JP2003060008A - Treatment apparatus, apparatus and method for transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treatment apparatus whose treatment efficiency is high and which can manufacture a high-quality semiconductor device, and to provide an apparatus and a method for a transfer which are used for the treatment apparatus. SOLUTION: The treatment apparatus is provided with a substrate-container mounting base on which a substrate container housing a plurality of substrates to be treated can be mounted, a first transfer chamber whose inside can be maintained at a first atmospheric pressure, a first group of treatment units which are arranged around the first transfer chamber and by which the substrates to be treated are treated under the first atmospheric pressure, a first transfer arm which is arranged and installed inside the first transfer chamber and by which the substrates to be treated are transferred, a second transfer chamber which is installed to be adjacent to the first transfer chamber and whose inside can be maintained at a second atmospheric pressure, a second group of treatment units which are arranged and installed around the second transfer chamber, and by which the substrates to be treated are treated under the second atmospheric pressure and a second transfer arm which is arranged and installed in the second transfer chamber. Two or more of the first transfer arm and/or the second transfer arm exist.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for processing a substrate to be processed such as a silicon wafer used in a semiconductor device, a transfer apparatus and a transfer method used in such a processing apparatus, and more specifically, to a transfer method. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for forming various thin films on the surface of a substrate to be processed, a transfer apparatus used for such a processing apparatus, and a transfer method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, various thin films such as an oxide film, a nitride film, and an oxynitride film are formed on a surface of a silicon wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) in a predetermined cross-sectional shape. Is widely used, and a device such as CVD is generally used to form such various thin films on a wafer. Further, as a method of stacking a plurality of thin film layers in multiple stages on a wafer, a method using a so-called multi-chamber type manufacturing apparatus in which a plurality of CVD units are connected in one transfer chamber is known. FIG. 28 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a typical multi-chamber type processing apparatus 300.

In this multi-chamber type processing apparatus 300, a plurality of film forming processing units 310 to 315 are radially arranged on the outer periphery of a transfer chamber 301 which is arranged substantially at the center of the apparatus, and is transferred. The transfer arm 3 is provided inside the chamber 301.
03, 304 are provided. In this processing apparatus 300, when the carrier cassette C containing a plurality of unprocessed wafers W is set on the mounting table 305 and activated, the sub arm 306 takes out the wafer W in the carrier cassette C and loads the load lock chamber 307. Once, and then the transfer arm 303 receives the wafer W and receives it from the transfer chamber 301.
Each of the processing units 310 to 31 is carried in in a predetermined order.
The wafer W is taken in and out between the transfer chamber 5 and the transfer chamber 301 and processed to form a plurality of thin films.

[0004]

By the way, in recent semiconductor devices, the number of thin films to be laminated is increasing, and the thin films are required to be thin. When the number of thin films increases in this way, it is not possible to form all thin films in one multi-chamber 300 even in the 6-chamber type processing apparatus 300 having six processing units as described above. Therefore, a plurality of 6-chamber type processing devices such as the processing device 300 are arranged side by side, and once the film formation in the first processing device is completed, the wafer W is once taken out and again loaded into the adjacent processing device and the subsequent processing is performed. A method of performing membrane treatment is adopted.

However, if the wafer W during film formation is exposed to the outside air from the processing atmosphere, an oxide film is formed on the surface of the wafer W, so that a step of removing the oxide film once is required, and there is a problem that the production efficiency is reduced. Since a thinner thin film is required, when the wafer W is taken out of the processing atmosphere,
There is also a problem that the thin film on the surface of the wafer W is deteriorated and the quality of the semiconductor device is deteriorated. Further, if two multi-chamber type processing apparatuses 300 are arranged side by side, there is a problem that the area occupied by the apparatuses increases and the equipment cost and eventually the manufacturing cost of the final product increase.

The present invention is an invention made to solve the above conventional problems. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus having high processing efficiency and capable of manufacturing a high quality semiconductor device, a transfer apparatus and a transfer method used for such a processing apparatus.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate container mounting table on which a substrate container containing a plurality of substrates to be processed can be mounted, and the substrate container mounting table. A first transfer chamber that is adjacent to the table and can maintain the inside at a first atmospheric pressure; and a first transfer chamber that is arranged around the first transfer chamber.
A first processing unit group that processes the substrate to be processed under the first atmospheric pressure; a first transfer arm that is disposed in the first transfer chamber and transfers the substrate to be processed; A second transfer chamber that is adjacent to the first transfer chamber and can maintain the inside at a second atmospheric pressure; and a second transfer chamber that is disposed around the second transfer chamber and that is exposed under the second atmospheric pressure. A second processing unit group for processing the processing substrate;
A second transfer arm disposed in the second transfer chamber, wherein two or more first transfer arms and / or second transfer arms are present. To do.

Further, the processing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a base container mounting table on which a base container for accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, and a base container mounting table adjacent to the base container mounting table to maintain the inside at a predetermined atmospheric pressure. And a transfer chamber that can be disposed around the transfer chamber,
Processing the substrate to be processed under the predetermined atmospheric pressure, one processing unit selected from the group consisting of a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit; and a titanium layer forming unit, Two or more tungsten layer forming units, one or more pre-cleaning processing units disposed around the transfer chamber for processing the substrate to be processed under the predetermined atmospheric pressure, and the transfer unit. It is characterized in that it is provided with three or more transfer arms which are arranged in the chamber and transfer the substrate to be processed.

Further, the processing apparatus according to the present invention is adjacent to the base container mounting table on which the base container for accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, and is maintained adjacent to the base container mounting table at a predetermined atmospheric pressure. A transfer chamber to be obtained, and arranged around the transfer chamber,
One processing unit selected from the group consisting of a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit, which processes the substrate to be processed under the predetermined pressure, a tantalum layer forming unit, and copper. Two or more layer forming units, one or more pre-cleaning processing units disposed around the transfer chamber for processing the substrate to be processed under the predetermined atmospheric pressure, and the transfer chamber. And three or more transfer arms for transferring the substrate to be processed.

Further, the processing apparatus according to the present invention is adjacent to the base container mounting table on which the base container for accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, and the inside of the base container mounting table is maintained at a predetermined atmospheric pressure. A transfer chamber to be obtained, and arranged around the transfer chamber,
A pre-cleaning processing unit, an alumina layer forming unit, a zirconium oxide layer forming unit, a zirconium silicate layer forming unit, a hafnium oxide layer forming unit, a hafnium silicate layer forming unit, a yttrium oxide layer for treating a substrate to be treated under the predetermined pressure. Forming unit, yttrium silicate layer forming unit, lanthanum oxide layer forming unit, lanthanum silicate layer forming unit, oxide film forming unit, nitride film forming unit, manganese film forming unit, niobium layer forming unit, aluminum layer forming unit, molybdenum layer forming unit , A zirconium layer forming unit, a vanadium layer forming unit, a cobalt layer forming unit, a rhenium layer forming unit, an iridium layer forming unit, a platinum layer forming unit, A processing unit selected from the group consisting of a tenium oxide layer forming unit, an annealing processing unit, and a tungsten layer forming unit, and three or more transfer arms arranged in the transfer chamber for transferring the substrate to be processed. It is characterized by including.

According to the present invention, since a large number of processing units are arranged around the transfer chamber, it is possible to provide a processing apparatus having an improved processing speed. In addition, since treatments with different pressure environments can be continuously performed through the transfer chamber, and it is not necessary to expose the substrate to be treated to the atmosphere, high quality treatment can be performed.

Further, the transfer apparatus according to the present invention comprises an arm that can be expanded and contracted and swung, and a substrate support member to be processed which is provided on the tip side of the arm and is asymmetric with respect to the expansion and contraction direction line. It is characterized by having.

According to the present invention, the substrate to be processed can be directly transferred between the transfer devices by using the above processing device, which contributes to the improvement of the processing efficiency of the processing device.

In the transfer method according to the present invention, there are two transfer arms which are respectively extendable and retractable and arranged adjacent to each other, and each transfer arm is directed toward the other transfer arm. A method of transferring a substrate to be processed between the transfer arms having a substrate supporting member to be processed that may have unevenness, wherein the substrate supporting member to be processed of one of the transfer arms is the other transfer arm. Of the transfer arm of the other transfer arm so that the protrusions and recesses of the base support member of the transfer arm are alternately arranged so that the protrusions and recesses of the other transfer arm are extended toward substantially the center of the rotation. Placing the substrate support member in a state of being extended in a direction away from the center of rotation of the one transfer arm,
In the above state, the substrate to be processed is transferred between the transfer arms.

Further, the transfer method according to the present invention includes two transfer arms which are respectively extendable and retractable and arranged adjacent to each other, and each transfer arm is directed toward the other transfer arm. A method of transferring a substrate to be processed between the transfer arms having a substrate support member to be processed that may have irregularities, wherein the irregularities of the substrate support member to be processed of each of the transfer arms are positioned alternately. As described above, the processed substrate supporting member of one of the transfer arms is set in a state of being extended in a direction deviated from the center of the rotation of the other transfer arm, and the transfer arm of the other transfer arm is Placing the substrate support member in a state of being extended in a direction away from the center of rotation of one of the transfer arms; and transferring the substrate to be processed between the transfer arms in the state. Characterized by comprising a step.

According to the present invention, the substrate to be processed can be directly transferred between the transfer devices, which contributes to the improvement of the processing efficiency of the processing device.

In the present application, the "processing unit" not specifically mentioned is not only one that exerts an action of causing some physical or chemical change to the substrate to be processed, but also, for example, the film quality of the substrate to be processed. Including those that measure and inspect various dimensions such as film thickness and particles.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As an embodiment of the present invention, the first or second processing unit group is selected from the group consisting of a supercritical cleaning unit, a reactive ion etching unit, and a sputter etching unit. Or it consists of two or more processing units.

Further, as an embodiment, the first or second processing unit group includes a titanium layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tungsten layer forming unit, a tantalum layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit,
Tungsten nitride layer forming unit, copper layer forming unit,
Alumina layer forming unit, zirconium oxide layer forming unit, zirconium silicate layer forming unit,
Hafnium oxide layer forming unit, Hafnium silicate layer forming unit, Yttrium oxide layer forming unit, Yttrium silicate layer forming unit, Lanthanum oxide layer forming unit, Lanthanum silicate layer forming unit, Oxide film forming unit, Nitride film forming unit, Manganese film forming unit , Niobium layer forming unit, aluminum layer forming unit, molybdenum layer forming unit, zirconium layer forming unit, vanadium layer forming unit, cobalt layer forming unit, rhenium layer forming unit, iridium layer forming unit, platinum layer forming unit, ruthenium oxide layer forming Unit and
It is one or more units selected from the group consisting of annealing units.

Further, as an embodiment, the first atmospheric pressure and the second atmospheric pressure are different from each other.

As an embodiment, the first or second processing unit group includes a titanium layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit,
And a unit selected from the group consisting of a tungsten nitride layer forming unit, the number of the titanium layer forming units, and a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. The ratio to the number of one unit selected from the group is 1: 1, 1: 2, 2: 3, or 1: 3.
Is.

As an embodiment, the first or second processing unit group is selected from the group consisting of a tantalum layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. And one unit selected from the group consisting of the tantalum layer forming unit, the tantalum nitride layer forming unit, the titanium nitride layer forming unit, and the tungsten nitride layer forming unit. The ratio with the number is 1: 1, 1: 2, 1: 3, 2:
It is 3,2: 1, 3: 2, or 3: 1.

Further, as an embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a processed substrate unloading section which is arranged around the second transfer chamber and which directly carries out the processed substrate after processing.

Further, as an embodiment, the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm has a frog leg shape.

Further, as an embodiment, a first load lock chamber connecting the first transfer chamber and the substrate container mounting table, the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber. And a second load lock chamber for connecting the above.

As an embodiment, the first load lock chamber and / or the second load lock chamber are
Also serves as an inspection module for the substrate to be processed.

Further, as an embodiment, at least one of the processing units included in the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group is an inspection module for a substrate to be processed.

Further, as an embodiment, the transfer chamber has a plurality of processing substrate relay stations to which at least two of the transfer arms are accessible.

As an embodiment, at least one of the units is vertically arranged with respect to the other units.

Further, as an embodiment, at least one of the processing units belonging to the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group has a table surface, and a processing table on which a substrate to be processed can be mounted. And a plurality of support pins for mounting / removing the substrate to be processed provided so as to be able to project and retract on the table surface of the mounting table, and the center position of the plurality of support pins is from the center position of the mounting table. Deviated.

Further, as an embodiment, the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm are capable of expanding and contracting and rotating, and the first processing unit group and the second processing unit group. The center of the turning is deviated from the front surface of the processing unit that is arranged at the closest position among the processing units belonging to the processing unit group.

Further, as an embodiment, the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm are extendable and retractable, and have a shape asymmetric with respect to the direction of extension and contraction. It has a substrate support member to be treated.

Further, as an embodiment, at least one of the processing units belonging to the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group has a table surface, and a mounting table capable of mounting a substrate to be processed on the table surface. And a plurality of support pins for mounting / removing the substrate to be processed, which are provided on the table surface of the mounting table so as to be retractable, and the plurality of support pins have the asymmetrically shaped substrate support member for processing. Accordingly, it is arranged on the mounting table so as not to interfere with the substrate support member to be treated.

Further, as an embodiment, the center positions of the plurality of support pins are displaced from the center position of the mounting table.

Further, as an embodiment, all the base members to be processed of the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm have substantially the same shape.

Further, as an embodiment, the transfer device is
The transfer mechanism further includes a second arm that is extendable and retractable and rotatable, and a second substrate support member that is provided on a tip end side of the second arm. The center position of rotation of the arm and the center position of rotation of the arm are both fixed.

As an embodiment, the transfer device is
The center of rotation of the arm and the second arm is arranged so that the substrate to be processed can be directly transferred by the expansion and contraction of the arm and the second arm.

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

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, a carrier cassette C as a container capable of storing a plurality of wafers W, for example, 25 wafers.
The base container mounting table 10 for mounting the substrate, the first transfer chamber 30 disposed on the back side thereof, and the first transfer chamber 30.
The second transfer chamber 50 is provided on the inner side of the.

A first processing unit group 60, 70 is arranged around the first transfer chamber 30, and a second processing unit group 80, 90, 100 is arranged around the second transfer chamber 50. , 11
0, 120, 130, 140, and 150 are arranged. The first transfer chamber 30 and the mounting table 10 are connected via the first load lock chambers 20 and 20, and the first transfer chamber 30 and the second transfer chamber 50 are connected to each other. The load lock chambers 40, 40 are connected to each other.

A plurality of carrier cassettes C, for example, four carrier cassettes C can be set on the mounting table 10, and a sub-arm 21 is arranged between the mounting table 10 and the first load lock chambers 20, 20. Installed with the carrier cassette C and the first
The wafer W is loaded into and unloaded from the load lock chambers 20 and 20.

Near the center of the first transfer chamber 30, a transfer arm 31 having a frog leg shape called a "frog leg arm" is arranged. Here, the "frog leg-shaped" transfer arm is composed of 5 sides as a whole, and is composed of 2 arms that are jointed on one side at the center.
It refers to a transfer arm having a shape supported by a set, and the two arms perform expansion / contraction and rotation (turning) together with the two facing arms (see FIGS. 9 and 10 below). As shown in FIG. 1, two frog leg arms can be provided back to back for each transfer arm 31. In that case, one of the two arms used for each frog leg arm can be used as the frog leg arm.

In this embodiment, this transfer arm 31
Constitutes a linear / rotational movement mechanism for linearly or rotationally moving the wafer holding members 31a, 31b arranged at a position corresponding to one side of the center. It should be noted that the number of wafer holding members is not limited to one and may be two on one side of the center of the transfer arm. When two holding portions are arranged, the two holding portions are not required. For example, it is possible to use a reversible structure in which they are arranged 180 degrees back to back and a dedicated drive motor is attached.

In the processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the preliminary cleaning units 60 and 70 are provided as a first processing unit group around the first transfer chamber 30, and the second transfer chamber 50 is provided. As the second processing unit group in the periphery of, one CVD unit 80 and 90 in total are provided on the left and right sides of the transfer chamber 50 from the front side to the back side.
4 ALD units, 2 on each side of 0
0, 110, 120 and 130 are respectively arranged,
Two CVD units 140 and 150 are arranged at the innermost position. Examples of the preliminary cleaning unit include a supercritical cleaning unit that uses a supercritical fluid, a known cleaning unit such as a reactive ion etching unit that cleans with a reactive gas, and a sputter etching unit that physically cleans by sputtering etching. Can be mentioned.

Inside the second transfer chamber 50, a plurality of second transfer arms 41, 42, 43 are arranged, and the wafer W is held between these second transfer arms 41-43. It may be delivered directly, or one or more transfer parts (not shown: at least two transfer arms of the transfer arms) arranged in the second transfer chamber 50 can be accessed. The wafer W may be delivered via a processing substrate relay station).

Of the second processing unit group, the two CVD units 80 and 90 arranged closest to each other.
Is a CVD unit for forming a titanium (Ti) layer, and four ALD units 100 to 130 arranged behind the CVD unit.
Is an ALD unit for forming a titanium nitride (TiN) layer, and the CVD units 140 and
Reference numeral 50 is a CVD unit for forming a tungsten (W) layer. ALD is Atomic Layer Dep
Abbreviation of position. Titanium layer or titanium nitride layer,
A sputtering unit can also be used for forming the tungsten layer.

Further, as a part of the processing unit group, an inspection module, for example, a module for inspecting each of film quality, film thickness, particles, dimension measurement or a plurality of inspections can be mounted. It is also possible to mount a processing unit having a built-in mechanism for performing these inspections. Further, the inspection module may be built in the load lock chamber 20 or 40.

Further, a load lock chamber is provided in place of a part of the processing units of the second processing unit group, and a substrate unloading means including the substrate container mounting table 10 is provided in connection with the load lock chamber. You may According to this
The processed substrate can be directly carried out from the transfer chamber 50.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the preliminary cleaning unit 60 according to this embodiment. The pre-cleaning unit 60 according to the present embodiment is a device that cleans the surface of a substrate to be processed such as the wafer W using carbon dioxide in a supercritical state. In this preliminary cleaning unit 60, a box-shaped processing chamber 60 that can be sealed
An introduction part 603 for introducing carbon dioxide in a supercritical state is provided in the inside of the unit 1. Carbon dioxide is a carbon dioxide source 6
04, pressurized by the compressor 607, heated by the heat exchanger 608, brought into a supercritical state, and introduced into the processing chamber 601 through the introduction unit 603. The surface of the wafer W placed on the susceptor 602 is cleaned by the carbon dioxide that has reached the supercritical state. The carbon dioxide introduced into the processing chamber 601 is discharged from the exhaust port 606 together with the by-product after the cleaning reaction.

In FIG. 2, the processing chamber 6 on the right side of the susceptor 602.
01 An opening 60 for loading and unloading the wafer W on the wall surface
1a is provided, and opening / closing of the opening 601a is performed by moving the gate valve 605 up and down in the figure. Figure 2
A first transfer arm (not shown) for transferring the wafer W is adjacently provided on the further right side of the gate valve 605, and the first transfer arm enters the processing chamber 601 through the opening 601a. The wafer W is loaded and unloaded and placed on the susceptor 602, and the processed wafer W is unloaded from the processing chamber 601.

FIG. 3 shows the CVD unit 8 according to this embodiment.
It is the vertical cross section which showed 0 typically. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing chamber 801 of the CVD unit 80 is formed in an airtight structure, for example, of aluminum. The processing chamber 801 includes a heating mechanism and a cooling mechanism (not shown). A gas introduction pipe 802 for introducing a gas is connected to the center of the upper portion of the processing chamber 801, and the inside of the processing chamber 801 and the gas introduction pipe 8
02 is communicated with. Further, the gas introduction pipe 802 is connected to the gas supply source 803. Then, the gas is supplied from the gas supply source 803 to the gas introduction pipe 802, and the gas is introduced into the processing chamber 801 through the gas introduction pipe 802. As this gas, various gases which are raw materials for forming a thin film are used, and an inert gas is used as a carrier gas when necessary.

A gas exhaust pipe 804 for exhausting the gas in the process chamber 801 is connected to the lower portion of the process chamber 801, and the gas exhaust pipe 804 is connected to an exhaust means (not shown) such as a vacuum pump. And the processing chamber 8 is provided by this exhaust means.
The gas inside 01 is exhausted from the gas exhaust pipe 804, and the inside of the processing chamber 801 is set to a desired pressure. The processing room 8
A susceptor 805 on which the wafer W is placed is arranged under the 01. In the present embodiment, the wafer W is placed on the susceptor 805 by an electrostatic chuck (not shown) having a diameter substantially the same as that of the wafer W. The susceptor 805 has a heat source means (not shown) internally provided.
The processing surface of the wafer W placed on it can be adjusted to a desired temperature.

In FIG. 3, the processing chamber 8 on the right side of the susceptor 805.
01 Opening 80 for loading and unloading the wafer W on the wall surface
1a is provided, and opening / closing of the opening 801a is performed by moving the gate valve 806 up and down in the figure. Figure 3
A second transfer arm (not shown) for transferring the wafer W is adjacently provided on the further right side of the gate valve 806, and the second transfer arm enters the processing chamber 801 through the opening 801a. The wafer W is loaded and unloaded and placed on the susceptor 805, and the processed wafer W is unloaded from the processing chamber 801. A shower head 807 as a shower member is arranged above the susceptor 805. The shower head 807 is formed so as to define a space between the susceptor 805 and the gas introduction pipe 802, and is made of, for example, aluminum.

The shower head 807 is formed such that the gas outlet 802a of the gas introduction pipe 802 is located at the center of the upper portion of the shower head 807, and the gas introduced into the processing chamber 801 is directly disposed in the processing chamber 801. It is installed in 807.

In the above, the example in which heat is used as the excitation energy of the CVD reaction has been described, but plasma discharge may be used as the excitation energy.

FIG. 4 shows the ALD unit 1 according to this embodiment.
It is a vertical cross-sectional view schematically showing 00. The structure of the ALD unit 100 is almost the same as that of the above-mentioned CVD unit except that the shower head is removed from the above-mentioned CVD unit and the chamber volume is made small, and the processing gas introduced into the processing chamber at the time of processing is introduced in a pulse shape, The biggest difference is that exhausting is repeated. By introducing the processing gas in a pulse shape and repeating the operation of exhausting it,
Deposition can be done layer by layer at the atomic level.

Next, steps for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 5
6 is a flowchart when manufacturing a semiconductor device using the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG.
(E) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state of the semiconductor device during manufacturing.

First, when the carrier cassette C accommodating 25 unprocessed wafers W is set on the mounting table 10 and the processing apparatus 1 is started, the sub-arm 21 accesses the carrier cassette C and the unprocessed wafers are processed. Take out the wafer W,
It is placed in the first load lock chamber 20 and the gate valve (not shown) on the placing table 10 side is closed. Next, the atmospheric pressure in the first load lock chamber 20 is raised to almost the same atmospheric pressure as that of the first transfer chamber 30, and the gate valve (not shown) on the transfer chamber side of the first load lock chamber 20 is opened. The first transfer arm 31 accesses the first load lock chamber 20 to take out the wafer W from the first load lock chamber 20 and carry it into the preliminary cleaning unit (supercritical cleaning unit) 60. As shown in FIG. 6A, the wafer W before the preliminary cleaning has an insulating layer 12, for example, a SiO ₂ layer formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the underlayer 11.
The entire surface of the wafer W on which is formed is covered with the natural oxide film 13.

Gate valve 60 of the preliminary cleaning unit 60
5 is closed and sealed, heated and pressurized, and when a predetermined state is reached, carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) in a supercritical state is supplied.

The natural oxide film 13 covering the entire surface of the wafer W is removed by the dissolving action of carbon dioxide that has reached the supercritical state (FIG. 6B). At this time, the oxide film remains on the surface 11a of the underlayer 11 exposed on the surface of the wafer W through the opening 12a on the insulating layer 12.

Next, the supply of carbon dioxide into the preliminary cleaning unit 60 is stopped, the first transfer arm 31 is accessed, the wafer W for which the preliminary cleaning has been completed is taken out, and the wafer W in the second load lock chamber 40 is removed. The gate valve (not shown) on the transfer chamber No. 1 side is opened, and the wafer W is loaded into the second load lock chamber 40. In this state, all the gate valves of the second load lock chamber 40 are closed and hermetically closed, and the atmospheric pressure in the second load lock chamber 40 is reduced to the same level as that of the second transfer chamber 50. Next, the gate valve on the second transfer chamber side of the second load lock chamber 40 is opened to access the second transfer arm 41, and the wafer W is taken out from the second load lock chamber 40 to form the titanium layer. It is carried into the CVD unit 80 of. In this state, the gate valve 8 of the CVD unit 80
06 is closed and sealed, and a titanium (Ti) layer is formed on the wafer W under predetermined temperature and pressure conditions (step 2).

At this time, titanium (T
By the reducing action of i), the residual oxide film attached to the underlayer 11 exposed on the wafer W is removed, and the underlayer surface appears. If the titanium (Ti) layer forming process is further continued in this state, as shown in FIG. 6C, the titanium (Ti) layer 14 is formed on the exposed underlying surface 11a, and the electrical characteristics of the underlying surface are improved. .

When the formation of the predetermined titanium (Ti) layer 14 is completed, the supply of the titanium layer forming gas is stopped, the gate valve 806 is opened, and the second transfer arm 41 is accessed in the CVD unit 80 to access the wafer. W is taken out, handed over to the second transfer arm 42 at the center, and carried into any one of the ALD units 100 to 130 arranged further inside, for example, the ALD unit 100. Again, the CV
By supplying a processing gas under a predetermined condition similarly to the D process, the titanium (Ti) layer 14 on the uppermost titanium (Ti) layer of the wafer W is deposited on the surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG. 6D.
N) Form layer 15 (step 3).

When the formation of the titanium nitride (TiN) layer 15 is completed, the supply of the titanium nitride layer forming gas is stopped, the gate valve 1006 is opened, and the second layer in the ALD unit 100 is opened.
The transfer arm 42 is accessed to take out the wafer W, the wafer W is transferred to the innermost second transfer arm 43, and the wafer W is carried into the CVD unit 140 or 150 disposed further on the inner side, for example, the CVD unit 140. . Here, as in the case of the CVD process, the process gas is supplied under a predetermined condition so that the uppermost titanium nitride (TiN) layer 1 of the wafer W is formed.
6 is formed by depositing tungsten (W) on the surface of FIG.
As shown in (e), tungsten (W) is formed on the surface of the wafer W.
Form layer 16 (step 4).

When the steps from the removal of the natural oxide film 13 to the formation of the tungsten (W) layer 16 are completed, the second transfer arms 43 to 41 and the second load lock chamber 4 are completed.
0, the first transfer chamber 30, and the first load-lock chamber 20 and then stored again in the carrier cassette C.

As described above, the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
Then, since the processing unit groups having different atmospheric pressures at the time of processing are connected through the load lock chamber, it is possible to perform the cleaning process performed under the high pressure condition to the film forming process performed under the low pressure condition without taking out the wafer W from the processing apparatus 1 even once. Since the processing can be performed continuously and consistently, the processing speed is high and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Particularly, in the processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, among the eight processing units forming the second processing unit group, the ALD unit for forming the titanium nitride (TiN) layer is 100, 110, 120, ALD, which has a slower processing speed than the CVD unit because it has four units
The processing time of the unit can be prevented from being the rate-determining step of the entire processing time. That is, in the case where a plurality of wafers W are continuously processed, when the ALD process is performed after the CVD process, the two wafers W that have undergone the CVD process are ALD processed.
By distributing the processing to the units, it is possible to prevent the ALD unit, which requires a long processing time, from being the rate-determining process, and it is possible to shorten the processing time of the entire second processing unit group.

Further, since it is not necessary to take out the wafer W from the processing apparatus during the film formation, the film during the production is not oxidized or deteriorated, and a high quality film can be obtained. Further, when the area efficiency of the processing apparatus and the series of processing speeds are respectively calculated and compared with the conventional one, the area efficiency is 25%,
It was found that the space saving and the time reduction can be achieved as compared with the case of using the conventional processing device with the processing speed of 50%. The results are shown in the graphs of FIGS. 7 and 8.

Here, a transfer arm 41 as a transfer device.
(42, 43, 31) will be further described. Figure 9
FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view showing a configuration example of the transfer arm 41. As shown in the figure, the transfer arm 41 includes a rotation center member 401, arms 402 and 403 supported horizontally about the rotation center member 401, and an arm 4.
02 and 403 have arms 404 and 405 horizontally connected and supported to the other ends, and a wafer support member (wafer holding member) 406 point-regulated and connected to both ends of the arms 404 and 405. The arms 402 and 403 are
If necessary, it is rotationally driven around a portion supported by the rotation center member 401 (hereinafter, this portion is simply referred to as the center).

At the ends outside the centers of the arms 402 and 403, another pair of arms (arms 404 and 40) is provided.
5) and a wafer supporting member (wafer supporting member corresponding to the wafer supporting member 406) are connected to the arm 40.
4, 405 and the wafer supporting member 406 may be provided back to back (this case is shown in FIG. 1).

FIG. 9B shows a case where the arms 402 and 403 are rotated so as to approach each other on the upper side of the drawing from the state of FIG. 9A. Thereby, the arms 404, 40
5 is projected from the center as shown in the drawing, and the wafer support member 406 at the end thereof is moved in the radial direction from the center.
Further, FIG. 9C shows the arm 40 from the state of FIG. 9A.
2 shows a case in which 2 and 403 rotate so as to approach each other on the lower side of the figure. As a result, the arms 404 and 405 are
As shown in the drawing, the wafer support member 406 at the end of the wafer support member 406 approaches the center and approaches the center.

From the above, it is understood that when the arms 402 and 403 are rotationally moved symmetrically, the wafer support member 406 linearly moves radially from the center of the rotation center member 401.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing by a chain line when the arms 402 and 403 rotate in the same direction (right rotation direction) from the state of FIG. 9A. FIG. 10 (b) is shown in FIG.
It is a figure which shows the case where the arms 402 and 403 rotate in the same direction (right rotation direction) from the state of (b) with a dashed-dotted line. FIG. 10C shows the arms 402, 4 from the state of FIG. 9C.
3 is a diagram showing a case where 03 rotates in the same direction (clockwise rotation direction) by a chain line. FIG.

From these, the arm 402 and the arm 403 are
When and move rotationally in the same direction, the wafer support member 40
It can be seen that No. 6 rotates (that is, turns) around the rotation center member 401. Further, it can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10 that the turning and the linear movement in the radial direction can be performed independently.

The plane shape of the wafer support member 406 is, for example, a "U" shape as shown in the drawing. This is to avoid interference between the wafer support member 406 and the vertically movable support pins that project and retract on the wafer mounting table when the wafer is loaded into and unloaded from the processing unit.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining an example of wafer transfer between transfer arms. In FIG. 11, one transfer arm is suffixed with “a” and the other transfer arm is suffixed with “b”.

As shown in the figure, when the wafer 407 is transferred from the transfer arm to the adjacent transfer arm, the wafer support member 406a and the wafer support member 406b are not contacted with each other with respect to the other transfer arm. Tilt. Then, for example, the transfer arm on the delivery side moves in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top so that the wafer 407
The supported transfer arm is changed. This allows
The transfer of the wafer 407 can be completed without the transfer arms interfering with each other. When the wafer 407 is transferred without tilting as described above, the wafer support members 406a and 406b naturally come into contact with each other, but they have the same shape as the transfer arms and are symmetrical to each other. Because of the shape of.

In the above description, it is described that "the two transfer arms are inclined with respect to each other". However, if at least one of the transfer arms is slightly inclined, the transfer arms are prevented from interfering with each other. Wafer 40
7 can be handed over.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the transfer arm and the processing unit. When the wafer 407 is transferred while avoiding the interference between the transfer arms as described with reference to FIG. 11, the wafer 407 and the wafer supporting member 406 are inevitably obtained.
The supporting positional relationship with and becomes asymmetric (see FIG. 11). Therefore, in relation to the processing unit,
It is necessary that the asymmetrically supported wafer 407 be taken in and out of the processing unit without any inconvenience. Particularly, in that case, a problem is a positional relationship with a support pin for delivery, which is provided on a mounting table in the processing unit so as to be retractable.

FIG. 12A shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
The support pins 409 a for transfer provided on the mounting base 08 are placed near the center of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer supporting member 406. In this way, even if the wafer support member 406 is asymmetrically supported with respect to the wafer 407, the interference with the support pins 409a is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the support pins 409a can be performed without any trouble.

FIG. 12B shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
The transfer support pins 409b provided on the base plate 08 are arranged so as to be offset from the center of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer support member 406. Even in this case, the interference between the wafer support member 406 and the support pins 409a is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the support pins 409b can be performed without any trouble.

FIG. 12C shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
The transfer support pins 409c provided on the mounting base 08 are arranged near the edge of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer support member 406. Even in this case, the interference between the wafer support member 406 and the support pin 409a is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the support pin 409c can be performed without any trouble.

13 (a), 13 (b) and 13
FIG. 12C shows a configuration similar to that of FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C, and the position of the processing unit (and thus the position of the mounting table 408A). Is moved by an amount corresponding to the asymmetrical support position of the wafer support member 406 with respect to the wafer 407 (that is, the center of rotation of the transfer arm with respect to the front face of the processing unit which is arranged at the position closest to the transfer arm). (Therefore, the orientation of the transfer arm when accessing the processing unit is substantially perpendicular to the processing unit as shown). With such an arrangement of the processing units, in the relationship between the transfer arm and the processing units, the wafer 407 can be taken in and out without taking into account the asymmetric support position of the wafer supporting member 406 with respect to the wafer 407.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of transferring another wafer between the transfer arms. In FIG.
One transfer arm is suffixed with "a", and the other transfer arm is suffixed with "b".

As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, wafer supporting members 406Aa and 406A provided with transfer arms are provided.
The shape of b is asymmetric with respect to the center line (extending / contracting direction line) of the transfer arm. According to the wafer supporting members 406Aa and 406Ab having such a shape, even if the wafer supporting members 406Aa and 406Ab are brought closer to the counterpart transfer arm as a transfer arm, the contact can be avoided as shown in the figure. Then, for example, the transfer arm supported on the wafer 407 is changed by moving the transfer arm on the delivery side from the bottom to the top in the vertical direction. As a result, the transfer of the wafer 407 can be completed without the transfer arms interfering with each other. In this form, the adjoining transfer arms have the same shape as the transfer arms, but since each of them has a laterally asymmetrical shape, it is possible to avoid the interference between the two as described above.

Incidentally, in order to avoid the interference at the time of transferring the wafer 407, it is also possible to adopt a method in which the adjacent transfer arms have different shapes. For example, one is a "U" shaped wafer support member and the other is a "W" shaped wafer support member. This is because if “U” and “W”, the irregularities are staggered.

Even if the adjoining transfer arms have different shapes as the transfer arms, and at least one of them has a bilaterally asymmetrical shape, it is possible to avoid the interference between the two. For example, there is a case where one of them has a bilaterally symmetric shape (for example, the shape shown in each drawing of FIG. 9) and the other has an asymmetric shape with respect to the center line of the transfer arm.

FIGS. 15 (a), 15 (b) and 15 (c) correspond to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a transfer arm and a processing unit in the case of the transfer arm shown in FIG. In the case of the wafer support member 406A having a shape that avoids the interference between the transfer arms as described in FIG. 14, the position of the transfer support pin and the wafer support member 406A that are provided so as to be retractable on the mounting table in the processing unit. Relationships need to be an issue. This is because the supporting positional relationship between the wafer supporting member 406A and the wafer 407 is asymmetric as shown in FIG.

FIG. 15A shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
A support pin 409a for transfer provided on 08 is placed near the center of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer support member 406A. In this way, the wafer 407
On the other hand, even if the supporting position of the wafer supporting member 406A is asymmetric, the interference with the supporting pin 409a is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the supporting pin 409a can be performed without any trouble.

FIG. 15B shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
The transfer support pins 409b provided on the mounting base 08 are arranged so as to be offset from the center of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer support member 406A. Even with this,
The interference between the wafer support member 406A and the support pin 409b is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the support pin 409b can be performed without any trouble.

FIG. 15C shows the mounting table 4 of the processing unit.
The support pins 409c for transfer provided on the mounting base 08 are arranged near the edge of the mounting table 408 so as not to interfere with the wafer supporting member 406A. Even in this case, the interference between the wafer support member 406A and the support pin 409c is eliminated, and the vertical movement of the wafer 407 by the support pin 409c can be performed without any trouble.

In the above, the direct transfer of the wafer by the transfer arms has been described. However, as is well known, a relay table (the shape is not limited to a trapezoid, and in that sense, a substrate relay station for processing) is used. Of course, the wafer may be indirectly transferred from the transfer arm to the adjacent transfer arm.

(Second Embodiment) The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 16 is a plan view of the processing device 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, in the processing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, the base container mounting table 10 on which the carrier cassette C that stores the wafer W is mounted, and the first transfer chamber disposed on the back side thereof. 30 and further a second transfer chamber 50 is provided on the back side of the first transfer chamber 30.

The first transfer chamber 30 is arranged around the first transfer chamber 30.
The two processing unit groups are the pre-cleaning processing units 160 and 170 arranged on the left and right, and the two CVD units provided on the inner side of these pre-cleaning processing units 160 and 170.
The units 180 and 190 are included. Of these, the preliminary cleaning processing units 160 and 170 are reactive clean units that operate under a low vacuum, and the CVD unit 18
0 and 190 are CVs that form a tantalum nitride (TaN) layer
It is a D unit. Reference numeral 32 is a transfer arm.

On the other hand, the second processing unit group disposed around the second transfer chamber 50 is a sputtering unit, and the two units on the front side are sputtering units for forming a tantalum (Ta) layer. 200 and 210, and two groups on the back side are sputtering units 220 and 230 for forming a copper (Cu) layer.
The base sputtering units 200, 210, 220 and 230 are all processing units operating under high vacuum.

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view of the preliminary cleaning unit 160 according to this embodiment. The preliminary cleaning unit 160 according to this embodiment is a reactive clean unit, and is an apparatus that cleans the surface of a substrate to be processed such as the wafer W using a cleaning gas.

Hydrogen gas (H ₂ ) and halogen-containing gas (N
The cleaning gas such as F ₃ ) is introduced into the processing chamber 1601 from the gas supply source 1604 together with the carrier gas. Then, the cleaning gas is excited and activated by the upper electrode 1603. As a result, the surface of the substrate to be processed such as the wafer W on the susceptor 1602 is cleaned by utilizing the chemical reaction. Note that in FIG. 17, an upper electrode 1603 for generating plasma is used.
Is disposed in the processing chamber 1601.
The coil may be arranged outside the chamber, or the excited active species may be introduced from outside the processing chamber. Further, by arranging the lower electrode, the excited active species may be attracted onto the object to be processed, or the lower electrode may not be arranged in order to reduce damage on the object to be processed. The reference numeral 1606 indicates the wafer W.
It is a gate valve that moves in and out.

FIG. 18 is a vertical sectional view schematically showing the sputtering unit 200 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 18, this sputtering unit 200
The processing chamber 2001 has a structure that can be hermetically sealed, and discharge gas can be introduced into the processing chamber 2001 to maintain a high vacuum state.

A substrate holder 2002 is provided at the center bottom of the sputtering chamber 2001, and a wafer W is placed on the substrate holder 2002 for processing. A target 2003 is held on the upper side of the substrate holder 2002 via an electrode 2004, the discharge gas is excited by a voltage applied from the electrode 2004 under high vacuum, and the excited positive ions are emitted to the target surface. Upon collision, target atoms are emitted to the outside and deposited on the surface of the wafer W to form a layer of a desired material on the surface of the wafer W. In addition,
Reference numeral 2005 is a gate valve for loading and unloading the wafer W.

In this embodiment, sputtering units 200 and 210 for forming a tantalum (Ta) layer using tantalum (Ta) as a target and sputtering for forming a copper (Cu) layer using copper (Cu) as a target. The units 220 and 230 are mounted as the second processing unit.

Next, steps for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment will be described. 19 is a flowchart for manufacturing a semiconductor device using the processing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state of the semiconductor device during manufacturing.

First, when the carrier cassette C accommodating a plurality of unprocessed wafers W is set on the base container mounting table 10 and the processing apparatus 2 is started, the sub-arm 21 accesses the carrier cassette C and the unprocessed wafers are unprocessed. The wafer W is taken out, placed in the first load lock chamber 20, and the gate valve (not shown) on the mounting table side is closed. Next, the atmospheric pressure in the first load lock chamber 20 is reduced to almost the same atmospheric pressure as that of the first transfer chamber 30, and the gate valve on the transfer chamber side of the first load lock chamber 20 is opened.

The first transfer arm 31 accesses the inside of the first load lock chamber 20 to access the first load lock chamber 2
The wafer W in 0 is taken out and carried into the preliminary cleaning unit (reactive clean unit) 160. As shown in FIG. 20A, the wafer W before the pre-cleaning is made of copper (C
An insulating layer 12A, for example, a SiO ₂ layer is formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the underlying wiring layer 11A made of u). The entire surface of the wafer W on which the insulating layer 12A is formed is the natural oxide film 1
It is covered with 3A.

Gate valve 1 of pre-cleaning unit 160
606 is closed and sealed, and when a predetermined pressure and temperature are reached, a cleaning gas is supplied. The cleaning gas excited and activated by the high-frequency power source or the like chemically reacts with the natural oxide film 13A on the surface of the wafer W, and as shown in FIG.
The native oxide film 13A covering the entire surface of the wafer W is removed (step 1). In the case of sputter etching,
The processing gas in the preliminary cleaning unit 160 is kept under a constant pressure and temperature condition so that the processing gas in the pre-cleaning unit 160 is transferred to the wafer W on the susceptor.
The surface of the wafer W is cleaned by colliding with the surface. At this time, the processing gas molecules collide with the surface of the wafer W, and as shown in FIG. 20B, the natural oxide film 13A covering the entire surface of the wafer W.
Are removed.

Next, the supply of the cleaning gas into the preliminary cleaning unit 160 is stopped, the gate valve 1606 of the preliminary cleaning unit 160 is opened to access the first transfer arm 31, and the wafer W for which the preliminary cleaning has been completed is It is taken out and further transferred to the first transfer arm 32 arranged on the back side. At this time, it may be directly delivered to the first transfer arms 31 to 32, or may be delivered via one or two or more transfer units (relay stand) arranged in the first transfer chamber 30. Good.

Thereafter, the CVD unit or the ALD unit 18 adjacently provided on the back side of the preliminary cleaning unit 160.
The first transfer arm 32 is moved into the space 0, and the wafer W is mounted on the susceptor. A gate valve of the CVD unit or the ALD unit is closed and a processing gas is supplied under a predetermined condition to form a desired material layer, which is a tantalum nitride (TaN) layer 14A in this embodiment, on the surface of the wafer W (step 2). In this step, as shown in FIG.
A tantalum nitride (TaN) layer 14A is formed on the surface.

Then, the gate valve of the CVD unit or the ALD unit is opened, and the CVD unit or the ALD unit is opened.
The first transfer arm 32 accesses the inside of the unit 180 to take out the wafer W on which the tantalum nitride (TaN) layer 14A has been formed, and the gate valve (on the first transfer chamber side of the second load lock chamber 40) (Not shown) is opened, and the wafer W is placed therein. In this state, all the gate valves on the first transfer chamber side of the second load lock chamber 40 are closed and hermetically closed, and the air pressure inside the second load lock chamber 40 is reduced to the same level as that of the second transfer chamber 50. Let

Next, the gate valve on the second transfer chamber side of the second load lock chamber 40 is opened to open the second transfer arm 41.
To access the wafer W from the second load lock chamber 40 and carry it into the sputtering unit 200 for forming a tantalum (Ta) layer. In this state, the gate valve 2005 of the sputtering unit 200 is closed and sealed, and the tantalum (Ta) layer 15A is formed on the wafer W under a predetermined temperature and pressure condition (step 3). At this time, on the surface of the wafer W, the tantalum (Ta) layer 15A is formed on the surface of the tantalum nitride (TaN) layer 14A (FIG. 20).
(D)) The adhesion and wettability of the seed layer 16A of the copper (Cu) layer, which is the wiring layer to be formed next, are improved.

When the formation of the predetermined tantalum (Ta) layer 15A is completed, the supply of the processing gas and the application of the voltage are stopped,
Gate valve 2005 of sputtering unit 200
Then, the second transfer arm 41 is accessed in the sputtering unit 200 to take out the wafer W, and the wafer W is carried into the sputtering unit 220 for forming a copper (Cu) layer disposed on the back side.

Here again, the sputtering unit 20
As in the case of 0, by supplying the processing gas and applying the voltage under the predetermined condition, the tantalum (Ta) of the uppermost layer of the wafer W is obtained.
Copper is deposited on the layer 15A to form a copper (Cu) layer 16 as a seed layer on the surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG.
Form A (step 4). Thus, the natural oxide film 13
When the steps from the removal of A to the formation of the copper (Cu) layer 16A are completed, the second transfer arm 41, the second load lock chamber 4
0, first transfer chamber 30, first transfer arms 32 and 3
(1) It is housed in the carrier cassette C again via the first load lock chamber 20.

As described above, the processing apparatus 2 according to this embodiment
Then, since the processing unit groups having different atmospheric pressures at the time of processing are connected through the load lock chamber, the wafer W is once taken out from the processing apparatus 2 from the film forming process performed under the low vacuum to the film forming process performed under the high vacuum. Can be processed consistently and continuously without Therefore, the processing speed is high and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

During the film formation, the wafer W is removed from the processing apparatus 2.
Since it is not necessary to take out the film, the film in the process of manufacture is not oxidized or deteriorated, and a high quality film can be obtained.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 21 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the outline of the processing device 3 according to the embodiment of FIG. In the processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment, instead of the supercritical cleaning unit used as the preliminary cleaning units 60 and 70 in the first processing apparatus 1, cleaning is performed with the processing gas,
The reactive ion etching units 61 and 71 are used. These reactive ion etching units 61,
71 is a CVD unit 80, 90,
140, 150 and ALD units 100, 110, 12
It is arranged around the same transfer chamber 30A as 0 and 130. Note that reference numerals 33, 34, 35 and 36 are transfer arms.

Reactive ion etching unit 61,
Since 71 is used under reduced pressure, such a unit layout is possible. As described above, in the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, since a large number of processing units are arranged around one transfer chamber 30A, a processing apparatus having higher area efficiency can be obtained.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 22 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the outline of the processing device 4 according to the embodiment of FIG. The processing apparatus 4 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 23 can be continuously performed by combining the processing units described above. 24 (a) to 24 (f) and FIGS. 25 (a) and 25 (b).
FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the wafer W in the process of processing.

When the processing is performed by the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the unprocessed wafer W is first processed in the preliminary cleaning unit 240.
It is brought in. At this stage, the surface of the wafer W is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the natural oxide film 1 is formed on the base 11B.
3B is formed. When the pre-cleaning process is performed in the pre-cleaning unit 240 (step 1), the natural oxide film 13B on the surface of the wafer W is removed and the state shown in FIG. 24 (b) is obtained.

Then, the wafer W is annealed to the annealing unit 2
Then, it is transferred to the inside of 50, where an annealing treatment which is a heat treatment after the preliminary cleaning is performed (step 2). In this heat treatment step, the residue 19B such as a fluorine-based substance is removed (FIG. 24 (c)). Then, the wafer W after the annealing treatment is transferred into the interfacial oxide film forming unit 260, and the silicon oxide film 14B is formed in the interfacial oxide film forming unit 260 (step 3, FIG. 24 (d)). The interfacial oxide film 14B formed here is for improving the electrical characteristics of the interface of the wafer W.

Next, the wafer W after the interface oxide film 14B is formed
Is transferred to the nitride film forming unit 270, and the surface of the interfacial oxide film 14B is nitrided in the nitride film forming unit 270 to form the nitride film 15B (step 4, FIG. 24).
(E)). The nitride film 15B is a barrier layer for the upper and lower layers. Then, the wafer W on which the nitride film 15B is formed is transferred into the gate insulating film forming unit 280.

The gate insulating film forming unit 280 includes an alumina layer forming unit, a zirconium oxide layer forming unit, a zirconium silicate layer forming unit, a hafnium oxide layer forming unit, a hafnium silicate layer forming unit, a yttrium oxide layer forming unit, a yttrium silicate layer. Any of a layer forming unit, a lanthanum oxide layer forming unit, and a lanthanum silicate layer forming unit is mentioned. In this gate insulating film forming unit, the gate insulating film 16B is formed on the nitride film 15B on the surface of the wafer W (step 5, FIG. 24 (f)).

After the formation of the gate insulating film 16B is completed,
The wafer W is transferred from the gate insulating film forming unit to the annealing processing unit 290, in which the gate insulating film 1 is transferred.
6B heat treatment is performed (step 6). The gate insulating film 16B is modified in the heat treatment process of the gate insulating film 16B.

After the heat treatment of the gate insulating film 16B is completed, the processed wafer W is transferred from the annealing processing unit 290 to the gate electrode barrier film forming unit 400. The gate electrode barrier film formed here is for the barrier of the gate insulating film 16B and the gate electrode to be formed next. As the barrier film forming unit 400, specifically, a manganese film forming unit, a niobium layer forming unit,
Any one of an aluminum layer forming unit, a molybdenum layer forming unit, a zirconium layer forming unit, a vanadium layer forming unit, a cobalt layer forming unit, a rhenium layer forming unit, an iridium layer forming unit, a platinum layer forming unit, and a ruthenium oxide layer forming unit. Is mentioned. This barrier film forming unit 400
The gate electrode barrier film 17B is formed therein (step 7, FIG. 25A).

After the formation of the gate electrode barrier film 17B is completed, the processed wafer W is processed into the gate electrode forming unit 41.
Then, the gate electrode 18B is formed here (step 8, FIG. 25B). The gate electrode forming unit 410 is a unit for forming a film of a gate electrode, and specific examples thereof include a tungsten layer forming unit and an aluminum layer forming unit. When the series of steps described above is completed, the processed wafer W is unloaded from the processing apparatus 4.

In the processing apparatus 4 according to the present embodiment, as described above, the processing of 8 steps can be continuously performed without exposing to the atmosphere, so that the film in the process of manufacture is not oxidized or deteriorated, and high quality is obtained. The film of Further, since a large number of processing units are arranged around one transfer chamber, it is possible to obtain a processing apparatus having higher area efficiency.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 26 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
26A and 26B are diagrams showing a schematic configuration of the processing device 5 according to the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 26A is a plan view and FIG. 26B is a side view. In the processing apparatus 5 according to the present embodiment, the processing unit group arranged around the transfer chamber 50 in the fourth processing apparatus 4 is arranged in two upper and lower stages. That is, the transfer chamber 50 is extended in the vertical direction, and accordingly, the transfer arm 33 is configured to be able to rotate and expand and contract, and to be moved up and down in the vertical direction slightly.

Around the lower side of the transfer chamber 50, three units of a preliminary cleaning unit 240, an annealing processing unit 250 and an interface oxide film forming unit 260 are arranged,
Five units of a nitride film forming unit 270, a gate insulating film forming unit 280, an annealing unit 290, a gate electrode barrier film forming unit 400, and a gate electrode forming unit 410 are arranged on the upper side of the transfer chamber 50.

Further, the layout is such that the upper unit is located between two adjacent units in the lower stage so that the lower unit and the upper unit do not interfere with each other. With such a layout, there is an advantage that work such as maintenance and inspection of each unit on the lower stage side is easy.

As described above, in the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, since a large number of processing units are arranged in two stages around one transfer chamber 50, a processing apparatus having higher area efficiency can be obtained. it can. Further, by arranging a unit having a relatively low height in each processing unit, for example, an ALD unit in the lower stage, the lifting range of the transfer arm 33 can be minimized, and further maintenance from the upper surface of the unit can be performed. By making the structure unnecessary, it becomes possible to arrange the units in the upper and lower stages in a stacked manner.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 27 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a top view of the processing apparatus 6 which concerns on embodiment of FIG. In the processing apparatus 6 according to the present embodiment, six processing units U1 to U6 are arranged around the first transfer chamber 30, and the second transfer chamber 5 is provided.
Six processing units U7 to U12 are arranged around 0,
Twelve processing units U1 to U1 in one processing device 5
2 were arranged. As described above, in the processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, since a large number of processing units are arranged around one transfer chamber, a processing apparatus having a higher area efficiency can be obtained, and further, a longer process can be performed in the atmosphere. Since the film can be continuously processed without being exposed to water, a high quality film can be obtained without oxidation or deterioration of the film in the process of production.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, three specific steps of manufacturing the semiconductor device are illustrated in the flow charts. The present processing apparatus can be applied to other steps by using, for example, an etching unit, an ashing unit, an ion implantation unit, a heat treatment unit, a cleaning unit, a coating and developing unit other than the processing unit described in each of the above embodiments. it can. Furthermore, for example LC other than semiconductors
It can also be applied to the manufacture of D devices.

[0130]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Since a large number of processing units are arranged around the transfer chamber, it is possible to improve the processing speed and provide a processing apparatus with high area efficiency. Further, since the processing unit group is divided into a plurality of processing spaces arranged for each processing environment and these are connected to form one processing device, the processing efficiency is improved and a high quality semiconductor device can be manufactured. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a processing device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a preliminary cleaning unit of the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a CVD unit of the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of an ALD unit of the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for manufacturing a semiconductor device with the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device by the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a graph comparing the area efficiency of the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment with that of a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a graph comparing the processing speed of the processing apparatus according to the first embodiment with that of a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration and a stretching operation of a transfer arm applicable to the processing device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the turning operation of the transfer arm shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining the transfer of the substrate to be processed by the two transfer arms shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining the loading / unloading operation of the substrate to be processed into / from the processing unit by the transfer arm shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining another loading / unloading operation of the substrate to be processed into / from the processing unit by the transfer arm shown in FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the transfer of a substrate to be processed by two transfer arms different from the transfer arms shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 15 is a view for explaining the operation of loading / unloading the substrate to be processed into / from the processing unit by the transfer arm shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view of a reactive clean unit of the processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the sputtering unit of the processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart for manufacturing a semiconductor device with the processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device by the processing apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the processing device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of the processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a process flow diagram when the processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is operated.

FIG. 24 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device manufactured by the processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device manufactured by the processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, which is a continuation view of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a plan view of the processing apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a plan view of the processing apparatus according to the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 28 is a plan view of a conventional 6-chamber type processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing apparatus 2 ... Processing apparatus 3 ... Processing apparatus 4 ... Processing apparatus 5 ... Processing apparatus 6 ... Processing apparatus 10 ... Substrate container mounting base 11 ... Underlayer 11a ... Underground surface 11A ... Underground wiring layer 11B ... Underground 12 ... Insulating layer 12a … Aperture 1
2A ... Insulating layer 13 ... Natural oxide film 13A ... Natural oxide film
13B ... Natural oxide film 14 ... Titanium layer 14A ... Tantalum nitride layer 14B ... Silicon oxide film 15 ... Titanium nitride layer 15A ... Tantalum layer 15B ... Nitride film 16 ... Tungsten layer 16A ... Seed layer 16B ... Gate insulating film
17B ... Gate electrode barrier film 18B ... Gate electrode 19
B ... Residue 20 ... Load lock chamber 21 ... Sub-arm 30 ... Transfer chamber 30A ... Transfer chamber 31, 32, 33, 3
4, 35, 36 ... Transfer arm 40 ... Load lock chamber
41, 42, 43 ... Transfer arm 50 ... Transfer chamber 60 ...
Preliminary cleaning unit 61 ... Reactive ion etching unit 31a, 31b ... Wafer holding member 80, 90
... CVD unit 100, 110, 120, 130 ...
ALD unit 140, 150 ... CVD unit 1
60, 170 ... Preliminary cleaning unit 180, 190 ... C
VD unit 200, 210 ... Sputtering unit 220, 230 ... Sputtering unit 240
… Preliminary cleaning unit 250… Annealing unit 2
60 ... Interface oxide film forming unit 270 ... Nitride film forming unit 280 ... Gate insulating film forming unit 290 ...
Annealing unit 400 ... Gate electrode barrier film forming unit 401 ... Rotation center members 402, 403, 4
04, 405 ... Arms 406, 406a, 406b ...
Wafer support member 406A, 406Aa, 406Ab ...
Wafer support member 407 ... Wafers 408, 408A ...
Tables 409a, 409b, 409c ... Support pins 41
0 ... Gate electrode forming unit 601 ... Processing chamber 601
a ... Opening portion 602 ... Susceptor 603 ... Introduction portion 60
4 ... Carbon dioxide source 605 ... Gate valve 606 ... Exhaust port 607 ... Compressor 608 ... Heat exchanger 801
... Processing chamber 801a ... Opening portion 802 ... Gas introduction pipe 80
2a ... Gas outlet 803 ... Gas supply source 804 ... Gas exhaust pipe 805 ... Susceptor 806 ... Gate valve 80
7 ... Shower head 1006 ... Gate valve 160
1 ... Processing chamber 1602 ... Susceptor 1603 ... Upper electrode 1604 ... Gas supply source 1606 ... Gate valve 2
001 ... Sputtering chamber 2002 ... Substrate holder 2
003 ... Target 2004 ... Electrode 2005 ... Gate valve C ... Carrier cassette U1, U2, U3,
U4, U5, U6, U7, U8, U9, U10, U1
1, U12 ... Processing unit W ... Wafer

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Toshikazu Kumai             TBS release, 5-3-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo             Sending Center Tokyo Electron Limited F-term (reference) 5F031 CA01 DA01 FA01 FA07 FA11                       FA12 FA14 FA15 GA44 GA47                       GA50 HA16 HA33 HA37 MA02                       MA04 MA13 MA15 MA28 MA32                       MA33 NA05 NA09

Claims (27)

[Claims] 1. A substrate container mounting table on which a substrate container accommodating a plurality of substrates to be processed can be mounted, and a first transfer which is adjacent to the substrate container mounting table and can maintain the inside at a first atmospheric pressure. A mounting chamber, a first processing unit group disposed around the first transfer chamber and processing the substrate to be processed under the first atmospheric pressure, and disposed in the first transfer chamber. A first transfer arm for transferring the substrate to be processed; a second transfer chamber that is adjacent to the first transfer chamber and can maintain the inside at a second atmospheric pressure; A second processing unit group disposed around the transfer chamber and processing the substrate to be processed under the second atmospheric pressure; and a second transfer arm disposed in the second transfer chamber. 2. The processing apparatus, wherein the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm are present in two or more. 2. The first or second processing unit group includes one or more processing units selected from the group consisting of a supercritical cleaning unit, a reactive ion etching unit, and a sputter etching unit. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The first or second processing unit group includes a titanium layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tungsten layer forming unit, a tantalum layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a tungsten nitride layer forming unit, Copper layer forming unit, alumina layer forming unit, zirconium oxide layer forming unit, zirconium silicate layer forming unit, hafnium oxide layer forming unit, hafnium silicate layer forming unit, yttrium oxide layer forming unit, yttrium silicate layer forming unit, lanthanum oxide layer forming Unit, lanthanum silicate layer forming unit,
Oxide film forming unit, nitride film forming unit, manganese film forming unit, niobium layer forming unit, aluminum layer forming unit, molybdenum layer forming unit, zirconium layer forming unit, vanadium layer forming unit, cobalt layer forming unit, rhenium layer forming unit, The processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is one or more units selected from the group consisting of an iridium layer forming unit, a platinum layer forming unit, a ruthenium oxide layer forming unit, and an annealing treatment unit. 4. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first atmospheric pressure and the second atmospheric pressure are different from each other. 5. The first or second processing unit group is one selected from the group consisting of a titanium layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. A unit, and the ratio of the number of the titanium layer forming unit to the number of the one unit selected from the group consisting of a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. But 1: 1, 1: 2
2. The ratio is 2: 3 or 1: 3.
The processing device according to. 6. The first or second processing unit group is one selected from the group consisting of a tantalum layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. A unit, and a ratio of the number of the tantalum layer forming unit to the number of the one unit selected from the group consisting of a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit. But 1: 1, 1: 2
The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing ratio is 1: 3, 2: 3, 2: 1, 3: 2, or 3: 1. 7. The processing substrate unloading unit, which is arranged around the second transfer chamber and is used to directly carry out the processed substrate after processing, is further characterized in that: Processing equipment. 8. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm has a frog leg shape. 9. A first load lock chamber that connects the first transfer chamber and the base container mounting table, and a first load lock chamber that connects the first transfer chamber and the second transfer chamber. Two
The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 10. The processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the first load lock chamber and / or the second load lock chamber also serves as an inspection module for a substrate to be processed. 11. The at least one processing unit among the processing units included in the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group is an inspection module for a substrate to be processed. The processing device according to. 12. A substrate container mounting table on which a substrate container containing a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, a transfer chamber which is adjacent to the substrate container mounting table and can maintain the inside at a predetermined atmospheric pressure, One selected from the group consisting of a titanium nitride layer forming unit, a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit, which is arranged around the transfer chamber and processes the substrate to be processed under the predetermined atmospheric pressure. At least two processing units, at least two titanium layer forming units, and at least two tungsten layer forming units are disposed around the transfer chamber and process the substrate to be processed under the predetermined atmospheric pressure. 2. The processing apparatus comprising: the pre-cleaning processing unit and the three or more transfer arms that are disposed in the transfer chamber and transfer the substrates to be processed. 13. A substrate container mounting table on which a substrate container containing a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, a transfer chamber adjacent to the substrate container mounting table and capable of maintaining the inside at a predetermined atmospheric pressure, One process selected from the group consisting of a tantalum nitride layer forming unit, a titanium nitride layer forming unit, and a tungsten nitride layer forming unit, which is disposed around the mounting chamber and processes the substrate to be processed under the predetermined pressure. A unit, a tantalum layer forming unit, and two or more copper layer forming units, and one or two or more units arranged around the transfer chamber for treating the substrate to be treated under the predetermined atmospheric pressure. A processing apparatus comprising: a pre-cleaning processing unit; and three or more transfer arms arranged in the transfer chamber for transferring substrates to be processed. 14. A substrate container mounting table on which a substrate container containing a plurality of substrates to be processed is mounted, a transfer chamber adjacent to the substrate container mounting table and capable of maintaining the inside at a predetermined atmospheric pressure, A pre-cleaning treatment unit disposed around the mounting chamber for treating the substrate to be treated under the predetermined pressure, an alumina layer forming unit, a zirconium oxide layer forming unit, a zirconium silicate layer forming unit, a hafnium oxide layer forming unit, Hafnium silicate layer forming unit, yttrium oxide layer forming unit, yttrium silicate layer forming unit, lanthanum oxide layer forming unit, lanthanum silicate layer forming unit, oxide film forming unit, nitride film forming unit,
Manganese film forming unit, niobium layer forming unit, aluminum layer forming unit, molybdenum layer forming unit,
Zirconium layer forming unit, vanadium layer forming unit, cobalt layer forming unit, rhenium layer forming unit, iridium layer forming unit, platinum layer forming unit,
A processing unit selected from the group consisting of a ruthenium oxide layer forming unit, an annealing processing unit, and a tungsten layer forming unit; and three or more transfer arms arranged in the transfer chamber for transferring the substrate to be processed. A processing device comprising: 15. The transfer chamber includes a plurality of substrate transfer stations to be processed which are accessible to at least two transfer arms of the transfer arms.
14. The processing device according to any one of 14. 16. The processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the units is vertically arranged with respect to the other units. 17. A mounting table, wherein at least one of the processing units belonging to the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group has a table surface and a substrate to be processed can be mounted on the table surface. And a plurality of support pins for mounting / removing the substrate to be processed, which are provided on the table surface of the mounting table so as to be retractable, and the center positions of the plurality of supporting pins are displaced from the center position of the mounting table. The processing device according to claim 1, wherein: 18. The first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm is extendable / contractible and rotatable, and the first processing unit group / the second processing unit group is The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a center of the turning is deviated with respect to a front surface of a processing unit belonging to the closest position. 19. The substrate support for processing, wherein the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm are extendable and retractable and asymmetric with respect to the direction of extension and contraction. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a member. 20. A mounting table, wherein at least one of the processing units belonging to the first processing unit group or the second processing unit group has a table surface and a substrate to be processed can be mounted on the table surface. A plurality of support pins for mounting / removing the substrate to be processed, which are provided on the table surface of the mounting table so as to be retractable. 20. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the processing apparatus is arranged on the mounting table so as not to interfere with the processing substrate supporting member. 21. The processing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the center positions of the plurality of support pins are displaced from the center position of the mounting table. 22. The processed substrate supporting members of the first transfer arm and / or the second transfer arm are all substantially the same in shape.
The processing device according to. 23. A transfer, comprising: an extendable and retractable arm, and a substrate support member to be processed, which is provided at a tip end side of the arm and has an asymmetrical shape with respect to the extension and contraction direction line. apparatus. 24. A transfer mechanism further comprising: a second arm that is extendable / contractible and rotatable, and a second substrate support member to be processed, which is provided on a tip end side of the second arm. 24. The transfer device according to claim 23, wherein a center position of rotation of the second arm and a center position of rotation of the arm of the mechanism are both fixed. 25. The center of rotation of the arm and the second arm is arranged so that the substrate to be processed can be directly transferred by the expansion and contraction of the arm and the second arm. The transfer device according to claim 24. 26. Supporting a substrate to be processed, which is two transfer arms that are respectively extendable and retractable and are arranged adjacent to each other, and each transfer arm may have unevenness in a direction toward the other transfer arm. A method of transferring a substrate to be processed between the transfer arms having a member, wherein the substrate supporting member to be processed of one of the transfer arms is directed to substantially the center of the rotation of the other transfer arm. The transferred substrate supporting member of the other transfer arm is placed in the expanded state, and the unevenness of the processed substrate supporting member of each of the transfer arms is alternately arranged so that the unevenness of the transferred arm is positioned on one of the transfer arms. And a step of transferring the substrate to be processed between the transfer arms in the state where the arm is extended in a direction deviated from the center of rotation of the arm. Method. 27. Supporting a substrate to be processed, which is two transfer arms that are respectively extendable and retractable and are arranged adjacent to each other, and each transfer arm may have unevenness in a direction toward the other transfer arm. A method of transferring a substrate to be processed between the transfer arms having a member, wherein one of the transfer arms is arranged such that the irregularities of the substrate to be processed supporting members of the respective transfer arms are positioned alternately. Of the target substrate support member of the other transfer arm is extended in a direction deviated from the center of rotation of the other transfer arm, and the target substrate support member of the other transfer arm is set to one of And a step of placing the transfer arm in a state in which the transfer arm is extended in a direction away from the center of the rotation, and a step of transferring the substrate to be processed between the transfer arms in the state. Transfer method according to symptoms.