Cooling device and semiconductor processing apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a cooling device and a semiconductor processing apparatus. The cooling device comprises at least one cooling structure, wherein the cooling structure comprises a graphite box and a tray configured to carry the graphite box; the graphite box comprises a lower box body, which is provided with at least three first through holes, and an upper box body, which covers the lower box body and together with the lower box body defines therebetween an accommodating space for accommodating a wafer; when the wafer is placed in the accommodating space, the first through holes avoid the wafer; and the tray comprises a supporting plate, and first ejector pins corresponding to the first through holes on a one-to-one basis, wherein the first ejector pins are arranged on a top surface of the supporting plate, and are configured to pass through the corresponding first through holes and jack up the upper box body when the graphite box is placed on the supporting plate, such that the upper box body is separated from the lower box body. By means of the cooling device disclosed in the present embodiment, during cooling of a wafer, the graphite box can be opened at the same time, such that the cooling speed of the wafer can be increased; and since the action of separately opening the graphite box is not needed, an easy operation is realized.

Description

Cooling device and semiconductor processing equipment Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and in particular to a cooling device and semiconductor processing equipment. Background Art

[0002] Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA) is a process of rapidly heating a wafer to approximately 1000°C to eliminate defects within the wafer and improve product performance.

[0003] An existing cooling structure is shown in Figure 1. The RTA process specifically places the wafer in a graphite box 10a for annealing. After the annealing is completed, when the graphite box 10a is cooled to about 400°C, a robot is used to lift the entire graphite box 10a out and then place the entire box in a cooling chamber 20a for further cooling. After cooling to room temperature, the robot takes out the graphite box 10a and finally opens the graphite box 10a to take out the wafer.

[0004] Since the graphite box 10a is not opened while cooling in the cooling chamber 20a, the wafer 101a is in the narrow space of the graphite box 10a, and the overall cooling time is long, which affects the production efficiency of the entire process.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] In response to the above technical problems, the present application provides a cooling device and semiconductor processing equipment, which can improve the problem of slow cooling speed caused by the graphite box not being opened when the existing cooling structure is used to cool the wafer.

[0007] To solve the above technical problems, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cooling device, comprising at least one cooling structure; the cooling structure comprises a graphite cartridge, and a tray for carrying the graphite cartridge;

[0008] The graphite cartridge comprises:

[0009] The lower box body is provided with at least three first through holes;

[0010] The upper box body is covered on the lower box body and forms a receiving space for accommodating the wafer between the upper box body and the lower box body; when the wafer is placed in the receiving space, the first through hole avoids the wafer;

[0011] The tray comprises:

[0012] A support plate, used for supporting the graphite box;

[0013] A first ejector pin corresponding one-to-one to the first through hole is provided on the side of the support plate facing the graphite box, and is used to penetrate the corresponding first through hole and lift the upper box body when the graphite box is placed on the support plate, so as to separate the upper box body and the lower box body.

[0014] In some embodiments, when a wafer is placed in the accommodation space, the outline of a pattern formed by sequentially connecting the at least three first through holes surrounds the center of the wafer.

[0015] In some embodiments, the lower box body is further provided with at least three second through holes, and when the wafer is placed in the accommodating space, the second through holes face the wafer;

[0016] The tray also includes:

[0017] A second ejector pin corresponding one-to-one to the second through hole, the second ejector pin is arranged on the side of the support plate facing the graphite box, and the height of the second ejector pin is less than the height of the first ejector pin, and the second ejector pin is used to penetrate the corresponding second through hole and lift the wafer in the graphite box when the graphite box is placed on the support plate, so that the wafer is suspended between the upper box body and the lower box body.

[0018] In some embodiments, when a wafer is placed in the accommodation space, the outline of a pattern formed by sequentially connecting the at least three second through holes surrounds the center of the wafer.

[0019] In some embodiments, the first ejector pin includes: a first supporting portion connected to the support plate, and a second supporting portion provided on a side of the first supporting portion away from the support plate;

[0020] Taking the arrangement direction of the first supporting portion and the second supporting portion as the first direction, perpendicular to the first direction, the size of the first supporting portion is larger than the size of the first through hole, and the size of the second supporting portion is smaller than the size of the first through hole; the size of the first supporting portion in the first direction is smaller than the length of the second ejector pin.

[0021] In some embodiments, the tray further comprises a side panel provided on a side of the support plate facing the graphite box, the side panel forming a ring with an opening for allowing the wafer and the graphite box to enter and exit, and the height of the side panel satisfies that: when the upper box body is lifted up, the height of the upper box body is less than the height of the side panel;

[0022] The cooling device includes at least two cooling structures stacked in a vertical direction. For any two adjacent cooling structures, the support plate of the upper cooling structure is supported on the side panel of the lower cooling structure.

[0023] In some embodiments, the top surface of the side panel in the cooling structure is further provided with at least one set of first connection holes and second connection holes extending in the longitudinal direction, wherein the first connection holes are through holes and the second connection holes are threaded holes;

[0024] Among any two adjacent cooling structures, the cooling structure located above is the first cooling structure, and the cooling structure located below is the second cooling structure; wherein, the first connecting hole of the first cooling structure is opposite to the second connecting hole of the second cooling structure, and the first cooling structure passes through the first connecting hole and is connected to the second connecting hole of the second cooling structure below by a connecting screw.

[0025] In some embodiments, the side panel is provided with a cooling medium input hole and a cooling medium output hole;

[0026] A cooling pipe is further provided in the cooling structure. The cooling pipe avoids the first ejector pin, the second ejector pin and the graphite box. Both ends of the cooling pipe are connected to the cooling medium input hole and the cooling medium output hole respectively.

[0027] In some embodiments, the support plate comprises:

[0028] A bottom plate connected to the side panels, wherein a cooling groove is provided on a top surface of the bottom plate, and two ends of the cooling groove are respectively connected to the cooling medium input hole and the cooling medium output hole;

[0029] A top plate, disposed on the top surface of the bottom plate and covering the cooling groove to form the cooling channel;

[0030] The first ejector pin and the second ejector pin are arranged on the top surface of the top plate.

[0031] In some embodiments, a notch is provided on a side of the bottom plate close to the opening.

[0032] In some embodiments, the cooling device further comprises: a plurality of connecting pipes;

[0033] In any two adjacent cooling structures, the cooling medium input hole of the upper cooling structure is connected to the cooling medium output hole of the lower cooling structure through a connecting pipe; or, the cooling medium output hole of the upper cooling structure is connected to the cooling medium input hole of the lower cooling structure through a connecting pipe.

[0034] In some embodiments, the side panel is U-shaped, and the opening of the U-shape constitutes the opening;

[0035] The cooling structure is further provided with an air cooling channel for introducing cooling gas from the outside into the cooling structure.

[0036] In some embodiments, the air cooling channel includes:

[0037] first air holes, penetrating the side panels and the support plate from top to bottom, wherein the first air holes of each cooling structure are aligned and connected to each other;

[0038] At least one second air hole passes through the inner wall of the side panel and is communicated with the first air hole.

[0039] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a semiconductor processing device, comprising a process chamber and a transfer chamber connected to each other, wherein the transfer chamber is provided with a cooling device as described in the above embodiments.

[0040] As described above, when the cooling device provided by the present application cools wafers, the graphite box and wafers are directly placed on the tray. All first ejector pins pass through the corresponding first through-holes, and the upper box body of the graphite box is lifted, avoiding the wafers, to open the graphite box. Because at least three groups of first ejector pins are provided corresponding to the first through-holes, at least three points of support are formed for the upper box body. In this embodiment, when the graphite box is placed on the tray, the graphite box can be opened simultaneously. This not only increases the cooling rate of the wafer, thereby improving the production efficiency of the entire process, but also eliminates the need for a separate opening of the graphite box, making operation simple. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application, and together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present application. In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without inventive work.

[0042] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an existing cooling structure;

[0043] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a cooling device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG3 is a side view schematic diagram of a cooling structure provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a tray provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a graphite cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of a first ejector pin provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a plurality of stacked cooling structures along line AA in FIG4 ;

[0049] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a cooling duct formed on a tray according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a semiconductor processing device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] 10 is a front view of a manipulator taking a graphite cartridge provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the back of a robot arm taking a graphite box provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0053] The purpose of this application, its features, and advantages will be further described in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and the accompanying text are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of this application to those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, with examples illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, when referring to the drawings, identical numerals in different figures represent identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments are not intended to represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0055] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element. In addition, components, features, and elements with the same name in different embodiments of the present application may have the same meaning or different meanings, and their specific meanings need to be determined by their explanation in the specific embodiment or further combined with the context of the specific embodiment.

[0056] It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" and "including" indicate the presence of the described features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, kinds, and / or groups. The terms "or", "and / or", "including at least one of the following", etc. used in this application may be interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination. For example, "including at least one of the following: A, B, C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C", and for another example, "A, B or C" or "A, B and / or C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C". Exceptions to this definition will only occur when the combination of elements, functions, steps or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.

[0057] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, first information could also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information could also be referred to as first information without departing from the scope of this document. Depending on the context, as used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise.

[0058] It should be understood that the terms "top", "bottom", "up", "down", "vertical", "horizontal", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0059] For ease of description, the following embodiments are all described using the orthogonal space formed by the horizontal plane and the vertical direction as an example. This premise should not be understood as a limitation to the present application.

[0060] Please refer to Figures 2-5, Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a cooling device provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 3 is a side structural schematic diagram of a cooling structure provided in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 4 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a tray provided in an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a graphite box provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] The cooling device includes at least one cooling structure 100. Specifically, one or more cooling structures 100 may be provided. FIG2 illustrates six cooling structures 100 as an example, but the specific number can be selected as needed. The cooling structure 100 includes a graphite cartridge 10 and a tray 20 for supporting the graphite cartridge 10.

[0062] The graphite box 10 includes a lower box body 11 and an upper box body 12. At least three first through holes 111 are provided on the lower box body 11. The upper box body 12 covers the lower box body 11, and forms a storage space for accommodating the wafer 101 between the upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11. For example, the storage space can be formed by the upper box body 12 being concave upward to avoid the wafer 101, or it can be formed by the lower box body 11 being concave downward, so that the wafer 101 can be limited while accommodating the wafer 101, as shown in Figure 5. The upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11 can also form a concave and convex matching structure at the edge so that they can be positioned with each other when covered. When the wafer 101 is placed in the storage space, the first through holes 111 avoid the wafer 101. For example, the first through holes 111 can be arranged around the outside of the storage space.

[0063] The tray 20 includes a support plate 23 and first ejector pins 21 corresponding one-to-one to the first through holes 111. The support plate 23 is used to support the graphite box 10. The first ejector pins 21 are arranged on the side of the support plate 23 facing the graphite box 10, for example, arranged on the top surface of the support plate 23 in the figure, and are used to penetrate the corresponding first through holes 111 and lift the upper box body 12 when the graphite box 10 is placed on the support plate 23, so as to separate the upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11.

[0064] The operating principle of the cooling device of this embodiment is as follows: when cooling is required, the graphite cartridge 10 and wafer 101 are placed on the tray 20 together. All first ejector pins 21 pass through the corresponding first through-holes 111, and the upper body 12 of the graphite cartridge 10 is lifted, avoiding the wafer 101, to open the graphite cartridge 10. In this embodiment, when the graphite cartridge 10 is placed on the tray 20 for cooling, the graphite cartridge 10 can be opened at the same time. This not only increases the cooling speed of the wafer 101, thereby improving the production efficiency of the entire process, but also eliminates the need to open the graphite cartridge 10 separately, making the operation simple.

[0065] In addition, when the lower box body 11 is lifted from the bottom, the lower box body 11, wafer 101 and upper box body 12 can be automatically closed and then placed into the process chamber for annealing. That is, the cooling device of this embodiment can automatically close the box when taking out the wafer box.

[0066] For example, when the wafer 101 is placed in the accommodation space, the outline of the pattern formed by the sequential connection of at least three first through holes 111 surrounds the center of the wafer 101. That is, when the wafer 101 is placed in the accommodation space, the center of the wafer 101 is located within the pattern formed by the sequential connection of the first through holes 111. Because at least three groups of first ejector pins 21 are provided corresponding to the first through holes 111, at least three points of support are formed for the upper box body 12. The center of the wafer 101 is located within the pattern formed by the sequential connection of the first through holes 111. This prevents all support points from being biased to one side, thereby preventing them from providing stable support for the upper box body 12.

[0067] In order to further improve the cooling rate of the wafer 101, in one embodiment, please continue to refer to Figures 3 and 4, at least three second through holes 112 are further provided on the lower box body 11. When the wafer 101 is placed in the accommodating space, the second through holes 112 are directly opposite the wafer 101. The tray 20 also includes second ejector pins 22 corresponding one-to-one to the second through holes 112. The second ejector pins 22 are provided on the side of the support plate 23 facing the graphite box 10, for example, on the top surface of the support plate 23 in the figure, and the height of the second ejector pins 22 is less than that of the first ejector pins 21. The second ejector pins 22 are used to penetrate the corresponding second through holes 112 and lift the wafer 101 in the graphite box 10 when the graphite box 10 is placed on the support plate 23, so that the wafer 101 is suspended between the upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11.

[0068] As described in the above embodiment, after the first ejector pin 21 lifts the upper box body 12 to open the graphite box 10, although the cooling rate of the wafer 101 can be increased, the lower surface of the wafer 101 cools slowly because the wafer 101 remains in contact with the lower box body 11. In this embodiment, the second ejector pin 22 passes through the second through hole 112 to lift the wafer 101, thereby separating the wafer 101 from the lower box body 11. This embodiment can further separate the wafer 101 from the lower box body 11, so that the wafer 101 is suspended between the upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11, further increasing the cooling rate of the wafer 101 and simultaneously increasing the cooling rate of the graphite box 10.

[0069] Furthermore, when wafer 101 is placed in the accommodation space, the outline of the pattern formed by the sequential connection of at least three second through holes 112 surrounds the center of wafer 101. In other words, when wafer 101 is placed in the accommodation space, the center of wafer 101 can be located within the pattern formed by the sequential connection of second through holes 112. Because at least three groups of second ejector pins 22 are provided corresponding to second through holes 112, at least three points of support are formed for wafer 101. The center of wafer 101 is located within the pattern formed by the sequential connection of second through holes 112, thereby preventing all support points from being biased to one side and failing to provide stable support for wafer 101.

[0070] To further improve the cooling rate of the graphite box 10, in one embodiment, refer to Figures 3, 4, and 6. Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a first ejector pin provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first ejector pin 21 may include: a first support portion 211 connected to the support plate 23, and a second support portion 212 disposed on a side of the first support portion 211 away from the support plate 23. With the first support portion 211 and the second support portion 212 extending in a first direction (i.e., the Z direction in the figure), in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, such as the X direction in the figure, the first support portion 211 is larger than the first through hole 111, and the second support portion 212 is smaller than the first through hole 111. That is, the connection between the first support portion 211 and the second support portion 212 forms a step that supports the lower box body 11. The first support portion 211 in the first direction (i.e., the Z direction in the figure) is smaller than the length of the second ejector pin 22, so that the second ejector pin 22 can lift the wafer 101 from the lower box body 11.

[0071] It should be noted that the first and second ejector pins 21 and 22 are not limited to cylindrical shapes, and the first and second through-holes 111 and 112 are not limited to circular shapes. Any shape is acceptable as long as they are compatible with the first and second ejector pins 21 and 22, respectively. For example, in the case where the first support portion 211, the second support portion 212, and the second ejector pin 22 of the first ejector pin 21 are cylindrical, and the first and second through-holes 111 and 112 are circular holes, the diameter of the first support portion 211 is larger than the diameter of the first through-hole 111, and the diameter of the second support portion 212 is smaller than the diameter of the first through-hole 111. This means that the connection between the first and second support portions 211 and 212 forms a step, and the two can have a stepped shaft structure. The length of the first support portion 211 is shorter than the length of the second ejector pin 22.

[0072] It should be noted that the needle tops of the first ejector pin 21 and the second ejector pin 22 can be conical structures to facilitate guiding and positioning when passing through the corresponding through holes. In addition, the second ejector pin 22 can be cylindrical or can be configured as a stepped shaft shape similar to the first ejector pin 21. For example, referring to Figure 3, the second ejector pin 22 may include: a third support portion 221 connected to the support plate 23, and a fourth support portion 222 arranged on the side of the third support portion 221 away from the support plate 23. The Z-direction dimension of the third support portion 221 is smaller than that of the first support portion 211 to avoid the lower box body 11 supported by the first support portion 211. Furthermore, the sum of the Z-direction dimensions of the third support portion 221 and the fourth support portion 222 is greater than the Z-direction dimension of the first support portion 211 and smaller than the sum of the Z-direction dimensions of the first support portion 211 and the second support portion 212. This allows the wafer 101, lifted by the fourth support portion 222, to be positioned between the lifted upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11, avoiding the upper box body 12 and the lower box body 11. Furthermore, the X-direction dimension of the fourth support portion 222 is smaller than the X-direction dimension of the second through hole 112 to allow the fourth support portion 222 to pass through the second through hole 112. From the above, it can be seen that the upper box body 12 is lifted by the second support part 212, the wafer 101 is lifted by the fourth support part 222, and the lower box body 11 is lifted by the first support part 211. The lifted upper box body 12 is located above the lifted wafer 101; the lifted lower box body 11 is located below the lifted wafer 101, and there is no interference between the positions of the three.

[0073] As described in the above embodiment, after the second ejector pins 22 lift the wafer 101, although the cooling rate of the wafer 101 and the graphite box 10 can be increased, since the lower box body 11 is supported on the support plate 23 of the tray 20, the heat dissipation from the lower surface is slow, which affects the overall cooling rate of the graphite box 10. In this embodiment, the second supporting portion 212 of the first ejector pin 21 can pass through the first through-hole 111, while the first supporting portion 211 cannot pass through the first through-hole 111. When the wafer box 10 and the wafer 101 are placed on the tray 20 for cooling, the second supporting portion 212 can pass through the first through-hole 111 to lift the upper box body 12. The step formed between the first supporting portion 211 and the second supporting portion 212 can lift the lower box body 11, separating the lower box body 11 from the support plate 23 of the tray 20, thereby increasing the cooling rate of the lower surface of the lower box body 11. In addition, since the length of the first supporting portion 211 is smaller than that of the second ejector pins 22 , the second ejector pins 22 can still separate the wafer 101 from the lower box body 11 when the lower box body 11 is lifted up.

[0074] Furthermore, because the wafer 101 is suspended, it can be directly transferred by a robot after cooling is complete, eliminating the need to first remove the entire graphite box 10, then open the graphite box 10, and then transfer the wafer 101, as in the traditional method. The cooling device of this embodiment automatically separates the wafer 101 and the graphite box 10 while cooling, without the need for manual labor or complex mechanical structures, thereby improving the transfer efficiency of the wafer 101.

[0075] In one embodiment, please continue to refer to Figures 2 to 4. The present application provides a solution in which a cooling device includes at least two cooling structures 100. All cooling structures 100 are stacked in the vertical direction. Specifically, the tray 20 may further include a side panel 24 provided on the side of the support plate 23 facing the graphite box 10. Taking Figure 4 as an example, the side panel 24 is located on the top surface of the support plate 23. The side panel 24 forms a ring with an opening 241. The opening 241 is used for the wafer and the graphite box 10 to enter and exit. For example, the ring formed by the side panel 24 may be rectangular, circular or other shapes. The height of the side panel 24 satisfies: when the upper box body 12 is lifted up, the height of the upper box body 12 is less than the height of the side panel 24. For any two adjacent cooling structures 100, the support plate 23 of the upper cooling structure 100 is supported on the side panel 24 of the lower cooling structure 100.

[0076] As shown in Figure 1, a conventional cooling chamber can only accommodate one graphite cartridge for cooling. In this embodiment, stacked trays 20 form the basic framework of the cooling chamber. Multiple cooling structures can be included within the cooling chamber to cool multiple graphite cartridges simultaneously. This not only creates a compact overall structure and saves space, but also improves production efficiency.

[0077] It should be noted that when multiple cooling structures 100 are stacked, they can be bonded together using an adhesive, but this connection method has low reliability and is inconvenient to maintain. As an example, please refer to Figures 4 and 7. Figure 7 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram along the AA line in Figure 4 after multiple cooling structures are stacked. The top surface of the side panel 24 in the cooling structure 100 is also provided with at least one group of first connection holes and second connection holes extending in the longitudinal direction, wherein the first connection holes are through holes and the second connection holes are threaded holes. In any two adjacent cooling structures 100, the cooling structure located above is the first cooling structure, and the cooling structure located below is the second cooling structure. The first connection hole 244 of the first cooling structure is opposite to the second connection hole 245 of the second cooling structure. The connecting screw 50 passes through the first connection hole 244 and is connected to the second connection hole 245 of the second cooling structure below, thereby realizing the connection between the first cooling structure and the second cooling structure.

[0078] Taking three stacked cooling structures 100 as an example, refer to Figure 7. In the upper, middle, and lower layers of cooling structures 100, the upper cooling structure is the first cooling structure, and the middle cooling structure is the second cooling structure; and the middle cooling structure is the first cooling structure, and the lower cooling structure is the second cooling structure. The top surface of the side panel 24 in each cooling structure 100 is provided with a first connection hole 244 and a second connection hole 245 extending longitudinally. The first connection hole 244 is a through hole, and the second connection hole 245 is a threaded hole. The second connection hole 245 of the second cooling structure is aligned with the first connection hole 244 of the upper first cooling structure 100, and the first connection hole 244 of the second cooling structure 100 is aligned with the second connection hole 245 of the lower first cooling structure 100. That is, in any two adjacent layers of cooling structures 100, the first connection holes 244 in the first cooling structure and the first connection holes 244 in the second cooling structure are staggered in the vertical direction, and the second connection holes 245 in the first cooling structure and the second connection holes 245 in the second cooling structure are staggered in the vertical direction.

[0079] It should be noted that the first connecting hole 244 can be a straight through hole or a threaded through hole, and the second connecting hole can be a threaded through hole or a threaded blind hole, and this application does not specifically limit this.

[0080] To further increase the cooling speed, the cooling device of the embodiment of the present application may also include a cooling system. In one embodiment, please continue to refer to Figures 2 and 4. A cooling medium input hole 242 and a cooling medium output hole 243 may also be provided on the side panel 24 of the tray 20. A cooling pipe is also provided in the cooling structure 100. The cooling pipe avoids the first ejector pin 21, the second ejector pin 22 and the graphite box 10. The two ends of the cooling pipe are respectively connected to the cooling medium input hole 242 and the cooling medium output hole 243. For example, the cooling pipe can be a pipe that is conducive to heat dissipation, such as a metal pipe. A cooling medium (such as coolant or gas) can be input from the cooling medium input hole 242, and then the cooling medium can be recovered from the cooling medium output hole 243 to circulate and cool the cooling device.

[0081] It should be noted that the method of setting up the pipeline separately will take up a certain amount of space. The present application provides a better arrangement method of the cooling pipeline. Please refer to Figures 4 and 8. Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a cooling pipeline formed on a tray provided in an embodiment of the present application. The support plate 23 of the tray 20 may include a bottom plate 231 and a top plate 232. The bottom plate 231 is connected to the side panel 24. The top surface of the bottom plate 231 is provided with a cooling groove 2311, and the two ends of the cooling groove 2311 are respectively connected to the cooling medium input hole 242 and the cooling medium output hole 243. The top plate 232 is arranged on the top surface of the bottom plate 231, and the cooling groove 2311 is covered to form a cooling pipeline. The first ejector pin 21 and the second ejector pin 22 are arranged on the top surface of the top plate 232.

[0082] In this embodiment, the cooling duct is formed between the bottom plate 231 and the top plate 232, eliminating the need for excessive space. Furthermore, the specific shape of the cooling duct can be arbitrarily set without interfering with the first and second ejector pins 21 and 22. Furthermore, a notch 2312 can be provided on one side of the bottom plate 231 near the opening 241 to create a clearance for the edge of the top plate 232, making it easier to remove the top plate 232 during assembly and disassembly.

[0083] As an example, please continue to refer to Figure 2. The cooling device may include multiple connecting pipes 30, and the cooling pipes of all cooling structures 100 are connected in series through the connecting pipes 30. For example, in any two adjacent cooling structures 100, the cooling medium input hole 242 of the cooling structure 100 located at the top and the cooling medium output hole 243 of the cooling structure 100 located at the bottom may be connected through a connecting pipe 30, and the cooling medium flows in from the cooling medium input hole 242 of the bottom cooling structure 100 and finally flows out from the cooling medium output hole 243 of the top cooling structure 100. Of course, the cooling medium output hole 243 of the cooling structure 100 located at the top and the cooling medium input hole 242 of the cooling structure 100 located at the bottom may also be connected through a connecting pipe 30, so that the cooling medium flows in from the top and flows out from the bottom.

[0084] To further improve the cooling efficiency, an air cooling system may be provided. In one embodiment, referring to Figures 2, 4, and 8, the side panels 24 may be U-shaped, with the opening of the U forming an opening 241. The cooling structure 100 is also provided with an air cooling channel 40 for introducing cooling gas from the outside into the cooling structure 100. The specific form of the air cooling channel 40 is not particularly limited in this embodiment. For example, the air cooling channel 40 may be formed by one or more holes in the side panels 24, through which an external air source may blow gas into the cooling structure 100.

[0085] As an example of an air cooling channel 40, please continue to refer to Figures 2, 4, and 8. The air cooling channel 40 may include a first air hole 41 and at least one second air hole 42. The first air hole 41 penetrates the side panel 24 and the support plate 23 from top to bottom. The first air holes 41 of each cooling structure 100 are aligned and connected to each other. The second air hole 42 penetrates the inner wall of the side panel 24 and connects to the first air hole 41. The second air hole 42 can be elliptical as shown in the figure. A larger air outlet area can improve the uniformity and stability of the air flow. The second air hole 42 can also be provided in multiples, such as multiple circular holes arranged radially to connect to the first air hole 41.

[0086] During application, the bottom surface of the first air hole 41 of the lowest cooling structure 100 can be blocked, and cooling gas can be introduced from the first air hole 41 of the uppermost cooling structure 100. The gas can enter the first air hole 41 of each layer of the cooling structure 100 in turn, and flow into the corresponding cooling structure 100 from the second air hole 42, which can further improve the cooling speed of the graphite box 10 and the wafer 101.

[0087] The present invention also provides a semiconductor processing device, as shown in FIG9 . The semiconductor processing device may include a process chamber 500 and a transfer chamber 600 connected to each other. The transfer chamber 600 is provided with a cooling device 700 as described in the above embodiments. The semiconductor processing device may be an annealing device.

[0088] When in use, please refer to Figures 9, 10, and 11. Figure 10 is a front view of a manipulator taking a graphite cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 11 is a back view of a manipulator taking a graphite cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application. The manipulator 800 can transfer the wafer together with the graphite cartridge 10 from the wafer cartridge temporary storage station 900 to the process chamber 500 for annealing. After annealing is completed, the manipulator 800 can transfer the wafer together with the graphite cartridge 10 from the process chamber 500 to the cooling device 700 for cooling.

[0089] In conventional annealing equipment, the cooling chamber 20a can only cool one wafer at a time. This embodiment can cool multiple wafers simultaneously, and during cooling, the graphite box 10 is in an open state, which has higher cooling efficiency and greater production capacity.

[0090] Regarding the cooling working principle and process of the semiconductor processing equipment in this embodiment, please refer to the description of the cooling device in the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] The above describes in detail a cooling device and semiconductor processing equipment provided by this application. This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. It should be noted that in this application, the descriptions of each embodiment have their own emphases. For portions not detailed or recorded in a particular embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0092] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present application and do not limit the patent scope of the present application. The various technical features of the technical solution of the present application can be arbitrarily combined. In order to make the description concise, all possible combinations of the various technical features in the above embodiments are not described. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the contents of the description and drawings of this application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A cooling device, characterized in that, Comprising at least one cooling structure; the cooling structure includes a graphite box and a tray for carrying the graphite box; The graphite box includes: A lower box body provided with at least three first through holes; An upper box body covering the lower box body and forming a receiving space for accommodating a wafer therebetween; when the wafer is placed in the receiving space, the first through holes avoid the wafer; The tray includes: A support plate for supporting the graphite box; First ejector pins corresponding one-to-one to the first through holes, the first ejector pins being disposed on the side of the support plate facing the graphite box and used for penetrating the corresponding first through holes and jacking up the upper box body when the graphite box is placed on the support plate, so that the upper box body and the lower box body are separated.

2. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the wafer is placed in the receiving space, the contour of the figure formed by sequentially connecting the at least three first through holes surrounds the center of the wafer.

3. The cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower box body is further provided with at least three second through holes, and when the wafer is placed in the receiving space, the second through holes are opposite to the wafer; The tray further includes: Second ejector pins corresponding one-to-one to the second through holes, the second ejector pins being disposed on the side of the support plate facing the graphite box, and the height of the second ejector pins being less than the height of the first ejector pins, the second ejector pins being used for penetrating the corresponding second through holes and jacking up the wafer in the graphite box when the graphite box is placed on the support plate, so that the wafer is suspended between the upper box body and the lower box body.

4. The cooling device according to claim 3, wherein, When the wafer is placed in the receiving space, the contour of the figure formed by sequentially connecting the at least three second through holes surrounds the center of the wafer.

5. The cooling device according to claim 3, wherein The first ejector pin includes a first support portion connected to the support plate and a second support portion disposed on the side of the first support portion away from the support plate; Taking the extending direction of the first support portion and the second support portion as the first direction, in a direction perpendicular to the first direction, the size of the first support portion is greater than the size of the first through hole, and the size of the second support portion is less than the size of the first through hole; the size of the first support portion in the first direction is less than the length of the second ejector pin.

6. The cooling device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The tray further includes a side enclosure disposed on the side of the support plate facing the graphite box, the side enclosure enclosing a ring shape with an opening, the opening being used for the wafer and the graphite box to enter and exit, and the height of the side enclosure satisfies: when the upper box body is jacked up, the height of the upper box body is less than the height of the side enclosure; The cooling device includes at least two cooling structures stacked in the vertical direction, and for any two adjacent cooling structures, the support plate of the cooling structure located above supports on the side enclosure of the cooling structure located below.

7. The cooling device according to claim 6, wherein The top surface of the side enclosure in the cooling structure is further provided with at least one set of first connection holes and second connection holes extending longitudinally, wherein the first connection holes are through holes and the second connection holes are threaded holes; Among any two adjacent ones of the cooling structures, the upper cooling structure is defined as the first cooling structure, and the lower cooling structure is defined as the second cooling structure; wherein, the first connection hole of the first cooling structure is directly opposite to the second connection hole of the second cooling structure, and the first cooling structure is connected to the second connection hole of the second cooling structure below through a connecting screw passing through the first connection hole.

8. The cooling device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The side wall panel is provided with a cooling medium input hole and a cooling medium output hole; A cooling pipe is further arranged in the cooling structure, and the cooling pipe avoids the first ejector pin, the second ejector pin and the graphite box, and two ends of the cooling pipe are respectively connected to the cooling medium input hole and the cooling medium output hole.

9. The cooling device according to claim 8, characterized in that The support plate includes: A bottom plate, connected to the side wall panel, a cooling groove is arranged on the top surface of the bottom plate, and two ends of the cooling groove are respectively communicated with the cooling medium input hole and the cooling medium output hole; A top plate, arranged on the top surface of the bottom plate and covering the cooling groove to form the cooling pipe; The first ejector pin and the second ejector pin are arranged on the top surface of the top plate.

10. The cooling device according to claim 9, characterized in that, A notch is arranged on one side of the bottom plate close to the opening.

11. The cooling device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The cooling device further includes: a plurality of connecting pipes; Among any two adjacent ones of the cooling structures, the cooling medium input hole of the upper cooling structure is connected to the cooling medium output hole of the lower cooling structure through one of the connecting pipes; or, the cooling medium output hole of the upper cooling structure is connected to the cooling medium input hole of the lower cooling structure through one of the connecting pipes.

12. The cooling device according to any one of claims 6-11, characterized in that, The side wall panel is U-shaped, and the open end of the U shape forms the opening; The cooling structure is further provided with an air cooling channel for introducing cooling gas into the cooling structure from the outside.

13. The cooling device according to claim 12, characterized in that, The air cooling channel includes: First air holes, penetrating through the side wall panel and the support plate from top to bottom, and the first air holes of each cooling structure are aligned and communicated with each other; At least one second air hole, penetrating from the inner wall of the side wall panel to communicate with the first air holes.

14. A semiconductor processing apparatus, characterized in that, It includes a process chamber and a transmission chamber connected to each other, and the cooling device as described in any one of claims 1-13 is arranged in the transmission chamber.

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