JP2000228388A - Semiconductor equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize wafer handling and further handle wafers only in the dry and clean atmosphere. SOLUTION: Wafers 2 are mounted on a rotating table 1, in which a plurality of wafer accommodation chambers 18 for accommodating the wafers 2 are formed along the circumferential direction. There are provided, surrounding the rotary table 1, a pre-processor 21, platers 22a to 22d, a cleaner 23 and a drier 24, in response to a pitch of the wafer accommodation chamber 18. Accompanying the rotation of the rotary table 1, predetermined processes are executed in sequence on the wafer 2, accommodated in the wafer accommodation chamber 18 at positions of (2) to (6) by the pre-processor 21, etc., the wafers 2 are mounted on the rotating table 1 at a position (1) by a handling device 6, and when the processes (2) to (8) are ended and they are returned to the position (1), they are taper out of the rotating table 1. At this time, it is also possible to appropriately change process conditions to plate at the positions (3) to (6).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing technique, and more particularly to a technique effective when applied to a wafer processing step.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wafer for semiconductor manufacturing is subjected to a wafer processing step such as pre-processing, plating, cleaning, and drying in a pre-process, and then to a post-process. Conventionally, in such apparatuses for performing a plating process or the like, each processing step is arranged linearly or radially, and a wafer to be processed is handled and moved by a transfer device to each processing step, and each step is sequentially executed. Was.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional apparatus, a wafer is handled and transferred in each step, and after each processing is executed, the wafer is again handled and transferred to the next step. There has been a problem that the operation of the apparatus is complicated and the configuration of the apparatus is complicated. Further, as the chance of handling the wafer increases, the chance of trouble occurring in the apparatus and the wafer itself also increases, and improvement in yield and product reliability has been desired.

On the other hand, in a conventional apparatus, pretreatment, plating,
In order to transfer a wafer that has been processed in a wet atmosphere such as cleaning, the wafer must be handled in a wet state. For this reason, there has been a problem that a vacuum handling device cannot be easily adopted, and the configuration of the transfer device becomes complicated and its cost increases.

[0005] Also, when a plating process is performed with priority given to the inside of the groove of the wafer during the plating process of the wafer, a plating layer easily grows in the groove portion even after the inside of the groove is filled, and the plating thickness is not uniform. There is a problem that unevenness occurs on the top. This is because the plating process conditions for giving priority to the inside of the groove are different from the conditions for uniformly depositing the plating layer on the wafer surface. Therefore, in the plating process, such a problem can be solved by changing the processing conditions when the groove is filled.

However, when a single plating bath is used, the amount of current, the duration of the current, the temperature and flow rate of the plating solution among the processing conditions can be appropriately changed according to the process.
It is practically difficult to change the type of plating solution because the plating solution needs to be replaced. On the other hand, the plating conditions such as priority in the groove are realized only by changing the concentration of the additive in the plating solution, and such a change is nothing less than changing the type of the solution. On the other hand, in the case of performing plating with a plurality of processing tanks, it is possible to perform plating with changing the conditions for each tank, if the type of the plating solution is changed depending on the tank. However, if such a processing method is adopted, it is necessary to transport the wafer to the next processing tank in the plating process, and as described above, it is necessary to solve various problems concerning handling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of minimizing a wafer handling opportunity and handling a wafer only in a dry and clean atmosphere.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus capable of changing plating conditions without causing various problems due to wafer handling.

[0009]

In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of substrate accommodating portions for accommodating a semiconductor substrate are formed along a circumferential direction, and the substrate accommodating portions are arranged in a circumferential direction about a rotation axis. A rotary table that is rotatably moved, and a substrate processing that is disposed in correspondence with a formation interval of the substrate storage unit and sequentially performs a predetermined process on a semiconductor substrate stored in the substrate storage unit as the rotary table rotates. And a part.

[0010] Thus, like the conventional device,
It is not necessary to repeat the handling of the semiconductor substrate for each process, and it is possible to minimize the chance of trouble during the process. Further, once the semiconductor substrate is placed on the turntable, a series of processes can be executed without handling the semiconductor substrate until a predetermined process is completed thereafter.

In this case, the semiconductor substrate is supplied to the substrate accommodating portion at a predetermined position, and the semiconductor substrate returned to the predetermined position after the processing by the substrate processing portion is completed is removed from the substrate accommodating portion. A substrate transfer device for taking out the substrate may be further provided.

Thus, the substrate transfer apparatus handles only a dry unprocessed semiconductor substrate and a dry processed semiconductor substrate after a predetermined process, and handles a wet semiconductor substrate being processed. No need.
Therefore, a vacuum device having a simple configuration can be adopted for the semiconductor substrate, and it is not necessary to use a material or a configuration having chemical resistance and liquid resistance, and the configuration of the device can be simplified.

In addition, a pre-processing section, a plating section, a cleaning section, and a drying section can be provided as the substrate processing section.

On the other hand, a plurality of plating units may be provided in the substrate processing unit, and these plating units may be configured so that plating conditions can be individually set. In these plating units, plating may be performed under the same conditions. Further, at least one of the plurality of plating units may perform the plating process under different conditions, or each of the plating units may perform the plating process under different conditions.

In this case, the different plating treatment conditions include, for example, different types of plating solution such as different additive concentrations, concentration and temperature of the plating solution, stirring method, flow rate, plating current amount and current supply. The time and the like may be different. Note that different conditions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of these conditions.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are explanatory views showing a main part configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. 4 is a right side view.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for performing a plating process for forming a copper film on an 8-inch wafer in a so-called damascene process. In this apparatus, a wafer (semiconductor substrate) 2 is placed on a disk-shaped rotary table (hereinafter abbreviated as a table) 1, and the table 1 is rotated to transfer the wafer 2 to each processing step. I have.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus has a configuration in which a table 1 is provided on a drive unit 3 in which a motor or the like is housed, and the table 1 is covered with a cover 4. 2 to 4 are diagrams in which the cover 4 is omitted.
In this case, the wafer 2 is transferred to the wafer supply unit 5 by a magazine or the like, and transferred to the table 1 by a handling device (substrate transfer device) 6 that suctions and transfers the wafer 2 by vacuum. The wafer 2 placed on the table 1 is sequentially transferred to each processing step of pre-processing, plating, cleaning and drying without being handled as the table 1 rotates. And after the drying process is completed,
It is again taken out of the table 1 by the handling device 6 and transferred to the wafer storage unit 7.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the table 1 is rotated about a rotating shaft 9 by a motor 8 disposed in the drive unit 3. On this occasion,
The table 1 can be rotated and stopped at a predetermined angle by an indexing unit.

An outer peripheral wall 1 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the table 1.
0, a wafer accommodating chamber (substrate accommodating portion) 1 formed separately by an inner peripheral wall 11 and a radially provided partition wall 12
8 are provided along the circumferential direction. Then, with the rotation of the rotating shaft 9, these wafer storage chambers 18 rotate around the rotating shaft 9 in the circumferential direction. In the apparatus, eight wafer storage chambers 18 are provided corresponding to the number of processing steps, but the number can be changed as appropriate.

A disc-shaped chuck table 19 is provided in each of the wafer storage chambers 18, and the wafer 2 is placed thereon. A rotating shaft 13 is provided below the chuck table 19, and the rotating shaft 13 is driven by a motor 15 via a magnetic coupling 14 in a non-contact state. Thus, even if the table 1 rotates, the chuck table 19 can be driven to rotate without interrupting mechanical contacts. By the action of the magnetic coupling 14, the rotating shaft 1
3 is driven by the motor 15 and the chuck table 19
The wafer 2 placed thereon rotates.
Note that the motor 15 is provided only at a position where a process that needs to rotate the wafer 2 is performed.

Further, a drain port 16 for allowing a plating solution, a cleaning solution, or the like to flow out of the wafer storage chamber 18 is provided at a lower portion on the inner peripheral side of the wafer storage chamber 18. Correspondingly, a drainage channel 17 is provided below the table 1 for each processing step. That is, drain port 1
For example, when the wafer accommodating chamber 18 is at the plating position, it communicates with the drainage channel 17 for the plating solution, and when it is at the cleaning position, it communicates with the drainage channel 17 for the cleaning solution. Therefore, the respective drains are separately collected, so that different types of drains are not mixed.

On the other hand, around the table 1, various apparatuses for performing each processing step as a substrate processing section are arranged at a 45 ° pitch corresponding to an interval of forming the wafer accommodating chamber 18. In this case, a pretreatment device 21, a plating device 22a to 22d, a cleaning device 23, and a drying device 24 are provided at positions shown in FIG. In other words, the wafer 2 placed on the table 1 is subjected to pre-processing, plating, cleaning, and drying in order with the rotation of the table 1 and returns to the supply / storage position.

Then, processing of a wafer by the apparatus will be described. Here, first, the wafer 2 is transferred onto the table 1 from the wafer supply unit 5. That is, the wafer 2 is taken out of the wafer supply unit 5 by the handling device 6, and is transferred onto the chuck table 19 at the position shown in FIG.

When the wafer 2 is placed on the chuck table 19, the table 1 is rotated at a predetermined angle (at 45 ° in this apparatus) and stopped at a position. Then, a preprocessing step is performed on the wafer 2 by the preprocessing device 21 at this position. On the other hand, the next wafer 2 is placed on the chuck table 19 at this position. Thereafter, each time the table 1 rotates, the wafer 2 is transferred onto the chuck table 19 at the position.

Next, after a predetermined time, such as one minute, elapses, and the pre-processing is completed at the position, the table 1 is rotated and the wafer 2 is transferred to the position. Then, the plating apparatuses 22a to 22a
By d, the wafer 2 is subjected to a copper plating process. At this time, in the apparatus, the plating process can be performed with the opening of the wiring groove of the wafer 2 facing upward. In this case, an anode electrode is disposed above the wafer 2, and a cylindrical plating tank having the anode electrode is lowered into the wafer accommodating chamber 18 to perform plating.

In the plating devices 22a to 22d, the chuck table 19 does not rotate, and the plating process is performed by the jet flow of the plating solution. In other words, here, the plating solution is jetted along the inner wall surface in the plating tank, and the plating solution is caused to spread all over the wafer 2 by the rotating liquid flow generated by this. This simplifies the device configuration. in this way,
In this apparatus, by employing such a plating method, the wafer 2 can be placed on the table 1 with the wiring groove of the wafer facing upward, and the respective processes can be executed in turn by rotating the table 1.

In the positions (1) to (4), the plating process is performed sequentially by rotating the table 1 every predetermined time. Here, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, each of the plating apparatuses 22a to 22
In d, the conditions of the plating process can be set individually. That is, in each of the plating apparatuses 22a to 22d, the processing conditions can be appropriately changed. For this reason, for example, it is also possible to perform the plating process by making the concentration of the additive different between the positions of and. Therefore, in the position of, the plating process is performed under the condition that the inside of the groove of the wafer is preferentially plated, and in the position of, the plating process is performed under the condition that the plating layer is uniformly formed on the wafer. it can. Therefore, a plating process can be performed in consideration of a difference in plating layer generation characteristics due to a difference in processing conditions, and a plating layer with less unevenness can be formed on a wafer.

At this time, the apparatus does not need to repeat the handling for each plating apparatus, and does not need to handle a wet wafer during the plating process. Therefore, it is possible to perform a desired plating process by a plurality of plating apparatuses while appropriately changing processing conditions, without worrying about troubles due to handling.

On the other hand, in each of the plating devices 22a to 22d,
In addition to the type of plating solution, for example, CuSO4.5H
The concentration of the plating solution can also be changed by changing the composition of the plating solution itself such as the mixing ratio of 2O, H2SO4, and HCl. It is also possible to vary the temperature of the plating solution, its stirring method, and the flow rate. Furthermore, the amount of current (current density) and the duration of energization during plating can be varied. In addition, it is also possible to form various different conditions by appropriately combining a plurality of these conditions.

The plating conditions are 2 as described above.
Different conditions may be set in each of the plating devices 22a to 22d, as well as in the case where the portions are combined and different (異). Also, for example, only the positions are different, the conditions are the same, and the combination is arbitrary. In addition, all the plating devices 22a to 22d
It goes without saying that the plating process may be performed under the same conditions.

After the table 1 is rotated at a predetermined interval, and the plating process is sequentially performed at the positions (1) to (4), the wafer 2 is sent to the position (2) and the cleaning device 23 performs the cleaning process. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined time, the sheet is sent to the position and the drying device 24 performs a drying process.

When the series of processes (1) to (4) are completed, the wafer 2 returns to the original position, is again taken out of the table 1 by the handling device 6, and is transferred to the wafer storage unit 7. Then, after the processed wafer 2 is taken out, the unprocessed wafer 2 is carried from the wafer supply unit 5 by the handling device 6, and thereafter, these processes are continuously performed while rotating the table 1.

As described above, in this apparatus, all the processing is executed only by transferring the wafer 2 onto the table 1 only once by the handling apparatus 6, and the last 1
The wafer is accommodated in the wafer accommodating section 7 only by one accommodating operation. Therefore, unlike the conventional apparatus, it is not necessary to repeat the handling for each process, and it is possible to minimize the chance of trouble during the wafer processing process. Further, since the operation of the handling device 6 is simplified, the device configuration is also simplified.

Further, the handling apparatus 6 handles only a dry unprocessed wafer and a dry wafer after the drying process, and does not need to handle a wet wafer during plating or the like. It has a configuration. For this reason, a vacuum device having a simple configuration can be adopted as the handling device 6, and it is not necessary to use a material or configuration having chemical resistance and liquid resistance. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the apparatus and reduce the apparatus cost.

In addition, since the processing conditions in each of the plating apparatuses 22a to 22d can be individually set, it is possible to appropriately change the processing conditions in each of the plating apparatuses 22a to 22d. A plating process can be performed in consideration of a difference in plating layer generation characteristics due to the difference. As described above, the apparatus does not handle the wafer during the plating process. Therefore, it is possible to perform the plating process on the wafer while changing the conditions in accordance with the processing process without causing any trouble due to handling.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the wafers are placed on the rotary table and the predetermined processes are performed in order. Once the wafers are placed on the rotary table, the wafers are processed for each process until the subsequent predetermined processes are completed. A series of processes can be performed without handling, and troubles due to handling during the processing steps can be minimized.

Further, the wafer is supplied to the wafer accommodating chamber at a predetermined position by the handling apparatus, and the wafer returned to the original position after the predetermined processing is completed is taken out of the wafer accommodating chamber. In addition, only dry and clean wafers are handled, and there is no need to handle wet wafers during processing.
Therefore, a vacuum device having a simple configuration can be adopted for the semiconductor substrate, and it is not necessary to use a material or a configuration having chemical resistance and liquid resistance, and the configuration of the device can be simplified.

Further, since the processing conditions in each plating apparatus can be individually set, the processing conditions can be appropriately changed in each plating apparatus. Therefore, without worrying about handling issues,
The plating of the wafer can be performed by changing the processing conditions. For this reason, it is possible to form a plating layer with few irregularities on the wafer, and it is possible to improve product quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating an outline of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus when viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a main part configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a view showing an outline when the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is viewed from the front.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, and is a diagram illustrating an outline of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus when viewed from a right side direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 rotary table 2 wafer (semiconductor substrate) 3 drive unit 4 cover 5 wafer supply unit 6 handling device (substrate transfer device) 7 wafer storage unit 8 motor 9 rotary shaft 10 outer peripheral wall 11 inner peripheral wall 12 partition 13 rotary shaft 14 magnetic coupling Reference Signs List 15 Motor 16 Drainage port 17 Drainage flow path 18 Wafer storage chamber (substrate storage section) 19 Chuck table 21 Preprocessing device (preprocessing section) 22a to 22d Plating apparatus (plating processing section) 23 Cleaning apparatus (cleaning section) 24 Drying equipment (drying unit)

Claims (15)

[Claims] A rotating table on which a plurality of substrate housing sections for housing a semiconductor substrate are formed along a circumferential direction, wherein the substrate housing section rotates in a circumferential direction about a rotation axis; A semiconductor processing unit disposed in correspondence with a forming interval and sequentially performing a predetermined process on a semiconductor substrate housed in the substrate housing unit with rotation of the turntable. apparatus. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate is supplied to the substrate accommodating unit at a predetermined position, and the processing by the substrate processing unit ends, and the semiconductor substrate returns to the predetermined position. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus further includes a substrate transfer device that removes the semiconductor substrate from the substrate storage unit. 3. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said substrate processing section includes a pre-processing section, a plating processing section, a cleaning section, and a drying section. apparatus. 4. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing unit includes a plurality of plating units, and the plating units can individually set plating conditions. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 5. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing unit includes a plurality of plating units, and the plating units perform plating under the same conditions. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 6. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing unit includes a plurality of plating units, and at least one of the plating units performs a plating process under different conditions. Characteristic semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 7. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing unit includes a plurality of plating units, and the plating units perform plating under different conditions. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment. 8. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the condition is a type of a plating solution. 9. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the different types of plating solutions have different concentrations of additives added to the plating solution. 10. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the condition is a concentration of a plating solution. 11. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said condition is a temperature of a plating solution. 12. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the condition is a plating solution stirring method. 13. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the condition is a flow rate of a plating solution. 14. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said condition is a current amount. 15. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the condition is an energization time.