JP2011198958A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assure an operator's safety by preventing a door of a transfer chamber from opening when an inside of the transfer chamber is in a high temperature state.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus 1 equipped with the transfer chamber 13 connected to a treatment furnace 21 for processing the substrate 10 includes: a temperature measurement unit 34 measuring a temperature in the transfer chamber; a lock mechanism 20 locking and unlocking the door 19 of the transfer chamber; and a control unit controlling the lock mechanism 20 based on the temperature measured by the temperature measurement unit 34.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs processing such as oxidation processing, diffusion processing, and thin film generation on a substrate such as a wafer.

  As one of the processing steps of a semiconductor device, there is a substrate processing step for performing processing such as oxidation processing, diffusion processing, and thin film generation on a substrate such as a silicon wafer, and there is a substrate processing device as an apparatus for executing the substrate processing step. Further, there is a vertical substrate processing apparatus as a batch type substrate processing apparatus that includes a vertical processing furnace and processes a predetermined number of substrates at a time.

  In the substrate processing in the vertical substrate processing apparatus, a substrate (wafer) stored in a substrate transfer container is transferred by a substrate transfer machine in a transfer chamber, and one batch (for example, 50 to 125) of wafers is transferred. Is loaded into a substrate holder (boat). The boat holds wafers in a horizontal posture at a predetermined pitch, and is loaded into the processing furnace when the boat is lifted by a lifting device. The processing furnace is hermetically closed, the processing furnace is maintained at a processing pressure, the substrate is heated and maintained at a predetermined temperature in the processing furnace, and a processing gas is introduced to perform a predetermined processing on the wafer.

  If an abnormality such as wafer breakage occurs during or after the above process, the substrate transfer machine cannot be used to recover the wafer after removing the boat from the processing furnace. It is necessary to recover the wafer by manually opening the door and collecting the wafer from the boat.

  However, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, the temperature in the transfer chamber is not monitored, and the recovery process may be performed in a state where the transfer chamber is at a high temperature. was there.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus that prevents the door of the transfer chamber from being opened when the transfer chamber is in a high temperature state, and ensures the safety of the operator.

  The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus comprising a transfer chamber connected to a processing furnace for processing a substrate, wherein temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature in the transfer chamber, and a door of the transfer chamber The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus comprising a lock mechanism for locking and unlocking, and a control means for controlling the lock mechanism based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including a transfer chamber connected to a processing furnace for processing a substrate, the temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature in the transfer chamber, and the transfer chamber Since the lock mechanism for locking and unlocking the door and the control means for controlling the lock mechanism based on the temperature measured by the temperature measuring means, the transfer chamber measured by the temperature measuring means is provided. When the temperature of the transfer chamber is high, the lock mechanism does not unlock the door of the transfer chamber, and exhibits an excellent effect that the door of the transfer chamber can always be opened and closed in a safe state.

It is a front sectional view showing an outline of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the substrate processing apparatus in this invention. It is a control block diagram in the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  First, an outline of a substrate processing apparatus in which the present invention is implemented will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 1, 1 is a substrate processing apparatus, and 2 is a housing. The wafer 10 is carried into and out of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in a state where the wafer 10 is stored in a substrate transfer container. For example, a pod 3 is used as the substrate transfer container, and a predetermined number, for example, 25 sheets of wafers 10 are stored in the pod 3. The pod 3 is a hermetically sealed container having a lid that can be opened and closed, and the loading and unloading of the wafer 10 to and from the pod 3 is performed by opening the lid.

  A substrate transfer device 4 is provided in front of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and the pod 3 is carried into and out of the substrate transfer device 4 by an external transfer device (not shown).

  A pod loading / unloading port 5 is provided at a portion of the housing 2 facing the substrate transfer device 4, and a front shutter 6 for opening and closing the pod loading / unloading port 5 is provided. The pod 3 passes through the front shutter 6. It is carried in and out of the housing 2.

  A pod transfer device 7 is provided at the front of the housing 2, and the pod transfer device 7 includes a pod transfer arm 8 that can hold the pod 3. The pod transfer arm 8 can move up and down, traverse (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper), and advance and retreat (left and right direction of the plane of the paper). Can be transported.

  Opposite to the pod transfer device 7, a pod storage unit 9 is provided in the upper part of the housing 2. The pod storage unit 9 has a plurality of pod storage shelves 11 that can rotate intermittently, and a plurality of the pods 3 can be stored in each pod storage shelf 11.

  A sub housing 12 is provided below the rear portion of the housing 2, and the sub housing 12 defines a transfer chamber 13.

  Pod openers 15 and 15 are provided on the front wall 14 of the sub-housing 12 in two upper and lower stages. The pod opener 15 includes a mounting table 16 and a lid attaching / detaching mechanism 17. The pod 3 is placed on the mounting table 16 and is in close contact with the front wall 14. The lid attaching / detaching mechanism 17 opens and closes the lid. It has become like that. When the lid of the pod 3 is opened, the inside of the pod 3 and the transfer chamber 13 are in communication with each other.

  In addition, an operation box 18 communicating with the outside is connected to the rear of the sub casing 12, and the operation box 18 is a transfer chamber door 19 that opens and closes the transfer chamber 13 on a connection surface with the sub casing 12. have. The transfer chamber door 19 is locked and unlocked by a lock mechanism 20 which will be described later, and is unlocked by the lock mechanism 20 and the transfer chamber door 19 is opened to open the operation box 18 and the operation box 18. The transfer chamber 13 communicates with the transfer chamber 13.

  A processing furnace 21 is erected on the rear part of the casing 2 and on the upper side of the sub casing 12. The processing furnace 21 includes a reaction tube that hermetically defines a processing chamber, a heater provided around the reaction tube, and a gas supply line and an exhaust line that communicate with the reaction tube. The chamber is heated and maintained at a predetermined processing pressure to supply and discharge the processing gas.

  The processing chamber has a furnace port portion communicating with the transfer chamber 13 at the lower end, and the furnace port portion is opened and closed by a furnace port shutter 22.

  The transfer chamber 13 is provided with a boat elevator 24 below the processing furnace 21, and the boat elevator 24 has a seal cap 23 that can close the furnace port in an airtight manner. The boat elevator 24 can move the seal cap 23 up and down, so that the boat 26 can be loaded into and removed from the processing chamber. Further, when the boat 26 is loaded in the processing chamber, the seal cap 23 airtightly closes the furnace port portion.

  The transfer chamber 13 is provided with a substrate transfer machine 25 between the pod opener 15 and the boat elevator 24, and the substrate transfer machine 25 holds a plurality of substrate holding plates (tweezers) 27 for holding the wafers 10. It has. For example, five tweezers 27 are vertically arranged at equal intervals, and the vertical interval (pitch) is the same as the wafer storage pitch of the pod 3 and the wafer holding pitch of the boat 26 described later.

  The substrate transfer machine 25 has a configuration in which the tweezers 27 can be moved back and forth in the horizontal direction, can be moved up and down, and can be rotated about the vertical axis. The wafer 10 can be held and transferred to a desired position.

  Also, a clean unit (not shown) is provided on the side wall of the housing 2 at a position facing the boat 26, and clean air blown from the clean unit passes the substrate transfer machine 25 and the boat 26. After circulation, the air is sucked into an exhaust device (not shown) and exhausted to the outside of the housing 2.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control device 28, and the control device 28 is disposed on the front surface of the substrate processing apparatus 1, for example.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the details of the connecting portion between the sub casing 12 and the operation BOX 18 will be described.

  The sub-housing 12 and the operation box 18 have an opening on the connecting surface, and the transfer chamber door 19 can be opened and closed via hinge pins 29 provided on the upper and lower surfaces of one side end. The opening is opened and closed by the transfer chamber door 19. The transfer chamber door 19 has a window 31 formed of quartz glass or the like, and an operator can look inside the transfer chamber 13 from the operation box 18 through the window 31.

  The lock mechanism 20 is provided at the opening end of the operation box 18, and the lock mechanism 20 has a lock rod 32 that can move forward and backward with respect to the transfer chamber door 19. When the lock rod 32 is in the advanced state, the lock rod 32 is fitted into a lock rod fitting hole (not shown) formed on the side surface of the transfer chamber door 19 and the transfer chamber door 19 is locked to restrict the movement. When the lock rod 32 is in the retracted state, the lock rod 32 is extracted from the lock rod fitting hole, and the transfer chamber 13 is unlocked, so that the transfer chamber door 19 can be opened.

  A lock release switch 33 is provided in the vicinity of the lock mechanism 20, and when the lock release switch 33 is pressed, the lock rod 32 moves backward and the transfer chamber door 19 is unlocked. ing.

  Further, a required position inside the transfer chamber 13, for example, a wall surface of the transfer chamber 13, is provided with a transfer chamber temperature monitor thermocouple 34 as temperature measuring means. The transfer chamber temperature monitoring thermocouple 34 constantly measures the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 and feeds back the measurement result to a lock mechanism control unit 42 described later.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the control device 28.

  Reference numeral 35 denotes a control calculation unit represented by a CPU, 36 denotes a display unit such as a monitor, 37 denotes a semiconductor memory, a storage unit such as an HDD, 38 denotes a pressure control unit, 39 denotes a flow rate control unit, 41 denotes a heating control unit, and 42 denotes A lock mechanism control unit 43 indicates a transport control unit, and the control calculation unit 35, the storage unit 37, and the lock mechanism control unit 42 constitute a lock mechanism control unit.

  The pressure control unit 38 controls the pressure of the processing chamber of the processing furnace 21, and the flow rate control unit 39 supplies the processing gas supplied to the processing chamber, the flow rate of purge gas, or the transfer chamber 13. The flow rate of the purge gas to be controlled is controlled, and the heating state of the processing furnace 21 is controlled by the heating control unit 41 so that the temperature of the processing chamber becomes a predetermined temperature.

  The lock mechanism control unit 42 controls the lock mechanism 20 to lock the transfer chamber door 19, and based on the measurement result of the transfer chamber temperature monitor thermocouple 34, the transfer chamber door 19. Has the function of unlocking. The display unit 36 displays the processing conditions and progress of the substrate, and the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 measured by the transfer chamber temperature monitoring thermocouple 34 and the unlocking condition, that is, the transfer condition. The loading door 19 displays an unlocking condition temperature indicating a threshold value that unlocks if the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is lower than a set value (for example, 30 ° C.).

  The transfer control unit 43 controls driving of transfer mechanism units such as the pod transfer device 7, the pod opener 15, the boat elevator 24, and the substrate transfer machine 25. Although not shown in the figure, the front shutter 6 and the pod storage unit 9 are similarly controlled.

  The storage unit 37 includes data (recipe) for processing a substrate, a control program for controlling pressure, gas flow rate, and temperature, a sequence program for controlling each transport mechanism unit, and the preset transfer. A determination program for determining whether the unlocking condition temperature of the lock mechanism 20 that locks the loading chamber door 19 and whether the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 satisfies the unlocking condition is stored. In the sequence program, a plurality of operation patterns are set and selectable for loading and unloading of the substrate, and loading and unloading of the substrate are performed according to the selected operation pattern.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus will be described.

  When the pod 3 is supplied to the substrate transfer device 4, the pod loading / unloading port 5 is opened by the front shutter 6. The pod 3 on the substrate transfer device 4 is transported to the inside of the housing 2 by the pod transport device 7 through the pod loading / unloading port 5 and mounted on the designated pod storage shelf 11 in the pod storage unit 9. Placed. After the pod 3 is temporarily stored in the pod storage unit 9, the pod 3 is transferred from the pod storage shelf 11 to one of the pod openers 15 by the pod transfer device 7 and transferred to the mounting table 16. Alternatively, it is directly transferred from the substrate transfer device 4 to the mounting table 16.

  The lid of the pod 3 placed on the mounting table 16 is removed by the lid attaching / detaching mechanism 17 and the wafer entrance / exit is opened.

  When the pod 3 is opened by the pod opener 15, the wafer 10 is taken out from the pod 3 by the substrate transfer mechanism 25 and transferred to a notch aligning device (not shown). After aligning 10, the substrate transfer mechanism 25 loads (charges) the wafer 10 into the boat 26 located behind the transfer chamber 13.

  The substrate transfer mechanism 25 that has transferred the wafer 10 to the boat 26 returns to the pod 3 to load the next wafer 10 into the boat 26.

  During the loading operation of the wafer 10 to the boat 26 by the substrate transfer mechanism 25 in one (upper or lower) pod opener 15, the other (lower or upper) pod opener 15 has the pod storage portion 9. The other pod 3 is transferred and transferred by the pod transfer device 7, and the opening operation of the pod 3 by the other pod opener 15 is simultaneously performed.

  When a predetermined number of wafers 10 are loaded into the boat 26, the furnace port portion of the processing furnace 21 closed by the furnace port shutter 22 is opened by the furnace port shutter 22. Subsequently, the boat 26 is lifted by the boat elevator 24 and loaded into the processing furnace 21 (processing chamber). The loaded wafer 10 includes a monitor wafer.

  After loading, the furnace port is hermetically closed by the seal cap 23, and the boat 26 is hermetically stored in the processing chamber while holding the wafer 10. The wafer 10 is heated by being controlled by the heating control unit 41, and a processing gas whose flow rate is controlled by the flow rate control unit 39 is introduced into the processing chamber while being maintained at a predetermined pressure by the pressure control unit 38. The processing furnace 21 performs a required process on the wafer 10.

  After the processing, the wafer 10 and the pod 3 are discharged to the outside of the housing 2 in the reverse procedure to the above except for the alignment process of the wafer 10 by a notch aligning device (not shown).

  In the above process, for example, when a crack or the like occurs in the wafer 10 loaded in the boat 26 in the process of loading / unloading the boat 26 from the processing furnace 21, the substrate transfer mechanism 25 The processed wafer 10 cannot be transferred from the boat 26 to the pod 3, and the processing is interrupted.

  When the process is interrupted, the lock release switch 33 in the operation BOX 18 is pressed by an operator in order to recover the wafer 10 from the boat 26 in the transfer chamber 13.

  When the lock release switch 33 is pressed, an unlock request signal is transmitted to the control calculation unit 35 via the lock mechanism control unit 42, and the control calculation unit 35 transmits the storage unit according to the received lock release request signal. From 37, a judgment program is launched.

  The determination program compares the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 fed back from the transfer chamber temperature monitoring thermocouple 34 with a preset unlocking condition temperature, for example, 30 ° C., and transfers the transfer chamber. If the temperature in the chamber 13 is less than 30 ° C., a lock release signal is transmitted to the lock mechanism control unit 42, and the lock mechanism control unit 42 follows the lock release signal from the control calculation unit 35. 20 is controlled to retract the lock rod 32 to unlock the transfer chamber door 19.

  If the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is 30 ° C. or higher, a lock release signal is not transmitted from the control calculation unit 35 to the lock mechanism control unit 42, and the lock mechanism 20 maintains the locked state. The transfer chamber door 19 is not opened.

  In this embodiment, the unlocking condition temperature of the transfer chamber door 19 is set to 30 ° C., but the unlocking condition temperature can be set to an arbitrary temperature in a temperature range that is room temperature in general sense.

  In this embodiment, the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is constantly fed back to the lock mechanism control unit 42 by the thermocouple 34 for monitoring the transfer chamber temperature. In conjunction with this, the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 may be fed back to the lock mechanism control unit 42, and the fed back temperature may be compared with a preset unlocking condition temperature.

  In the present embodiment, the recovery time when the processing is interrupted has been described. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to the maintenance of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

  As described above, the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is measured by the thermocouple 34 for monitoring the transfer chamber temperature, and if the unlocking condition temperature is not satisfied even when the lock release switch 33 is pressed, the transfer chamber is not transferred. Since the door 19 is not unlocked, the lock mechanism 20 is used not only in the substrate processing step in which the inside of the transfer chamber 13 becomes high temperature, but also when the boat is unloaded (step of taking out the substrate holder from the furnace) However, since the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is about 50 ° C., the transfer chamber door 19 is not unlocked. Further, when the temperature in the transfer chamber 13 is equal to or higher than the unlocking condition temperature during recovery or maintenance, the lock mechanism 20 prevents the transfer chamber door 19 from being opened, so that it is always safe. In this state, the transfer chamber door 19 can be opened and closed, and worker safety is ensured.

  Needless to say, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied not only to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus but also to an apparatus for processing a glass substrate such as an LCD device.

(Appendix)
The present invention includes the following embodiments.

  (Supplementary note 1) A substrate processing apparatus including a transfer chamber connected to a processing furnace for processing a substrate, the temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature in the transfer chamber, and the door of the transfer chamber A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a lock mechanism that performs locking and unlocking; and a control unit that controls the lock mechanism based on a temperature measured by the temperature measurement unit.

  (Supplementary note 2) The substrate processing apparatus according to supplementary note 1, wherein the lock mechanism unlocks the door of the transfer chamber when a lock release switch is pressed.

  (Appendix 3) A step of loading a substrate into a substrate holder in a transfer chamber, a step of loading the substrate holder into a processing furnace, a step of processing a substrate in the processing furnace, and a substrate processing A step of unloading the substrate holder from the inside of the processing furnace, and controlling the opening of the transfer chamber not to open in the step of unloading the substrate holder from the furnace. Method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 12 Sub-casing 13 Transfer chamber 18 Operation BOX
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Transfer chamber door 20 Lock mechanism 28 Control apparatus 33 Lock release switch 34 Transfer room temperature monitor thermocouple 35 Control calculation part 37 Storage part 42 Lock mechanism control part

Claims (1)

  A substrate processing apparatus having a transfer chamber connected to a processing furnace for processing a substrate, the temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature in the transfer chamber, and the locking and unlocking of the door of the transfer chamber A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a lock mechanism that performs the above-described operation; and a control unit that controls the lock mechanism based on the temperature measured by the temperature measurement unit.

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