JP2003068657A - Device and method for heat treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an object to be treated from being contaminated by particles by suppressing a by-product from being stuck closely to the end face of the air outlet of a treatment vessel. SOLUTION: In a heat treatment device 1 for applying prescribed heat treatment under a prescribed treatment gas environment, while housing a workpiece (w) to be treated in a treatment vessel 2 having an exhaust port 6, an exhaust pipe 7 is connected via an airtight material 29 to an end face 6a of the exhaust port 6, and an inner pipe 41 having a plurality of gas blowout parts 40 for blowing gases out of inner peripheral surfaces for suppressing by-products from sticking close to the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6 is provided within a prescribed range from the inside of the exhaust pipe 7 to the inside of the exhaust port 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus and a heat treatment method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacture of semiconductor devices, various heat treatment apparatuses are used for subjecting an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer to heat treatments such as oxidation, diffusion, CVD and annealing. In this heat treatment apparatus, a semiconductor wafer is housed in a processing container having an exhaust port, and a predetermined heat treatment such as a CVD process is performed in a predetermined process gas atmosphere.

In particular, when processing under reduced pressure is possible and the exhaust port is made of quartz, an exhaust pipe is connected to the end face of the exhaust port via an O-ring as a hermetic material. Specifically, a flange portion is provided at each of the connection ends of the exhaust port and the exhaust pipe, and an O-ring is provided between these flange portions. Further, in this case, in order to suppress thermal deterioration of the O-ring, it is necessary to provide a cooling unit, for example, a cooling water passage in the vicinity of the O-ring, for example, in the flange portion of the exhaust pipe.

[0004]

However, in the heat treatment apparatus, a large amount of heat is radiated to the outside from the connecting portion (flange portion) of the exhaust port and the exhaust pipe, and the temperature near the end face of the exhaust port is lowered. When the treated gas component in the exhaust gas comes into contact with the vicinity of the end face of the exhaust port, it is easily condensed and formed as a by-product. When the vicinity of the end face of the exhaust port is positively cooled by the cooling water passage, the by-products are more likely to adhere. By-products are attached near the end face of the exhaust port,
If these by-products become particles and flow back into the processing container, the semiconductor wafer may be contaminated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and is a heat treatment apparatus capable of preventing the by-products from adhering to the vicinity of the end face of the exhaust port of the processing container and preventing particle contamination of the object to be processed. And to provide a heat treatment method.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] Claim 1 of the present invention
The present invention is a heat treatment apparatus for accommodating an object to be processed in a processing container having an exhaust port and performing a predetermined heat treatment, wherein an exhaust pipe is connected to an end face of the exhaust port via an airtight material, The inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowing portions for blowing gas from the inner peripheral surface is provided in a predetermined range from the inside of the exhaust pipe to the inside of the exhaust port so as to suppress adhesion of by-products near the end face of the. As the airtight material, for example, a metal seal or an O-ring can be used. As the airtight material, one having heat resistance is used, but since the heat resistance is limited, it is preferable to provide a cooling part in the vicinity of the airtight material in order to suppress its thermal deterioration.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the exhaust pipe near the end face of the exhaust port is provided with a heating unit for heating to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed. Characterize.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the gas is an inert gas heated to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the gas is a cleaning gas.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, a tip end portion of the inner pipe on the exhaust port side is provided with a cylindrical extension portion extending from an outer periphery thereof toward the exhaust pipe. An airtight material is provided between the cylindrical extending portion and the inner circumference of the exhaust pipe so as to be close to the cooling portion.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, a gas is provided at the exhaust port side tip portion of the inner pipe so as to suppress adhesion of by-products between the inner periphery of the exhaust port. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tip end blowing portion that blows out.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus of the first aspect, the processing container has a vertical single tube structure, and an exhaust port is provided at the top thereof.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the object to be processed is housed in a processing container having a single-pipe structure, a predetermined processing gas is introduced from below, and a predetermined exhaust gas is exhausted from an exhaust port provided in the upper portion of the processing container. A heat treatment method for performing heat treatment, wherein an exhaust pipe is connected to an end surface of the exhaust port via an airtight material, and a cooling unit is provided in the vicinity of the airtight material, and an inner peripheral surface is within a predetermined range from the inside of the exhaust pipe to the inside of the exhaust port. An inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowing portions for blowing gas from the inner pipe is provided, and by flowing gas along the inner peripheral surface of the inner pipe, adhesion of by-products near the end face of the exhaust port is suppressed. To do.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing an essential part of the heat treatment apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inner pipe.
(A) is a sectional view of a front end member, (b) is a sectional view of an intermediate member, and (c) is a sectional view of a rear end member.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a vertical heat treatment apparatus,
The heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a processing container (process tube) 2 that accommodates a large number of objects to be processed, for example, semiconductor wafers w from below and performs a predetermined heat treatment, for example, a CVD process.
The processing container 2 has a vertical single-tube structure and is made of a material having heat resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, quartz glass.

The lower end of the processing container 2 is opened as a furnace opening, and a flange portion (opening flange portion) 4 is formed on the outer periphery of the furnace opening (opening) 3. The lower part of the processing container 2,
In the illustrated example, a gas introducing pipe 5 for introducing a processing gas or an inert gas for purging the inside of the processing container, for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas, is provided through the flange portion 4 in an airtight manner, and the gas introducing pipe 5 is provided. Is connected to a pipe (gas supply pipe) of a gas supply system (not shown) for supplying the processing gas and the inert gas at a predetermined flow rate. The upper end portion (top portion) of the processing container 2 has a reduced diameter, and a central portion of the processing container 2 rises upward and has an inverse L
An exhaust port (exhaust port) 6 having a shape is formed, and an exhaust system pipe (exhaust pipe) 7 described later is connected to the exhaust port 6.

A heater 8 for heating the wafer w in the processing container 2 to a predetermined heat treatment temperature is provided around the processing container 2. The heater 8 has a water cooling jacket 9 surrounding the processing container 2 and the upper part thereof, and a resistance heating element 10 is arranged on the inner circumference of the water cooling jacket 9. The water cooling jacket 9 includes a resistance heating element (upper heating section) 11 for heating the upper portion of the processing container 2 and a resistance heating element (exhaust port heating section) 12 for heating the periphery of the exhaust port 6.
Is provided.

The heater 8 has an annular bottom plate 13,
It is installed on the base plate 14 via the bottom plate 13. On the lower surface of the opening flange portion 4 of the processing container 2,
An annular support 15 is attached via a flange retainer 16, and this support 15 is attached to the bottom plate 13 of the heater 8 via an attachment member 17.

A large number of sheets, for example, 25 to 1 in the processing container 2
In order to mount and hold about 50 semiconductor wafers w at predetermined intervals in the height direction, the wafers w are held by a boat 18 made of, for example, quartz glass, which is a holder. A lid 19 made of, for example, SUS for sealing the furnace opening (opening) 3 of the processing container 2 is provided below the processing container 2.

On the lid 19, as heat insulation means (furnace mouth heat insulation means) for suppressing heat radiation from the furnace mouth 3 of the processing container 2,
In the illustrated example, a thermo plug 20 is provided. The thermoplug 20 is mainly composed of a plurality of pedestals 21 standing on the lid body 19 and a lower heating section 22 formed of a resistance heating element provided substantially horizontally on the upper ends of the pedestals 21. It is configured. In addition, a mounting table 2 for mounting the boat 18 above the thermoplug 20 on the lid 19.
3 is provided. The mounting table 23 has a column 24 that stands up from the center of the lid body 19 through the center of the thermoplug 20. A pillar 24 is provided below the lid body 19.
Rotation mechanism 2 for horizontally rotating the mounting table 23 via the
5 are provided.

Below the processing vessel 2, a lid mechanism 19 is moved up and down to open and close the lid body 19 and to carry in (load) and carry out (unload) the boat 18 from and into the processing vessel 2. And a loading area 27 which is a working area thereof. The upper surface of the lid 19 is preferably covered with a cover material 28 made of, for example, quartz glass in order to prevent corrosion due to contact with corrosive gas.

On the other hand, the exhaust pipe 7 is a horizontal pipe 30 connected to the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6 of the processing container 2 via an O-ring 29 which is an airtight material, and the elbow 3 to the horizontal pipe 30.
1 is provided with a vertical pipe 32 connected downward, and an exhaust trap 33 for trapping a by-product of the processing gas component from the exhaust gas is provided at the lower end of the vertical pipe 32. . Since the exhaust trap 33 is at the low position, maintenance such as element replacement can be easily performed. Since the processing container 2 has a single-tube upward exhaust structure and the exhaust port 6 is located at a high place, the by-product is postponed by a countermeasure for the by-product of the exhaust port 6 which will be described later, and the exhaust trap 3 at a low place is provided.
3, the maintenance of the exhaust port 6 and the maintenance of the exhaust trap 33 can be reduced, and the maintainability can be improved.

Downstream of the exhaust trap 33 of the exhaust pipe 7, a pressure variable valve 3 that can be opened and closed and the flow rate can be adjusted.
4, a decompression pump 35, etc. are provided so that the pressure inside the processing container 2 can be controlled to a predetermined decompression processing pressure.
The exhaust pipe 7 is, for example, a pipe made of SUS, preferably a pipe whose inner surface is coated with a fluorine resin coating material.

As shown in FIG. 2, flanges 36 and 37 are provided at the connection ends of the exhaust port 6 and the exhaust pipe 7, and an airtight material O is formed between the facing surfaces of the flanges 36 and 37. A ring 29 is provided, and a cooling water passage 39, which is a cooling unit for suppressing thermal deterioration, is provided near the O-ring 29. In the illustrated example, an O-ring 29 is provided on the flange portion 37 side of the exhaust pipe 7, and a cooling water passage 39 is provided close to the O-ring 29. The flange portions 36 and 37 are fastened together by a clamp mechanism (not shown).

In the heat treatment apparatus 1, the processing container 2
An exhaust port 6 is provided at the top of the exhaust port 6, and the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6 is
Since the vicinity is cooled by the cooling water passage 39 that cools the O-ring 29, not only the process gas components in the exhaust gas are likely to come into contact with each other to cause by-product adhesion, but also the by-product becomes particles. The exhaust port 6 may drop onto the wafer w in the processing container 2 and contaminate the wafer w. Therefore, in order to prevent the by-products from adhering to the vicinity of the end surface 6a of the exhaust port 6 of the processing container 2 and prevent particle contamination of the wafer w, a plurality of gas blowing portions 40 for blowing gas from the inner peripheral surface are provided. The inner pipe 41 is provided in the exhaust pipe 6, in the illustrated example, in a predetermined range from the horizontal pipe 30 to the exhaust port 6.

An annular gas passage 42 is formed between the inner pipe 41 and the inner circumference of the exhaust pipe (exhaust port 6 and horizontal pipe 30), and a gas such as an inert gas is formed in the gas passage 42 in the horizontal pipe 30. Preferably, a gas supply port (gas supply port) 43 for supplying nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is provided. A gas supply source is connected to the gas supply port 43 via a flow rate adjusting mechanism (not shown).

In order to prevent gas from leaking from both ends of the gas passage 42, exhaust pipes are provided at the exhaust port side front end (tip member) and the exhaust pipe side rear end (rear end member) of the inner pipe 41. O-ring 4 which is an airtight material that seals between the inner circumference of
4, 45 are provided. These O-rings 44, 45
The O-ring 29 is preferably made of a heat-resistant material such as a fluorine resin. Although the exhaust gas flowing from the inside of the processing container 2 into the exhaust pipe 7 through the exhaust port 6 has a high temperature inside the processing container 2, the temperature of the exhaust gas decreases by natural heat dissipation as it progresses through the exhaust passage in the flow direction. The ring 45 is less prone to thermal degradation, but the upstream O-ring 44 is prone to thermal degradation.
Therefore, in order to prevent thermal deterioration of the O-ring 44 at the exhaust port side tip portion, a tubular shape extending from the outer periphery to the exhaust pipe side (horizontal pipe side) is provided at the exhaust port side tip portion of the inner pipe 41. Extension 46
An O-ring 44 is provided between the cylindrical extension 46 and the inner circumference of the exhaust pipe 7 so as to approach the cooling water passage 39.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner pipe 41 has an annular tip member 41a arranged upstream in the exhaust gas flow direction and an annular rear end member 41 arranged downstream.
c, and a plurality of annular intermediate members 41b interposed between the front end member 41a and the rear end member 41c. A female screw portion 47 is provided on the inner circumference of the tip end side of the intermediate member 41b, and a male screw portion 48 having a screw pitch that can be screwed into the female screw portion 47 is provided on the outer circumference of the rear end side of the intermediate member 41b. Further, the female screw portion 47 is provided on the intermediate member 41b.
A plurality of vent holes 49 are provided in the circumferential direction on the downstream side adjacent to the.

The inner peripheral surface of the intermediate member 41b has a substantially horizontal flat surface 50 on the upstream side (positions of the female screw portion and the vent hole), but the tapered surface 5 on the downstream side has a gradually and gradually reduced diameter.
It is 1. An outer peripheral surface (step portion) 52 having a diameter smaller than that of the inner peripheral flat surface 50 on the tip side is formed on the downstream side of the intermediate member 41b adjacent to the male screw portion 47. With such a configuration, the female screw portion 47 of the one intermediate member 41b is formed.
The plurality of intermediate members 41b can be connected in the longitudinal direction by screwing the male screw portion 48 of the other intermediate member 41c into the longitudinal direction, and the gas entering the ventilation port 49 from the annular gas passage 42 can be connected to the one tip side. From the gap (gas blowing portion) 40 between the inner peripheral flat surface 50 and the other outer peripheral surface 52 on the rear end side to the inner pipe 4
The air is blown out to the downstream side along the inner peripheral surface of 1.

The rear end member 41c has a female screw portion 5 which is screwed to the male screw portion 48 of the intermediate member 41b on the inner circumference of the front end side.
3 is provided, and a plurality of vent holes 54 are provided in the circumferential direction on the downstream side adjacent to the female screw portion 53. A flange 55 is formed on the outer periphery of the rear end member 41c on the rear end side, and the O-ring 45 is provided between the flange 55 and the inner periphery of the horizontal pipe 30 to seal a gap therebetween. Has been done.

The tip member 41a includes an intermediate member 41b.
Is provided with an annular engagement groove 56 with which the distal end portion of the cylindrical extension portion 46 engages, and the cylindrical extension portion 46 extends from the outer periphery to the downstream side.
Is provided. The engagement groove 56 may be formed with a male screw portion with which the female screw portion 47 of the intermediate member 41b is screwed. The cylindrical extending portion 46 covers the outer circumference of one or several intermediate members 41b adjacent to each other, and the annular gas is provided between the outer circumference of the intermediate member 41b and the inner circumference of the cylindrical extending portion 46. An annular gas passage 57 communicating with the passage 42 is formed. The gas passage 5 is formed on the inner circumference of the tip member 41a.
A gap (gas blowout portion) 40 for blowing the gas, which has entered the vent hole 49 of the intermediate member 41b from 7 to the downstream side along the inner peripheral surface of the intermediate member 41b, is provided with the inner peripheral flat surface 50 of the intermediate member.
An extending portion 58 is formed between and.

Outer periphery of the tip member 41a and the cylindrical extension 4
The outer circumference of 6 is in contact with the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6 and the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30 on the inlet side. Further, a tapered portion 59 having a diameter gradually increasing toward the tip is formed on the inner periphery of the tip member 41a in order to smoothly introduce the exhaust gas from the exhaust port 6 into the inner pipe 41. In the illustrated example, the O-ring 44 is provided between the outer circumference of the downstream end of the tubular extension piece 46 and the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30.
In order to interpose, the step portion 60 having a diameter larger than that of the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30 is provided on the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30, but the O-ring 44 may be embedded in the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30. For example, the step portion 60 does not necessarily have to be provided.

Exhaust pipe near the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6,
That is, it is preferable that the outer periphery of the exhaust port 6 and the outer periphery of the horizontal pipe 30 are provided with heating units such as pipe heaters 61 and 62 for heating to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed, for example, about 250 ° C. In addition, the exhaust port 6 and the horizontal pipe 30
On the surface (rear surface) opposite to the facing surface of the flange portions 36, 37 of the same, for example, a similar heater, for example, the flange heaters 63, 6
4 is preferably provided. Further, it is preferable that the gas is an inert gas, for example, nitrogen gas, which is heated to a temperature at which the adhesion of by-products is suppressed.

Next, the operation and heat treatment method of the heat treatment apparatus having the above structure will be described. Loading area 27
When the transfer of the wafer w from the cassette (not shown) to the boat 18 is completed in FIG.
Then, the furnace opening 3 is airtightly closed by the lid 19.

Then, the inside of the processing container 2 is controlled to a predetermined pressure or vacuum degree by decompressing by an exhaust pipe 7 connected to an exhaust port 6, and a predetermined processing temperature is controlled by a heater 8 to perform processing in this state. A processing gas is introduced into the container 2 through the gas introduction pipe 5 to perform a predetermined heat treatment on the wafer w, for example, C.
Start VD processing. And when the heat treatment is finished,
If the introduction of the processing gas is stopped and the inside of the processing container 2 is purged by the introduction of the inert gas, the lid 19 is lowered to open the inside of the processing container 2 and the boat 18 is unloaded into the loading area 27. Good.

According to the heat treatment apparatus 1, since the processing container 2 has a single-tube structure and has a smaller heat capacity than that of a double-tube structure, the characteristics of the heater 8 capable of rapid temperature increase / decrease can be fully utilized. As a result, the processing capacity can be improved. Further, since the processing gas is introduced into the processing container 2 from the gas introduction pipe 5 provided on the lower side of the processing container 2 and the processing gas is exhausted from the exhaust port 6 provided at the top of the processing container 2, It is possible to form a straight and uniform gas flow (upflow) with no unidirectional or biased flow in the processing container 2 from the lower side to the in-plane uniform processing of the wafer w, thereby improving the yield and processing. The ability can be improved.

In particular, the exhaust pipe 7 is connected to the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6 via an O-ring 29, and the O-ring 29 is connected.
Is provided near the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6, and the exhaust pipe 7 is provided with an inner pipe 41 having a plurality of gas blowout portions 40 for blowing out gas from the inner peripheral surface in order to suppress adhesion of by-products near the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6. The inner pipe 4 is provided within a predetermined range from the inside to the exhaust port 6.
By adhering the by-product near the end surface 6a of the exhaust port 6 by flowing the gas along the inner peripheral surface of the by-product 1, the by-product near the end surface 6a of the exhaust port 6 of the processing container 2 is suppressed. Can be suppressed and particle contamination of the wafer w can be prevented, and the yield and the processing capacity can be improved.

Further, by providing a heating unit, such as pipe heaters 61 and 62, for heating the exhaust pipe near the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6 to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed, near the end face 6a of the exhaust port 6. By-product adhesion can be further suppressed, and the problem of particle contamination of the wafer w can be solved. Furthermore, if an inert gas heated to a temperature that suppresses the adhesion of by-products is used as the gas,
Adhesion of by-products near the end surface 6a of the exhaust port 6 of the processing container 2 can be further suppressed, and the problem of particle contamination of the wafer w can be solved.

4 and 5 are cross-sectional views showing modified examples of the inner pipe. In these figures, the same parts as those of the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, an O-ring is not provided between the tubular extension 46 at the tip of the inner pipe and the inner circumference of the horizontal pipe 30, and instead the O-ring is provided. The flange portion 46 is provided with a flange portion 65 that abuts and engages with the step portion 60 in the horizontal pipe 30. According to this
O-rings can be eliminated.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the cylindrical extension and the O-ring are not provided at the tip of the inner pipe 41. The outer circumference of the tip portion (tip member) of the inner pipe 41 is in contact with the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6, but a minute gap (tip) between the outer circumference of the tip portion of the inner pipe 41 and the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6 Blowing part) 6
By blowing out gas from 6, the adhesion of by-products in the gap 66 is suppressed. That is, since the tip end portion 66 of the inner pipe 41 is provided with a tip end blowout portion 66 for blowing out gas in order to suppress the adhesion of by-products between the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6 and the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6, Pipe 41
It is possible to suppress the attachment of the by-product that enters and adheres between the tip end portion and the inner circumference of the exhaust port 6.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various design changes and the like without departing from the scope of the present invention. Is possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a batch processing type vertical heat treatment apparatus is shown, but the present invention according to claim 1 is not limited to this, and for example, a horizontal heat treatment apparatus or a single wafer It is also applicable to a heat treatment apparatus of the type. Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which an exhaust port is provided at the top of the processing container to provide an upward exhaust structure, but the present invention according to claim 1 is not limited to this.
For example, it can be applied to a structure in which an exhaust port is provided below the processing container to form a downward exhaust structure. The heat treatment in the present invention includes, for example, oxidation, diffusion, annealing, etc. in addition to CVD. As the airtight material, other than the O-ring,
For example, a metal seal or the like may be used.

The gas supplied to the inner tube is inactive.
The gas is not limited to
Is also good. Examples of the cleaning gas include ClF_Three，
NF _Three, HCl, HF, F_Two, Cl_TwoCan be used. This
As a result, by-products near the end surface of the exhaust port of the processing container
It is possible to further suppress the adhesion of substances, and
It is possible to solve the problem of Kur's pollution. Also, the object to be processed
In addition to semiconductor wafers, for example, glass substrates and L
A CD substrate or the like is also applicable.

[0043]

In summary, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat treatment apparatus for accommodating an object to be processed in a processing container having an exhaust port and performing a predetermined heat treatment, wherein an airtight material is provided on an end face of the exhaust port. An exhaust pipe is connected via an inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowing portions for blowing gas from the inner peripheral surface in order to suppress adhesion of by-products in the vicinity of the end face of the exhaust port. Since it is provided in the processing container, it is possible to suppress adhesion of by-products near the end surface of the exhaust port of the processing container and prevent particle contamination of the object to be processed.

(2) According to the second aspect of the invention, since the exhaust pipe near the end face of the exhaust port is provided with a heating unit for heating the exhaust pipe to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed, Adhesion of by-products near the end face can be further suppressed.

(3) According to the third aspect of the invention, since the gas is an inert gas heated to a temperature that suppresses the adhesion of by-products, the by-products near the end surface of the exhaust port of the processing container are generated. It is possible to further suppress the adhesion of substances.

(4) According to the invention of claim 4, since the gas is a cleaning gas, it is possible to further suppress adhesion of by-products near the end surface of the exhaust port of the processing container.

(5) According to the fifth aspect of the invention, a cylindrical extension portion extending from the outer periphery to the exhaust pipe side is provided at the exhaust port side tip of the inner pipe, and the cylindrical extension is provided. Since an airtight material is provided between the outlet and the inner circumference of the exhaust pipe in close proximity to the cooling part, the tip of the inner pipe extending upstream from the end face of the exhaust port and the exhaust pipe The airtightness with the inner circumference can be ensured by the airtight material, and the thermal deterioration of the airtight material can be suppressed to improve the durability.

(6) According to the invention of claim 6, at the exhaust port side tip portion of the inner pipe, a tip end for blowing out gas so as to suppress adhesion of by-products between the inner periphery of the exhaust port. Since the blowout portion is provided, it is possible to suppress the attachment of the by-product that enters and attaches between the tip end portion of the inner pipe and the inner circumference of the exhaust port.

(7) According to the invention of claim 7, since the processing container has a vertical single pipe structure and an exhaust port is provided at the top thereof, the processing container has a double pipe lower side exhaust structure. Unlike the above, the characteristics of the heater can be fully utilized, the one-way flow of the processing gas can be prevented, and the processing capacity can be improved.

(8) According to the invention of claim 8, the object to be processed is housed in the processing container having a single-pipe structure, a predetermined processing gas is introduced from below, and the exhaust port is provided at the upper part of the processing container. A heat treatment method of exhausting and performing a predetermined heat treatment, wherein an exhaust pipe is connected to an end face of the exhaust port via an airtight material, and a cooling unit is provided in the vicinity of the airtight material, and the inside of the exhaust pipe is connected to the inside of the exhaust port. By providing an inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowout portions that blow out gas from the inner peripheral surface within a predetermined range, and by causing the gas to flow along the inner peripheral surface of the inner pipe, adhesion of by-products near the end surface of the exhaust port can be prevented. Due to the suppression, unlike the double-pipe lower side exhaust structure, the processing capacity can be improved and the problem of particles can be solved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the heat treatment apparatus.

3A and 3B are views showing a configuration of an inner pipe, FIG. 3A is a sectional view of a tip member, FIG. 3B is a sectional view of an intermediate member, and FIG. 3C is a sectional view of a rear end member.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the inner pipe.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the inner pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Heat treatment equipment w Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) 2 processing vessels 6 exhaust port 7 exhaust pipe 29 O-ring (airtight material) 39 Cooling water passage (cooling section) 40 Gas outlet 41 inner tube 44 O-ring (airtight material) 46 Cylindrical extension 66 Tip outlet

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01L 21/31 H01L 21/31 BF term (reference) 4K030 EA11 4K056 AA09 BA01 BB03 BB05 CA06 CA18 DC05 EA01 4K061 AA01 BA11 DA05 HA05 HA07 5F045 AA03 AA20 AB32 AF03 BB15 EF20 EG08

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A heat treatment apparatus for accommodating an object to be processed in a processing container having an exhaust port and performing a predetermined heat treatment, wherein an exhaust pipe is connected to an end face of the exhaust port via an airtight material, and the exhaust gas is exhausted. A heat treatment apparatus characterized in that an inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowing portions for blowing gas from the inner peripheral surface is provided in a predetermined range from the inside of the exhaust pipe to the inside of the exhaust port in order to suppress adhesion of by-products near the end face of the port. . 2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust pipe near the end surface of the exhaust port is provided with a heating unit for heating the exhaust pipe to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed. 3. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas is an inert gas heated to a temperature at which adhesion of by-products is suppressed. 4. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas is a cleaning gas. 5. A distal end portion of the inner pipe on the exhaust port side is provided with a cylindrical extension portion extending from the outer periphery thereof to the exhaust pipe side, and the tubular extension portion and the inner periphery of the exhaust pipe are provided. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an airtight material is interposed between the cooling section and the cooling section. 6. A tip end blow-out portion for blowing out gas is provided at a tip end portion of the inner pipe on the exhaust port side so as to suppress adhesion of by-products between the inner pipe and the inner circumference of the exhaust port. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1. 7. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing container has a vertical single tube structure, and the exhaust port is provided at the top thereof. 8. A heat treatment method in which an object to be processed is housed in a processing container having a single-pipe structure, a predetermined processing gas is introduced from below, and a predetermined heat treatment is performed by exhausting from an exhaust port provided at the top of the processing container. The exhaust pipe is connected to the end surface of the exhaust port via an airtight material, and a cooling unit is provided in the vicinity of the airtight material, and gas is blown from the inner peripheral surface from the inside of the exhaust pipe to a predetermined range inside the exhaust port. An inner pipe having a plurality of gas blowing parts is provided,
A heat treatment method characterized by suppressing the adhesion of by-products in the vicinity of the end face of the exhaust port by causing a gas to flow along the inner peripheral surface of the inner pipe.