JP2006253542A - Processing gas supply device and substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for supplying a large quantity of processing gas evaporated from processing liquid with high concentration. <P>SOLUTION: An HMDS gas supply device 3 reduces the pressure in a tank 31 storing HMDS liquid. Consequently, evaporation of HMDS liquid stored in the storage tank 31 is accelerated and a large quantity of HMDS gas is supplied with high concentration. Furthermore, pressure in the storage tank 31 is reduced by utilizing ejector effect incident to the flow of nitrogen gas as carrier gas. The evaporated HMDS gas can thereby be supplied to a processing chamber while being mixed easily with nitrogen gas. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a processing gas supply device for supplying a processing gas vaporized from a processing liquid to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for plasma display, and a substrate provided with the processing gas supply device. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus.

  Conventionally, in the substrate manufacturing process, an adhesion strengthening process for improving the adhesion between the substrate and the photoresist is performed. In the adhesion strengthening process, HMDS (hexamethyldisilazane) gas is supplied to the substrate held in the processing chamber.

  The HMDS gas is supplied from an HMDS gas supply device. FIG. 7 shows a conventional HMDS gas supply apparatus 100. The HMDS gas supply apparatus 100 stores the HMDS liquid 111 supplied from the HMDS liquid supply source 110 in the storage tank 120. Then, the HMDS liquid 111 in the storage tank 120 is bubbled with nitrogen gas 131 supplied from a nitrogen gas supply source 130.

  The nitrogen gas 131 supplied in the form of bubbles in the HMDS liquid 111 promotes vaporization of the HMDS liquid 111. Then, a mixed gas of nitrogen gas and HMDS gas is supplied to the processing chamber through the pipe 140.

  Such a conventional HMDS gas supply apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP-A-6-132209

  By the way, in recent years, substrates to be processed tend to be large. For this reason, in the adhesion strengthening process, a large amount of HMDS gas must be uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate. In the conventional HMDS gas supply apparatus, when a large amount of nitrogen gas is supplied, the vaporization of the HMDS liquid itself is promoted. However, since the supply amount of nitrogen gas also increases, it is difficult to increase the concentration of HMDS gas in the mixed gas.

  Such a problem is not limited to the HMDS gas supply device, and may generally occur in a processing gas supply device that supplies a processing gas vaporized from the processing liquid.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a processing gas supply device capable of supplying a large amount of processing gas to a substrate at a high concentration and a substrate processing apparatus including the processing gas supply device. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a processing gas supply device that supplies a processing gas to a processing unit that processes a substrate, and a storage container that stores processing liquid, and a decompression that depressurizes the storage container. And a supply means for supplying the processing gas vaporized from the processing liquid in the storage container decompressed by the decompression means to the processing section.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the processing gas supply apparatus according to the first aspect, the decompression means decompresses the inside of the storage container by an ejector effect.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the processing gas supply apparatus according to the second aspect, the apparatus further comprises carrier gas supply means for supplying a carrier gas that assists in transport of the processing gas, wherein the ejector effect is a flow of the carrier gas. It is characterized by the ejector effect caused by the above.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the processing gas supply apparatus according to the third aspect, the carrier gas supply means includes a first adjustment means for adjusting a supply amount of the carrier gas.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the processing gas supply apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the introduction means for introducing a part of the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply means into the storage container; and the introduction And a second adjusting means for adjusting the amount of the carrier gas introduced by the means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the processing gas supply apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, an opening communicating with the supply means is formed in the storage container, and the opening and the processing It further comprises a shielding plate that shields between the liquid surface of the liquid.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the processing gas supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a cooling means for cooling the inside of the storage container.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the processing gas supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the supply means includes a pipe for sending the processing gas from the inside of the storage container to the upper portion of the processing section. The pressure reducing means depressurizes the inside of the storage container and the inside of the pipe.

  An invention according to claim 9 is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing gas, comprising the processing gas supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and the processing section. It is characterized by that.

  According to the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, by reducing the pressure in the storage container, the vaporization of the processing liquid can be promoted without supplying a large amount of other gases. For this reason, a large amount of processing gas can be supplied at a high concentration.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 2, the inside of the storage container is decompressed by utilizing the ejector effect. For this reason, a drive body like a vacuum pump can be excluded and maintenance becomes easy. It is also suitable for downsizing the device.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 3, the ejector effect generated by the flow of the carrier gas is utilized. For this reason, the processing gas vaporized in the storage container is easily mixed with the carrier gas and transported to the processing unit.

  In particular, according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the supply amount of the carrier gas can be adjusted. Since the inside of the storage container can be gradually reduced in pressure, the treatment liquid can be vaporized while preventing bumping.

  In particular, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a part of the carrier gas can be introduced into the storage container, and the amount of introduction can be adjusted. Since the inside of the storage container can be gradually reduced in pressure, the treatment liquid can be vaporized while preventing bumping.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 6, the space between the opening leading to the supply means and the liquid surface of the processing liquid is shielded. For this reason, it is not necessary to prevent bumping of the processing liquid, and the inside of the storage container can be decompressed in a short time.

  In particular, according to the seventh aspect of the invention, the inside of the storage container can be cooled, and the saturated vapor pressure in the storage container can be reduced. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the processing gas once evaporated in the storage container from condensing thereafter.

  In particular, according to the invention described in claim 8, the inside of the piping for sending the processing gas to the upper portion of the processing section is also decompressed. For this reason, dew condensation of the processing gas in the piping can be prevented. Even when the processing chamber is enlarged along with the increase in size of the substrate, it is possible to effectively prevent the condensation of the processing gas in the piping.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. About Overall Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus>
FIG. 1 shows a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for performing an adhesion strengthening process on the glass substrate 9 for liquid crystal display. The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a configuration in which a processing chamber 2 and an HMDS gas supply apparatus 3 are connected via a main pipe 4.

  The processing chamber 2 is constituted by an airtight chamber made of, for example, SUS (stainless steel). In the internal space of the processing chamber 2, a holding table 21 for mounting and holding the substrate 9 is provided. Further, a substrate carry-in / out port 22 and a shutter 23 are provided at the side of the processing chamber 2. When the shutter 23 is opened, the substrate can be carried in / out through the carry-in / out port 22, and when the shutter 23 is closed, the inside of the processing chamber 2 can be kept airtight.

  In the upper part of the processing chamber 2, a discharge unit 24 for discharging a HMDS gas that is a processing gas and a nitrogen gas that is a carrier gas is provided. The discharge unit 24 is connected to the HMDS gas supply device 3 via the main pipe 4 and the valve V1. For this reason, when the valve V <b> 1 is opened, the HMDS gas and the nitrogen gas supplied from the HMDS gas supply device 3 are discharged from the discharge unit 24 toward the substrate 9. In order to uniformly discharge the HMDS gas onto the surface of the substrate 9, a rectifying plate or the like may be attached to the discharge unit 24.

  Further, an exhaust pipe 25 is connected to the processing chamber 2. The exhaust pipe 25 is connected to the exhaust line via the valve V2. For this reason, when the valve V2 is opened, the HMDS gas in the processing chamber 2 can be discharged to the exhaust line.

  A branch pipe 41 is connected to the processing chamber 2 side from the valve V1 of the main pipe 4. The branch pipe 41 is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source 42 via a valve V3. For this reason, when the valve V1 on the main pipe 4 is closed and the valve V3 on the branch pipe 41 is opened, the processing chamber 2 can be filled with nitrogen gas.

  The HMDS gas supply device 3 is a device that supplies HMDS gas vaporized from the HMDS liquid to the processing chamber 2 together with nitrogen gas. Below, the structure of the HMDS gas supply apparatus 3 is demonstrated.

<2. Configuration of HMDS gas supply device>
FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the HMDS gas supply device 3. The HMDS gas supply device 3 includes a storage tank 31 for storing the HMDS liquid. The storage tank 31 is a closed container made of, for example, SUS (stainless steel). A HMDS liquid supply source 33 is connected to the storage tank 31 via a pipe 32 and a valve V4. For this reason, when the valve V4 is opened, the HMDS liquid is supplied from the HMDS liquid supply source 33 into the storage tank 31.

  A T-shaped pipe 34 is connected to the upper portion of the storage tank 31. The T-shaped pipe 34 connects a first pipe 34a for passing HMDS gas, a second pipe 34b for passing nitrogen gas, and a third pipe 34c for passing these mixed gases at a connecting portion 34d. It has become the composition. The first pipe 34 a connects the connection portion 34 d and the inside of the storage tank 31. For this reason, the HMDS gas vaporized in the storage tank 31 is supplied to the connection part 34d through the 1st piping 34a. The second pipe 34b is connected to the nitrogen gas supply source 35 via the valve V5. For this reason, when the valve V5 is opened, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 35 to the connecting portion 34d. The third pipe 34c is connected to the main pipe 4 via the valve V1. For this reason, when the valve V1 is opened, the HMDS gas and the nitrogen gas supplied to the connecting portion 34d are sent to the main pipe 4 through the third pipe 34c.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the connecting portion 34 d of the T-shaped pipe 34. As shown in FIG. 3, a first pipe 34a, a second pipe 34b, and a third pipe 34c are connected to the connecting portion 34d. The second pipe 34b is tapered in the connecting portion 34d, and a blowout port 34e having a diameter smaller than the pipe diameter is formed at the tip thereof. For this reason, the nitrogen gas flowing through the second pipe 34b is blown out from the blowing port 34e at a high speed. Thus, the space around the nitrogen gas blown out at high speed is decompressed by the so-called ejector effect. That is, the inside of the storage tank 31 communicating with the connection portion 34d through the first pipe 34a is also decompressed by the ejector effect.

  In the depressurized storage tank 31, the boiling point of the HMDS liquid decreases and the HMDS liquid boils. The vaporized HMDS gas rises in the first pipe 34a and is sent to the third pipe 34c together with the nitrogen gas blown out at high speed.

  In the HMDS gas supply device 3, the inside of the storage tank 31 is depressurized in this way, and the vaporization of the HMDS liquid is promoted. Then, the gas mixture of vaporized HMDS gas and nitrogen gas is sent to the third pipe. For this reason, the density | concentration of HMDS gas in mixed gas can be raised.

  The smaller the diameter of the blowout port 34e, the faster the nitrogen gas blown out from the blowout port 34e. If it does so, the inside of the storage tank 31 will be pressure-reduced more largely and more HMDS liquid will vaporize. That is, by reducing the diameter of the outlet 34e, the vaporization of the HMDS liquid can be promoted without increasing the supply amount of nitrogen gas. In this way, the concentration of the HMDS gas in the mixed gas can be increased.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the description of the HMDS gas supply device will be continued. The valve V5 of the second pipe 34b is a variable flow valve. By adjusting the opening degree of the valve V5, the amount of nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 35 can be adjusted. When the supply amount of nitrogen gas is increased, the nitrogen gas blown from the outlet 34e becomes faster, the pressure in the storage tank 31 is further reduced, and the vaporization amount of the HMDS liquid is further increased. That is, the amount of vaporization of the HMDS liquid can be adjusted by adjusting the opening degree of the valve V5.

  For example, when the valve V5 is gradually opened from the closed state, the inside of the storage tank 31 is gradually decompressed, and the HMDS liquid gradually boils. In this way, the HMDS liquid can be boiled while preventing bumping.

  The storage tank 31 is provided with a pressure gauge 36. The pressure gauge 36 constantly measures the pressure in the storage tank 31 and gives the measurement result to the control unit 37 including a computer or the like. The control unit 37 controls the opening and closing of the valve V5 based on the measurement result of the pressure gauge 36. Thereby, the opening degree of valve | bulb V5 can be adjusted automatically based on the measured value of pressure.

  A water cooling pipe 38 a is provided in the storage tank 31. Cooling water flows inside the water cooling pipe 38a, and the cooling water is circulated through the temperature control unit 38b. With such a water-cooled tube 38a, the HMDS liquid and the storage tank 31 are maintained at a temperature lower than room temperature. That is, the water cooling pipe 38a and the temperature control part 38b constitute a cooling means for cooling the inside of the HMDS liquid and the storage tank 31.

  In the storage tank 31 maintained at a low temperature, the saturated vapor pressure of the HMDS liquid decreases. For this reason, the HMDS gas once vaporized in the storage tank 31 does not easily condense in the middle of the first pipe 34a, the third pipe 34c, or the main pipe 4 at room temperature. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first pipe 34a, the third pipe 34c, or the main pipe 4 from being blocked by the condensation of the HMDS gas.

  The storage tank 31 is provided with a liquid level sensor 39. In the liquid level sensor 39, an upper limit detector 39a and a lower limit detector 39b are arranged vertically. The upper limit detection unit 39a and the lower limit detection unit 39b are respectively connected to the control unit 37, and the control unit 37 controls the opening and closing of the valve V4 based on the detection signal from each detection unit. Specifically, the control unit 37 opens the valve V4 when the liquid level of the HMDS liquid decreases to the height of the lower limit detection unit 39b, and the valve V4 when the liquid level of the HMDS liquid rises to the height of the upper limit detection unit 39a. Close. Thereby, the quantity of the HMDS liquid in the storage tank 31 is always kept within a certain range, and the HMDS gas can be supplied stably.

  The storage tank 31 is provided with an exhaust pipe 40. The exhaust pipe 40 is connected to the exhaust line via a valve V6. For this reason, if valve | bulb V6 is open | released, the HMDS gas in the storage tank 31 can be discharged | emitted to an exhaust line.

<3. Modification>
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said example. For example, the HMDS gas supply device 3 may be configured as shown in FIG. The HMDS gas supply device 3 of FIG. 4 includes an auxiliary pipe 43 that connects the second pipe 34 b and the storage tank 31. A variable flow valve V7 is interposed in the auxiliary pipe 43. For this reason, when the valve V <b> 7 is opened, a part of the nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply source 35 is introduced into the storage tank 31.

  If such an auxiliary pipe 43 is provided, a sudden pressure change in the storage tank 31 can be prevented. For example, when the valve V5 and the valve V7 are first opened and the opening degree of the valve V7 is gradually reduced, the inside of the storage tank 31 can be gradually decompressed. By doing so, the HMDS liquid gradually boils, so that bumping can be prevented.

  Further, the HMDS gas supply device 3 may be configured as shown in FIG. The HMDS gas supply device 3 in FIG. 5 includes a shielding plate 44 that partially covers the upper part of the liquid level of the HMDS liquid. In this way, even if the HMDS liquid bumps, droplets of the HMDS liquid do not scatter to the first pipe 34a and block the gas flow path. For this reason, it is not necessary to prevent bumping of the HMDS liquid, and the inside of the storage tank 31 can be decompressed in a short time.

  The shielding plate 44 desirably shields at least the opening of the first pipe 34a and the liquid surface of the HMDS liquid. Further, it is desirable that a space serving as a flow path for the HMDS gas is secured on the side of the shielding plate 44. The vaporized HMDS gas can reach the first pipe 34 a through the side of the shielding plate 44.

  In the above embodiment, the condensation of the HMDS gas is prevented by cooling the inside of the storage tank 31, but the condensation of the HMDS gas may be prevented by other methods. For example, the first piping 34a, the third piping 34c, and the main piping 4 may be covered with a heater and the piping may be warmed to prevent condensation of HMDS gas in the piping.

  Moreover, in order to prevent dew condensation of HMDS gas, it is good also as a structure like FIG. In FIG. 6, the first pipe 34 a extends to the upper portion of the processing chamber 2, and the connection portion 34 d is disposed above the central portion of the processing chamber 2. The inside of the first pipe 34a is depressurized by the ejector effect. For this reason, HMDS gas does not easily condense in the first pipe 34a. In this configuration, the third pipe 34c and the main pipe 4 are extremely short. For this reason, HMDS gas does not easily condense even in the third pipe 34c and the main pipe 4. With such a configuration, it is possible to effectively prevent the condensation of the HMDS gas even when the processing chamber 2 is enlarged as the substrate 9 is enlarged.

  In the above embodiment, the inside of the storage tank 31 is decompressed using the ejector effect, but the inside of the storage tank 31 may be decompressed by other methods. For example, the pressure may be reduced using a vacuum pump or the like. However, in the case of the ejector effect, the inside of the storage tank 31 is depressurized using nitrogen gas which is a carrier gas. For this reason, the HMDS gas vaporized in the storage tank 31 is easily mixed with nitrogen gas and transported to the processing chamber 2. That is, HMDS gas can be easily sent from the low-pressure storage tank 31 to the normal-pressure processing chamber 2. Further, according to the ejector effect, since a driving body such as a vacuum pump is not required, maintenance is facilitated and the apparatus is suitable for downsizing.

  Moreover, although said embodiment demonstrated the HMDS gas supply apparatus 3, the process gas of this invention is not restricted to HMDS gas. The processing gas of the present invention may be a processing gas that is vaporized from the processing liquid. For example, the present invention can be applied to vaporization of an organic metal or the like in a material supply unit such as an MOCVD apparatus used in a compound semiconductor thin film forming process.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the substrate processing apparatus. It is the figure which showed the structure of the HMDS gas supply apparatus. It is an enlarged view of the connection part of T-shaped piping. It is the figure which showed the structure of the HMDS gas supply apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the structure of the HMDS gas supply apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is the figure which showed the structure of the conventional HMDS gas supply apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Processing chamber 3 HMDS gas supply apparatus 4 Main piping 9 Substrate 31 Storage tank 33 HMDS liquid supply source 34 T-shaped piping 34d Connection part 34e Outlet 35 Nitrogen gas supply source 37 Control part 38b Temperature control part 43 Auxiliary piping 44 Shield plate V1-V7 Valve

Claims (9)

In a processing gas supply apparatus that supplies a processing gas to a processing section that processes a substrate,
A storage container for storing the processing liquid;
Decompression means for decompressing the inside of the storage container;
Supply means for supplying the processing gas vaporized from the processing liquid in the storage container decompressed by the decompression means to the processing unit;
A processing gas supply device comprising: The processing gas supply apparatus according to claim 1,
The processing gas supply apparatus, wherein the decompression means decompresses the inside of the storage container by an ejector effect. The processing gas supply device according to claim 2,
A carrier gas supply means for supplying a carrier gas for assisting in transporting the processing gas;
The processing gas supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejector effect is an ejector effect generated by the flow of the carrier gas. The processing gas supply apparatus according to claim 3,
The processing gas supply apparatus, wherein the carrier gas supply means includes first adjusting means for adjusting a supply amount of the carrier gas. The processing gas supply apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
Introducing means for introducing a part of the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply means into the storage container;
Second adjusting means for adjusting the amount of the carrier gas introduced by the introducing means;
A processing gas supply apparatus, further comprising: In the processing gas supply apparatus in any one of Claim 1 to 5,
An opening leading to the supply means is formed in the storage container,
A processing gas supply apparatus, further comprising a shielding plate that shields between the opening and the liquid surface of the processing liquid. In the processing gas supply apparatus in any one of Claim 1-6,
A processing gas supply apparatus, further comprising cooling means for cooling the inside of the storage container. In the processing gas supply apparatus in any one of Claim 1-7,
The supply means includes a pipe for sending a processing gas from the storage container to the upper part of the processing unit,
The processing gas supply apparatus, wherein the decompression means decompresses the inside of the storage container and the pipe. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing gas,
A processing gas supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The processing unit;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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