer carrier to a first preset temperature.

5. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The first preset duration is 3~5s, and the first preset temperature is 180~200℃.

6. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The transmission chamber further includes: A cooling assembly, located in the upstream transport region, is used to cool the wafer retrieved from the epitaxial chamber; The second robotic arm is further configured to transfer the wafer from the epitaxial chamber to the cooling assembly; The first robotic arm is also configured to transfer a wafer cooled by the cooling assembly to the wafer loading chamber.

7. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The cooling assembly includes: A cooling tray for holding and cooling the wafers removed from the epitaxial chamber; A second temperature controller is electrically connected to the cooling plate; the second temperature controller is configured to control the cooling plate to cool the wafer on the cooling plate to a second preset temperature.

8. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The first motion controller is also configured to control the second robotic arm to hold the wafer removed from the epitaxial chamber in the downstream transmission area for a second preset time.

9. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that, The second preset duration is 5~8s, and the second preset temperature is 30~40℃.

10. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that, The edge of the wafer carrier is arc-shaped, and the radius of the arc is greater than or equal to the radius of the wafer; the wafer carrier is provided with three parallel clearance grooves.

11. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, The heating component includes: Several heating lamps; A reflector having a downward-facing concave surface; The heating lamp is located within the concave surface of the reflector; the reflector is used to focus the infrared thermal energy emitted by the plurality of heating lamps to cover the wafer transfer path from the pre-cleaning chamber to the epitaxial chamber.

12. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that, Among the plurality of heating lamps, the irradiation areas of any two adjacent heating lamps at least partially overlap.

13. A semiconductor manufacturing method, characterized in that, The semiconductor manufacturing method, applied to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-12, comprises the following steps: The wafers in the wafer loading chamber are transferred to the pre-cleaning chamber using a robotic arm assembly; The pre-cleaning chamber is used to perform surface cleaning on the wafer; The pre-cleaned wafer is transferred to the epitaxial chamber by a robotic arm assembly, and the wafer is heated by a heating assembly at the top of the transfer chamber during the transfer process to suppress the adsorption of water and oxygen on the wafer surface. Thin films are grown on the wafer surface using the epitaxial chamber.

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