JP2010040919A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus that relieves a shock of a fall to prevent a quartz base from being broken when the quartz base is installed. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of buffer members 266 are provided between a substrate holder and a cover body. The buffer members 266 each has a projection portion 271 and a mounting portion 272. The projection portion 271 is disposed on an outer circumferential side of the cover body. The mounting portion 272 is formed gradually decreasing in thickness from the projection portion 271 to the center side of the cover body, and slid to be extracted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor device.

  As this type of substrate processing apparatus, for example, a reaction tube for a vertical furnace is provided, a boat for holding wafers is provided inside the reaction tube, and a base for closing the reaction tube is provided at the lower end of the reaction tube. The thing provided with the seal cap of the furnace mouth cover body is known (for example, refer patent document 1). When a plurality of wafers are loaded into the boat, the boat holding the plurality of wafers is lifted by the boat elevator and carried into the processing chamber. In this state, the seal cap is in a state of sealing the lower end of the reaction tube via the base and the O-ring. After the processing, the seal cap is lowered by the boat elevator, the lower end of the reaction tube is opened, and the processed wafer is carried out from the lower end of the reaction tube to the outside of the reaction tube while being held in the boat.

JP 2006-237287 A

  However, when installing the base on the seal cap, thick gloves are used to prevent contamination of the base due to the influence of the human body. Therefore, workability is poor, and since the upper surface of the seal cap and the bottom surface of the base are both formed flat, it is easy to allow one side of the base and one side of the seal cap to come into contact with each other. Since the seal cap is made of quartz and the material is different from that of metal, there is a problem that the base on the fragile side is broken. On the other hand, when the buffer material is simply provided between the seal cap and the base, the temperature becomes high during the processing, so there is a concern that outgas from the buffer material is generated and the processing chamber is contaminated. Furthermore, when the cushioning material is not used, the impact of the drop cannot be absorbed when the base is installed, and there is a possibility that the seal cap may be damaged.

  The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, to soften the impact of dropping when installing the quartz base, to prevent breakage, and to smoothly remove the buffer material during the heat treatment of the substrate. It is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing the problem that outgas from the buffer material is generated and the processing chamber is contaminated.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a reaction chamber having a processing chamber for holding a substrate with a substrate holder and having an opening on at least one end side, and the opening while supporting the substrate holder are provided. A plurality of lids that are to be closed, and provided between the substrate holder and the lid, a projection located on the outer peripheral side of the lid, connected to the projection, and from the projection to the lid There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a buffer member having a placement portion that reduces the thickness for a while toward the center side.

  According to the present invention, when the quartz base is installed, the impact of dropping can be reduced and damage can be prevented, and when the substrate is heat-treated, the cushioning material can be smoothly removed. The problem that outgas from the material is generated and the processing chamber is contaminated can be prevented.

  In the best mode for carrying out the present invention, as an example, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs processing steps in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device (IC). In the following description, a case where a vertical apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a processing apparatus) that performs oxidation, diffusion processing, CVD processing, or the like is applied to the substrate as the substrate processing apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus applied to the present invention. 2 is a side perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing according to the present invention uses a hoop (substrate container; hereinafter referred to as a pod) 110 as a wafer carrier containing a wafer (substrate) 200 made of silicon or the like. The apparatus 100 includes a housing 111. A front maintenance port 103 as an opening provided for maintenance is opened at the front front portion of the front wall 111a of the housing 111, and front maintenance doors 104a and 104b for opening and closing the front maintenance port 103 are respectively built. It is attached.
A pod loading / unloading port (substrate container loading / unloading port) 112 is opened on the front wall 111a of the casing 111 so as to communicate between the inside and the outside of the casing 111. The pod loading / unloading port 112 has a front shutter (substrate container loading / unloading port). The loading / unloading opening / closing mechanism 113 is opened and closed.
A load port (substrate container delivery table) 114 is installed in front of the front side of the pod loading / unloading port 112, and the load port 114 is configured so that the pod 110 is placed and aligned. The pod 110 is carried onto the load port 114 by an in-process carrying device (not shown), and is also carried out from the load port 114.

A rotary pod shelf (substrate container mounting shelf) 105 is installed at an upper portion of the casing 111 in a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. The rotary pod shelf 105 stores a plurality of pods 110. It is configured. That is, the rotary pod shelf 105 is vertically arranged and intermittently rotated in a horizontal plane, and a plurality of shelf plates (substrate container mounts) radially supported by the column 116 at each of the four upper and lower positions. And a plurality of shelf plates 117 are configured to hold the pods 110 in a state where a plurality of pods 110 are respectively placed.
A pod transfer device (substrate container transfer device) 118 is installed between the load port 114 and the rotary pod shelf 105 in the housing 111, and the pod transfer device 118 moves up and down while holding the pod 110. A pod elevator (substrate container lifting mechanism) 118a and a pod transfer mechanism (substrate container transfer mechanism) 118b as a transfer mechanism are configured. The pod transfer device 118 includes a pod elevator 118a and a pod transfer mechanism 118b. The pod 110 is transported between the load port 114, the rotary pod shelf 105, and the pod opener (substrate container lid opening / closing mechanism) 121 by continuous operation.

A sub-housing 119 is constructed across the rear end of the lower portion of the housing 111 at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction. A pair of wafer loading / unloading ports (substrate loading / unloading ports) 120 for loading / unloading the wafer 200 into / from the sub-casing 119 are arranged on the front wall 119a of the sub-casing 119 in two vertical stages. A pair of pod openers 121 and 121 are installed at the wafer loading / unloading ports 120 and 120 at the upper and lower stages, respectively.
The pod opener 121 includes mounting bases 122 and 122 on which the pod 110 is placed, and cap attaching / detaching mechanisms (lid attaching / detaching mechanisms) 123 and 123 for attaching and detaching caps (lids) of the pod 110. The pod opener 121 is configured to open and close the wafer loading / unloading port of the pod 110 by attaching / detaching the cap of the pod 110 placed on the placing table 122 by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123.

  The sub-housing 119 constitutes a transfer chamber 124 that is fluidly isolated from the installation space of the pod transfer device 118 and the rotary pod shelf 105. A wafer transfer mechanism (substrate transfer mechanism) 125 is installed in the front region of the transfer chamber 124, and the wafer transfer mechanism 125 rotates the wafer 200 in the horizontal direction or can move the wafer 200 in the horizontal direction. Substrate transfer device) 125a and wafer transfer device elevator (substrate transfer device lifting mechanism) 125b for raising and lowering wafer transfer device 125a. By the continuous operation of the wafer transfer device elevator 125b and the wafer transfer device 125a, the tweezer (substrate holder) 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a is used as a placement portion for the wafer 200 with respect to the boat (substrate holder) 217. The wafer 200 is loaded (charged) and unloaded (discharged).

As shown in FIG. 1, the supply chamber 124 is supplied with a clean atmosphere or an inert gas such as clean air 133 supplied to the right end of the transfer chamber 124 opposite to the wafer transfer device elevator 125b. A clean unit 134 composed of a fan and a dustproof filter is installed, and a notch aligning device as a substrate aligning device for aligning the circumferential position of the wafer between the wafer transfer device 125a and the clean unit 134. 135 is installed.
The clean air 133 blown out from the clean unit 134 is circulated through the notch aligning device 135 and the wafer transfer device 125a and then sucked in by a duct (not shown) to be exhausted to the outside of the casing 111 or clean. The unit 134 is circulated to the primary side (supply side) which is the suction side, and is again blown into the transfer chamber 124 by the clean unit 134.

In the rear region of the transfer chamber 124, a casing (hereinafter referred to as a pressure-resistant casing) 140 having a confidential performance capable of maintaining a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure) is installed. A load lock chamber 141 which is a load lock type standby chamber having a capacity capable of accommodating the boat 217 is formed by the pressure-resistant housing 140.
A wafer loading / unloading opening (substrate loading / unloading opening) 142 is formed in the front wall 140a of the pressure-resistant housing 140, and the wafer loading / unloading opening 142 is opened and closed by a gate valve (substrate loading / unloading opening / closing mechanism) 143. It has become. A gas supply pipe 144 for supplying nitrogen gas to the load lock chamber 141 and an exhaust pipe 145 for exhausting the load lock chamber 141 to a negative pressure are connected to the pair of side walls of the pressure-resistant housing 140, respectively. Yes.
A processing furnace 202 is provided above the load lock chamber 141. The lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 is configured to be opened and closed by a furnace port gate valve (furnace port opening / closing mechanism) 147. A furnace port gate valve cover (not shown) that houses the furnace port gate valve 147 when the lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 is opened is attached to the upper end portion of the front wall 140 a of the pressure-resistant housing 140.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a boat elevator (substrate holder lifting mechanism) 115 for lifting and lowering the boat 217 is installed in the pressure-resistant housing 140. A seal cap 219 serving as a lid is horizontally installed on an arm 128 serving as a connector connected to the boat elevator 115, and the seal cap 219 supports the boat 217 vertically and closes the lower end of the processing furnace 202. It is configured as possible. The boat 217 includes a plurality of holding members so that a plurality of (for example, about 50 to 125) wafers 200 are horizontally held in a state where their centers are aligned in the vertical direction. It is configured.

Next, the operation of the processing apparatus of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the pod 110 is supplied to the load port 114, the pod loading / unloading port 112 is opened by the front shutter 113, and the pod 110 above the load port 114 moves to the pod transfer device 118. Is carried into the housing 111 from the pod loading / unloading port 112.
The loaded pod 110 is automatically transported and delivered by the pod transport device 118 to the designated shelf 117 of the rotary pod shelf 105, temporarily stored, and then one pod opener from the shelf 117. It is conveyed to 121 and transferred to the mounting table 122, or directly transferred to the pod opener 121 and transferred to the mounting table 122. At this time, the wafer loading / unloading port 120 of the pod opener 121 is closed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123, and the transfer chamber 124 is filled with clean air 133. For example, the transfer chamber 124 is filled with nitrogen gas as clean air 133, so that the oxygen concentration is set to 20 ppm or less, which is much lower than the oxygen concentration inside the casing 111 (atmosphere).

  The pod 110 mounted on the mounting table 122 is pressed against the opening edge of the wafer loading / unloading port 120 on the front wall 119a of the sub-housing 119, and the cap is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 123. The wafer loading / unloading port of the pod 110 is opened. Further, when the wafer loading / unloading opening 142 of the load lock chamber 141 whose interior is previously set at atmospheric pressure is opened by the operation of the gate valve 143, the wafer 200 is removed from the pod 110 by the tweezer 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a. After being picked up through the loading / unloading port and aligned with the notch aligning device 135, the wafer is loaded into the load lock chamber 141 through the wafer loading / unloading opening 142, transferred to the boat 217 and loaded (wafer charging). The wafer transfer device 125 a that has delivered the wafer 200 to the boat 217 returns to the pod 110 and loads the next wafer 110 into the boat 217.

  During the loading operation of the wafer into the boat 217 by the wafer transfer device 125 in the one (upper or lower) pod opener 121, the other (lower or upper) pod opener 121 has a rotary pod shelf 105 or load port 114. The other pod 110 is transported by the pod transport device 118, and the opening operation of the pod 110 by the pod opener 121 proceeds simultaneously.

When a predetermined number of wafers 200 are loaded into the boat 217, the wafer loading / unloading opening 142 is closed by the gate valve 143, and the load lock chamber 141 is evacuated by being evacuated from the exhaust pipe 145.
When the load lock chamber 141 is reduced to the same pressure as that in the processing furnace 202, the lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 is opened by the furnace port gate valve 147. At this time, the furnace port gate valve 147 is carried into and stored in a furnace port gate valve cover (not shown). Subsequently, the seal cap 219 is raised by the elevator 161 of the boat elevator 115, and the boat 217 supported by the seal cap 219 is loaded into the processing furnace 202.

  After loading, arbitrary processing is performed on the wafer 200 in the processing furnace 202. After the processing, the boat 217 is pulled out by the boat elevator 115, and the gate valve 143 is opened after the inside of the load lock chamber 140 is restored to atmospheric pressure. After that, the wafer 200 and the pod 110 are discharged to the outside of the casing 111 by the reverse procedure described above except for the wafer alignment process in the notch alignment device 135.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the processing furnace 202 of the substrate processing apparatus 100 preferably used in the embodiment of the present invention, and is shown as a longitudinal sectional view.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the processing furnace 202 includes a heater 206 as a heating mechanism. The heater 206 has a cylindrical shape and is vertically installed by being supported by a heater base 251 as a holding plate.

Inside the heater 206, for example, a soaking tube (outer tube) 205 made of a heat-resistant material such as silicon carbide (SiC), closed at the upper end and opened at the lower end, is concentrically formed with the heater 206. It is arranged. In addition, a reaction tube (inner tube) 204 made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz (SiO ₂ ) and having a closed upper end and an open lower end is formed inside the heat equalizing tube 205. They are arranged concentrically. A processing chamber 201 is formed in a cylindrical hollow portion of the reaction tube 204, and is configured so that wafers 200 as substrates can be accommodated in a state of being aligned in multiple stages in a horizontal posture and in a vertical direction by a boat 217 described later.

  A gas introduction unit 230 is provided at the lower end of the reaction tube 204, and a narrow tube 234 as a gas introduction tube is arranged along the outer wall of the reaction tube 204 from the gas introduction unit 230 to the ceiling 233 of the reaction tube 204. It is installed. The gas introduced from the gas introduction unit 230 circulates in the narrow tube 234 and reaches the ceiling 233, and is introduced into the processing chamber 201 from a plurality of gas introduction ports 233 a provided in the ceiling 233. In addition, a gas exhaust unit 231 for exhausting the atmosphere in the reaction tube 204 from the exhaust port 231a is provided at a position different from the gas introduction unit 230 at the lower end of the reaction tube 204.

  A gas supply pipe 232 is connected to the gas introduction unit 230. On the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 232 opposite to the connection side to the gas introduction unit 230, a processing gas supply source, a carrier gas supply source (not shown) via an MFC (mass flow controller) 241 as a gas flow rate controller, An inert gas source is connected. In addition, when it is necessary to supply water vapor | steam in the process chamber 201, the water vapor | steam generator which is not shown in figure is provided in the downstream of the MFC241 of the gas supply pipe 232. A gas flow rate control unit 235 is electrically connected to the MFC 241 and is configured to control at a desired timing so that the flow rate of the supplied gas becomes a desired amount.

  A gas exhaust pipe 229 is connected to the gas exhaust unit 231. An exhaust device 246 is connected to the downstream side of the gas exhaust pipe 229 opposite to the connection side with the gas exhaust part 231 via a pressure sensor 245 and a pressure adjustment device 242 as a pressure detector. It is comprised so that it can exhaust, so that the pressure in 201 may become predetermined pressure. A pressure control unit 236 is electrically connected to the pressure adjustment device 242 and the pressure sensor 245, and the pressure control unit 236 is installed in the processing chamber 201 by the pressure adjustment device 242 based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 245. Control is performed at a desired timing so that the pressure becomes a desired pressure.

  Between the soaking tube 205 and the reaction tube 204, a temperature sensor 263 as a temperature detector is installed. A temperature control unit 238 is electrically connected to the heater 206 and the temperature sensor 263, and the temperature in the processing chamber 201 is adjusted by adjusting the power supply to the heater 206 based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 263. Is controlled at a desired timing so as to have a desired temperature distribution.

  The gas flow rate control unit 235, the pressure control unit 236, the drive control unit 237, and the temperature control unit 238 also constitute an operation unit and an input / output unit, and are electrically connected to a main control unit 239 that controls the entire substrate processing apparatus. ing. These gas flow rate control unit 235, pressure control unit 236, drive control unit 237, temperature control unit 238, and main control unit 239 are configured as a controller 240.

  A boat 217 as a substrate holder is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz or silicon carbide, and is configured to hold a plurality of wafers 200 aligned in a horizontal posture with their centers aligned. . Below the boat 217, a heat insulating cylinder 218 as a cylindrical heat insulating member made of a heat resistant material such as quartz or silicon carbide is provided to support the boat 217, and heat from the heater 206 reacts. The tube 204 is configured to be difficult to be transmitted to the lower end side.

At the lower end of the reaction tube 204, a base 257 as a holding body capable of hermetically closing the lower end opening of the reaction tube 204 and a seal cap 219 as a furnace port lid are provided. The base 257 is made of quartz, for example, and is formed in a disk shape. The seal cap 219 is made of a metal such as stainless steel and has a disk shape.
An O-ring 220 is provided on the upper surface of the base 257 as a seal member that contacts the lower end of the reaction tube 204. A rotation mechanism 254 for rotating the boat is installed on the side of the seal cap 219 opposite to the processing chamber 201. The rotating shaft 255 of the rotating mechanism 254 passes through the seal cap 219 and the base 257, is connected to the heat insulating cylinder 218 and the boat 217, and is configured to rotate the wafer 200 by rotating the heat insulating cylinder 218 and the boat 217. Has been. The seal cap 219 is configured to be vertically lifted by a boat elevator 115 as a lifting mechanism vertically installed outside the reaction tube 204, and thereby the boat 217 is carried into and out of the processing chamber 201. Is possible. A drive control unit 237 is electrically connected to the rotation mechanism 254 and the boat elevator 115, and is configured to control at a desired timing so as to perform a desired operation.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged view around the lower end portion of the reaction tube 204 when the buffer member 266 and the support portion 264 are installed on the seal cap 219.
A support portion 264 is placed on the seal cap 219, a buffer member 266 is attached to a support groove 268 provided in the support portion 264, and a base 257 is placed on the placement portion 272 of the buffer member 266. ing.

The buffer member 266 is shown in FIG. 5A is a plan view and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view.
The buffer member 266 is made of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), for example, as a material that has better impact resistance than the base, and is formed in a square shape when viewed from the plane. The buffer member 266 has a protruding portion 271 and a placement portion 272, which are continuously formed. The protrusion 271 is formed of a flat surface having a constant thickness. The mounting portion 272 gradually decreases in thickness as it moves away from the surface connected to the protruding portion 271, and the opposite side of the surface connected to the protruding portion 271 is linear. The section of the mounting portion 272 preferably has a triangular shape in which a surface in contact with the seal cap 219 is a flat surface. As a result, when processing is performed in the processing chamber 201, the buffer member 266 can be quickly and smoothly pulled out from between the base 257 and the seal cap 219 by pressing or grasping the protrusion 271, and the mounting is also smooth. Can be.

The support portion 264 is shown in FIG.
The support part 264 is formed in an annular shape. The support portion 264 is formed of two layers in which the base 257 side layer is the base side layer 269 and the seal cap 219 side layer is the seal side layer 270. The inner circumference of the base side layer 269 is substantially the same as the outer circumference of the base 257, and the inner circumference of the seal side layer 270 is substantially the same as the outer circumference of the seal cap 219. Further, the base side layer 269 is provided with a plurality of support grooves 268 for mounting the buffer members 266. Preferably, the support grooves 268 are provided at equiangular intervals in the circumferential direction.

    Next, a method of subjecting the wafer 200 to a process such as oxidation and diffusion as a step of the semiconductor device manufacturing process using the processing furnace 202 having the above configuration will be described. In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus is controlled by the controller 240.

First, in order to install the base 257 on the seal cap 219, the support portion 264 and the buffer member 266 are installed at predetermined positions.
The support portion 264 is placed on the seal cap 219. The buffer member 266 is placed in the support groove 268 of the support portion 264 such that the end surface of the projection portion 271 on the placement portion 272 side is aligned with the inner peripheral surface of the support portion 264 or slightly positioned on the outer peripheral side from the inner peripheral surface. . Thereafter, the base 257 is placed on the placement portion 272 of the buffer member 266 and on the inner peripheral side of the support portion 264.
Next, the protruding portion 271 of the buffer member 266 is grasped or pressed and pulled out along the support groove 268.
Subsequently, the support portion 264 is removed from the seal cap 219. Thereafter, the heat insulating cylinder 218 and the boat 217 are placed on the rotating shaft 255 of the rotating mechanism 254. This completes the installation of the base 257, the heat insulating cylinder 218, and the boat 217.

  Next, when a plurality of wafers 200 are loaded into the boat 217 (wafer charge), the boat 217 holding the plurality of wafers 200 is lifted by the boat elevator 115 as shown in FIG. It is carried into the processing chamber 201 (boat loading). In this state, the seal cap 219 seals the lower end of the reaction tube 204 through the base 257 and the O-ring 220.

  The processing chamber 201 is exhausted by the exhaust device 246 so as to have a desired pressure. At this time, the pressure in the processing chamber 201 is measured by the pressure sensor 245, and the pressure regulator 242 is feedback-controlled based on the measured pressure. In addition, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is heated by the heater 206 so as to have a desired temperature. At this time, the power supply to the heater 206 is feedback-controlled based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 263 so that the inside of the processing chamber 201 has a desired temperature distribution. Subsequently, the wafer 200 is rotated by rotating the heat insulating cylinder 218 and the boat 217 by the rotation mechanism 254.

Next, the gas supplied from the processing gas supply source and the carrier gas supply source and controlled to have a desired flow rate by the MFC 241 flows from the gas supply pipe 232 through the gas introduction part 230 and the narrow pipe 234 to the ceiling part 233. Thus, the gas is introduced into the processing chamber 201 from a plurality of gas inlets 233a in a shower shape. Note that, when processing using water vapor is performed on the wafer 200, the gas controlled to have a desired flow rate by the MFC 241 is supplied to the water vapor generator, and the water vapor (H _A gas containing ₂ O) is introduced into the processing chamber 201. The introduced gas flows down in the processing chamber 201, flows through the exhaust port 231 a, and is exhausted from the gas exhaust unit 231. The gas contacts the surface of the wafer 200 when passing through the processing chamber 201, and the wafer 200 is subjected to processing such as oxidation and diffusion.

  When a preset processing time has passed, an inert gas is supplied from an inert gas supply source, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is replaced with an inert gas, and the pressure in the processing chamber 201 is returned to normal pressure. .

  Thereafter, the buffer member 266 is attached to the support groove 268 of the support portion 264, the seal cap 219 is lowered by the boat elevator 115, the lower end of the reaction tube 204 is opened, and the processed wafer 200 is held by the boat 217. In this state, the reaction tube 204 is unloaded from the lower end of the reaction tube 204 to the outside of the reaction tube 204 (boat unloading). Thereafter, the processed wafer 200 is taken out from the boat 217 (wafer discharge).

  In addition, it replaces with the base 257 as described in embodiment of this invention, and even when the heat insulation cylinder 218 and the base 257 are integrated, this invention is applicable. Further, the present invention can be applied even when the boat 217, the heat insulating cylinder 218, and the base 257 are integrated without being provided separately. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus of a type in which the boat 217 is lengthened without being provided with the heat insulating cylinder 218 and the base 257 and directly mounted on the seal cap 219.

As an example, as processing conditions when processing a wafer in the processing furnace of the present embodiment, for example, in annealing, the processing temperature is 1100 to 1200 ° C., the processing pressure is atmospheric pressure to the atmosphere −50 Pa, and the gas type is N ₂ (nitrogen) or Ar (argon), and a gas supply flow rate of 10 to 20 slm are exemplified, and the wafer is processed by keeping each processing condition constant at a certain value within each range.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

By the way, conventionally, positioning pins are provided at two locations on the surface where a quartz (non-metallic member) base of a metal seal cap is installed, and a positioning groove is provided at a position facing the positioning pins on the lower surface of the base. Thus, the positioning pin is inserted into the positioning groove, and positioning in the rotational direction is performed. However, during the heat treatment, the processing chamber is heated to a high temperature of 800 to 1050 ° C., so the high temperature also increases the temperature around the seal cap, which causes the seal cap to expand in the radial direction. As a result, the position of the positioning pin is also shifted in the radial direction, which causes a problem that stress is applied to the positioning groove portion of the base and the base is cracked. Therefore, when one positioning pin was deleted and one positioning pin was removed so that no stress was applied to the groove portion, the problem of cracking of the base was solved. A new problem has arisen that the position cannot be determined.
In addition, when the specification is such that the member mounted on the seal cap operates integrally with a member such as a boat on which a wafer to be processed is mounted, such as a quartz base and boat integrated, When the position is not determined and the wafer is automatically transferred from the cassette or hoop (substrate container) to the boat in this state, the boat and the wafer interfere with each other, and in the worst case, the both are damaged.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the second embodiment of the present invention has been devised. That is, in the second embodiment, a positioning portion 276 that is a positioning mark is provided on the support portion 264 of the first embodiment. Further, a mark 274 for positioning is also provided on the base 257. As in the first embodiment, the support portion 264 is mounted on the seal cap 219, the buffer member 266 is mounted in the support groove 268 of the support portion 264, and the base 257 is mounted on the mounting portion 272 of the buffer member 266. Then, the positioning is facilitated by matching the positions of the positioning mark 274 of the base 257 and the positioning portion 276 of the support portion 264, and positioning in the rotational direction is not performed by using pins but the base 257 and positioning portion 276. Therefore, the above problem can be avoided.

Therefore, according to the second embodiment, the following effects can be achieved.
(1) When the quartz base is installed, the impact of dropping and rising on the seal cap can be eased and damage can be prevented.
(2) It is possible to position the quartz base in the rotational direction.
(3) It is possible to prevent the boat and wafer from interfering with each other and being damaged.

  The present invention can be used in a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor device.

The present invention is characterized by the matters described in the claims, but further includes the following matters.
(1) The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a support portion that is positioned on an outer peripheral side of the lid body and supports the buffer member.
(2) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1), wherein a support groove for supporting the buffer member is formed in the support portion.
(3) The substrate processing apparatus according to (2), wherein the support portion includes a positioning portion that determines a position of the substrate holder in a rotation direction.
(4) The buffer member is formed so that the mounting portion can be extracted from between the substrate holding portion and the lid body after the substrate holder is installed on the buffer member placed on the lid body. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.
(5) A plurality of lids closing the opening at one end of the reaction vessel having a processing chamber for processing while holding the substrate with the substrate holder, and the substrate holder, the outer peripheral side of the lid The substrate holder is mounted on the mounting portion of the shock-absorbing member having a protruding portion positioned on the mounting portion, and a mounting portion connected to the protruding portion and having a thickness that decreases from the protruding portion toward the center of the lid for a while. A step of removing the mounting portion from between the lid and the substrate holder, and closing the opening while supporting the substrate holder holding the substrate by the lid. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: a process; and a process of processing a substrate while holding the substrate with the substrate holder in the processing chamber.
(6) A reaction chamber having a processing chamber for processing a substrate while being held by a substrate holder, and having an opening on at least one end side, and a lid for closing the opening while supporting the substrate holder A buffer member used in a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of cushioning members provided between the substrate holder and the lid, a projection located on the outer peripheral side of the lid, connected to the projection, A shock-absorbing member having a mounting portion that reduces the thickness for a while from the protrusion toward the center of the lid.

It is a top view which shows the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 shows a processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line aa of FIG. The reaction tube lower end part of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) shows the top view of a lower end part, (b) is the b-0-b sectional view taken on the line of (a). The buffer member used for the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) shows the top view of a buffer member, (b) is sectional drawing of a buffer member. The support part used for the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) shows the top view of a support part, (b) is the c-0-c sectional view taken on the line of a support part. The reaction tube lower end part of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) shows the top view of a lower end part, (b) is the d-0-d sectional view taken on the line of (a). is there.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Substrate processing apparatus 115 Boat elevator 217 Boat 219 Seal cap 257 Base 264 Support part 266 Buffer member 268 Support groove 269 Base side layer 270 Seal side layer 271 Protrusion part 272 Placement part 276 Positioning part

Claims (1)

A reaction chamber having a processing chamber for processing while holding the substrate with a substrate holder, and having an opening on at least one end side;
A lid that closes the opening while supporting the substrate holder;
A plurality of protrusions are provided between the substrate holder and the lid, and are connected to the protrusions on the outer peripheral side of the lid, and from the protrusions toward the center of the lid for a while A shock-absorbing member having a placement portion for reducing the thickness;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

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