JP2012099711A - Substrate processing equipment and method for manufacturing semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide substrate processing equipment capable of preventing a support part for supporting a substrate holder from being tilted due to the difference in pressure, and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.SOLUTION: Substrate processing equipment comprises: a load lock chamber; a gas supply part and a gas exhaust part for controlling an atmosphere in the load lock chamber; a boat for holding a wafer in the load lock chamber; a shaft and a fixing base 56 for supporting the boad; a lifting device for raising and lowering the shaft and the fixing base 56; and a connecting member 60 fixed to the fixing base 56 and connected to the lifting device by a surface. The load lock chamber is adjacent to an EFEM for transporting a wafer in an atmospheric-pressure atmosphere, and a transporting chamber adjacent to a processing chamber for processing a wafter, for transporting a wafer in a vacuum atmosphere lower in pressure than the atmospheric pressure.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a semiconductor device manufacturing method.

Some substrate processing apparatuses have a load lock chamber, and the load lock chamber has a function of switching the atmosphere in the room between an atmospheric state and a vacuum state. For this reason, the load lock chamber generally has a structure that can cope with a vacuum state.
In the load lock chamber, the atmosphere in the room is quickly changed to atmospheric pressure or vacuum to improve the throughput.

  However, when the interior of the load lock chamber is evacuated quickly, the following problems are raised. Although the load lock chamber housing itself can cope with sudden pressure fluctuations, devices attached to its surroundings (for example, a mechanism for moving the substrate holding member) constitute the device due to the pressure difference accompanying vacuuming. The parts to be deformed may move or move. Furthermore, damage or foreign matter is generated due to deformation of the parts.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that can suppress tilting of a support portion that supports a substrate holder due to a pressure difference in a load lock chamber.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load lock chamber, atmosphere control means for controlling an atmosphere in the load lock chamber, a substrate holder for holding a substrate in the load lock chamber, and the substrate holder. A support unit for supporting, an elevating device for elevating and lowering the support unit, and a connection unit fixed to the support unit and connected to the elevating device on a surface, and the load lock chamber is in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere. A substrate transfer apparatus adjacent to the atmospheric transfer chamber for transferring the substrate and the vacuum transfer chamber for transferring the substrate in a vacuum atmosphere having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure adjacent to the processing chamber for processing the substrate.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load lock chamber, atmosphere control means for controlling the atmosphere in the load lock chamber, a substrate holder for holding a substrate in the load lock chamber, and the substrate holder. A support unit for supporting, an elevating device for elevating and lowering the support unit, and a connection unit fixed to the support unit and connected to the elevating device on a surface, and the load lock chamber is in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device using a substrate processing apparatus adjacent to an atmospheric transfer chamber for transferring a substrate, and a vacuum transfer chamber for transferring a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere adjacent to a processing chamber for processing a substrate and having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure. A step of bringing the load lock chamber into a vacuum atmosphere by the atmosphere control means, a step of transferring a substrate from the load lock chamber to the processing chamber via the vacuum transfer chamber, and the processing Processing the substrate in step, transferring the substrate from the processing chamber to the load lock chamber via the vacuum transfer chamber, and setting the load lock chamber to an atmospheric pressure atmosphere by the atmosphere control means, And transferring the substrate from the load lock chamber to the atmospheric transfer chamber.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the support portion that supports the substrate holder from being inclined due to a pressure difference in the load lock chamber.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a substrate processing apparatus used in a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the raising / lowering apparatus used by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the connection part of the connection member used in embodiment of this invention, and a raising / lowering member. It is the schematic of the connection member used by embodiment of this invention, and its peripheral structure. It is a flow of the conveyance operation | movement of the substrate processing apparatus used by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the connection part of the connection member used in 2nd Embodiment, and a raising / lowering member.

[First Embodiment]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal view of the substrate processing apparatus 10.
The substrate processing apparatus 10 performs an ashing process on an EFEM (Equipment Front End Module) 12 as a front module, load-lock chambers 14a and 14b as pressure-controlled spare chambers, a transfer chamber 16, and a substrate such as a wafer 2, for example. And processing chambers 18a and 18b. The boundary between the processing chamber 18a and the processing chamber 18b is blocked by the boundary wall 20.

Since the load lock chambers 14a and 14b have the same configuration, they may be collectively referred to as “load lock chamber 14”. The same applies to the processing chambers 18a and 18b and the structures associated therewith.
The load lock chamber 14, the transfer chamber 16, and the processing chamber 18 may be formed as a single member, for example, from aluminum. Thereby, compared with the case where this structure is not provided, space saving and cost reduction are achieved.

  Between the load lock chamber 14, the transfer chamber 16, and the processing chamber 18, a first communication portion 22 and a second communication portion 24 that communicate with adjacent chambers are formed. The first communication part 22 is opened and closed by a first gate valve 26, and the second communication part 24 is opened and closed by a second gate valve 28.

The EFEM 12 is configured so that a plurality of (for example, three) FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) that accommodate the wafers 2 can be mounted.
The EFEM 12 is provided with an atmospheric transfer device (not shown) that transfers a plurality of (for example, five) wafers 2 simultaneously in the atmosphere. The wafer 2 is transferred between the FOUP and the load lock chamber 14 by an atmospheric transfer device.

The load lock chamber 14 is provided with a boat 32 as a substrate holder.
The boat 32 horizontally accommodates a plurality of (for example, 25) wafers 2 at regular intervals in the vertical direction. The boat 32 is made of, for example, silicon carbide or aluminum and has a structure in which an upper plate 34 and a lower plate 36 are connected by a plurality of (for example, three) columns 38. A plurality of (for example, 25) holding grooves 40 for holding the wafer 2 are formed in parallel on the inner side in the longitudinal direction of the column 38.

The load lock chamber 14 is provided with a gas supply portion 42 for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) into the load lock chamber 14 and a gas exhaust portion 44 for exhausting the load lock chamber 14. Yes.

The gas supply unit 42 includes a valve 42a and an MFC (mass flow controller) 42b, and adjusts the supply amount of the inert gas supplied to the load lock chamber 14 by the valve 42a and the MFC 42b.
The gas exhaust unit 44 includes a valve 44a and an exhaust pump 44b, and adjusts the exhaust amount of gas exhausted from the load lock chamber 14 by the valve 44a and the exhaust pump 44b.
As described above, the atmosphere such as the pressure in the load lock chamber 14 is adjusted by the gas supply unit 42 and the gas exhaust unit 44.

  An opening 48 is formed in the lower surface 46 of the load lock chamber 14 to communicate the inside and outside of the load lock chamber 14. A drive mechanism 50 that moves the boat 32 up and down and rotates through the opening 48 is provided below the load lock chamber 14.

The drive mechanism 50 includes a shaft 52 as a support shaft for supporting the boat 32, a telescopic bellows 54 provided so as to surround the shaft 52, and a fixed base 56 to which the lower ends of the shaft 52 and the bellows 54 are fixed. And a lifting device 58 that lifts and lowers the boat 32 via the shaft 52, a connecting member 60 that connects the lifting device 58 and the fixed base 56, and a rotating device (not shown) that rotates the boat 32. The
The shaft 52 and the fixed base 56 constitute a support portion that supports the boat 32.

  The shaft 52 includes a cooling mechanism (not shown) such as a coolant circulation furnace inside. The wafer 2 held by the boat 32 (particularly, the wafer 2 having heat after processing) is cooled by the cooling mechanism.

  The upper end of the bellows 54 is fixed around the opening 48 formed in the lower surface 46 of the load lock chamber 14. For this reason, the load lock chamber 14 is maintained in a hermetically sealed state including the space where the shaft 52 exists, regardless of the lifting and lowering operation of the shaft 52.

  The fixed base 56 is provided so as to support the shaft 52 from below with a surface larger than the diameter (thickness) of the shaft 52. Note that the fixing base 56 may be formed integrally with the shaft 52. That is, for example, the lower end of the shaft 52 may be formed in a flange shape.

  The transfer chamber 16 is provided with a transfer device 70 for transferring the wafer 2 between the load lock chamber 14 and the processing chamber 18. The transfer apparatus 70 includes a substrate transfer unit 72 that supports and transfers the wafer 2, and a transfer drive unit 74 that moves the substrate transfer unit 72 up and down and rotates.

The substrate transport unit 72 is provided with two arm portions 76 stacked. Each of the arm portions 76 includes an upper finger 78a and a lower finger 78b. The upper finger 78a and the lower finger 78b are arranged at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction, and are configured to be stretchable in a substantially horizontal direction.
Each of the arm portions 76 is configured to be independently operable. When the wafer 2 is transferred, the wafer 2 is supported by one of the arm portions 76 and transferred two by two.

The wafer 2 is moved from the load lock chamber 14 to the processing chamber 18 by moving the wafer 2 held by the boat 32 into the transfer chamber 16 via the first communication unit 22 by the transfer device 70, It is carried out by moving it into the processing chamber 18 via the second communication part 24.
The wafer 2 is moved from the processing chamber 18 to the load lock chamber 14 by moving the wafer 2 in the processing chamber 18 into the transfer chamber 16 via the second communication portion 24 by the transfer device 70, and subsequently. This is performed by holding the boat 32 via the first communication portion 22.

  In the processing chamber 18, a first processing unit 80, a second processing unit 82 disposed farther from the transfer chamber 16 than the first processing unit 80, and the second processing unit 82 and the transfer A substrate moving unit 84 that transfers the wafer 2 to and from the apparatus 70 is provided.

The first processing unit 80 includes a first mounting table 92 on which the wafer 2 is mounted, and a first heater 94 that heats the first mounting table 92.
The second processing unit 82 includes a second mounting table 96 for mounting the wafer 2, and a second heater 98 for heating the second mounting table 96.
The first mounting table 92 and the second mounting table 96 are made of aluminum, for example. The first processing unit 80 and the second processing unit 82 are configured to process the wafer 2 in the same manner.

The substrate moving unit 84 includes a moving member 86 that supports the wafer 2 and a moving shaft 88 provided in the vicinity of the boundary wall 20. The moving member 86 is provided so as to be rotatable and movable up and down about the moving shaft 88.
The substrate moving unit 84 transfers the wafer 2 to and from the transfer device 70 on the first processing unit 80 side by rotating the moving member 86 to the first processing unit 80 side.
In this way, the substrate moving unit 84 moves one of the two wafers 2 transferred by the transfer device 70 to the second mounting table 96 of the second processing unit 82, The wafer 2 placed on the placement table 96 is moved to the transfer device 70.

By disposing the moving shaft 88 on the boundary wall 20 side, the outside of the processing chamber 18 can be formed in a circular shape. As a result, the outer shell 10a of the substrate processing apparatus 10 can be formed in an oblique shape, and an external space (for example, a maintenance space for a maintenance person to enter) is larger than when the outer shell 10a is not formed in an oblique shape. Secured.
If the moving shaft 88 is disposed on the outer wall side of the processing chamber 18 opposite to the boundary wall 20 side, the outer shell 10a cannot be formed in an oblique shape, and it is difficult to secure a large external space.

The processing chamber 18 a and the processing chamber 18 b are configured as a contrast with respect to the boundary wall 20. That is, the substrate moving portions 84 of the processing chambers 18 are arranged so as to approach each other with the boundary wall 20 therebetween.
For this reason, the wiring for controlling the substrate moving part 84 of each processing chamber 18 can be concentrated in the lower part of the processing chamber 18 and substantially in the center in the horizontal direction, that is, in the vicinity of the boundary wall 20. It becomes. Thereby, compared with the case where this structure is not provided, the wiring which controls the board | substrate moving part 84 is arrange | positioned efficiently.

  The controller 100 as a control unit includes a first gate valve 26, a second gate valve 28, a valve 42a and an MFC 42b in the gas supply unit 42, a valve 44a in the gas exhaust unit 44, an exhaust pump 44b, an elevating device 58, a conveyance It is connected to the apparatus 70, the substrate moving part 84, the first heater 94, the second heater 98, and the like.

  The controller 100 opens and closes the first gate valve 26 and the second gate valve 28, adjusts the flow rate and pressure of the valves 42 a, MFC 42 b, valve 44 a, and exhaust pump 44 b, moves up and down the lifting device 58, and transports 70. In addition, the transport operation of the substrate moving unit 84, the temperature adjustment operation of the first heater 94, the second heater 9898, and the like are controlled.

  Next, details of the drive mechanism 50 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the lifting device 58 of the drive mechanism 50.
The elevating device 58 of the drive mechanism 50 has a frame body 110. The frame 110 includes a top plate portion 112, a bottom plate portion 114, and a side plate portion 116 that is fixed to the top plate portion 112 and the bottom plate portion 114 and has a surface facing the shaft 52. The side plate portion 116 is formed in a “U” shape.

Inside the frame 110, an elevating shaft 118 and an elevating member 120 attached so that the elevating shaft 118 penetrates in the vertical direction are provided. The elevating member 120 is opposed to the connection member 60 at the opposing surface 120a.
A rotation drive unit 122 that rotates the elevating shaft 118 is provided below the frame 110.

  For this reason, the lifting device 58 has a configuration in which the lifting member 120 moves up and down along the side plate portion 116 by the rotation driving unit 122 rotating the lifting shaft 118. Specifically, for example, when the elevating shaft 118 rotates forward, the elevating member 120 rises, and when the elevating shaft 118 rotates reversely, the elevating member 120 descends.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a connection portion between the connection member 60 and the elevating member 120. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the connection member 60 and its peripheral structure. In FIG. 5, illustration of the bellows 54 is omitted for simplification.

The connecting member 60 is configured such that an opposing wall 132 that faces the lifting device 58 and a trapezoidal side wall 134 that is provided on both sides in the lateral direction are integrally formed. Here, the lateral direction is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the load lock chamber 14, the transfer chamber 16, and the processing chamber 18 are arranged (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “transfer direction”) and the vertical direction (up and down in FIG. 1). Direction).
The shaft 52 is disposed at a position surrounded by the opposing wall 132 and the side wall 134 in three directions.

  The facing wall 132 is connected to the elevating member 120 of the elevating device 58 on a surface-to-surface basis. That is, the elevating member 120 is configured to be connected to the opposing wall 132 over the entire opposing surface 120a.

The opposing wall 132 has a bottom surface 132 a of the opposing wall 132 fixed to the fixed base 56.
The side wall 134 has a predetermined thickness in the lateral direction, and the bottom surface 134 a of the side wall 134 is fixed to the fixed base 56.
That is, the connection member 60 has a configuration in which the entire bottom surface is fixed to the fixed base 56.

  The connecting member 60 is provided with a restricting portion 140 disposed so as to sandwich the side plate portion 116 of the lifting device 58 from the outside in the lateral direction. The connecting member 60 is configured to be lifted and lowered by being guided by the restricting portion 140 along the side plate portion 116. For this reason, the displacement of the connecting member 60 in the lateral direction is restricted by the restricting portion 140.

Thus, the drive mechanism 50 has a configuration in which the elevating member 120 and the fixed base 56 are firmly connected by the connecting member 60 as compared with the case where this configuration is not provided. That is, the lifting device 58 and the shaft 52 are firmly connected by the connection member 60.
For this reason, it is suppressed that the shaft 52 and the boat 32 incline with respect to a conveyance direction.

Next, the transfer operation (S10) of the wafer 2 in the substrate processing apparatus 10 will be described.
FIG. 6 shows a flow of the transport operation (S10). In the transfer operation (S10), each component of the substrate processing apparatus 10 is controlled by the controller 100.

  In step 102 (S102), the FOUP is transferred to the EFEM 12 by a transfer device (not shown) outside the substrate processing apparatus 10.

In step 104 (S104), the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is brought to atmospheric pressure.
Specifically, N ₂ is supplied into the load lock chamber 14 as an inert gas while opening the valve 42a of the gas supply unit 42 and adjusting the flow rate with the MFC 42b. In this way, the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is set to an air atmosphere (for example, 1.0 × 10 ⁵ Pa).

In step 106 (S106), the wafer 2 is loaded into the load lock chamber.
Specifically, the wafer 2 is transferred from the FOUP placed on the EFEM 12 to the boat 32 in the load lock chamber 14 by the atmospheric transfer device. The boat 32 holds the wafer 2 by placing the wafer 2 in the holding groove 40.

In step 108 (S108), the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is evacuated.
Specifically, after the boat 32 holds a predetermined number of wafers 2, the valve 44a of the gas exhaust unit 44 is opened, and the interior of the load lock chamber 14 is exhausted by the exhaust pump 44b. In this way, the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is set to a vacuum atmosphere (for example, 1.0 × 10 ² Pa or less).
At this time, the transfer chamber 16 and the processing chamber 18 are in a vacuum atmosphere.

In step 110 (S110), the wafer 2 is transferred from the load lock chamber 14 to the processing chamber 18.
Specifically, first, the first gate valve 26 is opened. At this time, the lifting device 58 raises and lowers the boat 32 so that the wafer 2 in the lowermost layer of the boat 32 matches the height of the transfer device 70. The rotating device rotates the boat 32 so that the wafer outlet of the boat 32 faces the transfer chamber 16 side.

  The transfer device 70 extends the upper fingers 78 a and the lower fingers 78 b (hereinafter, may be collectively referred to as “finger 78”) of the arm portion 76 in the boat 32 direction, and the wafer 2 is placed on these fingers 78. To do. After the finger 78 is contracted, the arm portion 76 is rotated so as to face the processing chamber 18 side. Next, the finger 78 is extended, and the wafer 2 is loaded into the processing chamber 18 through the second communication portion 24 in which the second gate valve 28 is opened.

In the processing chamber 18, the wafer 2 mounted on the lower finger 78 b is mounted on the first mounting table 92 of the first processing unit 80.
The wafer 2 placed on the upper finger 78a is transferred to the moving member 86 waiting on the first processing unit 80 side. After receiving the wafer 2, the moving member 86 rotates to the second processing unit 82 side and places the wafer 2 on the second placement table 96.

  In step 112 (S112), the wafer 2 is subjected to predetermined processing such as ashing processing.

In step 114 (S 114), the processed wafer 2 is transferred from the processing chamber 18 to the load lock chamber 14. The transfer of the wafer 2 from the processing chamber 18 to the load lock chamber 14 is performed in the reverse procedure to the operation of loading into the processing chamber 18.
At this time, the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is in a vacuum atmosphere while maintaining the state of step 108 (S108).

In step 116 (S116), the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is brought to atmospheric pressure.
Specifically, as in step 104 (S104), N ₂ is supplied into the load lock chamber 14 as an inert gas while opening the valve 42a of the gas supply unit 42 and adjusting the flow rate with the MFC 42b. In this way, the inside of the load lock chamber 14 is made an atmospheric atmosphere.

In step 118 (S118), the wear 2 is carried out from the load lock chamber 14 to the EFEM 12.
Specifically, the wafer 2 held on the boat 32 is transferred to the FOUP placed on the EFEM 12 by the atmospheric transfer device.
In this way, the transfer operation of the wafer 2 is completed.

In the above embodiment, the operation of performing the step of setting the load lock chamber 14 in the air atmosphere in step 104 (S104) has been described. However, if the load lock chamber 14 is already in the air atmosphere, Step 104 (S104) may be omitted.
For example, when the transfer operation (S10) is repeatedly performed, there is a situation in which the interior of the load lock chamber 14 is already in an air atmosphere through step 116 (S116) in the previous transfer operation (S10).

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a connection portion between the connection member 60 and the elevating member 120.
In the second embodiment, the lifting device 58 is provided with a first lifting member 150 and a second lifting member 152. In this respect, the second embodiment is different from the configuration of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, inside the frame 110 of the lifting device 58, a lifting shaft 118, a first lifting member 150 attached so that the lifting shaft 118 penetrates in the vertical direction, and the first lifting / lowering member. A second elevating member 152 is provided below the member 150 so that the elevating shaft 118 penetrates in the vertical direction.
The first elevating member 150 is opposed to the connection member 60 at the opposed surface 150a, and the second elevating member 152 is opposed to the connecting member 60 at the opposed surface 152a.

The facing wall 132 of the connection member 60 is connected to the first elevating member 150 and the second elevating member 152 on a surface-to-surface basis. That is, the first elevating member 150 is configured to be connected to the opposing wall 132 over the entire opposing surface 150a, and the second elevating member 152 is configured to be connected to the opposing wall 132 over the entire opposing surface 152a.
The 1st raising / lowering member 150 is connected with this opposing wall 132 so that the upper end part of the opposing wall 132 may be supported.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the connection member 60 is configured to be connected to the lifting device 58 at two locations, upper and lower. For this reason, compared with the case where this configuration is not provided, the connecting member 60 is connected to the lifting device 58 in a more stable state. That is, the shaft 52 is connected in a stable state by the lifting device 58.

2 Wafer 10 Substrate Processing Device 14 Load Lock Chamber 16 Transfer Chamber 18 Processing Chamber 32 Boat 42 Gas Supply Unit 44 Gas Exhaust Unit 50 Drive Mechanism 52 Shaft 54 Bellows 56 Fixing Stand 58 Lifting Device 60 Connecting Member 70 Transfer Device 72 Substrate Transfer Unit 80 First processing unit 82 Second processing unit 84 Substrate moving unit 100 Controller 110 Frame 118 Elevating shaft 120 Elevating member 122 Rotation driving unit

Claims (2)

A load lock room,
Atmosphere control means for controlling the atmosphere in the load lock chamber;
A substrate holder for holding the substrate in the load lock chamber;
A support portion for supporting the substrate holder;
A lifting device that lifts and lowers the support;
A connection part fixed to the support part and connected to the lifting device by a surface;
Have
The load lock chamber is adjacent to an atmospheric transfer chamber for transferring a substrate in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, and a vacuum transfer chamber for transferring a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure adjacent to the processing chamber for processing the substrate. Substrate processing equipment. A load lock room,
Atmosphere control means for controlling the atmosphere in the load lock chamber;
A substrate holder for holding the substrate in the load lock chamber;
A support portion for supporting the substrate holder;
A lifting device that lifts and lowers the support;
A connection part fixed to the support part and connected to the lifting device by a surface;
Have
The load lock chamber is adjacent to an atmospheric transfer chamber for transferring a substrate in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere, and a vacuum transfer chamber for transferring a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere having a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure adjacent to the processing chamber for processing the substrate. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device using a substrate processing apparatus,
Making the load lock chamber a vacuum atmosphere by the atmosphere control means;
Transferring the substrate from the load lock chamber to the processing chamber via the vacuum transfer chamber;
Processing the substrate in the processing chamber;
Transferring the substrate from the processing chamber to the load lock chamber via the vacuum transfer chamber;
Making the load lock chamber an atmospheric pressure atmosphere by the atmosphere control means;
Transferring the substrate from the load lock chamber to the atmospheric transfer chamber;
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising:

Images