Equipment for suppressing substrate warpage and method thereof

Abstract

An apparatus and method for suppressing carrier plate warping are disclosed. The apparatus includes a processing chamber, at least one carrier plate fixture, and a plurality of carrier plate pressing devices. The at least one carrier plate fixture is slidably inserted into a slide. Each carrier plate pressing device includes a plate body and at least one air bladder mounted on one bottom surface of the plate body. The at least one air bladder can be filled with gas to a first predetermined pressure, causing the at least one air bladder to expand in a direction opposite to the bottom surface of the plate body and press against a first surface of the carrier plates, causing a second surface of the carrier plates to respectively conform to the abutting surface of the carrier plate fixture. Because the air bladder allows for uniform force distribution on the carrier plates, it resists thermal stress caused by differences in the coefficients of thermal expansion and suppresses warping of the carrier plates.

Claims

1. An apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping, comprising: a processing chamber having an inner frame inside, the processing chamber having a working pressure inside, the inner frame including a plurality of pairs of slides facing each other along a horizontal direction; At least one carrier fixture is slidably inserted into one of the sets of slides and includes an upper surface and at least one receiving space located on the upper surface for placing a carrier. The at least one receiving space has a backing surface for the carrier to abut against. Each carrier has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other. A plurality of carrier pressing devices are arranged at intervals along a vertical direction in the inner frame. Each carrier pressing device includes a plate body disposed in the inner frame and at least one airbag mounted on one bottom surface of the plate body. The at least one airbag can be filled with gas to a first predetermined pressure, the first predetermined pressure being greater than the working pressure, causing the at least one airbag to expand in a direction opposite to the bottom surface of the plate body. One of the carrier pressing devices is located above the at least one carrier fixture. The at least one airbag presses against the first surface of the carrier body located in the at least one receiving space, causing the second surface of the carrier body to respectively conform to the backing surface to suppress warping of the carrier body.

2. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The surface to be supported is flat.

3. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The abutment surface is processed into a specific warp shape, and the warp shape of the carrier plate in the at least one accommodating space is opposite to the specific warp shape of the abutment surface.

4. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The at least one receiving space includes a receiving area disposed on the upper surface of the carrier fixture, and the abutting surface is the bottom surface of the receiving area.

5. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 3, wherein, The at least one accommodating space includes an accommodating area disposed on the upper surface of the carrier fixture, wherein a replaceable fixture is disposed in the accommodating area, the replaceable fixture rests downward against the bottom surface of the accommodating area, and its top surface is the abutting surface for the carrier plate to rest against.

6. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The at least one accommodating space includes a main slot and at least one secondary slot, wherein the main slot is used to accommodate the carrier plate, the bottom surface of the main slot is the abutting surface, and the at least one secondary slot is connected to the lower side of the main slot.

7. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The carrier fixture has a plurality of positioning posts around the at least one accommodating space for positioning the corresponding carrier plate.

8. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 3, wherein, The at least one accommodating space of the carrier fixture is provided with a plurality of positioning posts for positioning the corresponding carrier plate. The at least one accommodating space is provided with a replaceable fixture, which rests downward against the upper surface of the carrier fixture, and its top surface is the abutting surface for the carrier plate to rest against.

9. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The carrier plate is bonded to the abutting surface of the at least one accommodating space by surface adhesive technology.

10. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, further comprising an air pressure source, wherein, Each of the carrier plate pressing devices further includes at least one air inlet pipe connected to the airbag, the air inlet pipes of the carrier plate pressing devices being connected to the air pressure source, the air pressure source being driven to deliver gas to the airbags through the air inlet pipes.

11. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The airbags adjust the air pressure to a second predetermined pressure, which is not equal to the first predetermined pressure, so that the airbags can expand and contract to different degrees relative to the first predetermined pressure after the first predetermined pressure.

12. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The airbags can be vented to a third predetermined pressure, which is less than the working pressure, causing the airbags to contract toward the bottom surfaces of the plates.

13. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 12 further includes a venting device, wherein, Each of the carrier plate pressing devices further includes at least one exhaust pipe connected to the airbag, the exhaust pipes of the carrier plate pressing devices being connected to the venting device, the venting device being drivable to discharge gas from the airbags through the exhaust pipes.

14. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 13, wherein, The venting device is either a vacuum generator or an exhaust valve.

15. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The number of accommodating spaces in each carrier fixture is multiple, and the number of airbags in each carrier pressing device is one, the position of which corresponds to the accommodating spaces. When the airbag is filled with gas to the first predetermined pressure, it simultaneously presses against the first surfaces of the carriers located in the accommodating spaces.

16. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The number of accommodating spaces in each carrier plate fixture is multiple, the number of airbags in each carrier plate pressing device is multiple, the position of each airbag corresponds to at least one of the accommodating spaces, and each airbag, when filled with gas to the first predetermined pressure, presses against the first surface of the carrier plate located in the corresponding at least one accommodating space.

17. The apparatus for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 1, wherein, The material of these airbags is selected from at least one of polyimide, Teflon, and rubber.

18. A method for suppressing carrier plate warping, comprising the steps of: (A) providing a plurality of carrier plates, each carrier plate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other; (B) providing at least one carrier plate fixture, the at least one carrier plate fixture including an upper surface and at least one receiving space located on the upper surface, the at least one receiving space having a contact surface for the carrier plate to abut against; (C) placing the carrier plates respectively in the receiving space of the at least one carrier plate fixture; (D) providing a plurality of carrier plate pressing devices, and arranging the carrier plate pressing devices at intervals in a vertical direction in an inner frame in a processing chamber, each carrier plate pressing device including a plate body disposed in the inner frame and at least one airbag mounted on a bottom surface of the plate body; (E) The inner frame includes multiple sets of parallel slides along a horizontal direction, into which at least one carrier plate fixture with the carrier plates is slidably inserted; and (F) the interior of the processing chamber is brought to a working pressure, and the at least one airbag is filled with gas to a first predetermined pressure, the first predetermined pressure being greater than the working pressure, causing the at least one airbag to expand in the direction opposite to the bottom surface of the plate, wherein a carrier plate pressing device is located above the at least one carrier plate fixture, and the at least one airbag presses against the first surface of the carrier plate located in the accommodating space, causing the second surface of the carrier plate to adhere to the pressing surface to suppress warping of the carrier plate.

19. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, The surface to be supported is flat.

20. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, The abutment surface is processed into a specific warp shape, and the warp shape of the carrier plate in the accommodating space is opposite to the specific warp shape of the abutment surface.

21. The method for suppressing carrier warping as described in claim 18 further includes a step (G) of adjusting the air pressure of the at least one airbag to a second predetermined pressure, the second predetermined pressure being different from the first predetermined pressure, such that the airbags can expand and contract to different degrees relative to the first predetermined pressure after the first predetermined pressure.

22. The method for suppressing carrier warping as described in claim 18 further comprises a step (H), wherein, In step (H), gas is discharged from the at least one airbag to a third predetermined pressure, which is less than the working pressure, causing the at least one airbag to retract inward toward the bottom surface of the plate.

23. The method for suppressing carrier warping as described in claim 18 further comprises a step (I), wherein, In step (I), the at least one carrier plate fixture is removed from the processing chamber, and the carrier plate is removed.

24. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, The pressure difference between the first predetermined pressure and the working pressure is greater than 0.01 atm.

25. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, The step (F) further includes the following sub-steps: (f1) preparing a pressure source connected to the airbags via a plurality of air inlet pipes; and (f2) driving the pressure source and delivering gas to the airbags via the air inlet pipes.

26. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 22, wherein, The step (H) further includes the following sub-steps: (h1) preparing a venting device that is connected to the airbags through a plurality of exhaust pipes; and (h2) driving the venting device and venting the gas in the airbags through the exhaust pipes.

27. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, In this step (F), the working pressure is 10⁻⁵ to 100 atm.

28. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 18, wherein, In step (F), the interior of the processing chamber is brought to a working temperature of 20 to 800°C.

29. The method for suppressing carrier plate warping as described in claim 22, wherein, In this step (H), the third predetermined pressure is 10⁻⁸ to 1 atm.

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