Device for monitoring particles in wafer processing equipment
By setting a particle countler and particle monitor in the wafer processing device, real -time monitoring and treatment of particles in the equipment in the equipment solve the problem of difficulty discovery and treatment of granular pollution in existing equipment, improve the product yield and equipment operation efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202420258291.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-02-01
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-28
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-02-01
AI Technical Summary
The lack of particle monitoring devices in existing wafer processing equipment makes it difficult to detect and deal with particle contamination in a timely manner, affecting product yield and equipment operation.
Design a monitoring device, including the particle counter and particle monitor, and the particle countdr is set in the gas blowing area of the wafer loading area for real -time monitoring of the number of particles; the particle monitor is set on the gas discharge pipeline for in -situ monitoring Granules in gas.
Through real -time monitoring and identifying the source of the particles, the particle abnormalities in the equipment can be treated in a timely manner, avoiding wafers pollution, reducing the scrap rate, increasing production yield, and reducing production costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN222421890U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the field of semiconductors, in particular to a device for monitoring particles in wafer processing equipment. Background Art
[0002] As a wafer processing equipment, the furnace tube processes a large number of silicon wafers. Particle contamination is a serious defect in the production of wafers, which can cause open circuits or short circuits. Especially with the development of technology, in the production technology of chip sizes getting smaller and smaller, particle contamination has become the number one killer of product yield. However, all types of furnace tube machines are currently not equipped with devices to monitor particles. Summary of the invention
[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the utility model is to provide a device for monitoring particles in wafer processing equipment, to monitor the number of particles in the wafer processing equipment, to rescue and process products in time when the number of particles exceeds the standard, to improve product yield and to avoid product scrapping.
[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the utility model provides a device for monitoring particles in wafer processing equipment, wherein the wafer processing equipment includes a wafer loading area, a process chamber and a gas exhaust pipeline; the device includes: a particle counter, which is arranged in a gas purge area of the wafer loading area, and is used to obtain the number of particles in the wafer loading area; a particle monitor, which is arranged on the gas exhaust pipeline, and is used to perform in-situ particle monitoring on the gas exhaust pipeline.
[0005] In some embodiments, the wafer processing equipment also includes a wafer boat; the wafer loading area is located at the bottom of the wafer processing equipment, and the wafers to be processed are transferred to the wafer boat from the wafer loading area; the process chamber is located above the wafer loading area, and the process chamber and the wafer loading area are isolated from each other, and the wafer boat carrying the wafers can rise to the process chamber to perform semiconductor processing, and can descend back to the wafer loading area after the process is completed; the gas exhaust pipeline is connected to the process chamber, and is used to exhaust the gas in the process chamber to provide an environment for the semiconductor process.
[0006] In some embodiments, the process chamber and the wafer loading area are separated by a movable door panel.
[0007] In some embodiments, the gas purge area is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, and an external gas source inputs purge gas into the gas purge area through the air inlet, and the air outlet is used to input purge gas into the wafer loading area; the particle counter is arranged at a position close to the air outlet.
[0008] In some embodiments, the gas purge area is also provided with: a fan and a first filter near the air inlet, the fan is used to suck the purge gas into the gas purge area through the air inlet and filter it through the first filter; and a second filter near the air outlet, the second filter is used to secondary filter the particles in the purge gas before the purge gas is input into the wafer loading area at the air outlet to prevent the particles from entering the wafer loading area.
[0009] In some embodiments, the purge gas is nitrogen.
[0010] In some embodiments, a vacuum pump is further provided on the gas exhaust pipeline for evacuating the process chamber to a vacuum state to provide a vacuum environment for the semiconductor process.
[0011] In some embodiments, a pressure detector is further disposed in the gas exhaust pipeline for detecting the pressure of the process chamber.
[0012] In some embodiments, the wafer boat is a dual wafer boat.
[0013] In some embodiments, the device further comprises an alarm module for issuing an alarm when the number of particles acquired by the particle counter is greater than a preset threshold value and / or when the particle monitor detects abnormal particles.
[0014] The utility model provides a particle counter and a particle monitor, which can not only ensure timely monitoring of the number of particles in the wafer processing equipment, but also accurately identify which steps are the main sources of particles, so that the staff can deal with the abnormal particles in the wafer processing equipment as soon as possible, and avoid the wafers to be processed from being contaminated by particles and then scrapped, thereby reducing the scrap rate of wafers, improving the wafer production yield, and reducing production costs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific implementation of the utility model, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for the description of the specific implementation. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some specific implementations of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.
[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a device for monitoring particles in a wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the utility model;
[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of gas flow of a device for monitoring particles in a wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] The following will be combined with the drawings in the specific implementation of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the specific implementation of the utility model. Obviously, the specific implementation described is only a part of the specific implementation of the utility model, not all of the specific implementation. Based on the specific implementation of the utility model, all other specific implementations obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.
[0019] Please also read Figure 1-2 ,in, Figure 1 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device for monitoring particles in a wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the utility model. Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of gas flow of a device for monitoring particles in a wafer processing device provided by an embodiment of the utility model.
[0020] See below Figure 1 The wafer processing equipment includes a wafer loading area 31, a process chamber 33 and a gas exhaust pipeline 32; the device for monitoring particles in the wafer processing equipment includes: a particle counter 11 and a particle monitor 12. The particle counter 11 is arranged in the gas purge area 310 of the wafer loading area 31, and is used to obtain the number of particles in the wafer loading area 31; the particle monitor 12 is arranged on the gas exhaust pipeline 32, and is used to perform in-situ particle monitoring on the gas exhaust pipeline 32.
[0021] The particle counter 11 can use a commercially available particle counter to measure the number of particles. Specifically, when a laser beam or other light source irradiates particles in the gas, the particles scatter the light, so that the scattered light enters the optical system of the particle counter 11, thereby obtaining the number of particles.
[0022] The particle monitor 12 can use a commercially available particle monitor for in-situ particle monitoring. Specifically, the sensor of the particle monitor 12 uses a dark field light scattering monitoring scheme with a sensitivity as low as 0.17μm. The particles in the pump line pass through the laser beam and scatter light onto the photodetector of the particle monitor 12; then, the light is converted into an electrical signal, so that the particle monitor 12 can monitor in-situ whether particles exist. For example, each voltage signal greater than 30mV is counted as a particle, and the size of the voltage signal determines the size of the particle. In-situ monitoring refers to the in-situ testing of the in-situ test object by installing sensors, collectors, and communicators to perform automated, electronic, digital, and networked continuous, dynamic, and real-time data updates.
[0023] In this embodiment, the wafer processing equipment further includes a wafer boat 331; the wafer loading area 31 is located at the bottom of the wafer processing equipment, and the wafers 19 to be processed are transferred to the wafer boat 331 in the wafer loading area 31. The process chamber 33 is located above the wafer loading area 31, and the process chamber 33 and the wafer loading area 31 are isolated from each other; the wafer boat 331 carrying the wafers 19 can rise to the process chamber 33 to perform semiconductor processing, and can descend back to the wafer loading area 31 after the process is completed. The gas exhaust pipeline 32 is connected to the process chamber 33, and is used to exhaust the gas in the process chamber 33 to provide an environment for the semiconductor process.
[0024] In this embodiment, the process chamber 33 is separated from the wafer loading area 31 by a movable door panel. In other embodiments, the process chamber 33 and the wafer loading area 31 may also be separated by other movable objects.
[0025] In this embodiment, the gas purge area is provided with an air inlet 312 and an air outlet 311. An external gas source inputs purge gas into the gas purge area through the air inlet 312. The air outlet 311 is used to input purge gas into the wafer loading area 31. The particle counter 11 is arranged near the air outlet 311. When the wafer boat 331 rises or falls, the purge gas in the wafer loading area 31 can be input into the process chamber 33. The purge gas input into the process chamber 33 is further discharged through the gas exhaust pipeline 32 connected to the process chamber 33. The gas flows to the following directions: Figure 2 In some embodiments, the purge gas may be nitrogen.
[0026] In some embodiments, the gas purge area 310 is further provided with: a fan, a first filter and a second filter (not shown). Specifically, the fan and the first filter are arranged near the air inlet 312; the fan is used to suck the purge gas into the gas purge area 310 through the air inlet 312 and filter it through the first filter. The second filter is arranged near the air outlet 311, and the second filter is used to filter the particles in the purge gas twice before the purge gas is input into the wafer loading area 31 through the air outlet 311, so as to prevent the particles from entering the wafer loading area 31. Furthermore, the first filter and the second filter can adopt air filtering and purification equipment. After the purge gas is sucked into the gas purge area 310 by the fan, it is filtered through a filter to filter out particles in the purge gas; before the purge gas is input into the wafer loading area 31 through the gas outlet 311, the filter located near the gas outlet 311 can perform secondary filtering on the output purge gas, thereby preventing the particles in the purge gas from entering the wafer loading area 31 and preventing particle contamination during process implementation; the particle counter 11 arranged near the gas outlet 311 can directly capture and reflect the actual number data of particles in the wafer loading area 31; thereafter, when the movable door panel is opened and the wafer boat 331 rises or falls, the purge gas in the wafer loading area 31 can be input into the process chamber 33.
[0027] In this embodiment, a vacuum pump 321 is further provided on the gas exhaust pipeline 32 for evacuating the process chamber 33 to a vacuum state to provide a vacuum environment for the semiconductor process.
[0028] In this embodiment, a pressure detector 322 is further provided in the gas exhaust pipeline 32 for detecting the pressure of the process chamber 33. The pressure of the process chamber 33 should be within a range that meets the process requirements.
[0029] In this embodiment, the wafer boat 331 is a double wafer boat. The double wafer boat can ensure that multiple wafers can be processed at the same time, thereby improving production efficiency. In other embodiments, the wafer boat 331 can also be a single wafer boat or a multi-wafer boat.
[0030] In this embodiment, the device further includes an alarm module (not shown) for issuing an alarm when the number of particles obtained by the particle counter 11 is greater than a preset threshold value, and / or when the particle monitor 12 detects an abnormality in the number of particles. When the particle counter 11 detects an abnormality in the number of particles, the alarm module issues an alarm, at which time the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow, and the staff withdraws the wafer 19 and promptly repairs the wafer processing equipment. Alternatively, when the particle monitor 12 detects an abnormality in the number of particles, the alarm module issues an alarm, at which time the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow, and the staff withdraws the wafer 19 and promptly repairs the wafer processing equipment. Alternatively, when the particle counter 11 and the particle monitor 12 simultaneously detect an abnormality, the alarm module issues an alarm, at which time the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow, and the staff withdraws the wafer 19 and promptly repairs the wafer processing equipment.
[0031] After the particle counter 11 is installed in the gas purge area of the wafer loading area 31, the particle counter 11 can detect the quantity of the particles in a timely manner, so as to further confirm whether there is a problem with the air filtration and purification equipment or the filter. Specifically, after all the wafers 19 in the wafer loading area 31 are loaded onto the wafer boat 331, if an abnormal number of particles is detected in the wafer loading area 31, the alarm module sounds an alarm, and the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow. The staff can promptly withdraw the wafer 19 and perform a series of cleanings to promptly save the wafer 19 and reduce the scrap rate of the wafer 19. After the process reaction of the wafer 19 in the process chamber 33 is completed, if an abnormal number of particles is detected in the wafer loading area 31, the wafer 19 after the process reaction is completed can be promptly kept in the process chamber 33 for nitrogen purge. At the same time, the staff handles the abnormal particles in the wafer loading area 31 as soon as possible. After the number of particles in the wafer loading area 31 returns to normal, the wafer processing equipment transfers the wafer 19 in the process chamber 33 to the wafer loading area 31, thereby avoiding contamination of the wafer 19 and improving the wafer production yield. In addition, installing the particle counter 11 in the gas purge area of the wafer loading area 31 can also test the service life of the air filtration and purification equipment and the filter in the wafer loading area 31. When the particle counter 11 detects that the number of particles in the wafer loading area 31 is abnormal, the alarm module sounds an alarm, and the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow. The staff can replace the air filtration and purification equipment and the filter in time. At the same time, it is also convenient for the staff to estimate the service life of the air filtration and purification equipment and the filter, thereby greatly improving work efficiency.
[0032] After the particle monitor 12 is installed on the gas exhaust pipeline 32, when the wafer 19 has not yet entered the process chamber 33, and the particle monitor 12 detects that the number of particles in the process chamber 33 is abnormal, the alarm module sounds an alarm, and the wafer processing equipment stops the process flow. At this time, the staff can process the wafer 19 to reduce the scrap rate of the wafer 19. The setting of the particle counter 11 and the particle monitor 12 can accurately identify which steps are the main source of particles, greatly improving the efficiency of the staff in solving particle problems.
[0033] The above technical solution, by setting up particle counters and particle monitors, can not only ensure timely monitoring of the number of particles in the wafer processing equipment, but also accurately identify which steps are the main sources of particles, so that the staff can deal with the abnormalities of particles in the wafer processing equipment as soon as possible, avoiding the wafers to be processed from being contaminated by particles and then scrapped, thereby reducing the scrap rate of wafers, improving the wafer production yield, and reducing production costs.
[0034] It should be noted that references in the specification to "an embodiment", "an embodiment", "an exemplary embodiment", "some embodiments", etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, whether or not explicitly described, it is within the knowledge of a technician in the relevant art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments.
[0035] Typically, a term can be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, the term "one or more" as used herein depends at least in part on the context and can be used to describe any feature, structure or characteristic in a singular sense, or can be used to describe a combination of features, structures or features in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as "one", "a" or "the" can also be understood to express singular usage or to express plural usage, depending at least in part on the context. In addition, the term "based on" can be understood to not necessarily be intended to express a set of exclusive factors, but can alternatively, also at least in part depending on the context, allow for the presence of other factors that are not necessarily explicitly described. It should also be noted in this specification that "connected / coupled" refers not only to the direct coupling of one component to another component, but also to the indirect coupling of one component to another component through an intermediate component.
[0036] It should be noted that the terms "including" and "having" and their variations involved in the documents of the present utility model are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, it should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances. In addition, the embodiments of the present utility model and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other unless there is a conflict. In addition, in the above description, the description of well-known components and technologies is omitted to avoid unnecessary confusion of the concepts of the present utility model. In the above-mentioned embodiments, each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments, and the same / similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other.
[0037] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that ordinary technicians in this technical field can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A device for monitoring particles in a wafer processing device, wherein the wafer processing device comprises a wafer loading area, a process chamber and a gas exhaust pipeline; characterized in that: The device comprises: A particle counter, which is arranged in a gas purge area of the wafer loading area and is used to obtain the number of particles in the wafer loading area; A particle monitor is arranged on the gas exhaust pipeline and is used for in-situ particle monitoring of the gas exhaust pipeline.
2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The wafer processing equipment also includes a wafer boat; the wafer loading area is located at the bottom of the wafer processing equipment, and the wafer to be processed is transferred to the wafer boat in the wafer loading area; The process chamber is located above the wafer loading area, and the process chamber and the wafer loading area are isolated from each other. The wafer boat carrying the wafer can rise to the process chamber to perform semiconductor processing, and can descend back to the wafer loading area after the process is completed. The gas exhaust pipeline is connected to the process chamber and is used for exhausting the gas in the process chamber to provide an environment for the semiconductor process.
3. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The process chamber and the wafer loading area are separated by a movable door panel.
4. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The gas purge area is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet, an external gas source inputs purge gas into the gas purge area through the air inlet, and the air outlet is used to input purge gas into the wafer loading area; The particle counter is arranged at a position close to the air outlet.
5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The gas purge zone is also provided with: a fan and a first filter near the air inlet, the fan being used to draw the purge gas into the gas purge zone through the air inlet and filter it through the first filter; and A second filter is provided near the gas outlet, and the second filter is used for secondary filtering the particles in the purge gas before the purge gas is input into the wafer loading area through the gas outlet to prevent the particles from entering the wafer loading area.
6. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The purge gas is nitrogen.
7. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The gas exhaust pipeline is also provided with a vacuum pump for evacuating the process chamber to a vacuum state to provide a vacuum environment for the semiconductor process.
8. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that A pressure detector is also provided in the gas exhaust pipeline for detecting the pressure of the process chamber.
9. The device according to claim 2, characterized in that The wafer boat is a double wafer boat.
10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The device further comprises an alarm module, which is used to issue an alarm when the number of particles acquired by the particle counter is greater than a preset threshold value and / or when the particle monitor detects abnormal particles.