JP2002151569A - Substrate treating equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide substrate treating equipment which can maintain film quality in a superior state while the foot print is minimized and the transfer time is reduced. SOLUTION: This substrate treating equipment is provided with a heat treatment chamber 151 for treating thermally a wafer W, a load lock chamber 152 which is linked with the chamber 151 and can control at least oxygen concentration and pressure, a transfer arm 176 for transferring the wafer W between the chamber 151 and the chamber 152, and a gate valve which can cut off a part between the chamber 151 and the chamber 152. Consequently, an insulating film excellent in quality can be formed. The wafer W is made to stand by in the load lock chamber 152 adjacent to the heat treatment chamber 151 without being transferred to other unit. As a result, the transfer time of the wafer W is shortened and the foot print can be reduced.

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 more particularly to a substrate processing apparatus for performing heat treatment on an insulating film material applied on a substrate.

[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 and subjected to a chemical treatment or a heat treatment 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.

[0004] In the heat treatment, for example, a solvent is evaporated by performing a low-temperature heat treatment, and then a polymerization reaction is performed by performing a heat treatment at a high temperature. In addition, recently, heat treatment (post-treatment treatment) at a higher temperature for a shorter time is performed as a means for making the insulating film porous (porous) in order to realize a lower dielectric constant of the insulating film.

At present, these low-temperature heat treatment, high-temperature heat treatment, and post-treatment treatment are performed separately from each other. Therefore, the increase in the number of units causes problems such as an increase in footprint and transfer of wafers. There has been a problem of a decrease in throughput.

[0006]

Therefore, it is conceivable to perform the above-described series of heat treatments in one unit. However, a waiting time is required before the heat treatment chamber of the unit is changed to a predetermined temperature condition in the next step. Occurs, and the film quality may deteriorate during the waiting time.

Further, not only the processing temperature but also the control of the atmosphere and the pressure are slightly different depending on the respective processing, so that the quality of the film may be adversely affected even when the conditions of the atmosphere and the pressure are changed.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of maintaining a good film quality while minimizing a footprint and shortening a transfer time. And

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heat treatment chamber for heating a substrate, and a load lock chamber which communicates with the treatment chamber and is capable of controlling at least oxygen concentration and pressure. A transfer arm for transferring a substrate between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber; and a gate valve capable of shielding between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber.

According to this structure, after the predetermined heat treatment of the heat treatment chamber is completed, the substrate is made to stand by in the load lock chamber having the same oxygen concentration and pressure as that of the heat treatment chamber, thereby forming a film. It is possible to stabilize the process and maintain good film quality.

In the case where the heat treatment conditions are changed and the heat treatment is performed again, the substrate is not transferred to another unit, but is kept on standby in a load lock chamber adjacent to the heat treatment chamber. And the footprint can be reduced.

According to the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment chamber for heating a substrate, a load lock chamber communicated with the treatment chamber and capable of controlling at least oxygen concentration and pressure, and a heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber. Transfer the substrate between
A transfer arm for heating the substrate; and a gate valve capable of shielding between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber.

According to such a configuration, when the heat treatment conditions are changed and the heat treatment is performed again, the substrate is not transferred to another unit, and the oxygen concentration and the pressure can be controlled in the load lock chamber. By keeping the substrate on standby, it is possible to maintain good film quality, shorten the substrate transfer time, and reduce the footprint.

The present invention provides a heat treatment chamber for heating a substrate, first exhaust means for evacuating the heat treatment chamber, second exhaust means for normally exhausting the heat treatment chamber, and the first exhaust means. And means for switching and operating the second exhaust means adaptively.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to switch between normal exhaust having substantially the same pressure as the atmospheric pressure as the first exhaust and vacuum exhaust utilizing the vacuum as the second exhaust, thereby achieving heating. The film quality can be improved by controlling the pressure change and the oxygen concentration change in the processing chamber, and furthermore, the air flow.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the accompanying drawings and the description of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 show an S according to an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a rear view.

In the SOD system 1, a plurality of, for example, 25, semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as wafers) W as substrates are carried into or out of the system in units of, for example, 25 wafer cassettes CR. A cassette block 10 for loading / unloading wafers W from / to the CR and various single-wafer processing units for performing predetermined processing on the wafers W one by one in the SOD coating process are arranged at predetermined positions in multiple stages. First processing block 1
1, a plurality of single-wafer processing units for performing a predetermined process on the wafer W, the processing units having a temperature higher than the processing temperature of the processing unit of the heating system of the first processing block 11 are multi-staged at predetermined positions. It has a configuration in which the arranged second processing block 12 is integrally connected.

In the cassette block 10, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of wafer cassettes CR, for example, up to four wafer cassettes are arranged at the positions of the projections 20 a on the cassette mounting table 20 so that the respective wafer entrances and exits are located on the first processing block 11 side. A wafer carrier 21 mounted in a row in the X direction and 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 mounted on each wafer cassette CR. It is selectively accessed. Further, the wafer transfer body 21 is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction, and as described later, a transfer / cooling plate (TCP) belonging to the multi-stage unit section of the fourth set G4 on the first processing block 11 side. Is also accessible.

In the first processing block 11, as shown in FIG. 1, a first main transport body 22 of a vertical transport type is provided at the center, and all the processing units are surrounded by one or more sets. Are arranged in multiple stages. In this example, 5
This is a multi-stage arrangement of sets G1, G2, G3, G4, G5. The multi-stage units of the first and second sets G1, G2 are arranged side by side on the front side of the system (in FIG. 1), and the fourth set G4
Are arranged adjacent to the cassette block 10, and the multistage units of the third set G3 are arranged adjacent to the second processing block 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the first set G1 and the second set G2, the wafer W is placed on the spin chuck in the cup CP, the insulating film material is supplied, and the wafer is rotated. A SOD coating processing unit (SCT) for coating a uniform insulating film thereon, and a wafer W in a cup CP
Exchange processing unit (DS) that supplies a chemical solution for exchange such as HMDS and heptane on a spin chuck and replaces the solvent in the insulating film applied on the wafer with another solvent before the drying process
E) are stacked in two stages from the bottom.

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

As shown in FIG. 3, in the third set G3, a delivery / cooling plate (TCP), two cooling processing units (CPL), and a transition unit (TR)
S), an aging processing unit (DAC), and two low-temperature heating processing units (LHP) are arranged in multiple stages in order from the bottom.

In the fourth group G4, a delivery / cooling plate (TCP) and three cooling processing units (CPL)
, A transition unit (TRS), an aging processing unit (DAC), and a low-temperature heating processing unit (L
HP) are arranged in multiple stages.

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 first processing block 11. Perform delivery. Similarly, the transition unit (TRS) transfers the wafer W between the cassette block 10 and the first processing block 11. The aging processing unit (DAC) introduces NH 3 + H 2 O into a process chamber that can be sealed, performs aging processing on the wafer W, and wet-gels the insulating film material film on the wafer W. The cooling processing unit (CPL) has a cooling plate on which the wafer W is placed, and cools the wafer W.

In the SOD system 1, the multi-stage unit of the fifth processing unit group G5 shown by the broken line can be arranged on the back side of the first main carrier as described above. The multi-stage units of the fifth processing unit group G5 are configured so that they can be shifted laterally along the guide rails 25 as viewed from the first main transport body 22. Therefore, even when the multi-stage unit of the fifth processing unit group G5 is provided as shown in the drawing, the space is secured by sliding along the guide rail 25, so that the first main transport body 22 On the other hand, maintenance work can be easily performed from behind. Note that the multi-stage unit of the fifth processing unit group G5 has the guide rail 25
The first main transfer is not limited to the linear slide shift along the arrow, but may be configured such that the shift is performed to the outside of the system, as shown by the reciprocating rotation arrow indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. It is easy to secure space for maintenance work on the body.

In the second processing block 12, as described above, the sixth set G6 to which the unit for performing the heating process on the wafer W at a high temperature belongs is disposed on the front side of the system. A seventh group G7 to which the unit performing the processing belongs is arranged on the back side of the system. Between the sixth set G6 and the seventh set G7, there are a fourth set G4 and a sixth set G6.
And a second main carrier 23 for accessing the seventh set G7 and carrying the wafer W is provided. The second main carrier 23 is the same as the first main carrier 22 in the vertical direction. It has a transport type configuration.

The SOD system 1 is disposed, for example, in a clean room. For example, the atmosphere on the first main carrier 22 is set to an atmosphere at a higher pressure than that of the clean room set to the atmospheric pressure. Main carrier 2
The particles generated from above 2 are discharged out of the SOD system 1, while the particles in the clean room are prevented from entering the SOD system 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sixth set G6
Then, a multi-functional hot plate curing apparatus (MHC), which is a processing apparatus according to the present invention, has two stages, a microwave processing unit (MW) for irradiating a microwave or an electron beam to heat and reform the film, An electron beam processing unit (EB) is provided in each stage, one by one, in order from the bottom.
On the other hand, in the seventh group G7, a multi-functional hot plate curing apparatus (M
HC) is provided in three stages, and an ultraviolet processing unit (UV) for heating and reforming the film by irradiating ultraviolet rays is provided in one stage and sequentially from the bottom.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a perspective view and a sectional view, respectively, of the multifunctional hot plate curing apparatus (MHC).

This multi-functional hot plate curing apparatus (MHC) has a heat treatment chamber 151 and a load lock chamber 152 provided adjacent to the heat treatment chamber 151. This heat treatment chamber 151 includes a load lock chamber 152.
A gate valve 174 that can be opened and closed so as to transfer the wafer W between the first and second wafers W can be hermetically sealed.

A heating plate 156 for heating the wafer W is disposed substantially at the center of the heating processing chamber 151. Inside the hot plate 156, for example, a heater (not shown)
Is embedded, and the set temperature can be set to 200 to 800 ° C., for example. In addition, a plurality of, for example, three holes 157 are concentrically penetrated vertically through the hot plate 156, and support pins 158a for supporting the wafer W are inserted in these holes 157 in a vertically movable manner. . These support pins 158 a are provided on the back surface of the hot plate 156 with the communication member 1.
The communication member 159 is connected to and integrated with the communication member 59, and the communication member 159 is raised and lowered by a lifting cylinder 160 disposed below the communication member 159. And the lifting cylinder 160
The support pin 158a protrudes or sinks from the surface of the hot plate 156 by the elevating operation of.

A plurality of proximity pins 161 are arranged on the surface of the hot plate 156 so that the wafer W does not directly contact the hot plate 156 when the wafer W is subjected to heat treatment. This prevents the wafer W from being charged with static electricity during the heating process.

Further, a nitrogen supply port 124 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen into the heat treatment chamber 151 and an oxygen supply port 122 for supplying oxygen are formed above the heat treatment chamber 151. The nitrogen supply port 124 is connected to a nitrogen supply source 126 via a valve 132 for controlling the opening and closing of the nitrogen gas supply, and the oxygen supply port 122 is connected to a oxygen supply source 121 via a valve 130 for controlling the opening and closing of the oxygen supply.
It is connected to the. Also, the nitrogen supply source 126 and the valve 13
A first nitrogen temperature control unit 125 for adjusting the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen supply source 126 into the room is provided between the first nitrogen temperature control unit 125 and the second nitrogen temperature control unit 125. Similarly, between the oxygen supply 121 and the valve 130, the oxygen supply 12
An oxygen temperature control unit 140 for adjusting the temperature of oxygen supplied from 1 to the room is provided. By adjusting the gas temperature by the first nitrogen temperature control section 125 and the oxygen temperature control section 140, the processing can be performed in an optimal state for film formation without affecting the heat treatment temperature. A discharge port 123 is formed above the heat treatment chamber 151 to discharge gas in the heat treatment chamber 151, and the pressure of the discharge port 123 is slightly lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, reduced to about 100,000 Pa. It is connected to an ejector (not shown) via a valve 131 for controlling the opening and closing thereof. (Hereinafter, the discharge of gas by the ejector is referred to as ordinary exhaust.) Each of the valves 130, 131, and 132 is a gas sensor 17 that measures the oxygen concentration in a room provided in the heat treatment chamber 151.
2a and the opening and closing thereof are controlled based on the measurement results of the pressure sensor 172b that measures the pressure in the room.

On the other hand, an evacuation port 168 for reducing pressure is provided in the lower part of the heat treatment chamber 151, and this evacuation port 168 is connected to, for example, a vacuum pump 170.
, The pressure inside the heat treatment chamber 151 can be set to a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example, about 13 Pa. (Hereinafter, the reduced pressure by the vacuum pump 170 will be referred to as evacuation.) The operation of the vacuum pump 170 is also controlled by the controller 167 based on the measurement result of the pressure sensor 172b.
Is controlled by the

A window 181 for loading / unloading the wafer W from / to the second main carrier 23 is provided in the load lock chamber 152.
(FIG. 4) is provided, and the window 181 is configured to be opened and closed by a shutter member 164. The load lock chamber 152 can be hermetically closed by closing the shutter member 164 and the gate valve 174 described above.

A nitrogen supply port 128 for supplying nitrogen is formed in the upper portion of the load lock chamber 152. The nitrogen supply port 128 is connected to a nitrogen supply source via a valve 134 for controlling the opening and closing of the nitrogen gas supply. 126. Further, between the nitrogen supply source 126 and the valve 134,
A second nitrogen temperature control unit 127 for adjusting the temperature of the nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen supply source 126 to the room is provided. In the room, the opening and closing of the valve 134 and the vacuum pump 160 are controlled based on the measurement results of the gas sensor 143a for measuring the oxygen concentration and the pressure sensor 143b for measuring the pressure in the room.

In the lower part of the load lock chamber 152, an exhaust port 141 for depressurizing the room is provided.
1 is connected to, for example, the vacuum pump 142 and the control unit 167
The pressure in the load lock chamber 152 is reduced by the operation of the vacuum pump 142.

In the load lock chamber 152, a transfer arm 176 having a temperature control section for mounting and transferring the wafer W and adjusting the temperature of the wafer W is provided with a guide plate 17.
The moving mechanism 177b is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction along the direction 7a. The set temperature of the transfer arm 176 is
For example, it is 15 to 25 ° C. The transfer arm 176 can enter the heat treatment chamber 151 via the gate valve 174, and receives the wafer W heated by the hot plate 156 in the heat treatment chamber 151 via the support pins 158a to load the wafer W. The wafer W is carried into the lock chamber 152 to control the temperature of the wafer W. As this temperature control mechanism, for example, cooling water, a Peltier element, or the like is used.

Below the transfer arm 176, a support pin 158b having the same configuration as the support pin 158a in the heat treatment chamber 151 is provided so as to be able to move up and down. The support pins 158b are connected to and integrated with the support member 159 on the back surface of the transfer arm 176.
9 is lifted and lowered by a lifting cylinder 160 disposed below. Note that the support pins 158a
Are provided, for example, three transfer arms 1 shown in FIG.
It can be moved in and out of the 76 cutout portion 176a.

The vacuum pump 170 and the gas supply sources 121 and 126 are, as shown in FIGS.
Multi-functional hot plate curing device (M
HC) is disposed in a chemical chamber 30 disposed below.

Next, the processing steps of the SOD system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flow shown in FIG.

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 or to a transition unit (TRS).

The wafer W transferred to the transfer table in the transfer / cooling plate (TCP) is transferred to the first main transfer member 2
2 to a cooling processing unit (CPL).
Then, in the cooling processing unit (CPL), the wafer W
Is cooled to a temperature suitable for processing in the SOD coating processing unit (SCT) (step 1).

The wafer W cooled by the cooling unit (CPL) is transferred to the SOD coating unit (SCT) via the first main transfer body 22. Then, in the SOD coating processing unit (SCT), the wafer W
A coating process is performed (Step 2).

In the SOD coating processing unit (SCT), the SO
The wafer W on which the D coating process has been performed is transported to the aging processing unit (DAC) via the first main transport body 22,
An aging process is performed to gel the insulating film material on the wafer W (Step 3).

The wafer W that has been aged by the aging processing unit (DAC) is transferred to the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE) via the first main transfer body 22. Then, in the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE), an exchange chemical is supplied to the wafer W, and a process of replacing the solvent in the insulating film applied on the wafer with another solvent is performed (step 4).

The wafer W having undergone the replacement processing in the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE) is transferred to the low-temperature heating processing unit (LHP) via the first main transfer body 22. Then, in the low-temperature heating unit (LHP), the wafer W is subjected to low-temperature heating (step 5).

The wafer W that has been subjected to the low-temperature heat treatment by the low-temperature heat treatment unit (LHP) belongs to the fourth set G4.
It is conveyed to the ultraviolet processing unit (UV) via the second main carrier 23 via the transfer table in the cooling plate (TCP) or the transition unit (TRS). Then, in the ultraviolet processing unit (UV), the wafer W is processed with ultraviolet light having a wavelength of about 172 nm (step 6). In the process using ultraviolet rays, a nitrogen gas is blown out, and the inside of an ultraviolet ray processing unit (UV) is set to a nitrogen gas atmosphere. In this state, ultraviolet rays are emitted from an ultraviolet irradiation lamp for one minute, for example.

Here, instead of or after the ultraviolet treatment, the electron beam processing by the electron beam processing unit (EB) belonging to the sixth set G6 and the microwave processing by the microwave processing unit (MW) are performed as appropriate. You may do so.

Next, the wafer W that has been
Is transported to the cooling processing unit (CPL) belonging to the fourth group G4 via the second main transport body 23. Then, the wafer W is cooled in the cooling processing unit (CPL) (Step 7).

The wafer W cooled by the cooling processing unit (CPL) is returned to the SOD through the first main carrier 22 again.
It is transported to a coating processing unit (SCT). And SO
In the D coating processing unit (SCT), the wafer W
A second SOD coating process is performed (step 8). At this time, since the surface of the insulating film material already applied on the wafer W has been modified so as to have a low contact angle by the above-described treatment with ultraviolet light, even if the insulating film material is further applied thereon, No irregularities occur on the surface.

In the SOD coating processing unit (SCT), SO
The wafer W on which the D coating process has been performed is transported to the aging processing unit (DAC) via the first main transport body 22,
The aging process is performed, and the insulating film material on the wafer W is gelled (Step 9).

The wafer W that has been aged by the aging processing unit (DAC) is transferred to the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE) via the first main transfer body 22. Then, in the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE), an exchange chemical is supplied to the wafer W, and a process of replacing the solvent in the insulating film applied on the wafer with another solvent is performed (step 1).
0).

The wafer W having undergone the replacement processing in the solvent exchange processing unit (DSE) is transferred to the low-temperature heating unit (LHP) via the first main transfer body 22. Then, in the low-temperature heating unit (LHP), the wafer W is subjected to low-temperature heating processing (step 1).
1).

The wafer W which has been subjected to the low-temperature heat treatment in the low-temperature heat treatment unit (LHP) is passed through the second main carrier 23 to a multi-functional hot plate curing apparatus (MH).
C), and a heating process and a temperature control process are performed under a predetermined oxygen concentration and pressure (step 12).

Thereafter, the wafer W is transferred to a cooling plate in a delivery / cooling plate (TCP). And in the cooling plate in the delivery and cooling plate (TCP),
The wafer W is subjected to a cooling process (step 13).

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.

Referring now to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the heating action in the multi-functional hot plate curing device (MHC) will be described in detail.

First, the shutter member 164 is opened, and the second main carrier 23 holding the wafer W is moved to the load lock chamber 15.
The vehicle enters the room through the second window 181 and is placed on the transfer arm 176 via the support pin 158b. Then, when the shutter member 164 is closed and the load lock chamber 152 is closed, the valve 134 is opened while the pressure in the chamber is reduced by the vacuum pump 142, and nitrogen is supplied so that the pressure becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. At this time, the oxygen concentration is reduced to about 20 ppm, whereby oxidation of the wafer W can be prevented. Further, the throughput can be improved by performing the nitrogen purge simultaneously with the pressure reduction. At this time, the heat treatment chamber 151
At the same time, the pressure is reduced (evacuated) and the nitrogen purge is performed so as to have the same pressure and the same oxygen concentration as those of the load lock chamber 152.

Then, the gate valve 174 is opened and the wafer W is opened.
The wafer W is transferred into the heat treatment chamber 151 while the temperature is adjusted, and the wafer W is transferred onto the support pins 158a with the support pins 158a protruding from the surface of the hot plate 156. By transporting the wafer W before heating while controlling the temperature in this manner, it contributes to uniform heat history.

When the wafer W is transferred to the hot plate, the transfer arm 176 returns to the original position, and a closed space is formed in the heat processing chamber 151 by closing the gate valve 174. Then, the heating process by the hot plate 156 is started.
FIG. 8 shows an embodiment (processing condition 1) of the heat treatment temperature, pressure and heat treatment time at this time.

That is, referring to FIG. 7, in this embodiment, first, a heat treatment is performed at a temperature of 150 ° C. and an atmospheric pressure (101300 Pa) for, for example, 30 seconds (FIG. 7A). Thereby, the solvent in the insulating film is volatilized. Subsequently, the gate valve 174 is opened, and the wafer W is transferred from the hot plate 156 to the transfer arm 176 as shown in FIG.
The wafer W is loaded in the load lock chamber 1
52 (FIG. 3 (c)). And the heat treatment chamber 151
Is evacuated to 100 Pa, for example, to raise the temperature of the hot plate 156. At this time, the pressure of the load lock chamber 152 is also reduced to the same pressure as that of the heat treatment chamber 151. Next, the gate valve 174 is opened (FIG. 9D), the wafer W is transferred from the transfer arm 176 to the hot plate 156 again, and a heating process is performed at a predetermined temperature of 450 ° C. and a pressure of 100 Pa, for example, for 20 minutes ( FIG. Thereby, a polymerization reaction is performed to form an insulating film.

As described above, when the processing conditions of the heating processing chamber 152 are changed after the predetermined heating processing in the heating processing chamber 151 is completed, the wafer W is placed in the load lock chamber 152 having the same pressure and atmosphere. This makes it possible to stabilize the process of forming the insulating film and maintain good film quality.

In the heat treatment step in the heat treatment chamber 151, it is possible to change the oxygen concentration while keeping the pressure in the room constant by supplying oxygen to the room while performing normal exhaust. Thereby, the film quality of the surface of the insulating film can be hardened. Alternatively, by controlling the indoor pressure, the oxygen concentration, the air flow, and the like by performing only normal exhaust, various high-quality low dielectric constant films and high dielectric constant films can be formed.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another processing condition (processing condition 2) in the multi-functional hot plate curing apparatus (MHC).

In this embodiment, first, the wafer W is transferred into the load lock chamber 152 through the window 181 by the second main transfer body 23, the load lock chamber 152 and the heat treatment chamber 151 are sealed, and the pressure is reduced. (Vacuum evacuation) and nitrogen are introduced to the same predetermined low oxygen concentration atmosphere and pressure (atmospheric pressure). Then, the wafer W is transferred into the heat treatment chamber 151 through the gate valve, and is heated in the heat treatment chamber 151 at, for example, a heating temperature of 160 ° C. and an atmospheric pressure for 20 seconds.
Thereby, the solvent in the insulating film is volatilized. Then, the temperature of the hot plate in the heat treatment chamber 151 is increased while the temperature of the heat plate in the heat treatment chamber 151 is increased during the temperature control process at 23 ° C. for 10 seconds under the atmospheric pressure under the hermetic condition of the load lock chamber 152.
The polymerization reaction is carried out by performing a heat treatment at 450 ° C. for 15 minutes under an internal pressure, for example, under atmospheric pressure. Then, the pressure inside the load lock chamber 152 is reduced again (evacuated) under the hermetic condition, and
The temperature is controlled at 3 ° C. for 10 seconds, and the heat treatment chamber 15
The inside of 1 also has the same atmosphere as the load lock chamber 152. Then, the wafer W is transferred to the heat treatment chamber 151 three times, and the film is made porous by performing a process at a pressure of 100 Pa and a heat treatment temperature of 600 ° C. for 10 seconds, for example (post-treatment treatment). By this post-treatment, an insulating film having a low dielectric constant, for example, an insulating film having a relative dielectric constant of 1.5 to 3.5 can be formed.

FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment (processing condition 3).
Is shown. In the present embodiment, an embodiment is shown in which the wafer W can be heated at a predetermined temperature of 15 ° C. to 250 ° C., for example, by further incorporating a heater in addition to the water cooling mechanism of the transfer arm 176.

In this embodiment, first, the wafer W is transferred by the second main transfer member 23 into the load lock chamber 152 through the window 181, the inside of the load lock chamber 152 is sealed, and the transfer is performed while reducing the pressure. The wafer W placed on the arm 176 is heated, for example, at 180 ° C. for 20 seconds. Thereby, the solvent in the insulating film is volatilized. Then, the heat treatment chamber 1 having the same pressure and atmosphere as the load lock chamber 152
The wafer W is transported into the inside 51, and heat treatment is performed, for example, at 450 ° C. for 20 minutes. FIG. 11 shows the relationship between the heat treatment time and the oxygen concentration in the heat treatment chamber 151 at this time. Here, during the heat treatment, normal exhaust is performed, and the heat treatment is performed, for example, by increasing the oxygen concentration from 20 ppm to 200 ppm after 15 minutes, so that the surface quality of the insulating film can be hardened. After that, the heat treatment chamber 151
Then, the pressure in the load lock chamber 152 is increased, the wafer W is taken out by the transfer arm 176, and the temperature is controlled at 23 ° C.

As described above, one multifunctional hot plate curing apparatus (MHC)
For example, various low dielectric constant films or high dielectric constant films can be formed, or a porous film can be formed. In addition, the wafer W is not transferred to another unit, and the heat treatment chamber 1
By waiting in the load lock chamber 152 adjacent to 51, the transfer time of the wafer W can be reduced, and the footprint can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.

For example, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas was used as a gas contributing to the reduction of oxygen in the heat treatment chamber, but instead of this, another inert gas such as argon gas,
Reactive gas such as O ₂ , NH ₃ , H ₂ , O ₃ , NH ₄ OH
(NH ₃ + H ₂ O), organic compounds such as thinner, HMD
A liquid vapor such as S may be used.

As a method for introducing these gases into the chamber, the gases may be introduced from the upper part of the heat treatment chamber to the lower part or from the lower part to the upper part, or these gases may be brought to a desired temperature. It may be heated and introduced into the heat treatment chamber. In that case, the temperature of the gas may be dynamically changed in synchronization with the rise or fall of the heat treatment temperature. Thereby, it is possible to control the temperature more precisely.

In the above-described embodiment, the SOD coating process (SCT), the aging process (DAC), and the solvent exchange process (DSE) are each performed twice, but may be performed once.

Further, in the above embodiment, the silicon wafer is taken as an example of the substrate, but the present invention can be applied to other substrates such as a glass substrate.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The substrate transfer time can be reduced, and the footprint can be reduced. Further, processing conditions corresponding to various films can be provided, and formation and maintenance of a high-quality film can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of an SOD system to which a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

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

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

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a multi-functional hot plate curing device (MHC) according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the multi-functional hot plate curing device (MHC) shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing steps of the SOD system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating movement of a wafer between processing chambers under processing conditions according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing processing conditions according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing processing conditions according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing processing conditions according to one embodiment.

11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the heat treatment time and the oxygen concentration in the embodiment in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W semiconductor wafer 1 SOD system 23 second main carrier 121 oxygen supply source 122 oxygen supply port 123 discharge port 124 nitrogen supply port 125 first nitrogen temperature control unit 126 nitrogen supply source 127 ... second nitrogen temperature control unit 128 ... nitrogen supply port 130-134 ... valve 140 ... oxygen temperature control unit 141 ... exhaust port 142,160,170 ... vacuum pump 143a ... gas sensor 143b ... pressure sensor 151 ... heat treatment chamber 152 ... Load lock chamber 156 ... Heat plate 164 ... Shutter member 167 ... Control unit 168 ... Exhaust port 172a ... Gas sensor 172b ... Pressure sensor 174 ... Gate valve 176 ... Transfer arm 177b ... Movement mechanism 181 ... Window

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5F031 CA02 FA01 FA11 FA12 MA02 MA06 MA26 MA30 NA07 NA09 5F045 AB32 AF03 AF08 BB16 DC63 DP02 DQ10 HA24 5F058 BB07 BC02 BD04 BF46 BG01 BG02 BG03 BH02 BH03 BH04 BJ01

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A heat treatment chamber for heating a substrate, a load lock chamber communicated with the treatment chamber and capable of controlling at least an oxygen concentration and a pressure, and between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a transfer arm for transferring a substrate; and a gate valve capable of shielding between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein first exhaust means for evacuating the heat treatment chamber, second exhaust means for normally evacuating the heat treatment chamber, Means for switching and operating the second exhaust means adaptively. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first exhaust means is substantially 133 in said heat treatment chamber.
The pressure is reduced to 0 Pa or less.
A substrate processing apparatus for reducing the pressure to about 000 Pa. 4. One of claims 1 to 3
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to control a temperature of the substrate in the heat processing chamber. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said control means is capable of controlling a temperature in a range of 100 ° C. to 800 ° C. 6. One of claims 1 to 5
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit configured to introduce an inert gas into the heat treatment chamber. 7. One of claims 1 to 6
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer arm has a temperature control unit that controls the temperature of the substrate on the arm. 8. One of claims 1 to 7
In the substrate processing apparatus described in the paragraph, the load lock chamber has an opening for transferring a substrate to and from the outside, and further includes a shutter member that can open and close the opening. Substrate processing equipment. 9. One of claims 1 to 8
In the substrate processing apparatus according to the item, when heating the substrate in the heat treatment chamber by changing the processing conditions of the substrate in the heat treatment chamber, waiting the substrate on the transfer arm in the load lock chamber. Characteristic substrate processing equipment. 10. A heat treatment chamber for heat-treating a substrate, a load lock chamber communicated with the treatment chamber and capable of controlling at least oxygen concentration and pressure, and between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a transfer arm that transfers a substrate and heat-treats the substrate; and a gate valve that can shield a space between the heat treatment chamber and the load lock chamber. 11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a temperature of the heat treatment in the heat treatment chamber is higher than a temperature of the heat treatment by the transfer arm. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the heat treatment temperature in the heat treatment chamber is 400 ° C. to 45 ° C.
0 ° C., and the heat treatment temperature by the transfer arm is 15 ° C.
A substrate processing apparatus characterized by being at a temperature of from 250C to 250C. 13. A heat treatment chamber for heat-treating a substrate, first exhaust means for evacuating the heat treatment chamber, second exhaust means for normally evacuating the heat treatment chamber, A means for adaptively switching and operating the second exhaust means. 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said first exhaust means is substantially 133 in said heat treatment chamber.
The pressure is reduced to 0 Pa or less.
A substrate processing apparatus for reducing the pressure to about 000 Pa. 15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: means for controlling a temperature of the substrate in the heat processing chamber. 16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: means for introducing an inert gas into the heat treatment chamber. .