Temperature control mechanism and tubular PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to a temperature control mechanism and tubular PECVD equipment, the temperature control mechanism comprises an inner thermocouple assembly and an auxiliary heating lamp assembly, the inner thermocouple assembly comprises an inner thermocouple sleeve, the inner thermocouple sleeve is made of a silicon carbide material, and the peripheral surfaces of the two ends of the inner thermocouple sleeve are respectively coated with an insulating coating; the auxiliary heating lamp assembly comprises an auxiliary heating sleeve, and the two ends of the auxiliary heating sleeve are connected to a furnace mouth flange box and a furnace tail flange. According to the mechanism, the internal temperature of the tubular PECVD equipment is monitored and controlled through the internal thermocouple assembly and the auxiliary heating lamp assembly, so that the stable coating of the equipment is met, the strength of the internal thermocouple assembly is enhanced by adopting a silicon carbide material, the internal thermocouple assembly can be prevented from deforming or bursting at a high temperature, and the service life of the equipment is prolonged. Meanwhile, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly is supported and separated through the auxiliary heating lamp supporting frame, collision and breakage of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly in the using process can be avoided, and the replacement frequency is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of photovoltaic cell manufacturing equipment, in particular to a temperature control mechanism and a tubular PECVD device. Background Art

[0002] Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is a type of chemical vapor deposition, and its most prominent advantage is its low deposition temperature. PECVD technology uses low-temperature plasma to generate glow discharge on the cathode of the process chamber under low pressure, uses glow discharge to heat the sample to a predetermined temperature, and then introduces an appropriate amount of process gas. These gases undergo a series of chemical reactions and plasma reactions, and finally form a solid film on the surface of the sample. The film deposited by PECVD has excellent electrical properties, good substrate adhesion and excellent step coverage, making it widely used in the fields of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, optoelectronic devices, MEMS, etc.

[0003] When using PECVD technology to prepare thin films, the graphite boat is located in the reaction chamber. Since the graphite boat generally adopts a vertical insert structure, the outer boat blades of the graphite boat have a large heating area and can be easily heated by the furnace body; while the boat blades and silicon wafers in the middle of the graphite boat are far away from the heating body, and the middle boat blade receives less radiation area from the heating body, so it is more difficult to heat; the traditional method is to achieve uniform heating of the middle boat blade by extending the constant temperature time, but extending the heating time will greatly reduce the coating capacity of the equipment. Utility Model Content

[0004] In order to overcome the above-mentioned deficiencies of the prior art, the utility model provides a temperature control mechanism and a tubular PECVD device to meet the above-mentioned requirements for equipment performance and process temperature, and specifically adopts the following technical solutions:

[0005] A temperature control mechanism, characterized in that it comprises at least one set of internal thermocouple components and at least one set of auxiliary heat lamp components, wherein the internal thermocouple components are used to monitor the temperature change inside the tubular PECVD device, and the auxiliary heat lamp components are used to heat the graphite boat inside the tubular PECVD device;

[0006] The inner thermocouple assembly comprises an inner thermocouple sleeve, a thermocouple electrode and a thermocouple wire; the thermocouple wire is located in the inner thermocouple sleeve and connected to the thermocouple electrode;

[0007] The auxiliary heating lamp assembly includes an auxiliary heating sleeve and an auxiliary heating lamp tube; the auxiliary heating lamp tube is located inside the auxiliary heating sleeve, one end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube extends out of the end of the auxiliary heating sleeve, and the end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube is connected to an external power supply;

[0008] The auxiliary heating lamp assembly includes two groups, one group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies is arranged above the graphite boat, and the other group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies is arranged below the graphite boat.

[0009] Optionally, the temperature control mechanism further includes a temperature controller, and the temperature controller is capable of controlling the temperature of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly.

[0010] Optionally, the inner thermocouple assembly further comprises a fixing rod, on which a fixing ring is further provided, and the inner thermocouple assembly can pass through the fixing ring.

[0011] Optionally, the fixing ring is made of heat insulating material.

[0012] Optionally, the inner thermocouple sleeve is made of silicon carbide material.

[0013] Optionally, the end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is coated with an insulating layer.

[0014] Optionally, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly further includes an auxiliary heating lamp bracket, and a grille is provided on the auxiliary heating lamp bracket.

[0015] A tubular PECVD device, wherein a temperature control mechanism is provided inside the PECVD device; the characteristics are:

[0016] The PECVD equipment comprises a furnace mouth flange and a furnace tail flange, one end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange, and the other end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace tail flange.

[0017] Optionally, one end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange, and the other end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace tail flange.

[0018] Optionally, the PECVD device further comprises a graphite boat, wherein the graphite boat extends along the axial extension direction of the tubular PECVD device.

[0019] The technical solution of the utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The temperature control mechanism of the utility model realizes monitoring and control of the internal temperature of the tubular PECVD equipment through the internal thermocouple assembly and the auxiliary heating lamp assembly to ensure the stability of the equipment coating, and the internal thermocouple assembly adopts SiC material to enhance its own strength, which can avoid deformation or bursting of the internal thermocouple assembly at high temperature and improve the stability of the equipment; at the same time, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly can realize end support and separation through the auxiliary heating lamp support frame, which can avoid collision and breakage of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly during use, reduce the replacement frequency, and thus increase the life of the corresponding quartz tube or sealing ring. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the temperature control mechanism in the utility model.

[0022] Figure 2It is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the internal thermocouple assembly and the internal couple fixing rod in the utility model.

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the surface structure of the inner thermocouple sleeve in the inner thermocouple assembly of the utility model.

[0024] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the auxiliary heating lamp support frame in the utility model.

[0025] 1-furnace mouth flange; 2-furnace tail flange; 3-auxiliary heating lamp assembly; 4-auxiliary heating lamp support frame; 401-grid; 5-internal thermocouple assembly; 501-silicon carbide; 502-insulating coating; 6-graphite boat; 7-internal couple fixing rod; 8-fixing ring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The utility model is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the utility model, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the utility model. It should be pointed out that the following detailed descriptions are all exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the present application.

[0027] Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to the present application. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, it indicates the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] In order to solve the problem of uneven heating of the graphite boat in the prior art, the problem of uniform heating of the middle boat blade is achieved by extending the constant temperature time. In order to reduce the process time and improve the uniformity of coating, the present application proposes to add an auxiliary heating mechanism in the reaction chamber to perform auxiliary heating on the top and bottom of the graphite boat separately, so that the temperature uniformity of the graphite boat and the silicon wafer inside it is better to meet the process temperature requirements. The auxiliary heating device can shorten the process time, thereby improving the production capacity and performance of the equipment. In addition, the present application also proposes to add a temperature monitoring device to more accurately control the problems inside the PECBD equipment and heat the graphite boat more evenly.

[0029] Combined with Figure 1-4As shown, this embodiment specifically discloses a temperature control mechanism, which can be applied to a tubular PECVD device to realize temperature monitoring and control. The temperature control mechanism includes at least one set of internal thermocouple components 5 and at least one set of auxiliary heating lamp components 3. The internal thermocouple components 5 are used to monitor the temperature changes inside the tubular PECVD device, and the auxiliary heating lamp components 3 are used to heat the inside of the tubular PECVD device. The graphite boat is located inside the tubular PECVD and extends along the axial direction of the tubular PECVD device.

[0030] The auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 includes an auxiliary heating sleeve and an auxiliary heating lamp tube. One end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange 1, and the other end is connected to the furnace tail flange 2. The auxiliary heating lamp tube is located inside the auxiliary heating sleeve, and one end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube extends out of the end of the auxiliary heating sleeve, and the end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube is connected to an external power supply. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 is provided with 5 groups, of which 3 groups of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 are arranged side by side above the graphite boat 6 of the tubular PECVD equipment, and 2 groups of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 are arranged side by side below the graphite boat 6 of the tubular PECVD equipment. The graphite boat 6 can be heated and temperature controlled by the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 at the upper and lower positions of the graphite boat 6.

[0031] Advantageously, by arranging the auxiliary heating lamp assemblies above and below the graphite boat, the heating of the middle portion of the graphite boat is enhanced, so that the temperature of the graphite boat and the silicon wafers inside the graphite boat is more uniform, thereby meeting the process requirements.

[0032] Optionally, the temperature control mechanism further includes an inner thermocouple assembly 5. The inner thermocouple assembly is located on at least one side of the graphite boat 6 in the tubular PECVD device. The inner thermocouple assembly 5 includes an inner thermocouple sleeve, a thermocouple electrode, and a thermocouple wire, wherein one end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange 1, and an inner thermocouple fixing rod 7 is provided between the inner thermocouple sleeve and the furnace mouth flange 1, one end of the inner thermocouple fixing rod 7 is fixed to the inner ring surface of the furnace mouth flange 1 by screws, and the other end is provided with at least one fixing ring 8, and the fixing ring 8 is coaxially connected to the end of the inner thermocouple sleeve. The other end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace tail flange 2, and the end face of the furnace tail flange 2 is provided with an inner thermocouple fixing hole, and the inner thermocouple sleeve extends from the inner thermocouple fixing hole to the fixing ring 8 of the inner thermocouple fixing rod 7; when installing the inner thermocouple sleeve, it is only necessary to extend the inner thermocouple sleeve from the inner thermocouple fixing hole of the furnace tail flange 2, and the end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is horizontally extended to the fixing ring 8 of the inner thermocouple fixing rod 7 on the furnace mouth flange 1, so that the inner thermocouple sleeve can be fixed. The fixing ring 8 is made of heat-insulating material. The temperature control mechanism also includes a temperature controller, and the temperature controller can adjust the temperature of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3. The temperature controller can control the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 according to the temperature detected by the inner thermocouple assembly. For example, it is set that 5 groups of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies 3 are heated to a certain temperature at the same time, or the temperature of a certain group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies 3 can be controlled separately.

[0033] Advantageously, by providing an internal thermocouple assembly and a temperature controller, the temperature inside the PECVD apparatus can be more accurately controlled.

[0034] More beneficially, the inner thermocouple assembly can be easily fixed inside the PECVD device by using a fixing rod and a fixing ring. The inner thermocouple assembly can be fixed by simply inserting the end of the inner thermocouple sleeve into the fixing ring. At the same time, the fixing ring 8 is made of a heat-insulating material to prevent the heat of the PECVD device housing from being transferred to the measurement accuracy of the inner thermocouple assembly.

[0035] Optionally, the inner thermocouple sleeve 501 is made of silicon carbide.

[0036] Advantageously, compared with stainless steel or quartz materials, silicon carbide has the characteristics of corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, high strength, good thermal conductivity, and impact resistance. The inner thermocouple sleeve made of SiC material has the characteristics of high strength, high temperature resistance, and impact resistance, which can avoid frequent damage and replacement of the inner thermocouple sleeve.

[0037] Optionally, the outer circumferential surfaces of both ends of the inner thermocouple sleeve are respectively coated with a layer of insulating coating 502, and the ports of the inner thermocouple sleeve are completely closed.

[0038] Advantageously, the inner thermocouple sleeve is made of SiC material, which is a semiconductor material. Providing an insulating coating can prevent the inner thermocouple sleeve from being electrically conductive with the reaction chamber during the processing process. When in use, the port of the inner thermocouple sleeve is completely closed to ensure the sealing effect of the reaction chamber.

[0039] Optionally, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 in this embodiment includes an auxiliary heating sleeve and an auxiliary heating lamp tube, one end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange 1, and the other end is connected to the furnace tail flange 2; the auxiliary heating lamp tube is located inside the auxiliary heating sleeve, one end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube extends out of the end of the auxiliary heating sleeve, and the end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube is connected to an external power supply. It should be noted that the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 in this embodiment is provided with 5 groups, of which 3 groups of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 are arranged side by side above the graphite boat 6 of the tubular PECVD equipment, and 2 groups of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 are arranged side by side below the graphite boat 6 of the tubular PECVD equipment, and the graphite boat 6 can be heated and temperature controlled by the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 at the upper and lower positions of the graphite boat 6. Furthermore, an auxiliary heating lamp support frame 4 is provided on the furnace tail flange 2 at a position corresponding to the auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3, and a plurality of grids 401 are provided on the auxiliary heating lamp support frame 4, and each grid 401 is connected to a group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies 3. The auxiliary heating lamp assembly 3 can be supported by the auxiliary heating lamp support frame 4, and the grids 401 of the auxiliary heating lamp support frame 4 can prevent the auxiliary heating lamp assemblies 3 from colliding with each other, thereby preventing the auxiliary heating lamp assemblies 3 from breaking.

[0040] Advantageously, the auxiliary heating lamp assembly can be fixed by the support frame and prevented from collision and breakage.

[0041] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A temperature control mechanism, characterized in that: It includes at least one group of internal thermocouple components and at least one group of auxiliary heat lamp components, wherein the internal thermocouple components are used to monitor the temperature change inside the tubular PECVD device, and the auxiliary heat lamp components are used to heat the graphite boat in the tubular PECVD device; The inner thermocouple assembly comprises an inner thermocouple sleeve, a thermocouple electrode and a thermocouple wire; the thermocouple wire is located in the inner thermocouple sleeve and connected to the thermocouple electrode; The auxiliary heating lamp assembly includes an auxiliary heating sleeve and an auxiliary heating lamp tube; the auxiliary heating lamp tube is located inside the auxiliary heating sleeve, one end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube extends out of the end of the auxiliary heating sleeve, and the end of the auxiliary heating lamp tube is connected to an external power supply; The auxiliary heating lamp assembly includes two groups, one group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies is arranged above the graphite boat, and the other group of auxiliary heating lamp assemblies is arranged below the graphite boat.

2. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The temperature control mechanism further includes a temperature controller, and the temperature controller is capable of controlling the temperature of the auxiliary heating lamp assembly.

3. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The inner thermocouple assembly further comprises a fixing rod, on which a fixing ring is further arranged, and the inner thermocouple assembly can pass through the fixing ring.

4. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The fixing ring is made of heat insulating material.

5. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner thermocouple sleeve is made of silicon carbide material.

6. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The end of the inner thermowell is coated with an insulating layer.

7. The temperature control mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The auxiliary heating lamp assembly also includes an auxiliary heating lamp bracket, and a grille is arranged on the auxiliary heating lamp bracket.

8. A tubular PECVD device, wherein the temperature control mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided therein; characterized in that: The PECVD equipment comprises a furnace mouth flange and a furnace tail flange, one end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange, and the other end of the inner thermocouple sleeve is connected to the furnace tail flange.

9. A tubular PECVD device according to claim 8, characterized in that: One end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace mouth flange, and the other end of the auxiliary heating sleeve is connected to the furnace tail flange.

10. A tubular PECVD device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The PECVD device further comprises a graphite boat, wherein the graphite boat extends along an axial extension direction of the tubular PECVD device.

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