JP2016066767A - Vapor-phase growth apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vapor-phase growth apparatus having a structure which can prevent the oxidation of a substrate surface, and including a function which enables the increase in throughput.SOLUTION: A vapor-phase growth apparatus 1 according to the present invention comprises: a reactor chamber 5; a substrate-tentative placement chamber 7 for tentatively placing a substrate 6; a substrate recovering cassette chamber 9 for recovering a processed substrate 6B; a substrate-loading cassette chamber 11 for lading an unprocessed substrate 6A; a transport chamber 13 in which a transfer robot 53 is set for transporting the substrate 6 between the reactor chamber 5 and the substrate recovering cassette chamber; and a replacement box 17 for replacing a susceptor cover 15 provided adjacently to the transport chamber 13. The chambers are structured to be airtight; the chambers are partitioned from each other by a first partitioning door 19 and the like. The transport chamber 13, the substrate recovering cassette chamber 9 and the substrate-loading cassette chamber 11 are arranged to enable vacuum replacement. The substrate-tentative placement chamber 7 includes a fan filter unit 37 serving to cause a downflow aerial current in the chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a vapor phase growth apparatus for growing a semiconductor film on a substrate, and more particularly, to a vapor phase growth apparatus provided with a transfer robot that transfers a substrate adjacent to a reaction chamber.

In the vapor phase growth apparatus, a susceptor on which a substrate is placed is placed in a reaction furnace, a reaction gas (for example, trimethylgallium and ammonia) is introduced into the reaction furnace while rotating the susceptor, and the reaction gas is heated to a high temperature. This is an apparatus for forming a film by thermally decomposing on a susceptor and depositing decomposed gas molecules on the substrate surface.
The susceptor is usually made of a good heat conductor such as carbon, and is coated with SiC or the like to prevent corrosion caused by the raw material gas. The susceptor cover is made of the same member as the susceptor or an optimal member as appropriate in consideration of transport and cleaning resistance.

  The substrate after film formation can be transported by scooping up only the substrate from the susceptor in the reaction chamber, or transported to the separate chamber together with the susceptor, and then manually or automatically a cassette container that can accommodate many substrates from the susceptor at a time. There is a method to move to.

  Next to the reaction furnace chamber, there is provided a transfer chamber in which a transfer robot for transferring the susceptor and / or the susceptor cover is installed. The substrate is transferred to the separate chamber together with the susceptor, and an operator or robot in the separate chamber. The substrate formed by the above is taken out and the untreated substrate is placed on the susceptor.

  In the separate room, a fan filter unit (FFU) is attached to the ceiling in order to prevent particle accumulation, the air is taken in from the sky, filtered with a filter of HEPA or ULPA standard, and sent downward by a fan. When the substrate surface is exposed in this separate room, as shown in Patent Document 1, a system that stops the FFU and introduces an inert gas has been developed for the purpose of preventing oxidation of the substrate by atmospheric oxygen or moisture. ing.

Japanese Patent No. 4251580 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-236093

  A silicon substrate and a silicon thin film may generate an oxide film on the surface by oxygen, moisture, or the like due to exposure to the atmosphere, which may deteriorate the performance at the time of film formation. In addition, in the compound semiconductor film, the film containing aluminum particularly oxidizes due to exposure to the atmosphere. Therefore, when the outermost layer is a film containing aluminum, a film not containing aluminum is thinly laminated only for the purpose of preventing oxidation. There are also other ideas.

  As described above, in the vapor phase growth apparatus, it is necessary not to expose to the atmosphere in the process of carrying the silicon substrate or the compound semiconductor film into or out of the reaction furnace. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, In a room where collection of processed substrates and unprocessed substrates are carried in, it is necessary to stop the FFU when the substrate surface is exposed, and to introduce an inert gas. There is a problem that the operation of introducing an active gas is required and the throughput is lowered.

If it is only for preventing oxidation of the surface layer, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2,
Cover the space between the reactor opening and the pass box with a glove box, fill it with inert gas, and remove the substrate manually or by robot, etc., and replace it with an untreated substrate. Conceivable.
However, in this method, when a robot is used, the movement becomes complicated, and it is necessary to perform fine teaching using a robot with many joints, which is inefficient.
In addition, the reactor cannot be used during substrate transfer, and in the case of manual operation, the temperature must be cooled to a workable temperature, resulting in reduced throughput.

Furthermore, when considering particles adhering to the substrate surface, deposits that have undergone gas phase reaction are attached to the substrate surface in addition to the substrate surface in the furnace where the gas phase reaction is performed. It is necessary to suppress as much as possible. Therefore, it is ideal that the operation of a manual operation or a robot that causes particles to be rolled up in and around the reaction furnace is as small as possible.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and has a structure capable of preventing the oxidation of the substrate surface, reduces the particles adhering to the substrate surface, and further improves the throughput. A device is provided.

(1) A vapor phase growth apparatus according to the present invention has a function of supplying a source gas to a susceptor cover installed on a susceptor or a substrate held by the susceptor to grow a thin film on the substrate. A chamber, a substrate temporary storage chamber for temporarily placing the substrate in order to collect a processed substrate subjected to film formation or set an unprocessed substrate, and a substrate temporary storage chamber attached to the substrate temporary storage chamber A substrate collecting cassette chamber for collecting the substrate, a substrate carrying cassette chamber provided in association with the temporary substrate placement chamber for carrying an unprocessed substrate, the temporary substrate placement chamber, and the reaction furnace A transfer chamber in which a transfer robot for transferring the substrate between the reaction furnace chamber and the temporary substrate storage chamber is installed, and the susceptor provided adjacent to the transfer chamber Replacement box for replacing cover or susceptor A scan and, the,
The reaction chamber, the transfer chamber, the temporary substrate storage chamber, the substrate carry-in cassette chamber, the substrate recovery cassette chamber, and the exchange box have an airtight structure, and a partition door is provided between the chambers. Is partitioned,
The transfer chamber, the substrate collection cassette chamber and the substrate carry-in cassette chamber are configured to be evacuated,
The substrate temporary storage chamber includes a fan filter unit that generates a downflow airflow in the room, and an air circulation flow portion that is provided on a side wall portion of the room and through which the airflow can flow. It is characterized in that a circulating flow can be formed in which the air flow portion is raised and further downflowed.

(2) Further, in the above (1), a gas supply pipe for supplying an inert gas to each of the reaction chamber, the transfer chamber, and the temporary substrate storage chamber, the reaction chamber, Between the transfer chambers, a pressure equalizing pipe that allows airflow to flow between the transfer chamber and the temporary substrate holding chamber, and an open / close valve provided in the pressure equalizing pipe and the gas supply pipe. It is characterized by.

(3) Further, in the above described (2), based on the barometer for measuring the pressure in each chamber of the reaction furnace chamber, the transfer chamber, and the temporary substrate storage chamber, and the measured value of the barometer And a controller that controls the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve to adjust the pressure in each chamber.

(4) Moreover, in the thing as described in said (3), the said control part has a function which performs the opening / closing control of the said partition door, and there exists a differential pressure more than predetermined value in each chamber by the said barometer. If detected, before opening the partition door, the opening and closing valve is controlled to perform pressure equalization processing for making the differential pressure in each chamber smaller than a predetermined value.

(5) In the above (1) to (4), the reaction furnace chamber includes a chamber in which a reaction furnace is installed, and a fan filter unit that generates a downflow airflow in the chamber. And an air circulation flow portion that is provided on the side wall portion of the room and through which an air flow can flow, so that a circulation flow can be formed in which the downflowed air flows up the air circulation flow portion and further flows down. It is characterized by this.

  In the present invention, the reaction chamber, the transfer chamber, the temporary substrate storage chamber, the substrate loading cassette chamber, the substrate recovery cassette chamber and the exchange box have an airtight structure, and each chamber is partitioned by a partition door. The transfer chamber, the substrate recovery cassette chamber, and the substrate carry-in cassette chamber are configured to be evacuated, and the temporary substrate storage chamber includes a fan filter unit that generates a downflow airflow in the chamber, and a side wall of the room And an air circulation flow portion through which the airflow can flow, and a circulation flow in which the downflowed air flows up the gas circulation flow portion and further flows down can be formed. There is no need to expose the storage chamber to the atmosphere, and therefore it is possible to reliably prevent oxidation of the substrate surface during substrate collection and loading without evacuating the temporary substrate storage chamber. It is possible to bet improve.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which planarly viewed the inside of the substrate temporary storage chamber which comprises the vapor phase growth apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the arrow BB line of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 1). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 2). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 3). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 4). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 5). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 6). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 7). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 8). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 9). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 10). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention (the 11). It is a figure which shows the experimental result which confirms the effect of this invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vapor phase growth apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reaction furnace chamber 5 in which a reaction furnace 3 is installed, a recovery of a processed substrate 6B on which film formation has been performed, Substrate temporary storage chamber 7 for setting unprocessed substrate 6A, substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 for recovering processed substrate 6B provided in association with temporary substrate storage chamber 7, and temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is provided with a substrate loading cassette chamber 11 for loading an unprocessed substrate 6A, and the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 and the reaction chamber 5 are interposed between the substrate 6 and the reaction chamber 5. And an exchange box for exchanging a susceptor cover 15 or a susceptor (not shown) provided adjacent to the transfer chamber 13. 17 and a control unit 18 that controls the operation of each device.

Further, a first partition door 19 that can be opened and closed is provided between the reactor chamber 5 and the transfer chamber 13, and a second partition door 21 that can be opened and closed between the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is further transferred. The chamber 13 and the exchange box 17 are partitioned by a third partition door 23 that can be opened and closed.
Further, a partition between the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 and the substrate collection cassette chamber 9 is partitioned by a first gate valve 25, and a space between the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 and the substrate carry-in cassette chamber 11 is partitioned by a second gate valve 27, respectively. It has been.

Hereinafter, each room and devices installed in each room will be described.
In addition, as a method of placing a substrate, there are a method of placing a tray on a susceptor cover and placing a substrate on the tray, and a method of placing a substrate plate on a susceptor and placing a substrate on the substrate plate. The following description is based on the premise that the substrate is placed on a tray provided on the susceptor cover.
Further, in this specification, a substrate that has been processed is referred to as a substrate 6B, an unprocessed substrate is referred to as a substrate 6A, and a substrate 6 is described when both the substrate 6B and the substrate 6A are included.

<Reactor chamber>
The reaction furnace chamber 5 is a chamber in which the reaction furnace 3 is installed. In the reaction furnace 3, a raw material gas is supplied onto the substrate 6A held by the susceptor cover 15, and a reaction for growing a thin film on the substrate 6A is performed. . The type of thin film is a nitride semiconductor represented by the general formula AlxInyGa1 _- xyN (where x and y are 0 ≦ x <1, 0 ≦ y <1, and 0 ≦ x + y <1). Can be mentioned.
The reactor chamber 5 is provided with a first nitrogen gas supply pipe 29 for supplying nitrogen gas into the room and a nitrogen gas exhaust pipe 31 for exhausting the supplied nitrogen gas, and the room is always maintained in a nitrogen gas atmosphere. . The first nitrogen gas supply pipe 29 and the nitrogen gas exhaust pipe 31 are provided with valves V1 and V2, respectively.
Furthermore, the reaction furnace chamber 5 is provided with a barometer P1 for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the chamber.
The reaction furnace chamber 5 may also be provided with a fan filter unit to form a downflow circulating airflow inside the reaction furnace chamber 5 in the same manner as the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 described later.

<Temporary substrate storage room>
The substrate temporary storage chamber 7 is a chamber for collecting the processed substrate 6B that has been transported along with the susceptor cover 15 and for temporarily storing the unprocessed substrate 6A together with the susceptor cover 15. . In the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, a susceptor cover 15 is held, and the processed substrate 6B placed on the susceptor cover 15 is transferred to the substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 and unprocessed from the substrate carry-in cassette chamber 11. A substrate transfer device 33 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) for taking out the substrate 6A and placing it on the susceptor cover 15 is installed.

  The substrate temporary storage chamber 7 is connected to a second nitrogen gas supply pipe 35 for supplying nitrogen gas into the chamber. The temporary substrate chamber 7 is provided with a barometer P2 for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the room.

The substrate temporary storage chamber 7 includes a fan filter unit 37 (hereinafter referred to as “FFU 37”) that generates a downflow airflow in the room, and an air circulation flow portion 39 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3), and a circulating flow in which the downflowed air flows up the air circulation flow part 39 and further flows down can be formed.
The amount of particles falling on the substrate 6 can be reduced by making the inside of the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 airtight and preventing the entry of moisture and oxygen while creating a downward flow from above the substrate 6.
The substrate temporary storage chamber 7 is not exposed to the atmosphere and does not require so-called vacuum replacement in which evacuation is performed and replacement with an inert gas. Particle adhesion can be surely prevented.

As described above, the temporary substrate placement chamber 7 is not provided with the function of evacuation provided in the transfer chamber 13 for the following reason.
The temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is provided with a substrate transfer device 33, which is a chamber having a relatively large volume. If so-called vacuum replacement is performed in which nitrogen gas is sealed after evacuating a chamber having such a large volume, a considerable amount of time is required, and throughput is reduced. Therefore, in the present invention, the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 is partitioned from the transfer chamber 13 by the second partition door 21, and the substrate collection cassette chamber 9 is partitioned by the first gate valve 25 to transfer the substrate into the cassette loading chamber. And the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 itself is a sealable chamber that is not exposed to the atmosphere, thereby eliminating the need for vacuum replacement of the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 and lowering the throughput. Is preventing.

<Substrate recovery cassette chamber and substrate loading cassette chamber>
The substrate collection cassette chamber 9 is provided adjacent to the temporary substrate placement chamber 7 and is a chamber for collecting the substrate 6B temporarily placed in the temporary substrate placement chamber 7.
The substrate loading cassette chamber 11 is provided adjacent to the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 and is a chamber for loading an unprocessed substrate 6A.
As described above, the first gate valve 25 is provided between the substrate collection cassette chamber 9 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, and the second gate valve is provided between the substrate carry-in cassette chamber 11 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7. 27 is provided.

The substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 and the substrate carry-in cassette chamber 11 are provided with a first exhaust pipe 41 for inhaling and exhausting gas inside the chamber, and a first vacuum pump 43 is connected to the first exhaust pipe 41. In addition, valves V3 and V4 are provided.
Between the substrate collection cassette chamber 9 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, the first gate valve 25 is bypassed so that both chambers communicate with each other to enable gas flow, and a first equalization for equalizing the pressure in both chambers. A pressure tube 45 is provided.
In addition, between the substrate loading cassette chamber 11 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, the second gate valve 27 is bypassed so that both chambers communicate with each other to allow gas flow, and a first pressure for equalizing the pressure in both chambers. A two pressure equalizing pipe 47 is provided. The first pressure equalizing pipe 45 is provided with a valve V5, and the second pressure equalizing pipe 47 is provided with a valve V6.

The substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 is provided with a first gas introduction pipe 49, which can selectively supply N2 gas or CDA (clean dry air).
Further, the substrate carrying cassette chamber 11 is provided with a second gas introduction pipe 51 so that N2 gas or CDA (clean dry air) can be selectively supplied.
The first gas introduction pipe 49 is provided with a valve V7, and the second gas introduction pipe 51 is provided with a valve V8.
Further, the substrate collecting cassette chamber 9 is provided with a barometer P3, and the substrate carrying-in cassette chamber 11 is provided with a barometer P4.

<Transport room>
The transfer chamber 13 is interposed between the reaction furnace chamber 5 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, between the reaction furnace chamber 5 and the replacement box 17, and between the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 and the replacement box 17. This is a chamber in which a transfer robot 53 that transfers only the susceptor cover 15 or the susceptor cover 15 placed between the chambers is installed.
A third nitrogen gas supply pipe 55 for supplying nitrogen gas is connected to the transfer chamber 13. A second exhaust pipe 57 for inhaling and exhausting indoor gas is connected, and a second vacuum pump 59 is connected to the second exhaust pipe 57.
The third nitrogen gas supply pipe 55 is provided with a valve V9, and the second exhaust pipe 57 is provided with a valve V10.

Between the transfer chamber 13 and the reaction furnace chamber 5, a first pressure equalizing door 61 is provided to bypass the first partition door 19 so as to allow the two chambers to communicate with each other. Is provided.
Further, between the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, the second partition door 21 is bypassed so that both chambers communicate with each other to enable gas flow, and a fourth equalization for equalizing the pressure in both chambers. A pressure tube 63 is provided.
The third pressure equalizing pipe 61 is provided with a valve V11, and the fourth pressure equalizing pipe 63 is provided with a valve V12.
Further, in the transfer chamber 13, a barometer P <b> 5 for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the chamber is installed in the transfer chamber 13.

<Exchange box>
The exchange box 17 is a chamber for exchanging the susceptor and / or the susceptor cover 15.
The exchange box 17 is provided with an outdoor air communication pipe 65 in order to communicate with the outdoor space so that the atmospheric pressure is the same as the atmospheric pressure.
Further, between the exchange box 17 and the transfer chamber 13, the third partition door 23 is bypassed so that both chambers communicate with each other to enable gas flow, and a fifth pressure equalizing pipe 67 for equalizing the pressure in both chambers. Is provided.
The outside air communication pipe 65 is provided with a valve V13, and the fifth pressure equalizing pipe 67 is provided with a valve V14.
The exchange box 17 is provided with a barometer P6 for measuring the atmospheric pressure in the room.

<Control unit>
Based on information from the barometers P1 to P6 and an operation support input from the operator, the control unit 18 includes a first partition door 19 to a third partition door 23, a first gate valve 25, a second gate valve 27, It has a function of controlling the operation of the substrate transfer device, transfer robot, and valves V1 to V14. In the drawings, control lines from the control unit to each device are not shown because the drawings are complicated.

Next, the operation of the vapor phase growth apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
The operation described below is realized by the control unit 18 controlling the operation of each device based on the above function.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the cleaned susceptor cover 15 that has already been replaced is installed in the replacement box 17. The susceptor cover 15 has a tray (not shown) on which the substrate 6 is placed, and the substrate 6 is placed on the tray.
In the state shown in FIG. 1, the exchange box 17 is in an air atmosphere, the third partition door 23 is closed, and the exchange box 17 itself is a closed space.
The substrate temporary storage chamber 7 is always down-flowed by air flow circulation by the FFU 37. A substrate 6A is installed in the substrate loading cassette chamber 11, and vacuum replacement with N2 is appropriately performed. The reactor chamber 5 is in an N2 atmosphere environment by constantly flowing N2.

  The transfer chamber 13 is an atmospheric atmosphere like the exchange box 17, and there is almost no pressure difference between the transfer chamber 13 and the exchange box 17. When it is confirmed by the barometers P6 and P5 that there is almost no pressure difference, the valve V14 provided in the fifth pressure equalizing pipe 67 is opened. By opening the valve V14, the air pressure in the transfer chamber 13 and the exchange box 17 becomes the same, and even if the third partition door 23 is opened, there is no air flow caused by the pressure difference between the chambers. The problem of particle scattering does not occur.

  When the pressure equalization between the exchange box 17 and the transfer chamber 13 is completed, the third partition door 23 that partitions both chambers is opened, and the robot arm 53a of the transfer robot 53 in the transfer chamber 13 attaches the susceptor cover 15 in the exchange box 17 to the susceptor. It conveys to the conveyance chamber 13 (refer FIG. 5). Thereafter, the third partition door 23 is closed, the valve V10 is opened, and the atmospheric components in the transfer chamber 13 are exhausted by the second vacuum pump 59. When the atmospheric components are sufficiently exhausted, the valve V10 is closed, the valve V9 is opened, and N2 is sealed up to atmospheric pressure (100 kPa).

  When the N2 replacement in the transfer chamber 13 is completed and the pressure in the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate holding chamber 7 is substantially the same, it is detected from the information in the barometer P5 and the barometer P2, and the valve V12 is opened. Perform equalization of the chamber. Thereafter, the second partition door 21 is opened and the valve V12 is closed. Then, the susceptor cover 15 of the transfer chamber 13 is transferred to the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 where the downflow is performed by the robot arm 53a (see FIG. 6).

When the susceptor cover 15 is transferred to the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, the substrate loading cassette chamber 11 is replaced with N2, and the pressure inside the chamber is atmospheric pressure (100 kPa), so that the pressure is equalized by opening the valve V6. Thereafter, the second gate valve 27 is opened and the valve V6 is closed. In this state, the robot arm 33a of the substrate transfer device 33 installed in the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 takes out the substrate 6A from the substrate loading cassette chamber 11, and places the substrate 6A on the tray installed in the susceptor cover 15. Put. When the substrate 6A is placed on the tray (see FIG. 7), the second gate valve 27 is closed.
In the temporary substrate storage chamber 7, a downflow circulation flow is always generated, so that it is possible to reliably prevent particles from adhering to the substrate 6A.

  When the second gate valve 27 is closed, the valve V12 is opened to equalize the pressure in the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 and the transfer chamber 13. Then, the second partition door 21 is opened, the valve V12 is closed, and the susceptor cover 15 of the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is transferred to the transfer chamber 13 by the robot arm 53a of the transfer chamber 13 (see FIG. 8). Close the partition door 21.

  As described above, the susceptor cover 15 is transferred from the replacement box 17 to the temporary substrate placement chamber 7, and the substrate 6 A is taken out from the substrate loading cassette chamber 11, and is temporarily placed in the temporary substrate placement chamber 7. The temporary substrate placement chamber 7 is not exposed to the atmosphere in a series of steps of placing it on the substrate 15 and transferring it to the transfer chamber 13, and therefore there is no need to vacuum replace the temporary substrate placement chamber 7. Therefore, the effect of preventing particle adhesion due to the circulation flow of the clean airflow that has passed through the FFU 37 is exhibited, and the throughput is improved.

  Next, the susceptor cover 15 of the transfer chamber 13 is transferred to the reaction furnace chamber 5. As a previous process, the lid of the reaction furnace 3 in the reaction furnace chamber 5 is opened to accept the susceptor cover 15. Complete the preparations. When opening the lid of the reaction furnace 3, the pressure in the reaction furnace 3 and the pressure in the reaction furnace chamber 5 are equalized.

  Since the reactor chamber 5 is the same as the atmospheric pressure (the same pressure as the external environment, for example, the atmospheric pressure of the day), there may be a slight difference from the absolute pressure (100 kPa) adjusted in the other chambers. When the pressure difference is larger than a predetermined value, the gas in the transfer chamber 13 is exhausted by the second vacuum pump 59, or N2 is introduced into the transfer chamber 13 so that the pressure in the transfer chamber 13 is changed to the reactor chamber. Adjust so that the pressure is close to 5. Thereafter, the valve V11 is opened to equalize the pressure in the reaction chamber 5 and the transfer chamber 13, and then the first partition door 19 is opened, the valve V11 is closed, and the susceptor cover 15 is transferred from the transfer chamber 13 to the reaction chamber 5. Then, it is installed in the reaction furnace 3 (see FIG. 9).

When the reaction in the reaction furnace 3 is completed, the pressure in the reaction furnace chamber 5 and the pressure in the reaction furnace 3 are equalized, and then the cover of the reaction furnace 3 is opened (see FIG. 10).
In the state where the lid of the reaction furnace 3 is opened and the susceptor cover 15 can be carried out, if the pressure difference between the reaction furnace chamber 5 and the transfer chamber 13 is larger than a predetermined value, the gas in the transfer chamber 13 is discharged by the second vacuum pump 59. The pressure in the transfer chamber 13 is adjusted to be substantially equal to the pressure in the reaction chamber 5 by evacuating or introducing N 2 into the transfer chamber 13. Thereafter, the valve V11 is opened to equalize the pressure in the reactor chamber 5 and the transfer chamber 13, the first partition door 19 is opened, the valve V11 is closed, and the susceptor cover 15 on which the processed substrate 6B is placed is transferred. It conveys to the chamber 13 (refer FIG. 11). After the conveyance, the first partition door 19 is closed.

  Next, when the pressure difference between the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate chamber 7 is detected by the barometer P5 and the barometer P2, and the pressure difference between the temporary substrate chamber 7 and the transfer chamber 13 is larger than a predetermined value, Then, the pressure in the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is adjusted (100 kPa) by evacuating the pressure in the transfer chamber 13 with the second vacuum pump 59 or introducing N 2 into the transfer chamber 13. If the values of the barometers P5 and P2 are substantially the same, the valve V12 is opened to equalize the pressure in the transfer chamber 13 and the temporary substrate storage chamber 7. Thereafter, the second partition door 21 is opened and the valve V12 is closed. Then, the susceptor cover 15 of the transfer chamber 13 is transferred to the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 where the downflow is performed (see FIG. 12).

  When the susceptor cover 15 is transported to the temporary substrate placement chamber 7, the pressure in the substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 that has already been vacuum-replaced is at atmospheric pressure (100 kPa), so the valve V5 is opened and the temporary substrate placement chamber 7 is opened. And the pressure in the substrate collecting cassette chamber 9 is equalized. Thereafter, the first gate valve 25 is opened, the valve V5 is closed, and the substrate 6B on the tray of the susceptor cover 15 is collected in the substrate collection cassette chamber 9 by the robot arm 33a of the temporary substrate placement chamber 7, When the collection of all the substrates 6B is completed (see FIG. 13), the first gate valve 25 is closed.

After the first gate valve 25 is closed, the valve V12 is opened to equalize the pressure in the substrate temporary placement chamber 7 and the transfer chamber 13. Then, the second partition door 21 is opened, the valve V12 is closed, the susceptor cover 15 of the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is transported to the transport chamber 13 by the robot arm 53a of the transport chamber 13, and the second partition door 21 is closed. .
The substrate recovery cassette chamber 9 performs N2 replacement again, and finally opens the leak valve (not shown) so that the atmospheric pressure can be released. At this time, it is possible to select clean dry air (CDA) or the like if there is a safety problem at the time of release by replacing with N2.

After the susceptor cover 15 is transferred to the transfer chamber 13, the barometers P5 and P6 detect that there is almost no pressure difference between the transfer chamber 13 and the exchange box 17, and the valve V14 is opened to open the two chambers. Perform pressure equalization. Thereafter, the third partition door 23 between the replacement box 17 and the transfer chamber 13 is opened, and the susceptor cover 15 is transferred from the transfer chamber 13 to the replacement box 17 (see FIG. 12).
Thereafter, the third partition door 23 is closed, the valve V13 is opened, and the atmosphere in the exchange box 17 is equalized so as to be equal to the atmospheric pressure.
The susceptor cover 15 transported to the replacement box 17 is replaced with a cleaned one, and the cleaned susceptor cover 15 is installed in the replacement box 17 so that the state shown in FIG.

As described above, the susceptor cover 15 on which the processed substrate 6B is placed is transferred to the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 via the transfer chamber 13, and the processed substrate 6B is further transferred to the substrate recovery cassette chamber 9. In the series of steps of collecting and returning the susceptor cover 15 from which the substrate 6B has been collected to the replacement box 17, the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 is not exposed to the atmosphere. Since there is no need for vacuum replacement, the throughput is improved.
Further, in the above series of steps, the susceptor cover 15 and the substrate 6B are in a nitrogen atmosphere, and the surface is prevented from being oxidized. Thus, both the realization of this environment and the improvement of the throughput are achieved. Furthermore, the particle adhesion prevention effect by the circulation flow of the clean airflow which passed FFU37 in an airtight environment can be exhibited.

  Since the first partition door 19, the second partition door 21, the third partition door 23, the first gate valve 25, and the second gate valve 27 are opened and closed, pressure equalization between the chambers is enabled. When the first to third partition doors 23 and the first and second gate valves 27 for partitioning are opened and closed, no air current is generated due to the differential pressure between the chambers, and the problem of particle scattering does not occur.

  In the above explanation, before opening the valves attached to the first pressure equalizing pipe 45 to the fifth pressure equalizing pipe 67, the pressure difference between the two chambers where each pressure equalizing pipe is provided is confirmed. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the particles from rising, but it is not always necessary to check the pressure difference, and the valves attached to the first pressure equalizing pipe 45 to the fifth pressure equalizing pipe 67 without checking the pressure difference. You may perform operation which opens.

  The above description is based on the premise that the substrate is placed on the tray provided on the susceptor cover. However, the present invention includes the case where the substrate is placed on the substrate plate provided on the susceptor. The susceptor cover 15 in the above description of the embodiment only replaces the susceptor.

In the above description, the reaction furnace chamber 5 is described as an example of a chamber in which the reaction furnace 3 is installed separately from the reaction furnace 3, but the reaction furnace chamber of the present invention has a susceptor cover or susceptor. It is sufficient if it has a function of supplying a source gas onto a substrate held in the substrate and growing a thin film on the substrate, and includes a mode in which the reaction furnace chamber itself is the reaction furnace itself.
In this case, the reactor chamber wall is the wall of the reactor chamber, there is no space for installing a fan filter unit or the like inside, and a heater part for directly installing a susceptor and / or susceptor cover is provided. In addition, the gas used for vapor phase growth is introduced and exhausted directly to the reactor chamber.

  Therefore, in the case of this structure, the susceptor cover 15 and / or the susceptor is carried into or out of the reactor chamber only by opening and closing the gate valve. As described in the above embodiment, Vapor phase growth is possible without opening and closing the reactor lid in addition to opening and closing, and in this respect as well, particle reduction and further improvement in throughput can be achieved.

  Further, in this structure, a secret structure having a smaller volume and higher airtightness can be easily realized as compared with the above-described embodiment, so that the effect of reducing particles by so-called vacuum replacement can be expected.

In order to confirm the effect of the present invention, an 8-inch silicon substrate is transferred from the substrate loading cassette chamber to the reaction furnace 3 of the reaction chamber 5 via the temporary substrate storage chamber and the transfer chamber, and the growth reaction is performed. An experiment was conducted to measure the number of particles adhering to the silicon substrate when it was unloaded again.
As shown in the above-described embodiment, the pressure equalization process is performed when the substrate is moved through each chamber and the downflow is performed in the temporary substrate storage chamber 7 (invention example). And the case (comparative example) which does not perform the downflow in the substrate temporary storage chamber 7 was compared.

  The result of the experiment is shown in FIG. The number of particles adhering to the substrate was smaller in the inventive example shown in FIG. 16A than in FIG. 16B showing the comparative example. From this, it was proved that the vapor phase growth apparatus 1 according to the present invention can reliably suppress adhesion of particles in the substrate transfer process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vapor growth apparatus 3 Reactor 5 Reactor chamber 6 Substrate 6A Unprocessed substrate 6B Processed substrate 7 Substrate temporary storage chamber 9 Substrate recovery cassette chamber 11 Substrate carry-in cassette chamber 13 Transfer chamber 15 Susceptor cover 17 Exchange box 18 control unit 19 first partition door 21 second partition door 23 third partition door 25 first gate valve 27 second gate valve 29 first nitrogen gas supply pipe 31 nitrogen gas exhaust pipe 33 substrate transfer device 33a robot arm 35 second Nitrogen gas supply pipe 37 Fan filter unit (FFU)
39 Gas distribution flow part 41 First exhaust pipe 43 First vacuum pump 45 First pressure equalization pipe 47 Second pressure equalization pipe 49 First gas introduction pipe 51 Second gas introduction pipe 53 Transfer robot 53a Robot arm 55 Third nitrogen gas supply pipe 57 Second exhaust pipe 59 Second vacuum pump 61 Third pressure equalizing pipe 63 Fourth pressure equalizing pipe 65 Outside air communication pipe 67 Fifth pressure equalizing pipe
V1-V14 valve
P1 to P6 Barometer

Claims (5)

A reactor chamber provided with a function of supplying a source gas onto a susceptor cover or a substrate held on the susceptor and growing a thin film on the substrate;
A substrate temporary storage chamber for temporarily storing a substrate in order to collect a processed substrate on which a film is formed or to set an unprocessed substrate;
A substrate recovery cassette chamber provided in association with the temporary substrate storage chamber for recovering processed substrates;
A substrate loading cassette chamber provided in association with the substrate temporary storage chamber for loading unprocessed substrates;
A transfer chamber in which a transfer robot is provided between the reaction chamber and the temporary substrate chamber, the transfer robot being interposed between the temporary substrate chamber and the reaction chamber;
An exchange box provided adjacent to the transfer chamber for exchanging the susceptor cover or the susceptor,
The reaction chamber, the transfer chamber, the temporary substrate storage chamber, the substrate carry-in cassette chamber, the substrate recovery cassette chamber, and the exchange box have an airtight structure, and a partition door is provided between the chambers. Is partitioned,
The transfer chamber, the substrate collection cassette chamber and the substrate carry-in cassette chamber are configured to be evacuated,
The substrate temporary storage chamber includes a fan filter unit that generates a downflow airflow in the room, and an air circulation flow portion that is provided on a side wall portion of the room and through which the airflow can flow. A vapor phase growth apparatus characterized in that a circulation flow can be formed in which a gas flow portion is raised and further downflowed.   A gas supply pipe for supplying an inert gas to each of the reaction furnace chamber, the transfer chamber, and the temporary substrate storage chamber; between the reaction furnace chamber and the transfer chamber; between the transfer chamber and the temporary substrate storage chamber; 2. The vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a pressure equalizing pipe that allows air flow between the pressure equalizing pipe and an open / close valve provided in the pressure equalizing pipe and the gas supply pipe.   A barometer that measures the pressure in each chamber of the reaction chamber, the transfer chamber, and the temporary substrate storage chamber, and controls the open / close valve based on the measured value of the barometer to adjust the pressure in each chamber The vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that performs the control.   The control unit has a function of performing opening / closing control of the partition door, and when the barometer detects that there is a differential pressure of a predetermined value or more in each chamber, before opening the partition door, the controller 4. The vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a pressure equalizing process is performed to control the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve to make the differential pressure in each chamber smaller than a predetermined value.   The reactor chamber has a chamber in which a reactor is installed, a fan filter unit that generates a downflow airflow in the chamber, and an air circulation flow portion that is provided on a side wall portion of the room and through which an airflow can flow. The gas according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the downflowed airflow rises up the airflowflow section to form a circulationflow that further flows down. Phase growth equipment.