Semiconductor process chamber, semiconductor process apparatus and semiconductor process method

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor processing processes. Provided are a semiconductor process chamber, a semiconductor process apparatus and a semiconductor process method, which aim to solve the problem of short lifespan of telescopic seals inside existing process chambers. The semiconductor process chamber comprises a reaction chamber; a transfer chamber, which is located below the reaction chamber, and, through a bottom opening, is communicated with the reaction chamber; a base; a drive mechanism, which is drivingly connected to the base to drive the base to ascend and descend; and a telescopic sealing assembly, which comprises an upper sealing ring and a telescopic seal, the upper sealing ring being configured to, under the action of an upward lifting force applied by the drive mechanism, abut against the bottom of the reaction chamber so as to seal the bottom opening, the top end of the telescopic seal being sealingly connected to the bottom face of the upper sealing ring, and the bottom end of the telescopic seal being sealingly connected to the bottom wall of the transfer chamber. The semiconductor process chamber provided by the present application can reduce the aging speed of telescopic seals, thus prolonging the service life and improve the stability of apparatuses.

Description

Semiconductor process chamber, semiconductor process equipment and semiconductor process method Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor processing technology, and in particular, to a semiconductor process chamber, semiconductor process equipment, and semiconductor process method. Background Art

[0002] Driven by the widespread adoption and rapid upgrades of electronic products, the semiconductor industry, particularly VLSI (very large-scale integrated circuits), is experiencing rapid growth. Foundries are in urgent need of optimal expansion solutions that maximize the ratio of production capacity to floor space plus operating and maintenance costs. Expanding capacity using existing single- or dual-chamber systems inevitably increases floor space and operating and maintenance costs compared to high-capacity, multi-chamber equipment. In this context, high-capacity, multi-chamber equipment offers significant advantages and is poised to become the primary consideration for foundries.

[0003] Driven by this, various equipment manufacturers have been developing high-capacity equipment in order to compete for the high-capacity multi-chamber equipment market. The key technology of high-capacity multi-chamber equipment is the independence of each reaction chamber, that is, the isolation and sealing structure. Taking Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) or Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) equipment as an example, the isolation and sealing structure can ensure the stability and uniformity of the airflow field, and further ensure the stability and uniformity of the film formation. Due to the limitations of the equipment's own transmission structure, high-capacity multi-chamber equipment leads to the interconnection of each reaction chamber, the transmission cavity space is large, and the internal space flow channel is irregular, which cannot ensure smooth and uniform airflow.

[0004] However, the existing isolation sealing structure uses the elastic force of a welded bellows to provide sealing force. The bellows is subjected to large external forces during frequent compression and expansion and high-temperature cooling, causing its elastic force to gradually decrease and eventually fail, seriously affecting the performance and stability of the equipment.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The first object of the present application is to provide a semiconductor process chamber to solve the technical problem of low life of telescopic seals in existing process chambers.

[0007] The semiconductor process chamber provided in this application includes:

[0008] reaction chamber;

[0009] a transmission chamber, located below the reaction chamber and connected to the reaction chamber through a bottom opening located at the bottom of the reaction chamber;

[0010] base;

[0011] A driving mechanism, connected to the base in a transmission manner to drive the base to rise and fall; and

[0012] The telescopic sealing assembly includes an upper sealing ring and a telescopic sealing member. The upper sealing ring is configured to abut the bottom of the reaction chamber to seal the bottom opening under the upward lifting force applied by the driving mechanism; the top end of the telescopic sealing member is sealedly connected to the bottom surface of the upper sealing ring, and the bottom end of the telescopic sealing member is sealedly connected to the bottom wall of the transmission chamber.

[0013] In some technical solutions, the base includes:

[0014] The seat body is used to carry the wafer;

[0015] a lifting rod portion, fixedly connected to the seat body and connected to the power output end of the driving mechanism; and

[0016] A transmission block is fixedly connected to the lifting rod portion, and the transmission block is provided with a circumferential outer flange for abutting upward against the upper sealing ring.

[0017] In some technical solutions, the circumferential outer flange is multi-section, and the multi-section circumferential outer flange is located at the same axial position of the transmission block; the upper sealing ring has multi-section circumferential inner flange, and the multi-section circumferential inner flange is located at the same axial position of the upper sealing ring, and the space between adjacent circumferential outer flanges can allow the circumferential inner flange to pass through axially, and the space between adjacent circumferential inner flanges can allow the circumferential outer flange to pass through axially; the circumferential inner flange and the circumferential outer flange are configured as follows: during the assembly process, after the circumferential inner flange and the circumferential outer flange pass through each other, the circumferential outer flange can be rotated to the same circumferential position as the circumferential inner flange.

[0018] In some technical solutions, a step portion is provided on the upper surface of the circumferential inner flange of the upper sealing ring.

[0019] In some technical solutions, the lifting rod portion is provided with an axial positioning flange, and the transmission block is provided with an axial positioning groove, and the axial positioning groove cooperates with the axial positioning flange.

[0020] In some technical solutions, the transmission block includes at least two sub-blocks that are fixedly connected, and the joint surfaces of adjacent sub-blocks are parallel to or coplanar with the axis of the lifting rod part.

[0021] In some technical solutions, the upper sealing ring includes a flange portion, which is located at the bottom of the side wall of the upper sealing ring and extends radially outward, and the upper end face of the flange portion is provided with a raised sealing structure; the top wall of the transmission cavity is provided with an accommodating space to accommodate the flange portion, the radius of the accommodating space is larger than the bottom opening and is adjacent to the bottom opening, and the raised sealing structure is sealed and connected to the top wall of the accommodating space.

[0022] The semiconductor process chamber provided by this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0023] By applying an upward lifting force to the upper sealing ring by the drive mechanism, so that the upper sealing ring abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber to seal the bottom opening, the force exerted by the upper sealing ring against the bottom of the reaction chamber mainly or entirely comes from the lifting force exerted by the drive mechanism, rather than mainly from the upward force exerted by the telescopic seal in the extended state. This can decouple the sealing of the upper sealing ring against the bottom opening from the elasticity of the telescopic seal. The pressure exerted on the telescopic seal when extended to the point where the upper sealing ring abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber can be significantly reduced, and the telescopic seal can even be subjected to tension in this state. In particular, in the latter case, the force exerted on the telescopic seal is near zero within a portion of its telescopic range, and its force magnitude can be significantly reduced in other ranges. Even in cases other than the latter, the overall force exerted on the telescopic seal during or after the process can be significantly reduced. Even if other factors such as temperature do not change, the aging and failure rate of the telescopic seal can be significantly slowed, thereby improving the service life and stability of the equipment.

[0024] The second object of the present application is to provide a semiconductor process equipment to solve the technical problem of low life of telescopic seals in existing process chambers.

[0025] The semiconductor process equipment provided in the present application includes any one of the semiconductor process chambers described above, wherein the semiconductor process chamber includes a plurality of reaction chambers, and the number of the bases is consistent with the number of the reaction chambers; a transfer robot is provided in the transfer chamber for transferring wafers between the bases corresponding to different reaction chambers.

[0026] By arranging the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber in the semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment accordingly has all the advantages of the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber, which will not be described in detail here.

[0027] The third object of the present application is to provide a semiconductor process method to solve the technical problem of low life of telescopic seals in existing process chambers.

[0028] The semiconductor process method provided in this application is applied to the above-mentioned semiconductor process equipment, and the semiconductor process method includes:

[0029] placing a pre-processed wafer on the base;

[0030] Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the base to rise and enter the reaction chamber, and controlling the driving mechanism to drive the upper sealing ring to rise and seal the bottom opening;

[0031] Conduct semiconductor processing;

[0032] Controlling the driving mechanism to drive the base and the upper sealing ring to descend into the transmission chamber;

[0033] The processed wafer is removed from the susceptor.

[0034] In some technical solutions,

[0035] Placing the pre-processed wafer on the base includes:

[0036] placing a pre-processed wafer on a partial base, wherein the partial base is a base in the transmission cavity corresponding to the transmission port of the transmission cavity;

[0037] Controlling the transfer robot to transfer the pre-processed wafers on some of the bases to other bases;

[0038] placing the pre-processed wafer on the partial base again;

[0039] The step of removing the processed wafer from the base includes:

[0040] removing the processed wafer from the partial base;

[0041] Controlling the transfer robot to transfer the processed wafers on the other bases to the partial bases;

[0042] The processed wafer on the partial base is removed again.

[0043] The beneficial effects brought about by the semiconductor process method of the present application are:

[0044] By using a driving mechanism to apply an upward lifting force so that the upper sealing ring rises and abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber to seal the bottom opening, rather than the upward force being mainly provided by the telescopic sealing assembly in an extended state, the overall force applied to the telescopic seal during the process can be reduced. In particular, during the process, the temperature of the telescopic seal is relatively high, and reducing the force applied to it is more conducive to extending its service life and improving the stability of the process equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0045] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments or background technologies of the present application, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or background technology descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without any creative work.

[0046] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor process chamber provided in a first embodiment of the present application when the base is in a low position, i.e., a wafer transfer position;

[0047] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of the semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application when the base is in a high position, i.e., a process position;

[0048] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a telescopic sealing assembly in a semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0049] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a susceptor in a semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0050] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of an upper sealing ring in a semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0051] FIG6 is a top view of FIG5;

[0052] FIG7 is a top view of a transmission block in a semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a telescopic sealing assembly and a base in a semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application;

[0054] FIG9 is a top view of a transmission cavity in a semiconductor process equipment provided in Example 2 of the present application;

[0055] FIG10 is a schematic flow chart of a semiconductor process method according to a third embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a process for placing a pre-processed wafer on a susceptor in a semiconductor process method provided in Example 3 of the present application;

[0057] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a process for removing a processed wafer from a susceptor in a semiconductor process method provided in Example 3 of the present application;

[0058] FIG13 is a schematic diagram comparing the force applied to the telescopic seal in the semiconductor process equipment provided in the first embodiment of the present application with the force applied to the telescopic seal in the related art.

[0059] Explanation of reference numerals: 100 - reaction chamber; 110 - bottom opening; 200 - transmission chamber; 210 - accommodation space; 300 - base; 310 - base body; 311 - guide hole, 320 - lifting rod; 321 - axial positioning flange; 330 - transmission block; 331 - circumferential outer flange; 332 - axial positioning groove; 333 - sub-block; 340 - support column; 400 - driving mechanism; 500 - telescopic sealing assembly; 510 - upper sealing ring; 511 - top plate; 512 - circumferential inner flange; 513 - step portion; 514 - third end face sealing ring; 515 - flange portion; 516 - sealing ring pressure ring; 520 - telescopic seal; 521 - upper flange; 522 - first end face sealing ring; 523 - lower flange; 524 - second end face sealing ring; 600-Transfer robot; 610-Robot drive assembly; 620-Upper connector; 630-Transfer finger; 700-Wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] In order to make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the following detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present application is given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0061] In the related art, when the semiconductor process chamber is in process, the upper sealing ring abuts against the bottom of the reaction chamber to seal the bottom opening. The upward abutting force of the upper sealing ring comes from the elastic force of the bellows as a telescopic seal. However, the telescopic seal needs to be in an extended state, and the elastic force it provides can still support the upper sealing ring upward and make the upper sealing ring abut against the bottom of the reaction chamber under pressure. At this time, the telescopic seal bears the downward pressure of the reaction of the upper sealing ring. If the base and the upper sealing ring drop, the length of the telescopic seal decreases, and the telescopic seal is subjected to greater pressure. Therefore, the telescopic seal will be subjected to greater pressure during the entire process and during the wafer transfer stage after the process. In addition, the temperature is higher during the process, and lower after the process; the temperature fluctuation range is large, which will significantly increase the aging and failure rate of the telescopic seal, thereby causing the bellows to fail.

[0062] As shown in Figure 13, the horizontal axis represents the elongation of the telescopic seal, and the vertical axis represents the force applied by the telescopic seal. Since the comparison is only schematic, the specific physical units are not shown in the figure. In Figure 13, different vertical dotted lines represent different elongations. The elongation can be an absolute distance or a percentage of the elongation of the telescopic seal relative to its minimum length. An elongation of 0 corresponds to the state of the telescopic seal when the base is in the lowest position (i.e., the film transfer position), while the vertical dotted line on the far right represents the position when the base has risen to the process position and the upper sealing ring abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber, that is, the elongation of the telescopic seal when it is extended to the maximum in the semiconductor process chamber. In Figure 13, different horizontal dotted lines represent different force magnitudes. The area where the horizontal dotted line is above the horizontal coordinate axis indicates that the external force applied to the telescopic seal is pressure. The area where the horizontal dotted line is below the horizontal coordinate axis indicates that the external force applied to the telescopic seal is tension. The elongation of the telescopic seal when the applied force is 0 represents the elongation of the telescopic seal in its natural state and when the base is in the transmission position.

[0063] The oblique solid lines in Figure 13 represent the stress conditions of the telescopic seal in the related art. As can be seen in the figure, even when extended to its maximum elongation, the pressure it is subjected to is still significantly greater than zero. In other words, in the related art, to ensure that the upper sealing ring of the telescopic seal can effectively seal when the base is in the process position, for example, the elongation of the telescopic seal at this time is 100 (this data is simply a number defined for convenience of explanation and does not represent the specific dimensions of the telescopic seal or the elongation ratio relative to the minimum length, so it is also dimensionless, the same below). Correspondingly, the intersection points of the three vertical dashed lines with the horizontal coordinate axis are 25, 50, and 70, respectively. In Figure 13, the intersection point of the oblique solid line with the horizontal coordinate axis can be, for example, 150, which means that the elongation of the telescopic seal in its natural state is 150. That is, when the telescopic seal is extended to its maximum elongation in the semiconductor process chamber, its length is significantly less than its length in its natural state, and the telescopic seal is still subjected to significant pressure. Therefore, the telescopic seal will be subjected to greater pressure during the entire process and the stage of transferring wafers after the process. In addition, the high temperature and large temperature fluctuation range will also aggravate the aging and failure of the telescopic seal, so the aging and failure rate of the telescopic seal is faster.

[0064] Example 1:

[0065] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application when the base is in the low position, i.e., the wafer transfer position; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application when the base is in the high position, i.e., the process position. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application includes:

[0066] Reaction chamber 100;

[0067] The transmission chamber 200 is located below the reaction chamber 100 and is connected to the reaction chamber 100 through a bottom opening 110 located at the bottom of the reaction chamber 100. The upper end surface of the transmission chamber 200 is connected and sealed to the lower end surface of the reaction chamber 100. That is, no gas flows between the reaction chamber 100 and the transmission chamber 200 except through the bottom opening 110.

[0068] Base 300, used for supporting wafers;

[0069] A driving mechanism 400 is in transmission connection with the base 300 to drive the base 300 to move up and down; and

[0070] The telescopic sealing assembly 500 includes an upper sealing ring 510 and a telescopic sealing member 520. The upper sealing ring 510 is configured to abut the bottom of the reaction chamber 100 to seal the bottom opening 110 under the upward lifting force applied by the driving mechanism 400; the top end of the telescopic sealing member 520 is sealedly connected to the bottom surface of the upper sealing ring 510, and the bottom end of the telescopic sealing member 520 is sealedly connected to the bottom wall of the transmission chamber 200.

[0071] Specifically, in this embodiment, the lower end of the pedestal 300 is connected to the drive mechanism 400, which can drive the pedestal 300 to move up and down and accurately position it. When the pedestal 300 is in the lower position, i.e., the wafer transfer position, located in the transfer chamber 200, a wafer 700 can be placed on or removed from the pedestal 300. If the pedestal 300 is raised to the upper position, i.e., the process position, by the drive mechanism 400, it can enter the reaction chamber 100, where the wafer 700 carried by the pedestal 300 undergoes a reaction.

[0072] When the base 300 is reacting in the reaction chamber 100, the upper sealing ring 510 needs to abut against the bottom of the reaction chamber 100 to seal the bottom opening 110 connecting the reaction chamber 100 and the transmission chamber 200, so as to prevent the gas in the reaction chamber 100 from leaking into the transmission chamber 200 through the bottom opening 110.

[0073] The drive mechanism 400 in this embodiment may be a pneumatic cylinder, an electric push rod, a ball screw, a screw nut, or the like. Specifically, the pneumatic cylinder is used in this embodiment. The pneumatic cylinder not only allows the output force of the drive mechanism 400 to be adjusted by adjusting the pressure of the compressed air, thereby achieving adjustable sealing force, but also allows the pneumatic cylinder to continuously output force to continuously push the upper sealing ring 510 upward to seal the bottom opening 110.

[0074] Specifically, the driving mechanism 400 is installed on the lower surface of the bottom wall of the transmission cavity 200. The bottom of the transmission cavity 200 is provided with a base hole for the lower portion of the base 300 to pass through. The base 300 is concentric with the base hole.

[0075] Specifically, in this embodiment, the telescopic seal 520 can use a bellows as its main structure. Since the top end of the telescopic seal 520 is sealedly connected to the bottom surface of the upper sealing ring 510, and the bottom end of the telescopic seal 520 is sealedly connected to the bottom wall of the transmission chamber 200, even if the gas in the reaction chamber 100 enters the space inside the telescopic seal 520, it will not leak into the transmission chamber 200 through the top and bottom ends of the telescopic seal 520.

[0076] By applying an upward lifting force to the upper sealing ring 510 to abut the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, the force exerted by the upper sealing ring 510 against the bottom of the reaction chamber 100 primarily or entirely comes from the lifting force exerted by the driving mechanism 400, rather than primarily from the upward force provided by the telescopic seal 520 in its extended state. This allows the upper sealing ring 510's sealing of the bottom opening 110 to be decoupled from the elasticity of the telescopic seal 520. The pressure exerted on the telescopic seal 520 when extended to abut the bottom of the reaction chamber 100 can be significantly reduced, and the telescopic seal 520 can even be subjected to tension in this state. In particular, in situations where tension is likely to be exerted, the force exerted on the telescopic seal 520 can fluctuate around zero within a portion of its extension range, even though it may be near-zero pressure or near-zero tension at times. However, the force exerted on the telescopic seal 520 can be significantly reduced within other ranges. As shown in FIG. 13 , the meanings of the horizontal and vertical axes, as well as the horizontal and vertical dashed lines in FIG. 13 , are as previously described. The double-dashed line in Figure 13 illustrates the tension exerted on the telescopic seal 520 when extended to its maximum length. In this scenario, the double-dashed line intersects the horizontal coordinate axis at approximately 70°, indicating that the selected telescopic seal 520's length in its natural state corresponds to an extension of 70°. In other words, the telescopic seal 520 reaches its natural length before reaching its maximum extension within the semiconductor processing chamber. When it reaches its maximum extension within the semiconductor processing chamber, it is actually being pulled upward by the upper seal ring 510. As can be seen in the figure, the force exerted on the telescopic seal 520 is near zero from approximately halfway to its full extension. At its minimum extension, when the susceptor is at its lower position, i.e., the wafer transfer position, the pressure on the telescopic seal 520 decreases significantly. Therefore, the forces on the telescopic seal 520 in the entire extended section in the process chamber, whether pressure or tension, are significantly reduced compared to the related art, so the speed of its aging and failure can be significantly reduced.

[0077] Even in situations where the telescopic seal 520 is not subjected to tensile forces, the overall force applied to the telescopic seal 520 during or after the process can be significantly reduced. As shown by the dashed line in Figure 13, the intersection of this dashed line and the horizontal coordinate axis is approximately 108°, indicating that in this case, the selected telescopic seal 520's length in its natural state corresponds to an elongation of 108°. When the base 300 reaches the process position and the upper sealing ring 510 abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, the telescopic seal 520 has not yet reached its natural elongation of 108°. The telescopic seal 520 is compressed and exerts a force on the upper sealing ring 510. However, while still subject to pressure from the upper sealing ring 510, the pressure applied to the telescopic seal 520 is significantly reduced compared to the related art. Throughout the entire operating range of the base 300, the pressure applied to the telescopic seal 520 is also significantly lower than in the related art. Therefore, even if other factors such as temperature do not change, the aging and failure rate of the telescopic seal 520 can be significantly slowed down, thereby improving the service life and stability of the equipment.

[0078] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the telescopic sealing assembly in the semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application; as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the upper end of the bellows can be fixedly connected to an upper flange 521 by means such as welding, and the upper end face of the upper flange 521 is sealed to the lower surface of the upper sealing ring 510 through a first end face sealing ring 522, and the lower end of the bellows can also be fixedly connected to a lower flange 523 by means such as welding, and the lower end face of the lower flange 523 is sealed to the bottom wall of the transmission chamber 200 through a second end face sealing ring 524.

[0079] By applying an upward lifting force through the drive mechanism 400, so that the upper sealing ring 510 abuts the bottom of the reaction chamber 100 to seal the bottom opening 110, rather than relying primarily on the elasticity of the telescopic seal 520 to provide the lifting force to abut the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, the forces acting on the telescopic seal 520 during extension can be significantly reduced, and it can even be achieved that the telescopic seal 520 itself is not subjected to tension or pressure in the extended state, or is subjected to tension in the extended state. Furthermore, the overall forces acting on the telescopic seal 520 during or after the process can be significantly reduced, thereby significantly slowing the aging and failure of the telescopic seal 520 and improving the service life and stability of the equipment.

[0080] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a susceptor in a semiconductor process chamber provided in the first embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , preferably, the susceptor 300 includes:

[0081] The base body 310 is used to carry the wafer 700 ; and the lifting rod portion 320 is fixedly connected to the base body 310 and connected to the power output end of the driving mechanism 400 .

[0082] Specifically, the base body 310 is roughly disc-shaped, and the top of the lifting rod portion 320 is fixedly connected to the center position of the bottom surface of the base body 310. In this embodiment, the lifting rod portion 320 is hollow tubular. The use of a hollow tubular lifting rod portion 320 can significantly reduce the overall weight of the base 300 and reduce the load of the drive mechanism 400. The bottom of the lifting rod portion 320 is connected to the power output end of the drive mechanism 400. Specifically, an internal thread can be provided at the bottom of the lifting rod portion 320, which is threadedly connected to the piston rod of the cylinder serving as the power output end of the drive mechanism 400. Alternatively, the end face of the bottom end of the lifting rod portion 320 is connected to the end face of the power output end of the drive mechanism 400 through a threaded connector.

[0083] The lifting rod portion 320 is used to fix the connection between the seat body 310 and the power output end of the driving mechanism 400, so that the connection position between the power output end of the driving mechanism 400 and the lifting rod portion 320 can be lowered. Even if the base 300 rises to the highest position, the power output end of the driving mechanism 400 will not extend into the telescopic seal 520 located in the transmission chamber 200, thereby reducing the temperature of the power output end of the driving mechanism 400 and increasing its service life.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , preferably, the base 300 further includes a transmission block 330 , which is fixedly connected to the lifting rod portion 320 and is provided with a circumferential outer flange 331 for abutting upward against the upper sealing ring 510 .

[0085] Specifically, the transmission block 330 abuts against the upper sealing ring 510 from below. During the descending process, the upper sealing ring 510 will be subjected to the upward elastic force generated by the compression of the telescopic seal 520. However, since the seat body 310 is above the upper sealing ring 510, the seat body 310 can also exert a downward force on the upper sealing ring 510 to drive the upper sealing ring 510 to descend and further compress the telescopic seal 520.

[0086] By setting the transmission block 330 to abut against the upper sealing ring 510 upward, the area of ​​the base 300 applying force to the transmission block 330 can be increased, thereby improving the movement stability of the upper sealing ring 510. At the same time, it is also beneficial for the upper sealing ring 510 to be more evenly stressed, so that the upper sealing ring 510 can also evenly seal the bottom opening 110.

[0087] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of the upper sealing ring in the semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application; Figure 6 is a top view of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a top view of the transmission block in the semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application; Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of the telescopic sealing assembly and the base in the semiconductor process chamber provided in Example 1 of the present application; as shown in Figures 5 to 8, preferably, the circumferential outer flange 331 is multi-section, and the multi-section circumferential outer flange 331 is located at the same axial position of the transmission block 330, that is, if the axis of the upper sealing ring 510 is in a vertical state, the relative heights of the multi-section circumferential outer flange 331 are consistent; the upper sealing ring 510 has multi-section circumferential inner flanges 512, and the multi-section circumferential inner flanges 512 are located at the upper sealing The sealing ring 510 is positioned in the same axial position, that is, when the axis of the upper sealing ring 510 is in a vertical position, the relative heights of the multiple sections of the circumferential inner flanges 512 are consistent; the space between adjacent circumferential outer flanges 331 allows the circumferential inner flanges 512 to pass axially, and the space between adjacent circumferential inner flanges 512 allows the circumferential outer flanges 331 to pass axially; the circumferential inner flanges 512 and the circumferential outer flanges 331 are configured such that, during assembly, after the circumferential inner flanges 512 and the circumferential outer flanges 331 pass through each other, the circumferential outer flange 331 can be rotated to the same circumferential position as the circumferential inner flange 512, that is, the circumferential inner flanges 512 and the circumferential outer flanges 331 at least partially abut axially. In some embodiments, the number of circumferential outer flanges 331 and the number of circumferential inner flanges 512 are the same, and they abut one-to-one.

[0088] Specifically, the upper sealing ring 510 includes a top plate portion 511, with a through hole defined in its center. A circumferential inner flange 512 is disposed at the edge of the through hole and projects toward the center of the top plate portion 511 relative to the through hole wall. Multiple circumferential inner flanges 512 are located at the same axial position on the upper sealing ring 510. That is, if the axis of the upper sealing ring 510 is vertical, the multiple circumferential inner flanges 512 are disposed at the same height. In this embodiment, the upper sealing ring 510 may include three circumferential inner flanges 512, evenly distributed throughout a 360° circumference. The central angle corresponding to each circumferential inner flange 512 is approximately 30°, meaning that the central angle corresponding to the space between two adjacent circumferential inner flanges 512 is approximately 90°. The multiple circumferential outer flanges 331 on the transmission block 330 are located at the same axial position on the transmission block 330. That is, if the axis of the transmission block 330 is vertical, the multiple circumferential outer flanges 331 are arranged at the same height. The number of circumferential outer flanges 331 on the transmission block 330 is the same as the number of circumferential inner flanges 512, also three. The three circumferential outer flanges are evenly distributed within the 360° circumference. The central angle corresponding to each circumferential outer flange 331 is approximately 60°. Therefore, a circumferential outer flange 331 with a central angle of approximately 60° can easily and smoothly pass axially through the space between two adjacent circumferential inner flanges 512 with a central angle of approximately 90°. Similarly, a circumferential inner flange 512 with a central angle of approximately 30° can also easily and smoothly pass through the space between two circumferential outer flanges 331 with a central angle of approximately 60°. In this embodiment, both the circumferential outer flange 331 and the circumferential inner flange 512 may be in the form of a sector ring.

[0089] The fact that the circumferential outer flange 331 can rotate to the same circumferential position as the circumferential inner flange 512 does not merely mean that the angular bisector of the central angle corresponding to the circumferential outer flange 331 coincides with the angular bisector of the central angle corresponding to the circumferential inner flange 512. It is sufficient as long as the central angle corresponding to the circumferential inner flange 512 can completely enter the range of the central angle of the circumferential outer flange 331. Of course, in actual applications, the circumferential inner flange 512 may not completely enter the range of the central angle of the circumferential outer flange 331, that is, a portion of the circumferential inner flange 512 does not abut against the circumferential outer flange 331, that is, the circumferential inner flange 512 and the circumferential outer flange 331 at least partially abut against each other in the axial direction, as long as the circumferential outer flange 331 can support the circumferential inner flange 512.

[0090] By configuring the circumferential outer flange 331 to have multiple sections, and the circumferential inner flange 512 of the upper sealing ring 510 to also have multiple sections, when installing the upper sealing ring 510, the transmission block 330 can be first fixed to the lifting rod portion 320, and then the upper sealing ring 510 can be moved axially to the bottom surface of the seat body 310, so that one of the circumferential inner flange 512 and the circumferential outer flange 331 can pass through the gap space of the other. The upper sealing ring 510 can then be rotated to achieve the circumferential outer flange 331 supporting the circumferential inner flange 512, thereby improving the convenience of installation. Since the upper sealing ring 510 will not bear a circumferential force large enough to cause it to rotate in actual operation, the structure of directly using the circumferential outer flange 331 to axially support the circumferential inner flange 512 can meet its force requirements.

[0091] In another implementation, it is not necessary to separately set multiple sections of circumferential outer flanges 331 and multiple sections of circumferential inner flanges 512. For example, the circumferential inner flange 512 and the circumferential outer flange 331 can both be complete circle flanges. During installation, the upper sealing ring 510 can be first put on the lifting rod part 320 until the top surface of the upper sealing ring 510 contacts the bottom surface of the seat body 310, and then the transmission block 330 is installed on the lifting rod part 320 and fixed to the lifting rod part 320.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , preferably, a step portion 513 is provided on the upper surface of the circumferential inner flange 512 of the upper sealing ring 510 .

[0093] Specifically, if the circumferential inner flange 512 provided on the upper sealing ring 510 is a multi-section circumferential inner flange 512, then the upper surface of each section of the circumferential inner flange 512 is stepped, that is, a step portion 513 is formed, and the side walls of the step portion 513 of each section of the circumferential inner flange 512 can be on the same circumference, and the upper end surfaces of the step portion 513 of each section of the circumferential inner flange 512 are at the same height, which are used to jointly support the base 300 (that is, the seat body 310) so that an air flow channel is formed between the upper sealing ring 510 (that is, the top plate portion 511) and the base 300 (that is, the seat body 310). More specifically, the sidewalls of the first step of each segment of the circumferential inner flange 512 (i.e., the inner circumferential surface of each circumferential inner flange 512) are located on the same circumference with the axis of the upper sealing ring 510 as the center, the sidewalls of the second step of each segment of the circumferential inner flange 512 (i.e., the inner circumferential surface of each step portion 513) are located on the same circumference with the axis of the upper sealing ring 510 as the center, and so on. If the circumferential inner flange 512 of the upper sealing ring 510 is a complete and continuous circumferential circumferential inner flange 512, then the step portion 513 is an annular stepped hole with an upper end surface and sidewalls that are continuous in the circumferential direction.

[0094] By providing a step portion 513 on the upper surface of the circumferential inner flange 512, a certain distance can be maintained between the upper sealing ring 510 (i.e., the top plate portion 511) and the base 300 (i.e., the seat body 310) by supporting the base 300 (i.e., the seat body 310) to form an air flow channel. When the interior of the telescopic seal 520 is filled with gas, if the interior of the telescopic seal 520 maintains a positive pressure relative to the reaction chamber 100, the gas inside the telescopic seal 520 can flow into the reaction chamber 100 through the air flow channel. In this way, the gas in the reaction chamber 100 cannot flow into the interior of the telescopic seal 520, further reducing the possibility that the gas in the reaction chamber 100 first enters the interior of the telescopic seal 520 and then enters the transmission chamber 200, thereby improving the sealing performance of the transmission chamber 200 relative to the reaction chamber 100.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8 , preferably, the lifting rod portion 320 is provided with an axial positioning flange 321 , and the transmission block 330 is provided with an axial positioning groove 332 , and the axial positioning groove 332 cooperates with the axial positioning flange 321 .

[0096] In this embodiment, the lifting rod 320 is hollow and tubular. Therefore, if the axial positioning groove 332 is provided on the lifting rod 320, the local wall thickness of the lifting rod 320 will be too small, which is not conducive to ensuring the load-bearing capacity of the lifting rod 320. Therefore, the axial positioning flange 321 is provided on the lifting rod 320, and the axial positioning groove 332 is provided on the transmission block 330.

[0097] The axial positioning flange 321 and the axial positioning groove 332 can both be provided along the entire circumference. Accordingly, the transmission block 330 can be a split structure to facilitate assembly of the transmission block 330 with the lifting rod portion 320. Of course, in addition to providing axial positioning, the axial positioning flange 321 and the axial positioning groove 332 can also cooperate with each other to radially position the transmission block 330 with the lifting rod portion 320. However, radial positioning of the transmission block 330 with the lifting rod portion 320 can also be achieved by the outer circumference of the lifting rod portion 320 and the inner circumference of the transmission block 330, and is not limited to the circumferential cooperation between the axial positioning flange 321 and the axial positioning groove 332 of the present application.

[0098] By setting the axial positioning flange 321 and the axial positioning groove 332, the cooperation of the two can be used to achieve axial positioning of the lifting rod part 320 and the transmission block 330 in two opposite directions, so as to ensure that the driving mechanism 400 can drive the upper sealing ring 510 to move into place through the lifting rod part 320 and tightly seal the bottom opening 110.

[0099] In another embodiment, the transmission block 330 can also be axially fixed relative to the lifting rod portion 320 without the axial positioning flange 321 and the axial positioning groove 332. For example, the transmission block 330 can be axially fixed relative to the lifting rod portion 320 by a jackscrew, or the lifting rod portion 320 can be provided with an external thread and the transmission block 330 can be provided with an internal thread to fix the two relative to each other, so that the lifting rod portion 320 can drive the movement of the upper sealing ring 510. Of course, if the latter connection method is adopted, the diameter of the lifting rod portion 320 from at least one end to the position where the external thread is provided must be smaller than the base diameter of the external thread. In other words, the diameter of the lifting rod portion 320 can be smaller than the base diameter of the external thread in all parts except the position where the external thread is provided, or the diameter from one end (e.g., the upper end) of the lifting rod portion 320 to the position where the external thread is provided can be smaller than the base diameter of the external thread, while the diameter from the other end of the lifting rod portion 320 to the position where the external thread is provided can be set arbitrarily.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 7 , preferably, the transmission block 330 includes at least two sub-blocks 333 that are fixedly connected, and the joint surfaces of adjacent sub-blocks 333 are coplanar with the axis of the lifting rod portion 320 .

[0101] Specifically, in this embodiment, there are two sub-blocks 333. The joining surface of the two sub-blocks 333 refers to the contact surface between the two sub-blocks 333 after being joined together. The joining surface is coplanar with the axis of the lifting rod 320. When the lifting rod 320 is in a vertical position, the two sub-blocks 333 are joined along a vertical plane along a certain diameter of the lifting rod 320. Of course, in actual applications, the joining surfaces of adjacent sub-blocks 333 do not need to be parallel to the axis of the lifting rod 320.

[0102] In addition, in this embodiment, the two sub-blocks 333 can be symmetrically arranged. For example, when there are three circumferential outer flanges 331, each sub-block 333 has a complete circumferential outer flange 331 and a half circumferential outer flange 331. The two sub-blocks 333 can be threadedly connected and fixed by a male threaded connector.

[0103] By providing two sub-blocks 333, the two sub-blocks 333 can be radially mounted to the lifting rod 320, eliminating the need to move the transmission block 330 a long distance along the axial direction of the lifting rod 320, nor the need to configure at least one of the ends of the lifting rod 320 to have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the transmission block 330. This increases the design flexibility of the lifting rod 320. Furthermore, the provision of the axial positioning groove 332 and the axial positioning flange 321 facilitates radial mounting of the sub-blocks 333 onto the lifting rod 320 without being affected by the axial positioning flange 321.

[0104] In another embodiment, the two sub-blocks 333 may be asymmetrical in shape. That is, one of the sub-blocks 333 may be U-shaped, similar to a U-shaped magnet, when viewed from above, while the other sub-block 333 may be flat. As long as the two sub-blocks 333 are securely connected by threaded connectors and clamp the lifting rod 320, or both sub-blocks are provided with axial positioning grooves 332 that mate with the axial positioning flanges 321, the transmission block 330 and the lifting rod 320 can be secured. In this embodiment, the joining surfaces of the two sub-blocks 333 are parallel to the axis of the lifting rod 320.

[0105] Alternatively, the transmission block 330 may be composed of three identically shaped sub-blocks 333, each of which is fixedly connected to two adjacent sub-blocks 333, and each of which is provided with a circumferential outer flange 331. The joint surface of two adjacent sub-blocks 33 passes through the axis of the lifting rod 320.

[0106] As shown in Figures 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8, preferably, the upper sealing ring 510 includes a flange portion 515, which is located at the bottom of the side wall of the upper sealing ring 510 and extends radially outward, and the upper end surface of the flange portion 515 is provided with a raised sealing structure; the top wall of the transmission cavity 200 is provided with an accommodating space 210 to accommodate the flange portion 515, the radius of the accommodating space 210 is greater than the radius of the bottom opening 110 and is adjacent to the bottom opening 110, and the raised sealing structure is sealedly connected to the top wall of the accommodating space 210.

[0107] Specifically, in this embodiment, the raised sealing structure can be a third end face sealing ring 514 provided on the upper end surface of the flange portion 515. The third end face sealing ring 514 is embedded in an annular groove on the upper end surface of the flange portion 515 and protrudes from the upper surface of the flange portion 515. When the reaction temperature of the reaction chamber 100 is less than 200°C, the third end face sealing ring 514 can be used for sealing. When the reaction temperature of the reaction chamber 100 is greater than or equal to 200°C, the raised sealing structure can also be an annular ridge provided on the upper end surface of the flange portion 515. The cross-section of the annular ridge can even be triangular or semicircular, preferably semicircular, with a smaller top and larger bottom. This ensures a sealed connection between the upper end surface of the flange portion 515 and the bottom of the reaction chamber 100, thereby sealing the bottom opening 110.

[0108] Furthermore, to facilitate replacement of the third end face sealing ring 514, a sealing ring pressure ring 516 may be provided, secured to the flange portion 515 via a threaded connection. The sealing ring pressure ring 516 radially compresses the third end face sealing ring 514. When the third end face sealing ring 514 is damaged or needs to be replaced, the threaded connection is removed, the sealing ring pressure ring 516 can be removed, and the existing third end face sealing ring 514 can be replaced with a new one.

[0109] By providing a raised sealing structure and sealing connection with the top wall of the accommodating space 210, uniform sealing can be achieved in the entire circumferential direction, and no angular alignment is required between the flange portion 515 and the accommodating space 210, which simplifies the structure and improves installation efficiency.

[0110] Example 2:

[0111] Embodiment 2 also provides a semiconductor process equipment, which includes the semiconductor process chamber of the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and the semiconductor process chamber includes multiple reaction chambers 100, and the bases 300 correspond one-to-one to the reaction chambers 100; a transfer robot 600 is provided in the transfer chamber 200, which is used to transfer wafers 700 between the bases 300 corresponding to different reaction chambers 100.

[0112] By arranging the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber in the semiconductor process equipment, the semiconductor process equipment accordingly has all the advantages of the above-mentioned semiconductor process chamber, which will not be described in detail here.

[0113] FIG9 is a top view of the transfer chamber in the semiconductor process equipment provided in the second embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG1 , FIG2 , and FIG9 , specifically, a manipulator through-hole (not shown) is provided on the bottom wall of the transfer chamber 200. The top end of the output shaft of the manipulator drive assembly 610 passes through the manipulator through-hole and is fixedly connected to the upper connector 620. The center of the manipulator through-hole is the center of the square in which the four bases 300 are located. The upper connector 620 is fixedly connected to a transfer finger 630. In this embodiment, the number of transfer fingers 630 is the same as the number of bases 300, also four, namely the first transfer finger, the second transfer finger, the third transfer finger, and the fourth transfer finger. Before the process begins, these fingers correspond to the left, top, right, and bottom transfer fingers 630 in FIG9 , respectively. The space between each base 300 is large enough to accommodate the transfer fingers 630, and the raising and lowering of the base 300 will not interfere with the transfer fingers 630. The robot drive assembly 610 can drive the upper connecting member 620 and the transfer finger 630 fixed thereon to perform lifting and lowering movements, as well as rotational movements around the axis of the upper connecting member 620, so that the transfer finger 630 removes the wafer 700 from some bases 300 and places it on other bases 300.

[0114] The semiconductor process chamber includes multiple reaction chambers 100 , and the number of pedestals 300 is consistent with the number of reaction chambers 100 ; a transfer robot 600 is provided in the transfer chamber 200 for transferring wafers 700 between the pedestals 300 corresponding to different reaction chambers 100 .

[0115] In this embodiment, bottom openings 110 are provided at the bottoms of the four reaction chambers 100. Each bottom opening 110 can accommodate a pedestal 300, allowing the pedestal 300 to carry the wafer 700 into the reaction chamber 100 for reaction. The four bottom openings 110 and the corresponding pedestals 300 are arranged in a square pattern. For example, as shown in FIG9 , the pedestal 300 in the upper left portion of FIG9 is the first pedestal, the pedestal 300 in the upper right portion is the second pedestal, the pedestal 300 in the lower right portion is the third pedestal, and the pedestal 300 in the lower left portion is the fourth pedestal.

[0116] In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1, 4, 8, and 9, the base 300 has a plurality of guide holes 311 extending vertically along its circumference. The support columns 340 extend through the guide holes 311 and can slide smoothly within them. When the base 300 is in a lower position, i.e., the wafer transfer position, the bottom surfaces of the support columns 340 contact the bottom wall of the transfer chamber 200. Under the upward support force of the bottom wall of the transfer chamber 200, the support columns 340 are lifted relative to the base 300, i.e., the upper end surfaces of the support columns 340 are higher than the upper end surface of the base 300. If a wafer 700 is placed on the base 300 at this time, the wafer 700 is supported by the support columns 340 rather than directly contacting the upper end surface of the base 300, i.e., separated from the upper end surface of the base 300. The space where the top of the support column 340 is higher than the upper end surface of the base 300 leaves room for the transfer of the wafer 700, that is, the transfer finger 630 can extend into the space between the base 300 and the wafer 700 and lift the wafer 700.

[0117] As the susceptor 300 rises, the support column 340 is affected by its own gravity and does not rise with the susceptor 300. As the susceptor 300 continues to rise, the portion of the top of the support column 340 that protrudes above the upper surface of the susceptor 300 gradually shortens, compressing the space between the lower end surface of the wafer 700 and the upper end surface of the susceptor 300 until the top of the support column 340 is fully retracted into the guide hole 311. The outer conical surface of the top of the support column 340 contacts the inner conical surface of the top of the guide hole 311 on the susceptor 300. At this point, the lower end surface of the wafer 700 contacts the upper end surface of the susceptor 300. The wafer 700 can be directly supported by the susceptor 300 and lifted by the susceptor 300. The inner conical surface of the top of the guide hole 311 rises and contacts the outer conical surface of the top of the support column 340. This uses the supporting force of the inner conical surface of the top of the guide hole 311 to offset the weight of the support column 340, driving the support column 340 to rise with the susceptor 300 to the processing position.

[0118] Example 3:

[0119] FIG10 is a flow chart of a semiconductor process method provided in the second embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the third embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor process method, which is applied to the semiconductor process chamber of the first embodiment. The semiconductor process method includes:

[0120] S10. Placing the pre-process wafer on the base 300;

[0121] S20. The drive mechanism 400 is controlled to drive the base 300 to rise and enter the reaction chamber 100, and the drive mechanism 400 is controlled to drive the upper sealing ring 510 to rise and seal the bottom opening 110;

[0122] S30. Perform semiconductor process;

[0123] S40. Control the driving mechanism 400 to drive the base 300 and the upper sealing ring 510 to descend into the transmission chamber 200; wherein, the force that causes the upper sealing ring 510 to descend comes from the downward pressure of the base 300 on the upper sealing ring 510, compressing the telescopic sealing member 520.

[0124] S50 . Remove the processed wafer from the base 300 .

[0125] By using the driving mechanism 400 to drive the upper sealing ring 510 to rise to seal the bottom opening 110, rather than using the elasticity of the telescopic seal 520 to push the upper sealing ring 510 for sealing, the overall force on the telescopic seal 520 during the process can be reduced. In particular, during the process, the temperature of the telescopic seal 520 is relatively high, and reducing its force is more conducive to extending its service life and improving the stability of the process equipment.

[0126] Among them, step S30 also includes: when performing the semiconductor process, introducing process gas into the telescopic seal 520 through the purge port. Specifically, the purge port not shown in the figure is located in the drive mechanism 400. By introducing process gas through the purge port, the gas pressure in the internal space of the telescopic seal 520 below the base 300 can be made greater than the gas pressure in the reaction chamber 100, thereby preventing the gas in the reaction chamber 100 from entering the space below the base 300. Since the gas in the reaction chamber 100 may contain particles, if these particles leak into the telescopic seal 520 or even leak into the transmission chamber 200 along with the gas in the reaction chamber 100, on the one hand, it will cause the particles to accumulate on the inner wall of the telescopic seal 520, affecting the service life of the telescopic seal 520, and on the other hand, it will cause the particles to contaminate the transmission chamber 200, thereby affecting the cleanliness of the transmission chamber 200.

[0127] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a process for placing a pre-processed wafer on a susceptor in the semiconductor process method provided in the third embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , if the process chamber is the semiconductor process chamber in the semiconductor process equipment provided in the second embodiment, preferably, the step S10 of placing the pre-processed wafer on the susceptor 300 includes:

[0128] S11. The wafer before the process is placed on a portion of the base 300, where the portion of the base is the base 300 corresponding to the transmission port of the transmission cavity 200 in the transmission cavity 200;

[0129] S12 controls the transfer robot 600 to transfer the pre-process wafer on part of the base 300 to other bases;

[0130] S13. Place the pre-process wafer on the partial base 300 again;

[0131] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the process of removing the processed wafer from the base in the semiconductor process method provided in the third embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the above step S50 of removing the processed wafer from the base 300 includes:

[0132] S51. Remove part of the wafer after the process on the base 300;

[0133] S52 controls the transfer robot 600 to transfer the processed wafer on the other base 300 to a portion of the base 300;

[0134] S53 . Remove the processed wafer from part of the base 300 again.

[0135] As shown in FIG9 , preferably, a plurality of bases 300 are arranged around a transfer robot 600 , and the transfer robot 600 includes a robot drive assembly 610 , an upper connecting member 620 , and a transfer finger 630 fixedly arranged on the upper connecting member 620 ;

[0136] S12. Controlling the transfer robot 600 to transfer the pre-processed wafers on some pedestals 300 to other pedestals 300, including:

[0137] S121 controls the manipulator drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connection member 620 to lift and lower the height of the transfer finger 630 to between the wafer and the supporting surface of the base 300 before the process;

[0138] S122. Control the robot drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rotate, so that at least part of the transfer fingers 630 rotate to below the pre-processed wafer on the partial base 300, that is, between the upper surface of the partial base 300 and the lower surface of the wafer 700. Taking FIG. 9 as an example, the first transfer finger enters between the first base and the wafer 700, and the second transfer finger enters between the second base and the wafer 700; and control the robot drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rise, so as to drive the wafer 700 to separate from the support column 340 and the transfer finger 630 to carry the wafer 700. Specifically, the lower surface of the transfer finger 630 needs to be higher than the top of the support column 340, so that the transfer finger 630 removes the pre-processed wafer on the top of the support column 340, that is, completes the removal of the pre-processed wafer on the partial base 300;

[0139] S123. Control the robot drive assembly 610 to rotate the upper connecting member 620. Taking FIG. 9 as an example, the upper connecting member 620 needs to be rotated 180° so that the pre-processed wafer carried by the transfer finger 630 is rotated to be located above the other pedestals 300. That is, the first transfer finger and the second transfer finger are located above the third pedestal and the fourth pedestal, respectively. Accordingly, the wafer 700 originally located above the first pedestal and the second pedestal is located above the third pedestal and the fourth pedestal. The robot drive assembly 610 is then controlled to drive the upper connecting member 620 downward so that the transfer finger 630 places the pre-processed wafer on the other pedestals 300, namely, the third pedestal and the fourth pedestal.

[0140] S124. Control the manipulator drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the transmission finger 630 is located above the area between adjacent bases 300; that is, the second transmission finger is located between the third base and the fourth base, and the first transmission finger is located above the area between the second base and the third base.

[0141] S52. Controlling the transfer robot 600 to transfer the processed wafers on other bases 300 to some bases 300 includes:

[0142] The state before this step is started is based on the position of the robot at the end of step S124:

[0143] S521. Control the manipulator drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connection member 620 to lift and lower the height of the transfer finger 630 to between the wafer and the supporting surface of the base 300 before the process;

[0144] S522. Control the robot drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rotate, so that at least part of the transfer fingers 630 rotate to below the upper pre-processed wafer, that is, the first transfer finger enters between the first base and the wafer 700, and the second transfer finger enters between the fourth base and the wafer 700. The robot drive assembly 610 is controlled to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rise, so that the wafer 700 is separated from the support column 340 and the transfer fingers 630 carry the wafer 700. Specifically, the lower surface of the transfer finger 630 needs to be higher than the top of the support column 340 so that the transfer finger 630 can remove the pre-processed wafer from the other base 300.

[0145] S523. Control the robot drive assembly 610 to rotate the upper connecting member 620. For example, in FIG9 , the upper connecting member 620 is rotated 180°. The unprocessed wafer carried by the transfer finger 630 is rotated to be located above the partial base 300, i.e., the first transfer finger is located above the first base and the second transfer finger is located above the second base. The robot drive assembly 610 is controlled to drive the upper connecting member 620 downward, so that the transfer finger 630 places the unprocessed wafer on the partial base 300, i.e., the first base and the second base.

[0146] S524 . Control the robot drive assembly 610 to drive the upper connecting member 620 to rotate in the opposite direction, so that the transmission finger 630 is located above the area between adjacent bases 300 .

[0147] Although the present application is disclosed above, the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope defined by the claims.

[0148] Finally, it should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the term "comprises" or any other variant thereof is intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprises a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device that includes the element.

[0149] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of directions such as “upper” and “lower” are all based on the drawings.

[0150] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable those skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application.

[0151] Thus, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A semiconductor process chamber, characterized in that: include: Reaction chamber (100); A transmission chamber (200), located below the reaction chamber (100), and connected to the reaction chamber (100) via a bottom opening (110) located at the bottom of the reaction chamber (100); Base (300); a driving mechanism (400) which is in driving connection with the base (300) to drive the base (300) to rise and fall; and A telescopic sealing assembly (500) comprises an upper sealing ring (510) and a telescopic sealing member (520); the upper sealing ring (510) is configured to abut against the bottom of the reaction chamber (100) under the action of an upward lifting force applied by the driving mechanism (400) to seal the bottom opening (110); the top end of the telescopic sealing member (520) is sealedly connected to the bottom surface of the upper sealing ring (510), and the bottom end of the telescopic sealing member (520) is sealedly connected to the bottom wall of the transmission chamber (200).

2. The semiconductor process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base (300) comprises: A seat body (310) for carrying a wafer; A lifting rod portion (320) is fixedly connected to the seat body (310) and is connected to a power output end of the driving mechanism (400); and A transmission block (330), the transmission block (330) being fixedly connected to the lifting rod portion (320), and the transmission block (330) being provided with a circumferential outer flange (331) for abutting upward against the upper sealing ring (510).

3. The semiconductor process chamber according to claim 2, characterized in that: The circumferential outer flange (331) is composed of multiple sections, and the multiple sections of the circumferential outer flange (331) are located at the same axial position of the transmission block (330); the upper sealing ring (510) has multiple sections of circumferential inner flanges (512), and the multiple sections of the circumferential inner flanges (512) are located at the same axial position of the upper sealing ring (510), and the space between adjacent circumferential outer flanges (331) can allow the circumferential inner flanges (512) to pass through axially. , and the space between adjacent circumferential inner flanges (512) can allow the circumferential outer flange (331) to pass through axially; the circumferential inner flange (512) and the circumferential outer flange (331) are configured as follows: during the assembly process, after the circumferential inner flange (512) and the circumferential outer flange (331) pass through each other, the circumferential outer flange (331) can be rotated to the same circumferential position as the circumferential inner flange (512).

4. The semiconductor process chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper surface of the circumferential inner flange (512) of the upper sealing ring (510) is provided with a step portion (513).

5. The semiconductor process chamber according to claim 2, wherein: The lifting rod portion (320) is provided with an axial positioning flange (321), and the transmission block (330) is provided with an axial positioning groove (332), and the axial positioning groove (332) cooperates with the axial positioning flange (321).

6. The semiconductor process chamber according to claim 2, wherein: The transmission block (330) comprises at least two sub-blocks (333) that are fixedly connected, and the joint surfaces of adjacent sub-blocks (333) are parallel to or coplanar with the axis of the lifting rod part (320).

7. The semiconductor process chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The upper sealing ring (510) comprises: A flange portion (515), the flange portion (515) is located at the bottom of the side wall of the upper sealing ring (510) and extends radially outward, and the upper end surface of the flange portion (515) is provided with a raised sealing structure; the top wall of the transmission cavity (200) is provided with a receiving space (210) to receive the flange portion (515), the radius of the receiving space (210) is greater than the radius of the bottom opening (110) and is adjacent to the bottom opening (110), and the raised sealing structure is sealed and connected to the top wall of the receiving space (210).

8. A semiconductor process equipment, characterized in that: The semiconductor process equipment comprises a semiconductor process chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the semiconductor process chamber comprises a plurality of reaction chambers (100), and the bases (300) correspond one to one with the reaction chambers (100); a transfer robot (600) is arranged in the transfer chamber (200) for transferring wafers between the bases (300) corresponding to different reaction chambers (100).

9. A semiconductor process method, characterized in that: Applied to the semiconductor process equipment according to claim 8, the semiconductor process method comprises: placing a pre-process wafer on the base (300); Controlling the driving mechanism (400) to drive the base (300) to rise and enter the reaction chamber (100), and controlling the driving mechanism (400) to drive the upper sealing ring (510) to rise and seal the bottom opening (110); Conduct semiconductor processing; Controlling the driving mechanism (400) to drive the base (300) and the upper sealing ring (510) to descend into the transmission chamber (200); The processed wafer on the base (300) is removed.

10. The semiconductor process method according to claim 9, characterized in that: Placing a pre-processed wafer on the base (300) comprises: Placing a pre-processed wafer on a partial base, wherein the partial base is a base (300) in the transmission cavity (200) corresponding to a transmission port of the transmission cavity (200); Controlling the transfer robot (600) to transfer the pre-processed wafers on some of the bases to other bases (300); placing the pre-processed wafer on the partial base again; The method of removing the processed wafer from the base comprises: removing the processed wafer from the partial base; Controlling the transfer robot (600) to transfer the processed wafers on the other bases (300) to the partial bases (300); The processed wafer on the partial base (300) is removed again.

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