JP2741157B2 - Batch type processing apparatus and cleaning method thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a batch processing apparatus and a cleaning method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, semiconductor integrated circuit elements have been increasingly integrated, and the degree of integration has been increased from 64 MDRAM to 25.
Entering the 6MDRAM generation. For this reason, multilayering and miniaturization of wiring structures have become more remarkable. As the wiring structure becomes multi-layered as described above, the number of steps in the wiring process increases, and the efficiency of the wiring process and dustproof measures have become more problematic than ever. In addition, as the wiring structure becomes finer, the conventional aluminum (Al) wiring has a problem of migration disconnection and the like, and a metal having excellent migration resistance, such as tungsten (W), has been examined as a wiring material as an alternative to Al. ing. In addition, various studies have been made on embedding of contact holes, via holes, and the like in terms of material, as the number of wiring structures increases. Further, as the diameter of the object to be processed is increased and the number of layers is increased, the coverage of each layer also becomes important.

For example, in the case of forming tungsten as a wiring film, a blanket W wiring by a CVD method having excellent coverage has been studied. This blanket W
However, there is a drawback that the wiring film is easily peeled off, and therefore there is a problem that particles are easily generated. Therefore, a method of providing an adhesion layer such as titanium nitride (TiN) as a base layer has been adopted as a preventive measure. Conventionally, this TiN is formed by a sputtering method. However, the sputtering method has a limitation in coverage at the bottom of a hole having a high aspect ratio.
For N, film formation by a CVD method having excellent coverage has been studied.

As described above, various materials are used for these metal wirings, and various CVD apparatuses are used depending on the materials. As the CVD apparatus, there are a hot wall processing apparatus and a cold wall processing apparatus, and a cold wall processing apparatus which does not heat a reaction chamber, that is, a processing chamber, is mainly used for forming a metal wiring film such as tungsten. Further, the cold wall processing apparatus includes a thermal CVD processing apparatus using thermal energy and a plasma CVD processing apparatus using plasma generated by discharge energy. Expressions are often used. Then, the thermal CVD processing apparatus heats the processing object supported by the susceptor in the processing chamber in a reduced pressure state, supplies the processing gas evenly from the process gas supply unit to the processing object, and heats the processing target. Generally, a process gas reacts with the body as a heat source to form a predetermined film on the surface of the workpiece.
On the other hand, the plasma processing apparatus is applied to a process gas that is hardly excited by thermal energy. This plasma CVD processing apparatus has a pair of electrodes in a processing chamber, and supplies a process gas from a gas supply unit which also serves as an other electrode while supporting one of the objects under reduced pressure, and In this state, a discharge is generally generated between the electrodes, plasma is generated by the discharge energy, and a film of the surface of the object to be processed is formed with a reaction product of the active species. Further, in order to increase the production efficiency as a cold wall processing apparatus, there is a batch type which can simultaneously process a plurality of objects to be processed at a time.

[0005] This batch type processing apparatus has a plurality of susceptors in a processing chamber, and a gas supply section corresponding to each susceptor is disposed above these susceptors. Further, these susceptors are mounted on a rotatable rotating body, and the rotation of the rotating body positions the susceptor at a loading / unloading port to load and unload an object to be processed. In the case of a thermal CVD processing apparatus, the susceptor is configured to be heated by a heating lamp or the like. In the case of a plasma CVD processing apparatus, the susceptor and the gas supply unit are configured as a pair of electrodes.

When thermal CVD or plasma CVD is performed using these batch processing apparatuses, a predetermined wiring film or the like is formed on each of the objects to be processed. When this film forming process is repeatedly performed, in each case, a film similar to the object to be processed is formed on the susceptor, the process gas supply unit, the inner surface of the processing chamber, and the like in the processing chamber. Eventually, these coatings will peel off from each part and peel off in the processing chamber, or float as particles in the processing chamber,
The object to be processed during processing is contaminated. Therefore, conventionally, every time a predetermined number of film forming processes or the like are completed, the processing chamber is cleaned to remove contaminants such as particles, thereby eliminating contamination of the object to be processed.
As a cleaning method, there is a method in which the apparatus itself is disassembled, and contaminants are washed or wiped off. However, this method is not advantageous because it requires a lot of time for cleaning to disassemble the processing chamber and significantly lowers the operation efficiency. Therefore, in the case of a plasma CVD apparatus,
There is also a method in which NF ₃ gas is used as a cleaning gas in a processing chamber without dismantling the apparatus, and this NF ₃ gas is turned into plasma to remove a film formed on a susceptor, an electrode, or the like, or attached particles, by etching. This method allows cleaning without dismantling the device itself, thus shortening the cleaning time,
In addition, since the cleaning can be easily performed in the operation state, this is an effective method as a cleaning method.

[0007]

However, NF ₃
In the conventional method of cleaning the inside of the processing apparatus using the plasma of gas, plasma is generated only up to the susceptor, the electrode, and the vicinity thereof. There is a problem in that it is impossible to clean the bottom of the processing chamber, which is limited by plasma, and cannot be cleaned. In addition, in the case of cleaning by plasma, there is a problem that the susceptor (or one electrode), the gas supply unit (or the other electrode), and the like are also etched by the plasma, and these are damaged and severely consumed. Further, even in the case of cleaning by plasma, there is a problem that the cleaning cannot operate the apparatus, and the production efficiency is surely reduced accordingly. what if,
NF ₃ even attempt to clean at the same time as the processing of the object to be processed by the plasma gas, NF ₃ gas because of strong reactivity, it is extremely dangerous cause gas explosion in the processing chamber NF ₃ gas is violently react with the process gas .

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, without disassembling the apparatus, support and plasma in the vicinity of these facing the process gas supply part has been selected and to the arbitrary Components can be damaged
It is an object of the present invention to provide a batch-type processing apparatus that can perform cleaning without any problem and that can remove a contamination source such as particles that are a problem in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit element at these portions, and a cleaning method thereof.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a batch processing apparatus, comprising: a processing chamber for simultaneously processing a plurality of objects to be processed; plurality of supports for supporting one by one the respective workpiece and, these support and each facing and above the target object to the process gas supply part a process gas of a plurality each supplied separately toward in a batch type processing apparatus having the door, along with connecting the cleaning gas supply system capable of supplying individually cleaning gas into each process gas supply unit through a pipe
Each pipe is provided with an on-off valve, and among the above-mentioned on-off valves,
Towards the support corresponding thereto from the process gas supply part by opening the arbitrarily selected off valve to supply ClF ₃ gas, the ClF ₃ substances attached to the support member and the vicinity thereof by the gas individually The cleaning is made possible.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning method for a batch-type processing apparatus, comprising :
A method of cleaning the inside of a batch type processing apparatus having a plurality of supports and a plurality of process gas supply unit for supplying a process gas respectively toward the workpiece on each support in the same process chamber for supporting by, Ren towards the support corresponding thereto from the process gas supply unit selected the will to supply ClF ₃ gas, clean the material adhering by ClF ₃ gas this to the supporting <br/> lifting member and the vicinity thereof you
It is also of the.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cleaning a batch type processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein an exhaust system pipe for exhausting a gas after processing of an object to be processed from the processing chamber. Through which the ClF ₃ gas is exhausted.

[0012]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a plurality of process gas supply units in a processing chamber are individually provided.
Cleaning gas supply system that can supply cleaning gas
Are connected via pipes, and each pipe has its own on-off valve.
When the ClF ₃ gas is supplied from the cleaning gas supply system through the process gas supply unit by opening the arbitrarily selected on- off valve , the ClF ₃ gas is supplied from the arbitrarily selected process gas supply unit. to react with the support and material adhering to the vicinity thereof, further ClF ₃ gas heat of reaction when this is activated, and the processing chamber reaction with deposits this activated ClF ₃ gas is further promoted the material adhering can be divided into.

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention described in claim 2, when the ClF ₃ gas through an exhaust system piping for exhausting exhaust ClF ₃ gas from the exhaust system pipe, While the ClF ₃ gas passes through the exhaust pipe, it reacts with the deposits on the inner surface thereof, and the deposits can be removed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. In the present embodiment, a batch-type cold wall processing apparatus that processes an object to be processed while cooling a wall surface of a processing chamber will be described as an example of a batch-type processing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the batch type cold wall processing apparatus of the present embodiment has a processing chamber 2 for processing an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer 1 one by one. As shown in FIG. 1, the processing chamber 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape from aluminum or the like. Further, a cooling jacket 3 is provided on the outer surface of the processing chamber 2, and the cooling jacket 3 is configured to water-cool the wall surface of the processing chamber 2 so that the temperature can be controlled within a temperature range of 0 to 50 ° C. I have. A rotating body 4 formed in an annular shape is rotatably disposed on a bottom surface 2A in the processing chamber 2. A susceptor 5 serving as a support for horizontally supporting the semiconductor wafers 1 one by one on the annular rotating body 4 is provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, for example, as shown in FIG.
It is attached to the place. These susceptors 5 are rotating bodies 4
It is formed in a disk shape slightly protruding from the disk. Below the susceptors 5, a heating element 6 made of, for example, a heating resistor is buried in the rotating body 4, and the susceptors 5 can be individually heated by the heating elements 6. In addition, a hollow rotary shaft 7 penetrating downward from the surface of the rotating body 4 having the susceptor 5 and the heating body 6 to the bottom of the processing chamber 2 is connected to the center. A gear 8 is attached below the rotating shaft 7, for example, and a gear 9B attached to a rotating shaft 8A of a drive motor 9 meshes with the gear 8. Therefore, the rotating body 4 is configured to rotate in the direction of the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the rotating force transmitted through the rotating shaft 9B, the gear 9A, the gear 9 and the rotating shaft 7 of the drive motor 9. .

On the other hand, above each susceptor 5, a gas dispersion supply unit 10 is provided so as to face each susceptor 5, and a process gas or a cleaning gas is supplied from these gas dispersion supply units 10 to the processing chamber 2 as described later. It is configured to be supplied into the inside. Each of these gas dispersion supply units 10 is formed in a hollow disk shape, and a gas mixer 10A for mixing a plurality of gases is connected to the center of each upper surface, and a number of gas supply holes 10B are formed in each lower surface. Have been. A process gas supply system 1 for supplying a process gas to each gas mixer 10A as shown in FIG.
1 is connected via a pipe 12. The pipe 12 is branched so as to divide the process gas into eight gas dispersion supply sections 10, and each branch pipe, for example, FIG.
The valves 13A and 13B are respectively attached to the branch pipes 12A and 12B as shown in FIG.
It is connected to each gas mixer 10A, 10A on the downstream side of 13B, and is configured to sufficiently mix the process gas in each gas mixer 10A, 10A. Therefore, when supplying the process gas into the processing chamber 2, each of the valves 13A,
By operating the 3B individually, a process gas can be supplied from the arbitrarily selected gas dispersion supply unit 10 into the processing chamber 2. For example, when performing a film forming process of a blanket W in the processing chamber 2, for example, tungsten hexafluoride (WF ₆ ) and hydrogen are supplied from the process gas supply system 11 to the gas dispersion supply unit 10 arbitrarily selected. After sufficient mixing in the mixer 10A, the mixture is supplied as a process gas, so that a large number of gas supply holes 1 are formed and dispersed on the lower surface of each gas dispersion supply section 10.
The process gas is uniformly supplied from OB to the semiconductor wafer 1 on the corresponding susceptor 5 in the processing chamber 2, and the surface of the arbitrarily selected semiconductor wafer 1 is formed by thermal CVD. In addition, as a process gas for metal wiring, there are a halide, a carbonyl compound, and an organometallic compound, and these are supplied together with a reducing gas. As the process gas, a compound having a relatively low vapor pressure is preferable as a wiring material.

As shown in FIG. 1, a cleaning gas supply system 14 for supplying a cleaning gas is connected to a gas mixer 10A of each gas dispersion supply unit 10 through a pipe 15, and this cleaning gas supply system is used for cleaning. The cleaning gas is supplied from 14 to each susceptor 5 in the processing chamber 2 via a pipe 15, a gas mixer 10A, and each gas dispersion supply unit 10. That is, these gas dispersion supply units 10 also serve as a supply unit of the cleaning gas for the processing chamber 2. The cleaning gas supply system 14 includes a cleaning gas ClF ₃
And ClF ₃ gas cylinder 16 for storing gas, the ClF ₃
A diluting gas for diluting the gas, for example, a nitrogen gas cylinder 17 for storing a nitrogen gas is provided, and these two 16 and 17 are respectively connected to ends of pipes 15A and 14B branched from the pipe 15. A pipe 15A to which a ClF ₃ gas cylinder 15 is connected is provided with a valve 1 from an upstream side to a downstream side.
8, a pipe 1 in which a mass flow controller 19 and a valve 20 are sequentially arranged, and a nitrogen gas cylinder 17 is connected.
Valve 21 from the upstream side to the downstream side in 5B, the mass flow controller 22, valves 23 are sequentially disposed, gas from both of them 16 and 17 joined by a pipe 15, ClF ₃
The gas and the nitrogen gas are supplied to the gas mixer 10A via the pipe 15 by opening the valve 24, and after the ClF ₃ gas and the nitrogen gas are sufficiently mixed therein, the cleaning gas is supplied into the processing chamber 2. It is configured to be able to. Further, the pipe 15 branches so as to branch the cleaning gas to eight gas dispersion supply units 10 on the downstream side of the valve 24, and the branch pipes, for example, branch pipes 15C and 15D as shown in FIG. Valve 24C, 24
D is attached, and further, the gas mixers 10A, 10A of the respective gas dispersion supply units 10 are provided downstream of the respective valves 24C, 24D.
It is connected to the. Therefore, when supplying the cleaning gas into the processing chamber 2, the cleaning gas can be supplied from the arbitrarily selected gas dispersion supply unit 10 by individually operating the valves 24C and 24D. . In addition, cleaning gas valves 24C, 24C
D and the process gas valves 13A and 13B may be combined into a three-way valve. Then, by switching the three-way valve, the cleaning gas and the process gas can be appropriately selected, and the selected gas can be supplied into the processing chamber 2.

The gas supplied from the gas dispersion supply unit 10 into the processing chamber 2 is discharged to the outside via an exhaust pipe 25 inserted into the rotating shaft 7 of the rotating body 4. Have been. A vacuum pump 26 is attached to the downstream side of the exhaust pipe 25. The vacuum pump 26 is configured to exhaust the inside of the processing chamber 2 to maintain a predetermined degree of vacuum. This vacuum pump 26 can also be used for exhausting the cleaning gas even when the cleaning method of the present invention is performed. Therefore, the exhaust pipe 25 also plays a role as an exhaust part for the cleaning gas in the processing chamber 2. It is preferable to use an oil-free dry pump as the vacuum pump 26 so as not to be affected by the exhaust gas. Further, on the downstream side of the vacuum pump 26, there is disposed a detoxifying device 27 for capturing harmful gases such as process gas and cleaning gas exhausted from the vacuum pump 26 and removing these harmful gases from the exhaust gas. As the detoxifying device 27, a device filled with a solvent that dissolves ClF ₃ well, for example, an alkaline solution is used.

Further, in the batch type cold wall processing apparatus of this embodiment, the susceptor 5 is configured to be kept at the ground potential.
Is connected to a high-frequency power supply 28. When a high-frequency voltage is applied to each gas dispersion supply unit 10 by the high-frequency power supply 28, a potential difference is generated between the gas dispersion supply unit 10 and the susceptor 5. Therefore, the inside of the processing chamber 2 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 26, and while the inside of the processing chamber 2 is maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum, the process gas is introduced into the processing chamber 2 from each of the gas dispersion supply units 10. When a high frequency voltage is applied to the supply unit 10 by the high frequency power supply 28, the susceptor 5 forming an electrode pair
A vacuum discharge is generated between the semiconductor wafer 1 and the gas dispersion supply unit 10, and the process gas is turned into a plasma between the two 4 and 9. This plasma causes a predetermined component to be formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1 heated by the heater 6 on the susceptor 5. It is configured to be a membrane. That is, the batch type cold wall processing apparatus of the present embodiment is configured to be used as both a thermal CVD processing apparatus and a plasma CVD processing apparatus. still,
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 29 denotes a gate valve attached to the loading / unloading port of the processing chamber 2, and the processing chamber 2 is transferred to the transfer chamber 20 through which the semiconductor wafer 1 is loaded into and removed from the processing chamber 2 via the gate valve 29. Can be connected.

[0019] Now, diluted when carrying out the cleaning method of the present invention in a batch cold wall processing apparatus of the present embodiment, toward the susceptor 5 corresponding the gas dispersion supply unit 10 selected in arbitrary thereto supplying ClF ₃ gas, which may include use gas as a cleaning gas, so that to clean the material adhering to the susceptor 5 and the vicinity thereof by the cleaning gas this. This cleaning gas is configured as a gas containing a diluting gas such as ClF ₃ gas or nitrogen gas. This ClF ₃ is chemically active and reacts particularly well with metallic and non-metallic coatings, and can effectively remove these deposits.

[0020] Then, when the cleaning gas is only ClF ₃ gas, ClF ₃ gas flow rate is 5 l / min or less, the boiling point (12 ° C.) of the temperature ClF ₃ to 7-
Preferably, cleaning is performed under the conditions of 00 ° C. and an internal pressure of 0.1 to 100 Torr. The flow rate of ClF ₃ gas is 5
If it exceeds liter / minute, there is a possibility that the constituent members of each chamber may be damaged. If the temperature of ClF ₃ gas is lower than the boiling point, Cl
F ₃ may condense on the components and damage the components, and even if the temperature exceeds 700 ° C., the ClF ₃ gas is activated and the components may also be damaged. If the pressure of the ClF ₃ gas is less than 0.1 Torr, the cleaning effect may not be expected, and if it exceeds 100 Torr, the components may be damaged. The cleaning gas containing ClF ₃ gas as a main component is obtained by diluting ClF ₃ with an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas. By diluting the ClF ₃ gas with nitrogen gas or the like, the reactivity of the ClF ₃ gas can be suppressed, and the object to be cleaned can be gently cleaned to mitigate the damage.

Next, an example of a film forming process using a blanket W by thermal CVD using the batch type cold wall processing apparatus will be described. Process gas supply system 14
To each gas dispersion supply unit 10 from tungsten hexafluoride (W
When F ₆ ) and hydrogen are supplied as process gases, tungsten hexafluoride (WF ₆ ) and hydrogen are sufficiently mixed in each gas mixer 10A and supplied to each gas dispersion supply unit 10 as a process gas, The mixed process gas is uniformly supplied to the semiconductor wafer 1 on each susceptor 5 in the room from the gas supply hole 10B on the lower surface of each gas dispersion supply unit 10. At this time, the semiconductor wafer 1 supported on the susceptor 5 is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heating action of the heater 6. Therefore, the process gas comes into contact with the heated semiconductor wafer 1, obtains its thermal energy, and reduces WF ₆ with hydrogen to form a tungsten film on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1. In this process, a tungsten film is formed on other portions such as the susceptor 5.

Further, a silicon nitride film (S) is formed by plasma CVD using the above batch type cold wall processing apparatus.
The film forming process of i ₃ N ₄ ) will be described. For example, the semiconductor wafer 1 is supported on the susceptor 5 in the processing chamber 2 maintained at a predetermined degree of vacuum by the vacuum pump 26, and the semiconductor wafer 1 on the susceptor 5 is heated to 300 to 400 ° C. by the heater 6. In parallel with this, the valve 13 of the process gas supply system 11 is opened, and the pipe 12 and the gas
, A mixed gas of silane (SiH ₄ ) and ammonia (NH ₃ ) at a predetermined ratio is supplied into the processing chamber 2. At this time, if a high frequency voltage is applied to the gas dispersion supply unit 10 by the high frequency power supply 28, the susceptor 5 and the gas dispersion supply unit 1
0, a vacuum discharge is generated, and a plasma of SiH ₄ and NH ₃ is generated between the susceptor 5 and the gas dispersion supply unit 10 by the vacuum discharge, and a silicon nitride film is formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1. In this process, a film of Si ₃ N ₄ is formed on other portions such as the susceptor 5.

The film is formed on the inner surface of the processing chamber 2, the susceptor 5, and other parts of the processing chamber 2 by such a film forming process. As described above, these particles are separated and float as particles in the room to contaminate the clean semiconductor wafer 1. These may gradually accumulate on the bottom surface of the processing chamber 2 and the like, so that they may fly when loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer 1 and contaminate the semiconductor wafer 1.
Therefore, after the film forming process a predetermined number of times in this embodiment, the ClF ₃ gas, which may include a diluent gas toward the susceptor 5 corresponding thereto from the gas dispersion supply unit 10 selected in arbitrary as a cleaning gas supplying, to clean the material adhering to the susceptor 5 and the vicinity thereof by the cleaning gas this.

[0024] Upon this cleaning, predetermined flow quantity of the ClF ₃ gas by the mass flow controller 19 while opening the valve 18, 20 of the cleaning gas supply system 14 at a predetermined opening, for example, 5 liters / min so that the following And supply it into the processing chamber 2 from the arbitrarily selected gas dispersion supply unit 10. Then, the pressure of the ClF ₃ gas in the processing chamber 2 is maintained at 0.1 to 100 Torr. In this state,
Cleaning gas consumed is exhausted through the exhaust system such as a vacuum pump 26 through the exhaust pipe 25 of the processing chamber 2. At this time, the susceptor 5 corresponding to the arbitrarily selected gas dispersion supply unit 10 and the cleaning gas in the vicinity thereof are constantly exhausted and updated. Therefore, during cleaning, fresh cleaning gas is always supplied to this portion. Therefore, this portion can be efficiently cleaned. The remaining susceptor 5 and the gas dispersion supply unit 10 are cleaned in the same manner, whereby the inside of the processing chamber 2 can be cleaned to every corner.

Since the ClF ₃ gas supplied into the processing chamber 2 is a chemically active gas, it reacts with deposits such as metal-based and silicon-based coatings formed in the processing chamber 2 to cause fluorine.
The turned into and deposits the treatment chamber is removed and the processing chamber 2 in the 2 can be cleaned clean. Even if particles such as metal and silicon accumulate in the processing chamber 2, the ClF ₃ gas spreads throughout the chamber during the repetition of cleaning, and the susceptor in the chamber as well as the inner surface of the processing chamber 2. Particles and the like adhering to 5 can also be completely removed by ClF ₃ gas. In addition, since the reaction of the ClF ₃ gas with the film or the like is an exothermic reaction, the reaction of the ClF ₃ gas is further promoted by this heat generation, and the reaction is more reliably performed.
Deposits such as films can be removed.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the cleaning gas is discharged to the outside via the exhaust pipe 25, so that the exhaust pipe 25 on which a film of the reaction product is easily formed can be formed similarly to the inside of the processing chamber 2. It can be removed by a cleaning gas. In addition, since the toxic gas discharged from the exhaust system can be removed by the abatement device 27, clean exhaust can be performed.

According to this embodiment, as [0027] described above, may include a diluent gas toward the susceptor 5 corresponding the gas dispersion supply unit 10 selected in the appointed <br/> intention to ClF
₃ gas was supplied as the cleaning gas, because it so as to clean the material adhering to the susceptor 5 and the vicinity thereof by the cleaning gas this, arbitrarily selected
Susceptor 5 parallel corresponding to the gas dispersion supply unit 10 and which
In addition , metal-based and silicon-based deposits adhering to the bottom surface and the inner surface of the processing chamber 2 in the vicinity thereof can be completely cleaned, and particles and the like which are problematic in the manufacture of a semiconductor integrated circuit element having an integration degree of 64 MDRAM or more can be completely removed. Pollution sources can be removed. Moreover, according to the present embodiment, ClF ₃
Although the gas is chemically active gases, no corrosive to wood charge, and since a plasma-less, be made very gentle cleaning not be such as processing chamber 2 inside the damage by plasma it can. Also,
According to the present embodiment, as the cleaning system, it is only necessary to provide the cleaning gas supply system 14 in the processing chamber 2 of the existing batch type cold wall processing apparatus, so that an extremely low-cost and effective cleaning system can be constructed. it can. In addition, as a matter of course, the cleaning time can be remarkably reduced as compared with a method in which the worker disassembles and cleans the apparatus.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the batch-type cold wall processing apparatus of this embodiment is incorporated as a processing chamber into a part of a multi-chamber processing apparatus, and is continuously connected to other processing in the same vacuum system. Film formation can be performed. As shown in the figure, this multi-chamber processing apparatus includes three processing chambers 31, 32, and 33, and at least one of these processing chambers is constituted by a batch type cold wall processing apparatus. And these processing chambers 3
1, 32 and 33 are gate valves 3 on three side surfaces of a first transfer chamber 34 formed in a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG.
5, 36, 37, and by opening these gate valves 35, 36, 37, the first transfer chamber 3
4 to close the first transfer chamber 34.
It is constituted so that it can be shut off from. In addition, this first
In the transfer chamber 34, a transfer device 39 for transferring an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer 38, to each of the processing chambers 31, 32, 33 is provided so that the same degree of vacuum as the processing chambers 31, 32, 33 can be maintained. It is configured. The transfer device 39 is provided substantially at the center of the first transfer chamber 34, has an arm 39A configured to be able to bend and extend, and transfers the semiconductor wafer 38 by placing the semiconductor wafer 38 on the arm 39A. Is configured. Further, a gas supply port 34A as a gas supply section is formed on the bottom surface of the first transfer chamber 34, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, and the gas supply port 34A is connected to the cleaning gas supply system 14 for supplying a cleaning gas. ing. Further, the cleaning gas supplied from the gas supply port 34A is configured to be exhausted from a gas exhaust port 34B formed as a gas exhaust section on the bottom surface of the first transfer chamber 34. Further, on one remaining side surface of the first transfer chamber 4, two vacuum preparatory chambers 42, 43, which will be described later, are provided in parallel through gate valves 40, 41, respectively. When the gate valves 40 and 41 are opened, they communicate with the first transfer chamber 34, and when the gate valves 40 and 41 are closed, the first transfer chamber 34 can be shut off. Accordingly, the semiconductor wafer 38 is transferred from, for example, the vacuum preparatory chamber 42 to a predetermined processing chamber by the first transfer apparatus 39 and a predetermined film forming process is performed in the processing chamber. The processing chambers 39 are sequentially transferred to other processing chambers, and after predetermined processing is completed in each processing chamber, the processing chambers are transferred to another vacuum preparatory chamber 43 again.

Each of these pre-vacuum chambers 42 and 43 has a gate valve 4 on the side facing the gate valve 40 and 41.
The gate valves 44 and 45 are opened to communicate with the second transfer chamber 46, and closed to close the second transfer chamber 46. It is configured to be able to shut off. Cassette chambers 50 and 51 for accommodating cassettes 49 are connected to the left and right side surfaces of the second transfer chamber 46 via gate valves 47 and 48 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The second transfer chamber 46 is communicated by opening 47 and 48, and shut off from the second transfer chamber 46 by closing them. In the second transfer chamber 46, a second transfer device 53 located at the center between the left and right cassette chambers 50 and 51 is disposed.
Semiconductor wafer 38 between cassette chambers 2 and 43 and cassette chambers 50 and 51
Is configured to be transferred. Further, a positioning device 54 for positioning the semiconductor wafer 38 by the orientation flat of the semiconductor wafer 38 is disposed between the second transfer device 53 and the pre-vacuum chambers 42 and 43. The semiconductor wafer 38 is transferred to the pre-vacuum chamber 42 by the second transfer device 53.

The second transfer chamber 46 is provided with an air pressure adjusting device (not shown) for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas into the chamber, adjusting the gas pressure to the atmospheric pressure and maintaining the same. In the nitrogen gas adjusted to the atmospheric pressure by the adjusting device, the semiconductor wafer 38 is transferred between the cassette 49 in the cassette chambers 50 and 51 and the vacuum preparatory chambers 42 and 43 using the second transfer device 53. It is configured. Also, this second
The transfer chamber 46 is configured to maintain a predetermined degree of vacuum during cleaning.

A gas supply port 55A is formed on the bottom surface of the second transfer chamber 46. The gas supply port 55A is connected to a cleaning gas supply system 14 for supplying a cleaning gas through a pipe (not shown). Have been. The cleaning gas supplied from the gas supply port 55A is exhausted from a gas exhaust port 55B formed as a gas exhaust section on the bottom surface of the second transfer chamber 46. The gas exhaust port 55B is connected to, for example, an exhaust system of the vacuum preparatory chambers 42 and 43 via a valve (not shown), and is configured to perform vacuum exhaust during cleaning using the exhaust system. Close the valves and close the vacuum
3 is evacuated only. In addition, 5
6 and 57 are gate valves attached to the front of the cassette chambers 50 and 51, respectively.

When the batch-type cold wall processing apparatus is incorporated as a multi-chamber processing apparatus as described above, the gate valves of all chambers of the multi-chamber processing apparatus are closed to shut off each chamber, and then, for example, the above-described cleaning gas is removed. The cleaning gas is separately supplied from the supply system 14 to all the chambers other than the batch type cold wall processing apparatus, and the deposits such as the coatings adhered to the inside of all the chambers are evacuated from each chamber to the outside individually. Each can be individually cleaned.

In the above embodiment, the batch type cold wall processing apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the batch type cold wall processing apparatus, but may be another batch type processing apparatus such as a batch type hot wall processing apparatus. Can also be applied. In this embodiment, the cleaning gas using ClF ₃ gas has been described. However, in the present invention, the ClF ₃ gas is appropriately diluted with a diluting gas such as nitrogen gas in accordance with the components of the deposits, and the activity of the ClF ₃ gas is increased. Can be appropriately adjusted. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the process gas supply / discharge 1
Although the gas supply system and the gas exhaust system such as the exhaust pipe 25 have been described, the gas supply unit and the gas exhaust unit may be separately provided. It can be set appropriately.

[0034]

According to the invention described in claim 1 and claim 2 of the present invention, by supplying the ClF ₃ gas toward the support corresponding thereto from the process gas supply unit selected in arbitrary, since the ClF ₃ gas this was to clean the material adhering to the support and its vicinity, the processing apparatus without disassembling the support member as well as their opposite process gas supply part has been selected and to the arbitrary The neighborhood of
It is possible to provide a batch-type processing apparatus and a cleaning method that can clean components without damaging components without plasma, and can remove a contamination source such as particles that are a problem in manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit element in these portions. it can.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the Cl gas is discharged from the processing chamber through an exhaust system pipe for exhausting the gas after processing the object to be processed.
Since the F ₃ gas is exhausted, it is possible to provide a method of cleaning a batch processing apparatus capable of removing deposits attached to an exhaust pipe of a process gas.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of a batch-type cold wall processing apparatus which is an embodiment of the batch-type processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cross section taken along line II-II of a processing chamber of the batch-type cold wall processing apparatus illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the entire multi-chamber processing apparatus incorporating the batch type cold wall processing apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) 2 Processing chamber 3 Cooling jacket 5 Susceptor (support and gas activating means) 10 Gas dispersion supply part (process gas supply part and gas activation means) 13A valve (gas dispersion supply part is optional) 13B valve (used when arbitrarily selecting a gas dispersion supply unit) 14 cleaning gas supply system 25 exhaust pipe (exhaust pipe)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A processing chamber for simultaneously processing a plurality of workpieces, and one of the workpieces disposed in the processing chamber and having one of the workpieces.
A plurality of supports for supporting each sheet, batch processing and a These support and each facing and above the treated process gas supply part of the plurality supplying the process gas respectively individually towards the body In the apparatus, a cleaning gas supply system that can individually supply a cleaning gas to each of the process gas supply units is connected via a pipe, and each of the process gas supply units is connected to each of the pipes.
Opening / closing valves are respectively provided, and an opening / closing valve arbitrarily selected among the above-mentioned opening / closing valves is opened to supply ClF ₃ gas from the process gas supply unit to the corresponding support.
batch type processing apparatus by lF ₃ gas, characterized in that the extraneous matters adhered to the support and the vicinity thereof to allow the cleaning individually. 2. A plurality of substrates for supporting a plurality of substrates one by one.
A method of cleaning the inside of a batch type processing apparatus having a support and a plurality of process gas supply unit for supplying each process gas toward the workpiece on each support in the same <br/> processing chamber, Ren and characterized in that toward the support corresponding thereto from the process gas supply unit selected the will to supply ClF ₃ gas, the ClF ₃ gas this cleaning material adhering to the support member and the vicinity thereof Cleaning method for batch processing equipment. 3. The cleaning method for a batch type processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ClF ₃ gas is exhausted from the processing chamber through an exhaust pipe for exhausting the gas after the processing of the object to be processed. .