JP2018006534A - Deposition device, deposition method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of obtaining high throughput and preventing a wafer from being contaminated by particles in a deposition device.SOLUTION: A deposition device 1 is configured in such a manner that a load lock chamber comprising a wafer conveyance mechanism 35 for conveying a wafer W to a first processing container 41 and a second processing container 41 is formed and that a load lock module 3 connected to the first processing container 41 and the second processing container 41 is provided. The wafer W is alternately conveyed to the first processing container 41 and the second processing container 41 by the wafer conveyance mechanism 35, and processing is performed in such a manner that a deposition gas and a cleaning gas are supplied in parallel to one and the other of the first processing container 41 and the second processing container 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus for forming a film on a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere, a film forming method, and a storage medium storing a computer program used in the film forming apparatus.

  In a semiconductor manufacturing process, various gases are supplied to a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) which is a substrate placed in a vacuum atmosphere by a vacuum processing apparatus, and vacuum processing is performed. As this vacuum processing, for example, there is a film forming process by CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), and this film forming process by CVD may be performed such that a plurality of types of films are laminated. For example, in order to manufacture a flash memory called 3D NAND, the number of stacked films tends to increase in recent years. As the number of laminated films increases, the time required for the film forming process of one wafer tends to increase.

In order to prevent a decrease in the throughput of the vacuum processing apparatus due to such an extension of the film forming processing time, the number of processing containers for storing and processing each wafer is increased in the vacuum processing apparatus, and the film is formed on the wafer in these processing containers. It is possible to perform each processing. Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a vacuum processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing containers are provided.

Japanese Patent No. 5134575 JP 2014-68009 A

  However, when forming a laminated film composed of a plurality of types of films on the wafer as described above, such a laminated film is also formed on the wall surface of the processing container. When the number of laminated layers increases, the stress of the laminated film increases, and as a result, the film peels off, and there is a concern that the peeled film becomes particles and contaminates the wafer. As a result, a sufficient yield of the semiconductor product may not be obtained. Therefore, it is required to prevent the wafer from being contaminated by particles while suppressing a decrease in throughput. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe a method for solving such a problem.

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of obtaining a high throughput and preventing contamination of a substrate by particles in a film forming apparatus.

A film forming apparatus of the present invention stores a substrate, forms a vacuum atmosphere, and performs a film forming process, a first processing container and a second processing container,
A load port common to the first processing container and the second processing container on which the transfer container storing the substrate is placed;
A load lock chamber is provided that is switchable between a normal pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere, and includes a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate to the first processing container and the second processing container, respectively. A load lock module connected to the processing container and the second processing container;
A substrate transfer region in a normal pressure atmosphere that is interposed between the load port and the load lock module and delivers the substrate between the load port and the substrate transfer mechanism;
A film forming gas supply mechanism for supplying a film forming gas independently to each of the first processing container and the second processing container and forming a film on the substrate;
A cleaning gas supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning gas for removing a film formed by the film forming gas, independently to each of the first processing container and the second processing container;
The substrate is alternately transferred to the first processing container and the second processing container, and the film forming gas and the cleaning gas are respectively supplied to one of the first processing container and the second processing container. A control unit that outputs a control signal to be supplied in parallel;
It is characterized by providing.

The film forming method of the present invention includes a step of storing a substrate in each of a first processing container and a second processing container that perform processing by forming a vacuum atmosphere;
Placing a transport container containing the substrate on a load port common to the first processing container and the second processing container;
Switching a load lock chamber of a load lock module provided connected to the first processing container and the second processing container between an atmospheric pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere;
A step of alternately transporting the substrates to the first processing container and the second processing container by a substrate transport mechanism provided in the load lock chamber;
A step of transferring a substrate between the load port and the substrate transfer mechanism by transferring the substrate in a substrate transfer region in a normal pressure atmosphere interposed between the load port and the load lock module;
A film forming step of supplying a film forming gas to one of the first processing container and the second processing container by a film forming gas supply mechanism;
A cleaning gas is supplied in parallel with the film forming step, and a cleaning gas supply mechanism supplies a cleaning gas for removing the film formed by the film forming gas to the other of the first processing container and the second processing container. And a process of
It is characterized by providing.

The storage medium of the present invention is a storage medium for storing a computer program used in a film forming apparatus for forming a film by supplying a film forming gas to a substrate.
The computer program includes a group of steps for carrying out the film forming method of the present invention.

According to the present invention, the substrate is alternately transferred to the first processing container and the second processing container respectively connected to the load lock module by the substrate transfer mechanism of the load lock module provided in the load lock chamber. The Then, the film forming gas and the cleaning gas are supplied in parallel to one of the first processing container and the second processing container, respectively. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the film formed on the wall surface of the processing container from becoming particles and contaminating the substrate. Further, since it is possible to prevent the film formation process from being performed on the substrate by performing the cleaning, it is possible to prevent the throughput of the film formation apparatus from being lowered.

It is a top view of the film-forming apparatus which concerns on the vacuum processing apparatus of this invention. It is a vertical side view of the film-forming apparatus. It is a perspective view of the wafer processing unit provided in the film forming apparatus. It is the schematic of the said wafer processing unit. It is a vertical side view of the film-forming module constituting the wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is process drawing which shows the process in which each wafer is processed in a wafer processing unit. It is a top view of the wafer processing unit of other composition. It is a top view of the wafer processing unit of other composition.

  A film forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to a plan view of FIG. 1 and a side view of FIG. The film forming apparatus 1 is configured by linearly connecting a carrier block D1, a delivery block D2, and a processing block D3 in the horizontal direction. In the following description of the film forming apparatus 1, the arrangement direction of the blocks D1 to D3 is the front-rear direction, and the block D1 side is the front side. In the description, the right side and the left side are the right side and the left side when viewed from the blocks D1 to D3, respectively.

The carrier block D1 is provided with four mounting tables 12 for mounting the transfer containers 11 storing a large number of wafers W in the left-right direction. The carrier block D1 is mounted on the mounting table 12. A load port for loading / unloading the wafer W to / from the transfer container 11 is configured. On the side wall of the carrier block D1 facing the transfer container 11 placed on the mounting table 12, a transfer port that opens to the transfer chamber 13 formed in the carrier block D1 is formed and can be opened and closed by the opening / closing door 14. It is configured. The transfer chamber 13 is an atmospheric atmosphere at normal pressure, and a transfer mechanism 15 for the wafer W is provided in the transfer chamber 13. The transfer mechanism 15 is an articulated arm configured to be movable in the left-right direction and movable up and down, and transfers the wafer W between the transfer chamber 13 and the transfer container 11.

In the delivery block D2, a transfer chamber 16 that is an atmospheric atmosphere at normal pressure is provided. In the transfer chamber 16, a placement unit 17 on which the wafer W is placed is provided. The carrier mechanism 15 of the carrier block D1 can access the placement unit 17 and deliver the wafer W.

Next, the processing block D3 will be described. In the processing block D3, a transfer area 21 for the wafer W, which is an atmospheric atmosphere at normal pressure, and four wafer processing units 2 are provided. The conveyance area 21 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction at the center in the left-right direction of the processing block D3. In the transfer area 21, a transfer mechanism 22 for the wafer W is provided. The transfer mechanism 22 includes a loading unit 17 of the delivery block D 2 and a load lock module 3 (described later) provided in each wafer processing unit 2. The wafer W is delivered between them. The transport mechanism 22 includes a guide rail 23 that extends in the front-rear direction, a support 24 that moves back and forth along the guide rail 23, a lift 25 that can be vertically moved up and down provided on the support 24, The rotary table 26 is rotatable about a vertical axis, and a support portion 27 that is capable of moving back and forth on the rotary table 26 and supporting the back surface of the wafer W.

Next, the wafer processing unit 2 will be described. The wafer processing unit 2 is configured so that SiN (silicon nitride) films and SiO2 (silicon oxide) films can be alternately stacked on the wafer W, and two wafer processing units 21 are provided on the left and right sides of the transfer region 21. Is provided. The two wafer processing units 2 provided on the left and right sides of the transfer area 21 are arranged along the front-rear direction and face each other with the transfer area 21 in between. In order to distinguish the four wafer processing units 2 from each other, they may be shown as 2A to 2D. Of the four wafer processing units 2, the right front wafer processing unit 2 is 2A, the right rear wafer processing unit 2 is 2B, the left front wafer processing unit 2 is 2C, and the left rear wafer processing unit 2 is 2D. .

  The wafer processing units 2A to 2D are configured in the same manner, and here, the wafer processing unit 2A will be described as a representative with reference to FIG. The wafer processing unit 2A includes three load lock modules 3 and six film forming modules 4. The three load lock modules 3 are provided so as to form a row and face the transport area 21 with an interval in the vertical direction. In addition, since the two film forming modules 4 are arranged along the front-rear direction on the opposite side of the transfer area 21 of each load lock module 3, the six film forming modules 4 constituting the wafer processing unit 2A are These are stacked in three stages in the vertical direction and arranged in two rows in the front and rear direction.

The load lock module 3 is formed, for example, in a generally pentagonal shape when viewed from above, and one of the sides of the pentagon is arranged along the transfer region 21, and the side wall of the load lock module 3 constituting the side has a transfer region 21. A transfer port 31 for the wafer W is formed so as to open. Of the above pentagonal sides, the processing vessel 41 constituting the film forming module 4 is connected to two sides that are not adjacent to the side where the transfer port 31 is formed, and the wafer W is transferred. The mouth 32 is formed so as to open into the processing container 41. The conveyance ports 31 and 32 of the load lock module 3 are configured to be opened and closed by gate valves 33 and 34, respectively. In this manner, one load lock module 3 is provided with the two film forming modules 4 connected to the opposite side of the transfer region 21, and the two film forming modules 4 are arranged in the front-rear direction. When the load lock module 3 and the two film forming modules 4 connected to each other in this way are used as one processing unit, the wafer W is transferred through the processing unit and undergoes a film forming process as will be described later. Accordingly, the two film forming modules 4 are film forming modules 4 that form a pair with each other in order to perform processing on the same wafer W. Since the wafer processing units 2 </ b> A to 2 </ b> D are provided as described above, a plurality of processing units are arranged along the front, rear, left and right of the transfer area 21, and are opposed to the left and right with the transfer area 21 interposed therebetween. doing.

An air supply port and an exhaust port (not shown) are opened in the load lock module 3. With the supply and exhaust of air, the load lock module 3 is configured as a load lock chamber capable of switching between a normal pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere. The supplied gas is not limited to air, and may be, for example, an inert gas. The load lock module 3 is provided with a wafer W transfer mechanism 35 which is an articulated arm. The transfer mechanism 35 enters the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4 connected to the load lock module 3 and the transfer area 21, and the wafer W is transferred between each film forming module 4 and the transfer mechanism 22. Hand over.

Each film forming module 4 is configured in the same manner, and includes the processing container 41 for storing the wafer W as described above, and forms plasma in the processing container 41 storing the wafer W and supplies a processing gas. Then, a SiO2 film and a SiN film are formed on the wafer W by CVD. Then, after this film forming process, a cleaning gas is supplied, the SiO 2 film and the SiN film formed in the processing container 41 are removed, and the inside of the processing container 41 is cleaned. In addition, after cleaning, before storing the wafer W for film formation, a SiO 2 film is formed on the wall surface of the processing container 41 so that the film formation process of the wafer W is stably performed. .

Of the six film forming modules 4, the three film forming modules 4 stacked on the front side are collectively referred to as a film forming module group 40A, and the three film forming modules 4 stacked on the rear side are collectively referred to. It is set as the membrane module group 40B. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, each film forming module 4 constituting the film forming module group 40A may be referred to as 4A, and each film forming module 4 constituting the film forming module group 40B may be referred to as 4B. The processing container 41 constituting each film forming module 4A is a first processing container, and the processing container 41 constituting each film forming module 4B is a second processing container. The film forming process and cleaning of each film are performed simultaneously between the film forming modules 4A constituting the film forming module group 40A and simultaneously performed between the film forming modules 4B forming the film forming module group 40B. . Further, the film forming process is performed in one of the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, and the cleaning is performed in parallel with the film forming process on the other. That is, the time zone in which the film forming process is performed and the time zone in which the cleaning is performed overlap.

Next, an example of a piping system formed for the film forming module groups 40A and 40B in order to perform the film forming process and cleaning as described above will be described with reference to FIG. The downstream ends of the gas supply pipes 51A and 52A are connected to the respective film forming modules 4A constituting the film forming module group 40A, and the gas supply pipes 51B are connected to the respective film forming modules 4B constituting the film forming module group 40B. , 52B are respectively connected to the downstream ends. Valves V1, V2, V3, and V4 are interposed in the gas supply pipes 51A, 52A, 51B, and 52B, respectively.

The upstream side of each gas supply pipe 51A, 51B joins to form a joining pipe, and the upstream side of this joining pipe branches into six to form a branch pipe, and the upstream side of each branch pipe has valves V5 to V10. SiH4 (monosilane) gas supply source 53, NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) gas supply source 54, NH3 (ammonia) gas supply source 55, Ar (argon) gas supply source 56, N2 (nitrogen) gas A supply source 57 and a He (helium) gas supply source 58 are connected to each other. SiH 4 gas, NO 2 gas, and NH 3 gas are processing gases for forming the SiO 2 film and the SiN film, that is, film forming gases. Ar gas is a plasma forming gas, and N 2 gas and He gas are carrier gases for the processing gas. The valves V <b> 5 to V <b> 10 and the gas supply sources 53 to 58 constitute a film forming gas supply mechanism 50. As will be described later, the film formation gas supply mechanism 50 can supply the gas independently to the film formation module groups 40A and 40B by opening and closing each valve V.

In each gas supply pipe 51A, the downstream end of the gas supply pipe 91A is connected to the downstream side of the valve V1, and the upstream end of the gas supply pipe 91A is connected to the N2 gas supply source 92 via the valve V11. It is connected. Further, in each gas supply pipe 51B, the downstream end of the gas supply pipe 91B is connected to the downstream side of the valve V3, and the upstream end of the gas supply pipe 91B is connected to the N2 gas supply source 94 via the valve V12. It is connected. The N 2 gas supplied from the N 2 gas supply sources 92 and 94 is a purge gas for purging the processing containers 41 in the film forming module group 40A and the processing containers 41 in the film forming module group 40B.

Further, the upstream side of each gas supply pipe 52A, 52B joins to form a joining pipe, and the upstream side of this joining pipe branches into two via a remote plasma forming part 59 to form a branch pipe, The upstream side of the branch pipe is connected to a supply source 95 of NF3 (nitrogen trifluoride) gas and a supply source 96 of Ar gas via valves V13 and V14, respectively. The remote plasma forming unit 59 excites NF3, which is a cleaning gas for cleaning the inside of the processing vessel 41, and Ar gas, which is a plasma forming gas, into plasma, and supplies it as remote plasma downstream. The gas supply sources 95 and 96, the remote plasma forming unit 59, and the valves V13 and V14 constitute a cleaning gas supply mechanism 90. As will be described later, the cleaning gas supply mechanism 90 can supply the gas independently to the film forming module groups 40A and 40B by opening and closing each valve V. In order to prevent complication of the piping configuration diagram, an example in which three N2 gas supply sources 57, 92, and 94 are provided and two Ar gas supply sources 56 and 96 are provided is shown. However, the piping system may be configured so that these N 2 gas supply source and Ar gas supply source are provided one by one.

Further, the film forming module groups 40A and 40B include grounded high-frequency power sources 61A and 61B, respectively. The high frequency power supplies 61A and 61B are respectively connected to the film forming modules 4A of the film forming module group 40A and the film forming modules 4B of the film forming module group 40B via high frequency supply lines 62 branched from the high frequency power supplies 61A and 61B, respectively. A matching unit is interposed in each supply line 62 that is connected and branched. A matching unit provided in the supply line 62 branched from the high frequency power supply 61A is indicated as 63A, and a matching unit provided in the supply line 62 branched from the high frequency power supply 61B is indicated as 63B.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the matching units 63 </ b> A and 63 </ b> B are provided, for example, on the front and rear central portions of each row formed by the film forming modules 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B connected to the same load lock module 3. The film forming modules 4A and 4B are arranged in the vicinity. That is, the matching units 63A and 63B are arranged in three upper and lower stages. Further, the high frequency power supplies 61A and 61B, the remote plasma forming unit 59, each gas supply source, and each valve V are provided, for example, in the device installation region 64 on the side of the load lock module 3 and the film forming module 4 shown in FIG. In the drawings other than FIG. 1, the display of the device installation area 64 is omitted.

Returning to FIG. 4 and continuing the description, the upstream ends of exhaust pipes 65 for exhausting the inside of the processing vessel 41 are connected to the film forming modules 4A and 4B, respectively. The downstream side of each exhaust pipe 65 connected to the film forming module 4A and the downstream side of each exhaust pipe 65 connected to the film forming module 4B join together to form a common exhaust pipe 66. Each common exhaust pipe 66 includes a valve and the like, and is provided with a pressure adjusting unit for adjusting the pressure in the processing container 41 by adjusting the exhaust flow rate. As for the pressure adjusting unit, a part interposed in the common exhaust pipe 66 connected to the film forming module 4A is shown as 67A, and a part interposed in the common exhaust pipe 66 connected to the film forming module 4B is shown as 67B. ing. The common exhaust pipes 66 merge with each other on the downstream side of the pressure adjusting units 67A and 67B, and are connected to an exhaust mechanism 68 configured by a vacuum pump or the like.

The exhaust pipe 65 and the common exhaust pipe 66 will be further described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each exhaust pipe 65 is drawn out from the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4 in the lateral direction. Is provided. Each common exhaust pipe 66 includes a connection pipe 97 and a main body pipe 98. The connection pipes 97 are arranged in the vertical direction so that the exhaust pipes 65 of the stacked film forming modules 4A and the exhaust pipes 65 of the stacked film forming modules 4B are connected, that is, in the arrangement direction of the film forming modules 4. It stretches along. The main body tube 98 is pulled out in the lateral direction from the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the connecting tube 97, then bent and extends downward, and the main body tube 98 is provided with pressure adjusting portions 67A and 67B. Thus, the common exhaust pipe 66 is formed so as to be routed in the vertical direction.

Next, the configuration of the film forming module 4 will be described with reference to the longitudinal side view of FIG. Since the six film forming modules 4 are configured in the same manner as described above, FIG. 5 representatively shows one film forming module 4A. In the figure, reference numeral 42 denotes a transfer port for the wafer W opened on the side wall of the processing container 41, and is configured to be opened and closed by the gate valve 34. In the figure, reference numeral 43 denotes a ring-shaped projecting portion formed such that the inner side wall of the processing container 41 on the upper side of the transfer port 42 projects inward.

A horizontal wafer W mounting table 44 is provided in the processing container 41. The mounting table 44 is embedded with a heater 45 that heats the central portion and the peripheral portion of the wafer W independently of each other, and an electrode 46 that forms capacitively coupled plasma together with a gas shower head 75 described later. Yes. In the figure, reference numeral 47 denotes a support portion that supports the mounting table 44 from the lower side, extends downward through the opening 48 on the lower side of the processing container 41, and is connected to the lifting mechanism 49. In the figure, reference numeral 71 denotes a flange provided on the support portion 47 below the opening 48. In the figure, 72 is an expandable / contractible bellows, and is connected to the flange 71 and the edge of the opening 48 to keep the inside of the processing container 41 airtight.

By the elevating mechanism 49, the mounting table 44 receives the wafer W at a position below the protrusion 43 (indicated by a chain line in the drawing) and an upper processing position (in the drawing, surrounded by the protrusion 43). (Displayed with a solid line). The wafer W is transferred between the mounting table 44 at the transfer position and the transfer mechanism 35 of the load lock module 3 that has entered the processing container 41 via the transfer port 42. This delivery is performed via support pins of the wafer W that can be raised and lowered, protruding and retracting the surface of the mounting table 44, but the support pins are not shown.

By moving the mounting table 44 to the processing position, a flat circular processing space 73 surrounded by the mounting table 44, the ceiling portion of the processing container 41, the side wall of the processing container 41, and the protruding portion 43 is formed. In the figure, reference numeral 74 denotes a ring-shaped exhaust space formed in the side wall of the processing container 41 so as to surround the processing space 73. On the side wall of the processing container 41, a large number of exhaust ports 75 that open to the processing space 73 and are connected to the exhaust space 74 are formed. The exhaust pipe 65 is connected to the exhaust space 74 from the outside of the processing container 41, and the processing space 73 can be exhausted.

In the figure, reference numeral 75 denotes a gas shower head that constitutes the ceiling of the processing container 41 and faces the mounting table 44. The upper center portion of the gas shower head 75 rises to form a flow path forming portion 76. In the figure, reference numeral 77 denotes a gas discharge port perforated on the lower surface of the gas shower head 75, which is connected to a flat gas diffusion chamber 78 formed in the gas shower head 75. The central portion of the gas diffusion chamber 78 is drawn upward in the flow path forming portion 76 to form a gas introduction path 79, and the gas supply pipe 52 </ b> A is connected to the upstream side of the gas introduction path 79. Therefore, the NF 3 gas and the Ar gas that are converted into plasma by the remote plasma forming unit 59 can be discharged from the gas discharge port 77 through the gas introduction path 79 and the gas diffusion chamber 78.

In the figure, 81 is a flat gas diffusion chamber provided in the gas shower head 75 so as to overlap the gas diffusion chamber 78. In the figure, reference numeral 82 denotes communication paths formed in a large number in a dispersed manner to connect the gas diffusion chambers 81 and 78. In the figure, reference numeral 83 denotes a vertical gas flow path formed so that the inner edge of the gas diffusion chamber 81 is drawn upward in the flow path forming section 76 and surrounds the gas introduction path 79. In the drawing, 84 is a spiral gas introduction path 84 provided on the upstream side of the vertical gas flow path 83 and formed so as to surround the upper part of the gas introduction path 79. The gas supply pipe 51 </ b> A is connected to the upstream side of the gas introduction path 84. Accordingly, each gas supplied from the gas supply sources 53 to 58 and 92 is discharged from the gas discharge port 77 through the gas introduction path 84 and the gas diffusion chambers 81 and 78.

In the figure, reference numeral 85 denotes a cover member that surrounds the periphery of the flow path forming portion 76, and forms an upper space 86 partitioned above the gas shower head 75. The gas shower head 75 is connected to the high-frequency supply line 62 described above. That is, the gas shower head 75 is configured as an electrode, and forms capacitively coupled plasma in the processing space 73 together with the mounting table 44. The supply line 62 penetrates the cover member 85 from the lateral direction and is connected to the gas shower head 75 in the upper space 86. By thus forming the supply line 62 so as to extend in the lateral direction, the height necessary for stacking the film forming modules 4 is suppressed, and the film forming apparatus 1 is prevented from being enlarged.

A heat sink 87 is provided on the gas shower head 75 in the upper space 86. In the figure, reference numeral 88 denotes a fan mechanism provided outside the upper space 86 in the cover member 85, which blows air to the heat sink 87 through an air passage formed in the cover member 85, thereby suppressing the temperature rise of the gas shower head 75. To do. Accordingly, in the stacked film forming modules 4, the heat of the gas shower head 75 of the lower film forming module 4 is suppressed from affecting the processing of the wafer W of the upper film forming module 4. The gas shower head 75 may be cooled by drawing a pipe over the gas shower head 75 and circulating a cooling fluid such as water.

Note that the piping system shown in FIG. 5 is an extracted portion of the piping system shown in FIG. 4 that is involved in the gas treatment of the film forming module 4A. Accordingly, the valve V3 that controls the supply / disconnection of the respective gases from the gas supply sources 53 to 58 to the film forming module 4B, the gas supply source 94, and the N2 gas (purge gas) of the gas supply source 94 to the film forming module 4B. The valve V12 that controls the supply / disconnection is not shown. The valves V3 and V12 correspond to the valves V1 and V11 in FIG. 5, respectively, and the gas supply source 94 corresponds to the gas supply source 92 in FIG. That is, the part related to the gas processing of the film forming module 4B in the piping system can be expressed as a configuration substantially the same as the part related to the gas processing of the film forming module 4B shown in FIG. As a point, the valves V3 and V12 are provided instead of the valves V1 and V11, and the gas supply source 94 is provided instead of the gas supply source 92.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the film forming apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 100 that is a computer. The control unit 100 has a program storage unit (not shown), and a program in which an instruction (step group) is set in the program storage unit so that a film forming process by a film forming apparatus 1 described later is performed. Is stored. Specifically, the operation of each transport mechanism 15, 22, 35, opening / closing of the gate valves 33, 34, opening / closing of each valve V, switching on / off of the high-frequency power supply 61, formation of remote plasma by the remote plasma forming unit 59, raising / lowering The operations such as raising and lowering the mounting table 44 by the mechanism 49, adjusting the temperature of the wafer W by the heater 45, and adjusting the pressure in each processing vessel 41 by the pressure adjusting units 67A and 67B are performed from the control unit 100 by the above program. Control is performed by outputting a control signal to each part of the apparatus 1. This program is stored in the program storage unit while being stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card.

Subsequently, an example of a film forming process in the film forming apparatus 1 will be described. This processing example is a film forming process in a manufacturing process of a flash memory that is a 3D NAND. More specifically, SiO 2 films and sacrificial SiN films are alternately formed on the wafer W. One SiO2 film and one SiN film laminated on the SiO2 film form one set. If this set is one layer, 96 layers are formed on the wafer W in this film forming process. . Assuming that the 96 layers are the first layers from the lower side, the first to 48th layers are formed by the film forming module 4A, and the 49th to 96th layers are formed by the film forming module 4B. As described in the section of the background art, when a single film forming module 4 forms a laminated film composed of a plurality of types of films, if the number of films to be laminated is relatively large, the film peels off from the wall surface of the processing vessel 41. Since it tends to occur, processing is performed using two film forming modules 4 in this way, and the number of films formed by one film forming module 4 is suppressed. Then, after the film formation of one wafer W is completed, the film formation module which has completed the film formation process as described above so that the film peeling does not occur from the wall surface of the processing container 41 during the film formation process of the next wafer W. The four processing containers 41 are cleaned.

The wafer W is similarly transferred from the transfer container 11 toward the wafer processing units 2A to 2D, and the same processing is performed between the wafer processing units 2A to 2D. An example in which a wafer W is transferred from 11 to the wafer processing unit 2A and processed will be described. 6 to 14 showing how each gas is supplied to each film forming module 4 in the wafer processing unit 2A and the presence or absence of the wafer W in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4 in the description. Refer to it as appropriate. In these figures, the closed valve is hatched and the open valve is not hatched. Further, each pipe through which gas is circulated and a supply line 62 to which a high frequency is supplied are indicated by arrows.

First, the wafer W is not loaded into each film forming module 4 of the wafer processing unit 2A, the transfer port 42 of each film forming module 4 is closed by the gate valve 34, and the inside of the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4 is opened. It is assumed that the valves have been cleaned, the valves V are closed, and the high frequency power supplies 61A and 61B are turned off. From this state, the pressure adjusting units 67A and 67B and the exhaust mechanism 68 exhaust the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4 so as to be in a vacuum atmosphere of a predetermined pressure. In each film forming module 4, the mounting table 44 is moved to the processing position to form a processing space 73, and the mounting table 44 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heater 45.

Subsequently, the valves V1, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas are supplied to the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4A. The Then, the high-frequency power supply 61A is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 is turned into plasma, and the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A is formed by CVD of the plasmad SiH4 gas and NO2 gas. A SiO2 film is formed on the wall surface (FIG. 6).

Subsequently, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned off, the plasma formation in the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A is stopped, and the film forming process on the wall surface is stopped. Then, the valve V1 is closed, the valves V3 and V11 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas enter the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4B in the N2 gas. Are supplied to the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4A. Further, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B is turned into plasma, and the processing of each film forming module 4B is performed by CVD of the plasmad SiH4 gas and NO2 gas. A SiO 2 film is formed on the wall surface forming the space 73. On the other hand, in each film forming module 4A, the processing space 73 is purged with N 2 gas (FIG. 7).

Thereafter, the valve V11 is closed, and the purge of the processing space 73 in each film forming module 4A is stopped. Further, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned off, the formation of plasma in the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B is stopped, and the film forming process on the wall surface is stopped. Then, the valves V3, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are closed, the supply of SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas and He gas is stopped, the valve V12 is opened, and the N2 gas is supplied to each film forming module. 4B is supplied to the processing space 73, and the processing space 73 is purged.

As described above, in the film forming modules 4A and 4B, the formation of the SiO 2 film on the wall surface in the processing container 41 and the subsequent purging of the processing space 73 are performed, while the wafer W in the transfer container 11 is transferred to the carrier block. It is transferred in the order of transfer mechanism 15 of D1 → mounting portion 17 of transfer block D2 → transfer mechanism 22 of processing block D3 → transfer mechanism 35 of load lock module 3 of wafer processing unit 2A, and the inside is atmospheric pressure It is carried into the load lock module 3 in the atmosphere. After the load lock module 3 is in a vacuum atmosphere with the gate valves 33 and 34 of the load lock module 3 closed, the film forming module 4A and the load lock module 3 of the gate valve 34 are connected to each other. The partitioning gate valve 34 is opened.

Subsequently, the wafer W is transferred to the mounting table 44 of the film forming module 4 </ b> A moved to the transfer position by the transfer mechanism 35, and heated to 400 ° C. by the heater 45, for example. When the gate valve 34 is closed and the mounting table 44 on which the wafer W is placed moves up to the processing position and the processing space 73 is formed, the pressure of the processing space 73 is, for example, 133.3 Pa (1 Torr). ˜656.5 Pa (5 Torr).

Subsequently, the valves V1, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas are supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A. Then, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 is turned into plasma, and a SiO2 film is formed on the wafer W by CVD of the plasmad SiH4 gas and NO2 gas (FIG. 8). Thereafter, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned off, the valves V1, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are closed, and the supply of SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas and He gas to the processing space 73 and plasma are performed. The formation of the SiO2 film stops and the formation of the SiO2 film stops. Then, the valve V11 is opened, N2 gas is supplied to the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4A, and the processing space 73 is purged.

Thereafter, the valve V11 is closed and the purge of the processing space 73 is stopped, and the valves V1, V5, V7 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NH3 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas are deposited. It is supplied to the processing space 73 of the module 4A. Then, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 is turned into plasma, and a SiN film is formed on the SiO2 film on the wafer W by CVD of the plasmad SiH4 gas and NH3 gas. Is done. For example, on the other hand, the valve V12 is closed, and the purge of the processing space 73 is stopped in each film forming module 4B (FIG. 9).

Thereafter, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned off, the valves V1, V5, and V7 to V10 are closed, and supply of SiH4 gas, NH3 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas to the processing space 73 and formation of plasma are performed. Stops, and the formation of the SiN film stops. Then, the valve V11 is opened, N2 gas is supplied to the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4A, and the processing space 73 is purged.

After the valve V11 is closed and the purging of the processing space 73 is stopped, the above-described series of processing in the film forming module 4A, that is, the supply of each gas to the processing space 73 and the formation of the plasma on the wafer W by the formation of plasma. Each valve V1, so that the formation, the purge of the processing space 73, the supply of each gas to the processing space 73 and the formation of the SiN film on the wafer W by the formation of plasma, and the purging of the processing space 73 are repeated in this order. Opening / closing of V5 to V10 and V11 and on / off of the high frequency power supply 61A are switched, and SiO 2 films and SiN films are alternately laminated on the wafer W.

The SiO 2 film and the SiN film are alternately formed 48 times for each wafer W (that is, the first to 48th layers are formed), and the purge of the processing space 73 after the formation of the SiN film constituting the 48th layer is performed. When the purge is completed (FIG. 10), the gate valves 34 that partition the film forming modules 4A and 4B and the load lock module 3 in a vacuum atmosphere are opened. Next, the transfer mechanism 35 of each load lock module 3 transfers the wafer W from the mounting table 44 of the film forming module 4A moved to the transfer position to the mounting table 44 of the film forming module 4B moved to the transfer position. The wafer W is heated to, for example, 400 ° C. by the heater 45 of the mounting table 44 of the film forming module 4B. Further, each of the gate valves 34 is closed, the mounting table 44 is raised to the processing position in the film forming modules 4A and 4B, and a processing space 73 is formed.

In each film forming module 4B, when the pressure of the processing space 73 is set to, for example, 133.3 Pa (1 Torr) to 656.5 Pa (5 Torr), the valves V3, V5, V6, and V8 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NO2 Gas, Ar gas, N 2 gas, and He gas are supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B. Then, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 is turned into plasma, and an SiO 2 film constituting the 49th layer is formed on the wafer W.

As described above, while the SiO2 film is formed in each film forming module 4B, the pressure in the processing space 73 is set to a predetermined vacuum pressure in each film forming module 4A, and the valves V2, V13, and V14 are opened, NF3 gas and Ar gas converted into plasma by the remote plasma forming unit 59 are supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A. With the plasmad NF 3 gas and Ar gas, the SiO 2 film and the SiN film formed on the wall surface forming the processing space 73 are removed during the film forming process on the wafer W and before the film forming process on the wafer W. Cleaning is performed (FIG. 11).

Thereafter, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned off, the valves V3, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are closed, and the SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas and the like into the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B The supply of He gas and the formation of plasma are stopped, and the formation of the SiO2 film is stopped. Then, the valve V12 is opened, N2 gas is supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B, and the processing space 73 is purged.

Thereafter, the valve V12 is closed and the purge of the processing space 73 is stopped, the valves V3, V5, V7 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NH3 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas are supplied to each film forming module. It is supplied to the processing space 73 of 4B. Then, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned on, each gas supplied to the processing space 73 is turned into plasma, and the SiN film constituting the 49th layer is formed on the wafer W by CVD of the plasmad SiH4 gas and NH3 gas. A film is formed. In each film forming module 4A, cleaning is continued (FIG. 12).

Thereafter, the high frequency power supply 61B is turned off, the valves V3, V5, V7 to V10 are closed, and supply of SiH4 gas, NH3 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas and He gas to the processing space 73 and formation of plasma are performed. Stops, and the formation of the SiN film stops. Then, the valve V12 is opened, N2 gas is supplied to the processing space 73 in the processing container 41 of each film forming module 4B, and the processing space 73 is purged.

After the valve V12 is closed and the purging of the processing space 73 is stopped, the above-described series of processing in each film forming module 4B, that is, supply of each gas to the processing space 73 and plasma formation of the SiO2 film on the wafer W are performed. Each valve V3 is formed so that the formation, the purging of the processing space 73, the supply of each gas to the processing space 73, the formation of the SiN film on the wafer W by the formation of plasma, and the purging of the processing space 73 are repeated in this order. Switching between V5 to V10 and V12 and on / off of the high frequency power supply 61B are switched. Thereby, SiO 2 films and SiN films are alternately laminated on the wafer W. As described above, while the film formation proceeds in each film formation module 4B, the valves V2, V13, and V14 are closed, and the cleaning of each film formation module 4A is stopped. Then, after the valve V11 is opened and the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A is purged, the valve V11 is closed and the purge is stopped.

In each film forming module 4B, the SiO 2 film and the SiN film are alternately formed 48 times on each wafer W (that is, the 49th to 96th layers are formed), and the valve V12 is opened to form the 96th layer. The processing space 73 is purged following the formation of the SiN film. In parallel with the opening of the valve V12, the valves V1, V5, V6, V8 to V10 are opened, and SiH4 gas, NO2 gas, Ar gas, N2 gas, and He gas are processed in the processing space of each film forming module 4A. The high frequency power supply 61A is turned on and the SiO 2 film is formed on the wall surface constituting each processing space 73 (FIG. 13).

Thereafter, the valve V12 is closed and the purge of the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B is completed, and the gate valve 34 that partitions each film forming module 4B and each load lock module 3 is opened, and each film forming module 4B. The mounting table 44 moves to the delivery position. Thereafter, after the wafer W is carried out to the load lock module 3 in a vacuum atmosphere by the transfer mechanism 35 of the load lock module 3, the gate valve for partitioning the film forming modules 4B and the load lock modules 3 is used. 34 is closed, the inside of the load lock module 3 becomes an atmospheric atmosphere of normal pressure, and the gate valve 33 that partitions the transfer region 21 and the inside of the load lock module 3 is opened. Then, the wafer W is returned to the transfer container 11 along a path opposite to that during transfer from the transfer container 11 to the load lock module 3.

In the film forming module 4B from which the wafer W has been unloaded in this way, the mounting table 44 moves to the processing position, and the pressure in the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A is set to a predetermined vacuum pressure. Subsequently, the valves V4, V13, and V14 are opened, and NF3 gas and Ar gas converted into plasma by the remote plasma forming unit 59 are supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B and cleaning is performed.

During the cleaning of each film forming module 4B, the high frequency power supply 61A is turned off, and the valves V3, V5, V6, and V8 to V10 are closed. In each film forming module 4A, SiO2 applied to the wall surface constituting the processing space 73 The film formation is stopped, the valve V11 is opened, N2 gas is supplied to the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4A, and the processing space 73 is purged. After that, when the valve V11 is closed and the purge is stopped, the subsequent wafer W is transferred from the transfer container 11 to each film forming module 4A, and the first to 48th layers are transferred in the same manner as the previously processed wafer W. The forming process of the SiO2 film and SiN film forming the above is performed (FIG. 14).

For each film forming module 4B, the processing space 73 is purged after the cleaning is completed. Then, for example, after the 48th layer is formed in the film forming module 4A, the valve V11 is opened to start the purge of the processing space 73 after the 48th layer is formed, and each gas to each film forming module 4B is started. Plasma is generated by the supply and the high frequency power supply 61B, and an SiO 2 film is formed on the wall surface of the processing container 41 that forms the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B.

After the formation of the SiO 2 film is stopped, the processing space 73 of each film forming module 4B is purged. After the purge is stopped, the wafer W processed by each film forming module 4A is transferred to each film forming module 4B, In the same way as the wafer W transferred to the film forming module 4B, the 49th to 96th layers are formed. As described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13, during the film forming process in each film forming module 4 </ b> B, cleaning is performed in each film forming module 4 </ b> A, and the processing space is formed after the 96th layer is formed in each film forming module 4 </ b> B. When purging 73 is performed, in each film forming module 4A, a SiO2 film is formed on the wall surface of the processing container 41 and preparations for processing the wafer W are made.

Further, the subsequent wafer W is also transferred in the order of the film forming modules 4A and 4B from the carrier block D1 which is a load port common to the film forming modules 4A and 4B, and the first to 96th layers are formed, The film forming module 4 that has completed the film forming process is cleaned until the next time the wafer W is loaded. As described above, the transfer mechanism 35 of the load lock module 3 alternately transfers the wafers W to the film forming modules 4A and 4B.

By the way, the above-described processing will be described in more detail. As described above, the piping system is configured and the valves provided in the piping system are opened and closed, so that the formation of the SiO2 film and the processing space 73 are performed. The purge, SiN film formation, and cleaning process are performed simultaneously between the film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group. That is, each process is performed synchronously between the film forming modules 4A, and each process is performed synchronously between the film forming modules 4B. More specifically, in the three film forming modules 4A and the three film forming modules 4B, the processes are collectively performed. By the way, when processing is performed simultaneously between the film forming modules 4A or between the film forming modules 4B, for example, a control signal is output so that an operation such as opening and closing of a valve is performed so that the processing is performed simultaneously. It is. That is, for example, for each valve V1 that supplies gas to each film forming module 4A, for example, if a control signal is output so that the wafer W in each film forming module 4A is processed at the same time at a certain time Even if there is a time difference in response to the control signal between the valves V1 due to the operation performance, the wafers W are processed simultaneously between the film forming modules 4A.

According to the film forming apparatus 1 described above, the wafer W is transferred from the carrier block D1 to the load lock chamber of the load lock module 3 via the transfer mechanism 22 provided in the transfer area 21 in the atmospheric atmosphere, and is transferred to the load lock chamber. The wafer W is alternately transferred to the film forming modules 4A and 4B connected to the load lock module 3 by the transfer mechanism 35 provided. In parallel with the film formation gas being supplied to one of the film formation modules 4A and 4B by the film formation gas supply mechanism 50 and the SiO2 film and the SiN film being formed on the wafer W, the cleaning gas supply mechanism is provided. The cleaning gas is supplied to the other of the film forming modules 4A and 4B by 90, and the SiO2 film and the SiN film on the wall surface forming the processing space 73 are removed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the SiO 2 film and the SiN film on the wall surface from being peeled off and adhere to the wafer W as particles, and one of the film forming modules 4A and 4B is subjected to a film forming process during cleaning. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the film forming process from being performed, and thus it is possible to prevent the throughput of the film forming apparatus 1 from being lowered.

By the way, when a film is deposited on the wall surface that forms the processing space 73, the state of the plasma formed in the processing space 73 changes according to the thickness of the deposited film, whereby each film formed on the wafer W is changed. There is a possibility that the film thickness and film quality of the film will change. However, in the processing by the film forming apparatus 1, the film forming module 4A forms a predetermined number of layers composed of SiO2 film and SiN film on the wafer W and then transfers the wafer W to the cleaned film forming module 4B. Thus, since the film forming process is continuously performed, the plasma states formed around the wafer W during the formation of each film can be aligned with each other. That is, the film forming apparatus 1 described above also has an effect that the thickness of each film formed on the wafer W can be set to a set value, and the film quality can be adjusted between the SiO 2 films and between the SiN films.

  Further, the respective film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group are stacked and arranged. Arranging in this way is advantageous because the occupied floor area of the film forming apparatus 1 is relatively small while the number of film forming modules 4 is relatively large. Further, by stacking the film forming modules 4 in this way, the common exhaust pipe 66 can be routed in the vertical direction along the module arrangement direction as described above, and the occupied floor area can be reduced. The enlargement of the membrane device 1 can be suppressed more reliably. The number of modules constituting each film forming module group is not limited to three, and may be two or four or more. Further, the wafer processing units 2 </ b> A to 2 </ b> D are opposed to each other with the transfer area 21 interposed therebetween as described above and are provided along the transfer area 21. With such an arrangement, since the transfer mechanism 22 is shared by the wafer processing units 2A to 2D, the number of the processing containers 41 to be mounted can be relatively increased and the throughput can be improved while suppressing an increase in the size of the film forming apparatus 1. Can be achieved.

In the film forming apparatus 1, a load lock module 3 is provided for each set of film forming modules 4 including film forming modules 4A and 4B arranged in the front and rear directions. Therefore, the wafer W can be moved from the film formation module 4A to the film formation module 4B in parallel with each other between the film formation module 4A and the film formation module 4B at each stage by the transfer mechanism 35 of each load lock module 3. Therefore, the throughput of the film forming apparatus 1 can be increased more reliably. Further, while the processing space 73 is purged after the film formation of the wafer W is completed in one of the film formation modules 4A and 4B, the film formation on the wall surface forming the process space 73 is performed in the other film formation module. Is done. Therefore, also from this point, the throughput of the film forming apparatus 1 can be reliably increased.

Furthermore, since the film forming apparatus 1 performs processing by storing the wafer W for each processing container 41, the film quality of each wafer W or the like can be adjusted by adjusting parameters such as the temperature of the heater 45 in each processing container 41. The film thickness can be adjusted individually. That is, compared with a film forming apparatus that stores a plurality of wafers W in one processing container and performs processing in a batch, the processing uniformity between the wafers W is improved, and the film quality and film thickness of each wafer W are improved. It is possible to suppress the difference between the two.

Further, the film forming gas supply mechanism 50 and the cleaning are performed so that the film forming process or the cleaning process is simultaneously performed between the three film forming modules 4A and the film forming process or the cleaning process is simultaneously performed between the three film forming modules 4B. The gas supply mechanism 90 is shared by the three film forming modules 4A and the three film forming modules 4B. Since sharing is performed in this way, it is possible to suppress an increase in manufacturing cost and management cost of the film forming apparatus 1. However, the film forming gas supply mechanism 50 and the cleaning gas supply mechanism 90 may be provided individually for the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, or the film forming gas supply mechanism 50 and the cleaning gas supply mechanism 90 are provided for each film forming module 4. May be provided.

In the above processing example, the film forming module groups 40A and 40B supply the same type of gas to each other to perform the film forming process. Thus, when the same kind of gas is supplied to the wafer W from the film forming gas supply mechanism 50 between the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, the film forming gas is used from the viewpoint of reducing the manufacturing cost. It is effective to share the supply mechanism 50 between the film forming module groups 40A and 40B. For example, even when a film having a different film thickness is formed between the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, if the same kind of film is formed with the same kind of gas used, the film is formed as such. The gas supply mechanism 50 can be shared.

In the film forming process described above, the number of layers formed from being carried into the film forming module 4A or 4B to being carried out to the load lock module 3 is not limited to 48, and one wafer W is formed into the film forming module. The number of times transported to 4A and 4B is not limited to one time. Accordingly, the wafer W may be transferred so as to reciprocate between the film forming modules 4A and 4B, and the film forming process may be performed on the wafer W each time the wafer W is transferred to the film forming modules 4A and 4B. Even when the transfer of the wafer W and the film forming process are performed as described above, the film forming module 4 after the film forming process is finished is cleaned, so that one of the film forming modules 4A and 4B is cleaned. The film forming processes are performed in parallel. The wafer W may not be transferred between the film forming modules 4A and 4B. When one of the film forming module 4A and the film forming module 4B is subjected to the film forming process, the wafer W is not transferred to the other and transferred to the transfer container 11. May be returned. Also in this case, one of the film forming modules 4A and 4B is cleaned after the film forming process is completed. Then, the subsequent wafer W is transferred to the other of the film forming modules 4A and 4B, and a film forming process is performed in parallel with the cleaning of one of the film forming modules 4A and 4B.

Further, between the three film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group, the operation of each part of the apparatus such as each valve V is controlled so that the film forming process is simultaneously performed as described above. “Simultaneous” does not necessarily mean that the time zones during which processing is performed on the wafers W among the three film forming modules 4 are the same, and there may be deviations in the time zones during which processing is performed. In other words, the timing at which the deposition gas supply is started or the timing at which the deposition gas supply is stopped may be different between the deposition modules 4A forming the deposition module group 40A. The timing at which the supply of the film forming gas is started or the timing at which the supply of the film forming gas is stopped may be shifted between the film forming modules 4B forming 40B.

Specifically, for example, when there is a slight difference in performance between the respective film forming modules 4A, the opening timing or the closing timing is slightly shifted for each valve V1 provided to correspond to each of these film forming modules 4A. To control. Accordingly, this performance difference can be eliminated, and a highly uniform laminated film can be formed between the film forming modules 4A. Similarly, for example, when there is a slight difference in performance among the three film forming modules 4B, control is performed so that the opening timing or closing timing of each valve V3 provided to correspond to each of these film forming modules 4B is slightly shifted. By doing so, the performance difference can be eliminated, and a highly uniform laminated film can be formed between the film forming modules 4B. When one film is formed by the three film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group, the time at which the film forming gas is supplied and the film forming process is started earliest among the three film forming modules. Is t1, and the latest time when the film formation gas supply is stopped and the film formation process ends is t2. If the film forming gas is supplied to the three film forming modules 4 in the time period of, for example, 90% or more during this time t1-t2, it is assumed that the film forming gas is supplied simultaneously. As described above, since the time zones during which processing is performed between the three film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group overlap each other, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput.

The cleaning gas may be supplied between the three film forming modules 4 as long as the time zones supplied between the three film forming modules 4 constituting the same film forming module group overlap each other. The bands are not limited to coincide with each other. Specifically, for example, the valve V2 provided to correspond to each of the three film forming modules 4A is controlled so that the opening timing or the closing timing is slightly shifted, and the cleaning gas is supplied between the film forming modules 4A. The time zone can be shifted slightly. Similarly, for example, each valve V4 provided so as to correspond to each of the three film forming modules 4B is controlled so that the opening timing or the closing timing is slightly shifted, and the cleaning gas is supplied between the film forming modules 4B. The belt can be shifted slightly. In addition, when a film forming process that requires a relatively long time is performed on one of the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, in each film forming module 4 constituting the other of the film forming module groups 40A and 40B, You may make it perform cleaning so that the time slot | zone when cleaning gas is supplied may not mutually overlap.

Further, the film forming process performed by the film forming module groups 40A and 40B is not limited to CVD, and may be ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition). These CVD and ALD may be performed by forming plasma in the processing space 73 as described above, or by forming the wafer W at a relatively high temperature without forming plasma. Also good. Further, the film formed on the wafer W is not limited to the SiO 2 film or the SiN film. For example, the apparatus may be configured to form these films using a processing gas capable of forming a film such as a TiO 2 film or a TiN film. Note that the film forming module 4 is not limited to forming a laminated film made of different types of films, and may be a single type of film. Even in that case, it is possible to reliably suppress the film on the wall surface of the processing container 41 from peeling off and adhering to the wafer W.

Further, the number of modules connected to the load lock module 3 is not limited to two. In FIG. 15, for the load lock module 3 formed in a pentagon as described above, the wafer W is annealed by heating one of the two sides adjacent to the side where the transfer ports 31 and 32 are opened. The example which connected this annealing process module 111 is shown. In the figure, reference numeral 112 denotes a transfer port opened on the side in order to deliver the wafer W to and from the annealing processing module 111, and reference numeral 113 in the drawing denotes a gate valve for opening and closing the transfer port 112.

The annealing module 111 includes a mounting table 44 for mounting the wafer W and heating it to a predetermined temperature, for example, like the film forming module 4. For example, as described above, 48 layers of SiO 2 film and SiN film are formed, and the wafer W transferred to the transfer mechanism 35 of the load lock module 3 is transferred to the annealing module 111 and heated to a predetermined temperature. It is subjected to annealing treatment. Thereafter, the wafer W is unloaded from the annealing module 111 by the transfer mechanism 35, transferred to the transfer mechanism 22 in the transfer area 21, and returned to the transfer container 11.

  By the way, the film forming modules 4 that perform film forming processes synchronously may be arranged at the same height in the horizontal direction without being stacked as described above. FIG. 16 shows an example in which the wafer processing unit 2A is configured by two film forming modules 4A and two film forming modules 4B arranged in the lateral direction as described above. In this example, the film forming modules 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B are arranged along the extending direction of the transfer region 21. In this way, the film forming modules 4A and 4B may be arranged. However, as described above, since the enlargement of the apparatus can be prevented, each film forming module 4A and each film forming module 4B are stacked. It is preferable to arrange them. Further, only one processing unit including the film forming modules 4A and 4B and the load lock module 3 may be provided in the film forming apparatus 1. However, in order to improve the throughput of the film forming apparatus 1, it is effective to provide a plurality of processing units as in the above examples.

The transfer chamber 13 of the carrier block D1, the transfer chamber 16 of the delivery block D2, and the transfer region 21 of the processing block D3 are not limited to the air atmosphere, and may be an inert gas atmosphere, for example. Further, the load lock module 3 is not limited to being provided for each of the film forming modules 4A and 4B that form a pair. For example, the load lock module 3 is configured to be vertically long, and a plurality of film forming modules 4A stacked on each other and a plurality of film forming modules 4B stacked on each other are connected to the load lock module 3, and the transport mechanism 35 can be moved up and down. With such a configuration, the wafer W may be transferred between each pair of the film forming module 4A and the film forming module 4B. In addition, the film forming process and the cleaning may be performed independently between the wafer processing units 2A to 2D, or between the film forming modules 4A and the film forming modules 4B of the wafer processing units 2A to 2D. Each process may be performed simultaneously.

By the way, the film forming modules 4A and 4B only need to be provided at a position where the wafer W can be delivered to the load lock module 3 constituting the processing unit together with the film forming modules 4A and 4B. Therefore, for example, each module constituting one processing unit is arranged in a line in the front-rear direction in the order of the film forming module 4A, the load lock module 3, and the film forming module 4B, that is, along the length direction of the transfer region 21. May be. That is, the film forming modules 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B are not limited to being connected to the load lock module 3 from the opposite side of the transfer region 21. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the embodiments can be appropriately changed or combined.

W Wafer 1 Film forming apparatuses 2A to 2D Wafer processing unit 22 Transfer mechanism 3 Load lock module 35 Transfer mechanism 4 (4A to 4D) Film forming module 41 Processing container 44 Mounting table 50 Film forming gas supply mechanism 73 Processing space 90 Cleaning gas supply Mechanism 100 control unit

Claims (9)

A first processing container and a second processing container for storing a substrate and forming a vacuum atmosphere to form a film;
A load port common to the first processing container and the second processing container on which the transfer container storing the substrate is placed;
A load lock chamber is provided that is switchable between a normal pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere, and includes a substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate to the first processing container and the second processing container, respectively. A load lock module connected to the processing container and the second processing container;
A substrate transfer region in a normal pressure atmosphere that is interposed between the load port and the load lock module and delivers the substrate between the load port and the substrate transfer mechanism;
A film forming gas supply mechanism for supplying a film forming gas independently to each of the first processing container and the second processing container and forming a film on the substrate;
A cleaning gas supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning gas for removing a film formed by the film forming gas, independently to each of the first processing container and the second processing container;
The substrate is alternately transferred to the first processing container and the second processing container, and the film forming gas and the cleaning gas are respectively supplied to one of the first processing container and the second processing container. A control unit that outputs a control signal to be supplied in parallel;
A film forming apparatus comprising: The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate that has been processed in the first processing container is transferred to the second processing container. The film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the first processing containers and the second processing containers are provided. The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of first processing containers and the plurality of second processing containers are stacked. When one first processing container and one second processing container are a set of processing containers,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of the load lock modules are provided for each set of the processing containers. The substrate transfer area is formed in the front-rear direction,
When the set of the processing container and the load lock module corresponding to the set of the processing container are set as a processing unit,
The processing unit is configured by connecting the first processing container and the second processing container, which are arranged at the front and rear, to the load lock module,
The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of processing units are arranged in the front-rear direction along the substrate transfer region. The film forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of processing units are provided to face each other with the substrate transfer region sandwiched between right and left. Storing a substrate in each of a first processing container and a second processing container that perform processing by forming a vacuum atmosphere;
Placing a transport container containing the substrate on a load port common to the first processing container and the second processing container;
Switching a load lock chamber of a load lock module provided connected to the first processing container and the second processing container between an atmospheric pressure atmosphere and a vacuum atmosphere;
A step of alternately transporting the substrate to the first processing container and the second processing container by a substrate transport mechanism provided in the load lock chamber;
A step of transferring a substrate between the load port and the substrate transfer mechanism by transferring the substrate in a substrate transfer region in a normal pressure atmosphere interposed between the load port and the load lock module;
A film forming step of supplying a film forming gas to one of the first processing container and the second processing container by a film forming gas supply mechanism;
A cleaning gas is supplied in parallel with the film forming step, and a cleaning gas supply mechanism supplies a cleaning gas for removing the film formed by the film forming gas to the other of the first processing container and the second processing container. And a process of
A film forming method comprising: A storage medium for storing a computer program used in a film forming apparatus for forming a film by supplying a film forming gas to a substrate,
9. A storage medium, wherein the computer program includes a group of steps for carrying out the film forming method according to claim 8.

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