JP2001085416A - Substrate-treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate-treating device which can quickly perform treatment for obtaining desired characteristics, while the device suppresses the contamination by particles to the utmost. SOLUTION: When a wafer W is delivered from a main wafer transfer mechanism 22 into a heat treatment chamber 51, the air pressure in the chamber 51 is made higher than the air pressure on the transfer mechanism 22 side by blowing nitrogen gas into the chamber 51. Thereafter, a hermetically sealed space for heat treatment is formed in the chamber 51, and heat treatment is performed on the wafer W, by stopping the blown-out nitrogen gas and setting the inside of the chamber 51 at an air pressure which is lower than the atmospheric pressure by starting a vacuum pump 70.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductor device manufacturing and the like, and particularly relates to a substrate processing apparatus for heating a semiconductor wafer coated with, for example, an insulating film material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process,
For example, SOD (Spin on Dielectric)
c) An interlayer insulating film is formed by the system. This S
In the OD system, a coating film is spin-coated on a wafer by a sol-gel method, a silk method, a speed film method, a Fox method, or the like, and a chemical treatment or a heat treatment is performed to form an interlayer insulating film. .

For example, when an interlayer insulating film is formed by a sol-gel method, first, an insulating film material, for example, a colloid of TEOS (tetraethoxysilane) is coated on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as "wafer") with an organic solvent. Is supplied. Next, the wafer supplied with the solution is subjected to a gelling process, and then the solvent is replaced. Then, the wafer in which the solvent has been replaced is heated.

As one of the systems for forming such an interlayer insulating film, for example, a plurality of processing stations for executing each of the above-described processes are integrally arranged along a transfer path on which a transfer device for transferring a wafer travels. A configuration has been proposed.

It is well known that this type of system is arranged in a clean room in order to prevent particles from adhering to the wafer. The atmosphere on the road is set at a higher atmospheric pressure than the clean room set at atmospheric pressure, which discharges particles generated from the transport path out of the system, while particles in the clean room enter the system. Has been prevented.

[0006]

By the way, the present inventors have proposed a heat treatment apparatus for heating a wafer under reduced pressure in the system having the above-mentioned structure. According to the heat treatment apparatus having such a configuration, it has been confirmed that the wafer can be quickly heat-treated, and that a uniform porous interlayer insulating film having a high dielectric constant can be obtained.

However, when a wafer is transferred between the heat treatment apparatus configured as described above and the above-described transfer apparatus, it corresponds to the inside of the heat treatment apparatus which has been depressurized from the transfer path side in an atmosphere higher than the atmospheric pressure. A large amount of gas is involved, and the inside of the heat treatment apparatus is considerably contaminated by particles generated from the transport path, which has caused a new problem which cannot be imagined conventionally.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of quickly performing a process for obtaining desired characteristics while minimizing contamination by particles. .

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is arranged in an atmosphere set at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure, and has a transfer device for transferring a substrate; Is carried in and out, and a heat treatment chamber for heat-treating the substrate, and when transferring the substrate between the transfer device and the heat treatment chamber, a predetermined gas is introduced into the heat treatment chamber and the heat treatment chamber is introduced. A pressure control mechanism that sets a pressure higher than the pressure on the transfer apparatus side and heats the substrate in the heat treatment chamber to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure in the heat treatment chamber. Features.

In the present invention, since the substrate is subjected to the heat treatment at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure in the heat treatment chamber, the substrate can be subjected to the heat treatment quickly, and the desired characteristics, for example, the interlayer insulating film is formed on the wafer. When formed, a porous material having a high dielectric constant and uniform porosity can be obtained. In the present invention, when transferring a substrate between the transfer device and the heat treatment chamber, a predetermined gas is introduced into the heat treatment chamber to set the pressure in the heat treatment chamber to a pressure higher than the pressure on the transfer device side. Therefore, particles are not involved in the heat treatment chamber from the transfer device side, and heat treatment can be performed while minimizing particle contamination.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a cooling processing chamber adjacent to the heating processing chamber and arranged to transfer the substrate through the heating processing chamber to and from the transfer device is provided. It is further characterized by being provided.

According to this structure, the substrate after the heat treatment can be cooled without the intermediary of the transfer device, and the cooling processing chamber for performing such cooling can be cooled between the transfer device and the transfer device through the heat treatment chamber. Since the substrates are arranged so as to deliver the substrate, particles on the side of the transfer device hardly enter the cooling processing chamber, and the cooling processing can be performed quickly while minimizing contamination by the particles.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the air pressure control mechanism sets the cooling processing chamber to an air pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. Thereby, the cooling process can be performed quickly and uniformly.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the air pressure control mechanism sets the pressure of the heating processing chamber and / or the cooling processing chamber at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure to about 0.1 torr. Features. Thereby, the heating process and the cooling process can be performed quickly and uniformly.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the gas introduced into the heat treatment chamber and / or the cooling treatment chamber is:
It is characterized by containing at least an inert gas. Thus, the gas blown out from the heating processing chamber or the cooling processing chamber to the transfer device side does not adversely affect the transfer device side.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with an SO for forming an interlayer insulating film on a wafer.
It is applied to a D (Spin on Dielectric) processing system. 1 to 3 show the overall configuration of the SOD processing system. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a rear view.

In the SOD processing system 1, a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as "wafers") W as substrates are carried into or out of the system by a wafer cassette CR in units of, for example, 25 wafers. A cassette block 10 for loading / unloading the wafer W into / from the cassette CR;
A processing block 11 in which various single-wafer processing stations for performing predetermined processing on wafers W one by one are arranged at predetermined positions in multiple stages, and a bottle of ammonia water, a bubbler, a drain bottle, and the like required in the aging process. It has a configuration in which the installed cabinet 12 is integrally connected.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the cassette block 10, a plurality of wafer cassettes CR, for example, up to four wafer cassettes CR are provided at positions of the projections 20a on the cassette mounting table 20 with their respective wafer entrances facing the processing block 11 side. A wafer carrier 21 which is placed in a row in the direction and is movable in the cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and the wafer arrangement direction (Z vertical direction) of the wafers stored in the wafer cassette CR is selectively placed in each wafer cassette CR. Is to be accessed. Further, the wafer transfer body 21 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction.
The transfer / cooling plate (TCP) belonging to the multistage station section of the set G3 can be accessed.

In the processing block 11, as shown in FIG. 1, a vertical transfer type main wafer transfer mechanism 22 as a transfer device is provided at the center, and all the processing stations are divided into one set or a plurality of sets around it. It is arranged in multiple stages. In this example, a multi-stage arrangement of four sets G1, G2, G3, G4 is provided, and the multi-stage stations of the first and second sets G1, G2 are juxtaposed on the front side of the system (front side in FIG. 1). The multistage stations of the set G3 are arranged adjacent to the cassette block 10, and the multistage stations of the fourth set G4 are arranged adjacent to the cabinet 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the first set G1, the insulating film material is supplied by placing the wafer W on a spin chuck in the cup CP, and rotating the wafer to form a uniform insulating film material on the wafer. And a SOD coating processing station (SCT) for coating the wafer, a wafer W is placed on a spin chuck in the cup CP, and an exchange chemical such as HMDS and heptane is supplied to dry the solvent in the insulating film applied on the wafer. Solvent exchange processing station (DS) that performs processing to replace with another solvent before the process
E) are stacked in two stages from the bottom.

In the second set G2, an SOD coating processing station (SCT) is arranged in the upper stage. Note that an SOD coating processing station (SCT), a solvent exchange processing station (DSE), and the like can be arranged below the second set G2 as needed.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third set G3, 2
The low oxygen high temperature heating processing station (OHP), the low temperature heating processing station (LHP), the two cooling processing stations (CPL), the transfer / cooling plate (TCP), and the cooling processing station (CPL) They are arranged in multiple stages from the top. Here, the low-oxygen high-temperature heating processing station (OHP) has a hot plate on which the wafer W is placed in a process chamber that can be sealed, and discharges N ₂ uniformly from a hole on the outer periphery of the hot plate. Exhaust from the upper center,
The wafer W is heated at a high temperature in a low oxygen atmosphere. The low-temperature heat processing station (LHP) has a hot plate on which the wafer W is placed, and heat-processes the wafer W at a low temperature. The cooling processing station (CPL) has a cooling plate on which the wafer W is placed, and cools the wafer W. The transfer / cooling plate (TCP) has a two-stage structure having a cooling plate for cooling the wafer W in a lower stage and a transfer table in an upper stage, and transfers the wafer W between the cassette block 10 and the processing block 11.

In the fourth set G4, a low-temperature heating processing station (LHP), two low-oxygen curing / cooling processing stations (DCC) as a heating processing chamber and a cooling processing chamber according to the present invention, and an aging processing station (LHP). DAC)
And are arranged in multiple stages from the top. Here, the low-oxygen curing / cooling processing station (DCC) has a hot plate and a cooling plate adjacent to each other in a process chamber that can be sealed.
_A high-temperature heat treatment is performed in a _2- substituted low oxygen atmosphere, and the heat-treated wafer W is cooled. An aging processing station (DAC) is provided in a process chamber that can be sealed, for example, a processing gas (N) mixed with ammonia gas and water vapor.
H ₃ + H ₂ O) is introduced, the wafer W is subjected to an aging process, and the insulating film material on the wafer W is wet-gelled.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a main wafer transfer mechanism 22 as a transfer device according to the present invention. The main wafer transfer mechanism 22 has a pair of opposing walls connected to each other at upper and lower ends. A wafer transfer device 30 that can move up and down in the vertical direction (Z direction) is provided inside a cylindrical support 27 composed of 25 and 26. The cylindrical support 27 is connected to a rotating shaft of a motor 31, and the rotational driving force of the motor 31 causes the wafer transfer device 30 to rotate around the rotating shaft.
And rotate together. Therefore, the wafer transfer device 30 is rotatable in the θ direction. For example, three tweezers are provided on the transfer base 40 of the wafer transfer device 30. Each of these tweezers 41, 42, 43 has a side opening 4 between both walls 25, 26 of the cylindrical support 27.
It has a form and a size that allow it to freely pass through, and is configured to be freely movable back and forth along the X direction. Then, the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 includes tweezers 41 and 42,
The processing station 43 accesses processing stations arranged therearound and transfers the wafer W to and from these processing stations.

The SOD processing system 1 is disposed, for example, in a clean room. For example, the atmosphere on the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 is set to an atmosphere at a higher pressure than that of the clean room set to the atmospheric pressure. The particles generated from the mechanism 22 are discharged to the outside of the SOD processing system 1, while the particles in the clay room are prevented from entering the SOD processing system 1.

FIG. 5 shows a low-oxygen curing / cooling station (D) having a heating chamber and a cooling chamber according to the present invention.
CC), and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the same.

Low oxygen cure / cooling station (D
CC) has a heating processing chamber 51 and a cooling processing chamber 52 provided adjacent thereto.

The heating processing chamber 51 has a processing chamber main body 53 whose upper part is open, and a lid 54 which can be raised and lowered so as to open and close an upper opening part of the processing chamber main body 53. An elevating cylinder 55 is connected to the lid 54, and the lid 54 is raised and lowered by driving the elevating cylinder 55. A closed space is formed in the heat treatment chamber 51 by closing the upper opening of the treatment chamber main body 53 with the lid 54. When the upper portion of the processing chamber main body 53 is open, the wafer W is transferred between the heating processing chamber 51 and the main wafer transfer mechanism 22, and the wafer is transferred between the heating processing chamber 51 and the cooling processing chamber 52. The delivery of W is performed.

A heating plate 56 for heating the wafer W is disposed substantially at the center of the processing chamber main body 53. In the hot plate 56, for example, a heater (not shown) is embedded, and the set temperature can be set to, for example, 200 to 470 ° C. In addition, a plurality of, for example, three holes 57 are concentrically penetrated vertically through the hot plate 56, and support pins 58 for supporting the wafer W are inserted in these holes 57 in a vertically movable manner. . These support pins 58 are connected to the hot plate 5
6 is connected to and integrated with a communication member 59 on the back surface thereof, and the communication member 59 is raised and lowered by an elevating cylinder 60 disposed below the communication member 59. The support pins 58 are moved by the elevating operation of the elevating cylinder 60.
Protrudes from the surface of the hot plate 56 or sinks.

A plurality of proximity pins 61 are arranged on the surface of the hot plate 56 so that the wafer W does not come into direct contact with the hot plate 56 when the wafer W is heated. This prevents the wafer W from being charged with static electricity during the heating process.

Further, a ring tube 63 provided with a large number of gas ejection holes 62 for supplying an inert gas, for example, nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) into the heat treatment chamber 51 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the hot plate 56. Are located. This ring pipe 63 has a pipe 6
4 is connected to a nitrogen gas cylinder 65 via a pipe 4, and an on-off valve 66 is disposed on the pipe 64.
The opening and closing are controlled by the control of the control unit 67. Note that, in the heat treatment chamber 51, not only an inert gas but also another gas, for example, an oxygen gas may be supplied as necessary. In that case, the ring pipe 63 can be shared, and these gases can be supplied via a switching valve for switching between nitrogen gas and oxygen gas. Thus, an increase in the size of the heat treatment chamber can be avoided.

On the other hand, an exhaust port 68 for reducing pressure is provided substantially at the center of the lid 54, and the exhaust port 68 is connected to a vacuum pump 70 via a flexible hose 69, for example. By operating the vacuum pump 70, the pressure inside the heat treatment chamber 51 is lower than the atmospheric pressure.
It can be set to around 1 torr.

A current plate 71 is arranged inside the lid 54 so as to cover the exhaust port 68. This current plate 7
1 has a larger diameter than the exhaust port 68, and further has a gap of, for example, about 5 mm with the inner wall of the lid 54. By arranging such a rectifying plate 71, the pressure inside the heat treatment chamber 51 can be reduced uniformly.

Further, a pressure sensor 72 for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the heat treatment chamber 51 is attached to the lid 54. The measurement result by the pressure sensor 72 is transmitted to the control unit 67, and the control unit 67
By controlling the zero operation, the inside of the heat treatment chamber 51 is maintained at a constant reduced pressure state.

In the cooling processing chamber 52, an opening 73 for transferring the wafer W to and from the heating processing chamber 51 is provided toward the heating processing chamber 51. The opening 73 can be opened and closed by a shutter member 74. The shutter member 74 is moved up and down by the elevating cylinder 75 for the above opening and closing.

In the cooling processing chamber 52, a cooling plate 76 for mounting and cooling the wafer W thereon is provided on the guide plate 7.
The moving mechanism 77b is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction along 7a. Thereby, the cooling plate 76 can enter the inside of the heat treatment chamber 51 through the opening 73,
The wafer W heated by the hot plate 56 in the heating processing chamber 51 is received from the support pins 58 and carried into the cooling processing chamber 52, and after the wafer W is cooled, the wafer W is returned to the support pins 58. ing. The set temperature of the cooling plate 76 is, for example, 15 to 25 ° C., and the applicable temperature range of the wafer W to be cooled is, for example, 200 to 470 ° C.

Further, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied from the upper part of the cooling processing chamber 52 through a pipe 78, and an exhaust port 79 is provided at the lower part of the cooling processing chamber 52. The exhaust port 79 is provided and connected to a vacuum pump 81 via a flexible hose 80, for example. By operating the vacuum pump 81, the inside of the cooling processing chamber 52 can be set at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, about 0.1 torr. The heat treatment chamber 5
The vacuum pump used in 1 and the vacuum pump used in the cooling processing chamber 52 may be constituted by the same device.

Next, the operation of the SOD system 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 7 shows a processing flow in the SOD system 1.

First, in the cassette block 10, the wafer W before processing is transferred from the wafer cassette CR to the wafer carrier 2.
1 and transferred to a transfer table in a transfer / cooling plate (TCP) belonging to the third set G3 on the processing block 11 side.

The wafer W transferred to the transfer table in the transfer / cooling plate (TCP) is transferred to the cooling processing station (CPL) via the main wafer transfer mechanism 22. Then, at the cooling processing station (CPL), the wafer W is transferred to the SOD coating processing station (SCT).
(Step 701).

The wafer W cooled in the cooling processing station (CPL) is transferred to the SO through the main wafer transfer mechanism 22.
It is transported to the D coating processing station (SCT). Then, in the SOD coating processing station (SCT), the wafer W is subjected to the SOD coating processing (Step 70).
2).

The wafer W on which the SOD coating processing has been performed at the SOD coating processing station (SCT) is transferred to the aging processing station (DAC) via the main wafer transfer mechanism 22. And the aging processing station (DA
In C), NH ₃ + H ₂ O is introduced into the processing chamber, the wafer W is subjected to an aging process, and the insulating film material film on the wafer W is gelled (step 703).

The wafer W subjected to aging processing at the aging processing station (DAC) is transferred to the main wafer transfer mechanism 22.
Through a solvent exchange processing station (DSE). Then, at the solvent exchange processing station (DSE), a chemical solution for exchange is supplied to the wafer W, and the solvent in the insulating film applied on the wafer W is replaced with another solvent (step 704).

The wafer W which has been subjected to the replacement processing at the solvent exchange processing station (DSE) passes through the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 to the low temperature heating processing station (LH).
P). Then, the wafer W is subjected to a low-temperature heat treatment at a low-temperature heat treatment station (LHP) (step 705).

The wafer W subjected to the low-temperature heat treatment at the low-temperature heat treatment station (LHP) is transferred to the low-oxygen and high-temperature heat treatment station (OHP) via the main wafer transfer mechanism 22. And the low oxygen high temperature heat treatment station (OH
In P), the wafer W is subjected to a high-temperature heat treatment in a low oxygen atmosphere (step 706).

A low oxygen high temperature heat treatment station (OH
The wafer W subjected to the high-temperature heat treatment in P) is transferred to the low-oxygen cure / cooling processing station (DCC) via the main wafer transfer mechanism 22. Then, in the low oxygen curing / cooling processing station (DCC), the wafer W is subjected to a high-temperature heat treatment in a low oxygen atmosphere and cooled (step 707).

Here, the processing in step 707 will be described in more detail. The wafer W is transferred from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 onto the support pins 58 in a state where the upper portion of the processing chamber main body 53 is open and the support pins 58 protrude from the surface of the hot plate 56. At this time, nitrogen gas is ejected from the gas ejection holes 62 of the ring tube 63 into the heat treatment chamber 51, and the inside of the heat treatment chamber 51 is set to a pressure higher than the pressure on the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 side. As a result, particles do not get into the heat treatment chamber 51 from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 side.

Next, the lid 54 is lowered to remove the processing chamber main body 53.
A closed space is formed in the heat treatment chamber 51 by closing the upper opening of the heat treatment chamber 51 with the lid 54. And the ring tube 6
In addition to stopping the injection of nitrogen gas from the gas ejection holes 62 into the heat treatment chamber 51, the vacuum pump 70 is operated to evacuate the inside of the heat treatment chamber 51 to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, 0.1.
Set around 1 torr. After that, the support pins 58 are lowered to sink from the surface of the hot plate 56, the wafer W is placed on the hot plate 56, and the heating process on the wafer W is started.
Since the wafer W is subjected to the heat treatment at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure in the heat treatment chamber 51 as described above, the wafer W can be quickly heated, and the dielectric constant on the wafer W is high and uniform. It is possible to form a porous interlayer insulating film.

Next, the nitrogen gas injection from the gas injection holes 62 of the ring tube 63 into the heat treatment chamber 51 is started, the inside of the heat treatment chamber 51 is purged with nitrogen gas, and the support pins 5 are purged.
8 rises and protrudes from the surface of the hot plate 56,
And the upper part of the processing chamber main body 53 is opened. At this time, the heat processing chamber 51 is
Continue blowing nitrogen gas into the interior. Thus, particles are not drawn into the heat treatment chamber 51 from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 side.

Next, the cooling plate 76 in the cooling processing chamber 52 enters the heating processing chamber 51 through the opening 73, and the wafer W
Is received from the support pin 58 and is carried into the cooling processing chamber 52. At this time, nitrogen gas is supplied into the cooling processing chamber 52 via a pipe 78. This prevents oxidation of the wafer W. Further, for example, by increasing the supply of nitrogen gas to the cooling processing chamber 52 to make the inside of the cooling processing chamber 52 a more positive pressure than the inside of the heating processing chamber 51, the particles are prevented from being caught in the cooling processing chamber 52, Conversely, when the supply of the nitrogen gas to the cooling processing chamber 51 is made too small and the pressure in the cooling processing chamber 52 is set to be lower than that in the heating processing chamber 51, particles are not entrained in the heating processing chamber 51. That is, the essence is to control the entrapment of particles by providing a negative pressure / positive pressure relationship between the heat treatment chamber 51 and the cooling treatment chamber 52.

Next, the shutter 7 opens the opening 7.
3 is closed, the supply of the nitrogen gas into the cooling processing chamber 52 is stopped, and the inside of the cooling processing chamber 52 is set to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure by the operation of the vacuum pump 81, so that the cooling processing for the wafer W is performed. Do. By performing the cooling process under the reduced pressure in this manner, a rapid and uniform cooling process of the wafer W can be performed.

Next, the operation of the vacuum pump 81 is stopped, and the supply of nitrogen gas into the cooling processing chamber 52 is started.
Further, the opening 73 is opened. Then, the cooling plate 76 is
The wafer W enters the heating processing chamber 51 via the third processing unit 3, and transfers the wafer W to the support pins 58. At this time, the nitrogen gas is continuously injected from the gas injection holes 62 of the ring tube 63 into the heat treatment chamber 51. Thus, particles are not drawn into the heat treatment chamber 51 from the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 side.

Then, the wafer W is transferred from the support pins 58 to the main wafer transfer mechanism 22. Step 7
07, the wafer W processed at the low oxygen cure / cooling processing station (DCC) is transferred and cooled via the main wafer transfer mechanism 22 (TCC).
It is conveyed to the cooling plate in P). Then, the wafer W is cooled in the cooling plate of the transfer / cooling plate (TCP) (Step 708).

The wafer W cooled by the cooling plate of the transfer / cooling plate (TCP) is transferred to the wafer cassette CR via the wafer transfer body 21 in the cassette block 10.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, the substrate to be processed is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, but may be another substrate such as an LCD substrate. Further, the type of the film is not limited to the interlayer insulating film.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A process for obtaining desired characteristics can be rapidly performed while minimizing particle contamination.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an SOD processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the SOD system processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the SOD processing system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main wafer transfer mechanism in the SOD processing system shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a low-oxygen curing / cooling processing station according to the embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a sectional view of the low-oxygen curing / cooling processing station shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a processing flowchart of the SOD processing system shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 22 Main wafer transfer mechanism 51 Heating chamber 52 Cooling chamber 62 Gas outlet 63 Ring pipe 64 Piping 65 Nitrogen gas cylinder 66 Open / close valve 67 Control unit 68, 79 Exhaust port 69, 80 Flexible hose 70, 81 Vacuum pump W Wafer

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transfer device that is arranged in an atmosphere set higher than atmospheric pressure and transfers a substrate, a heat treatment chamber that loads and unloads a substrate by the transfer device, and heat-treats the substrate; When transferring a substrate to and from the heat treatment chamber, a predetermined gas is introduced into the heat treatment chamber to set the pressure in the heat treatment chamber to a pressure higher than the pressure on the transfer device side, and And a pressure control mechanism for setting the inside of the heat treatment chamber to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure when the substrate is subjected to the heat treatment. 2. A cooling processing chamber adjacent to the heating processing chamber and disposed between the transfer apparatus and the transfer processing apparatus so as to transfer a substrate through the heating processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure control mechanism sets the pressure of the cooling processing chamber to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. 4. The air pressure control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the heat treatment chamber and / or the temperature of the cooling treatment chamber is set to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure to about 0.1 torr. Item 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of items 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduced into the heat treatment chamber and / or the cooling treatment chamber contains at least an inert gas. Substrate processing equipment.