Stepping type photoetching machine

Abstract

The utility model provides a stepping type photoetching machine. The stepping type photoetching machine comprises a wafer bearing table used for bearing a wafer to be photoetched, and the wafer bearing table can move to drive the wafer to be photoetched to move; the power supply cabinet is used for supplying power to the wafer bearing table; the laser head is used for emitting detection light to the wafer bearing table; and the voltage stabilizing transformer is electrically connected with the laser head and used for electrically connecting the laser head to an external power supply, and the voltage stabilizing transformer can convert power supply voltage provided by the external power supply into working voltage required by the laser head so as to supply power to the laser head. According to the utility model, the laser head of the stepping photoetching machine is electrically connected to the factory service power supply independent of the power supply cabinet by additionally arranging the voltage stabilizing transformer, and the laser head and the wafer bearing table do not share the same power supply cabinet any more, so that the influence of the switching action of the power supply cabinet on the laser head when related alarms of the wafer bearing table are processed is avoided; and the service life of the laser head can be prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular to a stepper lithography machine that can extend the service life of a laser head. Background Technology

[0002] Photolithography is a crucial step in semiconductor manufacturing. Essentially, it involves transferring a temporary circuit structure onto a photosensitive thin film on a wafer surface using a photomask, followed by a series of processing steps to form the final circuit structure. The photolithography process includes wafer surface cleaning and drying, primer coating, spin-coating of photoresist, soft baking, alignment and exposure, post-baking, development, hard baking, etching, and inspection. Related equipment includes photolithography machines, photoresist coating and developing equipment, cleaning equipment, and inspection equipment. Among these, the photolithography machine, which enables alignment and exposure, is the core equipment in the photolithography process.

[0003] The movement of the wafer stage in an existing ASML stepper lithography machine consists of a leveling system, a laser head alignment system, a stage, guide rails, an electrical control system, and a software system.

[0004] Please see Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an existing stepper lithography machine. (For example...) Figure 1 As shown, the laser head 13 and wafer stage 11 of an existing stepper lithography machine share the same power supply cabinet (WSR) 12. The main function of the laser head 13 is to emit detection light 131 to the wafer stage 11; the controller 121 in the power supply cabinet 12 receives the reflected light from the wafer stage 11, accurately calculates the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer stage 11 in real time, and controls the wafer stage 11 to move to the accurate position. The laser head is a consumable product, and the light intensity of its laser beam will be consumed more rapidly with the use time and the switching action of the power supply cabinet when handling wafer stage alarms, thereby reducing the lifespan of the laser head. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a stepper lithography machine that can avoid the impact of the power cabinet switching action on the laser head when handling alarms related to the wafer carrier stage, thereby extending the service life of the laser head.

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides a stepper lithography machine, comprising: a wafer carrier stage for carrying a wafer to be lithographically oriented, the wafer carrier stage being movable to move the wafer to be lithographically oriented; a power supply cabinet for supplying power to the wafer carrier stage; a laser head for emitting detection light onto the wafer carrier stage; and a voltage regulator transformer electrically connected to the laser head for connecting the laser head to an external power supply, the voltage regulator transformer being able to convert the power supply voltage provided by the external power supply into the operating voltage required by the laser head to power the laser head.

[0007] In some embodiments, the external power source is a stable, normally-on plant power supply independent of the power cabinet.

[0008] In some embodiments, the voltage regulator is a 220V / 380V to 15V voltage regulator, which can convert the 220V / 380V power supply voltage provided by the external power source into the 15V operating voltage required by the laser head.

[0009] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes: a first power line, wherein the voltage regulator is electrically connected to the laser head and the external power supply respectively through the first power line.

[0010] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes: a first power switch disposed on the power supply line between the voltage regulator and the laser head, for controlling the on / off state of the power supply line between the voltage regulator and the laser head.

[0011] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes a second power line, wherein the power supply cabinet is electrically connected to the wafer carrier stage via the second power line to supply power to the wafer carrier stage.

[0012] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes: a second power switch disposed on the power supply line between the power cabinet and the wafer carrier stage, for controlling the on / off state of the power supply line between the power cabinet and the wafer carrier stage.

[0013] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes: a position controller disposed within the power cabinet, the position controller being capable of receiving reflected light from the wafer carrier stage to the detection light and obtaining the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer carrier stage based on the reflected light; and a monitoring controller disposed within the power cabinet, the monitoring controller being used to control the wafer carrier stage to move to a target position based on the movement trajectory coordinates.

[0014] In some embodiments, the stepper lithography machine further includes a signal line, wherein the position controller and the monitoring controller are electrically connected to the wafer carrier stage via the signal line.

[0015] The above technical solution, by adding a voltage regulator transformer, connects the laser head of the stepper lithography machine to a stable, normally open plant power supply independent of the power supply cabinet. The voltage regulator transformer converts the power voltage provided by the plant power supply into the operating voltage required by the laser head, thus eliminating the need for the laser head to be powered by the power supply cabinet. The laser head and wafer carrier no longer share the same power supply cabinet, avoiding the impact of power cabinet switching on the laser head when handling wafer carrier-related alarms, and extending the laser head's lifespan. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this utility model, the drawings used in the embodiments of this utility model will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an existing stepper lithography machine;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a stepper lithography machine provided in one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0020] Please see Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a stepper lithography machine provided in one embodiment of the present invention. For ease of illustration, only the laser head and related components are shown in the figure. Figure 2 As shown, the stepper lithography machine described in this embodiment includes: a wafer stage 21, a power supply cabinet (WSR) 22, a laser head 23, and a voltage regulator transformer 24.

[0021] Specifically, the wafer carrier stage 21 is used to carry the wafer to be photolithographically lithographically oriented (not shown), and the wafer carrier stage 21 is movable to move the wafer to be photolithographically oriented. The power supply cabinet 22 is used to supply power to the wafer carrier stage 21.

[0022] Specifically, the laser head 23 is used to emit detection light 231 towards the wafer carrier stage 21. The laser head 23 can be suspended above the wafer carrier stage 21. The laser head 23 can be a normally open light source to emit detection light 231 with known and fixed X and Y coordinates towards the wafer carrier stage 21. The wafer carrier stage 21 reflects the detection light 231 to form reflected light. When the wafer carrier stage 21 moves, the X and Y coordinate positions of the reflected light also change, so that the corresponding controller of the stepper lithography machine can obtain the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer carrier stage 21 based on the reflected light, and then control the wafer carrier stage 21 to move to the target position based on the movement trajectory coordinates.

[0023] Specifically, the voltage regulator 24 is electrically connected to the laser head 23 and is used to connect the laser head 23 to an external power supply 29. The voltage regulator 24 can convert the power supply voltage provided by the external power supply 29 into the working voltage required by the laser head 23 to power the laser head 23.

[0024] In this embodiment, by connecting the laser head to a stable external power supply, the power supply of the laser head can be controlled independently. The laser head and the wafer carrier no longer share the same power cabinet, which effectively avoids the impact of the power cabinet's switching action on the laser head when handling wafer carrier-related alarms, and can extend the service life of the laser head.

[0025] In this embodiment, the external power supply 29 is a stable, normally-on plant power supply independent of the power cabinet 22. As an independent, stable, normally-on power supply, this plant power supply can meet the stable power requirements of the laser head 23. Since the laser head 23 is no longer powered by the power cabinet 22, the switching action of the power cabinet 22 avoids affecting the laser head 23, thus extending its service life.

[0026] In this embodiment, the laser head 23 requires a working voltage of 15V, and the power supply voltage provided by the external power supply 29 is 220V / 380V. Correspondingly, the voltage regulator 24 is a 220V / 380V to 15V voltage regulator, which can convert the 220V / 380V power supply voltage provided by the external power supply 29 into the 15V working voltage required by the laser head 23, thereby meeting the working requirements of the laser head 23.

[0027] In this embodiment, the stepper lithography machine further includes a first power cable 281; the voltage regulator 24 is electrically connected to the laser head 23 and the external power supply 29 via the first power cable 281. The laser head 23 is no longer connected to the power cabinet 22 via a power cable, thus avoiding the impact of the power cabinet 22's switching operation on the laser head 23 and extending its service life.

[0028] In this embodiment, the stepper lithography machine further includes a first power switch 251. The first power switch 251 is disposed on the power supply line between the voltage regulator transformer 24 and the laser head 23, and is used to control the on / off state of the power supply line between the voltage regulator transformer 24 and the laser head 23. Specifically, the first power switch 251 can be disposed near the laser head 23; furthermore, the first power switch 251 can be placed and fixed inside the stepper lithography machine base near the laser head 23.

[0029] In this embodiment, the stepper lithography machine further includes a second power line 282. The power cabinet 22 is electrically connected to the wafer carrier stage 21 via the second power line 282 to supply power to the wafer carrier stage 21. The power supply to the laser head 23 is independent of the power supply to the wafer carrier stage 21. Therefore, when handling alarms related to the wafer carrier stage 21, the switching action of the power cabinet 22 will not affect the laser head 23, thus extending the service life of the laser head 23.

[0030] In this embodiment, the stepper lithography machine further includes a second power switch 252. The second power switch 252 is disposed on the power supply line between the power cabinet 22 and the wafer carrier stage 21, and is used to control the on / off state of the power supply line between the power cabinet 22 and the wafer carrier stage 21. Specifically, when handling alarms related to the wafer carrier stage 21, the power cabinet 22 can perform a switching action via the second power switch 252.

[0031] When the wafer carrier stage 21 moves (in the case of photolithography, this movement is translation), the X and Y coordinates of the reflected light formed by reflecting the detection light 231 emitted by the laser head 23 also change. The corresponding controller of the stepper lithography machine can obtain the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer carrier stage 21 based on the reflected light, and then control the wafer carrier stage 21 to move to the target position based on the movement trajectory coordinates. Specifically, in this embodiment, the stepper lithography machine also includes: a position bus controller system 26 and a motion controller system 27 disposed in the power cabinet 22. The position controller 26 can receive the reflected light (not shown) of the detection light 231 from the wafer carrier stage 21, and obtain the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer carrier stage 21 based on the reflected light; the specific method of obtaining the movement trajectory coordinates can refer to the method of obtaining the movement trajectory coordinates of the corresponding controller of the existing stepper lithography machine, which will not be repeated here. The monitoring controller 27 is used to control the wafer carrier stage 21 to move to the target position according to the movement trajectory coordinates; the specific movement control method can refer to the way the corresponding controller of the existing stepper lithography machine controls the movement of the wafer carrier stage 21, which will not be described in detail here.

[0032] Following the above embodiment, the stepper lithography machine further includes: a signal line 283; the position controller 26 and the monitoring controller 27 are electrically connected to the wafer carrier stage 21 via the signal line 283, so that the position controller 26 can receive the reflected light of the detection light 231 from the wafer carrier stage 21 via the signal line 283, and the monitoring controller 27 can send a control signal via the signal line 283 to control the wafer carrier stage 21 to move to the target position.

[0033] This invention adds a voltage stabilizing transformer to electrically connect the laser head of the stepper lithography machine to a stable, normally open plant power supply independent of the power cabinet. The voltage stabilizing transformer converts the power voltage provided by the plant power supply into the operating voltage required by the laser head, thus eliminating the need for the laser head to be powered by the power cabinet. The laser head and wafer carrier no longer share the same power cabinet, avoiding the impact of power cabinet switching on the laser head when handling wafer carrier-related alarms, and extending the laser head's lifespan.

[0034] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "also includes a…" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this utility model. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications without departing from the principle of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this utility model.

Claims

1. A stepper lithography machine, characterized in that, include: A wafer carrier stage is used to carry a wafer to be photolithographically etched, and the wafer carrier stage is movable to move the wafer to be photolithographically etched. A power supply cabinet is used to supply power to the wafer carrier stage; A laser head is used to emit detection light onto the wafer carrier stage; A voltage regulator transformer is electrically connected to the laser head and is used to connect the laser head to an external power source. The voltage regulator transformer can convert the power supply voltage provided by the external power source into the working voltage required by the laser head to power the laser head.

2. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The external power source is a stable, normally-on plant power supply that is independent of the power supply cabinet.

3. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The voltage regulator is a 220V / 380V to 15V voltage regulator, which can convert the 220V / 380V power supply voltage provided by the external power source into the 15V working voltage required by the laser head.

4. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The first power line connects the voltage regulator transformer to the laser head and the external power source respectively.

5. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A first power switch is installed on the power supply line between the voltage regulator and the laser head, and is used to control the on / off state of the power supply line between the voltage regulator and the laser head.

6. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The second power line connects the power cabinet to the wafer carrier stage to supply power to the wafer carrier stage.

7. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The second power switch is installed on the power supply line between the power cabinet and the wafer carrier stage, and is used to control the on / off state of the power supply line between the power cabinet and the wafer carrier stage.

8. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A position controller is installed inside the power cabinet. The position controller is capable of receiving the reflected light of the detection light from the wafer carrier stage and obtaining the movement trajectory coordinates of the wafer carrier stage based on the reflected light. A monitoring controller is installed inside the power cabinet. The monitoring controller is used to control the wafer carrier stage to move to the target position according to the movement trajectory coordinates.

9. The stepper lithography machine according to claim 8, characterized in that, Also includes: The position controller and the monitoring controller are electrically connected to the wafer carrier stage via the signal lines.

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