Semiconductor process apparatus

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of semiconductor processing. Disclosed is a semiconductor process apparatus. The semiconductor process apparatus comprises a cavity, a door body, a gas intake pipe and a blocking assembly, wherein the door body can be hermetically connected to the cavity to enclose a process cavity, the process cavity is configured to accommodate wafer boats, both the gas intake pipe and the blocking assembly are arranged in the cavity, and an opening of the gas intake pipe faces the door body; and in the axial direction of the cavity, the blocking assembly is located between the door body and the gas intake pipe, and the blocking assembly comprises a plurality of blocking plates, the plurality of blocking plates being arranged at intervals in the axial direction, and in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity, the projection of the outer edge of each blocking plate covering the projection of the wafer boats. The semiconductor process apparatus can solve the problem existing in current semiconductor process apparatuses that during gas introduction, gas flows toward a furnace door, which readily causes a failure of a sealing ring between the furnace door and a furnace body, resulting in the sealing failure of the furnace body and affecting the normal implementation of a process.

Description

Semiconductor process equipment Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of semiconductor processing technology, specifically relating to a semiconductor process equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Horizontal diffusion furnaces are crucial equipment in the processing of semiconductor products such as solar cells. They typically consist of a furnace body and a furnace door. Process propellers and other carriers are mounted on the furnace door, with a portion of the carrier extending into the furnace body. Multiple carrier boats are supported by these propellers and can be mounted together on the furnace body via brackets. During the process, after the carriers are installed in the furnace body, the furnace door achieves a seal between the furnace body and the door. The furnace door and furnace body are generally connected by a flange with a groove. A sealing ring made of rubber or other materials is installed in the groove to ensure a good seal between the furnace door and the furnace body.

[0003] The furnace body is also equipped with an inlet pipe for transporting gas. To achieve better process results, the gas is usually heated through the inlet pipe while being transported into the furnace, ensuring that the gas temperature meets the process requirements upon entering the furnace. However, because the opening of the current inlet pipe faces the furnace door, and the distance between the inlet pipe opening and the furnace door is relatively small, a large amount of gas flows towards the area near the furnace door during gas introduction. Prolonged exposure to the heat and impact of the gas flow easily causes the seal between the furnace door and the furnace body to fail, leading to furnace seal failure and disrupting the normal operation of the process. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a semiconductor process equipment to solve the problem that in current semiconductor process equipment, during the gas introduction process, the gas flows towards the furnace door, causing the sealing ring between the furnace door and the furnace body to easily fail, resulting in the failure of the furnace body's seal and affecting the normal operation of the process.

[0005] This application discloses a semiconductor process apparatus, which includes a cavity, a gate, an inlet pipe, and a blocking assembly, wherein...

[0006] The door can be sealed to the cavity and form a process cavity, which is used to accommodate the carrier boat. The air inlet pipe and the blocking assembly are both disposed inside the cavity, and the opening of the air inlet pipe faces the door.

[0007] Along the axial direction of the cavity, the blocking assembly is located between the door and the air inlet pipe. The blocking assembly includes multiple blocking plates, which are spaced apart along the axial direction. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity, the projection of the outer edge of each blocking plate covers the projection of the carrier boat.

[0008] This application discloses a semiconductor process apparatus whose door can be sealed to a cavity, forming a process cavity for accommodating a carrier boat. A sealing ring or similar device made of rubber can be placed between the door and the cavity to maintain a good sealing connection. The cavity contains an inlet pipe and a blocking assembly. The opening of the inlet pipe faces the door, and a blocking assembly is placed between the door and the inlet pipe along the axial direction of the cavity. This blocking assembly blocks the gas entering the process cavity through the inlet pipe, preventing relatively high-temperature gas from flowing directly and in large quantities towards the door. This prevents the sealing ring and other devices between the door and the cavity from failing due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Furthermore, the blocking assembly allows the gas to flow in the opposite direction to the end of the cavity furthest from the door, allowing the gas entering the process cavity through the inlet pipe to gradually diffuse from the door-side end to the other end, filling the entire process cavity.

[0009] Furthermore, even if a small amount of gas still flows towards the door, the blocking assembly includes multiple baffles spaced axially along the cavity. Under the multiple blocking effects of these baffles, the heating effect of the gas entering the process cavity through the inlet pipe on the door is relatively weak. This ensures a relatively long service life for the sealing ring between the door and the cavity, thereby ensuring a stable and reliable sealing effect between the cavity and the door, enabling the semiconductor process equipment to operate normally.

[0010] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, in a plane perpendicular to the cavity axis, the projection of the outer edge of each baffle plate covers the projection of the carrier boat. This allows the baffle plate to shield the carrier boat in the frontal direction, ensuring that the process gas introduced into the cavity from the gas supply component located on the side of the door first encounters multiple barriers from the baffle assembly. The gas mainly passes through the annular gap between the outer edge of the baffle plate and the inner wall of the cavity, without directly impacting the carrier boat closest to the door. This allows the gas entering from the side of the door to flow at the outer edges of the carrier boats after passing the baffle assembly, ensuring relatively higher uniformity of gas deposition on the semiconductor workpieces on each carrier boat. Attached Figure Description

[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in an embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the assembly between the barrier component and the process propeller of the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0014] Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic diagram of part of the structure in Figure 2;

[0015] Figures 4-7 are schematic diagrams of the structure of the barrier plate in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0016] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the mounting base in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0017] Figures 9-14 are schematic diagrams of the assembly of the blocking component and the mounting base in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application.

[0018] Reference numerals: 100-Cavity, 200-Door, 310-Inlet pipe, 320-Air supply component, 400-Blocking assembly, 401-First blocking plate, 402-Second blocking plate, 410-Blocking plate, 411-Air equalization hole, 412-Mounting slot, 500-Mounting base, 510-Base, 511-Support wall, 512-First limiting wall, 513-Second limiting wall, 514-Perforation, 520-Plug-in part, 521-First baffle, 522-Second baffle, 523-Connecting hole, 610-Bolt, 630-Nut, 710-Process paddle, 720-Bracket, 730-Bearing boat. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0020] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification and claims of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first," "second," etc., are generally of the same class and the number of objects is not limited; for example, a first object can be one or more. Furthermore, in the specification and claims, "and / or" indicates at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0021] This application discloses a semiconductor process apparatus, such as a diffusion furnace. As shown in Figures 1 to 14, the semiconductor process apparatus includes a cavity 100, a door 200, an inlet pipe 310, and a blocking assembly 400. Of course, the semiconductor process apparatus may also include sealing devices such as sealing rings, and devices such as process paddles 710 for supporting the carrier boat 730. For the sake of brevity, these will not be described in detail here.

[0022] The door 200 can be sealed to the cavity 100. Specifically, the two can be connected by a sealing ring so that when the door 200 is closed, the door 200 can form a sealed connection with the cavity 100. Correspondingly, when the door 200 and the cavity 100 are in a sealed state, they can form a process cavity to provide a process environment. The process cavity is used to accommodate the carrier boat 730. Correspondingly, the carrier boat 730 can carry multiple wafers. Of course, the number of carrier boats 730 that can be transported at the same time can be increased by setting a process paddle 710 in the process cavity. That is, the process paddle 710 can carry multiple carrier boats 730 at the same time. Typically, multiple carrier boats 730 are distributed along the axial direction of the cavity 100. More specifically, multiple carrier boats 730 can be carried on the bracket 720. During the transfer of multiple carrier boats 730, a robot can be used to grab the bracket 720 and place the bracket 720 carrying multiple carrier boats 730 on the process paddle 710.

[0023] The inlet pipe 310 is used to transport process gas, and the blocking component 400 is used to provide a blocking function. Both are disposed within the cavity 100. In order to improve the process effect of the wafer on each carrier boat 730, in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in this application embodiment, the opening of the inlet pipe 310 faces the door 200. Generally, when there are multiple carrier boats 730, the inlet pipe 310 is usually extended to the position of the carrier boat 730 closest to the door 200 among the multiple carrier boats 730. That is, the opening of the inlet pipe 310 is closer to the door 200 than the carrier boat 730 closest to the door 200.

[0024] Furthermore, since the temperature of the gas transported in the intake pipe 310 is relatively high, and the opening of the intake pipe 310 faces the door 200, the flow direction of the gas in the intake pipe 310 is towards the door 200. This causes the gas to impact the sealing ring between the door 200 and the cavity 100, which is used to provide a sealing effect. Since the sealing ring is usually made of rubber material, it is easy to cause the sealing ring to fail under long-term high temperature.

[0025] Therefore, in this embodiment of the application, the blocking assembly 400 is located between the door 200 and the air inlet pipe 310 along the axial direction of the cavity 100, and the blocking assembly 400 includes a plurality of blocking plates 410, which are spaced apart along the axial direction of the cavity 100. In this case, due to the blocking effect of the plurality of blocking plates 410, the gas output from the air inlet pipe 310 cannot directly impact the door 200, thereby significantly reducing the probability of seal failure and improving the service life of the seal.

[0026] Of course, since the baffle plate 410 cannot completely block the gas output from the intake pipe 310 from flowing towards the door 200, the gas can pass over the baffle plate 410 from outside its edge and continue flowing towards the door 200. Accordingly, some of the gas will be blocked by the door 200 after flowing to it and will flow back in the opposite direction. This part of the gas will flow towards the area where the carrier boat 730 is located in the cavity 100. In order to prevent the aforementioned part of the gas from interacting with the wafer closest to the door 200 on the carrier boat 730, and the wafer closest to the door 200 among the multiple carrier boats 730, The reaction of multiple wafers on the carrier boat 730 is more concentrated, resulting in poor film uniformity of the wafers. In this embodiment, the projection of the outer edge of each baffle plate 410 can cover the projection of the carrier boat 730 in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. This allows each baffle plate 410 to block multiple carrier boats 730 from the "front", so that the airflow blocked from the door 200 does not flow from the area where the carrier boat 730 is located, but flows from above and around the carrier boat 730, thereby improving the film uniformity.

[0027] Specifically, each baffle plate 410 can be rectangular in shape. By making the side length of the baffle plate 410 greater than the diameter of the carrier boat 730, the baffle plate 410 can block the carrier boat 730 when the centers of the baffle plate 410 and the carrier boat 730 coincide. That is, in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100, the projection of the outer edge of each baffle plate 410 covers the projection of the carrier boat 730. In another embodiment of this application, considering that both the wafer and the cavity 100 are generally circular structures, the shape of each baffle plate 410 can also be circular. In this case, the diameter of the baffle plate 410 can be equal to the diameter of the wafer. By making the baffle plate 410 parallel to the wafer and the center of the baffle plate 410 and the center of the wafer on the same straight line, it can be basically guaranteed that the baffle plate 410 can block the wafer on the carrier boat 730. That is, in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100, the projection of the baffle plate 410 can just cover the projection of the wafer. Of course, the diameter of the baffle plate 410 can also be larger than the diameter of the wafer. This can further guarantee that in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100, the projection of the baffle plate 410 can cover the projection of the wafer. Furthermore, the diameter of the baffle plate 410 can be larger than the size of the cross-sectional profile of the carrier boat 730 perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. This can further improve the blocking effect of the baffle plate 410 on the wafer. In addition, the number of baffles 410 can be two, three or more, which is not limited here.

[0028] This application discloses a semiconductor process equipment in which the gate 200 can be sealed to the cavity 100 and form a process cavity for accommodating the carrier boat 730. Of course, a sealing ring or other device made of rubber can be provided between the gate 200 and the cavity 100 to maintain a good sealed connection between the gate 200 and the cavity 100. Meanwhile, the cavity 100 is provided with an air inlet pipe 310 and a blocking component 400. The opening of the air inlet pipe 310 faces the door 200. The blocking component 400 is provided between the door 200 and the air inlet pipe 310 in the axial direction of the cavity 100. The blocking component 400 can block the gas sent into the process cavity through the air inlet pipe 310, preventing the relatively high temperature gas from flowing directly and in large quantities to the door 200. This prevents the sealing ring and other devices between the door 200 and the cavity 100 from failing due to long-term exposure to high temperature. Under the action of the blocking component 400, the gas can flow in the opposite direction to the end of the cavity 100 away from the door 200, so that the gas entering the process cavity through the air inlet pipe 310 can gradually diffuse from the end of the cavity 100 where the door 200 is located to the other end, so as to fill the entire process cavity.

[0029] Furthermore, even if a small amount of gas still flows towards the door 200, the blocking assembly 400 includes multiple blocking plates 410 spaced apart along the axial direction of the cavity 100. Under the multiple blocking effects of the multiple blocking plates 410, the heating effect of the gas entering the process cavity through the air inlet pipe 310 on the door 200 is relatively weak. This ensures that the service life of the sealing ring between the door 200 and the cavity 100 is relatively high, thereby ensuring that the sealing effect between the cavity 100 and the door 200 is relatively stable and reliable, so that the process in the semiconductor process equipment can proceed normally.

[0030] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100, the projection of the outer edge of each baffle plate 410 covers the projection of the carrier boat 730. This allows the baffle plate 410 to shield the carrier boat 730 in the frontal direction, ensuring that the process gas introduced into the cavity 100 from the gas supply component 320 located on the side of the gate 200 first encounters the multiple barriers of the baffle assembly 400. The gas mainly passes through the annular gap between the outer edge of the baffle plate 410 and the inner wall of the cavity 100, without directly impacting the carrier boat 730 closest to the gate 200. This allows the gas entering from the side of the gate 200 to flow at the outer edge of the carrier boat 730 after passing the baffle assembly 400, ensuring relatively higher uniformity of gas deposition on the semiconductor workpieces on each carrier boat 730.

[0031] As described above, the semiconductor process equipment includes an inlet pipe 310, which can deliver process gas into the process cavity. Since the opening of the inlet pipe 310 faces the door 200, and the gas it outputs is blocked by the baffle plate 410, it will have a certain impact on the uniformity of gas flow. Therefore, in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in this application embodiment, in order to further improve the gas uniformity in the process cavity, the semiconductor process equipment may also include a gas replenishing component 320. The gas replenishing component 320 is installed on the side of the door 200 facing the baffle assembly 400. Intuitively speaking, the gas replenishing component 320 extends into the inside of the door 200 so that the gas replenishing component 320 can deliver process gas into the process cavity. At the same time, by providing multiple gas equalization holes 411 on each baffle plate 410, the process gas can also pass through the gas equalization holes 411 to flow to the other side of the baffle plate 410 and achieve the purpose of diffusion through the baffle plate 410. In this way, by improving the uniformity of gas distribution in the process cavity, the film deposition uniformity of the wafer on the carrier boat 730 is further improved.

[0032] Specifically, the air distribution holes 411 can be circular or rectangular in shape. Of course, the size of the air distribution holes 411 usually needs to be relatively small to ensure that they can effectively provide air distribution. Furthermore, the air distribution holes 411 can be evenly distributed on the baffle plate 410 to further improve their air distribution performance. In one specific embodiment of this application, the air distribution holes 411 can be circular with a diameter less than 10 mm. More specifically, the diameter of the air distribution holes 411 can be between 5 mm and 8 mm, which basically ensures that the air distribution holes 411 have a relatively efficient air distribution effect. Of course, the number of air distribution holes 411 also needs to be limited to ensure that the baffle plate 410 can provide a good air distribution effect. In some embodiments, when the size of the air distribution holes 411 adopts the aforementioned scheme, the sum of the projected areas of multiple air distribution holes 411 on any baffle plate 410 on the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 can account for 10% to 20% of the projected area of ​​the baffle plate 410 on the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. This allows the baffle plate 410 to provide a good blocking effect for the sealing ring between the door 200 and the cavity 100, while also providing a good air distribution effect.

[0033] In one specific embodiment of this application, the diameter of the air distribution holes 411 can be 6 mm, and the sum of the projected areas of multiple air distribution holes 411 on any baffle plate 410 in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 accounts for 12.27% of the projected area of ​​the baffle plate 410 in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. Accordingly, the multiple air distribution holes 411 on any baffle plate 410 are distributed as evenly as possible on the baffle plate 410. For example, they can be distributed in a row and column pattern or in a stepped ring pattern. This is not limited in this document. In addition, the distribution of the air distribution holes 411 on the baffle plate 410 can also be regionally uniform. As shown in Figure 6, the surface of the baffle plate 410 is divided into upper and lower sections. The multiple air distribution holes 411 in the upper section are evenly distributed, and the multiple air distribution holes 411 in the lower section are also evenly distributed. However, the density of the air distribution holes 411 in the upper and lower sections can be different or the same.

[0034] As described above, each baffle plate 410 is provided with a plurality of air equalization holes 411. Since the plurality of baffle plates 410 are distributed at intervals along the axial direction of the cavity 100, the plurality of baffle plates 410 can be made to have the same shape and structure, and the projections of the plurality of baffle plates 410 in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 can be completely overlapped, thereby forming a set of aligned baffle surfaces along the axial direction. With this structure, when the process gas flows through the spaced baffles 410, because the gas molecules are much smaller than the uniform distribution holes 411, any gas molecule can pass through a uniform distribution hole 411 of a baffle 410. Simultaneously, under the influence of the flow field force, its flow direction may change. When this gas molecule flows to the next baffle 410, most of the gas molecules will not be aligned precisely with the downstream uniform distribution hole 411 and may be blocked by the solid area (i.e., the plate surface) of the baffle 410 where no uniform distribution holes 411 are provided. The gas will then slide along the plate surface and be redistributed, eventually continuing to pass through the uniform distribution hole 411 of the current baffle 410 or through other paths (such as the gap at the plate edge). In other words, the position where gas molecules pass through the current baffle 410 is different from the position where they pass through the previous baffle 410, and this process repeats among multiple baffles 410. Each passage and impact effectively disperses the concentrated flow direction of the gas, reduces its directional velocity, and promotes its lateral mixing. Therefore, even if the projections of multiple baffles 410 satisfying the above structure and arrangement are completely overlapping, they can work together based on the mechanism of perforated plate blocking, airflow impact and redistribution to provide a relatively good gas uniformity effect.

[0035] Considering that during the process, the gas in the area where the carrier boat 730 is located flows along the axial direction of the cavity 100, and the direction is from the position of the door 200 to the position of the tail of the cavity 100, if the gas velocity is relatively high, the multiple baffles 410 that meet the above structure and arrangement may have limited disturbance effect on the airflow, and the provided gas uniformity effect may be poor. Therefore, in another embodiment of this application, one of any two adjacent baffles 410 can be defined as the first baffle 401 and the other as the second baffle 402, and the two... In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100, the following positional relationship is satisfied: at least a portion of the projections of the plurality of uniform air holes 411 on the first baffle plate 401 are located outside the projection range of all the uniform air holes 411 on the second baffle plate 402. This allows the plurality of uniform air holes 411 on the first baffle plate 401 and the second baffle plate 402 to be distributed in a staggered manner. This staggered distribution ensures that after the airflow passes through the uniform air holes 411 of the first baffle plate 401, when it reaches the second baffle plate 402, it will directly impact the solid area of ​​its plate surface rather than passing through the holes. This impact and deflection process can more effectively disperse the airflow, reduce its directional velocity, and enhance the lateral mixing of the gas on the cross-section of the cavity, thereby further improving the uniform flow effect of the plurality of baffle plates 410 on the gas.

[0036] Of course, in this embodiment, the multiple baffles 410 can still have the same structure and size. In this case, to achieve the staggered distribution of the air distribution holes 411, one implementation is to make any two adjacent baffles 410 have a certain positional offset in a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. In this way, even if the structures of the two baffles 410 are exactly the same, their projections in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 can be mutually staggered, thereby making the overall flow uniformity of the multiple baffles 410 relatively better. In addition, in other embodiments of this application, the distribution positions of the multiple air distribution holes 411 on any two adjacent baffles 410 can also be different, that is, the arrangement of the air distribution holes 411 on any two adjacent baffles 410 can be different. This can also ensure that the projections of the multiple air distribution holes 411 on the adjacent baffles 410 in the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 are mutually staggered.

[0037] As described above, the blocking assembly 400 includes a plurality of blocking plates 410, and the number of blocking plates 410 can be two, three or more. In a specific embodiment of this application, the number of blocking plates 410 can be greater than or equal to five, which makes the overall blocking effect of the blocking plates 410 relatively good. In this case, each blocking plate 410 can be provided with a plurality of gas equalization holes 411, thereby ensuring that the blocking assembly 400 has a high gas equalization effect.

[0038] When the number of baffles 410 is greater than 2, in some embodiments, the number of the first baffle 401 and the second baffle 402 is one, and the first baffle 401 and the second baffle 402 are arranged adjacent to each other and sandwiched between multiple other baffles 410. Of course, they can also be arranged at the position closest to the door body 200 among multiple other baffles 410 to further improve the overall flow uniformity effect of multiple baffles 410.

[0039] Based on the above embodiments of this application, the number of the first baffle plate 401 and the second baffle plate 402 can be multiple, and the multiple first baffle plates 401 and the multiple second baffle plates 402 can be alternately distributed in the axial direction of the cavity 100. This can further improve the uniform flow effect of the baffle assembly 400, thereby making the deposition uniformity of multiple wafers on each carrier boat 730 relatively higher.

[0040] As described above, in order to prevent the gas flowing from the gate 200 to the tail of the cavity 100 from having a more concentrated effect on the wafer on the support boat 730 closest to the gate 200, in the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in the embodiments of this application, the size of the baffle plate 410 is increased so that the outer edge of the baffle plate 410 is located outside the outer edge of the support boat 730. As mentioned in the above embodiments of this application, the size of the baffle plate 410 is larger than the size of the support boat 730, thereby using the baffle plate 410 to provide a shielding effect for the support boat 730. Specifically, the outer edge size of the baffle plate 410 can be made to be more than 10 mm larger than the outer edge size of the support boat 730. In order to further improve the uniformity of gas distribution in the height direction within the cavity 100, in another embodiment of this application, in the support direction of the support boat 730, that is, in the height direction of the cavity 100, the distance between the upper edge of at least one baffle plate 410 and the upper edge of the support boat 730 can be greater than or equal to 45 mm. Of course, for each baffle plate 410, the distance between its upper edge and the upper edge of the support boat 730 can be equal, that is, the shape and size of each baffle plate 410 are the same. Alternatively, the distance between the upper edge of different baffle plates 410 and the upper edge of the support boat 730 can be different, which is not limited herein. In a specific embodiment of this application, the two baffle plates 410 closest to the door 200 can be smaller than the other baffle plates 410. This can prevent the two baffle plates 410 closest to the door 200 from obstructing the gas too much, which would be detrimental to the gas diffusion effect in the cavity.

[0041] Of course, the maximum size of each baffle plate 410 also needs to be designed to prevent the baffle plate 410 from being too large and causing additional interference to the gas flow in the cavity 100. Specifically, in the embodiments of this application, the projected area of ​​each baffle plate 410 on the plane perpendicular to the axis of the cavity 100 can account for 70%-90% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the internal space of the cavity 100 perpendicular to its axis.

[0042] Accordingly, the axial spacing between any two adjacent baffles 410 in the cavity 100 can be selected based on the overall dimensions of the cavity 100 and the baffles 410. Typically, the spacing between two adjacent baffles 410 needs to be greater than 10mm to ensure gas flow between each baffle 410, preventing the baffle assembly 400 from forming a single unit in the flow field and significantly weakening the uniform flow effect produced by the multiple baffles 410. Of course, when multiple uniform air holes 411 are provided on each baffle 410, to further enhance the uniform flow effect produced by the multiple baffles 410 as a whole, the spacing between any two adjacent baffles 410 can be between 20mm and 30mm.

[0043] As described above, in one specific embodiment of this application, the diameter of the uniform air hole 411 is 6 mm, and the sum of the projected areas of the plurality of uniform air holes 411 on each baffle plate 410 on the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 is 12.27% of the projected area of ​​the baffle plate 4100 on the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100. Therefore, the number of baffle plates 410 can be 5 or more, and the spacing between any two adjacent baffle plates 410 can be between 22 mm and 27 mm. This improves the deposition uniformity of wafers on multiple carrier boats 730 while further preventing the film thickness uniformity of the wafers on the carrier boat 730 closest to the gate 200 from deteriorating. Simultaneously, the projected area of ​​each baffle plate 410 on the plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity 100 can be 78% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the internal space of the cavity 100 perpendicular to its axial direction. This ensures that while the uniform flow effect of the baffle plate 410 is relatively strong, it does not significantly interfere with the normal flow of gas.

[0044] In the semiconductor process equipment disclosed in this application, the multiple blocking plates 410 of the blocking assembly 400 are all located in the cavity 100. Specifically, the blocking plates 410 can be fixedly installed in specific positions within the cavity 100 by means of welding or threaded connections. In order to reduce the difficulty of disassembling and assembling each blocking plate 410 in the blocking assembly 400, and to facilitate the work of sending the carrier boat 730 into the cavity 100 and taking the carrier boat 730 out of the cavity 100, in another embodiment of this application, each blocking plate 410 can be provided with a mounting slot 412 extending inward from the edge. That is, when the outer edge of the blocking plate 410 is circular, the blocking plate 410 is not a completely circular structure, and a notch is provided at its edge position. This notch can serve as the mounting structure of the blocking plate 410.

[0045] Based on the above, the blocking assembly 400 may also include a mounting base 500, which includes a base 510 and multiple insertion parts 520. The base 510 may be a sheet-like or cubic structure. The base 510 may be connected to the process paddle 710. For example, the base 510 and the process paddle 710 may be detachably fixedly connected by bolts 610 or other connecting parts. Before the carrier boat 730 needs to be transferred, the base 510 may be detached from the process paddle 710. After the transfer of the carrier boat 730 is completed, the base 510 may be installed on the corresponding position on the process paddle 710.

[0046] As described above, each of the baffle plates 410 has a mounting slot 412 on its edge. Therefore, in this embodiment, during the assembly of the baffle plates 410 and the mounting base 500, multiple baffle plates 410 can be fitted onto the base 510 through their respective mounting slots 412, so that the base 510 can provide support for multiple baffle plates 410. Accordingly, the shape and size of the mounting slots 412 can correspond to the cross-sectional shape and size of the outer surface of the base 510, so that the baffle plates 410 can be fitted onto the base 510 through their mounting slots 412, so that the baffle plates 410 and the base 510 can form a pre-positioned relationship.

[0047] Of course, in order to ensure that the blocking plate 410 can form a relatively reliable fixed relationship with the mounting base 500, in this embodiment of the application, as described above, the mounting base 500 also includes a plurality of plug-in portions 520, and each of the plurality of plug-in portions 520 is provided with a plug-in groove. By fixing the plurality of plug-in portions 520 to the same side of the base body 510, the plurality of blocking plates 410 can be inserted one-to-one into the respective plug-in grooves of the plurality of plug-in portions 520, so as to ensure that each blocking plate 410 can achieve the purpose of forming a relatively fixed relationship with the base body 510 through the limiting fit relationship formed with the plug-in groove and through the limiting fit relationship formed with the base body 510. Accordingly, the gap size of the plug-in groove formed by each plug-in portion 520 needs to correspond to the thickness size of the blocking plate 410, so as to ensure that the blocking plate 410 can be installed into the plug-in groove and form a relatively stable limiting fit relationship with the plug-in portion 520.

[0048] In the above embodiments, in order to ensure that the baffle plate 410 can form a relatively good plug-in fit with the plug-in part 520, a part of the baffle plate 410 needs to extend into the plug-in groove of the plug-in part 520. This may cause a small number of air equalization holes 411 on the baffle plate 410 to be located in the plug-in groove and blocked by the plug-in part 520, thereby having a certain adverse effect on the flow equalization effect of the baffle assembly 400.

[0049] Therefore, in a specific embodiment of this application, each insertion portion 520 may include a first baffle 521 and a second baffle 522 spaced apart along the axial direction of the cavity 100. Accordingly, the insertion groove described above can be formed between the first baffle 521 and the second baffle 522. At the same time, by providing a connecting hole 523 on both the first baffle 521 and the second baffle 522, and by making the connecting hole 523 of the first baffle 521 communicate with the connecting hole 523 on the second baffle 522 through at least one air equalization hole 411 of the baffle plate 410, the degree of adverse impact of the insertion portion 520 on the air equalization effect of the baffle plate 410 can be reduced. Thus, while ensuring that each baffle plate 410 can form a stable fit with the cavity, the air equalization effect of each baffle plate 410 is minimized.

[0050] Specifically, the connecting hole 523 can be a relatively large circular hole. In another embodiment of this application, the connecting hole 523 can be an elongated hole. The number of connecting holes 523 provided on the first baffle 521 and the second baffle 522 can be multiple. The multiple connecting holes 523 extend in the same direction and their distribution direction is perpendicular to the extension direction.

[0051] Furthermore, the number of insertion portions 520 included in the mounting base 500 can be equal to the number of blocking plates 410. In this case, a blocking plate 410 is inserted into each insertion portion 520. Alternatively, in other embodiments of this application, the number of insertion portions 520 can be greater than the number of blocking plates 410. In this case, a blocking plate 410 can be installed every other insertion portion 520. Of course, depending on the specific parameters of the processing technology, the spacing between any two adjacent blocking plates 410 can be flexibly selected according to the actual situation, and this is not limited herein.

[0052] To further improve the installation stability of the blocking assembly 400 in the cavity 100, the base 510 and the process paddle 710 can be pre-positioned. Specifically, in this embodiment, the base 510 includes a support wall 511, a first limiting wall 512, and a second limiting wall 513. Multiple insertion portions 520 are fixed to the top of the support wall 511, allowing the base 510 to support the multiple insertion portions 520 and the blocking plates 410 inserted into each insertion portion 520. Simultaneously, the first limiting wall 512 is fixed to one side of the support wall 511, and the second limiting wall 513 is fixed to the other side of the support wall 511, with both the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513 facing away from the support wall 511. One side of part 520 extends so that the base 510 can be completely fitted over the process paddle 710. By designing parameters such as the distance between the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513, it can be ensured that the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513 can form a relatively reliable limiting fit with the process paddle 710. This can further improve the stability of the assembly relationship between the mounting base 500 and the process paddle 710, and can also enable the mounting base 500 and the process paddle 710 to form a pre-positioning relationship, which facilitates the installation of the connecting parts between the two.

[0053] Furthermore, the process propeller 710 can be installed on the door body 200. For example, the door body 200 can have a through hole, and the process propeller 710 can be installed within the through hole, forming a relatively fixed relationship with the door body 200. Correspondingly, a portion of the process propeller 710 can be located in the cavity 100 to ensure that the process propeller 710 can provide a good support foundation for the bracket 720 and the support boat 730. At the same time, the mounting base 500 can be installed on the process propeller 710. Specifically, the support wall 511 can be supported on the process propeller 710, and the support wall 511 and the process propeller 710 can form a surface contact fit relationship. This makes the support effect provided by the silicon carbide component for the mounting base 500 and the multiple baffles 410 relatively better. Moreover, the process propeller 710 can be sandwiched between the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513, thereby enabling the mounting base 500 to form a good limiting fit relationship with the process propeller 710 in the distribution direction of the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513.

[0054] Of course, to prevent relative movement between the blocking component 400 and the process propeller 710 during the process, which could adversely affect the process, the mounting base 500, after being fitted onto the process propeller 710, can be fixedly connected to the process propeller 710 as a whole by bolts 610 or other connecting components. For example, by providing through holes 514 at corresponding positions on the support wall 511 and the process propeller 710, and allowing the bolts 610 or other connecting components to pass through the through holes 514 on the support wall 511 and the process propeller 710, a fixed connection between the mounting base 500 and the process propeller 710 can be ensured. Alternatively, the aforementioned through holes 514 can be formed at corresponding positions on the first limiting wall 512, the second limiting wall 513, and the process propeller 710.

[0055] Furthermore, to improve the compatibility between the flow uniformity effect of the blocking component 400 and the specific process conditions, in another embodiment of this application, the position of the blocking component 400 on the process paddle 710 can be adjusted. Specifically, through holes 514 can be provided on both the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513, and an adjustment elongated hole can be provided on the process paddle 710. The adjustment elongated hole extends along the axial direction of the cavity 100, so that by changing the position of the bolt 610 in the adjustment elongated hole, the position of the blocking component 400 in the axial direction of the cavity 100 can be adjusted, and then it can be fixed by locking with the nut 630. In this way, the bolt 610 and the adjustment elongated hole can form an adjustable fit relationship, thereby achieving the purpose of adjusting the position of the blocking component 400 in the cavity 100. Of course, during the assembly of the mounting base 500, the position of the mounting base 500 can be adjusted according to the corresponding requirements first. Then, the bolts 610 are sequentially passed through the through holes 514 in the first limiting wall 512, the adjustment elongated hole in the process paddle 710, and the corresponding through holes 514 in the second limiting wall 513. Finally, the bolts 610 are fixedly connected to the nuts 630, so that the mounting base 500 can form a reliable fixed connection with the process paddle 710. In addition, compared with the solution of forming adjustment elongated holes in the first limiting wall 512 and the second limiting wall 513, forming adjustment elongated holes in the process paddle 710 can obtain a larger adjustment range.

[0056] 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, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0057] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims, and all of these forms are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A semiconductor process apparatus, characterized in that, It includes the cavity, door, intake pipe, and blocking assembly, among which, The door can be sealed to the cavity and form a process cavity, which is used to accommodate the carrier boat. The air inlet pipe and the blocking assembly are both disposed inside the cavity, and the opening of the air inlet pipe faces the door. Along the axial direction of the cavity, the blocking assembly is located between the door and the air inlet pipe. The blocking assembly includes multiple blocking plates, which are spaced apart along the axial direction. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity, the projection of the outer edge of each blocking plate covers the projection of the carrier boat.

2. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The semiconductor process equipment also includes a gas replenishment component, which is installed on the side of the door facing the blocking assembly. Each of the blocking plates is provided with multiple gas equalization holes.

3. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, One of any two adjacent baffles is a first baffle and the other is a second baffle. In a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity, at least a portion of the projections of the plurality of air-regulating holes on the first baffle are located outside the projections of each of the air-regulating holes on the second baffle.

4. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, There are multiple first and second blocking plates, and the multiple first blocking plates and multiple second blocking plates are alternately distributed in the axial direction.

5. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The diameter of the air distribution holes is between 5mm and 8mm; The sum of the projected areas of the plurality of air-regulating holes on any of the baffle plates on a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity accounts for 10%-20% of the projected area of ​​the baffle plate on a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity.

6. The semiconductor process equipment according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, In the supporting direction of the carrying boat, the distance between the upper edge of at least one of the baffle plates and the upper edge of the carrying boat is greater than or equal to 45 mm; And / or the spacing between any two adjacent baffles is between 20mm and 30mm; And / or the number of the baffles is greater than or equal to 5; And / or the projected area of ​​each of the baffles on a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the cavity accounts for 70%-90% of the cross-sectional area of ​​the internal space of the cavity perpendicular to its axial direction.

7. The semiconductor process equipment according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned blocking plates is provided with a mounting slot extending inward from the edge. The blocking assembly also includes a mounting base, which includes a base body and multiple insertion parts. The multiple blocking plates are fitted onto the base body through their respective mounting slots. Each insertion part is provided with an insertion groove, and the multiple insertion parts are fixedly connected to the same side of the base body. The multiple blocking plates are inserted one-to-one into the insertion grooves of the multiple insertion parts.

8. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The seat includes a support wall, a first limiting wall, and a second limiting wall. The plurality of plug-in portions are fixed to the top of the support wall. The first limiting wall is fixed to one side of the support wall, and the second limiting wall is fixed to the other side of the support wall. Both the first limiting wall and the second limiting wall extend toward the side of the support wall away from the plug-in portions. The semiconductor process equipment includes a process paddle, which is installed on the door body and a portion of the process paddle is located in the cavity. A support wall supports the process paddle and is in contact with the surface of the process paddle. The process paddle is sandwiched between the first limiting wall and the second limiting wall.

9. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that, Both the first limiting wall and the second limiting wall are provided with through holes. The process paddle is provided with an adjusting elongated hole extending along the axial direction of the cavity. The bolt passes through the adjusting elongated hole and each of the through holes and is fixedly connected with the nut. In the axial direction, the bolt is adjustablely engaged with the adjusting elongated hole.

10. The semiconductor process equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned insertion portions includes a first baffle and a second baffle spaced apart along the axial direction. The insertion groove is formed between the first baffle and the second baffle. Both the first baffle and the second baffle are provided with a communicating hole, and the communicating hole of the first baffle is connected to the communicating hole of the second baffle through at least one of the air equalization holes of the blocking plate.

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