JP2005142355A - Substrate processing apparatus and method for manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain high-speed substitution of gas in a reaction chamber for forming a thin film on a substrate while uniformly supplying reaction gas and other supplying gas to the surface of the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises the reaction chamber 10 for processing the substrate 50, a first area 24 for storing the substrate formed on the upper part of the reaction chamber 10, a second area 25 formed on the lower part of the first area 24, a connection part formed between the first area 24 and the second area 25, a material gas supply 7 for supplying material gas from the upper part of the first area, a purge gas supply 8 arranged on the upper part of the connection part to supply purge gas to the connection part, and an exhaust port 15 connected to the second area 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device by performing processing such as generation of a thin film and etching on a substrate such as a wafer and a glass substrate, and a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device.

  Currently, with the high integration of LSI, the thinning of semiconductor processes is promoted, and a method effective for improving the film thickness uniformity such as ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) is being actively researched and developed.

  Thin film growth by the ALD method is known as atomic layer deposition, and is performed by alternately supplying a reactive gas, a surplus reactive gas, and a protective gas that purges gaseous reactants so that self-limit is applied to each layer.

  Also, in film formation in MOCVD (Metal Organic CVD), in order to remove impurities in the thin film and adjust the composition of the film to a desired quality, the reaction gas and plasma or other similar active means are used. Alternate supply may be performed.

  When the film formation as described above is performed, the number of film formations per cycle is several, and in particular, the throughput is a problem in the single-wafer type in which films are formed on the substrate one by one. In order to realize a throughput equivalent to 15 to 20 (sheets / hour) in the current mass production site, the switching time of each gas needs to be 1 second or less, and it is necessary to replace the gas in the reaction chamber at high speed. There is. However, the reaction chamber volume is increased by increasing the diameter of the substrate, and high-speed gas replacement becomes difficult due to the supply gas flowing into the lower portion of the reaction chamber and gas adsorption on the wall surface in the reaction chamber.

  In addition, even in the conventional exhaust gas passage gap in the reaction chamber after the substrate supply, which was sufficient for supplying gas uniformly within the substrate surface, the flow passage area has the same gap width with the increase in the substrate diameter. As a result, the exhaust resistance is reduced, and it has become difficult to uniformly supply the gas into the substrate surface.

  If the exhaust gas passage gap in the reaction chamber is further narrowed in order to reduce the passage area, the substrate surface may be deformed due to thermal expansion of the member that determines the passage gap in the reaction chamber that has hardly been affected, or due to mounting errors. If the substrate heating means including the substrate is rotating, the reaction chamber wall surface and the substrate rotating means may come into contact with each other due to thermal expansion or mounting error of the member of the substrate rotating means. There is also.

  In addition, narrowing the exhaust gas flow path gap in the reaction chamber and increasing the exhaust resistance in order to uniformly supply the gas into the substrate surface will reduce the exhaust speed, and the purpose of high-speed gas replacement in the reaction chamber. This is a conflicting measure.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention enables a high-speed replacement of gas in the reaction chamber while uniformly supplying a reaction gas and other supply gas into the reaction chamber in which a thin film is formed on the substrate. A processing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device are provided.

  The present invention includes a reaction chamber for processing a substrate, a first region formed in an upper portion of the reaction chamber and containing a substrate, a second region formed below the first region, the first region, A communication portion formed between the second regions, a source gas supply portion that supplies a source gas from above the first region, and a purge gas supply that is provided above the communication portion and supplies a purge gas toward the communication portion And a substrate processing apparatus including an exhaust port communicating with the second region.

  Further, the present invention is directed to a communication portion formed between the step of carrying the substrate into the reaction chamber and disposing the substrate in the first region of the reaction chamber, and the second region provided below the first region. Supplying a purge gas, supplying a source gas to the substrate, exhausting the substrate from the second region, and processing the substrate; and transporting the processed substrate out of the reaction chamber from the first region of the reaction chamber. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising:

  According to the present invention, a reaction chamber for processing a substrate, a first region formed in an upper portion of the reaction chamber and containing a substrate, a second region formed below the first region, and the first region And a communication portion formed between the first region, a raw material gas supply portion that supplies a raw material gas from above the first region, and a purge gas that is provided above the communication portion and supplies the purge gas toward the communication portion. A purge gas supply unit and an exhaust port communicating with the second region are provided, and the purge gas is supplied to the communication unit separately from the supply of the raw material gas. It can be individually controlled, the conductance of the gas passing through the communicating portion can be adjusted, the source gas can be made to flow uniformly in the substrate surface, and the quality of the substrate processing is improved. Further, by supplying the purge gas toward the communication part, it is possible to cancel the influence of the communication part on the conductance, and it is possible to eliminate the restrictions on the design of the substrate processing apparatus. Furthermore, the communication portion can be made relatively large with respect to the scale of the apparatus, and excellent effects such as high-speed gas replacement are exhibited.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  An example of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a main part of a single wafer type MOCVD apparatus having a remote plasma unit.

  A heater unit 2 is accommodated in a reaction chamber main body 1 having an open upper portion, a lower portion of the heater unit 2 passes through a bottom portion of the reaction chamber main body 1, and a lower end is supported by a base 3. The base 3 is provided with a substrate rotating device 4 concentrically with the lower portion of the heater unit 2, and a bellows 5 is provided between the substrate rotating device 4 and the lower surface of the reaction chamber main body 1. The lower penetrating portion of the unit 2 is hermetically sealed.

  A shower head 6 is attached to the upper end of the reaction chamber main body 1 so as to airtightly close the upper end opening. A reaction gas supply unit 7 is formed in the center of the shower head 6, and a side purge unit 8 is formed around the reaction gas supply unit 7 concentrically with the reaction gas supply unit 7. The reaction gas supply device 11 and the remote plasma device 12 are connected to the unit 7, and the inert gas supply devices 13 and 14 are connected to the side purge unit 8.

  Further, an airtight reaction chamber 10 is defined by the reaction chamber body 1 and the shower head 6, and the reaction chamber 10 is a cylindrical space, and a gate valve (see FIG. A substrate loading / unloading port (not shown) that is opened and closed by an unillustrated exhaust port and an exhaust port 15 are provided, and an exhaust device 16 is connected to the exhaust port 15.

  The heater unit 2 will be described.

  The base 3 is supported so as to be movable up and down, and is lifted and lowered by a lifting device (not shown). The heater unit 2 includes a heater case 18 having a medium airtight structure and a heater portion 19 accommodated in the heater case 18, and the heater case 18 is rotatably supported. The upper surface of the heater case 18 is mounted on a substrate. The susceptor 20 also serves as a table. The susceptor 20 has a disc shape, and is provided with a cover ring 21 concentrically with the susceptor 20. The space between the peripheral surface of the cover ring 21 and the wall surface of the reaction chamber body 1 is about 0.5 mm to 10 mm. A gap is formed. A first region 24 is formed between the susceptor 20 and the shower head 6, and a second region 25 is formed below the cover ring 21. The first region 24 and the second region 25 communicate with each other through a gap between the cover ring 21 and the reaction chamber 10 wall surface, and this gap serves as a communication portion. The cover ring 21 is located above the exhaust port 15, and the exhaust port 15 communicates with the second region 25. In the figure, reference numeral 50 denotes a substrate.

  The lower portion of the heater portion 19 is fixed to the base 3 at the lower end, and the upper portion is a heater 22. The heater 22 is connected to a temperature control unit 23. The temperature control unit 23 supplies power to the heater 22 and controls the amount of heat generated so that the temperature of the susceptor 20 heated by the heater 22 is maintained at a predetermined temperature. It has become.

  A lower portion of the heater case 18 is a rotor of the substrate rotating device 4, and the heater case 18 is rotated at a predetermined speed by the substrate rotating device 4.

  The shower head 6 will be described.

  A disc-shaped space is formed by an upper lid 27 being airtightly fitted to a shower plate 26 that is airtightly fixed to the upper end of the reaction chamber main body 1, and the space is supplied with the reaction gas by a ring-shaped partition 28. A section 7 and the side purge section 8 are partitioned.

  The reaction gas supply unit 7 is provided with a disk-like reaction gas dispersion plate 29 that divides the inside up and down in two, and the side purge unit 8 has a donut plate-like purge gas dispersion plate 31 that divides the inside up and down in two. The reaction gas dispersion plate 29 and the purge gas dispersion plate 31 are provided with a large number of dispersion holes (not shown), each having a required flow path resistance. In the process of passing through the purge gas dispersion plate 31, the gas drift is corrected and becomes uniform.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the shower plate 26 has a number of dispersion introduction holes 32 and dispersion supply holes 33 formed in a region corresponding to the reaction gas supply unit 7 and a region corresponding to the side purge unit 8. Has been. The reaction gas supply section 7 is provided with about 2000 to 10000 dispersion introduction holes 32 having a diameter of about 0.5 mm to 1 mm and a required arrangement such as equidistant arrangement on a lattice shape or multiple circumferences. A required number of the dispersion supply holes 33 are formed in the side purge portion 8, and the dispersion supply holes 33 are formed on the same circumference as shown in FIG. The pitch decreases as it approaches the exhaust port 15.

  By reducing the pitch of the dispersion supply holes 33, 33 on the exhaust port 15 side, the flow rate of the outflow increases on the exhaust port 15 side for the side purge unit 8 as a whole. It gets bigger as you get closer to.

  In FIG. 2, a is the outer diameter of the reaction gas supply unit 7, b is the inner diameter of the side purge unit 8, c is the outer diameter of the side purge unit 8, and d is the outer diameter of the shower plate 26. When the substrate to be processed is φ300 mm, a is about φ300 mm to φ400 mm, and b and c are about φ300 mm to φ600 mm.

  Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, as a method of increasing the flow conductance as approaching the exhaust port 15, as shown in FIG. 3, the distributed supply holes 33 are formed at the same pitch, and the diameter of the distributed supply holes 33 is set to the exhaust gas. The size may be gradually increased toward the mouth 15. The diameter of the dispersion supply hole 33 is, for example, about φ0.5 mm to 1 mm, and the number of holes is, for example, about 100 to 1000. As the hole diameter increases toward the exhaust port 15, the conductance of the dispersion supply hole 33 itself increases toward the exhaust port 15, so the side purge unit 8 as a whole also moves toward the exhaust port 15. On the other hand, conductance increases.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the side purge section 8 is divided in the circumferential direction as necessary to form a side purge division section 8a, and the inert gas is supplied to the side purge division section 8a. The apparatuses 13 and 14 are connected independently, the gas flow rate supplied to the side purge division 8a is controlled independently, and more gas is supplied to the side purge division 8a on the exhaust port 15 side. Also good. By increasing the flow rate from the side purge dividing portion 8a on the exhaust port 15 side, the entire side purge unit 8 is equivalent to an increase in conductance on the exhaust port 15 side. 4 and 5, e indicates the thickness of the partition portion of the side purge portion 8.

  Furthermore, the gas supply structure of the side purge unit 8 shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 may be combined as appropriate.

  The reaction gas supply device 11 will be described.

  The reaction gas supply device 11 includes a film formation raw material supply tank 34 for supplying an organic liquid raw material as a film formation raw material, and a vaporizer 35 for vaporizing the film formation raw material. The vaporizer 35 is connected by a pipe 36, and a gas supply pipe 37 is connected to the film forming raw material supply tank 34 as means for sending the raw material in the film forming raw material supply tank 34 to the vaporizer 35. A valve 30 is provided in the supply pipe 37, and an inert gas as a non-reactive gas is supplied to the film forming raw material supply tank 34 through the gas supply pipe 37 by opening and closing the valve 30. Thus, the organic liquid raw material is extruded and sent to the pipe 36 by pressure.

  The pipe 36 is provided with a liquid flow rate control device 40 as flow rate control means for controlling the liquid supply flow rate of the organic liquid raw material, and a valve 38 is provided on the downstream side of the liquid flow rate control device 40.

  A pipe 39 connected to a carrier gas supply source (not shown) is connected to the vaporizer 35 as a carrier gas supply means. The pipe 39 is connected to a flow rate controller 41, a first heat exchanger 42, and a valve 43. And an inert gas is supplied as a carrier gas. The vaporizer 35 is connected to the reaction gas supply unit 7 by a source gas supply pipe 44, and a valve 48 is provided in the source gas supply pipe 44.

  An inert gas supply pipe 45 is connected to the downstream side of the valve 48 of the source gas supply pipe 44 as a dilution gas supply means. The inert gas supply pipe 45 is a dilution gas supply source (not shown) such as an inert gas. The inert gas supply pipe 45 is provided with a flow rate controller 46, a second heat exchanger 47, and a valve 49 from the upstream side.

  The organic liquid raw material pumped to the vaporizer 35 through the pipe 36 is vaporized by the vaporizer 35, and further, the carrier gas supplied by the flow rate controller 41 through the pipe 39 is controlled in flow rate. The heat exchanger 42 is heated to the same temperature as the vaporizer 35 and supplied to the vaporizer 35. From the vaporizer 35, a raw material gas diluted to a required concentration with an inert gas is supplied to the reaction gas supply unit 7 through the raw material gas supply pipe 44.

  A heater 51 is provided on the downstream side of the source gas supply pipe 44 and the inert gas supply pipe 45 from the valve 49 in order to prevent re-liquefaction of the source gas. It is heated to 100 ° C to 300 ° C.

  The remote plasma apparatus 12 will be described.

  The remote plasma apparatus 12 includes a plasma unit 53, and an oxygen gas supply pipe 54, a plasma generation gas supply pipe 55, and an inert gas supply pipe 56 are connected to the plasma unit 53. A flow rate controller 57 and a valve 58 are provided, a flow rate controller 59 and a valve 60 are provided in the plasma generating gas supply pipe 55, and a flow rate controller 61 and a valve 62 are provided in the inert gas supply pipe 56. Is provided. The plasma unit 53 is connected to the reaction gas supply unit 7 by a radical supply pipe 63. Oxygen gas (O2) is supplied from the oxygen gas supply pipe 54, and Ar gas is supplied from the plasma generating gas supply pipe 55 as a gas for generating plasma.

  The inert gas supply devices 13 and 14 are connected to an inert gas supply source (not shown) by side purge gas supply pipes 65 and 66, respectively. The side purge gas supply pipes 65 and 66 have flow rate controllers 67 and 68, respectively. Heat exchangers 69 and 70 and valves 72 and 73 are provided. As the inert gas, Ar, He, N2 or the like is used.

  The exhaust device 16 will be described.

  The exhaust device 16 has an abatement device (not shown) and a vacuum pump 75, and the vacuum pump 75 is connected to the exhaust port 15 by an exhaust pipe 76, and pressure control means is connected to the exhaust pipe 76 from the upstream side. 77, a raw material recovery trap 78 is provided. The pressure control unit 77 and the raw material recovery trap 78 are connected to the upstream side of the valve 48 of the raw material gas supply pipe 44 by a bypass pipe 79, and the bypass pipe 79 is provided with a valve 80. The bypass pipe 79 is provided with a heater 81 in order to prevent re-liquefaction of the raw material gas, and the inside of the pipe is normally heated to 100 ° C. to 300 ° C. by the heater 81.

  The operation will be described below.

  First, the substrate 50 is loaded into the reaction chamber 10 through a substrate loading / unloading port (not shown) by a substrate transfer robot (not shown), and the substrate 50 is placed on the susceptor 20 by the up and down movement of the heater unit 2.

  Electric power is supplied to the heater unit 2 while rotating the substrate 50 by the substrate rotating device 4, and the substrate 50 is uniformly heated to a predetermined temperature of, for example, 300 to 500 ° C. (temperature raising step). . When the substrate is transported or the substrate is heated, the valve 49 provided in the inert gas supply pipe 45 is opened, and an inert gas such as Ar, He, or N2 is always allowed to flow, so that particles, metal contaminants, etc. Can be prevented from adhering to the substrate 50.

  After the temperature raising process, the film forming process is started. In the film forming process, the valve 30 is opened, an inert gas is supplied to the film forming raw material supply tank 34, and the organic liquid raw material is pushed out to the pipe 36 and fed by pressure. The flow rate of the organic liquid material fed from the film forming material supply tank 34 is controlled by the liquid flow rate control device 40 and supplied to the vaporizer 35 for vaporization. The vaporized source gas merges with the inert gas supplied from the pipe 39.

  Initially, the valve 48 is closed and the valve 80 is opened. After the supply amount is sufficiently stabilized, the valve 48 is opened and the valve 80 is closed, so that the raw material gas passes through the raw material gas supply pipe 44. It is supplied to the reaction gas supply unit 7 as a mixed gas with a carrier gas. Further, the inert gas from the inert gas supply pipe 45 is introduced as a dilution gas by joining the mixed gas. The dilution gas can be used for both prevention of re-liquefaction of the source gas and reduction of the partial pressure, and can be used in either the film formation process or the RPO process (described later).

  The mixed gas introduced into the reaction gas supply unit 7 is dispersed and homogenized by passing through the reaction gas dispersion plate 29, and further, a reaction chamber serving as the first region 24 through the dispersion introduction holes 32 of the shower plate 26. 10 is uniformly introduced and supplied onto the substrate 50.

  The valves 72 and 73 are opened, and an inert gas is supplied to the side purge unit 8 through the side purge gas supply pipes 65 and 66 in parallel with the introduction of the mixed gas. The flow rate of the inert gas introduced into the side purge unit 8 is controlled by the flow rate controllers 67 and 68, and the temperature at the time of introduction is heated by the heat exchangers 69 and 70 so as to be the same temperature as the mixed gas. .

  The inert gas is equalized by the purge gas dispersion plate 31, and the flow rate is increased on the exhaust port 15 side by the dispersion supply hole 33 of the shower plate 26. By increasing the flow rate of the inert gas on the exhaust port 15 side, the gas flow in the plane of the substrate 50 is made uniform.

  By supplying the mixed gas for a predetermined time, first, a thin film of about several to several tens of thousands (several to several tens of atomic layers) is formed on the substrate 50. During this time, since the substrate 50 is kept at a predetermined temperature (film formation temperature) by the heater unit 2 while rotating, a uniform film is formed over the surface of the substrate 50.

  The treated exhaust gas is exhausted from the exhaust port 15 through the exhaust pipe 76 by the vacuum pump 75. The exhaust gas passes through the raw material recovery trap 78 during exhaust, and the raw material gas in the exhaust gas is recovered by the raw material recovery trap 78.

  Next, the valve 48 of the source gas supply pipe 44 is closed to stop the supply of source gas to the substrate. At this time, the valve 80 of the bypass pipe 79 is opened, the source gas is exhausted by bypassing the reaction chamber 10 by the bypass pipe 79, and the supply of the source gas from the film forming source supply tank 34 is stopped. Try not to. Since it takes time until the organic liquid raw material is vaporized and the vaporized raw material gas is stably supplied, if the reaction chamber 10 is allowed to flow without stopping the supply of the raw material gas, In the film forming process, the source gas can be supplied to the substrate immediately by simply switching the flow.

  After the film formation process is completed, the purge process is started. In the purge step, the reaction chamber 10 is purged with an inert gas to remove residual gas. At the same time as switching between opening and closing of the valve 48 and the valve 80, the valves 72 and 73 are closed and the side purge gas supply is stopped. Only the dilution gas from the inert gas supply pipe 45 is continuously supplied to the reaction chamber 10.

  After the purge process is completed, it enters an RPO (Remote Plasma Oxidation) process. Here, the RPO process is a remote plasma oxidation process in which an oxygen radical obtained by activating an oxygen-containing gas (O2, N2 O, NO, etc.) by plasma is used to oxidize the film on the surface of the substrate 50. By this treatment, impurities such as C and H can be removed from the film formed on the surface of the substrate 50. In the RPO process, the valve 60 is opened, an inert gas (for example, Ar gas) is flow-controlled by the flow controller 59 and supplied to the plasma unit 53 to generate Ar plasma. After the Ar plasma is generated, the valve 58 is opened, and O2 supplied from the oxygen gas supply pipe 54 is flow-controlled by the flow controller 57 and supplied to the plasma unit 53. The O2 gas supplied to the plasma unit 53 is activated by Ar plasma, and oxygen radicals are generated. A gas containing oxygen radicals is supplied from the plasma unit 53 to the substrate 50 through the reaction gas dispersion plate 29 and the shower plate 26 through the radical supply pipe 63. During this time, the substrate 50 is kept at a predetermined temperature (the same temperature as the film forming temperature) by the heater unit 2 while rotating, so that the substrate 50 is formed on the substrate by several to several tens of squares (several numbers). Impurities such as C and H can be quickly and uniformly removed from a thin film (about tens of primitive layers).

  Thereafter, the valve 58 and the valve 60 are closed, and supply of oxygen radicals to the substrate is stopped. In order to supply the inert gas at the same time, the valve 62 of the inert gas supply pipe 56 is opened, and the flow rate is controlled by the flow rate controller 61 to supply an inert gas equivalent to the O2 gas flow rate. By supplying the inert gas, fluctuations in the pressure in the reaction chamber 10 due to the supply of O2 gas being stopped are suppressed, and the radical supply pipe 63 from the plasma unit 53 to the reaction chamber 10 is connected to the plasma unit 53. It becomes possible to purge.

  The RPO process and the film forming process are desirably performed at substantially the same temperature. That is, it is desirable to keep the heater set temperature constant without changing it. This is because, by not causing the temperature fluctuation, particles due to the thermal expansion of the gas contact parts such as the shower head part and the susceptor are less likely to be generated, and the metal jumping out (metal contamination) from the metal part can be suppressed. It is.

  After completion of the RPO process, the purge process is started again. In the purge process, the reaction chamber 10 is purged by introducing an inert gas through the inert gas supply pipe 45 to remove the residual gas.

  After the purge process is completed, the film formation process is started again, and the valve 48 provided in the source gas supply pipe 44 is opened and the valve 80 is closed to supply the source gas to the substrate 50 through the shower head 6. Then, a thin film of about several to several tens of tens (several to several tens of atomic layers) is deposited on the thin film formed in the previous film formation step.

  As described above, a thin film having a predetermined film thickness with very little contamination of impurities such as CH and OH can be formed by the cycle process in which the film forming process → the purge process → the RPO process → the purge process is repeated a plurality of times.

  As processing conditions for processing a substrate in the processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, for example, as processing conditions when forming an HfO2 film, a processing temperature of 350 to 450 ° C. and a processing pressure of 100 Pa are used. Organic liquid raw material Hf (MMP) 4 (Tetrakis (1-Methoxy-2-methyl-2-propoxy) Hafnium) flow rate 0.05 g / min, carrier gas flow rate 500-1500 sccm, dilution gas flow rate 500-1500 sccm, side purge gas flow rate 500 to 5000 sccm is exemplified.

  After forming a thin film with a predetermined thickness, the rotation of the substrate 50 by the substrate rotating device 4 is stopped, and the substrate 50 is taken out from the reaction chamber 10.

  In the substrate processing apparatus such as the present invention that vaporizes the organic liquid raw material and supplies it to the reaction chamber 10, the particles are re-liquefied in the low temperature portion of the reaction chamber or the effect of the residual gas in the corner of the reaction chamber. Occurrence, non-uniformity of the film formation rate, etc. are problems. Therefore, it is desirable to exhaust the source gas from the reaction chamber as soon as possible after supplying the source gas to the substrate 50. Therefore, the exhaust gas is exhausted from the side of the reaction chamber close to the substrate.

  In addition, in order to supply the source gas uniformly within the surface of the substrate 50, in the process leading to the exhaust port 15, flow path resistance, for example, a gap formed between the cover ring 21 and the wall surface of the reaction chamber body 1 is used. Various aperture structures are required.

  The gas in the second region 25 flows between the upper portion of the heater unit 2 and the wall surface of the reaction chamber main body 1 for the ease of flow of the gas flowing out from the first region 24 through the gap to the second region 25. If the ease of flow through the formed space to the exhaust port 15 is greater, the source gas flows uniformly in the plane of the substrate 50.

  In other words, the condition of (conductance of flow from the first region 24 to the second region 25)> (conductance of flow from the opposite side of the second region 25 to the exhaust port 15) may be satisfied. .

  Specifically, if the substrate is φ300 mm, the outer diameter of the cover ring 21 is about φ400 to φ500 mm. In this case, in order to satisfy the above-described conditions, a gap (hereinafter referred to as a gap) between the cover ring 21 and the wall surface of the reaction chamber 10 is about 2 mm or less on one side. The cover ring 21 is placed on the upper end of the heater unit 2 and becomes very hot. Depending on the material, the cover ring 21 may expand and the outer diameter may increase by about 1 mm. For this reason, due to the installation error, processing accuracy, eccentricity, etc. of the cover ring 21, the heater unit 2 is rotated to generate a narrow gap and a wide gap. Therefore, if the gap is narrowed, the flow in the surface of the substrate 50 may be non-uniform due to the above-described factors.

  In order to form the above-described film, the reaction chamber 10 needs to be set to several to several hundreds Pa. Under viscous flow conditions, the conductance of the flow is proportional to the pressure, and in the second region 25, the pressure at the exhaust port 15 side and the opposite side of the exhaust port is higher than the film forming pressure condition exceeding several thousand Pa. It is easy to make a difference, and it is difficult to supply gas uniformly in the surface of the substrate 50 only by setting a gap.

  As described above, in the present invention, the reaction gas supply unit 7 and the shower plate 26 (particularly the central part, the dispersion introduction hole 32) arranged to uniformly supply the source gas or oxygen radicals to the reaction chamber 10 are provided. Separately, the side purge portion 8 (the dispersion supply hole 33) provided on the outer peripheral portion of the shower plate 26 is provided, and a purge gas which is an inert gas from the outer peripheral portion of the shower head 6 to the side purge portion 8 is provided. Are introduced and flown separately from the source gas. Further, the purge gas is made to flow closer to the exhaust port 15 by using the flow rate controllers 67 and 68 or by making the pitch and hole diameter of the dispersed supply holes 33 different between the exhaust port 15 side and the opposite side. The flow rate is controlled so as to flow, and the gas flow in the surface of the substrate 50 is made uniform.

  By adopting such a configuration, even when the gap is about 2 mm to 5 mm, the gas can flow uniformly in the surface of the substrate 50. Since the gap can be made larger than before, even if there is an error due to thermal expansion or attachment of the cover ring 21 or a variation in the gap due to the eccentricity of the cover ring 21, the deviation of the gas flow in the surface of the substrate 50 can be reduced. .

  Further, since the gap can be increased, the valves 72 and 73 of the side purge gas supply pipes 65 and 66 connected to the side purge section in the purge process are closed or a minute flow rate is reduced from the side purge gas supply pipes 65 and 66. By flowing the purge gas, the first region 24 can be exhausted at a higher speed than in the prior art, and the cycle time can be shortened.

  The present invention has a configuration in which the purge gas, which is an inert gas, flows closer to the exhaust port 15 from the outer periphery of the shower head 6 so that a larger purge flow rate is flowed, and the gas flow in the surface of the substrate 50 is made uniform. . Further, since such a configuration is provided, even when the gap is the same as that of the prior art or about 2 mm to 5 mm larger on one side, the gas can flow uniformly in the surface of the substrate 50. Furthermore, since the gap can be made larger than before, errors due to thermal expansion and attachment of the cover ring 21 and deviation of the gas flow in the surface of the substrate 50 due to the eccentricity of the cover ring 21 can be reduced. Further, since the gap is large, the exhaust resistance can be reduced, and when the purge gas supplied to the side purge unit 8 is stopped in the purge process, or the side purge unit 8 has a minute flow rate of purge gas to prevent back diffusion. In any case, the exhaust in the first region 24 and the shower head 6 can be performed at high speed, and the substrate processing cycle time can be shortened.

(Appendix)
The present invention includes the following embodiments.

  (Appendix 1) A reaction chamber for processing a substrate, a substrate mounting table for supporting the substrate in the reaction chamber, a source gas supply unit for supplying a source gas into the reaction chamber, and a plate-like member provided around the substrate And an exhaust port for exhausting the gas in the reaction chamber, and a purge gas supply unit that is provided above the gap between the wall of the reaction chamber and the plate-like member and supplies the purge gas toward the gap. A substrate processing apparatus.

  (Supplementary note 2) The substrate processing apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the purge gas supply unit is configured to change a purge gas flow rate between the exhaust port side and the opposite side.

  (Additional remark 3) The substrate processing apparatus of additional remark 2 comprised so that the purge gas supply part by the side of an exhaust port can flow more purge gas than the other side.

  (Supplementary note 4) The substrate processing apparatus according to supplementary note 3, wherein the purge gas supply unit has a plurality of holes, and the exhaust port side has a higher hole number density than the opposite side.

  (Supplementary note 5) The substrate processing apparatus according to supplementary note 3, wherein the purge gas supply unit has a plurality of holes, and the opening area on the exhaust port side is larger than the opposite side.

  (Appendix 6) The purge gas supply unit is divided between the exhaust port side and the opposite side so that the purge gas flow rate flowing to the purge gas supply unit on the exhaust port side is larger than the purge gas flow rate flowing to the purge gas supply unit on the opposite side The substrate processing apparatus according to appendix 3, further comprising control means for independently controlling the flow rate.

  (Supplementary note 7) The substrate processing apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the source gas supply unit has a plurality of holes.

It is a composition schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the invention. It is a top view of the shower board used by this embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the other example of a shower board. It is a top view which shows the other example of a shower board. It is a top view which shows the other example of a shower board.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reaction chamber main body 2 Heater unit 4 Substrate rotation apparatus 6 Shower head 7 Reaction gas supply part 8 Side purge part 11 Reaction gas supply apparatus 12 Remote plasma apparatus 15 Exhaust port 16 Exhaust apparatus 19 Heater part 20 Susceptor 21 Covering 22 Heater 23 Temperature Control part 24 1st area | region 25 2nd area | region 26 Shower plate 28 Partition 29 Reaction gas dispersion | distribution plate 31 Purge gas dispersion | distribution plate 34 Film-forming raw material supply tank 35 Vaporizer 39 Piping 45 Inert gas supply pipe 50 Substrate 53 Plasma unit 54 Oxygen gas supply Pipe 55 Gas supply pipe for plasma generation 65 Side purge gas supply pipe 66 Side purge gas supply pipe 75 Vacuum pump 76 Exhaust pipe 78 Material recovery trap 79 Bypass pipe

Claims (2)

  A reaction chamber for processing a substrate; a first region formed in an upper portion of the reaction chamber for housing the substrate; a second region formed below the first region; and between the first region and the second region A communication portion formed in the first region, a source gas supply portion that supplies a source gas from above the first region, a purge gas supply portion that is provided above the communication portion and supplies a purge gas toward the communication portion, and A substrate processing apparatus comprising an exhaust port communicating with the second region.   While supplying the purge gas toward the communication portion formed between the step of carrying the substrate into the reaction chamber and placing it in the first region of the reaction chamber, and the second region provided below the first region Supplying a source gas to the substrate, exhausting the substrate from the second region, and processing the substrate; and carrying the processed substrate out of the reaction chamber from the first region of the reaction chamber. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device.

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