阅读说明：本技术 感性耦合边缘刻蚀反应装置和边缘刻蚀方法 (Inductive coupling edge etching reaction device and edge etching method ) 是由 吴堃 杨猛 于 2020-07-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种感性耦合边缘刻蚀反应装置和边缘刻蚀方法,包括：传片系统和刻蚀系统；传片系统包括:位于腔主体中的支撑移动平台,支撑移动平台包括用于水平放置晶圆的晶圆夹持板,晶圆夹持板可围绕垂直晶圆夹持板表面的中心轴进行旋转;刻蚀系统包括:下电极;上层板;位于上层板和下电极之间的射频隔离环;位于上层板顶部的感性耦合射频单元；射频隔离环包括:位于下电极外部区域的下射频隔离环;位于上层板外部区域的上射频隔离环,上射频隔离环和下射频隔离环之间具有间隙;刻蚀系统位于传片系统的侧部,刻蚀系统和传片系统集成在一起。所述感性耦合边缘刻蚀反应装置能够提高边缘刻蚀区域的刻蚀费效比。(An inductive coupling edge etching reaction device and an edge etching method comprise the following steps: a wafer conveying system and an etching system; the wafer transmission system comprises a support moving platform, an etching system, an inductive coupling radio frequency unit, a wafer clamping plate, a wafer transmission system and a wafer transmission system, wherein the support moving platform is positioned in a cavity main body and comprises the wafer clamping plate for horizontally placing a wafer, and the wafer clamping plate can rotate around a central shaft vertical to the surface of the wafer clamping plate; the radio frequency isolation ring comprises a lower radio frequency isolation ring positioned in the outer area of the lower electrode, an upper radio frequency isolation ring positioned in the outer area of the upper plate, a gap is formed between the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the lower radio frequency isolation ring, the etching system is positioned on the side part of the film transmission system, and the etching system and the film transmission system are integrated together. The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device can improve the etching cost-to-efficiency ratio of the edge etching area.)

1. An apparatus for inductively coupled edge etching, comprising:

a wafer conveying system and an etching system;

the wafer conveying system comprises a cavity body, a supporting and moving platform, a wafer conveying device and a wafer conveying device, wherein the supporting and moving platform is positioned in the cavity body and comprises a wafer clamping plate for horizontally placing a wafer, and the wafer clamping plate can rotate around a central shaft vertical to the surface of the wafer clamping plate;

the etching system comprises a lower electrode, an upper plate, a radio frequency isolating ring, an inductive coupling radio frequency unit, a lower electrode, a first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer, a third dielectric layer and a fourth dielectric layer, wherein the upper plate is opposite to the lower electrode;

the radio frequency isolation ring comprises a lower radio frequency isolation ring, an upper radio frequency isolation ring and a lower radio frequency isolation ring, wherein the lower radio frequency isolation ring is positioned in the outer area of the lower electrode;

the etching system is positioned at the side part of the wafer conveying system, and the etching system and the wafer conveying system are integrated together;

the edge area of the wafer is suitable for extending to the position between the lower electrode and the upper plate on the side of the radio frequency isolation ring through the gap.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper plate is a dielectric window; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: a shield on top of the dielectric louver; and the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and at least distributed above the central area of the dielectric window sheet, and is used for generating plasma between the lower electrode and the dielectric window sheet.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the dielectric window is made of quartz or ceramic.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a first gas inlet channel is formed through a central region of the dielectric window, the first gas inlet channel being adapted to introduce an etching gas for etching an edge of the wafer.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper plate is a plasma channel plate; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: the shielding cover is positioned on the top of the plasma channel plate; the reaction chamber medium pipe is positioned in the shielding cover and above the central area of the plasma channel plate; and the radio frequency antennas are positioned in the shielding case and distributed on the side part of the reaction chamber dielectric tube, are used for generating plasma in the reaction chamber dielectric tube, and are suitable for entering the space between the lower electrode and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the plasma channel plate is made of aluminum alloy channel plate, carbon channel plate or silicon carbide channel plate.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inductively coupled RF unit further comprises: and the first gas inlet channel is positioned at the top of the reaction chamber medium pipe and is suitable for introducing etching gas for etching the edge of the wafer into the reaction chamber medium pipe.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the material of said reaction chamber medium tube is quartz or ceramic.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: and the second gas inlet channel penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the edge area of the upper plate and is suitable for introducing inert gas.

10. The apparatus of claim 2 or 5, wherein the inductively coupled RF unit further comprises: and the cooling device is positioned on the upper part or the side wall of the shielding case and is used for cooling the radio frequency antenna and the upper plate.

11. The apparatus of claim 2 or 5, wherein the RF antenna is configured to apply an RF source having a frequency of 100 kHz-100 MHz.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: the isolation ring air pumping channel only transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring, or the isolation ring air pumping channel only transversely penetrates through the lower radio frequency isolation ring, or the isolation ring air pumping channel respectively transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the lower radio frequency isolation ring.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the region surrounded by the upper RF isolation ring, the lower electrode and the upper plate is a plasma region; the isolator ring pumping channel is sized such that the minimum distance that charged particles of the plasma region move when exiting the isolator ring pumping channel is greater than the mean free path of the charged particles.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower electrode is configured to apply a radio frequency source having a frequency of 100 kHz-100 MHz.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a partial region of the inner ring edge of the upper RF isolation ring and a partial region of the inner ring edge of the lower RF isolation ring are arc-shaped edges, and a projected pattern of the arc-shaped edges on the wafer surface is adapted to have the same center as the edge shape of the wafer.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gap has a longitudinal dimension suitable for being maintained in a range of 1 mm or less during etching of the wafer edge.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a position adjustment member positioned above the upper plate, the position adjustment member being adapted to adjust a position of the upper plate in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the upper plate.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rf isolation ring is made of a low-k protective material, and the low-k protective material comprises a reactive gas vacuum medium, quartz or ceramic; the lower electrode is coated with Al on the surface₂O₃Or Y₂O₃Or the lower electrode is a silicon member or a silicon carbide member.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the edge region of the wafer is adapted to extend to a radial dimension between the lower electrode and the upper plate of the RF isolator ring side of 2 mm to 4 mm.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the supporting and moving platform comprises: the supporting seat is a movable supporting seat which is suitable for moving in the horizontal direction; the rotating support column is positioned on the support seat and can rotate at a constant speed around a central shaft of the rotating support column; the wafer clamping plate is positioned on the supporting column.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one etching system and at least one film-transferring system are provided in one apparatus, and the number of the film-transferring systems is one, two or four;

when the number of the wafer conveying systems is two, the two wafer conveying systems are respectively arranged on two sides of the etching system, and the two wafer conveying systems are opposite;

when the number of the wafer conveying systems is four, the four wafer conveying systems are uniformly distributed around the side part of the etching system.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the film transfer system comprises a loading and unloading device.

23. An edge etching method using the inductively coupled edge etching reaction apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22, comprising:

placing a wafer on the wafer clamping plate, and enabling the edge area of the wafer to extend to a position between a lower electrode and an upper plate on the side of the radio frequency isolating ring through the gap, wherein the radio frequency isolating ring covers part of the central area of the wafer;

after the edge area of the wafer extends to a position between a lower electrode and an upper plate on the side of the radio frequency isolation ring, adjusting the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode to enable the longitudinal size of the gap to be within a threshold range;

after the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode is adjusted, the wafer clamping plate drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, and in the process that the wafer clamping plate drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, the inductive coupling radio frequency unit carries out plasma discharge in the area between the upper plate and the lower electrode so as to etch the edge of the wafer.

24. The edge etching method of claim 23, wherein the upper plate is a dielectric louver; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: a shield on top of the dielectric louver; the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and at least distributed above the central area of the dielectric window sheet;

the edge etching method comprises the following steps: introducing etching gas between the dielectric window sheet and the lower electrode through the dielectric window sheet; the radio frequency antenna generates a magnetic field to excite etching gas between the lower electrode and the dielectric window sheet to generate plasma.

25. The edge etching method of claim 23, wherein the upper plate is a plasma channel plate; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: the shielding cover is positioned on the top of the plasma channel plate; the reaction chamber medium pipe is positioned in the shielding cover and above the central area of the plasma channel plate; the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and distributed on the side part of the reaction chamber medium tube;

the edge etching method comprises the following steps: the radio frequency antenna generates plasma inside the reaction chamber medium tube, and the plasma enters between the lower electrode and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to an inductive coupling edge etching reaction device and an edge etching method.

Background

In semiconductor manufacturing, a plurality of processes are involved, each of which is performed by a certain apparatus and process. Among them, the etching process is an important process in semiconductor manufacturing, such as a plasma etching process. The plasma etching process is to utilize reaction gas to generate plasma after obtaining energy, wherein the plasma comprises charged particles such as ions and electrons, neutral atoms, molecules and free radicals with high chemical activity, and an etching object is etched through physical and chemical reactions.

However, during plasma etching, the etching conditions at the edge of the wafer and the etching conditions at the center of the wafer are greatly different, and the etching conditions include: plasma density distribution, radio frequency electric field, temperature distribution, etc., thereby causing byproduct polymer to be deposited on the upper and lower surfaces and the side wall of the edge of the wafer during etching of the central region of the wafer. The deposition of the byproduct polymer can generate an accumulation effect along with the progress of the etching process, and when the thickness of the byproduct polymer reaches a certain degree, the adhesive force between the byproduct polymer and the wafer is deteriorated to cause the byproduct polymer to fall off, thereby causing a series of problems that the graph stability of the wafer is influenced, an etching chamber is polluted and the like.

In view of this, an edge etching process is introduced in the industry, and specifically, a wafer is placed in an edge etching apparatus, and the generated plasma etches the edge of the wafer while the etching of the center of the wafer is avoided as much as possible.

However, in the process of the edge etching process using the existing edge etching device, the etching precision of the edge area of the wafer is poor, and the etching efficiency of the edge etching device is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an inductive coupling edge etching reaction device and an edge etching method, which can improve the etching precision of the edge area of a wafer.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides an apparatus for inductively coupled edge etching reaction, comprising: a wafer conveying system and an etching system; the chip conveying system comprises a cavity body, a supporting and moving platform, an etching system and a chip conveying system, wherein the supporting and moving platform is positioned in the cavity body and comprises a wafer clamping plate for horizontally placing a wafer, and the wafer clamping plate can rotate around a central shaft vertical to the surface of the wafer clamping plate; the radio frequency isolation ring comprises a lower radio frequency isolation ring positioned in the outer area of the lower electrode, an upper radio frequency isolation ring positioned in the outer area of the upper plate, a gap is formed between the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the lower radio frequency isolation ring, the etching system is positioned on the side part of the wafer transmission system, the etching system and the wafer transmission system are integrated, and the edge area of the wafer is suitable for extending to the position between the lower electrode on the side part of the radio frequency isolation ring and the upper plate through the gap.

Optionally, the upper plate is a dielectric window sheet; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: a shield on top of the dielectric louver; and the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and at least distributed above the central area of the dielectric window sheet, and is used for generating plasma between the lower electrode and the dielectric window sheet.

Optionally, the dielectric window is made of quartz or ceramic.

Optionally, the first gas inlet channel penetrates through the central region of the dielectric window, and the first gas inlet channel is suitable for introducing etching gas for etching the edge of the wafer.

Optionally, the upper plate is a plasma channel plate; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: the shielding cover is positioned on the top of the plasma channel plate; the reaction chamber medium pipe is positioned in the shielding cover and above the central area of the plasma channel plate; and the radio frequency antennas are positioned in the shielding case and distributed on the side part of the reaction chamber dielectric tube, are used for generating plasma in the reaction chamber dielectric tube, and are suitable for entering the space between the lower electrode and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

Optionally, the plasma channel plate is made of an aluminum alloy channel plate, a carbon channel plate or a silicon carbide channel plate.

Optionally, the inductively coupled radio frequency unit further includes: and the first gas inlet channel is positioned at the top of the reaction chamber medium pipe and is suitable for introducing etching gas for etching the edge of the wafer into the reaction chamber medium pipe.

Optionally, the material of the reaction chamber medium tube is quartz or ceramic.

Optionally, the method further includes: and the second gas inlet channel penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the edge area of the upper plate and is suitable for introducing inert gas.

Optionally, the inductively coupled radio frequency unit further includes: and the cooling device is positioned on the upper part or the side wall of the shielding case and is used for cooling the radio frequency antenna and the upper plate.

Optionally, the radio frequency antenna is used for applying a radio frequency source, and the frequency of the radio frequency source is 100kHz to 100 MHz.

Optionally, the method further includes: the isolation ring air pumping channel only transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring, or the isolation ring air pumping channel only transversely penetrates through the lower radio frequency isolation ring, or the isolation ring air pumping channel respectively transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring and the lower radio frequency isolation ring.

Optionally, an area surrounded by the upper radio frequency isolation ring, the lower electrode and the upper plate is a plasma area; the isolator ring pumping channel is sized such that the minimum distance that charged particles of the plasma region move when exiting the isolator ring pumping channel is greater than the mean free path of the charged particles.

Optionally, the lower electrode is used for applying a radio frequency source, and the frequency of the radio frequency source is 100kHz to 100 MHz.

Optionally, a partial region of the inner ring edge of the upper rf isolation ring and a partial region of the inner ring edge of the lower rf isolation ring are arc edges, and a projection pattern of the arc edges on the wafer surface is suitable for having a same circle center as an edge shape of the wafer.

Optionally, the longitudinal dimension of the gap is suitable for being kept in a range of less than or equal to 1 mm during etching of the edge of the wafer.

Optionally, the method further includes: a position adjustment member positioned above the upper plate, the position adjustment member being adapted to adjust a position of the upper plate in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the upper plate.

Optionally, the radio frequency isolation ring is made of a low dielectric constant protection material, and the low dielectric constant protection material includes a reaction gas vacuum medium, quartz or ceramic; the lower electrode is coated with Al on the surface₂O₃Or Y₂O₃Or the lower electrode is a silicon member or a silicon carbide member.

Optionally, the radial dimension between the lower electrode and the upper plate, which is adapted to extend to the side of the rf isolation ring, of the edge region of the wafer is 2 mm to 4 mm.

Optionally, the supporting and moving platform includes: the supporting seat is a movable supporting seat which is suitable for moving in the horizontal direction; the rotating support column is positioned on the support seat and can rotate at a constant speed around a central shaft of the rotating support column; the wafer clamping plate is positioned on the supporting column.

Optionally, one inductive coupling edge etching reaction device is provided with one etching system and at least one sheet conveying system, and the number of the sheet conveying systems is one, two or four; when the number of the wafer conveying systems is two, the two wafer conveying systems are respectively arranged on two sides of the etching system, and the two wafer conveying systems are opposite; when the number of the wafer conveying systems is four, the four wafer conveying systems are uniformly distributed around the side part of the etching system.

Optionally, the sheet conveying system comprises a loading and unloading device.

The invention also provides an edge etching method, which adopts any one of the above-mentioned inductively coupled edge etching reaction devices, and comprises the following steps: placing a wafer on the wafer clamping plate, and enabling the edge area of the wafer to extend to a position between a lower electrode and an upper plate on the side of the radio frequency isolating ring through the gap, wherein the radio frequency isolating ring covers part of the central area of the wafer; after the edge area of the wafer extends to a position between a lower electrode and an upper plate on the side of the radio frequency isolation ring, adjusting the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode to enable the longitudinal size of the gap to be within a threshold range; after the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode is adjusted, the wafer clamping plate drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, and in the process that the wafer clamping plate drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, the inductive coupling radio frequency unit carries out plasma discharge in the area between the upper plate and the lower electrode so as to etch the edge of the wafer.

Optionally, the upper plate is a dielectric window sheet; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: a shield on top of the dielectric louver; the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and at least distributed above the central area of the dielectric window sheet; the edge etching method comprises the following steps: introducing etching gas between the dielectric window sheet and the lower electrode through the dielectric window sheet; the radio frequency antenna generates a magnetic field to excite etching gas between the lower electrode and the dielectric window sheet to generate plasma.

Optionally, the upper plate is a plasma channel plate; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: the shielding cover is positioned on the top of the plasma channel plate; the reaction chamber medium pipe is positioned in the shielding cover and above the central area of the plasma channel plate; the radio frequency antenna is positioned in the shielding cover and distributed on the side part of the reaction chamber medium tube; the edge etching method comprises the following steps: the radio frequency antenna generates plasma inside the reaction chamber medium tube, and the plasma enters between the lower electrode and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the invention has the following beneficial effects:

the inductive coupling edge etching reaction device provided by the technical scheme of the invention comprises a film transmission system and an etching system, wherein the etching system comprises an inductive coupling radio frequency unit, a lower electrode, an upper plate and a radio frequency isolating ring. And the space surrounded by the lower electrode, the upper plate, the lower radio frequency isolation ring and the upper radio frequency isolation ring is used for carrying out plasma discharge. The wafer clamping plate in the wafer conveying system can rotate around the central axis of the surface of the wafer clamping plate. When the wafer is placed on the surface of the wafer clamping plate, the edge area of the wafer is suitable for extending to the position between the lower electrode and the upper plate at the side part of the radio frequency isolation ring through the gap, and the lower radio frequency isolation ring and the upper radio frequency isolation ring are used for covering a partial area which is radially inward of the edge area of the wafer. The etched area of the edge of the wafer can be accurately controlled by accurately controlling the dimension of the wafer extending between the lower electrode and the upper plate, and the edge area of the wafer is etched in the rotating process of the wafer. The invention adopts the integration of the etching system and the film transmission system, can effectively utilize the film transmission system, and the etching system mainly comprises the lower electrode, the upper plate, the lower radio frequency isolation ring and the upper radio frequency isolation ring, the volume of the etching system can be designed to be smaller, the space occupied by the etching system is smaller, and the cost-effectiveness ratio is improved. And secondly, the inductive coupling radio frequency unit generates a magnetic field to accelerate electron collision, so that plasma with higher density is generated, and a better etching effect on the wafer is facilitated.

Furthermore, one inductive coupling edge etching reaction device is provided with one etching system and a plurality of wafer transmission systems, so that the edge etching process can be simultaneously carried out on a plurality of wafers, and the etching efficiency of the edge etching reaction device is improved.

In the edge etching method provided by the technical scheme of the invention, the inductive coupling edge etching reaction device is adopted to transmit the wafer onto the wafer clamping plate, and the edge area of the wafer extends to a position between the lower electrode and the upper plate at the side part of the radio frequency isolation ring through the gap, and the radio frequency isolation ring covers part of the central area of the wafer. After the edge area of the wafer extends to the position between the lower electrodes on the side portion of the radio frequency isolation ring, the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode is adjusted, the longitudinal size of the gap is set to be within a threshold range, and at the moment, a space surrounded by the lower electrode, the upper plate, the lower radio frequency isolation ring and the upper radio frequency isolation ring is used for plasma discharge. By accurately controlling the dimension of the wafer extending between the lower electrode and the upper plate, the etched area of the edge of the wafer can be accurately controlled. After the distance between the upper plate and the lower electrode is adjusted, the wafer clamping plate drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, and the inductive coupling radio frequency unit conducts plasma discharge in the area between the upper plate and the lower electrode so as to etch the edge area of the wafer, so that the edge area of the wafer is etched. Therefore, the etching precision of the edge area of the wafer is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inductively coupled edge etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an apparatus for inductively coupled edge etching reaction in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1a is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inductively coupled edge etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an apparatus for inductively coupled edge etching reaction in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an apparatus for inductively coupled edge etching reaction in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an edge etching reaction in yet another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention provides an inductively coupled edge etching reaction apparatus, which is combined with fig. 1 and fig. 2, and includes:

a wafer conveying system 10 and an etching system 20;

the wafer conveying system 10 comprises a chamber body 100, a supporting and moving platform 110 positioned in the chamber body 100, wherein the supporting and moving platform 110 comprises a wafer clamping plate 113 for horizontally placing a wafer, and the wafer clamping plate 113 can rotate around a central axis vertical to the surface 113 of the wafer clamping plate;

the etching system 20 comprises a lower electrode 200, an upper plate 210 opposite to the lower electrode 200, a radio frequency isolation ring positioned between the upper plate 210 and the lower electrode 200, an inductive coupling radio frequency unit positioned at the top of the upper plate 210;

the radio frequency isolation ring comprises a lower radio frequency isolation ring 220 positioned in the outer area of the lower electrode 200, an upper radio frequency isolation ring 230 positioned in the outer area of the upper plate 210, wherein a gap is formed between the upper radio frequency isolation ring 230 and the lower radio frequency isolation ring 220;

the etching system 20 is positioned at the side part of the wafer conveying system 10, and the etching system 20 and the wafer conveying system 10 are integrated together;

the edge region of the wafer 30 is adapted to extend through the gap between the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 at the side of the rf isolator ring.

In this embodiment, the sheet conveying system 10 may be a load and unload device (loadlock), which is a device commonly used in semiconductor manufacturing processes.

The lower rf isolation ring 220 is located at an outer region of the lower electrode 200, and refers to: the lower rf isolation ring 220 is located above the edge region of the lower electrode 200.

The upper rf isolation ring 230 is located at an outer region of the upper plate 210, and refers to: the upper rf isolation ring 230 is located below the edge region of the upper plate 210.

The lower electrode 200 is coated with Al on the surface₂O₃Or Y₂O₃Or the lower electrode 200 is a silicon member or a silicon carbide member.

The upper rf isolation ring 230 and the lower rf isolation ring 220 are low dielectric constant protective layers, such as a reaction gas vacuum medium, ceramic or quartz.

In one embodiment, referring to fig. 3 and 4, a partial region of the inner ring edge of the upper rf isolation ring 230 and a partial region of the inner ring edge of the lower rf isolation ring 220 are arc-shaped edges, and a projection pattern of the arc-shaped edges on the wafer surface is suitable for having the same center as the edge shape of the wafer.

The gap has a longitudinal dimension suitable for maintaining a dimension in the range of 1 mm or less, such as 0.5 mm, during etching of the wafer edge.

In this embodiment, referring to fig. 1, the upper plate 210 is a dielectric window; correspondingly, the inductively coupled radio frequency unit comprises: a shield 300 on top of the dielectric louver; and the radio frequency antenna 310 is positioned in the shielding case 300 and is at least distributed above the central area of the dielectric window, and the radio frequency antenna 310 is used for generating plasma between the lower electrode 200 and the dielectric window.

The dielectric window sheet is made of quartz or ceramic.

The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device further comprises: a first gas inlet channel 262 penetrating through the central region of the dielectric window, wherein the first gas inlet channel 262 is suitable for introducing etching gas for etching the edge of the wafer; a second gas inlet channel 261 extending through the upper RF isolator ring and the edge region of the upper plate, the second gas inlet channel 261 being adapted to be fed with an inert gas.

The inductively coupled radio frequency unit further comprises: a cooling device 311, the cooling device 311 being located on the upper portion or the sidewall of the shielding case 300, the cooling device 311 being used for cooling the rf antenna 310 and the upper plate 210.

In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 1a, the upper plate 210 is a plasma channel plate; the inductively coupled radio frequency unit includes: a shield case 300a positioned on top of the plasma channel plate; a reaction chamber medium pipe 301a positioned inside the shielding case 300a and above the central region of the plasma channel plate; the rf antennas 302a are located inside the shielding case 300a and distributed at the side of the reaction chamber dielectric tube 301a, and the rf antennas 302a are used for generating plasma inside the reaction chamber dielectric tube 301a, and the plasma is suitable for entering between the lower electrode 200a and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

The plasma channel plate is made of an aluminum alloy channel plate, a carbon channel plate or a silicon carbide channel plate.

The inductively coupled radio frequency unit further comprises: the first gas inlet channel 303a is positioned at the top of the reaction chamber medium pipe 301a, and the first gas inlet channel 303a is suitable for introducing etching gas for etching the edge of the wafer into the reaction chamber medium pipe 301 a; a second gas inlet channel 304a extending through the upper RF isolation ring and the edge region of the upper plate, the second gas inlet channel 304a being adapted to be fed with an inert gas.

The inert gas includes Ar and He.

The etching gas comprises O₂And a fluorine-containing gas. The fluorine-containing gas is, for example, a fluorocarbon-based gas including CF₄。

The material of the reaction chamber medium pipe 301a is quartz or ceramic.

The inductively coupled radio frequency unit further comprises: and the cooling device is positioned on the upper part or the side wall of the shielding case and is used for cooling the radio frequency antenna and the upper plate.

The radio frequency antenna is used for applying a radio frequency source, and the frequency of the radio frequency source is 100 kHz-100 MHz.

In this embodiment, the method further includes: the isolation ring exhaust channel only transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring 230, or the isolation ring exhaust channel only transversely penetrates through the lower radio frequency isolation ring 220, or the isolation ring exhaust channel respectively transversely penetrates through the upper radio frequency isolation ring 230 and the lower radio frequency isolation ring 220. The isolating ring gas extraction channel is used for extracting a byproduct after etching reaction.

The area enclosed by the upper radio frequency isolation ring 230, the lower radio frequency isolation ring 220, the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 is a plasma area. The isolation ring pumping channel is sized such that the minimum distance that charged particles of the plasma region move when exiting the isolation ring pumping channel is greater than the mean free path of the charged particles, thus avoiding plasma escaping from the isolation ring pumping channel.

In one embodiment, the lower electrode is used for applying an RF source, and the frequency of the RF source is 100 kHz-100 MHz.

The partial region of the inner ring edge of the upper rf isolation ring 230 and the partial region of the inner ring edge of the lower rf isolation ring 220 are arc edges, and the projection pattern of the arc edges on the wafer surface is suitable for having the same center as the edge shape of the wafer.

The gap has a longitudinal dimension suitable for being maintained in a range of 1 mm or less during etching of the wafer edge.

The radio frequency isolation ring is made of a low dielectric constant protection material, and the low dielectric constant protection material comprises a reaction gas vacuum medium, quartz or ceramic; the lower electrode is coated with Al on the surface₂O₃Or Y₂O₃Or the lower electrode is a silicon member or a silicon carbide member.

The edge region of the wafer is adapted to extend to the side of the rf isolator ring with a radial dimension between the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 of 2 mm to 4 mm.

The film conveying system comprises a loading and unloading device.

The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device further comprises: an electrode support table 250 positioned below an edge region of the lower electrode 200 for supporting the lower electrode 200.

The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device further comprises: an exhaust passage penetrating the bottom surface of the chamber body 10.

The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device further comprises: a position adjusting part 240 positioned above the upper plate 210, the position adjusting part 240 being adapted to adjust the position of the upper plate 210 in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the upper plate 210, and one end of the position adjusting part 240 being fixed to the top surface of the chamber body 100.

The position adjustment member 240 includes a spring.

The edge region of the wafer is adapted to extend to the side of the rf isolator ring with a radial dimension between the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 of 2 mm to 4 mm.

The supporting moving platform 110 includes: a support base 111; the rotating support column 112 is positioned on the support seat 111, and the rotating support column 112 can rotate at a constant speed around the central axis of the rotating support column 112; the wafer clamping plate 113 is located on the supporting column 112.

The supporting base 111 is a movable supporting base, and the movable supporting base 111 is suitable for moving in the horizontal direction.

The inductive coupling edge etching reaction device is provided with an etching system and at least one sheet conveying system, and the number of the sheet conveying systems is one, two or four.

When the number of the wafer conveying systems is two, the two wafer conveying systems 10 are respectively arranged at two sides of the etching system 20, and the two wafer conveying systems 10 are opposite; when the number of the sheet conveying systems 10 is four (refer to fig. 4), four sheet conveying systems 10 are uniformly distributed around the side of the etching system 20.

The present invention further provides an edge etching method, which uses the above-mentioned inductively coupled edge etching reaction apparatus, please refer to fig. 5, including:

placing a wafer 30 on the wafer clamping plate 113, and extending the edge region of the wafer 30 to the space between the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 at the side of the radio frequency isolation ring through the gap, wherein the radio frequency isolation ring covers part of the central region of the wafer;

after the edge area of the wafer 30 extends to the position between the lower electrode 200 and the upper plate 210 at the side of the radio frequency isolation ring, the distance between the upper plate 210 and the lower electrode 200 is adjusted, so that the longitudinal size of the gap is set within a threshold range;

after the distance between the upper plate 210 and the lower electrode 200 is adjusted, the wafer clamping plate 113 drives the wafer 30 to rotate around the central axis of the wafer 30, and during the process that the wafer clamping plate 113 drives the wafer to rotate around the central axis of the wafer, the inductively coupled radio frequency unit performs plasma discharge in the area between the upper plate and the lower electrode to etch the edge of the wafer.

The wafer clamping plate 113 drives the wafer 30 to rotate around the central axis of the wafer at a constant speed, so that the plasma probability etches the edge of the wafer.

During etching, an inert gas is introduced through the second gas inlet channel 262, and an etching gas is introduced through the first gas inlet channel 261. The advantages of this are: the etching gas is introduced into the first gas inlet channel 261 to etch the edge region of the wafer, while a part of the inert gas introduced into the second gas inlet channel 262 enters the plasma generation region a, the inert gas and the etching gas entering the plasma generation region a are mixed to facilitate the plasma discharge process, and secondly, a part of the inert gas enters the body cavity along the radial direction of the wafer, so that the outward movement of the plasma can be blocked.

The inert gas comprises Ar and He, and the etching gas comprises O₂And a fluorine-containing gas.

And the space surrounded by the lower electrode, the upper plate, the lower radio frequency isolation ring and the upper radio frequency isolation ring is used for carrying out plasma discharge. The pressure inside the plasma generation region a is within 760Torr at the time of etching a wafer.

The film transmission mode of the film transmission system is a single-chip mode, a double-chip mode or a multi-chip mode.

The wafer clamping manner of the wafer clamping plate 113 may be: applying a direct current bias voltage to the wafer clamping plate 113 to clamp the wafer; alternatively, a seal ring is attached to the wafer chuck plate 113, and negative pressure chucking is performed by evacuation.

Referring to fig. 1, the edge etching method includes: introducing etching gas between the dielectric window sheet and the lower electrode through the dielectric window sheet; the radio frequency antenna generates a magnetic field to excite etching gas between the lower electrode and the dielectric window sheet to generate plasma.

Referring to fig. 1a, the edge etching method includes: the radio frequency antenna generates plasma inside the reaction chamber medium tube, and the plasma enters between the lower electrode and the plasma channel plate through the plasma channel plate.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.