Independent continuous process system
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a process system, and more particularly to a stand alone continuous process system.
Background
Vacuum sputtering techniques have been widely used in semiconductor processing in a variety of industries (e.g., semiconductor manufacturing, photovoltaics, etc.). One of the methods of vacuum sputtering is plasma sputtering, which is to spread inert gases such as argon and neon between two metal plates with high potential difference in a high vacuum environment, the inert gases and electrons collide to form plasma, inert ions such as argon and neon in the plasma are accelerated by an electric field to collide to the surface of a target, atoms on the target are bumped to the surface of a substrate, and the surface of the substrate is deposited by the target atoms to form a film.
The existing vacuum sputtering apparatus is mostly arranged in a single blade type, and the mechanical arm is arranged at the center to convey the articles, so that the relevant carriers to be processed are pushed into or pulled out of each single blade type cavity apparatus, and when the carriers to be processed are moved out of the cavity apparatus, the cleanliness of the whole environment needs to be very carefully considered so as to avoid dust adhering to the carriers to be processed, therefore, the vacuum sputtering apparatus is usually in a high dust-free environment.
However, the installation space required for the vacuum sputtering apparatus in the blade-like arrangement is generally huge, so in order to maintain a large-area high dust-free environment, the improvement of factory cost is accompanied by the increase of process cost. Furthermore, the interior of the chamber of the vacuum sputtering apparatus requires a high vacuum environment, and the stability of the air flow during the pumping process has a significant impact on the sputtering efficiency and quality.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to solve the problems of low sputtering quality and high sputtering cost of the conventional vacuum sputtering equipment.
In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides a stand-alone continuous process system for plasma treating an object to be processed, the stand-alone continuous process system comprising a pretreatment station, a first independent process station and a terminal independent process station. The pretreatment device comprises a pretreatment device, a terminal independent process device and a terminal valve, wherein the pretreatment device is used for pretreating an object to be treated, the first independent process device is connected with the pretreatment device and receives the object to be treated from the pretreatment device, the first independent process device is provided with a process cavity and two valves, the two valves are respectively arranged on two sides of the process cavity, the process cavity is sequentially provided with a first vacuum pumping area, a plasma treatment area and a second vacuum pumping area which are mutually communicated, the terminal independent process device is connected to one side of the first independent process device, which is far away from the pretreatment device, the terminal independent process device is provided with a terminal process cavity and a terminal valve, the terminal valve is arranged on one side of the terminal process cavity, which is close to the first independent process device, and the terminal process cavity is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area, a terminal plasma treatment area and a second terminal vacuum pumping area which are mutually communicated.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first independent process machine further comprises a first vacuum pumping module and a second vacuum pumping module, the first vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the first vacuum pumping area and is communicated with the first vacuum pumping area, the second vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the second vacuum pumping area and is communicated with the second vacuum pumping area, and the terminal independent process machine further comprises a first terminal vacuum pumping module and a second terminal vacuum pumping module, the first terminal vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the first terminal vacuum pumping area and is communicated with the first terminal vacuum pumping area, and the second terminal vacuum pumping module corresponds to the position of the second terminal vacuum pumping area and is communicated with the second terminal vacuum pumping area.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the end process chamber is closed on the other side of the end valve.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the first vacuum pumping module and the second vacuum pumping module are disposed on the top surface of the first independent process machine, and the first terminal vacuum pumping module and the second terminal vacuum pumping module are disposed on the top surface of the terminal independent process machine.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the plasma processing area and the terminal plasma processing area are respectively provided with a sputtering module, the sputtering module is provided with a target, the process cavity and the terminal process cavity are respectively provided with a transportation module for moving the object to be processed, the transportation module horizontally moves the object to be processed along an X-axis direction, and the length of the target in the horizontal plane and vertical to the X-axis direction is greater than the length of the object to be processed in the horizontal plane and vertical to the X-axis direction.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the process chamber and the end process chamber have a top cover, respectively, the top cover is disposed on top surfaces of the process chamber and the end process chamber, respectively, the top cover is disposed between the first vacuum pumping module and the second vacuum pumping module, and between the first end vacuum pumping module and the second end vacuum pumping module, respectively, and the top cover is selectively openable.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the valve and the terminal valve are vertically opened and closed, and the valve and the terminal valve are normally closed.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a second independent process machine is further included, and the second independent process machine is connected between the first independent process machine and the terminal independent process machine.
Therefore, the process cavity and the terminal process cavity of the invention are provided with two groups of vacuum pumping areas and vacuum pumping modules communicated with the vacuum pumping areas, so that the inside of the process cavity can be manufactured into a high vacuum environment in a short time, and the vacuum pumping areas and the vacuum pumping modules are symmetrically arranged, thereby solving the problem that the sputtering quality of the plasma process cavity is affected due to uneven internal airflow environment.
Drawings
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a free-standing continuous process system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective front view of a free-standing continuous process system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic top perspective view of a free-standing continuous process system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a process chamber or end-of-line process chamber for illustrating the internal partitioning of the process chamber or end-of-line process chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another side of the process chamber or end-of-line process chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing that the length of the target in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction is greater than the length of the object to be processed in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction.
100 Parts of independent continuous process system, 200 parts of to-be-processed object;
10. 20, a first independent process machine;
21. 211, a first vacuum pumping area;
212. 213, a second vacuum pumping zone;
22. the valve, 23, the first vacuum air extraction module;
24. 30, a terminal independent process machine;
31. 311, a first terminal vacuum pumping area;
312. 313, a second terminal vacuum pumping zone;
32. 33, a first terminal vacuum pumping module;
34. the second terminal vacuum air extraction module is provided with a 40 sputtering module;
41. 50, a transportation module;
60. 70, a second independent process machine;
L1 and length, L2 and length.
Detailed Description
The following description of the embodiments of the present invention will be made clearly and completely with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which it is apparent that the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
Referring to fig. 1-5, a stand-alone continuous processing system 100 for plasma treatment of an article 200 to be processed according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed, wherein the stand-alone continuous processing system 100 comprises a pretreatment apparatus 10, a first independent processing apparatus 20, and a terminal independent processing apparatus 30. The object 200 to be processed is a semiconductor wafer, a circuit board, a flexible board, a composite carrier board, etc.
A pretreatment station 10 for pretreating an object 200 to be processed. The pretreatment is a treatment before the plasma treatment process is performed on the object 200 to be processed, for example, heating, cleaning the surface of the object 200 to be processed, preliminary vacuuming, etc.
A first independent process station 20 is coupled to the pretreatment station 10 and receives articles 200 to be processed from the pretreatment station 10. The first independent process machine 20 has a process chamber 21 and two valves 22, the valves 22 are respectively disposed at two sides of the process chamber 21, the process chamber 21 is sequentially provided with a first vacuum pumping area 211, a plasma processing area 212 and a second vacuum pumping area 213 which are mutually communicated, the valves 22 are vertically opened and closed, and the valves 22 are in a normally closed state. The valve 22 is designed to be vertically opened and closed, so that the valve 22 can be maintained closed when the first independent process machine 20 is repaired in the cavity, thereby avoiding affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines.
As shown in fig. 1 to 5, in the embodiment of the invention, the first independent process machine 20 includes a first vacuum pumping module 23 and a second vacuum pumping module 24, the first vacuum pumping module 23 corresponds to the position of the first vacuum pumping area 211 and is communicated with the first vacuum pumping area 211, and the second vacuum pumping module 24 corresponds to the position of the second vacuum pumping area 213 and is communicated with the second vacuum pumping area 213, in which the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 are disposed on the top surface of the first independent process machine 20. As shown in fig. 4, the first vacuum pumping area 211 and the second vacuum pumping area 213 are symmetrically arranged, so that the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 can rapidly pump the interior of the process chamber 21, and improve the uniformity of vacuum pumping, so that the plasma processing area 212 in the middle can stably perform plasma processing processes related to plasma cleaning, etching, and the like.
The terminal independent process station 30 is connected to a side of the first independent process station 20 remote from the pretreatment station 10, and the terminal independent process station 30 has a terminal process chamber 31 and a terminal valve 32. The terminal valve 32 is disposed on a side of the terminal process chamber 31 near the first independent process machine 20, and the terminal process chamber 31 is sequentially provided with a first terminal vacuum pumping area 311, a terminal plasma processing area 312 and a second terminal vacuum pumping area 313, which are mutually communicated. In this embodiment, the other side of the terminal process chamber 31 different from the terminal valve 32 is closed, the terminal valve 32 is designed to be vertically opened and closed, so that the terminal valve 32 can be maintained closed when repairing the inside of the chamber of the terminal independent process machine 30, thereby avoiding affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines. Depending on the application requirements, an output port (not shown) may be provided on the other side of the end process chamber 31, which is different from the end valve 32, so that the object 200 to be processed may be output from the output port.
As shown in fig. 1 to 5, in the embodiment of the invention, the terminal independent process machine 30 includes a first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and a second terminal vacuum pumping module 34, the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 corresponds to the position of the first terminal vacuum pumping area 311 and is communicated with the first terminal vacuum pumping area 311, the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 corresponds to the position of the second terminal vacuum pumping area 313 and is communicated with the second terminal vacuum pumping area 313, and the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 are arranged on the top surface of the terminal independent process machine 30. As shown in fig. 4, the first terminal vacuum pumping area 311 and the second terminal vacuum pumping area 313 are symmetrically arranged, so that the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 can rapidly pump air inside the terminal process chamber 31 and improve the uniformity of vacuum pumping.
Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the plasma processing region 212 and the end plasma processing region 312 are respectively provided with a sputtering module 40, and the process chamber 21 and the end process chamber 31 are respectively provided with a transportation module 50 for moving the object 200 to be processed and a top cover 60. As shown in fig. 4, the sputtering module 40 has a target 41, and the transporting module 50 moves horizontally along an X-axis direction, and as shown in fig. 5, the length L1 of the target 41 in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction is greater than the length L2 of the target 200 in the horizontal plane and perpendicular to the X-axis direction, so as to achieve complete coverage of the plasma range and avoid non-uniformity of the target 200 during plasma processing. The transporting module 50 horizontally transports the object 200 to be processed from the pretreatment station 10 to the terminal independent process station 30 along the X-axis direction, so that the object 200 to be processed is processed by plasma processing, and after the object 200 to be processed is processed, the transporting module 50 horizontally transports the object 200 to be processed from the terminal independent process station 30 back to the pretreatment station 10 along the X-axis direction.
The process sequence of the object 200 to be processed is that (1) the pretreatment machine 10 performs the treatment before the plasma treatment process on the object 200 to be processed, such as heating, cleaning the surface of the object 200 to be processed, preliminary vacuumizing, etc.; (2) after the pretreatment of the pretreatment station 10 is completed on the object 200, the object 200 enters the process chamber 21, the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 pump the process chamber 21 to make the interior of the process chamber 21 into a high vacuum environment, and then the sputtering module 40 of the plasma treatment area 212 performs plasma treatment on the object 200, and because gas is input in the plasma treatment process, the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 pump continuously in the plasma treatment time, so that the internal vacuum degree of the process chamber 21 is maintained, and the air flow in the process chamber 21 is also maintained stable; (3) after the object 200 is processed in the plasma processing area 212, the object 200 enters the interior of the terminal process chamber 31, the above procedure in the process chamber 21 is repeated, the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34 pump the interior of the terminal process chamber 31 to form a high vacuum environment, the sputtering module 40 in the terminal plasma processing area 312 performs final plasma processing on the object 200, and the repeated steps are not repeated, 4) after the object 200 is processed in the terminal plasma processing area 312, in this embodiment, the object is transported back to the outlet of the pretreatment station 10, to continue the process for the next item to be processed 200.
The top cover 60 is respectively arranged on the top surfaces of the process cavity 21 and the terminal process cavity 31, and the top cover 60 is respectively arranged between the first vacuum pumping module 23 and the second vacuum pumping module 24 and between the first terminal vacuum pumping module 33 and the second terminal vacuum pumping module 34, so that the top cover 60 can be selectively opened, and when the inside of the process cavity 21 or the inside of the terminal process cavity 31 needs to be maintained, a maintenance person can maintain the inside of the process cavity 21 or the inside of the terminal process cavity 31 only by opening the top cover 60. And as described above, since the valve 22 and the terminal valve 32 are independently arranged, the process machine can maintain the independence with other cavities when repairing the inside of the cavity, thereby avoiding affecting the operation of other adjacent process machines without stopping the whole machine.
In addition, as shown in fig. 1 to 3, in the embodiment of the present invention, the stand-alone continuous process system 100 further includes a second stand-alone process tool 70, and the second stand-alone process tool 70 is connected between the first stand-alone process tool 20 and the terminal stand-alone process tool 30. The second independent process tools 70 are identical to the first independent process tools 20, and the number of the second independent process tools 70 can be adjusted according to the needs of the user, for example, as shown in fig. 1 to 3, in the embodiment of the present invention, the number of the second independent process tools 70 is one. In other embodiments, the number of the second independent process tools 70 can be zero or more.
Therefore, the invention has the following advantages:
1. The process chamber 21 and the terminal process chamber 31 of the invention are provided with two groups of vacuum pumping areas and vacuum pumping modules communicated with the vacuum pumping areas, so that the inside of the process chamber can be manufactured into a high vacuum environment in a short time, and the vacuum pumping areas and the vacuum pumping modules are symmetrically arranged, thereby solving the problems of poor air flow uniformity and film coating process influence caused by pumping in the prior process chamber.
2. The process tools of the present invention are operated independently and have their independent valve arrangement, so that when one of the process tools is being maintained, the remaining process tools can continue to process the object 200 to be processed.
3. The valve 22 and the terminal valve 32 of the present invention are designed to be vertically opened and closed, so that the valve 22 or the terminal valve 32 can be maintained to avoid affecting the operation of other adjacent process tools when the first independent process tool 20 or the terminal independent process tool 30 is repaired inside the cavity.
It is noted that relational terms such as first and second, and the like are used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.