Integrated tin raw material canning system for liquid drop target in EUV light source
Technical Field
The invention is used for canning raw materials of a liquid drop target generator in the EUV photoetching field, and is a system integrating heating, pressurizing, filtering, automatic control and canning.
Background
Since the birth of semiconductor integrated circuits, the speed and cost of the semiconductor integrated circuits have been evolving according to moore's law, the speed is faster and faster, the occupied area of the chip is smaller and smaller, and the cost is lower and lower. The area occupied by the chip is mainly determined by the line width of the photoetching process. In the photolithography process of semiconductor integrated circuit, the line width has a close relationship with the wavelength of the light source used for photolithography. With the development of semiconductor technology, the line width required by photolithography is smaller and smaller, and the requirement on the wavelength of a light source is shorter and shorter. Light sources used in photolithography range from 436nm to 356nm and further to 248nm, and up to now 203nm are widely used. At present, the line width which can be achieved by the photoetching technology based on the deep ultraviolet light source is approaching to the limit more and more. In the next generation of lithography, an Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light source of 13.5nm would be a promising light source. The internationally known ASML lithography company has developed a complete set of 13.5nm lithography equipment, but is extremely expensive and locked out from critical technology. Therefore, 13.5nm EUV light source and lithography technology are developed in various countries around the world, including our countries.
The core of the EUV light source is a droplet target generator, and the extreme ultraviolet light source (EUV) generating 13.5nm is mainly based on carbon dioxide laser excitation of a tin droplet target to generate plasma (LPP). The principle of the droplet tin target generator is that the tin jet is disturbed in a certain way, and the tin jet is broken into tin droplets under the condition of proper perturbation. When the laser bombards the tin droplet target, laser photons are coupled into plasma through reverse bremsstrahlung after the tin droplet is evaporated, and 13.5nm EUV photons are emitted when the electron temperature reaches about 26 eV. In order to obtain a light source with high conversion efficiency, very high requirements are placed on the size, frequency and stability of the droplet target. The uniformity and the content of particles during the melting of the tin raw material have important influence on the stability of the liquid drops, so that the solid tin cannot be directly added into the liquid drop target container for melting, and the tin liquid needs to be filled into the liquid drop target container in an early device. Therefore, the development of a set of canning system meeting the tin raw material in the EUV drop target generator has important scientific significance and application value.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to solve the problems existing in the loading process of a tin raw material in an EUV light source liquid drop target, and provides a tin raw material canning system integrating melting and filtering.
The technical solution of the invention is as follows:
an integrated tin feedstock can system for a droplet target in an EUV light source, comprising: the device comprises a tin melting tank, a crystal fiber heating cavity, a liquid storage tank, a waste liquid tank, a vacuum pump, a thermocouple and a water cooling machine;
the top of the tin melting tank is provided with a switchable top cover, the top cover is provided with a liquid level switch measuring port and an observation window, a liquid level switch of the tin melting tank is inserted into the liquid level switch measuring port, a refrigeration water pipe is coiled in the top cover, and the refrigeration water pipe is externally connected with a water cooler; the upper part of the tin melting tank is provided with an air exhaust port and an air charging port, the air charging port is connected with the nitrogen cylinder through a pipeline, and the upper part of the tin melting tank is also provided with a vacuum gauge for measuring the vacuum degree in the tin melting tank; the body part of the tin melting tank is arranged in the crystal fiber heating cavity, an annular heating resistance wire is arranged in the crystal fiber heating cavity, and the body of the tin melting tank is provided with a temperature measuring port for inserting a heating couple; the vacuum pump is connected with the air extraction opening through a pipeline, a three-way valve is arranged on the pipeline, and the other two ends of the three-way valve are respectively connected with the air extraction opening of the liquid storage tank and the air extraction opening of the waste liquid tank;
the bottom of the tin melting tank is respectively connected with the liquid storage tank and the waste liquid tank through pipelines.
The top of the liquid storage tank is provided with a liquid storage tank air suction port and a liquid level switch measuring port for inserting a liquid level switch of the liquid storage tank; a pipeline between the tin melting tank and the liquid storage tank is internally provided with a liquid storage tank high-temperature ball valve and a filter, the liquid storage tank high-temperature ball valve is an automatic control valve and is used for controlling the flow direction of tin liquid, and the filter is internally provided with a stainless steel filter screen and is used for removing large-particle impurities in the tin liquid; the tank body part of the liquid storage tank is arranged in the heating sleeve of the liquid storage tank.
The top of the waste liquid tank is provided with a waste liquid tank extraction opening and a liquid level switch measuring opening for inserting a waste liquid tank liquid level switch; a waste liquid tank high-temperature ball valve is arranged in a pipeline between the tin melting tank and the waste liquid tank, and the waste liquid tank high-temperature ball valve is an automatic control valve and is used for controlling the flow direction of waste tin liquid; the body part of the waste liquid tank is arranged in the heating sleeve of the waste liquid tank.
The pipeline and the high-temperature ball valve are wrapped by heating belts to prevent the molten tin from cooling in the flowing process.
The liquid storage tank and the waste liquid tank are made of stainless steel materials, the top cover is designed by a flange plate, and the high-temperature sealing ring is sealed.
The tin melting tank main body is cylindrical, the lower part of the tin melting tank main body is conical and is formed by processing stainless steel materials, the top cover adopts a flange design, and a high-temperature sealing ring is sealed.
And a pressure reducing valve and a pressure valve are arranged in a pipeline connecting the tin melting tank and the nitrogen cylinder.
The two observation windows are symmetrically positioned on two sides of the top cover of the tin melting tank and used for checking the melting condition of tin in the tin melting tank in real time. The crystal fiber heating cavity is used for heating and heat preservation of tin in the tin melting tank, and the whole tin melting tank is arranged in the crystal fiber heating cavity. The crystal fiber is a heat-insulating layer with the thickness of about 8cm, and the inner wall of the crystal fiber is pasted with a resistance wire. The water cooling machine is used for cooling the top cover of the tin melting tank, a water cooling pipeline is hung on the top cover of the tin melting tank, and an inlet and an outlet of the water cooling pipeline are connected with the circulating water cooling machine. The top cover of the tin melting tank is designed into a flange structure, is convenient to open and is used for adding solid tin materials. After the tin material is added, a vacuum pump is started, when the air pressure displayed by a vacuum meter is less than 100Pa, the tin material is melted by heating, the melting temperature is set to be 300 ℃, the heat preservation time is 3 hours, and the automatic control device can automatically record the change curve of the temperature and the pressure along with the time.
The bottom of the tin melting tank is connected with a tin liquid pipeline, after the tin material is melted, a three-way valve on a vacuum pipeline is rotated, the tin melting tank is stopped to be vacuumized, and the liquid storage tank and the waste liquid tank continue to keep an air pumping state. The valve of the steel cylinder is opened, and nitrogen protective gas with 3 atmospheric pressures is filled into the tin melting tank. And then, opening the high-temperature ball valve of the liquid storage tank to enable molten tin to flow into the liquid storage tank. The tin melting pipeline and the high-temperature ball valve are wound by a heating belt for heating, the heating temperature of the heating belt is set to be 200 ℃, and the tin liquid is prevented from being cooled and solidified in the flowing process. And the tin melting tank liquid level switch is used for judging the lowest tin liquid level of the tin melting tank, and the tin melting tank liquid level switch gives an alarm when the liquid level in the tin melting tank reaches the final height of 1 cm. At this time, the high-temperature ball valve of the liquid storage tank is closed, and the high-temperature ball valve of the waste liquid tank is opened, so that the last part of tin liquid flows into the waste liquid tank. The liquid level switch of the liquid storage tank and the liquid level switch of the waste liquid tank are respectively used for judging the full liquid level of the liquid storage tank and the full liquid level of the waste liquid tank, so that the liquid is prevented from overflowing. When the liquid level switch of the liquid storage tank and the liquid level switch of the waste liquid tank reach the set full liquid level, an alarm is given to prompt the replacement of a new tank. The filter is internally provided with a stainless steel filter screen with the aperture of 15 mu m, one end of the filter is connected with a pipeline, and the other end of the filter is connected with the liquid storage tank through the pipeline and is used for removing large-particle impurities in the tin liquid.
The pressurizing device comprises a pneumatic valve, a pressure reducing valve, a gas pipeline and a nitrogen cylinder. One end of the air pressure valve is connected with the nitrogen cylinder, and the other end of the air pressure valve is connected with the pressure reducing valve. The automatic control device adopts a touch screen and a programmable control mode, and can realize the control of heating, heat preservation, a high-temperature ball valve switch, a liquid level switch and the like.
Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following remarkable characteristics:
1. the tin melting device can melt tin under the vacuum condition, and protective gas can be filled for pressurization in the tin liquid canning process, so that the oxidation in the melting and flowing processes of tin materials is avoided, the smooth flowing of tin liquid is ensured, the tin melting and tin canning are integrated, and the cost is greatly saved.
2. The filter used in the invention ensures that large-particle impurities in the tin liquid are removed in the canning process, the tin melting tank liquid level switch device gives an alarm when the tin liquid level is remained for the last 1cm, and the surface tin liquid layer which is easy to pollute and oxidize does not flow into the liquid storage tank, so that the impurity content in the tin liquid is reduced to the maximum extent.
3. The invention can be well suitable for canning of tin raw materials in the EUV light source droplet target generator, has high melting speed and simple operation, and the liquid storage tank can be designed according to the requirements of the liquid storage tank, thereby meeting the canning of the tin raw materials with different shapes and capacities.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an integrated tin feedstock can system for a droplet target in an EUV light source according to the present invention.
Detailed Description
The invention is further illustrated with reference to the following figures and examples, which should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a structural diagram of an integrated tin raw material canning system for a liquid drop target in an EUV light source, and as shown in the figure, the system comprises a vacuum gauge 1, an air charging port 2, a tin melting tank 3, a crystal fiber heating cavity 4, a liquid storage tank 8, a liquid storage tank liquid level switch 10, a waste liquid tank 12, a waste liquid tank liquid level switch 14, liquid storage tank and waste liquid tank heating sleeves 9 and 13, a vacuum pump 16, liquid storage tank and waste liquid tank high- temperature ball valves 5 and 15, a three-way valve 17, a thermocouple 19, a tin melting tank liquid level switch 21, observation windows 20 and 22, a water cooler 23, a pressure reducing valve 24, a gas pressure valve 25, a nitrogen gas bottle 26 and the like.
The tin melting tank 3 is made of stainless steel materials, the top cover can be opened and is arranged in the crystal fiber heating cavity 4, and an annular heating resistance wire is arranged in the crystal fiber heating cavity 4. The front wall of the tin melting tank 3 is provided with a temperature measuring port, a heating couple 19 is inserted, two sides are respectively provided with an air pumping port 18 and an air charging port 2, and the air pumping port 18 is connected with a vacuum pump 16 through a pipeline. The top cover of the tin melting tank 3 is provided with a liquid level switch 21 and two observation windows 20 and 22. The inner disc of the top cover is provided with a refrigeration water pipe, and the water pipe is connected with an external circulating water cooler 23. The bottom of the tin melting tank 3 is connected with a pipeline, the flow direction of the pipeline is divided into two paths, one path is connected with a liquid storage tank 8 through a liquid storage tank high-temperature ball valve 5 and a filter 6, and the other path is connected with a waste liquid tank high-temperature ball valve 15 and a waste liquid tank 12. The pipeline and the high-temperature ball valve are wound with heating tapes, so that the molten tin is prevented from cooling in the flowing process. The liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12 are made of stainless steel materials, the top cover is designed by a flange plate, and a high-temperature sealing ring is sealed.
The inflation assembly comprises a pneumatic valve, a pressure reducing valve and a nitrogen cylinder. The air exhaust component comprises a vacuum gauge, a three-way valve and a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump 16 is connected with the tin melting tank 3, the liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12, and the pipeline of the vacuum pump is connected with the three-way valve 17 which can control the on and off of the air exhaust of the tin melting tank.
The automatic control device adopts a programmable control program, sets the heating temperature and time of the tin melting tank and the on-off of the high-temperature ball valve in a touch mode, and the system can also automatically record the change curves of the temperature and the pressure along with the time.
After the top cover of the tin melting tank 3 is opened, a proper amount of solid tin material is added into the tank, the tin material is ensured not to exceed the height of the external crystal fiber heating cavity, the top cover is closed, the airtightness of the liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12 is checked, the three-way valve 17 and the vacuum pump 16 are opened, the vacuum gauge 1 is observed, and the vacuum degree of less than 100pa of air in the tin melting tank 3, the liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12 is pumped through the vacuum assembly. Starting the water cooling machine 23, setting the heating temperature and the heat preservation time of the tin material through an automatic control device, starting a heating program, recording the temperature change curve of the thermocouple 19, and observing the melting condition of the tin through the observation windows 20 and 22. And setting the heating temperatures of the pipeline heating belt, the liquid storage tank and the waste liquid tank heating sleeve, and starting a heating program. When the tin observed from the observation windows 20 and 22 is changed into a molten flowing state and the temperature curve recorded by the thermocouple 19 reaches the set temperature and the heat preservation time length, the three-way valve 17 is rotated to close the air suction valve leading to the tin melting tank 3, but the liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12 are continuously kept in the air suction state, the nitrogen cylinder air pressure valve 25 is opened, the pressure reducing valve 24 is rotated to adjust the pressure to 3-5 atmospheric pressures, after the atmospheric pressures are stable, the high-temperature ball valve 5 of the liquid storage tank is opened through an automatic control program to allow the tin liquid to flow into the liquid storage tank 8, and when the liquid level switch 21 in the tin melting tank 3 gives an alarm, the high-temperature ball valve 5 of the liquid storage tank is closed, the high-temperature ball valve 15 of the waste liquid tank is opened, and the last small part of the tin liquid flows into the waste liquid tank 12.
Tests show that the high-purity tin can be smoothly canned by adjusting the vacuum degree in the tin melting tank 3, the liquid storage tank 8 and the waste liquid tank 12, the heating temperature and the heat preservation time of the tin melting tank 3, the air pressure of protective gas filled in the tin melting tank 3, the pore size of a filter screen and the alarm liquid level of a liquid level switch in the tin melting tank 3. The invention can realize the canning of tin cans with different shapes and capacities, has high integration degree, convenient adjustment and safe operation, and is suitable for the canning of tin droplet target raw materials in an EUV light source.