JP2019149578A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To ensure further uniformity of a process when putting a substrate to be processed on a work-holder table and processing the substrate with a process gas.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a cylindrical part surrounded by a side wall of a chamber and provided so as to correspond to a substrate work-holder table; and a partition wall member which can be lifted up and down between an upper position and a lower position in the chamber. When the partition wall member stays at the lower position, a space in the cylindrical part communicates with a space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition wall member. When the partition wall member stays at the upper position, the cylindrical part surrounds the substrate work-holder table to define a process space therein, and the process space in the cylindrical part and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition wall member are partitioned airtightly to each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a substrate.

  In manufacturing a semiconductor device, a desired device is manufactured by repeatedly performing various processes such as an etching process and a film forming process on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) as a substrate.

  Conventionally, as such a substrate processing, a single-wafer processing apparatus for processing substrates one by one is frequently used. Further, such a processing apparatus is required to improve throughput, and a processing apparatus that processes two or more substrates at a time while maintaining a single-wafer type platform has also been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). 2).

  In the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a single substrate mounting table is provided in the chamber, and a gas dispersion plate that forms a shower is formed facing the upper side of the substrate mounting table. A plurality (two) of substrates are placed, the inside of the chamber is kept in a vacuum, and a processing gas is supplied from a gas dispersion plate to perform a predetermined process on the substrates.

Special table 2010-520649 JP2012-015285A

  By the way, in the substrate processing such as etching processing, in addition to the difficulty in ensuring the uniformity of processing due to the increase in size of the substrate, there is an increasing demand for processing uniformity. With the second technique, it is becoming difficult to obtain desired processing uniformity. That is, in the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, nonuniform temperature and nonuniform gas supply occur due to interference of a plurality of substrates, and it is difficult to obtain sufficient processing uniformity. Furthermore, even in a normal single wafer processing apparatus, there are cases where sufficient processing uniformity cannot be ensured.

  The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of ensuring further processing uniformity when a substrate is placed on a mounting table and substrate processing is performed with a processing gas.

  In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus that performs processing on a substrate with a processing gas in a vacuum atmosphere. The substrate processing apparatus includes a sidewall, a chamber that is held in a vacuum atmosphere, and accommodates a substrate. A substrate mounting table configured to mount the substrate in the chamber; a gas introduction member configured to introduce a gas containing a processing gas into the chamber; and the side wall, A partition member including a cylindrical portion provided to correspond to the substrate mounting table and configured to be movable up and down between an upper position and a lower position in the chamber, and an elevating mechanism for moving the partition member up and down And when the partition member is in the lower position, the space in the cylindrical portion and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member communicate with each other, and the partition member is in the upper position. The cylindrical portion surrounds the substrate mounting table, defines a processing space therein, and the processing space in the cylindrical portion and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member are airtight to each other. Provided is a substrate processing apparatus that is partitioned into two sections.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when mounting a board | substrate on a mounting base and performing a substrate process with process gas, the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method which can ensure the uniformity of the further process are provided.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the processing system provided with the COR processing apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the COR processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which raised the partition member. It is sectional drawing which shows the COR processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is a figure which shows the state which lowered | hung the partition member. It is a perspective view which shows a partition member. It is a side view of the partition member which showed the flange part in the section. It is sectional drawing which shows the drive shaft installation part and guide shaft installation part of a COR processing apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the junction part of the upper axis | shaft of a guide axis | shaft, and a lower axis | shaft. It is a figure which shows the result of having evaluated the number of the particles adhering to a wafer when changing a condition when driving a partition member and forming a gas flow. It is a figure which shows the result of having compared the process distribution at the time of performing a COR process with the conventional apparatus which does not provide a partition member, and when providing a partition member and performing the COR process in the state of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the COR processing apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

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

<Processing system with COR processing device>
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a processing system including a COR processing apparatus that performs a chemical oxide removal (COR) process, which is a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processing system 1 includes a loading / unloading section 2 for loading / unloading a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer) W, which is a substrate to be processed, and two load lock chambers (L / L) 3, a PHT processing device 4 that is provided adjacent to each load lock chamber 3 and performs a PHT (Post Heat Treatment) process on the wafer W, and adjacent to each PHT processing device 4. A COR processing apparatus 5 that performs COR processing on the wafer W is provided. The load lock chamber 3, the PHT processing apparatus 4, and the COR processing apparatus 5 are arranged in a straight line in this order. The PHT processing device 4 and the COR processing device 5 process the wafers W by two.

  The loading / unloading unit 2 has a transfer chamber (L / M) 12 in which a first wafer transfer mechanism 11 for transferring the wafer W is provided. The first wafer transfer mechanism 11 has two transfer arms 11a and 11b that hold the wafer W substantially horizontally. A mounting table 13 is provided on the side of the transfer chamber 12 in the longitudinal direction. For example, three carriers C capable of accommodating a plurality of wafers W arranged side by side can be connected to the mounting table 13. . In addition, an orienter 14 is installed adjacent to the transfer chamber 12 to rotate the wafer W and optically determine the amount of eccentricity.

  In the loading / unloading unit 2, the wafer W is held by the transfer arms 11a and 11b, moved straight in a substantially horizontal plane by driving the first wafer transfer mechanism 11, and moved up and down to be transferred to a desired position. . The transfer arms 11a and 11b are moved forward and backward with respect to the carrier C, the orienter 14 and the load lock chamber 3 on the mounting table 13, respectively.

  Each load lock chamber 3 is connected to the transfer chamber 12 with a gate valve 16 interposed between the load lock chamber 3 and the transfer chamber 12. In each load lock chamber 3, a second wafer transfer mechanism 17 for transferring the wafer W is provided. The load lock chamber 3 is configured to be evacuated to a predetermined degree of vacuum.

  The second wafer transfer mechanism 17 has an articulated arm structure, and has a pick that holds the wafer W substantially horizontally. In the second wafer transfer mechanism 17, the pick is positioned in the load lock chamber 3 with the articulated arm contracted, and the pick reaches the PHT processing apparatus 4 and extends further by extending the articulated arm. Thus, it is possible to reach the COR processing apparatus 5, and the wafer W can be transferred between the load lock chamber 3, the PHT processing apparatus 4, and the COR processing apparatus 5.

The PHT processing apparatus 4 includes a chamber 20 that can be evacuated, and a substrate mounting table 23 on which two wafers W that are substrates to be processed are mounted in a horizontal state. The substrate mounting table 23 has a heater. The PHT process which heats the wafer W after being COR-processed by this heater and vaporizes (sublimates) a reaction product, which will be described later generated by the COR process, is performed. In the PHT process, an inert gas such as N ₂ gas is introduced into the chamber 20. A gate valve 22 is provided on the load lock chamber 3 side of the chamber 20, and a gate valve 54 is provided on the COR processing device 5 side of the chamber 20.

The COR processing apparatus 5 according to the present embodiment performs COR processing on the oxide film on the surface of the wafer W in the chamber 40 using HF gas and NH ₃ gas, and the detailed configuration thereof will be described later.

  The control unit 6 includes a process controller 91 including a microprocessor (computer) that controls each component of the processing system 1. Connected to the process controller 91 is a user interface 92 having a keyboard for an operator to input commands and the like for managing the processing system 1 and a display for visualizing and displaying the operating status of the processing system 1. . Further, the process controller 91 includes a control program for realizing various processes executed by the processing system 1, for example, supply of a processing gas in the COR processing apparatus 5 to be described later, exhaust in a chamber, and the like by controlling the process controller. A processing recipe that is a control program for causing each component of the processing system 1 to execute a predetermined process according to the processing conditions, and a storage section 93 in which various databases are stored are connected. The recipe is stored in an appropriate storage medium (not shown) in the storage unit 93. If necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 93 and is executed by the process controller 91, whereby a desired process in the processing system 1 is performed under the control of the process controller 91.

Next, the processing operation in such a processing system 1 will be described.
First, a wafer W having a silicon oxide film on the surface as a substrate to be processed is accommodated in the carrier C and transferred to the processing system 1. In the processing system 1, a single wafer W is loaded from the carrier C of the loading / unloading unit 2 by one of the transfer arms 11 a and 11 b of the first wafer transfer mechanism 11 with the atmosphere side gate valve 16 opened. To the pick of the second wafer transfer mechanism 17 in the load lock chamber 3.

  Thereafter, the gate valve 16 on the atmosphere side is closed and the load lock chamber 3 is evacuated, then the gate valve 54 is opened, the pick is extended to the COR processing apparatus 5, and the wafer W is transferred to the COR processing apparatus 5.

  Thereafter, the pick is returned to the load lock chamber 3, the gate valve 54 is closed, and COR processing is performed in the COR processing device 5 as described later.

  After the COR processing is completed, the gate valves 22 and 54 are opened, the processed wafer W is received by the pick of the second wafer transfer mechanism 17 and mounted on the mounting table 23 in the chamber 20 of the PHT processing apparatus 4. Then, the pick is retracted to the load lock chamber 3, the gate valves 22 and 54 are closed, and the wafer W is heated in the chamber 20 of the PHT processing apparatus 4 to perform the PHT processing. Thereby, the reaction product generated by the COR treatment is heated and vaporized and removed.

  After the heat treatment in the PHT processing apparatus 4 is completed, the gate valve 22 is opened, and the wafer W after the etching process on the mounting table 23 is retracted to the load lock chamber 3 by the pick of the second wafer transfer mechanism 17 to transfer the first wafer. The carrier 11 is returned to the carrier C by one of the transport arms 11 a and 11 b of the mechanism 11. Thereby, processing of one wafer is completed. Such a series of processes is repeated by the number of wafers W accommodated in the carrier C.

<Configuration of COR processing apparatus>
Next, a COR processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
2 and 3 are cross-sectional views showing a COR processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a state where the partition member is raised, and FIG. 3 shows a state where the partition member is lowered. .

As shown in these drawings, the COR processing apparatus 5 includes a chamber 40 having a hermetically sealed structure. In addition, the COR processing apparatus 5 includes a chamber 2 for placing wafers W to be processed in a horizontal state one by one in the chamber 40. Two substrate mounting tables 41, two gas introduction members 42 for introducing a processing gas into the chamber 40 so as to oppose each of the substrate mounting tables 41, and the periphery of the lower portions of the two substrate mounting tables 41 In order to form a partition that defines a sealed processing space S in a region including the wafer W between the two inner walls 43 provided in each of the substrate 43 and the gas introduction member 42 corresponding to each substrate mounting table 41. A partition member 44 that can be moved up and down, a lifting mechanism 45 that lifts and lowers the partition member 44, a gas supply mechanism 46 that supplies HF gas, NH ₃ gas, and the like, and exhausts the inside of the chamber 40. An exhaust mechanism 47 is provided.

  The chamber 40 is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and includes a chamber main body 51 and a lid portion 52. The chamber body 51 has a side wall portion 51 a and a bottom portion 51 b, and an upper portion is an opening, and the opening is closed by a lid portion 52. The side wall portion 51a and the lid portion 52 are sealed by a seal member 51c, and airtightness in the chamber 40 is ensured. The two gas introduction members 42 described above are fitted inside the lid portion 52. A loading / unloading port (not shown) for transferring the wafer W to / from the chamber of the PHT processing apparatus 4 is provided on the side wall 51a of the chamber body 51, and the loading / unloading port is connected to the gate valve 54 described above. Can be opened and closed.

  The substrate mounting table 41 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and includes a mounting plate 61 having a mounting surface for the wafer W, and a base block 62 that is fixed to the bottom 51b of the chamber body 51 and supports the mounting plate. . Inside the mounting plate 61, a temperature controller 63 for adjusting the temperature of the wafer W is provided. The temperature controller 63 includes, for example, a pipe line through which a temperature adjusting medium (for example, water) circulates, and heat exchange with the temperature adjusting medium flowing in the pipe line allows the wafer W to move. Temperature control is performed. Further, the substrate mounting table 41 is provided with a plurality of lifting pins (not shown) that are used when the wafer W is transferred so as to protrude and retract with respect to the wafer mounting surface.

  The inner wall 43 has a cylindrical shape, and is provided around the base block 62 of the substrate mounting table 41 with a space therebetween. The inner wall 43 is an exhaust space 68 that forms an annular shape with the base block 62. A flange 67 is formed on the upper portion of the inner wall 43. A slit (not shown) is formed in the inner wall 43, and exhaust gas from the processing space S to the annular exhaust space 68 is uniformly discharged to the outer space of the inner wall 43 through the slit of the inner wall 43. The air is exhausted by an exhaust mechanism 47 described later.

The gas supply mechanism 46 supplies HF gas, NH ₃ gas, and dilution gas such as Ar gas and N ₂ gas to the gas introduction member 42. Each gas supply source, supply piping, valve, and mass flow controller Etc. have a flow controller.

The gas introduction member 42 is for introducing the gas supplied from the gas supply mechanism 46 into the chamber 40, has a gas diffusion space 64 therein, and has an overall shape of a cylinder. A gas introduction hole 65 connected to the upper wall of the chamber 40 is formed on the upper surface of the gas introduction member 42, and a plurality of gas discharge holes 66 connected to the gas diffusion space 64 are formed on the bottom surface. Gases such as HF gas and NH ₃ gas supplied from the gas supply mechanism 46 reach the gas diffusion space 64 through the gas introduction hole 65, are diffused in the gas diffusion space 64, and are uniformly showered from the gas discharge holes 66. It is discharged in a shape. That is, the gas introduction member 42 functions as a gas dispersion head (shower head) that disperses and discharges the gas. The gas introduction member 42 may be a post-mix type that discharges HF gas and NH ₃ gas through separate flow paths.

  The partition member 44 collectively forms partition walls that define two processing spaces corresponding to the two substrate mounting tables 41, and forms each processing space as shown in the perspective view of FIG. These two cylindrical parts (tubular parts) 71 and a flange part 72 provided in a bowl shape on the upper part of the cylindrical part 71 are provided. An inner flange portion 73 is formed at the bottom of the cylindrical portion 71 (see FIG. 2).

  The partition member 44 is provided with two seal members 74 corresponding to the processing spaces S on the upper surface of the flange portion 72. As shown in FIG. 3, seal members 75 are provided on the lower surface of the flange 67 of the inner wall 43. As shown in FIG. 2, with the partition member 44 raised, the seal member 74 comes into contact with the upper surface of the gas introduction member 42 so that the partition member 44 and the gas introduction member 42 are in close contact with each other. The member 75 comes into contact with the upper surface of the inner flange portion 73 of the partition wall member 44, and the partition wall member 44 and the inner wall 43 are brought into close contact with each other to form a processing space S that is a substantially sealed space.

  As the seal members 74 and 75, a lip seal having a main body portion and a lip portion protruding obliquely from the main body portion can be suitably used. In the lip seal, since the lip portion constitutes the seal portion, the seal members 74 and 75 are lip seals so that the partition member 44 and the gas introduction member 42 and the partition member 44 and the inner wall 43 are not in direct contact with each other. It is possible to seal in a state where it is kept. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the particle by the partition member 44 and the gas introduction member 42 and the partition member 44 and the inner wall 43 contacting can be prevented. Moreover, since the lip seal adjusts the clearance at the lip portion, the clearance adjustment is highly flexible. In order to obtain a desired sealing property while preventing the partition member 44 and the gas introduction member 42 and the partition member 44 and the inner wall 43 from contacting each other, the clearance between them is in the range of 1.6 to 3.6 mm. It is preferable to seal in such a manner.

  Also, as will be described later, the partition member 44 is lifted by utilizing a differential pressure between the inside of the chamber 40 in a vacuum state and the outside of the chamber 40 that is an atmospheric space, and since the driving force is small, the sealing members 74 and 75 are used. Is required to be able to seal uniformly with as little reaction force as possible. On the other hand, since the reaction force of the lip seal is almost constant in the sealed state, it can be sufficiently sealed even with such a small driving force.

  However, the lip seal is suitable for sealing in an environment with a small differential pressure such as vacuum and vacuum or air and air. When the lip seal is used as the seal members 74 and 75, the partition member 44 is used. It is necessary that the differential pressure between the inside and the outside of the tube is small, and it is preferable that these differential pressures are 300 Torr or less.

  Since the lip seal needs to have the lip portion facing the higher pressure side, when the lip seal is applied to the seal member 74, the lip portion faces the processing space S side where the pressure is higher, that is, the inner side. Use the lip seal. Further, when a lip seal is applied to the seal member 75, a lip seal having a lip portion facing the processing space S side where pressure is higher, that is, the outside is used.

  The seal member 75 is provided on the lower surface of the flange 67 of the inner wall 43, but may be provided on the upper surface of the inner flange portion 73 of the partition wall member 44.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the flange portion 72 of the partition wall member 44 has a body portion 72 a having a groove portion 76 that circulates, and a heater 77 is provided inside the groove portion 76 so as to circulate along the groove portion 76. ing. A lid part 72b is welded to the upper part of the main body part 72a, and the groove part 76 is a sealed space. The heater 77 is connected to a heater power supply (not shown) outside the chamber 40. When power is supplied to the heater 77, the heater 77 generates heat, and the heat is quickly diffused from the upper part to the lower part of the partition wall member 44, and processed. The inside of the space S can be heated to, for example, 30 to 150 ° C., and the inside of the processing space S can be kept in a highly uniform state. As will be described later, the groove portion 76 is connected to the atmosphere via a guide shaft of the elevating mechanism 45 and is an atmospheric space. For this reason, overheating etc. do not occur easily and the controllability of the heater 77 is good.

  An elevating mechanism 45 that elevates and lowers the partition wall member 44 is disposed outside the chamber 40, and an actuator 81 that can move the partition wall member 44 up and down, extends from the actuator 81, enters the chamber 40, and a tip is a flange of the partition wall member 44. The drive shaft 82 is attached to the portion 72, and a plurality of hollow guide shafts 83 whose front ends are attached to the partition wall member 44 and whose other ends extend outside the chamber 40. If there are two guide shafts 83, the drive shaft 82 and the three-shaft support are possible and stable support is possible, and the partition member 44 can be raised and lowered stably. If the number of the guide shafts 83 is increased from two, for example, four, the partition wall member 44 can be raised more uniformly. However, when the number of the guide shafts 83 is increased, the cost and maintenance are reduced. Therefore, the number of guide shafts 83 may be determined in consideration of such points.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the drive shaft 82 is composed of an upper shaft 82a and a lower shaft 82b, and one end of an extendable bellows 84 is attached to the lower end of the upper shaft 82a. The lower shaft 82b is attached to the upper shaft 82a so as to be continuous with the upper shaft 82a outside the chamber 40, and is configured as a spline shaft of a ball spline. The bellows 84 is provided around the upper shaft 82 a of the drive shaft 82, and the other end is attached to the bottom of the chamber 40. Thereby, when the drive shaft 82 moves up and down, the bellows 84 expands and contracts correspondingly, and the vacuum state in the chamber 40 is maintained. A case 85 that accommodates the drive shaft 82 is attached to the bottom of the chamber 40 so as to cover the outside of the bellows 84. A ball spline sleeve 86 is attached to the inside of the portion of the case 85 corresponding to the lower shaft 82b.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the guide shaft 83 includes an upper shaft 83a and a lower shaft 83b, and one end of an expandable / contractible bellows 87 is attached to the lower end of the upper shaft 83a. The lower shaft 83 b is attached to the upper shaft 83 a so as to be continuous with the upper shaft 83 a outside the chamber 40, and is guided by the guide bush 89. The bellows 87 is provided around the upper shaft 83 a of the guide shaft 83, and the other end is attached to the bottom of the chamber 40. Thereby, when the guide shaft 83 moves up and down, the bellows 87 expands and contracts correspondingly, and the vacuum state in the chamber 40 is maintained. A case 88 that accommodates the guide shaft 83 is attached to the bottom of the chamber 40 so as to cover the outside of the bellows 87. A guide bush 89 is attached to the inside of the portion of the case 88 corresponding to the lower shaft 83b.

  Since the lower end of the guide shaft 83 is provided in the atmospheric pressure space outside the chamber 40, the cross-sectional area of the guide shaft 83 is reduced due to the differential pressure in the state where the inside of the chamber 40 is held in vacuum. A push-up force acts in proportion. The guide shaft 83 has a downward acting force such as the spring reaction force of the bellows 87 and the weight of the guide shaft 83. By appropriately setting the inner diameter of the guide shaft 83, the push-up force is increased. can do. Thereby, the partition member 44 can be pushed up with an appropriate pressure. For this reason, the partition member 44 can be stably driven by being guided by the plurality of guide shafts 83, and the partition member 44 can be evenly raised to ensure reliable sealing performance.

  When the partition member 44 is lowered, the partition member 44 may be lowered by the actuator 81 via the drive shaft 82 against the force of pushing up the partition member 44 due to such differential pressure. Since the actuator 81 may be used only when the partition member 44 is lowered, the burden on the actuator 81 and the drive shaft 82 is reduced. The partition wall member 44 is lowered and the partition wall member 44 is positioned below the mounting surface of the substrate mounting table 41 as shown in FIG.

  6 shows a cross section of the COR processing apparatus 5. The left side shows a cross section of the existence area of the drive shaft 82, and the right side shows a cross section of the existence area of the guide shaft, with the two-dot chain line in between. The cross section of the part which is different in right and left is taken.

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint portion between the upper shaft 83a and the lower shaft 83b of the guide shaft 83. The lower end of the upper shaft 83a is a flange 91 that supports the bellows 87, and the upper end of the lower shaft 83b is The flange 92 corresponds to the flange 91. A sliding member 93 made of a resin material having good sliding property such as PTFE is provided on the upper surface of the flange 92 so that sliding occurs between the flange 91 and the sliding member 93. The flange 91 and the flange 92 are coupled by the screw 90 in a state where the sliding between the sliding member 93 and the flange 91 is allowed. The temperature of the upper shaft 83a of the guide shaft 83 may increase due to heating by the heater 77 and the like, and thereby the thermal expansion of the lower shaft 83b is relatively small. For this reason, the guide shaft 83 may be deformed due to the difference in thermal expansion, which may hinder raising and lowering. On the other hand, by providing the sliding member 93, the upper shaft 83a slides on the sliding member 93, so that the thermal expansion difference can be absorbed.

  The exhaust mechanism 47 has an exhaust pipe 101 connected to an exhaust port (not shown) formed in the bottom 51 b of the chamber 40, and further controls the pressure in the chamber 40 provided in the exhaust pipe 101. And an automatic pressure control valve (APC) 102 for evacuating and a vacuum pump 103 for evacuating the chamber 40.

  In order to measure the pressures of the two processing spaces S in the chamber 40, a high pressure capacitance manometer 105 a and a low pressure manometer 105 a are used as pressure gauges so as to be inserted into the exhaust spaces 68 corresponding to the processing spaces S from the bottom surface of the chamber. A pressure capacitance manometer 105b is provided. The opening degree of the automatic pressure control valve (APC) 102 is controlled based on the pressure detected by the capacitance manometer 105a or 105b.

<Processing by COR processing device>
Next, the processing operation by the COR processing apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  First, in the state of FIG. 3 in which the partition member 44 is lowered by the actuator 81 via the drive shaft 82, the gate valve 54 is opened, and two wafers W are loaded into the chamber 40 from a loading / unloading port (not shown). Placed on each substrate mounting table 41.

  Next, the operation of the actuator 81 is stopped, the guide shaft 83 is raised by the pushing-up force due to the differential pressure between the inside of the chamber 40 in a vacuum state and the outside of the chamber 40 which is an atmospheric pressure space, and the partition member 44 is pushed up, and FIG. State. That is, the seal member 74 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the gas introduction member 42 to closely contact the partition member 44 and the gas introduction member 42, and the seal member 75 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the inner flange portion 73 of the partition member 44. Thus, the partition wall member 44 and the inner wall 43 are brought into close contact with each other, thereby forming a processing space S that is a substantially sealed space.

Next, an inert gas such as HF gas, NH ₃ gas, N ₂ gas, or Ar gas is dispersed and discharged in a shower form from the gas discharge holes 66 of the gas introduction member 42 from the gas supply mechanism 46. A COR process is performed on the surface SiO ₂ film. In the COR process, HF gas and NH ₃ gas react with the SiO ₂ film formed on the surface of the wafer W to generate ammonium fluorosilicate (AFS) that can be decomposed and removed by heat.

  After completion of the COR process, the partition member 44 is lowered by the actuator 81 of the elevating mechanism 45 to the state shown in FIG. 3, the gate valve 54 is opened, and two processed wafers W are unloaded from a loading / unloading port (not shown).

  In the above processing operation, since the partition member 44 is driven up and down, the adhered matter attached to the partition member 44 may be detached by the drive, and particles may be generated. Further, when the partition member 44 rises and contacts the gas introduction member 42, particles may be generated from the contact portion. When such particles adhere to the wafer W, a defect occurs in the wafer W.

Therefore, when the partition member 44 is moved up and down, a gas flow in which particles are guided to the exhaust side is formed, and the gas is introduced from the gas introduction member 42 so as to suppress the adhesion of the particles to the wafer W. The gas at this time may be any gas that does not contribute to the processing of the wafer W and does not have an adverse effect, and is preferably an inert gas. In this example, either or both of N ₂ gas and Ar gas can be used. At this time, the flow rate and pressure of the gas are controlled so that a flow is formed so that particles do not adhere to the wafer W. If the gas flow rate is too low, an effective flow is not formed, and if the gas flow rate is too high, particles rise and the particles are likely to adhere to the wafer W. If the pressure is too low, the gas becomes a molecular flow and it is difficult to form a gas flow toward the exhaust side. From such a viewpoint, the gas flow rate is preferably 500 to 1000 sccm (mL / min), and the pressure in the chamber is preferably 1000 mTorr (133.3 Pa) or more. Although there is no upper limit of pressure from the viewpoint of forming an appropriate gas flow, it is preferably 3000 mTorr (400 Pa) or less for convenience of processing.

Actually, when the partition member 44 was moved up and down, the number of particles adhering to the wafer when the gas flow was formed by changing the conditions was evaluated. The result is shown in FIG. Here, N ₂ gas is used as the gas, and the gas flow rate is changed to two levels of 750 sccm and 2000 sccm, and the pressure is changed to two levels of 750 mTorr and 2000 mTorr, based on the case where no gas flows when the partition member 44 is driven. The number of adhered particles was counted three times. As a result, the particles were reduced to about half compared with the case where the flow rate was 750 sccm, the pressure was 2000 mTorr, and no gas was passed. On the other hand, the effect was not seen on other conditions. From this result, it was confirmed that a gas flow in which particles do not adhere to the wafer W can be formed by appropriately adjusting the gas flow rate and pressure.

  When the partition member 44 is raised while forming the gas flow in this way, the partition member 44 contacts the gas introduction member 42 to form the processing space S, and then the pressure in the processing space S is adjusted to adjust the COR. Apply processing. When the partition member 44 is lowered while forming a gas flow, the gas is stopped and the wafer W is unloaded after the partition member 44 has been lowered.

<Effect of embodiment>
According to this embodiment, since the processing space S for each wafer W is formed by raising the partition member 44, the COR processing can be performed uniformly under the condition that there is no interference with other wafers. . Further, since the processing gas is supplied in a shower form from the gas introduction member 42 so as to face the wafer W in each processing space S, the gas distribution can be made uniform, and the processing distribution can be made more uniform. . Moreover, since the processed gas is discharged from the annular exhaust space 68 between the substrate mounting table 41 and the inner wall 43 through the slit of the inner wall 43, it can be exhausted uniformly, and in the processing space S The gas distribution can be made more uniform. Further, since the processing is performed in a narrow space surrounded by the partition wall member 44, the amount of gas used can be reduced to obtain an energy saving effect, and the effect of improving the throughput by shortening the pressure adjustment time can be obtained.

  At this time, the flange portion 72 of the partition wall member 44 is heated to, for example, 30 to 150 ° C. by the heater 77 provided on the flange portion 72 on the upper side of the partition wall member 44. Accordingly, the partition member 44 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy having high thermal conductivity can be quickly diffused from the upper part to the lower part, and the temperature in the processing space S can be controlled to an extremely high temperature uniformity state. Can be further increased. Further, the groove portion 76 provided with the heater 77 is connected to the atmosphere via the guide shaft 83 of the elevating mechanism 45 and is an atmospheric space. For this reason, overheating etc. do not occur easily and the controllability of the heater 77 is good.

  Actually, the distribution of processing when the COR processing is performed by a conventional apparatus without the partition member 44 and the processing when the COR processing is performed in the state shown in FIG. The result is shown in FIG. In the case of the conventional apparatus, as shown in FIG. 9A, the processing of each wafer is non-uniform due to interference with other wafers, but in the case of the present embodiment in which the partition wall member 44 is provided. As shown in FIG. 9B, it was confirmed that the processing distribution was concentric and the processing uniformity was improved.

  In addition, as described above, the temperature of the upper shaft 83a of the guide shaft 83 may increase due to the heating of the partition wall member 44 by the heater 77 and the like, and thereby the thermal expansion of the lower shaft 83b is relatively large. Since the influence is small, there is a possibility that the guide shaft is deformed due to the difference in thermal expansion and hinders lifting. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a sliding member 93 formed of a resin material with good sliding property such as PTFE between the flange 91 at the lower end of the upper shaft 83a of the guide shaft 83 and the flange 92 at the upper end of the lower shaft 83b. And the flange 91 and the flange 92 are coupled by the screw 90 in a state where the sliding between the flange 91 and the sliding member 93 is allowed and the sliding between the sliding member 93 and the flange 91 is allowed. When 83a slides on the sliding member 93, a difference in thermal expansion can be absorbed.

  Further, a plurality of guide shafts 83 on which a pushing force is applied by a differential pressure between the inside of the chamber 40 in a vacuum state and the outside of the chamber 40 which is an atmospheric pressure space are provided, and the partition wall member 44 is raised through the plurality of guide shafts 83. Therefore, stable driving can be performed by the plurality of guide shafts 83, and the partition wall member 44 can be evenly lifted to achieve planar stabilization of the sealing surface, thereby ensuring reliable sealing performance. Can do. Further, since the actuator 81 may be used only when the partition member 44 is lowered, the burden on the actuator 81 and the drive shaft 82 can be reduced.

  Furthermore, when the partition member 44 is raised to form the processing space S, the seal member 74 between the gas introduction member 42 and the seal member 75 between the inner wall 43 seals up and down. A processing space with good hermeticity can be formed.

  Furthermore, since the two processing spaces can be collectively formed by the single partition wall member 44, it is possible to avoid complication of the lifting mechanism.

  Furthermore, when the partition member 44 is being driven, a gas flow in which particles are guided to the exhaust side is formed, so that particles generated when the partition member 44 is driven adhere to the wafer W. Can be effectively suppressed.

<Other applications>
The present invention can be variously modified without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the COR processing apparatus has been described. It can also be applied to processing. Moreover, the process using plasma may be sufficient.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although it showed about the case where gas was discharged in the shape of a shower from the gas introduction member provided facing the substrate mounting base, it is not restricted to this, and other gas, such as discharging gas from a nozzle, is shown. It may be a discharge mode.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which gas is discharged from the exhaust space between the substrate mounting table and the inner wall through the slit of the inner wall. You may make it exhaust from a part.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the objects to be processed are processed two by two. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be.

  An example of a single-wafer type COR processing apparatus is shown in FIG. This COR processing apparatus 5 'has a chamber 40', in which a substrate mounting table 41, a gas introduction member 42, and an inner wall 43 having the same structure as the COR processing apparatus 5 of FIGS. Has been. In addition, a partition member 44 ′ for forming one substantially sealed processing space S between the substrate mounting table 41 and the gas introduction member 42 is raised and lowered with substantially the same structure as the COR processing apparatus 5 of FIGS. It can be moved up and down by a mechanism 45 '. Further, it has the same gas supply mechanism 46 and exhaust mechanism 47 as the COR processing apparatus 5.

  Even in such a single wafer processing apparatus, if there is no partition member, the gas flow and temperature may not be uniform, and uniform processing may not always be possible. By providing the partition member 44 ′, the uniformity of processing can be improved. In addition, since the processing is performed in a narrow space surrounded by the partition wall member 44 ', the amount of gas used can be reduced and an energy saving effect can be obtained, and an effect of improving the throughput by shortening the pressure adjustment time can be obtained.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the semiconductor wafer is described as an example of the substrate to be processed. However, it is obvious that the substrate to be processed is not limited to the semiconductor wafer based on the principle of the present invention. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to this process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1; Processing system 2; Carrying in / out part 3; Load lock chamber 4; PHT processing apparatus 5; COR processing apparatus 6; Control part 40; Chamber 41; Substrate mounting table 42; Gas introduction member 43; Elevating mechanism 46; Gas supply mechanism 47; Exhaust mechanism 68; Exhaust space 77; Heater 74, 75; Seal member 81; Actuator 82; Drive shaft 83; Guide shaft 93; Sliding member S; W: Semiconductor wafer (substrate to be processed)

Claims (24)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing gas under a vacuum atmosphere,
A chamber including a side wall, maintained in a vacuum atmosphere and containing a substrate;
A substrate mounting table configured to mount the substrate in the chamber;
A gas introduction member configured to introduce a gas containing a processing gas into the chamber;
A partition wall member that is surrounded by the side wall and includes a cylindrical portion provided so as to correspond to the substrate mounting table, and is configured to be movable up and down between an upper position and a lower position in the chamber;
An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the partition member,
When the partition member is in the lower position, the space in the cylindrical portion and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member communicate with each other,
When the partition member is in the upper position, the cylindrical portion surrounds the substrate mounting table, defines a processing space therein, the processing space in the cylindrical portion, the sidewall of the chamber, and the partition The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the space between the members is partitioned in an airtight manner.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the partition member further includes a flange portion provided in a bowl shape on an upper portion of the cylindrical portion.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the partition member further includes a heater provided in the flange portion, and the heat uniformity of the processing space is enhanced by heat of the heater.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the heater is provided in a space maintained at an atmospheric pressure in the flange portion. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates with a processing gas under a vacuum atmosphere,
A chamber including a side wall, maintained in a vacuum atmosphere, and containing a plurality of substrates;
A plurality of substrate platforms configured to each mount the substrate in the chamber;
At least one gas introduction member configured to introduce a gas containing a processing gas into the chamber;
A partition wall that is surrounded by the side wall and includes a plurality of cylindrical portions provided so as to correspond to the plurality of substrate mounting tables, and is configured to be movable up and down between an upper position and a lower position in the chamber. Members,
An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the partition member,
When the partition member is in the lower position, the space in the plurality of cylindrical portions and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member communicate with each other,
When the partition member is in the upper position, the plurality of cylindrical portions each surround the corresponding substrate mounting table, and each of the plurality of cylindrical portions defines a processing space inside, and the cylindrical shape The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the processing space in the section and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member are partitioned in an airtight manner.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of cylindrical portions are integrally formed.   The at least one gas introduction member includes a plurality of gas introduction members provided so as to correspond to the processing space, and a processing gas is introduced from the gas introduction members into the corresponding processing space. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the partition member further includes a flange portion provided in a bowl shape on the upper portion of the cylindrical portion.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the partition member further includes a heater provided in the flange portion, and heat uniformity of the processing space is enhanced by heat of the heater.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the heater is provided in a space held at an atmospheric pressure in the flange portion.   The at least one gas introduction member is provided to face the substrate mounting table, and includes a first seal member that seals a gap between the partition member and the gas introduction member when forming the processing space. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:   The first seal member is a lip seal having a main body portion and a lip portion that obliquely protrudes from the main body portion and constitutes the seal portion, and the clearance between the partition wall member and the gas introduction member is 1. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the gap is sealed so as to be in a range of 6 to 3.6 mm.   An inner wall having slits provided at intervals around the substrate mounting table, and a second seal member for sealing a gap between the partition member and the inner wall when forming the processing space; The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein exhaust from the processing space is performed through the slit from a space between the substrate mounting table and an inner wall.   The second seal member is a lip seal having a main body portion and a lip portion that obliquely protrudes from the main body portion and constitutes the seal portion, and a clearance between the partition wall member and the inner wall is 1.6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein sealing is performed so as to be in a range of ˜3.6 mm.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a differential pressure between the inner side and the outer side of the partition member is 300 Torr or less.   The elevating mechanism includes an actuator capable of moving the partition member up and down, a drive shaft extending from the actuator, having a tip attached to the partition member, a tip attached to the partition member, and extending to the outside of the chamber. A guide shaft, and the guide shaft is raised by a push-up force due to a differential pressure between the inside of the chamber held in a vacuum state and the outside of the chamber which is an atmospheric pressure space, and raises the partition member. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:   The guide shaft has an upper shaft connected to the partition wall member and a lower shaft connected to the upper shaft, and the upper shaft and the lower shaft cause a slip between them. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is configured so as to be capable of absorbing a difference in thermal expansion by being coupled in a state allowing slipping.   6. The gas introduction member according to claim 5, wherein the gas introduction member is provided to face the substrate mounting table, has a plurality of gas discharge holes on a lower surface, and discharges the processing gas into the processing space in a shower shape. Item 18. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of Items 17 above.   When raising and lowering the partition member, a gas flow is introduced into the chamber so that particles are led to the exhaust side, and gas is introduced from the gas introduction member so as to suppress adhesion of the particles to the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a control unit configured to control the substrate processing apparatus.   The controller controls the introduction of gas from the gas introduction member so that the gas flow rate of the gas is 500 to 1000 sccm and the pressure in the chamber is 1000 mTorr or more when the partition member is raised and lowered. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the apparatus is a substrate processing apparatus. The substrate is placed on a substrate mounting table in a chamber that includes a side wall and is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere. The substrate is surrounded by the side wall and includes a cylindrical portion provided to correspond to the substrate mounting table. A substrate processing method in which a partition member configured to be movable up and down between an upper position and a lower position is provided, a processing gas is introduced into a processing space from a gas introduction member, and a predetermined process is performed on the substrate,
Lowering the partition member to the lower position so that the substrate can be transferred to the substrate mounting table;
Carrying the substrate into the chamber and placing the substrate on the substrate placing table;
Raising the partition member to the upper position so as to form the processing space in the chamber;
Introducing the processing gas into the processing space to perform a predetermined processing on the substrate;
Lowering the partition member to the lower position so that the substrate can be unloaded from the chamber;
A step of unloading the substrate from the chamber with the partition member lowered to the lower position,
When the partition member is in the lower position, the space in the cylindrical portion and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member are communicated with each other,
When the partition member is in the upper position, the cylindrical portion surrounds the substrate mounting table, the cylindrical portion defines a processing space inside, the processing space in the cylindrical portion, and the chamber of the chamber The substrate processing method, wherein a space between the side wall and the partition member is partitioned airtightly. A plurality of substrates are placed on a plurality of substrate platforms in a chamber that includes a side wall and is maintained in a vacuum atmosphere. The plurality of substrates are surrounded by the sidewalls and provided to correspond to each of the plurality of substrate platforms. And a partition member configured to be movable up and down between an upper position and a lower position in the chamber, and a processing gas is introduced from the gas introduction member into the processing space to perform a predetermined process on the substrate. A substrate processing method for applying
Lowering the partition member to the lower position so that the substrate can be transferred to the substrate mounting table;
Carrying the substrate into the chamber and placing the substrate on the substrate placing table;
Raising the partition member to the upper position so as to form the processing space in the chamber;
Introducing the processing gas into the processing space to perform a predetermined processing on the substrate;
Lowering the partition member to the lower position so that the substrate can be unloaded from the chamber;
A step of unloading the substrate from the chamber with the partition member lowered to the lower position,
When the partition member is in the lower position, the space in the plurality of cylindrical portions and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member are communicated with each other,
When the partition member is in the upper position, the plurality of cylindrical portions each surround the corresponding substrate mounting table, and each of the plurality of cylindrical portions defines a processing space inside, and the cylindrical shape The substrate processing method, wherein the processing space in the section and the space between the side wall of the chamber and the partition member are partitioned in an airtight manner.   When raising and lowering the partition member, forming a gas flow in which particles are guided to the exhaust side in the chamber, and introducing the gas into the chamber so as to suppress adhesion of the particles to the substrate. The substrate processing method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the substrate processing method is characterized in that: 24. The substrate processing method according to claim 23, wherein when raising or lowering the partition member, the gas is introduced so that a gas flow rate of the gas is 500 to 1000 sccm and a pressure in the chamber is 1000 mTorr or more.