Decontamination apparatus and laser annealing device
By designing the purging and suction components of the decontamination device, the equipment problems caused by contaminants during the exposure process were solved, achieving efficient removal of contaminants, improving product yield, and reducing maintenance frequency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- AMIES TECHNOLOGY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Traditional rapid thermal annealing methods for silicon wafers are difficult to meet the requirements of small-size chip processing. Contaminants generated during the exposure process can cause stage malfunctions, component damage, and decreased performance of optical sensors.
Design a decontamination device including a housing and a flange. The housing is equipped with a purging assembly and a purging jet nozzle, and the flange is equipped with a suction assembly. The device removes contaminants by purging gas and suctions them to the outside, forming a uniform airflow to protect the exposure area.
It effectively removes contaminants generated during the exposure process, improves product yield, and reduces the frequency of equipment repair and maintenance.
Smart Images
Figure CN2025134886_15052026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
Decontamination equipment and laser annealing equipment Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of semiconductor processing and manufacturing technology, and in particular to a decontamination device and a laser annealing equipment. Background Technology
[0002] With the continuous development of large-scale basic circuit technology, chip size is constantly decreasing, and this smaller size poses increasingly higher challenges to chip processing and manufacturing processes. Traditional rapid thermal annealing methods for silicon wafers are no longer sufficient to meet the requirements.
[0003] In recent years, due to the development of laser application technology, laser annealing technology has shown good application scenarios. Compared with traditional annealing, laser annealing has a smaller thermal budget and higher activation efficiency, which can greatly reduce the thermal diffusion of doped impurities and reduce thermal strain.
[0004] Oxygen concentration and particle size in the exposure area are key indicators for laser annealing equipment. Depending on the process, some processes can cause a large number of contaminants (particles) to be generated on the workpiece during exposure. Since these contaminants diffuse with the nitrogen gas, if they are not removed in time, the following problems can occur: 1) They can deposit around the workpiece stage, causing the stage's adsorption function to fail; 2) They can deposit on the annealed workpiece, causing short circuits and damage to components; 3) They can diffuse to other areas and adhere to other optical sensors, causing sensor performance degradation or even failure.
[0005] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section of this invention is intended only to enhance the understanding of the general background of this invention, and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention
[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a decontamination device and a laser annealing equipment, which can efficiently remove contaminants generated during the exposure process of workpieces, thereby not only effectively improving the product yield, but also effectively reducing the frequency of equipment maintenance.
[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a decontamination device, comprising a connected device body and a flange, the flange surrounding the outer periphery near the bottom of the device body; the device body includes a housing and at least one set of purging assemblies disposed on the housing, the housing having a first cavity inside, and the housing also having a plurality of purging jet ports, the first end of the purging jet ports communicating with the purging assemblies, and the second end of the purging jet ports communicating with the first cavity; the purging assemblies are used to connect to a gas source to introduce purging gas provided by the gas source into the first cavity through the plurality of purging jet ports; the flange includes a flange body and at least one set of suction assemblies disposed on the flange body, the bottom of the flange body having an opening communicating with the first cavity, and a gap between the flange body and the workpiece supported on the workpiece stage to form a semi-closed second cavity communicating with the opening; the suction assemblies are connected to the second cavity to discharge contaminants generated by the workpiece during exposure.
[0008] Optionally, the purging assembly includes an air inlet and a purging gas flow channel that are interconnected. The air inlet is used to connect to the air source, and the purging gas flow channel is connected to the purging jet port.
[0009] Optionally, the upper and lower parts of the housing are provided with a plurality of purge jet ports that are equally spaced along the circumference of the housing.
[0010] Optionally, the device body includes multiple sets of the purging components disposed on the housing, wherein at least one set of the purging components is disposed on the upper part of the housing, and at least one set of the purging components is disposed on the lower part of the housing.
[0011] Optionally, the flange body is provided with multiple sets of suction components, which are evenly arranged along the circumference of the flange body.
[0012] Optionally, the suction assembly includes a contamination suction port and a suction channel that are interconnected. The contamination suction port is connected to the second cavity, and the suction channel is used to connect to a negative pressure device.
[0013] Optionally, the suction assembly further includes a suction port, the first end of which is connected to the suction channel, and the second end of which is connected to the negative pressure device.
[0014] Optionally, the contamination suction port is set at an angle to the plane of the flange body, and the angle formed by the contamination suction port and the plane of the flange body is 30° to 60°.
[0015] Optionally, the ratio of the side length of the flange body to the side length of the opening is greater than 1 and less than 5, and the ratio of the distance between the center of the contamination suction port and the center of the opening to the side length of the opening is greater than 0.5 and less than 5.
[0016] Optionally, the suction assembly further includes a peripheral suction port connected to the suction flow channel, wherein the peripheral suction port is located closer to the outer edge of the flange body than the contamination suction port.
[0017] Optionally, the ratio of the total air intake flow rate of the purging assembly to the total suction flow rate of the suction assembly is 0.5 to 1.5.
[0018] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention also provides a laser annealing apparatus, the laser annealing apparatus comprising an optical system, a workpiece stage, and a decontamination device as described in any of the above embodiments, wherein the decontamination device is located between the optical system and the workpiece stage.
[0019] Compared with the prior art, the decontamination device and laser annealing equipment provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:
[0020] The decontamination device provided by this invention has at least one set of purging components and multiple purging nozzles on the housing of the device body. This allows purging gas (e.g., nitrogen) supplied by a gas source to be introduced into a first cavity of the device body through the purging components and the multiple purging nozzles. After being homogenized in the first cavity, the introduced purging gas forms a relatively uniform downward airflow within the first cavity. This airflow then enters a second cavity formed by the flange and a workpiece (e.g., a silicon wafer) located on the workpiece stage through an opening on the flange, thereby purging contaminants generated on the workpiece surface due to exposure. By providing a suction component on the flange that communicates with the second cavity, the airflow containing contaminants can be suctioned, thus removing the contaminants generated by the workpiece during exposure to the outside. Therefore, by using the decontamination device provided by this invention, contaminants generated by the workpiece during exposure can be efficiently removed, which not only effectively improves product yield but also effectively reduces the frequency of equipment maintenance.
[0021] Since the laser annealing equipment provided by this invention and the decontamination device provided by this invention belong to the same inventive concept, the laser annealing equipment provided by this invention has at least all the beneficial effects of the decontamination device provided by this invention. Therefore, the relevant content regarding the beneficial effects of the laser annealing equipment provided by this invention can be referred to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the decontamination device provided by this invention above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description
[0022] Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a decontamination device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the flange in a decontamination device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] Figure 3 is a vector diagram of the flow field velocity near the pollution suction port in a pollution removal device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0025] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the distribution of contaminants around the silicon wafer after the contaminants have been removed using the contaminant removal device provided by the present invention.
[0026] Figure 5 is a diagram showing the distribution of pollutants in the first cavity after the pollutants have been removed using the decontamination device provided by the present invention.
[0027] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a decontamination device provided in another embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] Figure 7 is a structural block diagram of a laser annealing device provided in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] The reference numerals in the attached drawings are explained as follows: Decontamination device - 1000; Device body - 1100; Housing - 1110; Purge jet nozzle - 1111; Purge jet assembly - 1112; Purge component - 1120; Air inlet - 1121; Purge gas flow channel - 1122; First cavity - 1130; Flange - 1200; Flange body - 1210; Opening - 1211; Suction assembly - 1220; Contamination suction port - 1221; Suction flow channel - 1222; Suction interface - 1223; Peripheral suction port - 1224; Second cavity - 1230; Workpiece stage - 2000; Optical system - 3000; Workpiece - 4000. Detailed Implementation
[0030] The following detailed description of the cleaning device and laser annealing equipment proposed in this invention, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, will further illustrate these features. The advantages and characteristics of this invention will become clearer from the following description. It should be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and use non-precise proportions, intended only to facilitate and clarify the explanation of the embodiments of this invention. Please refer to the accompanying drawings for a more readily understood understanding of the objectives, features, and advantages of this invention. It should be understood that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrative purposes and to aid those skilled in the art, and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of this invention. Any modifications to the structure, changes in proportions, or adjustments to the size, provided they produce the same or similar effects and achieve the same objectives as this invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this invention. Specific design features of this invention disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, positions, and shapes, will be determined in part by the specific application and usage environment. Furthermore, in the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are sometimes used across different drawings to denote the same parts or parts with the same function, omitting repeated descriptions. In this specification, the same reference numerals and letters are used to denote the same items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be discussed further in subsequent figures. Furthermore, if the methods described herein involve a series of steps, the order of these steps presented herein is not necessarily the only possible order in which they can be performed; some steps may be omitted and / or other steps not described herein may be added to the method.
[0031] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element. The singular forms “a,” “one,” and “the” include plural objects. The term “or” is generally used to mean “and / or.” The term “several” is generally used to mean “at least one.” The term “at least two” is generally used to mean “two or more.” The term “multiple” is generally used to mean “at least two.”
[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "connected," "joined," and "fixed" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances. Furthermore, in this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Moreover, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.
[0033] The core idea of this invention is to provide a decontamination device and laser annealing equipment that can efficiently remove contaminants generated during the exposure process of workpieces. This not only effectively improves product yield but also significantly reduces the frequency of equipment repair and maintenance. It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, the decontamination device provided by this invention can be used not only to remove contaminants generated during laser annealing but also to remove contaminants generated during other exposure processes.
[0034] To achieve the above-mentioned goals, the present invention provides a decontamination device, which is disposed between the workpiece stage and the optical system. Please refer to Figures 1 and 2, wherein Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a decontamination device provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic plan view of the flange structure in a decontamination device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention includes a connected device body 1100 and a flange 1200, the flange 1200 surrounding the outer periphery near the bottom of the device body 1100; the device body 1100 includes a housing 1110 and at least one set of purging assemblies 1120 disposed on the housing 1110, the housing 1110 having a first cavity 1130 inside, and the housing 1110 also having a plurality of purging air ports 1111, the first end of the purging air port 1111 communicating with the purging assembly 1120, and the second end of the purging air port 1111 communicating with the first cavity 1130; the purging assembly 1120 is used to connect with an air source (not shown in the figures). The gas source provides purge gas, which is introduced into the first cavity 1130 through the plurality of purge jet ports 1111. The flange 1200 includes a flange body 1210 and at least one set of suction assemblies 1220 disposed on the flange body 1210. The bottom of the flange body 1210 is provided with an opening 1211 communicating with the first cavity 1130, and there is a gap between the flange body 1210 and the workpiece 4000 supported on the workpiece stage 2000 to form a second cavity 1230 that is connected to the opening 1211 and is semi-closed. The suction assembly 1220 is connected to the second cavity 1230 to discharge contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process.
[0035] The cleaning device 1000 provided by the present invention provides at least one set of purging components 1120 and multiple purging nozzles 1111 on the housing 1110 of the device body 1100. This allows purging gas (e.g., nitrogen) supplied by a gas source to be introduced into the first cavity 1130 of the device body 1100 through the purging components 1120 and the multiple purging nozzles 1111. After being homogenized by the first cavity 1130, the introduced purging gas forms a relatively uniform downward airflow within the first cavity 1130, thereby allowing for the removal of pollutants. The airflow enters through the opening 1211 on the flange 1200 into the second cavity 1230, which is formed by the flange 1200 and the workpiece 4000 (e.g., a silicon wafer) located on the workpiece stage 2000, to purge contaminants generated during exposure from the surface of the workpiece 4000. A suction assembly 1220, connected to the second cavity 1230 and mounted on the flange 1200, can suction the airflow containing contaminants, thereby removing the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during exposure to the outside. Therefore, by employing the decontamination device 1000 provided by this invention, contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during exposure can be efficiently removed, effectively improving product yield and reducing the frequency of equipment maintenance.
[0036] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, the purging gas can be nitrogen, or other inert gases such as helium and argon. It should also be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, the flange 1200 and the device body 1100 can be integrally formed or separately formed; optionally, the flange 1200 and the device body 1100 are integrally formed.
[0037] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the upper and lower parts of the housing 1110 are provided with a plurality of purge jet ports 1111 evenly spaced along the circumference of the housing 1110. Therefore, by providing a plurality of purge jet ports 1111 evenly spaced along the circumference of the housing 1110 on the upper part of the housing 1110, it can be ensured that the purge gas introduced into the purge assembly 1120 can be uniformly introduced into the upper part of the first cavity 1130 through the plurality of purge jet ports 1111 located on the upper part of the housing 1110, thereby quickly expelling the oxygen originally present in the first cavity 1130 to ensure the oxygen concentration in the exposure area. By providing a plurality of purge jet ports 1111 equally spaced along the circumference of the housing 1110 at the lower part of the housing 1110, it can be ensured that the purge gas introduced into the purge assembly 1120 can be uniformly introduced into the lower part of the first cavity 1130 through the plurality of purge jet ports 1111 located at the lower part of the housing 1110. This makes it easier to form a uniform downward airflow in the first cavity 1130, thereby further improving the purge effect on the workpiece 4000.
[0038] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the housing 1110 is provided with multiple sets of the purge assembly 1120, wherein at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 is disposed in the upper part of the housing 1110, and at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 is disposed in the lower part of the housing 1110. Therefore, by providing multiple sets of the purge assembly 1120 on the housing 1110 of the decontamination device 1000, the purge gas can enter the first cavity 1130 in multiple directions, thereby effectively ensuring that the purge gas entering the first cavity 1130 can form a more uniform downward airflow within the first cavity 1130. By disposing of at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 in the upper part of the housing 1110 (i.e., at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 is disposed in the upper part of the housing 1110), an upper flow channel can be formed, thereby rapidly discharging the oxygen originally present in the first cavity 1130 to ensure the oxygen concentration in the exposure area. By disposing at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 in the lower part of the housing 1110 (i.e., disposing at least one set of the purge assembly 1120 in the lower part of the housing 1110), a lower flow channel can be formed, thereby directly purging the upper space of the workpiece 4000 through the purge gas in the lower flow channel, thereby forming a purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) atmosphere protection in the exposure area.
[0039] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the purging assembly 1120 includes an interconnected air inlet 1121 and a purging gas flow channel 1122. The air inlet 1121 is used to connect to the air source; the purging gas flow channel 1122 is connected to the purging jet nozzles 1111. Thus, by configuring the purging assembly 1120 with a structure including the interconnected air inlet 1121 and the purging gas flow channel 1122, it is easier to connect the purging assembly 1120 to the air source through the air inlet 1121, and to connect the purging assembly 1120 and the plurality of purging jet nozzles 1111 through the purging gas flow channel 1122.
[0040] Please continue to refer to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the depth of the purge gas flow channel 1122 of the purge assembly 1120 located at the lower part of the housing 1110 is greater than the depth of the purge gas flow channel 1122 of the purge assembly 1120 located at the upper part of the housing 1110. With this setting, it can be ensured that the flow rate of the purge gas entering the lower part of the first cavity 1130 is greater than that of the purge gas entering the upper part of the first cavity 1130, thereby making it easier to form a uniform downward airflow in the first cavity 1130, so as to further improve the purge effect on the workpiece 4000.
[0041] Please continue to refer to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the lower part of the housing 1110 is provided with at least two sets of purge jet groups 1112 arranged in parallel along its height direction and connected to the purge gas flow channel 1122 of the purge assembly 1120 located at the lower part of the housing 1110. Each set of purge jet groups 1112 includes a plurality of purge jet ports 1111 arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of the housing 1110. Because the purge gas flow channel 1122 of the purge assembly 1120 located in the lower part of the housing 1110 is relatively deep, by providing at least two sets of parallel purge jet groups 1112 in the lower part of the housing 1110 and communicating with the purge gas flow channel 1122 of the purge assembly 1120 located in the lower part of the housing 1110, the purge gas entering the purge gas flow channel 1122 in the lower part of the housing 1110 can be quickly introduced into the first cavity 1130 through different purge jet groups 1112, thereby helping to improve the purge efficiency.
[0042] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the upper part of the housing 1110 is provided with at least two sets of purge assemblies 1120 arranged circumferentially spaced along the upper part of the housing 1110. Thus, by providing at least two sets of purge assemblies 1120 arranged circumferentially spaced along the upper part of the housing 1110, an upper flow channel can be formed around the first cavity 1130. This facilitates the formation of a more uniform purge airflow in the upper part of the first cavity 1130, thereby making it easier to quickly expel the oxygen originally present in the first cavity 1130, ensuring the oxygen concentration in the exposure area.
[0043] Please continue to refer to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the lower part of the housing 1110 is provided with at least two sets of the purging components 1120 arranged circumferentially around the housing 1110. With this arrangement, a lower flow channel arranged circumferentially around the first cavity 1130 can be formed, so that the purging gas introduced into the first cavity 1130 can form a more uniform downward airflow in the first cavity 1130, thereby improving the purging effect.
[0044] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the flange body 1210 is provided with multiple sets of suction components 1220, which are evenly arranged circumferentially along the flange body 1210. Therefore, by providing multiple sets of suction components 1220 evenly arranged circumferentially along the flange body 1210, the airflow containing contaminants in the second cavity 1230 can be suctioned in multiple directions, thereby more efficiently removing contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during exposure to the outside, further improving the contaminant removal rate of the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention.
[0045] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the suction assembly 1220 includes a contaminant suction port 1221 and a suction channel 1222 that are interconnected. The contaminant suction port 1221 is connected to the second cavity 1230, and the suction channel 1222 is used to connect to a negative pressure device (not shown in the figure). Therefore, by configuring the suction assembly 1220 with a structure including the interconnected contaminant suction port 1221 and suction channel 1222, it is easier to draw the contaminant-containing airflow from the second cavity 1230 through the contaminant suction port 1221 and introduce it into the suction channel 1222. Since the suction channel 1222 is connected to the negative pressure device, the contaminant-containing airflow introduced into the suction channel 1222 can be discharged under the negative pressure provided by the negative pressure device.
[0046] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the contaminant suction port 1221 is an elongated slit-like structure that penetrates the bottom surface of the flange body 1210. Therefore, by setting the contaminant suction port 1221 as an elongated slit-like structure penetrating the bottom surface of the flange body 1210, the suction range of the contaminant suction port 1221 can be effectively increased. This ensures that the contaminant removal device 1000 provided by the present invention can more efficiently suction the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process to the outside, further improving the contaminant removal rate of the contaminant removal device 1000 provided by the present invention.
[0047] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the contaminant suction port 1221 is arranged at an angle to the plane of the flange body 1210, and the angle formed by the contaminant suction port 1221 and the plane of the flange body 1210 is 30° to 60°. Therefore, by setting the contaminant suction port 1221 at an angle to the plane of the flange body 1210, it is easier for the contaminant suction port 1221 to suck up the airflow containing contaminants in the second cavity 1230. By setting the angle between the contaminant suction port 1221 and the plane of the flange body 1210 to 30° to 60°, it is not only easier for the contaminant suction port 1221 to suck up the airflow containing contaminants in the second cavity 1230, but also easier for the airflow containing contaminants sucked out by the contaminant suction port 1221 to smoothly enter the suction channel 1222 and then be discharged, thereby further improving the contaminant removal efficiency of the contaminant removal device 1000 provided by the present invention.
[0048] Optionally, the angle formed by the contamination suction port 1221 and the plane containing the flange body 1210 is 45°.
[0049] In some exemplary embodiments, the ratio of the side length a1 of the flange body 1210 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 is greater than 1 and less than 5. Therefore, by setting the ratio of the side length a1 of the flange body 1210 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 to be greater than 1 and less than 5, an ideal purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) atmosphere flow field can be constructed, thereby ensuring that a good purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) atmosphere can be formed in the exposure area, effectively reducing the oxygen concentration in the exposure area. This allows for the efficient removal of contaminants generated during the exposure process, provided that the oxygen concentration in the exposure area meets the standard.
[0050] Optionally, the ratio of the side length a1 of the flange body 1210 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 is equal to 3.
[0051] In some exemplary embodiments, the ratio of the distance d between the center of the contaminant suction port 1221 and the center of the opening 1211 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 is greater than 0.5 and less than 5. If the contaminant suction port 1221 is too close to the edge of the opening 1211, the purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) in the second cavity 1230 will be directly drawn into the contaminant suction port 1221, thus failing to create a low-oxygen environment in the core area (exposure area) of the workpiece 4000. If the contaminant suction port 1221 is too close to the outer edge of the flange body 1210, the contaminant suction port 1221 will primarily draw in air from the external environment, resulting in contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure (annealing) process not being efficiently removed. Therefore, by setting the ratio of the distance d between the center of the contamination suction port 1221 and the center of the opening 1211 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 to be greater than 0.5 and less than 5, it can be ensured that the contamination suction port 1221 is neither located at the edge of the opening 1211 nor at the outer edge of the flange body 1210. This ensures that the contamination suction port 1221 can smoothly suction the airflow containing contaminants, thereby suctioning the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process to the outside.
[0052] Optionally, the ratio of the distance d between the center of the pollution suction port 1221 and the center of the opening 1211 to the side length a2 of the opening 1211 is equal to 1.5.
[0053] Please continue referring to Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, in some exemplary embodiments, the suction assembly 1220 further includes a suction port 1223. A first end of the suction port 1223 is connected to the suction channel 1222, and a second end of the suction port 1223 is connected to the negative pressure device. Therefore, by providing a suction port 1223 connected to the suction channel 1222, it is easier to connect the suction assembly 1220 to the negative pressure device via the suction port 1223, so that the negative pressure device can provide negative pressure for suction power to the suction assembly 1220.
[0054] In some exemplary embodiments, the ratio of the total airflow rate of the purging assembly 1120 to the total suction flow rate of the suction assembly 1220 is 0.5 to 1.5. Therefore, by setting the ratio of the total airflow rate of the purging assembly 1120 to the total suction flow rate of the suction assembly 1220 to be greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.5, the contaminant removal device 1000 provided by the present invention can effectively remove contaminants generated on the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process.
[0055] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, the total air intake flow of the purge assembly 1120 refers to the sum of the air intake flow of all the air intake ports; the total suction volume of the purge assembly 1120 refers to the sum of the suction flow of all the suction ports 1223.
[0056] Please refer to Figures 3 through 5. Figure 3 is a vector diagram of the flow field velocity near the contaminant suction port 1221 in the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a contaminant distribution diagram around the silicon wafer after contaminant removal using the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in the present invention; Figure 5 is a contaminant distribution diagram within the first cavity 1130 after contaminant removal using the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in the present invention. As shown in Figure 3, by using the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in the present invention, a purge gas atmosphere (e.g., nitrogen) can be constructed, and the other part is air from the external environment, thereby ensuring that contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process can be efficiently removed. As shown in Figure 4, by using the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in the present invention, the contaminant deposition phenomenon on the workpiece 4000 (e.g., silicon wafer) can be significantly improved; as shown in Figure 5, by using the contaminant removal device 1000 provided in the present invention, the contaminant deposition phenomenon within the first cavity 1130 can be significantly improved.
[0057] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a cross-sectional view of a decontamination device 1000 provided in another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 6, the main difference between the decontamination device 1000 provided in this embodiment and the decontamination device 1000 provided in the previous embodiment is that, in this embodiment, the suction assembly 1220 further includes a peripheral suction port 1224 connected to the suction channel 1222. The peripheral suction port 1224 is located closer to the outer edge of the flange body 1210 than the contamination suction port 1221. Therefore, by providing a peripheral suction port 1224 in each group of suction assemblies 1220 that is located closer to the outer edge of the flange body 1210 and connected to the suction channel 1222 than the contamination suction port 1221, air can be drawn from the periphery through the peripheral suction port 1224. This allows the airflow containing contaminants that was not completely drawn by the contamination suction port 1221 to be recovered, thereby further improving the contaminant removal efficiency of the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention. Furthermore, by configuring the peripheral suction port 1224 to be connected to the suction channel 1222, the number of channels can be reduced, which helps to simplify the overall structure of the cleaning device 1000 provided by the present invention.
[0058] Please continue referring to Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6, in some exemplary embodiments, the peripheral suction port 1224 is set at an angle to the plane of the flange body 1210, and the angle formed by the peripheral suction port 1224 and the plane of the flange body 1210 is greater than the angle formed by the contamination suction port 1221 and the plane of the flange body 1210. Therefore, this arrangement ensures that the peripheral suction port 1224 can effectively recover the airflow containing contaminants that the contamination suction port 1221 failed to completely extract.
[0059] It should be noted that, as those skilled in the art will understand, in order to avoid redundancy, this document only describes the differences between the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 6 and the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 1. The similarities between the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 6 and the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 1 are not described in detail. For more information about the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 6, please refer to the relevant description of the decontamination device 1000 shown in Figure 1 above for an adaptive understanding.
[0060] To achieve the above-mentioned ideas, the present invention also provides a laser annealing device. Please refer to Figure 7, which is a structural block diagram of a laser annealing device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 7, the laser annealing device provided by the present invention includes an optical system 3000, a workpiece stage 2000, and a decontamination device 1000 as described in any of the above-mentioned claims. The decontamination device 1000 is located between the optical system 3000 and the workpiece stage 2000. Since the laser annealing device provided by the present invention and the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention belong to the same inventive concept, the laser annealing device provided by the present invention has at least all the beneficial effects of the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention. Therefore, the relevant content regarding the beneficial effects of the laser annealing device provided by the present invention can be referred to the relevant description of the beneficial effects of the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention above, and will not be repeated here.
[0061] In summary, compared with the prior art, the decontamination device 1000 and laser annealing equipment provided by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:
[0062] (1) The present invention provides at least one set of purging components 1120 and multiple purging nozzles 1111 on the housing 1110 of the device body 1100 of the decontamination device 1000. This allows purging gas (e.g., nitrogen) supplied by a gas source to be introduced into the first cavity 1130 of the device body 1100 through the purging components 1120 and the multiple purging nozzles 1111. The introduced purging gas, after being homogenized by the first cavity 1130, can form a relatively uniform downward airflow within the first cavity 1130, thereby allowing for the purification of the device. The airflow enters through the opening 1211 on the flange 1200 into the second cavity 1230, which is formed by the flange 1200 and the workpiece 4000 (e.g., a silicon wafer) located on the workpiece stage 2000, to purge contaminants generated during exposure from the surface of the workpiece 4000. A suction assembly 1220, connected to the second cavity 1230 and mounted on the flange 1200, can suction the airflow containing contaminants, thereby removing the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during exposure to the outside. Therefore, by employing the decontamination device 1000 provided by this invention, contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during exposure can be efficiently removed, effectively improving product yield and reducing the frequency of equipment maintenance.
[0063] (2) By setting the ratio of the side length of the flange body 1210 to the side length of the opening 1211 to be greater than 1 and less than 5, the present invention can construct an ideal purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) atmosphere flow field, thereby ensuring that a good purge gas (e.g., nitrogen) atmosphere can be formed in the exposure area, effectively reducing the oxygen concentration in the exposure area, and thus efficiently removing pollutants generated during the exposure process under the premise that the oxygen concentration in the exposure area meets the standard.
[0064] (3) By setting the ratio of the distance between the center of the contamination suction port 1221 and the center of the opening 1211 to the side length of the opening 1211 to be greater than 0.5 and less than 5, the present invention can ensure that the contamination suction port 1221 is neither located at the edge of the opening 1211 nor at the outer edge of the flange body 1210, thereby ensuring that the contamination suction port 1221 can smoothly suck up the airflow containing contaminants, thereby sucking the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process to the outside.
[0065] (4) By setting the ratio of the total air intake flow of the purge assembly 1120 to the total suction flow of the suction assembly 1220 to be greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 1.5, the present invention can effectively ensure that the decontamination device 1000 provided by the present invention can efficiently remove the contaminants generated by the workpiece 4000 during the exposure process.
[0066] It should be noted that, in the description of this specification, the reference to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., means that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described can be combined in a suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.
[0067] It should also be noted that the above description is merely a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Any changes or modifications made by those skilled in the art based on the above disclosure are within the protection scope of the present invention. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the present invention and its equivalents, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.
Claims
1. A cleaning device for use between a workpiece stage and an optical system, characterized in that, The decontamination device includes a connected device body and a flange, the flange surrounding the outer periphery near the bottom of the device body; The device body includes a housing and at least one set of purging components disposed on the housing. The housing has a first cavity inside and a plurality of purging jet ports are also provided on the housing. The first end of the purging jet port is connected to the purging components and the second end of the purging jet port is connected to the first cavity. The purging assembly is used to connect to a gas source to introduce purging gas provided by the gas source into the first cavity through the plurality of purging jet ports; The flange includes a flange body and at least one set of suction components disposed on the flange body. The bottom of the flange body is provided with an opening that communicates with the first cavity, and there is a gap between the flange body and the workpiece supported on the workpiece table to form a second cavity that communicates with the opening and is semi-closed. The suction assembly is connected to the second cavity to remove contaminants generated by the workpiece during the exposure process.
2. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The purging assembly includes an air inlet and a purging gas flow channel that are interconnected. The air inlet is used to connect to the air source, and the purging gas flow channel is connected to the purging jet nozzle.
3. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper and lower parts of the housing are provided with a plurality of purge jet ports that are equally spaced along the circumference of the housing.
4. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device body includes multiple sets of the purging components disposed on the housing, wherein at least one set of the purging components is disposed on the upper part of the housing, and at least one set of the purging components is disposed on the lower part of the housing.
5. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flange body is provided with multiple sets of suction components, which are evenly arranged along the circumference of the flange body.
6. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The suction assembly includes a contamination suction port and a suction channel that are interconnected. The contamination suction port is connected to the second cavity, and the suction channel is used to connect to a negative pressure device.
7. The decontamination device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The suction assembly further includes a suction port, the first end of which is connected to the suction channel, and the second end of which is connected to the negative pressure device.
8. The decontamination device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The contamination suction port is set at an angle to the plane of the flange body, and the angle formed by the contamination suction port and the plane of the flange body is 30° to 60°.
9. The decontamination device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The ratio of the side length of the flange body to the side length of the opening is greater than 1 and less than 5, and the ratio of the distance between the center of the pollution suction port and the center of the opening to the side length of the opening is greater than 0.5 and less than 5.
10. The decontamination device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The suction assembly also includes a peripheral suction port that communicates with the suction channel, and the peripheral suction port is located closer to the outer edge of the flange body than the contamination suction port.
11. The decontamination device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ratio of the total air intake flow rate of the purging assembly to the total suction flow rate of the suction assembly is 0.5 to 1.
5.
12. A laser annealing apparatus, characterized in that, It includes an optical system, a workpiece stage, and a cleaning device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the cleaning device is located between the optical system and the workpiece stage.