JP2001208478A - Thermal processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a heater element to be partially displaced in a vertical thermal processor capable of processing a semiconductor wafer in a batch, and to enhance uniformity of processing atmosphere with suppression of heat dissipation from the end of the heater element. SOLUTION: A longitudinal heater element comprising a carbon wire sealed inside a U-shaped unit is used constitute a set of continuous waveform, for example, at six divisions along an inner peripheral surface of cylinder. Both ends of the divided heater elements are placed remotely in the peripheral direction, and these ends are declined so as to extend in parallel each other and to be lower in their outer sides to pass through peripheral wall of the cylinder for taking out lead terminal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for performing a heat treatment on an object such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vertical heat treatment apparatus is known as one of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. This apparatus uses a heat treatment furnace provided with a heater so as to surround a vertical reaction tube. A large number of wafers are held in a shelf on a holder, and are loaded into the heat treatment furnace from below. The inside of the reaction tube is heated to a predetermined temperature to perform a film forming process, an oxidizing process, and the like on the wafer.
As the heater, a heater element made of a metal such as iron-chromium or a ceramic such as MoSi was processed into a spiral shape so as to surround the reaction tube, or was processed into a corrugated shape along the circumferential direction. Things are known. In addition, since the degree of heat radiation differs depending on the location of the processing atmosphere, the heater is divided into a plurality of stages, for example, an upper stage, a middle stage, and a lower stage, in order to secure a processing atmosphere having high uniformity as wide as possible. Temperature control for each data
A so-called zone for controlling the temperature of the processing atmosphere by providing
Control is performed.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view showing a heat treatment furnace of a conventional heat treatment apparatus, in which an inner wall of a cylindrical body 11 made of a heat insulating material is provided.
For example, heater elements 12 and 13 having a U-shaped continuous shape (meander shape) are provided vertically in two stages (in practice, there are often three or more stages, but for convenience of illustration, two stages are provided) to constitute a heater. . On the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 11, a water cooling tube (not shown) is provided, for example, in a coil shape.
Each of the heater elements 12 and 13 is a cylindrical member 1 when viewed from above.
For example, the upper heater element 12 is divided into two heater elements 12A and 12B while being fixed to the inner wall as shown in FIG. 21. . This fixing is shown in FIG.
As shown in an enlarged manner, a heater element 12 is passed through a staple 10 which is a U-shaped member, and the staple 10 is bonded to a furnace body. A terminal portion 14A (14B) for connection to a power supply portion in each heater element 12A (12B) extends radially outward of the cylindrical body 11 and is drawn horizontally to the outside of the cylindrical body 11. ing. The terminal portions 14A, 14
B is drawn as touching, but is actually far away.

The tubular body 11 also has a vertically-divided half-split structure, and the heat treatment furnace uses a heat-insulating half-split structure 11A (1).
1B) is assembled by combining two heater elements 12 and 13 with the inner peripheral surface previously attached thereto.

[0005]

However, since the heater elements 12, 13 are fixed via the staples 10, they cannot be removed. Even if the staple 10 can be removed, the terminal portions 14A,
The heater elements 12 and 13 cannot be removed because 14B extends in the radial direction of the tubular body 11, that is, since the terminal portions 14A and 14B face the center of the tubular body 11. Therefore, if a failure occurs in one of the heater elements 12, 13, the heater element 12 (13) cannot be removed from the tubular body 11, so that the other heater elements 12 (13) can be used. ,
The entire furnace must be replaced, and the cylindrical body 11 cannot be used.

Further, since water cooling tubes are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 11, the outer ends of the terminal portions 14A and 14B are cooled. A large amount of heat is radiated to the outside of the cylindrical body 11 through the tube 14B, which is one of the factors that deteriorates the accuracy of the temperature control.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of replacing a heater element. Another object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus capable of suppressing the amount of heat radiated from the heater element to the outside via the terminal portion.

[0008]

A heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
In an apparatus for carrying an object to be processed into a reaction vessel and heating the interior of the reaction vessel to perform heat treatment on the object, a cylindrical furnace body provided so as to surround the reaction vessel; A heater, which is provided inside the body so as to surround the reaction vessel and is composed of at least three circumferentially divided heater elements, wherein terminals at both ends of the heater element are connected to the furnace. It is characterized in that it is provided in the circumferential direction of the body, is formed so as to be parallel to each other, and penetrates through the peripheral wall portion of the furnace body. The furnace body includes, for example, a tubular body in which a heat insulating material is formed in a tubular shape and / or a tubular heat reflector in which an inner surface is formed as a mirror surface.

According to the present invention, each heater element can be pulled out to the front and removed. Therefore, each of the divided heater elements can be individually replaced without dismantling the cylindrical body as in the conventional case.

[0010] A heat treatment apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for carrying an object to be treated into a reaction vessel, heating the reaction vessel and performing heat treatment on the object to be treated, so as to surround the reaction vessel. A furnace body including a tubular body in which a heat insulating material is formed in a tubular shape, and a heater including a heater element provided inside the furnace body so as to surround the reaction vessel, The terminal part of the heater element penetrates the peripheral wall of the furnace body obliquely in the thickness direction. When the furnace body is configured as a vertical type, it is preferable that the terminal portion of the heater element is inclined so that the outside becomes lower. In this case, at least one of the furnace body and the heater element so as to form a gap between the heater element and the inner surface of the furnace body, and a support portion that supports the terminal portion on the outside of the furnace body so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis. A projection provided on one side, and applying a force outward from the support point of the support portion at the terminal portion so that the heater element rotates in a direction approaching the inner surface of the furnace body with the support portion as a fulcrum. Alternatively, the weight of the outer side can be set. In this case, the heater element can be set in a predetermined posture without variation.

According to the present invention, the distance between the inner part and the outer part of the peripheral wall of the furnace body at the terminal can be increased.
For this reason, it becomes difficult for the heat in the inner portion to escape to the outside through the terminal portion, that is, the amount of heat radiation is reduced.

The heater element is, for example, a thin car.
A carbon wire formed by knitting a plurality of bundles of the bon members is sealed in a sealing member made of long ceramics, for example, a quartz tube. In addition, a support for supporting the heater element is penetrated into the peripheral wall of the furnace body, and the support is inclined such that the outer end is an enlarged diameter portion or the outer end is a lower side. It is preferable to make it a structure penetrated. Further, it is preferable that a protective tube is provided to penetrate the cylindrical body, and is drawn out of the furnace body through a terminal portion therein.

According to the present invention, a cooling fan is provided for cooling the terminal portion by blowing air to the terminal portion of the heater element drawn out of the furnace body. It is preferable that the terminal portion be detachable from the furnace, and that the terminal portion be drawn out of the furnace at a position outside the region corresponding to the soaking region of the reaction vessel.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the vertical heat treatment apparatus. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a reaction tube having a double-tube structure including an inner tube 1a and an outer tube 1b made of, for example, quartz, and a metal tubular manifold 2 is provided below the reaction tube 1. ing.

The inner pipe 1a has an open upper end and is supported on the inner side of the manifold 2. The upper end of the outer tube 1 b is closed, and the lower end is hermetically joined to the upper end of the manifold 2. In this example, the inner tube 1a, the outer tube 1b
And the manifold 2 constitute a reaction vessel.

In the reaction tube 1, a large number of, for example, 126
A plurality of wafers W to be processed are placed on a wafer boat 11 which is a holder at a vertical interval in a horizontal state. As shown in FIG. 2, the wafer boat 11 has a plurality of columns 14 provided between a top plate 12 and a bottom plate 13, and the columns 14 are formed with grooves for holding the peripheral portion of the wafer W. The wafer boat 11 is held on a lid 21 via a heat insulating unit 22 made of, for example, a cylindrical body made of quartz. Specifically, the rotary shaft 21a which penetrates the lid 21 and is rotated by the motor M is mounted on the rotary shaft 21a.
A table 21b is provided on which the heat insulating unit 2 is mounted.
2 is placed. The lid 21 is a wafer boat 1
Boat elevator for loading and unloading 1 into and out of the reaction tube 1
It is mounted on the fuel tank 23, and has a role of closing the lower end opening of the manifold 2, that is, the lower end opening of the reaction vessel composed of the reaction tube 1 and the manifold 2 when it is at the upper limit position.

A plurality of gas supply pipes are provided around the manifold 2 so that a plurality of processing gases can be supplied into the inner pipe 1a. FIG. 1 shows one of the gas supply pipes 24, and this gas supply pipe 24 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown). An exhaust pipe 25 is connected to the manifold 2 so that air can be exhausted from the space between the inner pipe 1a and the outer pipe 1b, and the inside of the reaction pipe 1 can be maintained at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere by a vacuum pump (not shown). It has become.

Outside the reaction tube 1, the upper surface is closed and the space between the lower end of the side peripheral surface and the reaction tube 1 is closed, that is, the reaction tube 1 is covered. For example, a cylindrical body 3 made of a heat insulating material is provided. As this heat insulating material, for example, an alumina-based, silica-based or alumina-silica-based material is used, and an outer plate 31 made of, for example, a metal plate is provided on the outer surface.
Outside the outer plate 31, for example, a water cooling tube 32 as a coolant flow path is provided in a coil shape.

In this example, a furnace body 300 is constituted by the tubular body 3 and the outer plate 31. The furnace body 300 is configured such that the upper surface portion 33 can be attached to and detached from the main body portion 34. That is, the upper surface portion 33 is formed separately from the main body portion 34 and, for example, as shown in FIG.
The mounting members 35 and 36, each having an L-shaped cross section, provided on the main body 3 and the main body 34, respectively, are overlapped and fixed to each other with bolts 37. A plurality of cooling fans 38 are provided outside the furnace body 300 at positions corresponding to the terminal portions 44 along the circumferential direction of the tubular body 3, and each of the cooling fans 38 blows from the furnace body 300 by blowing air from the cooling fans 38. The protruding terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 described below is cooled.

The inside of the cylindrical body 3 has a wavy shape (meander shape) having a continuous U-shape as shown in FIGS.
The heater 40 is divided into two upper and lower stages and is divided into three or more, for example, six or seven in the circumferential direction, as described later.

As shown in FIG. 4, the heater element 4 is a linear member formed by knitting a plurality of bundles of a high-purity carbon member of, for example, about 10 microns, for example, carbon fibers. A carbon wire 41, which is a flexible resistance heating element, is sealed in a sealing member made of ceramic, for example, a quartz (for example, transparent quartz) tube 42 having an outer diameter of more than ten millimeters. The heater element 4 is obtained by processing this straight tube into a meandering shape.

Electrode members 4 are provided at both ends of carbon wire 41.
3 are connected, and both ends of the quartz tube 42 are sealed via the electrode member 43. A portion of the heater element 4 outside the electrode member 43 forms a terminal portion 44. In this example, the electrode member 43 is connected to the carbon wire 41 inside the quartz tube 42. However, the diameter of both ends of the carbon wire 41 is increased so that no heat is generated. This means that the thick portion may be sealed at both ends of the quartz tube 42 and connected to the electrode member 43 outside. Quartz tube 4
The length of the electrode member 43 inside the 2 may be shortened, the diameter of the carbon wire 41 connected to the electrode member 43 may be increased, and both may be used as terminal portions.

The arrangement of the heater elements 4 will be described in detail. Each of the vertically divided heater elements 4 is divided into six equal parts in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. Terminals 4 at both ends of
4 are bent outward so as to extend in parallel with each other, inserted into the peripheral wall 30 of the tubular body 3, and penetrated, for example. In this example, the terminal portions 44 at both ends of the heater element 4 extend in parallel to a line segment L connecting the central axis C of the cylindrical body 3 and the central portion of each heater element 4 in the circumferential direction. It is not limited to.

The heat-generating portion of the heater element 4 (the portion contributing to the formation of a soaking atmosphere) is arranged with a slight clearance (clearance) from the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3.
The reason is that the heat insulator 31 and the heater element 4
If the heater element 4 is in contact with the heater element 4, the heater element 4 may be locally heated to a high temperature and may be damaged. Further, when the quartz tube 42 is heated to a high temperature, a very small amount of alkaline impurities in the heat insulator 31 may permeate into the quartz tube 42 and become devitrified. If the quartz tube 42 is devitrified, heat may be trapped in the heater element 4 to cause heat insulation, and the amount of radiant heat in that portion may be different from that in other portions, thereby deteriorating the uniformity of the processing atmosphere. This is because there is a possibility that there is a possibility that the expansion rate changes with that of other parts, and there is a possibility that the part is broken.

From the above, the content of alumina (content per unit volume) in the portion of the heat insulating material that is exposed inward (to the reaction tube 1) is made smaller than the content of alumina outside the portion from the portion. It is preferable to reduce the amount, for example, the inner peripheral surface may be coated with a heat insulating material containing less alumina than other parts.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, each terminal portion 44 penetrates obliquely downward in the peripheral wall portion of the tubular body 3 so that the outside becomes lower. FIG. 6 shows that the heater element 4 is
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the ceramic is attached to the peripheral wall portion 30. The through holes 51 formed in the peripheral wall portion 30 are made of ceramics such as mullite (a mixture of alumina and silica at a chemically stable mixing ratio). A protective tube (protective sleeve) 52 is fitted, and the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 is inserted into the protective tube 52 and drawn out. The electrode member 43 in the terminal section 44 is connected to a connector 62 provided at the tip of a cable 61 extending from the power supply section. The connector 62 is preferably of a socket type into which the electrode member 43 is inserted, for example, so that the heater element 4 can be easily replaced.

In the lower heater element 4,
The terminal portion 44 drawn out is supported by a support 53 that is a first support portion fixed to the exterior plate 31. The support point of the support 53 is, so to speak, a fulcrum of the moment. Therefore, the terminal portion 44 is supported by the support 53 so as to be able to rotate around a horizontal axis. As an example of the supporting method, as shown in FIG. 7, the support 53 is formed by, for example, opening a hole 53 a through which the terminal portion 44 can penetrate, and has one end fixed to the exterior plate 31. On the other hand, a protrusion 44a is formed on the outer periphery of the terminal portion 44, and the terminal portion 44 is prevented from sliding down by being locked by the protrusion 44a by the outer surface of the hole 53a of the support 53. .

The heater element 4 and the furnace body 30
On at least one of the inner surfaces of the furnace element 0, projections made of, for example, quartz are formed so that when the heater element 4 rotates toward the inner surface of the furnace body 300 around the fulcrum, a gap is formed therebetween. 6, a projection 4a is formed on the heater element 4 side. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the heater element 4 is pressed into the furnace body 300 by a moment having a power point due to the weight of the support portion 53 and the terminal portion 44 outside the support point due to its own weight. ing. However, in FIG. 6, for convenience of illustration, the length of the terminal portion 44 outside the support point is drawn shorter than it is. With this configuration, since the heater element 4 is pressed against the furnace body 300, the heater element 4 can be set without variation in a posture along the inner surface of the furnace body 3300. The heater element 4 is rotated toward the furnace body 300 by appropriately adjusting the support point, the length of the terminal portion 44 extending outside the support point, the inclination angle of the terminal portion 44, the length of the heater element 4, and the like. What should I do? Furthermore, to obtain the power point of the moment, the terminal 4
4, a tension member made of an elastic body, for example, rubber is provided between the exterior plate 31 and a portion of the terminal portion 44 outside the support point of the support 53, and the outside of the outer member is formed by the tension member. The part may be pulled. This pulling direction is a direction in which the upper end of the heater element 4 rotates toward the inner surface of the furnace body 300 around the support point as a center of rotation.

In the upper heater element 4, the terminal portion 44 is located on the upper side, and the terminal portion 44 is obliquely penetrated downward in the peripheral wall portion 30 of the tubular body 3 so that the outside becomes lower. ing. The terminal portion 44 is attached in substantially the same manner as the lower heater element 4, but the pulling direction outside the terminal portion 44 is reversed. This point is described later in FIG. Note that, in the upper heater element 4, the terminal section 44 may be drawn from the lower side, contrary to the above example, or the terminal section 44 may be drawn from the lower heater element 4 from the upper side.

Furthermore, in order to prevent thermal deformation of the heater element 4, the upper bent portion of the meander shape of the heater element 4 is held by a support 54 as a second support. The upper and lower heater elements 4
1, a support 54 is illustrated only for the upper and lower heater elements 4 for convenience. The support 54 is configured as a rod-shaped body whose outer end is formed as an enlarged-diameter portion 54 (a portion larger in diameter than a through hole 54 b described later) a, and is provided in the peripheral wall 30 of the cylindrical body 3. It penetrates through a through-hole 54b having a shape conforming to the outer shape of the outer wall 54 and protrudes inward from the inner surface of the peripheral wall 30. The protruding portion 54c holds the heater element 4. As the material of the support 54, a material that does not cause devitrification in the quartz tube 42 of the heater element 4, for example, quartz is used.

The support 54 is bonded to the heat insulating material constituting the peripheral wall portion with an adhesive. However, by forming the outer end with the enlarged diameter portion 54a, even if the bonding is incomplete, the support 54 is inward. Dropout can be prevented. Further, instead of forming the enlarged diameter portion 54a, the support 54 may be inclined so that the outer end side becomes lower.

Next, the state of heat treatment of a wafer using the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the above embodiment will be described. First, a predetermined number of wafers W to be processed are held in a wafer boat 11 in a shelf shape, and the boat elevator 23 is lifted and carried into a reaction vessel. After the wafer boat 11 is loaded and the lower end opening of the reaction vessel (specifically, the lower end opening of the manifold 2) is closed by the lid 21, the heater 40
The amount of heat generated is increased by increasing the power supplied to the reactor, thereby raising the temperature of the processing atmosphere to the target temperature, and reducing the pressure inside the reaction vessel to a predetermined degree of vacuum by a vacuum pump (not shown) through the exhaust pipe 25.

After the temperature inside the reaction vessel is stabilized, the pressure inside the reaction vessel is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum while supplying the processing gas into the reaction vessel (reaction tube 1 and manifold 3) from the gas supply pipe 24. . At this time, the wafer M is rotated by the motor M. The above-mentioned gas is decomposed while diffusing into the processing atmosphere, and active species are deposited on the wafer W to form a thin film. Then, after a lapse of a predetermined processing time, the power supply to the heater 40 is reduced to reduce the amount of heat generated, the temperature inside the reaction vessel is lowered, and then the wafer boat 11 is carried out.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. The heater element 4 constituting the heater 40 is divided into, for example, six pieces in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical body 3, and the terminal portions 44 at both ends of each heater element 4 are provided apart from each other in the circumferential direction and are parallel to each other. Since the peripheral wall 30 of the tubular body 3 is penetrated and pulled out to the outside so that
The element 4 can be pulled out and removed. Accordingly, each of the divided heater elements 4 can be individually replaced without disassembling the tubular body 3 as in the conventional case. In this case, maintenance costs can be reduced, and maintenance work can be simplified.

Since the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 is inclined downward so that the outside becomes lower and penetrates through the peripheral wall portion 30 of the tubular body 3 and is drawn out to the outside, the peripheral wall portion 30 is horizontal. The distance between the inner portion and the outer portion of the peripheral wall portion 30 in the terminal portion 44 can be increased as compared with the case where the terminal portion 44 is penetrated. For this reason, the heat of the inner portion of the terminal portion 44 is
4, it is difficult to escape to the outside, that is, the amount of heat radiation is reduced. In the case of this embodiment as shown in FIG.
0 (right side of FIG. 10), the temperature of the inner portion becomes higher than when the terminal portion 44 is arranged in the thickness direction (left side of FIG. 10),
Also, the temperature of the outer part becomes lower. Therefore, a processing atmosphere with high temperature uniformity (thermal uniformity) can be formed in the reaction tube 1 and the temperature of the outer portion becomes low.
Damage to the sealed portion of the heater element 4 can be avoided. In other words, although a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of quartz is used as the material of the electrode member 43, if the temperature of the sealing portion at the outer end of the terminal portion 44 is too high, there is a possibility that the electrode portion 43 may be damaged due to a difference in thermal expansion between the two. Therefore, it is desirable that the temperature of the outer portion be as low as possible. As described above, the cable 61 is connected to the terminal portion 44 via the connector 62 or directly, so that the temperature of the outer portion should be lower in order not to melt the resin of the cable 61. . Here, in order to lower the temperature of the outer end of the terminal portion 44, the outer end of the terminal portion 44 may be largely separated from the cylindrical body 3, but then the installation space of the furnace body is widened and the apparatus size is increased. It is not a good idea. Further, the terminal portion 4 is formed by the cooling fan 38.
Since the outer end of No. 4 is cooled, the cooling effect of the outer end is greater.

Further, a protective tube 52 is passed through the heat insulating material,
Since it is drawn out through the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 to the outside, impurity components such as a small amount of an alkali component contained in the heat insulating material are heated by the presence of the protection tube 52.
The penetration of the element 4 into the quartz tube 42 is prevented, and the deterioration of the quartz tube 42 can be prevented. In addition, terminal part 4 in the heat insulating material
When the plug 4 is inserted directly, the surroundings of the hole of the heat insulating material may be broken due to repeated attachment and detachment.
The use of 2 also has the effect of reinforcing the heat insulating material. Further, since the upper surface portion 33 of the tubular body 3 is provided detachably with respect to the main body portion 34, the upper surface portion 33 can be detached from the main body portion 34 so that a hand can be put in from above or an operator can enter. Is easy to assemble and replace.

In addition to the above effects, since the heater 40 is constituted by the heater element 4 in which the carbon wire 41 is sealed with a thin quartz tube 42, the bending process is easy and the shape is reduced. It can be freely determined, the degree of freedom of wiring is high, the heat generation pattern can be finely adjusted, and as a result, the uniformity of the processing atmosphere can be improved.

In the above, according to the present invention, a heater element made of metal, ceramics, or the like may be used instead of the above-described one in which a carbon wire is sealed in a quartz tube as described above. It is preferable that the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 is inclined so that the outside is lowered so that the terminal portion 44 can be attached by its own weight as described above. Or horizontal. When adopting a structure in which the terminal portions 44 at both ends of the heater element 4 are parallel to each other, it is necessary that the heater element 4 is divided into three or more in the circumferential direction. Done 6
The number is not limited to seven or seven.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the heater element 4 and the terminal section 44 and another embodiment of the overall configuration will be described. FIG. 11A shows a terminal 4 of the heater element 4.
4 is an example in which the cooling fins 44a are provided at portions protruding outward from the furnace body 300, and this has the advantage that the heat radiation effect of the terminal portions 44 is large. FIG.
(B) shows an example in which a connector 62 for connecting the terminal portion 44 and the cable 61 is attached to the outer surface (outer plate 31) of the furnace body. In this case, the replacement of the heater element 4 is easier. There is an advantage.

FIG. 12 shows an example in which connectors 73 for connecting the electrode members 43 of the heater element 4 and the power supply unit 72 are provided at four corners of a handrail 71 provided in a square shape around the furnace body 300. Is shown. That is, the electrode member 43
Is connected to the connector 73, the connector 73 and the power supply unit 72 are connected by a cable 74, and the wiring circuit between the terminal unit 44 and the power supply unit 72
Is configured so that the voltage of the power supply unit 72 is applied to both ends of the power supply unit.

According to such a configuration, the wiring portion extending from the heater element 4 may be connected to the connector 73, so that the wiring portion is adjusted to a short length regardless of the position of the power supply unit 72, and Can be That is, when the connector 73 is not provided, each wiring portion is standardized in accordance with the terminal portion 44 farthest from the power supply portion 72, so that there is much waste and the wiring around the furnace body 300 is wasteful. Is bothersome. Also, the electrode member 43 is extended from the tip of the terminal portion 44, and the core wire of the cable is welded to the electrode member 43 to form wiring portions at both ends of the heater element 4, and a terminal block is provided instead of the four corner connector 73 of the one handrail 71. The terminal portion may be connected to a cable of a wiring portion. In this case, the length of the wiring portion including the electrode member 43 and the cable can be similarly reduced.

Next, a modification of the heater element 4 will be described. The heater element 4 may have an arc shape along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 3 when viewed from above, but as shown in FIG. May be bent. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the heater element 4 is provided with a pair of electrode members 43 at one end of a quartz tube 42, a carbon wire 41 is wired from one end toward the other end, and is folded at the other end. Is also good. FIG. 15 shows an example in which the heater 40 is configured using such a heater element 4,
The terminal portion 44 side of the straight tubular heater element 4 is bent, and each heater element 4 is vertically arranged and arranged in a circumferential direction and in two upper and lower stages, and the terminal portion 44 penetrates obliquely downward through the furnace body 300. It was made. In this case, the heater element 4 may be U-shaped instead of meander-shaped.

Furthermore, the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4
As shown in FIG. 16, the furnace body 300 penetrates through the furnace body 300 horizontally and obliquely to the thickness direction of the wall of the furnace body 300, that is, obliquely to the radial direction when the furnace body 300 is a cylinder. It may be. In this case, too, the penetrating distance of the terminal portion 44 can be increased, so that the temperature of the outer portion of the furnace body 300 is reduced and the temperature of the inner portion is increased as described above. It is more preferable to incline. When the terminal portion 44 is inclined, the outside may be lowered or raised, but the direction in which the outside of the support point supported by the support 53 is pulled (including the case where only the own weight is included) indicates that the heater element 4 The direction is toward the inner surface of 300, as shown in FIG.

Here, as shown in FIG. 18, the position where the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 is pulled out is a position deviating from a target soaking region in the reaction tube 1, that is, a position above or below the soaking region. In this case, even if the temperature of the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 is reduced by radiating heat to the outside through the terminal portion 44, it is possible to avoid the influence on the heat equalizing region, or Less is needed.

Further, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 19, without using the tubular body 3 made of a heat insulating material, a furnace is provided by using a tubular heat reflector 8 whose inner surface is formed as a heat reflecting surface, for example, a mirror surface using aluminum. The body 300 may be configured. In this example, the terminal portion 44 of the heater element 4 passes through the heat reflector 8 horizontally, but other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. The furnace body 300 may be a double structure in which the heat reflector 8 is provided inside the tubular body 13.

In the above, the present invention may be applied not only to the CVD process but also to a vertical heat treatment apparatus for performing an oxidation process and a diffusion process, and may be applied not only to the batch process but also to the single wafer process for processing wafers one by one. May be applied to a heat treatment apparatus for performing the above.
The object to be processed is not limited to a wafer, and may be, for example, a liquid crystal display glass substrate.

[0047]

According to the present invention, a heater element constituting a heater is partially replaced in an apparatus in which a target object is carried into a reaction vessel surrounded by the heater and heat treatment is performed on the target object. can do. Further, according to another invention, heat radiation from the terminal portion of the heater element is suppressed,
A processing region with high heat uniformity can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an entire heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a heat treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a heater used in the above heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of a heater element used in the heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement layout of a heater element with respect to a tubular body made of a heat insulating material.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing an example of an attachment structure of a heater element to a tubular body made of a heat insulating material.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first support member for supporting the heater element.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a method of attaching a heater element.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a heater element is removed from the tubular body.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a temperature gradient between the inside and outside of a furnace body of a terminal portion of a heater element.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another example of the terminal portion of the heater element and another example of a connection structure with a cable.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of a preferred method for connecting a terminal section of a heater element to a power supply section.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the heater element.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing another example of the heater element.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing another example of a heater used in the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the heater element.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a method of attaching a heater element.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a preferred example of a lead-out position of a terminal portion of a heater element.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional side view schematically showing an overall configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a schematic perspective view showing a heater used in a conventional heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a heater used in a conventional heat treatment apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reaction tube 11 Wafer boat W Semiconductor wafer 2 Manifold 21 Lid 22 Heat insulation unit 3 Cylindrical body made of heat insulating material 30 Peripheral wall part 31 Exterior body 32 Water cooling tube 33 Main body part 34 Upper surface part 4 Heater element 40 Heater Terminal 41 Carbon wire 42 Quartz tube 43 Electrode member 44 Terminal 51 Through hole 52 Protective tube 54 Support 61 Cable 62 Connector 72 Power supply 73 Terminal block 8 Heat reflector

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 16, 2000 (2000.2.1
6)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 7

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 7

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 8

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 8

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 10

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 16

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01L 21/22 511 H01L 21/22 511Q (72) Inventor Takeshi Takizawa 1-chome Machiya, Shiroyamacho, Tsukui-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture No. 41 Tokyo Electron Tohoku Co., Ltd. Sagami Office F-term (reference) 4K051 AA04 AB03 GA01 4K061 AA01 AA05 BA11 CA08 CA17 DA05 4K063 AA05 AA12 BA12 CA05 CA06 FA02 FA07

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for carrying an object to be processed into a reaction vessel and heating the reaction vessel to perform heat treatment on the object, wherein a cylindrical furnace provided to surround the reaction vessel. And a body provided inside the furnace so as to surround the reaction vessel,
A heater composed of at least three heater elements divided in the circumferential direction, wherein the terminals at both ends of the heater element are provided apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the furnace body and parallel to each other. A heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the heat treatment apparatus is formed so as to pass through a peripheral wall portion of a furnace body. 2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the furnace body includes a tubular body in which a heat insulating material is formed in a tubular shape. 3. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the furnace body includes a cylindrical heat reflector whose inner surface is formed as a heat reflection surface. 4. An apparatus for carrying an object to be processed into a reaction vessel, heating the interior of the reaction vessel and performing heat treatment on the object, wherein the apparatus is provided so as to surround the reaction vessel, A furnace body including a tubular body formed in a shape, and a heater comprising a heater element provided inside the furnace body so as to surround the reaction vessel, and a terminal of the heater element The heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the part penetrates the peripheral wall of the furnace body obliquely with respect to the thickness direction. 5. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the terminal of the heater element penetrates the peripheral wall of the furnace body at an angle. 6. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the furnace body is configured as a vertical type, and the terminal portion of the heater element is inclined so that the outside becomes lower. . 7. A furnace body and a heater for forming a gap between a heater element and an inner surface of the furnace body, and a support portion for supporting the terminal portion on the outside of the furnace body so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis. And a protrusion provided on at least one of the elements, so that the heater element rotates in a direction approaching the inner surface of the furnace body with the support portion as a fulcrum, so that the heater portion is located outside the support point of the support portion at the terminal portion. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein a force is applied or the weight of the outer side is set.
Or the heat treatment apparatus according to 6. 8. A heater element according to claim 1, wherein a carbon wire formed by knitting a plurality of bundles of thin carbon members is sealed in a long sealing member made of ceramics. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: 9. A support for supporting a heater element is penetrated into a peripheral wall of the furnace body, and the support has an enlarged diameter portion at an outer end or a lower side at an outer end. 9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the piercing member is inclined and penetrated.
The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of the above. 10. An apparatus for carrying an object to be processed into a reaction vessel, heating the interior of the reaction vessel and subjecting the object to heat treatment, wherein the apparatus is provided so as to surround the reaction vessel, A furnace body including a tubular body formed in a shape, a protection tube provided through the tubular body, and provided inside the tubular body so as to surround the reaction vessel, and a terminal portion is provided for the protection. A heater constituted by an elongate heater element drawn out of the furnace body through a tube, wherein the heater element has a linear flexible resistance. A heat treatment apparatus wherein a heating element is sealed in a sealing member made of ceramics. 11. A cooling fan for blowing air to a terminal portion of a heater element drawn out of a furnace body to cool the terminal portion. A heat treatment apparatus according to any one of the above. 12. The furnace according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface portion of the furnace body is detachable from a main body portion.
2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1. 13. The heat treatment according to claim 1, wherein the terminal portion is drawn out of the furnace body at a position outside a region corresponding to the heat equalizing region of the reaction vessel. apparatus.