JP2003258063A - Substrate treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a substrate-retaining tool from easily falling down and from being damaged in a substrate treatment apparatus that has a plurality of substrate-retaining tools and the replacement function of the substrate- retaining tool. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate treatment apparatus is equipped with a treatment chamber for treating a substrate, the substrate-retaining tool 13 for retaining the substrate in the treatment chamber, a mount section 12 for mounting the substrate-retaining tool, a lock member 50 that is relatively rotatably provided to the mount section, and can be engaged with and disengaged with the substrate-retaining tool by relative rotation, and a rotary section 32 for relatively rotating the lock member and the mount section. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a required process such as CVD, dry etching and sputtering on a substrate to be processed such as a silicon wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus equipped with a conventional vertical reactor, particularly a two-boat exchange type substrate processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

A cassette stage 2 is provided on the front surface of the housing 1, and the cassette stage 2 communicates with the inside of the housing 1 via a shutter 3.

A cassette opener 4 is provided in front of the inside of the housing 1 so as to face the cassette stage 2. A cassette stocker 5 is provided above the cassette opener 4, and the cassette stocker 5 and the cassette opener are provided. A cassette loader 6 is provided between the cassette stage 4 and the cassette stage 2.

A boat elevator 7 which is a boat elevating means is provided on one rear side of the inside of the casing 1, and a raising and lowering arm 8 extending horizontally from the boat elevator 7 is provided with a seal cap 9 which is a seal cap 9. The furnace opening of the reaction furnace 11 forming the processing chamber is closed. The seal cap 9 is provided with a boat mounting portion 12 (described later), and a substrate holder (hereinafter, boat) 13 for holding a substrate to be processed (hereinafter, wafer) 10 in a horizontal posture in multiple stages is provided on the boat mounting portion 12. The boat mounting portion 12 is mounted so that the boat 13 can rotate.

A boat exchanging device 14 is provided on the other inner rear side of the casing 1 so as to face the boat elevator 7, and between the boat exchanging device 14, the boat elevator 7 and the cassette opener 4. A substrate transfer machine 15 is provided.

The cassette stage 2 transfers and receives the cassette 16 between an external transfer device (not shown) and the cassette loader 6, and the cassette loader 6 traverses.
It can be moved up and down and moved back and forth, and the cassette 16 of the cassette stage 2 is transferred to the cassette opener 4 and the cassette stocker 5. The cassette opener 4
Opens and closes the lid of the cassette 16.

The substrate transfer machine 15 can move up and down, advance and retreat, and rotate, and the cassette 16 on the cassette opener 4 can be moved.
Then, the wafer 10 is transferred between the boat 13 held by the boat exchanging device 14.

The boat exchanging device 14 has two boat supporting arms 17 and 18, and the boat supporting arms 17 and 18,
Reference numeral 18 is independently rotatable and can be moved up and down, and the boat 13 is moved between a wafer transfer position A, a boat transfer position B, and a wafer cooling position C. Boat mounts 19 and 20 are provided at the wafer transfer position A and the wafer cooling position C, and the boat 13 is mounted on each of them.

The boat mounting portion 12 receives the boat 13 holding the unprocessed wafers 10 at the boat transfer position B from the boat exchanging device 14, and the boat elevator 7 causes the boat 13 to move the boat 13 to the processing chamber of the reaction furnace 11. Is charged to.

In the reaction furnace 11, the wafer 10 is heated and a required processing gas is introduced into the processing chamber to process the substrate. The boat 13 is rotated during the wafer processing to improve the uniformity of film formation.

When the processing is completed, the boat elevator 7
Draws the boat 13 from the reaction furnace 11 to the boat transfer position B, and transfers the boat 13 to the boat exchange device 14.

A boat 13 for holding processed wafers 10
Is moved to the wafer cooling position C, placed on the boat stand 20 and cooled to a predetermined temperature. Meanwhile, the boat 13 holding the unprocessed wafer 10
Is moved from the wafer transfer position A to the boat transfer position B, is transferred to the boat mounting portion 12, and is loaded into the reaction furnace 11 by the boat elevator 7.

When the processed wafer 10 is cooled to a predetermined temperature at the wafer cooling position C, the boat exchanging device 14 causes the boat 13 holding the processed wafer 10 to be held.
Is moved to the wafer transfer position A and placed on the boat stand 19.

The substrate transfer machine 15 delivers the processed wafer 10 from the boat 13 at the wafer transfer position A to the cassette 16 on the cassette opener 4. When the processed wafer 10 is loaded in the cassette 16, the cassette 16 is transferred to the cassette stage 2 by the cassette loader 6 and further transferred by an external transfer device.

The cassette 16 loaded with the unprocessed wafer 10 is transferred to the cassette opener 4 by the cassette loader 6, and the substrate transfer machine 15 transfers the unprocessed wafer 10 from the cassette 16 to the wafer transfer position A.
Transfer to an empty boat 13 at.

Thus, the processing of the wafer 10 is repeatedly executed.

In the substrate processing apparatus, there is a step of exchanging two boats, and the boat mounting section 12 and the boat holders 19 and 20 are simply mounted on the boat 13 so that the boat 13 can be easily exchanged. The structure is only placed.

The structure of the boat mounting portion 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

The seal cap 9 is the lifting arm 8
When the boat 13 is charged into the reaction furnace 11, the furnace opening of the reaction furnace 11 is hermetically closed. A boat rotation motor 21 is provided on the lower surface of the elevating arm 8. A rotation shaft 22 of the boat rotation motor 21 penetrates the elevating arm 8 and the seal cap 9 in an airtight manner, and an upper end portion thereof is fixed to the boat mounting portion 12. A recess 23 is formed at the center of the boat mounting portion 12. A short cylindrical boat seat 25 is formed on the boat bottom plate 24 of the boat 13, and a convex portion 26 that engages with the concave portion 23 is formed at the center of the boat seat 25.

The boat 13 is mounted on the boat mounting portion 12, and the convex portion 26 engages with the concave portion 23, so that the boat 13 is aligned with the boat mounting portion 12. Be matched. By driving the boat rotation motor 21, the boat 13 is rotated via the rotation shaft 22 and the boat mounting portion 12.

The structure of the boat stand 19 will be described with reference to FIG. The structure of the boat stand 20 is the same as that of the boat stand 19.

A plurality of struts 28 are erected on a seat plate 27 fixed to the floor surface of the housing 1, and the boat seat 2 is mounted on the struts 28.
9 are supported. On the upper surface of the boat receiving seat 29, a concave portion 31 that engages with the convex portion 26 of the boat bottom plate 24 is formed.

The boat 13 is mounted on the boat receiving seat 29, and the projection 26 engages with the recess 31 to be aligned.

[0025]

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, since the processing is executed by the two boats 13 and 13, when the wafer processing is being performed on one boat, the processing is performed on the other boat. On the other hand, since the wafer transfer operation is performed, there is an advantage that the time is not wasted and the throughput is improved. On the other hand, the boat 1
It is necessary to replace the boat 3 as described above.
Has a structure that is simply mounted on the boat mounting portion 12. Similarly, the boat holders 19 and 20 are simply mounted.

Therefore, if the operator accidentally hits the boat 13 during maintenance, the operator may fall, and if a large external force such as an earthquake acts, the operator may also fall.

The boat is made of quartz, is fragile, is a precision-processed product, and is expensive, and falling over and damaging it is a great loss.

In view of the above situation, the present invention prevents the boat from easily falling and prevents damage to the boat.

[0029]

According to the present invention, there is provided a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a substrate holder for holding the substrate in the processing chamber,
A mounting portion on which the substrate holder is mounted, a lock member provided so as to be rotatable relative to the mounting portion and disengageable from the substrate holder by relative rotation, the lock member and the mounting member. A plurality of substrate holders for holding the substrates in multiple stages, and
A processing chamber for processing the substrate held by the substrate holder, an elevating means for mounting the substrate holder on a mounting portion and loading and unloading the substrate holder into the processing chamber, and the substrate holder. The substrate holder elevating means includes at least one table having a placing part for mounting the substrate holder, and an exchanging device for exchanging the substrate holder between the table and the substrate holder elevating means. At least one of the placing part and the placing part of the stand, and a lock member which is provided so as to be rotatable relative to the placing part and which can be disengaged from the substrate holder by relative rotation.
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus provided with a rotating unit that relatively rotates the lock member and the placing unit.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the basic structure of the substrate processing apparatus in which the present invention is carried out is the same as that shown in FIGS. Further, FIG. 1 shows a boat mounting portion 12 of the boat elevator, and in FIG.
The same parts as those shown in are given the same reference numerals.

A seal cap 33 is provided on the elevating arm 8 (see FIG. 7) extending horizontally from the boat elevator 7 (see FIG. 7). Below the seal cap 33, a boat rotation mechanism 32 having a boat lock mechanism is provided.

A motor holder 34 is fixed to the lower surface of the seal cap 33, and a speed reducer 35 is attached to the lower surface of the motor holder 34. A hollow outer rotary shaft 36 that penetrates the speed reducer 35 and the motor holder 34 is rotatably provided via a bearing 37, and a boat rotary shaft 38 penetrates the seal cap 33 in an airtight manner, and the boat rotary shaft 3
A boat mounting board 39 is fixed to the upper end of 8. On the upper surface of the boat mounting board 39, taper grooves 41 are formed in three radial directions.
And a positioning pin 42 is projectingly provided at a position on the lower surface of the boat bottom plate 24 that is divided into three equal parts on the circumference.
The taper groove 41 is fitted to the boat mounting board 39
The boat 13 is positioned with respect to. A lock hole 40 is provided on the bottom surface of the boat bottom plate 24 as described later.

A worm wheel 43 is fitted between the bearings 37, 37 of the outer rotary shaft 36, and a worm 44 is meshed with the worm wheel 43.
Is an output shaft 4 of a boat rotation motor (not shown)
It is pivoted on 5. A rotation detector (not shown) for detecting the rotation position of the outer rotation shaft 36 is provided, and the rotation position of the outer rotation shaft 36 with respect to the seal cap 33 is detected. Can detect the reference position of the outer rotation shaft 36, that is, the boat mounting plate 39.

The outer rotary shaft 36 and the boat rotary shaft 38.
A boat lock shaft 46 is rotatably provided inside a bearing via a bearing 47, and the boat lock shaft 46 is hermetically sealed. The boat lock shaft 46 projects from the boat mounting board 39, and a substantially rectangular lock plate 50 as shown in FIG. 2 is fixed to the projecting end as a lock member. A part of the lower end of the boat lock shaft 46 is cut off in a semi-cylindrical shape to form a flat surface 48.
The flat surface 48 projects downward from the lower surface of the speed reducer 35.

A lock spring 49, which is a torsion coil spring, is externally fitted to the lower end of the boat lock shaft 46, and one end of the lock spring 49 is bent toward the center to form the flat surface 48.
And the other end extends tangentially,
6 is engaged. Although not particularly shown, a stopper is mechanically provided between the boat lock shaft 46 and the outer rotation shaft 36, and the boat lock shaft 46 and the outer rotation shaft 36 are reliably brought into contact with each other by the lock spring 49. So the initial deflection is given.

A slide bearing 5 is provided on the lower surface of the speed reducer 35.
1 through the lock rod 52 to the boat lock shaft 46.
Is provided slidably in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the lock rod 52, the tip of the lock rod 52 can contact the flat surface 48, and the base end of the lock rod 52 is a linear drive such as a cylinder or a solenoid. Actuator 5 which is a container
It is connected to 3.

Then, the lock rod 53 is advanced and retracted by the lock actuator 53, and the lock rod 5 is moved.
When the lock rod 52 is in contact with the flat surface 48, the rotation of the boat lock shaft 46 is restricted.

The lock plate 50, the boat lock shaft 46, the lock spring 49, the lock rod 52, the lock actuator 53 and the like constitute a boat lock mechanism.

As a method of restraining the rotation of the boat lock shaft 46, a pin extending horizontally is provided at the lower end of the boat lock shaft 46, and an engaging member is moved in and out with respect to the rotation surface of the pin. You may

The boat bottom plate 24 is formed with the lock hole 40 which can be engaged with and disengaged from the lock plate 50.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lock hole 40 has a disk-shaped bag hole 54 formed inside the boat bottom plate 24, and the bag hole 54 is opened by a key hole 55. The key hole 55 has a substantially rectangular shape formed by parallel straight lines facing two arcs having the same radius as the blind hole 54, and has a similar shape to the lock plate 50.

Then, the lock plate 50 is inserted into the bag hole 54 through the key hole 55 (FIG. 3 (A),
3B), the boat lock shaft 46 is rotated relative to the boat bottom plate 24 (see FIG. 3C).
As a result, the lock plate 50 engages with the key hole 55, and the boat mounting plate 39 and the boat bottom plate 24 are locked so as not to separate from each other, that is, the boat 13 is locked so as not to fall.

As described above, by fitting the tapered groove 41 and the positioning pin 42, the boat mounting board 39
The position of the boat 13 in the direction of rotation with respect to is determined.
Further, when the lock rod 52 is not in contact with the flat surface 48, the boat lock shaft 46 is caused by the initial spring force of the lock spring 49 and the stopper between the boat lock shaft 46 and the outer rotation shaft 36. The positions of the boat lock shaft 46 and the boat mounting plate 39 in the rotational direction are determined.

The direction of the key hole 55 of the boat bottom plate 24 of the boat 13 mounted on the boat mounting plate 39 and the direction of the lock plate 50 are locked to the boat lock shaft 46. The 90 ° direction is different when the rod 52 is not engaged (see FIG. 1).

The operation of locking and releasing the boat on the boat mounting portion 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the case of mounting the boat 13 on the boat mounting board 39 will be described.

In preparation for mounting, the lock actuator 53 is driven, the lock rod 52 is projected, and abuts on the flat surface 48. The lock rod 52
Is brought into contact with the flat surface 48, the rotation of the boat lock shaft 46 is locked.

With the rotation of the boat lock shaft 46 locked, the boat rotation motor (not shown) is driven to drive the worm 44, the worm wheel 43, the outer rotation shaft 36, and the boat rotation shaft 38. The boat mounting board 39 with respect to the lock plate 50
° Relative rotation. The rotation direction is a direction in which the lock spring 49 is further bent. The position and direction of the boat 13 are uniquely determined with respect to the boat mounting board 39.
At this time, the direction of the key hole 55 of the boat bottom plate 24 of the boat 13 matches the direction of the lock plate 50 (see FIG. 4 (A)).

The boat 13 is mounted on the boat mounting board 39. The lock plate 50 is inserted into the bag hole 54 through the key hole 55 (see FIG. 4B).

The boat rotation motor (not shown) is driven in a direction opposite to the above rotation direction. The boat lock shaft 46 is still restrained from rotating by the lock rod 52, and the boat mounting plate 39 is rotated relative to the lock plate 50 by 90 ° in the opposite direction. The rotation direction is the direction in which the lock spring 49 is restored.
When the boat mounting board 39 is rotated 90 ° in the opposite direction, the lock actuator 53 causes the lock rod 5 to rotate.
2 is retracted, and the position of the boat lock shaft 46 in the rotational direction is determined by a stopper (not shown). In this state, as described above, the lock plate 50 and the key hole 55 have different 90 ° directions, and the lock plate 50 is engaged with the key hole 55, that is, the boat 13 is locked. (See FIG. 4C).

When the lock of the boat lock shaft 46 by the lock rod 52 is released, the boat lock shaft 46 and the boat bottom plate 24 are integrated with each other via the lock spring 49. By rotating the boat bottom plate 24 with a rotation motor (not shown), the boat 13 is rotated while maintaining the locked state.

Therefore, during the boat transfer and exchange operations by the boat exchanging device 14, the boat 13 is charged into the reaction furnace 11 and wafers are processed, and the boat 1
The locked state is maintained while 3 is rotated.

The unlocking operation of the boat mounting portion 12 is carried out by the reverse operation of the above operation.

Here, in order to return the lock plate 50 relative to the boat mounting board 39, the lock rod 52 is retracted and the boat lock shaft 46 is reversed by the restoring force of the lock spring 49. Although the boat lock shaft 46 can be rotated in any direction, sudden rotation or stop of the boat lock shaft 46 may induce dust generation, and as described above, it is preferable to slowly return the boat lock shaft 46.

As another embodiment, the lock spring 49, the lock rod 52, the lock actuator 53, etc. may be omitted and the boat lock shaft 46 may be directly fixed to the motor holder 34 or the speed reducer 35. In this case, the boat lock shaft 46 cannot rotate, and only the boat mounting board 39 rotates. That is, when the boat 13 is rotated with the boat 13 loaded in the reaction furnace 11, the lock plate 5 is rotated during the rotation.
The direction of 0 and the keyhole 55 changes relative to each other, and the lock plate 50 and the keyhole 55 are locked in the same direction twice during one rotation of the boat 13. There is no state. In this case, there is an advantage that the structure can be simplified and the cost can be realized.

The boat stand 19 will be described with reference to FIGS. The boat stand 20 is the boat stand 19
It has the same structure as.

The seat plate 5 is attached to the base 56 attached to the housing 1.
7 is fixed, and a boat seat 59 is attached via a pillar 58 standing on the seat plate 57. Three tapered grooves 41 are radially formed on the upper surface of the boat seat 59,
The taper groove 41 serves as the positioning pin 4 of the boat 13.
It is designed to fit with 2.

A lock shaft 61 passing through the center of the boat seat 59 is provided, and a lock plate 62 having the same shape as the lock plate 50 is fixed to the upper end of the lock shaft 61 protruding therefrom. The lower end of the lock shaft 61 is connected to a rotary actuator 63 such as a rotary cylinder, a motor or a rotary solenoid. The rotary actuator 63 causes the lock plate 62 to move through the lock shaft 61.
° It is designed to rotate.

The boat 13 is placed on the boat seat 59. The boat 13 with respect to the boat seat 59
The posture is determined by fitting the taper groove 41 and the positioning pin 42. In this state, the direction of the key hole 55 and the direction of the lock plate 62 are made to coincide with each other. Therefore, the lock plate 62 has the key hole 55.
Through the bag hole 54. After the boat 13 is placed, the lock plate 62 is rotated by 90 ° by driving the rotary actuator 63, and the boat 13 is locked on the boat seat 59 to prevent it from falling.

Thus, the boat 13 is in a locked state and a fall-prevented state in both the state of being held by the boat elevator 7 and the state of being held by the boat holders 19 and 20. . The boat 13 may be locked either in the state of being held by the boat elevator 7 or in the state of being held by the boat holders 19 and 20.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention, a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a substrate holder for holding a substrate in the processing chamber, a mounting portion for mounting the substrate holder, and Since a lock member provided so as to be rotatable relative to the mounting portion and capable of being disengaged from the substrate holder by relative rotation, and a rotating portion for relatively rotating the lock member and the mounting portion,
Also, a plurality of substrate holders for holding substrates in multiple stages, a processing chamber for processing the substrates held by the substrate holders, the substrate holders are mounted on a mounting portion, and the substrate holders are placed in the processing chambers. A lifting means for loading and unloading, a at least one stand having a placement part for placing the substrate holder, and a substrate holder exchanged between the stand and the substrate holder lifting means. An exchanging device for performing the exchange, and the substrate holder raising / lowering means is provided with at least one of a mounting portion and a mounting portion of the mounting table so as to be rotatable relative to the mounting portion. Since the holder is provided with the lock member that can be disengaged and the rotating unit that relatively rotates the lock member and the placing unit, in a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of substrate holders, the substrate holder is The fall of the substrate holder is prevented when it is placed on the placing part, preventing it from falling over. There is exhibited an excellent effect that but is prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-section of a boat mounting portion showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a lock plate of a boat mounting portion showing an essential part of the embodiment.

3 (A) is a side sectional view showing the relationship between the lock plate and the boat bottom plate of the same boat mounting section, and (B) and (C) are the cross sections of the lock plate and boat bottom plate of the same boat mounting section. It is a top view which shows a relationship.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a boat lock operation of the boat mounting section.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the boat stand according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the boat stand and the boat.

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the front substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a boat mounting portion of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a boat stand of the conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 case 7 boat elevator 8 lifting arm 9 Seal cap 11 Reactor 12 Boat rest 13 boats 14 Boat exchange device 19 boat stand 20 boat stand 39 Boat mounting board 40 lock hole 43 Worm Wheel 44 Warm 46 boat lock shaft 49 Lock spring 50 lock plate 52 Lock Rod 53 Lock actuator 59 Boat seat 61 lock shaft 62 lock plate 63 rotary actuator

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takehisa Matsunaga             3-14-20 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo Stocks             Hitachi Kokusai Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5F031 CA02 DA17 FA01 FA11 FA12                       GA49 HA64 HA67 MA28 MA29                       MA32 NA10 PA20 PA30

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A processing chamber for processing a substrate, a substrate holder for holding a substrate in the processing chamber, a mounting portion for mounting the substrate holder, and a rotatable relative to the mounting portion. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a lock member that is provided to be disengaged from the substrate holder by relative rotation; and a rotating unit that relatively rotates the lock member and the placing unit. 2. A plurality of substrate holders that hold substrates in multiple stages, a processing chamber that processes the substrates held by the substrate holders, and the substrate holders that are placed on a placement section and placed in the processing chambers. Elevating means for loading and unloading the substrate holder, at least one stand having a placing part for placing the substrate holder, and substrate holding between the stand and the substrate holder elevating means. And an exchange device for exchanging tools, which is provided on at least one of the mounting part of the substrate holder elevating means and the mounting part of the mounting table so as to be rotatable relative to the mounting part. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a lock member that can be disengaged from the substrate holder by rotation; and a rotating unit that relatively rotates the lock member and the placing unit.