TW202006181A - Batch curing chamber with gas distribution and individual pumping - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a batch processing chamber that is adapted to simultaneously cure multiple substrates at one time. The batch processing chamber includes multiple processing sub-regions that are each independently temperature controlled. The batch processing chamber may include a first and a second sub-processing region that are each serviced by a substrate transport device external to the batch processing chamber. In addition, a slotted cover mounted on the loading opening of the batch curing chamber reduces the effect of ambient air entering the chamber during loading and unloading.

Description

Batch curing chamber with gas distribution and individual pumping

The embodiments disclosed in the present invention generally relate to equipment and methods for processing multiple substrates (such as semiconductor wafers), and more particularly, to equipment and methods for curing dielectric materials disposed on multiple substrates.

Since the introduction of semiconductor devices decades ago, semiconductor devices have been significantly reduced in size. Today's semiconductor manufacturing equipment routinely produces 32nm, 28nm and 22nm feature size components, and develops new equipment and implements to manufacture even smaller size components. The reduced feature size allows features of the structure on the element to reduce the size of the space. Therefore, the width of the structure on the device (such as gaps, grooves, and the like) can be reduced to a point, where the aspect ratio of the gap depth to the gap width becomes very high, which makes filling these gaps with dielectric materials a problem. This is because the deposited dielectric material tends to "pinch off", in which gaps of high aspect ratio or other structure entry areas may be closed before bottom-up filling is completed, leaving holes or weak points Within the structure.

Over the years, many techniques have been developed to avoid pinching or "curing" holes or gaps formed by pinching. One method starts with a high-flow precursor material that can be applied to the surface of a rotating substrate in the liquid phase (such as SOG deposition technology). These fluid precursors can flow into and fill very small substrate gaps without forming holes or fragile gaps. However, once such high-flow materials are deposited, they must harden into solid dielectric materials.

In many cases, the hardening process includes heat treatment to remove volatile elements from the deposited material, which are necessary to make the initially deposited film flowable. After these components are removed, hardened and dense dielectric materials with high etching resistance, such as silicon oxide, are left behind.

The fluidity of these films may result from the various chemical compositions contained in the film, but hardening or densifying the film by removing these same chemical compositions is almost uniformly beneficial for the fluidity deposition techniques across the set. These hardening and densification processes can be time-consuming. Therefore, there is a need for new post-treatment technologies and equipment that are currently available or are being developed to densify various flowable films. This and other needs are dealt with in the disclosure of the present invention.

Embodiments disclosed in the present invention generally relate to equipment and methods for processing substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, and more specifically, to equipment and methods for batch curing of dielectric materials disposed on multiple substrates.

Embodiments disclosed in the present invention may provide a system for forming a dielectric material on a surface of a substrate. The system includes a host, a production interface, a load lock chamber, a plurality of fluid CVD deposition chambers, and a batch processing chamber. The production interface includes at least one atmospheric manipulator and is configured to receive one or more cassette substrates. The load lock chamber is coupled to the host and is configured to receive one or more substrates from the at least one atmospheric manipulator in the production interface , Multiple fluid CVD deposition chambers are each coupled to the host, and the batch processing chamber is coupled to the production interface. The batch processing chamber includes multiple sub-processing areas, loading openings, and cover plates, each of which is configured Whereas the substrate is received from at least one atmospheric mechanical arm and the curing process is performed on the substrate received from the atmospheric mechanical arm, the loading opening is formed in the wall of the batch processing chamber, and the cover plate includes a plurality of slot-shaped openings and is disposed on the loading opening , Wherein each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings is configured to allow at least one atmospheric robotic arm to extend an arm from a position outside the batch processing chamber to one of the plurality of sub-processing regions, and wherein when the loading opening is opened, the plurality of slot-shaped openings Each of the openings is configured to reduce the free area of the loading opening.

Embodiments disclosed in the present invention may further provide a batch substrate processing chamber, including a plurality of sub-processing areas, a loading opening, and a cover plate, each of the plurality of sub-processing areas is configured to receive the substrate from the atmospheric robot arm and A curing process is performed on the substrate, the loading opening is formed in the wall of the batch processing chamber, the cover plate is disposed on the loading opening and includes a plurality of slot-shaped openings, each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings is configured to allow at least one atmospheric robotic arm An arm extends from a position outside the batch processing chamber to one of the plurality of sub-processing areas, and wherein when the loading opening is opened, each of the plurality of slot-shaped openings is configured to reduce the free area of the loading opening.

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to batch processing chambers that are adjusted to cure multiple substrates simultaneously at a time. The chamber includes first and second sub-processing areas, each of which is served by a substrate transfer device outside the batch processing chamber, and each sub-processing area can support the substrate. In one embodiment, the first sub-processing area is directly under the second sub-processing area, where the first and second sub-processing areas can be accessed by the substrate transfer device through the cover plate, which covers the load formed in the chamber The part of the opening.

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of a processing tool including a production interface 105 having a batch curing chamber 103 according to the disclosed embodiment of the present invention. The processing tool 100 generally includes a production interface 105, a batch curing chamber 103, a transfer chamber 112, an atmospheric clamping station 109, and a plurality of paired processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e-f. In the processing tool 100, a pair of FOUPs (front opening unified longitudinal grooves) 102 supply a substrate (such as a 300 mm diameter wafer), and the substrate is received by one arm of the atmospheric robot arm 104 and placed in the load lock chamber 106. The second robot arm 110 is disposed in the transfer chamber 112 coupled with the load lock chamber 106. The second robot arm 110 is used to transfer the substrate from the load lock chamber 106 to the processing chambers 108a-f coupled to the transfer chamber 112.

The processing chambers 108a-f may include one or more system elements for depositing, annealing, curing, and/or etching the fluid dielectric film on the substrate. In one configuration, three pairs of processing chambers (such as 108 a-b, 108 c-d, and 108 e-f) can be used to deposit the fluid dielectric material on the substrate.

In some embodiments, the batch curing chamber 103 is configured to perform batch curing processes on multiple substrates simultaneously, the multiple substrates having a fluid dielectric material deposited thereon. In these embodiments, the batch curing chamber 103 is generally configured to perform curing processing on a large number of substrates, and performing curing processing on a large number of substrates may be performed in pairs of processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e -f simultaneous film deposition. Therefore, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, the batch curing chamber 103 is advantageously adjusted in size to accommodate six substrates at a time during the curing process. Thus, all substrates that have been processed by the pair of processing chambers 108a-b, 108c-d, and 108e-f can be simultaneously cured, thereby maximizing the substrate yield of the processing tool 100.

In addition, in the case where multiple processing chambers have different processing method start and end times, in order to avoid substrates remaining in the batch curing chamber 103 at significantly different times, the processing tool 100 may include an atmospheric clamping station 109, atmospheric clamping The holding station 109 is used to hold the processed substrates until the other processed substrates are completed with their deposition processing. The atmospheric clamping station allows all substrates to be placed in the batch curing chamber 103 at once. For example, the atmospheric clamping station 109 is configured to temporarily store substrates outside the batch curing chamber 103 until the required number of substrates can be used for processing in the batch curing chamber 103. The atmospheric robotic arm 104 then loads the substrate into the batch curing chamber 103 in a fast and continuous manner, so that the substrate without thin film deposition stays at a relatively high temperature in the batch curing chamber 103 compared to any other thin film deposition It took a few seconds longer. Therefore, the substrate-to-substrate variation in the curing process can be minimized or reduced.

The batch curing chamber 103 generally includes a chamber body 103B and a slit valve 103A. After the substrate is positioned in the chamber body 103B by the atmospheric robot arm 104, the slit valve 103A is used to seal and close the inner area of the chamber body 103B. The batch curing process and batch curing chamber 103 are further described with respect to Figures 4-10 below. Demonstration example of fluid CVD chamber and deposition process

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a fluidized chemical vapor deposition chamber 200 with zoned plasma generation regions. The processing chamber 200 may be any of the processing chambers 108a-f of the processing tool 100, which is configured at least for depositing a fluid dielectric material on a substrate. In some embodiments, the processing tool 100 may include any other suitable chemical vapor deposition chamber instead of the processing chamber 200.

During thin film deposition (such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or silicon oxycarbide deposition), the processing gas may flow into the first plasma region 215 through the gas inlet assembly 205. The process gas may be excited in the remote plasma system (RPS) 201 before entering the first plasma region 215. The processing chamber 200 includes a cover 212 and a spray head 225. The cover member 212 shows an applied AC voltage source and the spray head 225 is grounded, which is consistent with the plasma generated in the first plasma area 215. The insulating ring 220 is positioned between the cover 212 and the shower head 225 to enable capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) to be formed in the first plasma region 215. The illustrated cover member 212 and the spray head 225 have an insulating ring 220 between the cover member 212 and the spray head 225, while allowing an AC potential to be applied to the cover member 212 relative to the spray head 225.

The cover 212 may be a dual source cover for use with the processing chamber. Two different supply channels are visible within the gas inlet assembly 205. The first channel 202 carries gas passing through the remote plasma system (RPS) 201, while the second channel 204 bypasses the RPS 201. The first channel 202 can be used for processing gas and the second channel 204 can be used for treatment gas. The gases flowing into the first plasma region 215 can be dispersed by the baffle 206.

Fluid (eg, precursor) may flow into the second plasma region 233 through the showerhead 225. Excited species from the precursor in the first plasma region 215 move through the hole 214 in the showerhead 225 and react with the precursor flowing into the second plasma region 233 from the showerhead 225. Little or no plasma is present in the second plasma region 233. The excited derivative of the precursor is combined in the second plasma region 233 to form a fluid dielectric material on the substrate. As the dielectric material grows, more recently added materials have higher mobility than the underlying materials. As evaporation reduces the content of organic matter, the activity decreases. The gap can be filled with a fluid dielectric material using this technique without leaving the traditional density of organic content in the dielectric material after deposition. The curing step (described below) can be used to further reduce or remove the organic content from the deposited dielectric material.

Excitation of the precursor in the first plasma region 215 alone or in combination with the remote plasma system (RPS) 201 in the first plasma region 215 provides several benefits. Due to the plasma in the first plasma region 215, the concentration of the excitation substance from the precursor may increase in the second plasma region 233. This increase may be due to the position of the plasma in the first plasma region 215. Compared to the remote plasma system (RPS) 201, the second plasma region 233 is located closer to the first plasma region 215, leaving less time for the excited substance to pass through with other gas particles, chamber walls, and The nozzle surface leaves the excited state.

The concentration uniformity of the excited substance from the precursor may also increase in the second plasma region 233. This may be due to the shape of the first plasma region 215, which is similar to the shape of the second plasma region 233. Relative to the material passing through the hole 214 near the center of the showerhead 225, the excitation material generated in the remote plasma system (RPS) 201 moves more distance to pass through the hole 214 near the edge of the showerhead 225. More distance makes the excitation material less excited, and, for example, may result in a slower growth rate near the edge of the substrate. The precursor is excited in the first plasma region 215 to mitigate this change.

In addition to the precursors, there may be other gases introduced at different times for different purposes. Process gas may be introduced to remove unnecessary substances from the chamber walls, substrate, deposited film and/or film during deposition. The processing gas may include at least one of the following groups of gas, the group including H ₂ , H ₂ /N ₂ mixture, NH ₃ , NH ₄ OH, O ₃ , O ₂ , H ₂ O ₂ and water vapor. The processing gas can be excited in the plasma and then used to reduce or remove the remaining organic content from the deposited film. In other embodiments, process gas may be used instead of plasma. When the process gas includes water vapor, a mass flow meter (MFM) and injection valve can be used to achieve delivery or other suitable water vapor generator.

In one embodiment, the dielectric layer may be deposited by introducing a dielectric material precursor (such as a silicon-containing precursor) and reacting the precursor in the second plasma region 233. An example of a dielectric material precursor is a silicon-containing precursor, including silane, disilane, methylsilane, dimethylsilane, trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), triethyl Oxysilane (TES), Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS), Tetramethyldisilaxane (TMDSO), Tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (TMCTS), Tetramethyldiethoxydi Siloxane (TMDDSO), dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS) or a combination of the above. Additional precursors used for silicon nitride deposition include precursors containing Si _x N _y H _z (such as sillyl-amine) and its derivatives, including trisillylamine (TSA) and dimethylsilylamine (TSA) disillylamine (DSA)), containing Si _x N _y H _z O _zz precursor, containing Si _x N _y H _z Cl _zz precursor, or a combination of the above.

Treatment precursors include hydrogen-containing compounds, oxygen-containing compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds, or a combination of the above. Examples of suitable processing precursors include one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of H ₂ , H ₂ /N ₂ mixture, NH ₃ , NH ₄ OH, O ₃ , O ₂ , H ₂ O ₂ , N ₂ , N _x H _y compound containing N ₂ H ₄ vapor, NO, N ₂ O, NO ₂ , water vapor, or a combination of the above. Processing system there may be a plasma precursor (e.g., the RPS unit) to include the N ^* and (or) H ^* and (or) O ^*-containing group or plasma, ^{_{e.g., NH 3, NH 2 *,}} NH *, N ^* , H ^* , O ^* , N ^* O ^* or a combination of the above. Alternatively, the processing precursor may include one or more of the precursors described in this specification.

The processing precursor may be a plasma excited in the first plasma region 215 to generate a processing gas plasma and free radicals (including free radicals or plasma containing N ^* and/or H ^* and/or O ^* ) , ^{_{e.g., NH 3, NH 2 *,}} NH *, N *, H *, O *, or a combination of N ^* O ^* those of the above. Alternatively, the processing precursor may be in a plasma state after passing through the remote plasma system and before being introduced into the first plasma region 215.

The excited processing precursor 290 is then transferred into the second plasma region 233 in order to react with the precursor through the hole 214. Once in the processing space, the processing precursors can mix and react to deposit dielectric materials.

In one embodiment, the fluidity CVD process performed in the processing chamber 200 can deposit the dielectric material as a thin film (PSZ-based thin film) containing polysilazane-based silicon, which is flowable and Fill in the grooves, features, perforations, or other holes defined in the substrate where the polysilazane-based silicon film is deposited.

In addition to dielectric material precursors and processing precursors, other gases may be introduced at different times for different purposes. Process gas can be introduced to remove unnecessary substances, such as hydrogen, carbon, and fluorine, from the chamber walls, substrate, deposited film, and/or film during deposition. The processing precursor and/or processing gas may include at least one gas from the group consisting of H ₂ , H ₂ /N ₂ mixture, NH ₃ , NH ₄ OH, O ₃ , O ₂ , H ₂ O _2. N ₂ , N ₂ H ₄ vapor, NO, N ₂ O, NO ₂ , water vapor, or a combination of the above. The processing gas can be excited in the plasma and then used to reduce or remove the remaining organic content from the deposited film. In other embodiments, process gas may be used instead of plasma. The processing gas may be introduced into the first processing region through the RPS unit or bypass the RPS unit, and may be further excited in the first plasma region.

Silicon nitride materials include silicon nitride, Si _x N _y , hydrogen-containing silicon nitride, SixNyHz, silicon oxynitride (including hydrogen-containing silicon oxynitride), Si _x N _y H _z O _zz, and halogen-containing silicon nitride (Including chlorinated silicon nitride, Si _x N _y H _z Cl _zz ). The deposited dielectric material can then be converted into a silicon oxide-based material. Demonstration example of deposition and batch curing process

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of the process 300 that can be performed in the process chamber 200 and the batch curing chamber 103. 4A-4C are schematic cross-sectional views of portions of the substrate corresponding to various stages of the process 300. Although process 300 is shown for forming a dielectric material in a substrate or in a groove defined above, such as a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure manufacturing process, process 300 may be used to form other structures on a substrate, such as interlayer dielectric ( ILD) structure.

The process 300 starts at step 302 by transferring the substrate 400 (as shown in FIG. 4A) to the deposition processing chamber (as shown in the flowable chemical vapor (CVD) chamber 200 of FIG. 2). In one embodiment, the substrate 400 may have one or more silicon substrates formed thereon to form a structure, such as a shallow trench isolation (STI) structure 404. In another embodiment, the substrate 400 may be a silicon substrate having multiple layers (such as a thin film stack) for forming different patterns and/or features. The substrate 400 may be, for example, crystalline silicon (such as Si>100> or Si>111>), silicon oxide, strained silicon, silicon germanium, doped or undoped polycrystalline silicon, doped or undoped silicon wafers, and patterns Or non-patterned silicon-on-insulator (SOI), carbon-doped silicon oxide, silicon nitride, doped silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire, metal layer on silicon or the like s material. The substrate 400 may be any shape and size, such as a 200 mm, 300 mm, or 450 mm diameter wafer, or a rectangular or square plate.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, the layer 402 is disposed on the substrate 400 and is suitable for manufacturing the STI structure 404 through the deposition of the fluid dielectric material. In some embodiments, the layer 402 may be etched or patterned to form grooves 406 in the layer 402 for forming a shallow groove isolation (STI) structure. The STI structure may be used to integrate The components are electrically insulated from each other. Alternatively, in an embodiment where the layer 402 does not exist, the processing performed on the layer 402 described in this specification may be performed on the substrate 400.

In step 304, a dielectric material 408 is deposited on the substrate 400 to fill the groove 406 defined in the layer 402, as shown in FIG. 4B. The dielectric material 408 may be deposited by the fluid chemical vapor deposition process performed in the processing chamber 200, as described with respect to FIG. 2 above. In one embodiment, the dielectric material 408 is a silicon-containing material deposited from the gas mixture supplied into the processing chamber 200.

In one embodiment, the gas mixture used to form the dielectric material 408 supplied into the processing chamber 200 may include the dielectric material precursor and the processing precursor as discussed above. Additionally, suitable examples of processing precursors may include nitrogen-containing precursors as discussed above. In addition, the treatment precursor may also include hydrogen-containing compounds, oxygen-containing compounds, or a combination thereof, such as NH ₃ gas. Or the processing precursor may include one or more of the desired precursors.

In one embodiment, the substrate temperature during the deposition process is maintained within a predetermined temperature range. In one embodiment, the substrate temperature is maintained at less than about 200 degrees Celsius, such as less than 100 degrees Celsius, to allow the dielectric material 408 formed on the substrate to flow and reflow into the groove 406. It is believed that a relatively low substrate temperature (eg, less than 100 degrees Celsius) can help maintain the film initially formed on the surface of the substrate in a liquid state of fluidity to maintain the fluidity and viscosity of the resulting film formed on the surface of the substrate. As the resulting film is formed on the substrate with a certain degree of fluidity and viscosity, after the subsequent heat and humidity treatment, the bonding structure of the film can be changed, converted, or replaced with a different functional group or bonding structure. In one embodiment, the substrate temperature in the processing chamber is maintained between about room temperature and about 200 degrees Celsius, such as about less than 100 degrees Celsius, for example between about 30 degrees Celsius and about 80 degrees Celsius.

The dielectric material precursor may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate between about 1 sccm and about 5000 sccm. The processing precursor may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate between about 1 sccm and about 1000 sccm. Alternatively, during the process, the supplied gas mixture may also be controlled at a flow ratio between the dielectric material precursor and the process precursor of about 0.1 to 100. The treatment pressure is maintained between about 0.10 Torr and about 10 Torr, such as between about 0.1 Torr and about 1 Torr, such as between about 0.5 Torr and 0.7 Torr.

The one or more inert gases may also contain the gas mixture provided to the processing chamber 200. The inert gas may include but is not limited to noble gas, such as Ar, He, Xe and the like. The inert gas may be supplied to the processing chamber at a flow rate of about 1 sccm to about 50,000 sccm.

The RF power supply is used to maintain the plasma during deposition. The RF power supply is between about 100 kHz and about 100 MHz, such as about 350 kHz or about 13.56 MHz. Alternatively, VHF power supplies can be used to provide frequencies up to about 27MHz to 200MHz. In one embodiment, the RF power can be supplied between about 1,000 watts and 10,000 watts. The distance between the substrate and the shower head 225 can be controlled according to the substrate size. In one embodiment, the processing interval is controlled between about 100 mils to about 5 inches.

In one embodiment, the dielectric material 408 formed on the substrate 400 is a silicon-containing material having nitrogen or hydrogen atoms, such as Si _x N _y H _z or —Si—N—H— bonds formed on the substrate, Where x is an integer from 1 to 200, and y and z are integers from 0 to 400. Since the processing precursors provided in the gas mixture can provide nitrogen and hydrogen species during deposition, the silicon atoms formed in the dielectric material 408 may include —Si—N—H—, —Si—N— or —Si—H— Or other bonding. The Si—N, N—H, and Si—H bonds will be further replaced by Si—O—Si bonds by subsequent heat and wet treatment to form the dielectric material 408 as a silicon oxide layer.

In step 306, after the dielectric material 408 is formed on the substrate 400, the substrate 400 is cured and/or heat-treated. The curing process removes moisture and other volatile components from the deposited dielectric material 408 to form a solid-phase dielectric material 408, as shown in FIG. 4C. As the dielectric material 408 solidifies, the moisture and solvent in the deposited dielectric material 408 are discharged, causing the deposited dielectric material 408 to refill and reflow into the groove 406 defined in the substrate 400, thereby forming a substantial substance on the substrate 400 Flat surface 410. In one embodiment, the curing step 306 can be performed in the batch curing chamber 103.

In some embodiments, the curing temperature may be controlled at a temperature below 150 degrees Celsius, such as below 100 degrees Celsius, for example about 50 degrees Celsius. The curing time can be controlled between about 1 second and about 10 hours. For example, in one embodiment, the curing process is performed at a temperature of about 90 degrees Celsius for 8 to 10 minutes. In some embodiments, during the curing process, a heated purge gas and/or an inert carrier gas (argon (Ar) or nitrogen (N ₂ )) is used and flows onto the substrate, for example, via a heated showerhead. In other embodiments, the carrier gas may be used in combination with ozone (O ₃ ) during the curing process. In other examples, the flow of the heat treatment gas on the surface of the substrate and the heating of the substrate can effectively remove the volatile elements from the thin film, where the fluid dielectric thin film has been formed on the substrate. In this method, the thin film formed by fluid CVD treatment (such as the thin film deposited in step 304) can be converted into a dense, solid dielectric film with little or no holes, even if it is characterized by a high aspect ratio When formed on the substrate. In some embodiments, the curing process includes a preheating step. In the preheating step, the substrate is allowed to stand on the heated susceptor for a specific duration (eg, about 1 second to about 10 minutes) before the process gas flows. .

In step 310, after the curing process is completed, the dielectric material 408 may be selectively exposed to a thermal annealing process to form an annealed dielectric material 408. In general, the thermal annealing process is performed in separate processing chambers instead of the curing process described above. An example of a suitable thermal annealing chamber in which step 310 can be performed is a CENTURA® RADIANCE® RTP chamber available from Applied Materials. It is worth noting that other types of annealing chambers or RTP chambers obtained from other manufacturers can also be used to perform the thermal annealing process as described in step 310. Example of batch curing process

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a batch curing chamber 500 provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The batch curing chamber 500 can be used as the batch curing chamber 103 in FIG. 1 to be used for performing the batch curing process described in step 306 above. The batch curing chamber 500 generally includes a chamber body 510, a plurality of curing stations 530 disposed in the chamber body 510, and a plurality of substrate lifting assemblies 540 partially disposed in the chamber body 510.

The chamber body 510 includes a chamber wall 512 coupled to the chamber cover 511 and the chamber floor 513. The vacuum pump front stage vacuum line 514 (configured to pump the process and purge gas from the chamber body 510) penetrates the chamber 510 through the chamber floor 513. In other embodiments, the vacuum pump foreline vacuum line 514 may penetrate into the chamber 510 through one or more of the chamber walls 512 and/or the chamber cover 511. The vacuum pump front stage vacuum line 514 is fluidly coupled to the processing area 522 of the chamber 510 through the opening 521 and to each of the plurality of exhaust inlet arrays 523 provided adjacent to each of the plurality of curing stations 530. Therefore, the processing gas, purge gas, and volatile compounds discharged from the substrate during the curing process can be removed from the processing region 522 and each of the processing sub-regions 524 located between the plurality of curing stations 530. The multiple exhaust inlet arrays 523 are described in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 8.

The chamber body 510 may also include an RPS manifold 515 coupled to one of the chamber walls 512. During the periodic cleaning process, the RPS manifold 515 is configured to direct cleaning gas to each processing sub-region 524 via a plurality of cleaning gas openings 516. The purge gas may be generated by the remote plasma source 550. For example, NH ₃ or any other cleaning gas may pass through the remote plasma source and then be used to remove unnecessary deposits on the chamber body and one or more inner surfaces of the multiple curing stations 530. After a predetermined amount of cured film is processed by the batch curing chamber 500, or after a predetermined number of substrates are processed by the batch curing chamber 500, this processing may be performed at specific time intervals.

The chamber body 510 generally also includes a loading opening 517, a slot-shaped opening cover 518 (more details shown in FIG. 6), and a loading opening door 520. The loading opening 517 is formed in one of the chamber walls 512, and the slot shape The opening cover portion 518 is provided with a plurality of substrate slits 519, and the loading opening door 520 is provided to seal the loading opening 517 during the curing process. In general, each of the substrate slits 519 corresponds to an individual one of the curing stations 530 and is substantially aligned with the individual one of the curing stations 530 to allow the atmospheric robot arm 104 to extend an arm into when the loading opening door 520 is in the open position Each of the plurality of sub-processing areas 524. The loading opening door 520 shown in Fig. 5 is in the closed position.

The loading opening 517 is configured to allow the substrate to be loaded into each of the plurality of curing stations 530 without repositioning the loading opening relative to the plurality of curing stations 530 or the production interface 105. For example, when a plurality of curing stations 530 are arranged in a stacked array, as shown in FIG. 5, the loading opening 517 is configured to span the stacked array in two dimensions (height and width) so that the stacked array All or at least a large proportion of the plurality of curing stations 530 can be accessed by the atmospheric robot arm 104. Therefore, when the curing stations 530 are arranged in a vertically stacked array, the height 525 of the loading opening 517 is quite large to accommodate the combined height of the plurality of curing stations 530. The slot-shaped opening cover 518 may be a plate or other structure configured to minimize or reduce the opening area of the loading opening 517 when the loading opening 517 is opened (such as during loading and unloading of the substrate). Because the loading opening 517 has a relatively large height 525, the free area of the loading opening is correspondingly large, and a large amount of ambient air from the production interface 105 is allowed to enter the batch curing chamber 500 when the slot-shaped opening cover portion 518 is absent. A large amount of ambient air entering the batch curing chamber 500 may cause unnecessary cooling of the batch curing chamber 500 or oxidation and/or contamination of internal components in the batch curing chamber 500, and also cause the batch curing chamber 500 The mid-process gas and exhaust products leak into the production interface 105. Therefore, the slot-shaped opening cover 518 helps to prevent particles and/or unnecessary gases or processing by-products from being transferred back and forth from the batch curing chamber 500.

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a slot-shaped opening cover 518 for the batch curing chamber 500 shown in FIG. 5 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The slot-shaped opening cover 518 may be a plate or other structure configured to minimize or reduce the opening area of the loading opening 517 when the loading opening 517 is opened (such as during loading and unloading of the substrate). For example, the size of the plurality of substrate slits 519 can be selected to be as small as practically possible without causing interference with the substrate loaded and unloaded through the loading opening 517. In this embodiment, it may be based on the position of the atmospheric robot arm 104 (shown in FIG. 1), the slot-shaped opening cover 518, the loading opening 517, and the individual positions that may affect the multiple substrate slits 519 relative to the atmospheric robot arm 104 The tolerance stack-up of any element of the batch curing chamber 500 and the change of the chamber to the chamber determine the size of the plurality of substrate slits 519. Therefore, in this embodiment, a plurality of substrate slits can be configured to conform to the cross section of the substrate resting on the arm of the atmospheric robot arm 104 plus an additional free area to accommodate the components and production of the batch curing chamber 500 The tolerances of the interface 105, the atmospheric manipulator 104 and the like are superimposed.

In order to reduce the free area of the loading opening 517 when the substrate is loaded into the batch curing chamber 500, the slot-shaped opening cover 518 greatly reduces or minimizes the entrance of ambient air into and the processing and purge gas exiting from the batch curing chamber 500 Export. Therefore, despite the relatively large size of the loading opening 517, little or no process gas and/or volatile components leave the batch curing chamber 500 during substrate loading and unloading. In addition, unnecessary cooling of the batch curing chamber 500 caused by ambient air entering the production interface 105 or thermal radiation leaving the batch curing chamber 500 is avoided.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of parts of a plurality of curing stations 530 configured according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the plurality of curing stations 530 provided in the chamber body 510 includes a heated substrate base 531, a spray head 532 positioned on the heating base 531, a spray head gas chamber 533 formed between the heating base 531 and the spray head 532, An annular gas chamber 534 fluidly coupled to the showerhead gas chamber 533 and a processing gas plate (not shown), a curing station heater 535, and a thermocouple 537. For clarity, the exhaust inlet array 523 that may be provided adjacent to the curing station 530 is omitted from FIG. 7. The processing sub-region 524 is located between each of the plurality of curing stations 530.

The heated substrate base 531 is configured to support and in some embodiments heat the substrate during the curing process. The spray head 532 is configured to evenly distribute the processing gas (ie, solidified gas) and purge gas that enter the spray head gas chamber 533 to the adjacent processing sub-region 524. In addition, the heated substrate base 531 and the shower head 532 are arranged to form a shower head gas chamber 533 as shown. It is worth noting that the gas passing through the showerhead gas chamber 533 and entering the processing sub-region 524 can be heated by the heating substrate base 531 associated with the processing sub-region 524, which is different from and adjacent to the processing of the gas inflow Subregion 524. Alternatively or even more, the gas passing through the nozzle gas chamber 533 and entering the treatment sub-region 524 may be heated by the nozzle 532 through which the gas passes.

In some embodiments, the process and/or purge gas passing through the showerhead gas chamber 533 and entering the treatment sub-region 524 may first pass through the annular gas chamber 534 fluidly coupled to the showerhead gas chamber 533, as shown in FIG. 7 Show. The annular gas chamber 534 is configured with a plurality of orifices 701, and the orifices 701 are adjusted in size on the processing gas 702 compared to the flow resistance generated on the processing gas 702 when the processing gas 702 flows through the nozzle gas chamber 533 Generate greater flow resistance (ie pressure drop). In this method, although the annular gas chamber 534 can be coupled to the processing gas plate through a single inlet or a small number of inlets, the flow of the processing gas 702 entering the nozzle gas chamber 533 is substantially uniform near the nozzle head 532. In general, the uniform flow of processing gas 702 entering the showerhead gas chamber 533 promotes uniform flow through the showerhead 532 into the processing sub-region 524. In order to further promote uniform flow of the processing gas 702, the orifices 701 may be symmetrically distributed near the inner circumference of the annular gas chamber 534.

The maximum free area of the orifice 701 that promotes the uniform flow of the processing gas 702 into the nozzle gas chamber 533 may be based on the number of orifices 701, the size of the nozzle gas chamber 533, the flow resistance generated by the nozzle 532, and the approximate flow rate of the processing gas 702, etc. To decide. The maximum free area of this orifice 701 can be determined by the above knowledge by those with ordinary knowledge in the field.

The batch curing chamber 500 may include a curing station heater 535 and a thermocouple 537, which together enable individual closed-loop temperature control to be used for each of the multiple curing stations 530. Therefore, the batch curing chamber 500 can process multiple substrates without the risk of substrate-to-substrate variations caused by temperature changes between multiple curing stations 530. Without individual temperature control of the curing station heater 535, the substrates processed on the top and bottom of the processing sub-region 524 of the batch curing chamber 500 are generally exposed to a lower temperature than the substrates processed in the central processing sub-region 524, which can Seriously affect the results of curing wafer to wafer batch processing.

In some embodiments, both the thermocouple 537 and the curing station heater 535 are disposed in the heated substrate base 531, as shown in FIG. In these embodiments, the showerhead 532 and the wall of the annular gas chamber 534 are heated to a temperature close to the heating substrate base 531 via conduction and radiant heat transfer. Therefore, the processing gas passing through the annular gas chamber 534, the shower head gas chamber 533, and the shower head 532 are also heated to a temperature close to the heating substrate base 531. The thermocouple 537 provides temperature feedback to the heated substrate base 531 and thus the temperature of the process gas entering one of the process sub-regions 524 in closed loop control. Alternatively, a thermocouple 537 may be provided in contact with the showerhead 532 and/or in contact with the processing gas entering one of the processing sub-regions 524.

As described above, the plurality of exhaust gas inlet arrays 523 are provided adjacent to each of the plurality of curing stations 530. In certain curing processes performed on the substrate in one of the processing sub-regions 524, volatile components discharged from the dielectric material formed on the substrate may form particles, such as SiO2 particles. These particles may rest on the substrate being processed, which is very undesirable. Therefore, the flow pattern of the purification and processing gas in the batch curing chamber 500 may affect the contamination of the substrate being processed in the processing sub-region 524. The exhaust inlet array 523 is configured to discharge volatile components and particles (if formed) from the substrate being processed. In some embodiments, two or more exhaust gas inlet arrays 523 are arranged adjacent to each curing station 530 in a symmetrical arrangement, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8A-8C.

FIG. 8A is an isometric view of a plurality of group exhaust inlet arrays 523 arranged according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 8B is a plan view of the plurality of group exhaust inlet arrays 523 shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8C is a side view of the plurality of group exhaust inlet arrays 523 shown in FIG. 8A. For clarity, most other components of the batch curing chamber 500 are omitted. As shown in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A-8C, a group of four exhaust gas inlet arrays 523 is positioned adjacent to a specific curing station 530, and there are six groups of four exhaust gas inlet arrays 523 in total. In other embodiments, a group of more or less than four exhaust gas inlet arrays 523 may be positioned adjacent to a single curing station 530.

Each exhaust gas inlet array 523 includes a plurality of exhaust gas inlets 801 fluidly coupled to the exhaust gas chamber 802, and the exhaust gas chamber 802 is located in the exhaust gas inlet array 523. In some embodiments, each exhaust inlet array 523 is mechanically coupled with a support member 810 that structurally supports and positions the exhaust inlet array 523 coupled thereto. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A-C, the batch curing chamber 500 includes four separate support members 810, while in other embodiments, the batch curing member 500 may be configured with more or less than the total Four support members 810. In addition, each exhaust inlet array 523 is fluidly coupled to an exhaust manifold (not shown for clarity), which is then fluidly coupled to the foreline vacuum line 514 of the batch curing chamber 500. In some embodiments, one or more of the support members 810 may also be configured as exhaust manifolds.

In some embodiments, part or all of the exhaust inlet array 523 may include a flow balancing orifice 811. In these embodiments, each flow balancing orifice 811 is configured to restrict flow to the associated exhaust gas inlet array 523 so that the flow of processing gas and exhaust components through each exhaust gas inlet array 523 is relative to adjacent exhaust gas The inlet array 523 is equal or substantially equal. In some embodiments, the flow balance orifice 811 is a fixed orifice. In these embodiments, the specific size of each fixed orifice may be determined using computer simulation, flow visualization, trial-and-error methods, or a combination of the above. In other embodiments, part or all of the flow balancing orifice 811 is an adjustable orifice (such as a needle valve) that can be set (in the field) at the time of manufacture (and in response to batch curing chamber 500) Exhaust gas balance problem.

The plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to remove individual substrates from the atmospheric robot arm 104 and place individual substrates on the atmospheric robot arm 104 during loading and unloading. In addition, multiple substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to simultaneously position multiple substrates during processing in the batch curing chamber 500. For example, in some embodiments, multiple substrate lift assemblies 540 are configured to simultaneously position each substrate being processed into a processing position and into a preheating position. Generally, when in the processing position, the substrate is positioned close to the shower head 532, while in the preheating position, the substrate is positioned on the heated substrate base 531.

The multiple substrate lift assemblies 540 include multiple lift pin indexers 541, such as three or more. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540 includes three lift pin indexers 541, but only one is visible. 9 is an isometric view of a portion of the chamber lid 511 and all three lift pin indexers 541 of a plurality of substrate lift assemblies 540. For clarity, the chamber wall 512 and the chamber floor 513 are omitted from FIG. 9. Each of the three lift pin indexers 541 is partially provided in the chamber body 510 and coupled to the lift mechanism 544 (shown in FIG. 5 and omitted in FIG. 9 for clarity). The lift mechanism 544 may be any mechanical actuator suitable for positioning the substrate in the above loading, unloading, preheating, and processing positions. For example, the lifting mechanism may include a pneumatic actuator, a stepper motor, and the like.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a lift pin indexer 541 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the lift pin indexer 541 generally includes lift pins 542 for each of the processing sub-regions 524 in the batch curing chamber 500. Therefore, in the exemplary examples shown in FIGS. 5, 9 and 10, each lift pin indexer 541 includes six lift pins 542 coupled to the vertical axis 543. The three lift pin indexers 541 can simultaneously position six substrates at the processing position or set six substrates at the same time in the preheating position to heat the substrate base 531 individually.

In certain embodiments, each lift pin 542 is configured with a low-contact, thermally insulating contact surface 1001 to reduce and/or minimize heat transfer from the substrate to the lift pin 542 during processing. As such, so-called "cold spots" on the substrate are reduced or removed during processing, thereby improving the uniformity of the dielectric film being cured in the batch curing chamber 500. In some embodiments, the contact surface 1001 is formed with a cylindrical element 1002 so that the contact surface between the substrate and the contact surface 1001 is reduced to line or point contact. In addition, the cylindrical element 1002 may be formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the material commonly used to form the lift pin 542 (such as aluminum and stainless steel). For example, in some embodiments, the cylindrical element 1002 may be formed of sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

In summary, one or more embodiments disclosed herein provide systems and methods for curing dielectric materials disposed on multiple substrates without substrate-to-substrate variations generally associated with batch processing. In particular, the batch curing chamber includes a plurality of processing sub-regions each independently temperature controlled. In addition, the groove-shaped lid portion loaded on the loading opening of the chamber greatly reduces the influence of ambient air entering the chamber during loading and unloading.

Although the foregoing is directed to the embodiments disclosed in the present invention, other and further embodiments can be designed without departing from the basic scope of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the following patent applications.

100‧‧‧Processing tool 103A‧‧‧Slit valve 103B‧‧‧Chamber main body 103‧‧‧ Batch curing chamber 104‧‧‧Atmospheric manipulator 105‧‧‧ Production interface 106‧‧‧Load lock chamber 108a‧‧‧Processing chamber 109‧‧‧Atmospheric clamping station 110‧‧‧Second mechanical arm 112‧‧‧ chamber 200‧‧‧Process chamber 201‧‧‧RPS 202‧‧‧ First channel 204‧‧‧ Second channel 205‧‧‧Gas inlet assembly 206‧‧‧Baffle 212‧‧‧Cover 214‧‧‧ hole 215‧‧‧The first plasma area 220‧‧‧Insulation ring 225‧‧‧Sprinkler 233‧‧‧The second plasma area 290‧‧‧ Excited processing precursor 300‧‧‧Process 302‧‧‧Step 304‧‧‧Step 306‧‧‧Step 310‧‧‧Step 400‧‧‧ substrate 402‧‧‧ storey 404‧‧‧STI structure 406‧‧‧groove 408‧‧‧Dielectric material 410‧‧‧flat surface 500‧‧‧ batch curing chamber 510‧‧‧chamber body 511‧‧‧ chamber cover 512‧‧‧Chamber wall 513‧‧‧Chamber floor 514‧‧‧Previous vacuum line 515‧‧‧RPS manifold 516‧‧‧Purge gas opening 517‧‧‧ Loading opening 518‧‧‧Slotted opening cover 519‧‧‧ Substrate slit 520‧‧‧Loading open door 521‧‧‧ opening 522‧‧‧ Processing area 523‧‧‧Exhaust inlet array 524‧‧‧Process sub-region 525‧‧‧ Height 530‧‧‧Curing station 531‧‧‧Heated substrate base 532‧‧‧Sprinkler 533‧‧‧ nozzle air chamber 534‧‧‧Annular air chamber 535‧‧‧curing station heater 537‧‧‧thermocouple 540‧‧‧Substrate lift assembly 541‧‧‧ Lifting Pin Indexer 542‧‧‧ Promotion 543‧‧‧Vertical axis 544‧‧‧Institution for promotion 550‧‧‧ remote plasma source 701‧‧‧ Orifice 702‧‧‧Process gas 801‧‧‧Exhaust inlet 802‧‧‧Exhaust air chamber 810‧‧‧Supporting member 811‧‧‧Flow balance orifice 1001‧‧‧Contact surface 1002‧‧‧Cylinder element

The features disclosed by the present invention have been briefly summarized above and discussed in more detail below, which can be understood by referring to the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. However, it is worth noting that the attached drawings only show typical embodiments disclosed by the present invention, and since the present invention allows other equivalent embodiments, the attached drawings are not to be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention .

Figure 1 is a top view of a processing tool provided with a production interface having a batch curing chamber according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a fluidized chemical vapor deposition chamber having a zoned plasma generation area;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a processing procedure that can be implemented in the processing chamber 200 and the batch curing chamber 103 shown in FIG. 1;

Figures 4A-4C are schematic cross-sectional views of portions of the substrate corresponding to various stages of the processing shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a batch curing chamber provided according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a slot-shaped opening cover portion for batch curing chambers shown in FIG. 5 provided according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of parts of a plurality of curing stations provided according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention;

FIG. 8A is an isometric view of an exhaust inlet array of a plurality of groups arranged according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention;

Figure 8B is a plan view of a plurality of group exhaust inlet arrays shown in Figure 8A;

Figure 8C is a side view of a plurality of group exhaust inlet arrays shown in Figure 8A;

Figure 9 is an isometric view of a portion of the lift pin indexer of the chamber cover and multiple substrate lift assemblies shown in Figure 5; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a lift pin indexer configured according to an embodiment disclosed by the present invention.

For ease of understanding, wherever possible, the same number is used to represent the same element in the illustration. It can be considered that the elements and features in one embodiment can be advantageously used in other embodiments without further description.

Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date, number) no

Overseas hosting information (please note in order of hosting country, institution, date, number) no

500‧‧‧ batch curing chamber

510‧‧‧chamber body

511‧‧‧ chamber cover

512‧‧‧Chamber wall

513‧‧‧Chamber floor

514‧‧‧Previous vacuum line

515‧‧‧RPS manifold

516‧‧‧Purge gas opening

517‧‧‧ Loading opening

518‧‧‧Slotted opening cover

519‧‧‧ Substrate slit

520‧‧‧Loading open door

521‧‧‧ opening

522‧‧‧ Processing area

523‧‧‧Exhaust inlet array

524‧‧‧Process sub-region

525‧‧‧ Height

530‧‧‧Curing station

531‧‧‧Heated substrate base

532‧‧‧Sprinkler

533‧‧‧ nozzle air chamber

534‧‧‧Annular air chamber

535‧‧‧curing station heater

537‧‧‧thermocouple

540‧‧‧Substrate lift assembly

541‧‧‧ Lifting Pin Indexer

542‧‧‧ Promotion

543‧‧‧Vertical axis

544‧‧‧Institution for promotion

550‧‧‧ remote plasma source

Claims (20)

A batch substrate processing chamber, including: A plurality of curing stations, the plurality of curing stations are arranged in a stack, each curing station includes: a heating base, a spray head arranged on the heating base, and the spray head and the heating base A processing area between; and a plurality of substrate lifting components, the plurality of substrate lifting components include: one or more lifting pin indexers, each lifting pin indexer includes: a shaft and a shaft connected to the shaft A plurality of lifting pins, where each lifting pin extends to a processing area of a different curing station of the plurality of curing stations. The batch processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein: The stack is a vertical stack of the plurality of curing stations, the axis of the lift pin indexer extends vertically through the stack of the curing station, and each lift pin extends horizontally from the axis. The batch processing chamber as described in claim 2, wherein: The plurality of curing stations includes: 4 or more curing stations, and The plurality of substrate lifting components includes: three or more lifting pin indexers. The batch processing chamber according to claim 2, wherein each lift pin includes: a cylindrical member that forms a top surface of the lift pin. The batch processing chamber of claim 1, wherein each lift pin includes: a cylindrical element configured to support a substrate. The batch processing chamber according to claim 5, wherein the cylindrical element is formed of aluminum oxide (Al2O3). The batch processing chamber according to claim 5, wherein the cylindrical element is formed of sapphire. A batch substrate processing chamber, including: A plurality of curing stations, the plurality of curing stations are arranged in a stack, each curing station includes: a heating base, a spray head arranged on the heating base, and the spray head and the heating base A processing area; and One or more exhaust arrays, each exhaust array includes: a plurality of exhaust components, each exhaust component is coupled to the treatment area of a different curing station, wherein each exhaust component includes: a flow balance Orifice. The batch processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein: The plurality of exhaust components include: a first exhaust component and a second exhaust component, The first exhaust assembly has a flow balance orifice, the flow balance orifice has a first size, The second exhaust assembly has a flow balancing orifice with a second size, and The first size is different from the second size. The batch processing chamber of claim 8, wherein each flow balance orifice is adjustable. The batch processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein the one or more exhaust arrays include: a plurality of exhaust arrays, the plurality of exhaust arrays are arranged in a symmetrical manner and surround the plurality of curing stations Set the processing area. The batch processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein: Each exhaust assembly contains: one air chamber and multiple exhaust inlets, and The flow balance orifice of each exhaust assembly is connected to an outlet of the air chamber for the exhaust assembly. The batch processing chamber of claim 12, wherein each flow balance orifice is adjustable. The batch processing chamber of claim 8, wherein the flow balance orifice includes: a needle valve. The batch processing chamber according to claim 8, wherein The one or more exhaust arrays include: 4 exhaust arrays, and Each exhaust array is separated from the other exhaust arrays. A batch substrate processing chamber, including: A plurality of curing stations, the plurality of curing stations are arranged in a stack, each curing station includes: a heating base, a spray head arranged on the heating base, and the spray head and the heating base A processing area; A plurality of substrate lifting components, the plurality of substrate lifting components comprising: one or more lifting pin indexers, each lifting pin indexer comprises: a shaft and a plurality of lifting pins connected to the shaft, wherein Each lifting pin extends to a treatment area of a different curing station of the plurality of curing stations; and One or more exhaust arrays, each exhaust array includes: a plurality of exhaust components, each exhaust component is coupled to the treatment area of a different curing station, wherein each exhaust component includes: a flow balance Orifice. The batch processing chamber according to claim 16, wherein: The stack is a vertical stack of the plurality of curing stations, The axis of the lift pin indexer extends vertically through the stack of curing stations, and Each lift pin extends horizontally from the shaft. The batch processing chamber of claim 17, wherein each lift pin includes: a cylindrical element that forms a top surface of the lift pin. The batch processing chamber according to claim 16, wherein: Each exhaust assembly contains: one air chamber and multiple exhaust inlets, and The flow balance orifice of each exhaust assembly is connected to an outlet of the air chamber for the exhaust assembly. The batch processing chamber of claim 19, wherein each flow balance orifice is adjustable.

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