JP2002280370A - Unit and method of cooling object to be treated, and system and method for heat treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling unit for an object to be treated, by which the transfer time of the object to be treated can be shortened, without damaging the object to be treated, and to provide a heat treatment system. SOLUTION: The heat treatment system 1 is provided with a heat treatment device 6 which heat-treats a semiconductor wafer W, a carry-in and carry-out chamber 2 which houses a cassette 7, the cooling unit 4, which cools the semiconductor wafer W and a transfer machine 3 which transfers the semiconductor wafer W. The cooling unit 4 is provided with a cooling plate 4b which cools the semiconductor wafer W. The cooling plate 4b is constituted in a shape, in which the semiconductor wafer W can be inserted in a state of its being mounted on the transfer machine 3. The cooling unit 4 is arranged in the upper part of the carry-in and carry-out chamber 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling unit, a cooling method, a heat treatment system, and a heat treatment method for an object to be processed. The present invention also relates to a cooling unit, a cooling method, a heat treatment system, and a heat treatment method for cooling an object to be processed to a predetermined temperature.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a thin film such as a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film is formed on a surface of an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer by heat treatment. In such heat treatment, for example, the following treatment is performed using a heat treatment system 101 as shown in FIG.

First, a wafer boat 104 for accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers 103 is loaded into a reaction tube 102 by raising it. Next, the inside of the reaction tube 102 is heated to a predetermined temperature, for example, 800 ° C., and after the pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure, a processing gas is supplied to the semiconductor wafer 103 to form a thin film on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 103. Semiconductor wafer 1
03, a thin film is formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 103
Is cooled to a predetermined unload temperature, for example, 600 ° C., and then the wafer boat 104 (semiconductor wafer 103) is lowered to unload. Next, the unloaded semiconductor wafer 103 is allowed to cool in the heat treatment system 101 until the temperature becomes a predetermined temperature, for example, 60 ° C. or lower. When the semiconductor wafer 103 is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower, the semiconductor wafer 103 stored in the wafer boat 104 is transferred by the transfer device 105 and stored in a predetermined cassette 106.

[0004]

However, it takes about 10 minutes to cool the semiconductor wafer 103 from 600 ° C. to 60 ° C. or less, for example.
The semiconductor wafer 103 on which the thin film is formed is transferred to the wafer boat 1
There has been a problem that the wafer transfer time from transfer from 04 to a predetermined cassette 106 becomes long.

In order to shorten the wafer transfer time, a cooling unit is arranged in the heat treatment system 101, and the unloaded semiconductor wafer 103 is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower in the cooling unit, thereby shortening the semiconductor wafer 103. It is possible to cool in time. However, after the semiconductor wafer 103 is placed in the cooling unit from above the transfer machine 105, the cooled semiconductor wafer 103 is again transferred to the transfer machine 10
5, the semiconductor wafer 103 must be transferred to a predetermined cassette 106, and it takes time to load and unload the semiconductor wafer 103 into and from the cooling unit. For this reason, the wafer transfer time could not be reduced significantly. Furthermore, since the semiconductor wafer 103 in a high temperature state is placed in the cooling unit, the semiconductor wafer 103 may be damaged.

In order to shorten the wafer transfer time,
Although it is conceivable to transfer the semiconductor wafer 103 to the cassette 106 without cooling it to 60 ° C. or less, if the temperature of the semiconductor wafer 103 is higher than 60 ° C.,
Is heated unnecessarily,
Organic degassing may occur from the cassette 106 and cause organic degassing in the cassette 106,
The cassette 106 may be thermally deformed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a cooling unit and a cooling method for a processing object, which can shorten the transfer time of the processing object without damaging the processing object. The purpose is to provide. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling unit and a cooling method for an object to be processed, which can minimize the organic degassing in the storage section and can shorten the transfer time of the object to be processed. I do.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment system and a heat treatment method using the cooling unit and the cooling method for the object to be processed.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a cooling unit for cooling an object to be processed includes a heat-treated object to be accommodated in an accommodation section by using a transfer machine. A cooling unit for cooling the object to be processed to a predetermined temperature, wherein the cooling unit cools the object to be processed after the heat treatment. It is configured in such a shape that it can be inserted while being mounted on a mounting machine.

According to this configuration, the object to be processed is inserted into the cooling section and cooled while being mounted on the transfer machine. Therefore, there is no need to place the object to be processed in the cooling unit from the transfer machine or to mount the cooled object to be transferred again on the transfer machine. Become. Also,
The heat-treated object is cooled without contacting anything other than the transfer machine, so that the object is not damaged. Also, particles are minimized.

Preferably, the cooling unit cools the object to be processed to 60 ° C. or less. When the object to be processed is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower, the possibility that organic degassing occurs is reduced, and the organic degassing in the storage section is minimized.

[0011] It is preferable that a control unit for controlling a cooling time of the object to be processed is provided according to a temperature of the object to be processed.
With a control unit that controls the cooling time of the object to be processed,
The object can be cooled with an optimum (shortest) cooling time, and the transfer time of the object can be further reduced.

The cooling section includes a plurality of cooling plates,
It is preferable that the cooling plates are arranged so that the object placed on the transfer machine is inserted between the cooling plates. Since the object to be processed is inserted between the cooling plates, the upper and lower surfaces of the object to be processed are simultaneously cooled, and the object to be processed is uniformly cooled. For this reason, the object to be processed is less likely to receive thermal stress, and the object to be processed is further less likely to be damaged.

The transfer machine has a plurality of workpieces mounted thereon,
It is preferable that the cooling unit is configured so that a plurality of objects to be processed mounted on the transfer machine can be inserted. A plurality of objects are cooled by one operation, and the transfer time of the objects is further reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment system for an object to be processed, a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating the object to be processed, an accommodating section for accommodating the heat-treated object, The cooling unit for the object to be processed, and a transfer machine for transferring the object to be processed between the heat treatment apparatus, the housing unit, and the cooling unit for the object to be processed are provided.

According to this configuration, the object heat-treated by the heat treatment apparatus is accommodated in the accommodation part after being cooled by the cooling unit for the object according to the first aspect by the transfer machine.

It is preferable that the cooling unit for the object to be processed is disposed above or below the storage section.
When the cooling unit for the object is disposed above or below the storage section, the transfer distance of the object does not increase, and the wafer transfer time can be shortened.

[0017] It is preferable that the cooling unit for the object to be processed is arranged such that the position of the object to be processed at the time of cooling is different only in the height of the position of the object to be processed in the accommodating portion. In this case, the stroke for inserting the object to be processed into the cooling unit and the stroke for accommodating the object to be processed in the accommodating portion can be made the same, and control of the transfer machine becomes easy.
Further, the position of the object to be processed is less likely to shift.

In the method for cooling an object to be processed according to a third aspect of the present invention, the object to be processed is heated to a predetermined temperature in order to accommodate the object to be heat-treated in an accommodation section using a transfer machine. A method for cooling an object to be cooled, wherein the heat-treated object is inserted into a cooling unit while being placed on the transfer machine, and the object is cooled. I do.

According to this configuration, the object to be processed is inserted into the cooling section and cooled while being mounted on the transfer machine. Therefore, there is no need to place the object to be processed in the cooling unit from the transfer machine or to mount the cooled object to be transferred again on the transfer machine. Become. Also,
The heat-treated object is cooled without contacting anything other than the transfer machine, so that the object is not damaged. Also, particles are minimized.

Preferably, the object is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower. When the object to be processed is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower, the possibility that organic degassing occurs is reduced, and the organic degassing in the storage section is minimized.

It is preferable to change the cooling time of the object according to the temperature of the object. By changing the cooling time of the processing object according to the temperature of the processing object, the processing object can be cooled with an optimal (shortest) cooling time,
The transfer time of the object is further reduced.

It is preferable that the object to be processed is cooled from both the upper surface side and the lower surface side. When the object is cooled from both the upper surface side and the lower surface side, the object is cooled uniformly. For this reason, the object to be processed is less likely to receive thermal stress, and the object to be processed is further less likely to be damaged.

Preferably, a plurality of objects to be processed are mounted on the transfer machine, and the plurality of objects to be processed mounted on the transfer machine are cooled by one operation. A plurality of objects are cooled by one operation, and the transfer time of the objects is further reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for heat-treating an object to be processed, wherein the step of loading the object into a reaction chamber of the heat treatment apparatus includes the steps of: And a condition setting step for setting pressure.
Supplying a processing gas into the reaction chamber set to the predetermined temperature and pressure, a heat treatment step of heat-treating the object, and an unloading step of unloading the heat-treated object from the reaction chamber; A cooling step of cooling the unloaded object by the object cooling method according to the third aspect, and a housing step of housing the cooled object in a housing unit. Features.

According to this structure, the object heat-treated by the heat treatment apparatus is cooled by the transfer device according to the cooling method of the object according to the third aspect, and then is accommodated in the accommodation section.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a cooling unit, a cooling method, a heat treatment system, and a heat treatment method for an object to be processed according to the present invention will be described. In this embodiment mode, a case where a silicon oxide film is formed on a semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) using the batch-type vertical heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 7 and the semiconductor wafer on which the silicon oxide film is formed is cooled. An example is described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the heat treatment system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the heat treatment system.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat treatment system 1 includes a loading / unloading chamber 2, a transfer machine 3, and a cooling unit 4.
, An exhaust unit 5 and a heat treatment device 6.

The loading / unloading chamber 2 is a space for loading or unloading the semiconductor wafer W into or out of the heat treatment system 1, and is formed in two vertically. Inside each of the loading / unloading chambers 2, a cassette 7 as a storage section for storing semiconductor wafers is disposed. The cassette 7 is configured to be able to store a predetermined number of, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers W.

The transfer machine 3 is arranged substantially at the center of the heat treatment system 1. The transfer machine 3 is configured to be movable vertically and horizontally so that the semiconductor wafer W can be transferred between the loading / unloading chamber 2, the cooling unit 4, and the heat treatment device 6, and is further configured to be rotatable. ing. Further, the transfer machine 3 is formed with a predetermined number, for example, five forks 3a. FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the fork 3a. As shown in FIG. 3, the fork 3a is formed in a substantially square plate shape. Then, by moving the transfer machine 3 with the semiconductor wafer W placed on the fork 3a, the semiconductor wafer W can be transferred to a predetermined position. In addition, the transfer machine 3 is configured to be able to change the interval between the forks 3a, and can transfer five semiconductor wafers W at the same time by changing the interval between the forks 3a to a predetermined interval.

The cooling unit 4 is arranged above the loading / unloading chamber 2. FIG. 4 shows a schematic side view of the cooling unit. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of cooling plates 4b are connected to the main body 4a of the cooling unit 4.
The semiconductor wafer W mounted on the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3 is inserted between the cooling plates 4b. Inside the cooling plate 4b, there is formed a flow path 4c through which a gas or liquid coolant for cooling the semiconductor wafer W, for example, water at 25 ° C. flows. FIG.
2 shows a plan view of the cooling plate 4b. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow path 4c is provided with the semiconductor wafer W in the cooling unit 4.
Is formed at a position facing the semiconductor wafer W in a state where is inserted. The flow path 4c may be formed so as to cool the entire surface of the inserted semiconductor wafer W, and is formed in a zigzag shape in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state where the semiconductor wafer W is inserted into the cooling unit 4. As shown in FIG. 6, the semiconductor wafer W is inserted between the cooling plates 4b of the cooling unit 4 while being mounted on the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3. Thus, since the cooling plates 4b are arranged above and below each semiconductor wafer W, both the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W can be cooled simultaneously.

The cooling unit 4 is provided with a semiconductor wafer W
Is preferably arranged such that the position of the semiconductor wafer W when cooling the semiconductor wafer W is different only in the height from the storage position of the semiconductor wafer W stored in the cassette 7. In this case, the distance (stroke) by which the fork 3a moves between the cooling plates 4b to insert the semiconductor wafer W into the cooling unit 4, and the fork 3a 7 can be made the same distance (stroke), and the control of the fork 3a becomes easy. Further, the position of the semiconductor wafer W is less likely to shift.

The exhaust unit 5 is formed at an end of the heat treatment system 1. The exhaust unit 5 exhausts the air in the heat treatment system 1 to keep the inside of the heat treatment system 1 clean. Further, the clean air is down-flowed to the heat treatment system 1, and the internal atmosphere of the heat treatment system 1 is kept in a clean state.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of the heat treatment apparatus 6. FIG.
As shown in (1), the heat treatment apparatus 6 includes a substantially cylindrical reaction tube 11 whose longitudinal direction is directed in the vertical direction. The reaction tube 11 includes an inner tube 12 that forms a film formation region therein, and an inner tube 1.
2 has a double-pipe structure composed of an inner pipe 12 and an outer pipe 13 having a ceiling and formed so as to have a certain interval. The inner tube 12 and the outer tube 13 are formed of a heat-resistant material, for example, quartz.

Below the outer tube 13, there is arranged a manifold 14 formed of stainless steel (SUS) formed in a cylindrical shape. The manifold 14 is airtightly connected to the lower end of the outer tube 13. The inner tube 12 projects from the inner wall of the manifold 14 and is supported by a support ring 15 formed integrally with the manifold 14.

A lid 16 is disposed below the manifold 14, and the lid 16 is configured to be vertically movable by a boat elevator 17. And the boat elevator 17
When the lid 16 moves upward, the lower side of the manifold 14 is closed.

A wafer boat 18 made of, for example, quartz is placed on the lid 16. A plurality of semiconductor wafers W are accommodated in the wafer boat 18 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction.

A heat insulator 19 is provided around the reaction tube 11 so as to surround the reaction tube 11, and a heater 20 for heating, which is composed of, for example, a resistance heating element, is provided on the inner wall surface. The inside of the reaction tube 11 is set to a predetermined temperature by driving the heater 20 for temperature rise.

A plurality of processing gas introduction pipes are inserted through the side of the manifold 14. In the present embodiment, one processing gas introduction pipe 21 is inserted through the side surface of the manifold 14.

The processing gas introduction pipe 21 is disposed so as to face the inside of the inner pipe 12. As shown in FIG.
The processing gas introduction pipe 21 is inserted from the side of the manifold 14 below the bottom 5 (below the inner pipe 12). And
A processing gas, for example, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) is introduced into the inner pipe 12 from the processing gas introduction pipe 21.

A discharge port 22 is provided on a side surface of the manifold 14. The outlet 22 is provided above the support ring 15, and the inner tube 12 and the outer tube 13 in the reaction tube 11 are provided.
And communicate with the space formed between them. A purge gas supply pipe 23 for supplying nitrogen gas as a purge gas is inserted below the outlet 22 on the side surface of the manifold 14.

An exhaust pipe 24 is hermetically connected to the outlet 22. The exhaust pipe 24 has a valve 25 and a vacuum pump 2
6 are interposed. The valve 25 controls the pressure inside the reaction tube 11 to a predetermined pressure by adjusting the opening degree of the exhaust pipe 24. The vacuum pump 26 is connected to the reaction tube 1 via the exhaust pipe 24.
The gas in 1 is exhausted and the pressure in the reaction tube 11 is adjusted.

Further, the loading / unloading chamber 2, the transfer unit 3, the cooling unit 4, the exhaust unit 5, the heat treatment unit 6 (boat elevator 17, heating heater 20, processing gas introduction pipe 21, purge gas supply pipe 23, valve 25) , A vacuum pump 26) is connected to a control unit (not shown). The control unit includes a microprocessor, a process controller, and the like, and controls each unit of the heat treatment system 1.

Next, a method of heat treating a semiconductor wafer, including a method of cooling a semiconductor wafer, using the heat treatment system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to a recipe (time sequence) shown in FIG. In the following description, the operation of each unit constituting the heat treatment system 1 is controlled by a control unit (not shown).

First, the reaction tube 11 is heated by the heater 20.
Is set to a predetermined loading temperature. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the semiconductor wafer W to be subjected to the heat treatment is transferred from the cassette 7 to the wafer boat 18 by the transfer machine 3 with the lid 16 of the heat treatment apparatus 6 lowered. In this example,
Since 150 wafers W are accommodated in the wafer boat 18 and five semiconductor wafers W are transferred by the transfer machine 3, this operation is repeated 30 times. The transfer of the semiconductor wafers W from the cassette 7 is performed, for example, by transferring the semiconductor wafers W from the upper cassette 7, and removing the semiconductor wafers W from the lower cassette 7 when there is no semiconductor wafer W in the upper cassette 7. Transfer. Then, during transfer of the semiconductor wafer W from the lower cassette 7, the cassette transfer device (not shown) unloads the upper empty cassette 7, and then loads the cassette 7 containing the semiconductor wafer W, thereby continuously transferring the semiconductor wafer W. The semiconductor wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 18.

Next, the lid 1 is moved by the boat elevator 17.
6, the wafer boat 18 (semiconductor wafer W) is loaded into the inner tube 12 of the reaction tube 11. Thus, the semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in the reaction tube 11 and the reaction tube 11 is sealed. Further, a predetermined amount of nitrogen gas is supplied into the reaction tube 11 from the purge gas supply tube 23, and contaminants such as organic substances mixed into the reaction tube 11 are discharged (loading step).

Subsequently, the pressure in the reaction tube 11 is started.
Specifically, a predetermined amount of nitrogen gas is supplied from the purge gas supply pipe 23 into the reaction tube 11, and while controlling the opening of the valve 25, the vacuum pump 26 is driven so that the gas in the reaction tube 11 is discharged. Discharge. The gas in the reaction tube 11 is discharged when the pressure in the reaction tube 11 is changed from a normal pressure to a predetermined pressure, for example, 13.3 Pa to 1330 Pa (0.1 Torr to 1 Torr).
0 Torr). Further, the heater 20 for raising the temperature
To heat the reaction tube 11 to a predetermined temperature, for example, 800 ° C. Then, this decompression and heating operation is performed in the reaction tube 1.
The process is performed until the inside of 1 is stabilized at a predetermined pressure and temperature (stabilization step).

When the inside of the reaction tube 11 is stabilized at a predetermined pressure and temperature, the supply of the nitrogen gas from the purge gas supply tube 23 is stopped. Then, a predetermined amount of tetraethoxysilane, for example, 0.1 liter / min, is supplied from the processing gas introduction pipe 21.
０．３0.3 liter / min. The reaction represented by the chemical formula 1 occurs in the reaction tube 11, and a silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ film) is formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W (film formation step).

[Formula 1] _{TEOS → SiO 2 + C x H} y + H 2 O x, y are natural numbers

When a silicon oxide film having a predetermined thickness is formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W, the supply of tetraethoxysilane from the processing gas introduction pipe 21 is stopped. And valve 2
While controlling the opening of 5, the vacuum pump 26 is driven,
After the gas in the reaction tube 11 is discharged, the purge gas supply pipe 2
A predetermined amount of nitrogen gas is supplied from 3 to discharge the gas in the reaction tube 11 to the exhaust pipe 24 (purge step). In order to reliably discharge the gas in the reaction tube 11, it is preferable to repeat the discharge of the gas in the reaction tube 11 and the supply of the nitrogen gas a plurality of times.

Next, a predetermined amount of nitrogen gas is supplied from the purge gas supply pipe 23 to make the inside of the reaction pipe 11 normal pressure (760 To
rr) and the semiconductor wafer W is left until the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W reaches 600 ° C. Then, the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W becomes 600
When the temperature reaches ° C, the lid 16 is lowered by the boat elevator 17, and the wafer boat 18 (semiconductor wafer W) is unloaded from the reaction tube 11 (unloading step).

Next, the transfer device 3 transfers the semiconductor wafer W on which the silicon oxide film has been formed to the fork 3a of the transfer device 3.
Is inserted between the cooling plates 4b in the cooling unit 4 (cooling unit insertion step). Here, since the cooling unit 4 is disposed above the loading / unloading chamber 2, the transfer distance of the semiconductor wafer W does not increase, and the wafer transfer time can be shortened. Semiconductor wafer W
Is inserted between the cooling plates 4b, the semiconductor wafer W is cooled by the water flowing through the flow path 4c of the cooling plate 4b (cooling step).

Here, since the semiconductor wafer W is cooled while being mounted on the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3, the semiconductor wafer W is mounted on the transfer machine 3 in the cooling unit,
There is no need to place the cooled semiconductor wafer W on the transfer machine 3 again, and the wafer transfer time can be shortened.
Further, since the semiconductor wafer W heated to 600 ° C. is cooled without contacting other than the fork 3a, the semiconductor wafer W is hardly damaged, and particles are minimized.

Further, since the semiconductor wafer W is inserted between the cooling plates 4b, the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W are simultaneously cooled, so that the semiconductor wafer W can be cooled uniformly. For this reason, the semiconductor wafer W is less likely to receive thermal stress, and the semiconductor wafer W is more difficult to be damaged.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W cooled by the cooling unit 4 and the cooling time. As shown in FIG. 9, by inserting the semiconductor wafer W into the cooling unit 4 for 5 seconds, the semiconductor wafer W can be cooled to 60 ° C. or lower. Here, the semiconductor wafer W is set at 60 ° C.
The reason for cooling below is that when the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W is higher than 60 ° C., the cassette 7 for housing the semiconductor wafer W is unnecessarily heated, and organic degassing occurs from the cassette 7, and This is because there is a possibility that organic degassing may occur and that the cassette 7 may be thermally deformed.

When the semiconductor wafer W is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower, the semiconductor wafer W cooled by the transfer machine 3 is transferred and stored in the cassette 7 in the loading / unloading chamber 2 (cassette storing step). Then, the cooling unit transfer step, the cooling step, and the cassette transfer step are repeated until all the semiconductor wafers W stored in the wafer boat 18 are transferred into the predetermined cassette 7. When 25 semiconductor wafers W are stored in the predetermined cassette 7, the cassette 7 is unloaded by a cassette transfer device (not shown), and the semiconductor wafers W are continuously stored in the predetermined cassette 7.

Here, the wafer transfer time of the present embodiment will be compared with the conventional wafer transfer time. As the wafer transfer time, there are a transfer time until the semiconductor wafer W stored in the wafer boat 18 is transferred to a predetermined cassette 7 and a cooling time for cooling the semiconductor wafer W to 60 ° C. or less. The transfer time is longer than in the conventional case because it is inserted into the cooling unit 4 and cooled, but there is not so much difference since the transfer is performed while being mounted on the fork 3a of the transfer device 3. Further, in the present embodiment, since the cooling unit 4 is disposed above the loading / unloading chamber 2, the difference in the transport time can be further reduced. On the other hand, the cooling time, which conventionally took 10 minutes, can be reduced to 5 seconds × 30 times = 150 seconds (two and a half minutes) in the present embodiment, and the cooling time can be reduced to ４. Can be. For this reason, the wafer transfer time can be greatly reduced. In particular, the smaller the number of semiconductor wafers W accommodated in the wafer boat 18, the shorter the wafer transfer time can be.

The semiconductor wafer W at 600 ° C. was placed on the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3 to check whether the semiconductor wafer W was damaged. However, it was confirmed that the semiconductor wafer W was not damaged. .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the semiconductor wafer W is inserted into the cooling unit 4 with the semiconductor wafer W mounted on the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3, so that the semiconductor wafer W is damaged. Without this, the wafer transfer time can be shortened. Further, since the upper and lower surfaces of the semiconductor wafer W are simultaneously cooled, the semiconductor wafer W is harder to be damaged.

According to the present embodiment, since the semiconductor wafer W is cooled to 60 ° C. or lower, the outgassing of the organic system in the cassette 7 can be minimized.

According to the present embodiment, since the cooling unit 4 is disposed above the loading / unloading chamber 2, the transport time can be shortened. Further, since the cooling unit 4 is arranged such that the position of the semiconductor wafer W when cooling the semiconductor wafer W is different only in the height from the storage position of the semiconductor wafer W stored in the cassette 7, the fork is used. 3
a becomes easier to control. Further, the position of the semiconductor wafer W is less likely to shift.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified and applied. Hereinafter, other embodiments applicable to the present invention will be described.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking as an example the case where a silicon oxide film is formed on a semiconductor wafer W and the semiconductor wafer on which the silicon oxide film is formed is cooled. What is necessary is just to cool the processed object to a predetermined temperature. For example, the case where a thin film is formed on the object to be processed may be the case where a silicon nitride film is formed on the object to be processed, and the heating temperature may be, for example, 600 ° C.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking as an example the case where the cooling unit 4 is disposed above the loading / unloading chamber 2, but the cooling unit 4 may be disposed within the heat treatment system 1. . However, to shorten the transport time,
It is preferably arranged above or below the loading / unloading chamber 2.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described with an example in which cooling is performed by the cooling unit 4 for 5 seconds. However, the cooling time of the cooling unit 4 may be changed according to the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W. The semiconductor wafer W accommodated in the wafer boat 18 is transferred to the wafer boat 18 before being transferred by the transfer machine 3.
Since the temperature is lowered by cooling inside the semiconductor wafer W, for example, the relationship between the temperature of the semiconductor wafer W and the cooling time shown in FIG. ) May be determined. In this case, the wafer transfer time can be further reduced. Further, for example, when 150 wafers W are stored in the wafer boat 18, the first 50 wafers (the first number of transfer times to
The cooling time is 5 seconds until the 10th time, the cooling time is 4 seconds until the next 50 sheets (11th to 20th transfer times), and the last 50 sheets (21st to 30th transfer times). The cooling time of the cooling unit 4 may be changed according to the number of transfers of the transfer machine 3 so that the cooling time is 3 seconds. Also in this case, the wafer transfer time can be further reduced.

In the present embodiment, the semiconductor wafer W is
The present invention has been described by taking as an example the case of cooling the object to be cooled to 60 ° C. or less, but the present invention is not limited to the case where the object to be processed is cooled to 60 ° C. or less. It may be. Also in this case, the transfer time of the object can be shortened without damaging the object.
Further, depending on the material of the cassette 7 even when the temperature of the object exceeds 60 ° C., there is a small possibility that organic degassing is generated from the cassette 7 or a heat-resistant cassette exceeding 60 ° C. That's why.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking as an example a case where the semiconductor wafer W is transferred using a substantially square plate-like fork 3a. For example, the U-shaped fork 3a
May be used to transfer the semiconductor wafer W. in this case,
The lower side of the semiconductor wafer W can be efficiently cooled,
Further, there is no possibility that the semiconductor wafer W is damaged. When transferring the semiconductor wafer W, the temperature difference between the semiconductor wafer W and the fork 3a of the transfer machine 3 may be reduced by heating the fork 3a. In this case, there is no possibility that the semiconductor wafer W is further damaged.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described with an example in which five semiconductor wafers W are mounted on the transfer machine 3.
The number of semiconductor wafers W mounted on the transfer machine 3 is not limited to this. For example, when the number of semiconductor wafers W mounted on the transfer machine 3 is increased, the wafer transfer time can be further reduced.

In the present embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking as an example the case of a batch type vertical heat treatment apparatus having a double tube structure in which the reaction tube 11 is composed of an inner tube 12 and an outer tube 13 as the heat treatment device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a heat treatment apparatus having a single tube structure. The object to be processed is not limited to the semiconductor wafer W, but may be applied to, for example, a glass substrate for an LCD.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The transfer time of the object can be shortened without damaging the object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the heat treatment system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a transfer machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cooling unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a cooling plate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state where a semiconductor wafer mounted on a transfer machine is inserted into the cooling unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a recipe for explaining a method of forming a silicon oxide film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between a cooling time and a temperature of a semiconductor wafer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a conventional heat treatment system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 heat treatment system 2 loading / unloading room 3 transfer machine 3a fork 4 cooling unit 4b cooling plate 6 heat treatment device 7 cassette W semiconductor wafer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4K030 AA06 AA09 BA44 DA02 FA10 GA02 GA12 KA04 KA26 LA15 5F045 AB32 AC09 AD10 BB15 DP19 EC02 EJ02 EJ09 EN04

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A cooling unit for cooling an object to be processed to a predetermined temperature in order to house the object to be processed which has been heat-treated in a storage unit using a transfer machine, wherein: A cooling unit for cooling the object to be processed, wherein the cooling unit is configured to be insertable in a state where the object to be processed is mounted on the transfer machine, Cooling unit. 2. The cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit cools the object to be processed to 60 ° C. or less. 3. The cooling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls a cooling time of the processing object according to a temperature of the processing object. unit. 4. The cooling unit includes a plurality of cooling plates,
4. The cooling plate according to claim 1, wherein the cooling plate is arranged such that a workpiece placed on the transfer machine is inserted between the cooling plates. 5. Cooling unit for the object to be processed. 5. A transfer machine on which a plurality of workpieces are placed,
2. The cooling unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of workpieces mounted on the transfer machine are configured to be insertable.
5. The cooling unit for an object to be processed according to any one of items 4 to 4. 6. A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating an object to be processed, an accommodation section for accommodating the heat-treated object, a cooling unit for an object to be processed according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A heat treatment system for an object to be processed, comprising: a transfer device that transfers the object to be processed between the heat treatment apparatus, the housing unit, and a cooling unit for the object to be processed. 7. The heat treatment system for an object to be processed according to claim 6, wherein the cooling unit for the object to be processed is disposed above or below the accommodation section. 8. The cooling unit for the object to be processed, wherein the position of the object to be processed at the time of cooling is arranged so that only the height of the object to be processed is different from the accommodation position of the object to be accommodated in the accommodation part. The heat treatment system for an object to be processed according to claim 7. 9. A method for cooling an object to be processed, wherein the object to be processed is cooled to a predetermined temperature in order to store the object to be processed in a storage unit using a transfer machine. A method for cooling the object to be processed, wherein the object to be processed is inserted into a cooling unit while the object to be processed is mounted on the transfer machine, and the object to be processed is cooled. 10. The object to be processed is cooled to 60 ° C. or less.
The method for cooling an object to be processed according to claim 9, wherein: 11. The process according to claim 9, wherein the cooling time of the object is changed according to the temperature of the object.
Or the cooling method of an object to be processed according to item 10. 12. The object to be processed is cooled from both the upper surface side and the lower surface side thereof.
The method for cooling an object to be processed according to any one of the first to third aspects. 13. A plurality of objects to be processed are placed on the transfer machine,
The method for cooling an object to be processed according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the plurality of objects to be processed mounted on the transfer machine are cooled by one operation. 14. A loading step of loading an object to be processed into a reaction chamber of a heat treatment apparatus; a condition setting step of setting a temperature and a pressure of the reaction chamber loaded with the object to be processed; A heat treatment step of heat-treating the object to be processed by supplying a processing gas into the reaction chamber set at a pressure; an unloading step of unloading the heat-treated object from the reaction chamber; A cooling step of cooling the object to be processed by the method for cooling an object to be processed according to any one of claims 9 to 13, and an accommodation step of accommodating the cooled object to be accommodated in an accommodation unit. A method for heat treating an object to be processed.