JP2645357B2 - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a processing apparatus.

(Prior Art) A heat treatment apparatus is used for heat treatment such as oxidation, diffusion, and CVD of a substrate to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer, and is a carrier stocker for accommodating a plurality of wafers and a plurality of unaccommodated carriers. A mechanism for connecting the carrier stocker and transferring the wafer between the carrier and the boat, a heat treatment chamber for heat-treating the wafer mounted on the boat by the transfer mechanism, and mounting the wafer in the heat treatment chamber. And a transport mechanism for loading and unloading the boat. The transfer mechanism is arranged in series with the heat treatment chamber to insert a boat loaded with a plurality of wafers into and out of the heat treatment chamber, and a transfer mechanism is arranged in parallel with the transfer mechanism, that is, in the front of the transfer mechanism. The carrier stocker is disposed at a position that is arranged in series with the transfer mechanism and is separated from the front surface of the transport mechanism.

In the heat treatment apparatus, the heat treatment chamber and a transfer mechanism provided in correspondence with the heat treatment chamber are configured in a multi-stage type so that a plurality of wafers can be processed simultaneously, and the transfer mechanisms independently correspond to the above. It can be carried in and out of the heat treatment room. Since such a transfer mechanism enters and exits the heat treatment chamber, dust existing near the transfer mechanism is likely to adversely affect wafers processed in the heat treatment chamber. Therefore, in general, dust prevention measures are taken by supplying clean air through a filter from the rear surface of the transport mechanism to the inside and discharging dust present inside the filter to the front surface of the transport mechanism.

A technique for cleaning the inside of the carrier stocker with the same structure as described above is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-62-217056.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-described conventional technology, clean air is supplied to the inside from a rear surface of the transport mechanism through a filter, and dust existing in the interior is discharged to a front surface of the transport mechanism. The dust is supplied to the transfer mechanism disposed on the front surface of the transfer mechanism, and the wafer, carrier and boat handled by the transfer mechanism are contaminated, and the yield of the wafer is reduced.

Generally, the heat treatment apparatus is used in a clean room, and a down flow is formed in the clean room to maintain a predetermined cleanness. Therefore, even in the uppermost stage of the multi-stage transfer mechanism, the air mixed with the dust discharged from this descends due to the downflow, forcibly supplies the dust, and causes the contamination of the wafer. I will.

In addition, since clean air flows from the rear surface to the front surface of the transfer mechanism for cleaning, the height of the mechanism disposed on the front side of the transfer mechanism is also limited, and the flow of the clean air is not hindered. It cannot be placed other than the structure configured at the height. That is, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 5A, ventilation passages are formed on the lower side and the rear side of the multi-stage transport mechanism, and a ventilation fan is provided in this ventilation path so that air flows from the rear side of the transport mechanism to each stage. The air purifying mechanism is configured so that the air flows through the transfer mechanism, returns to the lower side of the transport mechanism, rises again, and flows to each stage. If a mechanism that reaches the upper stage is provided, the flow of clean air is disturbed, and the cleaning function is reduced. Therefore, at present, the arrangement and the occupied area of each mechanism, which cannot be arranged except for the transfer mechanism, have become problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of suppressing the contamination of each mechanism by dust and reducing the area occupied by the apparatus.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, a substrate to be processed stored in a first holder is transferred to a second holder by a transfer mechanism, and the second holder is processed by a transport mechanism. In an apparatus for transporting a substrate to be processed and processing the substrate to be processed, a stocker for temporarily storing the first holder and the transfer mechanism are arranged on a front surface of the transport mechanism, and the stocker and the transfer mechanism are arranged. And the transfer mechanism is provided with an independent air cleaning mechanism.

Another invention is a stocker for temporarily storing a first holder for storing a substrate to be processed, a transfer mechanism for transferring a substrate to be processed in the first holder to a second holder, Means for transporting the first holder in the stocker to the transfer mechanism; and a plurality of stages of transport mechanisms for laterally transporting the second holder toward the processing chamber. In the processing device, the stocker and the transfer mechanism are arranged on the front surface of the transport mechanism, and each stage of the transport mechanism,
The stocker and the transfer mechanism are each provided with an independent air cleaning mechanism.

(Operation and Effect) By arranging the stocker for temporarily storing the first holder and the transfer mechanism on the front surface of the transport mechanism, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the apparatus.

This is because by independently providing the air cleaning mechanism in the transport mechanism, even if the stocker and the transfer mechanism are arranged in front of the transport mechanism, there is no adverse effect on the cleaning of the transport mechanism. As a result, the device occupied area can be reduced.

(Embodiment) An embodiment in which the apparatus of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer heat treatment apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

 First, the configuration of the heat treatment apparatus will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus includes a carrier stocker (1) capable of accommodating a plurality of carriers for accommodating a plurality of substrates, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers, for example, a plurality of semiconductor wafers; For example, 100-150
A transfer mechanism (2) for transferring the wafers between boats on which a plurality of the wafers can be mounted;
An elevator (4) for transferring between the transfer mechanism (3) and the transfer mechanism (2), which are configured in stages, and the boats transferred by the elevator (4) are inserted into and out of the corresponding heat treatment chambers. A furnace body including the transfer mechanism (3) and the processing chamber configured in multiple stages, for example, four stages, corresponding to the four-stage transfer mechanism (3) and capable of performing desired oxidation, diffusion, CVD processing, and the like ( 5) and a gas supply source (6) for supplying a predetermined processing gas to each of the processing chambers of the furnace body (5).

As shown in FIG. 2, a carrier installation plate (7) is attached to the carrier stocker (1) in multiple stages. The carrier installation plate (7) is divided into two sections at each stage. One of the carrier installation plates (7a) is attached to a panel in front of the carrier stocker (1), and the other carrier installation plate (7b). ) Is attached to a panel on the rear surface of the carrier stocker (1). A plurality of, for example, six carriers can be installed on each of the carrier installation plates (7a) and (7b) thus attached. Further, a carrier holder (8) that can move up and down between the carrier installation plates (7a) and (7b) divided into two as described above is provided.
The carrier holder (8) is supported by a guide (10) which can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism (9) provided on both side walls of the carrier stocker (1) to enable the elevating. The guide (10) is formed in the shape of a bar extending horizontally from near the rear surface to near the front surface of the carrier stocker (1), and the carrier holder (8) is moved back and forth along the guide (10). Is slidable. In addition, the carrier holder (8) can collectively hold a plurality of, for example, six carriers installed on one carrier installation plate (7a) or (7b). It can be moved to a desired position. An HEPA filter (not shown) for purifying air is provided on the upper surface of the carrier stocker (1), and a fan (for forced downflow) is provided above the HEPA filter. (Not shown)) so that the inside of the carrier stocker (1) can be held in a cleaner state. The carrier stocker (1) thus configured is arranged on the front surface of the transport mechanism (3) and above the transfer mechanism (2). That is, the carrier stocker (1) is arranged in a state in which the carrier stocker (1) is in contact with the front surface of the transport mechanism (3) and does not project laterally from the side surface of the transport mechanism (3).

The transfer mechanism (2) has a transfer unit that slides and transfers the carrier, and a transfer unit that transfers the wafer between the carrier and the boat. The transfer unit enables the transfer of the carrier between the transfer unit and a carrier port (11) provided at one end of the transfer mechanism (2) or the carrier stocker (1). The transfer is performed by a first transfer mechanism (12) that enables the transfer from the out port (11a) of the carrier port (11) to the transfer unit through the lower part of the carrier stocker (1) and the carrier port. Import (11) (11
This is enabled by a second transport mechanism (13) that can move from b) to the lower part of the carrier stocker (1) in parallel with the movement of the first transport mechanism (12). The transfer unit is provided with a handling mechanism (2a), and a plurality of, for example, six carriers (14) transported by the first transport mechanism (12), and a heat-resistant material such as quartz. A plurality of wafers are collectively gripped with the boat (15) formed by, and the transfer is performed by rotating in the θ direction. An HEPA filter (not shown) for purifying air is provided on the upper surface of the transfer mechanism (2), and the air is forcibly down-flowed above the HEPA filter. A fan (not shown) is attached, and the inside of the transfer mechanism (2) can be kept in a cleaner state. This transfer mechanism (2) is also disposed on the front surface of the transport mechanism (3), similarly to the carrier stocker (1). This is arranged on the front of the transport mechanism (2), for example, with the carrier stocker (1) arranged above a part of the transfer mechanism (2).

The elevator (4) includes an arm (16) that moves up and down and moves back and forth in a horizontal state, and the port (15) can be transported by the arm (16).

The transport mechanism (3) has a multi-stage structure, for example, a four-stage structure, and an independent transport mechanism, for example, a soft landing mechanism is provided at each stage. The soft landing mechanism is arranged so as to be parallel to the transfer mechanism (2), and has a semi-cylindrical shape obtained by cutting the upper half on the distal end side of a cylindrical pipe made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz. The fork (17) can always be inserted into and removed from the corresponding heat treatment chamber of the furnace body (5) in a non-contact state. At the tip of the fork (17), a boat (15) conveyed by the arm (16) of the elevator (4) can be installed. When the boat (15) is transferred between the arm (16) and the fork (17), the transfer mechanism (3) is inserted so that the arm (16) can be inserted from the side wall of the transfer mechanism (3). ) Is provided with an opening / closing door (18) on the side wall. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the opening / closing door (18) can be opened and closed by moving a moving mechanism (19) connected to the opening / closing door (18) along a guide rod (20). Is provided. The opening and closing door (18)
Since the dust is generated when it comes into contact with the side wall of the transport mechanism (3) during movement and becomes a source of contamination, the door (18) 4 is always configured to be in non-contact with the side wall of the transport mechanism (3). The inside of the transfer mechanism (3) is particularly close to the furnace body (5), and the fork (17) is inserted into and out of the heat treatment chamber of the furnace body (5). The dust generated in 3) has an adverse effect on the heat treatment of the wafer, and may cause a decrease in retention, so the generation of the dust is particularly disliked. Therefore, the transport mechanism (3) is provided with an air cleaning mechanism independently in each stage. As shown in FIG. 4, the air purifying mechanism is provided with a HEPA filter (21) for purifying air on the upper surface of each transport mechanism (3). Is provided with a fan (22) for forcibly downflowing the air. An air duct (24) provided with a flow rate regulator (23) is connected to the air flowing down from the fan (22) so that air can be supplied to the fan (22). The air sent from the fan (22) can be exhausted from an exhaust duct (25) that is provided laterally to a transport mechanism (3) provided below.

Further, the furnace body (5) is provided with a multi-stage, for example, four-stage heat treatment chamber corresponding to the multi-stage transfer mechanism (3). In this heat treatment chamber, a coil-shaped heater is wound around a reaction tube made of, for example, quartz. A scavenger (26) is provided at a joint between the transfer mechanism (3) and the heat treatment chamber in order to exhaust air and heat the inside of the reaction tube. A supply pipe from the gas supply source (6) is connected to an end of the heat treatment chamber that is different from the side of the scavenger (26), so that a desired reaction gas can be supplied into the heat treatment chamber.

Further, the gas supply source (6) is provided so as to be capable of controlling the flow rate of desired reaction gas and carrier gas and the switching of gas. Thus, a heat treatment apparatus is configured.

 Next, the operation and operation of the above-described heat treatment apparatus will be described.

First, a carrier containing multiple unprocessed wafers (1
4) Import the carrier port (11) of the transfer mechanism (2) by an automatic transfer robot or manually (11b)
The carrier (14) is placed in the second
Is transported to the lower part of the carrier stocker (1) by the transport mechanism (13). The carrier (14) is transported and installed by the carrier holder (8) on the designated carrier installation plates (7a) and (7b) in the carrier stocker (1).
Carrier (14) installed in the above import (11b)
When the carrier (14) need not be stored in the carrier stocker (1), the carrier (14) is stored in the second transport mechanism (1).
In 3), the carrier (14) is transported to the lower part of the carrier stocker (1), and the carrier (14) is transferred to the first transport mechanism (12) which can move in parallel with the second transport mechanism (13). The transfer is performed by lifting and lowering of the holding body (8) and sliding movement before and after.

Then, the carrier (14) transported from the import (11b) or the carrier (1) stored in the carrier stocker (1) is stored in the first transport mechanism (12).
4), for example, six pieces are installed. At this time, a plurality of, for example, six carriers (14) installed on the carrier installation plate (7) in the carrier stocker (1) are collectively gripped by the carrier holder (8). It is transported and installed on the transport mechanism (12). Then, the first transport mechanism (12) is slid and transported, and is disposed in the transfer section of the transfer mechanism (2). Here, a handling mechanism (2) for gripping and transporting a plurality of wafers stored in the transported carrier (14), for example, in units of 25 wafers.
Transfer to boat (15) according to a). By this transfer, a boat loaded with a plurality of wafers, for example, 150 wafers (15)
Is transported by the arm (16) of the elevator (4) into the transport mechanism (3) at a desired stage. At this time, the opening / closing door (18) of the transport mechanism (3) is closed, but when the boat (15) is loaded by the arm (16), the opening / closing door (18) is opened and the transport mechanism (3) is opened. 3) Fork inside (1
7) Install the boat (15) on the tip side and
After unloading 6) from the transport mechanism (3), the opening / closing door (18) is closed again. As described above, since the opening and closing door (18) is normally closed and opened as necessary, the transport mechanism (3) is used.
It is possible to prevent the dust inside from scattering on the outside, in particular, on the transfer mechanism (2) disposed on the front surface of the transport mechanism (3). When scattered on the dust transfer mechanism (2),
Since the wafer to be transferred is contaminated and the yield is reduced, it has been desired to prevent the scattering of the dust. In the conventional configuration, as shown in FIG. 5A, dust present in the transport mechanism (3) is discharged from the rear surface to the front surface by a forced air flow, and the discharged dust is transferred to the downflow of the clean room or the above-mentioned transfer. There was a problem that the yield of wafers supplied to the transfer mechanism (2) was reduced due to the downflow of air by a fan or the like installed on the upper surface of the transfer mechanism (2). However, as shown in FIG. An air cleaning mechanism is independently provided at each stage of the transport mechanism (3), and the air in the transport mechanism (3) can be independently cleaned at each stage. The particles are not scattered to the mechanism (2), and a decrease in wafer yield due to the dust can be suppressed.

And a fork (17) with the above boat (15)
Are inserted into the corresponding heat treatment chambers, that is, the reaction tubes in the furnace body (5), and a desired heat treatment is performed. The wafer that has been subjected to the heat treatment is transferred again into the carrier (14) and stored in the carrier stocker or transferred to the outside.

In the above embodiment, the soft landing mechanism is used as the transport mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a boat loader, a cantilever, and an atom scan (trade name) can be used.

Further, the same effect can be obtained even if any direction is set as the front surface, as long as the front direction of the transport mechanism of the above embodiment is a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction of the substrate to be processed by the transport mechanism.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by arranging the stocker for temporarily storing the first holder and the transfer mechanism on the front surface of the transport mechanism, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the apparatus. Become. This is because, by independently providing the air purifying mechanism in the transport mechanism, even if the stocker and the transfer mechanism are installed in front of the transport mechanism, the cleaning of the transport mechanism is prevented or adversely affected. However, as a result, the area occupied by the device can be reduced.
For example, by providing a carrier stocker having a width of 2000 mm and a depth of 700 mm above the transfer mechanism, the above-described reduction of 2000 × 700 mm ² was possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a heat treatment apparatus for explaining one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a carrier stocker and a transfer mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a transfer mechanism, and FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Carrier stocker, 2 ... Transfer mechanism 3 ... Transport mechanism, 5 ... Furnace body 14 ... Carrier, 15 ... Boat

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A substrate to be processed stored in a first holder is transferred to a second holder by a transfer mechanism, and the second holder is transported into a processing chamber by a transport mechanism to be processed. In an apparatus for processing a substrate, a stocker for temporarily storing the first holder and the transfer mechanism are arranged on a front surface of the transport mechanism, and the stocker, the transfer mechanism, and the transport mechanism are independently provided. A processing apparatus provided with an air cleaning mechanism. 2. A stocker for temporarily storing a first holder for storing a substrate to be processed, a transfer mechanism for transferring a substrate to be processed in the first holder to a second holder, Means for transporting the first holder in the stocker to the transfer mechanism; and a plurality of stages of transport mechanisms for laterally transporting the second holder toward the processing chamber. In the processing apparatus, the stocker and the transfer mechanism are arranged on the front surface of the transport mechanism, and each stage of the transport mechanism, the stocker and the transfer mechanism are independently provided with an air cleaning mechanism. Processing equipment.