Cooling device

Abstract

The utility model provides a cooling device, which is used for cooling a wafer after process treatment, and comprises a cooling chamber provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; the bearing support is located in the cooling cavity and used for bearing a plurality of wafers, and the area, used for bearing the wafers, of the bearing support sequentially comprises an upper area, a middle area and a lower area from top to bottom; the gas source is connected with the gas inlet and is used for introducing cooling gas into the cooling chamber; and the temperature measuring probe is used for monitoring the temperature of the wafer in the middle area of the bearing bracket. According to the cooling device provided by the invention, the temperature of the cooled wafer can be monitored, and wafer failure caused by incomplete cooling of the wafer is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and in particular to a cooling device. Background Art

[0002] After annealing, the wafer temperature is still relatively high and needs to be cooled by N2 airflow in a local cooling chamber (LC). However, the lack of temperature monitoring devices in the LC and the unidirectional airflow cooling method often result in insufficient cooling. At this time, when the wafer is returned to the wafer carrier (Front Opening Unified Pod, FOUP), the copper on the wafer surface will oxidize under the action of the compressed air loading port (XCDA), causing wafer failure.

[0003] Furthermore, local cooling chambers typically cool multiple wafers. That is, after annealing, a single wafer is temporarily placed in a local cooling chamber. Once a certain number of wafers have been placed, the local cooling chamber begins cooling the wafers. Different wafers can experience varying cooling effects due to the film layers previously applied, which can cause some wafers to remain above 45°C after cooling. These wafers are susceptible to oxidation and failure at the center when exposed to compressed air.

[0004] Therefore, a cooling device is needed that can monitor the temperature of the wafer being cooled to avoid wafer failure caused by incomplete cooling of the wafer. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a cooling device that can monitor the temperature of the wafer being cooled to avoid wafer failure caused by incomplete cooling of the wafer.

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides a cooling device for wafers after cooling process treatment, comprising: a cooling chamber, the cooling chamber being provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; a supporting bracket located in the cooling chamber, for supporting multiple wafers, the areas of the supporting bracket used to support the wafers including an upper area, a middle area and a lower area from top to bottom; a gas source connected to the air inlet, for introducing cooling gas into the cooling chamber; and a temperature measuring probe for monitoring the temperature of the wafer located in the middle area of the supporting bracket.

[0007] In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probe is located in the middle area of the supporting bracket and is fixedly connected to the supporting bracket.

[0008] In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probes are also provided in the upper region and the lower region of the support bracket, for monitoring the temperature of the wafer located in the upper region and the lower region of the support bracket, respectively.

[0009] In some embodiments, the number of temperature probes matches the number of wafers supported by the support frame, so as to measure the temperature of each wafer. In some embodiments, the support frame includes a plurality of pallet groups, each pallet group includes two pallets, and the two pallets are respectively arranged on the inner sides of opposite side walls of the support frame, and the temperature probes are arranged on the top pallet group and between adjacent pallet groups.

[0010] In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probe is fixedly connected to the side wall of the supporting bracket.

[0011] In some embodiments, a rotating lifting device is connected to the bottom of the supporting bracket, and the lifting device is used to drive the supporting bracket to rotate or lift.

[0012] In some embodiments, the air outlet is located at the bottom of the cooling chamber, and the air outlet is used to connect to a negative pressure device, and the negative pressure device is used to extract the gas in the cooling chamber.

[0013] In some embodiments, the cooling device further includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the temperature measuring probe, the gas source, and the negative pressure device, and is used to control the temperature monitored by the temperature measuring probe and control the switch of the gas source and the negative pressure device.

[0014] In some embodiments, the cooling device further includes an air equalizing portion, which is located inside the cooling chamber and is arranged close to the top of the supporting bracket, and the air equalizing portion is connected to the air inlet for dispersing the cooling gas.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the cooling device provided by this application include but are not limited to the following:

[0016] The cooling device provided by the present application includes a cooling chamber and a support bracket disposed in the cooling chamber. Generally, wafers located in the upper and lower regions of the support bracket will drop below a set temperature earlier than wafers located in the middle region. The present application provides a temperature measuring probe capable of measuring the temperature of the wafer located in the middle region of the support bracket, thereby ensuring that the wafer located in the middle region of the support bracket has already dropped below the set temperature when the wafer is removed from the cooling chamber.

[0017] In addition, the present application also sets temperature measuring probes in the upper and lower areas of the support bracket, which can monitor the temperature of the wafers located in different areas of the support bracket during the wafer cooling process, thereby ensuring that the cooling of the wafers is not completed until the temperature of all wafers is lower than the set temperature, thereby avoiding oxidation and failure of some wafers due to contact with air before they are completely cooled. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The following figures describe in detail exemplary embodiments disclosed in this application. Like reference numerals denote similar structures throughout the several views of the drawings. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that these embodiments are non-limiting, exemplary embodiments, and that the drawings are provided for illustration and description purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Other embodiments may also achieve the inventive intent of this application. It should be understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale.

[0019] in:

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a cooling device according to some embodiments of the present application; and

[0021] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of a supporting bracket according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following description provides specific application scenarios and requirements of the present application, with the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the content of this application. Various local modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Therefore, this application is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is intended to be of the widest scope consistent with the claims.

[0023] The present application provides a cooling device for cooling wafers after process treatment, comprising: a cooling chamber, the cooling chamber being provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; a supporting bracket located in the cooling chamber and used for supporting multiple wafers, the areas of the supporting bracket used for supporting the wafers comprising, from top to bottom, an upper area, a middle area and a lower area; a gas source connected to the air inlet and used for introducing cooling gas into the cooling chamber; and a temperature measuring probe for monitoring the temperature of the wafer located in the middle area of the supporting bracket.

[0024] Generally speaking, the wafers located in the upper and lower areas of the support bracket will drop below the set temperature earlier than the wafers located in the middle area. The present application provides a temperature measuring probe that can measure the temperature of the wafers located in the middle area of the support bracket, thereby ensuring that when the wafers are taken out of the cooling chamber, the wafers located in the middle area of the support bracket are already below the set temperature, thereby avoiding oxidation and failure of the wafers located in the middle area of the support bracket due to contact with air before being completely cooled.

[0025] The cooling device provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments and drawings.

[0026] refer to Figure 1 The present application provides a cooling device for wafer annealing equipment, comprising a cooling chamber 100, a gas source 200, and a support frame 300. The support frame 300 is located in the cooling chamber 100 and is used to support multiple wafers. The gas source 200 introduces cooling gas into the cooling chamber 100 to cool the wafers.

[0027] In some embodiments, the cooling chamber 100 is provided with an air inlet 101 and an air outlet 102. The air inlet 101 is located at the top of the cooling chamber 100, for example, it can be provided on the top plate of the cooling chamber 100 or on a side wall close to the top plate; the air outlet 102 is located at the bottom of the cooling chamber 100, for example, it is provided on the bottom plate of the chamber.

[0028] The gas inlet 101 is connected to the gas source 200, and the gas outlet 102 is connected to the negative pressure device 400. The negative pressure device 400 is used to extract gas from the cooling chamber 100. The cooling gas enters the cooling chamber 100 through the gas inlet 101 and leaves the cooling chamber 100 through the gas outlet 102. During the flow, the cooling gas cools the wafers located in the cooling chamber 100. In some embodiments, the negative pressure device 400 includes a vacuum pump.

[0029] In some embodiments, the cooling chamber 100 further includes a wafer inlet 103 and a wafer outlet 104. The wafer inlet 103 is used to introduce the wafer into the cooling chamber 100, and the wafer outlet is used to remove the wafer from the cooling chamber 100. In some embodiments, the wafer inlet 103 and the wafer outlet are respectively located on opposite side walls of the cooling chamber 100.

[0030] In some embodiments, the top plate of the cooling chamber 100 is detachably connected to the side wall of the cooling chamber 100 to facilitate maintenance of the cooling chamber 100. In some embodiments, a handle 500 is fixedly connected to the side of the top plate away from the cooling chamber 100 to facilitate an operator to separate the top plate from the side wall of the cooling chamber 100.

[0031] In one embodiment, the cooling device provided in the present application also includes an air equalizing portion 600, which is located inside the cooling chamber 100 and is arranged close to the top of the supporting bracket 300, and the air equalizing portion 600 is connected to the air inlet 101 for dispersing the cooling gas.

[0032] In some embodiments, the cooling gas comprises nitrogen.

[0033] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 In some embodiments, the supporting bracket 300 includes an upper support plate 301, a lower support plate 302, a connecting rod 303 connecting the upper support plate 301 and the lower support plate 302, and two side walls 304 located opposite to each other between the upper support plate 301 and the lower support plate 302.

[0034] In some embodiments, the support bracket 300 includes a plurality of support platforms 305 , each support platform group 305 includes two support platforms 305 a , and the two support platforms 305 a are respectively disposed on the inner side of the side wall 304 . The inner side refers to the side of the side wall 304 close to the other side wall 304 .

[0035] The support frame 300 is used to support the wafer area, that is, the gantry group 305, which includes an upper area, a middle area, and a lower area from top to bottom. The upper area, the middle area, and the lower area are divided into three equal parts according to the number of gantry groups 305.

[0036] In some embodiments, reference Figure 1 The bottom of the support bracket 300 is connected to a rotating lifting device 700, which is used to drive the support bracket 300 to rotate or lift. When a wafer needs to be placed on the support bracket 300, the rotating lifting device 700 rotates or lifts the support bracket 300 to align the pallet group 305 where the wafer is to be placed with the wafer entrance 103. The wafer enters the cooling chamber 100 from the wafer entrance 103 and is clamped to the corresponding pallet. When a wafer needs to be removed from the support bracket 300, the rotating lifting device 700 rotates or lifts the support bracket 300 to align the wafer to be removed with the wafer exit 104. The wafer is then removed from the cooling chamber 100 through the wafer exit 104.

[0037] After heat treatment, wafers are placed into the cooling chamber 100 sequentially. That is, the wafer that completed heat treatment first is placed at the bottom of the support frame 300, and the wafer that completed heat treatment last is placed at the top of the support frame 300. Once all wafers that have completed heat treatment are placed in the support frame 300, the cooling device begins cooling the wafers. During this process, the wafers at the bottom of the support frame 300, having been placed there for a longer period of time before cooling, have already cooled down and can reach the set temperature in a shorter period of time. The wafers at the top of the support frame 300, being directly exposed to the cooling gas flowing above the support frame 300, can also cool to the set temperature in a shorter period of time. However, wafers in the middle of the support frame 300 are limited by the length of time they have been placed there, as well as the amount of cooling gas flowing through and the temperature of the cooling gas as it passes through. Therefore, wafers in the middle of the support frame 300 typically require longer cooling time than wafers in the upper and lower regions of the support frame 300.

[0038] Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the temperature of the wafer located in the middle area of the support bracket 300 to prevent the wafer located in the middle area of the support bracket 300 from being taken out of the cooling chamber 100 before the temperature is lowered to the set temperature.

[0039] refer to Figure 2 The cooling device provided in the present application further includes a temperature measuring probe 800 for monitoring the temperature of the wafer located in the middle area of the support bracket 300. The temperature measuring probe 800 can be set on the inner wall of the cooling chamber 100 or on the support bracket 300.

[0040] In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probe 800 is located in the middle area of the supporting bracket 300 and is fixedly connected to the supporting bracket 300 .

[0041] In order to detect the temperature of the wafers located in different areas of the support bracket 300 and ensure that the temperature of the wafers located in different areas is lower than the set temperature before being taken out of the cooling chamber 100, further, the temperature measuring probes 800 are also provided in the upper area and the lower area of the support bracket 300, which are respectively used to monitor the temperature of the wafers located in the upper 300 area of the support bracket and the lower area of the support bracket 300.

[0042] In some embodiments, the number of the temperature measuring probes 800 matches the number of wafers that the supporting bracket 300 can support, that is, matches the number of the gantry groups 305 , so as to measure the temperature of each wafer.

[0043] In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probe 800 is disposed on the top support platform group 305 and between adjacent support platform groups 305. In some embodiments, the temperature measuring probe 800 is fixedly connected to the side wall 304 of the supporting bracket 300.

[0044] In some embodiments, the plurality of temperature measuring probes 800 are arranged in sequence from the top of the support bracket 300 to the bottom of the support bracket 300. In some embodiments, the plurality of temperature measuring probes 800 are arranged at equal intervals from the top of the support bracket 300 to the bottom of the support bracket 300, for example, a temperature measuring probe 800 is provided for every other pallet group 305, or a temperature measuring probe 800 is provided for every two pallet groups 305, or a temperature probe is provided for each pallet group 305.

[0045] In some embodiments, the cooling device further includes a controller (not shown), which is electrically connected to the temperature measuring probe 800, the gas source 200, and the negative pressure device 400, and is used to control the temperature monitored by the temperature measuring probe 800 and control the on / off of the gas source 200 and the negative pressure device 400. When all the heat-treated wafers are placed on the support bracket 300, the controller controls the temperature measuring probe 800, the gas source 200, and the negative pressure device 400 to be turned on; when the temperatures of the wafers detected by the temperature measuring probe 800 are all below the set temperature, the controller controls the temperature measuring probe 800, the gas source 200, and the negative pressure device 400 to be turned off.

[0046] In some embodiments, the cooling device provided in the present application is used as follows: the heat-treated wafers are placed on the support bracket 300 in sequence from the bottom end of the support bracket 300 to the top end of the support bracket 300 through the wafer inlet 103. When all wafers are placed on the support bracket 300, the controller controls the temperature measuring probe 800, the gas source 200 and the negative pressure device 400 to open, and the gas source 200 introduces cooling gas into the cooling chamber 100. The temperature measuring probe 800 monitors the temperature of the wafers located in different areas of the support bracket 300. When the temperature of all wafers reaches below the set temperature, the controller controls the temperature measuring probe 800, the gas source 200 and the negative pressure device 400 to close, and the wafers in the cooling chamber 100 are taken out of the cooling chamber 100 in sequence from the wafer outlet 104.

[0047] The beneficial effects of the cooling device provided by this application include but are not limited to the following:

[0048] The cooling device provided by the present application includes a cooling chamber and a support bracket disposed in the cooling chamber. Generally, wafers located in the upper and lower regions of the support bracket will drop below a set temperature earlier than wafers located in the middle region. The present application provides a temperature measuring probe capable of measuring the temperature of the wafer located in the middle region of the support bracket, thereby ensuring that the wafer located in the middle region of the support bracket has already dropped below the set temperature when the wafer is removed from the cooling chamber.

[0049] In addition, the present application also sets temperature measuring probes in the upper and lower areas of the support bracket, which can monitor the temperature of the wafers in different areas of the support bracket during the wafer cooling process, thereby ensuring that the cooling of the wafers is completed only when the temperature of all wafers is lower than the set temperature, thereby avoiding oxidation failure of some wafers due to contact with air before they are fully cooled.

[0050] It should be noted that different embodiments may produce different beneficial effects. In different embodiments, the beneficial effects that may be produced may be any one or a combination of the above, or any other possible beneficial effects.

[0051] The basic concepts have been described above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the detailed disclosure above is merely illustrative and does not limit this specification. Although not explicitly stated herein, those skilled in the art may make various modifications, improvements, and revisions to this application. Such modifications, improvements, and revisions are suggested in this specification and remain within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

[0052] It should be noted that, in the description of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "connected," and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integration; mechanical connections, electrical connections; rotational connections, or sliding connections; direct connections, or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and can refer to internal communication between two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this application in light of specific circumstances.

[0053] In addition, when terms such as "first", "second", and "third" are used in the specification of this application to describe various features, these terms are only used to distinguish these features and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relationship between the features, the relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of features indicated.

[0054] In addition, this specification describes exemplary embodiments by reference to idealized exemplary cross-sectional views and / or plan views and / or perspective views. Therefore, differences from the illustrated shapes due to, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances are foreseeable. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments should not be interpreted as limited to the shapes of the regions shown herein, but should include deviations in shapes due to, for example, manufacturing. Therefore, the regions shown in the figures are schematic in nature, and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shapes of the regions of the device nor to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

[0055] At the same time, this application uses specific terms to describe the embodiments of this specification. For example, "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure, or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or multiple times in different locations in this application does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, certain features, structures, or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application may be appropriately combined.

[0056] Similarly, it should be noted that, in order to simplify the presentation of this application and thus facilitate understanding of one or more embodiments of the invention, the foregoing descriptions of the embodiments of this application sometimes combine multiple features into a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not mean that the subject matter of this application requires more features than those recited in the claims. In fact, an embodiment may have fewer features than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

[0057] Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this application are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of this application. Other variations may also fall within the scope of this application. Therefore, by way of example and not limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of this application may be considered consistent with the teachings of this application. Accordingly, the embodiments of this application are not limited to the embodiments explicitly introduced and described in this application.

Claims

1. A cooling device for cooling a wafer after a process, characterized in that: include: a cooling chamber, wherein the cooling chamber is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet; A supporting bracket, located in the cooling chamber, for supporting a plurality of wafers, wherein the regions of the supporting bracket for supporting the wafers include an upper region, a middle region, and a lower region from top to bottom; a gas source connected to the gas inlet and configured to introduce cooling gas into the cooling chamber; as well as A temperature measuring probe is used to monitor the temperature of the wafer located in the middle area of the supporting bracket.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The temperature measuring probe is located in the middle area of the supporting bracket and is fixedly connected to the supporting bracket.

3. The cooling device according to claim 2, characterized in that The temperature measuring probes are also provided in the upper area and the lower area of the supporting bracket, which are used to monitor the temperature of the wafer located in the upper area and the lower area of the supporting bracket respectively.

4. The cooling device according to claim 3, characterized in that The number of the temperature measuring probes matches the number of wafers that the supporting bracket can support, so as to measure the temperature of each wafer.

5. The cooling device according to claim 4, characterized in that The supporting bracket includes multiple bracket groups, each bracket group includes two brackets, and the two brackets are respectively arranged on the inner sides of the opposite side walls of the supporting bracket, and the temperature measuring probe is arranged on the top bracket group and between adjacent bracket groups.

6. The cooling device according to claim 5, characterized in that The temperature measuring probe is fixedly connected to the side wall of the supporting bracket.

7. The cooling device according to claim 5, characterized in that The bottom of the supporting bracket is connected to a rotating lifting device, and the lifting device is used to drive the supporting bracket to rotate or lift.

8. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that The air outlet is located at the bottom of the cooling chamber, and the air outlet is used to communicate with a negative pressure device, and the negative pressure device is used to extract the gas in the cooling chamber.

9. The cooling device according to claim 8, characterized in that It also includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the temperature measuring probe, the gas source and the negative pressure device, and is used to control the temperature monitored by the temperature measuring probe and control the switch of the gas source and the negative pressure device.

10. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that It also includes an air distribution portion, which is located inside the cooling chamber and is arranged close to the top of the supporting bracket. The air distribution portion is connected to the air inlet and is used to disperse the cooling gas.

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