JP2004006665A - Vacuum processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for improving space efficiency in a sheet type vacuum processing device composed by combining a common carrying chamber with a plurality of vacuum processing chambers. <P>SOLUTION: Cassette chambers 3A and 3B are airtightly connected to each of the side walls 23 and 24 of the carrying chambers 2 in a polygonal airtight structure in a plane view, and one set each of the vacuum processing chambers 4A-4F are airtightly connected to the other side walls 25-27, respectively. A set of the vacuum processing chambers 4A-4F connected to each of the side walls 25-27 is stacked and arranged while having a fixed offset, and exhaust ports are formed on respective bottom surfaces. The amount of the offset is decided so as not to let the exhaust ports of the vacuum processing chambers 4A, 4C and 4E on the upper side be closed by the ceiling surfaces of the vacuum processing chambers 4B, 4D and 4F on the lower side, and each exhaust pipe is piped so as not to be bent from the exhaust port to the height position of a vacuum exhaust means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that is used in, for example, a semiconductor device manufacturing process and is configured by combining a plurality of vacuum processing chambers with a common transfer chamber.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, there are many processes in which a substrate is processed in a vacuum atmosphere, such as a film forming process by etching or CVD (chemical vapor deposition), a heating process by an RTP device, and the like. Vacuum processing apparatuses for performing various processes include a single wafer type and a batch type. Here, among the single-wafer types, there is known a configuration called a cluster tool in which, for example, a plurality of vacuum processing chambers and cassette chambers are connected to a common transfer chamber in consideration of an increase in throughput. Have been.
[0003]
FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an example of a vacuum processing apparatus having such a configuration. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a transfer chamber which is, for example, an octagon when viewed from a plane, and around which, for example, six vacuum processing chambers 12 and two cassette chambers 13 are connected. The transfer chamber 11 is provided with a transfer arm 14 that is configured to be rotatable and movable forward and backward, and that transfers a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter abbreviated as a wafer) W as an object to be processed. In such an apparatus, first, when the cassette C is set in the cassette chamber 13, the transfer arm 14 takes out the wafer W from the cassette C and transfers the taken out wafer W to one vacuum processing chamber 12. When all the vacuum processing chambers 12 perform the same processing, the processing is performed in parallel in each vacuum processing chamber 12, and when each vacuum processing chamber 12 performs a different processing, after one processing is completed, Other processing is performed in another vacuum processing chamber 12, and the processing is sequentially returned to the cassette C from the one after the processing. In such an apparatus, since the transfer chamber is shared, the space can be reduced as compared with the case where the vacuum processing chamber and the load lock chamber are connected one-to-one, and furthermore, a plurality of wafers are connected as described above. Since W can be performed in parallel, or a plurality of processes can be continuously performed on one wafer W, there is an advantage that high throughput can be expected.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the vacuum processing apparatus as described above needs to be provided in a clean room in which high cleanliness is maintained, but since the clean room has a high running cost per unit area, further space saving is required for cost reduction. It is necessary to plan. In particular, in recent years, the number of vacuum processing chambers provided in one apparatus tends to increase due to the progress of multi-steps accompanying the high integration of semiconductor devices and to further improve the throughput. As the size of each vacuum processing chamber has been increasing with the increase in wafer size, the area occupied by the entire system in the clean room has increased dramatically, and space saving is a serious problem. Had become.
[0005]
The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for increasing space efficiency in a single-wafer vacuum processing apparatus in which a plurality of vacuum processing chambers are combined with a common transfer chamber. Is to do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention, a transfer chamber having an airtight structure,
A load lock chamber that is airtightly connected to the transfer chamber via a loading / unloading port, and that can adjust the pressure;
A plurality of single-wafer vacuum processing chambers that are air-tightly connected to the transfer chamber through a loading / unloading port along the periphery of the transfer chamber,
A transfer unit that is provided in the transfer chamber and that transfers the object to be processed between the load lock chamber and the plurality of vacuum processing chambers;
The plurality of vacuum processing chambers include a set arranged to be vertically overlapped with each other.
[0007]
"A plurality of vacuum processing chambers include a set arranged to be vertically overlapped with each other" means, for example, that the first vacuum processing chamber and the second vacuum processing chamber overlap each other, When the third vacuum processing chamber is separated from the first vacuum processing chamber and the set of the second vacuum processing chamber in the planar direction, or when the vacuum processing chambers are arranged so as to overlap each other vertically. This includes both the case where a plurality of sets are arranged around the transfer chamber and the case where only one set of vacuum processing chambers arranged so as to vertically overlap each other is provided. The load lock chamber is, for example, a cassette chamber in which a cassette that stores a plurality of objects to be processed is placed.
[0008]
According to such a configuration, in the so-called cluster tool, the single-wafer-type vacuum processing chambers are arranged so as to be vertically overlapped, so that the vacuum processing chambers are arranged in a plane around the transfer chamber. The space efficiency can be greatly improved while maintaining the advantages, and the space occupied in the clean room can be reduced, so that the operation cost of the clean room can be reduced.
[0009]
Further, in the above configuration, the exhaust port of the vacuum processing chamber is preferably formed on the bottom surface of the vacuum processing chamber, and is preferably evacuated by an exhaust pipe and a vacuum exhaust unit connected to the exhaust port. When a film formation process by CVD is performed in a processing chamber, the generation of a viscous flow is suppressed, and there is an effect that a highly uniform process can be performed on an object to be processed. When performing the film forming process, for example, a mounting table for mounting an object to be processed, a gas supply unit for supplying a film forming gas to the object mounted on the mounting table, It is preferable to use a vacuum processing chamber provided with a heating unit for heating the processing object. Further, for example, the transfer chamber is formed in a polygonal shape in plan view, a load lock chamber is connected to one side thereof, and a set of vacuum processing chambers arranged so as to vertically overlap each other is connected to the other side. You.
[0010]
Further, the vacuum processing chambers arranged so as to overlap vertically are formed in an offset space (a region not overlapping with the lower vacuum processing chamber) when the exhaust port of the upper vacuum processing chamber is viewed in a plan view. Is preferred. According to such a configuration, since there is no vacuum processing chamber below the shifted part of the upper vacuum processing chamber, in addition to improving the maintainability of the part, for example, the position of the shifted part By connecting the exhaust pipe to the bottom surface, for example, the exhaust pipe can be piped to the height position of the vacuum exhaust means provided on the bottom surface of the clean room without bending, and the effect of reducing the exhaust conductance is produced. Further, for example, the offset space is larger than the outer diameter of the exhaust pipe connected to the upper vacuum processing chamber, and the upper space in the direction in which the arrangement of the upper vacuum processing chamber and the lower vacuum processing chamber is shifted. Smaller than the width of the vacuum processing chamber
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 by taking a case where a wafer W is used as an object to be processed as an example. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, showing the overall configuration of the present apparatus. In the drawings, reference numeral 2 denotes a transfer chamber. The transfer chamber 2 is a chamber having an airtight structure formed to have a pentagonal shape when viewed in plan. Inside the transfer chamber 2, a cassette chamber and a vacuum processing chamber, which are connected around the transfer chamber 2 and described later, are provided. A transfer means 21 for transferring the wafer W between them is provided. The transfer means 21 includes an arm 22 configured to adsorb the wafer W on, for example, a rear surface side and to hold the wafer W horizontally, and a driving mechanism 22a for enabling the arm 22 to rotate, move up and down, and advance and retreat. You. Although not shown here for the sake of convenience, the ceiling of the transfer chamber 2 is actually closed by, for example, a glass plate, and the internal space of the transfer chamber 2 is further defined by an exhaust means (not shown). It is configured to be maintained in a vacuum atmosphere.
[0012]
Assuming that the side walls of the transfer chamber 2 are referred to as side walls 23 to 27 for each surface forming the pentagon, the side walls 23 and 24 are respectively formed with a carry-in / out port 31, and the pressure is adjusted through these carry-in / out ports 31. Cassette chambers 3A and 3B, which are possible load lock chambers, are airtightly connected to each other. Since the cassette chambers 3A and 3B are the same, the cassette chamber 3A will be described as an example. In the cassette chamber 3A, a cassette C capable of storing, for example, 25 wafers W in multiple stages is placed. The cassette C can be carried in and out via a lid 32 provided at an upper portion of the cassette chamber 3A. Further, inside the cassette chamber 3A, an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the cassette C at the time of loading and unloading, an exhaust means for keeping the inside of the cassette chamber 3A at a predetermined reduced pressure atmosphere, and the like are provided. Omitted.
[0013]
In this embodiment, the load lock chamber is configured as the cassette chambers 3A and 3B, but these may be other types of load lock chambers as described later. Typically, the load lock chamber can be configured as a buffer chamber that connects the transfer chamber 2 on the vacuum side and the transfer chamber on the atmosphere side. In this case, a rack or a table for holding one or more wafers or a mechanism for heating or cooling the wafers can be provided in the load lock chamber.
[0014]
Two transfer ports 41 are formed on the other side walls 25 to 27 of the transfer chamber 2, and two vacuum processing chambers 4 (4A) are provided for each of the side walls 25 to 27 via these transfer ports 41. To 4F) are airtightly connected. In this example, the sizes of the side walls 25 to 27 and the sizes of the vacuum processing chambers 4 (4A to 4F) connected thereto are all the same, and the arrangement of each set of the vacuum processing chambers 4 (with respect to the side walls) The same applies to the connection position of the vacuum processing chamber). Each vacuum processing chamber 4 is provided with a gas supply system and an exhaust system. The upper vacuum processing chamber 4 (4A, 4C, 4E) and the lower vacuum processing chamber 4 (4B, 4D, 4F) are provided. There is a space between them, but for convenience of illustration, they are overlapped without spaces. Hereinafter, the vacuum processing chamber 4 (4A, 4B) connected to the side wall 25 will be described as an example in detail. A gate valve G, which is a gate valve that can be opened and closed, is provided at all the loading / unloading ports described above, that is, at the loading / unloading ports 31 of the cassette chambers 3A and 3B and at the loading / unloading ports 41 of the vacuum processing chambers 4A to 4F. Has been.
[0015]
Here, the entire vacuum processing chamber 4 (4A to 4F) including the gas supply system and the exhaust system is called a vacuum processing unit 40, and the vacuum processing unit 40 in the vacuum processing chamber 4A is taken as an example, and FIG. The configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In the vacuum processing chamber 4A, for example, a mounting table 51 having a columnar shape for mounting the wafer W is provided. Between the mounting table 51 and the inner wall of the vacuum processing chamber 4A, a circumferential direction of the wafer W is provided. Is provided with a baffle plate 51a for uniform exhaust. Inside the mounting table 51, a heater 52 for heating the wafer W from the back side is embedded, and further, lift pins 53 are provided so as to be able to protrude and retract. The lift pins 53 enable the transfer of the wafer W to and from the above-described arm 22 that has entered the vacuum processing chamber 4A, and are configured to move up and down by the operation of the elevating mechanism 54. The lower side of the mounting table 51 is supported by a cylindrical support portion 51b. For example, a power line (not shown) extending from the support portion 51b to the outside of the vacuum processing chamber 4A is provided inside the support portion 51b. I have. The utility lines include, for example, a power supply line to the heater 52, a signal line of a temperature sensor, a power supply line for an electrostatic chuck, and the like.
[0016]
A gas shower head 55 provided with, for example, a plurality of diffusion plates is provided on the ceiling of the vacuum processing chamber 4 </ b> A so as to face the mounting table 51. The gas shower head 55 supplies the film forming gas for the CVD process sent from the gas supply pipe 56 onto the wafer W via the gas ejection holes 57 formed on the lower surface of the gas shower head 55. Is what you do. The upper side of the gas shower head 55 is openable and closable so that internal maintenance can be performed.
[0017]
Although the external appearance of the vacuum processing chamber 4A is box-shaped, the inner wall surface 42 is formed in a cylindrical shape in consideration of the flow of the film forming gas supplied from the gas shower head 55, as shown in FIG. The loading / unloading port 41 side is formed as a flat surface. Although not shown, the upper side or the side wall of the vacuum processing chamber 4A is configured to be openable and closable. For example, the gas shower head 55 is removed from the vacuum processing chamber 4A, and the maintenance work of the removed gas shower head 55 is performed by an apparatus. It can be done externally.
[0018]
On the bottom surface of the vacuum processing chamber 4A, an exhaust port 43 is formed, for example, at the center of a circle formed by the contour of the inner wall surface 42 in the circumferential direction, that is, at a position where the center is eccentric by 100 to 500 mm from the center of the mounting table 51, for example. One end of an exhaust pipe 44 having a pipe diameter of, for example, 30 mm to 200 mm is connected to the exhaust port 43. The other end of the exhaust pipe 44 extends straight downward from the exhaust port 43, and is bent and connected to the vacuum pump 45 at the height of a vacuum pump 45, for example, a vacuum exhaust unit provided on the lower surface of the clean room 100. Configuration. The installation position of the vacuum pump 45 is not limited to the inside of the clean room 100, and may be provided, for example, below the punching floor of the clean room 100. In this case, the exhaust pipe 44 may be provided so as to penetrate the punching floor of the clean room 100. The exhaust pipe 44 is provided with a valve and a mass flow controller (not shown). For example, when a processing gas is supplied into the vacuum processing chamber 4A, the control unit (not shown) controls opening and closing of the valve and adjustment of the mass flow controller. Is performed, the atmosphere in the vacuum processing chamber 4A can be maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum.
[0019]
Next, the layout of the vacuum processing chambers 4 constituting the set will be described with reference to the set of the vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B as an example. As shown in FIGS. 4A, it is arranged horizontally offset along the outer surface of the side wall 25 of the transfer chamber 2 from the center of 4A. Therefore, an offset space So is formed below the processing chamber 4A and beside the side wall adjacent to the processing chamber 4B. In the present embodiment, in the horizontal direction, the offset space So has a width larger than the width of the exhaust pipe 44 of the processing chamber 4A and smaller than half the width of the processing chamber 4A. The exhaust port 43 of the processing chamber 4A is disposed directly above the offset space So, and the exhaust pipe 44 extends vertically downward through the offset space So. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, an exhaust port 43 is formed on the bottom surface of the upper vacuum processing chamber 4A at an eccentric position on the bottom surface of the vacuum processing chamber 4A, and the lower vacuum processing chamber 4B is connected to the upper vacuum processing chamber 4B. The exhaust port 43 of the vacuum processing chamber 4A on the side is not closed, and is provided at a position closer to the exhaust pipe 44 connected to the exhaust port 43.
[0020]
The exhaust pipes 44 of the processing chambers 4A and 4B are set such that the number of bendings to reach the corresponding vacuum pump 45 is, for example, the same. Thereby, the conductance of the exhaust pipes 44, 44 of the processing chambers 4A, 4B can be approximated. If necessary, the conductance can be adjusted by making a change such as providing a curved portion on the shorter exhaust pipe 44.
[0021]
As an example, these vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B are fixed by a pair of frame members 46 and bolts 47 as shown in the perspective view of FIG. Although not shown, for example, the bottoms of the vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B may be fixed by independent substrates. The vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B are air-tightly connected to the side wall 25 so that the opening 48 formed on the front side in such a fixed state communicates with the corresponding loading / unloading port 41 described above. Is done. In FIGS. 1 and 5, for convenience of drawing, a space formed between a set of vacuum processing chambers 4 (for example, vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B) is omitted.
[0022]
Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the cassette C holding, for example, 25 wafers W is carried into the cassette chambers 3A and 3B, the lid 32 is closed, and the inside of the cassette chambers 3A and 3B is reduced to the same degree of vacuum as the inside of the transfer chamber 2. Evacuate. Thereafter, the gate valves G of the cassette chambers 3A and 3B are opened, the wafer W of the cassette C in the cassette chamber 3A is received by the arm 22 of the transfer means 21, and the wafer W enters, for example, the vacuum processing chamber 4A and is mounted on the mounting table 51. I do. Next, for example, the arm 22 repeats the transfer of the wafer W from the cassette C to the other vacuum processing chambers 4B to 4F in the same procedure, and the processing on the wafer W is performed in parallel in each of the vacuum processing chambers 4 (4A to 4F). .
[0023]
For example, in the vacuum processing chamber 4A, the gate valve G is closed, the temperature of the wafer W is raised to a predetermined temperature by the heater 52, and the vacuum in the vacuum processing chamber 4A is evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum. Then, for example, a TiCl 4 gas as a film forming gas is supplied from the gas shower head 55 together with the NH 3 gas, and a TiN thin film is formed on the entire surface of the wafer W by a chemical vapor reaction using thermal energy. The wafer W that has been processed in the vacuum processing chambers 4A to 4F is returned to the cassette C in the cassette chambers 3A and 3B.
[0024]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vacuum processing chambers 4 (4A to 4F) are stacked in two stages, and the set of the vacuum processing chambers 4 stacked in two stages is placed around the transfer chamber 2. The arrangement is so arranged that the space efficiency can be greatly increased, and the space occupied in the clean room can be reduced, so that the operating cost of the clean room can be reduced. In the upper vacuum processing chamber 4A, the exhaust port 43 is formed at an eccentric position, so that a large overlap area between the vacuum processing chamber 4A and the vacuum processing chamber 4B can be obtained. Space efficiency can be improved.
[0025]
Further, regarding the arrangement of the vacuum processing chambers 4 (for example, the vacuum processing chambers 4A and 4B) which form a set, since each of the vacuum processing chambers 4 is vertically shifted while being shifted laterally, a portion shifted in the upper vacuum processing chamber 4A. There is no vacuum processing chamber 4B on the lower side, so that maintenance of the part is facilitated. That is, there is a place serving as a maintenance area on the side opposite to the transfer chamber 2 in the vacuum processing chamber 4, from which the operator performs maintenance such as removing the support portion 51b of the mounting table 51. There is an advantage that the maintenance property is good because the offset space So exists below the.
[0026]
Further, an exhaust pipe 44 connected to the vacuum processing chamber 4A is connected to a position where the bottom surface of the vacuum processing chamber 4A is shifted. That is, the exhaust port 43 of the processing chamber 4A is disposed directly above the offset space So, and the exhaust pipe 44 extends downward through the offset space So, so that the exhaust pipe 44 does not bend to the height of the vacuum pump 45 provided at the bottom of the clean room, for example. Piping can be performed, and exhaust conductance can be increased. This makes it possible to lower the internal pressure in each vacuum processing chamber 4 compared to a device having a conventional configuration in which the exhaust pipe has many bent portions, so that a high degree of vacuum can be maintained without using, for example, a large-sized vacuum pump. become. There is also an effect that the gas flow rate (gas load) can be increased.
[0027]
FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic plan views showing how effective the present embodiment is with respect to the conventional technique when the cassette chamber and the vacuum processing chamber have the same size (bottom area). Hereinafter, the effects of the present embodiment will be visually described with reference to these drawings. Here, for convenience, the planar shapes of the cassette chamber and the vacuum processing chamber are indicated by circles, and the position of the exhaust port of each vacuum processing chamber is indicated by a dotted small circle for reference.
[0028]
A line indicated by a square P1 shown in FIG. 6A indicates that when six vacuum processing chambers B1 and two cassette chambers B2 are planarly and densely arranged around the transfer chamber A1, these lines have no gap. This indicates the size that can be accommodated, and corresponds to the occupied area of the device described in the section of “Prior Art”. 6 (b) shows the occupied area when the same number of vacuum processing chambers B1 and cassette chambers B2 as in FIG. 6 (a) are arranged in the same manner as in the present embodiment. However, as apparent from the area of the hatched portion sandwiched between P1 and P2 shown in FIG. 6B, according to the present embodiment, the occupied area (footprint) is significantly reduced. Specifically, it is possible to save about 25% or more of space. FIG. 7 shows how many vacuum processing chambers B1 can be provided in the occupied area P1 of the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 6 (a). As shown in FIG. Although only six chambers B1 were provided, eight chambers B1 could be provided according to the method of the present embodiment. Specifically, the capacity of the vacuum processing chamber B1 can be increased by 20% or more.
[0029]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the vacuum processing chambers 4 are arranged one on top of the other, two sets are provided on each side wall of the transfer chamber 2. However, the set of the vacuum processing chambers 4 is limited to two steps. However, as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), for example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a) and FIG. It is also possible to plan. As described above, the offset width Q can be set to be larger than the width of the exhaust pipe of the upper vacuum processing chamber 6 and smaller than half the width of the upper vacuum processing chamber 6.
In this case, the direction in which the vacuum processing chambers 6 (6A to 6C) are multi-staged is not limited to the same direction (leftward in the figure) as shown in FIG. 8A, but is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8B. In this case, the footprint can be further reduced. That is, in the embodiment of FIG. 8A, the vacuum processing chambers 6A to 6C are shifted in the same direction from the upper side to the lower side to form a multistage. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8B, the vacuum processing chambers 6A to 6C are provided with a shift direction of a pair of upper vacuum processing chambers 6A and 6B and a shift direction of a pair of lower vacuum processing chambers 6B and 6C. Are multistaged differently. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the footprint of the processing system can be further reduced.
[0030]
Also in this embodiment, it is preferable that the exhaust port 61 is formed on the bottom surface of each of the vacuum processing chambers 6 (6A to 6C). This is a position where the vacuum processing chamber 6 does not block the lower side of the exhaust port 61 so that the pipe 62 does not bend from the exhaust port 61 to the height position of the vacuum exhaust means 63 provided on the bottom surface 100 of the clean room, for example. Is preferred.
[0031]
The position of the exhaust port 61 at the bottom is preferably a position that does not overlap with the lower vacuum processing chamber 6. Accordingly, the exhaust pipe 62 connected to the exhaust port 61 can extend straight from the exhaust port 61 to the height of the vacuum exhaust unit 63 provided on the floor of the clean room 100, for example, without bending.
[0032]
By the way, as a method of increasing the number of vacuum processing chambers in the above embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 9 (second embodiment), the vacuum processing chambers 7 are stacked without being shifted, and 7 (7A to 7C), an exhaust port 71 may be formed on the side face, and an exhaust pipe 72 may be connected to the exhaust port 71, or as shown in FIG. 10 (third embodiment). , The vacuum processing chambers 8A and 8B are arranged vertically with a certain interval R formed therebetween, an exhaust port 81 is formed at the center of the bottom of both, and the two are connected via an exhaust pipe 82 connected to the exhaust port 81. It is also possible to adopt a method of performing exhaust.
[0033]
According to the second embodiment, since there is no displacement between the vacuum processing chambers 7 that are vertically overlapped with each other, it is possible to further reduce the space as compared with the other embodiments described above. Further, according to the third embodiment, since the vacuum processing chambers 8 are arranged vertically, the space can be saved more than before. Furthermore, the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 8 is set to 1.33322 × 10 3 depending on the CVD conditions. ² The film formation process may be performed at a pressure higher than Pa (1 Torr). However, according to the third embodiment, the viscous flow is less likely to occur in the vacuum processing chamber 8 in such a case. There are advantages. That is, if there is an exhaust port on the side of the vacuum processing chamber 8, the flow tends to be uneven even if there is a baffle plate. However, if the exhaust port 81 is formed on the bottom surface as in the present embodiment, this unevenness can be suppressed. It is. Therefore, in this respect, the first and third embodiments are more advantageous than the second embodiment, and the exhaust pipe does not protrude into the maintenance area as described above, thereby improving the maintainability. This is an advantageous configuration also from the viewpoint of.
[0034]
Note that the configuration of the vacuum processing chamber is not limited to, for example, the configuration of the vacuum processing chamber 4 shown in FIG. 3, and may be different from that of the first embodiment, for example, according to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 11. Similar effects can be obtained. Hereinafter, the internal configuration of the vacuum processing chamber 9A (9A, 9B) will be briefly described by taking the vacuum processing chamber 9A as an example. The inner wall surface of the vacuum processing chamber 9A has a shape in which the bottom center of the vacuum processing chamber 4A is depressed. A support portion 91 is provided in the concave portion (recess portion) 90, and a cylindrical mounting table 92 is provided at an upper end of the support portion 91. A heater 92a is embedded in the mounting table 92, and a lift pin 92b is provided so as to be able to protrude and retract. Reference numeral 92c denotes a lift pin raising / lowering mechanism, in which a power line (not shown) extending outside the vacuum processing chamber 9A is provided in the support portion 91a. Further, a gas shower head 93 is provided on the ceiling of the vacuum processing chamber 9A, and the film forming gas (for example, TiCl 4 gas and NH 3 gas) supplied from the gas supply pipe 94 is supplied to the lower surface of the gas shower head 93. The gas is supplied onto the wafer W via the formed gas ejection holes 93a.
[0035]
One end of an exhaust pipe 95 having a pipe diameter of, for example, 30 mm to 200 mm is connected to a side wall of the recess 90 through an opening 90 a. The other end of the exhaust pipe 95 extends slightly from the opening 90a toward the side and bends, extends straight downward, and is located at the level of the vacuum pump 96 similarly to the exhaust pipe 44 described above. And further connected to a vacuum pump 96. Here, the positional relationship between the exhaust pipe 95 and the mounting table 92 will be described. When viewed from above, the exhaust at the portion extending straight downward from the center of the mounting table 92 (the center of the inner wall of the vacuum processing chamber 9A). The distance to the center of the tube 95 is, for example, 100 mm to 500 mm. A valve and a mass flow controller (not shown) are provided in the exhaust pipe 95.
[0036]
The arrangement layout will be described by taking a set of the vacuum processing chambers 9A and 9B as an example. As shown in the drawing, the vacuum processing chamber 9B has the same structure as the vacuum processing chamber 9B, and the ceiling portion is the bottom surface (the concave portion) of the vacuum processing chamber 9A. 90, and one side face is close to the exhaust pipe 95 connected to the vacuum processing chamber 9A. An arbitrary offset width is secured between the vacuum processing chambers 9A and 9B in the horizontal direction along the side wall of the transfer chamber. Therefore, an offset space So is formed below the vacuum processing chamber 9A and beside the side wall adjacent to the vacuum processing chamber 9B. As described above, the offset width can be set to be larger than the width of the exhaust pipe of the upper vacuum processing chamber 9A and smaller than half the width of the upper vacuum processing chamber 9A. Further, the exhaust pipes 95, 95 of the vacuum processing chambers 9A, 9B can be set so that the number of times of bending until reaching the corresponding vacuum pump 96 is the same.
[0037]
In this embodiment, the baffle plate 51a shown in FIG. 3 is not provided, but depending on the type of the film forming process, for example, the baffle plate 51a may be similar to the baffle plate 51a so as to surround the mounting table 92. May be provided, and for the same reason, the configuration of FIG. 3 may have a configuration in which the baffle plate 51a is omitted.
[0038]
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a semiconductor processing system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. This processing system has an airtight and pressure-adjustable vacuum transfer chamber 102 having a pentagonal planar shape. Two load lock chambers 103A and 103B and six vacuum processing chambers 104A to 104F are connected to the side wall of the transfer chamber 102. In the transfer chamber 102, transfer machines 121 for loading and unloading a semiconductor wafer W as a substrate to be processed are provided corresponding to the load lock chambers 103A and 103B and the vacuum processing chambers 104A to 104F, respectively.
[0039]
Each of the vacuum processing chambers 104A to 104F is configured to perform semiconductor processing on the wafer W in a vacuum atmosphere, and is connected to a side wall of the transfer chamber 102 via a gate valve G. The processing chambers 104 </ b> A to 104 </ b> F are arranged as a pair with each of the three side walls of the transfer chamber 102 such that the upper and lower processing chambers overlap each other. The arrangement of the processing chambers 104A to 104F is the same as that of the processing chambers 4A to 4F shown in FIG. The arrangement of the processing chambers 104A to 104F can be changed according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 or FIG.
[0040]
The transfer device 121 has a pair of articulated arms 124 and 125 that can rotate, move up and down, and move forward and backward, and a drive mechanism 123 that rotates, moves up and down, and moves forward and backward the arms 124 and 125. The driving mechanism 123 is mounted on an XY stage 122 for moving the driving mechanism 123 in the horizontal direction. Bigs 126 and 127 that adsorb the back surface of the wafer W and hold it horizontally are provided at the tips of the arms 124 and 125.
[0041]
Each of the load lock chambers 103A and 103B is connected to the side wall of the vacuum transfer chamber 102 via a gate valve G on the one hand, and connected to the side wall of the introduction transfer chamber 140 via the gate valve G on the other hand. Each load lock chamber 103A, 103B is configured to regulate the pressure between atmospheric pressure and vacuum. Each of the load lock chambers 103A and 103B has both a preheating function of preheating a wafer and a cooling function of cooling a processed and heated wafer. Such a structure is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2000-208589. Is done. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 132 denotes a circular cooling plate also serving as a mounting table for the wafer W.
[0042]
The introduction-side transfer chamber 140 is formed of a horizontally elongated box in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere in which a downflow of an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or a clean air is formed. One or a plurality of, in the illustrated example, three cassette tables 146 are arranged on one side of the horizontally long box. One cassette 148 can be placed on each cassette table 146 one by one.
[0043]
In each cassette 148, a maximum of, for example, 25 wafers W can be mounted in multiple stages at equal pitches. The inside of each cassette 148 has a closed structure filled with a nitrogen gas atmosphere, for example. Wafers can be loaded and unloaded into the introduction-side transfer chamber 140 via gate doors 150 provided corresponding to the respective cassette tables 146.
[0044]
In the introduction-side transfer chamber 140, a transfer robot 152 for transferring the wafer W along its longitudinal direction is provided. The transfer robot 152 is slidably supported on a guide rail 154 disposed so as to extend along the length direction in the center of the introduction-side transfer chamber 140. The guide rail 154 includes, for example, a linear motor as a moving mechanism, and the transfer robot 152 is moved along the guide rail 154 by the linear motor.
[0045]
At an end of the introduction-side transfer chamber 140, a positioning device 156 for positioning the wafer is provided. The alignment device 156 has a turntable 158 that is rotated by a drive motor (not shown) with the wafer W placed thereon. An optical sensor 160 for detecting the peripheral portion of the wafer W is provided on the outer periphery of the turntable 158. The optical sensor 160 detects a position direction and a position shift of the notch and the orientation flat of the wafer W.
[0046]
The transfer robot 152 has two articulated transfer arms 162 and 164 which are arranged in upper and lower stages. Bifurcated picks 163 and 165 are attached to the tips of the transfer arms 162 and 164, respectively, and the wafers W are directly held on the picks 163 and 165, respectively. Each of the transfer arms 162 and 164 can freely bend and extend, and the bending and extension operations of each of the transfer arms 162 and 164 can be individually controlled. Further, the transfer arms 162 and 164 can be integrally rotated in a turning direction with respect to the base.
As described above, also in the semiconductor processing system according to the present embodiment, the processing chambers 103 </ b> A to 104 </ b> F are stacked in two stages, and the set of processing chambers stacked in two stages is arranged around the transfer chamber 102. Have. For this reason, the space efficiency can be greatly improved, and an offset space is formed below each processing chamber, so that maintenance work can be easily performed.
[0047]
In the above, the processing apparatus provided in the vacuum processing chamber is not limited to the film forming apparatus, and for example, an RTP apparatus, an etching apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, an ashing apparatus, or the like can be used. Further, the atmosphere in the transfer chamber at the time of processing is not limited to a vacuum atmosphere, and may be, for example, a nitrogen gas atmosphere.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, space efficiency can be improved in a single-wafer vacuum processing apparatus in which a common transfer chamber is combined with a plurality of vacuum processing chambers.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the entire structure of a first embodiment of a vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the entire structure of the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal structure and a related portion of a vacuum processing chamber provided in the vacuum processing apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of the vacuum processing chamber.
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a combination of the vacuum processing chambers.
FIG. 6 is a comparative explanatory diagram for explaining an effect of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a comparative explanatory diagram for explaining an effect of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing another example of the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a second embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a third embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a fifth embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view showing an overall configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
C cassette
W semiconductor wafer
2 transfer room
21 Conveying means
23-27 Side wall
3A, 3B cassette room
4 (4A-4F) Vacuum processing chamber
43 Exhaust port
44 Exhaust pipe
45 vacuum pump
51 Mounting table
52 heater
55 gas shower head

Claims (8)

A transfer chamber with an airtight structure,
A load lock chamber that is airtightly connected to the transfer chamber via a loading / unloading port, and that can adjust the pressure;
A plurality of single-wafer vacuum processing chambers that are air-tightly connected to the transfer chamber through a loading / unloading port along the periphery of the transfer chamber,
A transfer unit that is provided in the transfer chamber and that transfers the object to be processed between the load lock chamber and the plurality of vacuum processing chambers;
A vacuum processing apparatus, wherein a plurality of vacuum processing chambers include a set arranged to be vertically overlapped with each other. 2. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum processing chamber is evacuated by a vacuum exhaust unit through an exhaust port formed on a bottom surface and an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust port. In a set of vacuum processing chambers arranged to be vertically overlapped, an offset space is formed below the upper vacuum processing chamber and beside the lower vacuum processing chamber, and the upper vacuum processing chamber is provided with an offset space. 3. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the exhaust port is formed in an offset space. The offset space is larger than the outer diameter of the exhaust pipe connected to the upper vacuum processing chamber, and the upper vacuum processing in the direction in which the arrangement of the upper vacuum processing chamber and the lower vacuum processing chamber is shifted. 4. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the width is smaller than the width of the chamber. 5. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the exhaust pipe does not have a bent portion from the vacuum processing chamber to a height position of the vacuum exhaust means. The transfer chamber is formed in a polygonal shape in a plan view, and a load lock chamber is connected to one side thereof, and a set of vacuum processing chambers arranged so as to vertically overlap each other is connected to each other side. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The vacuum processing chamber includes a mounting table for mounting the object to be processed, a gas supply unit configured to supply a film-forming gas to the object mounted on the mounting table, and heats the object to be processed. The vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a heating unit, wherein the film forming process is performed on a surface of the object to be processed. 8. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load lock chamber is a cassette chamber in which a cassette accommodating a plurality of objects to be processed is placed.

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