JP2007073729A - Heat-treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat-treating apparatus for reducing the influence of treatment gas to a substrate when handing over the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The heat-treating apparatus 1c has a supply pipe 51 for supplying heated treatment gas to a treatment chamber 21. The supply pipe 51 comprises: a chamber pipe 54 that is composed of branch pipes, and guides the treatment gas to the treatment chamber 21 in a chamber 2; and a bypass pipe 55 for guiding the treatment gas to an external exhaust line. A valve 72 is provided in the bypass pipe 55. The valve 72 is closed when heat-treating the substrate W and is opened in non-heat treatment for handing over the substrate. Thus, The amount of supply of the treatment gas to the treatment chamber 21 becomes smaller in the non-heat treatment than in heat treatment, thereby preventing the treatment gas from being blown to the substrate W strongly when conveying the substrate W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment on a substrate.

  In the manufacturing process of various substrates such as a liquid crystal glass rectangular substrate, a semiconductor substrate, a film liquid crystal flexible substrate, a photomask substrate, and a color filter substrate, a heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment on the substrate is used. A typical heat treatment apparatus is one that heats a substrate coated with a treatment liquid such as a resist solution with a heater to dry the treatment liquid on the substrate.

  In such a heat treatment apparatus, there is a possibility that the treatment liquid vaporized by the heat treatment or the reaction product may contaminate the chamber forming the treatment chamber. For this reason, conventionally, a configuration has been proposed in which a supply port for supplying a processing gas such as clean dry air (CDA) is provided in the chamber and an exhaust port is provided on the opposite side (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this configuration, since the atmosphere of the processing chamber containing the vaporized processing liquid or the like is replaced with the processing gas, contamination of the chamber is prevented.

JP 2004-293942 A

  By the way, in order to prevent the contaminated atmosphere in the processing chamber from flowing out to the substrate transfer area, the supply port for supplying the processing gas is usually arranged near the substrate transfer port in the chamber. On the other hand, the processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber while being heated to a predetermined temperature so as not to affect the heat treatment of the substrate.

  For this reason, when the substrate is carried in and out during non-heat treatment, the heated processing gas is blown onto the substrate. Such spraying of the processing gas onto the substrate affects the state of the processing liquid on the substrate and contributes to unevenness of the processing liquid.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can reduce the influence of a processing gas on a substrate when the substrate is transferred.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is a heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment on a substrate placed in a processing chamber, and temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of a processing gas supplied to the processing chamber; When transferring the substrate between a supply pipe for guiding the processing gas adjusted by the temperature control means to the processing chamber and an external mechanism of the processing chamber, the substrate is transferred to the processing chamber rather than during the heat treatment. A supply amount changing means for reducing the supply amount of the processing gas, and a chamber forming the processing chamber is provided at a position near the transfer port, a transfer port used for transferring the substrate, A supply port connected to a supply pipe; and an exhaust port provided at a position sandwiching the transfer port and the processing chamber and exhausting the atmosphere of the processing chamber.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect, the supply amount changing means maintains the supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber when the substrate is transferred.

  The invention of claim 3 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supply pipe is constituted by a branch pipe, and the first pipe for guiding the processing gas from the branch position to the processing chamber; A second pipe that guides the processing gas from the branch position to the outside of the heat treatment apparatus, and the supply amount changing means determines the amount of the processing gas that has been adjusted by the temperature control means to flow into the second pipe. By changing, the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber is changed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the heat treatment apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the supply amount changing means is provided at the branch position and switches a flow path of the processing gas adjusted by the temperature adjusting means. Valve.

  Further, the invention of claim 5 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the supply amount changing means is inserted into the second pipe and changes the flow rate of the processing gas at the insertion position. Means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the heat treatment apparatus according to the fifth aspect, the second pipe has a larger conductance than the first pipe.

  The invention of claim 7 is the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, in the second pipe, a heat insulating material is provided in the vicinity of the branch position, and a heat insulating material is provided in the vicinity of the insertion position. Is not provided.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the flow rate changing means reduces the flow rate of the processing gas in the second pipe when the insertion position is reduced. Maintaining ventilation of the process gas at

  According to the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, when the substrate is transferred, the amount of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber is less than that during the heat treatment, so that the influence of the processing gas on the substrate can be reduced.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 2, the atmosphere of the processing chamber and the temperature of the processing gas in the supply pipe are maintained in order to maintain the supply of the processing gas without completely stopping even when the substrate is transferred. be able to.

  In particular, according to the inventions of claims 3 to 8, the amount of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber can be changed without changing the capacity of the temperature control means. As a result, it is possible to prevent the generation of particles accompanying the change in the ability of the temperature control means.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 4, the amount of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber can be changed with a simple structure.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 5, since the flow rate changing means is inserted into the second pipe, even if particles are generated by the flow rate changing means, the particles can be prevented from flowing into the processing chamber.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 6, since the processing gas flows more easily in the second piping than in the first piping, the processing gas flows through the second piping if the second piping is simply opened by the flow rate changing means. be able to.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to reduce the influence of the heat of the processing gas on the flow rate changing means while preventing the heat loss of the processing gas in the vicinity of the branch position.

  In particular, according to the invention of claim 8, even when the flow rate of the processing gas in the second pipe is decreased, the flow of the processing gas in the second pipe does not stop completely, but the ventilation is maintained. Even if particles are generated by the changing means, the particles can be further prevented from flowing into the processing chamber.

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

<1. First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a heat treatment apparatus 1a according to an embodiment of the present invention. The heat treatment apparatus 1a heats the substrate W on which a layer of a processing solution such as a resist solution is formed, and dries the processing solution on the substrate W. As shown in the figure, the heat treatment apparatus 1 a mainly includes a chamber 2 that forms a processing chamber 21 and a flat-plate heater 3 that heats the substrate W.

  In addition, a transfer port 22 used to transfer the substrate W is formed on one side surface of the chamber 2. The unprocessed substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 21 through the transfer port 22 by a transfer mechanism (not shown) outside the chamber 2. At the same time, the substrate W after the heat treatment is carried out of the processing chamber 21 through the transfer port 22 by the transfer mechanism. The transport port 22 is provided with a shutter 23 that can be opened and closed as necessary.

  The heater 3 is disposed at the lower part of the processing chamber 21 and heats the substrate W placed on the upper surface thereof. A plurality of through holes 31 are formed in the heater 3 in a dispersed manner, and lift pins LP are inserted into the through holes 31, respectively. These lift pins LP are fixed to a lifting mechanism 32 such as a cylinder, and can be lifted up and down.

  When the lift pin LP is raised to the upper end, the upper part of the lift pin LP protrudes from the upper surface of the heater 3. On the other hand, when the lift pin LP is lowered to the lower end, the upper portion of the lift pin LP is buried from the upper surface of the heater 3. The lift pins LP are raised when the substrate W is transferred to and from the transport mechanism, and lowered when the substrate W is heated by the heater 3.

  A supply port 24 is formed in the upper part of the chamber 2 in the vicinity of the transfer port 22. The supply port 24 includes a substantially L-shaped nozzle 24 a inside the chamber 2. The supply port 24 is connected to the gas supply mechanism 4 outside the chamber 2. The gas supply mechanism 4 supplies a processing gas to the processing chamber 21 through the supply port 24, and includes a gas supply unit 41 serving as a processing gas supply source and a gas heating unit 44 for heating the processing gas. ing. This processing gas is supplied to replace the atmosphere in the processing chamber 21, and for example, clean dry air (CDA) or nitrogen gas is employed.

  As shown in the figure, the gas supply unit 41 and the gas heating unit 44 are connected by a pipe 42. The gas heating unit 44 and the supply port 24 of the chamber 2 are connected by a pipe 5. The processing gas supplied from the gas supply unit 41 is guided to the gas heating unit 44 through the pipe 42 and heated to a predetermined temperature by the gas heating unit 44. The heated processing gas is further guided to the processing chamber 21 through the pipe 5 and the supply port 24. The flow direction of the processing gas is adjusted by the nozzle 24 a of the supply port 24, and the processing gas is jetted into the processing chamber 21 in a substantially horizontal direction along the longitudinal direction of the chamber 2. This prevents the heated processing gas from being directly sprayed onto the substrate W placed in the processing chamber 21. A heat insulating material 5 a is provided around the pipe 5 (hereinafter referred to as “supply pipe”) that is downstream of the gas heating unit 44 and supplies the heated processing gas. Thereby, the heat loss of the heated process gas is prevented.

  A valve 43 is inserted in the pipe 42 on the upstream side of the gas heating unit 44. The valve 43 is constituted by a flow rate adjusting valve capable of adjusting the amount of processing gas flowing through the insertion position. By adjusting the flow rate in the pipe 42 by the valve 43, the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is changed. Further, the gas heating unit 44 is also configured to be able to change the heating capacity so that the amount of heat applied according to the amount of the processing gas changed by the valve 43 can be changed. With such a configuration, even if the amount of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is changed, the temperature of the processing gas is kept constant.

  Further, as shown in the figure, in the chamber 2, an exhaust port 25 for exhausting the atmosphere of the processing chamber 21 is provided at a position facing the transfer port 22 in the vicinity of the supply port 24 across the processing chamber 21. ing. That is, the exhaust port 25 is formed on the side of the supply port 24 to which the tip of the nozzle 24a is directed. The exhaust port 25 is connected to an exhaust pipe 61 in which a valve 62 is inserted. The atmosphere of the processing chamber 21 is guided to the exhaust line outside the heat treatment apparatus 1a through the exhaust port 25 and the exhaust pipe 61.

  Thus, in the chamber 2, the supply port 24 and the exhaust port 25 are disposed on the opposite sides with respect to the processing chamber 21. For this reason, when the processing gas is supplied from the supply port 24, it passes through the entire processing chamber 21 along the longitudinal direction of the chamber 2 from the supply port 24 (more precisely, the nozzle 24 a) to the exhaust port 25. A gas flow is formed. Thereby, the atmosphere of the entire processing chamber 21 is replaced with the processing gas.

  In addition, the heat treatment apparatus 1a includes a control unit 8 composed of a microcomputer or the like for comprehensively controlling the operation of the apparatus. As shown in the figure, the control unit 8 is connected to the valve 43 and the gas heating unit 44 and controls the operation of the valve 43 and the gas heating unit 44. Therefore, the amount of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 and the ability to heat the processing gas are controlled by the control unit 8. Further, the heater 3, the shutter 23, the lifting mechanism 32, the valve 62, and the like described above are also connected to the control unit 8, and the operation of these units is also controlled by the control unit 8.

  Next, operation | movement of the heat processing apparatus 1a comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1a. This flow of operation is performed for each substrate W to be processed. At the start of this operation, it is assumed that the substrate W does not exist in the processing chamber 21, the lift pin LP is raised to the upper end, and the shutter 23 is opened.

  First, one substrate W on which a layer of processing liquid is formed is carried into the processing chamber 21. That is, the substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 21 via the transfer port 22 by the transfer mechanism outside the processing chamber 21 and transferred to the lift pins LP. In response to receiving this substrate W, the shutter 23 is closed and the lift pin LP is lowered and buried above the upper surface of the heater 3. Thereby, the board | substrate W carried in is mounted in the upper surface of the heater 3 (step S1).

  Next, the control unit 8 adjusts the valve 43 to increase the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21. As a result, a relatively large flow of processing gas from the supply port 24 toward the exhaust port 25 is formed in the processing chamber 21, and the atmosphere of the entire processing chamber 21 is sequentially replaced by the processing gas. Further, the control unit 8 controls the heating capacity of the gas heating unit 44 to increase as the supply amount of the processing gas increases, and the temperature of the supplied processing gas is adjusted to a predetermined temperature ( Step S2).

  Next, the substrate 3 is heated by the heater 3, and the layer of the processing liquid formed on the substrate W is dried. As a result, the atmosphere of the processing chamber 21 is in a contaminated state containing the vaporized processing liquid and components of the reaction product. However, the contaminated atmosphere is sequentially replaced with the processing gas by the flow of the processing gas formed in the processing chamber 21, and is discharged to the outside of the heat treatment apparatus 1a through the exhaust port 25. Thereby, since the contaminated gas does not stay in the processing chamber 21, the contamination of the chamber 2 is effectively prevented (step S3).

  When a predetermined time has elapsed since the heat treatment of the substrate W, the heat treatment is terminated. When the heat treatment is completed, the valve 43 is then adjusted again by the control unit 8, and the amount of processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is reduced. As a result, the flow of the processing gas into the processing chamber 21 is almost stopped. In addition, the control unit 8 controls the gas heating unit 44 so that the heating capacity of the gas heating unit 44 decreases as the supply amount of the processing gas decreases. Thus, even if the supply amount of the processing gas is reduced, the heat treatment has already been completed, so that the processing chamber 21 is not contaminated (step S4).

  Next, the lift pin LP is raised, the substrate W is pushed up from the surface of the heater 3, and the shutter 23 is opened. Then, the substrate W is delivered to the transport mechanism while being held by the lift pins LP, and is unloaded from the processing chamber 21 through the transport port 22 (step S5).

  Thus, in the heat treatment apparatus 1a of the present embodiment, the supply amount of the processing gas is changed according to the state of the heat treatment of the substrate W. That is, the supply amount of the processing gas is increased during the heat treatment of the substrate W, and the supply amount of the processing gas is decreased during the non-heating treatment in which the substrate W is transferred. If it is assumed that such a change is not made, a large amount of processing gas flows from the supply port 24 into the processing chamber 21 when the substrate W is transferred via the transfer port 22. For this reason, when the substrate W is lifted by the lift pins LP, the substrate W is disposed in a relatively large flow of the heated processing gas, and the processing gas is strongly blown against the substrate W. As a result, the state of the processing liquid formed on the substrate W may be deteriorated, and the processing liquid may be uneven. On the other hand, like the heat treatment apparatus 1a of the present embodiment, the supply amount of the processing gas at the time of the non-heating process for delivering the substrate W is smaller than that at the time of the heating process, so that the processing gas is supplied to the substrate. Thus, the occurrence of unevenness can be effectively prevented. Of course, during the heat treatment in which a contaminated atmosphere is generated, a sufficient amount of processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber 21, so that the inside of the chamber 2 is not contaminated.

  Note that, during the non-heating process in which the substrate W is transferred, the supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 may be completely stopped, but it is desirable to supply a minute amount of the processing gas. As described above, by maintaining the supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 even during the non-heating process, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the atmosphere of the processing chamber 21 and the temperature inside the supply pipe 5 during the non-heating process. In addition, since a relatively small flow of processing gas from the supply port 24 toward the exhaust port 25 is formed in the processing chamber 21 even during non-heating processing, the shutter 23 is opened for loading / unloading the substrate W, and the transfer port Even when 22 is opened, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 21 is prevented from flowing out to the transfer area of the substrate W.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heat treatment apparatus 1b according to the second embodiment. The same components as those in the heat treatment apparatus 1a of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The heat treatment apparatus 1b according to the second embodiment is different from the heat treatment apparatus 1a according to the first embodiment in the configuration around the supply pipe 51 serving as a pipe on the downstream side of the gas heating unit 44.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the supply pipe 51 of the present embodiment is configured by a branch pipe that branches at a branch position 52. Specifically, the supply pipe 51 includes an upstream pipe 53 from the gas heating unit 44 to the branch position 52, a chamber pipe 54 that connects the branch position 52 and the supply port 24 of the chamber 2, a branch position 52, and a heat treatment apparatus. And a bypass pipe 55 for connecting to an external exhaust line 1a. Therefore, the processing gas heated by the gas heating unit 44 is guided to the processing chamber 21 via the chamber pipe 54 and also to the exhaust line via the bypass pipe 55 without passing through the processing chamber 21. Become.

  In such a supply pipe 51, in order to prevent heat loss of the processing gas, a heat insulating material 5 a is provided around the upstream pipe 53 and the chamber pipe 54 that serve as a path for the processing gas led to the processing chamber 21. Yes. On the other hand, in the bypass pipe 55 that is not the path of the processing gas led to the processing chamber 21, a heat insulating material 5a is provided in the vicinity of the branch position 52 to prevent heat loss, but the heat insulating material 5a is provided downstream. Not provided.

  The branch position 52 is provided with a three-way valve 71 that mainly ventilates the upstream pipe 53 and either the chamber pipe 54 or the bypass pipe 55. The three-way valve 71 switches the main flow path of the processing gas from the upstream pipe 53 to either the chamber pipe 54 or the bypass pipe 55. However, the three-way valve 71 is configured to maintain a very small amount of ventilation even in a pipe that is opposite to the pipe that is mainly vented out of the chamber pipe 54 and the bypass pipe 55. For example, even when the main flow path of the processing gas is the bypass pipe 55, a very small amount of processing gas flows into the chamber pipe 54. The three-way valve 71 is connected to the control unit 8 and its operation is controlled by the control unit 8.

  Since the operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1b according to the present embodiment is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1b will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the amount of processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is changed by controlling the operation of the three-way valve 71 and changing the amount of processing gas flowing into the bypass pipe 55.

  At the start of the operation of FIG. 2, the main flow path of the processing gas is the bypass pipe 55 by the three-way valve 71. For this reason, most of the processing gas from the gas heating unit 44 is led to the exhaust line, and a very small amount of processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber 21.

  Then, when the substrate W is loaded and placed on the upper surface of the heater 3 (step S1), the three-way valve 71 is driven by the control of the control unit 8, the main flow path of the processing gas is switched to the chamber tube 54, The amount of processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is increased. As a result, a relatively large flow of processing gas from the supply port 24 toward the exhaust port 25 is formed in the processing chamber 21, and the atmosphere of the entire processing chamber 21 is sequentially replaced by the processing gas (step S2).

  Subsequently, the substrate 3 is heated by the heater 3 in this state (step S3). When the heating process of the substrate W is completed, the three-way valve 71 is driven by the control of the control unit 8, and the main flow path of the processing gas is switched to the bypass pipe 55. As a result, the processing gas is again led mainly to the exhaust line, and the amount of processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is reduced (step S4). As described above, even if the main flow path of the processing gas is switched to the bypass pipe 55 as described above, a very small amount of the processing gas also flows into the chamber pipe 54, so that the processing chamber 21 can be processed even during non-heating processing. Gas supply is maintained. In this state, the substrate W is unloaded through the transfer port 22 (step S5).

  As described above, in the heat treatment apparatus 1b of the present embodiment, the supply pipe 51 is constituted by the branch pipe having the chamber pipe 54 and the bypass pipe 55, and the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is controlled by the three-way valve 71. It is changed by switching the flow path of the processing gas. For this reason, when changing the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21, it is not necessary to change the operation of the valve 43 and the gas heating unit 44. That is, the amount of the processing gas to be processed by the gas heating unit 44 is always constant, and the heating capability as the gas heating unit 44 can also be constant.

  When the heating capacity of the gas heating unit 44 is repeatedly changed, the components of the gas heating unit 44 are repeatedly expanded and contracted by heat, and thus particles may be generated from the components and mixed into the processing gas. On the other hand, if the heating capability of the gas heating unit 44 is made constant as in the heat treatment apparatus 1b of the present embodiment, the generation of such particles can be prevented. In addition, as the gas heating unit 44, it is not necessary to employ an apparatus capable of adjusting the heating capacity as in the first embodiment, and a simple apparatus having only a certain heating capacity can be employed. It is also possible to reduce the cost of 1b.

  Note that the three-way valve 71 of the present embodiment can be used for piping that is opposite to the piping that is mainly vented to maintain the supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 even during non-heating processing for transferring the substrate W. Although a small amount of processing gas is configured to flow in, the processing gas may flow into only one of the pipes and may not flow into the other at all.

<3. Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a heat treatment apparatus 1c according to the third embodiment. The same components as those in the heat treatment apparatuses 1a and 1b of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted. The heat treatment apparatus 1c according to the third embodiment is different from the heat treatment apparatus 1b according to the second embodiment in the configuration around the supply pipe 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the supply pipe 51 of the heat treatment apparatus 1 c is a branch pipe similar to that of the second embodiment, but the three-way valve 71 is not provided at the branch position 52, and the bypass pipe 55 has a valve. 72 is inserted.

  The valve 72 opens and closes the inside of the bypass pipe 55 at the insertion position to change the flow rate of the processing gas. However, even when the valve 72 is closed, the inside of the bypass pipe 55 is not completely closed and is slightly opened. Thereby, even if the valve 72 is closed, the flow of the processing gas at the insertion position is maintained, and a very small amount of the processing gas flows out (slow leaks) to the exhaust line.

  The position where the valve 72 is inserted in the bypass pipe 55 is a position where the heat insulating material 5 a that is separated from the branch position 52 to some extent is not provided. That is, in the bypass pipe 55, the heat insulating material 5a is provided in the vicinity of the branch position 52 in order to prevent heat loss at the branch position 52, but the heat insulating material 5a is provided in the vicinity of the insertion position of the valve 72. It is not in a state.

  The bypass pipe 55 has a larger conductance (reciprocal of pipe resistance) than the chamber pipe 54. More specifically, when the bypass pipe 55 and the chamber pipe 54 are compared, the bypass pipe 55 is configured to have a larger inner diameter, so that the processing gas flows easily.

  With such a configuration, when the valve 72 is opened, most of the processing gas from the gas heating unit 44 flows into the bypass pipe 55 having a large conductance and is guided to the exhaust line. On the other hand, when the valve 72 is closed, the conductance of the bypass pipe 55 becomes extremely small as compared with the chamber pipe 54 (pipe resistance becomes extremely large), so that most of the processing gas from the gas heating unit 44 is processed. It will be supplied to the chamber 21. The valve 72 is connected to the control unit 8 and its operation is controlled by the control unit 8.

  Since the operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1c of the present embodiment is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1c will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is changed by controlling the operation of the valve 72 and changing the amount of the processing gas flowing into the bypass pipe 55. For this reason, also in this Embodiment, when changing the supply amount of the process gas to the process chamber 21, operation | movement of the valve | bulb 43 and the gas heating part 44 is not changed.

  At the start of the operation of FIG. 2, the valve 72 is opened. For this reason, most of the processing gas from the gas heating unit 44 is led to the exhaust line, and a very small amount of processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber 21.

  When the substrate W is loaded and placed on the upper surface of the heater 3 (step S1), the valve 72 is closed under the control of the control unit 8, and the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is increased. As a result, a relatively large flow of processing gas from the supply port 24 toward the exhaust port 25 is formed in the processing chamber 21, and the atmosphere of the entire processing chamber 21 is sequentially replaced by the processing gas (step S2). As described above, even when the valve 72 is closed as described above, a minute amount of processing gas flows out to the exhaust line via the bypass pipe 55.

  Subsequently, the substrate 3 is heated by the heater 3 in this state (step S3). When the heating process for the substrate W is completed, the valve 72 is opened under the control of the control unit 8. As a result, the processing gas is again led mainly to the exhaust line, and the amount of processing gas supplied to the processing chamber 21 is reduced (step S4). Even when the valve 72 is opened as described above, a very small amount of processing gas also flows into the chamber tube 54, and supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is maintained even during non-heating processing. In this state, the substrate W is unloaded through the transfer port 22 (step S5).

  Thus, in the heat treatment apparatus 1c of the present embodiment, the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 is increased by opening and closing the valve 72 that is inserted into the bypass pipe 55 and changes the flow rate of the processing gas at the insertion position. It has been changed. Accordingly, no valve or the like is provided from the gas heating unit 44 serving as a supply path for the heated processing gas to the supply port 24.

  If a valve or the like exists in the processing gas supply path, particles may be generated by the operation of the valve or the like and mixed into the processing gas. On the other hand, in the heat treatment apparatus 1c of the present embodiment, the valve 72 exists in the bypass pipe 55 that is not the processing gas supply path, so even if particles are generated in the valve 72, the particles enter the processing chamber 21. Never do.

  Even when the valve 72 is closed and the flow rate of the processing gas in the bypass pipe 55 is decreased, the flow of the processing gas in the bypass pipe 55 does not stop completely and the ventilation is maintained. For this reason, even if particles are generated in the valve 72, the particles are guided to the exhaust line and do not flow backward to the branch position 52 and flow into the processing chamber 21.

  In addition, when a valve or the like is provided in a passage for passing a high-temperature processing gas such as the branch position 52, it is necessary to employ a heat-resistant and very expensive one. On the other hand, in the heat treatment apparatus 1c of the present embodiment, since there is no valve or the like in the heated process gas supply path, the cost of the heat treatment apparatus 1c can be reduced. Further, since the heat insulating material 5a is not provided in the vicinity of the insertion position of the valve 72 in the bypass pipe 55, the heat is radiated when the processing gas passes through the insertion position of the valve 72. For this reason, the heat of the processing gas does not adversely affect the valve 72, and the valve 72 does not need heat resistance.

  Further, since the conductance of the bypass pipe 55 is larger than that of the chamber pipe 54, most of the processing gas is guided to the exhaust line by only a very simple operation of opening the valve 72, and processing to the processing chamber 21 is performed. The amount of gas supply can be reduced. For this reason, the valve 72 having a simple configuration can be employed, and the cost of the heat treatment apparatus 1c can be further reduced. The valve 72 can be said to be conductance changing means for changing the relative magnitude of the conductance of the bypass pipe 55 with respect to the chamber pipe 54.

<4. Other embodiments>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible.

  In the third embodiment, the valve 72 is used to change the flow rate of the bypass pipe 55. However, the damper 73 is inserted into the bypass pipe 55 as in the heat treatment apparatus 1d of FIG. Also good. Also by this, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the third embodiment, and the configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where the valve 72 is adopted, so that the cost of the heat treatment apparatus 1d can be reduced.

  Further, in order to change the flow rate of the bypass pipe 55 in the third embodiment, a decompression device such as a vacuum pump for decompressing the inside of the bypass pipe 55 may be provided in the bypass pipe 55. According to this, it is possible to finely adjust the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber 21 by adjusting the pressure reducing capability of the pressure reducing device.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the heat processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of operation | movement of a heat processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the structure of the heat processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the heat processing apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows another example of a structure of the heat processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

2 Chamber 21 Processing chamber 22 Transport port 24 Supply port 25 Exhaust port 54 Chamber tube 55 Bypass tube 5a Heat insulating material 71 Three-way valve 72 Valve

Claims (8)

A heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment on a substrate placed in a processing chamber,
Temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature of the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber;
A supply pipe for guiding the processing gas adjusted by the temperature control means to the processing chamber;
A supply amount changing means for reducing the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber when transferring the substrate to and from the external mechanism of the processing chamber, compared to the time of the heat treatment;
With
The chamber forming the processing chamber is
A transfer port used for delivery of the substrate;
A supply port provided in the vicinity of the transfer port and connected to the supply pipe;
An exhaust port provided at a position sandwiching the transfer port and the processing chamber, and exhausting the atmosphere of the processing chamber;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1,
The supply amount changing means maintains the supply of the processing gas to the processing chamber during delivery of the substrate. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The supply pipe is composed of a branch pipe,
A first pipe for guiding the processing gas from the branch position to the processing chamber;
A second pipe for guiding the processing gas from the branch position to the outside of the heat treatment apparatus;
With
The supply amount changing means changes the supply amount of the processing gas to the processing chamber by changing the amount of the processing gas that has been adjusted by the temperature adjusting means and flows into the second pipe. Heat treatment equipment. In the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3,
The supply amount changing means is a three-way valve that is provided at the branch position and switches a flow path of the processing gas adjusted by the temperature adjusting means,
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: In the heat treatment apparatus according to claim 3,
The supply amount changing means is inserted into the second pipe, and a flow rate changing means for changing the flow rate of the processing gas at the insertion position;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5,
The heat treatment apparatus, wherein the second pipe has a conductance larger than that of the first pipe. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
A heat treatment apparatus, wherein a heat insulating material is provided in the vicinity of the branch position in the second pipe, and no heat insulating material is provided in the vicinity of the insertion position. In the heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The heat treatment apparatus characterized in that the flow rate changing means maintains ventilation of the processing gas at the insertion position when the flow rate of the processing gas in the second pipe is decreased.

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