JP2013077643A - Thermal treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal treatment apparatus of which the downtime can be shortened.SOLUTION: A thermal treatment apparatus 1 comprises a fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22, a guide tube 21 and an optical fiber sweep section 24. The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22 measures a temperature inside a reaction tube 2. The guide tube 21 can be inserted into the reaction tube 2 and accommodates the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22. The optical fiber sweep section 24 sweeps the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22 within the guide tube 21. The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22 moves to a predetermined temperature measuring position within the reaction tube 2 in accordance with a sweep amount of the optical fiber sweep section 24.

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus.

  In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a heat treatment apparatus that performs a film forming process of an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer is used. In the film forming process in the heat treatment apparatus, it is important to control the inside of the reaction tube containing the semiconductor wafer to a processing temperature determined in accordance with the type of thin film to be formed and the film thickness.

  As a method for controlling such a processing temperature, first, before processing a semiconductor wafer, the inside of the reaction tube is heated to a predetermined processing temperature. Next, the spatial temperature distribution in the reaction tube heated to the processing temperature is measured. Subsequently, the processing temperature in the reaction tube is adjusted so that the measured spatial temperature distribution matches the determined temperature distribution. Processing is performed with a dummy wafer or the like under the processing temperature adjusted as described above, and it is confirmed whether or not uniform processing is performed at the predetermined processing temperature.

  Various proposals have been made for controlling the processing temperature in such heat treatment. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of estimating the temperature of a semiconductor wafer from the result of measuring the inner wall temperature distribution of a reaction tube and automating the set temperature of the heater so that the estimated temperature of the semiconductor wafer becomes a predetermined value. Proposed.

JP 05-267200 A

  By the way, in patent document 1, since the thermocouple is used for the measurement of the temperature distribution in the reaction tube of a heat treatment apparatus, the preparation time and measurement time for measuring the temperature distribution in a reaction tube will be taken. For this reason, there is a problem that the start-up time of the heat treatment apparatus becomes long and the downtime becomes long.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and it aims at providing the heat processing apparatus which can shorten downtime.

In order to achieve the above object, a heat treatment apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises:
A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a treatment chamber containing an object to be treated,
A fluorescent optical fiber thermometer for measuring the temperature in the processing chamber;
A guide tube capable of being inserted into the processing chamber and containing the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer;
An optical fiber sweep unit that sweeps the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer in the guide tube, and
The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer is moved to a predetermined temperature measurement position in the processing chamber according to a sweep amount of an optical fiber sweep unit.

  It is preferable that the guide tube is always inserted into the processing chamber.

The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer includes a lower measurement position mark indicating that the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer is disposed at a position to measure the lowest measurement position in the processing chamber, and the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer. An upper measurement position mark indicating that the optical fiber thermometer is disposed at a position for measuring the uppermost position of the measurement position in the processing chamber; and
Preferably, the guide tube is provided with a position mark detection sensor for detecting the lower measurement position mark and the upper measurement position mark.

  The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer is preferably coated with a resin having flexibility and heat resistance.

  According to the present invention, downtime can be shortened.

It is a figure which shows the heat processing apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state which penetrated the optical fiber thermometer in the guide tube. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control part of FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a temperature adjustment process.

  Hereinafter, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described taking the case of the batch type vertical heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a reaction tube 2 having a substantially cylindrical shape and a ceiling. The reaction tube 2 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is in the vertical direction. The reaction tube 2 is made of a material excellent in heat resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, quartz.

  A substantially cylindrical manifold 3 is provided below the reaction tube 2. The upper end of the manifold 3 is hermetically joined to the lower end of the reaction tube 2. An exhaust pipe 4 for exhausting the gas in the reaction tube 2 is airtightly connected to the manifold 3. The exhaust pipe 4 is provided with a pressure adjusting unit including a valve, a vacuum pump, etc., not shown, and adjusts the inside of the reaction pipe 2 to a desired pressure (degree of vacuum).

  A lid 6 is disposed below the manifold 3 (reaction tube 2). The lid body 6 is configured to be movable up and down by the boat elevator 7. When the lid body 6 is raised by the boat elevator 7, the lower side (furnace port portion) of the manifold 3 (reaction tube 2) is closed. It arrange | positions so that the lower side (furnace port part) of the reaction tube 2 may be opened when the body 6 descends.

  A wafer boat 9 is provided above the lid 6 via a heat insulating cylinder (heat insulator) 8. The wafer boat 9 is a wafer holder that accommodates (holds) an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer W. In the present embodiment, a plurality of semiconductor wafers W, for example, at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction, for example, It is configured to accommodate 150 sheets. Then, the semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in the wafer boat 9 and the lid 6 is raised by the boat elevator 7, whereby the semiconductor wafer W is loaded into the reaction tube 2.

  Around the reaction tube 2, for example, a heater unit 10 made of a resistance heating element is provided so as to surround the reaction tube 2. The heater 10 heats the inside of the reaction tube 2 to a predetermined temperature, and as a result, the semiconductor wafer W is heated to a predetermined temperature. The heater unit 10 includes, for example, heaters 11 to 15 arranged in five stages, and a power controller (not shown) is connected to each of the heaters 11 to 15. For this reason, the heaters 11 to 15 can be independently heated to a desired temperature by supplying power independently to the power controller. Thus, in this Embodiment, the inside of the reaction tube 2 is divided into five areas by these heaters 11-15.

  The manifold 3 is provided with a plurality of processing gas supply pipes for supplying a processing gas into the reaction tube 2. In FIG. 1, one process gas supply pipe 16 is drawn in the manifold 3. The processing gas supply pipe 16 is formed so as to extend from the side of the manifold 3 to the vicinity of the upper portion of the wafer boat 9. The processing gas supply pipe 16 is provided with a mass flow controller (MFC) (not shown) for adjusting the flow rate of the processing gas. Therefore, the processing gas supplied from the processing gas supply pipe 16 is adjusted to a desired flow rate by the MFC, and is supplied into the reaction tube 2 through the processing gas supply pipe 16.

  The manifold 3 is provided with a guide tube (optical fiber protection tube) 21. The guide tube 21 protects the optical fiber thermometer 22 that is inserted into the reaction tube 2 and measures the temperature (temperature distribution) in the reaction tube 2, and sweeps (slids) the optical fiber thermometer 22 therein. It is formed in a hollow shape that can be moved. As the optical fiber thermometer 22, a fluorescent optical fiber thermometer suitable for a temperature range of 400 ° C. or lower is used. The optical fiber thermometer 22 is preferably covered with, for example, polyimide so as to have flexibility and heat resistance. The guide tube 21 is formed so as to extend from the side of the manifold 3 through the reaction tube 2 to the vicinity of the upper portion of the wafer boat 9.

  FIG. 2 shows a state where the optical fiber thermometer 22 is inserted into the guide tube 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical fiber thermometer 22 is connected to an optical fiber sweep unit 24 via an optical fiber sweeping roller 23, and the amount of sweep by the optical fiber sweep unit 24, that is, an optical fiber thermometer. The temperature measurement position (height) in the reaction tube 2 is controlled by the delivery amount of 22.

  The optical fiber thermometer 22 is provided with a lower measurement position mark 25 indicating that the optical fiber thermometer 22 is disposed at a position where the lowermost measurement position in the reaction tube 2 is measured. Further, the optical fiber thermometer 22 is provided with an upper measurement position mark 26 indicating that the optical fiber thermometer 22 is arranged at a position where the uppermost measurement position in the reaction tube 2 is measured. The guide tube 21 is provided with a position mark detection sensor 27 for detecting the measurement position marks 25 and 26 of the optical fiber thermometer 22. For this reason, the position which the optical fiber thermometer 22 is measuring can be known.

  Here, since the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22 is used as a thermometer for measuring the temperature (temperature distribution) in the reaction tube 2, the temperature in the reaction tube 2 is higher than that in the case of using a thermocouple. Preparation time (mounting time, etc.) and measurement time for measuring the distribution can be shortened. In addition, since the optical fiber thermometer 22 is thin and flexible and flexible, the guide tube 21 can also be made thin, and by being permanently installed in the reaction tube 2, preparation for measuring the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 is possible. Time can be further shortened.

  Further, the heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a control unit (controller) 50 for controlling processing parameters such as a gas flow rate in the reaction tube 2, a pressure, and a processing atmosphere temperature. The control unit 50 outputs a control signal to the MFC, the pressure adjustment unit, the power controller of the heaters 11 to 15, and the like. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the control unit 50.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 50 includes a recipe storage unit 51, a RAM 53, an I / O port 54, a CPU 55, and a bus 56 that connects these components to each other.

  The recipe storage unit 51 includes an EEPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, and the like, and stores a process recipe for determining a control procedure and an operation program for the CPU 55 according to the type of film forming process executed by the heat treatment apparatus 1. ing. In addition, a correction value for realizing a desired temperature distribution is stored.

  The recipe storage unit 51 stores a process recipe for determining a control procedure in accordance with the type of film forming process executed by the heat treatment apparatus 1. The process recipe is a recipe prepared for each process (process) actually performed by the user. Each process from loading of the semiconductor wafer W to the reaction tube 2 until unloading of the processed semiconductor wafer W is performed. A change in temperature, a change in temperature distribution in each area, a change in pressure in the reaction tube 2, the start and stop timing of gas supply, the supply amount, etc. are defined.

  The RAM 53 functions as a data area for the CPU 55 and the like. Further, the operation program is often placed while the CPU 55 is operating.

  The I / O port 54 supplies measurement signals related to temperature, pressure, and gas flow rate to the CPU 55 and outputs control signals output by the CPU 55 to each part (pressure adjustment unit, power controller of the heaters 11 to 15, MFC, etc.). To do.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 55 constitutes the center of the control unit 50, executes an operation program stored in the recipe storage unit 51, and performs a heat treatment apparatus along the process recipe stored in the recipe storage unit 51. 1 operation is controlled.
The bus 56 transmits information between the units.

  Next, a temperature adjustment method (temperature adjustment process) in the reaction tube 2 using the heat treatment apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the temperature adjustment process. In addition, operation | movement of each part which comprises the heat processing apparatus 1 is controlled by the control part 50 (CPU55). In the present embodiment, a monitor wafer (wafer boat 9 in which the monitor wafer is accommodated) is loaded in the reaction tube 2.

  First, the CPU 55 heats the inside of the reaction tube 2 to a predetermined processing temperature (step S1). Specifically, the CPU 55 supplies power independently to a power controller (not shown), and heats the heaters 11 to 15 to a desired temperature independently.

  Next, the CPU 55 measures the area temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 heated to the processing temperature (step S2). Specifically, the CPU 55 controls the optical fiber sweep unit 24 and inserts the optical fiber thermometer 22 into the guide tube 21, so that the optical fiber temperature is measured at the position where the uppermost measurement position in the reaction tube 2 is measured. The total 22 is moved and the temperature in the reaction tube 2 at this position is measured. Subsequently, after the temperature measurement at this position is completed, the optical fiber sweep unit 24 is controlled to move the optical fiber thermometer 22 to a predetermined measurement position in the reaction tube 2, and in the reaction tube 2 at this position. Measure the temperature. And the temperature measurement in this reaction tube 2 is performed to the position which measures the lowest part of the measurement position in the reaction tube 2. FIG. Based on the temperature measurement at each position, the area temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 is measured (calculated). In this example, the measurement is performed from the top of the measurement position in the reaction tube 2 to the bottom in order, but the measurement may be performed from the bottom of the measurement position in the reaction tube 2 to the top in order.

  Here, since the spatial temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 is measured using the fluorescence type optical fiber thermometer 22, the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 is measured as compared with the case where a thermocouple is used. Preparation time (such as installation time) can be shortened. Furthermore, since the temperature reaction time is shorter than when a thermocouple is used, the movement to the predetermined measurement position in the reaction tube 2 can be accelerated, so the measurement time of the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 can be increased. Can be shortened. For example, while the temperature distribution measurement time using a conventional thermocouple is 1 hour, the temperature distribution can be measured in about 5 minutes by using the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer 22. Moreover, since the optical fiber thermometer 22 is thin and has flexibility and flexibility, the preparation time for measuring the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 can be further shortened.

  Furthermore, a lower measurement position mark 25 indicating that the lowest position of the measurement position in the reaction tube 2 is measured on the optical fiber thermometer 22 and a position at which the uppermost measurement position in the reaction tube 2 is measured. The upper measurement position mark 26 indicating that the optical fiber thermometer 22 is disposed at the measurement position is provided on the guide tube 21 and the position mark detection sensor 27 for detecting the measurement position marks 25 and 26 is provided on the guide tube 21. The temperature at the position between the top and bottom of the can be measured.

  Subsequently, the CPU 55 determines whether or not the measured area temperature distribution matches the determined temperature distribution (step S3). If CPU55 discriminate | determines that the measured space temperature distribution does not correspond with the defined temperature distribution (step S3; No), the relationship between the temperature of the heaters 11-15 memorize | stored in the recipe memory | storage part 51, and each area temperature distribution Is updated, the processing temperature of each part in the reaction tube 2 (the temperature of the heaters 11 to 15) is changed (step S4), and the process returns to step S1.

  If the CPU 55 determines that the measured spatial temperature distribution matches the determined temperature distribution (step S3; Yes), the CPU 55 performs a predetermined process, for example, a film forming process on the monitor wafer in the reaction tube 2 (step S5). ). When the predetermined process is completed, the CPU 55 determines whether or not a desired process is being performed on the monitor wafer (step S6). When the film formation process is performed on the monitor wafer, it is determined whether or not a thin film is uniformly formed on the monitor wafer. For example, when the film forming process is completed, the measurer determines whether or not a thin film is uniformly formed on the monitor wafer, and operates an operation panel (not shown) connected to the I / O port 54 of the control unit 50. And enter the result. The CPU 55 determines whether or not the thin film is uniformly formed on the monitor wafer based on the result input from the measurer.

  When the CPU 55 determines that the desired processing is not performed on the monitor wafer (step S6; No), the processing temperature of each part in the reaction tube 2 (the temperature of the heaters 11 to 15) stored in the recipe storage unit 51. Is changed (step S7), and the process returns to step S5. If the CPU 55 determines that a desired process is being performed on the monitor wafer (step S6; Yes), the process ends.

  In order to confirm the effect of the present embodiment, after adjusting the temperature in the reaction tube 2 in accordance with the temperature adjustment process, a thin film is formed on the semiconductor wafer W. It was confirmed that a thin film could be formed. For this reason, it has confirmed that the temperature in the reaction tube 2 was adjusted favorably by this temperature adjustment process.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the spatial temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 is measured using the fluorescence type optical fiber thermometer 22, compared with the case where a thermocouple is used, Preparation time (such as attachment time) for measuring the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 and measurement time can be shortened. For this reason, the down time of the heat processing apparatus 1 can be shortened.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the optical fiber thermometer 22 is thin and has flexibility and flexibility, the temperature distribution in the reaction tube 2 can be measured by providing the guide tube 21 permanently. Preparation time can be further shortened. For this reason, the down time of the heat treatment apparatus 1 can be further shortened.

  In addition, this invention is not restricted to said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation and application are possible. Hereinafter, other embodiments applicable to the present invention will be described.

  In the said embodiment, although this invention was demonstrated to the case where the guide tube (optical fiber protective tube) 21 was permanently installed in the heat processing apparatus 1, the guide tube 21 does not need to be permanently installed. In this case, the guide tube 21 is attached to the heat treatment apparatus 1 when measuring the temperature distribution.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking the case where the guide tube 21 is inserted into the manifold 3 as an example. However, the guide tube 21 may be inserted into the reaction tube 2. It may be inserted.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking as an example the case where the optical fiber thermometer 22 is provided with the lower measurement position mark 25 and the upper measurement position mark 26. However, these measurement position marks are provided. It does not have to be. Also in this case, the down time of the heat treatment apparatus 1 can be shortened. Further, not only the lower measurement position mark 25 and the upper measurement position mark 26 but also the measurement position marks are provided at all measurement positions at which the inside of the reaction tube 2 is measured by the optical fiber thermometer 22. May be. In this case, measurement at the measurement position by the optical fiber thermometer 22 can be reliably performed.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described by taking the case of a batch type heat treatment apparatus having a single tube structure as the thin film forming apparatus 1. For example, the reaction tube 2 is a double tube composed of an inner tube and an outer tube. The present invention can also be applied to a batch type vertical heat treatment apparatus having a tube structure. Further, the object to be processed is not limited to the semiconductor wafer W, and can be applied to, for example, a glass substrate for LCD.

  The control unit 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be realized using a normal computer system, not a dedicated system. For example, by installing the program from a recording medium (such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM) that stores the program for executing the above-described process in a general-purpose computer, the control unit 50 that executes the above-described process is configured. be able to.

  The means for supplying these programs is arbitrary. In addition to being able to be supplied via a predetermined recording medium as described above, for example, it may be supplied via a communication line, a communication network, a communication system, or the like. In this case, for example, the program may be posted on a download page of a communication network and provided by superimposing it on a carrier wave via the network. Then, the above-described processing can be executed by starting the program thus provided and executing it in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS.

  The present invention is useful for a heat treatment apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat processing apparatus 2 Reaction tube 3 Manifold 4 Exhaust pipe 6 Lid body 7 Boat elevator 8 Heat insulation cylinder 9 Wafer boat 10 Heater part 11-15 Heater 16 Process gas introduction pipe 21 Guide pipe 22 Optical fiber thermometer 23 Optical fiber sweeping roller 24 Optical fiber sweep unit 25 Lower measurement position mark 26 Upper measurement position mark 27 Position mark detection sensor 50 Control unit 51 Recipe storage unit 53 RAM
54 I / O port 55 CPU
56 bus W semiconductor wafer

Claims (4)

A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a treatment chamber containing an object to be treated,
A fluorescent optical fiber thermometer for measuring the temperature in the processing chamber;
A guide tube capable of being inserted into the processing chamber and containing the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer;
An optical fiber sweep unit that sweeps the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer in the guide tube, and
The heat treatment apparatus, wherein the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer moves to a predetermined temperature measurement position in the processing chamber according to a sweep amount of an optical fiber sweep unit.   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide tube is always inserted into the processing chamber. The fluorescent optical fiber thermometer includes a lower measurement position mark indicating that the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer is disposed at a position to measure the lowest measurement position in the processing chamber, and the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer. An upper measurement position mark indicating that the optical fiber thermometer is disposed at a position for measuring the uppermost position of the measurement position in the processing chamber; and
The guide tube is provided with a position mark detection sensor for detecting the lower measurement position mark and the upper measurement position mark.
The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is a heat treatment apparatus.   The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fluorescent optical fiber thermometer is covered with a resin having flexibility and heat resistance.

Images