JP2011066254A - Substrate treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve uniformity in the in-plane temperature distribution of a substrate in a heat treatment apparatus by means of a microwave. <P>SOLUTION: A substrate treatment apparatus is equipped with: a treatment chamber 201 to treat the substrate; a substrate supporter 5 to support the substrate in the treatment chamber; a gate 9 to open and close a substrate bringing in/out port 10 on the wall surface of the treatment chamber, and to constitute a part of an inner wall surface in the treatment chamber when the substrate bringing in/out port 10 is closed; and a microwave supplier 4 to supply the microwave into the treatment chamber. Among the inner wall surfaces in the treatment chamber, a side 8 connecting the side 7 opposite to the treatment surface of the substrate W supported to the substrate supporter 5 and the side 9 constituted by the gate are formed as declined to the treatment surface of the substrate W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate.

  A conventional substrate processing apparatus that performs one step of a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device such as a DRAM or an IC includes a processing chamber that processes a substrate, a substrate support that supports the substrate in the processing chamber, and a wall surface of the processing chamber Open / close the substrate loading / unloading opening, and when the substrate loading / unloading port is closed, an opening / closing portion constituting a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, and a microwave for supplying microwaves to the processing chamber And a supply unit. In the substrate processing step according to the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the microwave supplied from the microwave supply unit is reflected and diffused by the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, and the substrate supported on the substrate support unit is irradiated to the substrate. Was heating.

  In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, the number of times the microwave reflected from the uneven portion such as the opening wall constituting the substrate loading / unloading port hits the inner wall surface of the processing chamber several times without directly hitting the outer edge of the substrate. By reflecting the light, it was uniformly irradiated over the surface of the substrate, and the substrate was heated uniformly.

  However, in the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate may be reduced. That is, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, when the substrate is enlarged, the substrate and the uneven portion such as the opening wall become closer. And the microwave reflected from uneven parts, such as the said opening wall, will not be irradiated uniformly over the surface of the said board | substrate by hitting the outer edge part of the said board | substrate directly. As a result, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate may be reduced.

  An object of this invention is to provide the substrate processing apparatus which can improve the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of a board | substrate.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, the substrate is opened and closed while a processing chamber that processes the substrate, a substrate support that supports the substrate in the processing chamber, and a substrate loading / unloading opening that opens in a wall surface of the processing chamber. When the loading / unloading port is closed, an opening / closing portion that constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, and a microwave supply portion that supplies microwaves to the processing chamber, the inner wall surface of the processing chamber is provided. Among these, the surface connecting the surface facing the processing surface of the substrate supported on the substrate support portion and the surface constituting the opening / closing portion is configured obliquely with respect to the processing surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus is provided.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention can improve the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the substrate.

1 is an external perspective view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the upper surface perspective view which looked at the processing furnace concerning this embodiment from the upper surface. It is the front perspective view which looked at the processing furnace concerning this embodiment from the vacuum conveyance room side. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the processing furnace which concerns on this embodiment. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of the processing furnace of FIG. It is the upper surface perspective view which looked at the conventional processing furnace from the upper surface. It is the front perspective view which looked at the conventional processing furnace from the vacuum conveyance chamber side. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the conventional processing furnace. It is the sectional view on the AA line of the processing furnace of FIG.

<One Embodiment of the Present Invention>
(1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus A configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

(Schematic configuration of substrate processing apparatus)
As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment is divided into a vacuum side and an atmosphere side. On the vacuum side, three substrate processing modules MD1, MD2 and MD3 constituting a plurality of lines are provided in parallel.

  The substrate processing modules MD1, MD2 and MD3 are respectively connected in-line and have a processing chamber PM1, a PM2 having a processing chamber 202 and a PM3 having a processing chamber 203, which are vacuum-tight, and these processing furnaces PM1, PM2. In addition, vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 as front chambers are provided in front of PM3 and PM3, respectively. On the atmosphere side, an atmosphere transfer chamber LM connected to the vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3, and substrate storage portions LP1, LP2, and LP3 connected to the atmosphere transfer chamber LM are provided.

(Processing furnace)
The processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3 are configured so that the wafers W to be processed can be stored in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203, respectively. In the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3, a heating unit that will be described later for heating the wafers W in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203, a gas exhaust unit that will be described later for exhausting the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203, and each process In the chambers 201, 202, and 203, there are provided gas supply units, which will be described later, for supplying a predetermined processing gas.

  In the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3, the wafers W in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 are heated to predetermined processing temperatures, respectively, and the pressures in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 are exhausted to predetermined processing pressures, respectively. However, by supplying a predetermined processing gas into the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203, for example, a thin film forming process such as an oxide film nitride film or a metal-containing film on the wafer W, oxidation of the surface of the wafer W is performed. Alternatively, predetermined processes such as a nitriding process and an etching process can be performed. Each of the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 is configured such that the above-described substrate processing can be batch-processed on the wafer W.

  In this embodiment, as will be described later, the microwaves supplied into the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 are reflected and diffused by the inner wall surfaces of the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203, and are irradiated onto the wafer W. W is heated. The detailed configuration of the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 will be described later.

(Vacuum transfer chamber)
Vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 are connected to the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3, respectively, so that they can communicate with each other. Between the processing furnace PM1 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, a gate valve G1 is provided as an opening / closing part. A gate valve G2 as an opening / closing part is provided between the processing furnace PM2 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL2. A gate valve G3 as an opening / closing part is provided between the processing furnace PM3 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL3. The inside of the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, the inside of VL2, and the inside of VL3 are configured to be evacuated.

  The pressures in the vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 are configured to be the same as the pressures (processing pressures) in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 of the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3, respectively. Yes. The vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 are each connected so as to be able to communicate with the atmospheric transfer chamber LM on the atmosphere side. The vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 and the atmospheric transfer chamber LM are connected by gate valves G4, G5, and G6, respectively.

  In the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, a vacuum transfer unit VR1 for transferring (vacuum transfer) the wafer W between the atmosphere transfer chamber LM and the processing furnace PM1 is provided. In the vacuum transfer chamber VL2, a vacuum transfer unit VR2 that transfers (vacuum transfer) the wafer W between the atmospheric transfer chamber LM and the processing furnace PM2 is provided. In the vacuum transfer chamber VL3, a vacuum transfer unit VR3 that transfers (vacuum transfer) the wafer W between the atmospheric transfer chamber LM and the processing furnace PM3 is provided. The vacuum transfer units VR1, VR2, and VR3 are configured as, for example, a robot provided with a tweezer or the like. Wafer holding portions HL1, HL2, and HL3 are provided in the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, VL2, and VL3, respectively. The wafer W can be transferred independently between the processing furnace PM1 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, between the processing furnace PM2 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL2, and between the processing furnace PM3 and the vacuum transfer chamber VL3. It is possible.

(Atmospheric transfer room)
The atmospheric transfer chamber LM is provided with one atmospheric transfer unit AR. Atmospheric conveyance part AR is constituted as a robot provided with a tweezer etc., for example. The atmospheric transfer unit AR can transfer the wafer W between the vacuum transfer chambers VL1, VL2, and VL3 and the substrate storage units LP1, LP2, and LP3. Further, an aligner unit AU as a substrate position correcting device is provided in the atmospheric transfer chamber LM. The aligner unit AU can correct the deviation of the wafer W at the time of transfer, for example, by performing notch alignment (hereinafter referred to as alignment) for aligning the notches of the wafer W in a certain direction.

(Substrate storage part)
On the substrate storage portion LP1, LP2, and LP3, wafer transfer containers CR1, CR2, and CR3 each storing a plurality of wafers W are configured to be mounted thereon.

(Wafer detection sensor)
As means for detecting the transfer of the wafer W into the processing furnace PM1, a sensor (not shown) for detecting that the wafer W has been mounted on the substrate mounting portion of the vacuum transfer portion VR1, and a vacuum transfer portion Sensors (not shown) for detecting that the substrate placement part of VR1 is present in the processing furnace PM1 are provided in the vacuum transfer part VR1 and the processing furnace PM1, respectively. Further, as means for detecting the transfer of the wafer W into the processing furnace PM2, a sensor (not shown) for detecting that the wafer W is mounted on the substrate mounting portion of the vacuum transfer portion VR2, and a vacuum transfer portion Sensors (not shown) for detecting that the substrate placement part of VR2 exists in the processing furnace PM2 are provided in the vacuum transfer part VR2 and the processing furnace PM2, respectively. Further, as means for detecting the transfer of the wafer W into the processing furnace PM3, a sensor (not shown) for detecting that the wafer W is mounted on the substrate mounting portion of the vacuum transfer portion VR3, and a vacuum transfer portion Sensors (not shown) for detecting that the substrate placement part of VR3 is present in the processing furnace PM3 are provided in the vacuum transfer part VR3 and the processing furnace PM3, respectively. Sensors for detecting that the wafer W is placed are provided on wafer push-up pins (not shown) provided in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 of the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3, respectively. You may do it.

  As means for detecting the transfer of the processed wafer W onto the substrate storage portions LP1, LP2, and LP3, a sensor (not shown) that detects that the wafer W has been placed on the substrate placement portion of the atmospheric transfer portion AR. And a sensor (not shown) for detecting that the substrate placement unit of the atmospheric transfer unit AR is present in the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, VL2, and VL3, and the atmospheric transfer unit AR and the vacuum transfer chamber VL1. VL2, VL3, and VL3, respectively.

(Control unit CNT)
Operation control of the whole system, transfer operation of the wafer W by the vacuum transfer parts VR1, VR2, VR3 and the atmospheric transfer part AR, opening / closing operation of the gate valves G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, in the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, The pressure adjusting operation and the like in the processing chambers 201, 202, and 203 of the processing furnaces PM1, PM2, and PM3 are controlled by the control unit CNT.

(2) Overall Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus A series of processes for processing the wafer W in the above-described substrate processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the operation of each part constituting the substrate processing apparatus is entirely controlled by the control part CNT. In the present embodiment, wafer loading / unloading in each substrate processing module MD1, MD2 and MD3 is performed independently. Since the wafer loading / unloading operations in the substrate processing modules MD1, MD2 and MD3 are substantially the same, the following description will be given taking the substrate processing module MD1 as an example.

  An in-process transfer device (not shown) transfers an unprocessed wafer W, for example, a wafer transfer container CR containing 25 wafers, to the substrate processing apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wafer transfer container CR1 is delivered from the in-process transfer apparatus and placed, for example, on the substrate storage portion LP1.

  The atmospheric transfer unit AR picks up one wafer W from the wafer transfer container CR1, loads it into the atmospheric transfer chamber LM, and transfers it to the aligner unit AU. Alignment is performed by the aligner unit AU. During this time, the inside of the vacuum transfer chamber VL1 is vented (atmospheric pressure), and when the venting is completed, the gate valve G4 is opened. When alignment is completed in the aligner unit AU, the atmospheric transfer unit AR receives the wafer W from the aligner unit AU. Then, the received wafer W is loaded into the vacuum transfer chamber VL1 by the atmospheric transfer unit AR and placed on the wafer holding unit HL1 in the vacuum transfer chamber VL1. When the atmospheric transfer part AR returns from the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, the gate valve G4 is closed. Then, the inside of the vacuum transfer chamber VL1 is exhausted to a negative pressure by an exhaust device (not shown).

  When the inside of the vacuum transfer chamber VL1 reaches a preset pressure value, the gate valve G1 is opened, and the vacuum transfer chamber VL1 and the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1 are communicated. The vacuum transfer part VR1 receives the wafer W from the wafer holding part HL1. Then, the received wafer W is loaded into the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1 by the vacuum transfer unit VR1. When the vacuum transfer unit VR1 returns to the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, the gate valve G1 is closed. Then, as will be described later, a substrate processing step including a preheating step is performed in the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1.

  When the substrate processing step is completed in the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1, the gate valve G1 is opened, and the vacuum transfer unit VR1 carries out the processed wafer W from the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1 into the vacuum transfer chamber VL1. To do. After unloading the wafer W from the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1, the gate valve G1 is closed.

  The unloaded wafer W is placed on the wafer holding unit HL1 by the vacuum transfer unit VR1. The vacuum transfer chamber VL1 is vented (atmospheric pressure). When venting is completed, the gate valve G4 is opened.

  Then, the atmospheric transfer unit AR receives the processed wafer W from the wafer holding unit HL1 in the vacuum transfer chamber VL1, and carries the wafer W out of the vacuum transfer chamber VL1. Then, the atmospheric transfer unit AR transfers the wafer W to the aligner unit AU. Alignment is performed by the aligner unit AU. When alignment is completed in the aligner unit AU, the atmospheric transfer unit AR receives the wafer W from the aligner unit AU. The atmospheric transfer unit AR returns the received wafer W into the wafer transfer container CR1 on the substrate storage unit LP1.

  Subsequently, the atmospheric transfer unit AR picks up one unprocessed wafer W. Then, by repeating the above-described operation, a predetermined number of, for example, 25 wafers W placed on the substrate storage portion LP1 are sequentially processed.

  When the storage of the processed wafer W in the wafer transfer container CR is completed, the wafer transfer container CR1 is transferred from the substrate storage portion LP1 to the next process by the in-process transfer apparatus.

  Although the above operation has been described by taking the case where the substrate processing module MD1 is used as an example, the same operation can be performed when the substrate processing module MD2 or the substrate processing module MD3 is used. In addition, when the board | substrate process process implemented with substrate processing module MD1, MD2 and MD3 is the same, you may perform a parallel process. In that case, while the substrate processing step is performed in the processing chamber 201 of the processing furnace PM1, an operation of carrying the unprocessed wafer in the wafer transfer container CR1 into the processing chamber 202 of the processing furnace PM2 or the processing chamber 203 of PM3. May be performed. In addition, the substrate processing modules MD1, MD2, and MD3 may perform the same substrate processing step, or may perform different substrate processing steps. When another substrate processing step is performed by the substrate processing modules MD1, MD2, and MD3, for example, after a predetermined substrate processing step is performed on the wafer W by the substrate processing module MD1, another substrate processing is performed by the substrate processing module MD2. The process may be further continued, and another substrate processing process may be performed by the substrate processing module MD3.

(3) Configuration of processing furnace (processing furnace)
Next, the structure of process furnace PM1, PM2, PM3 is demonstrated using FIG.3, FIG.4, FIG.5 and FIG. In addition, since the structure of process furnace PM1, PM2, PM3 is substantially the same, suppose that process furnace PM1 is mentioned as an example in the following description.

  FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the processing furnace PM1 according to this embodiment as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the processing furnace PM1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the vacuum transfer chamber VR1 side. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the processing furnace PM1 according to the present embodiment. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the processing furnace PM1 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the processing furnace PM <b> 1 opens in a processing chamber 201 that processes the wafer W, a support base 5 that serves as a substrate support unit that supports the wafer W in the processing chamber 201, and a wall surface of the processing chamber 201. When the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is opened and closed, and when the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is closed, a gate valve G1 serving as an opening / closing portion constituting a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 and a microwave in the processing chamber 201 are provided. As a waveguide 4 as a microwave supply unit for supplying gas, as a gas supply pipe 21 as a gas supply unit for supplying processing gas into the processing chamber 201, and as a gas exhaust unit for exhausting the gas atmosphere in the processing chamber 201 The gas exhaust pipe 22 is mainly provided.

(Processing room)
The processing chamber 201 is configured to process, for example, a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm. The shape of the longitudinal section of the processing chamber 201 is a polygonal shape, for example, an octagonal shape. Processing chamber 2
01 has an at least three-layer structure of an upper container 11, a central container 12, and a lower container 13. The inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is made of a conductive material that reflects electromagnetic waves, for example, a metal such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel, platinum, or silver. Thereby, the inside of the processing chamber 201 has a structure in which microwaves supplied from a waveguide 4 described later are electromagnetically closed. Further, the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is coated with a chromic acid film by an iridium coating process. As a result, the microwave reflection efficiency and corrosion resistance of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 are improved. The detailed configuration of the processing chamber 201 will be described later.

(Substrate support and rotation mechanism)
A support base 5 as a substrate support portion is provided on the upper portion of the rotation mechanism 6. The support base 5 is configured in a ring shape from, for example, quartz. The support base 5 is rotatable by a rotation mechanism 6. A through hole (not shown) is formed in the support base 5. Wafer push-up pins (not shown) can be lifted and lowered via a through hole by a lifting mechanism (not shown). The rotation mechanism 6 is installed at the center of the processing chamber 201. The rotation mechanism 6 is made of, for example, quartz (SiO 2). A support base 5 is provided on the upper portion of the rotation mechanism 6. The rotation mechanism 6 rotates the support base 5 at a predetermined rotation speed. Note that the rotation mechanism 6 and the lifting mechanism are connected to the control unit CNT.

(Substrate loading / unloading exit)
The substrate loading / unloading port 10 is configured to have an opening width capable of loading / unloading a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm, for example. The substrate loading / unloading port 10 is configured in a shape in which one surface of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is cut away.

(Gate valve)
The gate valve G1 that opens and closes the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is, for example, a slide type. 3 to 6 show only the valve body (hereinafter simply referred to as a valve body) of the gate valve G1. 3 to 6, the gate valve G1 is in a closed state. That is, the valve body of the gate valve G1 is in a state where the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is closed. A valve mechanism of the gate valve G1 is slid downward in the drawing by a driving mechanism (not shown), so that the gate valve G1 is opened. The valve body of the gate valve G1 is configured in a quadrangular prism shape, for example. That is, the gate valve G1 can be configured as a general-purpose product that is easy to manufacture. When the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is closed, the entire inner wall surface 9 of the gate valve G1 constitutes one surface of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201. Further, when the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is closed, the inner wall surface 9 of the gate valve G1 forms one surface of the polygonal shape of the processing chamber 201.

(Waveguide)
A waveguide 4 is provided in the processing chamber 201 so as to face the gate valve G1 with the wafer W interposed therebetween. That is, the waveguide 4 is opened and connected to the inner wall surface 12a. The waveguide 4 is configured in, for example, a hollow square (rectangular) shape or a cylindrical shape. The waveguide 4 is provided in the laterally long direction of the processing chamber 201. The microwave supplied into the processing chamber 201 flows into the processing chamber 201 from the opening of the waveguide 4, reaches the inner wall surface in the processing chamber 201, and is reflected.

(Gas supply system)
A gas supply pipe 21 is provided on the upper side of the processing chamber 201. A processing gas supply source, a mass flow controller, and a valve (all not shown) are connected to the upstream side of the gas supply pipe 21 in order from the upstream side. The processing gas supplied from the gas supply source is adjusted in flow rate by a mass flow controller by opening a valve and supplied into the processing chamber 201 via the gas supply pipe 21. In FIG. 5, only one gas supply pipe 21 is shown as a representative.

(Gas exhaust system)
A gas exhaust pipe 22 is provided on the lower side of the processing chamber 201. A pressure detector, a pressure adjusting device, and an exhaust device (all not shown) are connected to the gas exhaust pipe 22 in order from the upstream side. The inside of the processing chamber 201 is adjusted and held at a predetermined pressure by adjusting the flow rate of the exhausted gas by adjusting the valve opening of the pressure adjusting device based on the pressure value detected by the pressure detector. It has become so.

(Microwave source, field strength measuring device, antenna)
A microwave source (not shown) that generates a fixed or variable frequency microwave is provided on the upstream side of the waveguide 4. The microwave is a radio wave (electromagnetic wave) having a wavelength of 100 μm to 1 m and is also referred to as an ultrashort wave. The frequency of the microwave generated by the microwave source is, for example, 500 MHz to 50 GHz. Moreover, the minimum scanning time of the microwave is, for example, 100 milliseconds.

  Note that a plurality of antennas (not shown) are arranged on the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 at intervals in the height direction and the circumferential direction. The plurality of antennas are adapted to detect the electric field strength due to the microwaves at the respective arrangement locations. The plurality of antennas are connected to a field strength measuring device (not shown). The electric field strength measuring device calculates the electric field strength, that is, the electric field strength (V / m) from the detected values of the electric field strength detected by the plurality of antennas. The electric field strength measuring instrument is connected to the control unit CNT. The control unit CNT adjusts and controls the microwave frequency by controlling the microwave source based on the calculated value from the electric field intensity measuring device.

(Detailed structure of processing chamber)
As described above, the processing chamber 201 is configured in at least a three-layer structure including the upper container 11, the central container 12, and the lower container 13. The upper container 11 and the lower container 13 are configured vertically symmetrically. The upper container 11 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape with the upper surface closed and the lower surface opened. The central container 12 is configured in a quadrangular prism shape with an upper surface and a lower surface opened. The lower container 13 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape having an upper surface opened and a lower surface closed. That is, the upper container 11 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape with the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W as the upper surface. The central container 12 is opposed to the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1, the inner wall surface 7 opposed to the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 across the wafer W, and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1. The left and right inner wall surfaces 12b and 12c are adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction. The lower container 13 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape facing the upper container 11 with the wafer W interposed therebetween. That is, the processing chamber 201 has a three-layer structure including the upper container 11, the central container 12, and the lower container 13.

  In the present embodiment, the inner wall surface 8 that connects the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W supported on the support 5 and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 is connected to the processing surface of the wafer W. It is structured diagonally. In other words, the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W supported on the support 5 and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 are continuously connected. That is, there is no uneven portion from the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 to the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W. Thereby, the microwave can be uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201 without directly hitting the outer edge of the wafer W. The inclined inner wall surface 8 is inclined at an angle of, for example, less than 90 degrees, preferably less than 45 degrees with respect to the processing surface of the wafer W supported by the support base 5.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the inner wall surface 8 connecting the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W supported on the support base 5 and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 is the wafer W. It is configured obliquely with respect to the processing surface. As a result, the supplied microwave can be uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201, irradiated uniformly over the surface of the wafer W, and uniformly heated within the surface of the wafer W. It is possible to improve the uniformity.

(4) Substrate Processing Step Next, a substrate processing step performed as one step of the semiconductor device manufacturing process will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. The substrate processing step is performed by the substrate processing apparatus according to the above configuration.

(Wafer loading process)
First, the gate valve G <b> 1 is opened, the wafer W is loaded into the processing chamber 201 from the substrate loading / unloading port 10, and is transferred onto the support 5. At this time, a wafer push-up pin (not shown) is raised and lowered by an elevating mechanism (not shown) to receive the wafer W and place it on the support table 5.

  Subsequently, after the substrate loading / unloading port 10 is closed by the gate valve G1, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is evacuated from the gas exhaust pipe 22 by an exhaust device (not shown), and the pressure in the processing chamber 201 is reduced. Then, the support base 5 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6.

(Preheating process)
Next, the microwave is supplied into the processing chamber 201 while the support 5 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6 while exhausting is continued. A microwave source (not shown) is driven to generate microwaves. The frequency variable range of the microwave is, for example, 6250 ± 800 MHz. Then, a microwave generated by a microwave source (not shown) is supplied into the processing chamber 201 through the waveguide 4.

  The microwave supplied from the waveguide 4 flows into the processing chamber 201 from the opening of the waveguide 4. Here, since the waveguide 4 is provided in the horizontally long direction in the processing chamber 201, the microwave flowing from the opening of the waveguide 4 is in the direction of the gate valve G <b> 1, the upper surface direction, and the lower surface direction in the processing chamber 21. Propagate to.

  The microwave that reaches the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is reflected and diffused by the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201. Here, there is no uneven portion from the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 to the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W. Thereby, the microwave is uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201 without directly hitting the outer edge of the wafer W. As a result, the microwave is uniformly irradiated over the surface of the wafer W. When the wafer W is irradiated with microwaves, impurities in the wafer W, for example, silicon, electric dipoles in the insulating film formed on the processing surface of the wafer W, etc. receive the force of the radio wave (electric field). Displaces and polarizes and vibrates violently according to the microwave frequency. At this time, frictional heat is generated between the impurities and the electric dipoles in the insulating film, and the entire wafer W is heated and heated. At this time, the microwave source generates a microwave having a predetermined frequency by adjusting and controlling the frequency based on the calculated value from the electric field intensity measuring device. At this time, since the wafer W is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6, the wafer W is more uniformly irradiated with microwaves. Thereby, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be improved. When the wafer W is heated to, for example, about 200 ° C. after a predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to the next film forming process.

(Film formation process)
Subsequently, the silicon oxide film is formed on the processing surface of the wafer W by, for example, an ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) method while continuing the heating by the microwave while the support base 5 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6 while continuing the exhaust. A film forming step of forming a thin film such as is performed. A silane-containing gas is supplied as a processing gas into the processing chamber 201, and a silane-containing film is formed on the processing surface of the wafer W. Subsequently, an oxygen-containing gas and a hydrogen-containing gas are supplied as processing gases into the processing chamber 201 to oxidize and reduce the silane-containing film. This is repeated a plurality of times as one cycle to form a silicon oxide film. At this time, the wafer W is rotated by the rotating mechanism 6 while being heated by the microwave, whereby the wafer W is more uniformly irradiated with the microwave. Thereby, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be further improved. Furthermore, the uniformity of the in-plane film thickness distribution of the wafer W can be improved. After the predetermined time has elapsed, when the film forming process is completed, the supply of the processing gas is stopped. And the drive of a microwave source is stopped and supply of a microwave is stopped. Further, the rotation of the rotation mechanism 6 is stopped, and the rotation of the support base 5 is stopped.

(Wafer unloading process)
The gate valve G1 is opened, and the processed wafer W on the support table 5 is unloaded from the substrate loading / unloading port 10. Then, the gate valve G1 is closed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the supplied microwave can be reflected and diffused uniformly in the processing chamber 201, the microwave is uniformly irradiated over the surface of the wafer W, and the in-plane of the wafer W is thus obtained. The uniformity of temperature distribution can be improved.

(5) Effects according to the present embodiment According to the present embodiment, the following one or more effects are achieved.

(A) According to the present embodiment, the inner wall surface 8 connecting the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W supported on the support 5 and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 is the wafer W. It is comprised diagonally with respect to the processing surface. In other words, the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W supported on the support 5 and the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 are continuously connected. That is, there is no uneven portion from the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 to the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W. Thereby, the microwave can be uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201 without directly hitting the outer edge of the wafer W. As a result, the microwave can be uniformly irradiated over the surface of the wafer W, and the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be improved.

(B) According to this embodiment, the valve body of the gate valve G1 is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism shape. Thereby, the gate valve G1 can be comprised by the general purpose goods with easy manufacture. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(C) According to this embodiment, in the processing chamber 201, the upper container 11 and the lower container 13 are configured vertically symmetrically. That is, the upper container 11 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape with the upper surface closed and the lower surface opened. The lower container 13 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape having an upper surface opened and a lower surface closed. Thus, the manufacturing cost can be reduced by using the upper and lower containers 11 and 13 that are symmetrical in the vertical direction.

(D) According to the present embodiment, the vertical cross section of the processing chamber 201 is configured in a polygonal shape, for example, an octagonal shape. Further, the four side surfaces of the upper container 11 and the lower container 13 are configured as slopes. Specifically, the processing chamber 201 is configured in at least a three-layer structure including an upper container 11, a central container 12, and a lower container 13. The upper container 11 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape with the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W as the upper surface. The lower container 13 is configured in a substantially square frustum shape facing the upper container 11 with the wafer W interposed therebetween. For this reason, when the microwave that has flowed into the processing chamber 201 from the opening of the waveguide 4 reaches the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 and is reflected, the wafer is affected by the slopes of the four side surfaces of the upper container 11 and the lower container 13. Since it is reflected and diffused toward the processing surface of W, microwaves are uniformly irradiated over the surface of the wafer W. As a result, the microwave reflection efficiency in the processing chamber 201 is increased, and the wafer W is more uniformly irradiated with the microwave. As a result, even if the microwave output is the same as the conventional output value, the energy efficiency can be realized by increasing the heating efficiency.

(E) According to the present embodiment, the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is made of a conductive material that reflects microwaves, for example, a metal such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel, platinum, or silver. Thereby, the inside of the processing chamber 201 has a structure in which the microwave supplied from the waveguide 4 is electromagnetically closed. Further, the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 201 is coated with a chromic acid film by an iridium coating process. For this reason, the microwave reflection efficiency in the processing chamber 201 is increased, and the wafer W is more uniformly irradiated with the microwave. Thereby, even if a microwave output is the same output value as before, energy saving can be realized by increasing the heating efficiency.

(F) According to the present embodiment, the rotation mechanism 6 that rotates the support base 5 is provided. For this reason, in the preheating step, when the wafer W is heated by supplying microwaves, the wafer W is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6. Thereby, the microwave is more uniformly irradiated to the wafer W, and the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W can be further improved. Further, in the process of film formation or the like, the wafer W is rotated by the rotation mechanism 6 while being heated by microwaves. Thereby, the uniformity of the in-plane film thickness distribution of the wafer W can be improved.

(Conventional processing furnace)
For reference, a processing furnace using a conventional gate valve will be described. FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a conventional processing furnace as viewed from above. FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of a conventional processing furnace as viewed from the vacuum transfer chamber VR1 side. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional processing furnace. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the processing furnace of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the conventional processing chamber 501, an uneven portion 511 is formed on the opening wall that constitutes the substrate loading / unloading port 510. In the conventional processing chamber 501, the microwave reflected from the uneven portion 511 of the opening wall reflects the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 501 several times without directly hitting the outer edge of the wafer W. Reflected and diffused on the inner wall surface, the wafer W was uniformly irradiated to heat the wafer W uniformly. However, in the conventional processing chamber 501, when the wafer W is enlarged to a diameter of, for example, 300 mm or more, the wafer W and the uneven portion 511 are close to each other. Then, the microwave reflected from the uneven portion 511 directly hits the outer edge portion of the wafer W and is not irradiated uniformly over the surface of the wafer W. For this reason, electromagnetic wave spots in the processing chamber 501 due to the uneven portions 511 formed on the opening wall cannot be absorbed, and in-plane temperature spots of the wafer W are generated. As a result, the uniformity of the in-plane temperature distribution of the wafer W may be reduced.

  In contrast, in the present embodiment, there is no uneven portion extending from the inner wall surface 9 formed by the gate valve G1 to the inner wall surface 7 facing the processing surface of the wafer W. Thereby, even if the wafer W is enlarged, the microwave is uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201 without directly hitting the outer edge of the wafer W. As a result, the microwave can be uniformly irradiated over the surface of the wafer W.

  Further, the conventional processing chamber 501 has a substantially octagonal prism shape in cross section as a structure for electromagnetically closing the microwave supplied from the waveguide 504. Further, the conventional gate valve G503 constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber 501 when the substrate loading / unloading port 510 is closed. That is, the gate valve G503 is configured in a special shape along the substantially octagonal prism shape of the processing chamber 501 in order to increase the microwave reflection efficiency. For this reason, since the conventional gate valve G503 is a custom-made product, the manufacturing cost increases. Moreover, since it is a custom-made product, it takes time to manufacture, and parts management (incoming / outgoing / inventory management) becomes difficult.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the valve body of the gate valve G1 is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism shape. That is, a general-purpose product that is easy to manufacture can be used. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and parts management (incoming / outgoing / inventory management) can be facilitated.

<Other Embodiments of the Present Invention>
In the above-described embodiment, after the preheating step, the silicon-containing film is formed by the ALD method, and then the silicon-containing film is oxidized and reduced to be modified to form the silicon oxide film. Although the substrate processing process to be performed was implemented, this invention is not limited to this. After the preheating step, the present invention can also be applied to a step of performing a predetermined process such as a thin film forming process such as a film containing metal, an oxidation or nitridation process on the surface of the wafer W, an etching process. For example, the present invention can be applied to a step of post-baking a resist (coating film) after development (resist pattern formation). In this case, the chemical reaction of the resist (coating film) can be selectively promoted by heating the wafer W and the resist (coating film) formed on the processing surface at 100 to 150 ° C. by microwave heating. .

  In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to the single wafer processing for processing the wafers W one by one. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to batch processing. In this case, since the supplied microwave can be uniformly reflected and diffused in the processing chamber 201, the surface of the wafer W is irradiated by the microwave being uniformly irradiated over the surfaces of the plurality of wafers W. The uniformity of the internal temperature distribution can be improved, and the uniformity of the inter-wafer temperature distribution can also be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the microwave is supplied to the wafer W and the wafer W is heated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the supplied gas may be irradiated with the microwave to heat the gas. In this case, the wafer W can be indirectly heated by the heated gas.

  The substrate to be processed may be a quartz glass substrate, a crystallized glass substrate or the like in addition to the wafer substrate.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a substrate processing apparatus that processes a wafer substrate such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment, but is also a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate such as a printed wiring board, a liquid crystal panel, a magnetic disk, or a compact disk. Can also be suitably applied.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described concretely, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, It can change variously in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

<Preferred embodiment of the present invention>
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be additionally described.

According to one aspect of the invention,
A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A substrate support for supporting the substrate in the processing chamber;
Opening and closing the substrate loading / unloading opening that opens to the wall surface of the processing chamber, and when the substrate loading / unloading port is closed, an opening / closing portion that constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber;
A microwave supply unit for supplying microwaves into the processing chamber;
With
Of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, a surface connecting the surface facing the processing surface of the substrate supported on the substrate support portion and the surface formed by the opening / closing portion is the processing surface of the substrate. There is provided a substrate processing apparatus configured obliquely with respect to the substrate processing apparatus.

According to another aspect of the invention,
A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A substrate support for supporting the substrate in the processing chamber;
Opening and closing the substrate loading / unloading opening that opens to the wall surface of the processing chamber, and when the substrate loading / unloading port is closed, an opening / closing portion that constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber;
A microwave supply unit for supplying microwaves into the processing chamber;
With
Of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, a surface facing the processing surface of the substrate supported on the substrate support portion and a surface constituting the opening / closing portion are continuously connected.

  Preferably, the longitudinal cross section of the processing chamber is formed in a polygonal shape.

  More preferably, the processing chamber has a three-layer structure of an upper container, a central container, and a lower container.

More preferably, the upper container is configured in a substantially square frustum shape in which the upper surface is closed and the lower surface is opened,
The central container is configured in a quadrangular prism shape whose upper and lower surfaces are opened,
The lower container has a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape with an upper surface opened and a lower surface closed.

More preferably, the upper container is configured in a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape with the surface facing the processing surface of the substrate as an upper surface,
The central container includes a surface formed by the opening / closing unit, a surface opposed to the surface formed by the opening / closing unit with the substrate interposed therebetween, and left and right adjacent to the surface formed by the opening / closing unit in the horizontal direction. And consists of
The lower container is configured in a substantially square frustum shape facing the upper container with the substrate interposed therebetween.

  More preferably, the opening / closing part is configured in a quadrangular prism shape.

  More preferably, the upper container and the lower container are configured to be vertically symmetrical.

  More preferably, it has a rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate support part.

  More preferably, the inner wall surface of the processing chamber is made of a conductive material that reflects electromagnetic waves.

  More preferably, a chromic acid film is formed on the inner wall surface of the processing chamber.

  More preferably, a gas supply unit that supplies a processing gas into the processing chamber and a gas exhaust unit that exhausts a gas atmosphere in the processing chamber are provided.

  More preferably, the inclined surface is inclined at an angle of less than 90 degrees with respect to the processing surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support portion.

  More preferably, the inclined surface is inclined at an angle of less than 45 degrees with respect to the processing surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support portion.

  More preferably, the variable range of the frequency of the microwave is 6250 ± 800 MHz.

  More preferably, the microwave supply unit is provided to face the opening / closing unit with the substrate interposed therebetween.

4 Waveguide (microwave supply part)
5 Support stand (board support part)
6 Rotating mechanism 7-9 Inner wall surface 10 Loading / unloading port 201 Processing chamber W Wafer (substrate)
G1 Gate valve (opening / closing part)

Claims (1)

A processing chamber for processing the substrate;
A substrate support for supporting the substrate in the processing chamber;
Opening and closing the substrate loading / unloading opening that opens to the wall surface of the processing chamber, and when the substrate loading / unloading port is closed, an opening / closing portion that constitutes a part of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber;
A microwave supply unit for supplying microwaves into the processing chamber;
With
Of the inner wall surface of the processing chamber, a surface connecting the surface facing the processing surface of the substrate supported on the substrate support portion and the surface formed by the opening / closing portion is the processing surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized in that the substrate processing apparatus is configured obliquely.

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