In the precise and complex field of semiconductor manufacturing, every link is like gears in precision instruments, working together to promote the process of chip manufacturing. Among them, the wafer chuck plays a crucial role in fixing and supporting, laying the foundation for a series of complex processing steps. Its performance directly affects the quality and production efficiency of semiconductor products.
wafer chuck， The wafer chuck is a key component used in semiconductor equipment to fix and support wafers, providing a stable support platform for wafers in various processing techniques, ensuring the positional accuracy and stability of wafers during processing.
Wafer Chuck Function:
1. Fixation and support: In various semiconductor manufacturing processes, wafers need to be precisely fixed in specific positions to ensure processing accuracy. Wafer chuck firmly fixes the wafer on its surface through various clamping methods, such as electrostatic adsorption, vacuum adsorption, etc., to prevent displacement, shaking, or deformation of the wafer during processing.
2. Thermal management: Wafer chuck has thermal management function, which can accurately control the temperature of the wafer through built-in heating or cooling components. This not only helps to improve the stability and repeatability of the process, but also avoids wafer deformation or process defects caused by uneven temperature. For example, in the CVD process, by controlling the temperature of the wafer chuck, the growth rate and quality of the thin film can be precisely controlled, thereby achieving high-quality thin film deposition.
3. Vacuum compatibility: In some semiconductor processes that require a vacuum environment, such as ion implantation, physical vapor deposition (PVD), wafer chuck needs to have good vacuum compatibility. It can maintain stable performance in high vacuum environments, ensuring that the wafer is firmly fixed under vacuum conditions, while preventing the invasion of external gases or impurities, ensuring the purity of the process.
Classification and principle of wafer chuck:
1. Electrostatic Chuck (ESCs): Using the electrostatic force generated by an electric field to tightly press a wafer onto its surface. Its working principle is based on Coulomb's law, which applies a certain voltage between the chuck and the wafer to form an electrostatic field between the two. Under the action of an electrostatic field, the charges on the surface of the wafer are polarized and attracted to the charges on the surface of the chuck, thereby generating adsorption force and fixing the wafer on the chuck. In order to achieve this process, an electrostatic chuck is usually composed of an insulation layer, an electrostatic electrode, and a ground layer. The insulation layer is located on the surface of the chuck, used to isolate the electrostatic electrode from the wafer and prevent current leakage; Static electrodes generate an electrostatic field by applying voltage; The grounding layer ensures the electrical safety of the entire system.

2. Vacuum Chuck: With the help of an internal pipeline network, air is extracted to create a negative pressure difference between the suction cup surface and the wafer, thereby attracting the bottom flat part of the workpiece to be processed and fixing the wafer on the chuck. When the vacuum pump is started, the air inside the chuck is extracted, creating a relatively vacuum environment, and the external atmospheric pressure tightly presses the wafer against the chuck surface. The surface of the chuck is usually designed with tiny pores or channels to ensure that the vacuum can be evenly distributed on the contact surface between the wafer and the chuck.
3. Bernoulli Chucks: Using the Bernoulli principle, high-speed airflow is introduced between the wafer and the chuck to create a pressure difference between the wafer surface and the chuck surface, thereby achieving suspension and fixation of the wafer. When high-speed airflow is ejected from the small holes on the surface of the chuck, a low-pressure area is formed between the wafer and the chuck, and the atmospheric pressure above the wafer presses the wafer towards the chuck, causing it to suspend on the chuck surface.
4. Edge Mechanical Clamping Chuck: Using physical structures such as spring-loaded pins, clamps, etc., it directly contacts the edge area of the wafer and fixes the wafer on the chuck through mechanical force. These mechanical structures are usually installed at the edge of the chuck, and by adjusting the position and clamping force of the mechanical structure, they can fix wafers of different sizes. For example, some edge mechanical clamping chucks use adjustable jaws that can be adjusted according to the diameter of the wafer, ensuring that the jaws can tightly grip the edges of the wafer.

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