JP2008251577A - Method and device for leveling mounting table - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for leveling a mounting table easily and inexpensively when a semiconductor substrate is mounted on the mounting table and the mounting table is leveled so that the substrate becomes horizontal without opening the processing furnace of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus and without installing a device for leveling the mounting table in the processing furnace. <P>SOLUTION: In the method and device for leveling a mounting table when a semiconductor substrate 5 is mounted on the substrate mounting table 4 of a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus so that the substrate 5 becomes horizontal, light is emitted vertically downward from a light-emitting device 1 installed above the mounting table 4, the emitted light 2 is reflected on the substrate 5 mounted on the mounting table 4 and inclination of the mounting table 4 is adjusted such that the reflected light 3 from the substrate 5 is aligned with the emitted light 2, thus leveling the substrate mounting table. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a mounting table leveling method and a mounting table leveling method for leveling a substrate mounting table so that the substrate becomes horizontal when the semiconductor substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. It relates to the quasi equipment.

  Generally, in a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus that performs processing by placing a semiconductor substrate on a substrate mounting table, most of the semiconductor substrate is transported by a robot from the apparatus in the previous process, and is transferred to the substrate mounting table in the processing furnace of the apparatus. It is placed. In such a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, since the substrate is adjusted so that the best processing conditions are obtained when the substrate is placed at a predetermined position on the substrate mounting table, uniform processing is performed on the entire surface of the substrate. In this case, it is necessary to place the substrate at a predetermined position on the placing table. If the substrate is deviated from a predetermined position on the mounting table, the processing is not performed uniformly within the substrate surface, which directly leads to deterioration of the quality of the processed semiconductor substrate.

  Therefore, in order to reduce the positional deviation of the semiconductor substrate on the substrate mounting table, studies have been made to improve the operation accuracy of the robot for mounting the substrate. However, no matter how much the operation accuracy of the robot is increased, there is a defective product due to the displacement of the substrate. This is because when the robot places the semiconductor substrate on the substrate mounting table, the gas layer sandwiched between the substrate and the substrate mounting table causes the substrate to float on the mounting table for a short time. If the substrate mounting table is tilted even a little, the substrate slides on the substrate mounting table, causing a displacement of the substrate.

Further, even when the substrate is in a predetermined position on the substrate mounting table, for example, when the film is formed, the substrate mounting table is tilted, so that the processing surface of the substrate mounted thereon is also tilted. Therefore, uniform processing cannot be performed within the substrate surface.
Therefore, in order to perform uniform processing within the substrate surface, the tilt of the substrate mounting table is one of the very important items to be managed.

Conventionally, in order to level the tilt of the substrate mounting table, the processing furnace of the apparatus is opened before the operation of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, and a general bubble level is placed on the substrate mounting table. The tilt of the table was adjusted. However, since a light level is not accurate enough to level the substrate mounting table, a high-precision level was used. However, because the level itself is heavy, it is necessary to remove the level. Sometimes the table was tilted or deformed. For this reason, the level could not obtain sufficient accuracy to level the mounting table.
In addition, the leveling operation using the level must open the processing furnace of the equipment, which contaminates the inside of the processing furnace and causes the equipment to idle for a long time to restore the purity of the atmosphere in the processing furnace. There was a need to do.

In view of this, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of providing a digital level on the side surface of a chuck that supports a wafer. However, when a digital level is used, since the level is provided in the processing furnace, it is not necessary to open the processing furnace for leveling the mounting table. Since the inside becomes a high temperature environment or is filled with corrosive gas, if the level is in the processing furnace during the substrate processing, the level will be broken or deteriorated. In particular, when the level is deteriorated, the substrate being processed is contaminated. Therefore, it is not preferable to install the level in the processing furnace.
On the other hand, it is only necessary to apply a coating that gives corrosion and heat resistance to the level, but a digital level that is coated on the side of the chuck must be attached, and the level of weight is affected by the level of the level. there were.

  In recent years, a method has been developed in which an acceleration sensor and a wireless device unit attached to a semiconductor substrate are mounted on a mounting table, and the tilt of the mounting table is received wirelessly. However, in such a method, the unit itself is very expensive, and there are restrictions on conveyance due to the size and weight of the unit, and the unit is placed on the substrate mounting table via the substrate. There was an effect on the level of the substrate platform. Further, since the unit is put into the processing furnace, the corrosion of the unit due to the gas and heat remaining in the processing furnace and the contamination inside the processing furnace due to this have become problems.

JP 2003-297734 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and when a semiconductor substrate is placed on the substrate mounting table, the semiconductor substrate processing is performed when the substrate mounting table is leveled so that the substrate is horizontal. A mounting table leveling method capable of leveling the substrate mounting table easily and inexpensively without opening the processing furnace of the apparatus and without installing an apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table in the processing furnace, and An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting table leveling device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a mounting for leveling the substrate mounting table so that the substrate is horizontal when the semiconductor substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. A mounting table leveling method, wherein light is emitted vertically downward from a light emitter installed above the substrate mounting table, and the emitted light is reflected by a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table, and then from the substrate. The mounting table leveling method is characterized in that the substrate mounting table is leveled by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table so that the reflected light of the light and the emitted light coincide with each other (claim 1).

  As described above, in the present invention, light is emitted vertically downward from a light emitter installed above the substrate mounting table, the emitted light is reflected by the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table, and the reflected light and the emitted light are reflected. The substrate mounting table is leveled by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table so that. Accordingly, since the vertically downward light of the light emitter can be incident from the window in the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the substrate mounting table can be externally installed without opening the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. Can be leveled. Therefore, the purity in the processing furnace can be maintained, and the idle operation time of the apparatus before operation can be shortened. In addition, the inclination of the substrate mounting table can be corrected even during the semiconductor substrate processing.

  Furthermore, since the substrate can be leveled by installing the light emitter outside the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the light emitter is not exposed to the heat in the processing furnace or the atmosphere in the processing furnace. . Therefore, contamination in the processing furnace due to deterioration of the apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table can be prevented, and the substrate mounting table can be leveled easily and at low cost.

In this case, it is preferable to project the reflected light on a target plate when the reflected light and the emitted light are matched.
As described above, when the reflected light is matched with the outgoing light from the light emitter, it can be easily confirmed that the reflected light matches the outgoing light by projecting the reflected light on the target plate.

  The present invention is also a mounting table leveling device for leveling the substrate mounting table so that the substrate is horizontal when the semiconductor substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. And at least a light emitter that is installed above the substrate mounting table and emits light vertically downward, and a spot of reflected light reflected by the substrate on which the emitted light from the light emitter is mounted on the substrate mounting table. There is provided a mounting table leveling device comprising a target plate for projecting (claim 9).

  As described above, the mounting table leveling device of the present invention includes at least a light emitter that is installed above the substrate mounting table and emits light vertically downward, and light emitted from the light emitter is mounted on the substrate mounting table. And a target plate for reflecting a spot of reflected light reflected by the substrate. Accordingly, since the vertically downward light of the light emitter can be incident from the window in the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the substrate mounting table can be externally installed without opening the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. It becomes a mounting table leveling device capable of leveling. Therefore, the purity in the processing furnace can be maintained, and the idle operation time of the apparatus before operation can be shortened. Further, the mounting table leveling apparatus of the present invention can correct the tilt of the substrate mounting table even during the semiconductor substrate processing.

Furthermore, since the substrate can be leveled by installing the light emitter outside the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the light emitter is not exposed to the heat in the processing furnace or the atmosphere in the processing furnace. . Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent contamination in the processing furnace due to deterioration of the apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table, and to provide a mounting table leveling device that can easily and accurately level the substrate mounting table. .
In addition, since the target plate for reflecting the spot of reflected light is provided, when adjusting the tilt of the substrate mounting table so that the reflected light matches the outgoing light from the light emitter, the reflected light can be easily separated from the outgoing light. Can be matched.

  When the target plate is formed with a through-hole through which the emitted light passes, the position of the through-hole and the reflection are adjusted when adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table. Preferably, the positions of the light spots are matched (Claim 3), and the target plate is installed immediately below the light emitter, and has a through-hole through which the emitted light passes. (Claim 10).

  As described above, when the target plate is installed directly under the light emitter, the target plate has a hindrance to the emitted light by forming a through hole in the target plate for passing vertically downward emitted light from the light emitter. Don't be. Also, when adjusting the tilt of the substrate mounting table, the position of the through hole through which the emitted light formed on the target plate passes and the position of the reflected light spot where the reflected light from the substrate is reflected on the back of the target plate are the same By doing so, the inclination of the substrate mounting table can be easily adjusted while observing only the back of the target plate.

  Further, when the reflected light and the emitted light are matched, the emitted light is split in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction using a beam splitter, and the emitted light in the horizontal direction is reflected on the target plate via a reflecting mirror. Preferably, the emitted light spot and the reflected light spot are matched with each other (Claim 4), a beam splitter for splitting the emitted light in a vertical direction and a lateral direction, and the emitted light in the lateral direction are It is preferable that the apparatus further comprises a reflecting mirror for projecting on the target plate.

  In this way, the beam splitter splits the emitted light in the vertical direction and the lateral direction, the reflecting mirror projects the emitted light in the horizontal direction on the target plate, and matches the emitted light spot and the reflected light spot. It is possible to observe the outgoing light spot and the reflected light spot reflected in the above in an easy posture, and it is possible to level the substrate mounting table more easily.

In the present invention, it is preferable to use a retroreflector as the reflector (Claim 5), and the reflector is preferably a retroreflector (Claim 12).
In this way, by using the retroreflecting mirror as a reflecting mirror that reflects the outgoing light in the lateral direction, the orientation and position of the reflecting mirror can be easily determined.

  In this case, the light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector are integrally fixed by a gimbal mechanism so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. Preferably, the light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector are configured such that the outgoing light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. It is preferable that the gimbal mechanism is integrally fixed (claim 13).

  In this way, the light emitter, beam splitter, and retroreflector are integrally fixed by the gimbal mechanism so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. When adjusting the light emitted from the light emitter so as to be in the vertical direction, if the gimbal mechanism is horizontally adjusted, the light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector are adjusted to a desired angle. Using this, the substrate mounting table can be leveled. Therefore, when the gimbal mechanism is adjusted horizontally, the light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector are integrally fixed at a desired angle, so that it is not necessary to individually adjust individual elements. .

  Further, the position of the spectroscopic mechanism holding the beam splitter and the retroreflecting mirror may be adjusted so that the emitted light in the lateral direction split by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflecting mirror. More preferably (Claim 7), the light emitter is fixed by a gimbal mechanism, and the beam splitter and the retroreflective mirror are arranged so that the laterally emitted light separated by the beam splitter is reflected by the return beam. It is preferable that the light is held by a spectroscopic mechanism that can adjust the position so that the light is reflected at the top of the reflecting mirror.

  In this way, the light emitter is fixed by the gimbal mechanism, and the beam splitter and the retroreflective mirror can be adjusted in position so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction split by the beam splitter is reflected at the vertex of the retroreflector. By being held by the mechanism, the emitted light spot and the reflected light spot can be projected at a free position according to the installation position of the target plate.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable to use a semiconductor laser transmitter as the light emitter (Claim 8), and it is preferable that the light emitter is a semiconductor laser transmitter (Claim 15).
In this way, by using a semiconductor laser transmitter as a light emitter, it becomes easier to observe the emitted light and reflected light or the emitted light spot or reflected light spot reflected on the target plate, and more easily tilt the substrate mounting table. The substrate mounting table can be leveled with high precision.

  As described above, with the mounting table leveling method and mounting table leveling apparatus of the present invention, the substrate mounting table is leveled from the outside of the processing furnace without opening the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. This can shorten the idle operation time of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. In addition, since the light emitter and the like are not exposed to the heat in the processing furnace or the atmosphere in the processing furnace, contamination in the processing furnace due to deterioration of the apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table can be prevented and inexpensive. Thus, the substrate mounting table can be leveled with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, if the substrate mounting table of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is leveled by the mounting table leveling method and the mounting table leveling apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the positional deviation of the semiconductor substrate, and the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus within the substrate plane. Since the substrate can be processed uniformly, the occurrence frequency of defective products can be reduced.

  As described above, conventionally, leveling of the substrate mounting table has been an important item in order to prevent displacement of the substrate and to perform uniform processing within the substrate surface. Prior to the operation of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, devices such as placing a level on the substrate mounting table and attaching a level to a support shaft that supports the substrate mounting table have been devised. Problems such as threatening the leveling of the table, opening the processing furnace, and installing the level in the processing furnace contaminate the atmosphere in the processing furnace due to deterioration of the level. It was.

Therefore, the present inventors have conducted intensive research in order to solve such problems.
The fact that a plane is horizontal means that its normal is vertical. Further, the incident angle of light incident from a certain plane normal direction and a certain direction can be known as a half of the angle formed by the incident light and the reflected light reflected by the certain plane. Therefore, if a thin light beam such as a laser beam is applied to a certain plane from the vertical direction to know the direction of the reflected light, it can be easily known how much the certain plane is deviated from the horizontal direction.

  When the semiconductor substrate is placed on the substrate mounting table, when the substrate mounting table is leveled so that the substrate is horizontal, the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is not opened, and the substrate mounting table is placed in the processing furnace. In order to level the substrate mounting table easily and inexpensively without installing a device for leveling, the above principle is used to emit light vertically downward from the light emitter, and the emitted light is placed on the substrate. The present invention has been completed by reflecting on the substrate placed on the placement table and adjusting the inclination of the substrate placement table so that the reflected light and the emitted light coincide with each other to level the substrate placement table. It was.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a mounting table leveling method according to the present invention.
First, the mounting table leveling method according to the present invention will be described.
In the mounting table leveling apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table 4 so that the substrate is placed horizontally on the substrate mounting table 4 included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the substrate mounting table Light is emitted vertically downward from the light emitter 1 installed above 4, the emitted light 2 is reflected by the substrate 5 placed on the substrate mounting table 4, and the reflected light 3 and emitted light from the substrate 5 are reflected. The substrate mounting table 4 is leveled by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4 so that 2 matches.

  With such a mounting table leveling method, since the vertically downward light of the light emitter 1 can be incident from the window 7 in the processing furnace 6 of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the processing furnace 6 of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is The substrate mounting table 4 can be easily leveled while observing in a non-contact manner the actual level of the substrate 5 mounted on the substrate mounting table 4 from the outside of the processing furnace 6 without being opened. Therefore, the purity inside the processing furnace 6 can be maintained, and the time for idling before the operation of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus can be shortened. In addition, the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4 can be corrected even during the semiconductor substrate processing.

  Furthermore, since the light emitter 1 can be installed outside the processing furnace 6 of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus and the substrate mounting table 4 can be leveled, an apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table 4 can be used as the heat in the processing furnace. And is not exposed to the atmosphere in the processing furnace. Therefore, contamination in the processing furnace due to deterioration of the apparatus for leveling the substrate mounting table can be prevented, and the substrate mounting table can be leveled easily and at low cost.

  In order to emit light in the vertical direction from the light emitter 1, the light emitter 1 is supported to rotate freely when it is off the center of gravity, and an architectural level with guaranteed accuracy is used on the light emitter 1 itself. By doing so, it may be adjusted so that light is emitted in the vertical direction. Further, in order to attach the light emitter 1 to the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the vertical light emitted from the light emitter 1 can enter the processing furnace 6 through the window 7 provided above the substrate mounting table 4. In addition, it can be attached to the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with a magnet or the like.

  In order to adjust the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4 so that the substrate is horizontal with the substrate 5 placed, the inclination of the substrate mounting table provided below the support shaft 8 that supports the substrate mounting table 4 is adjusted. The light emitting device 1 which is incident on the substrate 5 from the vertical direction by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4 by a half angle of the angle formed by the outgoing light 2 and the reflected light 3 by a mechanism (not shown). The reflected light 3 reflected by the substrate 5 may coincide with the emitted light 2 from the light source.

In the mounting table leveling method according to the present invention, when matching the reflected light reflected by the substrate with the emitted light from the light emitter, it is easy to confirm that the reflected light matches the emitted light. 2, and reflected light is preferably projected onto the target plate as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5. The target plate may be installed in a range where the reflected light is expected to pass.
An embodiment of the mounting table leveling apparatus according to the present invention when reflected light or outgoing light is projected on the target plate as described above and a mounting table leveling method using the apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of the mounting table leveling device according to the present invention.
The mounting table leveling device 21 of the first embodiment includes the light emitter 1 and the target plate 9. The target plate 9 is formed with a through-hole 11 through which the emitted light 2 passes, and is installed immediately below the light emitter 1. At this time, the target plate 9 in which the light emitter 1 and the through hole 11 are formed can be held by the biaxial gimbal mechanism 15. When the light emitter 1 is attached to the gimbal mechanism 15, the light emitter 1 is suspended from the gimbal mechanism 15 as shown in FIG.

Then, when adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4, it is preferable to match the position of the through hole 11 of the target plate 9 with the position of the reflected light spot 30 reflected on the target plate 9.
Thus, by forming the through hole 11 for allowing the vertically downward emitted light 2 from the light emitter 1 to pass through the target plate 9, the target plate does not interfere with the emitted light. Further, when adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table 4, the position of the reflected light spot 30 reflected by the reflected light 3 on the target plate 9 is made to coincide with the position of the through hole 11. Can be matched. Thereby, the inclination of the substrate mounting table can be easily adjusted while observing only the back surface of the target plate 9.

  Although it can be observed from above using a semi-transparent target plate, the reflected light spot can be found near the through-hole directly under the light emitter, so the light emitter interferes with the reflected light spot. Will be observed.

Next, FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of the mounting table leveling device according to the present invention.
The mounting table leveling device 31 according to the second embodiment includes the light emitter 1, the target plate 10, the beam splitter 12, and the planar reflecting mirror 13. The light emitter 1, the beam splitter 12, and the plane reflecting mirror 13 can be held as shown in FIG. When the light emitter 1 and the flat reflector 13 are attached to the gimbal mechanism 15, the gimbal mechanism 15 is suspended from the gimbal mechanism 15, as shown in FIG. This is because in order for the outgoing light 2b in the horizontal direction to be reflected on the target plate 10 by the plane reflecting mirror 13, it is necessary to reflect it in the horizontal direction. Therefore, since the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror must be exactly parallel to the vertical direction, it is preferable to integrally support the light emitter 1, the beam splitter 12, and the reflecting mirror 13 as shown in FIG.

Then, when the reflected light 3 and the outgoing light 2 are matched, the outgoing light 2 is split into a vertical outgoing light 2 a and a horizontal outgoing light 2 b using the beam splitter 12.
The outgoing light 2 b in the horizontal direction is reflected on the target plate 10 as an outgoing light spot 20 through the reflecting mirror 13, the outgoing light 2 a in the vertical direction is reflected by the substrate 5, and the reflected light 3 is reflected again by the beam splitter 12. (3b) and reflected on the target plate 10 as a reflected light spot 30. By such a method, it is preferable to project the emitted light spot 20 and the reflected light spot 30 on the target plate 10, match the reflected light spot 30 to the emitted light spot 20, and match the reflected light 3 and the emitted light 2. .

  In this way, by projecting the emitted light spot 20 and the reflected light spot 30 onto the target plate 10 installed at the position as shown in FIG. 3 using the beam splitter 12 and the reflecting mirror 13, the target plate 10 can be easily positioned. The reflected outgoing light spot 20 and reflected light spot 30 can be observed, and the substrate mounting table 4 can be leveled more easily.

In this second embodiment, in order to further simplify the positioning of the reflecting mirror, it is preferable to use a regressive reflecting mirror as the reflecting mirror as shown in FIGS.
By using a retroreflecting mirror as a reflecting mirror that reflects outgoing light in the lateral direction, the direction and position of the reflecting mirror can be easily determined. Specific embodiments of the third and fourth embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a third embodiment of the mounting table leveling device according to the present invention.
The mounting table leveling device 41 of the third embodiment includes the light emitter 1, the retroreflector 14, the beam splitter 12, and the target plate 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, the light emitter 1, the beam splitter 12, and the retroreflector 14 have a gimbal mechanism 15 so that the outgoing light 2 b in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter 12 is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector 14. It is preferable to fix it integrally.

When the gimbal mechanism 15 is integrally fixed in this way, when the light emitted from the light emitter 1 is adjusted in the vertical direction, a simple initial setting is performed in which the level is placed on the gimbal mechanism 15 and adjusted horizontally. The light emitter, beam splitter, and retroreflector are adjusted to the desired angle.
The desired angle of the light emitter is an angle at which light emitted from the light emitter is parallel to the vertical direction.
The desired angle of the beam splitter and the retroreflecting mirror is such that the outgoing light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflecting mirror.
As a result, when the gimbal mechanism is adjusted horizontally, the light emitter, beam splitter, and retroreflector are integrally fixed at a desired angle, so it is necessary to adjust each element individually. Absent. Therefore, the substrate mounting table 4 is leveled only by setting the target plate at a position where the gimbal mechanism is adjusted horizontally, and the outgoing light that is split by the beam splitter and reflected by the retroreflecting mirror is reflected as the outgoing light spot. Ready.

When leveling the substrate mounting table 4, the emitted light 2 emitted from the light emitter 1 is split in the vertical and lateral directions by the beam splitter 12, and the emitted light 2 b in the lateral direction is targeted via the retroreflector 14. The light is reflected as an outgoing light spot 20 on the plate 10. The outgoing light 2 a in the vertical direction is reflected by a substrate (not shown) ahead, reflected back to the beam splitter 12 as reflected light 3 (3 b), and reflected on the target plate 30 as a reflected light spot 30.
Then, by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table (not shown) so that the emitted light spot 20 and the reflected light spot 30 are matched, the emitted light and the reflected light can be matched, and the substrate mounting table is leveled. can do.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a fourth embodiment of the mounting table leveling device according to the present invention.
The mounting table leveling device 51 of the fourth embodiment includes a gimbal mechanism 15 to which the light emitter 1 is fixed, a spectroscopic mechanism 16 that can adjust a position for holding the beam splitter 12 and the retroreflector 14, and a target plate 10. It has.
The light emitter 1 is suspended from a biaxial gimbal mechanism 15, and the gimbal mechanism 15 is installed in a state of being leveled above a window 7 formed in the processing furnace 6. The beam splitter 12 and the retroreflecting mirror 14 are held in a spectroscopic mechanism 16 separate from the gimbal mechanism 15 so that the laterally emitted light split by the beam splitter 12 is reflected at the apex of the retroreflecting mirror. More preferably, the position of the spectroscopic mechanism 16 is adjusted.

In this way, the position of the beam splitter 12 and the spectroscopic mechanism 16 holding the retroreflecting mirror 14 is adjusted so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction split by the beam splitter 12 is reflected at the apex of the retroreflecting mirror 14. As a result, the emitted light spot 20 and the reflected light spot 30 can be projected at any position according to the installation position of the target plate 10.
Also, since the gimbal mechanism and the spectroscopic mechanism are separate, the gimbal mechanism adjusted so that light is emitted in the vertical direction from the light emitter even if the position of the target plate is changed and the position of the spectroscopic mechanism is adjusted. No need to adjust again.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the spectroscopic mechanism 16 may use a spectroscopic mechanism fixing jig 17 so that the spectroscopic mechanism 16 can be fixed at an arbitrary position and angle. The spectroscopic mechanism fixing jig 17 holding the spectroscopic mechanism 16 can be installed on the processing furnace 6.

In the above embodiment, the light emitter 1 preferably uses a semiconductor laser transmitter.
By using a semiconductor laser transmitter as the light emitter 1, it becomes easier to observe the emitted light and reflected light, or the emitted light spot and reflected light spot reflected on the target plate, and the tilt of the substrate mounting table can be adjusted easily. The substrate mounting table can be leveled with high accuracy.

  In the present invention, when the target plate 10 is used, a sensor that can sense the position of the spot of the emitted light or reflected light may be used as the target plate, not necessarily by visual observation. If such a sensor can observe the emitted light and reflected light separately, the angle of the substrate mounting table connected to the sensor automatically adjusts the angle of the substrate mounting table so that the emitted light spot and the reflected light spot coincide. can do.

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples of the present invention, but these examples do not limit the present invention.
(Example)
Prior to the operation of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, the substrate mounting table 4 of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus was leveled by the mounting table leveling apparatus and method described in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. A semiconductor laser transmitter is used as the light emitter 1, and the emitted light spot 20 and the reflected light spot 30 reflected on the target plate 10 are visually observed in a state where the leveling substrate is placed on the substrate placing table 4. However, leveling was performed by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table.

  Using such a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus leveled in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, when a semiconductor substrate film forming process was performed, a defective product having a film thickness distribution due to the tilt of the substrate mounting table was not manufactured. It was.

(Comparative example)
For comparison, the same type as the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus used in the examples was used. Then, before the operation, the processing furnace was opened, a high-precision level was placed on the substrate platform, and the substrate platform was leveled.

  Using the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus leveled by the leveling method of the substrate mounting table using such a conventional level, the film formation processing of the semiconductor substrate was performed, and the position of the substrate due to the inclination of the substrate mounting table There were misalignments and defective products that were not uniformly formed on the substrate surface. In addition, since the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus is opened for leveling the substrate mounting table, it takes a lot of time for idle operation to return the purity of the atmosphere in the furnace before the operation of the apparatus.

  If the mounting table leveling method and the mounting table leveling device according to the present invention are compared with each other in Examples and Comparative Examples, the substrate mounting table is leveled from the outside of the processing furnace without opening the processing furnace of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. This can shorten the idle operation time of the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus. Further, the positional deviation of the semiconductor substrate can be suppressed, and the substrate can be processed uniformly within the substrate surface in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus, so that the occurrence frequency of defective products can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention, and any device that exhibits the same function and effect is the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention.

It is a figure for demonstrating the mounting table leveling method which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows 1st Embodiment of the mounting base leveling apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows 2nd Embodiment of the mounting base leveling apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows 3rd Embodiment of the mounting base leveling apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows 4th Embodiment of the mounting base leveling apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light emitter (semiconductor laser transmitter) 2, 2a, 2b ... Outgoing light (dashed line),
3, 3b ... reflected light (dotted line), 4 ... substrate mounting table, 5 ... (semiconductor) substrate,
6 ... Processing furnace, 7 ... Window, 8 ... Support shaft, 9 ... Target plate (with through hole),
10 ... Target plate, 11 ... Through hole, 12 ... Beam splitter, 13 ... Reflector,
14 ... regressive mirror, 15 ... (biaxial) gimbal mechanism, 16 ... spectral mechanism,
17 ... Spectroscopic mechanism fixing jig, 20 ... Outgoing light spot, 30 ... Reflected light spot,
21, 31, 41, 51...

Claims (15)

A mounting table leveling method for leveling the substrate mounting table so that the substrate is horizontal when the semiconductor substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus,
Light is emitted vertically downward from a light emitter installed above the substrate mounting table, the emitted light is reflected by the substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table, and the reflected light from the substrate and the emitted light The substrate mounting table is leveled by adjusting the inclination of the substrate mounting table so that the values coincide with each other.   The mounting table leveling method according to claim 1, wherein when the reflected light and the emitted light are matched, the reflected light is projected on a target plate.   When the target plate is formed with a through-hole through which the emitted light passes through is placed directly below the light emitter, and the tilt of the substrate mounting table is adjusted, the position of the through-hole and the reflected light spot The mounting table leveling method according to claim 2, wherein the positions are matched.   When matching the reflected light and the emitted light, the emitted light is split in a vertical direction and a lateral direction using a beam splitter, and the emitted light in the lateral direction is reflected on the target plate via a reflecting mirror, The mounting table leveling method according to claim 2, wherein the emitted light spot and the reflected light spot are matched.   The mounting table leveling method according to claim 4, wherein a regressive reflecting mirror is used as the reflecting mirror.   Fixing the light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector integrally with a gimbal mechanism so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction split by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. The mounting table leveling method according to claim 5, wherein:   Adjusting the position of the beam splitter and the spectroscopic mechanism holding the retroreflector so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction split by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. The mounting table leveling method according to claim 5.   The mounting table leveling method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a semiconductor laser transmitter is used as the light emitter. A mounting table leveling device for leveling the substrate mounting table so that the substrate is horizontal when the semiconductor substrate is mounted on the substrate mounting table included in the semiconductor substrate processing apparatus,
A light emitter that is installed above the substrate mounting table and emits light vertically downward;
A mounting table leveling apparatus comprising: a target plate for projecting a spot of reflected light reflected from a substrate mounted on the substrate mounting table by emitted light from the light emitter.   10. The mounting table leveling device according to claim 9, wherein the target plate is installed immediately below the light emitter, and has a through-hole through which the emitted light passes. .   10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a beam splitter for dispersing the emitted light in a vertical direction and a lateral direction, and a reflecting mirror for projecting the emitted light in the lateral direction on the target plate. The mounting table leveling device described in 1.   The mounting table leveling device according to claim 11, wherein the reflecting mirror is a regressive reflecting mirror.   The light emitter, the beam splitter, and the retroreflector are integrally fixed by a gimbal mechanism so that the outgoing light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflector. The mounting table leveling device according to claim 12, wherein:   The light emitter is fixed by a gimbal mechanism, and the beam splitter and the retroreflecting mirror are configured such that the emitted light in the lateral direction dispersed by the beam splitter is reflected at the apex of the retroreflecting mirror. The mounting table leveling device according to claim 12, wherein the mounting table leveling device is held by a spectroscopic mechanism capable of adjusting a position. The mounting table leveling device according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the light emitter is a semiconductor laser transmitter.

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