JP2005123551A - Cylindrical semiconductor epitaxial growth system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automate wafer conveyance in a cylindrical semiconductor epitaxial growth system in consideration of more automation in a semiconductor manufacturing factory. <P>SOLUTION: An automatic detecting device for the setting state of a wafer and a monitor chip automatic conveying device for epitaxial processing result inspection are mounted together on an automatic conveying device (automatic loader) for wafers which stably operates without maintenance. Consequently, the processing speed and yield are improved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cylinder type epitaxial growth apparatus for vapor phase epitaxial growth of a silicon single crystal on the surface of a wafer, in which attachment / detachment of a wafer to / from a susceptor is automated by an autoloader.

  An outline of a conventional cylinder type epitaxial semiconductor growth apparatus is shown in FIGS. 01 is a susceptor having a pocket 02 for attaching a wafer 03, 04 is a support, and a lid 05 is fixed to the upper end. Reference numeral 06 denotes an arm protruding from the lid 05, which is screwed with the drive screw 07 and slides with the guide rod 08. 09 is a bell jar, 010 is a heating lamp, and 011 is a stand.

  The operator manually installs the wafer 03 in the pocket 02 on the outer surface of the susceptor 01, and then rotates the drive screw 07 with a motor (not shown) to lower the susceptor 01 into the bell jar 09 as shown in FIG. The bell jar 09 is sealed with the lid 05. Thereafter, the inside of the bell jar 09 is heated by the heating lamp 010, and the epitaxial growth process gas is introduced into the bell jar 09 while rotating the susceptor 01 by a motor (not shown) to grow an epitaxial layer of silicon single crystal on the wafer 03.

In the cylinder type epitaxial semiconductor growth apparatus, the wafer is attached to and detached from the susceptor manually as described above. Therefore, (1) work speed is slow. (2) Contaminants are mixed into the wafer. (3) The wafer is damaged. (4) There is a risk that the worker will be exposed to high temperatures. (5) Cost increases. There was a problem such as.
In order to deal with these problems, there has been an autoloader that automatically attaches and detaches a wafer to and from a susceptor. An indispensable clean environment cannot be maintained. In addition, short-term replacement of the rectifying brush is necessary, reducing productivity. (2) When the autoloader is turned off, there is no posture maintenance function, the joints fall and the peripheral equipment and the wafer being transferred are destroyed. Also, the position cannot be detected at the time of recovery and recovery is slow. (3) Since the gripper at the end of the arm is driven by a DC motor, the maintenance and replacement cycle is short and productivity is reduced. Also, the operating speed cannot be adjusted, and the wafer may be gripped too much and be damaged. (4) Since the whole processed wafer is spent to inspect the result of epitaxial growth, the product yield is lowered. (5) There is no system that automatically recognizes the installation status of wafer cassettes and wafers in the susceptor pocket, and the number of wafers must be manually entered into the computer. There were various problems.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a wafer is mounted in a wafer pocket on the outer surface of the susceptor and inserted into the bell jar, the inside of the bell jar is heated and a processing gas is introduced, and a silicon single unit is introduced into the wafer surface. In a cylinder type epitaxial growth apparatus for vapor phase epitaxial growth of crystals, the wafer is attached to and detached from the pocket by an air-operated gripper mounted on an AC motor-driven autoloader having a posture maintaining function when the power is shut off. .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a pocket for a monitor chip for inspecting a vapor phase epitaxial growth processing result is provided on the outer surface of the susceptor, and the monitor chip is attached to and detached from the pocket. Is performed with a vacuum suction arm mounted on the autoloader.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the laser device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the laser device detects a setting state of the wafer in at least one of a wafer cassette, the wafer pocket, and the monitor chip pocket. Is.

  In the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention, (1) the work speed is faster than the manual work. (2) Contaminants do not enter the wafer. (3) The wafer is not damaged. (4) There is no danger that the worker will be exposed to high temperatures. (5) Cost is reduced. There are effects such as. Compared with conventional autoloaders, (1) a clean environment essential for semiconductor manufacturing can be maintained. (2) The joints do not drop even when the power is turned off, and peripheral devices and wafers being transferred are not destroyed. In addition, position detection is easy and recovery is quick. (3) The gripper operating speed can be easily adjusted, and the wafer can be grasped softly and not damaged. (5) Longer maintenance and replacement cycles improve productivity. There are effects such as.

  In the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention, the processing result is inspected by the monitor chip obtained by dividing the wafer, and the product wafer is not used, so that the product yield is improved.

  In the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention, the installation status of wafers such as a wafer cassette, a wafer pocket and a pocket for a monitor chip is recognized by a laser device, the wafer is accurately attached and detached, and the number of wafers is input to the computer. Can also be automated.

1 is a front view of a cylinder type semiconductor epitaxial growth apparatus according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a portion A in FIG. IV view, FIG. 5 is a VV arrow view of FIG.
In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes an AC motor-driven autoloader, which has a built-in AC servomotor in the arms 2a and 2b, and an air-operated gripper 3 at the tip of the rod 2c of the arm 2b. I have. Next, details of the gripper 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a vane motor type air actuator, 4p is a rotation shaft of the air actuator, 5a to 5d are gripper pins for holding the wafer 03 from the outer periphery, 6 is a wafer tongue, 7 is a vacuum tongue for a monitor chip, and 8 is a wafer of a susceptor. A laser device for pocket observation 9 is a laser device for wafer cassette observation. In FIG. 1, 10 is a wafer cassette and 11 is a wafer table. Others are the same as the conventional ones, and the same symbols indicate the same members.

The wafer cassette observation laser device 9 detects the number of wafers 03 in the wafer cassette 10 and the setting status, and automatically inputs the number to the computer. Next, the wafer 03 in the wafer cassette 10 is taken out by the wafer tongue 6 and once placed on the wafer table 11. Next, the AC servo motor of the autoloader 1 is driven to bring the gripper 3 close to the wafer 03 on the wafer table 11, and the vane motor type air actuator 4 is driven by compressed air supplied from an air source (not shown) to rotate the rotating shaft 4p. Rotate in the direction of arrow a. Then, the gripper pins 5a to 5d are drawn inward to hold the wafer 03 from the outer periphery. Next, the gripper 3 is brought close to the susceptor 01, the wafer pocket 02 is observed with the laser device 8 for wafer pocket observation, and the wafer 03 is attached to the pocket 02 while preventing a mistake such as double mounting. Next, the monitor chip is adsorbed by the vacuum tank 7 and is attached to the pocket dedicated to the monitor chip of the susceptor while being observed by the laser device 8 for observing the wafer pocket. In this way, after mounting a predetermined number of wafers 03 and monitor chips, the susceptor 01 is lowered into the bell jar 09, and a vapor phase epitaxial growth process is performed in the same manner as in the prior art.
When the processing is completed, the wafer 03 is held by the gripper 3 of the autoloader 1 and removed from the wafer pocket 02 of the susceptor, placed on the wafer table 11, and a predetermined wafer is placed by the wafer tongue 6 in the same manner as the mounting. Transport to cassette. In addition, the monitor chip is also adsorbed and removed by the vacuum tank 7 and used for the measurement and inspection of the epitaxial growth layer.

  The effect of the present embodiment is the same as that described in the column of the effect of the invention, and a duplicate description is omitted, but in addition to the wafer attaching / detaching device, a laser device for detecting the wafer setting status and an epitaxial growth layer are measured and inspected. The autoloader equipped with a monitor chip attaching / detaching device greatly improves production efficiency and product yield. In recent years, automation of wafer transport is very important as semiconductor manufacturing plants are becoming more automated, and this autoloader, which is stable and maintenance-free, contributes greatly.

Front view of a cylinder type semiconductor epitaxial growth apparatus according to an embodiment II-II arrow view of FIG. Detailed view of part A in FIG. IV-IV arrow view of FIG. VV arrow view of FIG. Front view of conventional cylinder type epitaxial semiconductor growth equipment (with susceptor raised) Front view of conventional cylinder type epitaxial semiconductor growth equipment (with susceptor lowered)

Explanation of symbols

01 ... susceptor 02 ... wafer pocket 03 ... wafer 04 ... post 05 ... lid 06 ... arm 07 ... drive screw 08 ... guide rod 09 ... bell jar 010 ··· Heating lamp 1 ··· AC motor drive autoloader 2a · · · Arm 2b · · · Arm 2c · · · Rod 3 · · · Gripper 4 · · · Air actuator 4p · · · Air actuator rotation shaft 5a · · · .. Gripper pin 5b ... Gripper pin 5c ... Gripper pin 5d ... Gripper pin 6 ... Wafer tongue 7 ... Vacuum tongue 8 for monitor chip ... Laser device 9 for susceptor pocket observation ... Laser equipment for wafer cassette observation

Claims (3)

In a cylinder type epitaxial growth apparatus that inserts a wafer into a wafer pocket on the outer surface of the susceptor and inserts it into a bell jar, heats the inside of the bell jar and introduces a processing gas, and vapor-phase epitaxially grows a silicon single crystal on the wafer surface The cylinder type semiconductor epitaxial growth apparatus, wherein the wafer is attached to and detached from the pocket by an air-operated gripper mounted on an AC motor-driven autoloader having a posture maintaining function when the power is shut off. A pocket for a monitor chip for inspecting the result of vapor phase epitaxial growth processing is provided on the outer surface of the susceptor, and the monitor chip is attached to and detached from the pocket by a vacuum suction arm mounted on the autoloader. 2. A cylinder type semiconductor epitaxial growth apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. A cylinder type semiconductor epitaxial growth apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a laser device for detecting a setting state of the wafer in at least one of a wafer cassette, the wafer pocket, and a pocket for the monitor chip.

Images