JP2009147036A - Vacuum heating device for wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly vertically move a shutter through a plurality of shafts sliding in a guide hole, even when longitudinal thermal deformation is produced in the shutter. <P>SOLUTION: This vacuum heating device 10 for a wafer supplies moving force for vertical movement to the shutter 3 from a drive mechanism 7 via the shafts 4 and 5. The shaft 5 is divided into two portions, such as, an upper first member 51 and a lower second member 52, and an engaging groove 521 for sliding an engaging piece 513 formed on the upper first member 51 in the longitudinal direction (the direction of the arrow X) of the shutter 3 is formed on the lower second member. The upper end of the shaft 4 and the first member 51 are fixed to the shutter 3. When thermal expansion is produced in the direction of in the arrow X in the shutter 3, the first member 51 is displaced in the direction of the arrow X, with respect to the second member 52, and deformation will not be produced in the shaft 4 and the second member 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wafer vacuum heating apparatus that heats a semiconductor wafer in a vacuum state, and more particularly to a shutter structure that opens and closes an opening through which a semiconductor wafer is carried in and out.

  The semiconductor manufacturing process may include a vacuum heating process such as an annealing process for heating the semiconductor wafer to about 1000 ° C. in a vacuum state, and a wafer vacuum heating apparatus is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The wafer vacuum heating apparatus includes a processing unit that holds and holds a semiconductor wafer horizontally. The processing unit is provided with an opening having a horizontal longitudinal direction. Wafers are carried into and out of the processing unit one by one via the opening. The inside of the processing unit is kept at a high temperature by evacuating the inside of the wafer during processing.

  For this reason, it is necessary to close the opening during the processing of the wafer, and the vacuum heating apparatus for wafer is provided with a shutter for opening and closing the opening. The shutter is movably supported in the height direction via a support portion on the front surface of the opening portion, and opens and closes the opening portion by moving up and down by a driving mechanism such as a pneumatic cylinder.

  The support portion needs to have a structure capable of smoothly raising and lowering the shutter regardless of a temperature change due to heat conduction from the processing portion during heat treatment and maintaining the airtightness of the processing portion.

For this reason, one end of a cylindrical shaft passing through a vertical guide hole is fixed near both ends in the longitudinal direction of the shutter, and the lifting operation is transmitted from the drive mechanism to the shutter via the two shafts. It is possible to do. The driving force of the driving mechanism is transmitted to the shutter via a shaft that slides in the guide hole.
JP 2004-335621 A

  However, the shutter expands in the longitudinal direction due to a temperature rise due to heat radiation or heat conduction from the processing section during heat treatment, and the interval between the two shafts expands on one end side fixed to the shutter. For this reason, there is a problem that a large resistance is generated when the two shafts slide in the guide hole, and the shutter cannot be raised and lowered smoothly.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum heating apparatus for a wafer that can smoothly lift and lower a shutter through a plurality of shafts that slide in a guide hole even when the shutter undergoes thermal deformation in the longitudinal direction. It is in.

  The vacuum heating apparatus for a wafer according to the present invention includes a processing unit, a shutter, a plurality of shafts, a guide member, and a drive mechanism. The processing unit has a slit-shaped opening, and heats the wafer inserted into the inside through the opening in a vacuum state. The shutter reciprocates along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the opening to open and close the opening. The plurality of shafts are arranged with their respective axial directions orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, and one end in the axial direction is attached to a plurality of positions along the longitudinal direction of the shutter. The guide member includes a plurality of guide holes through which each of the plurality of shafts slidably penetrates along the axial direction. The drive mechanism supplies axial movement force to the plurality of shafts. The shaft located on the outermost side in the longitudinal direction among the plurality of shafts is a movable shaft whose one end is movable with respect to the shutter within a predetermined range along the longitudinal direction.

  The shutter reciprocates along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the opening by the moving force supplied to the plurality of shafts from the drive mechanism, and opens and closes the opening of the processing unit. When the shutter is elongated in the longitudinal direction due to a temperature rise due to heat radiation or heat conduction from the processing unit during the heat treatment of the wafer in the processing unit, the movable shaft moves relative to the shutter. Stress in a direction away from the other shaft does not act on one end side of the movable shaft, and the interval between the plurality of shafts is maintained. For this reason, even when the shutter is thermally deformed due to a temperature change, the plurality of shafts slide smoothly in the guide hole of the guide member.

  In this configuration, a total of two shafts may be provided at both ends of the shutter in the longitudinal direction. The moving force of the drive mechanism can be stably transmitted to the shutter by the minimum number of shafts.

  The movable shaft may be divided into a first member and a second member along the axial direction on one end side. The exposed portion on one end side in the axial direction is exposed from the shutter to be fixed to the shutter, and the exposed portion and the connecting portion on the first member side in the axial direction of the second member are engaged in the longitudinal direction. Either a groove or an engagement piece that is slidably engaged with the engagement groove in the longitudinal direction is formed. Even if the first member moves in the longitudinal direction along with the thermal deformation of the shutter, the second member does not move in the longitudinal direction. It can be smoothly slid in the guide hole of the guide member.

  According to the present invention, when the longitudinal thermal deformation of the shutter occurs, the movable shaft moves relative to the shutter and the interval between the plurality of shafts is maintained. The shutter can be raised and lowered smoothly through the plurality of shafts.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a wafer vacuum heating apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a main part of the wafer vacuum heating apparatus 10. The wafer vacuum heating apparatus 10 is used, for example, for vacuum heating processing such as annealing for heating a semiconductor wafer to about 1000 ° C. in a vacuum state, and includes a processing section 1, a support member 2, a shutter 3, two shafts 4, and the like. 5, a guide member 6 and a drive mechanism 7 are provided.

  The processing unit 1 is a thin casing and includes a slit-shaped opening 11 on the front surface. The opening 11 is arranged with the longitudinal direction (arrow X direction) horizontal. A semiconductor wafer is inserted into the processing unit 1 from the opening 11 in a horizontal state via a robot arm (not shown). The processing unit 1 includes a heating unit (not shown) outside. The inside of the processing unit 1 is evacuated to a vacuum state via an exhaust pipe 12 by a vacuum pump (not shown).

  The support member 2 is disposed on the front surface of the processing unit 1. A recess 21 is formed in the support member 2. The shutter 3 is accommodated in the recess 21. The support member 2 supports the shutter 3 in a reciprocating manner along a vertical direction (arrow Z direction) that is a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the opening 11 together with a cover member 8 attached to the front surface via a fixing screw 22. To do.

  The shutter 3 is made of an aluminum alloy as an example, and reciprocates along the arrow Z direction in the recess 21. The shutter 3 opens the opening 11 at the lower limit position and closes the opening 11 in an airtight state at the upper limit position.

  The shafts 4 and 5 are arranged along the arrow X direction with the axial direction parallel to the arrow Z direction. The upper end portions of the shafts 4 and 5 are attached to both end portions in the arrow X direction on the bottom surface of the shutter 3. The lower ends of the shafts 4 and 5 are fixed to the connecting bar 71.

  The guide member 6 is disposed below the support member 2. Guide holes 61 and 62 are formed in the guide member 6. The shafts 4 and 5 penetrate the guide holes 61 and 62 slidably in the direction of arrow Z, respectively.

  The support member 2 is formed with through holes 24 and 25. The shafts 4 and 5 penetrate the through holes 24 and 25 slidably in the arrow Z direction, respectively.

  The shafts 4 and 5 are formed in a cylindrical shape using, for example, stainless steel, and the guide holes 61 and 62 and the through holes 24 and 25 are also formed in a circular cross section.

  The drive mechanism 7 is a pneumatic cylinder as an example, and an internal piston moves up and down along the arrow Z direction in response to the inflow and outflow of compressed air. The raising / lowering motion of the piston is transmitted to the connecting member 72. A connecting bar 71 is fixed to the connecting member 72. The drive mechanism 7 supplies the piston ascending / descending operation to the shutter 3 as a moving force in the arrow Z direction via the connecting member 72, the connecting bar 71 and the shafts 4 and 5.

FIG. 3 is an assembly view of the upper end portion of the shaft 5. The shaft 5 is configured to be divided into two parts, that is, a first member 51 and a second member 52 in an arrow Z direction that is an axial direction. The shaft 5 is, for example,
In the first member 51, a base 511, a fitting portion 512, and an engagement piece 513 are integrally formed on the same axis. The base 511 is formed by chamfering the circumferential surface of the flat cylindrical body with two parallel planes 511A and 511B. The fitting portion 512 has a cylindrical shape and is located above the base portion 511 through the connecting portion 514. The engagement piece 513 has a flat cylindrical shape and is located below the base portion 511 via the connecting portion 515. The fitting portion 512 and the engagement piece 513 are smaller in diameter than the base portion 511.

  The second member 52 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the base 511. An engagement groove 521 and an opening groove 522 are formed at the upper end portion of the second member 52. The width of the engagement groove 521 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the engagement piece 513. The height of the engagement groove 521 is longer than the height of the engagement piece 513. The open groove 522 communicates with the engagement groove 521 from the upper end surface of the second member 52. The width of the open groove 522 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the connecting portion 515. The height of the open groove 522 is substantially equal to the height of the connecting portion 515.

  The longitudinal direction of the open groove 522 is made parallel to the arrow X direction, the positions of the connecting portion 515 in the arrows Y and Z directions are made coincident with the position of the open groove 522, and the first member 51 is relative to the second member 52. When approaching in the direction of the arrow X, the engaging piece 513 is fitted into the engaging groove 521 and the connecting portion 515 is fitted into the open groove 522. Accordingly, the first member 51 and the second member 52 are integrated as the shaft 5, and the first member 51 is restricted from relative movement in the arrow Y direction and the arrow Z direction with respect to the second member 52. In the state, it is relatively movable in the arrow X direction.

The first member 51 and the second member 52 are not limited to the shapes shown in FIG. 3, but the first member 51 is restricted from relative movement in the arrow Y direction and the arrow Z direction with respect to the second member 52. FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of the main part of the vacuum heating apparatus 10 for wafers, with the shafts 4 and 5 being attached to the shutter 3. Indicates the state. At both ends of the shutter 3 in the direction of the arrow X, holes 31 and 32 opened to the bottom surface are formed. The holes 31 and 32 are configured by lower large diameter portions 31A and 32A and upper small diameter portions 31B and 32B, respectively. The large diameter portions 31A and 32A have an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the base portion 511, and two flat surfaces having the same width as the two flat surfaces 511A and 511B shown in FIG. Shorter than that. The small diameter portions 31 </ b> B and 32 </ b> B have an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the insertion portion 512, and are longer than the height of the insertion portion 512.

  An insertion part 41, a step part 42, and a rotation prevention part 43 are coaxially formed at the upper end part of the shaft 4. The fitting portion 41 and the stepped portion 42 have the same outer diameter and height as the fitting portion 512 and the connecting portion 514 of the shaft 5, respectively. The anti-rotation portion 43 has the same outer diameter as the base portion 511 of the shaft 5, and two planes having the same width as the two planes 511A and 511B shown in FIG. 3 are formed.

  The upper end of the shaft 4 is press-fitted into the hole 31 of the shutter 3 from below. In the shaft 4, the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 41 is in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 31B, and the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion of the detent portion 43 is in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 31A. As a result, the upper end portion of the shaft 4 is fixed to the shutter 3.

  The upper end portion of the first member of the shaft 5 is press-fitted into the hole portion 32 of the shutter 3 from below. In the first member 51, the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 512 is in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 32B, and the upper outer peripheral surface of the engagement piece 513 is in pressure contact with the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 32A. Thereby, the first member 51 is fixed to the shutter 3.

  During the heat treatment in the processing unit 1, the shutter 3 expands in the arrow X direction, which is the longitudinal direction, due to a temperature rise, and the interval between the shaft 4 fixed to the shutter 3 and the first member 51 in the arrow X direction increases. At this time, the first member 51 slides in the arrow X1 direction with respect to the upper end portion of the second member 52, and the interval between the shaft 4 and the second member 52 in the arrow X direction does not change. Therefore, even when the shutter 3 is thermally deformed, the shaft 4 and the second member are not deformed, and the sliding property of the shaft 4 and the second member with respect to the guide holes 61 and 62 and the through holes 24 and 25 is prevented. The shutter 3 can be raised and lowered smoothly without changing.

  The shutter 3 is displaceable in the arrow X direction with respect to the second member 52 together with the first member 51, but is not displaced with respect to the shaft 4, so the position of the shutter 3 with respect to the opening 11 in the arrow X direction. Will not be displaced.

  The small diameter portions 31B and 32B may be formed as female screw holes, male screws may be formed on the peripheral surfaces of the fitting portions 41 and 512, and the shaft 4 and the first member 51 may be screwed to the shutter 3.

  Further, an engagement groove may be formed at the lower end portion of the first member 51 and an engagement piece may be formed at the upper end portion of the second member 52.

  In this embodiment, the plurality of shafts are constituted by the two shafts 4 and 5, but the plurality of shafts may be constituted by three or more shafts. In this case, a plurality of shafts except for one shaft located on the outermost side may be configured similarly to the shaft 5.

  The description of the above-described embodiment is an example in all respects and should be considered as not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

It is an external view of the vacuum heating apparatus for wafers which is embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the principal part of the vacuum heating apparatus for wafers. It is an assembly drawing of the upper end part of one shaft. It is front sectional drawing of the principal part of the vacuum heating apparatus for wafers, and is a figure which shows the attachment state of the shaft with respect to a shutter.

Explanation of symbols

1-Processing Unit 3-Shutter 4,5-Shaft 6-Supporting Unit 7-Drive Mechanism 10-Vacuum Heating Device for Wafer 11-Opening 51-First Member 52-Second Member 61, 62-Guide Hole 513- Joint 521-engaging groove

Claims (3)

A processing unit having a slit-shaped opening, and heating the wafer inserted into the inside through the opening in a vacuum state;
A shutter that opens and closes the opening by reciprocating along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the opening;
A plurality of shafts arranged with their respective axial directions orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and having one end portion in the axial direction attached to a plurality of positions along the longitudinal direction of the shutter;
A guide member formed with a plurality of guide holes through which each of the plurality of shafts slidably penetrates along the axial direction;
A drive mechanism for supplying the axial movement force to the plurality of shafts;
And a wafer located on the outermost side in the longitudinal direction among the plurality of shafts is a movable shaft whose one end is movable with respect to the shutter within a predetermined range along the longitudinal direction. Vacuum heating equipment.   The wafer vacuum heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of shafts are two shafts arranged at both ends of the shutter in the longitudinal direction.   The movable shaft is divided into a first member and a second member along the axial direction on one end side, and the first member exposes an exposed portion on one end side in the axial direction from the shutter. Fixed to the shutter, and slides in the longitudinal direction into the longitudinal engaging groove and the engaging groove in each of the exposed portion and the connecting portion on the first member side in the axial direction of the second member. The wafer vacuum heating device according to claim 1, wherein any one of the engagement pieces that are freely engaged is formed.

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