Stainless steel heater structure adaptive to semiconductor equipment

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of semiconductor heating plates, in particular to a stainless steel heater structure adaptive to semiconductor equipment, which comprises an upper base plate, a lower base plate, an insulating layer, a Shaft column and heating elements, the upper base plate and the lower base plate are made of stainless steel materials, the heating elements are thick film heaters, the heating elements are arranged on the insulating layer in a printing and sintering mode, and the Shaft column is arranged on the insulating layer. The upper base plate, the insulating layer with the heating body and the other insulating layer with the heating body are sequentially stacked together and then are sintered and molded into a whole, the Shaft column is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and the lower base plate is fixedly connected with the upper base plate. According to the stainless steel heater structure adaptive to the semiconductor equipment, innovative designs such as a stainless steel material, a thick film heater and an inorganic non-metal insulating layer are adopted, so that the use temperature range, the temperature uniformity and the insulating property of the heating disc are improved, the production process is simplified, the cost is reduced, the thickness and the mounting space of the heating disc are reduced, and the production efficiency is improved. And the maintenance convenience is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor heating plate technology, specifically to a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor equipment manufacturing process, temperature control, such as wafer heating / cooling, is crucial, especially in vacuum and special gas environments, which place extremely high demands on the heating pad's material, temperature uniformity, production efficiency, and cost. Currently, most mainstream wafer heating pads on the market use aluminum as the main material and embed metal electric heaters inside to achieve the heating function. However, this traditional heating pad structure has many shortcomings:

[0003] First, aluminum has a relatively low melting point, limiting the application of heating plates in high-temperature environments and failing to meet the stringent high-temperature requirements of certain high-precision semiconductor manufacturing processes. Furthermore, metal heaters are complex to manufacture, have low production efficiency, and are costly. The bending radius of metal electric heaters also results in lower temperature uniformity and heating efficiency, making it difficult to meet the high standards of wafer surface temperature uniformity.

[0004] Secondly, existing wafer heating pad structures typically consist of two aluminum disks, upper and lower, connected by welding, with a metal electric heater embedded in the middle. This welded structure not only makes the heating pad non-removable and difficult to maintain after welding, but also may introduce stress concentration and welding defects during the welding process, affecting the reliability and service life of the heating pad. Furthermore, the insulation of the metal electric heater relies on magnesium oxide powder, which is highly hygroscopic and its insulation performance deteriorates over time, further increasing safety hazards.

[0005] To overcome the aforementioned shortcomings, there is an urgent need in the market for a novel wafer heating plate structure that can expand the operating temperature range of the heating plate, improve temperature uniformity, reduce production costs, and increase production efficiency. Therefore, this invention proposes a stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment. Utility Model Content

[0006] To address the aforementioned issues, this utility model provides a stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment. This stainless steel heater structure, through innovative designs such as the use of stainless steel material, a thick-film heater, and an inorganic non-metallic insulation layer, not only improves the operating temperature range, temperature uniformity, and insulation performance of the heating plate, but also simplifies the manufacturing process, reduces costs, decreases the thickness of the heating plate and installation space, and enhances maintenance convenience, thereby meeting the temperature control requirements of more high-precision semiconductor manufacturing processes.

[0007] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows:

[0008] A stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor devices includes an upper base plate, a lower base plate, an insulating layer, a Shaft column, and a heating element. The upper and lower base plates are made of stainless steel, and the heating element is a thick-film heater. The heating element is first arranged on an insulating layer by printing and sintering. Then, the upper base plate, the insulating layer with the heating element, and another insulating layer are stacked together and sintered into a whole. The Shaft column is fixedly connected to the lower base plate, and the lower base plate is fixedly connected to the upper base plate.

[0009] Optionally, the lower base plate is fixedly connected to the upper base plate by welding.

[0010] Preferably, the lower base plate and the upper base plate are detachably fixedly connected.

[0011] Furthermore, the lower base plate is fixedly connected to the upper base plate by bolts.

[0012] A cable outlet is located in the center of the Shaft column, connecting the heating element to the outside.

[0013] The thickness of the heating element is less than 0.5 mm.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0015] 1. The present invention discloses a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. By using stainless steel as the upper and lower base plates, the stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment significantly improves the operating temperature range of the heating plate, enabling it to meet the high-temperature requirements of more high-precision semiconductor manufacturing processes. Compared with traditional aluminum metal heating plates, stainless steel has a higher melting point and can work stably at higher temperatures.

[0016] 2. The present invention discloses a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. This stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment uses a thick film heater and arranges it on the insulating layer by printing and sintering, which realizes a higher degree of freedom in the arrangement of heating elements and is not limited by the bending radius of the metal. This design can more rationally design the arrangement of heating elements, thereby significantly improving the temperature uniformity of the wafer surface and reaching the international advanced level, such as improving the temperature uniformity of the wafer surface to within ±0.5%.

[0017] 3. The present invention discloses a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. The insulating layer of the stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment uses inorganic non-metallic material, which has good insulation performance, low cost, does not absorb water, and has higher reliability in long-term use. Compared with the traditional heating plate that uses magnesium oxide powder as the insulating material, this design avoids the problem of reduced insulation performance due to water absorption.

[0018] 4. The stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment disclosed in this utility model eliminates the need for processing metal heating wire grooves and welding upper and lower aluminum discs in the original structure, and replaces them all with assembly processes. This effectively shortens the production cycle, alleviates the production pressure on the production line, reduces equipment wear and tear, and makes it easier to achieve automated assembly. It not only improves production efficiency but also reduces costs.

[0019] 5. The present invention discloses a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. Because the thickness of the thick film heater is less than 0.5 mm, compared with the traditional metal heater (the diameter is generally greater than 6 mm), the thickness of the lower plate originally used to install the metal heater can be reduced by at least 5 mm, and the overall thickness of the wafer heating plate can be reduced by at least 5.5 mm. This not only brings about a significant reduction in cost, but also improves the utilization rate of installation space.

[0020] 6. The present invention discloses a stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment. The stainless steel heater structure adapted to semiconductor equipment adopts a detachable fixed connection (such as bolt connection), which makes the upper base plate and the lower base plate easy to disassemble and maintain. Compared with the heating plate fixed by the traditional welding method, this design improves the maintainability and service life of the equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The advantages and solutions of this application will become clear to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this invention.

[0022] In the attached diagram:

[0023] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional exploded view of a stainless steel heater structure adapted to a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a stainless steel heater structure adapted to a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present utility model;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of a stainless steel heater structure adapted to a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0026] Figure 4 Example 1 of a design scheme for a heating element;

[0027] Figure 5 Example 2 of the design scheme for the heating element;

[0028] Figure 6 The finite element thermal calculation results of the wafer surface temperature of a stainless steel heater structure adapted to a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of this utility model are shown below.

[0029] The components represented by the various reference numerals in the diagram are:

[0030] This utility model comprises: 1. upper base plate, 2. lower base plate, 3. insulating layer, 4. Shaft column, 41. wire outlet hole, and 5. heating element. Detailed Implementation

[0031] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment mainly includes an upper base plate 1, a lower base plate 2, an insulating layer 3, a Shaft column 4, and a heating element 5.

[0032] The upper base plate 1 is made of stainless steel with a flat surface, serving as the working surface for the wafer.

[0033] The lower base plate 2 is also made of stainless steel and is positioned opposite the upper base plate 1.

[0034] The insulating layer 3 is made of inorganic non-metallic material, which has good insulation performance and corrosion resistance. There are two layers, located on the upper and lower sides of the heating element 5 respectively.

[0035] Shaft column 4 is fixedly connected to the lower base plate 2 to fix and support the entire heater structure, and has a wire outlet hole 41 in the center to connect the heating element 5 to the outside.

[0036] The heating element 5 is a thick film heater, which is arranged on an insulating layer 3 by printing and sintering. The thickness is less than 0.5 mm, and it has high thermal efficiency and good temperature uniformity.

[0037] First, the heating elements 5 are arranged on an insulating layer 3 by printing and sintering to form a heating unit. Then, the upper base plate 1, the insulating layer 3 with the heating elements 5, and another insulating layer 3 are stacked together in sequence and integrally formed by sintering to form part 1. Next, the Shaft column 4 is fixedly connected to the lower base plate 2 by welding or other methods to form part 2. Finally, part 1 and part 2 are fixed together by welding, threaded connection, or bolt fastening to complete the assembly of the entire heater structure. Welding provides strong connection strength, while threaded connection or bolt fastening facilitates disassembly and maintenance.

[0038] When an external power supply is connected to the heating element 5 through the outlet hole 41 of the Shaft post 4, the heating element 5 begins to generate heat and transfers the heat to the upper base plate 1 through thermal conduction, thereby heating the wafer. At the same time, a thermocouple passes through a non-metallic heating element and is attached to the metal surface of the upper plate to detect the temperature of the wafer's working surface and feeds the temperature signal back to the control system for precise temperature control.

[0039] The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor devices has the following technical advantages:

[0040] 1. Improved operating temperature range: Since both the upper base plate 1 and the lower base plate 2 are made of stainless steel, which has a high melting point and good heat resistance, the operating temperature range of the heating plate can be greatly improved to meet the high-temperature requirements of more high-precision semiconductor manufacturing processes.

[0041] 2. Improved Temperature Uniformity: The heating element 5 is a thick-film heater arranged on the insulating layer 3 by printing and sintering, which provides greater freedom in the arrangement of the heating elements and allows for a more rational design of the arrangement, thereby significantly improving the temperature uniformity of the wafer surface. In this embodiment, the temperature uniformity of the wafer surface can be improved to within ±0.5%, reaching the international advanced level.

[0042] 3. Enhanced insulation performance and reliability: Insulation layer 3 uses inorganic non-metallic materials, which have good insulation performance and corrosion resistance, and are low in cost, non-absorbent, and have higher reliability in long-term use.

[0043] 4. Simplified production process and reduced costs: The complex processes required in the original structure, such as machining the metal heating wire groove and welding the upper and lower aluminum plates, have been eliminated and replaced entirely with assembly processes. This effectively shortens the production cycle and reduces equipment wear and tear and production costs. Furthermore, due to the smaller thickness of the thick-film heater, the thickness of the heating plate and the installation space required can be significantly reduced.

[0044] 5. Easy to maintain and replace: By adopting a detachable fixed connection (such as bolt connection), the upper base plate 1 and the lower base plate 2 can be easily disassembled and maintained, which improves the maintainability and service life of the equipment.

[0045] Figure 4 and Figure 5 Examples of heating element design schemes and corresponding variations are provided. Figure 6 The results are the finite element thermal calculations for the corresponding wafer surface temperature. Figure 5 According to the finite element thermal flow calculation results, under this arrangement, when the average temperature of the wafer working surface is 200℃, the temperature difference on the wafer surface is less than 2℃, which is 1.77℃. That is, this heating element design scheme, matched with the stainless steel thick film heater design, can make the temperature uniformity of the wafer working surface reach the ±0.5% level, which is at the international advanced level.

Claims

1. A stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment, characterized in that, It includes an upper base plate (1), a lower base plate (2), an insulating layer (3), a Shaft column (4) and a heating element (5). The upper base plate (1) and the lower base plate (2) are made of stainless steel. The heating element (5) is a thick film heater. The heating element (5) is first arranged on an insulating layer (3) by printing and sintering. Then, the upper base plate (1), the insulating layer (3) with the heating element (5) and another insulating layer (3) are stacked together and sintered into a whole. The Shaft column (4) is fixedly connected to the lower base plate (2). The lower base plate (2) is fixedly connected to the upper base plate (1).

2. The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower base plate (2) is fixedly connected to the upper base plate (1) by welding.

3. The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower base plate (2) and the upper base plate (1) are detachably fixedly connected.

4. The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, The lower base plate (2) is fixedly connected to the upper base plate (1) by bolts.

5. The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, A wire outlet (41) is provided in the center of the Shaft column (4) to connect the heating element (5) with the outside.

6. The stainless steel heater structure adapted for semiconductor equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The thickness of the heating element (5) is less than 0.5 mm.

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