TWI734305B - Hybrid system architecture for thin film deposition - Google Patents

Abstract

According to general aspects, a processing system is provided, comprising: a vacuum enclosure; a plurality of processing chambers attached to sidewalls of the vacuum enclosures; a transfer chamber coupled to a loading end of the vacuum enclosure via a first gate valve, the transfer chamber having transport tracks therein; a loadlock coupled to the transfer chamber via a second gate valve, and having a third gate valve at entrance side thereof, the loadlock having transport tracks therein; a wafer holding module attached to a sidewall of the loadlock and having a wafer holder holding the substrate in a vertical or near vertical orientation inside the loadlock; an articulated robot arm having an end effector attached at an end of the articulated robot arm via a rotatable wrist, the articulated robot arm positioned outside the loadlock and reachable for removing a substrate in a horizontal orientation from a FOUP, rotating the substrate towards vertical or near vertical orientation, and placing the substrate on the wafer holder; and, a plurality of substrate carriers traveling on the transport tracks and exchanging substrates with the wafer holding module.

Description

Composite system architecture for depositing thin films

This application is a partial continuation of U.S. Patent Application 16/583,165 filed on September 25, 2019, and the entire disclosure of the application is incorporated by reference in this case. This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application 62/781,577 filed on December 18, 2018, and the entire disclosure content of this application is also cited in this case.

The present invention mainly relates to the technical field of substrate processing, for example, the technical field of forming a thin film coating on a substrate, especially a semiconductor wafer.

The processing of substrates in a vacuum is a well-known technique in this technical field, and is sometimes referred to as thin film processing. Generally, thin film processing systems can be classified into the following three architectures: batch processing, cluster system and online system. Each of these architectures has its advantages and disadvantages, which are also well known in the art.

In some system architectures, especially those that use semiconductor wafers to manufacture microchips, the substrates are individually transferred to the processing chamber by a robotic arm and placed on a fixed chuck or susceptor. Conversely, in other systems, such as those used in hard disk drives or solar cell manufacturing, the substrate is placed on a movable substrate carrier during the transfer and processing of the substrate.

There is an urgent need for an improved system structure in the technical field to provide for the formation of thin films on different types of substrates. In addition, there is also a need in the art for machines that can form thin-film coatings with high throughput and at a commercially acceptable cost.

The following brief description of the content of the present invention aims to provide a basic description of several aspects and technical features of the present invention. The brief description of the invention is not a detailed description of the invention, so its purpose is not to specifically enumerate the key or important elements of the invention, nor to define the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present several concepts of the present invention in a concise manner as a prelude to the detailed description below.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that is specifically designed to produce an improved thin film coating at a high-volume production and at a commercially acceptable cost. The system of the present invention is particularly suitable for forming multiple arrays of thin layers with different compositions on a semiconductor wafer, for example, for manufacturing MRAMs (Magnetoresistive Random-Access Memory).

In an MRAM cell, data is stored in magnetic memory elements. The memory element is formed by two ferromagnetic plates separated by a thin insulating layer. One of the two magnetic plates is called the reference layer, which is a permanent magnet set to a specific polarity. The other magnetic plate is called a free magnetic plate, and its magnetization can be changed to match the magnetism of the external magnetic field to store a memory bit. This configuration is called a magnetic tunnel junction and is the most basic structure of MRAM bits. The MRAM memory device chip is built from this grid of "cells". In fact, each ferromagnetic plate is formed by several layers of thin films with different material composition, which is somewhat similar to the structure of a hard disk drive.

The embodiment of the present invention provides two important components suitable for high-speed deposition of thin film layers in a vacuum processing system: one is the architecture of the vacuum system, and the other is the architecture of the wafer loading system. The system The structure is designed to solve various problems related to the sputtering of thin films of magnetic materials on round silicon wafers. Among the problems are: how to prevent water vapor from reaching each material layer, how to avoid particle contamination, and how to avoid wafer displacement and cracking.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the vacuum enclosure has a plurality of processing chambers attached to it. During the processing, multiple carriers move continuously in the vacuum enclosure to process wafers in each processing chamber. The loading and unloading area is connected to the vacuum enclosure, and can have a loading side and an unloading side, and the two can share a vacuum environment or have independent vacuum environments. The gate valve separates the loading and unloading area from the vacuum enclosure. The orbital converter is located in the vacuum enclosure. The track switch is movable between the first position and the second position. When the orbital converter is in the first position, the carrier can be continuously moved in the vacuum enclosure; and in the second position, the carrier can be moved between the vacuum enclosure and the loading and unloading area.

According to the general aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a processing system including: a vacuum housing; a plurality of processing chambers attached to the side walls of the vacuum housing; a transfer chamber connected to the loading of the vacuum housing through a first gate valve At the end, the transfer chamber has a transfer track; a loading and unloading area is coupled to the transfer chamber via a second gate valve, and has a third gate valve on its inlet side, and the loading and unloading area is equipped with a transfer track; wafer holding The module is attached to the side wall of the loading and unloading area, and has a wafer holder, and the wafer holder supports the substrate in the loading and unloading area in a vertical or nearly vertical orientation; a joint moving machine An arm with an end effector, connected to one end of the articulated robotic arm through a rotatable wrist, the articulated robotic arm is located outside the loading and unloading area, and the substrate can be horizontally directed from a FOUP Remove, rotate the substrate to a vertical or nearly vertical orientation, and then place the substrate on the wafer holder; and multiple substrate carriers that can move on the transfer track and exchange substrates with the wafer holding module.

The system may include a turntable with a linear track portion on the turntable. The turntable can be rotated to transfer the substrate carrier from the unloading position to the loading position, or from one set of transfer tracks to another set of transfer tracks. The turntable can be arranged in the vacuum outer cover or in the loading and unloading area, and can include power wheels.

The system may include: a racetrack-shaped monorail located inside the vacuum housing; an endless conveyor belt, located in the vacuum housing, for engaging the carrier so that the carrier can run on the racetrack-shaped monorail freely; and a track converter positioned on the racetrack-shaped monorail One end is used for the conveying vehicle to run between the racetrack-shaped monorail and the conveying track.

Each substrate carrier may include a wafer holder and/or an electrostatic chuck positioned to face nearly perpendicularly.

The system may include: a turntable located at the end of the vacuum housing, the end opposite to the loading end; a racetrack-shaped monorail located in the vacuum housing; an endless conveyor belt located in the vacuum housing to join the carrier, Allow the vehicle to run freely on the racetrack-shaped monorail; orbit converter, located at one end of the racetrack-shaped monorail, and transfer the vehicle between the racetrack-shaped monorail and the turntable; and at least one second processing system attached to the end of the vacuum housing Place. The endless conveyor belt may include a plurality of driving forks, and each substrate carrier includes a plurality of freely rotating wheels, which are configured to be engaged with the racetrack-shaped monorail, and a driving pin is configured to be engaged with the driving fork. Moreover, the turntable may include a linear track portion and a power wheel, and each substrate carrier includes a driving rod engaged with the power wheel.

In addition, the system may include a second transfer chamber, which is coupled to the loading end of the vacuum enclosure, and a second loading and unloading area, which is coupled to the second transfer chamber. The transfer mechanism transfers the carriers from the second loading and unloading area to the first loading chamber, or from the second transfer chamber to the first transfer chamber. The conveying mechanism may include at least one orbital converter, the orbital converter including a movable worktable located on the worktable The straight monorail part on the upper part and the curved monorail part on the worktable may also include a turntable having a straight track part thereon. The system may further include a monorail located inside the vacuum envelope and formed as: a first monorail section having a racetrack shape, and a second monorail section having two parallel linear monorail extensions; and located at the first monorail section The power element; a plurality of power wheels arranged along the second monorail section; wherein the track converter transfers the carrier between the first and second monorail section. Each of the plurality of vehicles may include: a base; an engagement mechanism attached to the base and configured to engage the power element to move the vehicle in the first monorail section; and drive The rod is installed on the base, and the driving rod is configured to be engaged with a plurality of power wheels, so that the vehicle can be moved when the vehicle is running on the second monorail section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a processing system including: a vacuum enclosure having a plurality of processing windows and a continuous track located in the vacuum enclosure; a plurality of processing chambers attached to the side walls of the vacuum enclosure, Each processing chamber corresponds to a processing window; a loading and unloading area is connected to one end of the vacuum housing and has a loading track inside; at least one gate valve to separate the loading and unloading area from the vacuum housing; multiple substrate carriers, The structure can move on the continuous track and the loading track; at least one track switch is located in the vacuum housing, and the track switch can move between a first position and a second position, wherein when in the first position The substrate carrier can be continuously moved on the continuous rail, and in the second position, the substrate carrier can be transported between the continuous rail and the loading rail.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a substrate processing system including: a loading and unloading area having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side; an atmospheric section coupled to the loading and unloading area The first side; the vacuum section, coupled to the second side of the loading and unloading area part, and has a plurality of processing chambers connected to it The carrier conveying mechanism includes: i. A monorail formed as: a first monorail section with a racetrack shape and located in the vacuum section; a second monorail section with two parallel straight monorail sections located at The loading and unloading area extends to the atmospheric section and the vacuum section; and the third monorail section, which is located in the atmospheric section and is shaped like a curve. One end of the third monorail section is connected to the extension of one of the linear monorails, and the other end is connected The extension of the other linear monorail is connected, ii. the power element, located in the racetrack shape, iii. multiple power wheels, positioned along the second monorail section, iv. two track converters, located at one end of the first monorail section, Each track converter includes a movable worktable, a linear monorail part on the worktable, and a curved monorail part on the worktable, and a plurality of carriers with a plurality of wheels. The carrier is built The structure can be engaged with the monorail so that the carrier can run on the monorail.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the system is composed of the following elements: a loading and unloading area having a first side and a second side opposite to the first side; an atmospheric section connected to the first side of the loading and unloading area; a vacuum Section, connected to the second side of the loading and unloading area part, and having a plurality of processing chambers connected to it; the carrier conveying mechanism, including: i. a monorail, formed as: a first monorail section, in the shape of a racetrack And located in the vacuum section: the second monorail section, the second monorail section has two parallel straight monorail sections, located in the loading and unloading section and extending to the atmospheric section and the vacuum section, and the third monorail section The section, located in the atmospheric section, is curved in shape, one end of which is connected with the extension of one of the linear monorail sections, and the other end is connected with the extension of the other linear monorail, ii. The endless conveyor belt is located in the racetrack shape and has multiple drive forks, iii. the drive wheels are located in the atmospheric section and are attached with multiple drive forks, iv. multiple power wheels are positioned along the second monorail section , V. Two track converters, located at one end of the first monorail section, each track converter includes a movable worktable, a linear monorail part on the worktable and a curved monorail part on the worktable, A plurality of vehicles, each of which has: a base; a plurality of wheels, attached to the base and constructed to engage the monorail so that the carrier can run on the monorail freely; a drive rod, attached to The base, the drive rod is configured to engage the plurality of power wheels to enable the vehicle to run when the vehicle is located on the second monorail section; and a drive pin attached to the base , And the structure can be engaged with the driving fork to make the carrier move when the carrier is located on the first or third monorail section; and wherein, when the track converter is in the first position, The curved monorail section is aligned with the first monorail section so that the carrier can be driven by the driving fork to continuously move along the first monorail section, and when the track switch is in the second position, the linear monorail The section connects the first monorail section to the second monorail section so that the carrier can be switched between the loading and unloading area and the vacuum section.

100: System

105: Atmospheric section

110: loading and unloading area

115: Vacuum section that is through continuous processing section

120A-120D: processing room

125: Monorail

127: Racetrack-shaped monorail is the first monorail section

128: Orbit

128A, 128B: straight track

129: Crescent Orbit

130: endless conveyor belt

131A, 131B: rotating drum

132: Drive fork

135: Power Wheel

137: Rotating Wheel

140: track converter

140A: Track converter

141: Workbench

142: Curved track section

144: Straight track section

150: substrate carrier

152: Pedestal

153: Roller device

154: substrate holder

154’: Retainer

156: Drive Rod

157: Electrostatic chuck

158: Drive pin

159: Support pin

160: loading station

161: Uninstall section

163: vacuum cover

166, 167, 168: Maintenance access window

170: partition

171: Rotatable hinge

172: Processing window

300: Universal box with front opening

302: Wafer holding module

304: Wafer Holder

305: Loading and unloading area/exchange chamber LL/EX

310: transfer room

312: Robotic Arm

314: End effector

316: Rotatable wrist

321: Straight track part

322: Turntable

323: Turntable

326: Processing room or processing system

327: Turntable

328: Wheel Hub

329: Spokes

331: Straight track section

EN: inlet gate valve

EX: outlet gate valve

IN: Gate valve

Other technical features and aspects of the present invention can be described in detail below, and are more clearly apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and the drawings are intended to provide various non-limiting examples of the various embodiments of the present invention defined by the scope of the appended application.

The attached drawings are incorporated into the specification of this patent and become a part of it. They are used to illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, and are used together with the description of the case to illustrate and demonstrate the principle of the present invention. picture The purpose of the formula is to illustrate the main features of the embodiments of the present invention in a graphical manner. The drawings are not used to show all the features of the actual example, nor are they used to show the relative sizes or proportions of the various components.

Fig. 1, Fig. 1A and Fig. 1B show an embodiment of a modular system for forming a thin film coating using a dual-mode mobile carrier according to the present invention.

Fig. 2A shows an embodiment of the dual-mode mobile substrate carrier of the present invention, and Fig. 2B shows a substrate holder for a circular substrate.

3A-3B and FIG. 3D show an embodiment of the structure of the present invention configured for processing semiconductor wafers, and FIG. 3C shows an embodiment of the present invention for attaching a processing module to one end of the system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the composite system architecture for depositing thin films of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Different embodiments or combinations thereof may provide in different applications or achieve different advantages. According to the result to be achieved, the different technical features of the present invention can be used in whole or in part, or can be used alone or in combination with other technical features, so as to achieve a balanced advantage between requirements and limitations. Therefore, referring to different embodiments may highlight specific advantages, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the present invention. That is to say, the technical features of the present invention are not limited to be applied to the described embodiments, but can be "combined and matched" with other technical features and combined in other embodiments.

The embodiment of the present invention provides two important components suitable for high-speed deposition of thin film layers in a vacuum processing system: one is the architecture of the vacuum system, and the other is the architecture of the wafer loading system. The following describes the vacuum system architecture first, and then the loading system architecture.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a system architecture capable of transferring substrates in a first carrier movement mode, so as to continuously process the substrates in a through-type continuous processing section. It also provides a mechanism to move the carrier out of the continuous processing section in the second carrier movement mode. In any vehicle movement mode, the vehicle is free to run on the track. However, in different vehicle movement modes, the power applied to the vehicle to make the vehicle run on the track is different. When the carriers are located in the through-type continuous processing section, all the carriers move in unison, but after leaving the through-type continuous processing section, the carriers can move independently.

Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIGS. 2A and 2B. Fig. 1 shows a schematic top view of the system of the present invention, Fig. 2A shows a carrier, and Fig. 2B shows a substrate holder used to replace the carrier of Fig. 2A. The architecture of FIG. 2B is particularly suitable for processing semiconductor substrates.

In FIG. 1, the system 100 is composed of an atmosphere section 105, a loading and unloading section 110 and a vacuum section 115. The carrier is loaded and unloaded in the atmospheric section 105, and the carrier is transferred between the atmospheric section 105 and the vacuum section 115 via the loading and unloading area 110. The substrate is processed inside the vacuum zone 115. The vacuum section 115 forms a through-type continuous processing section. In this embodiment, four processing chambers 120A-120D are shown, but any number of processing chambers can be provided in application, and the details will be further described below. Each processing chamber 120A-120D may be one of an etching chamber, a sputtering chamber, an ion implantation chamber, and the like. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the processing chambers are connected to a common vacuum environment, and there are no valves between the processing chambers. Each processing chamber is built for continuous pass-through processing. If it is used to manufacture MRAM, these processing chambers can be magnetron sputtering chambers, and the target materials have different materials, such as cobalt (Co), tantalum (Ta), platinum (Pt), ruthenium (Ru), Or an alloy, such as cobalt iron boron (CoFeB), is used to form the magnetic layer.

A plurality of single-track sections 125 are provided in the three sections 105, 110, and 115 to enable the substrate carrier to travel through all three sections. A racetrack-shaped monorail 127 is formed in the monorail section inside the through-type continuous processing section 115, and linear tracks 128A and 128B are formed in the monorail section of the loading and unloading area, passing through the entire loading and unloading area 110, and partially extending into the atmospheric section 105 and partly extend into the vacuum section, and the monorail section in the atmospheric section 105 forms a curved crescent-shaped revolving orbit 129. The endless conveyor belt 130 is disposed on the rotating drums 131A and 131B inside the through-type continuous processing section 115, and the endless conveyor belt 130 has a plurality of driving forks 132 attached to the endless conveyor belt 130. A plurality of power wheels 135 are arranged beside the linear track, and a rotating wheel 137 is arranged in the atmospheric section, and a driving fork 132 is also attached to it.

Two orbit converters 140 are provided inside the through-type continuous processing section 115, the enlarged view of which is provided in the enlarged view of FIG. 1. The track converter includes a worktable 141 on which two track sections, namely a curved track section 142 and a straight track section 144 are provided. The track changer can be moved between the two positions shown by the double-headed arrow in Figure 1. When the track converter is in one position, the curved track section is aligned with the track-shaped monorail 127, so that the carrier can move continuously along the track in the vacuum section to continuously process the substrates in the chambers 120A-120D. When the substrate is processed in the vacuum chamber, the orbital converter moves to the second position. In this position, the linear track on the track converter connects the linear tracks 128A and 128B with the linear section of the racetrack-shaped monorail 127, so that the carrier in the vacuum chamber can exit the vacuum chamber and enter the loading and unloading area, and loading and unloading Vehicles in the zone can enter the vacuum zone.

An embodiment of the substrate carrier 150 is shown in FIG. 2A. In this embodiment, the carrier 150 has a base 152 and a substrate holder 154. The substrate holder 154 can be detached from the base, so that it can be used to process substrates of different shapes and numbers. For example, the holder 154 shown in FIG. 2A may be used to hold a three-level square or rectangular substrate, and the holder 154' shown in FIG. 2B may be used to hold a circular substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer. In an embodiment of the present invention that is particularly suitable for manufacturing MRAM, the holder 154 ′ may include an electrostatic chuck 157. Alternatively or additionally, the holder 154' may optionally include a supporting pin 159 for engaging the periphery of the wafer. At the same time, the plane of the holder is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal plane. In the embodiment in the figure, the angle is 15 ⁰ .

As shown in FIG. 2A, the base 152 also includes a roller device 153 for engaging and running on the monorail 125. The roller device is not motorized, and can include a plurality of freely rotating wheels, so that the base can run freely on a monorail. The power comes from the power wheel 135 engaged with the drive rod 156 or the drive fork 132 engaged with the drive pin 158.

Hereinafter, an example of performing substrate processing processing in the system 100 will be described. The empty carrier is first transferred to the loading and unloading area 160, where the roller device 153 is coupled to the linear track 128A, and the power wheel 135 is coupled to the driving rod 156. The unprocessed substrate is loaded on the substrate holder 154. At the same time, the processed substrate can be removed from another carrier located at the unloading station 161. Once the loading and unloading are completed, the entrance gate valve EN in the loading station 160 of the loading and unloading area is opened. An optional step is to also open the outlet gate valve EX of the unloading section 161 of the unloading area. The inlet gate valve EN of the loading and unloading area is kept closed. Similarly, if the outlet gate valve of the unloading section is open, its inlet gate valve must also be closed. In some embodiments of the present invention, the two loading and unloading areas are independent of each other, and are separated by a partition 170 shown as a dashed line, so that each loading and unloading area can maintain a vacuum independently of each other. In this case, when unprocessed substrates are loaded into the loading and unloading area for loading, the processed carriers can be loaded from the vacuum section into the loading and unloading area 161 for unloading. However, please note that the inlet gate valve and the outlet gate valve are distinguished from the direction of travel of the vehicle, but in fact the structure of the inlet gate valve and the outlet gate valve are the same. In other words, if the direction of travel is reversed, the names of the inlet gate valve and the outlet gate valve will also be reversed.

In the above state, the power wheel 135 is energized to move the substrate carrier in the loading station to the corresponding loading and unloading area, while the substrate carrier in the other loading and unloading area can be moved to the atmospheric zone 105 And/or the processed substrate carrier can be moved into the loading and unloading area for unloading. But please note that these operations do not have to be performed at the same time. Alternative methods include loading can be performed separately in time, so it is only necessary to open the inlet gate valve of the carrier with the unprocessed substrate to move it to the loading and unloading area, but this time the power wheel in the unloading section It is not powered on. In other words, the power wheels in the linear track section can be energized individually or in groups, so that only a part of the power wheels have power. Moreover, if each loading and unloading area operates independently, that is, when it has an independent dedicated pumping device, each gate valve can also be independently energized, so that the loading and unloading do not need to be synchronized. Of course, in order to improve operation efficiency, synchronous operation is a better practice.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the loading and unloading area maintains a common vacuum environment and is evacuated by a common pump. That is, the partition 170 is removed, so that the gate valve operates in synchronization. For example, the gate valve EN in the loading and unloading area for loading is operated together with the gate valve EX in the loading and unloading area for unloading, and the gate valve EX in the loading and unloading area is operated together with the gate valve EN in the loading and unloading area for unloading.

When the carrier enters the loading and unloading area, close the inlet gate valve and evacuate. If the processed vehicle is removed from the outlet loading and unloading area, it must also be evacuated to a vacuum state. When an appropriate degree of vacuum is reached, the outlet gate valve EX of the loading and unloading area is opened, and the appropriate power wheel is energized to move the carrier into the vacuum section 115. At this time, the track switch 140 moves to a position where the linear track section 144 is aligned with the linear section of the racetrack-shaped monorail 127. Therefore, when the power wheel is energized and the vehicle is moved to the vacuum section, the vehicle will enter the racetrack loop, and one of the drive forks will be engaged with the drive pin 158. Thereafter, the track switch 140 is moved to another position where the curved track section 142 is aligned with the straight section of the racetrack-shaped monorail 127. When the track switch 140 is in this position, the carrier is driven by the endless conveyor belt 130 instead of the power wheel 135. In addition, in this case, as the endless conveyor belt rotates, the carrier will travel along the racetrack as many times as needed until it can exit the substrate processing section. therefore, The processing of the substrate on the carrier can be repeated as many times as necessary in each of the chambers 120A-120D.

When the substrate processing is completed, the track switch 140 of the unloading section is moved to a position where the linear track section 144 is aligned with the linear section of the racetrack-shaped monorail 127. As the endless conveyor belt continues to rotate, the carrier moves to the track converter 140 and disengages from the original drive fork, and the drive rod 156 will engage the power wheel 135 at the same time. The power wheels can then be energized to move the vehicle out of the loop of the runway.

It can be seen that in the embodiment described above, the vehicle has two modes of movement, namely the mode of engaging on the power wheels, moving on a straight track, and engaging on the drive fork, looping on the runway and returning in the atmosphere. Loop the mode of movement in ARC. When in the racetrack, the drive fork engages the endless conveyor, and when in the atmosphere return loop, the drive fork engages the drive wheels. In addition, the orbit converter is used to introduce or remove vehicles from the runway. When the orbit converter is in the first position, the vehicle can move around the runway without an endpoint, and when the orbit converter is in the second position, the vehicle can be introduced into or removed from the runway.

As previously mentioned, the system of the present invention is suitable for including as many processing chambers as required. An example is shown in Figure 1A. The example shown in FIG. 1A is similar to the example shown in FIG. 1, and similar elements are denoted by the same element symbols. The main difference between the two is that the system in FIG. 1A includes six processing chambers 120A-120F, and all other components may be the same as in FIG. 1. Figure 1A is used to illustrate the versatility of the architecture of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows an external view of an embodiment of the present invention having six processing chambers, in which processing chambers 120A-120C can be seen. As before, the system is composed of three sections: the atmosphere section 105, the loading and unloading section 110 and the vacuum section 115. The vacuum section 115 includes a vacuum housing 163 and a processing chamber attached thereto. In the diagram, the maintenance access windows 166, 167, and 168 are displayed as open, to show Now the visualization of the inside of the vacuum envelope. For example, the rotating drums 131A and 131B can be seen from the maintenance access windows 166 and 168, respectively. Through the maintenance access window 167, a part of the racetrack-shaped monorail 127 and the endless conveyor belt 130 can be seen.

In the example of FIG. 1B, the processing chamber 120B is shown in an open state, so that it is easy to enter and exit the processing chamber and other places inside the vacuum enclosure through the processing window 172. Specifically, in this example, the processing chambers 120A-120C are attached to the vacuum housing 163 via a rotatable hinge 171 (not visible from the view of FIG. 1B, but shown in FIG. 1A). When the cavity 120B rotates with its hinge as an axis, the inside of the vacuum housing 163 will be exposed from the position of the cavity. The figure shows a carrier 150 carrying four substrates.

The above-mentioned architecture provides a substrate processing system which has an atmospheric section 105; a loading and unloading section 110; and a vacuum section 115. The vacuum section 115 has a plurality of processing chambers 120 connected thereto. The carrier conveying mechanism includes: a monorail formed such that: the first monorail section 127 is in the shape of a racetrack and is arranged in the vacuum section; the second monorail section has two parallel linear monorails 128A and 128B, which are arranged in the installation The unloading area, and extends to the atmospheric section and the vacuum section; and the third curved monorail section, in the shape of a crescent-shaped revolving track 129, arranged in the atmospheric section, one end of which is connected to one of the linear monorails The other end is connected with the extension of another linear monorail; and the endless conveyor belt 130 is arranged on the runway and has: a plurality of driving forks 132 attached to it; a driving wheel 137 arranged in the atmospheric section, and There are a plurality of driving forks 132 connected to it; a plurality of power wheels 135 arranged along the second monorail section; and two track converters 140 located at one end of the first monorail section, each of which has a movable table 141. A linear monorail section 144 is located on the workbench, and a curved monorail section 142 is also located on the workbench.

Most carriers support the substrate to be processed, and each carrier has a base 152; a plurality of free-rotating wheels 153 attached to the base and configured to engage the monorail to make The vehicle is free to run on the monorail; the drive rod 156 is attached to the base and is configured to be engaged with the plurality of power wheels 135 so that the vehicle can be moved when the vehicle is on the second monorail section And a driving pin 158 attached to the base and configured to be engaged with the driving fork 132 to move the carrier when the carrier is located in the first or third monorail section.

When the track switch is in the first position, the curved monorail section is aligned with the first monorail section, so that the drive fork can drive the carrier to move continuously along the first monorail section. And when the track switch is in the second position, the linear monorail section on it can connect the first monorail section to the second monorail section, so that the carrier can be transferred between the loading and unloading area and the vacuum section.

The method for processing a substrate in the processing system of the present invention may include the following steps: loading the substrate on a carrier; transferring the carrier to the loading and unloading area by a transfer track; vacuuming in the loading and unloading area; The carrier is transferred to the processing enclosure with a plurality of processing chambers; the rail switch is operated to be located in the first position to form a connection between the transfer rail and the processing rail, and then the carrier is moved on the rail switch , And move to the processing track in the processing enclosure; operate the track switch to be located in the second position to separate the processing track from the conveying track; while energizing the processing chamber, make the carrier continuous on the processing track Move; and, after the substrate processing is completed, operate the track switch to position it in the first position, and transfer the carrier on the processing track to the transfer track. Wherein, the step of continuously moving the carriers may include, for example, a step of making the plurality of carriers uniformly and continuously move by connecting the plurality of carriers to an endless conveyor belt.

The general architecture of the system described above can be applied to processing various substrates. However, according to another aspect of the present invention, in order to process semiconductor wafers, for example, when manufacturing MRAM, the system needs to be reconfigured so that the system can be easily adjusted to meet requirements and applied to wafers commonly referred to as fabs. In the manufacturing facility. In the fab, the wafer is placed in FOUP (Front Opening Universal Pod, universal box with front opening). FOUP is a specially designed box, each box can hold multiple wafers. The following description provides a mechanism for transferring wafers from the FOUP to the processing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3A shows an embodiment of the present invention, which is configured to be applied to processing semiconductor wafers. This embodiment is particularly suitable for manufacturing the magnetic layer of MRAM on a silicon wafer, but can also be applied to manufacturing other devices on a standard round silicon wafer. The following first describes three potential difficulties in manufacturing thin layers on circular silicon wafers, and the solutions of the embodiments of the present invention to solve these difficulties.

When manufacturing the magnetic layer, if it is contaminated, not because of water vapor contamination, it will seriously affect the quality of the finished product. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention is designed so that no part of the wafer transfer mechanism of the system leaves the vacuum environment. This design ensures that the vehicle will not enter the atmosphere and be polluted. In addition, since the formation of the magnetic layer requires sputtering, particle contamination may be caused. Therefore, in the system of the present invention, the surface of the wafer faces a nearly vertical direction when the wafer is traveling, thereby reducing the possibility of particle contamination. Since the wafer is round and can only be fixed from its peripheral edge, the present invention keeps the wafer in the system in a vertical orientation, which actually increases the risk of the wafer falling off the carrier. Therefore, the embodiment of the present invention requires that when the wafer is located inside the system, the wafer is held on the carrier in a nearly vertical direction. In the embodiment of the present invention, the so-called near-vertical orientation means that the wafer is kept inclined at 5-20 degrees from the vertical. In addition to reducing the possibility of contamination, this design also reduces the possibility of wafers falling off the carrier.

In FIG. 3A, elements similar to those in FIGS. 1 to 1B are denoted by the same element symbols. Among them, the through-type continuous processing section labeled Vac 115 is similar to the component Vac 115 in FIGS. 1 to 1B. However, the configuration of loading wafers into the vacuum environment of the through-type continuous processing section 115 is different.

As mentioned above, when the wafer travels in the through-type continuous processing section 115, the surface of the wafer faces a nearly vertical direction. However, the FOUP in the fab is to place the wafers in a horizontal orientation. Therefore, when processing semiconductor wafers according to the present invention, in addition to transferring the wafers into the vacuum environment of the processing system, it is also necessary to rotate the wafers to a nearly vertical orientation. This objective can be achieved as follows.

The wafer is taken out of the FOUP 300 by the robotic arm 312 and placed in the FOUP 300 again. In the embodiment of the present invention, the robot arm 312 is a SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm) robot arm, and its end effector 314 is coupled to the robot arm through a rotatable wrist 316. The rotatable wrist 316 enables the end effector 314 to turn the wafer from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation, and vice versa. The term "end effector" in this article refers to its generally accepted meaning in the industry, that is, the last connecting unit of the robotic arm and the part that interacts with the workpiece (wafer in this embodiment). Although any conventional end effector can also be used, in embodiments of the present invention, the end effector can be impact (physically grasp the wafer from its peripheral edge) or constraining (using attraction , Such as vacuum or magnetic/electric attraction to hold the wafer from the backside).

Therefore, when loading unprocessed wafers into the system, the end effector removes the wafers from the FOUP 300 in a horizontal orientation. When the SCARA robotic arm turns, rotate its wrist 316 to change the orientation of the wafer from horizontal to vertical or close to vertical, that is, inclined at an angle of 0 to 20 degrees from the vertical. Then, the gate valve IN is opened, and the wafer is placed on the wafer holding module 302 in the loading and unloading area/exchange chamber LL/EX 305 by the robot. The wafer is placed on the wafer holder 304 of the wafer holding module 302 in a vertical or nearly vertical orientation, that is, at an angle of 0 to 20 degrees from the vertical. Then the robot arm 312 is retracted and the gate valve IN is closed. Then vacuum can be drawn in the loading and unloading area/exchange chamber LL/EX 305. After the vacuum is completed, the transfer carrier 150 is moved to the loading position of the loading and unloading area/exchange chamber LL/EX 305, and the wafer is transferred from the wafer holder 304 to the transfer carrier 150.

As shown in the figure, in some embodiments of the present invention, the carrier 150 has a substrate holder 154'. The substrate holder 154' includes an electrostatic chuck 157. In this embodiment, when the substrate processing method is carried out until the wafer is placed in the wafer holder 304 by the end effector, the orientation of the wafer is such that the device side of the wafer faces the wafer holder 304 304, the back side of the wafer faces away from the holder 304. Then, when the carrier enters the loading and unloading area 305, the electrostatic chuck is energized to attract the wafer to the substrate holder 154' from the back side of the wafer.

In this embodiment, the wafer holding module 302 has a retractable wafer holder 304 that is between a first position and a second position (ie, an extended position and a retracted position) Move horizontally. One position is used to exchange wafers with the robotic arm 312, and the other position is used to exchange wafers with the carrier 150. In addition, one position is used for receiving wafers (when loading unprocessed substrates, receiving wafers from the robot arm, and when unloading processed wafers, receiving wafers from the carrier), and the other position is used for Dispatch wafers (when unprocessed substrates are loaded, the wafers are sent to the carrier, and when the processed substrates are unloaded, the wafers are sent to the robot arm).

Depending on the specific architecture used, the carrier 150 can be moved from different positions, through different methods and routes, to the loading position in the loading and unloading area 305. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, the carrier 150 can be moved to the loading position by rotating the turntable 322. In this way, the carrier 150 can be moved from the unloading position to the loading position. However, in another example of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3B, the transfer carrier 15 is moved from the transfer room TR310 to the loading position of the loading and unloading area/exchange room LL/EX 305. On the contrary, in another example of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3C, the transfer carrier 150 is not used to move the transfer carrier 150 to the loading position.

The turntable 322 includes a linear track portion 321 that enables carriers to enter and exit the turntable 322 from the linear tracks 128A and 128B. The turntable 322 may also have a power wheel similar to the turning wheel 135, so that the carrier can move linearly on the linear track portion 321.

After the unprocessed wafers are loaded on the transfer carrier 150, the carrier 150 is moved into the transfer chamber 310, and then the gate valve EN can be closed to perform another loading cycle. After closing the gate valve EN, the gate valve EX can be opened, and the carrier 150 can be moved into the through-type continuous processing section 115. Then, the wafer processing is performed, as described in the above description of any embodiment of the present invention, in which the carrier enters a racetrack-shaped monorail and moves within the racetrack as required by the required number of laps.

Needless to say, uninstalling is of course the opposite of the aforementioned operation. The carrier carrying the processed wafers enters the transfer chamber 310, and thus moves to the unloading position on the turntable 322, where the wafers are loaded on the wafer holder 304. The empty carrier is then moved to the loading position to receive unprocessed new wafers. At the same time, the SCARA robot arm is used to remove the wafer from the wafer holder 304, and then place the wafer in the FOUP 300.

Based on the above, the present invention provides a wafer loading system, which includes: a robotic arm having an end effector connected to the robotic arm through a rotating wrist; a loading and unloading chamber having a wafer holding module , Can actuate the wafer holder; transfer chamber, adjacent to the loading and unloading chamber; gate valve, located between the loading and unloading chamber and the transfer chamber; rail, passing through the loading and unloading chamber and the transfer chamber; and wafer carriers, which can be It runs on this track and is built to exchange wafers with wafer holders. The wafer loading system may further include a turntable having a track portion on the turntable for receiving a carrier. The turntable may further include a power wheel to move the carrier on the linear track portion. The vehicle can be built to run on the track freely and driven by the power wheel. The carrier may further include an electrostatic chuck.

If you want to move the transport carrier from the unloading position to the loading position, you only need to move the transport carrier from the unloading position back to the through-type continuous processing section 115, and then use the endless conveyor belt 130 to move the transport carrier at The runway detours, and then exits to the loading and unloading area. However, in the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the turntable 322 is used to avoid such a complicated transfer process. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, the turntable 322 is positioned inside the loading and unloading chamber. However, the turntable 322 can also be arranged in other chambers of the system, or can be completely eliminated, as described below.

FIG. 3B shows another embodiment of the invention for processing semiconductor wafers. The embodiment of FIG. 3B is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3A, except that the turntable 322 is located outside the loading and unloading chamber and the transfer chamber. In this example, the turntable is located between the transfer room 310 and the processing section 115, that is, between the transfer room and the runway section. In another embodiment (not shown) of the present invention, the turntable 322 may be disposed inside the transfer chamber TR310.

Therefore, the wafer loading system may further include a turntable having a linear track portion on the turntable. An alternative approach is that the processing chamber may further include a turntable having a linear track portion on the turntable. Another alternative is that a turntable with a linear track portion can be arranged between the processing chamber and the wafer loading system.

Any of the embodiments described above can be coupled to other processing chambers and/or systems. Figure 3C provides an example of such an application. For the sake of clarity, the components of the loading section are not shown in FIG. 3C, but the loading section described in any of the embodiments described above can be used to load the substrate into the system.

The turntable 323 is arranged on the outer side of the racetrack shape, and is located on the opposite side end of the loading side. The turntable 323 is configured to receive the transmission vehicle from the runway and transfer the transmission vehicle to the attached processing room or processing system (for example, a traditional host-type processing system). In the diagram of Figure 3C, any element labeled 326 is This kind of processing room or processing system can be indicated, such as a mainframe. The orbit converter 140A configuration can be used to transfer the vehicle 150 from the racetrack-shaped monorail 127 to the turntable 323; this orbit converter 140A is similar to the orbit converter 140 configuration on the opposite side. The turntable 323 includes a linear track part 321 for receiving the carrier, and may further include a power wheel 135 for driving the carrier to move on the linear track part 321.

Fig. 3C also shows a turntable with a different structure. The turntable can be used in any embodiment of the present invention, and can also be simply referred to as a turntable. Specifically, the turntable 327 has a structure of a hub 328 having spokes 329. The linear track section 331 is attached to the end of each spoke 329. Each straight track section 331 is adapted to form a continuation of the track 128.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3C, a separate configuration of loading and unloading is shown, and the carrier is moved from the unloading side to the loading side with a turntable. However, this design is not any technical limitation, because a single configuration can also be used, including the loading side and the unloading side. If enough time is left for the processing procedure, a single loading/unloading device can be used to unload the processed wafers and then load new wafers. An example of this design is provided in Figure 3D. After the loading and unloading area 305 is emptied, the gate valve EN is opened, and the carrier 150 waiting in the transfer chamber 310 and loaded with processed wafers can be moved to the loading and unloading area 305. The processed wafers are then transferred from the carrier 150 to the wafer holder 304. After that, the carrier can be returned to the transfer chamber 310, and the gate valve EN can be closed. The loading and unloading area is returned to atmospheric pressure, and the gate valve IN is opened, so that the robot arm 312 takes out the processed wafer 304 from the holder, and then puts an unprocessed wafer in the holder 304. The gate valve IN is then closed, and the loading and unloading area 305 is evacuated. After that, the gate valve EN is opened, and the carrier 150 is moved back to the loading and unloading area, and the unprocessed wafer is taken out from the wafer holder 304. Thereafter, the carrier is returned to the transfer chamber, and the gate valve EN is closed. Then, by opening the gate valve EX, the vehicle can be moved to the racetrack-shaped monorail 127 via the track switch 140.

It should be understood that the programs and techniques described in this specification are not necessarily related to any specific device, and can be implemented by any suitable combination of various elements. In addition, according to the teaching of this specification, various types of general-purpose devices can be used to achieve the invention. The present invention has been described above according to specific embodiments, but the content of the description is only for illustration in any case, and is not used to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can understand that many different combinations are suitable for implementing the present invention.

In addition, as long as you read this patent specification and practice the invention described in the specification, other embodiments of the present invention are obvious to those in the industry and can be inferred. The various aspects and/or elements in the described embodiments can be used alone or in any combination. Therefore, the description of this patent specification and its embodiments are only examples and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. The true scope of the present invention should be regulated by the following patent application scope.

100: System

105: Atmospheric section

115: Vacuum section that is through continuous processing section

120A-120D: processing room

127: Racetrack-shaped monorail is the first monorail section

128A, 128B: straight track

130: endless conveyor belt

131A, 131B: rotating drum

132: Drive fork

135: Power Wheel

140: track converter

152: Pedestal

154’: Retainer

300: Universal box with front opening

302: Wafer holding module

304: Wafer Holder

305: Loading and unloading area/exchange chamber LL/EX

310: transfer room

312: Robotic Arm

314: End effector

316: Rotatable wrist

321: Straight track part

322: Turntable

EN: inlet gate valve

EX: outlet gate valve

IN: Gate valve

Claims (20)

A substrate processing system includes: a vacuum housing; a plurality of processing chambers attached to the side wall of the vacuum housing; a transfer chamber connected to the loading end of the vacuum housing through a first gate valve, the transfer chamber having a transfer track ; A loading and unloading area, coupled to the transfer chamber via a second gate valve, and having a third gate valve on its inlet side, the loading and unloading area is equipped with a transfer track; a wafer holding module is attached to the loading and unloading area On the side wall of the wafer holder, the wafer holder supports the substrate in a vertical or nearly vertical orientation in the loading and unloading area; an articulated robotic arm with an end effector can pass through The rotating wrist is connected to one end of the articulated robotic arm. The articulated robotic arm is located outside the loading and unloading area, and can remove the substrate from a FOUP in a horizontal orientation, and rotate the substrate to a vertical orientation or close to it. In a vertical orientation, the substrate is placed on the wafer holder; and a plurality of substrate carriers can be moved on the transfer track and can exchange substrates with the wafer holding module. The system according to claim 1 further includes a turntable having a linear track portion on the turntable. The system according to claim 2, wherein the turntable can be rotated to transfer the substrate carrier from the unloading position to the loading position. The system according to claim 2, wherein the turntable can be rotated to transfer the substrate carrier from one set of transfer tracks to another set of transfer tracks. The system according to claim 2, wherein the turntable is arranged in a vacuum enclosure. The system according to claim 2, wherein the turntable is arranged in the loading and unloading area. The system according to claim 2, wherein the turntable further includes a power wheel. The system according to claim 2 further includes: a racetrack-shaped monorail located inside the vacuum enclosure; an endless conveyor belt, located in the vacuum enclosure, for joining the vehicle so that the vehicle can run on the racetrack-shaped monorail freely; and a track converter, It is positioned at one end of the racetrack-shaped monorail and is used for conveying vehicles to run between the racetrack-shaped monorail and the conveying track. The system according to claim 1, wherein each substrate carrier includes an electrostatic chuck positioned to face almost perpendicularly. The system according to claim 1, wherein each substrate carrier includes a substrate holder positioned to face almost perpendicularly. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a turntable located at the end of the vacuum housing, the end opposite to the loading end; a racetrack-shaped monorail located in the vacuum housing; an endless conveyor belt located in the vacuum housing Inside, used to engage the vehicle so that the vehicle can freely run on the racetrack-shaped monorail; a track converter is located at one end of the racetrack-shaped monorail and transfers the vehicle between the racetrack-shaped monorail and the turntable; and at least one The second processing system is attached to the end of the vacuum enclosure. The system according to claim 11, wherein the endless conveyor belt includes a plurality of drive forks, and each substrate carrier includes a plurality of freely rotating wheels, the structure can be engaged with the racetrack-shaped monorail, and a drive pin is constructed Can be engaged with the drive fork. The system according to claim 12, wherein the turntable includes a linear track portion and a power wheel, and each substrate carrier includes a driving rod engaged with the power wheel. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a second transfer chamber, which is coupled to the loading end of the vacuum housing; and a second loading and unloading area, which is coupled to the second transfer chamber. The system according to claim 14 further includes a transfer mechanism to transfer the vehicle from the second loading and unloading area to the loading and unloading area. The system according to claim 14 further includes a transfer mechanism to transfer the carrier from the second transfer room to the first transfer room. The system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the conveying mechanism includes at least one orbit converter including a movable worktable, a linear monorail part on the worktable, and a curved monorail part on the worktable. The system according to claim 17, wherein the conveying mechanism further includes a turntable having a linear track portion thereon. The system according to claim 17, further comprising: a monorail located inside the vacuum envelope and formed as: a first monorail section having a racetrack shape, and a second monorail section having two parallel linear monorail extensions; and A power element located in the first monorail section; a plurality of power wheels arranged along the second monorail section; wherein the track converter transmits the carrier between the first and second monorail sections. The system according to claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of vehicles includes: a base; An engaging mechanism attached to the base and configured to engage the power element to move the carrier in the first monorail section; and a driving rod installed on the base, the driving rod constructed The structure can be engaged with a plurality of power wheels, so that the carrier can be moved when the carrier is running on the second monorail section.

Images