Lifting needle mechanism and process reaction cavity comprising same

Abstract

The utility model provides a lifting needle mechanism and a process reaction chamber comprising the same, and the lifting needle mechanism comprises a plurality of lifting needles which penetrate through a plurality of through holes of a base in a one-to-one correspondence manner; the lifting ring is used for driving the lifting needles to move up and down, the lifting ring comprises an annular base plate, an annular groove extending downwards from the top surface of the annular base plate is formed in the annular base plate, an annular needle seat matched with the annular groove in shape is installed in the annular groove, and the bottom of each lifting needle is longitudinally fixed to the annular needle seat; the contact sensor is arranged on the bottom surface of the annular needle seat and / or the bottom wall of the annular groove and is used for detecting whether the position of the annular needle seat is abnormal or not; and the controller is used for controlling the alarm device to give an alarm when the contact sensor detects that the position of the annular needle seat is abnormal. According to the utility model, the probability that the lifting needle is stuck can be reduced, and even if the lifting needle is stuck accidentally, early warning can be carried out in time, so that the subsequent process abnormity is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of semiconductor equipment technology, and in particular to a lifting needle mechanism and a process reaction chamber including the mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] In semiconductor process reaction chambers, wafer stages are typically provided to support wafers. Taking a TF (thin film deposition) reaction chamber as an example, its wafer stages are used to place wafers for wafer deposition processes.

[0003] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an existing wafer stage. As shown, the wafer stage is disposed in a process reaction chamber 100, including a base 10, multiple liftpins 20, and a lift ring 30. The base 10 can serve as a heater in the process reaction chamber 100, allowing the wafer 40 placed on the base 10 to be uniformly heated via heat conduction for deposition processes. The upper part of the base 10 is a flat circular platform with multiple longitudinally extending through-holes 11 inside, and the liftpins 20 are correspondingly disposed in each through-hole 11. The lift ring 30 is driven by a lifting drive device (not shown) and can move up and down. After the wafer 40 is transferred to the process reaction chamber 100 by the robotic arm (not shown), the lifting drive device drives the lifting ring 30 to rise and contact the lifting pin 20. The lifting pin 20 then rises through the through-hole 11 to contact and lift the wafer 40, causing it to leave the robotic arm. The robotic arm then exits the process reaction chamber 100, completing one transfer of the wafer 40. Afterward, the lifting drive device drives the lifting ring 30 to descend, and the lifted lifting pin 20 moves downward, causing the wafer 40 placed on it to fall onto the base 10 for subsequent processing.

[0004] However, in actual use, it was found that the lifting pin 20 is prone to tilting during its up-and-down movement, and may even get stuck in the through hole 11 of the base 10 due to tilting, especially when byproducts adhere to its outer wall after a period of process reaction. It should be understood that if the lifting pin 20 gets stuck, the process in the process reaction chamber 100 will continue to run, which can easily lead to wafer processing abnormalities or even scrap. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the shortcomings of the prior art, this utility model provides a lifting needle mechanism and a process reaction chamber containing the mechanism, so as to reduce the probability of the lifting needle getting stuck, and even if the lifting needle is accidentally stuck, it can provide timely warning and reduce subsequent process abnormalities.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] In a first aspect, this utility model provides a lifting needle mechanism disposed within a process reaction chamber, wherein a base is further provided within the process reaction chamber, and the lifting needle mechanism comprises:

[0008] Multiple lifting pins are inserted into multiple through holes of the base in a corresponding manner, and the diameter of the lifting pin is smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole;

[0009] A lifting ring for driving the lifting needle to move up and down includes an annular base plate. An annular groove extending downward from its top surface is provided on the annular base plate. A matching annular needle seat is installed in the annular groove, and the bottom of each lifting needle is longitudinally fixed to the annular needle seat.

[0010] A contact sensor is disposed on the bottom surface of the annular needle holder and / or the bottom wall of the annular groove to detect whether the annular needle holder is in an abnormal position.

[0011] A controller, connected to the contact sensor, is used to control an alarm device to sound an alarm when the contact sensor detects an abnormal position of the annular pin seat.

[0012] Furthermore, the annular needle seat is provided with multiple screw holes, and the bottom of the lifting needle is threadedly connected to the screw holes.

[0013] Furthermore, the lifting needle mechanism includes a plurality of contact sensors arranged at intervals.

[0014] Furthermore, the alarm device includes an audible and visual alarm.

[0015] Furthermore, the controller is also connected to the process control device of the process reaction chamber to notify the process control device to stop executing the corresponding process when the contact sensor detects an abnormal position of the annular needle seat.

[0016] Furthermore, the lifting needle mechanism includes at least three lifting needles.

[0017] Furthermore, the lifting needle mechanism also includes a lifting drive device for driving the lifting ring to move up and down.

[0018] Furthermore, the annular chassis is a metal chassis, and the annular pin seat is a ceramic ring.

[0019] Secondly, this utility model provides a process reaction chamber, including a base and a lifting needle mechanism as described above.

[0020] Furthermore, the process reaction chamber is a thin film deposition reaction chamber.

[0021] By adopting the above technical solution, this utility model has the following beneficial effects:

[0022] This invention fixes the bottom of the lifting pin longitudinally to the annular pin seat, preventing the lifting pin from tilting easily during lifting and lowering, thus reducing the probability of the lifting pin getting stuck. Simultaneously, by installing contact sensors on the bottom surface of the annular pin seat and / or the bottom wall of the annular groove, it is possible to detect whether the annular pin seat is properly installed. If the lifting pin accidentally gets stuck, it will cause the annular pin seat to move away from the bottom wall of the annular groove. At this time, the contact sensor will detect the abnormal position of the annular pin seat, and the controller will activate the alarm device to sound an alarm, so that operators can promptly detect and handle the abnormality, reducing subsequent process errors. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting needle mechanism in the prior art;

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the tilting of the rising needle;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting needle mechanism in Embodiment 1 of this utility model;

[0026] Figure 4 This is a circuit diagram of the lifting needle mechanism in Embodiment 1 of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this utility model without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0028] The terminology used in this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0029] Example 1

[0030] This embodiment provides a lifting pin mechanism disposed within a process reaction chamber (not shown). The process reaction chamber also includes a base (not shown), the top of which is a flat, circular platform for supporting the wafer. The base can serve as a heater within the process reaction chamber, allowing the wafer placed on the base to be uniformly heated via heat conduction for the deposition process.

[0031] like Figure 3 As shown, the lifting needle mechanism of this embodiment mainly includes multiple lifting needles 1, a lifting ring 2 for driving each lifting needle 1 to move up and down, and a lifting drive device (not shown) for driving the lifting ring 2 to move up and down.

[0032] In this embodiment, the base has multiple longitudinally extending through holes, and multiple lifting pins 1 are correspondingly inserted into each through hole, with the diameter of the lifting pin 1 being smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole. Each lifting pin 1 has a flat top end for supporting the wafer placed on it. Preferably, the lifting pin mechanism in this embodiment includes at least three lifting pins 1 to stably support the wafer.

[0033] In this embodiment, the lifting ring 2 includes an annular base 21, on which an annular groove 211 extends downward from its top surface. A matching annular pin seat 22 is installed within the annular groove 211, and the bottom of each lifting pin 1 is longitudinally fixed to the annular pin seat 22. During operation, the lifting ring 2 is driven by a lifting drive device (not shown) to move up and down. When the wafer is transferred to the process reaction chamber by a robotic arm (not shown), the lifting drive device drives the lifting ring 2 to rise and contact the lifting pin 1, causing the lifting pin 1 to rise through the through-hole to contact and lift the wafer, thus removing the wafer from the robotic arm. The robotic arm then exits the process reaction chamber, completing the wafer transfer. Afterward, the lifting drive device drives the lifting ring 2 to descend, and the lifted lifting pin 1 moves downward, causing the wafer placed on it to descend and be placed on the base for subsequent processing. Because the lifting pin 1 is longitudinally fixed to the annular pin seat 22, the lifting pin 1 is less prone to tilting during the lifting process, thereby reducing the probability of the lifting pin 1 getting stuck.

[0034] Furthermore, the lifting needle mechanism in this embodiment also includes a contact sensor 3 disposed on the bottom surface of the annular needle seat 22 and / or the bottom wall of the annular groove 211, for detecting whether the annular needle seat 22 is in an abnormal position. For example, when the contact sensor 3 is disposed on the bottom surface of the annular needle seat 22, if the annular needle seat 22 is normally installed in the annular groove 211, the contact sensor 3 will contact the bottom wall of the annular groove 211; if the contact sensor 3 does not detect the bottom wall of the annular groove 211, it indicates that the annular needle seat 22 is in an abnormal position. When the contact sensor 3 is disposed on the bottom wall of the annular groove 211, if the annular needle seat 22 is normally installed in the annular groove 211, the contact sensor 3 will contact the bottom surface of the annular needle seat 22; if the contact sensor 3 does not detect the bottom surface of the annular needle seat 22, it indicates that the annular needle seat 22 is in an abnormal position. Preferably, the contact sensor 3 is a normally open contact sensor, which outputs corresponding trigger information when it detects an abnormal position of the annular needle seat 22.

[0035] like Figure 4 As shown, the lifting pin mechanism in this embodiment also includes a controller 4 connected to the contact sensor 3. This controller 4 is used to activate an alarm device (such as an audible and visual alarm) when the contact sensor 3 detects an abnormal position of the annular pin holder 22 (i.e., receives trigger information output by the contact sensor 3). Therefore, even if the lifting pin 1 accidentally gets stuck (e.g., due to excessive deposits on its outer wall), it will cause the annular pin holder 22 to move away from the bottom wall of the annular groove 211. At this time, the contact sensor 3 will detect the abnormal position of the annular pin holder 22, and the controller will activate the alarm device to sound an alarm, allowing operators to promptly detect the abnormality and take appropriate action, reducing the possibility of wafer processing abnormalities or even scrap.

[0036] In addition, the controller 4 can also be connected to the process control device 5 of the process reaction chamber to notify the process control device 5 to directly stop the execution of subsequent processes when the contact sensor 3 detects an abnormal position of the annular pin seat 22, so as to avoid abnormalities in subsequent wafer processing.

[0037] In one feasible embodiment, in order to fix each lifting pin 1 to the annular pin seat 22, a plurality of screw holes (not shown) are opened on the annular pin seat 22, and the bottom of each lifting pin 1 is threadedly connected to each screw hole.

[0038] In one feasible embodiment, for effective early warning, the lifting needle mechanism includes a plurality of spaced-apart contact sensors 3 (preferably evenly spaced circumferentially). Figure 3 The example shown is two contact sensors 3.

[0039] Preferably, in this embodiment, the annular base 21 is a metal base and the annular pin seat 22 is a ceramic ring.

[0040] Example 2

[0041] This embodiment provides a process reaction chamber, including a base and a lifting needle mechanism as provided in Embodiment 1. Because of the lifting needle mechanism used in this embodiment, the present invention can reduce the probability of the lifting needle 1 getting stuck, and even if the lifting needle 1 is accidentally stuck, it can provide timely warning, reducing subsequent process abnormalities.

[0042] In one feasible embodiment, the process reaction chamber is a thin film deposition reaction chamber, preferably a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process reaction chamber.

[0043] While specific embodiments of this utility model have been described above, those skilled in the art should understand that these are merely illustrative examples, and the scope of protection of this utility model is defined by the appended claims. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to these embodiments without departing from the principles and essence of this utility model, but all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of protection of this utility model.

Claims

1. A lifting needle mechanism, disposed within a process reaction chamber, wherein the process reaction chamber further comprises a base, characterized in that, The lifting needle mechanism includes: Multiple lifting pins are inserted into multiple through holes of the base in a corresponding manner, and the diameter of the lifting pin is smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole; A lifting ring for driving the lifting needle to move up and down includes an annular base plate. An annular groove extending downward from its top surface is provided on the annular base plate. A matching annular needle seat is installed in the annular groove, and the bottom of each lifting needle is longitudinally fixed to the annular needle seat. A contact sensor disposed on the bottom surface of the annular needle holder and / or the bottom wall of the annular groove is used to detect whether the annular needle holder is in an abnormal position; and The controller connected to the contact sensor is used to control the alarm device to sound an alarm when the contact sensor detects an abnormal position of the annular needle seat.

2. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The annular needle seat is provided with multiple screw holes for threaded connection with the bottom of the lifting needle.

3. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting needle mechanism includes a plurality of contact sensors arranged at intervals.

4. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The alarm device includes an audible and visual alarm.

5. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The controller is also connected to the process control device of the process reaction chamber to notify the process control device to stop executing the corresponding process when the contact sensor detects an abnormal position of the annular needle seat.

6. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting needle mechanism includes at least three lifting needles.

7. The lifting needle mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting needle mechanism also includes a lifting drive device for driving the lifting ring to move up and down.

8. The lifting needle mechanism as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The annular base is a metal base, and the annular needle seat is a ceramic ring.

9. A process reaction chamber, characterized in that, It includes a base and a lifting needle mechanism as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. The process reaction chamber as described in claim 9, characterized in that, The process reaction chamber is a thin film deposition reaction chamber.

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