Circulating cooling and purifying device and double-cavity three-wafer-boat wafer processing equipment

Abstract

The utility model discloses a circulating cooling and purifying device and double-cavity three-wafer-boat wafer processing equipment. The double-cavity three-wafer-boat wafer processing equipment comprises two loading areas and an isolation door, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the circulating cooling and purifying device is used for introducing gas into the positions of the crystal boats in the loading areas and purging the crystal boats; the circulating cooling and purifying device comprises two groups of circulating cooling and purifying assemblies which are symmetrically arranged in the two loading areas; and the two groups of circulating cooling and purifying assemblies are respectively used for purging, cleaning and cooling in the two loading areas. According to the circulating cooling and purifying assembly disclosed by the utility model, the introduced gas can directionally reach the position of the wafer boat after being impacted and reflected, and the wafer boat and wafers on the wafer boat can be uniformly purged, so that cleaning and cooling are realized; and after the gas is reflected, the direct impact of the high-pressure and high-flow gas on the wafer and the wafer boat is effectively reduced, and a buffering effect is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductors, in particular to a circulating cooling purification device and double-cavity three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] Among current semiconductor processing equipment, indirect batch furnaces, or furnaces that periodically load and unload materials, have two main types of equipment structures: single-chamber and dual-chamber. The dual-chamber structure can be divided into the traditional dual-chamber four-boat structure and the dual-chamber dual-boat structure. The dual-chamber four-boat structure retains the high efficiency of the traditional single-chamber dual-boat furnace tube, but it occupies a large space, and because its side requires more than 600mm of maintenance space, the two chambers cannot be installed back-to-back in parallel. While the dual-chamber dual-boat structure can solve the problem of back-to-back installation of the two chambers, the two boats in the two chambers must execute the same process simultaneously, thus sacrificing the advantage of the single-chamber dual-boat structure in which the two boats can execute different processes separately to improve process efficiency.

[0003] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art, the existing Chinese patent document with patent number CN118053790A discloses a dual-chamber three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment. The equipment is designed with a dual-chamber time-staggered process design, realizing the process flow process of three wafer boats, thereby improving the process efficiency of the equipment.

[0004] In the design of this existing patented technology, based on the current dual-chamber process solution, it is necessary to adapt the dual chamber to a corresponding micro-environment cooling and purification system to solve the environmental problems within the chamber, especially the cleaning and cooling problems of the crystal boat and wafers in the chamber. Utility Model Content

[0005] The utility model aims to provide a circulating cooling purification device and a double-cavity three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment, aiming to solve the environmental problems in the existing double-cavity process.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: providing a circulating cooling and purification device, which is applied to a wafer processing equipment with two chambers and three wafer boats, wherein the wafer processing equipment with two chambers and three wafer boats includes two loading areas and an isolation door, and the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the circulating cooling and purification device is used to introduce gas into the wafer boat position in the middle of the loading area and purge it, and the circulating cooling and purification device includes:

[0007] A plurality of circulating cooling and purification components are symmetrically arranged in the two loading areas with the isolation door as the center;

[0008] The circulating cooling purification component includes an air inlet, a guide and an air return portion arranged in the loading area; the gas outflow direction of the air inlet is toward the guide portion, the guide surface of the guide portion is inclined and can change the flow direction of the gas, the guide portion allows the gas to reach the crystal boat position in the loading area after at least one collision and reflection, and the air return portion is used to evacuate the inside of the loading area.

[0009] Furthermore, two circulating cooling and purification components are provided in each loading area, and the two circulating cooling and purification components in each loading area are symmetrically arranged in a direction perpendicular to the isolation door.

[0010] Furthermore, the air inlet is arranged in the angle formed between the side wall of the loading area and the isolation door, the guide is arranged on the side wall of the loading area where the air inlet is located, and the guide surface of the guide faces the isolation door and is inclined relative to the isolation door;

[0011] The flow path of the gas introduced into the air intake portion is the guide portion, the isolation door and the middle of the loading area.

[0012] Furthermore, the air return portion is arranged on a side wall in the loading area away from the isolation door.

[0013] Furthermore, a filter for filtering the blown gas is provided in the air inlet portion.

[0014] Furthermore, the guide surface of the guide portion is provided with a guide groove, and the guide groove is used to collect the gas and reflect it toward the isolation plate.

[0015] Furthermore, a cooler for cooling the purged gas is provided in the air return portion.

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a dual-cavity three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment, including two loading areas, an isolation door and the circulating cooling and purification device as described above, the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the circulating cooling and purification device is used to introduce gas into the crystal boat position in the loading area and purge it.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present invention are as follows: a circulating cooling and purification component is set in the loading area, so that the incoming gas is subjected to collision and reflection and then reaches the wafer boat position in a directionally manner, and the wafer boat and the wafers on the wafer boat can be evenly purged to achieve cleaning and cooling. Moreover, after the gas is reflected, the direct impact of the high-pressure and large-flow gas on the wafers and the wafer boat is effectively reduced, which has a buffering effect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the interior structure of the two loading areas provided in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0020] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the gas flow path of the circulating cooling and purification component provided in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0021] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the wafer processing equipment with two chambers and three wafer boats provided by the embodiment of the utility model 。

[0022] Description of the symbols in the figure:

[0023] 1. Process chamber; 2. Loading area; 3. Wafer boat; 4. Isolation door; 5. Air inlet; 6. Air guide; 7. Air return. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] It will be understood that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” indicate the presence of described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0026] It should also be understood that the terms used in this utility model specification are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the utility model. As used in this utility model specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0027] It should be further understood that the term “and / or” used in the present specification and the appended claims refers to any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes these combinations.

[0028] For easier understanding, please refer to Figure 3 First, the dual-chamber three-crystal boat wafer processing equipment of the present application is introduced. The wafer processing equipment includes two process chambers 1, two loading areas 2, three crystal boats 3 and an isolation door 4. The two loading areas 2 are separated by an isolation door 4. The three crystal boats 3 can be loaded with wafers and then transported from the two loading areas 2 to the two process chambers 1 for process reactions. When the crystal boats 3 are loaded with wafers in the loading area 2, gas needs to be introduced for purge and cleaning. When the wafers after the reaction in the process chamber 1 are retrieved to the loading area 2, gas needs to be introduced for purge and cooling; that is, the crystal boats 3 and the wafers need to be circulated and purged in the loading area 2 for cleaning and cooling.

[0029] To this end, this application designs a circulating cooling purification device in the two loading areas 2 to perform cleaning and cooling work. Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the planar structure of the interior of two loading areas provided in an embodiment of the present utility model; Figure 1 The spatial shape of the two loading areas 2 is such that the crystal boat 3 is located in the middle of the loading area 2 when working. That is, the crystal boat 3 and the wafers can be cleaned and cooled by circulating the cooling and purification device to the middle of the loading area 2.

[0030] Please continue reading Figure 1 , an embodiment of the utility model provides a circulating cooling and purification device, comprising: a plurality of circulating cooling and purification components, which are symmetrically arranged in two loading areas 2 with the isolation door 4 of the crystal boat 3 as the center; the crystal boat circulating cooling and purification component comprises an air inlet 5, a guide part 6 and an air return part 7 arranged on the inner side wall of the loading area 2; the gas outflow direction of the air inlet 5 of the crystal boat 3 is toward the guide part 6 of the crystal boat 3, the guide surface of the guide part 6 of the crystal boat 3 is inclined and can change the flow direction of the gas, the guide part 6 allows the gas to reach the position of the crystal boat 3 in the loading area 2 after at least one collision and reflection, and the air return part 7 is used to exhaust the inside of the loading area 2.

[0031] In this embodiment, when the loading area 2 is cleaned and cooled, the loading area 2 is closed to the process chamber 1 and the isolation door 4, so that the loading area 2 is in a closed state. The air inlet 5 is used to introduce gas, and the gas can be a plasma with a cleaning effect. The gas is used for purging and cleaning the wafer before the process reaction or for purging and cooling the wafer after the process is completed. The type of gas can be selected according to the process reaction to be performed on the wafer. For example, when the wafer needs to undergo cobalt deposition treatment, ammonia can be used as the gas.

[0032] In this embodiment, the air inlet 5 passes the gas into the loading area 2 and then hits the guide part 6 first. The inclined guide surface of the guide part 6 changes the flow direction of the gas. The guide part 6 allows the gas to be hit and reflected at least once before reaching the position of the crystal boat 3 in the loading area 2. The impact and reflection process will slow down the gas, which can effectively reduce the direct impact of high-pressure and large-flow gas on the wafers and the crystal boat 3, and has a buffering effect, so that the gas can be purged more evenly when it reaches the crystal boat 3 and the wafers on the crystal boat 3, so as to achieve stable cleaning and cooling; and the gas purged inside the loading area 2 is extracted and recovered through the return air part 7, thereby forming a cycle.

[0033] In one embodiment, two circulating cooling and purification assemblies are provided in each loading area 2 , and the two circulating cooling and purification assemblies in each loading area 2 are symmetrically arranged in a direction perpendicular to the isolation door 4 of the wafer boat 3 .

[0034] In this embodiment, two symmetrical circulating cooling and purification components are provided in each loading area 2 , thereby forming two paths of purge gas in different directions, which can further improve the cleaning and cooling effects in the loading area 2 .

[0035] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the gas flow path of the circulating cooling and purification component provided in an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0036] In one embodiment, the air inlet 5 of the crystal boat 3 is arranged in the angle formed between the side wall of the loading area and the isolation door 4, and the guide portion 6 of the crystal boat 3 is arranged on the side wall of the loading area where the air inlet 5 of the crystal boat 3 is located, and the guide surface of the guide portion 6 faces the isolation door 4 and is inclined relative to the isolation door 4; wherein, the flow path of the gas introduced into the air inlet 5 is the guide portion 6, the isolation door 4 and the middle of the loading area 2.

[0037] In this embodiment, the position of the side wall of the loading area and the angle formed by the side wall of the loading area and the isolation door 4 will not affect other components inside the loading area 2. Therefore, the air inlet 5 is set at the angle position, and the guide part 6 is set on the side wall of the loading area and close to the air inlet 5; after the gas is passed into the air inlet 5, it first hits the guide part 6 for the first reflection, and after the first reflection, the gas reaches the isolation door 4 for the second reflection, and after the second reflection, the gas reaches the middle of the loading area 2 (that is, reaches the crystal boat 3 and the wafer position) for purging.

[0038] Please continue reading Figure 2The arrow directions and angle values ​​are exemplified. In some specific gas flow path designs, gas enters loading area 2 from inlet 5 at a 45° angle to the loading area sidewall and strikes guide 6, which is installed at a 100° angle to the loading area sidewall. After striking guide 6, the gas is reflected, forming a direction at a 25° angle to the loading area sidewall and striking isolation door 4. After striking isolation door 4, the gas is reflected again, forming a direction at a 25° angle to the loading area sidewall and flowing toward wafer boat 3. This achieves redirection after the second impact and reflection, effectively buffering the gas upon reaching wafer boat 3 and improving mixing. It should be noted that the angles of the arrows are affected by the position and distance between the components. Changes in the arrow angles caused by conventional component position adjustments are normal and fall within the scope of this application.

[0039] In one embodiment, the air return portion 7 is disposed on a side wall of the loading area 2 away from the isolation door 4 .

[0040] In this embodiment, based on the design of the aforementioned air inlet part 5 and the guide part 6, after the gas reaches the crystal boat 3 and the wafers for purging, it will continue to flow in the direction away from isolation. Therefore, the return air part 7 is arranged on the side wall away from the isolation door 4 in the loading area 2, so as to facilitate the recovery of the purged gas.

[0041] In one embodiment, a filter is provided in the air inlet 5 for filtering the blown gas.

[0042] In this embodiment, the filter may be a HEPA filter, which can effectively purify micron particles. The gas passes through the HEPA filter and then enters the loading area 2, thereby ensuring a purging and cleaning effect on the wafer.

[0043] In one embodiment, the guide surface of the guide portion 6 is provided with a guide groove (not shown in the figure), and the guide groove is used to collect the gas and reflect it toward the isolation plate.

[0044] In this embodiment, since the air inlet portion 5 is close to the guide portion 6, in order to avoid excessive dispersion of the gas when it hits the guide portion 6, a guide groove is provided on the guide surface of the guide portion 6 to gather the gas and reflect it toward the isolation plate. This can improve the utilization rate of the gas and reduce waste; and the flow direction of the gas can be more accurately controlled through the guidance of the guide groove.

[0045] In one embodiment, a cooler is provided in the gas return portion 7 for cooling the purged gas.

[0046] In this embodiment, heat exchange is performed when the gas is purging the crystal boat 3 and the wafers, so that the temperature of the crystal boat 3 and the wafers decreases and the temperature of the gas increases. Therefore, when the return gas part 7 recovers the heated purge gas, it is simultaneously cooled through the cooler to provide a stable cooling effect for subsequent cyclic purges.

[0047] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and such modifications or substitutions should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A circulating cooling purification device, applied to a dual-chamber three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment, wherein the dual-chamber three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment comprises two loading areas and an isolation door, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; characterized in that: The circulating cooling and purification device is used to introduce gas into the wafer boat position in the middle of the loading area and perform purging, and the circulating cooling and purification device includes: A plurality of circulating cooling and purification components are symmetrically arranged in the two loading areas with the isolation door as the center; The circulating cooling purification component includes an air inlet, a guide and an air return portion arranged in the loading area; the gas outflow direction of the air inlet is toward the guide portion, the guide surface of the guide portion is inclined and can change the flow direction of the gas, the guide portion allows the gas to reach the crystal boat position in the loading area after at least one collision and reflection, and the air return portion is used to evacuate the inside of the loading area.

2. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Two circulating cooling and purification components are arranged in each loading area, and the two circulating cooling and purification components in each loading area are symmetrically arranged in a direction perpendicular to the isolation door.

3. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air inlet is arranged in the angle formed between the side wall of the loading area and the isolation door, the guide is arranged on the side wall of the loading area where the air inlet is located, and the guide surface of the guide faces the isolation door and is inclined relative to the isolation door; The flow path of the gas introduced into the air intake portion is the guide portion, the isolation door and the middle of the loading area.

4. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The air return portion is arranged on a side wall of the loading area away from the isolation door.

5. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A filter for filtering the blown gas is provided in the air inlet portion.

6. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide surface of the guide portion is provided with a guide groove, and the guide groove is used to collect the gas and reflect it toward the isolation plate.

7. The circulating cooling purification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cooler for cooling the purged gas is provided in the air return portion.

8. A dual-cavity three-wafer boat wafer processing equipment, characterized in that: It comprises two loading areas, an isolation door and a circulating cooling purification device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the two loading areas are separated by the isolation door; the circulating cooling purification device is used to introduce gas into the wafer boat position in the loading area and perform purging.

Images