Spray head assembly and plasma processing equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a spray header assembly and plasma processing equipment. The spray header assembly comprises: a gas guide plate in which a first gas channel and two or more second gas channels are formed, the plurality of second gas channels being arranged around the first gas channel; the spraying plate is located below the gas guide plate and mechanically connected with the gas guide plate, and a gas uniformizing cavity is formed between the gas guide plate and the spraying plate; the first gas inlet pipe is communicated with the first gas channel and a reaction gas source; and two or more second gas inlet pipes, wherein each second gas inlet pipe is communicated with one second gas channel and a remote plasma source. The middle part and the edge of the reaction cavity can be fully cleaned, the cleaning efficiency is improved, and the cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor equipment, in particular to a shower head component and plasma processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] At present, in large-scale plasma processing equipment, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) equipment, atomic layer deposition (ALD) equipment, plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) equipment or other etching and deposition equipment, cleaning of the interior of the vacuum chamber and the substrate is a necessary operation to ensure the cleanliness of the interior of the vacuum chamber.

[0003] In the related art, for cleaning of vacuum plasma processing chambers, a remote plasma source (RPS) is usually used to excite the cleaning gas into an active particle state, for example, ionizing NF3 into N atoms and F radicals, which are then transported to the reaction chamber through a pipeline, and the F radicals react chemically with the film layer or particulate impurities in the chamber. Currently, the remote plasma source is connected to the gas pipeline at the top center of the reaction chamber, and the F radicals are passed into the center of the chamber. However, this cleaning method will result in the edge of the chamber not being fully cleaned when the cleaning time is short, and the cleaning gas NF3 is expensive, and the long cleaning time will increase the cost.

[0004] In addition, when the process chamber is cleaned by generating F radicals through the remote plasma source, during the transmission process, the F radicals undergo recombination before reaching the reaction chamber, which reduces the overall cleaning effect and increases the cleaning cost. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide a shower head assembly and plasma processing equipment, which can fully clean the middle and edge of a reaction chamber, improve cleaning efficiency and reduce costs.

[0006] In order to achieve the above objectives, the utility model is implemented through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A shower head assembly, applied to plasma processing equipment, comprising:

[0008] An air guide plate, wherein a first gas channel and two or more second gas channels are provided, and a plurality of the second gas channels are arranged around the first gas channel;

[0009] A spray plate, which is located below the air guide plate and mechanically connected to the air guide plate, and a uniform air cavity is formed between the air guide plate and the spray plate;

[0010] a first gas inlet pipe, connected to the first gas channel and a reaction gas source;

[0011] There are two or more second gas inlet pipes, each of which is connected to one of the second gas channels and a remote plasma source.

[0012] Optionally, the second air inlet pipe is a straight pipe.

[0013] Optionally, the second gas channels are evenly distributed around the center of the first gas channel.

[0014] Optionally, the second gas channel includes a main channel and a branch channel connected to the main channel, the main channel is connected to the second air inlet pipe, the main channel is coaxial with the second air inlet pipe, and the branch channel is located at the periphery of the main channel.

[0015] Optionally, the air outlet of the main channel is in the shape of an open trumpet.

[0016] Optionally, the branch channel includes a plurality of air outlet holes, and the axis of each of the air outlet holes intersects with the axis of the main channel.

[0017] Optionally, the plurality of air outlet holes are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main channel.

[0018] Optionally, the branch channel is an annular channel, and the axis of the branch channel intersects with the axis of the main channel in any cross section along the axis of the main channel.

[0019] Optionally, the branch channel includes an inner side surface and an outer side surface, and a plurality of connecting parts are provided in the branch channel, and the connecting parts connect the inner side surface and the outer side surface.

[0020] Optionally, it further comprises an annular first mounting seat, an annular second mounting seat and an upper cover plate, wherein the lower surface of the first mounting seat is used to be sealed and connected to the chamber wall of the plasma processing equipment, the gas guide plate is sealed and connected to the inner side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat, the second mounting seat is sealed and connected to the outer side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat, and the upper cover plate covers the upper surface of the second mounting seat;

[0021] The upper cover plate is provided with a plurality of through holes, and each of the first air inlet pipe and the second air inlet pipe is connected with the gas channel on the air guide plate after passing through one of the through holes.

[0022] Optionally, the first mounting seat is provided with a bracket, the bracket extends above the upper cover plate, the projection of the bracket on the air guide plate passes through the center of the air guide plate, and the air guide plate is fixedly connected to the bracket via a stud;

[0023] The second air inlet pipes are distributed on both sides of the bracket.

[0024] Optionally, the remote plasma sources are located on both sides of the support.

[0025] A plasma processing device, comprising:

[0026] Reaction chamber;

[0027] The showerhead assembly as described above is arranged at the top of the reaction chamber;

[0028] A base assembly, disposed at the bottom of the reaction chamber, for carrying the wafer;

[0029] a reaction gas source, connected to the first gas inlet pipe in the shower head assembly, for providing reaction gas to the reaction chamber;

[0030] A cleaning gas source is connected to the remote plasma source in the shower head assembly and is used to provide cleaning gas to the remote plasma source.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the utility model has the following advantages:

[0032] The shower head assembly and plasma processing equipment provided by the utility model are characterized in that the reaction gas is introduced into the first gas channel in the gas guide plate through the first air inlet pipe, diffused in the uniform gas chamber, and then introduced into the reaction chamber through the shower plate. Multiple remote plasma sources introduce the clean gas containing active particles into multiple second air inlet pipes, enter the uniform gas chamber through the multiple second gas channels on the gas guide plate, diffused in the uniform gas chamber, and then introduced into the reaction chamber through the shower plate. Since the multiple second gas channels are arranged around the first gas channel, the clean gas can be fully diffused in the uniform gas chamber, so that the clean gas can be evenly distributed in the middle and edge of the reaction chamber. Compared with the prior art solution of using one remote plasma source, the utility model uses multiple remote plasma sources and multiple second gas channels, which can improve the synchronization of cleaning the middle and edge of the reaction chamber, so that the middle and edge of the reaction chamber can be fully cleaned, improving the cleaning efficiency, and at the same time reducing the use of clean gas and reducing costs.

[0033] The second air inlet pipe in the utility model adopts a straight pipe design, and the cleaning gas excited by the remote plasma source does not need to pass through the bent pipe, which reduces the recombination rate of F radicals, thereby further improving the cleaning efficiency and reducing the cleaning cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the utility model, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the description. Obviously, the drawings described below are an embodiment of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work:

[0035] Figure 1It is a structural diagram of an existing plasma processing device;

[0036] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of a plasma processing device provided by the utility model;

[0037] Figure 3 Another structural diagram of the second gas channel provided by the utility model;

[0038] Figure 4 This is another structural diagram of the second gas channel provided by the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The scheme proposed by the utility model is further described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods. According to the following description, the advantages and features of the utility model will be clearer. It should be noted that the accompanying drawings adopt a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, which are only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose of the implementation method of the utility model. In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the utility model more obvious and easy to understand, please refer to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the structure, proportion, size, etc. illustrated by the accompanying drawings of this specification are only used to match the content disclosed in the specification, so that people familiar with this technology can understand and read, and are not used to limit the limiting conditions for the implementation of the utility model, so it has no technical substantive significance. Any modification of the structure, change of the proportional relationship or adjustment of the size, without affecting the effect that the utility model can produce and the purpose that can be achieved, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed by the utility model.

[0040] After the plasma treatment equipment runs for a period of time, it is necessary to introduce clean gas in the form of active particles to clean the reaction chamber. Figure 1 , an existing plasma processing device has an air inlet pipe 1 at the center of the top. Since the top of the device has a bracket 2 (for opening the reaction chamber), the input end of the air inlet pipe 1 needs to be connected to a three-way pipe 3. The first input end of the three-way pipe 3 is connected to the reaction gas source for providing reaction gas to the reaction chamber. The second input end of the three-way pipe is connected to a remote plasma source, which is connected to a clean gas source to excite the clean gas provided by the clean gas source into an active particle state, which is input into the reaction chamber to clean the inner wall of the chamber. For large plasma processing equipment, since the clean gas in the active particle state is introduced into the reaction chamber from the center of the top of the reaction chamber, the gas volume in the middle of the reaction chamber is greater than the gas volume at the edge, so that the edge of the reaction chamber cannot be fully cleaned. If the cleaning time is extended or the clean gas flow rate is increased to increase the gas density at the edge of the reaction chamber so as to fully clean the edge, the cost of the clean gas will be greatly increased.

[0041] In order to solve the above problems, the utility model provides a shower head assembly and a plasma processing device. Figure 2 As shown, the plasma processing equipment includes: a reaction chamber 100, the shape of the reaction chamber 100 can be Figure 1 The square shape shown may also be a cylindrical shape or other shapes, which is not limited in the present embodiment; a shower head assembly is arranged at the top of the reaction chamber 100, and the shower head assembly will be described in detail below; a base assembly 200 is arranged at the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, and is used to carry the wafer W; a reaction gas source (not shown in the figure) is connected to the first air inlet pipe in the shower head assembly, and is used to provide reaction gas to the reaction chamber 100; a cleaning gas source (not shown in the figure) is connected to the remote plasma source in the shower head assembly, and is used to provide cleaning gas to the remote plasma source.

[0042] The shower head assembly is described in detail below. Figure 2 As shown, the shower head assembly in this embodiment includes: an air guide plate 310, in which a first gas channel 311 and two or more second gas channels 312 are opened, and a plurality of second gas channels 312 are arranged around the first gas channel 311; a shower plate 320, which is located below the air guide plate 310 and is mechanically connected to the air guide plate 310, and a uniform gas chamber Q is formed between the air guide plate 310 and the shower plate 320, and a densely distributed spray hole is provided on the shower plate 320 for passing the reaction gas and the cleaning gas in the uniform gas chamber Q into the reaction chamber 100; a first air inlet pipe 330, connecting the first gas channel 311 and the reaction gas source; two or more second air inlet pipes 340, each second air inlet pipe 340 connecting one of the second gas channels 312 and a remote plasma source 350.

[0043] By using the shower head assembly of the present embodiment, the reaction gas is introduced into the first gas channel 311 in the gas guide plate 310 through the first gas inlet pipe 330, diffused in the gas uniforming chamber Q and then introduced into the reaction chamber 100 through the shower plate 320. The multiple remote plasma sources 350 introduce the cleaning gas in the active particle state into the multiple second gas inlet pipes 340, and enter the gas uniforming chamber Q through the multiple second gas channels 312 on the gas guide plate 310, diffused in the gas uniforming chamber Q and then introduced into the reaction chamber 100 through the shower plate 320. Since the multiple second gas channels 312 are arranged around the first gas channel 311 and the second gas channels 312 are not concentrated in the central area, the cleaning gas can more easily reach the edge area after being fully diffused in the gas uniforming chamber Q, so that the cleaning gas can be evenly distributed in the middle and edge of the reaction chamber 100, thereby improving the synchronization of cleaning the middle and edge of the reaction chamber 100, so that the middle and edge of the reaction chamber 100 can be fully cleaned, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency, and at the same time reducing the amount of cleaning gas used and reducing costs.

[0044] In this embodiment, the first gas channel 311 is located at the center of the gas guide plate 310 , and the second gas channel 312 is evenly distributed around the center of the first gas channel 311 , thereby further improving the distribution uniformity of the cleaning gas in the middle and edge of the reaction chamber 100 .

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown, in one embodiment, the second gas channel 312 is a through hole that passes through the upper and lower surfaces of the air guide plate 310, the second air inlet pipe 340 is sealed and connected to the air inlet at the upper part of the second gas channel 312, and the air outlet at the lower part of the second gas channel 312 is shaped like an open trumpet to facilitate the diffusion of the clean gas in the uniform air chamber W.

[0046] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, in other embodiments, the second gas channel 312 includes a main channel 3121 and a branch channel 3122 connected to the main channel 3121, the main channel 3121 is connected to the second air inlet pipe 340, the main channel 3121 is coaxial with the second air inlet pipe 340, and the branch channel 3122 is located at the periphery of the main channel 3121. The main channel 3121 is a through hole that passes through the upper and lower surfaces of the air guide plate 310, and the branch channel 3122 connects the main channel 3121 and the uniform gas cavity Q. The clean gas enters the main channel 3121 from the second air inlet pipe 340, most of it can enter the uniform gas cavity Q through the main channel 3121, and a part of it can enter the uniform gas cavity Q through the branch channel 3122. By setting the main channel 3121 and the branch channel 3122, the guiding effect of the pipeline to different areas can be achieved by adding branches laterally when setting as few second gas channels as possible, which can help the clean gas to diffuse quickly in the uniform gas cavity Q and improve the uniform gas effect.

[0047] Furthermore, the shape of the gas outlet of the main channel 3121 is an open trumpet shape, so as to facilitate the diffusion of the clean gas in the gas uniformity cavity Q.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, the branch channel 3122 may include a plurality of air outlets, and the axis of each of the air outlets intersects with the axis of the main channel 3121, that is, a plurality of long strip-shaped air outlets extend outward from the main channel 3121 in a dendrite-like manner to form the branch channel 3122. Since the F free radicals in the clean gas in the active particle state are unstable and prone to recombination, especially in a curved pipe, the recombination rate will be higher. Therefore, the air outlet of the branch channel 3122 is set as an inclined straight hole, which can reduce the recombination rate of the F free radicals at the connection between the branch channel 3122 and the main channel 3121, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency and reducing the cleaning cost. Furthermore, the plurality of air outlets are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main channel 3121 to improve the gas uniformity effect.

[0049] like Figure 4 As shown, the branch channel 3122 may also be an annular channel, and the axis of the branch channel 3122 intersects with the axis of the main channel 3121 on any cross section along the axis of the main channel 3121. The branch channel 3122 is set as an inclined annular channel, that is, the branch channel 3122 in this embodiment is formed between two conical side walls, which can reduce the recombination rate of F radicals in the branch channel 3122 on the one hand, and increase the flow area of ​​the clean gas on the other hand, thereby increasing the flow rate of the clean gas. Further, the branch channel 3122 includes an inner side surface close to the gas outlet of the main channel 3121 and an outer side surface of the gas outlet away from the main channel 3121, and a plurality of connecting parts 3123 are provided in the branch channel 3122, and the connecting parts 3123 connect the inner side surface and the outer side surface. The connecting parts 3123 are evenly distributed in the branch channel 3122, and the size and number are appropriate, so as to avoid excessive increase of the recombination rate of F radicals in the branch channel 3122 under the premise of providing sufficient connection strength.

[0050] Please refer to Figure 1 Since the air inlet pipe 1 is connected to the remote plasma source through the tee pipe 3, the recombination rate of F radicals is increased when the cleaning gas in the active particle state passes through the right-angle bend of the tee pipe 3. Based on this, in this embodiment, the second air inlet pipe 340 is a straight pipe, and the cleaning gas excited by the remote plasma source does not need to pass through the bend, which reduces the recombination rate of F radicals, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency and reducing the cleaning cost.

[0051] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the shower head assembly also includes an annular first mounting seat 360, an annular second mounting seat 370 and an upper cover plate 380, the lower surface of the first mounting seat 360 is used to be sealed and connected to the chamber wall 110 of the plasma processing equipment, the air guide plate 310 is sealed and connected to the inner side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat 360, the second mounting seat 370 is sealed and connected to the outer side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat 360, and the upper cover plate 380 covers the upper surface of the second mounting seat 370; the upper cover plate 380 is provided with a plurality of through holes, and each of the first air inlet pipe 330 and the second air inlet pipe 340 passes through one of the through holes and is connected to the gas channel on the air guide plate 310.

[0052] The first mounting base 360 ​​is provided with a bracket 361, combined with Figure 1As shown, the bracket 361 extends above the upper cover plate 380, and the projection of the bracket 361 on the air guide plate 310 passes through the center of the air guide plate 310. The air guide plate 310 is fixedly connected to the bracket 361 through a stud 362. Optionally, the air guide plate 310 is fixedly connected to the bracket 361 through two studs 362 (specifically, they can be studs), and the two studs 362 are close to the center of the air guide plate 310 and are symmetrically distributed to prevent the middle of the air guide plate 310 from sinking. Figure 2 As shown, the first air inlet pipe 330 is located at the center of the air guide plate 310, that is, directly below the bracket 361, and the second air inlet pipe 340 is distributed on both sides of the bracket 361, so as to avoid interference with the bracket 361, so as to facilitate the second air inlet pipe 340 to adopt a straight pipe form. Accordingly, the remote plasma source 350 is located on both sides of the bracket 361, so as to facilitate connection with the second air inlet pipe 340 of the straight pipe.

[0053] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0054] Although the content of the utility model has been described in detail through the above preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated that the above description should not be considered as a limitation of the utility model. After reading the above content, various modifications and substitutions of the utility model will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the protection scope of the utility model should be limited by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A shower head assembly, applied to a plasma processing device, characterized in that: include: An air guide plate, wherein a first gas channel and two or more second gas channels are provided, and a plurality of the second gas channels are arranged around the first gas channel; A spray plate, which is located below the air guide plate and mechanically connected to the air guide plate, and a uniform air cavity is formed between the air guide plate and the spray plate; a first gas inlet pipe, connected to the first gas channel and a reaction gas source; There are two or more second gas inlet pipes, each of which is connected to one of the second gas channels and a remote plasma source.

2. The showerhead assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The second air inlet pipe is a straight pipe.

3. The showerhead assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The second gas channels are evenly distributed around the center of the first gas channel.

4. The showerhead assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The second gas channel includes a main channel and a branch channel connected to the main channel, the main channel is connected to the second air inlet pipe, the main channel is coaxial with the second air inlet pipe, and the branch channel is located at the periphery of the main channel.

5. The showerhead assembly according to claim 4, wherein: The air outlet of the main channel is in the shape of an open trumpet.

6. The showerhead assembly according to claim 4, wherein: The branch channel includes a plurality of air outlet holes, and the axis of each of the air outlet holes intersects with the axis of the main channel.

7. The showerhead assembly according to claim 6, wherein: The plurality of air outlet holes are evenly distributed along the circumference of the main channel.

8. The showerhead assembly according to claim 4, wherein: The branch channel is an annular channel, and the axis of the branch channel intersects with the axis of the main channel in any cross section along the axis of the main channel.

9. The showerhead assembly according to claim 8, wherein: The branch channel comprises an inner side surface and an outer side surface. A plurality of connecting parts are arranged in the branch channel, and the connecting parts connect the inner side surface and the outer side surface.

10. The showerhead assembly according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes an annular first mounting seat, an annular second mounting seat and an upper cover plate, wherein the lower surface of the first mounting seat is used to be sealed and connected to the chamber wall of the plasma processing equipment, the gas guide plate is sealed and connected to the inner side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat, the second mounting seat is sealed and connected to the outer side of the upper surface of the first mounting seat, and the upper cover plate covers the upper surface of the second mounting seat; The upper cover plate is provided with a plurality of through holes, and each of the first air inlet pipe and the second air inlet pipe is connected with the gas channel on the air guide plate after passing through one of the through holes.

11. The showerhead assembly according to claim 10, wherein: The first mounting seat is provided with a bracket, the bracket extends to the top of the upper cover plate, the projection of the bracket on the air guide plate passes through the center of the air guide plate, and the air guide plate is fixedly connected to the bracket by a stud; The second air inlet pipes are distributed on both sides of the bracket.

12. The showerhead assembly according to claim 11, wherein: The remote plasma sources are located on both sides of the support.

13. A plasma processing device, characterized in that: include: Reaction chamber; The showerhead assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12, arranged at the top of the reaction chamber; A base assembly, disposed at the bottom of the reaction chamber, for carrying the wafer; a reaction gas source, connected to the first gas inlet pipe in the shower head assembly, for providing reaction gas to the reaction chamber; A cleaning gas source is connected to the remote plasma source in the shower head assembly and is used to provide cleaning gas to the remote plasma source.

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