JP2012134325A - Substrate treating apparatus and method of manufacturing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce risks of explosions due to leakage of a process gas and to surely prevent damages or the like of an apparatus due to the explosions.SOLUTION: An inert gas is supplied to a gap SP3 between a housing case 290 and an envelope member 280 and a gap SP4 between the envelope member 280 and a treatment furnace 202, the inert gas of the gap SP4 directly reaches an inert gas discharge pipe 290 through a connection hole 284, and the inert gas of the gap SP3 enters the inner side of the envelope member 280 through an opening 283 of the envelope member 280 and reaches the inert gas discharge pipe 291 from the connection hole 284. Thus, the inert gas is spread all over the housing case 290 and the process gas leaking inside a heater chamber HR is almost completely diluted and discharged to the outside without letting it stay. Thus, the risks of the explosion due to the leakage of the process gas are reduced, and damages or the like of a substrate treating apparatus 101 due to the explosion are surely prevented.

Description

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

  Conventionally, for example, techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are known as substrate processing apparatuses using CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) for semiconductors or solar cells. Since these substrate processing apparatuses use a processing gas such as hydrogen gas, they are provided with a protective structure (explosion-proof structure) in order to protect the substrate processing apparatus from an explosion caused by leakage of the processing gas.

  In Patent Document 1, an induction heating device is provided outside an outer tube as a processing container for processing a substrate, a blower for discharging the atmosphere in the wall to an external facility on the wall of the induction heating device, and explosion diffusion There is disclosed a technique in which a mouth and an explosion diffusion opening and closing device for opening and closing the mouth are provided. As a result, the processing gas leaked into the wall is discharged to the equipment by operating the blower. For example, even if an explosion occurs due to mixing of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas in the wall, the pressure is discharged to the explosion vent. The substrate processing apparatus can be prevented from being damaged due to the explosion.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, a scavenger is provided at the lower end portion of a reaction tube as a processing vessel for processing a substrate, and a reaction gas (treatment) is connected from a connection portion between a gas supply tube and a reaction gas introduction nozzle, a seal portion of a seal cap, or the like. A technique is disclosed in which, even if gas (gas) leaks, the reaction gas is diluted by capturing the gas and introducing an inert gas (nitrogen gas or the like) into the scavenger. Thereafter, the reaction gas diluted with the inert gas is discharged to the outside through the inert gas exhaust pipe. Thereby, an explosion or the like caused by leakage of the reaction gas can be prevented in advance, and damage or the like of the substrate processing apparatus can be prevented.

JP 2010-153467 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-195354

  However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, the processing gas such as hydrogen gas that has leaked into the wall is discharged to an external facility through the blower without being diluted, and is thus sucked by the blower. Until then, the process gas will stay in the wall. Therefore, a device for reducing the risk of explosion until the processing gas is sucked by the blower is required.

  On the other hand, according to the technique described in Patent Document 2 described above, a sealing material is provided at each connection part of each component forming the substrate processing apparatus to improve the sealing performance and suppress the leakage of the processing gas. However, if the processing gas leaks, there is a risk that the processing gas may stay in the corners of the scavenger where the inert gas does not easily pass. Therefore, in order to further reduce the risk of explosion, it is necessary to devise a passage for the inert gas introduced into the scavenger.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a substrate that can further reduce the risk of explosion caused by leakage of a processing gas and reliably prevent damage to the apparatus caused by explosion.

  The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

  Of the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of typical ones will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a processing container that internally processes a substrate using a processing gas, an enclosing member that has an opening at one end and surrounds the periphery of the processing container, the processing container, A housing case for housing the surrounding member, a gas pipe that passes through a wall portion of the housing case and is connected to the wall portion of the surrounding member, and communicates the inside of the surrounding member and the outside of the housing case; A first gap provided between the housing and the surrounding member; a second gap provided between the surrounding member and the processing container and connected to the first gap via the opening; Is provided.

  The effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

  That is, it is possible to further reduce the risk of explosion caused by leakage of the processing gas, and reliably prevent damage to the device caused by the explosion.

It is a perspective view which shows the outline | summary of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view which shows the susceptor holding the wafer. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows a mode that a wafer is isolate | separated from a susceptor. It is a side view which shows the whole structure of a boat. It is a top view which shows the state which loaded the susceptor holding the wafer in the boat. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline in the processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and a processing furnace periphery. It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line of FIG. (A) is a detailed view of the processing gas supply unit, and (b) is a detailed view of the processing gas discharge unit. (A) is a detailed view of an inert gas supply part, (b) is a detailed view of an inert gas discharge part. It is the elements on larger scale of the broken-line circle | round | yen D part of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of the broken-line circle | round | yen E part of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of the broken-line circle | round | yen F part of FIG. (A), (b) is explanatory drawing explaining the detailed structure and operating state of a pressure relief valve.

  In the following embodiment, when it is necessary for the sake of convenience, the description will be divided into a plurality of sections or embodiments. However, unless otherwise specified, they are not irrelevant, and one is the other. Some or all of the modifications, details, supplementary explanations, etc. are related.

  Also, in the following embodiments, when referring to the number of elements (including the number, numerical value, quantity, range, etc.), particularly when clearly indicated, or when clearly limited to a specific number in principle, etc. Except, it is not limited to the specific number, and may be more or less than the specific number.

  Further, in the following embodiments, the constituent elements (including element steps and the like) are not necessarily indispensable unless otherwise specified and apparently essential in principle. Needless to say.

  Similarly, in the following embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc., of components, etc., it is substantially the case unless specifically stated otherwise and in principle considered otherwise. Including those that are approximate or similar to the shape. The same applies to the above numerical values and ranges.

  In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same members are denoted by the same reference symbols in principle, and the repeated explanation thereof is omitted. In order to make the drawings easy to understand, even a plan view may be hatched.

  In an embodiment for carrying out the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus is configured as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs various processing steps included in a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device (IC or the like) as an example. In the following description, the technical idea of the present invention is applied to a vertical substrate processing apparatus that performs film formation by epitaxial growth, film formation by CVD, or oxidation or diffusion treatment on a semiconductor substrate (semiconductor wafer). The case will be described. In particular, in this embodiment, a batch-type substrate processing apparatus that processes a plurality of substrates at once will be described.

<Configuration of substrate processing apparatus>
First, a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a top view showing a susceptor holding a wafer, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. Is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the wafer is separated from the susceptor, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the entire structure of the boat, FIG. 6 is a top view showing a state in which the susceptor holding the wafer is loaded on the boat, and FIG. Sectional drawing in alignment with the BB line of FIG. 6 is each represented.

  Hereinafter, although each member which comprises the substrate processing apparatus 101 is demonstrated, the side in which the cassette 110 is carried in / out among the side surfaces of the housing | casing 111 is demonstrated as a front. The position of each member in the housing 111 will be described with the direction toward the front as the front and the direction away from the front as the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 101 includes a cassette 110 as a wafer carrier, and a plurality of wafers (substrates) 200 as semiconductor substrates made of silicon or the like are stored in the cassette 110. A casing 111 that forms an outline of the substrate processing apparatus 101 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example, and the cassette 110 is carried into and out of the inside. A front maintenance port 103 is provided below the front wall 111 a of the casing 111 as an opening for maintaining the substrate processing apparatus 101, and the front maintenance port 103 is provided on the front wall 111 a of the casing 111. The front maintenance door 104 can be opened and closed.

  The front maintenance door 104 is provided with a cassette loading / unloading port (substrate container loading / unloading port) 112 so as to communicate between the inside and the outside of the casing 111. The cassette loading / unloading port 112 is a front shutter (substrate container loading / unloading opening / closing mechanism). ) 113 can be opened and closed. A cassette stage (substrate container delivery table) 114 is installed inside the casing 111 of the cassette loading / unloading port 112. The cassette 110 is loaded onto the cassette stage 114 by an in-process transfer device (not shown) and unloaded from the cassette stage 114. The cassette 110 is placed on the cassette stage 114 so that the wafer 200 in the cassette 110 is in a vertical posture and the wafer loading / unloading port of the cassette 110 faces upward by the in-process transfer device. .

  A cassette shelf (substrate container mounting shelf) 105 is installed at a substantially lower center in the front-rear direction in the casing 111. The cassette shelf 105 stores a plurality of cassettes 110 in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows. 110 is arranged so that the wafer 200 in 110 can be taken in and out. The cassette shelf 105 is installed on a slide stage (horizontal movement mechanism) 106 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. A buffer shelf (substrate container storage shelf) 107 is installed above the cassette shelf 105, and the cassette 110 is also stored in the buffer shelf 107.

  A cassette carrying device (substrate container carrying device) 118 is installed between the cassette stage 114 and the cassette shelf 105. The cassette transport device 118 includes a cassette elevator (substrate container lifting mechanism) 118a that can be moved up and down while holding the cassette 110, and a cassette transport mechanism (substrate container transport mechanism) 118b as a transport mechanism. The cassette 110 can be transported among the cassette stage 114, the cassette shelf 105, and the buffer shelf 107 by the continuous operation of the cassette elevator 118a and the cassette transport mechanism 118b.

  A wafer transfer mechanism (substrate transfer mechanism) 125 is installed behind the cassette shelf 105. The wafer transfer mechanism 125 includes a wafer transfer device (substrate transfer device) 125a capable of rotating or linearly moving the wafer 200 in the horizontal direction and a wafer transfer device elevator (substrate transfer) for raising and lowering the wafer transfer device 125a. Device lifting mechanism) 125b. As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the wafer transfer device elevator 125 b is installed on the right side of the housing 111 facing the front. By the continuous operation of the wafer transfer device elevator 125b and the wafer transfer device 125a, the tweezer (substrate holder) 125c provided in the wafer transfer device 125a becomes a susceptor holding mechanism (not shown) of the substrate processing apparatus 101. The wafer 200 is loaded (charged) and unloaded (discharged) with respect to a certain susceptor 218 (see FIG. 2).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the susceptor 218 is formed in a disc shape and includes an annular peripheral portion 218 a and a circular central portion 218 b. The thickness dimension of the peripheral portion 218a is set to be approximately twice the thickness dimension of the central portion 218b, and a step portion 218c is formed between the peripheral portion 218a and the central portion 218b. That is, the susceptor 218 has a concave shape in which the central portion 218b is recessed. The central portion 218b holds the disc-shaped wafer 200 in accordance with the axis of the central portion 218b by the operation of the tweezer 125c of the wafer transfer mechanism 125. An annular gap is formed between the outer peripheral side of the wafer 200 and the inner peripheral side of the peripheral edge 218a. That is, the diameter of the wafer 200 is smaller than that of the central portion 218b. In addition, the thickness dimension of the wafer 200 is set to be substantially the same as the thickness dimension of the central portion 218b, whereby the wafer 200 is substantially hidden by the peripheral edge portion 218a when the susceptor 218 is viewed from the side. Yes.

  The central portion 218b of the susceptor 218 is provided with three pin holes PH each having a substantially T-shaped cross section (flange shape), and each pin hole PH is spaced by 60 ° along the circumferential direction of the central portion 218b ( At equal intervals). However, the number of pin holes PH is not limited to three and may be four or more. Each pin hole PH is provided with a support member MT that supports the wafer 200 when the wafer 200 is separated from the susceptor 218, and each support member MT has a substantially T-shaped cross section like each pin hole PH. And is detachably attached to the upper side in FIG. 3 with respect to each pin hole PH. Here, each support member MT and each pin hole PH are formed in a flange shape, thereby preventing each support member MT from dropping downward in FIG.

  The susceptor 218 has a function as a heating body, and heats the wafer 200 and its surrounding atmosphere (inside the processing furnace 202). The susceptor 218 is formed of a conductive material (carbon, carbon graphite, or the like) whose surface is coated with silicon carbide (SiC) or the like, and by covering the surface, impurities from the conductive material that becomes a base material of the susceptor 218 are formed. Release is suppressed. Here, the susceptor 218 is preferably formed in a disk shape in order to uniformly heat the disk-shaped wafer 200 over the entire region, but it may be formed in an elliptical shape or a polygonal shape (for example, a regular hexagonal shape). Etc.). Further, the outer peripheral side of the peripheral portion 218a of the susceptor 218 is formed to have a substantially right angle corner as shown in FIG. 3, but the cross section is formed to have a substantially arc shape, or the cross section has an acute angle. It may be sharpened. In this case, it is possible to obtain a merit that the processing gas supplied from the horizontal direction of the susceptor 218 can be easily introduced into the wafer 200.

  The susceptor holding mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus 101 is provided with a push-up pin lifting mechanism UDU as shown in FIG. 4, and this push-up pin lift mechanism UDU is provided with three push-up pins PN (two in the drawing). . Each push-up pin PN is for separating the wafer 200 from the susceptor 218 and is driven up and down by a push-up pin lifting mechanism UDU. The specific operation of the push-up pin lifting mechanism UDU is as follows. First, each push-up pin PN is positioned so as to come into contact with each support member MT mounted in each pin hole PH of the susceptor 218, and then the push-up pin lift mechanism UDU is moved. Drive up. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, each push-up pin PN and each support member MT are integrated, each support member MT is removed from each pin hole PH, and each support member MT and the wafer 200 are raised. As a result, the wafer 200 is separated from the susceptor 218, and the wafer 200 can be detached from the susceptor 218.

  Here, in order to reduce damage to the wafer 200 when the wafer 200 is separated from the susceptor 218, each support member MT is formed in a flange shape as shown in FIGS. is doing. Further, in order to suppress the heat radiation from each pin hole PH under the state where the wafer 200 is held by the susceptor 218 (see FIG. 3), each support member MT has almost no gap with respect to each pin hole PH. It is supposed to be installed.

  The substrate processing apparatus 101 includes a susceptor moving mechanism (not shown) in addition to the susceptor holding mechanism. The susceptor moving mechanism is loaded (charging) and unloaded (discharged) so that a plurality of susceptors 218 holding wafers 200 are loaded on the boat 217 between the susceptor holding mechanism and the boat (substrate holder) 217. Is configured to do.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the boat 217 aligns a plurality of susceptors 218 holding wafers 200 (for example, about 50 to 100) in a plurality of stages in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) with their centers aligned. In such a state, each can be horizontally loaded and held. That is, a plurality of wafers 200 are stacked on the boat 217 via the susceptor 218.

The boat 217 functions as a holding body that holds each susceptor 218. The boat 217 includes a disk-shaped bottom plate 217a, a disk-shaped top plate 217b, and three columns PR that connect the bottom plate 217a and the top plate 217b. It is configured. A plurality of holding portions HU protrude from the susceptor 218 (wafer 200) side of each support PR, that is, the central axis side of the boat 217, and the susceptor 218 is placed on each holding portion HU. It has become. A plurality of holding portions HU are provided at equal intervals along the axial direction of each support PR, and the intervals along the axial direction of each support PR of each holding portion HU are longer than the thickness dimension of the susceptor 218. Thus, the processing gas is distributed over the entire area of one side surface (the upper side surface in FIG. 7) of the wafer 200. Each strut PR, the holding unit HU, a bottom plate 217a and the top plate 217b are respectively made of quartz (SiO ₂₎ materials as heat-resistant material. In addition, although an example in which three columns PR are provided is illustrated, if the susceptor 218 can be set from the lateral direction of the boat 217, four or more columns PR can be provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a clean unit 134a including a supply fan and a dustproof filter is provided behind the buffer shelf 107 in order to supply clean air, which is a cleaned atmosphere, into the substrate processing apparatus 101. The clean unit 134a is configured to distribute clean air inside the casing 111. Further, a supply fan and a dust-proof filter are used so that clean air is supplied to the susceptor 218 holding the wafer 200 on the opposite side of the wafer transfer device elevator 125b side, that is, on the left side facing the front of the casing 111. A configured clean unit (not shown) is installed. The clean air blown out from the clean unit passes through the susceptor 218 holding the wafer 200 and is then sucked into an exhaust device (not shown) and exhausted to the outside of the casing 111.

  Behind the wafer transfer device (substrate transfer device) 125a, a pressure-resistant housing 140 having an airtight performance capable of maintaining a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure) is installed. The pressure-resistant housing 140 forms a load lock chamber (transfer chamber) 141 that is a load lock type standby chamber having a capacity capable of accommodating the boat 217.

  The front wall 140a of the pressure-resistant housing 140 is provided with a wafer loading / unloading port (substrate loading / unloading port) 142, and the wafer loading / unloading port 142 is opened and closed by a gate valve (substrate loading / unloading port opening / closing mechanism) 143. Yes. A gas supply pipe 144 for introducing an inert gas (nitrogen gas or the like) into the load lock chamber 141 is connected to the pair of side walls of the pressure-resistant housing 140. Further, a gas exhaust pipe (not shown) for exhausting inert gas or the like from the load lock chamber 141 and making the inside of the load lock chamber 141 have a negative pressure is connected to the pair of side walls of the pressure-resistant housing 140. Has been.

  Above the load lock chamber 141, a processing furnace 202 is provided as a processing container for processing a substrate inside. The processing furnace 202 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and its lower end is configured to be opened and closed by a furnace port shutter (furnace port gate valve, furnace port opening / closing mechanism) 147.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 1, a boat elevator (supporting body lifting mechanism) 115 for lifting and lowering the boat 217 is installed in the load lock chamber 141. A seal cap 219 serving as a lid is horizontally installed on an arm (not shown) connected to the boat elevator 115, and the seal cap 219 supports the boat 217 vertically, and a lower end of the processing furnace 202. It is comprised so that a part can be obstruct | occluded.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each drive unit constituting the substrate processing apparatus 101, i.e., an electrical component such as an actuator, is electrically connected to the controller 240. The controller 240 operates the drive unit constituting the substrate processing apparatus 101. Are controlled based on a predetermined control logic.

<Operation of substrate processing apparatus>
The substrate processing apparatus 101 is generally configured as described above. Hereinafter, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 101, particularly the operation of loading and unloading the wafer 200 with respect to the processing furnace 202 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette loading / unloading port 112 is opened by the front shutter 113 before the cassette 110 is supplied to the cassette stage 114. Thereafter, the cassette 110 is loaded into the casing 111 from the cassette loading / unloading port 112 and placed on the cassette stage 114. At this time, the wafer 200 placed on the cassette stage 114 is in a vertical posture, and is placed so that the wafer loading / unloading port of the cassette 110 faces upward.

  Next, the cassette 110 is picked up from the cassette stage 114 by the cassette carrying device 118, the wafer 200 in the cassette 110 is in a horizontal posture, and the wafer loading / unloading port of the cassette 110 faces the rear of the housing 111. , 90 ° is rotated toward the rear of the casing 111. Subsequently, the cassette 110 is automatically transported to the designated position on the cassette shelf 105 or the buffer shelf 107 by the cassette transport device 118 and delivered. That is, after the cassette 110 is temporarily stored in the buffer shelf 107, it is transferred to the cassette shelf 105 by the cassette conveying device 118 or directly conveyed to the cassette shelf 105.

  Thereafter, the slide stage 106 moves the cassette shelf 105 horizontally and positions the cassette 110 to be transferred so as to face the wafer transfer device 125a. The wafer 200 is picked up from the cassette 110 through the wafer loading / unloading port by the tweezer 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a. At this time, in the susceptor holding mechanism, the push-up pin elevating mechanism UDU is driven up, and each push-up pin PN is raised (see FIG. 4). Subsequently, the wafer 200 is placed on each support member MT integrated with each push-up pin PN by driving the wafer transfer device 125a. Then, the push-up pin elevating mechanism UDU is driven downward, and the push-up pin PN on which the wafer 200 is placed is lowered to hold the wafer 200 on the susceptor 218 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the wafer transfer device 125a returns to the cassette 110 and loads the next wafer 200 into the susceptor holding mechanism.

  Next, when the wafer loading / unloading port 142 of the load lock chamber 141 whose interior is previously set to the atmospheric pressure state is opened by the operation of the gate valve 143, the wafer 200 is held from the susceptor holding mechanism by driving the susceptor moving mechanism. The susceptor 218 (see FIG. 3) is removed. Thereafter, by driving the susceptor moving mechanism, the susceptor 218 detached from the susceptor holding mechanism is loaded into the load lock chamber 141 through the wafer loading / unloading port 142 and loaded into the boat 217. Thereafter, the susceptor moving mechanism returns to the susceptor holding mechanism and picks up the next susceptor 218 holding the wafer 200. Then, the susceptor moving mechanism loads the susceptor 218 holding the wafers 200 on the boat 217 one after another by repeating this operation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the susceptors 218 holding the wafers 200 are respectively held by the holding portions HU of the boat 217 and become horizontal.

  Next, when a predetermined number of susceptors 218 (wafers 200) are loaded into the boat 217, the wafer loading / unloading port 142 is closed by the gate valve 143. Thereafter, the lower end portion of the processing furnace 202 is opened by the furnace port shutter 147. Subsequently, the boat 217 and the seal cap 219 loaded with each susceptor 218 are lifted by driving the boat elevator 115, and the boat 217 is loaded into the processing furnace 202, and the processing cap 202 is sealed by the seal cap 219. The lower end of is closed.

  After loading the boat 217, arbitrary processing is performed on each wafer 200 in the processing furnace 202. After the processing of each wafer 200, the seal cap 219 is lowered by driving the boat elevator 115 to open the lower end portion of the processing furnace 202, and the boat 217 is pulled out from the processing furnace 202. After that, generally following the operation reverse to the above-described operation, the cassette 110 storing each processed wafer 200 is taken out of the casing 111.

<Processing furnace configuration>
Next, the processing furnace 202 for forming the substrate processing apparatus 101 will be described with reference to the drawings. 8 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the inside and the periphery of the processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 8, and FIG. FIG. 11B is a detailed view of the processing gas discharge unit, FIG. 11A is a detailed view of the inert gas supply unit, and FIG. 11B is a detailed view of the inert gas discharge unit. .

As shown in FIG. 8, the processing furnace 202 includes an outer tube 205, an inner tube 230, and a manifold 209. The outer tube 205 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape by a quartz (SiO ₂ ) material as a heat resistant material, and has an upper end closed and a lower end opened. A manifold 209 is provided below the outer tube 205 so as to be concentric with the outer tube 205. The manifold 209 is formed in a cylindrical shape from, for example, quartz (SiO ₂ ) material or stainless steel material, and both the upper end and the lower end are open.

  The manifold 209 supports the outer tube 205 via an annular seal 267 as a seal member, and the space between the manifold 209 and the outer tube 205 is kept airtight. The manifold 209 is supported by a base member 250 formed in a cylindrical shape from stainless steel or the like, so that the outer tube 205 is installed vertically with respect to the substrate processing apparatus 101. However, the manifold 209 is not particularly limited to the case where the manifold 209 is provided separately from the outer tube 205, and can be integrated with the outer tube 205.

An inner tube 230 is provided inside the outer tube 205, and the inner tube 230 is formed of quartz (SiO ₂ ) material as a heat-resistant material, and has a bottomed cylindrical shape like the outer tube 205. The inner tube 230 is provided concentrically with the outer tube 205, and an annular gap SP <b> 1 is formed between the inner tube 230 and the outer tube 205. A processing chamber 201 is formed inside the inner tube 230, and a boat 217 is accommodated in the processing chamber 201. The central axis of the boat 217 is in a state that matches the central axis of the processing furnace 202.

  A processing gas supply pipe 300 for supplying a processing gas (not shown) into the processing chamber 201 is provided on the side wall 230 a of the inner tube 230. A plurality of gas supply ports 230 b are provided in the side wall 230 a of the inner tube 230, and the processing gas is supplied into the processing chamber 201 through the processing gas supply pipe 300. The processing gas supply pipe 300 is disposed in the gap SP1, and the other end side of the processing gas supply pipe 300 is bent at a right angle at the lower end portion of the inner tube 230 and extends to the outside through the manifold 209 and the base member 250. is doing. Here, seal members (not shown) are respectively provided between the processing gas supply pipe 300, the manifold 209, and the base member 250, thereby maintaining airtightness.

  The lower end side of the inner tube 230 is supported by the manifold 209 via an annular seal 268 as a seal member, whereby the manifold 209 and the inner tube 230 are kept airtight. That is, the gap SP1 is blocked from the outside by the annular seals 267 and 268.

On the opposite side (lower side in the figure) of the processing gas supply pipe 300 along the axial direction of the manifold 209, one end side of the processing gas discharge pipe 301 for discharging the processing gas that has passed through the processing chamber 201 to the outside is provided. It is connected. The processing gas discharge pipe 301 is provided substantially parallel to the processing gas supply pipe 300, and the other end side of the processing gas discharge pipe 301 extends through the base member 250 to the outside. Here, seal members (not shown) are provided between the processing gas discharge pipe 301, the manifold 209, and the base member 250, respectively, so that airtightness is maintained. Here, both of the processing gas supply pipe 300 and the processing gas discharge pipe 301 are formed of quartz (SiO ₂ ) material as a heat resistant material.

  A seal cap 219 is provided below the manifold 209 as a furnace port lid for hermetically closing the opening at the lower end of the manifold 209. The seal cap 219 is formed in a substantially disk shape from a metal material such as stainless steel. The seal cap 219 is moved in the vertical direction by an elevating motor (not shown) as an elevating mechanism provided outside the processing furnace 202, so that the boat 217 can be carried into and out of the processing chamber 201. . A rotation shaft (not shown) that can be rotated by a rotation mechanism passes through the seal cap 219, and one end side of the rotation shaft is connected to a heat insulating cylinder 216 that is integrally rotatable with the boat 217. ing. Accordingly, the boat 217 is rotated through the rotation shaft and the heat insulating cylinder 216 by rotating the rotation mechanism, and as a result, each wafer 200 can be rotated in the processing chamber 201.

At the lower part of the boat 217, for example, a heat insulating cylinder 216 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape by a quartz (SiO ₂ ) material as a heat resistant material is disposed. By providing the heat insulating cylinder 216, induction heating by the induction heating device 206 is performed. This makes it difficult for the heat generated in step 1 to be transferred to the drive mechanism side (lower side in the figure) such as a rotation mechanism. However, the heat insulating cylinder 216 may be provided integrally with the lower portion of the boat 217 without being provided separately from the boat 217. Further, instead of the heat insulating cylinder 216 or in addition to the heat insulating cylinder 216, a plurality of heat insulating plates may be provided at the lower part of the boat 217 or at the lower part of the heat insulating cylinder 216.

The boat 217 is made of a high-purity material that does not release contaminants in order to suppress contamination of impurities into the film during the film formation process of the wafer 200, and thermal conductivity to suppress thermal deterioration of the heat insulating cylinder 216. In order to suppress the thermal effect on the wafer 200 as much as possible, it is desirable to form the material with a material that is not induction heated by the induction heating device 206. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the boat 217 is formed of a quartz (SiO ₂ ) material so as to satisfy these conditions.

  A cylindrical induction heating device 206 is provided around the processing furnace 202 so as to surround the processing furnace 202. The induction heating device 206 heats each wafer 200 by radiant heat by applying a high frequency current, and includes an RF coil 2061 as an induction heating unit and a cylindrical coil housing 2062 that holds the RF coil 2061. ing. The RF coil 2061 is connected to a high frequency power source (not shown), and a high frequency current flows through the RF coil 2061 by the high frequency power source.

  The coil housing 2062 is formed in a cylindrical shape by, for example, a stainless material, and an opening 2063 is formed on the upper end side thereof. The lower end side of the coil housing 2062 is supported by the base member 250 via an annular seal 269 as a seal member and a support plate 270. An RF coil 2061 is provided on the inner wall side of the coil housing 2062, and the RF coil 2061 is supported by a coil support portion (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the coil housing 2062. The coil support portion forms a predetermined gap between the RF coil 2061 and the coil casing 2062.

  The RF coil 2061 is formed in a spiral shape and is divided into a plurality of regions (zones) along the axial direction of the coil housing 2062. For example, the zone below the coil housing 2062 is divided into five zones such as an RF coil L, an RF coil CL, an RF coil C, an RF coil CU, and an RF coil U. The RF coil L, RF coil CL, RF coil C, RF coil CU, and RF coil U divided into these five zones can be controlled independently.

  The manifold 209, the base member 250, and the support plate 270 form a scavenger 260. The scavenger 260 captures leakage of the processing gas and mixes an inert gas (such as nitrogen gas) inside to dilute the leaked processing gas.

  An inert gas supply nozzle 261 for supplying an inert gas into the scavenger 260 is connected to the lower end side of the base member 250. An inert gas (not shown) supplied from the inert gas supply nozzle 261 passes from the scavenger 260 through the gap SP2 between the annular seal 267 and the annular seal 269, and the outer tube 205 and the coil casing 2062. It has come to flow between. In addition, the inert gas in the scavenger 260 flows out between the coil casing 2062 and the surrounding member 280 through a through hole 271 (see FIG. 9) provided in the support plate 270.

  A surrounding member 280 is provided around the induction heating device 206 so as to surround the processing furnace 202 and the induction heating device 206. As shown in FIG. 9, the surrounding member 280 has an octagonal cross section, and includes a long side portion 281 and a short side portion 282 as wall portions facing each other. The surrounding member 280 is formed in an octagonal shape by bending a copper plate, and has a hollow shape with both ends in the longitudinal direction (upper and lower sides in the figure) opened. An opening 283 is formed on one end side (upper side in the figure) of the surrounding member 280 in the longitudinal direction, and the other end side (lower side in the figure) of the surrounding member 280 is a base plate 251 provided integrally with the base member 250. It is fixed to.

  The enclosing member 280 prevents the induction magnetic field radiated from the RF coil 2061 of the induction heating device 206 from reaching the surrounding housing case 290, and thereby the housing case 290 made of a stainless material or the like. Is prevented from being heated. Here, an induction current flows through the surrounding member 280, but since the surrounding member 280 is made of copper, its resistance value is small, and heat generation of the surrounding member 280 is suppressed. Here, the surrounding member 280 is formed to have an octagonal cross section. However, in order to prevent local heating of the surrounding member 280 by making the distance from the RF coil 2061 as a heat source equal, It is more desirable to do.

  A connecting hole 284 is provided on one end side of the surrounding member 280 in the longitudinal direction, and the connecting hole 284 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape. The connection hole 284 is provided in the short side portion 282 of the surrounding member 280. As shown in FIG. 9, the connection hole 284 includes an inert gas discharge pipe (gas pipe) 291 for discharging an inert gas to the outside. One end side is connected.

  A housing case 290 for housing the processing furnace 202 and the surrounding member 280 is provided around the surrounding member 280. As shown in FIG. 9, the storage housing 290 has a substantially square cross section, and a heater chamber HR is formed inside. A gap SP3 having a predetermined size is formed between the housing case 290 and the surrounding member 280, and a gap SP4 having a predetermined size is formed between the surrounding member 280 and the processing furnace 202. The surrounding member 280 is disposed between the processing furnace 202 and the storage casing 290 and closer to the storage casing 290, whereby the volume of the gap SP3 is smaller than the volume of the gap SP4. The gap SP3 and the gap SP4 are connected to each other via the opening 283 (see FIG. 8) of the surrounding member 280, the gap SP3 constitutes the first gap in the present invention, and the gap SP4 serves as the second gap in the present invention. It is composed.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a radiator box 293 is provided on the side of the housing 290, and an inert gas discharge device 350 is provided inside the radiator box 293. The other end side of the inert gas discharge pipe 291 is connected to the inert gas discharge device 350, and the inert gas discharge pipe 291 passes through the wall portion 290 a of the storage housing 290. A seal member (not shown) is provided between the inert gas discharge pipe 291 and the wall portion 290a, thereby maintaining airtightness therebetween. As a result, the inert gas discharge pipe 291 communicates the inside of the surrounding member 280 and the outside of the housing case 290.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the storage housing 290 is formed in a bottomed shape including a bottom wall portion 292, and the upper end portion is closed and the lower end portion is opened. The lower end of the housing 290 is attached to the base plate 251 via a seal member (not shown), thereby maintaining airtightness.

  The bottom wall 292 of the housing 290 is provided with an emergency pressure release port 292a (see FIG. 15) and a pressure release port opening / closing device 400 that opens and closes the pressure release port 292a. When an explosion occurs in the heater chamber HR for some reason, the heater chamber HR has a high pressure, and a portion having a relatively low strength in the substrate processing apparatus 101 may be deformed or damaged. In this way, in order to minimize damage to the substrate processing apparatus 101, the pressure release port opening / closing device 400 opens the pressure release port 292a when the inside of the heater chamber HR becomes a predetermined pressure or higher, and the heater chamber The internal pressure of the HR is released to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the pressure release port opening / closing device 400 includes an open / close body 401 that opens and closes the pressure release port 292a, a pair of springs 402 that constantly press the open / close body 401 toward the pressure release port 292a, and each spring. A pedestal 403 that supports the end of 402 and a pair of adjustment knobs 404 for adjusting the pressing force of each spring 402, that is, the pressure at which the pressure release port opening / closing device 400 operates.

  A pair of inert gas supply nozzles 252 is connected to a portion of the base plate 251 facing the gap SP3. Inert gas (not shown) supplied from each inert gas supply nozzle 252 is supplied into the gap SP3 between the surrounding member 280 and the housing 290, and the opening of the surrounding member 280 passes through the gap SP3. It flows toward the portion 283. However, as a method for connecting each inert gas supply nozzle 252 to the base plate 251, the inert gas discharged from each inert gas supply nozzle 252 flows spirally in the gap SP <b> 3 toward the opening 283. Such a connection method may be used.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10A, a processing gas supply device 310 is connected to the other end side of the processing gas supply pipe 300 via a gas pipe 311. The processing gas supply device 310 includes three valves 177, 178, 179, three MFCs (Mass Flow Controllers) 183, 184, 185 as gas flow control devices, a first gas supply source 180, and a second gas supply source. 181 and a third gas supply source 182 are provided. The gas pipe 311 is branched into three on the upstream side, and the valves 177, 178, 179, the MFCs 183, 184, 185 and the gas supply sources 180, 181, 182 correspond to the branched gas pipes 311, respectively. And one set is provided. A controller 240 is electrically connected to each MFC 183, 184, 185 and each valve 177, 178, 179, and is controlled at a desired timing so that the flow rate of the gas supplied by the controller 240 becomes a desired flow rate. The gas pipe 311 is further branched (not shown) on the upstream side, and connected to an inert gas supply source (not shown) via a valve and an MFC.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10B, a processing gas discharge device 320 is connected to the other end of the processing gas discharge pipe 301 via a gas pipe 321. The processing gas discharge device 320 includes a pressure sensor 241 as a pressure detector, an APC (Automatic Pressure Control) valve 242 as a pressure regulator, and a vacuum exhaust device 246 such as a vacuum pump, which are in this order in the gas pipe 321. Connected downstream. A controller 240 is electrically connected to the pressure sensor 241 and the APC valve 242, and the controller 240 adjusts the opening degree of the APC valve 242 based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 241, thereby the processing chamber 201. It is controlled at a desired timing so that the internal pressure becomes a desired pressure.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 11 (a), the first inert gas supply device that supplies the inert gas to the gaps SP3 and SP4 via the gas pipes 331 and 341 to the inert gas supply nozzles 252 and 261, respectively. 330 and a second inert gas supply device 340 are connected to each other, and the first and second inert gas supply devices 330 and 340 are similarly configured. The first and second inert gas supply devices 330 and 340 include valves 332 and 342, MFCs 333 and 343, and inert gas supply sources 334 and 344, respectively, which are upstream of the gas pipes 331 and 341 in this order. It is connected to the. An inert gas supply amount control unit (gas supply amount control unit) 243 of the controller 240 is electrically connected to the MFC 333 and 343 and the valves 332 and 342, and the inert gas supply amount control unit 243 supplies the inactive gas. Control is performed at a desired timing so that the flow rate of the active gas becomes a desired flow rate. Here, the 1st inert gas supply apparatus 330 comprises the 1st gas supply part in this invention, and the 2nd inert gas supply apparatus 340 comprises the 2nd gas supply part in this invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 11 (b), an inert gas discharge device 350 is connected to the other end side of the inert gas discharge pipe 291. The inert gas discharge device 350 includes a pressure sensor 351 for detecting the pressure in the heater chamber HR, a radiator 352 for reducing the temperature of the inert gas discharged from the heater chamber HR, and a gas for detecting the gas concentration in the heater chamber HR. A detector 353 and a flow rate adjusting valve 354 for adjusting the discharge amount of the inert gas discharged from the heater chamber HR are provided, and these are connected to the downstream side of the inert gas discharge pipe 291 in this order. A damper 355 is provided downstream of the inert gas discharge pipe 291 in parallel with the flow rate adjustment valve 354, and the damper 355 suppresses, for example, a rapid pressure fluctuation in the heater chamber HR. A controller 240 is electrically connected to the pressure sensor 351, the gas detector 353, and the flow rate adjustment valve 354, and the controller 240 controls the flow rate adjustment valve 354 at a desired timing according to the pressure in the heater chamber HR. At the same time, the pair of first inert gas supply devices 330 are feedback-controlled at a desired timing according to the gas concentration in the heater chamber HR. Here, it is desirable that the connection hole 284 for connecting the inert gas discharge pipe 291 is provided not in the housing 290 but in the surrounding member 280. When the connection hole 284 is provided on the storage housing 290 side, the inert gas flowing through the gap SP4 flows toward the gap SP3 where the flow path is narrow and retention is likely to occur. On the other hand, when the connection hole 284 is provided on the surrounding member 280 side, the inert gas flowing through the gap SP4 is directly discharged from the inert gas discharge pipe 291 through the connection hole 284. The inert gas flowing through the gap SP3 flows toward the gap SP4 and is discharged from the inert gas discharge pipe 291. However, the gap SP4 has a large flow path and volume, and is inert. Since the gas and leaked gas are less likely to stay, the leaked gas can be exhausted more reliably.

<Manufacturing process of substrate>
Next, a substrate manufacturing process in one process of manufacturing a semiconductor device using the substrate processing apparatus 101 will be described with reference to the drawings. 12 is a partially enlarged view of the broken line circle D portion of FIG. 8, FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of the broken line circle E portion of FIG. 8, FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged view of the broken line circle F portion of FIG. (A), (b) represents the explanatory drawing explaining the detailed structure and operating state of a pressure relief valve, respectively.

  In the present embodiment, a method for forming a semiconductor film such as silicon (Si) on a substrate such as a wafer by using an epitaxial growth method (a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device) will be described as one step of the substrate manufacturing process. . Note that although a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device is described as an example in this embodiment, the method for manufacturing a substrate disclosed in this embodiment is not limited to the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. For example, on a substrate such as a wafer which is a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type (for example, p-type), silicon is formed using an epitaxial growth method of a second conductivity type (for example, n-type) opposite to the first conductivity type. It can also be applied to a method for manufacturing a solar cell in which a semiconductor film such as (Si) is formed to form a pn junction.

  In the present embodiment, the following [standby process], [boat loading process], [vacuum exhaust process (1)], [pressure control process], [temperature raising process], [film forming process], [vacuum] Each wafer 200 is processed through an exhaust process (2)] and a [boat unloading process].

[Standby process]
First, as a stage before carrying the boat 217 into the processing chamber 201 shown in FIG. 8, the processing chamber 201 is in a standby state. Here, the standby state refers to a state in which the boat 217 is disposed in the load lock chamber 141 (see FIG. 1) immediately below the processing furnace 202 and each susceptor 218 holding the wafer 200 is loaded in the boat 217. .

[Boat loading process]
When each susceptor 218 holding the wafer 200 is loaded into the boat 217, the boat 217 is driven up from the standby state and is loaded into the processing furnace 202, that is, conveyed into the inner tube 230 (boat loading). Thereafter, the seal cap 219 is in a state where the processing furnace 202 is sealed. At this time, the internal pressure in the processing furnace 202 is, for example, 760 Torr (= 760 × 133.3 Pa).

[Vacuum evacuation process (1)]
Subsequent to the boat loading, for example, N ₂ (nitrogen) gas is supplied as an inert gas into the processing furnace 202, and the inside of the processing furnace 202 is replaced with an inert gas. The inert gas is supplied from an inert gas supply source connected to the upstream side of the gas pipe 311 through the processing gas supply pipe 300. Thereafter, the evacuation device 246 (see FIG. 10B) connected to the downstream side of the gas pipe 321 is operated so that the inside of the processing furnace 202 is filled with an inert gas and a desired pressure is obtained. The inside of the processing furnace 202 is depressurized.

[Pressure control process]
Following the evacuation, the pressure in the processing furnace 202 is measured by the pressure sensor 241, and the APC valve 242 is feedback controlled based on the measured pressure. At this time, for example, N ₂ gas is supplied as an inert gas from the inert gas supply source connected to the gas pipe 311 via the processing gas supply pipe 300. By this pressure control, the pressure in the processing furnace 202 is adjusted to a constant processing pressure among the processing pressures selected from the range of 16000 Pa to 93310 Pa. For example, 200 Torr to 700 Torr (200 × 133.3 Pa to 700 × 133.3 Pa). Note that the pressure in the processing furnace 202 is maintained at a constant processing pressure until the processing of each wafer 200 is completed.

[Temperature raising process]
Then, a high frequency current is applied to the induction heating device 206 so that each wafer 200 has a desired temperature, and an induced current (eddy current) is generated in each susceptor 218 by an induced magnetic field radiated from the RF coil 2061. That is, an eddy current is generated in each susceptor 218 that is a derivative by flowing a high-frequency current through the induction heating device 206, and thereby each susceptor 218 is heated. Thereby, each wafer 200 is heated by the radiant heat from each susceptor 218. Here, in the susceptor 218, heat is transferred from the peripheral edge portion 218a to the central portion 218b by heat conduction, whereby the entire area of the susceptor 218 can be heated evenly. As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 101 employs a cold wall method in which each wafer 200 is heated by induction heating. In the cold wall system, each wafer 200 is held by each susceptor 218 which is a derivative so that each wafer 200 can be efficiently heated by induction heating. That is, the susceptor 218 has a function as a heating source heated by an induced current in addition to the function of holding the wafer 200.

When each wafer 200 is heated, the controller 240 monitors temperature information detected by a radiation thermometer (not shown) so that the temperature in the processing furnace 202 has a desired temperature distribution, and based on this temperature information. Thus, feedback control is performed on the degree of energization to the induction heating device 206. Here, when the temperature in the processing furnace 202 is raised, the processing gas supply pipe 300 is also heated. Therefore, the processing gas flowing in the processing gas supply pipe 300 is also heated, and the temperature of the processing gas supplied to each wafer 200 can be raised to an optimum temperature for film formation. For example, when SiHCl ₃ (trichlorosilane) is used as the source gas and hydrogen (H ₂ ) is used as the carrier gas, each susceptor 218 is induction-heated to 1150 ° C. or higher. Furthermore, each wafer 200 is heated at a constant temperature among processing temperatures selected from a range of 700 ° C. to 1200 ° C.

[Film formation process]
In the heat treatment of each wafer 200, each wafer 200 is rotated in the processing chamber 201 by rotating the boat 217. Thereafter, when the temperature of each wafer 200 is stabilized, process gases are supplied from the first gas supply source 180, the second gas supply source 181, and the third gas supply source 182, respectively. Then, after the opening degree of each MFC 183, 184, 185 is adjusted so that the processing gas from each gas supply source 181, 182, 183 has a desired flow rate, each valve 177, 178, 179 is opened. As a result, as shown by an arrow (1) in FIG. 10A, the respective processing gases are mixed through the gas pipe 311 and flow into the processing gas supply pipe 300. Here, in order to suppress film formation in the processing gas supply pipe 300 by the processing gas flowing through the processing gas supply pipe 300, the temperature of the processing gas supply pipe 300 is adjusted to 1000 ° or less. .

Here, the first gas supply source 180, the second gas supply source 181, and the third gas supply source 182 include SiH ₂ Cl ₂ (dichlorosilane) as Si-based and SiGe (silicon germanium) -based source gases. , SiHCl ₃ (trichlorosilane), SiCl ₄ (silicon tetrachloride), etc. B ₂ H ₆ (diborane), BCl ₃ (boron trichloride), PH ₃ (phosphine), etc. as a doping gas, hydrogen (H ₂ ) Are enclosed.

  The processing gas supplied into the processing furnace 202 passes between the wafers 200 and reaches the processing gas discharge pipe 301 after passing over the surface of each wafer 200, and the arrow (2) in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the gas is discharged from the processing gas discharge pipe 301 to the gas pipe 321. At this time, the processing gas is heated by each susceptor 218 when it passes between the wafers 200, and comes into contact with each heated wafer 200. As a result, a semiconductor film such as silicon (Si) is formed on the surface of each wafer 200 by epitaxial growth.

[Vacuum evacuation process (2)]
When the film forming process is finished, the temperature in the processing furnace 202 is lowered by stopping the application of the high-frequency current to the induction heating device 206 or the like. Then, the vacuum evacuation device 246 is operated to bring the inside of the processing furnace 202 to a desired pressure, and the atmosphere in the processing chamber 201 is exhausted (evacuated) to reduce the pressure in the processing furnace 202. After that, as an inert gas from an inert gas supply source, for example, N ₂ gas is supplied into the processing furnace 202 to replace the inside of the processing furnace 202 with an inert gas, and the pressure in the processing furnace 202 is returned to normal pressure. Let

[Boat unloading process]
Next, by lowering the seal cap 219, the processing furnace 202 is opened and each processed wafer 200 is held by the boat 217 from the processing chamber 201 toward the load lock chamber 141 (see FIG. 1). Unload (boat unloading). Then, each processed wafer 200 can be taken out from the boat 217 (wafer discharge). Thereafter, the substrate processing apparatus 101 returns to the standby state. As described above, a semiconductor film can be formed on the surface of each wafer 200.

<Dilution treatment of leaked gas>
The substrate processing apparatus 101 processes each wafer 200 through the above-described steps. In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 101 replaces the atmosphere in the heater chamber HR (housing housing 290) with an inert gas, that is, dilutes leaked gas. Processing is also performed. The leakage gas dilution process may be always performed in parallel with the above steps, and in this case, there is an advantage that the periphery of the processing furnace 202 can be cooled with an inert gas. On the other hand, the dilution process of the leaked gas can be performed only in the [film formation step] in which the process gas can leak into the heater chamber HR.

As shown in FIG. 11A, after the opening degree of each MFC 333, 343 is adjusted so that the inert gas (N ₂ gas or the like) from each inert gas supply source 334, 344 has a desired flow rate, Each valve 332, 342 is opened. Thereby, as shown by the arrow (3) in the figure, the inert gas flows into the gas pipes 331 and 341 and reaches the inert gas supply nozzles 252 and 261. The inert gas discharged from the pair of inert gas supply nozzles 252 is supplied to the gap SP3 between the housing 290 and the surrounding member 280 as shown by the arrow (4) in FIG.

  On the other hand, the inert gas discharged from the inert gas supply nozzle 261 is first supplied into the scavenger 260 as shown by arrows (5) and (6) in FIG. The inert gas supplied into the scavenger 260 flows between the outer tube 205 and the coil housing 2062 via a gap SP2 between the annular seal 267 and the annular seal 269, as indicated by an arrow (5) in the figure. It flows out between (a part of the gap SP4). Furthermore, as indicated by an arrow (6) in the figure, the gas flows out also between the coil housing 2062 and the surrounding member 280 (a part of the gap SP4) through the through hole 271 (see FIG. 9) of the support plate 270. To do.

  From each inert gas supply nozzle 252 (a pair of first inert gas supply devices 330), for example, an inert gas is discharged at a discharge amount of 200 L per minute (200 L / min), and accordingly, in the gap SP3. A total of 400 L / min of inert gas is supplied. On the other hand, from the inert gas supply nozzle 261 (second inert gas supply device 340), for example, an inert gas is discharged at a discharge amount of 300 L per minute (300 L / min), and therefore a total of 300 L is discharged into the gap SP4. / min of inert gas is supplied. That is, the inert gas supply amount control unit 243 of the controller 240 supplies the gas supply amount supplied from the pair of first inert gas supply devices 330 to the gap SP3 to the gap SP4 from the second inert gas supply device 340. The first and second inert gas supply devices 330 and 340 are controlled to increase the gas supply amount.

  Here, since the volume of the gap SP3 is smaller than the volume of the gap SP4, the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP3 is faster than the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP4. Thereby, the inert gas discharged from each inert gas supply nozzle 252 reaches every corner in the housing 290, and further, as shown by an arrow (4) in FIG. 14, a connection hole inside the surrounding member 280. Go around 284. That is, the inert gas supply nozzles 252 and 261 are provided below the processing chamber 201, and the connection hole 284 for exhausting the inert gas is provided above the processing chamber 201 opposite to the inert gas supply nozzles 262 and 261. Thus, the main flow of the inert gas can be made unidirectional from the lower side to the upper side, and the retention of the leaked gas can be suppressed. Therefore, the inert gas that has passed through the gap SP3 and the gap SP4 can be diluted almost completely without causing the processing gas leaking to the corners or the like in the storage housing 290 to stay, and then the arrow ( As shown in 4) to (6), the gas is smoothly collected in the connection hole 284 and led to the inert gas discharge pipe 291 (see FIG. 9). In addition, since the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP3 is larger than the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP4, the inert gas hardly flows from the gap SP4 toward the gap SP3. Accordingly, the gap SP3 formed by providing the enclosing member 280 has a narrow flow path and the leakage gas tends to stay, but the flow of the inert gas in the gap SP3 is made to be one direction from the bottom to the top. Thus, the leaked gas in the gap SP3 can be surely exhausted.

  Thereafter, the inert gas introduced into the inert gas discharge pipe 291, that is, the processing gas that leaks into the heater chamber HR and is diluted with the inert gas, as shown by an arrow (7) in FIG. After being cooled by the radiator 352, it is discharged to an exhaust treatment facility (not shown) outside the housing 290 through the flow rate adjustment valve 354.

Here, as a control pattern (explosion-proof control pattern) of the dilution process of the leaked gas, a pattern for controlling the gas concentration in the heater chamber HR by controlling the pressure sensor 351, the gas detector 353, and the flow rate adjusting valve 354, respectively. And a pattern for controlling the pressure in the heater chamber HR. When controlling the gas concentration in the heater chamber HR, the pressure sensor 351, the gas detector 353, and the flow rate adjustment valve 354 are controlled to optimize the gas concentration in the heater chamber HR, for example, in the heater chamber HR. The oxygen gas (O ₂ gas) concentration in the supplied inert gas (N ₂ gas) is controlled to be less than 1%. As a result, the concentration of the processing gas (hydrogen gas or the like) leaked into the heater chamber HR can be reliably lowered so that the atmosphere in the heater chamber HR does not enter the explosion range, and the explosion risk can be reduced.

  When controlling the pressure in the heater chamber HR, when the concentration of the processing gas detected by the gas detector 353 exceeds a predetermined value and the atmosphere in the heater chamber HR is likely to reach the explosion range, the pressure sensor The flow rate adjustment valve 354 is controlled so that the pressure in the heater chamber HR detected by the 351 exceeds the pressure in the processing furnace 202 detected by the pressure sensor 241. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the processing gas from leaking from the processing furnace 202 into the housing 290 while diluting the processing gas leaked into the heater chamber HR. Further, by setting the pressure in the heater chamber HR to be equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure, it is possible to prevent oxygen gas from entering the heater chamber HR from the outside, and to further reduce the explosion risk. Here, it is stored in the storage unit (not shown) of the controller 240 that the atmosphere in the heater chamber HR is likely to reach the explosion range, and an alarm (not shown) is sounded based on the occurrence frequency or the like. As a result, maintenance work (such as seal replacement work) of the substrate processing apparatus 101 can be promoted.

  Furthermore, when protecting the substrate processing apparatus 101 on the safer side, supply of the processing gas into the processing furnace 202 when the concentration of the processing gas detected by the gas detector 353 exceeds a predetermined value. Is stopped immediately and the supply amount of the inert gas into the heater chamber HR is set to the maximum amount (300 L / min + 400 L / min). Thus, the risk of explosion can be further reduced by urgently stopping the supply source of the processing gas and quickly purging the atmosphere in the heater chamber HR with the inert gas.

  Here, if the concentration of the processing gas in the heater chamber HR exceeds a predetermined value and an explosion occurs in the heater chamber HR for some reason, the pressure in the heater chamber HR becomes high. Then, as shown in FIG. 15A, the pressure F in the heater chamber HR is loaded from the pressure release port 292a to the open / close body 401 as indicated by the shaded arrow, and is indicated by the arrow (8) in FIG. 15B. Thus, the opening / closing body 401 moves against the spring force of each spring 402, and the pressure release port 292a is opened. As a result, the heater chamber HR communicates with the outside, and the pressure F in the heater chamber HR is released to the outside as indicated by an arrow (9) in the figure. As a result, it is possible to protect the substrate processing apparatus 101 by preventing a relatively weak portion of the substrate processing apparatus 101 from being deformed or damaged.

<Typical effects of the present embodiment>
As described above, according to the technical idea described in the present embodiment, at least one of the plurality of effects described below is produced.

  (1) According to the present embodiment, the inert gas is supplied to the gap SP3 between the housing case 290 and the surrounding member 280 and the gap SP4 between the surrounding member 280 and the processing furnace 202, and the gap The inert gas of SP4 reaches the inert gas discharge pipe 291 directly through the connection hole 284, and the inert gas of the gap SP3 wraps around the inside of the surrounding member 280 through the opening 283 of the surrounding member 280. Thus, the inert gas exhaust pipe 291 is reached from the connection hole 284. As a result, the inert gas can be spread to every corner of the storage casing 290, and the processing gas leaked in the heater chamber HR can be diluted almost completely without being retained and discharged outside. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the risk of explosion caused by the leakage of the processing gas and reliably prevent damage to the substrate processing apparatus 101 caused by the explosion.

  (2) According to the present embodiment, the amount of inert gas supplied to the gap SP3 (400 L / min) is made larger than the amount of inert gas supplied to the gap SP4 (300 L / min). While making it easy for the inert gas supplied to SP3 to enter the connection hole 284 inside the enclosing member 280, it is difficult for the processing gas leaked from the processing furnace 202 into the storage casing 290 to stay in the corners of the storage casing 290. Thus, it is possible to further reduce the risk of explosion caused by leakage of the processing gas, and more reliably prevent damage to the substrate processing apparatus 101 caused by explosion.

  (3) According to the present embodiment, since the volume of the gap SP3 is made smaller than the volume of the gap SP4, the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP3 is made faster than the flow rate of the inert gas flowing through the gap SP4. be able to. Therefore, the processing gas leaked from the processing furnace 202 into the storage casing 290 can be easily introduced into the corners of the storage casing 290 while facilitating the inert gas supplied to the gap SP3 into the connection hole 284 inside the surrounding member 280. By making it difficult to stay, the risk of explosion caused by leakage of the processing gas can be further reduced, and damage to the substrate processing apparatus 101 caused by explosion can be more reliably prevented.

  (4) According to the present embodiment, since the emergency pressure release port 292a and the pressure release port opening / closing device 400 are provided in the bottom wall portion 292 of the housing 290, for some reason, the inside of the heater chamber HR When the explosion occurs, the pressure release port opening / closing device 400 can be operated to open the high pressure in the heater chamber HR to the outside, so that deformation or breakage of a relatively weak portion of the substrate processing apparatus 101 can be prevented. it can.

  (5) By using the substrate processing apparatus 101 described in this embodiment in the substrate processing step in the substrate manufacturing method, one or more of the plurality of effects described above can be obtained in the substrate processing method. Play.

  (6) By using the substrate processing apparatus 101 described in the present embodiment in the substrate processing step in the semiconductor device manufacturing method, in the semiconductor device manufacturing method, one or more of the above-described effects can be obtained. There is an effect.

  (7) By using the substrate processing apparatus 101 described in the present embodiment in the substrate processing step in the solar cell manufacturing method, in the solar cell manufacturing method, one or more of the plurality of effects described above are used. There is an effect.

  As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say. For example, in the above embodiments, the epitaxial apparatus has been described as an example. However, the technical idea of the present invention can be applied to other substrate processing apparatuses such as a CVD apparatus, an ALD apparatus, an oxidation apparatus, a diffusion apparatus, or an annealing apparatus. can do.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the disk-shaped susceptor 218 is used as the heating body. However, instead of this, for example, a rod-shaped susceptor (guided) between the outer tube 205 and the inner tube 230 is used. A plurality of heaters) may be provided, or instead of the induction heating device 206 on the outer peripheral side of the outer tube 205, a resistance heating heater may be provided.

  The present invention includes at least the following embodiments.

[Appendix 1]
A processing container for processing a substrate internally using a processing gas;
An enclosing member having an opening at one end and surrounding the periphery of the processing container;
A storage housing for storing the processing container and the surrounding member;
A gas pipe that penetrates through the wall of the housing and is connected to the wall of the surrounding member, and communicates the inside of the surrounding member with the outside of the housing;
A first gap provided between the storage housing and the surrounding member;
A second gap provided between the surrounding member and the processing vessel and connected to the first gap via the opening;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:

[Appendix 2]
A first gas supply unit for supplying gas to the first gap;
A second gas supply part for supplying gas to the second gap;
The first gas supply unit is configured so that the gas supply amount supplied from the first gas supply unit to the first gap is larger than the gas supply amount supplied from the second gas supply unit to the second gap. And a gas supply amount control unit for controlling the second gas supply unit,
The substrate processing apparatus of Additional remark 1 provided with these.

[Appendix 3]
The substrate processing apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the surrounding member is disposed between the processing container and the housing case so that the volume of the first gap is smaller than the volume of the second gap.

[Appendix 4]
While processing a substrate in a processing container using a processing gas,
Passing through the wall of the housing that encloses the processing container and the surrounding member that surrounds the processing container and has an opening at one end, and is connected to the wall of the surrounding member to be inside the surrounding member. A first gap provided between the housing case and the surrounding member, and an opening provided between the surrounding member and the processing container via a gas pipe communicating with the outside of the housing case; A method for manufacturing a substrate, wherein the gas in the housing case is discharged out of the housing case through a second gap connected to the first gap via the first gap.

  The present invention can be widely used in manufacturing industries for manufacturing semiconductor devices and solar cells.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Substrate processing apparatus, 103 ... Front maintenance port, 104 ... Front maintenance door, 105 ... Cassette shelf, 106 ... Slide stage, 107 ... Buffer shelf, 110 ... Cassette, 111 ... Housing, 111a ... Front wall, 112 ... Cassette Loading / unloading port, 113 ... front shutter, 114 ... cassette stage, 115 ... boat elevator, 118 ... cassette transfer device, 118a ... cassette elevator, 118b ... cassette transfer mechanism, 125 ... wafer transfer mechanism, 125a ... wafer transfer device, 125b ... Wafer transfer device elevator, 125c ... Tweezer, 134a ... Clean unit, 140 ... Pressure-resistant housing, 140a ... Front wall, 141 ... Load lock chamber, 142 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 143 ... Gate valve, 144 ... Gas supply Tube, 147 ... Furnace port shutter 177, 178, 179 ... valve, 180 ... first gas supply source, 181 ... second gas supply source, 182 ... third gas supply source, 183, 184, 185 ... MFC, 200 ... wafer (substrate), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 201 ... Processing chamber, 202 ... Processing furnace (processing container), 205 ... Outer tube, 206 ... Induction heating apparatus, 2061 ... RF coil, 2062 ... Coil housing, 2063 ... Opening, 209 ... Manifold, 216 ... Heat insulation cylinder, 217 ... Boat, 217a ... Bottom plate, 217b ... Top plate, 218 ... Susceptor, 218a ... Peripheral part, 218b ... Central part, 218c ... Step part, 219 ... Seal cap, 230 ... Inner tube, 230a ... Side wall part, 230b ... Gas Supply port, 240 ... controller, 241 ... pressure sensor, 242 ... APC valve, 243 ... inert gas supply amount controller ( 246 ... vacuum exhaust device, 250 ... base member, 251 ... base plate, 252 ... inert gas supply nozzle, 260 ... scavenger, 261 ... inert gas supply nozzle, 267, 268, 269 ... annular Seal, 270 ... support plate, 271 ... through hole, 280 ... enclosing member, 281 ... long side (wall), 282 ... short side (wall), 283 ... opening, 284 ... connection hole, 290 ... storage Housing, 290a ... wall, 291 ... inert gas discharge pipe (gas pipe), 292 ... bottom wall, 292a ... pressure release port, 293 ... radiator box, 300 ... processing gas supply pipe, 301 ... processing gas discharge pipe 310 ... Process gas supply device, 311 ... Gas pipe, 320 ... Process gas discharge device, 321 ... Gas pipe, 330 ... First inert gas supply device (first gas supply unit), 331 ... Gas pipe, 3 32 ... Valve, 333 ... MFC, 334 ... Inert gas supply source, 340 ... Second inert gas supply device (second gas supply unit), 341 ... Gas pipe, 342 ... Valve, 343 ... MFC, 344 ... Inactive Gas supply source 350 ... Inert gas discharge device 351 ... Pressure sensor 352 ... Radiator 353 ... Gas detector 354 ... Flow control valve 355 ... Damper 400 ... Pressure release opening / closing device 401 ... Opening / closing body, 402 ... Spring, 403 ... Base, 404 ... Adjustment knob, HR ... Heater chamber, HU ... Holding part, MT ... Supporting member, PH ... Pin hole, PN ... Push-up pin, PR ... Post, SP1 ... Gap, SP2 ... Gap, SP3 ... Gap (first gap), SP4 ... Gap (second gap), UDU ... Push-up pin lifting mechanism

Claims (2)

A processing container for processing a substrate internally using a processing gas;
An enclosing member having an opening at one end and surrounding the periphery of the processing container;
A storage housing for storing the processing container and the surrounding member;
A gas pipe that penetrates through the wall of the housing and is connected to the wall of the surrounding member, and communicates the inside of the surrounding member with the outside of the housing;
A first gap provided between the storage housing and the surrounding member;
A second gap provided between the surrounding member and the processing vessel and connected to the first gap via the opening;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: While processing a substrate in a processing container using a processing gas,
Passing through the wall of the housing that encloses the processing container and the surrounding member that surrounds the processing container and has an opening at one end, and is connected to the wall of the surrounding member to be inside the surrounding member. A first gap provided between the housing case and the surrounding member, and an opening provided between the surrounding member and the processing container via a gas pipe communicating with the outside of the housing case; A method for manufacturing a substrate, wherein the gas in the housing case is discharged out of the housing case through a second gap connected to the first gap via the first gap.

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