Wafer processing apparatus

Abstract

The present application belongs to the field of semiconductor manufacturing. Provided is a wafer processing apparatus, comprising: a wafer processing chamber; a plurality of process stations arranged in the wafer processing chamber, each process station comprising a showerhead and a heating stage arranged below the showerhead; and an exhaust port located at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber. A gas curtain assembly is provided between adjacent process stations, and the gas curtain assembly comprises a gas inlet portion and an exhaust portion, wherein the gas inlet portion is configured to introduce curtain gas into the wafer processing chamber, and the exhaust portion is configured to exhaust the curtain gas out of the wafer processing chamber, so as to form a separation gas curtain between the adjacent process stations. The wafer processing apparatus of the present application can form a non-physical separation gas curtain between adjacent process stations, thereby preventing plasma interference between the adjacent process stations and improving the film formation quality of a wafer.

Description

Wafer processing equipment Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and more particularly to a wafer processing device. Background Technology

[0002] In chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment, the core module is the process chamber, which is the wafer processing chamber.

[0003] To improve wafer processing efficiency, existing CVD equipment typically incorporates multiple process stations within the wafer processing chamber to process multiple wafers simultaneously. However, this setup leads to plasma interference between adjacent process stations, affecting the film quality on the wafer surfaces within each station. Furthermore, physical isolation between process stations cannot be achieved through methods such as adding partitions, hindering wafer transfer from the front-end equipment.

[0004] How to avoid plasma interference between adjacent process stations and ensure the film quality on the wafer surface is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the problems existing in the prior art, this application provides a wafer processing apparatus, comprising:

[0006] Wafer processing chamber;

[0007] Multiple process stations are located within the wafer processing chamber, and each process station includes a spray head and a heating table placed below the spray head;

[0008] The exhaust port is located at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber;

[0009] An air curtain assembly is provided between adjacent process stations. The air curtain assembly includes an air inlet and an air outlet. The air inlet is used to introduce air curtain gas into the wafer processing chamber, and the air outlet is used to discharge the air curtain gas out of the wafer processing chamber, so as to form a separating air curtain between the adjacent process stations.

[0010] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, a central surrounding portion is provided between the adjacent heating stages. The central surrounding portion protrudes upward from the bottom of the wafer processing chamber. The separating air curtain is located between the top of the wafer processing chamber and the central surrounding portion. The air curtain gas is an inert gas or nitrogen.

[0011] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the central surrounding portion is disposed around the heating stage and has a gap between it and the heating stage.

[0012] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, a partition plate is placed on a plurality of central surrounding portions, the partition plate is arranged around a plurality of heating stages, and divides the wafer processing chamber into a first space including the spray head and a second space including the exhaust port, the height of the partition plate being lower than the height of the upper surface of the heating stage when the heating stage is in the process position.

[0013] According to the present application, a wafer processing apparatus is provided in which the exhaust port is located within an area defined outside the plurality of central circumferential portions.

[0014] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the air inlet is disposed at the top of the wafer processing chamber, and the exhaust outlet is disposed below the air inlet.

[0015] According to the present application, a wafer processing apparatus includes an air intake section comprising an air intake duct disposed in the top wall of the wafer processing chamber, a first end of the air intake duct being connected to an air supply device, and a second end of the air intake duct communicating with the first space through an air intake duct outlet disposed on the top wall of the wafer processing chamber, and an exhaust section comprising a vent disposed on the partition plate.

[0016] According to a wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the air intake section further includes an air equalization chamber, which is disposed between the air supply device and the plurality of air intake channels, and the plurality of air intake channels are configured to extend outward from the air equalization chamber.

[0017] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the air inlet outlets has the same shape and size.

[0018] According to a wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the air inlet outlets is arranged around each of the spray heads.

[0019] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the vent is disposed within the area defined by each of the central surrounding portions.

[0020] According to a wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, multiple air curtain assemblies share a single air vent.

[0021] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the plurality of process stations are symmetrically distributed around a center of symmetry, and the vent is located at the center of symmetry.

[0022] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the vents is disposed opposite to the corresponding air inlet outlet.

[0023] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the vents has the same shape and size as the corresponding air inlet outlet.

[0024] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the vent and / or the air inlet outlet are arc-shaped openings.

[0025] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the vent and / or the air inlet outlet are respectively arc-shaped openings composed of multiple openings.

[0026] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the cross-section of the gas uniform cavity is a centrally symmetrical shape.

[0027] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, both the air inlet and the air outlet are disposed within a region defined by a plurality of central surrounding portions, and the air outlet is closer to the center of the region defined by the plurality of central surrounding portions than the air inlet.

[0028] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the air intake section includes an air intake cavity disposed within the central surrounding section, a first end of the air intake cavity is connected to an air supply device, and a second end of the air intake cavity communicates with the first space through an air intake cavity outlet disposed on the upper surface of the central surrounding section, and the exhaust section is a vent disposed on the partition plate.

[0029] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, a gas flow controller is respectively provided between the gas supply device and the plurality of gas inlet chambers, and the gas flow controller is used to control the flow rate of the curtain gas entering the corresponding gas inlet chamber to be the same.

[0030] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the multiple air inlet chambers have the same shape and size at their outlets.

[0031] According to a wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, multiple air curtain assemblies share a single air vent.

[0032] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the vent is located at the symmetrical center of the plurality of process stations.

[0033] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the air inlet outlet is arranged around each of the heating stages.

[0034] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, there are multiple exhaust ports, and each process station has one exhaust port.

[0035] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the air inlet is disposed in a region defined outside the plurality of central surrounding portions, and the exhaust portion is an air vent disposed on the partition plate, the air vent being connected to the exhaust port of the corresponding process station.

[0036] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the air inlet is an air inlet channel disposed in the bottom wall of the wafer processing chamber, the first end of the air inlet channel is connected to an air supply device, and the second end of the air inlet channel is connected to the first space through an air inlet outlet disposed on the partition plate.

[0037] According to a wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, the air intake section further includes an air equalization chamber, which is disposed between the air supply device and the plurality of air intake channels, and the plurality of air intake channels are configured to extend outward from the air equalization chamber.

[0038] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the air inlet outlets has the same shape and size.

[0039] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the air inlet outlets is arranged around each of the heating stages.

[0040] According to the wafer processing apparatus provided in this application, each of the vents has the same shape and size.

[0041] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the cross-section of the gas uniform cavity is a centrally symmetrical shape.

[0042] According to the wafer processing equipment provided in this application, the pressure of the curtain gas provided by the gas supply device is greater than or equal to the pressure of the curtain gas reaching the top wall of the wafer processing chamber.

[0043] The wafer processing equipment provided in this application includes a wafer processing chamber; multiple process stations disposed within the wafer processing chamber, each process station including a spray head and a heating stage positioned directly below the spray head; and an air curtain assembly between every two process stations, the air curtain assembly including an inlet and an outlet, the inlet for introducing air curtain gas into the wafer processing chamber, and the outlet for discharging the air curtain gas out of the wafer processing chamber, thereby forming a separating air curtain between every two process stations. Forming a separating air curtain between adjacent process stations, using a non-physical isolation method, prevents plasma interference between adjacent process stations and improves the film deposition quality of the wafer.

[0044] Overview of the attached figures

[0045] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0046] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a partition plate according to an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 3 is a top view of a cavity according to an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cavity cover according to an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 5 is a bottom view of the cavity according to another embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cavity according to another embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the cavity according to another embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 8 is a top view of the cavity according to another embodiment of this application.

[0054] Preferred embodiments of this application

[0055] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the technical solutions of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, not all embodiments. 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.

[0056] Referring to Figures 1-8, embodiments of this application provide a wafer processing apparatus for performing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes, etc.

[0057] Referring to FIG1, the wafer processing apparatus 100 of this application embodiment consists of a cavity cover 101 and a cavity 102. The cavity cover 101 is placed on the cavity 102 and together with the cavity 102, they form a wafer processing chamber 103.

[0058] To improve wafer processing efficiency, the wafer processing chamber 103 is equipped with multiple process stations 200. Each process station 200 includes a spray head 201 and a heating stage 202 placed directly below the spray head 201. The heating stage 202 is fixed to the bottom of the chamber 102 by a lifting support rod. When the heating stage 202 is in the process position, the wafer on the heating stage 202 is processed within the process station 200.

[0059] In this embodiment, three process stations 200 are set up in the wafer processing chamber 103 as an example. The three process stations 200 can be arranged in a triangle in the wafer processing chamber 103, as shown in Figure 2.

[0060] Referring to Figure 2, within the cavity 102, to ensure the process gases sprayed by the spray heads 201 remain more evenly on the wafer surface and guarantee the film quality, a partition plate 300 is provided inside the cavity 102. This partition plate divides the cavity 102 into a first space, which includes each spray head 201. When the heating stage 202 is in the process position, the upper surface of the heating stage 202 and the wafer placed on the heating stage 202 are located within the first space. The portion below the partition plate 300, including the remaining portion of the cavity 102, constitutes the second space. The partition plate 300 is placed on the supporting surface of the surrounding portion of the cavity 102.

[0061] Within the wafer processing chamber 103, which includes multiple process stations 200, wafers need to be transferred between different process stations 200. Therefore, the first space of the multiple process stations 200 is interconnected and no physical barriers are set.

[0062] Referring to Figure 3, the surrounding portion of the cavity 102 includes multiple edge surrounding portions 301 arranged around the sidewall of the cavity 102 and multiple center surrounding portions 302 arranged between adjacent process stations 200. The edge surrounding portions 301 protrude into the cavity 102 around the sidewall of the cavity 102 and have a certain gap with each heating stage 202. The upper surface of the edge surrounding portion 301 is the supporting surface of the edge surrounding portion 301.

[0063] To separate adjacent process stations 200, each heating station 202 is provided with a central surrounding portion 302 in the adjacent area between each other heating station 202. The central surrounding portion 302 protrudes upward from the central area of ​​the bottom wall of the cavity 102. Since the heating station 202 is disc-shaped, the inner wall of each central surrounding portion 302 near the heating station 202 is arc-shaped, and it is arranged around the heating station 202 in conjunction with the corresponding edge surrounding portion 301. In order to form a gas passage for exhausting process gases within the cavity 102, there is a gap between adjacent central surrounding portions 302 to form a gas passage for exhaust between the partition plate 300 and the central surrounding portion 302. The upper surface of the central surrounding portion 302 is the supporting surface of the central surrounding portion 302.

[0064] Referring again to Figure 1, it should be noted that the supporting surface of the edge surrounding portion 301 and the supporting surface of the center surrounding portion 302 are at the same height, and both are lower than the height of the lower surface of the heating table 202 when it is in the process state.

[0065] Referring to Figures 1 and 3, in some embodiments, the exhaust port 104 for venting process gases from each process station 200 within the wafer processing chamber 103 is located at the bottom of the chamber 102, i.e., within the area defined by the plurality of central surrounding portions 302. In other words, the heating stage 202 of each process station 200 is arranged around the exhaust port 104. The exhaust port 104 is connected to an external air pump (not shown in the figures), which discharges the process gases generated by each process station 200 into the wafer processing chamber 103 via the exhaust port 104.

[0066] Referring to Figure 4, the cavity cover 101 of this embodiment is a non-solid cover with a certain thickness. The cavity cover 101 includes multiple hollow areas 1011, the number and shape of which correspond to the number and shape of the spray heads 201. The hollow areas 1011 of the cavity cover 101 are fitted with the corresponding spray heads 201 to form the top of the wafer processing chamber 103.

[0067] When wafer processing is performed at process station 200, there may be phase interference between the process gases of adjacent process stations 200, necessitating the separation of adjacent process stations 200. However, physical isolation would hinder the transfer of wafers between different process stations. Therefore, this application separates adjacent process stations 200 by establishing a separating gas curtain between them.

[0068] In some embodiments, the wafer processing chamber 103 is further provided with an air curtain assembly, which includes an air inlet and an air outlet. Air curtain gas is introduced into the wafer processing chamber 103 through the air inlet, and the air curtain gas is introduced into the first space through the air inlet and discharged from the first space through the air outlet. A separating air curtain is formed between adjacent process stations 200 along the flow path of the air curtain gas.

[0069] Referring again to Figures 2 and 4, in some embodiments, the air curtain assembly is disposed at the top of the wafer processing chamber 103, and the exhaust section is disposed below the air inlet. The air curtain gas enters the first space from the top of the chamber 102 and exits the first space through the exhaust section, thereby forming a top-to-bottom partitioned air curtain inside the chamber 102. The air inlet includes an air supply device (not shown in the figures), an air inlet pipe 402, an air equalization chamber 401, and a plurality of air inlet channels 403. The exhaust section is a vent 303 disposed on the partition plate 300.

[0070] The cavity cover 101 contains a hollow gas equalization cavity 401. The cross-section of the gas equalization cavity 401 along the horizontal direction is a centrally symmetrical figure, such as a circle or a square. This embodiment uses a circular cross-section of the gas equalization cavity 401 as an example. In this embodiment, there are three process stations 200, arranged in a triangular pattern within the wafer processing chamber 103. Therefore, the gas equalization cavity 401 is located at the symmetrical center of the three spray heads 301. The gas equalization cavity 401 is connected to an external gas supply device via an air inlet pipe 402, which supplies curtain gas to the wafer processing chamber 103. The gas equalization cavity 401 extends outwards at even intervals with multiple identical air inlets 403, with one air inlet 403 between two adjacent spray heads 301. After passing through the gas equalization cavity 401, the gas flow rate entering each air inlet 403 is the same. The air intake duct 403 extends in the thickness direction of the cavity cover 101 to the lower surface of the cavity cover 101 so as to allow the curtain gas entering each air intake duct 403 to pass from the lower surface of the cavity cover 101 into the cavity 102.

[0071] It should be noted that the gas supply device is a device with continuous supply pressure, which can supply curtain gas into the wafer processing chamber 103 by means of jetting or blowing air. The curtain gas is blown into the first space through the air inlet outlet on the lower surface of the chamber cover 101, forming a separating curtain between adjacent process stations 200. In order to better isolate the two adjacent process stations 200, the air inlet outlet is arc-shaped and is arranged around the adjacent spray head 201 on the lower surface of the chamber cover 101. It can be a long and thin arc-shaped opening, or multiple air outlets arranged in an arc shape, which is not limited here.

[0072] It should be noted that when the wafer processing equipment 100 is in process mode, an external vacuum pump draws air from the wafer processing equipment 100, extracting process gases from each process station 200 through the exhaust port 104 at the bottom of the cavity 102. To discharge the process gases and curtain gases from the first space, the partition plate 300 needs to be provided with vents 303. The position of the vents 303 will affect the vertical shape of the partition curtain to some extent. In some embodiments, the vents 303 are located within the area defined by each central circumferential portion.

[0073] When the vents 303 on the partition plate 300 are located at the center of symmetry of each heating platform 202, the suction force of the air pump has a certain influence on the flow direction of the air curtain gas. The air curtain gas is inclined towards the air vent at the center of symmetry of the heating platform 202, and the partition air curtain between adjacent process stations 200 is in an inclined form. When the vents 303 are located opposite the air inlet 403 on the partition plate, the partition air curtain between adjacent process stations 200 is in a vertical form.

[0074] In this embodiment, the location of the air inlet 403 on the cavity cover 101 can be extended to wafer processing equipment that includes other numbers of process stations, such as two or four process stations.

[0075] In this embodiment of the wafer processing apparatus 100, a separating gas curtain is formed between adjacent process stations 200 within the wafer processing chamber 103. Since the separating gas curtain is not located between the upper and lower electrodes of each process station 200, the gas curtain gas is not dissociated by the electric field between the upper and lower electrodes, thus providing better isolation between the process gases of adjacent process stations 200. Furthermore, to avoid interference between the gas curtain gas and the process gas during wafer processing at the process station 200, an inert gas is selected for the gas curtain, such as argon or nitrogen. In another embodiment, to be applicable to different types of wafer processing apparatus 100, this embodiment also provides a bottom-entry method for the wafer processing chamber 103, where the gas curtain gas enters the wafer processing chamber 103 from the bottom of the chamber 102. The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the gas curtain assembly is located at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber 103, and the gas curtain gas enters from the bottom of the chamber 102 to form a bottom-to-top separating gas curtain between adjacent process stations. It should be noted that in the wafer processing chamber 103, both the process gas and the curtain gas are discharged through the exhaust port 104 at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber. The process gas always enters the wafer processing chamber 103 from the spray head at the top. If the exhaust port 104 is located at the top of the wafer processing chamber, and the curtain gas enters from the bottom of the chamber 102, a corresponding suction pump is required. This suction pump will affect the flow direction of the process gas, further impacting the film formation on the wafer surface. Furthermore, the location of the exhaust port 104 at the top of the wafer processing chamber 103 will significantly affect the entry of the process gas.

[0076] The location of the exhaust port 104 of the wafer processing chamber 103 at the bottom of the chamber 102 will affect the arrangement of the air curtain assembly.

[0077] In some embodiments, when the exhaust port 104 is located at the center between the various central circumferential portions 302 and the air curtain assembly is located at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber 103, it is not possible to set a gas equalization disk at the symmetrical center position of the central circumferential portion 302 as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the air intake of the air curtain gas is controlled by means of a gas distribution pipe.

[0078] Referring to Figures 5-8, the air curtain assembly includes an air intake section and an air exhaust section. The air intake section includes an air supply device (not shown in the figures), a main air intake pipe 501, multiple branch air pipes 502, and multiple air intake chambers 503. The air exhaust section is a vent 303 provided on the partition plate 300. Both the air intake section and the air exhaust section are located within the area defined by multiple central surrounding sections, but the air exhaust section is closer to the center of the area defined by the central surrounding sections than the air intake section.

[0079] The gas supply device introduces curtain gas into the main inlet pipe 501, and controls the flow rate of curtain gas entering each branch pipe 502 to be the same through a gas flow controller (not shown in the figure). Each branch pipe 502 is connected to a corresponding inlet chamber 503, introducing curtain gas into the inlet chamber 503. The inlet chamber 503 extends in the thickness direction of the central surrounding portion 302 to its upper surface. The curtain gas in the inlet chamber 503 is blown into the first space within the wafer processing chamber 103 through the inlet chamber outlet on the upper surface of the central surrounding portion 302, forming a separating curtain between adjacent process stations 200. To better isolate two adjacent process stations 200, each inlet chamber outlet is arranged around the corresponding heating stage 202.

[0080] The exhaust section is a vent 303 set on the partition plate 300. All air curtain assemblies share a vent 303. The vent 303 can be set at the symmetrical center of multiple process stations.

[0081] Referring to Figures 7-8, in another embodiment, the wafer processing chamber 103 has multiple exhaust ports 104, which are not located at the symmetrical center of each central surrounding portion 302, but are located within each process station 200. In this embodiment, the air curtain assembly includes an air inlet and an exhaust port. The air inlet includes an air supply device (not shown in the figures), an air inlet pipe 701, a gas equalization chamber 702, and multiple air inlet channels 703. The exhaust port is a vent 303 provided on a partition plate. A hollow gas equalization chamber 702 is provided at the bottom of the chamber 102. The cross-section of the gas equalization chamber 702 is a centrally symmetrical figure, such as a circle or a square. In this embodiment, the cross-section of the gas equalization chamber 702 is circular. The air inlet is located within the area defined by multiple central surrounding portions, while the exhaust port is located outside the area defined by the central surrounding portions. The vent 303 communicates with the exhaust port 104 of the corresponding process station.

[0082] The gas equalization chamber 702 is located at the symmetrical center of multiple central surrounding portions 302. The gas equalization chamber 702 is connected to the gas supply device outside the wafer processing chamber 103 via an air inlet pipe 701. Multiple air inlets 703 of the same size are evenly spaced outwards from the gas equalization chamber 702. An air inlet 703 is provided between adjacent central surrounding portions 302. After passing through the gas equalization chamber 702, the gas flow rate entering each air inlet 703 is the same. The air inlets extend in the thickness direction of the bottom of the chamber 102 to the upper surface of the bottom of the chamber 102. The air inlet gas enters the first space of the wafer processing chamber 103 through the air inlet outlet, forming a separating air curtain between adjacent process stations 200.

[0083] The intake and outlet sizes and shapes can be the same and arranged around the heating station 202 to make the partition air curtains between adjacent process stations 200 more uniform.

[0084] It should be noted that when the curtain gas is introduced from the bottom of the wafer processing chamber 103, the curtain gas still needs to be discharged from the exhaust port 104 at the edge of the process station 200. Therefore, the gas supply device must have a certain supply pressure to form a curtain gas from bottom to top. The pressure of the gas supply device must be sufficient to blow the curtain gas to the top of the wafer processing chamber 103.

[0085] The wafer processing equipment of this application embodiment has an air curtain assembly installed at the top or bottom of the wafer processing chamber. Air curtain gas is introduced into the wafer processing chamber through the air inlet and discharged from the wafer processing chamber through the air outlet. The air curtain gas forms a separating air curtain on the flow path between adjacent process stations to avoid mutual interference of plasma in adjacent process stations during wafer processing, which would affect the quality of wafer film formation. Moreover, the formed air curtain is a non-physical barrier and does not affect the transfer of wafers in the wafer processing equipment. The addition of the air curtain assembly does not affect the structure of the wafer processing equipment itself and is highly feasible.

[0086] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application. The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0087] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0088] In the description of this specification, specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0089] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A wafer processing device, characterized in that, include: Wafer processing chamber; Multiple process stations are located within the wafer processing chamber, and each process station includes a spray head and a heating table placed below the spray head; The exhaust port is located at the bottom of the wafer processing chamber; An air curtain assembly is provided between adjacent process stations. The air curtain assembly includes an air inlet and an air outlet. The air inlet is used to introduce air curtain gas into the wafer processing chamber, and the air outlet is used to discharge the air curtain gas out of the wafer processing chamber, so as to form a separating air curtain between the adjacent process stations.

2. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, A central circumferential portion is provided between the adjacent heating stages. The central circumferential portion protrudes upward from the bottom of the wafer processing chamber. The separating gas curtain is located between the top of the wafer processing chamber and the central circumferential portion. The gas in the gas curtain is an inert gas or nitrogen.

3. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The central surrounding portion is arranged around the heating platform and has a gap between it and the heating platform.

4. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 3, characterized in that, A partition plate is placed on one of the central surrounding portions. The partition plate surrounds one of the heating stages and divides the wafer processing chamber into a first space including the spray head and a second space including the exhaust port. The height of the partition plate is lower than the height of the upper surface of the heating stage when the heating stage is in the process position.

5. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, The exhaust port is located within the area defined by the outside of the plurality of central circumferences.

6. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that, The air intake is located at the top of the wafer processing chamber, and the exhaust is located below the air intake.

7. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that, The air intake section includes an air intake duct disposed in the top wall of the wafer processing chamber. The first end of the air intake duct is connected to an air supply device, and the second end of the air intake duct communicates with the first space through an air intake duct outlet disposed on the top wall of the wafer processing chamber. The exhaust section is a vent disposed on the partition plate.

8. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The air intake section further includes an air equalization chamber, which is disposed between the air supply device and the plurality of air intake channels, and the plurality of air intake channels are configured to extend outward from the air equalization chamber.

9. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned air intake outlets has the same shape and size.

10. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, Each of the air intake outlets is arranged around each of the spray heads.

11. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, The vents are located within the areas defined by each of the central circumferential portions.

12. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 11, characterized in that, Multiple air curtain assemblies share one air vent.

13. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 12, characterized in that, The multiple process stations are symmetrically distributed around a center of symmetry, and the vent is located at the center of symmetry.

14. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 11, characterized in that, Each of the vents is positioned opposite to the corresponding air inlet outlet.

15. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 7, characterized in that, Each of the vents has the same shape and size as the corresponding air intake outlet.

16. The wafer processing apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that, The vent and / or the air intake outlet are arc-shaped openings.

17. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 14, characterized in that, The vent and / or the air inlet outlet are arc-shaped openings composed of multiple holes.

18. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 8, characterized in that, The cross-section of the gas-equalizing cavity is a centrally symmetrical shape.

19. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that, Both the air intake and the exhaust are located within the area defined by the plurality of central surrounding portions, with the exhaust portion being closer to the center of the area defined by the plurality of central surrounding portions than the air intake.

20. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 19, characterized in that, The air intake section includes an air intake chamber located within the central circumferential section. The first end of the air intake chamber is connected to an air supply device, and the second end of the air intake chamber communicates with the first space through an air intake chamber outlet located on the upper surface of the central circumferential section. The exhaust section is a vent located on the partition plate.

21. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 20, characterized in that, A gas flow controller is provided between the gas supply device and the plurality of air inlet chambers, and the gas flow controller is used to control the flow rate of the air curtain gas entering the corresponding air inlet chamber to be the same.

22. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 21, characterized in that, The multiple air intake chambers have the same shape and size at their outlets.

23. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 20, characterized in that, Multiple air curtain assemblies share one air vent.

24. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 23, characterized in that, The vent is located at the symmetrical center of the plurality of process stations.

25. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 20, characterized in that, The air inlet outlet is arranged around each of the heating platforms.

26. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, There are multiple exhaust ports, with one exhaust port in each process station.

27. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 26, characterized in that, The air intake is located in the area defined outside the plurality of central surrounding portions, and the exhaust portion is a vent provided on the partition plate, which is connected to the exhaust port of the corresponding process station.

28. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 27, characterized in that, The air intake is an air intake duct located in the bottom wall of the wafer processing chamber. The first end of the air intake duct is connected to the air supply device, and the second end of the air intake duct is connected to the first space through the air intake duct outlet located in the partition plate.

29. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 28, characterized in that, The air intake section further includes an air equalization chamber, which is disposed between the air supply device and the plurality of air intake channels, and the plurality of air intake channels are configured to extend outward from the air equalization chamber.

30. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 28, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned air intake outlets has the same shape and size.

31. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 28, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned air intake outlets is arranged around each of the aforementioned heating platforms.

32. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 28, characterized in that, Each of the vents is identical in shape and size.

33. The wafer processing equipment according to claim 29, characterized in that, The cross-section of the gas-equalizing cavity is a centrally symmetrical shape.

34. The wafer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7-18, 20-25, and 28-33, characterized in that, The pressure of the curtain gas provided by the gas supply device is greater than or equal to the pressure of the curtain gas reaching the top wall of the wafer processing chamber.

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