JP2010245376A - Cleaning device for contaminated component in nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reaction furnace for a dry cleaning device which is superior in economy by reducing a supply amount of cleaning gas by improving the efficiency of a cleaning processing for an object to be cleaned. <P>SOLUTION: The device for cleaning the contaminated component of a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a reaction chamber 8 having a cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 and a gas exhaust pipe 20, a support means 4 of supporting the contaminated component 22 in the reaction chamber 8, heat shielding members 7a, 7b configured to hold the contaminated component 22 at high temperature in the reaction chamber 8, and a heating means 3 of heating the inside of the reaction chamber 8, the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 being arranged at a lower position in the reaction chamber 8. Consequently, the cleaning gas supplied from a lower part in the reaction chamber 8 is heated by the heating means 3 to move up and then efficiently react on contaminants on the contaminated component 22, thereby efficiently cleaning the contaminated component 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for contaminated parts in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more specifically, cleaning of contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that cleans nitride adhering to a member other than a wafer during the manufacture of a nitride semiconductor. Relates to the device.

Nitride semiconductors used for electronic components such as blue light emitting diodes are made by laminating nitrides such as gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium aluminum nitride (AlGaN) on the surface of a wafer such as a sapphire substrate in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. It is configured. When manufacturing a nitride semiconductor, it is necessary to laminate a nitride thin film with a uniform thickness on a wafer. Conventionally, a material gas is sprayed so as to laminate nitride uniformly on the surface of a wafer. Ingenuity has been made.
Examples of the source gas include organometallic gases such as trimethylgallium (TMG) and trimethylaluminum (TMA) and hydrogen compounds such as ammonia, phosphine, and arsine.

However, the source gas is sprayed not only on the surface of the wafer but also on components other than the wafer, such as a wafer tray for holding the wafer in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In addition, parts such as a flow channel for supplying a raw material gas are extremely frequently in contact with the raw material gas. For this reason, there is a problem that contaminants are easily stacked on the surfaces of parts other than these wafers and must be cleaned periodically.
Usually, these parts other than the wafer are cleaned by hydrogen cleaning or phosphoric acid cleaning. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, hydrogen cleaning is a method in which, for example, a wafer tray is maintained at a high temperature of 1000 ° C. or higher while hydrogen is passed through, and phosphoric acid cleaning is performed in a cleaning apparatus separate from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. In this method, a flow path forming component such as a flow channel removed from a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus or a component having a complicated shape is immersed in heated phosphoric acid for cleaning.

  However, in the case of hydrogen cleaning, since the wafer tray must be kept at a high temperature of 1000 ° C. or higher, there is a problem that the wafer tray may be thermally deformed. Further, in the case of cleaning with phosphoric acid, since toxic phosphoric acid is heated and used, there is a problem that the cleaning worker is exposed to danger by the vapor of phosphoric acid.

  In order to solve such problems, there has been proposed a cleaning apparatus and method that allow an operator to work safely without damaging components such as a wafer tray (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, the cleaning apparatus shown in Patent Document 1 is implemented as having a structure as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a conventional cleaning apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  The cleaning device 101 includes a reaction tube 102 and a heating device 103. The reaction tube 102 is a cylindrical member having a first lid 104 and a second lid 105 attached and fixed at both ends, and a reaction chamber 106 is formed inside. In the reaction chamber 106, a support member 107 and two heat shield plates 108 are provided.

The first lid 104 has a cleaning gas introduction pipe 109 that supplies a cleaning gas into the reaction chamber 106 at the center when viewed from the front. For example, a chlorine-based gas is used as the cleaning gas. The second lid portion 105 has a gas exhaust pipe 110 that exhausts the reaction product gas generated by the reaction between the cleaning gas and the contaminants in the contaminated parts in the reaction chamber 106 at the center when viewed from the front. is doing.
The support member 107 is a member for supporting the contaminated component 111 and arranging the contaminated component 111 at a predetermined position in the reaction chamber 106. The heat shield plates 108 are provided on both the left and right sides of the support member 107. The temperature in the reaction chamber 106 can be increased in a short time.

  In the conventional cleaning apparatus 101 having such a configuration, the contaminated component 111 to which the contaminant is attached is placed on the support member 107 by an appropriate method, and then the reaction apparatus 106 is heated to an appropriate temperature of 500 to 1000 ° C. by the heating apparatus 103. Until heated. Thereafter, the cleaning gas introduced from the cleaning gas introduction pipe 109 into the reaction chamber 106 by the start of the supply of the cleaning gas reacts with contaminants attached to the contaminated component 111 to generate a reaction product. Since the temperature in the reaction chamber 106 has risen to an appropriate temperature of 500 to 1000 ° C., the reaction product is vaporized immediately after generation to become a reaction product gas and is discharged from the gas discharge pipe 110.

JP 2006-332201

However, the cleaning device of Patent Document 1 has a problem that the time required for cleaning the contaminated parts becomes long.
This is because, for example, in the cleaning apparatus of Patent Document 1, the cleaning gas introduced into the reaction chamber 106 from the cleaning gas introduction pipe 109 is disposed in the vicinity of the first lid 104 in FIG. The cleaning gas that collides with 108 and diverts in the A direction and the B direction. Of the diverted cleaning gas, only the cleaning gas that has flowed in the B direction further flows in the B1 direction. This is because the cleaning efficiency is very poor.

  The fact that most of the cleaning gas flowing in the direction A cannot be used for cleaning the contaminated part 111 is that the conventional cleaning apparatus 101 is that the heated cleaning gas moves from the lower part to the upper part of the reaction chamber 106 by heat convection. This is because the cleaning gas that has been used and has already flowed above the contaminated component 111 in the reaction chamber 106 does not flow downward. Also, the cleaning gas that has flowed in the B direction does not flow in the B1 direction, and all of the gas heated in the reaction chamber 106 flows in the B2 direction, so that the efficiency of the cleaning process is deteriorated and the cleaning time is long. It has become a cause.

  Although the problem that the cleaning time becomes long can be solved by increasing the supply amount of the cleaning gas, in this case, a large amount of cleaning gas that has not been used for cleaning the contaminants is discharged. In this case, since the chlorine-based gas used as the cleaning gas has strong toxicity, it is necessary to increase the size of the facility for performing the detoxification process of the gas discharged from the reaction chamber 106. For this reason, the cost required for installation and maintenance of facilities becomes very large, which causes a problem of being uneconomical. Further, there is a problem that the cost of the cleaning process increases due to an increase in the supply amount of the cleaning gas.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and it is possible to shorten the cleaning time by efficiently performing the cleaning process of the contaminated parts, and it is also possible to reduce the supply amount of the cleaning gas, An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus for contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus excellent in economic efficiency.

The present invention
(1) An apparatus for cleaning contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a reaction chamber having a cleaning gas introduction pipe and a gas discharge pipe, a support means for supporting the contaminated parts in the reaction chamber, and reacting the contaminated parts A contaminated part in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a heat shielding member for maintaining a high temperature in the chamber; and a heating means for heating the reaction chamber, wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is disposed in a lower portion of the reaction chamber Cleaning equipment,
(2) The apparatus for cleaning contaminated parts in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to (1), wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is arranged so that the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is positioned below the support means,
(3) A cleaning apparatus for contaminated parts in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to (2), wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is curved so that the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe rises toward the lower surface of the support means.
(4) Heat shield members are provided on both the left and right sides of the support means, and the space between one heat shield member and the other heat shield member is configured as a reaction region where contaminants and cleaning gas in contaminated parts react. A contaminated part cleaning apparatus in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3),
(5) The cleaning gas introduction pipe is led into the reaction region through the vicinity of the lower part of the heat shield member, and the cleaning gas introduction pipe is disposed so that the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is located below the support means (4) A cleaning apparatus for contaminated parts in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus described above,
(6) The reaction chamber has a horizontal hollow cylindrical shape, the cleaning device for contaminated parts in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5),
Is the gist.

  According to the present invention, since the cleaning gas introduction pipe is arranged at the lower part of the reaction chamber, the cleaning gas supplied into the reaction chamber does not collide with the heat shield member and is not shunted, and is always supplied from the lower part of the reaction chamber. Is done. The introduced cleaning gas is heated by the heating means in the reaction chamber and moves from the lower side to the upper side of the contaminated part, so that more cleaning gas can be used for cleaning the contaminated part and the cleaning time is dramatically increased. Thus, the efficiency of the cleaning process can be improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the cleaning gas introduction pipe is arranged so that the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is positioned below the support means, more cleaning gas can be moved from below to above the contaminated part. Thus, the cleaning time can be further shortened, and the efficiency of the cleaning process can be further improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is curved so as to rise toward the lower surface of the support means, the flow direction of the cleaning gas supplied from the cleaning gas introduction pipe is changed to the lower surface of the support means. Or even towards the contaminated part supported by the support means. Therefore, it becomes possible to flow more cleaning gas toward the contaminated part, and it is possible to further improve the efficiency of the cleaning process for the contaminated part.

  Further, according to the present invention, the heat shield members are provided on both the left and right sides of the support means, and the reaction between the contaminated parts and the cleaning gas reacts in the space between the one heat shield member and the other heat shield member. Since it is configured as a region, heat in the reaction region is not released outside the reaction region, and the temperature in the reaction region can be raised to a predetermined temperature and maintained in a short time. This makes it possible to more efficiently clean the contaminated parts in the reaction region, and to perform the cleaning process in a short time.

  Also, according to the present invention, the cleaning gas introduction pipe is led into the reaction region through the vicinity of the lower part of the heat shield member, and the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is disposed below the support means. More cleaning gas can be moved from the lower side to the upper side of the contaminated part, and the cleaning process of the contaminated part can be performed more efficiently.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the reaction chamber has a horizontal hollow cylindrical shape, the strength of the reaction chamber when evacuated can be increased, and there is a problem such as deformation when the reaction chamber is evacuated. It becomes possible to prevent.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it becomes possible to dramatically improve the efficiency of the cleaning process for contaminated parts. Can also be maintained. Therefore, when cleaning with the same level of cleaning power as before, the supply amount of cleaning gas can be greatly reduced, so the detoxification treatment that makes the reaction product gas and cleaning gas discharged from the cleaning device harmless. The facility can be downsized, and the cost required for the facility and the cleaning process can be greatly reduced.

It is a conceptual diagram showing the reaction tube of the washing | cleaning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the model showing the internal structure of the washing | cleaning apparatus, and the flow of washing | cleaning gas. It is the schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the conventional cleaning apparatus, and the flow of cleaning gas.

  A contaminated parts cleaning apparatus in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a reaction tube of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the cleaning apparatus and a flow of cleaning gas and reaction product gas.

  The cleaning device 1 includes a reaction tube 2 and a heating device 3 as a pair of heating means provided around the reaction tube 2 from above and below. The reaction tube 2 is a cylindrical member having a horizontal hollow cylindrical shape having flanges at both ends, and is made of, for example, quartz. Support means 4 for supporting the contaminated component 22 is provided inside the reaction tube 2. The support means 4 includes a holding member 5 and a support base 6, and heat shield plates 7 a and 7 b are provided on both the left and right sides of the support means 4. A reaction chamber 8 is formed inside the reaction tube 2, and a space between one heat shield plate 7 a and the other heat shield plate 7 b is configured as a reaction region 9 in the reaction chamber 8. ing. This reaction region 9 is a region where contaminants described later and cleaning gas react.

  The holding member 5 is a member for holding a contaminated component 22 described later, and is formed of, for example, carbon or quartz. The holding member 5 is configured to support the contaminated component 22 placed by an appropriate method and to hold the state. The configuration for holding the contaminated component 22 can be realized, for example, by providing a groove 5 a into which a part of the contaminated component 22 can be inserted on the surface of the holding member 5 and inserting the contaminated component 22 into the groove 5 a. This holding method may be any method and is not limited to the example described above.

  Further, the holding member 5 is formed with a plurality of through holes 5b so that the cleaning gas supplied from below can easily flow upward. As a result, the cleaning gas can easily come into contact with the contaminated component 22 held by the holding member 5, and the cleaning process of the contaminated component 22 can be performed efficiently. The shape of the through hole 5b is not particularly limited as long as the holding member 5 can maintain the strength capable of holding the contaminated component 22. For example, the shape of the through hole 5b may be a square or a round shape. In addition to forming the through holes 5b in the holding member 5, the holding member 5 may be formed in a lattice shape.

  The support bases 6 are bases for mounting the holding member 5 in the reaction chamber 8, and are provided in pairs at positions where both ends of the holding member 5 can be supported. These support bases 6 are formed by bending one end portion and the other end portion of a plate material at right angles in opposite directions. In FIG. 2, one support frame 6 that supports the left end portion of the holding member 5 has an upper end that is one end portion of a vertically extending plate member extending rightward toward the left end portion of the holding member 5, and the other end. The lower end portion which is a portion is bent at a right angle so as to extend leftward toward the heat shield plate 7a. The lower end portion is provided with a groove (not shown) having a size capable of fitting with the heat shield plate 7a. In addition, a hole 6a having a size capable of inserting a cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 to be described later is formed in a vertically extending portion formed between the upper end portion and the lower end portion. In FIG. 2, the other support frame 6 that supports the right end portion of the holding member 5 has an upper end portion of a vertically extending plate material extending leftward toward the right end portion of the holding member 5, and a lower end portion blocking. It is bent so as to extend rightward toward the hot plate 7b. The lower end portion is provided with a groove (not shown) having a size capable of fitting with the heat shield plate 7b. The upper ends of these support bases 6 are formed so as to have a planar shape, and are formed so that the holding member 5 can be placed thereon. Further, the lower end portion of the support frame 6 is also formed to be planar, and is formed so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of the reaction tube 2.

  In addition, if the support frame 6 can be provided in the reaction tube 2 and can hold | maintain the holding member 5, the structure will not be specifically limited. For example, a pair of leg members formed of carbon or quartz are provided in the longitudinal direction in the reaction tube 2 and two rails made of carbon extending in the longitudinal direction in the reaction tube 2 are installed and fixed on the leg members, A support frame for supporting the heat shielding plate and the contaminated parts may be placed on the rail. In addition, the shape of the support frame at this time is not particularly limited, and the support frame of the heat shield plate and the support frame of the contaminated part may be made separate or integrated.

The heat shield plates 7 a and 7 b are for holding the contaminated parts at a high temperature in the reaction chamber 6, and are provided on the left and right sides of the holding member 5. One heat shield plate 7 a is provided between the holding member 5 and the first lid 10 and at a position near the holding member 5, for example, a groove (not shown) whose lower end portion is formed in one support frame 6. It is fixed by being fitted to. The other heat shield plate 7b is provided between the holding member 5 and the second lid 11 and near the holding member 5, for example, a groove (not shown) having a lower end formed in the other support frame 6. It is fixed by being fitted to. An opening 7c is formed in the lower part of one heat shield plate 7a. The opening 7c is formed in such a size that a cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 to be described later can be inserted into the reaction region 9 in the reaction chamber 8 through the vicinity of the lower part of the heat shield plate 7a.
These heat shield plates 7a and 7b are formed of a member that can efficiently raise the temperature when the inside of the reaction chamber 8 is heated by the heating device 3, and is formed of, for example, carbon. .

  Further, gaps 12 and 13 are provided between the upper end surfaces of the heat shield plates 7 a and 7 b and the upper inner peripheral surface of the reaction tube 2. The gap portion 12 is provided between the heat shield plate 7a and the upper inner peripheral surface of the reaction tube 2, and is a first space portion formed between a first lid 10 and a heat shield plate 7a described later. 14 is formed so as to communicate with 14. The gap 13 is provided between the heat shield 7b and the upper inner peripheral surface of the reaction tube 2, and is a second space formed between the second lid 11 and the heat shield 7b described later. 15 is formed so as to communicate with 15.

  Note that the vicinity of the lower portion of the heat shield plate in this specification includes not only the lower portion of the heat shield plate but also the lower portion of the heat shield plate. That is, the opening 7c located near the lower portion of the heat shield plate 7a only needs to be formed so that the cleaning gas introduction pipe is led into the reaction region. For example, the cleaning gas introduction pipe is provided below the heat shield plate 7c. This can be realized by forming an opening hole or a recess having a size that can be inserted. Further, a gap may be provided between the lower end surface of the heat shield plate 7a and the lower inner peripheral surface of the reaction tube 2, and a cleaning gas introduction pipe may be inserted into this gap. In this case, the cleaning gas introduction pipe is located below the heat shield plate 7a.

  In the reaction tube 2, the first lid 10 is fixed to the flange on one side with a bolt, and the second lid 11 is fixed to the flange on the other side with a bolt. The reaction tube 2 is configured to have a sealed structure by fixing the first lid body 10 and the second lid body 11.

  The first lid 10 is made of a metal such as stainless steel, and has a cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 at a position shifted in the radial direction from the center when the first lid 10 is viewed from the front. The cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 is formed of a metal pipe using an appropriate metal such as copper, for example. The cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 enters the reaction chamber 8 from the first lid 10 and is further formed in the vicinity of the lower portion of the heat shield plate 7a. It is inserted and fixed in a state of being guided into the reaction region 9 through the portion 7c.

The distal end portion 16 a of the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 is disposed at the lower part in the reaction chamber 8, and specifically, is disposed so as to be positioned below the holding member 5. Further, the distal end portion 16 a is curved so as to rise toward the lower surface of the holding member 5, and is formed so that the cleaning gas can easily flow toward the contaminated component 22.
The positional relationship in the height direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2) between the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 and the contaminated part 22 can be distributed evenly with respect to the contaminated part 22 accommodated in the reaction chamber 8. It is preferable to provide a certain interval.
Further, the positional relationship between the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 and the contaminated component 22 in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) is arranged such that the tip end portion 16a is located on the hole 6a side below the support frame 6, and the tip end portion It is preferable that an interval is provided between 16 a and the gas discharge pipe 20 so that the cleaning gas can be evenly distributed to the contaminated parts 22 accommodated in the reaction chamber 8.

  The rear end of the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 is connected to the cleaning gas supply device 17. The cleaning gas supply device 17 is a device that supplies a cleaning gas supplied into the reaction chamber 8 to clean the contaminants in the contaminated component 22 and can be sequentially supplied into the reaction tube 2 through the cleaning gas introduction tube 16. It has become. The cleaning gas supply device 17 includes a chlorine-based gas supply unit 18 that supplies a chlorine-based gas that is a main component of the cleaning gas, and a dilution gas supply unit 19 that dilutes the chlorine-based gas. It can be obtained by mixing chlorine gas and dilution gas. The cleaning ability of the cleaning gas can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the concentration of the chlorine-based gas in the cleaning gas.

Here, as the chlorine-based gas used for the cleaning gas, Cl ₂ (chlorine), HC ₁ , SiCl ₄ , SiHCl ₃ , SiH ₂ Cl ₂ , SiH ₃ Cl, BCl ₃ , CHCl ₃ , CH ₂ Cl ₂ , CH ₃ one or more mixtures of compounds containing chlorine in the molecule such as Cl is used, but consideration of chlorine prices are particularly preferred.

  Moreover, as gas used as dilution gas, the 1 type, or 2 or more types of mixed gas of the arbitrary gas which does not react with chlorine gas, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, argon, and air, can be used.

  Furthermore, the chlorine-based gas concentration in the cleaning gas is set to 0.1% by volume or more. Even if the chlorine-based gas concentration is less than 0.1% by volume, the contaminants react with the chlorine-based gas in the cleaning gas, but the reaction rate becomes slow and the practicality becomes poor. On the other hand, the higher the chlorine-based gas concentration, the higher the cleaning ability. However, if the chlorine-based gas concentration is too high, there is a risk that the parts themselves corrode.

  The second lid 11 is made of a metal such as stainless steel, and has a gas discharge pipe 20 at the center when the second lid 11 is viewed from the front. The reaction product gas is a gas that is generated when the cleaning gas comes into contact with the contaminants in the contaminated part 22, and includes a cleaning gas that is discharged without being used for cleaning the contaminated part 22. In some cases. One end of the gas discharge pipe 20 is inserted and fixed to the second lid 11, and the other end is connected to the detoxification treatment device 21, and the reaction product gas discharged from the reaction chamber 8 is detoxified. It is a metal pipe such as a copper pipe to be transferred to the device 21. The detoxification treatment device 21 is a device for detoxifying components harmful to the human body such as a chlorine-based gas contained in the reaction product gas.

  The contaminated component 22 is an object to be cleaned in which a contaminant such as a nitride thin film adheres when a nitride thin film is formed on the surface of the wafer, such as a wafer tray or a flow channel. In the cleaning apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to clean the contaminated component 22 in any shape. However, in this specification, as an example of the contaminated component 22, contaminants adhere to the surface. This will be described using the plate material.

  Next, the operation of the cleaning device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In the cleaning apparatus 1, the holding member 5 is normally placed on the support frame 6 in the reaction chamber 8, and the first lid body 10 and the second lid body 11 are attached and sealed. When cleaning the contaminated part 22, first, the holding member 5 is taken out from the reaction chamber 8. This operation is arranged so as to face the first lid 10 and the heat shield plate 7a arranged to face the first lid 10, or the second lid 11 and the second lid 11. Remove any of the heat shield plates 7b. Then, the holding member 5 placed on the support frame 6 is taken out from the reaction chamber 8.

Next, the contaminated component 22 is held on the holding member 5. At this time, it is preferable that the holding member 5 can be disposed so that the cleaning gas efficiently contacts the surface of the contaminated component 22 during cleaning. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement can be realized by slightly inclining the contaminated component 22, but it may be easy to come into contact with the cleaning gas depending on other arrangements. .
When the contaminated component 22 is placed on the holding member 5, the holding member 5 is accommodated in the reaction chamber 8 of the reaction tube 2 and placed on the support frame 6. Then, after the removed heat shield plates 7a and 7b are attached and fixed by an appropriate method, the removed flange is bolted and the reaction tube 2 is sealed.

  Next, the inside of the reaction chamber 8 is heated to a temperature arbitrarily set within the range of 500 to 1000 ° C. by the heating device 3. At this time, in the reaction chamber 8, one heat shield plate 7 a and the other heat shield plate 7 b are disposed opposite to both sides of the holding member 5, and the first space portion 14 and the second space portion 15 are formed from the reaction region 9. Therefore, the reaction chamber 8 can be heated to a predetermined temperature in a short time. When the reaction chamber 8 reaches a predetermined temperature, the cleaning gas is supplied into the reaction chamber 8 from the cleaning gas supply device 17 through the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16. At this time, the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 is positioned below the contaminated component 22 and the opening portion faces upward, that is, the tip end portion 16a rises toward the lower surface of the holding member 5 and moves toward the contaminated component 22. Since it is curved so as to face, the cleaning gas ejected from the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 can be forcibly supplied in the direction in which the contaminated component 22 is disposed.

  At this time, since the reaction chamber 8 is heated to a predetermined temperature, the cleaning gas itself supplied into the reaction chamber 8 is also heated, and heat convection is generated in the reaction chamber 8. Accordingly, when the cleaning gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 8, it sequentially flows in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2, and flows through the through hole 5b in the direction in which the contaminated component 22 is disposed.

  Note that the temperature of the reaction chamber 8 is set to 500 ° C. or higher because the reaction product (chloride in this embodiment) generated by contact of the cleaning gas with the contamination in the contaminated component 22 is vaporized and discharged. It is to do. Moreover, the temperature within the range of 500 to 1000 ° C. is not practical because the rate of vaporizing chloride is slow when the temperature is less than 500 ° C., and when the temperature exceeds 1000 ° C., the contaminated parts This is because 22 may be thermally deformed. However, even if the temperature exceeds 1000 ° C., the contaminated component 22 may be heated to a temperature exceeding 1000 ° C. if it is not thermally deformed.

  Thus, the cleaning gas in which the heat convection is generated by the shape of the cleaning gas introduction pipe 16 and the heating device 3 passes through the through-hole 5b of the holding member 5 as shown by the arrows in FIG. Contact with contaminants on the surface. This contaminant reacts when the cleaning gas comes into contact, and chloride is generated. Since this chloride is vaporized immediately after generation due to the high temperature in the reaction chamber 8, the contaminated component 22 is cleaned by removing the contaminant from the surface by contact with the cleaning gas. On the other hand, the vaporized reaction product gas flows above the contaminated part 22 by thermal convection, passes through the gap portion 13 and flows into the second space portion 15, and further passes through the second space portion 15 to discharge gas. It flows into the pipe 20 and is taken into the detoxification processing device 21 to be detoxified.

  The contaminated part 22 cleaned by such a method is taken out from the reaction chamber 8 after cleaning. When the contaminated part 22 is taken out, first, the reaction chamber 8 is evacuated and then nitrogen gas is sealed. This vacuuming and nitrogen gas sealing are performed several times as necessary. As a result, the cleaning gas and the reaction product gas remaining in the reaction chamber 8 are removed, and the first lid 10 and the heat shielding plate 7a arranged to face the first lid 10 or the second lid 10 are disposed. Any one of the heat shield 7b disposed so as to face the lid 11 and the second lid 11 is removed. Then, the holding member 5 placed on the support frame 6 is taken out from the reaction chamber 8. Thereafter, the contaminated component 22 placed on the holding member 5 is removed.

  The contaminated component 22 in the present specification is not limited to a wafer tray or a flow channel as long as it is necessary to remove contaminants in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

Example 1
In Example 1, an experiment of the cleaning treatment capability was performed using the cleaning apparatus 1 shown in FIG. Here, the reaction tube 2 having an inner diameter of 360 mm and a total length of 1100 mm was used, and the cleaning gas introduction tube 16 having an inner diameter of 6 mm was used. Moreover, the contaminated part 22 used what about 1g of contaminants adhered.
The temperature of the reaction chamber 8 was heated to 800 ° C., and the cleaning gas was supplied into the reaction tube 2 for 30 minutes. At this time, a mixed gas of chlorine and nitrogen was used as the cleaning gas, and the gas flow rates were such that chlorine was 300 milliliters per minute and nitrogen was 3 liters per minute. After the cleaning process, the temperature of the reaction chamber 8 was cooled to about room temperature, nitrogen gas was sealed in the reaction tube 2 and replaced with nitrogen, and then the contaminated part 22 was taken out of the reaction tube 2. And the state of the taken-out contaminated component 22 was confirmed.

  Regarding the removal of contaminants adhering to the contaminated part 22, the weight of the contaminated part 22 before the cleaning process and the weight of the contaminated part 22 after the cleaning process are measured and removed from the difference between the measured values before and after the cleaning process. The amount of contaminated material was calculated. Then, the contaminant removal efficiency was calculated by dividing the amount of contaminants calculated by the amount of contaminants attached before the cleaning treatment (about 1 g in this example) and multiplying that value by a percentage.

  As a result of the cleaning process performed by the cleaning apparatus 1 of Example 1, the contaminants that could not be removed by wiping before the cleaning process adhered to the surface of the contaminated component 22, but were easily wiped off after the cleaning process. The product adhered to the surface of the contaminated part 22, and it was very easy to remove the contaminant. The removal efficiency of contaminants determined after wiping and removing this reaction product was about 99%. Further, the state of the contaminated part 22 after the cleaning treatment was very good since the contaminants were removed.

(Example 2)
In Example 2, an experiment on the cleaning ability was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. In Example 2, the cleaning treatment time was 60 minutes.
As a result of performing the cleaning process, contaminants that could not be removed by wiping before the cleaning process adhered to the surface of the contaminated part 22, but after the cleaning process, a powdery reaction product that is easy to wipe off is a surface of the contaminated part 22 It was in a state where it was very easy to remove contaminants. The removal efficiency of contaminants determined after wiping and removing this reaction product was about 99%. Further, the state of the contaminated part 22 after the cleaning treatment was very good since the contaminants were removed.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Comparative Example 1, an experiment of cleaning ability was performed under the same conditions as Example 1 using the cleaning apparatus of FIG. As a result of the cleaning process, contaminants that could not be removed by wiping before the cleaning process adhered to the surface of the contaminated part 22, but after the cleaning process, a powdery reaction product that was easy to wipe off was found on the surface of the contaminated part. It was in a state where it was easy to remove contaminants. However, the contaminant removal efficiency obtained after wiping and removing the reaction product was about 73%, and a part of the contaminant remained unreacted.

(Comparative Example 2)
In Comparative Example 2, an experiment on the cleaning ability was performed in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1. In Comparative Example 2, the cleaning treatment time was 60 minutes.
As a result of the cleaning process, contaminants that could not be removed by wiping before the cleaning process adhered to the surface of the contaminated part, but after the cleaning process, a powdery reaction product that is easy to wipe off is present on the surface of the contaminated part. Accumulated and easily contaminated. The removal efficiency of contaminants determined after wiping and removing this reaction product was about 98%.

As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of this embodiment, it is possible to remove about 99% of contaminants 30 minutes after the start of the cleaning process, and contaminants can be removed even if the cleaning process time is 60 minutes. Was identical to 99%. For this reason, in the cleaning apparatus of the present embodiment, the cleaning process can be performed for 30 minutes so that the contaminants in the contaminated component 22 can be wiped and removed, and part of the reaction chamber can be used during the cleaning process. It becomes possible to evaporate as reaction product gas by heating within 8.
On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, it is necessary to perform a cleaning process for 60 minutes in order to remove 98% of contaminants from contaminated parts. Moreover, even if it is a case where a washing process is performed for 60 minutes, like Example 1 and 2, the removal efficiency of a contaminant cannot be improved to 99%. Therefore, the cleaning apparatuses 1 according to the first and second embodiments can not only shorten the cleaning processing time but also improve the cleaning power.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cleaning apparatus 2 Reaction tube 3 Heating device 4 Support means 5 Holding member 6 Support stand 7a, 7b Heat shield plate 8 Reaction chamber 9 Reaction area 16 Cleaning gas introduction pipe 16a Tip part 17 Gas discharge pipe 22 Contamination parts

Claims (6)

  An apparatus for cleaning contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a reaction chamber having a cleaning gas introduction pipe and a gas exhaust pipe; support means for supporting the contaminated parts in the reaction chamber; An apparatus for cleaning contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a heat shielding member for holding the heating chamber; and heating means for heating the reaction chamber, wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is disposed in a lower portion of the reaction chamber .   2. The apparatus for cleaning a contaminated part in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is arranged so that the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is positioned below the support means.   The apparatus for cleaning a contaminated part in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning gas introducing pipe is curved so that the front end portion thereof rises toward the lower surface of the support means.   A heat shield member is provided on both the left and right sides of the support means, and a space between one heat shield member and the other heat shield member is configured as a reaction region where contaminants and cleaning gas in a contaminated part react. A cleaning apparatus for contaminated parts in the nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 3.   The nitride according to claim 4, wherein the cleaning gas introduction pipe is led into the reaction region through the vicinity of the lower portion of the heat shield member, and the tip of the cleaning gas introduction pipe is disposed below the support means. Cleaning equipment for contaminated parts in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.   6. The apparatus for cleaning contaminated parts in a nitride semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reaction chamber has a horizontal hollow cylindrical shape.

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