Process chamber and semiconductor process device
By setting up a first measuring device and a reflector in the process chamber, wafer misalignment can be monitored in real time and automatically corrected, thus solving the problem of increased defects caused by wafer misalignment and reducing costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BEIJING NAURA MICROELECTRONICS EQUIP CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2026-01-06
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-23
AI Technical Summary
In existing semiconductor process equipment, wafer misalignment detection can only rely on post-processing measurement of wafer film thickness, leading to an increase in the number of defective products scrapped and higher costs.
A first measuring device and a first reflector are installed in the process chamber to monitor whether the wafer is misaligned in real time. The distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support assembly is measured by reflecting light to determine whether the wafer is misaligned, and the misalignment is corrected immediately.
It enables real-time monitoring and automatic correction of wafer misalignment, reducing the generation of defective products and lowering production costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN2026070733_23072026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
A process chamber and semiconductor process equipment Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor technology, specifically to a process chamber and semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology
[0002] Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) refers to the use of high-temperature thermal annealing technology to process the front side of a wafer. It is a method that heats the entire wafer to a temperature range of 400-1300°C in a very short time. It has low heating power and good temperature uniformity of the wafer. Its applications include ultra-thin oxide film growth processes and annealing processes after ion implantation.
[0003] During rapid annealing, the edge ring used to support the wafer rotates with it. Ideally, the wafer should be located at the center of the temperature field in the chamber, i.e., the center of the edge ring. If the eccentricity is too large, it will directly lead to uneven wafer film thickness.
[0004] Currently, wafer film thickness data is typically checked manually at regular intervals, and adjustments are made when uneven film thickness is detected. This monitoring process is extremely inconvenient, and by the time an anomaly is detected, a certain number of defective products may have already been generated, increasing the number of scrapped products. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this application provides a process chamber and semiconductor process equipment, which can improve the problem that existing equipment relies solely on post-process measurement of wafer film thickness to detect wafer misalignment, resulting in a large number of scraps and increased costs.
[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, in a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a process chamber, comprising:
[0007] The chamber body includes an annular sidewall and a cover that covers the top surface of the annular sidewall. The inner wall of the annular sidewall is provided with a first annular base, and the first annular base is provided with a first measuring channel that extends from the bottom surface to the top surface.
[0008] A support component is disposed within the inner ring of the first annular base and is used to support the edge of the wafer;
[0009] A first measuring device is connected to the first measuring channel;
[0010] A first reflector is disposed on one side of the bottom surface of the cover and is used to reflect light from the first target area to the first measuring device. The first target area includes at least a portion of a first annular region from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support assembly, with the center of the support assembly as the center.
[0011] The first measuring device is used to measure the distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target area to determine whether the wafer is misaligned.
[0012] In some embodiments, the first reflector is located outside the projection of the wafer onto the cover and at least covers the projection of the first measuring device onto the cover. The first reflector is inclined downward along the direction from the center to the edge of the cover, and the included angle θ between the first reflector and the cover satisfies: 0.5*arctan(x / y)≤θ<45°;
[0013] Where x is the distance between the inner edge of the first measuring device and the edge of the wafer, and y is the distance between the inner edge of the top surface of the first annular base and the first reflector in the vertical direction.
[0014] In some embodiments, the cover includes: a second annular base supported on the top surface of the annular sidewall, and a transparent plate covering the top surface of the second annular base;
[0015] The process chamber also includes a heating device disposed above the transparent plate, which is used to heat the wafer located on the support assembly through the transparent plate.
[0016] In some embodiments, a first cooling circuit is provided within the annular sidewall for introducing a cooling medium to control the temperature of the first measuring device; and / or,
[0017] The second annular base is provided with a second cooling circuit for introducing a cooling medium to control the temperature of the first reflector.
[0018] In some embodiments, the support component includes:
[0019] Support column;
[0020] A support ring, supported on the support column and spaced apart from the first annular base, is used to support the edge of the wafer;
[0021] A drive source, connected to the support column, is used to drive the support column to rotate the support ring.
[0022] In some embodiments, the process chamber further includes:
[0023] A shielding ring is connected to the inner edge of the first annular base and at least shields the annular gap between the support ring and the first annular base.
[0024] In some embodiments, the top surface of the support component is provided with positioning marks; the first annular base is also provided with a second measuring channel extending from the bottom surface of the first annular base to the top surface of the first annular base;
[0025] The process chamber further includes:
[0026] The second measuring device is disposed in the second measuring channel;
[0027] The second reflector is disposed between the cover and the first annular base for reflecting light from the second target area to the second measuring device. The second target area includes at least a portion of the second annular area corresponding to the positioning mark on the support assembly, with the center of the support assembly as the center.
[0028] The second measuring device is used to measure the time when the positioning mark passes through the second target area;
[0029] The first measuring device is used to measure a first distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target region according to the time, and to measure a second distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target region after a preset time, and to determine the offset direction of the wafer according to the first distance and the second distance.
[0030] In some embodiments, the preset time t is calculated using the formula: t = 90° / r;
[0031] Where r is the rotational speed of the support component.
[0032] In some embodiments, the support assembly includes a robotic arm transfer position for receiving wafers transferred by a robotic arm;
[0033] With the rotation direction of the support component as a reference, the line connecting the robotic arm transfer position and the center of the support component is the first line, the line connecting the positioning mark and the center of the support component is the second line, and the angle between the first line and the second line is 90°-α.
[0034] Wherein, α is the angle that the support component rotates during the signal transmission time from the moment the second measuring device measures the time to the moment the first measuring device receives the signal.
[0035] In some embodiments, with reference to the rotation direction of the support assembly, the angle between the projections of the first measuring channel and the second measuring channel onto the top surface of the first annular base and the center of the first annular base is 180°-α.
[0036] In some embodiments, the cover includes: a second annular base supported on the top surface of the annular sidewall, and a transparent plate covering the top surface of the second annular base;
[0037] The inner side of the bottom surface of the second annular base is provided with a first inclined surface for setting the first reflector and a second inclined surface for setting the second reflector.
[0038] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a semiconductor process apparatus, including the process chambers described in the above embodiments.
[0039] As described above, the process chamber of this application includes a first measuring device and a first reflector. The first reflector is disposed on one side of the bottom surface of the cover and is used to reflect light from the first target area to the first measuring device. The first target area includes at least a portion of a first annular region extending from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support assembly, with the center of the support assembly as the center. The first measuring device is used to measure the distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support assembly in the first target area to determine whether the wafer is misaligned. The process chamber of this embodiment can monitor whether the wafer has shifted in real time. After a shift event is detected, the process can be stopped immediately to correct the shift, thereby avoiding the large number of scraps that occur when wafer shift is detected by traditional methods, thus reducing costs. Attached Figure Description
[0040] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this application. To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any creative effort.
[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0042] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a first measuring device and a first reflector in a process chamber according to an embodiment of this application, wherein (a) is a diagram of the measurement principle and (b) is a diagram of the minimum value calculation principle of the lens of the first measuring device.
[0043] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0044] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an image measured by the first measuring device provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0045] Figure 5 is a top view of another support component provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0046] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application;
[0047] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the first and second measuring devices for detecting wafer misalignment provided in the embodiments of this application, wherein (a) is an ideal structure diagram and (b) is an actual signal transmission time compensation diagram.
[0048] The realization of the objectives, functional features, and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with the embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings have illustrated specific embodiments of this application, which will be described in more detail below. These drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the concept in any way, but rather to illustrate the concepts of this application to those skilled in the art through reference to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation
[0049] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.
[0050] It should be noted that, in this document, 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 that element. Furthermore, components, features, and elements with the same names in different embodiments of this application may have the same meaning or different meanings, the specific meaning of which must be determined by its interpretation in that specific embodiment or further in conjunction with the context of that specific embodiment.
[0051] It should be further understood that the terms "comprising" or "including" indicate the presence of the stated features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups, but do not exclude the presence, occurrence, or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, types, and / or groups. The terms "or," "and / or," and "comprising at least one of the following," as used in this application, can be interpreted as inclusive, or mean any one or any combination thereof. For example, "comprising at least one of the following: A, B, C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C," and similarly, "A, B, or C" or "A, B, and / or C" means "any one of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A and B and C." Exceptions to this definition only occur when the combination of elements, functions, steps, or operations is inherently mutually exclusive in some way.
[0052] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this document to describe various types of information, this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this document, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used in this document are intended to also include the plural forms, unless the context indicates otherwise.
[0053] It should be understood that the terms "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device 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 on this application.
[0054] For ease of description, the following embodiments are all illustrated using an orthogonal space defined by a horizontal plane and a vertical direction. This premise should not be construed as a limitation of this application.
[0055] Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a process chamber provided in an embodiment of this application. The process chamber may include: a chamber body 10, a support assembly 20, a first measuring device 30, and a first reflector 40. The chamber body 10 includes an annular sidewall 11 and a cover 12 covering the top surface of the annular sidewall 11. A first annular base 13 is protruding from the inner wall of the annular sidewall 11. The first annular base 13 is provided with a first measuring channel 101 extending from the bottom surface of the first annular base 13 to the top surface of the first annular base 13. The first measuring channel 101 may be a through hole or a blind hole with a transparent material covering the top, allowing only light to pass through. This embodiment of the application does not impose any particular limitation.
[0056] The support component 20 is disposed within the inner ring of the first annular base 13, that is, the first annular base 13 surrounds the support component 20. The support component 20 is used to support the edge of the wafer 100. It can be understood that the central area of the support component 20 is hollowed out and only supports the edge of the wafer 100.
[0057] A first measuring device 30 is disposed in a first measuring channel 101, and a first reflector 40 is disposed between a cover 12 and a first annular base 13 for reflecting light from a first target area to the first measuring device 30. The first target area includes at least a portion of a first annular region extending from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20, with the center of the support assembly 20 as its center. The first measuring device 30 measures the distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20 within the first target area to determine whether the wafer 100 is misaligned.
[0058] As an example, the first measuring device 30 can be a vision camera with its lens fitted inside the first measuring channel 101. The first reflector 40 can be a mirror, such as a stainless steel mirror. The inner edge of the first annular base 13 and the edge of the wafer 100 form an annular gap. The first target area is a small section of area that can at least cover the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20 in the radial direction. The first reflector 40 reflects the light received from the first target area to the first measuring device 30. The first measuring device 30 can measure the distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20 based on the captured image, and then compare it with the design value to determine whether the wafer 100 is misaligned on the support assembly 20.
[0059] The process chamber in this embodiment can monitor whether the wafer 100 has shifted in real time. After a shift event is detected, the machine can be stopped immediately to correct the shift. The correction can be done manually or automatically. This embodiment does not make any special limitations. This can avoid the situation where a large number of wafers are scrapped when the shift of the wafer 100 is detected by traditional methods, thus reducing costs.
[0060] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 2, which is a diagram showing the positional relationship between a first measuring device and a first reflector in a process chamber according to an embodiment of this application. (a) is a measurement principle diagram, and (b) is a minimum value calculation principle diagram of the lens of the first measuring device. The first reflector 40 is located outside the projection of the wafer 100 onto the cover 12 to avoid vertical obstruction of the wafer 100. The first reflector 40 at least covers the projection of the first measuring device 30 onto the cover 12. The first reflector 40 is inclined downward along the direction from the center to the edge of the cover 12, and the included angle θ between the first reflector 40 and the cover 12 satisfies: 0.5*arctan(x / y)≤θ<45°;
[0061] Where x is the distance FB between the inner edge of the first measuring device 30 and the edge of the wafer 100, and y is the distance FC between the inner edge of the top surface of the first annular base 13 and the first reflector 40 in the vertical direction.
[0062] Specifically, referring to Figure 2(a), the angle θ between the first reflector 40 and the cover 12 depends on the distance between the wafer 100 and the inner edge of the first annular base 13, and the height between the wafer 100 and the cover 12. Point A represents the outer edge of the support assembly 20, point B represents the edge of the wafer 100, point F represents the inner edge of the first annular base 13, and EF represents the diameter of the lens of the first measuring device 30. It is necessary to ensure that the point perpendicularly projected onto the lens after reflection from point B must be on the first annular base 13. Therefore, assuming point B hits exactly at the inner edge F of the first annular base 13, then tan2θ = FB / FC. However, the actual reflection point of point B must be to the left of the inner edge F of the first annular base 13. Therefore, θ must satisfy the following formula:
[0063] 0.5*arctan(x / y)≤θ<45°.
[0064] Understandably, to ensure the projection area EF is as large as possible, θ should be as small as possible within the allowable range. As shown in Figure 2(b), the distance AB is the distance between the edge of the support component 20 and the wafer 100. When the wafer 100 is at its maximum distance from the outer edge of the support component 20, it is necessary to ensure that the lens can simultaneously capture points A and B. Given the maximum value of AB, the minimum diameter EF of the lens can be calculated using the following formula: EF = AB * cos2θ.
[0065] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of another process chamber provided in this application embodiment. The sealing member 12 of the process chamber may include a second annular base 121 and a transparent plate 122. The second annular base 121 is supported on the top surface of the annular sidewall 11, and is not shown in the figure because it is cut at the position of the air inlet and air outlet. The transparent plate 122 covers the top surface of the second annular base 121. The process chamber also includes a heating device 50 disposed above the transparent plate 122. The heating device 50 is used to heat the wafer 100 located on the support assembly 20 through the transparent plate 122. Exemplarily, the heating device 50 may be a halogen lamp.
[0066] To ensure stable operation of the first measuring device 30, a first cooling circuit can be provided within the annular sidewall 11, through which a cooling medium is circulated to control the temperature of the first measuring device 30. To further stabilize the reflection of the first reflector 40, a second cooling circuit can also be provided within the second annular base 121, through which a cooling medium is circulated to control the temperature of the first reflector 40.
[0067] In one embodiment, the support assembly 20 may include a support post 21, an edge ring 22, and a drive source 23. The edge ring 22 is supported on the support post 21 and spaced apart from the first annular base 13, and is used to support the edge of the wafer 100. The drive source 23 is connected to the support post 21 and is used to drive the support post 21 to rotate the edge ring 22. Exemplarily, the drive source 23 may be a magnetic levitation device, such as including a stator 231 and a rotor 232 connected to the annular sidewall 11. The stator 231 provides a magnetic field, causing the rotor 232 to rotate at a certain speed, thereby driving the edge ring 22 to rotate together. Multiple thermometers 110 may also be arranged directly below the wafer 100 to measure the temperature of different areas of the wafer to obtain the temperature distribution of the wafer.
[0068] To prevent the temperature of the process area from being conducted to the magnetic levitation device, which could cause the rotor 232 to overheat and demagnetize, the process chamber may also include a shielding ring 60. The shielding ring 60 is connected to the inner edge of the first annular base 13 and at least shields the annular gap between the support ring 22 and the first annular base 13. It should be noted that the shielding ring 60 is fixed, therefore, the shielding ring 60 and the support ring 22 do not directly contact each other. Please refer to Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the image measured by the first measuring device provided in the embodiment of this application. The first target area measured by the first measuring device 30 is from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support ring 22. In the figure, the first measuring device 30 can select a high-resolution visual camera that is sensitive to light and dark, and can accurately locate the edges of the four components: the wafer 100, the support ring 22, the shielding ring 60, and the first annular base 13. The field of view of a visual camera should be as small as possible, ideally within 1 radian. With such a narrow field of view, the edges of curved surfaces can be approximated as straight lines. By identifying the pixels at the edges of components, the distance between each edge can be detected. Furthermore, a visual camera preferably uses a higher sampling frequency and a shorter exposure time to ensure that clear images are still captured even at the highest rotation speed.
[0069] To accurately determine the offset direction of wafer 100, in one embodiment, please refer to Figure 5, which is a top view of another support component provided in this application embodiment. The top surface of the support component 20 is provided with a positioning mark 24, such as a groove on the top surface of the support ring 22. Please refer to Figure 6, which is a structural schematic diagram of another process chamber provided in this application embodiment. The first annular base 13 is also provided with a second measurement channel 102 extending from the bottom surface of the first annular base 13 to the top surface of the first annular base 13. The process chamber also includes a second measurement device 70 and a second reflector 80. The second measurement device 70 is disposed in the second measurement channel 102. The second reflector 80 is disposed between the cover 12 and the first annular base 13, and is used to reflect light from the second target area to the second measurement device 70. The second target area includes at least a portion of the second annular area corresponding to the positioning mark 24 on the support component 20, and the second annular area is centered on the center of the support component 20. The second measurement device 70 is used to measure the time when the positioning mark 24 passes through the second target area. The first measuring device 30 is used to measure a first distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support component 20 in the first target area according to the time, and to measure a second distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support component 20 in the first target area after a preset time, and to determine the offset direction of the wafer 100 according to the first distance and the second distance.
[0070] Specifically, referring to Figure 7, taking the moment when the second measuring device 70 measures the positioning mark 24 as the initial moment, the first measuring device 30 measures the first distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20 in the first target area at the initial moment. The first distance corresponds to the first measuring point P1 on the support ring 22. When the wafer 100 rotates to another position at the intermediate moment corresponding to a preset time, the first measuring device 30 measures the second distance from the edge of the wafer 100 to the edge of the support assembly 20 in the first target area again at that intermediate moment. The second distance corresponds to the second measuring point P2 on the support ring 22. Based on the directions of the first measuring point P1 and the second measuring point P2 relative to the center of the circle, the offset direction of the wafer can be determined.
[0071] In some embodiments, the formula for calculating the preset time t is: t = 90° / r, where r is the rotational speed of the support component 20. That is, when the support component 20 has just rotated 90°, the first measuring device 30 measures the second distance. The central angle corresponding to the first measuring point P1 and the second measuring point P2 is 90°, thereby allowing the wafer position to be corrected in a Cartesian coordinate system.
[0072] In some embodiments, referring to FIG7(b), the support assembly 20 includes a robotic arm transfer position 25 for receiving wafer 100 transferred by the robotic arm 90. With reference to the rotation direction of the support assembly 20, the line connecting the robotic arm transfer position 25 and the center of the support assembly 20 is the first line L1, and the line connecting the positioning mark 24 and the center of the support assembly 20 is the second line L2. The angle between the first line L1 and the second line L2 is 90° - α (the central angle swept by L1 as it rotates to L2); where α is the angle rotated by the support assembly 20 during the transmission time from the moment the second measuring device 70 measures the positioning mark 24 to the moment the first measuring device 30 receives the signal from the moment the second measuring device 70 measures the positioning mark 24. The formula for calculating α is: α = rT, where T is the transmission time from the moment the second measuring device 70 measures the positioning mark 24 to the moment the first measuring device 30 receives the signal from the moment the second measuring device 70 measures the positioning mark 24. This embodiment fully considers the signal transmission delay problem and compensates for the rotation angle of the support component 20 during the delay phase, resulting in more accurate calibration.
[0073] Without considering signal transmission delay, the centers of the first measuring device 30, the second measuring device 70, and the support assembly 20 are all located on the X-axis, which facilitates modeling. Considering signal transmission delay, similarly referring to Figure 7, preferably, with the rotation direction of the support assembly 20 as a reference, the angle between the projections of the first measuring device 30 and the second measuring device 70 onto the top surface of the first annular base 13 and the center of the first annular base 13 is 180°-α (the central angle swept by the radius of the first measuring device 30 rotating to the radius of the second measuring device 70).
[0074] In application, the first measuring device 30 (i.e., the first measuring point P1), the center of the support ring 22, and the positioning mark 24 on the support ring 22 can be aligned on the same straight line and located on the X-axis. The center of the support ring 22 is the origin. The robot arm transfer position 25 and the second measuring point P2 are aligned on the same straight line and located on the Y-axis. The second measuring device 70 is placed at a small arc offset from the symmetrical position of the vision camera, and this arc is α.
[0075] When the support ring 22 rotates, the signal received by the second measuring device 70 will cover a small distance along the edge of the support ring 22. Therefore, each time the positioning mark 24 passes through the measurement area of the second measuring device 70, it will be monitored and recorded. At this time, the second measuring device 70 will send a signal, which will be transmitted to the first measuring device 30 via the lower-level computer. The first measuring device 30 will then begin measurement. Due to the signal delay between the transmission of the signal from the second measuring device 70 to the lower-level computer and then to the first measuring device 30, the second measuring device 70 will detect the position of the positioning mark 24 earlier, by the aforementioned time T. Taking the counterclockwise rotation of the support ring 22 as an example, when the second measuring device 70 transmits the signal detecting the positioning mark 24 to the first measuring device 30, the positioning mark 24 and the first measuring point P1 are exactly on the X-axis. The position of the second measuring device 70 depends on the rotational speed of the support ring 22 and the signal transmission time. After the support ring 22 rotates 90 degrees, the second measuring point P2 will have just rotated from the Y-axis to the X-axis. Therefore, the first measuring device 30 can measure the second distance between the edge of the wafer 100 and the edge of the support ring 22 at the second measuring point P2. The first measuring device 30 transmits the first distance and the second distance to the host computer, which calculates the actual distance (AB) according to EF = AB * cos2θ.
[0076] Assume the actual distance between the support ring 22 and the wafer 100 at the first measurement point P1 is S1, and the actual distance r between the support ring 22 and the wafer 100 at the second measurement point P2 is S2. Since the diameters of the support ring 22 and the wafer 100 are fixed, when the wafer 100 is placed exactly at the center of the support ring 22, the distance between the outer edge of the support ring 22 and the edge of the wafer 100 is constant, denoted as S. Therefore, the wafer offset can be calculated as (X, Y), where X is the offset of the center of the wafer 100 relative to the center of the support ring 22 along the X-axis. A positive X-axis indicates that the wafer 100 is biased towards the positive X-axis, and vice versa. Similarly, Y is the offset of the center of the wafer 100 relative to the center of the support ring 22 along the Y-axis. A positive Y-axis indicates that the wafer 100 is biased towards the positive Y-axis, and vice versa. The center coordinates of wafer 100 after correction are (X,Y)=(S1-S,S-S2).
[0077] In this embodiment, after determining the offset direction of wafer 100, the position of the robotic arm 90 can be adjusted to correct the robotic arm's wafer transfer position 25, instead of requiring manual cavity opening, visual inspection of the wafer offset direction and position, and manual adjustment of the robotic arm position as in traditional methods. In this embodiment, both wafer offset identification and correction are completed automatically.
[0078] In one embodiment, referring to Figures 3 and 6, a first inclined surface 1211 and a second inclined surface 1212 can be provided on the inner side of the bottom surface of the second annular base 121 of the cover member 12. The first reflector 40 is disposed on the first inclined surface 1211, and the second reflector 80 is disposed on the second inclined surface 1212. It is understood that the inner side of the bottom surface of the second annular base 121 can be chamfered to make it an annular inclined surface, in which case the first inclined surface 1211 and the second inclined surface 1212 are part of the annular inclined surface. In other embodiments, two grooves can be partially excavated on the inner side of the bottom surface of the second annular base 121, with the bottom surfaces of the two grooves being the aforementioned first inclined surface 1211 and the second inclined surface 1212, respectively. This embodiment avoids the first reflector 40 and the second reflector 80 protruding from the bottom surface of the second annular base 121, and allows for the entire surface to be fitted together to fix the first reflector 40 and the second reflector 80, resulting in a more compact structure.
[0079] This application also provides a semiconductor process apparatus, which may include the process chambers described in the above embodiments.
[0080] For other working principles and processes of the semiconductor process equipment in this embodiment, please refer to the description of the process chamber in the foregoing embodiments of the present invention, which will not be repeated here.
[0081] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of a process chamber and semiconductor process equipment provided in this application. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. It should be noted that the descriptions of each embodiment in this application have different emphases; parts not described in detail in a particular embodiment can be referred to in the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.
[0082] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application and do not limit the patent scope of this application. The technical features of the technical solution of this application can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made using the content of this application's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are also included within the patent protection scope of this application, as long as the combination of these technical features does not contradict each other.
Claims
1. A process chamber, characterized in that, include: The chamber body includes an annular sidewall and a cover covering the top surface of the annular sidewall. The inner wall of the annular sidewall is provided with a first annular base, and the first annular base is provided with a first measuring channel extending from the bottom surface of the first annular base to the top surface of the first annular base. A support component is disposed within the inner ring of the first annular base and is used to support the edge of the wafer; A first measuring device is disposed in the first measuring channel; A first reflector is disposed between the cover and the first annular base for reflecting light from the first target area to the first measuring device. The first target area includes at least a portion of a first annular region from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support assembly, with the center of the support assembly as the center. The first measuring device is used to measure the distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target area to determine whether the wafer is misaligned.
2. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first reflector is located outside the projection of the wafer onto the cover and at least covers the projection of the first measuring device onto the cover. The first reflector is inclined downward along the direction from the center to the edge of the cover, and the included angle θ between the first reflector and the cover satisfies: 0.5*arctan(x / y)≤θ<45°; Where x is the distance between the inner edge of the first measuring device and the edge of the wafer, and y is the distance between the inner edge of the top surface of the first annular base and the first reflector in the vertical direction.
3. The process chamber according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cover includes: a second annular base supported on the top surface of the annular sidewall, and a transparent plate covering the top surface of the second annular base; The process chamber also includes a heating device disposed above the transparent plate, which is used to heat the wafer located on the support assembly through the transparent plate.
4. The process chamber according to claim 3, characterized in that, A first cooling circuit is provided within the annular sidewall for introducing a cooling medium to control the temperature of the first measuring device; and / or, The second annular base is provided with a second cooling circuit for introducing a cooling medium to control the temperature of the first reflector.
5. The process chamber according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The top surface of the support component is provided with positioning marks; the first annular base is also provided with a second measuring channel extending from the bottom surface of the first annular base to the top surface of the first annular base. The process chamber further includes: The second measuring device is disposed in the second measuring channel; The second reflector is disposed between the cover and the first annular base for reflecting light from the second target area to the second measuring device. The second target area includes at least a portion of the second annular area corresponding to the positioning mark on the support assembly, with the center of the support assembly as the center. The second measuring device is used to measure the time when the positioning mark passes through the second target area; The first measuring device is used to measure a first distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target region according to the time, and to measure a second distance from the edge of the wafer to the edge of the support component in the first target region after a preset time, and to determine the offset direction of the wafer according to the first distance and the second distance.
6. The process chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that, The formula for calculating the preset time t is: t = 90° / r; Where r is the rotational speed of the support component.
7. The process chamber according to claim 6, characterized in that, The support assembly includes a robotic arm wafer transfer position for receiving wafers transferred by the robotic arm; With the rotation direction of the support component as a reference, the line connecting the robotic arm transfer position and the center of the support component is the first line, the line connecting the positioning mark and the center of the support component is the second line, and the angle between the first line and the second line is 90°-α. Wherein, α is the angle that the support component rotates during the signal transmission time from the moment the second measuring device measures the time to the moment the first measuring device receives the signal.
8. The process chamber according to claim 7, characterized in that, With reference to the rotation direction of the support assembly, the angle between the projections of the first measuring device and the second measuring device onto the top surface of the first annular base and the center of the first annular base is 180°-α.
9. The process chamber according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cover includes: a second annular base supported on the top surface of the annular sidewall, and a transparent plate covering the top surface of the second annular base; The inner side of the bottom surface of the second annular base is provided with a first inclined surface for setting the first reflector and a second inclined surface for setting the second reflector.
10. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, Includes the process chamber as described in any one of claims 1-9.