JP5857441B2 - Wafer holder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer holder used in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on a semiconductor wafer such as plasma CVD, low pressure CVD, and metal CVD.

  In a semiconductor manufacturing process, various processes such as a film forming process and an etching process are performed on a semiconductor wafer which is an object to be processed. In a processing apparatus for processing such a semiconductor wafer, a wafer holder for holding the semiconductor wafer is used.

  As such a conventional wafer holder, those using ceramics such as aluminum nitride have been put into practical use in recent years. In these ceramic wafer holders, conductors such as an RF electrode, an electrostatic chuck electrode, and a resistance heating element circuit are formed inside or on the surface of the ceramic. Various electrodes have been proposed to supply power to these conductors.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor wafer heating apparatus having a ceramic heater portion, a holding member installed in a reaction vessel to hold the ceramic heater portion, and a lead connected to a heater terminal, At least one of the cylindrical body is surrounded by a cylindrical body made of an inorganic insulating material, one end of the cylindrical body is hermetically bonded to the ceramic heater, and the other end of the cylindrical body is a through hole provided in the reaction vessel. It is inserted through and sealed airtight.

  In the structure of Patent Document 1, since the cylindrical body containing the lead is joined to the ceramic heater part and inserted through the reaction container and hermetically sealed with the container, the inside of the cylindrical body is inevitably atmospheric pressure. It becomes. For this reason, the lead for supplying power to the ceramic heater part is exposed to the air atmosphere and the temperature of the lead on the ceramic heater part side becomes high due to the heating of the ceramic heater part. For this reason, there was a problem that the lead part which became high temperature was easily corroded by the influence of oxygen in the air.

  The lead is made of rod-shaped metal and is not fixed to the container. However, when the lead is fixed to the container near the outlet from the container, the lead is thermally expanded by heating and cooling of the ceramic heater. Repeated heat shrinkage. When the lead repeatedly expands and contracts, there is a problem that the joint portion with the resistance heating element is detached or the ceramic heater portion is damaged.

JP 05-009740 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable wafer holder even when used for a long period of time by eliminating the corrosion of electrode leads for supplying power to a conductor embedded in a ceramic substrate.

  In order to solve the above problems, the inventors have electrode parts for supplying power to a conductor embedded in a ceramic substrate, and have a connection component that electrically connects the divided electrode leads, The connecting part is a columnar part having a cylindrical part at one end, and one of the electrode leads is inserted into the cylindrical part, and the electrode lead including the connecting part between the connecting part with the conductor and the container is provided. For example, by enclosing with an insulating pipe such as a cylindrical ceramic member, connecting the insulating pipe and the ceramic base, and sealing the other end of the insulating pipe, the corrosion of the electrode lead can be completely prevented and used for a long time. However, it was found that the ceramic substrate is not damaged and can be a highly reliable wafer holder.

  That is, the wafer holder of the present invention is a wafer holder in which a conductor is embedded in a ceramic substrate having a workpiece holding surface, and is exposed to a surface other than the workpiece holding surface and connected to the conductor. A conductive terminal and an electrode lead connected to the conductive terminal, the electrode lead being covered with an insulating pipe hermetically sealed at both ends, and the electrode lead is disposed within the insulating pipe. A connecting part for electrically connecting the divided electrode leads, and the connecting part is a columnar part having a cylindrical part at least at one end, and is divided into the cylindrical parts; One of the electrode leads is inserted.

  The cylindrical part preferably has a slit, and a part of the slit is preferably deformed toward the inner diameter side.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the corrosion of the electrode lead for supplying electric power to the conductor embed | buried in the ceramic base | substrate is eliminated, and a highly reliable wafer holder can be provided even if it uses for a long period of time.

The schematic diagram of the cross-section of the wafer holder of this invention is shown. The other form of the connection component of this invention is shown. The further another form of the connection component of this invention is shown.

  Referring to FIG. 1, in a wafer holder of the present invention, a conductor 3 is embedded in a ceramic substrate 1 having a workpiece holding surface 2. The conductor is at least one of a resistance heating element, a plasma generating electrode, and an electrostatic chuck electrode.

  The conductor has a conductive terminal 4 connected to the conductor exposed on a surface other than the workpiece holding surface, and an electrode lead 5 connected to the conductive terminal 4, Both ends are covered with an insulating pipe 7 hermetically sealed, and the electrode lead is divided in the insulating pipe 7, and the connecting component 6 that electrically connects the divided electrode leads 5-1 and 5-2 is provided. The connecting part is a columnar part having a cylindrical part at least at one end, and one of the divided electrode leads is inserted into the cylindrical part.

  The electrode lead is inserted into the cylindrical part of the connection part. By making the depth of the cylindrical portion deeper than the insertion length, it is possible to suppress the generation of stress even if the electrode lead is thermally expanded.

  The length of insertion, that is, the contact length between the electrode lead and the connection component, for example, in the case of an electrode for plasma generation, if the output is high and the amount of current is large, the contact length is long, and the output is small and the amount of current is small The contact length can be shortened.

  In any case, by forming a space portion without the electrode lead at the bottom of the cylindrical portion of the connecting part, it is possible to absorb the amount of thermal expansion of the electrode lead and avoid the generation of stress due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient. . In FIG. 1, only one conductor and one electrode lead are shown, but as many as required are actually installed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical part of the connection part may be provided on both sides and both the electrode leads 5-1 and 5-2 may be inserted. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, you may provide a cylindrical part only in the one side of a connection component. In this case, the electrode lead 5-2 connecting component 6 can be connected by a method such as welding or screwing. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the length of the connection component can be increased to replace the electrode lead 5-2.

  The slit 8 can be formed in the cylindrical part of the connection part. By providing the slit, it is possible to impart springiness to the cylindrical portion, and it is possible to make the electrical contact between the electrode lead and the connecting component more reliable.

  Various shapes can be adopted as the shape of the slit, and those skilled in the art can appropriately design in the usage form. For example, since the adhesion with the electrode lead is improved according to the length of the slit, the slit can be lengthened if the amount of current is large, and the length of the slit can be shortened if the amount of current is small. The slit is preferably formed in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical portion. Although it is possible to form slits in the lateral direction, care must be taken because current flow may be hindered. Further, it is preferable that the slit does not reach the end of the cylindrical portion. If the slit is formed up to the end of the cylindrical portion, the end of the cylindrical portion is opened by a heat cycle, which may reduce the reliability of electrical connection.

  Moreover, it is preferable to deform | transform the cylindrical part of the part which formed the slit to an internal-diameter side. By deforming to the inner diameter side, the adhesion between the electrode lead and the connecting component is improved. The width of the slit is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 mm or more.

  The insulating pipe 7 is joined to the ceramic substrate 1 and hermetically sealed. For the bonding, a paste mainly composed of glass or aluminum nitride can be used. As the glass, borosilicate glass, zinc borosilicate glass, or the like can be used.

  The other end of the insulating pipe opposite to the ceramic base is also hermetically sealed. Since the insulating pipe is opened on the other end side, it is preferable to use the ring-shaped member 9 through which the electrode lead 5-2 passes. The ring-shaped member and the insulating pipe are hermetically joined using borosilicate glass or zinc borosilicate glass. The ring-shaped member and the insulating pipe can be connected in advance by a method such as screwing, and hermetically sealed with the glass or the like.

  The inside of the hermetically sealed insulating pipe is preferably an inert gas atmosphere such as nitrogen or argon or a vacuum atmosphere. In particular, when the insulating pipe is sealed with glass, it is necessary to create an inert gas atmosphere. This is because when sealed in the atmosphere, electrode leads and the like are oxidized during sealing, and oxidation proceeds to some extent during use. However, when the volume in the insulating pipe is small, there may be no problem even if sealing is performed in the atmosphere.

  As the material of the ceramic substrate 1, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, a composite of silicon and silicon carbide, a composite of aluminum and silicon carbide, or the like can be used. From the viewpoint of good heat conduction, aluminum nitride, a composite of silicon and silicon carbide, and a composite of aluminum and silicon carbide are preferable. From the viewpoint of high rigidity, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, and a composite of silicon and silicon carbide are preferable.

  The conductor 3 may be a metal foil such as stainless steel, nickel chrome alloy, inconel, molybdenum, tungsten, or a wire (coil) of those metals. Alternatively, a conductive paste obtained by mixing a metal powder such as molybdenum, tungsten, or tantalum with a binder and a solvent may be applied by screen printing and fired.

  The electrode terminal 4 is preferably molybdenum or tungsten. The conductor 3 and the electrode terminal 4 can be connected by a known method such as screwing, caulking, metallization, or brazing.

  The electrode lead 5 is preferably a heat-resistant metal such as molybdenum, tungsten, or nickel. These materials can be plated with nickel or gold. The connection component 6 is preferably nickel or nickel alloy.

  The material of the insulating pipe 7 is not particularly limited as long as it is an inorganic ceramic. However, since it is connected to the ceramic substrate, the thermal expansion coefficient is preferably close to that of the ceramic substrate, and more preferably the same as the material of the ceramic substrate. preferable.

  The material of the ring-shaped member 9 is preferably a material having a thermal expansion coefficient approximate to that of the insulating pipe, and can be the same ceramic as the insulating pipe. Tungsten can also be used because it has a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of ceramics. In the case of tungsten, since it is easier to process than ceramics, it can be connected to the insulating pipe by a method such as screwing.

0.5 part by weight of yttrium oxide (Y ₂ O ₃ ) is added to 99.5 parts by weight of aluminum nitride (AlN) powder, an acrylic binder and an organic solvent are added, and they are mixed for 24 hours in a ball mill to obtain an AlN slurry. Was made. The slurry is spray-dried to produce granules, press-molded, degreased in a nitrogen atmosphere at 700 ° C., and sintered in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1850 ° C. to produce a plurality of aluminum nitride (AlN) sintered bodies. did. This AlN sintered body was machined to have a diameter of 330 mm and a thickness of 9 mm. The surface roughness of the upper and lower surfaces of this AlN sintered body was Ra 0.8 μm, and the flatness was 50 μm.

W paste with 100 parts by weight of tungsten (W) powder having an average particle size of 2.0 μm, 1 part by weight of Y ₂ O ₃ , 5 parts by weight of ethyl cellulose as a binder, and butyl carbitol as a solvent. Was made. This W paste was screen-printed to form a resistance heating element circuit on one surface of the AlN sintered body and a high-frequency electrode circuit (plasma generating electrode) on the other surface. This was degreased at 700 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere, and then fired at 1830 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere for 6 hours to produce a resistance heating element on one side of the AlN sintered body and a high-frequency electrode circuit on the other side.

  A ceramic space mainly composed of aluminum nitride was produced. This ceramic paste was applied to the entire upper and lower surfaces on which the resistance heating element and the high-frequency electrode circuit of the AlN sintered body were formed by screen printing, dried, and degreased at 700 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere.

  After degreasing, a separately manufactured AlN sintered body with a thickness of 3 mm is superimposed on the high-frequency electrode circuit side, and an AlN sintered body with a thickness of 9 mm is superimposed on the resistance heating element side, and hot pressing is performed at 1800 ° C. for 2 hours in a nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of 2 MPa. A wafer holder was produced.

  Counterboring was performed so that the resistance heating element and the high-frequency electrode circuit were exposed from the surface of the wafer holder on the resistance heating element side. Conductive terminals 4 made of W plated with nickel were connected to the exposed resistance heating element and high-frequency electrode circuit, respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a nickel electrode lead 5-1 having a diameter of 4 mm was connected to the conductive terminal. A nickel connecting component 6 was connected to the opposite side of the nickel electrode lead from the conductive terminal, and a nickel electrode lead 5-2 was further connected. The connecting parts used were those with and without slits. For comparison, a device without connecting parts was also produced.

  An insulating pipe made of a composite of mullite and alumina was installed so as to cover these conductive terminals and electrode leads, and the insulating pipe and the wafer holder were joined using zinc borosilicate glass. The joining was performed by placing a weight on the end of the insulating pipe in a nitrogen atmosphere at 800 ° C. for 1 hour.

  The other end of the insulating pipe opposite to the side bonded to the wafer holder was sealed. Specifically, a ring made of W was fitted inside the insulating pipe, and the crystallized glass was fired in a nitrogen atmosphere at 800 ° C. for 1 hour in a state where the electrode lead was penetrated. By sealing in this way, the inside of the insulating pipe became a nitrogen atmosphere.

  The wafer holder to which the electrode and the insulating pipe are connected in this way is placed in the reaction vessel, the insulating pipe is clamped and fixed to the bottom of the reaction vessel, and the reaction vessel and the insulating pipe are hermetically sealed with an O-ring. Sealed.

  A heat cycle test in which the inside of the reaction vessel is evacuated, power is supplied to the resistance heating element, the wafer holder is heated to a predetermined temperature, held for 1 hour, cooled to room temperature, and then heated again to the predetermined temperature. Was performed 1000 times. Further, while holding at a predetermined temperature, high frequency of 13.56 MHz and 1.5 kW was applied and stopped 100 times. Then, the insulation pipe was removed and the state of the internal electrode was confirmed. These results are shown in Table 1. In Table 1, ◎ indicates that no change was observed in the electrode, etc., ○ indicates that the contact resistance of the connecting parts slightly increased but did not affect the use, and energization was stopped or an error occurred in the RF electrode. Those that could not be used are indicated by x.

  A wafer holder was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the resistance heating element was a molybdenum coil and the high-frequency electrode was a molybdenum mesh, and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are shown in Table 2.

  A wafer holder similar to that of Example 1 was prepared and evaluated in the same manner except that the shape of the connection component was changed to that shown in FIG. The results are shown in Table 3.

  A wafer holder similar to that of Example 2 was prepared and evaluated in the same manner except that the shape of the connection component was changed to that shown in FIG. The results are shown in Table 3.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the corrosion of the electrode lead for supplying electric power to the conductor embed | buried in the ceramic base | substrate is eliminated, and a highly reliable wafer holder can be provided even if it uses for a long period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ceramic substrate 2 Processing object holding surface 3 Conductor 4 Conductive terminal 5 Electrode lead 6 Connection component 7 Insulation pipe 8 Slit 9 Ring-shaped member

Claims (3)

A wafer holder in which a conductor is embedded in a ceramic substrate having a workpiece holding surface, the conductive terminal exposed to a surface other than the workpiece holding surface and connected to the conductor, and the conductive terminal The electrode lead is covered with an insulating pipe hermetically sealed at both ends, and the electrode lead is divided within the insulating pipe, and the divided electrode lead is electrically It includes a connection part that connects, the connection part is a pillar part having a cylindrical portion on at least one end, one of the divided electrode leads are inserted into the cylindrical portion The cylindrical portion includes a slit that extends in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical portion and does not reach the end of the cylindrical portion, and a part of the slit of the cylindrical portion faces the inner diameter side. A wafer holder characterized by being deformed . The wafer holder according to claim 1, wherein the slit has a width of 0.1 mm or more . The wafer holder according to claim 1, wherein a material of the connection component is nickel or a nickel alloy .

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