Plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment comprises a plasma tube, an electrode assembly and a gas input pipeline, the plasma tube comprises N plasma branch tubes, the N plasma branch tubes are sequentially arranged in the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; the number of the electrode assemblies is N, each electrode assembly comprises a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the plasma branch pipes are arranged between the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes, and the N electrode assemblies and the N plasma branch pipes are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence mode; n groups of gas input pipelines are arranged, and the N groups of gas input pipelines and the N plasma branch pipes are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence manner. According to the utility model, the ionization degrees of precursors in different plasma branch pipes can be respectively controlled, so that sediment films on different wafers can reach the same thickness, and the uniformity of the wafers in the same batch is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device. Background Art

[0002] The plasma function of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) equipment is used to ionize the precursor.

[0003] like Figure 1 As shown, the plasma tube 10 in the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment of the prior art is arranged in a cylindrical equipment housing 20, and a positive electrode 30 and a negative electrode 40 are correspondingly arranged on both sides of the plasma tube 10, and a gas delivery pipeline 50 is connected to the bottom of the plasma tube 10. However, the positive electrode 30 and the negative electrode 40 in the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment can only be set to a single power, and the gas is introduced through the only gas delivery pipeline 50. When the PEALD process is performed, it will cause differences in the thickness of wafers at different positions in the equipment, that is, the thickness of the precipitate film on different wafers is different, which leads to the problem of poor uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a new type of plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment to solve the above problems existing in the prior art. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, which can control the ionization degree of the precursor in different plasma branches respectively by controlling and adjusting the power of the electrode assembly corresponding to each of the plasma branches and adjusting the flow rate of the gas introduced into the gas input pipeline corresponding to each of the plasma branches according to actual conditions, so that the precursor in each plasma branch can achieve optimal ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is conducive to making the precipitate film on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafer can be deposited to obtain a better film, and the uniformity of the same batch of wafers is improved.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment of the utility model includes a plasma tube, an electrode assembly and a gas input pipeline; the plasma tube includes N plasma branch pipes, and the N plasma branch pipes are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; the electrode assembly is provided with N groups, each group of the electrode assembly includes a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the plasma branch pipe is arranged between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and the N groups of the electrode assemblies are arranged one-to-one with the N plasma branch pipes; the gas input pipeline is provided with N groups, and the N groups of the gas input pipelines are arranged one-to-one with the N plasma branch pipes.

[0007] The beneficial effect of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device of the utility model is that: the plasma tube includes N plasma branch pipes, the N plasma branch pipes are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, the N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2, the electrode assembly is provided with N groups, each group of the electrode assembly includes a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the plasma branch pipe is arranged between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and the N groups of the electrode assembly are arranged one-to-one with the N plasma branch pipes, the gas input pipeline is provided with N groups, the N groups of the gas input pipeline are connected to the N The plasma branches are arranged one by one, so that the ionization degree of the precursors in different plasma branches can be controlled respectively by controlling and adjusting the power of the electrode assembly corresponding to each plasma branch and adjusting the flow rate of the gas introduced into the gas input pipeline corresponding to each plasma branch according to the actual situation, so that the precursors in each plasma branch can achieve optimal ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is conducive to making the precipitate films on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafers can be deposited to obtain better films, thereby improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0008] Preferably, N-1 partitions are provided in the plasma tube, and the N-1 partitions are arranged in parallel to divide the plasma tube into N plasma branches. The beneficial effect is that it avoids the large spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branches, which affects the deposition effect of some wafers, and is conducive to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0009] Preferably, N plasma branches are stacked in sequence along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, which has the beneficial effect of avoiding the large spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branches, thereby preventing the deposition effect of some wafers from being affected, and improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0010] Preferably, the spacing between the reaction chambers of the adjacent plasma branch tubes is 3 mm to 5 mm. This has the beneficial effect of preventing the spacing between the reaction chambers of the adjacent plasma branch tubes from being too large and affecting the deposition effect of some wafers, thereby improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0011] Preferably, the powers of any two groups of the electrode assemblies are the same or different. The beneficial effect is that the powers of the electrode assemblies corresponding to the plasma branches can be adjusted according to the actual situation to control the ionization degree of the precursors in the different plasma branches respectively, so that the precursors in the plasma branches can achieve the best ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is conducive to making the precipitate films on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafers can be deposited to obtain better films, and the uniformity of the same batch of wafers is improved.

[0012] Preferably, the height of the positive electrode in each group of the electrode assembly is equal to the height of the negative electrode, and the height of the plasma branch tube is equal to the height of the positive electrode in the corresponding electrode assembly. The beneficial effect is that the precursors in each area of ​​the plasma branch tube can be ionized, so that the precursors in each plasma branch tube can achieve optimal ionization, thereby improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0013] Preferably, each of the plasma branch pipes is provided with a plurality of input nozzles, the input nozzles are connected to the gas input pipeline, and the plurality of input nozzles are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma branch pipe, and the apertures of the plurality of input nozzles are equal.

[0014] Preferably, each of the plasma branches is provided with a plurality of wafer carriers for placing wafers, and the number of the input nozzles provided on each of the plasma branches is equal to the number of the wafer carriers corresponding to the plasma branch. The beneficial effect is that the precursor spraying is realized on the wafers on each wafer carrier, which is conducive to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0015] Preferably, each plasma branch tube is provided with at least one output nozzle, and all the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma tube, and the calibers of the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes decrease in sequence from top to bottom. The beneficial effect is that it is conducive to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0016] Preferably, the plasma branch pipe and the outer shell are an integrally formed structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device in the prior art;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to an embodiment of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiment of the utility model clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solution in the embodiment of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be understood by people with general skills in the field to which the utility model belongs. "Including" and similar words used in this article mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word include the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0020] In order to overcome the problems existing in the prior art, an embodiment of the utility model provides a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, which can control the ionization degree of the precursors in different plasma branches respectively by controlling and adjusting the power of the electrode assembly corresponding to each of the plasma branches, and adjusting the flow rate of the gas introduced into the gas input pipeline corresponding to each of the plasma branches according to actual conditions, so that the precursors in each plasma branch can achieve optimal ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is conducive to making the precipitate films on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafers can be deposited to obtain better films, thereby improving the uniformity of wafers in the same batch.

[0021] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to an embodiment of the utility model.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device includes a plasma tube (not shown in the figure), an electrode assembly 1 and a gas input pipeline 2; the plasma tube (not shown in the figure) includes N plasma branch pipes 3, and the N plasma branch pipes 3 are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; the electrode assembly 1 is provided with N groups, each group of the electrode assembly 1 includes a positive electrode 11 and a negative electrode 12, and the plasma branch pipe 3 is arranged between the positive electrode 11 and the negative electrode 12, and the N groups of the electrode assembly 1 are arranged one-to-one with the N plasma branch pipes 3; the gas input pipeline 2 is provided with N groups, and the N groups of the gas input pipeline 2 are arranged one-to-one with the N plasma branch pipes 3. That is, the number of the plasma branch pipes 3, the number of the electrode assemblies 1 and the number of the gas input pipelines 2 are equal.

[0023] Specifically, the plasma tube includes N plasma branch pipes 3, and the N plasma branch pipes 3 are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. The electrode assembly 1 is provided with N groups, and each group of the electrode assembly 1 includes a positive electrode 11 and a negative electrode 12. The plasma branch pipe 3 is arranged between the positive electrode 11 and the negative electrode 12, and the N groups of the electrode assembly 1 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the N plasma branch pipes 3. The gas input pipeline 2 is provided with N groups, and the N groups of the gas input pipeline 2 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the N plasma branch pipes 3, that is, compared with the single-power plasma tube in the prior art The present invention provides several plasma branches 3 which can separately adjust the electrode power and the flow rate of the input gas, so that the power of the electrode assembly 1 corresponding to each of the plasma branches 3 can be controlled and adjusted according to the actual situation, as well as the flow rate of the gas introduced into the gas input pipeline 2 corresponding to each of the plasma branches 3, and the ionization degree of the precursors in different plasma branches 3 can be controlled respectively, so that the precursors in each of the plasma branches 3 can achieve the best ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is beneficial to make the precipitate films on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafers can be deposited to obtain better films, thereby improving the uniformity of wafers in the same batch.

[0024] In the embodiment of the utility model, the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device is Figure 2 The radial direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device is Figure 2 The X indicates the direction.

[0025] In some specific embodiments of the utility model, at least two plasma branch pipes are provided, at least two groups of electrode assemblies are provided, at least two groups of gas input pipelines are provided, and the number of the plasma branch pipes, the number of the electrode assemblies and the number of the gas input pipelines are equal.

[0026] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2 , N-1 partitions 4 are provided in the plasma tube (not shown in the figure), and the N-1 partitions 4 are arranged in parallel to separate the plasma tube (not shown in the figure) into N plasma branches 3. That is, the partitions 4 directly separate the plasma tube (not shown in the figure) into N plasma branches 3, so as to avoid the large spacing between the reaction chambers of the adjacent plasma branches 3, which may affect the deposition effect of some wafers, and is conducive to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0027] In some specific embodiments of the present utility model, reference Figure 2 , two separators 4 are provided to separate the plasma tube (not shown) into three plasma branches 3. The three plasma branches 3 are respectively a first plasma branch 31, a second plasma branch 32 and a third plasma branch 33, and the first plasma branch 31, the second plasma branch 32 and the third plasma branch 33 are arranged in sequence from bottom to top along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device. The separator 4 is the top plate of the plasma branch 3 in the lower layer among the adjacent plasma branch tubes 3, and is also the bottom plate of the plasma branch 3 in the upper layer among the adjacent plasma branch tubes 3, that is, the separator 4 between the first plasma branch tube 31 and the second plasma branch tube 32 is the top plate of the first plasma branch tube 31, and is also the bottom plate of the second plasma branch tube 32.

[0028] In other embodiments of the utility model, N plasma branches are stacked sequentially along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment, that is, the plasma branches are independent tubes, and adjacent plasma branches are arranged against each other, so as to avoid the large spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branches and thus affect the deposition effect of some wafers, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of wafers in the same batch.

[0029] In some specific embodiments of the utility model, the plasma tube includes three plasma branches, namely a first plasma branch, a second plasma branch and a third plasma branch. The first plasma branch, the second plasma branch and the third plasma branch are stacked sequentially from bottom to top along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device. The bottom plate of the second plasma branch is abutted against the top plate of the first plasma branch, and the bottom plate of the third plasma branch is abutted against the top plate of the second plasma branch.

[0030] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2 The electrode assembly 1 is provided with three groups, and the three groups of electrode assemblies 1 are respectively a first positive electrode and a first negative electrode arranged opposite to each other, a second positive electrode and a second negative electrode arranged opposite to each other, and a third positive electrode and a third negative electrode arranged opposite to each other. The first plasma branch pipe 31 is arranged between the first positive electrode and the first negative electrode, the second plasma branch pipe 32 is arranged between the second positive electrode and the second negative electrode, and the third plasma branch pipe 33 is arranged between the third positive electrode and the third negative electrode.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2 The gas input pipeline 2 includes a first gas input pipeline 21, a second gas input pipeline 22 and a third gas input pipeline 23. The first gas input pipeline 21 is connected to the first plasma branch 31, the second gas input pipeline 22 is connected to the second plasma branch 32, and the third gas input pipeline 23 is connected to the third plasma branch 33.

[0032] In some embodiments of the utility model, the spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branch tubes is 3 mm to 5 mm, so as to avoid the deposition effect of some wafers being affected due to the large spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branch tubes, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of wafers in the same batch.

[0033] In some specific embodiments of the present invention, the spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branch tubes is any one of 3 mm, 3.2 mm, 3.5 mm, 3.75 mm, 4 mm, 4.3 mm, 4.6 mm, 4.8 mm and 5 mm.

[0034] In some specific embodiments of the present utility model, reference Figure 2 The thickness of the partition 4 between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branches 3 is 3 mm to 5 mm. The partition 4 is arranged between adjacent wafer carriers, and the partition 4 is arranged close to the wafer carrier in the upper layer to avoid the partition 4 facing the wafer in the radial direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment, thereby causing the partition 4 to affect the deposition effect of the corresponding part of the wafer, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0035] In some other specific embodiments of the utility model, the sum of the thickness of the top plate of the lower plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes and the thickness of the bottom plate of the upper plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes is 3mm to 5mm. The top plate of the lower plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes and the bottom plate of the upper plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes are both arranged between adjacent wafer carriers and are arranged close to the wafer carrier at the upper layer, so as to avoid the top plate of the lower plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes and the bottom plate of the upper plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes facing the wafer in the radial direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, thereby causing the top plate of the lower plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes and the bottom plate of the upper plasma branch tube among the adjacent plasma branch tubes to affect the deposition effect of the corresponding part of the wafers, which is beneficial to improve the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present invention, the spacing between adjacent wafer carriers is 7 mm.

[0037] In some embodiments of the utility model, the powers of any two groups of the electrode assemblies are the same or different, so that the powers of the electrode assemblies corresponding to the respective plasma branches can be controlled and adjusted according to actual conditions to respectively control the degree of ionization of the precursors in different plasma branches, so that the precursors in each plasma branch can achieve optimal ionization, so that the deposition reaction process can be controlled more precisely and directionally, which is beneficial for making the precipitate films on different wafers reach the same thickness, that is, the wafers can be deposited to obtain better films, thereby improving the uniformity of wafers in the same batch.

[0038] In some embodiments of the present invention, the power of the electrode assembly is 0W to 200W.

[0039] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2 The height of the positive electrode 11 in each group of the electrode assembly 1 is equal to the height of the negative electrode 12, and the height of the plasma branch tube 3 is equal to the height of the positive electrode 11 in the corresponding electrode assembly 1. This ensures that the precursors in each area of ​​the plasma branch tube 3 can be ionized, so that the precursors in each plasma branch tube 3 can achieve optimal ionization, thereby improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0040] In some embodiments of the utility model, each of the plasma branch pipes is provided with a plurality of input nozzles, the input nozzles are connected to the gas input pipeline, and the plurality of input nozzles are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma branch pipe, and the apertures of the plurality of input nozzles are equal.

[0041] In some embodiments of the utility model, each of the plasma branch pipes is provided with a plurality of wafer carriers for placing wafers, and the number of the input nozzles provided on each of the plasma branch pipes is equal to the number of the wafer carriers corresponding to the plasma branch pipe, so as to realize precursor spraying on the wafers on each wafer carrier, which is beneficial to improve the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0042] In some embodiments of the utility model, each of the plasma branch tubes is provided with at least one output nozzle, and all the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes are arranged sequentially along the height direction of the plasma tube, and the calibers of all the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes decrease sequentially from top to bottom, which is beneficial to improving the uniformity of the same batch of wafers.

[0043] In some embodiments of the present invention, reference Figure 2 The plasma branch pipe 3 and the shell 5 are an integrally formed structure.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present invention, the plasma branch pipe 3 and the housing 5 are both made of quartz material.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to these embodiments. However, it should be understood that such modifications and variations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention as described in the claims. Moreover, the present invention described herein may have other embodiments and may be implemented or realized in a variety of ways.

Claims

1. A plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, characterized in that: include: A plasma tube, comprising N plasma branch tubes, wherein the N plasma branch tubes are sequentially arranged along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device, and N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2; The electrode assembly is provided with N groups, each group of the electrode assembly comprises a positive electrode and a negative electrode, the plasma branch pipe is arranged between the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and the N groups of the electrode assembly are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the N plasma branch pipes; The gas input pipelines are provided in N groups, and the N groups of gas input pipelines are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the N plasma branch pipes.

2. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: N-1 partitions are arranged in the plasma tube, and the N-1 partitions are arranged in parallel to divide the plasma tube into N plasma branch tubes.

3. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The N plasma branch pipes are stacked sequentially along the height direction of the plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition equipment.

4. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The spacing between the reaction chambers of adjacent plasma branch pipes is 3 mm to 5 mm.

5. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The powers of any two groups of electrode assemblies are the same or different.

6. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The height of the positive electrode in each group of the electrode assemblies is equal to the height of the negative electrode, and the height of the plasma branch pipe is equal to the height of the positive electrode in the corresponding electrode assembly.

7. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Each of the plasma branch pipes is provided with a plurality of input nozzles, the input nozzles are communicated with the gas input pipeline, and the plurality of input nozzles are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma branch pipe, and the apertures of the plurality of input nozzles are equal.

8. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to claim 7, characterized in that: Each of the plasma branch pipes is correspondingly provided with a plurality of wafer carriers for placing wafers, and the number of the input nozzles provided on each of the plasma branch pipes is equal to the number of the wafer carriers corresponding to the plasma branch pipe.

9. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Each of the plasma branch tubes is provided with at least one output nozzle, and all the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes are arranged in sequence along the height direction of the plasma tube, and the calibers of the output nozzles on the N plasma branch tubes decrease in sequence from top to bottom.

10. The plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The plasma branch pipe and the shell are an integrally formed structure.

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