JP2010135510A - Depositing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology which can adjust a gradient with respect to a horizontal axis of a reaction gas nozzle. <P>SOLUTION: A one-end side of a reaction gas nozzle 31 provided so as to expand horizontally opposing a board loading part provided ub a vacuum chamber is inserted into an insertion hole of a wall of the vacuum chamber, O-rings r1 and r2 are provided between the one-end side of the reaction gas nozzle 31 and the wall of the vacuum chamber, and the one-end side of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is fixed by these O-rings r1 and r2 in a state that airtightness inside the vacuum chamber is maintained. There is provided a gradient adjusting mechanism 25 for supporting a region at the internal space side of the vacuum chamber from the downward side of the insertion hole in the reaction nozzle 31, and a height of the support position is adjusted, whereby the gradient with respect to the horizontal axis of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is adjusted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate by supplying a reaction gas to the surface of the substrate.

  As a film forming method in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a first reactive gas is adsorbed on a surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) as a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, and then a gas to be supplied is used as a second reactive gas. The process of switching and forming one or more atomic layers or molecular layers by the reaction of both gases, and laminating these layers to form a film on the substrate by performing this cycle many times. Are known. This process is called ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) or MLD (Molecular Layer Deposition), for example, and the film thickness can be controlled with high precision according to the number of cycles, and the in-plane uniformity of the film quality is also achieved. It is a good technique that can cope with thinning of semiconductor devices.

As an example in which such a film forming method is suitable, for example, film formation of a high dielectric film used for a gate oxide film can be given. For example, when a silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ film) is formed, for example, a Vista butylaminosilane (hereinafter referred to as “BTBAS”) gas or the like is used as the first reaction gas (raw material gas). As the second reactive gas (oxidizing gas), ozone (O ₃ ) gas or the like is used.

  As an apparatus for carrying out such a film forming method, using a single-wafer film forming apparatus equipped with a gas shower head in the upper center of the vacuum vessel, a reactive gas is supplied from the upper side of the central part of the substrate, and unreacted. A method of exhausting the reaction gas and reaction by-products from the bottom of the processing vessel has been studied. By the way, the film forming method described above has a problem that the gas replacement with the purge gas takes a long time and the number of cycles is, for example, several hundred times, so that there is a problem that the processing time is long. It is requested.

  Therefore, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a plurality of substrates are mounted on a circular mounting table in the circumferential direction, and the reaction gas is switched with respect to the substrate while rotating the mounting table. There has been proposed an apparatus for forming a film by supplying them. For example, in Patent Document 1, a reaction gas is supplied into the reaction container from the ceiling of the reaction container, and a plurality of mutually separated processing spaces are provided in the circumferential direction of the mounting table. A configuration is proposed.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, for example, two reaction gas nozzles that discharge different reaction gases toward the mounting table are provided on the ceiling of the chamber, and the mounting table is rotated so that the substrate on the mounting table is the reaction gas nozzle. Has been proposed in which a reactive gas is alternately supplied to each substrate to form a film. Such a type of film forming apparatus does not have a reactive gas purge process, and can process a plurality of substrates with a single loading / unloading or evacuation operation, thereby reducing the time required for these operations and improving throughput. Can be improved.

  However, in the configuration in which the gas nozzle for the reaction gas is provided on the ceiling portion of the processing container in this way, for example, when removing the ceiling portion from the processing container at the time of maintenance, it is necessary to remove all the gas nozzles, which increases the time and labor required for maintenance. This raises concerns. For this reason, the present inventors are examining the structure which provides a gas nozzle in the side wall of a processing container so that it may extend horizontally from the said side wall to the central part vicinity of a processing container, as shown in FIG. In this figure, 200 is a processing container, 201 is a rotary table on which a wafer W is placed and rotates around a vertical axis, 202 is a drive system for rotating the rotary table, 203 is a gas nozzle, and 204 is a mounting member for the gas nozzle 203. The gas nozzle 203 is configured to supply a reaction gas to the lower side of the gas nozzle 203 through, for example, gas supply holes formed at a predetermined interval on the lower surface of the nozzle.

  By the way, with the recent increase in size of the substrate, for example, in the case of the wafer W, film formation is performed on the substrate having a diameter of 300 mm. Therefore, in the configuration in which the gas nozzle 203 is provided on the side wall of the processing vessel 200 as described above, the gas nozzle is provided from the side wall to the vicinity of the center of the rotary table 201 in order to supply the reaction gas to the entire surface of the wafer placed on the rotary table 201. 203 must be provided, and the length of the gas nozzle 203 is increased. Therefore, when the base end side of the gas nozzle 203 is fixed on the side wall of the processing container 200, the moment is increased on the front end side of the gas nozzle 203 and is likely to be lowered by its own weight.

  For this reason, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 21, the tip end side of the gas nozzle 203 is inclined to be lower than the base end side, and the distance between the gas nozzle 203 and the surface of the wafer W changes in the length direction of the nozzle. End up. Therefore, when the supply amount of the reaction gas from the gas supply hole is uniform in the length direction of the gas nozzle 203, the front end side of the gas nozzle 203 is closer to the wafer W than the base end side, and thus the in-plane of the wafer W There is a possibility that the concentration of the reaction gas in the reactor becomes non-uniform. In order to efficiently adsorb the reaction gas to the wafer W, it is preferable to provide the gas nozzle 203 close to the wafer W. In some cases, the tip of the gas nozzle 203 may come into contact with the wafer W.

  On the other hand, if the gas nozzle 203 is long, the gas discharge amount on the base end side of the gas nozzle 203 close to the gas supply source is larger than that on the tip end side, and the concentration of the reaction gas in the central region of the processing vessel 200 is higher than that in the peripheral region. In such a case, the front end side of the gas nozzle 203 is actively brought closer to the rotary table 201 side than the base end side, thereby forming an environment that is easily adsorbed with the reaction gas. Has also been considered. For this reason, there is a demand for a configuration that can adjust the distance from the surface of the wafer W in the length direction of the gas nozzle 203 by adjusting the inclination of the gas nozzle 203 with respect to the horizontal axis.

Japanese Patent No. 3144664: FIG. 1, FIG. 2, Claim 1 JP 2001-254181 A: FIGS. 1 and 2

  The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a film forming apparatus capable of adjusting the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle with respect to the horizontal axis.

Therefore, the film forming apparatus of the present invention is a film forming apparatus that forms a thin film by supplying a reaction gas to the surface of the substrate in a vacuum vessel.
A substrate mounting portion provided in the vacuum vessel for mounting the substrate;
In order to supply the reaction gas to the surface of the substrate mounting portion, it is provided to extend horizontally facing the substrate mounting portion, and one end side thereof is inserted into the insertion hole of the wall portion of the vacuum vessel. Reactive gas nozzle,
Moving means for moving the substrate mounting portion relative to the reactive gas nozzle;
A sealing member provided between one end side of the reaction gas nozzle and the wall of the vacuum vessel, and fixing the one end side of the reaction gas nozzle in a state of maintaining airtightness inside the vacuum vessel;
In order to adjust the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle with respect to the horizontal axis, the inclination adjustment is performed to support a portion of the reaction nozzle closer to the inner space side of the vacuum vessel than the insertion hole and adjust the height of the support position. And a mechanism.

  At this time, one end of the reaction nozzle is inserted into an insertion hole formed in the side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel. Further, the tilt adjusting mechanism is formed with a screw hole, a support member for supporting the reaction gas nozzle from below, a screw hole drilled in a member forming the inner wall of the vacuum vessel, and the support member And an inclination adjusting screw for fixing the support member to the member by being screwed into the screw hole through the hole portion, and the vertical dimension of the screw hole is the height of the inclination adjusting screw. Those formed larger than the screw shaft can be used.

  In addition, a flange that is provided so as to penetrate the wall of the vacuum vessel and that is screwed to the outer wall of the vacuum vessel by a position adjusting screw, a sleeve into which one end side of the reactive gas nozzle is inserted, and the sleeve and the sleeve A sealing member provided between one end side of the reaction gas nozzle and fixing the one end side of the reaction gas nozzle in a state in which the airtightness inside the vacuum vessel is maintained; and the flange, and the position adjusting screw A position adjusting hole having a vertical dimension larger than the screw shaft of the position adjusting screw and a screw hole that is drilled in the outer wall of the vacuum vessel and is screwed with the position adjusting screw. And the flange may be configured to be screwed to the vacuum vessel by a position adjusting screw through a position adjusting hole. In this case, the member that forms the inner wall of the vacuum vessel in which the screw hole into which the tilt adjusting screw is screwed may be a sleeve provided on the wall of the vacuum vessel.

  The reactive gas nozzle is configured to supply a first reactive gas and a second reactive gas that reacts with the first reactive gas to the surface of the substrate mounting portion, respectively. The first reaction gas nozzle and the second reaction gas nozzle are provided so as to be separated from each other in the relative movement direction, and the first processing region to which the first reaction gas is supplied and the second reaction gas are supplied. In order to separate the atmosphere from the second processing region, a separation region located between the processing regions in the moving direction is provided, and a first reaction gas and a second reaction that react with each other in the vacuum vessel A thin film may be formed by laminating a number of reaction product layers by sequentially supplying the gas to the surface of the substrate and executing this supply cycle.

  Further, the substrate mounting portion is composed of a rotary table on which a substrate mounting region for mounting a substrate is formed, and the moving means includes means for rotating the rotary table around a vertical axis, The first reaction gas nozzle and the second reaction gas nozzle are separated from each other in the rotation direction of the rotary table, and one end side of the first reaction gas nozzle and the second reaction gas nozzle extends horizontally in the radial direction of the rotation table so as to face the rotation table. It may be inserted into the wall portion.

  The separation region is provided with a separation gas supply means for supplying a separation gas, and a narrow space for the separation gas to flow from the separation region to the processing region side on both sides in the rotation direction of the separation gas supply means. A ceiling surface formed between the rotary table and the separation gas supply means so as to extend in a radial direction of the rotary table so as to face the rotary table. One end side can be a separation gas nozzle inserted into the wall of the vacuum vessel.

  Further, in order to separate the atmosphere of the first processing region and the second processing region, a discharge hole is formed in the center of the vacuum vessel and discharges a separation gas on the substrate mounting surface side of the rotary table. Alternatively, a plurality of substrate placement areas may be provided along the rotation direction of the turntable.

  According to the present invention, one end side of the reaction gas nozzle extending horizontally is inserted into the insertion hole of the wall portion of the vacuum vessel, and the sealing member provided between the one end side of the reaction gas nozzle and the wall portion of the vacuum vessel Thus, when fixing the reactive gas nozzle while maintaining the airtightness of the vacuum vessel, a portion on the inner space side of the vacuum vessel with respect to the insertion hole in the reactive gas nozzle is supported from the lower side by an inclination adjusting mechanism, and the support The height of the position is adjusted. Thus, since the height of the support position of the reaction gas nozzle is adjusted inside the portion where the reaction gas nozzle is fixed to the vacuum vessel, the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle with respect to the horizontal axis can be adjusted. This inclination adjustment may be performed, for example, so as to suppress drooping on the front end side of the reaction gas nozzle, or may be adjustment such that the front end side of the reaction gas nozzle is closer to the substrate mounting portion than the base end side. By adjusting the tilt, for example, it is possible to adjust the adsorption amount of the reaction gas supplied from the reaction gas nozzle toward the substrate within the plane of the substrate, and as a result, a favorable film forming process can be performed. it can.

  A film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a flat vacuum vessel 1 having a substantially circular planar shape as shown in FIG. 1 (a cross-sectional view taken along line II ′ in FIG. 3), and this vacuum. And a turntable 2 provided in the container 1 and serving as a substrate mounting portion having a center of rotation at the center of the vacuum container 1. The vacuum vessel 1 is configured such that the top plate 11 can be separated from the vessel body 12. The top plate 11 is pressed against the container main body 12 through a sealing member, for example, an O-ring 13 due to an internal decompression state, and maintains an airtight state. It is lifted upward by a drive mechanism that does not.

  The rotary table 2 is fixed to a cylindrical core portion 21 at the center, and the core portion 21 is fixed to the upper end of a rotary shaft 22 extending in the vertical direction. The rotating shaft 22 penetrates the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 and its lower end is attached to a driving portion 23 that rotates the rotating shaft 22 around the vertical axis in this example in the clockwise direction. The rotating shaft 22 and the drive part 23 correspond to the moving means of the present invention, and are accommodated in a cylindrical case body 20 whose upper surface is open. The case body 20 has a flange portion provided on the upper surface thereof attached to the lower surface of the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 in an airtight manner, and the airtight state between the internal atmosphere and the external atmosphere of the case body 20 is maintained.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a circular recess 24 is provided on the surface of the turntable 2 to place a plurality of, for example, five wafers, along the rotation direction (circumferential direction). It has been. In FIG. 3, the wafer W is drawn only in one recess 24 for convenience. Here, FIG. 4 is a developed view showing the rotary table 2 cut along a concentric circle and developed laterally. The concave portion 24 has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the wafer as shown in FIG. For example, it is 4 mm larger, and the depth is set to be equal to the thickness of the wafer. Therefore, when the wafer is dropped into the recess 24, the surface of the wafer and the surface of the turntable 2 (regions where the wafer is not placed) are aligned. If the difference in height between the surface of the wafer and the surface of the turntable 2 is large, pressure fluctuations occur at the stepped portion, so that the height of the wafer surface and the surface of the turntable 2 can be made uniform. It is preferable from the viewpoint of uniform in-plane thickness uniformity. Aligning the height of the surface of the wafer and the surface of the turntable 2 means that they are the same height or the difference between both surfaces is within 5 mm, but the height of both surfaces is as high as possible depending on the processing accuracy. It is preferable to bring the difference close to zero. A through-hole (not shown) through which, for example, three elevating pins (see FIG. 12) to be described later for supporting the back surface of the wafer to raise and lower the wafer is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 24.

  The recess 24 is for positioning the wafer so that it does not pop out due to the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the turntable 2, and corresponds to the substrate placement area of the present invention. The region (wafer mounting region) is not limited to the concave portion, and for example, a plurality of guide members for guiding the peripheral edge of the wafer may be arranged on the surface of the rotary table 2 along the circumferential direction of the wafer. When a wafer is sucked by providing a chuck mechanism such as an electrostatic chuck on the side, a region where the wafer is placed by the suction becomes a substrate placement region.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vacuum vessel 1 includes a first reaction gas nozzle 31 and a second reaction gas nozzle 32 and two separation gas nozzles 41 at positions facing the passage regions of the recess 24 in the rotary table 2. 42 extend radially from the central portion at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction of the vacuum vessel 1 (the rotational direction of the rotary table 2). The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are attached to, for example, a side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1 (a side peripheral wall of the vessel main body 12), and these gas nozzles 31, 32, 41, and 42 are It is provided horizontally so as to extend from (the side peripheral wall of the container body 12) to the vicinity of the center. The lower regions of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are respectively a first processing region P1 for adsorbing BTBAS gas to the wafer and a second processing region P2 for adsorbing O ₃ gas to the wafer.

  Subsequently, the attachment structure of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. Here, the attachment structure of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 is the same. The reaction gas nozzle 31 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 5A, a sleeve 34 for attaching the reactive gas nozzle 31 to the side peripheral wall is provided on the side peripheral wall of the container main body 12 in the vacuum container 1 from the outside. The sleeve 34 is provided with a flange 36, and the flange 36 is fixed to the vacuum vessel 1 by attaching the flange 36 to the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 (container body 12) with a position adjusting screw 37. Yes. In this example, the sleeve 34 corresponds to an insertion hole into which one end side of the reactive gas nozzle 31 is inserted.

  On the other hand, an opening 1 a for mounting the sleeve 34 is formed in the side peripheral wall of the container body 12. In this example, since the attachment position of the sleeve 34 is roughly adjusted as described later, the inner diameter L1 of the opening 1a is larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve 34 by the range in which the sleeve 34 moves by coarse adjustment. It is set slightly larger.

  One end side of the reactive gas nozzle 31 is inserted into a portion 35 a of the sleeve 34 that opens into the vacuum vessel 1 from the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 (the inner wall side of the vacuum vessel 1, hereinafter the same). At this time, the reaction gas nozzle 31 is inserted smoothly, and the reaction gas nozzle 31 is supported from the lower side in the vacuum vessel 1 as described later, and the height of the support position is adjusted, so that the reaction gas nozzle 31 is adjusted. Therefore, the inner diameter L2 of the portion 35a is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the reaction gas nozzle 31 by the range in which the reaction gas nozzle 31 moves by fine adjustment. . Further, a connecting member 39 is inserted into the sleeve 34 from the outside of the vacuum vessel 1 (the outer wall side of the vacuum vessel 1, the same applies hereinafter) via the inner sleeve 38. Thus, inside the sleeve 34, outside the portion 35a, An inner sleeve 38 and a connecting member 39 are provided in order from the inside of the vacuum vessel 1.

  The connection member 39 is provided to connect the reaction gas nozzle 31 and a gas supply pipe 31a for supplying reaction gas to the reaction gas nozzle 31. Inside the connection member 39, the tip 39a is provided. The inner diameter of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is set to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of one end side of the reaction gas nozzle 31.

  In this example, the inner diameter of the connecting member 39 is narrower than the outer diameter of the gas supply pipe 31a outside the region where one end side of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is inserted, and outside the narrowed region 39b. The region 39c is formed so as to be substantially the same as the outer diameter of the gas supply pipe 31a. Thereby, in the connection member 39, the distal end side of the gas supply pipe 31a is inserted into the region 39c from the outside of the vacuum vessel 1, and the distal end side contacts and is fixed to the step portion 39d formed by the narrowed region 39b. It has become so.

  Also, O-rings r1 and r2 that form sealing members are provided before and after the inner sleeve 38 in the sleeve 34, respectively. Here, when one end side of the reactive gas nozzle 31 is inserted into the sleeve 34, the O-rings r1 and r2 are interposed between the reactive gas nozzle 31 and the sleeve 34, and the reactive gas nozzle 31 presses the O-rings r1 and r2 by its gravity. As a result, one end side of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is fixed to the sleeve 34 while maintaining the airtightness inside the vacuum vessel 1. As described above, in this embodiment, the O-rings r1 and r2 forming the sealing member are provided between the sleeve 34 and the reactive gas nozzle 31. In this case as well, the “sealing member is a reactive gas nozzle and a vacuum vessel in the present invention. It is included in the case of “provided between the wall part of

  Further, an inclination adjusting mechanism 25 is provided inside the vacuum vessel 1. The tilt adjusting mechanism 25 is provided to adjust the tilt of the reaction gas nozzle 31 with respect to the horizontal axis, and is a portion of the reaction gas nozzle 31 on the inner space side of the vacuum vessel 1 than the portion inserted into the vacuum vessel 1. Is provided in the vacuum container 1 so as to adjust the height of the support position. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 includes a support member 26 made of an aluminum (Al) plate for supporting the reaction gas nozzle 31 from below, and the support member. 26, and a concave portion 28 adapted to the shape of the reaction gas nozzle 31 so that the lower side of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is fitted to the upper end of the support member 26. Is formed.

  Such a support member 26 is fixed to the inside of the vacuum vessel 1, for example, the inner wall portion 34 a of the sleeve 34 that forms the inner wall of the vacuum vessel 1 in this example by an inclination adjusting screw 29. The sizes of the hole 27 and the inclination adjusting screw 29 are as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (the connecting portion between the sleeve 34 and the inclination adjusting mechanism 25 as viewed from the inside of the vacuum vessel 1). The vertical dimension is larger than the screw shaft 29 b of the inclination adjusting screw 29, and is set to such a size that the head 29 a of the inclination adjusting screw 29 does not pass through the hole 27. Further, a screw hole 34b into which the tilt adjusting screw 29 is screwed is formed in the inner wall portion 34a of the sleeve 34, and the support member 26 is tilt-adjusted through the hole 27 in the screw hole 34b. In this case, the inclination of the reactive gas nozzle 31 with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted by adjusting the mounting position of the support member 26 in the vertical direction.

  That is, the support member 26 is attached in a state of being moved in the vertical direction with respect to the screw hole 34b on the vacuum vessel 1 side by the vertical dimension of the hole portion 27. Therefore, the reactive gas nozzle 31 is adjusted by adjusting the attachment position. The degree to which the base end side is lifted by the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 is different, and the height at which the reactive gas nozzle 31 is supported can be adjusted by the tilt adjusting mechanism 25.

  At this time, the reaction gas nozzle 31 is supported by the tilt adjustment mechanism 25 on the inner space side of the vacuum vessel 1 with respect to the fixed portion fixed to the vacuum vessel 1 by the O-rings r1 and r2 in the reaction gas nozzle 31. When the height is adjusted so that the support point is higher than the fixed point, the base end side (support point) of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is, for example, as shown in FIG. Since it is lifted so as to incline upward from the horizontal within the gap with the sleeve 34, the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle 31 with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted so that the tip of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is located above the base end side. Is done.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, if the height is adjusted by the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 so that the support point is lower than the fixed point, for example, as shown in FIG. Since the end side (supporting point) is supported so as to incline downward from the horizontal within the gap with the sleeve 34, the reaction gas nozzle 31 is reacted so that the front end is positioned below the base end side. The inclination of the gas nozzle 31 with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted.

  Thus, when the support height of the base end side of the reactive gas nozzle 31 is adjusted by the inclination adjusting mechanism 25, the reactive gas nozzle 31 is provided so as to extend along the radial direction of the turntable 2, and is, for example, as long as about 350 mm. On the distal end side, the moving distance in the vertical direction becomes larger than the adjustment distance on the proximal end side. Therefore, the vertical dimension of the hole 27 is determined according to the size of the gap between the base end side of the reactive gas nozzle 31 and the sleeve 34 and the height adjustment amount of the reactive gas nozzle 31. At this time, even when the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is adjusted, since the O-rings r1 and r2 are provided before and after the inner sleeve 38, respectively, as shown in FIG. At least one of r2 acts as a sealing member, and the airtightness in the vacuum vessel 1 is maintained.

  The flange 36 of the sleeve 34 is fixed to the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 by screws with the position adjusting screws 37 through the position adjusting holes 36a. In this example, the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 is formed with a recess 1b at a portion corresponding to the flange 36, and the flange 36 is attached to the recess 1b. The recess 1b is formed with a screw hole 1c that is screwed into the position adjusting screw 37. An O-ring r3 that forms a sealing member is interposed on the contact surface between the flange 36 and the recess 1b, and the sleeve 34 is attached to the vacuum vessel 1 while maintaining airtightness. . In this example, a recess 36b for arranging the O-ring r3 is formed on the flange 36 side. However, the position adjusting hole 36a formed in the flange 36 is formed by replacing the flange 36 in FIG. As shown in the figure seen from the outside, the O-ring r3 is formed at a position where it does not interfere with the recess 36b.

  The size of each of the position adjusting hole 36a and the position adjusting screw 37 is such that the position of the position adjusting hole 36a is as shown in the view of the flange 36 of FIG. The vertical dimension is larger than the screw shaft 37b of the position adjusting screw 37, and is set to a size such that the head 37a of the position adjusting screw 37 does not pass through the hole 36a. In FIG. 7B, reference numeral 36 c denotes an opening for installing the connection member 39 formed in the sleeve 34.

  Thus, when the sleeve 34 is attached to the vacuum vessel 1, the flange 36 is screwed into the screw hole 1c formed in the outer wall of the vacuum vessel 1 by the position adjusting screw 37 through the position adjusting hole 36a. The mounting position of the flange 36 can be roughly adjusted. That is, the flange 36 is attached in a state of being moved in the vertical direction with respect to the screw hole 1c on the vacuum vessel 1 side by the vertical dimension of the position adjusting hole 36a, so that the sleeve can be adjusted by adjusting the mounting position. The height of the position 34 can be adjusted. The size of the position adjusting hole 36 a is determined according to the height adjustment amount of the sleeve 34.

  In such a configuration, first, the sleeve 34 is mounted from the outside of the vacuum vessel 1 to the opening 1a for the sleeve 34 formed in the vacuum vessel 1, and then the O-rings r1 and r2 and the inner sleeve are placed inside the sleeve 34. After connecting 38 and 38, the connecting member 39 is attached. Then, the reactive gas nozzle 31 is attached to the connecting member 39 from the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 and the gas supply pipe 31 a is attached from the outside of the vacuum vessel 1. Next, the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 is attached so as to support the lower portion of the reactive gas nozzle 31, and the inclination of the reactive gas nozzle 31 is adjusted. At this time, the sleeve 36 is adjusted by adjusting the mounting position of the flange 36 of the sleeve 34 as described above. By roughly adjusting the inclination of 34 and further adjusting the mounting position of the inclination adjusting mechanism 25, for example, the reaction gas nozzle 31 is prevented from sagging on the tip side, and the distance between the reaction gas nozzle 31 and the surface of the turntable 2 is determined by the reaction. The height of the support position of the reaction gas nozzle 31 is adjusted so as to be substantially constant along the length direction of the gas nozzle 31, and the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle 31 with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted. Here, the attachment structure of the reaction gas nozzle 31 has been described as an example, but the reaction gas nozzle 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are also attached to the vacuum vessel 1 by the same attachment structure as the reaction gas nozzle 31.

The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are respectively supplied with a gas supply source of BTBAS (Bistal Butylaminosilane) gas as a first reaction gas and O ₃ (ozone as a second reaction gas) through reaction gas supply pipes 31a and 32a. ) Gas gas supply sources (both not shown) are connected, and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are gas of N ₂ gas (nitrogen gas) which is a separation gas through the separation gas supply pipes 41a and 42a. Connected to a source (not shown). In this example, the second reaction gas nozzle 32, the separation gas nozzle 41, the first reaction gas nozzle 31, and the separation gas nozzle 42 are arranged in this order in the clockwise direction.

  The separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 form separation gas supply means, and form a separation region D for separating the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1 in the separation region D has a circle drawn around the rotation center of the rotary table 2 and along the vicinity of the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1. A convex portion 4 is provided which is divided in a direction and has a fan-shaped planar shape and protrudes downward. The separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are accommodated in a groove 43 formed so as to extend in the radial direction of the circle at the circumferential center of the circle in the convex portion 4. In this example, the distances from the central axes of the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 to the fan-shaped edges (the upstream edge and the downstream edge in the rotation direction) of the convex portion 4 are set to the same length. In this embodiment, the groove portion 43 is formed so as to bisect the convex portion 4. However, in other embodiments, for example, the rotational direction of the turntable 2 in the convex portion 4 when viewed from the groove portion 43. The groove 43 may be formed so that the upstream side is wider than the downstream side in the rotation direction.

  Therefore, for example, a flat low ceiling surface 44 (first ceiling surface) which is the lower surface of the convex portion 4 exists on both sides of the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 in the circumferential direction. The ceiling surface 45 (second ceiling surface) higher than the ceiling surface 44 exists. The role of the convex portion 4 is a separation space that is a narrow space for preventing the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas from entering the rotary table 2 to prevent the mixing of the reactive gases. Is to form.

That is, taking the separation gas nozzle 41 as an example, the O ₃ gas is prevented from entering from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the turntable 2, and the BTBAS gas is prevented from entering from the downstream side in the rotation direction. “Preventing gas intrusion” means that the N ₂ gas, which is the separation gas discharged from the separation gas nozzle 41, diffuses between the first ceiling surface 44 and the surface of the turntable 2. It blows out to the space below the 2nd ceiling surface 45 adjacent to the 1 ceiling surface 44, and this means that the gas from the said adjacent space cannot penetrate | invade. And the "gas can not be penetration" does not mean only if it can not completely penetrate the lower side space of the convex portion 4 from the adjacent space, although somewhat invading, O ₃ were respectively entering from both sides This also means a case where a state in which the gas and the BTBAS gas are not mixed in the convex portion 4 is ensured. As long as such an action is obtained, the atmosphere of the first processing region P1 which is the role of the separation region D and the first The separation effect from the atmosphere of the second processing region P2 can be exhibited. Therefore, the degree of narrowing in the narrow space is determined by the difference in pressure between the narrow space (the space below the convex portion 4) and the area adjacent to the space (the space below the second ceiling surface 45 in this example) It can be said that the specific dimension differs depending on the area of the convex portion 4 and the like. The gas adsorbed on the wafer can naturally pass through the separation region D, and the prevention of gas intrusion means gas in the gas phase.

  On the other hand, a projecting portion 5 is provided on the lower surface of the top plate 11 so as to face a portion on the outer peripheral side of the core portion 21 in the turntable 2 and along the outer periphery of the core portion 21. The projecting portion 5 is formed continuously with the portion on the rotation center side of the convex portion 4, and the lower surface thereof is formed at the same height as the lower surface (ceiling surface 44) of the convex portion 4. 2 and 3 show the top plate 11 cut horizontally at a position lower than the ceiling surface 45 and higher than the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42. In addition, the protrusion part 5 and the convex-shaped part 4 are not necessarily restricted to integral, The separate body may be sufficient.

  In this example, a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm is used as the substrate to be processed. In this case, the convex portion 4 has a circumferential length (concentric with the rotary table 2) at the boundary portion with the protruding portion 5 that is 140 mm away from the rotation center. Is 146 mm, for example, and the outermost portion of the wafer mounting area (recess 24) has a circumferential length of 502 mm, for example. As shown in FIG. 4A, the length L is 246 mm when viewed from the circumferential length L of the convex portion 4 located on the left and right sides of the separation gas nozzle 41 (42) in the outer portion. It is.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the height h from the surface of the turntable 2 on the lower surface of the convex portion 4, that is, the ceiling surface 44 may be, for example, 0.5 mm to 10 mm, and is about 4 mm. Is preferred. In this case, the rotation speed of the turntable 2 is set to 1 rpm to 500 rpm, for example. In order to ensure the separation function of the separation region D, the size of the convex portion 4 and the lower surface (first ceiling surface 44) of the convex portion 4 and the rotation according to the range of use of the rotational speed of the turntable 2 and the like. The height h with respect to the surface of the table 2 is set based on, for example, experiments.

Further, the length of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 exposed to the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is about 350 mm. For example, the discharge holes 33 and 40 facing directly below, for example, having a diameter of 0.5 mm (see FIG. 4). Are arranged at intervals of, for example, 10 mm along the length direction of the nozzle. Furthermore, when the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are provided horizontally along the length direction so as to face the turntable 2, these gas nozzles 31, 32, 41, and 42 The distance from the surface of the rotary table 2 is set to about 2 mm, for example. The separation gas is not limited to N ₂ gas, and an inert gas such as Ar gas can be used. However, the separation gas is not limited to the inert gas, and may be hydrogen gas or the like, and does not affect the film formation process. If so, the type of gas is not particularly limited.

  The lower surface of the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1, that is, the ceiling surface viewed from the wafer placement area (recessed portion 24) of the rotary table 2 is the first ceiling surface 44 and the second higher than the ceiling surface 44 as described above. FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a region where the high ceiling surface 45 is provided, and FIG. 10 shows a region where the low ceiling surface 44 is provided. The longitudinal section about is shown. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the peripheral edge of the fan-shaped convex portion 4 (part on the outer edge side of the vacuum vessel 1) is bent in an L shape so as to face the outer end surface of the rotary table 2. Thus, a bent portion 46 is formed. Since the fan-shaped convex portion 4 is provided on the top plate 11 side and can be detached from the container main body 12, there is a slight gap between the outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 and the container main body 12. There is. The bent portion 46 is also provided for the purpose of preventing the reaction gas from entering from both sides in the same manner as the convex portion 4 and preventing the mixture of both reaction gases. The inner peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 and the rotary table are provided. 2 and the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 and the container body 12 are set to the same dimensions as the height h of the ceiling surface 44 with respect to the surface of the turntable 2. In this example, it can be seen from the surface side region of the turntable 2 that the inner peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 constitutes the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1.

As shown in FIG. 10, the inner peripheral wall of the container main body 12 is formed in a vertical plane close to the outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 as shown in FIG. 10. For example, the vertical cross-sectional shape is cut out in a rectangular shape from the portion facing the outer end surface of the turntable 2 to the bottom surface portion 14 and is recessed outward. If this recessed portion is called an exhaust region 6, for example, two exhaust ports 61 and 62 are provided at the bottom of the exhaust region 6 as shown in FIGS. These exhaust ports 61 and 62 are respectively connected to a common vacuum pump 64 which is a vacuum exhaust means via an exhaust pipe 63. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 65 denotes a pressure adjusting means which may be provided for each of the exhaust ports 61 and 62 or may be shared. The exhaust ports 61 and 62 are provided on both sides in the rotational direction of the separation region D when viewed in a plane so that the separation action of the separation region D works reliably, and each reaction gas (BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas). Is exhausted exclusively. In this example, one exhaust port 61 is provided between the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the separation region D adjacent to the reaction gas nozzle 31 on the downstream side in the rotation direction, and the other exhaust port 61 Two reaction gas nozzles 32 and a separation region D adjacent to the reaction gas nozzle 32 on the downstream side in the rotation direction are provided.

  The number of exhaust ports is not limited to two. For example, between the separation region D including the separation gas nozzle 42 and the second reaction gas nozzle 32 adjacent to the separation region D on the downstream side in the rotation direction. Further, three exhaust ports may be provided, or four or more. In this example, the exhaust ports 61 and 62 are provided at a position lower than the rotary table 2 so that the exhaust is exhausted from the gap between the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1 and the peripheral edge of the rotary table 2. It is not restricted to providing in a bottom face part, You may provide in the side wall of the vacuum vessel 1. FIG. Further, when the exhaust ports 61 and 62 are provided on the side wall of the vacuum vessel 1, they may be provided at a position higher than the rotary table 2. By providing the exhaust ports 61 and 62 in this way, the gas on the turntable 2 flows toward the outside of the turntable 2, so that particles are wound up as compared with the case of exhausting from the ceiling surface facing the turntable 2. This is advantageous in terms of being suppressed.

  In the space between the rotary table 2 and the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1, a heater unit 7 as a heating unit is provided as shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, and on the rotary table 2 via the rotary table 2. The wafer is heated to a temperature determined by the process recipe. On the lower side near the periphery of the turntable 2, the heater unit 7 is placed all around in order to partition the atmosphere from the upper space of the turntable 2 to the exhaust region 6 and the atmosphere in which the heater unit 7 is placed. A cover member 71 is provided so as to surround it. The cover member 71 is formed in a flange shape with the upper edge bent outward, and the gap between the bent surface and the lower surface of the turntable 2 is reduced to allow gas to enter the cover member 71 from the outside. That is holding down.

The bottom surface portion 14 in the portion closer to the rotation center than the space where the heater unit 7 is disposed is near the center portion of the lower surface of the turntable 2 and is close to the core portion 21, and the space therebetween is narrow. The clearance between the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the rotary shaft 22 that penetrates the bottom surface portion 14 and the rotary shaft 22 is narrow, and these narrow spaces communicate with the case body 20. The case body 20 is provided with a purge gas supply pipe 72 for supplying and purging N ₂ gas, which is a purge gas, into the narrow space. Further, a purge gas supply pipe 73 for purging the arrangement space of the heater unit 7 is provided on the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction at a position below the heater unit 7.

By providing the purge gas supply pipes 72 and 73 in this way, the space from the inside of the case body 20 to the arrangement space of the heater unit 7 is purged with N ₂ gas, as indicated by arrows in FIG. The purge gas is exhausted from the gap between the rotary table 2 and the cover member 71 to the exhaust ports 61 and 62 through the exhaust region 6. This prevents the BTBAS gas or the O ₃ gas from flowing from one of the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 described above to the other through the lower part of the turntable 2, so that this purge gas is It also plays the role of separation gas.

A separation gas supply pipe 51 is connected to the center of the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1 so that N ₂ gas as separation gas is supplied to a space 52 between the top plate 11 and the core portion 21. It is configured. The separation gas supplied to the space 52 is discharged toward the periphery along the surface of the turntable 2 on the wafer mounting region side through a narrow gap 50 between the protruding portion 5 and the turntable 2. Become. Since the space surrounded by the protrusion 5 is filled with the separation gas, the reaction gas (BTBAS gas) is interposed between the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 via the center of the turntable 2. Alternatively, mixing of O ₃ gas) is prevented. That is, this film forming apparatus is partitioned by the rotation center portion of the turntable 2 and the vacuum vessel 11 in order to separate the atmosphere of the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2, and the separation gas is purged. In addition, it can be said that the discharge port for discharging the separation gas on the surface of the turntable 2 includes a central region C formed along the rotation direction. The discharge port here corresponds to a narrow gap 50 between the protruding portion 5 and the rotary table 2.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 12, a transfer port 15 for transferring a wafer as a substrate between the external transfer arm 10 and the rotary table 2 is formed on the side wall of the vacuum vessel 1. The transfer port 15 is opened and closed by a gate valve (not shown). Further, since the wafer 24 is transferred to and from the transfer arm 10 at the position facing the transfer port 15 in the recess 24 which is a wafer placement area on the rotary table 2, the transfer position is below the rotary table 2. A lifting mechanism (not shown) of the lifting pins 16 for passing through the recess 24 and lifting the wafer from the back surface is provided at a portion corresponding to the above.

  Further, the film forming apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a control unit 100 including a computer for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, and a program for operating the apparatus is stored in the memory of the control unit 100. ing. This program has a set of steps so as to execute the operation of the apparatus described later, and is installed in the control unit 100 from a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, and a flexible disk disk.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. First, a gate valve (not shown) is opened, and the wafer is transferred from the outside into the recess 24 of the turntable 2 through the transfer port 15 by the transfer arm 10. This delivery is performed by raising and lowering the lift pins 16 from the bottom side of the vacuum vessel through the through holes in the bottom surface of the recesses 24 as shown in FIG. 12 when the recesses 24 stop at the position facing the transport port 15. . The delivery of the wafer W is performed by intermittently rotating the turntable 2, and the wafer W is placed in each of the five recesses 24 of the turntable 2. Subsequently, the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated to a preset pressure by the vacuum pump 64 and the wafer W is heated by the heater unit 7 while rotating the rotary table 2 clockwise. Specifically, the turntable 2 is heated in advance to, for example, 300 ° C. by the heater unit 7, and the wafer W is heated by being placed on the turntable 2. After confirming that the temperature of the wafer W has reached the set temperature by a temperature sensor (not shown), the BTBAS gas and the O ₃ gas are discharged from the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the second reaction gas nozzle 32, respectively, and the separation gas nozzle 41. , 42 is discharged with N ₂ gas which is a separation gas.

The wafer W alternately passes through the first processing region P1 in which the first reaction gas nozzle 31 is provided and the second processing region P2 in which the second reaction gas nozzle 32 is provided by the rotation of the turntable 2, so that the BTBAS. Gas is adsorbed and then O ₃ gas is adsorbed to oxidize BTBAS molecules to form one or more silicon oxide molecular layers. Thus, silicon oxide molecular layers are sequentially stacked to form silicon having a predetermined thickness. An oxide film is formed.

At this time, N ₂ gas, which is a separation gas, is also supplied from the separation gas supply pipe 51, whereby the central region C, that is, between the protrusion 5 and the center of the turntable 2, along the surface of the turntable 2. N ₂ gas is discharged. In this example, the inner peripheral wall of the container main body 12 along the space below the second ceiling surface 45 where the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 are arranged is cut and widened as described above. Since the exhaust ports 61 and 62 are located below the wide space, the second ceiling surface 45 is smaller than the narrow space below the first ceiling surface 44 and each pressure in the central region C. The pressure in the space below the lower is lower.

FIG. 13 schematically shows the state of gas flow when gas is discharged from each part. O ₃ is discharged downward from the second reactive gas nozzle 32, hits the surface of the turntable 2 (both the surface of the wafer W and the surface of the non-mounting area of the wafer W), and O ₃ heads downstream in the rotational direction along the surface. The gas tends to go to the exhaust port 62 due to the flow of N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C and the suction action of the exhaust port 62, but part of the gas goes to the separation region D adjacent to the downstream side, It tries to flow into the lower side of the convex part 4 of the mold. However, the height and the circumferential length of the ceiling surface 44 of the convex portion 4 are dimensions that can prevent gas from entering the lower side of the ceiling surface 44 in the process parameters during operation including the flow rate of each gas. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), O ₃ gas hardly flows into the lower side of the fan-shaped convex portion 4, or even if it flows in a little, it reaches the vicinity of the separation gas nozzle 41. Is not reachable, and is pushed back by the N ₂ gas discharged from the separation gas nozzle 41 to the upstream side in the rotation direction, that is, the processing region P2 side, together with the N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C, the turntable 2 Is exhausted to the exhaust port 62 through the exhaust region 6 from the gap between the peripheral edge of the vacuum vessel 1 and the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1.

Further, the BTBAS gas discharged from the first reaction gas nozzle 31 toward the downstream side in the rotational direction along the surface of the turntable 2 is below the fan-shaped convex portion 4 adjacent to the downstream side in the rotational direction. Even if it cannot enter at all, or even if it has entered, it is pushed back to the second processing region P1 side, together with the N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C, a gap between the peripheral edge of the rotary table 2 and the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1 Then, the air is exhausted to the exhaust port 61 through the exhaust region 6. That is, in each separation region D, intrusion of BTBAS gas or O ₃ gas, which is a reactive gas flowing in the atmosphere, is prevented, but the gas molecules adsorbed on the wafer remain as they are in the separation region, that is, the fan-shaped convex portion 4. It passes under the low ceiling surface 44 due to the above and contributes to film formation.

Furthermore, the BTBAS gas in the first processing region P1 (O ₃ gas in the second processing region P2) tries to enter the central region C, but from the central region C as shown in FIG. Since the separation gas is discharged toward the periphery of the turntable 2, the separation gas is prevented from intruding or is pushed back even if some intrusion occurs, and passes through the central region C to the second processing region P <b> 2 ( Inflow into the first processing region P1) is prevented.

In the separation region D, the peripheral edge of the fan-shaped convex portion 4 is bent downward, and the gap between the bent portion 46 and the outer end surface of the turntable 2 is narrowed as described above, so that the gas Since the passage is substantially blocked, the BTBAS gas in the first processing region P1 (O ₃ gas in the second processing region P2) passes through the outside of the turntable 2 to the second processing region P2 (the first processing region P1). Inflow into the processing region P1) is also prevented. Accordingly, the atmosphere of the first processing region P1 and the atmosphere of the second processing region P2 are completely separated by the two separation regions D, and the BTBAS gas is exhausted to the exhaust port 61 and the O ₃ gas is exhausted to the exhaust port 62, respectively. Is done. As a result, in this example, both BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas are not mixed in the atmosphere or on the wafer. In this example, since the lower side of the turntable 2 is purged with N ₂ gas, the gas flowing into the exhaust region 6 passes through the lower side of the turntable 2 and, for example, BTBAS gas is supplied with O ₃ gas. There is no fear of flowing into the area. When the film forming process is completed in this manner, the wafers are sequentially carried out by the transfer arm 10 by an operation reverse to the carry-in operation.

Here, an example of the processing parameters will be described. When the wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm is used as the substrate to be processed, the rotation speed of the turntable 2 is, for example, 1 rpm to 500 rpm, the process pressure is, for example, 1067 Pa (8 Torr), The heating temperature is 350 ° C., the flow rates of BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas are 100 sccm and 10000 sccm, respectively, the flow rate of N ₂ gas from the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 is 20000 sccm, and the separation gas supply pipe 51 in the center of the vacuum vessel 1. The flow rate of N ₂ gas from is, for example, 5000 sccm. Further, the number of reaction gas supply cycles for one wafer, that is, the number of times the wafer passes through each of the processing regions P1 and P2, varies depending on the target film thickness, but is many times, for example, 600 times.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the plurality of wafers W are arranged in the rotation direction of the turntable 2, and the turntable 2 is rotated so that the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 pass through in order. Since so-called ALD (or MLD) is performed, film formation can be performed with high throughput. A separation region D having a low ceiling surface is provided between the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 in the rotation direction, and the center divided by the rotation center portion of the turntable 2 and the vacuum vessel 1 The separation gas is discharged from the part area C toward the periphery of the turntable 2, and the reaction gas is separated from the periphery of the turntable 2 together with the separation gas diffused on both sides of the separation area D and the separation gas discharged from the center part area C. And the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel are evacuated to prevent mixing of both reaction gases. As a result, a good film forming process can be performed, and reaction is generated on the turntable 2. The generation of particles is suppressed as much as possible by suppressing as little as possible. The present invention can also be applied to the case where one wafer W is placed on the turntable 2.

  Further, the base end sides of the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the second reaction gas nozzle 32 extending in the radial direction of the turntable 2 are supported from below by an inclination adjusting mechanism 25 configured to be movable in the vertical direction. The inclination of the first and second reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 with respect to the horizontal axis can be adjusted. That is, in the configuration in which one end side of the first and second reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is inserted and fixed to the side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1, these gas nozzles are interposed between the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1. A gap is formed in order to insert 31 and 32 smoothly, and an O-ring is provided to fill the gap and maintain airtightness.

  For this reason, one end side of these reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is supported by the O-ring. However, since the O-ring is formed of an elastic body, the reaction gas nozzles 31, 32 are mounted on the O-ring in a configuration in which the entire load of the reaction gas nozzles 31, 32 is supported on one end side of the gas nozzles 31, 32 inserted in the side peripheral walls. As a result, the O-ring is deformed. Accordingly, the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are fixed at a fixed point on one end side of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 while being inclined downward. However, since the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are long, the moment on the tip side increases. Even if the inclination at the fixed point is slight, the degree of sag is increased on the tip side.

  Accordingly, when the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 supports the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 at the base end side in the vacuum vessel from the lower side, the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are O-rings. It is supported not only by r1 and r2, but also by the tilt adjusting mechanism 25, the load applied to the O-rings r1 and r2 and the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 is dispersed, and the support member 26 of the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 is made of aluminum. Since the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are not deformed even when a load is applied, the base ends of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 can be firmly supported.

  Further, since the tilt adjustment mechanism 25 is configured to be able to adjust the mounting position in the vertical direction, when the height of the support position at the support point inside the fixed point of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is adjusted, the above-described adjustment is performed. Thus, the inclination of the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 with respect to the horizontal axis can be adjusted. For this reason, when the tilt adjustment is performed so as to suppress the drooping of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 on the front end side, the length of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 with respect to the surface of the wafer W placed on the surface of the turntable 2 is reduced. You can align the distance. Therefore, when the supply amount of the reaction gas discharged from the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 toward the surface of the turntable 2 is uniform in the length direction of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32, the reaction gas nozzle 31 in the plane of the wafer W is used. , 32, the concentration of the reaction gas supplied from the reaction gas nozzle to the substrate can be adjusted, for example, so that the amount of adsorption of the reaction gas supplied from the reaction gas nozzle toward the substrate can be adjusted in the plane of the substrate. As a result, a favorable film forming process can be performed.

  Further, the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are long, and the gas discharge amount is larger on the proximal end side of the gas nozzles 31 and 32 close to the gas supply source than on the distal end side. In the case where the gas concentration is likely to be low, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the front ends of the first and second reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are placed on the surface of the turntable 2 rather than the base ends. The inclination of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 may be adjusted so as to approach the wafer surface. In this way, the front end side of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is brought closer to the surface of the wafer W than the base end side, so that an environment that is easily adsorbed with the reaction gas is formed. As a result, a favorable film forming process can be performed.

  When performing such ALD or MLD processing, it is preferable to provide the gas nozzles 31 and 32 close to the wafer W in order to quickly adsorb the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 to the wafer W. By adjusting the inclination of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 with respect to the horizontal axis in this way, it is easy to form an environment in which the reaction gas is uniformly adsorbed on the surface of the wafer W, and the tips of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 hang down. Since the contact with W is also suppressed, the configuration of the present invention is particularly effective.

  Also, when the flange 36 of the sleeve 34 is attached to the vacuum vessel 1, the attachment position of the flange 36 is set in the vertical direction by screwing with the position adjusting screw 37 through the position adjusting hole 36a as described above. Can be adjusted. For this reason, when adjusting the inclination of the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32, the adjustment range is increased by combining coarse adjustment of the attachment position of the sleeve 34 and fine adjustment of the attachment position by the inclination adjustment mechanism 25. Can be adjusted with high accuracy. Further, by adjusting the attachment position of the sleeve 34 in advance and then finely adjusting the inclination of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 by the inclination adjustment mechanism 25, the adjustment range performed by the inclination adjustment mechanism 25 is limited to some extent. Can be easily performed.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 may be provided so as to be supported at the central portion in the vacuum vessel 1. In this example, the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are provided horizontally so as to extend from the center side of the rotary table 2 toward the peripheral side in the center of the vacuum vessel 1, and in the example shown in FIG. The base end side of the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 is attached to the protruding portion 5. A recess 5a is formed on the outer wall of the protruding portion 5 to form an insertion hole to which one end side of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is mounted. The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are formed inside the top plate 11 via the recess 5a. A gas flow path 5b to be connected is formed, and the other end side of the gas flow path 5b opens to the outside of the top plate 11, and is connected to the reaction gas supply pipes 31a and 32a through the connection portion 5c. The reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 are supported at their base ends from below by an inclination adjusting mechanism 25A provided in the protruding portion 5, and the inclination with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted. In the figure, r4 and r5 are O-rings.

  In the example shown in FIG. 16, for example, one end side of the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 is attached to the top plate 11. A concave portion 11a is formed on the lower surface of the top plate 11 to form an insertion hole to which one end side of the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 is mounted, and the top plate 11 is connected to the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 via the concave portion 11a. The gas flow path 11b is formed, and the other end of the gas flow path 11b opens to the outside of the top plate 11 and is connected to the reaction gas supply pipes 31a and 32a via the connection portion 11c. The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are supported at their base ends from below by an inclination adjusting mechanism 25B provided in the protruding portion 5, and the inclination with respect to the horizontal axis is adjusted. In the figure, r6 and r7 are O-rings. The tilt adjusting mechanisms 25A and 25B are configured in the same manner as the tilt adjusting mechanism 25 described above.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 need not necessarily adopt the mounting structure of the present invention, and are not limited to the above-described configuration in which the convex portions 44 are disposed on both sides of the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42. As shown in FIG. 17, a separation gas flow chamber 47 is formed inside the convex portion 4 so as to extend in the diameter direction of the turntable 2, and a large number of gases are formed along the length direction at the bottom of the flow chamber 47. A configuration in which the discharge hole 40 is formed may be employed. Furthermore, the heating means for heating the wafer is not limited to a heater using a resistance heating element, and may be a lamp heating device. Instead of being provided on the lower side of the rotary table 2, it is provided on the upper side of the rotary table 2. Alternatively, it may be provided both above and below.

In the above embodiment, the rotary shaft 22 of the turntable 2 is located at the center of the vacuum vessel 1, and the separation gas is purged into the space between the center of the turntable 2 and the upper surface of the vacuum vessel 1. However, the present invention may be configured as shown in FIG. In the film forming apparatus of FIG. 18, the bottom surface portion 14 of the central region of the vacuum vessel 1 protrudes downward to form the accommodating space 80 of the driving unit, and the recess 80 a is formed on the upper surface of the central region of the vacuum vessel 1. The BTBAS gas from the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the second gas are provided between the bottom of the housing space 80 and the upper surface of the concave portion 80a of the vacuum vessel 1 at the center of the vacuum vessel 1 with the support column 81 interposed therebetween. The O ₃ gas from the reactive gas nozzle 32 is prevented from being mixed through the central portion.

Regarding the mechanism for rotating the rotary table 2, a rotary sleeve 82 is provided so as to surround the support column 81, and the ring-shaped rotary table 2 is provided along the rotary sleeve 81. A drive gear portion 84 driven by a motor 83 is provided in the accommodation space 80, and the rotation sleeve 82 is rotated by the drive gear portion 84 via a gear portion 85 formed on the outer periphery of the lower portion of the rotation sleeve 82. Like that. Reference numerals 86, 87 and 88 denote bearings. A purge gas supply pipe 74 is connected to the bottom of the housing space 80, and a purge gas supply pipe 75 for supplying purge gas to the space between the side surface of the recess 80 a and the upper end of the rotary sleeve 82 is provided in the vacuum vessel 1. Connected to the top. In FIG. 18, the openings for supplying purge gas to the space between the side surface of the recess 80 a and the upper end of the rotating sleeve 82 are shown in two places on the left and right. In order to prevent the BTBAS gas and the O ₃ gas from being mixed, it is preferable to design the number of openings (purge gas supply ports).

  In the embodiment of FIG. 18, when viewed from the turntable 2 side, the space between the side surface of the recess 80a and the upper end of the rotary sleeve 82 corresponds to the separation gas discharge hole, and the separation gas discharge hole, rotation The sleeve 82 and the support column 81 constitute a central region located in the central portion of the vacuum vessel 1.

  The present invention is not limited to the use of two types of reaction gases, but when a thin film is formed on a substrate using one type of deposition gas, or when three or more types of reaction gases are sequentially supplied onto the substrate. Can also be applied. For example, when three or more kinds of reaction gases are used, for example, the first reaction gas nozzle, the separation gas nozzle, the second reaction gas nozzle, the separation gas nozzle, the third reaction gas nozzle, and the separation gas nozzle are arranged in the circumferential direction of the vacuum container 1. Each gas nozzle may be arranged, and the separation region including each separation gas nozzle may be configured as in the above-described embodiment. Further, the substrate platform of the present invention may be configured to move relative to the reactive gas nozzle, and the substrate platform is not limited to the rotary table.

In addition to the above-mentioned examples, the processing gas applied in the present invention includes DCS [dichlorosilane], HCD [hexachlorodisilane], TMA [trimethylaluminum], 3DMAS [trisdimethylaminosilane], TEMAZ [tetrakisethylmethylamino]. Zirconium], TEMHF [tetrakisethylmethylaminohafnium], Sr (THD) ₂ [strontium bistetramethylheptanedionato], Ti (MPD) (THD) [titanium methylpentanedionatobistetramethylheptandionato], monoaminosilane And so on.

  A substrate processing apparatus using the film forming apparatus described above is shown in FIG. In FIG. 19, 101 is a sealed transfer container called a hoop that stores, for example, 25 wafers, 102 is an atmospheric transfer chamber in which the transfer arm 103 is disposed, and 104 and 105 are atmospheres between an air atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere. Is a load lock chamber (preliminary vacuum chamber) that can be switched, 106 is a vacuum transfer chamber in which two transfer arms 107 are arranged, and 108 and 109 are film forming apparatuses of the present invention. The transfer container 101 is transferred from the outside to a loading / unloading port equipped with a mounting table (not shown), connected to the atmospheric transfer chamber 102, then opened by an opening / closing mechanism (not shown), and transferred from the transfer container 101 by the transfer arm 103. The wafer is removed. Next, the load lock chamber 104 (105) is loaded and the chamber is switched from the atmospheric atmosphere to the vacuum atmosphere. Thereafter, the wafer is taken out by the transfer arm 107 and loaded into one of the film deposition apparatuses 108 and 109, and the film formation described above is performed. Processed. Thus, for example, by providing a plurality of, for example, two film forming apparatuses of the present invention for processing five sheets, so-called ALD (MLD) can be performed with high throughput.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I ′ of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure inside the said film-forming apparatus. It is a cross-sectional top view of said film-forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process area | region and isolation | separation area | region in said film-forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the attachment structure of the reactive gas nozzle. It is a perspective view which shows a reactive gas nozzle. It is the front view and back view which show the attachment structure of the reactive gas nozzle. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the example of attachment of the reactive gas nozzle. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the example of attachment of the reactive gas nozzle. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of said film-forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that separation gas or purge gas flows. It is a partially broken perspective view of said film-forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the 1st reaction gas and the 2nd reaction gas are isolate | separated by separation gas, and are exhausted. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of the example of attachment of the reactive gas nozzle. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the dimension example of the convex part used for a isolation | separation area | region. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment other than the above of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a part of film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment other than the above of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example of a isolation | separation area | region. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the film-forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment other than the above of this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows an example of the substrate processing system using the film-forming apparatus of this invention. It is the top view and sectional drawing which show an example of the film-forming apparatus provided with the mounting base which rotates and a reactive gas nozzle is provided in the side surrounding wall of a processing container. It is a partial cross section figure which occupies the reactive gas nozzle in the said film-forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vacuum container
W Wafer 11 Top plate 12 Container body 15 Transfer port
2 Rotary table 21 Core portion 24 Recessed portion (substrate mounting region)
25 Inclination adjusting mechanism 26 Support member 27 Hole 28 Recess 29 Inclination adjusting screw 31 First reaction gas nozzle 32 Second reaction gas nozzle 34 Sleeve 35 Cylindrical body 36 Flange 37 Position adjusting screw 38 Inner sleeve 39 Connecting member P1 First Process area P2 Second process area D Separation area C Center area 4 Convex parts 41, 42 Separation gas nozzle 44 First ceiling surface 45 Second ceiling surface 5 Projection 51 Separation gas supply pipe 6 Exhaust areas 61, 62 Exhaust port 7 Heater units 72 to 75 Purge gas supply pipe 81 Strut 82 Rotating sleeve

Claims (11)

In a film forming apparatus for forming a thin film by supplying a reactive gas to the surface of a substrate in a vacuum vessel,
A substrate mounting portion provided in the vacuum vessel for mounting the substrate;
In order to supply the reaction gas to the surface of the substrate mounting portion, it is provided to extend horizontally facing the substrate mounting portion, and one end side thereof is inserted into the insertion hole of the wall portion of the vacuum vessel. Reactive gas nozzle,
Moving means for moving the substrate mounting portion relative to the reactive gas nozzle;
A sealing member provided between one end side of the reaction gas nozzle and the wall of the vacuum vessel, and fixing the one end side of the reaction gas nozzle in a state of maintaining airtightness inside the vacuum vessel;
In order to adjust the inclination of the reaction gas nozzle with respect to the horizontal axis, the inclination adjustment is performed to support a portion of the reaction nozzle closer to the inner space side of the vacuum vessel than the insertion hole and adjust the height of the support position. A film forming apparatus comprising: a mechanism;   The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end side of the reaction nozzle is inserted into an insertion hole formed in a side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel. The tilt adjustment mechanism is
A support member that is formed with a screw hole and supports the reactive gas nozzle from below;
A screw hole drilled in a member forming the inner wall of the vacuum vessel;
An inclination adjusting screw for fixing the support member to the member by being screwed into the screw hole through the hole of the support member,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a dimension of the screw hole in a vertical direction is larger than a screw shaft of the tilt adjusting screw. A sleeve that is provided so as to penetrate the wall of the vacuum vessel, and includes a flange screwed to the outer wall of the vacuum vessel by a position adjusting screw, and a sleeve into which one end of the reaction gas nozzle is inserted;
A sealing member provided between the sleeve and one end side of the reactive gas nozzle, and fixing one end side of the reactive gas nozzle in a state in which the airtightness inside the vacuum vessel is maintained;
A position adjusting hole formed in the flange, through which the position adjusting screw passes, and whose vertical dimension is larger than the screw shaft of the position adjusting screw;
A screw hole drilled in the outer wall of the vacuum vessel and screwed with the position adjusting screw;
The film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flange is screwed to the vacuum vessel by a position adjusting screw through a position adjusting hole.   5. The film forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the member forming the inner wall of the vacuum vessel into which the screw hole into which the tilt adjusting screw is screwed is a sleeve provided on the wall of the vacuum vessel. . The reactive gas nozzle is configured to supply a first reactive gas and a second reactive gas that reacts with the first reactive gas to the surface of the substrate mounting portion, respectively. A first reaction gas nozzle and a second reaction gas nozzle provided so as to be separated from each other in the relative movement direction;
In order to separate the atmosphere of the first processing region to which the first reaction gas is supplied and the second processing region to which the second reaction gas is supplied, it is located between these processing regions in the moving direction. With a separation area,
A first reaction gas and a second reaction gas that react with each other in the vacuum container are sequentially supplied to the surface of the substrate, and a thin film is formed by stacking a number of reaction product layers by executing this supply cycle. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the film forming apparatus is formed. The substrate platform comprises a rotary table having a substrate placement area for placing a substrate on the surface thereof, and the moving means comprises means for rotating the rotary table about a vertical axis,
The first reactive gas nozzle and the second reactive gas nozzle are separated from each other in the rotation direction of the rotary table, and one end side of the first reactive gas nozzle and the second reactive gas nozzle extends horizontally in the radial direction of the rotary table so as to face the rotary table. The film forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the film forming apparatus is inserted into a wall portion of the container.   The separation region is provided with a separation gas supply means for supplying a separation gas, and a narrow space for the separation gas to flow from the separation region to the processing region side on both sides in the rotation direction of the separation gas supply means. The film forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a ceiling surface formed between the rotary table and the rotary table.   9. The separation gas supply means is a separation gas nozzle having one end side inserted into a wall portion of the vacuum vessel so as to extend in a radial direction of the rotation table so as to face the rotation table. The film-forming apparatus of description.   In order to separate the atmospheres of the first processing region and the second processing region, a discharge hole for discharging a separation gas is formed on the substrate mounting surface side of the rotary table, which is located in the center of the vacuum vessel. The film forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a central region.   The film forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the substrate placement areas are provided along a rotation direction of the turntable.

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