JP2005183645A - Heat treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment device that can prevent the reduction of sealing performance in a sealing part. <P>SOLUTION: The heat treatment device is provided with a chamber body 6 wherein a space for heat treatment of a substrate is formed by a chamber side 63 having a nearly cylindrical inner wall, a chamber bottom covering the lower part of the chamber side 63, and an opening on its upper side. It is also provided with a light irradiation part to emit a light to the substrate within the chamber body 6 through the opening and a light transmitting plate 61 that blocks the opening of the chamber body 6 and transmits a light from the light irradiation part. A circular groove 631 is formed on the upper end surface of the chamber side 63 and a circular metallic gasket 51 is provided within the circular groove 631. The metallic gasket 51 is pinched between the light transmitting plate 61 and the chamber side 63 and is elastically deformed, thereby sealing a space therebetween. Thus, sealing performance between the chamber body 6 and the light transmitting plate 61 in the heat treatment device can be prevented from being reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for performing a process involving heating by irradiating a substrate with light.

  Conventionally, heat treatment is performed on a substrate at various stages of manufacturing a semiconductor substrate or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”), and one of the heat treatment methods is a rapid thermal process (hereinafter referred to as “RTP”). ") Is used. In RTP, a substrate in a processing chamber is heated with a halogen lamp or the like and heated to a predetermined temperature in a short time, thereby reducing the thickness of an insulating film such as an oxide film and activating an impurity added by an ion implantation method. It is possible to realize a treatment that is difficult by a long-time heat treatment using a conventional electric furnace, such as suppression of impurity re-diffusion. In recent years, a technique of heating a substrate in a shorter time using a flash lamp as a substrate heating source is also used.

  By the way, in the heat treatment apparatus used for such RTP, it is necessary to keep the processing chamber in a predetermined atmosphere, and the processing chamber is kept airtight using a colored O-ring made of resin. There arises a problem that the ring is deteriorated by heat and the airtightness in the processing chamber is lowered. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a space between a quartz tube in which an infrared lamp is disposed around a processing chamber and a plate that closes an opening of the quartz tube is sealed with a transparent or white silicon rubber O-ring. Thus, a technique for preventing excessive heating of the O-ring while keeping the processing chamber in an airtight state is disclosed. In Patent Document 2, the quartz tube is provided with an inclined portion whose diameter increases toward the end portion, thereby reducing the amount of heat rays reaching the O-ring contacting the end portion of the quartz tube, thereby deteriorating the O-ring. Techniques for suppressing this have been proposed.

Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for extending the life of an O-ring that seals between the quartz window and the chamber body by cooling the quartz window of the substrate processing apparatus via a resin sheet. In Patent Document 4, a transparent heat-resistant sealing member that suppresses heat conduction and heat radiation by disposing an amorphous high-purity quartz glass foam layer composed of reduced-pressure closed cells in a portion exposed to a high-temperature atmosphere, and the sealing member A combination of an O-ring has been proposed.
JP 2001-233624 A JP-A-9-82656 JP-A-9-326366 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-256028

  By the way, depending on the type and output of the lamp provided in the heat treatment apparatus, there may occur a phenomenon that the surface of the resin O-ring is burned by light irradiation rather than being deteriorated by heat. With an O-ring having a burnt surface, the sealing performance is lowered, and it is difficult to keep the processing chamber airtight. Further, the burned portion of the O-ring may become a particle generation source.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress a decrease in the sealing performance of a seal portion that maintains a space in which a substrate is processed in an airtight state in a heat treatment apparatus that performs processing on a substrate by light irradiation. It is said.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a heat treatment apparatus for performing a process involving heating by irradiating a substrate with light, and has an opening for forming light to be irradiated to the substrate while forming a space for processing the substrate. A chamber main body, a light irradiation unit that irradiates light to the substrate disposed inside the chamber main body through the opening, a window member that closes the opening and transmits light from the light irradiation unit; A portion in contact with the window member is formed of metal, and includes a seal portion that seals between the window member and the chamber body.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seal portion is an annular metal member that is sandwiched between the chamber body and the window member and elastically deforms.

  Invention of Claim 3 is the heat processing apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising: The said seal part is pinched | interposed between the cyclic | annular resin member which contact | connects the said chamber main body, the said window member, and the said resin member And an annular metal member that blocks the irradiation of the light from the light irradiation unit to the resin member.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the light irradiation unit includes a flash lamp.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the portion of the seal portion that contacts the window member is formed of aluminum or nickel.

  According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the sealing performance between the chamber body and the window member.

  In the invention of claim 2, the structure of the seal portion can be simplified, and in the invention of claim 3, the seal portion can be easily provided.

  In the invention of claim 4, the surface temperature of the substrate can be raised and lowered in a short time.

  In the invention of claim 5, the durability of the seal portion can be improved.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a heat treatment apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The heat treatment apparatus 1 irradiates a semiconductor substrate 9 (hereinafter referred to as “substrate 9”) with light and heats it. It is an apparatus that performs the accompanying process.

  The heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a chamber side portion 63 having a substantially cylindrical inner wall and a chamber bottom portion 62 that covers a lower portion of the chamber side portion 63, and a space (hereinafter referred to as “chamber”) in which the substrate 9 is heat treated. A chamber body 6 is formed which has an opening 60 on the side opposite to the chamber bottom 62 (upper side in FIG. 1).

  Further, the heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a translucent plate 61 that closes the opening 60 of the chamber body 6, a holding unit (so-called susceptor) 7 that holds the substrate 9 in the chamber body 6, and a holding unit 7. A heater reflector 30 that reflects the radiated heat energy, a holding unit elevating mechanism 4 that elevates and lowers the holding unit 7 with respect to the chamber bottom 62, which is the bottom surface of the chamber body 6, and a liner 20 that is disposed around the holding unit 7. The light irradiation part 5 which irradiates light through the opening 60 to the board | substrate 9 hold | maintained at the part 7 and heats the board | substrate 9 and the control part 8 which controls these structures and heat-processes are provided.

  The translucent plate 61 is formed of a material that transmits light from the light irradiation unit 5 such as quartz, and transmits a light from the light irradiation unit 5 and guides it to the chamber 65 (so-called chamber window). ). The chamber bottom 62 and the chamber side 63 are formed of a metal material having excellent strength and heat resistance such as stainless steel, for example. A plurality of support pins 70 for supporting the substrate 9 from its lower surface (a surface opposite to the surface irradiated with light from the light irradiation unit 5) through the holding unit 7 stand on the chamber bottom 62. It is installed.

The chamber side portion 63 has a carry-in / out port 66 for carrying in and out the substrate 9, and the carry-in / out port 66 can be opened and closed by a gate valve 68 that rotates about a shaft 67. An introduction path 78 for introducing a processing gas (for example, nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas) into the chamber 65 is provided at a portion of the chamber side portion 63 opposite to the carry-in / out port 66. Connected to the device. Further, a discharge passage 79 for discharging the gas in the chamber is formed at the carry-in / out port 66 and is connected to an exhaust device (not shown) via an on-off valve 81. The gate valve 68 may be a mechanism that opens and closes the carry-in / out port 66 by vertical movement.

  The holding unit 7 includes a heating plate 74 that preheats the substrate 9 (so-called assist heating), and a heat diffusion plate 73 that is installed on the upper surface of the heating plate 74 (the surface on the side where the holding unit 7 holds the substrate 9). And a pin 75 for preventing displacement of the substrate 9 is provided on the upper surface of the thermal diffusion plate 73. A cylindrical body 41 that supports the holding unit 7 is provided on the lower surface side of the heating plate 74.

The heating plate 74 is formed of a metal such as stainless steel, and has a heater (not shown) inside and a sensor for controlling the heater. The thermal diffusion plate 73 is formed of sapphire (Al ₂ O ₃ : aluminum oxide) with few impurities, quartz, or the like, and diffuses thermal energy radiated from the heating plate 74. The thermal diffusion plate 73 may be formed of aluminum nitride.

  A heater reflector 30 that reflects thermal energy radiated from the holding unit 7 is disposed around the holding unit 7 and the cylindrical body 41. The heater reflector 30 is made of quartz, and the entire surface thereof is roughened by blasting to exhibit a satin pattern, and the heat energy from the heating plate 74 is prevented from being transmitted to other than the heat diffusion plate 73. A through hole 34 into which a plurality of support pins 70 are inserted is formed at a position corresponding to a through hole 76 formed in the holding portion 7 in a portion facing the chamber bottom 62 of the heater reflector 30 (however, In FIG. 1, only one through hole 34 and through hole 76 are denoted by reference numerals.

  The holding unit elevating mechanism 4 includes a moving plate 42, a guide member 43, a fixed plate 44, a ball screw 45, connecting members 46 and 47, a nut 48, and a motor 40. The moving plate 42 is connected to the holding unit 7 through the cylindrical body 41 and is connected to the nut 48 through the connecting members 46 and 47 and is guided by the guide member 43 whose upper end is fixed to the chamber bottom 62. Can be moved up and down. The motor 40 is installed at the center of a fixed plate 44 attached to the lower end of the guide member 43, and a ball screw 45 is connected thereto. When the holding unit 7 is moved up and down by the holding unit lifting mechanism 4, the motor 40 rotates the ball screw 45 under the control of the control unit 8, and the moving plate 42 connected to the nut 48 moves along the guide member 43. Accordingly, the holding unit 7 moves smoothly in the Z direction in FIG.

  Further, the lower end of the heater reflector 30 (that is, the (−Z) side end portion surrounding the tubular body 41 of the heater reflector 30) is fixed to the moving plate 42, and when the holding unit 7 moves up and down, The heater reflector 30 also moves up and down together with the holding unit 7.

  An elastic bellows 77 that surrounds the cylindrical body 41 and the surrounding heater reflector 30 is provided between the moving plate 42 and the chamber bottom 62. One end of the bellows 77 is connected to the chamber bottom 62 and the other end is connected to the moving plate 42, so that the airtightness of the lower portion of the chamber 65 is maintained. The bellows 77 is contracted when the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 are raised with respect to the chamber bottom 62 by the holding unit lifting mechanism 4, and the bellows 77 is expanded when it is lowered.

  The liner 20 is made of quartz, for example, and is detachably attached to the chamber body 6 along the chamber bottom 62 and the chamber side 63. A through hole 21 into which the lower portion of the cylindrical body 41 and the heater reflector 30 is inserted is formed in a portion of the liner 20 that faces the chamber bottom 62, and the through hole 22 into which the support pin 70 is inserted is a through hole 34. And a position corresponding to the through hole 76.

  In a portion of the liner 20 that faces the chamber side portion 63, an opening 23 that allows the carry-in / out port 66 and the chamber 65 to communicate with each other, and a flow path (in the drawing) through which the processing gas flowing from the introduction path 78 to the discharge path 79 passes. (Omitted) is formed. Further, the outer surface of the liner 20 (that is, the surface facing the chamber bottom 62 and the chamber side 63) is roughened by blasting to exhibit a satin pattern. The liner 20 may be formed as a split body in which a portion facing the chamber bottom 62 and a portion facing the chamber side 63 can be separated, or the whole may be integrally formed.

  The light irradiation unit 5 includes a plurality (25 in the present embodiment) of a xenon flash lamp (hereinafter simply referred to as “flash lamp”) 69 and a reflector 71. Each of the plurality of flash lamps 69 is a rod-shaped lamp having a long cylindrical shape, and each of the flash lamps 69 is arranged in a plane parallel to each other along the main surface of the substrate 9 held by the holding unit 7. Yes. The reflector 71 is provided above the plurality of flash lamps 69 so as to cover the entire flash lamp 69, and the surface thereof is roughened by blasting to exhibit a satin pattern.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the upper part of the chamber side part 63, and shows only the upper left part of the chamber side part 63 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, an annular groove 631 is formed on the upper end surface of the substantially cylindrical chamber side portion 63 (more precisely, the upper surface of the annular member positioned above the chamber side portion 63). An annular metal gasket 51 formed of a nickel alloy is provided in 631. An annular fixing member 611 made of aluminum is provided on the upper end surface of the chamber side portion 63 outside the annular groove 631. The fixing member 611 is attached to the chamber side 63 by a bolt (not shown), and a flange projecting inwardly contacts the outer edge of the translucent plate 61 so that the translucent plate 61 is attached to the chamber side 63. . In addition, since the flange part of the fixing member 611 is provided so as to cover the upper part of the annular groove 631, direct irradiation of the metal gasket 51 from directly above the annular groove 631 is suppressed.

  Here, the metal gasket 51 is formed in an annular shape (ring shape) in cross section, and the upper portion of the metal gasket 51 protrudes above the upper end surface of the chamber side portion 63 in a state where the light transmitting plate 61 is not provided. To do. Therefore, when the translucent plate 61 is attached to the chamber side portion 63, the metal gasket 51 is sandwiched between the chamber body 6 and the translucent plate 61 and elastically deformed. As a result, the upper and lower portions of the metal gasket 51 are in contact with the translucent plate 61 and the chamber side portion 63 without any gap, respectively, so that the gap between the translucent plate 61 and the chamber body 6 is sealed, and the metal gasket 51 serves as a seal portion. It plays a role and the chamber 65 is kept airtight. In addition, since the pressure in the chamber 65 during the heat treatment described later is only increased by several kPa with respect to the atmospheric pressure, the heat treatment apparatus 1 uses a force smaller than the tightening force required for a normal metal gasket. The fixing member 611 can be fastened to the chamber side portion 63, and an excessive force does not act on the translucent plate 61 sandwiched between the fixing member 611 and the metal gasket 51.

  3 and 4 are diagrams showing the flow of operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1 when the substrate 9 is heat treated. In the present embodiment, the substrate 9 is a semiconductor substrate to which impurities are added by an ion implantation method, and the impurities added by the heat treatment by the heat treatment apparatus 1 are activated.

  When the substrate 9 is heat-treated by the heat treatment apparatus 1, first, the holding unit 7 is disposed at a position close to the chamber bottom 62 as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the positions in the chamber 65 of the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 in FIG. 1 are referred to as “delivery positions”. When the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 are in the delivery position, the tip of the support pin 70 passes through the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 and is positioned above the holding unit 7. Next, the loading / unloading port 66 is opened, and the substrate 9 is loaded into the chamber 65 via the loading / unloading port 66 by a transfer robot (not shown) controlled by the control unit 8 (step S11). Placed on.

  Thereafter, the carry-in / out port 66 is closed by the gate valve 68 (step S12), the on-off valves 80 and 81 are opened, and normal temperature nitrogen gas is introduced into the chamber 65 (step S13). The holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 start to rise by the holding unit elevating mechanism 4, and the substrate 9 is passed from the support pins 70 to the holding unit 7 and held, and the substrate 9 on the holding unit 7 is as shown in FIG. To a position close to the translucent plate 61 (step S14). Then, heat treatment is performed in a state where the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 are raised with respect to the chamber bottom 62. Hereinafter, the positions in the chamber 65 of the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 illustrated in FIG. 5 are referred to as “processing positions”. The distance between the holding unit 7 and the translucent plate 61 can be arbitrarily adjusted by controlling the rotation amount of the motor 40 of the holding unit lifting mechanism 4.

  The holding unit 7 is heated to a predetermined temperature in advance by a heater built in the heating plate 74, and the substrate 9 is preheated by contacting the holding unit 7 (more precisely, the heat diffusion plate 73) (step). S15), the temperature of the substrate 9 gradually increases. At this time, since the heat energy from the heating plate 74 is diffused by the heat diffusion plate 73, the substrate 9 is uniformly preheated. Further, since heat energy such as heat rays radiated from the holding unit 7 is reflected by the heater reflector 30 and heat conduction to the surroundings is suppressed, the thermal energy from the holding unit 7 is efficiently used for preheating the substrate 9. Can be used.

  The surface temperature of the substrate 9 is continuously and indirectly measured by the temperature sensor in the heating plate 74 (step S16), and the measured temperature reaches a set preheating temperature (hereinafter referred to as “set temperature”). It is repeatedly confirmed whether or not it has been done (step S17). The set temperature is about 200 ° C. to 600 ° C., preferably about 350 ° C. to 550 ° C., in which impurities added to the substrate 9 are not likely to diffuse due to heat.

  When the surface temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature, flash light is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5 toward the substrate 9 disposed inside the chamber body 6 under the control of the control unit 8 (step S18). At this time, a part of the light emitted from the flash lamp 69 of the light irradiation unit 5 passes through the light diffusing plate 72 and the light transmitting plate 61 and goes directly into the chamber 65, and the other part is temporarily reflected by the reflector 71. After being reflected, the light passes through the light diffusing plate 72 and the light transmitting plate 61 and travels into the chamber 65. By irradiation with these lights, the surface temperature of the substrate 9 is changed to be different from preheating. Heating to raise the processing temperature is referred to as “main heating”). Thus, the main heating is performed by light irradiation, whereby the surface temperature of the substrate 9 can be raised and lowered in a short time.

  The light irradiated from the light irradiation unit 5, that is, the flash lamp 69, is converted to a light pulse in which the electrostatic energy stored in advance is extremely short, and the irradiation time is about 0.1 to 10 milliseconds. The surface temperature of the substrate 9 which is a short and strong flash and is mainly heated by the light from the flash lamp 69 instantaneously rises to a processing temperature of about 1000 ° C. to 1100 ° C., and the impurities added to the substrate 9 are activated. Is done. At this time, since the surface temperature of the substrate 9 rises to the processing temperature in a very short time and rapidly decreases, diffusion of impurities added to the substrate 9 due to heat (this diffusion phenomenon is caused by the profile of the impurities in the substrate 9). Impurities can be activated while suppressing (also referred to as rounding). Further, by preheating the substrate 9 with the heating plate 74 before the main heating, the surface temperature of the substrate 9 can be quickly raised to the processing temperature by irradiation with light from the flash lamp 69.

  By the way, during the main heating, a part of the light emitted from the flash lamp 69 is transmitted through the translucent plate 61, and the metal gasket 51 shown in FIG. It becomes. However, since the metal gasket 51 is formed of metal (nickel alloy) as described above, damage caused by light from the flash lamp 69 (for example, the surface is burnt) is suppressed. Further, the light during the main heating is incident on the liner 20 shown in FIG. 5, but the light is blocked to some extent by the outer surface of the liner 20 roughened by the blasting process (the surface facing the chamber body 6). A phenomenon in which the inner surface of the chamber body 6 is exposed to light and deteriorates or deteriorates is suppressed.

  After the end of the main heating, the holding unit 7 and the heater reflector 30 are again lowered to the delivery position shown in FIG. 1 by the holding unit elevating mechanism 4 (step S19), and the substrate 9 is transferred from the holding unit 7 to the support pins 70. Subsequently, the on-off valves 80 and 81 are closed to stop the introduction of nitrogen gas (step S20), and the carry-in / out port 66 closed by the gate valve 68 is opened (step S21). The substrate 9 placed on the support pins 70 is unloaded by the transfer robot (step S22), and a series of heat treatment operations by the heat treatment apparatus 1 is completed.

  As described above, in the heat treatment apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, the opening 60 of the chamber main body 6 for introducing the light from the light irradiation unit 5 irradiated to the substrate 9 is closed by the translucent plate 61, so The space between the plates 61 is sealed by an annular seal portion (that is, the metal gasket 51) formed of metal and disposed around the opening 60. Thereby, in the heat processing apparatus 1, it can suppress that a sealing part deteriorates with the light irradiated at the time of main heating, and the sealing performance between the chamber main body 6 and the translucent board 61 falls. Further, the structure of the seal portion can be simplified (the number of parts can be reduced) by using a metal gasket. In addition, the metal gasket 51 does not necessarily need to be provided in the annular groove 631, and may be provided in an annular groove formed on the light transmitting plate 61 side, for example.

  FIG. A thru | or FIG. D is a figure which shows the other example of a metal gasket, respectively. FIG. The metal gasket 51a of A is formed in a spring shape having a substantially E-shaped cross section, and FIG. The metal gasket 51b of b is C-shaped with a cross section opening inward. In addition, FIG. The metal gasket 51c of C has a substantially U shape with a cross section opening inward, and FIG. The metal gasket 51d of D contacts the translucent plate 61 on the inner side, contacts the bottom surface of the annular groove 631 on the outer side, and has a so-called disc spring shape with a substantially S-shaped cross section. Specific examples of the gasket 51d include, for example, Tetsuya Hamada and two others, “Development of a new metal seal—metal seal with low tightening force”, Mitsubishi Electric Industrial Times, April 2003, No. 100, p. . 102-109.

  FIG. A thru | or FIG. The metal gaskets 51a to 51d shown in D are also annular like the metal gasket 51 of FIG. 2 and are elastically deformed by being sandwiched between the chamber side portion 63 and the translucent plate 61 so that the inside of the chamber body 6 is hermetically sealed. Serves as a seal to keep the state. As a result, FIG. A thru | or FIG. Also in the heat treatment apparatus having the metal gaskets 51a to 51d shown in D, the deterioration of the sealing performance between the chamber main body 6 (chamber side portion 63) and the translucent plate 61 is suppressed while simplifying the structure of the sealing portion. Can do.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing another example of the heat treatment apparatus, and is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. The heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 7 is different from the heat treatment apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in that the metal gasket 51 is a seal portion 52 having an O-ring, and the other configurations are the same, and the same reference numerals as those in FIG. ing.

  The seal portion 52 includes an O-ring that is a packing formed of an elastic resin (for example, a rubber elastomer such as fluorine rubber), and a cover that is an annular plate formed of nickel (hereinafter referred to as “metal cover”). ), And the O-ring 521 is provided in the annular groove 631 so as to be in contact with the chamber body 6, and the metal cover 522 is sandwiched between the translucent plate 61 and the O-ring 521. That is, in the seal portion 52, the translucent plate 61 and the metal cover 522, the metal cover 522 and the O-ring 521, and the O-ring 521 and the chamber main body 6 are in contact with each other without any gap, and the translucent plate 61 and the chamber main body are in close contact. 6 is sealed.

  At this time, in the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 7, the force is buffered by the O-ring 521, whereby the fixing member 611 can be fixed with a larger tightening force than when the metal gasket 51 of FIG. 2 is used. In addition, it is possible to prevent the light transmitting plate 61 from being damaged due to an excessive force acting while obtaining a sealing performance required between the chamber body 6 and the chamber body 6. As a result, the seal portion can be easily provided.

  In the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 7, the light traveling toward the seal portion 52 during the main heating is applied to the metal cover 522 that is in contact with the translucent plate 61. In other words, the light irradiation from the light irradiation unit 5 shown in FIG. 5 to the O-ring 521 is blocked by the metal cover 522, and the light does not reach the O-ring 521. Accordingly, in the heat treatment apparatus of FIG. 7, the surface of the O-ring 521 is damaged by light irradiation, or the O-ring 521 is deteriorated by heat, so that the sealing performance between the translucent plate 61 and the chamber body 6 is lowered. Can be suppressed.

  FIG. A and FIG. B is a diagram illustrating another example of the seal portion 52. FIG. FIG. In the seal portion 52 of A, the metal cover 522 is provided with an annular flange portion 523a bent toward the inner peripheral side of the O-ring 521, and FIG. In the seal portion 52 of B, an annular flange portion 523b bent to the outer peripheral side of the O-ring 521 is provided on the metal cover 522 in addition to the inner flange portion 523a. FIG. A and FIG. In the seal part 52 of B, the side part of the O-ring 521 is covered with the flange part 523a and the flange parts 523a and 523b of the metal cover 522, respectively. Thereby, the light from the light irradiation unit 5 is further suppressed from entering the O-ring 521, and the life of the seal unit 52 can be extended. Further, as in the case of FIG. 7, the seal portion can be easily provided by elastic deformation of the O-ring 521.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

  In the heat treatment apparatus, the metal gasket or the metal cover abuts on the translucent plate 61 and the sealing performance of the seal portion is prevented from being deteriorated. For example, the metal cover 522 is omitted from the seal portion 52 and the O-ring 521 is transparent. Deterioration of the seal portion may be suppressed by applying a metal film to a portion in contact with the optical plate 61. Moreover, a metal coating (for example, plating of aluminum or nickel) may be applied to an annular plate formed of a material other than metal and used as a metal cover. That is, in the heat treatment apparatus, the portion of the seal portion that comes into contact with the light-transmitting plate 61 is formed of metal, so that deterioration of the seal performance can be suppressed.

  In the heat treatment apparatus, the portion of the seal portion that contacts the light transmitting plate 61 (that is, the metal gasket or the metal cover) may be formed of a metal other than nickel (including a nickel alloy). When the light irradiation unit 5 having 69 is used, it is preferably formed of aluminum or nickel, and thereby the durability of the seal portion in the heat treatment apparatus having the flash lamp 69 is improved. .

  The cross-sectional shape of the metal gasket is shown in FIGS. A thru | or FIG. It is not limited to those described in D. Any shape can be used as long as it can seal between the light transmitting plate 61 and the chamber body 6 without excessive force acting on the light transmitting plate 61. Also good.

  The annular resin member in contact with the chamber body 6 in the seal portion 52 may have a cross-sectional shape other than a circle as long as it is made of resin.

  In the light irradiation unit 5, the number, arrangement, or shape of the flash lamps 69 is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed according to various conditions such as the size of the substrate 9 to be heat-treated. . Further, instead of the xenon flash lamp, a krypton flash lamp may be used, or another light source such as a halogen lamp that is not a flash lamp may be used.

  In the heat treatment apparatus 1, the substrate 9 may be subjected to various heating processes such as oxidation, annealing, and CVD in addition to the impurity activation process. The heat treatment apparatus 1 can be used not only for semiconductor substrates but also for heat treatment for glass substrates for flat panel display devices such as liquid crystal display devices and plasma display devices.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the heat processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the upper part vicinity of a chamber side part. It is a figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the heat processing apparatus at the time of heat-processing a board | substrate. It is a figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of the heat processing apparatus at the time of heat-processing a board | substrate. It is a figure for demonstrating a mode that a board | substrate is heat-processed. It is a figure which shows the other example of a metal gasket. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a metal gasket. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a metal gasket. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a metal gasket. It is a figure which shows the other example of the heat processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the other example of a seal | sticker part. It is a figure which shows the further another example of a seal | sticker part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat processing apparatus 5 Light irradiation part 6 Chamber main body 9 Board | substrate 51,51a-51d Metal gasket 52 Seal part 60 Opening 61 Translucent plate 65 Chamber 69 Flash lamp 521 O-ring 522 Metal cover

Claims (5)

A heat treatment apparatus for performing a process involving heating by irradiating a substrate with light,
A chamber body having an opening for forming a space for processing the substrate and introducing light irradiated to the substrate;
A light irradiator for irradiating light through the opening to a substrate disposed inside the chamber body;
A window member that closes the opening and transmits light from the light irradiation unit;
A portion that contacts the window member is formed of metal, and a seal portion that seals between the window member and the chamber body;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1,
The heat treatment apparatus, wherein the seal portion is an annular metal member that is sandwiched between the chamber body and the window member and elastically deforms. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1,
The seal portion is
An annular resin member in contact with the chamber body;
An annular metal member that is sandwiched between the window member and the resin member to block irradiation of the resin member with light from the light irradiation unit;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A heat treatment apparatus, wherein the light irradiation unit includes a flash lamp. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 4,
A portion of the seal portion that contacts the window member is formed of aluminum or nickel.

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