Annealing device and annealing method

Abstract

Provided in the present invention are an annealing device and an annealing method. The annealing device comprises a chamber, a cover, a cover driving mechanism and a gas inlet device, wherein the gas inlet device comprises a chamber gas inlet unit and a cover gas inlet unit. The chamber gas inlet unit is configured to convey a first gas into the chamber, such that the pressure inside the chamber is a first pressure; and the cover gas inlet unit is configured to convey a second gas into the cover. The annealing device is configured as follows: when a hot plate is used to perform a process on a substrate, the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move towards the substrate and cover the substrate, and then the cover gas inlet unit conveys the second gas into the cover, such that the pressure inside the cover is a second pressure, the second pressure being greater than the first pressure. According to the present invention, for a process where a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen is required to form an annealing atmosphere, compared with introducing the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the whole chamber, simply introducing the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the cover greatly reduces the consumption of hydrogen, thereby reducing the process cost and improving the process safety.

Description

Annealing device and annealing method TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of electrochemical deposition, and more particularly to an annealing device and an annealing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the double damascene process, a copper layer is deposited on a barrier layer with a pre-existing pattern structure by physical vapor deposition, electrochemical copper plating, etc. The amount of deposited metal in the pattern structure depends on the electroplating process. During electroplating, copper ions are reduced to copper atoms on the substrate as a cathode, while an oxidation reaction occurs at the copper anode, balancing the cathode current. After the electroplating deposition is completed, high-temperature annealing is required for the metal layer to grow the grains in the copper layer, change the copper lattice direction, and reduce the copper metal surface layer with a reducing gas.

[0003] The existing annealing device in the electroplating equipment adopts a single-piece single-cavity annealing method, with the substrate horizontally placed and the annealing cavity horizontally feeding and discharging gas. This method easily leads to uneven concentration of hydrogen and nitrogen mixed gas on the substrate surface, causing poor uniformity within the substrate surface. In order to maintain stable hydrogen concentration in the cavity, the hydrogen and nitrogen mixed gas is always on during the time when no process is performed, which wastes hydrogen and poses a safety risk of hydrogen and nitrogen mixed gas escaping outside the cavity. SUMMARY

[0004] In order to ensure the safety of the annealing process and reduce the cost of the annealing process, the present application proposes an annealing device and an annealing method.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application proposes an annealing device, comprising:

[0006] a cavity, wherein a cold plate and a hot plate are arranged in the cavity;

[0007] a cover body arranged in the cavity;

[0008] a cover body driving mechanism for driving the cover body to move;

[0009] a gas inlet device, comprising a cavity gas inlet unit and a cover body gas inlet unit, wherein the cavity gas inlet unit is configured to deliver a first gas to the inside of the cavity to make the pressure in the cavity a first pressure, and the cover body gas inlet unit is configured to deliver a second gas to the cover body;

[0010] The annealing device is configured to: when the hot plate processes the substrate, the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move to the substrate and cover the substrate, and then the cover gas inlet unit transports the second gas into the cover, so that the pressure of the internal space of the cover is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

[0011] In a second aspect, the present application provides an annealing method, comprising the following steps:

[0012] The cavity gas inlet unit continuously transports the first gas into the cavity, so that the pressure in the cavity is the first pressure;

[0013] The substrate is transported to the hot plate in the cavity, and the hot plate processes the substrate;

[0014] The cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move to the substrate, so that the cover covers the substrate, and then the cover gas inlet unit transports the second gas into the cover, so that the pressure of the internal space of the cover is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

[0015] In a third aspect, the present application provides an annealing method, comprising the following steps:

[0016] The cavity gas inlet unit continuously transports the first gas into the cavity, so that the pressure in the cavity is the first pressure;

[0017] A substrate placement position is arranged in the cavity, and the substrate is transported to the substrate placement position;

[0018] The driving shaft of the rotating mechanism drives the rotating disc to rotate, the cold plate and the hot plate are arranged on the rotating disc, so that the hot plate is located below the substrate and processes the substrate;

[0019] The cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move, so that the cover covers the substrate, and then the cover gas inlet unit transports the second gas into the cover, so that the pressure of the internal space of the cover is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

[0020] The annealing device and the annealing method of the present application, by arranging the cover and the cover gas inlet unit above the hot plate in the cavity during the process, the gas atmosphere in the cover is different from the gas atmosphere in the cavity except the cover, especially for the process which requires nitrogen and hydrogen mixed annealing atmosphere, only needs to transport the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the cover, compared with transporting the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the whole cavity, greatly reduces the use amount of hydrogen, reduces the process cost; at the same time, the use amount of hydrogen is reduced, avoids the overflow of a large amount of nitrogen and hydrogen mixed gas outside the cavity, causes the occurrence of safety hidden trouble, improves the process safety.

[0021] Additional features and advantages of the present application will be set forth in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or can be learned by practice of the application. The objectives and other advantages of the present application will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

[0022] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] The features, properties, and advantages of the present application are further described by the following examples and accompanying drawings. In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the accompanying drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other accompanying drawings according to these accompanying drawings without any creative effort.

[0024] Fig. 1 shows a top view of an annealing device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Fig. 2 shows a side view of the annealing device according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of an annealing method according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Fig. 4 shows a top view of an annealing device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Fig. 5 shows a side view of the annealing device according to the embodiment of the present application, in which the hot plate is located below the substrate; and

[0029] Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of an annealing method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0030] Preferred embodiments of the present application

[0031] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort belong to the protection scope of the present application.

[0032] Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, FIG. 1 shows a top view of the annealing device according to the embodiment 1 of the present application, and FIG. 2 shows a side view of the annealing device according to the embodiment 1 of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the annealing device according to the embodiment of the present application comprises a process cavity 100, a substrate transfer window 101 is formed on the sidewall of the cavity 100, and the substrate transfer window 101 is configured to facilitate the substrate to enter or exit the cavity 100. A cold plate 102 and a hot plate 103 are installed in the cavity 100. The cold plate 102 and the hot plate 103 are both circular, and the height of the cold plate 102 is the same as that of the hot plate 103. An air inlet device is arranged on the cavity 100, which comprises a cavity air inlet unit 104 arranged on one side of the cavity 100. The cavity air inlet unit 104 is configured to supply a first gas into the cavity 100, so that the pressure in the cavity 100 is a first pressure. The first gas is selected according to the actual process requirements, for example, the first gas comprises one or more of nitrogen, argon, and helium, but is not limited to the above. In this embodiment, the first gas is nitrogen. A cavity air outlet unit 109 is arranged on the other side of the cavity 100, and the cavity air outlet unit 109 is configured to discharge the gas in the cavity 100 from the cavity 100 to the outside of the cavity 100.

[0033] A cover 105 and a cover driving mechanism 106 are further arranged in the cavity 100. The cover driving mechanism 106 is configured to drive the cover 105 to move. The air inlet device further comprises a cover air inlet unit 107 arranged on the top of the cover 105, and the cover air inlet unit 107 is configured to supply a second gas into the cover 105. The second gas has a different composition from the first gas, and the second gas is selected according to the actual process requirements, for example, the second gas comprises a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen or a mixture of helium and hydrogen, but is not limited to the above. In this embodiment, the second gas is a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen. During the process, when the hot plate 103 processes the substrate 200, the cover driving mechanism 106 drives the cover 105 to move and cover the substrate 200, and then the cover air inlet unit 107 supplies the second gas into the cover 105, so that the pressure in the internal space of the cover 105 is a second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure. By setting the pressure in the internal space of the cover 105 as the second pressure, a pressure difference between the pressure in the cover 105 and the pressure in the non-cover space in the cavity can be ensured, so that the pressure in the cover 105 is positive relative to the pressure in the non-cover space in the cavity, and the gas in the non-cover space in the cavity is prevented from entering the cover 105, which affects the composition of the second gas in the cover 105 and further affects the process quality.

[0034] Further, the cover 105 is internally provided with a fluid distribution member 1051. The fluid distribution member 1051 is a porous mesh structure. The second gas entering the interior of the cover 105 from the top of the cover 105 is uniformly redistributed by the fluid distribution member 1051, so as to avoid the second gas rushing to the local surface of the substrate 200 in a large amount at one time, and so as to enable the surface of the substrate 200 to receive the second gas in a more uniform manner.

[0035] According to the annealing device provided by the embodiment of the present application, an annealing method is provided. Referring to FIG. 3, the annealing method comprises the following steps:

[0036] In step S1100, the cavity gas inlet unit 104 continuously supplies the first gas into the cavity 100, so that the pressure in the cavity 100 is the first pressure.

[0037] The first gas is selected according to the actual process requirements. For example, in the embodiment, the first gas is nitrogen.

[0038] In step S1200, the substrate 200 is transported to the hot plate 103 in the cavity 100, so that the hot plate 103 processes the substrate 200.

[0039] Specifically, in the actual process, the substrate 200 can be directly placed on the hot plate 103. Alternatively, a substrate fixing clamp can be arranged above the hot plate 103, and the substrate 200 is fixed on the substrate fixing clamp, so as to achieve the purpose of fixing the substrate on the hot plate. Then, the hot plate 103 processes the substrate 200. According to the process requirements, the substrate fixing clamp can be fixed, or can be lifted to adjust the distance between the substrate 200 and the hot plate 103, and / or can be rotated.

[0040] In step S1300, the cover driving mechanism 106 drives the cover 105 to move towards the substrate 200. After the cover 105 encloses the substrate 200, the cover gas inlet unit 107 supplies the second gas into the cover 105, so that the pressure in the interior of the cover 105 is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

[0041] It should be understood that, in order to ensure that the pressure in the interior of the cover 105 is greater than the pressure in the exterior of the cover 105, i.e., the second pressure is greater than the first pressure, it is required that, after the cover driving mechanism 106 drives the cover 105 to move towards the substrate 200 and enclose the substrate 200, the cover gas inlet unit 107 continuously supplies the second gas into the cover 105, and the unit flow of the gas in the interior of the cover 105 is greater than the unit flow of the gas in the non-cover space in the cavity, until the process of the hot plate 103 on the substrate 200 is completed.

[0042] The second gas escapes from the interior space of the cover 105 below the cover 105 to the interior of the cavity 100, and is then discharged from the cavity 100 by the gas discharge unit 109.

[0043] Further, the annealing method of the present application further comprises:

[0044] Step S1400: transferring the substrate 200 to the cold plate 102 in the cavity 100, and the cold plate 102 processes the substrate 200.

[0045] Specifically, after the hot plate 103 completes the processing of the substrate 200, the cover gas inlet unit 107 is closed, the cover driving mechanism 106 drives the cover 105 to move away from the substrate 200, and then the substrate 200 is transferred to the cold plate 102 in the cavity 100, so that the cold plate 102 processes the substrate 200.

[0046] Step S1500: transferring the cooled substrate 200 to the outside of the cavity 100.

[0047] The annealing device and the annealing method of the embodiment of the present application, by setting the cover and the cover gas inlet unit above the hot plate in the cavity during the process, the gas atmosphere introduced into the cover space is different from the gas atmosphere introduced into the non-cover space in the cavity, especially for the process which requires nitrogen and hydrogen mixed annealing atmosphere, only needs to introduce the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the cover, compared with the process which needs to introduce the mixed gas of nitrogen and hydrogen into the whole cavity, greatly reduces the use amount of hydrogen, reduces the process cost, at the same time, the use amount of hydrogen is reduced, avoids the situation that a large amount of nitrogen and hydrogen mixed gas overflow outside the cavity, causes the occurrence of safety hidden trouble, improves the process safety.

[0048] Embodiment 2

[0049] The present embodiment provides an annealing device, please refer to figure 4 and figure 5, figure 4 shows the top view structure schematic diagram of the annealing device according to the embodiment 2 of the present application; Figure 5 shows the side view structure schematic diagram of the annealing device when the hot plate is below the substrate according to the embodiment 2 of the present application. The structure of the device is basically the same as that of the annealing device in embodiment 1, the difference is that the annealing device of embodiment 2 further comprises: rotating mechanism 108. The rotating mechanism 108 comprises: drive shaft 1081 and rotating disc 1082; the drive shaft 1081 is connected with the lower end surface of the rotating disc 1082 to drive the rotating disc 1082 to rotate, the cold plate 102 and the hot plate 103 are arranged on the upper end surface of the rotating disc 1082, when the drive shaft 1081 drives the rotating disc 1082 to rotate, the cold plate 102 and the hot plate 103 rotate with the rotating disc 1082.

[0050] The annealing method corresponding to the embodiment is slightly different from that of Embodiment 1. Please refer to FIG. 6. The annealing method in the embodiment of the present application comprises the following steps:

[0051] Step S2100: The cavity gas inlet unit 104 continuously delivers the first gas into the cavity 100, so that the pressure in the cavity 100 is the first pressure.

[0052] The first gas is selected according to the requirement in the actual process. For example, in the embodiment, the first gas is nitrogen.

[0053] Step S2200: A substrate placement position is arranged in the cavity 100, and the substrate 200 is transferred to the substrate placement position.

[0054] In the actual process, the substrate fixing clamp 300 can be arranged at the substrate placement position to hold the substrate 200 on the substrate fixing clamp 300. According to the process requirement, the substrate fixing clamp can be fixed, or can be lifted to adjust the distance between the substrate 200 and the hot plate 103, and / or can be rotatable.

[0055] Step S2300: The driving shaft 1081 of the rotating mechanism 108 drives the rotating disc 1082 to rotate. The cold plate 102 and the hot plate 103 are arranged on the rotating disc 1082, so that the hot plate 103 is located below the substrate 200 and performs the process on the substrate 200.

[0056] Step S2400: The cover driving mechanism 106 drives the cover 105 to move, so that the cover 105 encloses the substrate 200. Then, the cover gas inlet unit 107 is opened to deliver the second gas into the cover 105, so that the pressure in the internal space of the cover 105 is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

[0057] Further, the annealing method of the present application further comprises:

[0058] Step S2500: After the process of the substrate 200 by the hot plate 103 is completed, the cover body air inlet unit 107 is closed, the cover body driving mechanism 106 drives the cover body 105 to move away from the substrate 200, the driving shaft 1081 of the rotating mechanism 108 drives the rotating disc 1082 to rotate, so that the cold plate 102 is located below the substrate 200; after the cover body driving mechanism 106 drives the cover body 105 to move so that the cover body 105 encloses the substrate 200, the cover body air inlet unit 107 transports the second gas into the cover body 105, so that the pressure of the internal space of the cover body 105 is the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure. During the annealing process, the substrate is in the same gas atmosphere during the hot plate processing stage and the cold plate processing stage, which can maximize the repair of the crystal lattice on the substrate after the annealing process, rearrange the crystal lattice direction, remove most of the defects and impurities, restore the integrity of the crystal lattice, and improve the electrical conductivity and electrical performance.

[0059] Step S2600: The cooled substrate 200 is transported to the outside of the cavity 100.

[0060] In the embodiment, the rotating mechanism is provided, so that the rapid switching of the heating process or the cooling process on the substrate can be facilitated. When the switching of the heating process or the cooling process on the substrate is needed, the substrate fixing clamp keeps the substrate stable, and the driving shaft of the rotating mechanism directly drives the hot plate or the cold plate to rotate to below the substrate, so that the operation is simple and efficient.

[0061] It should be understood that the substrate fixing clamp can fix and keep the substrate at a certain distance above the hot plate or the cold plate, or fix and keep the substrate at the upper end surface of the hot plate or the cold plate. When the substrate fixing clamp fixes and keeps the substrate at the upper end surface of the hot plate or the cold plate, the substrate fixing clamp needs to first lift the substrate by a certain distance when the switching of the heating or cooling process is performed, so that the substrate is located above the hot plate or the cold plate, and then the rotating mechanism rotates to realize the switching of the processing process.

[0062] Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments can be modified, or some technical features can be replaced by equivalents; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An annealing apparatus characterized by comprising: The annealing device comprises: a cavity, wherein a cold plate and a hot plate are arranged in the cavity; a cover, which is arranged in the cavity; a cover driving mechanism, which is configured to drive the cover to move; an air inlet device, which comprises a cavity air inlet unit and a cover air inlet unit, wherein the cavity air inlet unit is configured to deliver a first gas into the cavity to make the pressure in the cavity be a first pressure, and the cover air inlet unit is configured to deliver a second gas into the cover; when the hot plate is processing a substrate, the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move and cover the substrate, and then the cover air inlet unit delivers the second gas into the cover to make the pressure in the internal space of the cover be a second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

2. The annealing device according to claim 1, wherein a fluid distributor is arranged in the cover.

3. The annealing device according to claim 1, wherein the cavity air inlet unit is in communication with the sidewall of the cavity.

4. The annealing device according to claim 1, wherein the cover air inlet unit is in communication with the top of the cover.

5. The annealing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The annealing device further comprises: a rotating mechanism; the rotating mechanism comprises a driving shaft and a rotating disc; the driving shaft is connected with the lower end surface of the rotating disc to drive the rotating disc to rotate, and the cold plate and the hot plate are arranged on the upper end surface of the rotating disc.

6. The annealing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the cold plate is processing a substrate, the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move and cover the substrate, and the cover air inlet unit delivers the second gas into the cover to make the pressure in the internal space of the cover be a second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

7. The annealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein The first gas is one or a combination of nitrogen, argon and helium.

8. The annealing apparatus of claim 1, wherein The second gas is a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen or a mixture of helium and hydrogen.

9. An annealing method, characterized by, The annealing device comprises the following steps: the cavity air inlet unit continuously delivers the first gas into the cavity to make the pressure in the cavity be the first pressure; a substrate is transported to the hot plate in the cavity, and the hot plate processes the substrate; the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move to cover the substrate, and then the cover air inlet unit delivers the second gas into the cover to make the pressure in the internal space of the cover be the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

10. An annealing method characterized by, The annealing device comprises the following steps: the cavity air inlet unit continuously delivers the first gas into the cavity to make the pressure in the cavity be the first pressure; a substrate placement position is arranged in the cavity, and a substrate is transported to the substrate placement position; the driving shaft of the rotating mechanism drives the rotating disc to rotate, and the cold plate and the hot plate are arranged on the rotating disc to make the hot plate be below the substrate and process the substrate; the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move to cover the substrate, and then the cover air inlet unit delivers the second gas into the cover to make the pressure in the internal space of the cover be the second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

11. The annealing method of claim 10, wherein, The annealing device further comprises: The driving shaft of the rotating mechanism drives the rotating disc to rotate, so that the cold plate is located below the substrate and processes the substrate; After the cover driving mechanism drives the cover to move so that the cover encloses the substrate, the cover gas inlet unit transports the second gas into the cover, so that the internal space of the cover has a second pressure, and the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.

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