Patent Application
20230274917
The present disclosure generally relates to the semiconductor manufacturing technology field and, more particularly, to a carrier device and a semiconductor reaction chamber.
As technology continues to develop, electronic products such as smartphones and tablet computers are widely used. Electronic products include many semiconductor chips. A major material for manufacturing a semiconductor chip is a wafer. A circuit pattern needs to be etched on the wafer. Generally, the wafer is etched by a semiconductor process apparatus.
Taking an etching machine as an example, an electrostatic chuck and a focus ring are arranged in the semiconductor reaction chamber of the etching machine. The electrostatic chuck is configured to support the wafer. The focus ring is arranged around the electrostatic chuck. The focus ring can focus the plasma in the semiconductor reaction chamber to improve etching uniformity.
However, in an etching process of the wafer in the semiconductor reaction chamber, since the top surface of the focus ring and an upper surface of a groove are also etched, the thickness of the focus ring is reduced. Thus, an etching rate of an edge of the wafer is increased. Therefore, the difference between an etching rate at an edge area of the wafer and an etching rate at a center area of the wafer can be large, which causes poor etching uniformity. To increase the etching uniformity, after the top surface of the focus ring and the upper surface of the groove are etched, the focus ring can be lifted by a thimble driven by a driving mechanism. Thus, the part of the focus ring that is etched can be compensated by increasing the height of the focus ring to ensure the etching uniformity.
However, since the focus ring is only arranged on the thimble, on one hand, when the driving mechanism drives the thimble to lift the focus ring, the position of the focus ring on the thimble can be displaced. Thus, when the displaced focus ring lifts the wafer, the height of the wafer can be changed, which affects absorption and position precision of the wafer to impact the etching process. On another hand, when the focus ring is subjected to a push force of the thimble when the thimble lifts the focus ring up, the focus ring may easily fall off from the thimble. Thus, the safety of the semiconductor reaction chamber is poor.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a carrier device configured to carry a wafer in a semiconductor reaction chamber. The carrier device includes a chuck, a focus ring, and a plurality of focus ring thimbles. The chuck is arranged in the semiconductor reaction chamber to support the wafer. The focus ring assembly includes a lower focus ring and an upper focus ring. The lower focus ring is arranged around the chuck. The lower focus ring includes a groove on an upper surface of the lower focus ring. A part of an upper surface of the lower focus ring located on an inner side of the groove is a support area. The support area is flush with an upper surface of the chuck and configured to support the wafer with the chuck. The upper focus ring is ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the groove. In response to the upper focus ring being in the groove, an upper surface of the upper focus ring is higher than the support area. A first position-limiting member is arranged on a lower surface of the upper focus ring and corresponds to the groove. The plurality of focus ring thimbles are distributed along a circumference of the upper focus ring at intervals. Each focus ring thimble of the plurality of focus ring thimbles is ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the carrier device and penetrating a part of the lower focus ring located at a bottom of the groove to lift the upper focus ring when ascending. A second position-limiting member is arranged at an upper end of the focus ring thimble and cooperates with the first position-limiting member when the focus ring thimble lifts the upper focus ring to limit a horizontal position of the upper focus ring on the focus ring thimble.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a semiconductor reaction chamber including a carrier device. The carrier device is configured to carry a wafer in a semiconductor reaction chamber. The carrier device includes a chuck, a focus ring, and a plurality of focus ring thimbles. The chuck is arranged in the semiconductor reaction chamber to support the wafer. The focus ring assembly includes a lower focus ring and an upper focus ring. The lower focus ring is arranged around the chuck. The lower focus ring includes a groove on an upper surface of the lower focus ring. A part of an upper surface of the lower focus ring located on an inner side of the groove is a support area. The support area is flush with an upper surface of the chuck and configured to support the wafer with the chuck. The upper focus ring is ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the groove. In response to the upper focus ring being in the groove, an upper surface of the upper focus ring is higher than the support area. A first position-limiting member is arranged on a lower surface of the upper focus ring and corresponds to the groove. The plurality of focus ring thimbles are distributed along a circumference of the upper focus ring at intervals. Each focus ring thimble of the plurality of focus ring thimbles is ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the carrier device and penetrating a part of the lower focus ring located at a bottom of the groove to lift the upper focus ring when ascending. A second position-limiting member is arranged at an upper end of the focus ring thimble and cooperates with the first position-limiting member when the focus ring thimble lifts the upper focus ring to limit a horizontal position of the upper focus ring on the focus ring thimble.
The present disclosure has the following beneficial effects.
In the carrier device of the present disclosure, a split focus ring assembly can be included. That is, the focus ring assembly can include an upper focus ring and a lower focus ring. An upper surface of the lower focus ring can include a groove, and an area of the upper surface of the lower focus ring located on the inner side of the groove can be a support area. The support area can be flush with the upper surface of the chuck and can be configured to support the wafer with the chuck together. The upper focus ring can be ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the groove. Thus, the height can be increased by ascending the upper focus ring to compensate for the part of the upper focus ring that is etched to ensure etching uniformity. Meanwhile, since the wafer is supported by the lower focus ring, and the lower focus ring does not ascend with the upper focus ring, the wafer lifting by the upper focus ring can be avoided, which does not affect the absorption and position precision of the wafer. In addition, by arranging the first position-limiting member on the lower surface of the upper focus ring and the second position-limiting member on the upper end of the focus ring thimbles, each focus ring thimble can be ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the carrier device and pass through the part of the lower focus ring located at the bottom of the groove to lift the upper focus ring when ascending. Meanwhile, the second position-limiting member can cooperate with the first position-limiting member when the focus ring thimbles lift the upper focus ring to limit the horizontal position of the upper focus ring on the focus ring thimbles. Thus, the focus ring can be prevented from being displaced and tilted. Therefore, the upper focus ring may not be easy to fall off from the focus ring thimbles to improve the safety of the semiconductor reaction chamber.
In the semiconductor reaction chamber of the present disclosure, the carrier device of the present disclosure can be used. Thus, the impact on the absorption and position precision of the wafer can be avoided, and the upper focus ring may not be easy to fall off from the focus ring thimbles, which improves the safety of the semiconductor reaction chamber.
To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the present disclosure are described in detail below in connection with embodiments of the present disclosure and the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, but not all, embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall be within the scope of the present disclosure.
The technical solutions of embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings.
As shown in
The chuck 210 is arranged in the semiconductor reaction chamber 100 and configured to carry the wafer 600. The chuck 210 can be, for example, an electrostatic chuck, which is configured to fix the wafer 600 by electrostatic adsorption to prevent the wafer 600 from being displaced during processing.
The focus ring assembly 220 includes an upper focus ring 221 and a lower focus ring 222. The lower focus ring 222 is arranged around the chuck 210. As shown in
Moreover, when the upper focus ring 221 is arranged in the above groove 223, the upper surface of the upper focus ring 221 is higher than the above support area. The part of the upper focus ring 221 that is higher than the support area can shield the plasma to reduce the edge etching rate of the wafer to improve the etching uniformity.
In some embodiments, a diameter of an inner annular surface of the upper focus ring 221 can be larger than a diameter of the wafer 600. Thus, an annular gap can be formed between the upper focus ring 221 and the wafer 600. The annular gap can make an edge of the wafer more accessible to the plasma, which is beneficial to increase the edge etching rate of the wafer. Since the part of the upper focus ring 221 that is higher than the support area can shield the plasma and reduce the edge etching rate of the wafer, a height difference between the upper surface of the upper focus ring 221 and an upper surface of the wafer 600 can cause the edge of the wafer 600 less accessible to the plasma to reduce the edge etching rate of the wafer 600, which is opposite to the annular gap. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 with the corresponding height difference and the annular gap may need to be selected according to processing requirements. In some embodiments, the height difference can be greater than or equal to 2 mm and smaller than or equal to 4 mm. A radial width of the annular gap can be greater than or equal to 1 mm and smaller than or equal to 3 mm.
In addition, the lower surface of the upper focus ring 221 can be provided with a first position-limiting member. The first position-limiting member can be arranged corresponding to the groove 223. That is, when the upper focus ring 221 is arranged in the groove 223, a position-limiting groove 2211 can be also arranged within groove 223. The plurality of focus ring thimbles 300 can be distributed along a circumference of the upper focus ring 221 at intervals. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 can be stressed uniformly to prevent the upper focus ring 221 from being tilted. In some embodiments, a number of the focus ring thimbles 300 can be four. In some other embodiments, the number of the focus ring thimbles 300 can be two, three, or more than five.
In some embodiments, the carrier device can further include a driving device 400 configured to drive the plurality of focus ring thimbles 300 to ascend and descend synchronously. In some embodiments, the driving device 400 can be a power structure such as a servo motor, an air cylinder, etc. The driving device 400 can be other power structures, which are not limited here.
Each focus ring thimble 300 can be ascendingly and descendingly arranged in the above carrier device 200 and penetrate a part of the lower focus ring 222 located at the bottom of the above groove 223. Thus, the focus ring thimble 300 can lift the upper focus ring 221 when ascending. A second position-limiting member can be arranged at the upper end of the focus ring thimble 300. The second position-limiting member can cooperate with the first position-limiting member when the focus ring thimble 300 lifts the upper focus ring 221 to limit a horizontal position of the upper focus ring 221 on the focus ring thimble 300. By using the first position-limiting member and the second position-limiting member to limit the horizontal position of the upper focus ring 221 on the focus ring thimble 300, the position of the upper focus ring 221 on the focus ring thimble can be prevented from being displaced and tilted. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 is not easy to fall off from the focus ring thimble 300, and the safety of the semiconductor reaction chamber can be further improved.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the outer surface 301 of the second position-limiting member and the inner surface of the position-limiting groove 2211 can be flat surfaces. That is, an end surface facing upward of the outer surface 301 of the second position-limiting member can be a flat surface. A surface facing downward of the inner surface of the position-limiting groove 2211 can be a flat surface. Thus, when the focus ring thimble 300 extends into the position-limiting groove 2211, the end surface of the second position-limiting member can easily interfere with the edge of the position-limiting groove 2211. Moreover, the upper focus ring 221 can easily become tilted and fall off from the upper focus ring thimble 221.
Based on this, in some other embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the position-limiting groove 2211 can be an annular groove, and the annular groove and the upper focus ring 221 can be arranged concentrically. In this solution, the position of the upper focus ring 221 can be limited in the horizontal direction, and the upper focus ring 221 can rotate around a center of the annular groove. Thus, the position of the upper focus ring 221 can be self-adjusted through the rotation to further improve the stability of the ascending and descending of the focus ring 221.
In some embodiments, the lower focus ring 222 can be an integrated structure. However, a side of the lower focus ring 222 close to the wafer 600 can be easily etched. That is, the position where the support area is located can be easily etched. When the support area is etched, the entire lower focus ring 222 may need to be replaced. Thus, the service life of the lower focus ring 222 can be short, and the carrier device 200 may have poor economic performance.
Based on this, in some other embodiments, the lower focus ring 222 can include an inner focus ring 2221 and an outer focus ring 2222. The outer focus ring 2222 can be arranged around the inner focus ring 2221. A groove 223 can be formed on at least one of the upper surface of the inner focus ring 2221 and the upper surface of the outer focus ring 2222, and the support area can be formed on the upper surface of the inner focus ring 2221. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
Since the inner focus ring 2221 is easy to be etched, in some other embodiments, the inner focus ring 2221 can be made of an etch-resistant material, which can improve the service life of the inner focus ring 2221. In some embodiments, the inner focus ring 2221 can be made of materials such as quartz or silicon carbide. Quartz and silicon carbide can have advantages of a small thermal expansion coefficient, not easy to generate polluting particles, and high processing performance and chemical stability. In some other embodiments, the inner focus ring 2221 can also be made of another corrosion-resistant material, which is not limited here.
In some other embodiments, the upper focus ring 221 can be made of an etching-resistant material, which can improve the service life of the upper focus ring 221. Thus, the economic performance of the carrier device 200 can be improved, and the continuity of the etching process can be ensured. In some embodiments, since the upper focus ring 221 is easily etched, the upper focus ring 221 can be made of a silicon carbide material. In some other embodiments, the upper focus ring 221 can also be made of another material, which is not limited here.
In some embodiments, to improve the assembly accuracy of the upper focus ring 221 and the lower focus ring 222, as shown in
Further, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
The present disclosure provides a specific structure of the driving device 400. In some other embodiments, the driving device 400 can have another structure, which is not limited here. In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the first drive source 410 can drive the first adapter 430 to move. The first adapter 430 can drive the focus ring thimble 300 to move.
As shown in
Thus, since the first mounting surface and the second mounting surface can be perpendicular to each other, a plane where a rail opening of the first sliding rail assembly 441 is located can be perpendicular to a plane where a rail opening of the second sliding rail assembly 442 is located. Thus, rail directions of the sliding rail assembly can be in two directions perpendicular to each other. Therefore, rail tolerances can be prevented from accumulating in a same direction to improve the movement accuracy of the focus ring thimble 300. In addition, the structure of the double sliding rail assemblies can increase the rigidity of the focus ring thimble 300 in the movement direction of the focus ring thimble 300. Thus, the movement of the upper focus ring 221 can be more stable.
In some embodiments, the first sliding rail assembly 441 can include a guide rail and a slider. The guide rail and the slider can slidably cooperate with each other. The guide rail can be arranged at the first fixing bracket 420. The slider can be connected to the first adapter 430. The second sliding rail assembly 442 can have the same structure as the first sliding rail assembly 441, which is not repeated here.
In some other embodiments, the driving device 400 can further include a first sensor 491 and a first control unit. The first sensor 491 can be configured to detect position information of the focus ring thimble 300 and feedback the position information to the first control unit. The first control unit can be configured to control the operation of the first driving source 410 according to the position information. Thus, with the first sensor 491 and the first control unit, the movement of the focus ring thimble 300 can be precisely controlled. Therefore, the movement precision of the upper focus ring 221 can be high. For example, the first driving source 410 can be an electric cylinder. The above first control unit can be a controller integrated in the electric cylinder. In addition, since the electric cylinder is not easy to have a backlash phenomenon due to the combination of the connection members, the electric cylinder can have better positioning accuracy. Thus, the movement accuracy of the upper focus ring 221 can be further improved.
To improve the compensation accuracy of the upper focus ring 221, in some other embodiments, after the upper focus ring 221 is etched for the first time, the driving device 400 can drive the upper focus ring 221 to ascend to a preset height. The preset height can be equal to an etched amount of the upper focus ring 221. The preset height can be between 0 and 2 mm. The driving device 400 can drive the upper focus ring 221 to descend until the focus ring thimble 300 moves to a lowest position. Then, the driving device 400 can drive the focus ring thimble 300 to ascend again until the upper focus ring 221 ascends to the preset height. Thus, by lifting the upper focus ring 221 two times, a movement gap of the focus ring thimble 300 can be eliminated to improve the movement accuracy of the upper focus ring 221.
To facilitate the replacement of the upper focus ring 221, in some other embodiments, the semiconductor reaction chamber 100 can further include a transfer manipulator 700. The transfer manipulator 700 can be configured to transfer the upper focus ring 221 and the wafer 600. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 can be replaced without opening the semiconductor reaction chamber 100 to improve the replacement efficiency of the upper focus ring 221 and further improve the process efficiency of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100. In addition, the upper focus ring 221 can be replaced by the transfer manipulator 700, which also reduces the labor intensity of the operator.
In some embodiments, when the upper focus ring 221 needs to be moved out of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100, the driving device 400 can be firstly controlled to drive the upper focus ring 221 to ascend to a certain height. Then, the transfer manipulator 700 can be controlled to pass through the opening at the sidewall of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100 to extend into the semiconductor reaction chamber 100. Meanwhile, the transfer manipulator 700 can be controlled to move to a lower side of the upper focus ring 221. Then, the driving device 400 can be controlled to drive the upper focus ring 221 to descend. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 can be transferred to the transfer manipulator 700. Then, the transfer manipulator 700 can be controlled to transfer the upper focus ring 221 out of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100 through the opening on the sidewall of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100.
When the upper focus ring 221 needs to be moved into the semiconductor reaction chamber 100, the upper focus ring 221 can be placed on the transfer manipulator 700. The transfer manipulator 700 can be controlled to pass through the opening on the sidewall of the semiconductor reaction chamber to extend into the semiconductor reaction chamber 100. Then, the driving device 400 can be controlled to drive the focus ring thimble 300 to ascend to lift the upper focus ring 221. Thus, the upper focus ring 221 can be transferred to the focus ring thimble 300. Then, the transfer manipulator 700 can be removed. Then, the driving device 400 can be controlled to drive the focus ring thimble 300 to descend to lower the focus ring to a preset position to complete the replacement operation of the upper focus ring 221.
The carrier device 200 of the present disclosure further can include a plurality of wafer thimbles 800. The plurality of wafer thimbles 800 can be distributed along the circumferential direction of the chuck 210 at intervals. The wafer thimbles 800 can be configured to drive the wafer 600 to ascend and descend. The ascending and descending operation of the wafer thimbles 800 can be realized by the driving device 400. In some embodiments, the driving device 400 can further include a second driving source 450, a second fixing bracket 460, a second adapter 470, and a third sliding rail assembly 480. A fixed end of the second driving source 450 can be fixedly connected to the housing 500 or another member, as long as the second driving source 450 can be fixed under the chuck 210. A driving end of the second driving source 450 can be connected to the wafer thimble 800 through the second adaptor 470.
In some embodiments, the second driving source 450 can drive the second adapter 470 to move, and the second adapter 470 can drive the wafer thimbles 800 to move.
The second fixing bracket 460 can be fixedly connected to the fixed end of the second driving source 450 or another member, as long as the second fixing bracket can be fixed under the chuck 210. The second fixing bracket 460 can include a third mounting surface. The third mounting surface can be parallel to a moving direction of the wafer thimbles 800. The third sliding rail assembly 480 can be arranged on the third mounting surface and can be slidably connected to the second adapter 470 to limit the moving direction of the wafer thimbles 800.
Thus, the mating precision of the sliding rail assembly can be high, and the rigidity and stability of the ascending and descending of the wafer thimbles 800 can be further improved. Therefore, the wafer 600 may not be easy to slide when being lifted, and the wafer 600 may not be easy to fall off, which further improves the reliability of the semiconductor reaction chamber 100.
In some embodiments, a number of the wafer thimbles 800 can be three, and the three wafer thimbles 800 can be evenly distributed along the circumferential direction of the chuck 210. Thus, the wafer 600 can be evenly supported, and the wafer 600 can be more stably supported. In some other embodiments, the number of the wafer thimbles 800 may have another number, which is not limited here.
In some embodiments, the structure of the third sliding rail assembly 480 can be the same as the structure of the first sliding rail assembly 441. A guide rail of the third sliding rail assembly 480 can be connected to the second fixing bracket 460. A slider of the third sliding rail assembly 480 can be connected to the second adapter 470.
In embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving device 400 can further include a second sensor 492 and a second control unit. The second sensor 492 can be configured to detect the position information of the wafer thimbles 800 and feedback on the position information to the second control unit. The second control unit can be configured to control the operation of the second driving source 450 according to the position information. Thus, with the second sensor 492 and the second control unit, the movement of the wafer thimbles 800 can be precisely controlled. Therefore, the movement precision of the wafer 600 can be high. For example, the second driving source 450 can be an electric cylinder. The above second control unit can be a controller integrated into the electric cylinder.
In some embodiments, the driving device 400 can include a dual-shaft driving source. The first driving source 410 and the second driving source 450 can be two different driving shafts of the dual-shaft driving source. That is, the drive device 400 can include one driving source. The first adapter 430 and the second adapter 470 can be connected to different driving shafts on the driving source. The driving shaft connected to the first adapter 430 can be configured to drive the focus ring thimbles 300. The driving shaft connected to the second adapter 470 can be configured to drive the wafer thimbles 800.
In embodiments of the present disclosure, since the first fixing bracket 420 and the second fixing bracket 460 are non-moving parts, the first fixing bracket 420 and the second fixing bracket 460 can have an integrated structure. Thus, the first sliding rail assembly 441, the second sliding rail assembly 442, and the third sliding rail assembly 480 can be mounted on a same fixed bracket. Therefore, a number of members of the carrier device 200 can be less to further simplify the composition structure of the carrier device 200.
The carrier device 200 of embodiments of the present disclosure can further include a base ring 230. The base ring 230 can be arranged around the chuck 210. The base ring 230 can be configured to support the lower focus ring 222. An interface disk can be arranged at the bottom of the base ring 230. The focus ring thimbles 300 can be inserted from one side of the interface disk. Bellows can be sleeved at the focus ring thimbles 300. One end of the bellows can be connected to the focus ring thimbles 300, and the other end of the bellows can be connected to the interface disk, which can maintain a sealed effect for the focus ring thimbles 300 during the movement process.
Based on the carrier device of embodiments of the present disclosure, embodiments of the present disclosure further provide the semiconductor reaction chamber. The semiconductor reaction chamber can include the carrier device of embodiments of the present disclosure.
In the semiconductor reaction chamber of the present disclosure, by using the above carrier device of the present disclosure, the impact on the absorption and position precision of the wafer due to the ascending of the upper focus ring can be avoided, and the upper focus ring may not be easy to fall off to further improve the safety of the semiconductor reaction chamber.
In embodiments of the present disclosure, the differences between the various embodiments are mainly described. As long as different optimization features of the various embodiments are not contradictory, the optimization features can be combined to form better embodiments, which are not repeated here.
The above description is merely embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Various modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible for those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be within the scope of the claims of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202011224676.0 | Nov 2020 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2021/127291, filed on Oct. 29, 2021, which claims priority to Chinese Application No. 202011224676.0 filed on Nov. 5, 2020, the entire content of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2021/127291 | Oct 2021 | US |
| Child | 18313027 | US |
