Substrate carrier piece, wafer boat and tube furnace apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. Disclosed are a substrate carrier piece, a wafer boat, and a tube furnace apparatus. The substrate carrier piece comprises at least one trench, at least one through hole, and a substrate contact area; the at least one trench is arranged on an upper surface of the substrate carrier piece; the at least one through hole penetrates through the substrate carrier piece; when a substrate is carried, the substrate contact area is used for coming into contact with the substrate; the at least one trench and the at least one through hole are both arranged in the substrate contact area. The design of the trench and the through hole reduces the effective contact area between the substrate and the substrate carrier piece, and gas can enter the substrate contact area via the through hole, such that an air layer is formed between the substrate and the substrate carrier piece. The design of the trench and the through hole helps to prevent the substrate from adhering to the substrate carrier piece after a high-temperature process, thereby improving the yield for substrate processing.

Description

Substrate carrier, boat and furnace tube apparatus TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, in particular to a substrate carrier, a boat and a furnace tube apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] The furnace tube apparatus is the main equipment for semiconductor diffusion, oxidation, annealing and other processes, and the precision and uniformity of the reaction gas flow control are key performance indicators of the equipment.

[0003] The traditional semiconductor vapor deposition process temperature is about 800-1100℃, but with the development of semiconductor power devices and more advanced semiconductor process technology, the process temperature requirement of the furnace tube is getting higher and higher, and the traditional process temperature cannot meet the requirement.

[0004] In semiconductor processes, in order to improve the diffusion speed of doped atoms in silicon wafers, improve the deposition rate of oxide films, and improve the output of the equipment, higher process temperatures are required.

[0005] The wafer is usually made of silicon and placed on the boat, but in a high temperature environment, due to the small contact area with the boat, the wafer will deform under the action of gravity, and severe deformation will cause process failure.

[0006] In order to solve this problem, the prior art proposes a method of placing the wafer on the substrate carrier, and then placing the substrate carrier on the boat to increase the contact area, and the substrate carrier can control the deformation of the wafer under the action of gravity.

[0007] However, the surfaces between the wafer and the substrate carrier are usually smooth, which causes a new problem under high temperature conditions. Under high temperature, the contact surface between the wafer and the substrate carrier is easy to form strong adhesion, causing wafer sticking phenomenon between the wafer and the substrate carrier. Such adhesion phenomenon makes it difficult for the wafer to separate from the substrate carrier after cooling, and if forced to separate, it will increase the risk of wafer breakage, thereby affecting the yield of semiconductor products. SUMMARY

[0008] The present application provides a substrate carrier, a boat and a furnace tube apparatus, which is beneficial to avoid the problem that the substrate and the substrate carrier are not easy to separate after high temperature process.

[0009] The present application solves the above technical problems by the following technical solutions:

[0010] A substrate carrier sheet for carrying a substrate, comprising at least one groove, at least one through hole and a substrate contact area, the at least one groove is opened on the upper surface of the substrate carrier sheet, the at least one through hole penetrates the substrate carrier sheet, and the substrate contact area is used to contact the substrate when the substrate is carried, and the at least one groove and the at least one through hole are both arranged in the substrate contact area.

[0011] A boat, comprising a support frame and the substrate carrier sheet as described above, the substrate carrier sheet is arranged on the support frame and is spaced apart along the vertical direction of the support frame, and is used to carry multiple layers of substrates.

[0012] A furnace tube device, comprising the boat as described above.

[0013] The positive progress effect of the present application is that the design of the groove and the through hole changes the smooth characteristics of the substrate carrying surface, the surface of the substrate carrier sheet becomes relatively rough, and the effective contact area between the substrate and the substrate carrier sheet is reduced, and the possibility of adhesion is reduced; on the other hand, the groove and the through hole provide more gas flow paths, and the gas can enter the substrate contact area through the through hole, thereby forming an air layer between the two. In summary, the design of the groove and the through hole is beneficial to avoid the adhesion of the substrate to the substrate carrier sheet after high-temperature processing, and improves the yield of substrate processing.

[0014] SUMMARY

[0015] The features and performances of the present application are further described by the following examples and their accompanying drawings.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate carrier sheet of an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a substrate carrier sheet carrying a substrate of an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Fig. 3a is an enlarged schematic structural diagram of A in Fig. 1;

[0019] Fig. 3b is a second schematic diagram of a partial structure of the substrate carrier sheet in the embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Fig. 3c is a third schematic diagram of a partial structure of the substrate carrier sheet in the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Fig. 3d is a fourth schematic diagram of a partial structure of the substrate carrier sheet in the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a boat of an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a support frame of the boat of the embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a boat according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an enlarged structure at B in FIG. 6.

[0026] Preferred embodiments of the present application

[0027] The present application is further illustrated by the following examples without thereby limiting the present application to the examples.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present embodiment provides a substrate carrier 100 for carrying a substrate 200 in a furnace tube device, which includes a plurality of grooves 110, a plurality of through holes 120, and a substrate contact area, the plurality of grooves 110 are formed on an upper surface of the substrate carrier 100, the plurality of through holes 120 pass through the substrate carrier 100, and the substrate contact area is used to contact the substrate 200 when the substrate 200 is carried, and the plurality of grooves 110 and the plurality of through holes 120 are both arranged in the substrate contact area.

[0029] The existing substrate 200 and substrate carrier 100 usually have smooth surfaces and a large contact area. The smooth surface is more likely to form a close contact, so that the adhesion between the surfaces is increased. Such a smooth contact surface reduces the air layer between the surfaces of the two, so that the adhesion phenomenon between the contact surfaces is more obvious. In the present scheme, the design of the plurality of grooves 110 and the plurality of through holes 120 changes the smooth surface characteristics of the substrate carrier 100, the surface of the substrate carrier 100 becomes relatively rough, and the effective contact area between the substrate 200 and the substrate carrier 100 is reduced, and the possibility of adhesion is reduced. On the other hand, the plurality of grooves 110 and the plurality of through holes 120 provide more gas flow paths, and the gas can enter the substrate contact area through the through holes 120, so as to form an air layer between the two. In summary, the design of the grooves 110 and the through holes 120 is conducive to avoiding the adhesion of the substrate 200 to the substrate carrier 100 after high-temperature processing, and improves the yield of the substrate 200 processing.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the plurality of grooves 110 also extend outside the substrate contact area. The plurality of grooves 110 are not limited to the substrate contact area, but also extend outside the substrate contact area, so as to further improve the flowability of the gas flow, and the gas can also enter between the substrate carrier 100 and the substrate 200 through the grooves 110, which is conducive to further reducing the occurrence of adhesion problems.

[0031] In other embodiments, the plurality of grooves 110 can also be arranged only in the substrate contact area and not extend out of the substrate contact area. As shown in FIG. 3a, the through holes 120 pass through the grooves 110. Due to the combination of the through holes 120 and the grooves 110, gas can enter the grooves 110 through the through holes 120 and flow in the grooves 110, and the gas has good flowability in the grooves 110. This design effectively promotes the formation of an air layer between the substrate 200 and the substrate carrier sheet 100, thereby further preventing the sticking problem of the substrate 200.

[0032] In some embodiments, the number of grooves 110 and through holes 120 is not limited and at least one groove 110 and at least one through hole 120 can be arranged as needed. Among them, at least one of the through holes 120 passes through at least one of the grooves 110.

[0033] In the present embodiment, the plurality of grooves 110 are staggered and arranged on the upper surface of the substrate carrier sheet 100. The staggered grooves 110 form a plurality of small grid structures on the surface of the substrate carrier sheet 100. Compared with the simple parallel arrangement of the grooves 110, the area where the substrate 200 contacts the substrate carrier sheet 100 is divided into a plurality of small grid structures, and the different grid structures are independent of each other, thereby dividing the large contact area between the substrate 200 and the substrate carrier sheet 100 into a plurality of small contact areas, thereby reducing the possibility of the substrate 200 being adsorbed on the substrate carrier sheet 100 after the high-temperature process.

[0034] In other embodiments, the plurality of grooves 110 can also not be staggered with each other.

[0035] In the present embodiment, the plurality of through holes 120 are arranged at the intersection of the plurality of grooves 110. The through holes 120 are located at the intersection and form a multi-directional gas flow node, which is conducive to the rapid formation of an air layer and facilitates the rapid removal of the adhesion between the substrate 200 and the substrate carrier sheet 100.

[0036] In some embodiments, only part of the through holes 120 can be arranged at the intersection of the plurality of grooves 110.

[0037] In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3b, the through holes 120 can also be arranged at the non-intersection of the grooves 110. Or as shown in FIG. 3c, the through holes 120 can also not pass through the grooves 110. As shown in FIG. 3d, the through holes can also be arranged in the grooves 110 and the grid formed by the grooves 110.

[0038] In some embodiments, the through holes 120 are uniformly distributed on the substrate carrier sheet 100. During the high-temperature process, the sticking phenomenon is often caused by strong adsorption in local areas. By uniformly distributing the through holes 120, the local adsorption can be effectively dispersed. Thus, the possibility of forming a strong adsorption in the local area is weakened, so that the substrate 200 can be more easily separated from the substrate carrier sheet 100 after cooling, avoiding the breakage caused by forced separation.

[0039] In some embodiments, the substrate carrier sheet 100 is made of silicon carbide material. The silicon carbide material has excellent high-temperature resistance and will not soften and deform during the high-temperature process. In other embodiments, the substrate carrier sheet 100 can also be made of other high-temperature resistant materials.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate carrier sheet 100 further includes a first carrier portion 140 and a second carrier portion 130. The first carrier portion 140 is arranged at the middle of the substrate carrier sheet 100, and the second carrier portion 130 is arranged on both sides of the first carrier portion 140. A first slot 150 is arranged between the first carrier portion 140 and the second carrier portion 130, and the first slot 150 extends from the edge of the substrate carrier sheet 100 towards the inside of the substrate carrier sheet 100.

[0041] The design of the first slot 150 provides a space for the robot to pick and place the substrate 200, which facilitates the picking and placing of the substrate 200. Moreover, the first slot 150 reduces the contact area between the substrate 200 and the substrate carrier sheet 100, which is conducive to reducing the sticking phenomenon. During the process of picking up the substrate 200 by the robot, the substrate 200 is more easily separated from the substrate carrier sheet 100.

[0042] In the present embodiment, the substrate carrier sheet 100 further includes a second slot 160, which is arranged in the first carrier portion 140 and extends from the edge of the first carrier portion 140 towards the inside of the first carrier portion 140. By arranging the second slot 160, the corresponding robot can also be provided with a corresponding picking and placing structure. When picking and placing the substrate 200, three support positions can be formed, making the picking and placing process of the substrate 200 more stable.

[0043] Further, along the extension direction of the first slot 150, the length of the first carrier portion 140 is greater than the length of the second carrier portion 130. Due to the length of the first carrier portion 140 being greater than the length of the second carrier portion 130, the middle part of the substrate 200 obtains stronger support, thereby effectively reducing the possibility of the middle part of the substrate 200 sagging or bending in a high-temperature environment, and maintaining the overall flatness of the substrate 200.

[0044] Embodiment 2

[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, a wafer boat includes the support frame 300 and the substrate carrier sheet 100 in the embodiment 1, and the substrate carrier sheets 100 are spaced apart along the vertical direction of the support frame 300 and used to carry the multilayer substrate 200.

[0046] With the wafer boat of the present application, the substrate 200 is not prone to deformation and warping during the high-temperature process, and is easier to separate after the high-temperature process and not prone to the wafer sticking phenomenon.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the support frame 300 includes a plurality of support columns 320a, 320b, 320c, and the plurality of support columns 320a, 320b, 320c are distributed along the outer periphery of the substrate 200. Each support column is provided with a plurality of placement grooves 310 along the vertical direction, and each placement groove 310 is used to carry a corresponding substrate carrier sheet 100.

[0048] Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the area S (only one is shown in FIG. 6) of the substrate carrier sheet 100 in contact with the placement groove 310 matches the carrying surface 311 of the placement groove 310. In the present embodiment, the carrying surface 311 of the placement groove 310 is a square structure, and the shape of the area S of the substrate carrier sheet 100 in contact with the placement groove 310 is also a square, which is beneficial to increase the contact area and make the placement of the substrate carrier sheet 100 more stable. In some embodiments, if the placement groove 310 is an arc structure, the shape of the area of the substrate carrier sheet 100 in contact with the placement groove 310 can also be set as an arc.

[0049] In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the substrate carrier sheet 100 further includes a notch 170, and the notch 170 is embedded in the corresponding placement groove 310. With the cooperation of the notch 170 and the placement groove 310, the substrate carrier sheet 100 is not prone to shaking, and the stability of the substrate carrier sheet 100 can be further improved.

[0050] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the support frame 300 includes three support columns 320a, 320b, 320c, and the three support columns 320a, 320b, 320c are distributed along the outer periphery of the substrate 200. One of the support columns 320b is located in the middle, and the other two support columns 320a, 320c are located on both sides of the support column 320b. The placement grooves 310 on the support columns 320a and 320c are used to contact the areas S on the substrate carrier sheet 100, and the placement grooves 310 on the support column 320b are used for the embedding and clamping of the notch 170.

[0051] The present embodiment also provides a furnace tube device including the wafer boat as described above.

[0052] Although the specific embodiments of the application are described above, it should be understood that the scope of protection of the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. Those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present application, and such changes and modifications are also within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A substrate carrier sheet for carrying a substrate, characterized by, The substrate carrier includes at least one groove, at least one through hole and a substrate contact area, the at least one groove is opened on the upper surface of the substrate carrier, the at least one through hole penetrates the substrate carrier, the substrate contact area is used to contact the substrate when the substrate is carried, and the at least one groove and the at least one through hole are arranged in the substrate contact area.

2. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, At least one of the through holes penetrates at least one of the grooves.

3. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, A plurality of the grooves are distributed on the upper surface of the substrate carrier in a staggered manner.

4. The substrate carrier of claim 3, wherein, At least one of the through holes is arranged at the intersection of the plurality of grooves.

5. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, A plurality of the through holes are uniformly distributed on the substrate carrier.

6. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, At least one of the grooves extends out of the substrate contact area.

7. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, The material of the substrate carrier includes silicon carbide.

8. The substrate carrier of claim 1, wherein, The substrate carrier further includes a first carrier part and a second carrier part, the first carrier part is arranged in the middle of the substrate carrier, the second carrier part is arranged on both sides of the first carrier part, a first slot is arranged between the first carrier part and the second carrier part, and the first slot extends from the edge of the substrate carrier towards the inside of the substrate carrier.

9. The substrate carrier of claim 8, wherein, The substrate carrier further includes a second slot, the second slot is arranged in the first carrier part and extends from the edge of the first carrier part towards the inside of the first carrier part.

10. The substrate carrier sheet of claim 9, wherein, In the extension direction of the first slot, the length of the first carrier part is greater than the length of the second carrier part.

11. A crystal boat, characterized by, The support frame includes a plurality of support columns, the plurality of support columns are distributed along the outer periphery of the substrate, each of the support columns is provided with a plurality of placing slots in the vertical direction, and each of the placing slots is used to carry a corresponding substrate carrier.

12. The wafer boat of claim 11, wherein, The placing slot includes a carrying surface used to contact the substrate carrier, and the area of the substrate carrier in contact with the placing slot matches the carrying surface.

13. The wafer boat of claim 12, wherein, The substrate carrier further includes a notch embedded in the corresponding placing slot.

14. The wafer boat of claim 12, wherein, The crystal boat includes the substrate carrier according to any one of claims 11-14.

15. A furnace tube apparatus, characterized by, ​

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