JP2014183281A - Magnetic annealing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a magnetic annealing device capable of efficiently carrying a wafer into the magnetic annealing device.SOLUTION: A magnetic annealing device for magnetically annealing a workpiece using a horizontal superconducting magnet as magnetic field generating means comprises: a workpiece holder which can hold the workpiece; a workpiece transfer mechanism which transfers the workpiece between a housing container which houses the workpiece and the workpiece holder; and a transfer mechanism which is connected to the workpiece holder via a connection and can transfer the workpiece holder between a first position where the workpiece is transferred by the workpiece transfer mechanism and a second position where the workpiece is magnetically annealed. The connection includes an angle adjusting unit which can adjust an angle of inclination of the workpiece holder.

Description

  The present invention relates to a magnetic annealing apparatus.

  In recent years, MRAM (Magnetic Random Access Memory), which is one of nonvolatile memories, has attracted attention as a next-generation semiconductor memory device. An MRAM is manufactured by, for example, subjecting a magnetic film formed on an object to be processed, which is a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer), to heat treatment (magnetic annealing) in a strong magnetic field to develop its magnetic characteristics.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a magnetic annealing apparatus having a relatively small installation area using a solenoid type superconducting magnet as a magnetic field generating means for magnetic annealing.

JP 2004-263206 A

  Generally, a superconducting magnet used in a magnetic annealing apparatus for a semiconductor device tends to increase in weight and occupied area because a member for suppressing a leakage magnetic field is provided. From the viewpoint of the processing efficiency of the magnetic annealing process, it is conceivable to increase the size of the superconducting magnet to be subjected to the magnetic annealing process in order to improve the number of wafers processed per unit time.

  When increasing the size of the superconducting magnet, it is preferable to dispose the superconducting magnet in a substantially lateral direction due to installation limitations. However, when a large magnetic annealing apparatus is installed sideways, the axis of the superconducting magnet may not be horizontal. In particular, during the magnetic annealing process, there is a great demand for alignment accuracy between the wafer surface and the magnetic field lines. Therefore, when the axial direction of the solenoid type magnet at the time of installation is deviated from the horizontal, it is necessary to incline the transfer mechanism that conveys the wafer holder holding the wafer to the superconducting magnet in accordance with this deviation.

  However, when the transfer mechanism is tilted, the wafer holder is also tilted accordingly. Therefore, there is a problem that the conventional wafer transfer mechanism may not be able to transfer.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic annealing apparatus capable of efficiently carrying a wafer into a magnetic annealing apparatus.

A magnetic annealing apparatus that magnetically anneals an object to be processed using a horizontal superconducting magnet as a magnetic field generating means,
A workpiece holder that can hold the workpiece, and
A target object transport mechanism for transporting the target object between a storage container for storing the target object and the target object holder;
A first position when the workpiece is transported by the workpiece transport mechanism and a second position when the workpiece is magnetically annealed, connected to the workpiece holder via a connecting portion. A transfer mechanism capable of transferring the object holder between the position and
Have
The connection unit includes an angle adjustment unit capable of adjusting an inclination angle of the object holder.
Magnetic annealing equipment.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the magnetic annealing apparatus which can carry in a wafer into a magnetic annealing apparatus efficiently can be provided.

2 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a carrier for a wafer W. FIG. It is a schematic top view of an example of a magnetic annealing apparatus. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the carrier conveyance area | region vicinity of a magnetic annealing apparatus. It is a schematic plan view of the vicinity of the wafer transfer region of the magnetic annealing apparatus. It is the schematic for demonstrating the example of arrangement | positioning of the wafer hold | maintained in a wafer boat. It is the schematic for demonstrating carrying in or carrying out with respect to the magnetic field generation means of a wafer boat.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Career)
In FIG. 1, the schematic perspective view of an example of the carrier C of the wafer W is shown. In the present embodiment, a case where a sealed FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) is used as the carrier C that accommodates the wafer W will be described, but the present invention is not limited in this respect.

  One end of the carrier C of the wafer W is formed as an opening, and the other end is formed in a substantially semi-elliptical shape, for example.

  On the inner wall surface of the carrier C, a support portion on which the wafers W can be arranged in multiple stages is formed. For example, by placing and supporting the peripheral portion of a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm on this support portion, the wafers W can be accommodated in multiple stages at a substantially equal pitch. Generally, 25 wafers W can be stored in one carrier C.

  A grip 10 that can be gripped when the carrier C is gripped is provided on the ceiling of the carrier C.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an opening / closing lid 12 corresponding to the opening is detachably attached to the opening of the carrier C, and the inside of the carrier C is substantially airtight by the opening / closing lid 12. Generally, the atmosphere inside the carrier is a clean gas (clean gas).

  The opening / closing lid 12 is provided with, for example, two locking mechanisms 14, and the opening / closing lid 12 can be detached from the opening by locking or unlocking the locking mechanism 14.

  A plurality of positioning recesses (not shown) are provided on the bottom surface of the bottom of the carrier C, and the carrier can be positioned when it is placed on a mounting table to be described later. Further, a lock piece (not shown) is provided on the lower surface of the bottom portion of the carrier, so that the carrier can be locked when placed on the mounting table.

(Magnetic annealing equipment)
Next, the magnetic annealing apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of an example of a magnetic annealing apparatus. Regarding the wafer boat 128, the heat insulating portion 134, the cap 136, the angle adjustment mechanism 137, and the transfer mechanism 138, which will be described later, a solid line indicates a position when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, and a broken line indicates the wafer W. The position at the time of magnetic annealing is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 is configured to be housed in a housing 102. The casing 102 constitutes an exterior body of a magnetic annealing apparatus, and a carrier transfer area S1 and a wafer transfer area S2 are formed in the casing 102.

  The carrier transfer area S1 is an area where the carrier C containing the wafer W, which is the object to be processed, is carried into and out of the magnetic annealing apparatus. The wafer transfer area S2 is a transfer area for transferring the wafer W in the carrier C and loading it into a magnetic annealing furnace described later.

  The carrier transfer area S1 and the wafer transfer area S2 are partitioned by a partition wall 104.

  The carrier transfer area S1 is an area under an air atmosphere, and is an area where the wafer W stored in the carrier C is transferred. An area between the processing apparatuses corresponds to the carrier transport area S1, and in this embodiment, a space in the clean room outside the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 corresponds to the carrier transport area S1.

On the other hand, the atmosphere in the wafer transfer region S2 is not particularly limited, and may be an air atmosphere or an inert gas atmosphere, for example, a nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas atmosphere. Depending on the configuration of the object to be processed, an inert gas atmosphere may be used when processing in a lower oxygen atmosphere is required, for example, when it is desired to prevent formation of an oxide film or the like. Further, the wafer transfer region S2 is generally higher in cleanliness than the carrier transfer region S1 and is maintained at a low oxygen concentration.

  In the following description, the left-right direction in FIG. 2 is the front-rear direction of the magnetic annealing apparatus. The carrier transfer area S1 side is the front (X direction in FIG. 2), and the wafer transfer area S2 side is the rear (Y direction in FIG. 2).

[Carrier transport area S1]
The carrier transport area S1 will be described in more detail. FIG. 3 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the vicinity of the carrier transport region of the magnetic annealing apparatus.

  The carrier transport area S1 includes a first transport area 106 and a second transport area 108 located on the rear side of the first transport area 106.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the left-right direction of the first transfer area 106 (direction perpendicular to the XY axis direction in FIG. 2), two first mounting tables 110a and 110b each mounting the carrier C are provided. Is provided. On the mounting surface of each of the first mounting tables 110a and 110b, pins 112 for positioning the carrier C corresponding to the positioning recesses of the carrier C are provided, for example, at three locations.

  The second transfer area 108 is arranged in the front-rear direction with respect to any one of the left and right first mounting tables (the mounting table 110a in the present embodiment), and is arranged in the up-down direction of FIG. Two second mounting tables 114a and 114b are provided. Each second mounting table 114 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction.

  Similarly to the first mounting table 110, pins 112 for positioning the carrier C are provided on the mounting surface of the second mounting table 114, for example, at three locations. In addition, a hook (not shown) for fixing the carrier C is provided on the mounting surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first carrier storage units 116 a and 116 b that store the carrier C are provided on the upper side of the second transport region 108 and / or the first transport region 106. The carrier storage units 116a and 116b are configured by, for example, two or more shelves, and each shelf can mount, for example, two carriers C in the left-right direction.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a second carrier storage unit 116 c configured by a plurality of shelves is provided in the left-right direction of the second mounting table 114.

  Since the first carrier storage units 116a and 116b and the second carrier storage unit 116c are provided, a sufficient number of carriers C (that is, a sufficient number of wafers W) are held in the carrier transfer region S1. can do.

  In the second transport area 108, a carrier transport mechanism 118 that transports the carrier C between the first mounting table, the second mounting table, and the first and second carrier storage units is provided. The carrier transport mechanism 118 includes a guide part 118a that can be moved up and down, a moving part 118b that moves up and down while being guided by the guide part 118a, and a horizontal part that supports the bottom of the moving part 118b and supports the bottom part thereof. And a transport arm 118c for transporting to the head.

  The partition 104 is provided with a transfer port 120 for the wafer W that allows the carrier transfer region S1 and the wafer transfer region S2 to communicate with each other. The transfer port 120 is provided with an opening / closing door 122 that closes the transfer port 120 from the wafer transfer region S2 side. A drive mechanism (not shown) is connected to the open / close door 122, and the open / close door 122 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction by the drive mechanism, and the conveyance port 120 is opened and closed.

<Conveyance of carrier C (wafer W) in carrier conveyance area S1>
The transfer of the wafer W from the carrier transfer area S1 to the wafer transfer area S2 will be described. First, the carrier C is transferred from the first mounting table 110, the first carrier storage units 116a and 116b, or the second carrier storage unit 116c to the second mounting table 114 by the transfer arm 118c. The The carrier C is placed so that the positioning recess and the pin 112 are engaged. When the carrier C is placed on the second placement table 114, the second placement table 114 is moved to the partition wall 104 side, and the carrier C comes into contact with the partition wall 104. The contact state of the carrier C is held by a fixing mechanism (not shown).

  Thereafter, in a state where the opening / closing door 122 formed on the partition wall 104 and the opening / closing lid 12 of the carrier C are sealed, the opening / closing lid 12 is opened by an opening / closing mechanism (not shown). When the atmosphere of the wafer transfer region S2 is an inert gas atmosphere, first, with the opening / closing lid 12 of the carrier C being sealed, inert gas replacement is performed by an inert gas replacement means (not shown), and the opening / closing door 122 is opened. And the atmosphere between the opening / closing lid 12 is removed and the inert gas is filled. Next, inert gas replacement is performed in the carrier C by an inert gas replacement means.

  Then, the opening / closing door 122 formed on the partition wall 104 of the carrier C is opened, and the wafer W in the carrier C is loaded and unloaded by a wafer transfer mechanism 124 described later.

  When the carrier C is replaced and the wafer W is unloaded, the reverse operation described above is performed.

[Wafer transfer area S2]
FIG. 4 shows a schematic plan view of the vicinity of the wafer transfer region S2 of the magnetic annealing apparatus 100. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, a wafer transfer mechanism 124, an aligner device 126, a wafer boat 128, and a magnetic field generator 130 (see FIG. 2) are mainly installed in the wafer transfer region S2.

  The wafer transfer mechanism 124 is in charge of transferring the wafer W in the wafer transfer region S <b> 2 and is provided between the wafer boat 128 and the transfer port 120 of the partition wall 104. The wafer transfer mechanism 124 is configured by moving along a guide mechanism 124a extending vertically, and by providing, for example, five movable arms 124c on a moving body 124b that rotates about a vertical axis. The wafer is transferred between the carrier C on the second mounting table 114 and the aligner 126.

  The aligner device 126, for example, grips the edge of the wafer W and performs angle alignment such as centering and notching.

  The wafer boat 128 generally has a cylindrical shape and can hold a plurality of wafers W in a plurality of carriers C, for example, four carriers C. Further, the wafer boat 128 is placed on the rear side of the cap 136 via the heat insulating portion 134. The cap 136 is supported on the rear side of the transfer mechanism 138, and the wafer boat 128 is carried into or out of the magnetic field generation unit 130 by the transfer mechanism 138.

  In general, the cap 136 and the heat insulating portion 134 are configured to be fixed so that the main surface of the cap 136 and the axial direction of the heat insulating portion 134 are perpendicular to each other. Further, the axial direction of the heat insulating portion 134 and the axial direction of the wafer boat 128 are configured to be fixed in parallel.

  In the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, an angle adjusting mechanism 137 is provided on at least one of the cap 136 and the heat insulating part 134 so that the angle between the main surface of the cap 136 and the axial direction of the heat insulating part 134 is variable. It is done. That is, by providing the angle adjustment mechanism 137, the inclination angle of the wafer boat 128 can be changed.

  Further, the angle adjusting mechanism 137 preferably has a leveler, and can determine whether or not the axis of the wafer boat 128 is horizontal. If not, the angle adjusting mechanism 137 causes the wafer to pass through the heat insulating portion 134. The inclination angle of the boat 128 is changed, and the shaft thereof can be held horizontally, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, the transfer mechanism 138 is formed along the front-rear direction, which is connected to the cap 136 and guides the transfer mechanism 138 connected to the connection part 138a. And a drive mechanism (not shown). Thereby, the transfer mechanism 138 is slidably movable on the guide rail 138.

  Further, the cap 136, the connecting portion 138a, and the guide rail 138b are formed of rigid bodies, and are configured such that the relative angle between the members is constant.

  On the rear side of the wafer boat 128, magnetic field generation means 130 for performing a magnetic annealing process on the wafer W is disposed. As the magnetic field generating means, a magnetic annealing furnace composed of a horizontal solenoid type magnet (superconducting magnet) whose right end is a furnace port can be used. The solenoid-type magnet is arranged so that its center line axis direction is substantially horizontal, and is connected to a power supply device (not shown). The direction of the magnetic field in the magnet (direction of the lines of magnetic force) generated by the horizontal solenoid magnet is the aforementioned front-rear direction.

  Further, the magnetic field generating means 130 is provided with a heating means 132 along the inner periphery thereof, so that the wafer W can be heated to a predetermined temperature. In other words, the wafer W is heated by the magnetic field generating means 130 under a uniform magnetic field.

  When a similar magnetic annealing process is performed on a plurality of wafers W, for example, 100 wafers W using a solenoid type magnet, it is necessary to arrange the wafers W in the uniform magnetic field region in order to perform a uniform process on all the wafers W. There is. The uniform magnetic field region of the solenoid type magnet is about 20% of its axial length. Therefore, for example, when 100 wafers of φ300 mm are processed by a magnetic annealing apparatus, the design example of the horizontal solenoid magnet includes an inner diameter (bore diameter) φ570 mm, an outer diameter φ1900 mm, a length 2500 mm, The length of the magnetic field region can be about 680 mm).

  Further, the weight of the horizontal solenoid magnet of the above design is about 25 tons. Therefore, a bottom of the solenoid type magnet is provided with a holding base (not shown) for holding the solenoid type magnet and a holding plate (not shown) at the bottom of the holding base.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 is provided with a control unit 140 made up of a computer, for example. The control unit 140 includes a program, a memory, a data processing unit including a CPU, and the like. The program sends a control signal from the control unit to each unit of the magnetic annealing apparatus to instruct each process step to proceed (each step ) Is incorporated. By the control signal, the carrier C is transferred, the angle adjustment mechanism 137 controls the tilt angle of the wafer boat 128, the wafer W is transferred, the door is opened and closed, and the lid is opened and closed. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a computer storage medium such as a flexible disk, a compact disk, a hard disk, an MO (magneto-optical disk), and a memory card and installed in the control unit.

<Transfer of wafer W in wafer transfer area S2>
As described above, the magnetic annealing apparatus of the present embodiment can adjust the tilt angle of the wafer boat 128 by adjusting the angle formed by the cap 136 and the heat insulating part 134 by the angle adjusting part 137. As a result, the cap 136 and the heat insulating portion 134 are independently formed when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128 and when the wafer boat 128 containing the wafer W is loaded onto the magnetic field generating means 130. The angle can be adjusted optimally.

  The effect of the angle adjustment unit 137 will be described with a specific example.

  First, a series of flows until the wafer W is transferred from the carrier C mounted on the second mounting tables 114a and 114b to the wafer boat 128 will be described.

  The wafer W carried into the wafer transfer region S2 is first transferred to the aligner 126 by the wafer transfer mechanism 124, and angle adjustment such as centering and notch is performed. Next, the wafer W after the angle adjustment is transferred from the aligner 126 to the wafer boat 128 by the wafer transfer mechanism 124. After the transfer of the wafer W to the wafer boat 128 is completed, the wafer transfer mechanism 124 returns to the carrier C, and the next wafer W is transferred.

  As will be described later, the transfer of the wafer W to the wafer boat 128 by the wafer transfer mechanism 124 is preferably performed in a state where the wafer boat 128 is substantially horizontal.

  The number of wafers W held in one carrier C is generally 25, and the number of wafers W transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 124 is generally 5. Therefore, the transfer of the wafer W from the carrier C to the wafer boat 128 via the aligner 126 is performed five times for one carrier C. After the transfer of the wafer W from the carrier C mounted on one second mounting table (for example, the second mounting table 114a) is finished, the other second mounting table ( For example, the wafer W is transferred from the carrier C mounted on the second mounting table 114b). At that time, the empty carrier C placed on the second mounting table 114a is transferred while the wafer W is transferred from the carrier C placed on the other second mounting table 114b. The carrier C is replaced with another carrier C stored in the carrier storage unit 116.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining an arrangement example of the wafers W held in the wafer boat 128.

  FIG. 5A shows an arrangement example when the loading direction of the wafer W is the above-described front-rear direction, and FIG. 5B shows an arrangement example when the loading direction of the wafer W is the vertical direction. is there.

  The magnetic annealing process for the wafer W includes a perpendicular magnetization method in which a magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the main surface of the wafer W, and an in-plane magnetization method in which a magnetic field is applied in a direction parallel to the main surface of the wafer W. Two types of methods are known. As in the present embodiment, when a horizontal solenoid magnet is employed as the magnetic field generating means 130, the direction of the magnetic field (lines of magnetic force) in the magnet is the aforementioned front-rear direction.

  As a more specific example, an example in which 100 wafers W are transferred to the wafer boat 128 will be described, but the present invention is not limited in this respect. When the magnetic annealing process is performed on the wafer W by the perpendicular magnetization method, the wafer W is arranged so that the loading direction of the wafer W is the above-described front-rear direction as shown in FIG. For example, when processing 100 wafers W, as shown in FIG. 5A, one stacking body in which 100 wafers W are stacked in a shelf shape at a predetermined interval is arranged on the wafer boat 128. On the other hand, when the wafer W is magnetically annealed by the in-plane magnetization method, as shown in FIG. 5B, two stacked bodies each having 50 wafers W stacked at a predetermined interval are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction. The wafer boats 128 can be arranged side by side.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the loading or unloading of the wafer boat 128 with respect to the magnetic field generating means 130. FIG. 6 illustrates a case where two stacks of 50 wafers W stacked in the vertical direction at a predetermined interval are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction and arranged on the wafer boat 128. It is not limited to this embodiment.

  More specifically, FIG. 6A is a schematic view when the magnetic field generating unit 130 is horizontally arranged, and FIG. 6B is an angle (α) where the magnetic field generating unit 130 is α from the horizontal. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram when arranged with α> 0). 6A and 6B, the arrangement positions of the wafer boat 128, the heat insulating portion 134, and the cap 136 when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128 are indicated by solid lines. Are shown by broken lines when they are conveyed to the magnetic field generating means 130.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when the installed magnetic field generating means 130 is horizontal, the guide rail 138b of the transfer mechanism 138 is also horizontal. In this case, the direction of the lines of magnetic force in the coiled magnetic field generating means 130 is the horizontal direction.

  On the other hand, the surface direction of the main surface of the cap 136 is a vertical direction, and the axial direction of the heat insulating portion 134 and the axial direction of the wafer boat 128 are substantially horizontal. Thereby, the wafer W can be stably transferred to the wafer boat 128 without tilting the axis of the wafer boat 128.

  In general, a sufficient clearance is formed in a wafer holding unit (not shown) of the wafer boat 128 so that the wafer W is transferred by the wafer transfer mechanism 124 even when the wafer boat 128 is not horizontal. However, in the case of a magnetic annealing apparatus that can process, for example, 100 wafers having a diameter of 300 mm at a time as in the present embodiment, the axial length of the coiled magnetic field generating means 130 becomes long. As described above, since the magnetic field equalization region is about 20% with respect to the axial length of the magnetic field generating means 130 in the coil state, the required axial length of the heat insulating portion 134 is increased, and the wafer boat 128 ( Depending on the weight of the wafer W) accommodated therein, the heat insulating portion 134 may be bent. When the axis of the wear boat 128 is tilted due to the bending or the like and the tilt exceeds the clearance, the wafer transport mechanism 124 may not be able to transport the wafer W to the wafer boat 128.

  However, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has an angle adjustment mechanism 137 that can adjust the inclination angle of the wafer boat 128. Therefore, the wafer W can be transferred to the wafer boat 128 while the angle of the cap 136 and the heat insulating portion 134 is adjusted by the angle adjusting mechanism 137 and the axis of the wafer boat 128 is horizontal.

  On the other hand, even after the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, the heat insulating portion 134 may be bent depending on the number of transferred wafers W. When the heat insulating portion 134 is bent, the axis of the wafer boat 128 is inclined from the horizontal, so that the angle formed between the direction of the magnetic lines and the wafer surface may deviate from a desired angle. In this case, a desired magnetic annealing process cannot be performed on the wafer W. Further, due to the recent increase in the size of the wafer W, when the axis of the wafer boat 128 is tilted from the horizontal, the wafer W itself is bent due to its own weight during the magnetic annealing process, and a problem such as slip dislocation due to stress concentration is likely to occur. .

  However, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has an angle adjustment mechanism 137 that can adjust the inclination angle of the wafer boat 128. Therefore, the angle formed by the cap 136 and the heat insulating portion 134 is changed to adjust the tilt angle of the wafer boat 128 so that the axis of the wafer boat 128 (that is, the wafer surface) and the lines of magnetic force make a desired angle. The

  Then, the wafer boat 128 is loaded onto the magnetic field generating means 130 by the transfer mechanism 138.

  The angle adjustment between the cap 136 and the heat insulating part 134 by the angle adjustment mechanism 137 may be performed after the wafer boat 128 is loaded on the magnetic field generation unit 130.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the magnetic field generating means 130 is installed at an angle α, for example, from the horizontal, the guide rail 138b of the transfer mechanism 138 is also inclined at an angle α from the horizontal. Installed. In this case, the direction of the lines of magnetic force in the coiled magnetic field generating means 130 is inclined at an angle α from the horizontal direction.

  The surface direction of the main surface of the cap 136 is inclined at an angle α from the vertical direction, and the axial direction of the heat insulating portion 134 and the axis of the wafer boat 128 are inclined at an angle α from the horizontal.

  As described above, when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, the wafer boat 128 is preferably horizontal. Therefore, when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, the angle formed by the cap 136 and the heat insulating portion 134 is changed by the angle adjusting mechanism 137 so that the axes of the heat insulating portion 134 and the wafer boat 128 are horizontal.

  After the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, the heat insulating portion 134 bends depending on the number of transferred wafers W. Therefore, when the wafer boat 128 is loaded onto the magnetic field generating means 130, the angle adjustment mechanism 137 takes into account the direction of the magnetic lines of force in the coiled magnetic field generating means 130 and the wafer surface in consideration of this bending. The angle is adjusted to a desired angle. In this state, the wafer boat 128 is loaded onto the magnetic field generation unit 130 by the transfer mechanism 138.

  That is, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes the angle adjustment mechanism 137 so that the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128 by the wafer transfer mechanism 124 and the wafer W transferred to the wafer boat 128 is subjected to a magnetic field. The tilt angle of the wafer boat 128 (horizontal of the axis of the wafer boat 128) can be adjusted independently during transfer to the generating means 130. Therefore, it is possible to provide a magnetic annealing apparatus that can carry the wafer into the magnetic annealing apparatus efficiently and with high accuracy.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, the magnetic annealing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is installed on the bottom surface side of the wafer boat 128 and has a push-up mechanism 139 that can push up the wafer boat 128. good.

  The push-up mechanism 139 includes a guide part 139a that can be moved up and down, a moving part 139b that moves up and down while being guided by the guide part 139a, and a push-up member 139c that abuts against the bottom surface of the wafer boat 128 when pushed up.

  By having the push-up mechanism 139, when the wafer W is transferred to the wafer boat 128, the axis of the wafer boat 128 can be more securely held horizontally. Therefore, the wafer W can be stably transferred to the wafer boat 128.

  After the wafer boat 128 is loaded onto the magnetic field generator 130 by the transfer mechanism 138, the wafer W is subjected to a predetermined magnetic annealing process. When the wafer W is unloaded, the wafer boat 128 is first unloaded from the magnetic field generation means 130, and contrary to the above-described loading, the wafer transfer mechanism 124 is used to transfer the wafer W to the second mounting table 114a or 114b. It is executed by transferring from the opening / closing window to the carrier C. Also in this case, the adjustment is performed by the angle adjustment mechanism 137 so that the bottom surface of the wafer boat 128 is horizontal. After the wafer W is transferred to the carrier C by the wafer transfer mechanism 124, the opening / closing lid is attached to the carrier C by an unillustrated opening / closing mechanism, the carrier C is unloaded by the carrier transfer mechanism 118, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Handle 12 Opening / closing lid 14 Lock mechanism 100 Magnetic annealing apparatus 102 Case 104 Bulkhead 106 1st conveyance area 108 2nd conveyance area 110 1st mounting base 112 Pin 114 2nd mounting base 116 Carrier storage part 118 Carrier conveyance Mechanism 120 Transfer port 122 Open / close door 124 Wafer transfer mechanism 126 Aligner device 128 Wafer boat 130 Magnetic field generation means 132 Heating means 134 Heat insulation part 136 Cap 137 Angle adjustment mechanism 138 Transfer mechanism 139 Push-up mechanism 140 Control part 150 Holding stand S1 Carrier transfer area S2 Wafer transfer area C Carrier W Wafer

Claims (8)

A magnetic annealing apparatus that magnetically anneals an object to be processed using a horizontal superconducting magnet as a magnetic field generating means,
A workpiece holder that can hold the workpiece, and
A target object transport mechanism for transporting the target object between a storage container for storing the target object and the target object holder;
A first position when the workpiece is transported by the workpiece transport mechanism and a second position when the workpiece is magnetically annealed, connected to the workpiece holder via a connecting portion. A transfer mechanism capable of transferring the object holder between the position and
Have
The connection unit includes an angle adjustment unit capable of adjusting an inclination angle of the object holder.
Magnetic annealing equipment. The angle adjuster horizontally adjusts the object holder in the first position, and the shaft of the object holder and the horizontal superconducting magnet in the second position. Adjusting the angle of inclination of the object holder so that the angle formed by the magnetic field lines of the above becomes a predetermined angle;
The magnetic annealing apparatus according to claim 1. In the second position, the angle adjusting unit is configured so that the angle formed by the axis of the workpiece holder and the magnetic lines of force in the horizontal superconducting magnet is parallel or vertical. Adjust the tilt angle of
The magnetic annealing apparatus according to claim 2. The first position further includes a push-up mechanism that pushes up the bottom surface of the object holder to be processed from below so that the axis of the object holder is horizontal.
The magnetic annealing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The object to be processed is a wafer, and the storage container is a FOUP.
The FOUP can store 25 wafers,
The object holder can hold 100 wafers.
The magnetic annealing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4. The workpiece holder can hold 100 wafers at a predetermined interval with the direction of the axis as the loading direction.
The magnetic annealing apparatus according to claim 5. The workpiece holder can hold two stacks of 50 wafers stacked at a predetermined interval in parallel in the axial direction, with the direction perpendicular to the axis being the stacking direction.
The magnetic annealing apparatus according to claim 5. A magnetic annealing apparatus in which a storage container transport region for transporting a storage container storing a target object and a target object transport region for transporting the target object are formed through an open / close door,
In the storage container transport area,
A first mounting table for mounting a storage container carried into the magnetic annealing apparatus;
A plurality of second mounting tables on which the storage container is mounted in order to transfer the target object in an airtight manner from the storage container transfer region to the target object transfer region via the open / close door;
A storage unit for storing a plurality of the storage containers;
A storage container transport mechanism for carrying in and out the storage container between the first mounting table, the second mounting table and the storage unit;
Is placed,
In the workpiece conveyance area,
An aligner for aligning the object to be processed;
A workpiece holder capable of holding the workpiece subjected to the alignment; and
A target object transport mechanism for transporting the target object between the storage container mounted on the second mounting table, the aligner and the target object holder;
Heating means for heating the object to be processed;
A magnetic field generating means having a horizontal superconducting magnet for applying a magnetic field to the object to be processed;
A first position when the workpiece is transported by the workpiece transport mechanism and a second position when the workpiece is magnetically annealed, connected to the workpiece holder via a connecting portion. A transfer mechanism capable of transferring the object holder between the position and
Is placed,
The connection unit includes an angle adjustment unit capable of adjusting an inclination angle of the object holder.
Magnetic annealing equipment.

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