TWI323000B - Load lock vacuum conductance limiting aperture - Google Patents

Description

1323000 tt · _ case number 93106285_年月日日 Revision·_ V. Description of the invention (1) [Technical field of invention] [0 0 0 1] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer processing method and system, and more particularly to wafer processing The load is used in the fixed chamber aperture. [Prior Art] [0 0 02] When manufacturing wafer cassettes, a variety of materials can be used, especially using certain materials to meet various targets, including particle control, electrostatic discharge reduction, weight, cost, and dimensional stability. . When a particular material is selected to achieve its objectives, it may also have adverse effects at other levels of wafer processing. For example, plastic cassettes or photoresist materials on wafers may exhibit many of the structural properties that make them suitable, however, they may have an adverse effect on the vacuum required during wafer processing. [0 0 0 3 ] In addition, the photoresist material on the wafer may present a significant gas load on the vacuum system. During wafer processing, a high and repeatable vacuum is required within the ion implanter to ensure repeatability and consistency of the correct dose and to maintain the productivity of the implanter or tool, ie, the crystal that can be processed in a given time The number of circles. When new cassettes or photoresist materials (such as polycarbonate) are used to improve particle control and/or dimensional stability, the end user of such equipment may not be aware of their vacuum system, including the load-fix chambers therein. Isolation valves may need to be re-architected to maintain tool performance. [0 0 0 4 ] In a typical semiconductor wafer processing system, the wafer cassette, whether or not the wafer has a photoresist mask, may be loaded into a load fixed station to prepare the transfer wafer to processing. Or inject into the room. The pressure in the load-fixing chamber can be reduced to the vacuum in the injection chamber using the load-fix chamber vacuum pump.

1323000 ^ » » _ Case number 93 ί 06285_年月曰 Correction _ 5. The extent of the invention description (2). The load cell can then be interconnected with the injection chamber and the wafer transferred into the injection chamber. In some cases, opening the load-fixing chamber may cause a pressure explosion in the injection chamber. Therefore, during a vacuum recovery period, the pressure in the injection chamber is returned to an acceptable level for (ion) injection, that is, achievable The degree of stress such as implant dose repeatability, consistency, energy contamination, and/or tool throughput. Thus, the time until the first injection, i.e., the time from the evacuation of the load cell to the start of the injection, may include a load cell evacuation period and a process chamber vacuum recovery period. [0005] During the evacuation of the load holding chamber, a load fixed chamber isolation valve can be used to isolate the load holding chamber from the injection chamber. When the valve is open, it allows access to loads or wafers within the load cell. When the valve is constructed, it can be provided with an opening L for the wafer to pass therethrough. The openings may be rectangular, circular or elliptical, and the extension length may generally exceed the width of the wafer in the load holding chamber, and the extension height may be greater than the full height of the wafer and wafer operation pickup. For example, the VllSta 810 Η P implanter manufactured by Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates of Gloucester, MA, may have an opening of about 7 cm x 33 cm, and the crystal passing through the opening. The circle can be 30 cm in diameter and less than 1 mm thick. When this relatively large opening is opened, a size equivalent pressure burst can be created in the injection chamber. The vacuum recovery time of the processing chamber may be correspondingly extended, which has an adverse impact on the productivity and injection quality of the injection machine. [Summary of the Invention]

1323000 --~~-Mm 93106285 _ V. INSTRUCTION DESCRIPTION (3) [0 0 0 6] According to the system and the chamber according to the description of the present invention, the device includes a plate, the cover plate defines an aperture, and the passage " The cover masks the explosion between the fixed chamber and the injection chamber between the load fixing chamber and the injection chamber of the slot machine. A portion of the opening between the two chambers defines a diameter between the two chambers and a load moves between the two chambers. [0007] the cover plate is maximized in the vertical slot to further reduce the ballast fixed chamber or the injection chamber, or the reduction can be made to the load holding chamber and the wafer required to process the wafer or the load Between chambers, such as load-fixing, the steps may include: using a hole, the cover is provided with a through hole to maintain a path to a load to move the load therebetween; and, to measure the direction of the hole The maximum depth method 'provides a negative portion of the fixed chamber of the ion implanter load fixed load chamber to provide a negative portion of the load holding chamber to reduce the opening of the ion implant' and thus reduce the load in an implementation In the example, the cover can cover the explosion between the two chambers. The cover, the aperture maintains a path, or a depth blast measured in the direction of the opening. The device can be movably connected to any of the two chambers. The aperture of the aperture may be the minimum gap between the injection chambers or in the two chambers. Therefore, the pressure-reducing cover plate between the f and the injection chamber covers a diameter of the load-fixing chamber, and the size of the aperture is minimized. The load-fixing chamber and the vacuum cover the vertical cover of the load-fixing chamber. Loading the solid cover for the tank chamber with negative and negative inches [Embodiment] [0 0 1 3 ] Please refer to FIG. 1 ' which shows a schematic diagram of the load fixing of an ion implanter, off 10 . A fish can be placed in the load-fixing chamber 10, 10' 疋: the shell load 1 2, and

1323000 _ Case No. 93106285_年月白__ V. Description of the invention (4) Closed to isolate the load 1 2 therein. The load 12 can then be brought from the first state to the second state. In the case of a typical load cell 10, the load 12 can be a wafer, or a wafer cassette, which can be inserted into the load cell 10 via an insertion hole 14. The load fixing chamber 10 is at the first pressure at the time of insertion, hereinafter referred to as the environmental pressure. By closing the insertion hole 14, the wafer or wafer card S 12 can be isolated or sealed in the load holding chamber 10, and then the evacuation of the load holding chamber can be started. [0 0 1 4] The evacuation may continue for a predetermined period of time, or until the pressure in the load-fixing chamber 10 reaches a predetermined set point pressure. After the evacuation period, or when the fixed chamber set point is reached, the isolation valve 16 can be opened to cause the load 12 to face the injection chamber 18. When the isolation valve 16 is constructed, it can be opened to the slot 20, so that the wafer processing robot 22 can approach the load 12 through the slot 20. The robot arm 2 2 can pick up the load or wafer 12 from the load holding chamber 10 and place the wafer 12 into the injection chamber 18 for processing. As previously mentioned, the slot 20 can be wider than the wafer 12 and can be about 50 to 100 times thicker than the thickness of the wafer 12. When the isolation valve 16 and the slot 20 are opened, the pressure difference between the load holding chamber 10 and the injection chamber 18 may cause a pressure explosion or a gas explosion. [0 0 1 5] Referring now to Fig. 2, a schematic elevational view of the load holding chamber 10 is shown. Here, the isolation valve 16 is open, so that the load 1 2 in the load-fixing chamber 10 can be seen through the slot 20. A cover plate 24 can be placed in the slot 20, between the load holding chamber 10 and the injection chamber 18. The cover plate 24 defines an aperture 24a that is sized to closely approximate the size of the wafer 12 and may include a gap for the robot arm 22 to pick up the wafer 12 from within the load holding chamber 10. By narrowing the opening between the load holding chamber 10 and the value injection chamber 18, the cover plate 24 can be in the isolation valve 16 and the slot

1323000 4 » ' Case No. 93106285 V. Description of the invention (5) When the 0 0 is turned on, the air explosion entering the injection chamber 18 is lowered. [0016] The profile of the cover plate 24 and the aperture 24a can be varied to accommodate the apparatus and processing of the cover and aperture. For example, some implanters may include a wafer processing chamber 26' between the load holding chamber 10 and the implant chamber 18 as indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. As shown in Figure 1, the robotic arm 22 can be within the wafer processing chamber 26. In some implanters, the wafer processing chamber 26 can be interconnected with the injection chamber 18, and therefore, a burst occurs. However, between the vacuum chambers 26 separated from the chambers 18 and the wafers are pressed. In the load-fixing chamber 10 and the crystallizer, there is a crystal space. Therefore, between the load processing chamber 26 and the injection chamber processing chamber 26, the processing chamber 26 may be treated with the fixed chamber 1 and the wafer. Between 18 and 8, it may be issued [〇〇17] Those who are familiar with such technology can understand that the cover plate 24' provided with the pinch 24a is located in two places where the gas explosion chamber may occur when intercommunicating. between. Therefore, when the wafer processing chamber 26 is a separate vacuum space, between the load fixing chamber 1 and the wafer processing chamber 26, and between the wafer processing chamber 26 and the injection chamber i8, The cover plate 24 of the aperture 24a, and 24', shown in phantom in the figure. As long as the cover 24 is placed, the size of the aperture 24a can be minimized to maintain the gap between the wafer and the processing robot or other wafer processing apparatus while simultaneously reducing the pressure between the two chambers. [0018] The effect of the cover plate 24 on the evacuation of the load holding chamber 10 and the pressure of the injection chamber 18 is shown in FIG. Fig. 3 shows the injection chamber pressure curves 28a, 28b and the load fixed chamber evacuation curves 30a, 30b when the injection chamber 18 and the load holding chamber are not provided with the cover plate 24. With the cover 24 shown in Fig. 2, the area of the aperture 24a is about 25% of the slot 20, i.e., the cover 24 can block 75 % of the slot 2 〇.

1323000 Case No. 93106285 曰Revision 5, invention description (6) Please refer to the injection pressure curve 2 8 a, 2 8 b, it can be seen that when the area of the aperture 2 4 a is reduced, it can lead to the reduction of pressure explosion as shown in Figure 3 The DP shown is between the curve 28a without the cover 24 and the curve 28b with the cover 24 positioned. Depending on the selected operating pressure, the time to injection (i.e., the time during which the load holding chamber 1 is evacuated plus the recovery time for returning the injection chamber 18 to the operating pressure) can be reduced by about 25% to 30%. For example, when the operating pressure is 4·〇E_6, it can be seen that the injection time on curve 28a (without cover 24) is about 〇〇8〇〇 seconds, and the injection time on curve 28b (with cover plate 4 4) It is about 325 seconds. [0019] Figure 4 shows the turbomolecular pump (1^1), cryopump ((:{)), and the wheel

In the case of three different pump configurations of the molecular/water combination pump (WP), when the cover 24 is used to block 50% and 75% of the slot 20, the load-fixing chamber is evacuated and tested. Figure 4 shows a roughly linear relationship between the percentage of slot reduction and the vacuum return time of all three configurations. It can be seen from the figure that the TMP configuration is empty, the f time and extension tool capacity is improved to the maximum, and the CP configuration is improved/minimum' but the percentage change of all three configurations is in the range of 40% to 6〇%. Inside. As shown in Fig. 1, when the depth d of the cover 24 is increased, the opening between the load holding chamber 1 〇 and the injection chamber 18 can be further restricted, and further reduced. The maximum depth d is subject to wafer processing requirements such as wafer or wafer card E peripheral gaps, pick gaps, and the like.

[0 0 2 γ ] The above-described methods and systems are shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and improvements can be made therein. The cover plate 24 can be made of a material that is compatible with the manufacturing process used. The cover plate 2 4 can be movable or permanently connected; When the movable cover 2 4 is used, the cover 2 4 can be replaced to match

Page 11 1323000 Case No. 93106285 Revised 5, Invention Description Wafer and Die Casting Fixed [0 0 2 1 ] Therefore, the method of changing the cover arm structure is modified to the current round processor casting tolerance [ 0 0 22 ] or the chamber 10 . 2 4 is in the state where the cover will be displayed, such as [0 0 23 ] before the other changes, the zero group is displayed, the specific phase is expanded, or so

(7) The robotic structure of the production process. This provides a higher conversion flexibility in the future when compared to a load-fixed chamber aperture cover. In one embodiment, the cover plate 24 is provided with an adjustable aperture 2 4 a, and the plate 24 can be held stationary and its aperture can be varied with the wafer and/or robot hand. The aperture adjustment can be used in various technical fields and can be used in conjunction with a load holding chamber 10 such as a camera aperture adjustment device and an ion device. In addition, the cover plate 24 can have equipment. The use of the cover plate 24 also allows for greater processing or compression of the load holding chamber 10, the crystal 22, and/or the processing chamber 18 as the cover 24 provides the desired tolerance. The cover plate 24 can be attached to the injection chamber 18 instead of being attached to the load. As shown in the exemplary embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it can be seen that the cover load supports the outer surface of the chamber 10. However, some device pack covers 24 may also be provided within the load holding chamber 10, as shown in Figure 1 by a dashed board 24". Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the cover 24 may be permanently attached to a possible occurrence. The different chambers of the explosion are between the wafer processing chamber and the adjacent chamber, as described above. The variations are merely examples and not unique, and the invention can be implemented. Therefore, those skilled in the art can The descriptions and examples are made here, and other changes in the details and arrangement are made. Therefore, the arrangement of the middle parts of the drawings is for example only and can be changed to match the implementation. Therefore, various items can be combined and separately The architecture is re-architected without departing from the scope of the disclosed system. It is understood that the scope of the following claims is not limited by the embodiments disclosed herein.

Page 12 1323000 _ Case No. 93106285_ Year Month 修正 Amendment _ V. Invention Description (8) System. The scope of each patent application may include implementations other than those specifically stated, and may be interpreted broadly to the extent permitted by law.

Page 13 1323000 _ Case No. 93106285_^ Year Month Day Correction _ Schematic Description of the Drawing [Simple Description of the Drawings] [0 0 0 8] The following drawings illustrate several exemplary embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, the same in the drawings The reference numerals are referred to as the same elements, and the embodiments are merely exemplary in nature and are not intended to limit the invention. The drawings include: [0 0 0 9 ] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an ion implanter load fixing chamber having a vacuum air conduction limiting aperture; [0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic elevational view of the load fixing chamber shown in FIG. 1; 0 11 ] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the load-carrying chamber evacuation curve and the injection chamber pressure curve;

[0 0 1 2 ] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of vacuum recovery time.

[Main component symbol description] 10 Load fixed chamber 24 Cover 12 Load/wafer/wafer cassette 24* Cover 14 Insert hole 24" Cover 16 Isolation valve 24a Aperture 18 Injection chamber 2 6 Wafer processing chamber 20 slot Hole d Cover depth 22 Wafer processing robot arm 28a, b injection chamber pressure curve 3 0a, b load fixed chamber evacuation curve

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Claims (1)

1323000 _Case No. 93106285_Amendment_ VI. Patent Application Range..-- Patent Application Range: 1. A device combined with an ion implanter load fixing chamber, the device comprising: a cover plate and the load fixing chamber A slot is adjacent; wherein the cover plate includes an aperture for fixing the indoor load close to the load; and the cover plate can reduce an opening between the load fixing chamber and the ion implanter injection chamber. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the cover is attached to the load holding chamber. 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the cover is movably attached to the load holding chamber. 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the cover is dimensioned perpendicular to the slot and is maximized relative to the slot. 5. The device of claim 4, wherein the aperture is sized to be adjustable. 6. The device of claim 4, wherein the aperture is maintained in a gap that is required to handle the load between the load holding chamber and the injection chamber. 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the cover is attached to the load holding chamber. 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the cover is movably attached to the load holding chamber. 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the aperture is adjustable in size. </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; The gap required to handle the load between the injection chambers. 11. A method for reducing a pressure drop between a load holding chamber and a vacuum chamber in an ion implanter, the method comprising the steps of: covering a slot of the load holding chamber with a cover plate having a through hole Reducing the size of the aperture to maintain a path to a load for moving the load between the load holding chamber and the vacuum chamber; and increasing the depth of the cover measured in a direction perpendicular to the slot of the load holding chamber . The method of claim 11, wherein the load is a crystal. The method of claim 11, wherein the cover is attached to the load holding chamber. The method of claim 11, wherein the cover is operatively coupled to the load holding chamber. The method of claim 11, wherein the size of the cover in the direction perpendicular to the slot is maximized relative to the slot. Page 16