Reaction cavity vacuum control system and method and pressure control valve used in reaction cavity vacuum control system
Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices, and particularly to a reaction chamber vacuum control system and method, and a pressure control valve used therein.
Background
In the field of semiconductor technology, semiconductor devices have a great impact on the yield of wafer fabrication. As semiconductor wafers are scaled from 4 inches, 5 inches, to larger sizes of 12 inches, even 18 inches, etc., the requirements for wafer fabrication for semiconductor devices are increasing. The vacuum cavity is a reaction cavity commonly used in the wafer manufacturing process, and the quality of the vacuum control directly influences the yield of the wafer.
Taking plasma etching as an example, plasma etching (PLASMA ETCHING Technology) is performed by exciting an etching gas to form a plasma. In general, in a plasma etching apparatus, plasma is generally formed by radio frequency excitation of etching gas exhausted from an air inlet unit located at the top of a reaction chamber, and the plasma bombards a wafer located on a chuck, thereby etching the wafer. Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical 8-inch wafer plasma etching machine, as shown in fig. 1, the plasma etching machine includes a reaction chamber 100, wherein the reaction chamber 100 includes a chuck 110, a wafer 120 disposed on the chuck, and an air inlet unit 130 disposed at a top center of the reaction chamber 100, and the air inlet unit 130 is connected to a reaction gas source outside the reaction chamber and is used for inputting reaction gas into the reaction chamber. The reaction gas is ionized into plasma under the action of a radio frequency source so as to realize the etching of the wafer. The plasma etching machine further comprises a pressure control valve 200 and a molecular pump 300, wherein the molecular pump 300 pumps the used reaction gas out of the reaction cavity 100 through the pressure control valve 200, and vacuums the reaction cavity 100. Wafer processing requires higher and higher uniformity of plasma in the vacuum chamber of the reaction, and the pumping direction of the vacuum control of the reaction chamber is more and more sensitive to the asymmetric influence of the plasma.
In the equipment technology of 8 inches and 12 inches, suppliers do multiple debugging and cavity structure updating and transformation for reducing the influence of vacuum pumping on plasma uniformity, but up to now, the symmetrical arrangement of cavity vacuum pumping is not really realized by a mass production machine, and the influence of asymmetry of pumping direction on high-stage process is more and more obvious.
In a typical 8 inch wafer plasma etcher, as shown in fig. 1, a vacuum control valve 200 and molecular pump 300 are used horizontally alongside the reaction chamber 100, which results in a gas flow through two 90 degree bends (as shown by the arrows) and severely reduced pumping speed. And the pumping direction is eccentric, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the plasma direction in the reaction chamber of the plasma etching apparatus shown in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the actual plasma direction 510 is significantly shifted from the ideal plasma direction 520, which causes the problem of asymmetry of the plasma reaction to the wafer, reducing wafer yield.
Referring to fig. 3 and 4, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a typical 12 inch wafer plasma etching machine, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a pressure control valve, as shown in fig. 3, the pressure control valve 200 and the molecular pump 300 are vertically disposed below the reaction chamber 100, as shown in fig. 4, the pressure control valve 200 is a single fan-shaped valve, and the moving direction of the pressure control valve when opened is horizontal, and the method can improve the pumping rate of vacuum compared with the wafer plasma etching machine of fig. 1, but due to the asymmetric defect of the pressure control valve 200 when opened, the eccentric defect of the pumping direction is reduced, the plasma uniformity is improved, as shown in fig. 5, and fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the plasma direction in the reaction chamber of the plasma etching machine of fig. 3. As shown in fig. 5, the actual plasma direction 510 is significantly shifted from the ideal plasma direction 520, which causes the problem of asymmetry of the plasma reaction to the wafer, reducing wafer yield.
Therefore, in the current main flow machine, due to the designed congenital defect, after the pressure control valve 200 is opened, the plasma is eccentric and asymmetric, so that the uniformity of the etching rate of the reaction cavity 100 is reduced, the reaction results of the wafer at different positions of the reaction cavity 100 are different, the on-line debugging is interfered, the on-line measurement of the product is directly affected, and even in the area with poor uniformity, the on-line defect is increased, the electrical failure is caused, so that the yield is reduced.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a reaction cavity vacuum control system so as to achieve the purposes of symmetric air extraction direction, pressure control, uniformity improvement of plasma in the reaction cavity, and uniformity and symmetry improvement of cavity etching.
The invention provides a reaction cavity vacuum control system, which comprises a reaction cavity, a pressure control valve and a molecular pump, wherein the reaction cavity comprises a chuck, a wafer positioned on the chuck and an air inlet unit positioned at the top of the reaction cavity, the air inlet unit is connected with a reaction gas source outside the reaction cavity and is used for inputting reaction gas into the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve and the molecular pump are vertically arranged below the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve is arranged between the reaction cavity and the molecular pump, the molecular pump is used for vacuumizing the reaction cavity through the pressure control valve, the pressure control valve comprises a plurality of grid-shaped blades, and the rotation directions of every two adjacent grid-shaped blades are opposite.
Furthermore, the reaction cavity vacuum control system is applied to a plasma etching machine.
Further, the number of the grid-shaped blades is more than or equal to 10.
Further, at least one of the grating vanes has a rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees, and the grating vanes adjacent thereto have a rotation angle of 0 to-90 degrees.
Furthermore, each grid-shaped blade comprises a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft penetrates through the middle position of the grid-shaped blade along the length direction of the grid-shaped blade, each rotating shaft is connected with a motor, and the rotating shaft is driven to rotate through motor control so as to drive the grid-shaped blade to rotate.
Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts are opposite, so that the adjacent grating vanes reversely rotate, and the rotation angle of at least one grating vane in the grating vanes is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the grating vane adjacent to the grating vane is 0 to-90 degrees.
The invention also provides a vacuum control method of the reaction cavity, which is suitable for a vacuum control system of the reaction cavity, wherein the vacuum control system of the reaction cavity comprises a reaction cavity, a pressure control valve and a molecular pump, the reaction cavity comprises a chuck, a wafer positioned on the chuck and an air inlet unit positioned at the top of the reaction cavity, the air inlet unit is connected with a reaction gas source outside the reaction cavity and is used for inputting reaction gas into the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve and the molecular pump are vertically arranged below the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve is arranged between the reaction cavity and the molecular pump, and the molecular pump is used for vacuumizing the reaction cavity through the pressure control valve, wherein the pressure control valve comprises a plurality of grid-shaped blades.
Further, the number of the grid-shaped blades is more than or equal to 10.
Further, one of the control louver blades has a rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees, and the louver blade adjacent thereto has a rotation angle of 0 to-90 degrees.
Furthermore, each grid-shaped blade comprises a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft penetrates through the middle position of the grid-shaped blade along the length direction of the grid-shaped blade, each rotating shaft is connected with a motor, and the rotating shaft is driven to rotate through motor control so as to drive the grid-shaped blade to rotate.
Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts are opposite, so that the adjacent grating vanes reversely rotate, and the rotation angle of at least one grating vane in the grating vanes is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the grating vane adjacent to the grating vane is 0 to-90 degrees.
The invention also provides a pressure control valve which is suitable for a reaction cavity vacuum control system, the reaction cavity vacuum control system further comprises a reaction cavity and a molecular pump, the reaction cavity comprises a chuck, a wafer positioned on the chuck and an air inlet unit positioned at the top of the reaction cavity, the air inlet unit is connected with a reaction gas source outside the reaction cavity and is used for inputting reaction gas into the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve and the molecular pump are vertically arranged below the reaction cavity, the pressure control valve is arranged between the reaction cavity and the molecular pump, and the molecular pump is used for vacuumizing the reaction cavity through the pressure control valve.
Further, the number of the grid-shaped blades is more than or equal to 10.
Further, one of the grating vanes has a rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees, and the adjacent grating vane has a rotation angle of 0 to-90 degrees.
Furthermore, each grid-shaped blade comprises a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft penetrates through the middle position of the grid-shaped blade along the length direction of the grid-shaped blade, each rotating shaft is connected with a motor, and the rotating shaft is driven to rotate through motor control so as to drive the grid-shaped blade to rotate.
Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts are opposite, so that the adjacent grating vanes reversely rotate, the rotation angle of at least one grating vane in the grating vanes is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the grating vane adjacent to the grating vane is 0 to-90 degrees
According to the reaction cavity vacuum control system and method and the pressure control valve applied to the reaction cavity vacuum control system, the pressure control valve is improved from a single fan-shaped opening valve to a design of a plurality of grid-shaped blades, and the moving direction is improved from horizontal opening to a mode of reversely rotating and opening every two adjacent grid-shaped blades, so that the purposes of symmetric air suction directions, realization of pressure control, improvement of plasma uniformity of the reaction cavity and improvement of cavity etching uniformity and symmetry are achieved.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a typical 8 inch wafer plasma etching tool.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the direction of plasma in the reaction chamber of the plasma etching apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a typical 12 inch wafer plasma etching tool.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a pressure control valve.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the direction of plasma in the reaction chamber of the plasma etching apparatus shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 is a detailed schematic diagram of a pressure control valve according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the direction of plasma in the reaction chamber of a plasma etching apparatus employing the pressure control valve of FIG. 6.
The labels used in the figures are explained as follows:
200. Pressure control valve, 210, grid-shaped blades, 220, rotating shaft, 300 and molecular pump.
Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made more apparent and fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a reaction chamber vacuum control system is provided. Specifically, referring to fig. 3 and fig. 6, fig. 6 is a detailed schematic diagram of a pressure control valve according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3 and 6, the reaction chamber vacuum control system includes a reaction chamber 100, a pressure control valve 200, and a molecular pump 300, the reaction chamber 100 includes a chuck 110, a wafer 120 positioned on the chuck, and an air inlet unit 130 positioned at the top of the reaction chamber 100, the air inlet unit 130 is connected with a reaction gas source outside the reaction chamber 100 for inputting reaction gas into the reaction chamber 100, the pressure control valve 200 and the molecular pump 300 are vertically disposed below the reaction chamber 100, and the pressure control valve 200 is disposed between the reaction chamber 100 and the molecular pump 300, the molecular pump 300 is used for evacuating the reaction chamber 100 through the pressure control valve 200, wherein the pressure control valve 200 includes a plurality of grating vanes 210, and the rotation directions of every two adjacent grating vanes 210 are opposite.
In an embodiment of the invention, the reaction chamber vacuum control system is a reaction chamber vacuum control system applied to a plasma etching machine. Taking a plasma etching machine as an example, please refer to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a plasma direction in a reaction chamber of the plasma etching machine using the pressure control valve shown in fig. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, the actual plasma direction 510 is close to the ideal plasma direction 520, so that the eccentric defect of the pumping method is reduced, the pressure control is realized, and the symmetry of the pumping direction is improved, thereby improving the symmetry and uniformity of the plasma. In this way, by improving the design of the pressure control valve from a single fan-shaped opening valve to a plurality of grid-shaped blades 210, the movement direction is improved from horizontal opening to the way that every two adjacent grid-shaped blades 210 are reversely rotated to be opened, so that the purposes of symmetric air extraction directions and improved cavity etching uniformity and symmetry are achieved. Of course, the reaction cavity vacuum control system can also be a reaction cavity vacuum control system applied to a non-etching machine.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the grating-shaped blades 210 is greater than or equal to 10, i.e. the pressure control valve 200 is designed to be similar to a shutter, so as to further improve the symmetry and uniformity of the air extraction direction.
Still further, in an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the grating vanes 210 has a rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees, and the adjacent grating vane has a rotation angle of 0 to-90 degrees, that is, the rotation direction is opposite to the rotation direction, and the angle is within 90 degrees, so as to improve the symmetry and uniformity of the pumping direction.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, each of the grid-shaped blades 210 includes a rotation shaft 220, the rotation shaft 220 is disposed at a middle position of the grid-shaped blade 210 along a length direction of the grid-shaped blade 210, and each rotation shaft 220 is connected to a motor, and the rotation shaft 220 is driven to rotate by the motor control, so as to drive the grid-shaped blade 210 to rotate. Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts 220 are opposite, so that the adjacent louver blades are reversely rotated, and the rotation angle of at least one louver blade among the louver blades 210 is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the louver blade adjacent thereto is 0 to-90 degrees.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a reaction chamber vacuum control method, which is applicable to a reaction chamber vacuum control system, as described above, the reaction chamber vacuum control system including a reaction chamber 100, a pressure control valve 200 and a molecular pump 300, the reaction chamber 100 including a chuck 110, a wafer 120 positioned on the chuck, and an air inlet unit 130 positioned at the top of the reaction chamber 100, the air inlet unit 130 being connected to a reaction gas source outside the reaction chamber 100 for inputting a reaction gas into the reaction chamber 100, the pressure control valve 200 and the molecular pump 300 being vertically disposed below the reaction chamber 100, and the pressure control valve 200 being disposed between the reaction chamber 100 and the molecular pump 300, the molecular pump 300 being for evacuating the reaction chamber 100 through the pressure control valve 200, wherein the pressure control valve 200 includes a plurality of grating blades 210, controlling the plurality of grating blades 210 to rotate and controlling every two adjacent grating blades 210 to reversely rotate during evacuating the reaction chamber 100.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the grating-shaped blades 210 is greater than or equal to 10, i.e. the pressure control valve 200 is designed to be similar to a shutter, so as to further improve the symmetry and uniformity of the air extraction direction.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the rotation angle of one of the grating blades 210 is controlled to be 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the adjacent grating blade is controlled to be 0 to-90 degrees, that is, the rotation direction is opposite to the rotation direction, and the angle is within 90 degrees, so as to improve the symmetry and uniformity of the pumping direction.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, each of the grid-shaped blades 210 includes a rotation shaft 220, the rotation shaft 220 is disposed at a middle position of the grid-shaped blade 210 along a length direction of the grid-shaped blade 210, and each rotation shaft 220 is connected to a motor, and the rotation shaft 220 is driven to rotate by the motor control, so as to drive the grid-shaped blade 210 to rotate. Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts 220 are opposite, so that the adjacent louver blades are reversely rotated, and the rotation angle of at least one louver blade among the louver blades 210 is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the louver blade adjacent thereto is 0 to-90 degrees.
In an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a pressure control valve adapted for a reaction chamber vacuum control system, as described above, further comprising a reaction chamber 100 and a molecular pump 300, the reaction chamber 100 comprising a chuck 110, a wafer 120 positioned on the chuck, and an air inlet unit 130 positioned at the top of the reaction chamber 100, the air inlet unit 130 being connected to a reaction gas source outside the reaction chamber 100 for inputting a reaction gas into the reaction chamber 100, the pressure control valve 200 and the molecular pump 300 being vertically disposed below the reaction chamber 100, and the pressure control valve 200 being disposed between the reaction chamber 100 and the molecular pump 300, the molecular pump 300 being for evacuating the reaction chamber 100 through the pressure control valve 200, wherein the pressure control valve 200 comprises a plurality of grating lobes 210, and the rotation directions of each two adjacent grating lobes 210 are opposite.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the grating-shaped blades 210 is greater than or equal to 10, i.e. the pressure control valve 200 is designed to be similar to a shutter, so as to further improve the symmetry and uniformity of the air extraction direction.
Still further, in an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the grating vanes 210 has a rotation angle of 0 to 90 degrees, and the adjacent grating vane has a rotation angle of 0 to-90 degrees, that is, the rotation direction is opposite to the rotation direction, and the angle is within 90 degrees, so as to improve the symmetry and uniformity of the pumping direction.
Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, each of the grid-shaped blades 210 includes a rotation shaft 220, the rotation shaft 220 is disposed at a middle position of the grid-shaped blade 210 along a length direction of the grid-shaped blade 210, and each rotation shaft 220 is connected to a motor, and the rotation shaft 220 is driven to rotate by the motor control, so as to drive the grid-shaped blade 210 to rotate. Further, the rotation directions of the adjacent rotating shafts 220 are opposite, so that the adjacent louver blades are reversely rotated, and the rotation angle of at least one louver blade among the louver blades 210 is 0 to 90 degrees, and the rotation angle of the louver blade adjacent thereto is 0 to-90 degrees.
In summary, by improving the design of the pressure control valve from a single fan-shaped opening valve to a plurality of grid-shaped blades, the movement direction is improved from horizontal opening to the mode of reversely rotating and opening every two adjacent grid-shaped blades, so that the purposes of symmetric air extraction direction, pressure control realization, plasma uniformity of a reaction cavity and cavity etching uniformity and symmetry are achieved.
It should be noted that the above embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention and not for limiting the same, and although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution described in the above embodiments may be modified or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced, and these modifications or substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention.