JP2015035481A - Heater device, substrate processing apparatus, and maintenance method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heater device capable of suppressing generation of a process trouble during startup, maintenance, and repair.SOLUTION: The heater device is formed by mounting in an axial direction a plurality of separated cylindrical heater devices each having a cylindrical adiabatic wall body and a heater element, disposed inside the adiabatic wall body by being wound a plurality of times in a spiral form, and whose both ends penetrate from the inside of the adiabatic wall body to an outside and extend to an outside of the adiabatic wall body.

Description

  The present invention relates to a heater device, a substrate processing apparatus, and a maintenance method.

  For example, in the manufacture of a semiconductor device, a process such as a film formation process, an oxidation process, a diffusion process, an annealing process, and an etching process is performed on a semiconductor wafer that is a target object. In general, these processes are performed in a vertical substrate processing apparatus having a heater apparatus that can process a plurality of wafers in a batch manner (see Patent Document 1).

  The substrate processing apparatus generally has a loading area for transferring wafers between a sealed container and a wafer boat for storing wafers transferred from the previous process to the substrate processing apparatus. A process tube (hereinafter referred to as a processing vessel) is provided in the furnace body having a heater device provided in the upper space of the loading area so that it can be loaded and unloaded, and a wafer boat containing wafers is loaded into the process tube. It is configured to be enterable.

  In recent years, with the progress of practical use of semiconductor wafers having a diameter of 450 mm, etc., the processing substrate has been increased in size, and accordingly, the heater device and the substrate processing apparatus having this heater device have been increased in size so that a large substrate can be manufactured. Is underway.

JP 2000-182979 A

  At the time of starting up the substrate processing apparatus, at the time of maintenance, or at the time of repair, work for attaching or removing the heater device may occur. However, currently, the heater device is designed as an integral structure. Further, as described above, the heater device is provided above the loading area. Therefore, there has been a problem that process troubles are induced due to the large number of work steps for attaching or removing the heater device and low work efficiency.

  In response to the above problems, a heater device is provided that can suppress the occurrence of process troubles during startup, maintenance, or repair.

  A heat insulating wall body of a cylindrical body and a plurality of spirally wound arrangements arranged on the inner peripheral side of the heat insulating wall body, both end portions penetrating from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the heat insulating wall body, and the heat insulating wall body A heater device in which a plurality of cylindrical divided heater devices each having a heater element extending outward are stacked in the axial direction.

  It is possible to provide a heater device that can suppress the occurrence of process troubles during startup, maintenance, or repair.

It is a schematic block diagram of an example of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic structure figure of an example of the heat treatment furnace concerning this embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of an example of the heater device concerning this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As a result of intensive studies on the heater device and the substrate processing apparatus, the present inventors have found that various process troubles can be solved by dividing the heater device in the axial direction. In this specification, the configuration of an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described first. Next, an example of a configuration and a maintenance method of the heater device included in the substrate processing apparatus will be described.

(Substrate processing equipment)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, for the sake of explanation, the x-axis direction is assumed to be the forward direction in the front-rear direction, and the z-axis direction is assumed to be the upward direction in the vertical direction. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a heat treatment furnace according to the present embodiment.

  The substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a mounting table (load port) 20, a housing 30, and a control unit 70.

  The mounting table 20 is provided in front of the housing 30 and is used for loading and unloading the wafer W into and from the housing 30. The mounting table 20 is configured to be capable of mounting sealed storage containers (FOUP, also referred to as substrate transfer equipment) 21 and 22 that can store a plurality of, for example, about 50 wafers W at predetermined intervals. The sealed storage containers 21 and 22 are storage containers for carrying the wafer W into the substrate processing apparatus 10 from the previous process or carrying out the wafer W from the substrate processing apparatus 10 to the subsequent process. Is detachably provided.

  An alignment device (aligner) 23 for aligning notches (for example, notches) provided on the outer periphery of the wafer W transferred by the transfer mechanism 47 described later in one direction is provided below the mounting table 20. It may be done.

  The housing 30 includes a loading area 40 that is a work area and a heat treatment furnace 60. The loading area 40 is provided in the lower part of the casing 30 and behind the mounting table 20, and the heat treatment furnace 60 is provided in the casing 30 and above the loading area 40. A base plate 31 is provided between the loading area 40 and the heat treatment furnace 60.

  The loading area 40 is an area where the wafer W is transferred between the sealed storage containers 21 and 22 and a wafer boat 44 described later. Further, the wafer boat 44 is loaded into the processing container 65, and the processed wafer boat 44 is unloaded from the processing container 65. The loading area 40 is provided with a door mechanism 41, a shutter mechanism 42, a lid 43, a wafer boat 44, a transfer mechanism 47, an elevating mechanism 94, and the like.

  The door mechanism 41 is for removing the lids of the sealed storage containers 21 and 22 to open the communication between the sealed storage containers 21 and 22 into the loading area 40.

  The shutter mechanism 42 is provided above the loading area 40. The shutter mechanism 42 closes the furnace port 68 when the lid 43 is opened (lowered) in order to control the discharge of high-temperature furnace heat from the furnace port 68 to the loading area 40. It is provided as follows.

  The lid 43 has a heat retaining cylinder 48. The heat retaining cylinder 48 is provided on the lid body 43. The heat retaining cylinder 48 is for preventing the wafer boat 44 from being cooled by heat transfer with the lid 43 side.

  The elevating mechanism 94 drives the lid 43 up and down when the wafer boat 44 is loaded into and unloaded from the loading area 40 of the wafer boat 44. The lid 43 is provided so as to contact the furnace port 68 and seal the furnace port 68 when the lid 43 raised by the elevating mechanism 94 is carried into the processing container 65. The wafer boat 44 placed on the lid 43 can hold the wafer W in the processing container 65 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. That is, the elevating mechanism 94 can elevate and lower the wafer boat 44 between a load position located inside the heat treatment furnace 60 and an unload position located outside the heat treatment furnace 60 and below the load position. .

  1 shows a configuration having one wafer boat 44, the substrate processing apparatus 10 may have a configuration having a plurality of wafer boats 44.

  The wafer boat 44 is made of, for example, quartz, and is configured to load wafers W having a large diameter such as a diameter of 300 mm or 450 mm in a horizontal state at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction.

  The transfer mechanism 47 is for transferring the wafer W between the sealed storage containers 21 and 22 and the wafer boat 44. The transfer mechanism 47 includes a base 57, a lifting arm 58, and a plurality of forks (transfer plates) 59. The base 57 is provided so that it can be raised and lowered. The raising / lowering arm 58 is provided so that raising / lowering is possible, and the base 57 is provided in the raising / lowering arm 58 so that horizontal rotation is possible.

  The heat treatment furnace 60 is a vertical furnace for accommodating a plurality of wafers W and performing a predetermined heat treatment, and includes a processing vessel 65. The processing container 65 is supported by the base plate 31 via a manifold 84 (see FIG. 2) described later.

  The control unit 70 includes, for example, an arithmetic processing unit, a storage unit, and a display unit. The arithmetic processing unit is, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit is a computer-readable recording medium configured with, for example, a hard disk, in which a program for causing the arithmetic processing unit to execute various processes is recorded. A display part consists of a screen of a computer, for example. The arithmetic processing unit reads a program recorded in the storage unit, and according to the program, sends a control signal to each unit constituting the substrate processing apparatus and executes various heat treatments.

  Next, a detailed configuration example of the heat treatment furnace 60 portion of the substrate processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the vertical heat treatment furnace 60 includes a processing vessel 65 whose longitudinal direction is vertical. The processing vessel 65 has a double-pipe structure having an outer cylinder 80 with a ceiling and a cylindrical inner cylinder 82 arranged concentrically on the inner peripheral side of the outer cylinder 80.

  The outer cylinder 80 and the inner cylinder 82 are made of a heat resistant material such as quartz. The lower ends of the outer cylinder 80 and the inner cylinder 82 are held by a manifold 84 formed of stainless steel or the like. The manifold 84 is fixed to the base plate 31. Note that the entire processing vessel 65 may be formed of, for example, quartz without providing the manifold 84.

  A disc-shaped cap portion 86 made of, for example, stainless steel or the like is attached to the opening at the lower end portion of the manifold 84 through a seal member 88 such as an O-ring so as to prevent airtightness. Further, for example, a shaft 90 is inserted through a substantially central portion of the cap portion 86. A lid 43 is provided below the shaft 90, and a table 92 made of, for example, stainless steel is fixed above the shaft 90.

  On the table 92, for example, a heat insulating cylinder 48 made of quartz is installed. Further, a quartz wafer boat 44 made of, for example, quartz is mounted on the heat insulating cylinder 48 as a support.

  For example, 50 to 150 wafers W are accommodated in the wafer boat 44 at predetermined intervals. The wafer boat 44, the heat retaining cylinder 48, the table 92, and the lid body 43 are loaded and unloaded into the processing container 65 by an elevating mechanism 94 that is, for example, a boat elevator.

  The heat treatment furnace 60 is provided with a gas introduction means 96 for introducing a processing gas into the processing vessel 65. The gas introduction means 96 has a gas nozzle 100 provided so as to penetrate the manifold 84 in an airtight manner. Although FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which one gas introduction means 96 is installed, the present invention is not limited in this respect. A configuration having a plurality of gas introduction means 96 may be employed depending on the number of gas types to be used. Further, the flow rate of the gas introduced from the gas nozzle 100 into the processing container 65 is controlled by a flow rate control mechanism (not shown).

  The heat treatment furnace 60 is provided with a gas outlet 102, and an exhaust system 104 is connected to the gas outlet 102. The exhaust system 104 includes an exhaust passage 106 connected to the gas outlet 102, a pressure adjusting valve 108 and a vacuum pump 110 sequentially connected in the middle of the exhaust passage 106. The exhaust system 104 can exhaust the atmosphere in the processing container 65 while adjusting the pressure.

  A heater device 150 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the processing container 65 so as to surround the processing container 65 and heat-treat a target object such as a wafer W.

  Next, the heater device 150 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

(Heater device)
FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of an example of the heater device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the ceiling surface of the heat insulating wall 152 is omitted.

  The heater device 150 according to the present embodiment includes a cylindrical heat insulating wall body 152. The heat insulating wall 152 can be formed of, for example, a mixture of soft amorphous silica and alumina having low thermal conductivity.

  The heat insulating wall 152 is disposed such that the inner peripheral surface thereof is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the processing container 65 by a predetermined distance. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 2, a protective cover 154 formed of stainless steel or the like is attached to the outer periphery of the heat insulating wall body 152 so as to cover the entire outer periphery of the heat insulating wall body 152.

  On the inner peripheral surface side of the heat insulating wall body 152, a heater element 156 is provided by being wound a plurality of times. For example, the heater element 156 is formed in a spiral shape with the central axis of the cylindrical heat insulating wall body 152 as an axis.

  The heat insulating wall body 152 is provided with a holding member 158 for holding the heater elements 156 at a predetermined pitch along the axial direction of the heat insulating wall body 152. A plurality of holding members 158 may be provided in the circumferential direction of the heat insulating wall body 152. Or a groove part may be formed in the internal peripheral surface of the heat insulation wall body 152, and the structure by which the heater element 156 is accommodated in this groove part may be sufficient.

  The heater device 150 according to the present embodiment is formed by being divided into a plurality of zones in the axial direction. FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 show an example in which the zone is divided into n zones 150a to 150n from below. The number of divisions is not particularly limited.

  The divided heater devices 150a to 150n stacked in the axial direction of the heat insulating wall body 152 are fixed by, for example, a fixing member (not shown) so that the heat insulating wall bodies 152 adjacent to each other in the axial direction are not shifted during use of the device. It is preferably locked or joined. Thereby, the heat insulation of the inside of the heat insulation wall body 152 improves.

  The divided heater device 150a is provided at the lowermost position, is not provided with the heater element 156, and is a part for connection with other components. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface is connected to the base plate 31. In the example shown in FIG. 2, a gas outlet 102 is provided.

  The divided heater devices 150b to 150n are provided above the divided heater device 150a, and a heater element 156 is provided. That is, the divided heater devices 150b to 150n are zones for substantially heat treating the wafer W.

  In the divided heater devices 150b to 150n, the heater element 156 is wound around the inner peripheral surface side of the corresponding heat insulating wall body 152. At the end of the heater element 156 in each zone, in the example shown in FIG. 3, a terminal plate 160 for electrode connection that extends through the heat insulating wall body 152 and extends to the outside of the heat insulating wall body 152 is provided. ing. By setting it as such a structure, each division | segmentation heater apparatus 150b-150n can control temperature independently. That is, a heater device with little temperature variation in the axial direction can be obtained. The temperature control of each zone is configured such that the control unit 70 can control the temperature independently for each zone based on the temperature detected by a thermocouple (not shown) provided in the vicinity of the heat insulating wall 152. Yes.

  The terminal plate 160 is formed in a plate shape having a predetermined cross-sectional area from the viewpoint of fusing prevention and heat dissipation.

  The number of windings of the heater element 156 in the divided heater devices 150b to 150n is not particularly limited. Further, the pitch of the heater elements 156 is not particularly limited.

  Further, the number of windings of the heater element 156 and the pitch of the heater elements 156 in each of the divided heater devices 150b to 150n may be the same or different. Generally, when the heater device 150 is divided into three zones, ie, an upper portion, a middle portion, and a lower portion, as an example, the heater element 156 is wound relatively densely in the middle divided heater device. In the lower divided heater device, the heater element 156 is generally wound relatively sparsely.

  Moreover, it is preferable to provide the water-cooling piping 162 in the outer periphery side of the heat insulation wall body 152 in the division | segmentation heater apparatus 150b-150n. Generally, a heater device and a substrate processing apparatus are installed in a clean room having an air conditioner in order to strictly control the amount of particles, temperature, humidity, and the like. Heat treatment in a clean room places a heavy burden on the air conditioner. Therefore, the heat discharged from the surface of the apparatus to the clean room can be suppressed by using the water-cooled pipe 162 and discharging the cooling water flowing through the pipe to the outside of the apparatus as a medium.

  It is preferable that the water-cooled pipe 162 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the heat insulating wall 152 by being wound a plurality of times in a spiral shape. Thereby, the apparatus surface can be efficiently cooled by the cooling water flowing through the water cooling pipe 162.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the edge part of each water cooling piping 162 of division | segmentation heater apparatus 150b-150n is comprised so that engagement with the edge part of the water cooling piping 162 of adjacent division | segmentation heater apparatus 150b-150n is possible. Thereby, the water cooling pipe 162 is connected in series, for example, cooling water is introduced via the water cooling pipe 162 at the upper end of the uppermost divided heater device 150n, and the water cooling pipe at the lower end of the lowermost divided heater device 150b. Cooling water is discharged via 162.

  In the conventional heater device and substrate processing apparatus, the heater device has an integral structure. Therefore, it is necessary to attach or remove the entire heater device when starting up the device, during maintenance, or during repair. As shown in FIG. 2, the heater device is connected to the exhaust system 104. Therefore, when removing the heater device, it is necessary to remove the exhaust system 104 and the like. Further, in the vicinity of the heater device, gas introduction means 96 and wiring (not shown) for controlling each component by the control unit 70 are disposed, and it is necessary to remove these components as necessary. there were. For this reason, the man-hours become complicated, and process troubles such as generation of particles may occur. In addition, since the heater device has an integral structure, when the heater element 156 is disconnected, it is necessary to replace the entire heater device, resulting in a problem of increased cost.

  Further, the heater device is arranged above the loading area 40 of the substrate processing apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. Since the height of the housing 30 of the substrate processing apparatus 10 is limited according to the height of the room in which the apparatus is disposed, the heater apparatus from the base plate 31 is attached or detached when the heater apparatus is attached or detached. It is necessary to work with a small lift. For example, in the case of a substrate processing apparatus that processes a 300 mm wafer W, the weight of the heater device is about 200 kg. Therefore, when attaching or removing the heater device above the loading area 40, the work load on the worker is extremely high. It will be big.

  However, the heater device according to the present embodiment is configured by stacking a plurality of cylindrical divided heater devices in the axial direction. Therefore, when the heater device 150 is divided into five, the weight of one divided heater device is about 40 kg. In the future, even when the heater device is increased in size, by increasing the number of divisions, the work of attaching and detaching the divided heater device is eased from the viewpoint of the load on the operator.

  In addition, since the heater device according to the present embodiment is configured by stacking a plurality of cylindrical divided heater devices in the axial direction, for example, at the time of delivery, the divided heater device can be attached locally.

  Furthermore, the heater device according to this embodiment is configured by stacking a plurality of cylindrical divided heater devices in the axial direction. Therefore, for example, when the heater element 156 is creep-distorted, its wire length increases over time and the adjacent heater elements 156 in the axial direction come into contact with each other and are disconnected, only the divided heater device corresponding to the disconnected portion is replaced. Just do it. Further, when the heater element 156 is fatigued, only the divided heater device corresponding to the similarly fatigued heater element 156 may be replaced. The fatigued heater element can be determined, for example, by measuring the resistance of the heater element and determining a heater element that exceeds a predetermined resistance value as a fatigued heater element.

  Specifically, as an operation of replacing the divided heater device, specifically, the fixing by the fixing member of the adjacent divided heater device and the engagement of the water cooling pipe are released, and the divided heater device above the corresponding divided heater device is lifted, Replace the corresponding split heater device with a new split heater device. After the replacement, the apparatus can be operated by setting the fixing member and the water cooling pipe. That is, since it is not necessary to remove the entire heater device from the substrate processing apparatus, the number of man-hours can be greatly reduced. In addition, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of various process troubles that occur when the entire heater device is removed. Furthermore, since only the corresponding heater device is replaced, the part cost at the time of replacement can be reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing apparatus 20 Mounting base 23 Alignment apparatus 30 Housing | casing 31 Base plate 40 Loading area 44 Wafer boat 47 Transfer mechanism 60 Heat treatment furnace 65 Processing container 70 Control part 94 Lifting mechanism 150 Heater apparatus 152 Heat insulation wall body 156 Heater element 162 Water cooling piping

Claims (8)

  A heat insulating wall body of a cylindrical body and a plurality of spirally wound arrangements arranged on the inner peripheral side of the heat insulating wall body, both end portions penetrating from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the heat insulating wall body, and the heat insulating wall body A heater device in which a plurality of cylindrical divided heater devices each having a heater element extending outward are stacked in the axial direction. The split heater device is a water-cooled pipe arranged in a spiral manner on the outer peripheral side of the heat insulating wall body, and both end portions thereof are engageable with the water-cooled pipe of the adjacent split heater device. Further comprising water-cooled piping,
The heater device according to claim 1. On the outer peripheral surface side of the heat insulation wall, a protective cover for protecting the heat insulation wall is provided between the heat insulation wall and the water-cooled pipe.
The heater device according to claim 2. The adjacent divided heater devices are fixed to each other by a fixing member.
The heater apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3. The heater element is held by the heat insulating wall through a groove formed on the inner peripheral surface of the heat insulating wall.
The heater apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4. Furthermore, it has a support for supporting the heater element,
The heater apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4. A substrate processing apparatus capable of processing a substrate transferred via a substrate transfer device, the substrate processing apparatus,
A processing vessel;
The heater device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is disposed so as to surround the processing container;
A holding tool that is provided in a loading area located on the lower side of the processing container and holds the substrate is placed between a carry-out position that is an outer region of the processing container and a loading position that is an inner region of the processing container. Elevating mechanism that can be moved up and down with,
A transfer mechanism capable of transferring the substrate from the substrate transfer device to the holder;
A substrate processing apparatus. A maintenance method for a cylindrical heater device in which a plurality of cylindrical heater devices are joined together in the axial direction,
The divided heater device includes:
A heat insulating wall of a tubular body,
A heater element that is disposed by spirally winding a plurality of turns on the inner peripheral side of the heat insulating wall, and both ends extend radially outside the heat insulating wall and extend to the outside of the heat insulating wall,
A water-cooled pipe disposed on the outer peripheral side of the heat insulating wall in a spiral manner by being wound a plurality of times, wherein both ends are configured to be engageable with the water-cooled pipe of the adjacent divided heater device. When,
Have
A step of replacing the divided heater device corresponding to the failed heater element at the time of failure of the heater element;
Maintenance method.

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