Pumping ring and semiconductor processing device

Abstract

Provided in the present invention are a pumping ring and a semiconductor processing device. The pumping ring comprises an upper ring, a lower ring, and a side ring. The upper ring is disposed inside of a process chamber of a semiconductor processing device and surrounds a wafer tray. The lower ring is disposed below the upper ring and maintains a pumping gap with the upper ring. The side ring has an annular groove. The annular groove surrounds the pumping gap. An upper wall of the annular groove surrounds and is sealingly connected to an outer edge of the upper ring, and a lower wall of the annular groove surrounds and is sealingly connected to an outer edge of the lower ring. At least one pumping port is provided on the annular groove and is connected to an external pumping module by means of the at least one pumping port. The present invention can be used to improve the compatibility of the process chamber with different processes, thereby eliminating the need to transfer wafers between different process chambers for different processes, enhancing the processing efficiency of semiconductor components, and eliminating the need to open the chamber to replace the pumping ring, thus avoiding the introduction of external contamination.

Description

Extraction ring and semiconductor processing apparatus TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor processing, and in particular to an extraction ring and a semiconductor processing apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the technical field of semiconductor device processing, an extraction ring is usually arranged on the periphery of the reaction region of a semiconductor device processing apparatus such as a thin film deposition apparatus above, below or at the same level, and uniformly distributed extraction holes are formed along the circumference of the extraction ring to timely extract process tail gas, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing particle pollution and / or adjusting the gas pressure in the process chamber.

[0003] Further, some improved schemes are proposed in the art by adjusting the size and / or distribution density of each extraction hole to improve the uniformity of the extraction of the reaction region by the extraction ring, so as to improve the thickness uniformity of the deposited thin film. Although these improved schemes can meet the precision requirements of semiconductor device processing in some scenarios, in some thin film deposition processes which are relatively sensitive to gas flow rate and pressure, the thickness distribution of the thin film at the edge of the wafer will still be affected by the spacing structure between the extraction holes. For example, the thickness of the thin film at the position of the extraction hole will be smaller, and the thickness of the thin film at the position between two extraction holes will be larger, thereby causing the problem of non-uniform thickness of the thin film at the edge of the wafer.

[0004] In addition, for the problem that the extraction requirements are different for different processes in the semiconductor device processing process and between different steps in each process, the art usually needs to be equipped with semiconductor processing apparatuses of multiple different processes, or to set process chambers with multiple different process parameters in the semiconductor processing apparatus, and then to sequentially deliver the wafer to be processed to each process chamber in a flow line rotation manner to respectively perform thin film deposition of the corresponding process. This processing scheme of transferring wafers between multiple different semiconductor processing apparatuses or process chambers will not only reduce the processing efficiency of semiconductor devices, but also easily introduce external contamination in the wafer transmission process, thereby affecting the yield and performance of semiconductor devices.

[0005] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects existing in the prior art, an improved extraction technology is urgently needed in the art to eliminate the influence of the spacing structure between the extraction holes on the extraction uniformity, to improve the thickness uniformity of the thin film at the edge of the wafer, and further to improve the compatibility of the process chamber to different processes, so as to eliminate the need to transfer wafers between different process chambers, thereby improving the processing efficiency of semiconductor devices and avoiding the introduction of external contamination.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0008] To overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the present application provides an exhaust ring and a semiconductor processing apparatus, which can extract the process exhaust gas of the reaction region through the exhaust gap between the upper ring and the lower ring, so as to eliminate the influence of the interval structure between the exhaust holes on the uniformity of the exhaust, and improve the thickness uniformity of the film on the edge of the wafer.

[0009] Specifically, the above-mentioned exhaust ring according to the first aspect of the present application comprises an upper ring, a lower ring and a side ring. The upper ring is arranged inside the process chamber of the semiconductor processing apparatus and surrounds the wafer tray. The lower ring is arranged below the upper ring and maintains an exhaust gap with the upper ring. The side ring has a ring-shaped groove. The ring-shaped groove surrounds the exhaust gap. The upper wall of the ring-shaped groove surrounds and sealingly connects the outer edge of the upper ring. The lower wall of the ring-shaped groove surrounds and sealingly connects the outer edge of the lower ring. The ring-shaped groove is provided with at least one exhaust port, and is connected to the external exhaust module through the at least one exhaust port.

[0010] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, a plurality of the exhaust ports are uniformly distributed at multiple positions of the ring-shaped groove. The exhaust gap is an equidistant gap.

[0011] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, at least one of the exhaust ports is arranged at the first side of the ring-shaped groove. The first spacing of the exhaust gap at the first side is smaller than the second spacing of the exhaust gap at the second side away from the first side.

[0012] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one first protrusion. The upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one first recess. The first protrusion cooperates with the first recess to form at least one transverse gap and at least one longitudinal gap. The first width of the first protrusion at the first side is greater than the second width of the first protrusion at the second side, or the third width of the first recess at the first side is less than the fourth width of the first recess at the second side, so that the first transverse spacing of the pumping gaps at the first side is less than the second transverse spacing of the pumping gaps at the second side. Alternatively, the lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one second recess. The upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one second protrusion. The second recess cooperates with the second protrusion to form at least one transverse gap and at least one longitudinal gap. The fifth width of the second recess at the first side is less than the sixth width of the second recess at the second side, or the seventh width of the second protrusion at the first side is greater than the eighth width of the second protrusion at the second side, so that the first transverse spacing of the pumping gaps at the first side is less than the second transverse spacing of the pumping gaps at the second side.

[0013] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the flow resistance difference between the pumping gaps of the first spacing and the pumping gaps of the second spacing is equal to the path flow resistance of the gas flow from the second side to the first side along the annular groove.

[0014] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the upper ring is fixedly connected or integrated to the top of the process chamber. The side ring is fixedly connected or integrated to the sidewall of the process chamber. The lower ring is detachably or movably mounted to the inner side of the lower wall of the annular groove, so as to adjust the spacing distribution of the pumping gaps according to the actual pumping requirement of the process chamber.

[0015] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the pumping ring further comprises at least one pumping ring adjusting mechanism. The pumping ring adjusting mechanism is connected to at least one position of the lower ring, for driving the corresponding position of the lower ring to longitudinally displace, so as to adjust the spacing distribution of the pumping gaps in line according to the actual pumping requirement of the process chamber.

[0016] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the pumping ring adjusting mechanism comprises a driving motor, a slide rail, a slide block and a support rod. The driving motor is used to provide driving force. The slide rail is arranged outside the process chamber and extends longitudinally. The slide block is used to longitudinally move along the slide rail under the driving of the driving motor. The first end of the support rod is connected to the slide block, and the second end of the support rod penetrates through the outer wall of the process chamber to connect the corresponding position of the lower ring, so as to drive the corresponding position of the lower ring to longitudinally displace.

[0017] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one first radial bending structure. The upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one second radial bending structure. The at least one first radial bending structure and the at least one second radial bending structure are matched with each other to form a radially-bent pumping gap between the upper ring and the lower ring. The first radial bending structure and the second radial bending structure are stepped, wavy or jagged in the radial direction.

[0018] Further, the semiconductor processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present application comprises a process chamber and a pumping module. The process chamber is provided with a wafer tray and a pumping ring according to the first aspect of the present application. The pumping ring surrounds the wafer tray. The pumping module is connected to at least one pumping port of the annular groove of the pumping ring via at least one pumping line to pump gas from inside the process chamber through the at least one pumping port. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] The above features and advantages of the present application can be better understood by reading the following detailed description of embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a structural schematic diagram of a conventional pumping ring.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0023] FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a pressure distribution diagram of a wafer surface to be processed according to a reference example of the present application.

[0025] FIG. 6 shows a thickness distribution diagram of a processed wafer according to a reference example of the present application.

[0026] FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0027] FIG. 8 shows a structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0028] FIG. 9 shows a structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0029] FIG. 10 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0030] FIG. 11 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0031] FIG. 12 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0032] FIG. 13 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0033] FIG. 14 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring adjusting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0034] FIG. 15 shows a structural diagram of a pumping ring adjusting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0035] FIG. 16 shows a connection diagram of a support rod and a first ring body according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0036] FIG. 17 shows a mechanism diagram of a support rod fixing hole according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0037] FIG. 18 shows a flow diagram of a semiconductor device processing method according to some embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The present application is described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

[0039] In the description of the present application, it is necessary to explain that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connection", "linking" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral connection; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; it can be direct connection, or indirect connection through intermediate medium, or internal connection of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0040] In addition, "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "horizontal", "vertical" as used in the following description and shown in the drawings should be understood to be relative terms, and not absolute terms, and are used for convenience only. These relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the described apparatus, e.g., device, in addition to the orientations depicted in the figures. Therefore, the term "upper" encompasses both an orientation of above and below. The apparatus, e.g., device, can be oriented in any direction and the relative terms are used herein for convenience, e.g., to define one element's relationship to another element(s). It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that the embodiments can be used for a variety of applications.

[0041] It will be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. can be used herein to describe various components, regions, layers and / or sections, these components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component, region, layer or section from another. Therefore, components, regions, layers and / or sections discussed below as first components, regions, layers and / or sections can be referred to as second components, regions, layers and / or sections without departing from some embodiments of the present application.

[0042] As mentioned above, in some thin film deposition processes which are relatively sensitive to gas flow rate and pressure, the conventional pumping structure shown in FIG. 1 can cause the problem of non-uniform film thickness at the edge of the wafer. In addition, for different processes in the processing of semiconductor devices, and different pumping requirements between different steps in each process, it is generally required in the art to equip semiconductor processing equipment with multiple different processes, or to provide multiple process chambers with different process parameters in the semiconductor processing equipment, and then to sequentially transfer the wafer to be processed to each process chamber through a flow line to perform thin film deposition of the corresponding process. This processing scheme of transferring wafers between multiple different semiconductor processing equipment or process chambers can reduce the processing efficiency of semiconductor devices, and can easily introduce external contamination in the wafer transfer process, thereby affecting the yield and performance of semiconductor devices.

[0043] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, the present application first provides a pumping ring and a semiconductor processing equipment, which can extract process tail gas from the reaction region through the pumping gap between the upper pumping ring and the lower pumping ring, thereby eliminating the influence of the spacing structure between the pumping holes on the uniformity of pumping, and improving the thickness uniformity of the film at the edge of the wafer.

[0044] In some non-limiting embodiments, the pumping ring provided by the first aspect of the present application can be configured in the semiconductor processing equipment provided by the second aspect of the present application.

[0045] For details, please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0046] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the second aspect of the present application provides the above-mentioned semiconductor processing apparatus including a process chamber 10 and a pumping module (not shown). The process chamber 10 is provided with a wafer tray 11 and the above-mentioned pumping ring 12 of the first aspect of the present application. Here, the wafer tray 11 is used to carry the wafer to be processed. The pumping ring 12 is arranged around the wafer tray 11 and includes an upper ring 121 and a lower ring 122. The pumping ring 12 is provided with a pumping gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122. The pumping gap 124 is connected to the external pumping module via at least one pumping port provided on the outer wall of the process chamber 10 and at least one pumping line 21, so that the pumping module can extract the process exhaust gas inside the process chamber 10 via the at least one pumping line 21 and the at least one pumping port.

[0047] Specifically, please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional structural schematic diagram of the pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned pumping ring 12 of the first aspect of the present application includes an upper ring 121, a lower ring 122 and a side ring 123. The upper ring 121 is arranged inside the process chamber 10 of the semiconductor processing apparatus and arranged around the wafer tray 11. The lower ring 122 is arranged below the upper ring 121 and maintains a pumping gap 124 with the upper ring 121. The side ring 123 has a ring-shaped groove on one side facing the wafer tray 11. The upper wall of the ring-shaped groove is connected to the outer edge of the upper ring 121 in a sealing manner, and the lower wall of the ring-shaped groove is connected to the outer edge of the lower ring 122 in a sealing manner. In addition, the bottom of the ring-shaped groove is provided with at least one pumping port, which is connected to the external pumping module (e.g. vacuum pump).

[0049] Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, multiple pumping ports can be uniformly distributed on the bottom of the ring-shaped groove. Correspondingly, the pumping gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122 can be an equidistant gap. In this way, the pumping module can uniformly extract the process exhaust gas from the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 via the multiple uniformly distributed pumping ports and the equidistantly distributed pumping gap 124.

[0050] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the at least one gas extraction port can also be eccentrically arranged at the first side (e.g. the left side in FIG. 2) of the bottom of the annular groove. At this time, the first interval of the gas extraction gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122 near the first side can be preferably smaller than the second interval of the gas extraction gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122 far from the first side (e.g. the right side in FIG. 2), so as to compensate the flow resistance of the gas flowing from the second side to the first side by using the flow resistance difference between the first interval and the second interval, so that the gas extraction module can uniformly extract the process exhaust gas from the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 via the eccentric arrangement of the at least one gas extraction port and the non-equidistant arrangement of the gas extraction gap 124.

[0051] Please further refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5-FIG. 6, and FIG. 7-FIG. 8. FIG. 5 shows a pressure distribution diagram of a wafer surface to be processed according to the reference example of the present application. FIG. 6 shows a thickness distribution diagram of a wafer after processing according to the reference example of the present application. FIG. 7 shows a structural schematic diagram of a semiconductor processing equipment according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 8 shows a structural schematic diagram of a gas extraction ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5-FIG. 6, the existing gas extraction ring uniformly distributes a plurality of gas extraction holes of the same size along the circumferential direction. Since the flow resistance of the gas extraction port near the first side of the bottom of the gas extraction ring is smaller, and the flow resistance of the gas extraction port far from the second side is larger, the gas pressure distribution reflected to the wafer surface to be processed is eccentric to the second side. Correspondingly, in the processed wafer, the second side far from the gas extraction port will obtain a larger film thickness due to a larger partial pressure of the reaction gas, and the first side near the gas extraction port will obtain a smaller film thickness due to a smaller partial pressure of the reaction gas, thereby causing the problem of inconsistent film thickness.

[0053] In contrast, in the embodiments shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the first interval of the gas extraction gap 124 near the first side of the gas extraction port can be preferably smaller than the second interval of the gas extraction gap 124 far from the first side, so as to compensate the flow resistance of the gas flowing from the second side to the first side by using the flow resistance difference between the first interval and the second interval, so that the gas extraction module can uniformly extract the process exhaust gas from the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 via the eccentric arrangement of the at least one gas extraction port and the non-equidistant arrangement of the gas extraction gap 124.

[0054] Further, the above-mentioned first interval and second interval can not only include the axial interval in the up-down direction shown in FIG. 8-FIG. 9, but also include the radial interval in the front-back, left-right direction.

[0055] Please refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10. FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0056] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the lower side of the upper ring 121 can be provided with a first protrusion, and the upper side of the lower ring 122 can be correspondingly provided with a first recess. The first protrusion can cooperate with the first recess to form two lateral gaps and one longitudinal gap. Here, the first width of the first protrusion at the first side can be greater than the second width of the first protrusion at the second side, so that the first lateral spacing dl of the pumping gap 124 at the first side is smaller than the second lateral spacing at the second side. Alternatively, the third width of the first recess at the first side can be smaller than the fourth width of the first recess at the second side, so that the first lateral spacing dl of the pumping gap 124 at the first side can be smaller than the second lateral spacing at the second side.

[0057] Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the lower side of the upper ring 121 can be provided with two second recesses, and the upper side of the lower ring 122 can be correspondingly provided with two second protrusions. The second recess can cooperate with the second protrusion to form two lateral gaps and two longitudinal gaps. Here, the fifth width of the second recess at the first side can be smaller than the sixth width of the second recess at the second side, so that the first lateral spacing d2 of the pumping gap 124 at the first side is smaller than the second lateral spacing at the second side. Alternatively, the seventh width of the second protrusion at the first side can be greater than the eighth width of the second protrusion at the second side, so that the first lateral spacing d2 of the pumping gap 124 at the first side can be smaller than the second lateral spacing at the second side.

[0058] Further, the flow resistance difference between the first-spacing pumping gap and the second-spacing pumping gap can be preferably equal to the path flow resistance of the gas from the second side to the first side along the annular groove. In this way, the pumping ring provided by the first aspect of the present application can sufficiently compensate for the asymmetry of the pumping port position in the process chamber 10 to uniformly pump the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 in all directions, thereby avoiding the non-uniform thickness of the wafer.

[0059] In addition, please refer to FIG. 9-FIG. 12. FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of a pumping ring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0060] In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9-12, the lower side of the upper ring 121 can be provided with at least one first radial bending structure, and the upper side of the lower ring 122 can be correspondingly provided with at least one second radial bending structure. The at least one first radial bending structure and the at least one second radial bending structure match each other to form a radially bent pumping gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122. Here, the first radial bending structure and the second radial bending structure can be stepped, wavy or jagged in the radial direction to prevent the plasma in the reaction region from entering the interior of the pumping ring 12 and generating byproduct pollution.

[0061] Those skilled in the art can understand that the embodiment in which the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122 are separated and maintain a pumping gap 124 shown in FIG. 3 is only some non-limiting embodiments provided by the present application, which is intended to clearly show the main concept of the present application and provide some specific schemes for the public to implement, rather than to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0062] Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, those skilled in the art can also set the pumping ring 12 as a strip-shaped hole between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122 based on the above concept to reduce the processing difficulty of the pumping ring.

[0063] In addition, please refer to FIGS. 14-17. FIG. 14 shows a structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring adjusting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 15 shows a structural schematic diagram of a pumping ring adjusting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 16 shows a connection schematic diagram of a support rod and a first ring body according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG. 17 shows a mechanism schematic diagram of a support rod fixing hole according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0064] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the process chamber 10 can also preferably include an exhaust ring adjustment mechanism 13. The exhaust ring adjustment mechanism 13 can include a driving motor 131, a slide rail 132, a slide block 133, and a support rod 134. Here, the driving motor 131 is configured to provide a driving force. The slide rail 132 is disposed outside the process chamber 10 and extends in a longitudinal direction. The slide block 133 is configured to move in a longitudinal direction along the slide rail 132 under the driving of the driving motor 131. The support rod 134 has a first end connected to the slide block and a second end connected to a first ring body (e.g., a lower ring) of an exhaust ring inside the process chamber 10 through a wall of the process chamber 10, and is configured to drive the first ring body to move in a longitudinal direction to adjust the exhaust rate through the exhaust gap 124. In this way, during the processing of semiconductor devices, the present disclosure can adjust the width of the exhaust gap 124 inside the process chamber 10 in real time without transferring the wafer out of the process chamber 10, to adapt to the exhaust requirements of different semiconductor processing processes, thereby improving the compatibility of the process chamber 10 for different processes, and eliminating the need to transfer the wafer between different process chambers for different processing processes, to improve the processing efficiency of semiconductor devices and avoid the introduction of external contamination by opening the chamber and transferring the wafer.

[0065] Specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the first ring body can be the lower ring 122, and the second ring body can be the upper ring 121. Here, the upper ring 121 is fixedly connected or integrated to the top of the process chamber 10, the side ring 123 is fixedly connected or integrated to the sidewall of the process chamber 10, and the lower ring 122 is detachably or movably mounted to the inner side of the lower wall of the annular groove. The exhaust ring adjustment mechanism 13 can drive the lower ring 122 to move in a longitudinal direction through the support rod 134, change the distance between the lower ring 122 and the upper ring 121, and adjust the exhaust rate through the exhaust gap 124.

[0066] In addition, in some embodiments, the exhaust ring adjustment mechanism 13 can preferably include a plurality of support rods 134. Here, each support rod 134 can be connected to a different position of the lower ring 122, and the slide block 133 can be connected to each support rod 134. In this way, the exhaust ring adjustment mechanism 13 can drive multiple positions of the lower ring 122 to move in a longitudinal direction synchronously through the support rods 134.

[0067] Further, corresponding to the embodiment of the exhaust gap 124 with a non-equidistant arrangement, the first length of the first support rod located at the first side of the exhaust gap 124 can be greater than the second length of the second support rod located at the second side away from the first side, so that the first distance of the exhaust gap 124 at the first side is less than the second distance of the exhaust gap 124 at the second side.

[0068] Optionally, in other embodiments, the first ring body can be the upper ring 121 and the second ring body can be the lower ring 122. In this embodiment, the lower ring 122 is fixedly connected or integrated to the edge of the wafer tray 11, and the upper ring 121 is detachably or movably mounted to the inner side of the upper wall of the annular groove. The pumping ring adjustment mechanism 13 can drive the upper ring 121 to longitudinally displace via the support rods 134, and change the distance between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122, so as to achieve the effect of adjusting the pumping rate via the pumping gap 124.

[0069] Correspondingly, in this embodiment, the first length of the first support rod located at the first side of the pumping gap 124 can be less than the second length of the second support rod located at the second side away from the first side, so as to obtain the non-equidistant structure that the first distance of the pumping gap 124 at the first side is less than the second distance of the pumping gap 124 at the second side.

[0070] Further, as shown in FIGS. 15-17, the outer edge of the first ring body can be provided with a plurality of support rod fixing holes 135. The second end of each support rod 134 can be connected to the corresponding support rod fixing hole 135 via a screw 136, so as to drive the corresponding position of the first ring body to longitudinally displace.

[0071] In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, a bellows 137 can be provided between the slider 133 and the process chamber 10. In this embodiment, the bellows 137 surrounds and seals the outlet of the support rod hole 138 of the process chamber 10 accommodating the support rod 134, and surrounds the first end of the support rod 134 extending out of the process chamber 10, so as to improve the sealing performance of the vacuum environment in the process chamber 10.

[0072] Further, in some embodiments, the process chamber 10 preferably comprises a plurality of pumping ring adjustment mechanisms 13, wherein each pumping ring adjustment mechanism 13 can comprise a set of independent drive motors 131, sliding rails 132, sliders 133 and support rods 134, respectively. In this embodiment, each sliding rail 132 can be provided at a different position outside the process chamber 10, and all extend longitudinally. The first end of each support rod 134 can be connected to the corresponding slider, and the second end can pass through the outer wall of the process chamber 10, and connect and drive a plurality of different positions of the first ring body to longitudinally move, so as to adjust the pumping rate distribution of the process exhaust gas extracted from the reaction area via the pumping gap 124.

[0073] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, the process chamber 10 can also preferably comprise a memory and a controller. In this embodiment, the memory stores computer instructions. The controller is connected to the memory and is configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory to implement the processing method of the semiconductor device.

[0074] The working principle of the semiconductor processing apparatus and the gas ring adjusting mechanism 13 will be described below in combination with some embodiments of semiconductor device processing methods. Those skilled in the art can understand that the embodiments of semiconductor device processing methods are only some non-restrictive embodiments provided by the present application, which are intended to clearly show the main concept of the present application and provide some specific solutions for the public to implement, but not to limit the overall function or overall working mode of the semiconductor processing apparatus. Similarly, the semiconductor processing apparatus and the gas ring adjusting mechanism 13 are also only a non-restrictive embodiment provided by the present application, which does not limit the execution subject or execution order of each step in the semiconductor device processing method.

[0075] Please refer to FIG. 18, which shows a flowchart of a semiconductor device processing method according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 18, during the processing of semiconductor devices, the semiconductor processing apparatus can first obtain target height data corresponding to a target pumping speed. Here, the target height data can be pre-calibrated through a thin film thickness-pumping gap width-shaft height calibration experiment.

[0077] Then, the semiconductor processing apparatus can control the driving motor 131 of the gas ring adjusting mechanism 13 in the process chamber 10 to operate according to the target height data, and move the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 of the gas ring 12 longitudinally to the corresponding target height via the shaft 133 and the support rod 134, so as to pump the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 at the target pumping speed via the pumping gap 124 between the upper ring 121 and the lower ring 122.

[0078] Specifically, the process chamber 10 can be compatible with multiple different processing processes, each of which can correspond to a different target pumping speed. During the processing of semiconductor devices, the semiconductor processing apparatus can first obtain first target height data corresponding to a first target pumping speed of a first processing process, introduce at least one first reaction gas of the first processing process into the process chamber 10, and adjust the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 to the corresponding first target height, so as to pump the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 at the first target pumping speed, thereby generating a first thin film with a corresponding first thickness on the wafer to be processed.

[0079] Afterwards, in response to completing the first processing procedure, the semiconductor processing apparatus can obtain second target height data corresponding to a second target pumping rate of a second processing procedure, introduce at least one second reaction gas of the second processing procedure into the interior of the process chamber, and adjust the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 to a corresponding second target height to pump the reaction region above the wafer tray 11 at the second target pumping rate, so as to generate a second film of a corresponding second thickness on the first film.

[0080] Thus, the semiconductor processing apparatus provided by the present application can correspondingly move the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 vertically to adjust the spacing distribution of the pumping gap 124 on-line according to the pumping requirements of different semiconductor processing procedures, so as to achieve the effect of switching processing procedures in situ in the same process chamber 10, thereby improving the compatibility of the process chamber 10 to different procedures.

[0081] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, at least one processing procedure of the process chamber 10 can involve multiple processing steps under different gas pressure conditions. Here, the processing steps include but are not limited to a gas injection step, a precursor injection step, a deposition step, a pumping step, a stabilization step, a treatment step, and a cleaning step.

[0082] Specifically, in each processing procedure, the semiconductor processing apparatus can first obtain third target height data corresponding to a third target pumping rate of a first processing step, and adjust the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 to a corresponding third target height to pump the reaction region above the wafer tray 11 at the third target pumping rate, so as to adjust the gas pressure above the wafer tray 11 to a corresponding first gas pressure.

[0083] Afterwards, in response to completing the first step of processing, the semiconductor processing apparatus can obtain fourth target height data corresponding to a fourth target pumping rate of a second processing step, and adjust the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 to a corresponding fourth target height to pump the reaction region above the wafer tray 11 at the fourth target pumping rate, so as to adjust the gas pressure above the wafer tray 11 to a corresponding second gas pressure.

[0084] Further, the semiconductor processing apparatus can also switch the processing steps in a similar manner until all steps of the corresponding processing procedure are completed and a film with corresponding parameters and thickness is deposited.

[0085] Therefore, the semiconductor processing equipment can correspondingly move the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 to adjust the pitch distribution of the pumping gap 124 on-line according to the pumping requirements of different processing steps of the same semiconductor processing process, so as to dynamically adjust the air pressure in the same process chamber 10, thereby improving the compatibility of the process chamber 10 to various different process air pressure requirements.

[0086] Further, in some embodiments, in response to the process switching and / or step switching causing the target height of the first ring body to change, the semiconductor processing equipment can preferably determine the longitudinal movement speed of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 according to the preset air pressure change threshold, and accordingly uniformly move the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 from the original target height (e.g., the first target height, the third target height) to the switched target height (e.g., the second target height, the fourth target height) at a constant speed, so as to avoid sudden adjustment of the pumping rate causing the air pressure to change too fast, thereby causing the wafer to slip.

[0087] Specifically, in each step of the processing process, the gas injection step, the precursor injection step, the deposition step, the stabilization step, the treatment step and the cleaning step generally have a higher first air pressure, while the first pumping step and the second pumping step generally have a lower second air pressure.

[0088] In response to switching to the gas injection step or the like from the lower second air pressure to the higher first air pressure, the semiconductor processing equipment can first determine the longitudinal movement speed of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 according to the difference between the first air pressure and the second air pressure, and the air pressure change threshold, and accordingly uniformly lower the upper ring 121 from the original target height (e.g., the first target height, the third target height) to the switched target height (e.g., the second target height, the fourth target height), or uniformly raise the lower ring 122 from the original target height (e.g., the first target height, the third target height) to the switched target height (e.g., the second target height, the fourth target height), so as to uniformly reduce the width of the pumping gap 124 and uniformly raise the air pressure of the reaction area above the wafer tray 11 to the first air pressure.

[0089] In addition, in response to switching from a higher first gas pressure to a lower second gas pressure in the first gas extraction step process or the second gas extraction step, the semiconductor processing apparatus can first determine the longitudinal movement speed of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 according to the difference between the first gas pressure and the second gas pressure, and the gas pressure change threshold value, and then uniformly raise the upper ring 121 from the original target height (e.g., the first target height, the third target height) to the switched target height (e.g., the second target height, the fourth target height) or uniformly lower the lower ring 122 from the original target height (e.g., the first target height, the third target height) to the switched target height (e.g., the second target height, the fourth target height) to uniformly increase the width of the gas extraction gap 124 and uniformly lower the gas pressure above the wafer tray to the second gas pressure.

[0090] For example, in the process of switching to the gas injection process, the step of injecting the carrier gas takes 25s in total, and the semiconductor processing apparatus can control the uniform longitudinal movement of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 via the drive motor 131 to uniformly reduce the width of the gas extraction gap 124 from 4mm to less than 1mm. Then, in the process of switching to the first gas extraction process or the second gas extraction process, the step of extracting gas from the process chamber 10 takes 5s in total, and the semiconductor processing apparatus can control the uniform longitudinal movement of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 via the drive motor 131 to uniformly increase the width of the gas extraction gap 124 from less than 1mm to 4mm.

[0091] In addition, in some preferred embodiments, the semiconductor processing apparatus can further calibrate the target height data of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 at a plurality of different circumferentially distributed positions of the upper ring 121 and / or the lower ring 122 through a calibration experiment of film thickness distribution-gas extraction gap width distribution-slider height distribution. Then, in the process of processing semiconductor devices, the semiconductor processing apparatus can control the corresponding gas extraction ring adjustment mechanism 13 according to each target height data to respectively move a plurality of positions of the upper ring and / or the lower ring to the corresponding target height in the longitudinal direction, so as to adjust the gas extraction rate distribution of the gas extraction ring 12 in each direction. In this way, the semiconductor processing apparatus can independently control the gas extraction rate of a plurality of positions of the gas extraction ring 12 in the circumferential direction through a plurality of gas extraction ring adjustment mechanisms 13, so as to improve the uniformity of the film thickness, and even flexibly perform eccentric gas extraction according to the personalized needs of a specific semiconductor processing process to deposit a personalized film with a specific thickness distribution.

[0092] In summary, the above-mentioned gas extraction ring and semiconductor processing equipment provided by some embodiments of the present application can extract the process tail gas in the reaction area through the gas extraction gap 124 between the upper gas extraction ring 121 and the lower gas extraction ring 122, thereby eliminating the influence of the interval structure between the gas extraction holes on the uniformity of gas extraction, and improving the thickness uniformity of the film on the edge of the wafer. Further, the above-mentioned gas extraction ring adjusting mechanism 13, process chamber 10, semiconductor processing equipment and semiconductor device processing method provided by some embodiments of the present application can adjust the width of the gas extraction gap 124 online according to different gas extraction requirements of different semiconductor processing processes and / or processing steps, thereby improving the compatibility of the process chamber 10 to different processes, eliminating the need to transport the wafer between different process chambers for different processes, improving the processing efficiency of the semiconductor device, and eliminating the need to open the chamber and replace the gas extraction ring to adapt to the gas extraction parameters of different processing processes, thereby avoiding the introduction of external contamination.

[0093] Although the above-described methods are illustrated and described as a series of acts for simplicity, it will be appreciated and understood that the methods are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts can occur in different orders and / or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts can be required to implement the methods in accordance with one or more embodiments.

[0094] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A gas extraction ring, characterized in that, The application relates to a semiconductor processing equipment, comprising: an upper ring arranged inside a process chamber of the semiconductor processing equipment and surrounding a wafer tray; a lower ring arranged below the upper ring and maintaining a pumping gap with the upper ring; and a side ring having a ring-shaped groove, wherein the ring-shaped groove surrounds the pumping gap, an upper wall of the ring-shaped groove surrounds and sealingly connects an outer edge of the upper ring, a lower wall of the ring-shaped groove surrounds and sealingly connects an outer edge of the lower ring, and the ring-shaped groove is provided with at least one pumping port and is connected to an external pumping module through the at least one pumping port.

2. The gas extraction ring of claim 1, wherein, The ring-shaped groove is uniformly provided with a plurality of the pumping ports at a plurality of positions, and the pumping gap is an equidistant gap.

3. The gas extraction ring of claim 1, wherein, A first side of the ring-shaped groove is provided with at least one of the pumping ports, and a first spacing of the pumping gap at the first side is smaller than a second spacing of the pumping gap at a second side away from the first side.

4. The gas extraction ring of claim 3, wherein, A lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one first protrusion, an upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one first recess, and the first protrusion cooperates with the first recess to form at least one transverse gap and at least one longitudinal gap, wherein a first width of the first protrusion at the first side is greater than a second width of the first protrusion at the second side, or a third width of the first recess at the first side is smaller than a fourth width of the first recess at the second side, so that a first transverse spacing of the pumping gap at the first side is smaller than a second transverse spacing of the pumping gap at the second side, or A lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one second recess, an upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one second protrusion, and the second recess cooperates with the second protrusion to form at least one transverse gap and at least one longitudinal gap, wherein a fifth width of the second recess at the first side is smaller than a sixth width of the second recess at the second side, or a seventh width of the second protrusion at the first side is greater than an eighth width of the second protrusion at the second side, so that a first transverse spacing of the pumping gap at the first side is smaller than a second transverse spacing of the pumping gap at the second side.

5. The gas extraction ring of claim 3, wherein, A flow resistance difference between the pumping gap of the first spacing and the pumping gap of the second spacing is equal to a path flow resistance of air flow from the second side to the first side along the ring-shaped groove.

6. The gas extraction ring of claim 1, wherein, The upper ring is fixedly connected or integrated to a top of the process chamber, the side ring is fixedly connected or integrated to a sidewall of the process chamber, and the lower ring is detachably or movably mounted to an inner side of a lower wall of the ring-shaped groove, so as to adjust the spacing distribution of the pumping gap according to actual pumping requirements of the process chamber.

7. The gas extraction ring of claim 6, wherein, The application further relates to a semiconductor processing equipment, comprising: at least one pumping ring adjusting mechanism connected to at least one position of the lower ring and used for driving corresponding positions of the lower ring to longitudinally displace so as to adjust the spacing distribution of the pumping gap in line according to actual pumping requirements of the process chamber.

8. The gas extraction ring of claim 7, wherein, The pumping ring adjusting mechanism comprises: a driving motor used for providing a driving force; a sliding rail arranged outside the process chamber and extending longitudinally; a sliding block used for longitudinally moving along the sliding rail under the driving of the driving motor; and A support rod, a first end of which is connected to the slider, and a second end of which passes through an outer wall of the process chamber and is connected to a corresponding position of the lower ring to drive the lower ring to longitudinally displace.

9. The gas extraction ring of claim 1, wherein, The lower side of the upper ring is provided with at least one first radial bending structure, and the upper side of the lower ring is provided with at least one second radial bending structure, the at least one first radial bending structure and the at least one second radial bending structure are matched with each other to form a radially bent pumping gap between the upper ring and the lower ring, wherein the first radial bending structure and the second radial bending structure are stepped, wavy or sawtooth-shaped in the radial direction.

10. A semiconductor processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: Comprising: A process chamber, wherein a wafer tray is arranged, and a pumping ring according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the pumping ring surrounds the wafer tray; And A pumping module, which is connected to at least one pumping port of the annular groove of the pumping ring through at least one pumping pipeline to pump gas from the inside of the process chamber through the at least one pumping port.

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