JP2008227363A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve position accuracy in thermal detection of a thermal detecting means, and to assure repeatability even when the thermal detecting means is re-assembled. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus has a reaction tube 32 housing a substrate and forming a space for processing the substrate, a heating means heating the substrate, a thermal detecting means 41 detecting a temperature in the reaction tube, a protection tube 43 housing the thermal detecting means in the reaction tube. The thermal detecting means has a plurality of thermal detecting members 42. The thermal detecting member is configured by a linear member having a thermal detecting part at a front end thereof. Insulating members are beaded and inserted into the thermal detecting members so that the thermal detecting parts are provided at different position from each other, and a plurality of the thermal detecting members is inserted into at least one of the insulating members. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for performing desired processing on a substrate, for example, a substrate processing apparatus for performing required processing such as thin film formation, impurity diffusion, and etching on a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon wafer.

  As one of the substrate processing apparatuses, there is a batch type substrate processing apparatus having a vertical furnace, and the vertical furnace has a reaction tube that defines a processing chamber, and a heating device provided so as to accommodate the reaction tube. is doing. Wafers held in multiple stages are stored in the processing chamber, the wafer is heated to a processing temperature by the heating device, and a processing gas is supplied to the processing chamber to perform a required processing on the wafer.

  Since the processing uniformity and processing quality of the wafer are affected by the processing temperature, the temperature of the processing chamber is measured at multiple points by the temperature detecting means, and the processing chamber is set to the processing temperature and the uniform temperature based on the measurement result. The heating is controlled so that

  The temperature detection means is a temperature detection member, for example, a thermocouple and a thermocouple that is inserted into a pair of lead wires of the thermocouple, insulating material such as alumina that insulates the lead wires, and an insulating material attached to the lead wires. The protective tube is held in the processing chamber by a required means such as welding to the reaction tube.

  The protective tube penetrates the base of the reaction tube from the horizontal direction and extends upward along the inner wall surface of the reaction tube. Therefore, the protective tube has a curved base. The thermocouple is structured to be inserted into the protective tube individually from one end. Therefore, it is necessary for the thermocouple to be able to bend along the shape of the protective tube, and the insulating material is formed by connecting a number of beads.

  The tip of the thermocouple is a temperature detection unit, and in order to detect the temperature at different positions (positions different in the height direction) by the temperature detection means, the temperature detection unit of the thermocouple in the protective tube Different height positions. The position of the temperature detector in the protective tube is determined by the insertion length of the thermocouple, and the temperature at multiple locations is detected by the thermocouple by managing the insertion length of the multiple thermocouples in the protective tube. It becomes possible.

  However, in the past, since thermocouples with insulating materials were individually inserted into the protective tube, the thermocouple was bent in the protective tube due to interference between the thermocouples during insertion, and the position of the temperature detection unit May be uncertain. Furthermore, it is necessary to remove the thermocouple for maintenance work such as cleaning of the reaction tube. After the maintenance, the thermocouple bending state changes when the thermocouple is reassembled. There was a problem that changed.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention improves the temperature detection position accuracy of the temperature detection means and ensures reproducibility even when the temperature detection means is reassembled.

  The present invention includes a reaction tube that forms a space for storing and processing a substrate, a heating unit that heats the substrate, a temperature detection unit that detects a temperature in the reaction tube, and the temperature detection unit that is stored in the reaction tube. The temperature detecting means has a plurality of temperature detecting members, and the temperature detecting member is constituted by a linear member having a temperature detecting portion at a tip portion, and the temperature detecting member includes the temperature detecting member. According to the substrate processing apparatus, the insulating member is inserted in a bead shape so that the positions of the portions are different, and the plurality of temperature detecting members are inserted into at least one of the insulating members.

  According to the present invention, a reaction tube that forms a space for accommodating and processing a substrate, a heating unit that heats the substrate, a temperature detection unit that detects a temperature in the reaction tube, and the temperature detection unit in the reaction tube The temperature detecting means has a plurality of temperature detecting members, and the temperature detecting member is composed of a linear member having a temperature detecting portion at a tip portion, and the temperature detecting member includes the temperature detecting member. Insulating members are inserted in a bead shape so that the positions of the temperature detecting units are different, and a plurality of the temperature detecting members are inserted into at least one of the insulating members. Since the temperature detection position accuracy is maintained, the temperature detection position accuracy of the temperature detection means is improved, and even when the temperature detection means is reassembled, the reproducibility is improved.

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

  A substrate processing apparatus in which the present invention is implemented will be described with reference to FIG.

  A cassette stage 3 is provided on the front side of the inside of the housing 1 as a holder transfer member for transferring a cassette 2 as a substrate storage container to and from an external transfer device (not shown). Is provided with a cassette elevator 4 as an elevating means, and a cassette transfer machine 5 as a conveying means is attached to the cassette elevator 4. On the rear side of the cassette elevator 4, a cassette shelf 6 is provided as mounting means for the cassette 2, and the cassette shelf 6 is provided on a slide stage 7 so as to be able to traverse. A buffer cassette shelf 8 is provided above the cassette shelf 6 as a means for placing the cassette 2. Further, a clean unit 9 is provided on the rear side of the buffer cassette shelf 8 so as to distribute clean air through the inside of the housing 1.

  A processing furnace 11 is provided above the rear portion of the casing 1, and a load lock chamber 12 as a semi-cylindrical airtight chamber is connected to the lower side of the processing furnace 11 via a gate valve 13 as a gate valve. A load lock door 14 as a partitioning means is provided on the front surface of the load lock chamber 12 at a position facing the cassette shelf 6.

  In the load lock chamber 12, a boat elevator 61 is provided as an elevating means for loading and unloading the boat 34 as a substrate holder for holding the wafers 33 as substrates in a multi-stage in a horizontal posture. A seal cap 63 is attached to the boat elevator 61 as a lid that hermetically closes the furnace port of the processing furnace 11, and the boat 34 is vertically supported by the seal cap 63.

  Between the load lock chamber 12 and the cassette shelf 6, a substrate transfer machine 19 is provided as a substrate transfer means. The substrate transfer machine 19 holds a wafer and can be moved up and down, moved forward and backward, and rotated. ing.

  An exhaust device (not shown) is connected to the load lock chamber 12 and can be evacuated, and a gas purge nozzle 21 communicates with the load lock chamber 12 via the gas lock nozzle 21 to an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. Can be supplied.

  Hereinafter, a series of operations in the substrate processing apparatus will be described.

  The cassette 2 transported from an external transport device (not shown) is placed on the cassette stage 3, and the orientation of the cassette 2 is converted by 90 ° on the cassette stage 3, and the cassette elevator 4 is moved up and down. It is transported to the cassette shelf 6 or the buffer cassette shelf 8 by the cooperation of the operation and the advance / retreat operation of the cassette transfer machine 5.

  The wafers 33 are transferred from the cassette shelf 6 to the boat 34 by the substrate transfer device 19. In preparation for transferring the wafer 33, the boat 34 is lowered by the boat elevator 61, the processing furnace 11 is closed by the gate valve 13, and a nitrogen gas is supplied from the purge nozzle 21 into the load lock chamber 12. A purge gas such as is introduced. After the load lock chamber 12 is restored to atmospheric pressure, the load lock door 14 is opened.

  The slide stage 7 moves the cassette shelf 6 horizontally and positions the cassette 2 to be transferred so as to face the substrate transfer machine 19. The substrate transfer machine 19 transfers the wafer 33 from the cassette 2 to the boat 34 by cooperation of the raising / lowering operation and the rotating operation. The transfer of the wafers 33 is performed on several cassettes 2, and after the transfer of a predetermined number of wafers 33 to the boat 34 is completed, the load lock door 14 is closed, and the load lock chamber 12 is opened. It is evacuated.

  After the evacuation is completed, when the gas is introduced from the gas purge nozzle 21 and the inside of the load lock chamber 12 is restored to the atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 13 is opened, and the boat elevator 61 causes the boat 34 to move to the processing furnace. 11 and the gate valve 13 is closed. Note that the boat 34 may be loaded into the processing furnace 11 in a state of less than atmospheric pressure without returning the pressure inside the load lock chamber 12 to atmospheric pressure after completion of evacuation.

  After a predetermined process is performed on the wafer 33 in the processing furnace 11, the gate valve 13 is opened, the boat 34 is pulled out by the boat elevator 61, and the interior of the load lock chamber 12 is atmospheric pressure. After the pressure is restored, the load lock door 14 is opened.

  The processed wafer 33 is transferred from the boat 34 to the cassette stage 3 through the cassette shelf 6 by the reverse procedure of the above operation, and is carried out by an external transfer device (not shown).

  Transport operations of the cassette transfer device 5, the slide stage 7, the boat elevator 61, the substrate transfer device 19, and the like are controlled by a transfer control means 22.

  The vertical processing furnace 11 used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The substrate processing apparatus used in this embodiment includes a controller 71 that is a control unit, and the controller 71 controls operations of the respective units constituting the substrate processing apparatus and the processing furnace.

  A reaction tube 32 that defines the processing chamber 31 is provided concentrically inside a heater 72 that is a heating device (heating means). The reaction tube 32 processes the wafer 33 and performs a required process. The lower end opening of the reaction tube 32 is hermetically closed by the seal cap 63 that is a lid, and at least the reaction tube 32 and the seal cap 63 form the processing chamber 31.

  The boat 34 is erected on the seal cap 63 via a boat support 73, and the boat support 73 is a holding body for holding the boat 34. A plurality of wafers 33 to be batch-processed are loaded in the boat 34 in a horizontal posture in multiple stages in the tube axis direction, and are loaded into the processing chamber 31 by the boat elevator 61, and the heaters 72 are loaded. Is heated to a predetermined temperature.

  The processing chamber 31 is provided with two gas supply pipes 74a and 74b as supply paths for supplying a plurality of types, here two types of gases. Here, from the first gas supply pipe 74a, a buffer formed in the reaction pipe 32, which will be described later, via a first mass flow controller 75a which is a flow rate control device (flow rate control means) and a first valve 76a which is an on-off valve. A reaction gas is supplied to the processing chamber 31 through the chamber 77, and a second mass flow controller 75b, which is a flow rate control device (flow rate control means), a second valve 76b, which is an on-off valve, from the second gas supply pipe 74b. A reactive gas is supplied to the processing chamber 31 via a gas reservoir 78 and a third valve 76c, which is an on-off valve, and a gas supply unit 79 described later.

  The reaction tube 32 is connected to a vacuum pump 82 which is an exhaust device (exhaust means) through a fourth valve 76d by a gas exhaust tube 81 for exhausting gas, and is evacuated. The fourth valve 76d is an open / close valve that can be opened and closed to stop evacuation / evacuation of the processing chamber 31, and further adjust the pressure by adjusting the valve opening.

  The arc-shaped space between the inner wall surface of the reaction tube 32 and the wafer 33 is a gas dispersion space along the loading direction of the wafer 33 on the inner wall surface above the lower portion of the reaction tube 32. A buffer chamber 77 is provided, and a first gas supply hole 83 a which is a supply hole for supplying a gas is provided at an end portion of the wall adjacent to the wafer 33 in the buffer chamber 77. The first gas supply hole 83 a is opened toward the center of the reaction tube 32. The first gas supply holes 83a have the same opening area from the lower part to the upper part, and are provided at the same opening pitch.

  At the end of the buffer chamber 77 opposite to the end where the first gas supply hole 83 a is provided, a nozzle 84 is arranged along the stacking direction of the wafer 33 from the lower part to the upper part of the reaction tube 32. It is installed. The nozzle 84 is provided with a second gas supply hole 83b which is a supply hole for supplying a plurality of gases. When the differential pressure between the buffer chamber 77 and the processing chamber 31 is small, the second gas supply hole 83b has the same opening area and the same opening pitch from the upstream side to the downstream side of the gas. However, when the differential pressure is large, the opening area may be increased from the upstream side toward the downstream side, or the opening pitch may be decreased.

  In the present embodiment, the opening area of the second gas supply hole 83b is gradually increased from the upstream side to the downstream side. With this configuration, gas having a flow rate of approximately the same amount is ejected from the second gas supply holes 83b into the buffer chamber 77, although the flow rate is substantially the same.

  In the buffer chamber 77, the particle velocity difference of the gas ejected from the second gas supply holes 83b is alleviated and then ejected from the first gas supply holes 83a to the processing chamber 31. Therefore, the gas ejected from each second gas supply hole 83b can be a gas having a uniform flow rate and flow velocity when ejected from each first gas supply hole 83a.

  Furthermore, in the buffer chamber 77, the first rod-shaped electrode 85, which is a first electrode having a long and narrow structure, and the second rod-shaped electrode 86, which is a second electrode, are protective tubes that protect the electrode from the upper part to the lower part. Protected by a tube 87, either the first rod-shaped electrode 85 or the second rod-shaped electrode 86 is connected to a high-frequency power source 89 via a matching unit 88, and the other is connected to a ground that is a reference potential. Has been. As a result, plasma is generated in the plasma generation region 91 between the first rod-shaped electrode 85 and the second rod-shaped electrode 86.

  The electrode protection tube 87 has a structure in which each of the first rod-shaped electrode 85 and the second rod-shaped electrode 86 can be inserted into the buffer chamber 77 while being isolated from the atmosphere of the buffer chamber 77. Here, if the inside of the electrode protection tube 87 has the same atmosphere as the outside air (atmosphere), the first rod-shaped electrode 85 and the second rod-shaped electrode 86 respectively inserted into the electrode protection tube 87 are heated by the heater 72. It will be oxidized by. Therefore, the inside of the electrode protection tube 87 is filled or purged with an inert gas such as nitrogen to keep the oxygen concentration sufficiently low to prevent oxidation of the first rod-shaped electrode 85 or the second rod-shaped electrode 86. An inert gas purge mechanism is provided.

  Further, the gas supply unit 79 is provided on the inner wall of the reaction tube 32 that is rotated about 120 ° from the position of the first gas supply hole 83a. The gas supply unit 79 is a supply unit that shares the gas supply species with the buffer chamber 77 when a plurality of types of gases are alternately supplied to the wafer 33 one by one in the film formation by the ALD method.

  Similarly to the buffer chamber 77, the gas supply unit 79 has a third gas supply hole 83c that is a supply hole for supplying gas at the same pitch at a position adjacent to the wafer 33, and the second gas supply pipe 74b at the bottom. Is connected.

  The opening area of the third gas supply hole 83c has the same opening area and the same opening pitch from the upstream side to the downstream side of the gas when the differential pressure in the gas supply unit 79 and the processing chamber 31 is small. However, if the differential pressure is large, the opening area may be increased from the upstream side toward the downstream side, or the opening pitch may be decreased.

  In the present embodiment, the opening area of the third gas supply hole 83c is gradually increased from the upstream side to the downstream side.

  The boat 34 on which a plurality of wafers 33 are placed in multiple stages at the same interval is accommodated in the central portion of the reaction tube 32, and the boat 34 is attached to and detached from the reaction tube 32 by the boat elevator 61. It has become like that. Further, in order to improve the uniformity of processing, a boat rotation mechanism 92 which is a rotation device (rotation means) for rotating the boat 34 is provided. By rotating the boat rotation mechanism 92, the boat support base is rotated. The boat 34 held at 73 is rotated.

  The controller 71 includes the first and second mass flow controllers 75a and 75b, the first to fourth valves 76a, 76b, 76c and 76d, the heater 72, the vacuum pump 82, the boat rotating mechanism 92, and the boat elevator. 61, connected to the high-frequency power supply 89 and the matching unit 88, the flow rate adjustment of the first and second mass flow controllers 75a, 75b, the opening / closing operation of the first to third valves 76a, 76b, 76c, the first Opening / closing and pressure adjusting operation of the four valve 76d, temperature adjustment of the heater 72, starting / stopping of the vacuum pump 82, rotation speed adjustment of the boat rotating mechanism 92, control of raising / lowering operation of the boat elevator 61, Power supply control and impedance control by the matching unit 88 are performed.

  Next, an example of film formation by the ALD method will be described using an example of forming a SiN film using DCS and NH3 gas, which is one of the semiconductor device manufacturing steps.

  ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition), which is one of the CVD (Chemical 1 Vapor Deposition) methods, uses two types (or more) of raw materials used for film formation under certain film formation conditions (temperature, time, etc.). In this method, one type of processing gas is alternately supplied onto the substrate, adsorbed in units of one atomic layer, and film formation is performed using a surface reaction.

  For example, in the case of forming a SiN (silicon nitride) film, high-quality film formation is possible at a low temperature of 300 to 600 ° C. using DCS (SiH2 C12, dichlorosilane) and NH3 (ammonia) in the ALD method. . The gas supply alternately supplies a plurality of types of reactive gases one by one. And film thickness control is controlled by the cycle number of reactive gas supply. (For example, if the deposition rate is 1 mm / cycle, the process is performed 20 cycles when a film of 20 mm is formed.)

  First, a wafer 33 to be deposited is loaded into the boat 34 and carried into the processing chamber 31. After carrying in, the following three steps are sequentially executed.

(Step 1)
In step 1, NH3 gas that requires plasma excitation and DCS gas that does not require plasma excitation are allowed to flow in parallel. First, the first valve 76a provided in the first gas supply pipe 74a and the fourth valve 76d provided in the gas exhaust pipe 81 are both opened, and the first mass flow controller 75a is connected from the first gas supply pipe 74a. The NH 3 gas whose flow rate has been adjusted by the nozzle 84 is ejected from the second gas supply hole 83 b of the nozzle 84 to the buffer chamber 77, and the alignment is performed from the high-frequency power source 89 between the first rod-shaped electrode 85 and the second rod-shaped electrode 86. The high frequency power is applied through the vessel 88 to excite NH3 plasma, and the exhaust gas is exhausted from the gas exhaust pipe 81 while being supplied to the processing chamber 31 as active species. When flowing NH3 gas as an active species by plasma excitation, the pressure in the processing chamber 31 is maintained within a range of 10 to 100 Pa, for example, 50 Pa by appropriately adjusting the fourth valve 76d. The supply flow rate of NH3 controlled by the first mass flow controller 75a is in the range of 1 to 10 slm. For example, the time for exposing the wafer 33 to the activated species obtained by plasma excitation of NH3 supplied at 6 slm is 2 to 102. Seconds. The temperature of the heater 72 at this time is set so that the wafer 33 is in the range of 300 to 600 ° C., for example, 550 ° C. Since NH3 has a high reaction temperature, it does not react at the above temperature. Therefore, it is made to flow as an active species by plasma excitation, so that the wafer temperature can be kept in the set low temperature range.

  When this NH3 is supplied as active species by plasma excitation, the second valve 76b on the upstream side of the second gas supply pipe 74b is opened, the third valve 76c on the downstream side is closed, and the DCS is also Make it flow. As a result, DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 78 provided between the second valve 76b and the third valve 76c. At this time, the gas flowing in the processing chamber 31 is an active species obtained by plasma excitation of NH3, and DCS does not exist. Accordingly, NH3 does not cause a gas phase reaction, and NH3 excited by plasma to become an active species undergoes surface reaction (chemical adsorption) with a surface portion such as a base film on the wafer 33.

(Step 2)
In step 2, the first valve 76a of the first gas supply pipe 74a is closed to stop the supply of NH3, but the supply to the gas reservoir 78 is continued. When a predetermined pressure and a predetermined amount of DCS are accumulated in the gas reservoir 78, the second valve 76b on the upstream side is also closed, and the DCS is confined in the gas reservoir 78. Further, the fourth valve 76d of the gas exhaust pipe 81 is kept open, and the processing chamber 31 is evacuated to 20 Pa or less by the vacuum pump 82, and residual NH3 is removed from the processing chamber 31. At this time, if an inert gas such as N2 is supplied to the processing chamber 31, the effect of eliminating residual NH3 is further enhanced. In the gas reservoir 78, DCS is stored so that the pressure is 20000 Pa or more. Further, the apparatus is configured so that the conductance between the gas reservoir 78 and the processing chamber 31 is 1.5 × 10 ⁻³ m ³ / s or more. Considering the ratio between the volume of the reaction tube 32 and the volume of the gas reservoir 78 necessary for the reaction tube 32, the volume of the reaction tube 32 is 100 to 300 cc when the volume is 100 l (liter). The volume ratio of the gas reservoir 78 is preferably 1/1000 to 3/1000 times the reaction chamber volume.

(Step 3)
In step 3, when the exhaust of the processing chamber 31 is finished, the fourth valve 76d of the gas exhaust pipe 81 is closed to stop the exhaust. The third valve 76c on the downstream side of the second gas supply pipe 74b is opened. As a result, the DCS stored in the gas reservoir 78 is supplied to the processing chamber 31 at once. At this time, since the fourth valve 76d of the gas exhaust pipe 81 is closed, the pressure in the processing chamber 31 is rapidly increased to about 931 Pa (7 Torr). The time for supplying DCS was set to 2 to 4 seconds, and then the time for exposure to the increased pressure atmosphere was set to 2 to 4 seconds, for a total of 6 seconds. The wafer temperature at this time is maintained at a desired temperature within the range of 300 to 600 ° C., as in the case of supplying NH 3. By supplying DCS, NH 3 chemically adsorbed on the surface of the wafer 33 and DCS undergo a surface reaction (chemical adsorption), and a SiN film is formed on the wafer 33. After the film formation, the third valve 76c is closed, the fourth valve 76d is opened, and the processing chamber 31 is evacuated to remove the gas after contributing to the film formation of the remaining DCS. At this time, if an inert gas such as N2 is supplied to the processing chamber 31, the effect of removing the remaining gas after contributing to the film formation of DCS from the processing chamber 31 is enhanced. Also, the second valve 76b is opened to start supplying DCS to the gas reservoir 78.

  Steps 1 to 3 are defined as one cycle, and this cycle is repeated a plurality of times to form a SiN film having a predetermined thickness on the wafer.

  In the ALD apparatus, the gas is chemically adsorbed on the surface portion of the wafer 33. The amount of gas adsorption is proportional to the gas pressure and the gas exposure time. Therefore, in order to adsorb the desired amount of gas in a short time, it is necessary to increase the gas pressure in a short time. In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the DCS stored in the gas reservoir 78 is instantaneously supplied after the fourth valve 76d is closed, the pressure of the DCS in the processing chamber 31 is reduced. It can be raised rapidly and a desired amount of gas can be adsorbed instantaneously.

  Further, in the present embodiment, while DCS is stored in the gas reservoir 78, NH3 gas, which is a necessary step in the ALD method, is excited as plasma to be supplied as active species and the processing chamber 31 is exhausted. As a result, no special steps are required to store the DCS. Further, since DCS is flowed after exhausting the inside of the processing chamber 31 and removing NH3 gas, both do not react on the way to the wafer 33. The supplied DCS can be effectively reacted only with NH3 adsorbed on the wafer 33.

  The temperature detection means has a plurality of temperature detection members such as thermocouples, and an insulating material such as alumina that insulates the lead wires is inserted into a pair of lead wires of the thermocouple, and the insulating material is attached to the lead wires. A plurality of the thermocouples are stored together in a protective tube, and the protective tube is held in the processing chamber by a required means such as welding to the reaction tube.

  Next, temperature detecting means to which the present invention is applied will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the temperature detection means 41 is configured to be inserted into a protective tube 43 formed of, for example, silicon carbide or quartz, and the temperature detection means 41 is inserted into the protective tube 43. 41 is prevented from being corroded by the processing gas.

  Since the protective tube 43 penetrates the side wall of the reaction tube 32 and is erected in the reaction tube 32, the through portion of the protective tube 43 through the reaction tube 32 is bent.

  The temperature detecting means 41 includes a thermocouple 42 which is a temperature detecting member, for example, a linear member, and when the temperature of the processing chamber 31 is measured at multiple points and the output of the heater 72 is finely adjusted, The temperature detection means 41 has a plurality of thermocouples 42, and the thermocouples 42 are collectively inserted into the protective tube 43, and the tip of the thermocouple 42, that is, the temperature detection part is in the longitudinal direction of the reaction tube 32. They are arranged at predetermined distance intervals.

  The temperature detection means 41 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The thermocouple 42 constituting the temperature detecting means 41 is composed of a pair of lead wires 44, 44 and a temperature detecting portion 46 where the tips of the lead wires 44, 44 are welded. The lead wires 44, 44 are It is covered with an insulating member 47 such as alumina so as not to be short-circuited.

  The temperature detection means 41 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 shows an example in which two thermocouples 42 are combined.

  The insulating member 47 has a short cylindrical shape, and has through holes 48 through which the lead wires 44 are inserted in the axial direction. The number of the through holes 48 is the same as the number of the lead wires 44, or That's it. Accordingly, the illustrated insulating member 47 has four through holes 48 formed therein.

  The thermocouple 42 is inserted into the protective tube 43 in a state where the insulating member 47 is inserted into the lead wire 44 in a daisy chain. Therefore, the axial length and the outer diameter of the insulating member 47 are values such that the insulating member 47 can pass through the curved portion of the protective tube 43 without hindrance.

  The two thermocouples 42a and 42b are different in length so that the temperature detectors 46a and 46b are arranged at predetermined distance intervals in the longitudinal direction of the reaction tube 32. The two thermocouples 42a and 42b In the parallel range, the four lead wires 44 are inserted through the insulating member 47, and only the lead wire 44 of the thermocouple 42a is inserted through the insulating member 47 in the portion of only one thermocouple 42a. It has become a state.

  In addition, the insulating member 47a where the temperature detecting portion 46b of the thermocouple 42b is exposed is a plane including the axial center of the insulating member 47a or the axial center so that the lead wire 44 of the thermocouple 42b is not exposed. The semi-cylindrical part 50 is removed by a plane parallel to the temperature, so that the temperature detector 46b does not interfere with the insulating member 47a.

  The positional relationship between the temperature detection unit 46a and the temperature detection unit 46b is determined by the number of the insulating members 47, and the insulating member 47 is guided by the protective tube 43, so that the temperature detection unit 46a and the temperature detection unit 46b are The positional relationship with the temperature detector 46b is accurate and reproducible.

  The base of the temperature detection means 41 is provided with a large-diameter positioning portion 49 made of alumina or the like, and the positioning portion 49 is abutted against the outer end of the protective tube 43, so that the temperature The height positions of the detection units 46a and 46b in the processing chamber 31 are determined.

  FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, the semi-cylindrical portion is removed from one insulating member 47 in order to expose the temperature detection unit 46b. However, in the second embodiment, a part of the insulating member 47 is removed. The temperature detecting portion 46b is exposed by removing the semi-cylindrical portion 51.

  FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment. In a portion where one thermocouple 42 a extends, an insulating member 52 having a small diameter is used with respect to the insulating member 47, and the insulating member 52 includes Two through holes 48 through which only the lead wires 44 of the thermocouple 42a are inserted are formed. Since the insulating member 52 has a small diameter, there is no interference when the temperature detecting portion 46 b is exposed from the insulating member 47. The insulating member 52 may have an elliptical cross section in order to avoid buffering with the temperature detector 46b.

  When the three thermocouples 42 are combined, the insulating member 47 is provided with six through holes 48, and the insulating member 47 at a position where the temperature detecting unit 46 is exposed has a 1/3 cylindrical portion. It is only necessary to remove the temperature detection unit 46 and expose the four thermocouples 42. When the four thermocouples 42 are combined, eight holes 48 are formed in the insulating member 47, and the temperature detection unit 46 is provided. For the insulating member 47 at the exposed position, the quarter cylindrical portion may be removed to expose the corresponding temperature detecting portion 46.

  Note that the insulating members provided in the range where the two thermocouples 42a and 42b are arranged in parallel may not be all the insulating members 47 through which the thermocouples 42a and 42b are inserted simultaneously. For example, the insulating members shown in FIG. 52 and the insulating member 47 may be provided alternately or at a required interval. Since the insulating member 47 has a function of bundling a plurality of thermocouples 42, it may be provided only at a required location.

  Further, since the plurality of thermocouples 42 are inserted together in the protective tube 43, one having a large diameter can be used. Therefore, even when the protective tube 43 is washed with a cleaning liquid during maintenance work, the residual cleaning liquid in the protective pipe 43 can be easily removed, and an increase in maintenance work time can be prevented.

  The penetrating position of the protective tube 43 is not limited to the lower end portion of the reaction tube. A manifold is provided under the reaction tube, a gas nozzle for supplying a processing gas and an exhaust pipe are connected to the manifold, and the lower end opening of the manifold is connected. The processing chamber structure may be such that the portion is closed with a seal cap, and may pass through the side wall of the manifold.

(Appendix)
The present invention includes the following embodiments.

  (Supplementary note 1) A processing tube for forming a space for accommodating and processing a substrate, a heating means for heating the substrate, a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature in the processing tube, and the temperature detecting means in the processing tube A protective tube, and an insulating member accommodated in the protective tube and divided into a plurality of portions in the longitudinal direction of the protective tube, and the temperature detecting means detects temperatures at a plurality of locations in the processing tube. Each of the temperature detection members includes a plurality of temperature detection units and a wiring connected to each of the temperature detection units, and at least one of the insulating members includes A substrate processing apparatus comprising a plurality of holes each penetrating therethrough.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the temperature detection means in a substrate processing apparatus. It is a side view which shows the temperature detection means in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the temperature detection part in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the temperature detection part in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the temperature detection part in 3rd Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the substrate processing apparatus by which this invention is implemented. It is an elevation sectional view of a processing furnace applied to the present invention. It is a plane sectional view of a processing furnace applied to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Processing furnace 31 Processing chamber 32 Reaction tube 41 Temperature detection means 42 Thermocouple 43 Protection tube 44 Lead wire 46 Temperature detection part 47 Insulation member 48 Through-hole 49 Positioning part 72 Heater 84 Nozzle 85 1st rod-shaped electrode 86 2nd rod-shaped electrode 89 High frequency power supply

Claims (1)

  A reaction tube forming a space for housing and processing the substrate, a heating unit for heating the substrate, a temperature detection unit for detecting the temperature in the reaction tube, and a protective tube for storing the temperature detection unit in the reaction tube; The temperature detection means has a plurality of temperature detection members, the temperature detection member is composed of a linear member having a temperature detection portion at the tip, and the temperature detection member has a position of the temperature detection portion. An insulating member is inserted in a rosary shape so as to be different, and a plurality of the temperature detecting members are inserted into at least one of the insulating members.

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