Gas curtain for semiconductor manufacturing system
View Patent ↗The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing system. The semiconductor device manufacturing system can include a chamber, a slit valve configured to provide access to the chamber, a chuck disposed in the chamber and configured to hold a substrate, and a gas curtain device disposed between the chuck and the slit valve and configured to flow an inert gas to form a gas curtain. An example benefit of the gas curtain is to block an inflow of oxygen or moisture from entering the chamber to ensure a yield and reliability of the semiconductor manufacturing processes conducted in the chamber.
1. A method, comprising:
loading a substrate into a transfer module of a semiconductor device manufacturing system;
forming a directional inert gas stream flowing from a rear side of a processing chamber of the semiconductor device manufacturing system towards a front side of the processing chamber to block a gas flow from the transfer module to the processing chamber; and
transferring the substrate from the transfer module to the processing chamber.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein loading the substrate into the transfer module comprises transferring the substrate from a substrate storage device using a robotic arm.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the directional inert gas stream comprises:
forming a first localized inert gas stream adjacent to a slit valve and between the transfer module and the processing chamber; and
forming a second localized inert gas stream at the rear side of the processing chamber that is away from the slit valve and the boundary between the transfer module and the processing chamber, wherein a flow rate of each of the first and second localized inert gas streams is greater than about 1.0 slm.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the directional inert gas stream comprises forming an other directional inert gas stream flowing from a bottom portion of the processing chamber towards a top portion of the processing chamber.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the directional inert gas stream comprises forming an inert gas stream flowing from the processing chamber towards the transfer module through a tilted gas conduit.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the directional inert gas stream comprises reducing a gas extraction flow rate associated with a gas outlet port of the processing chamber.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the directional inert gas stream comprises closing a gas outlet port of the processing chamber.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein transferring the substrate from the transfer module to the processing chamber comprises delivering the substrate through the directional inert gas stream.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
disabling the directional inert gas stream;
providing a process gas; and
annealing the substrate with the process gas in the processing chamber.
10. A method, comprising:
forming an opening by adjusting a position of a slit valve between a transfer module and a processing chamber;
purging a gas stream from the processing chamber towards the opening;
comparing a residue gas characteristic in the processing chamber to a baseline requirement; and
based on the comparison, adjusting a strength of the gas stream.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein forming the opening comprises forming the opening concurrently with purging the gas stream.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein purging the gas stream comprises flowing an inert gas from a lower portion of the opening towards an upper portion of the opening.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein purging the gas stream comprises flowing an inert gas from the processing chamber towards the transfer module at a flow rate greater than or equal to about 1.0 slm.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein comparing the residue gas characteristic comprises measuring a concentration of oxygen or moisture in the processing chamber.
15. The method of claim 10 , wherein adjusting the strength of the gas stream comprises increasing a flow rate associated with the gas stream.
16. A method, comprising:
forming a gas curtain, via a gas curtain device, in a processing chamber of a semiconductor device manufacturing system, wherein forming the gas curtain comprises forming a directional inert gas stream flowing from a rear side of the processing chamber towards a front side of the processing chamber;
transferring a substrate through the gas curtain to enter the processing chamber; and
performing a manufacturing process on the substrate in the processing chamber.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein forming the gas curtain comprises forming the gas curtain at the front side of the processing chamber and at the rear side of the processing chamber, and wherein transferring the substrate comprises transferring the substrate through the front side of the processing chamber.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein performing the manufacturing process comprises performing a thermal annealing process.
19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
comparing a residue gas characteristic in the processing chamber to a baseline requirement; and
based on the comparison, adjusting a strength of the gas curtain.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein comparing the residue gas characteristic comprises measuring a concentration of oxygen or moisture in the processing chamber by a gas detector.