JP3118737B2 - Processing method of the object - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for treating an object to be treated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional processing apparatus, an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer is accommodated in a processing chamber, and a processing gas is uniformly applied to a semiconductor wafer rotating in the processing chamber to perform processing. Is used. In a processing apparatus, for example, a natural oxide film removing apparatus that removes a natural oxide film formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, a predetermined liquid, for example, a mixed liquid of hydrofluoric acid and water is stored in an upper part of a processing chamber under normal pressure or positive pressure. The hydrofluoric acid vapor generated from this is diffused into the processing chamber. A semiconductor wafer is held on a rotatable circular mounting table with the surface to be processed (surface) facing upward in a lower portion of the processing chamber, and by rotating the mounting table, the semiconductor wafer is rotated, and a hydrofluoric acid vapor is generated. There is known an apparatus which removes a natural oxide film formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer by causing the gas to act on the surface of the semiconductor wafer by a rotating airflow generated by rotation of the semiconductor wafer.

[0003]

However, the object to be processed is held by a holding mechanism provided on a rotatable mounting table and is rotated and processed in a processing gas atmosphere. A vortex of the processing gas is generated in the vicinity of the substrate, and a natural oxide film or an oxide film formed on the back surface of the object to be processed as compared with a natural oxide film or an oxide film formed on the upper surface of the object to be processed. And the like cannot be removed more uniformly. Further, if the natural oxide film formed on the back surface of the object cannot be uniformly removed, the thermal expansion coefficient of the object itself and the natural acid in a processing apparatus that performs processing at a later stage, for example, a heat treatment apparatus, Since the thermal expansion coefficients of the film portions are different from each other, there is a problem that the thermal expansion is uneven at the central portion and the peripheral portion of the object to be processed, thermal stress is generated, and the yield is reduced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of treating an object which can treat the front and back surfaces of the object more uniformly and simultaneously.

[0005] In the method for treating an object to be processed according to the first aspect of the present invention, the object on which a predetermined film is formed is conveyed into a processing chamber, and the object is rotated in the processing chamber to rotate the surface of the object. The method includes a step of supplying an inert gas to the side and the back side, and a step of simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the object to be rotated. Further, in the method for processing an object to be processed according to claim 2 of the present invention, the objects to be processed on which a predetermined film is formed are transported one by one into a first processing chamber, and the above-described processing is performed in the first processing chamber. A step of rotating the workpiece and supplying an inert gas to the front side and the back side thereof, and a step of simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the rotating workpiece.
Loading a plurality of objects to be processed in the first processing chamber into the second processing chamber, and heat-treating these objects at a predetermined temperature in the second processing chamber. It is a thing. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing an object to be processed according to the second aspect, wherein the object is transferred from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber through a room isolated from outside air. It is configured so that Also,
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for processing an object to be processed, comprising the steps of:
The gas supplied into the processing chamber or the first processing chamber is configured to be exhausted from the vicinity of the periphery of the object to be processed to the radial outside thereof.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the object on which a predetermined film is formed is transported into the processing chamber, the object is rotated in the processing chamber, and the front side and the back side thereof are rotated. The inert gas and the processing gas are simultaneously supplied to the front side and the back side of the rotating target in the processing chamber by supplying the inert gas to the side of the processing target. Can be simultaneously applied, and the front and back surfaces of the object can be processed more uniformly and simultaneously. Further, according to the invention described in claim 2 of the present invention, after transporting the workpiece on which the predetermined film is formed in the first processing chamber, the workpiece is rotated in the first processing chamber. An inert gas is supplied to the front side and the back side, and the object to be rotated which is rotated by simultaneously supplying the inert gas and the processing gas to the front side and the back side of the object to be rotated in the first processing chamber. After simultaneously and uniformly treating the front and back surfaces of the object to be processed by simultaneously applying the processing gas to the front and back sides of the object, a plurality of objects to be processed are loaded from the first processing chamber into the second processing chamber, By heat-treating these objects at a predetermined temperature in the two processing chambers, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of thermal stress on the front and back surfaces of the objects during the heat treatment. Further, according to the invention described in claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention described in claim 2, since the transfer from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber is performed through a room isolated from outside air. The object can be transferred from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber without contacting the processing object with the outside air. Further, according to the invention described in claim 4 of the present invention, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the gas supplied to the processing chamber or the first processing chamber is supplied to the processing chamber. Since the gas is exhausted radially outward from the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the object to be processed, the surface and the back surface of the outer peripheral edge of the object to be processed can be uniformly treated similarly to other portions.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a natural oxide film removing apparatus will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this natural oxide film removing device 1
The processing chamber 2 is formed airtight with a corrosion-resistant material, for example, a fluorine resin. In the lower part inside the processing chamber 2,
A holding unit 5 for holding an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer 3 so as to float, is provided. The holding unit 5 is provided on a ring-shaped mounting table 4. Further, the mounting table 4 is connected to a rotating means for rotating the mounting table 4, for example, a hollow motor 6 via a bearing 7, and the rotation of the mounting table 4 substantially rotates the semiconductor wafer 3. ing.

Further, a circular fixed body 8 is provided inside the mounting table 4, and an inert gas, for example, high-purity N, is provided at the center of the fixed body 8 on the back (center) of the semiconductor wafer 3.
₂ or the processing gas using the N ₂ as a carrier gas, for example, the back surface process gas supply pipe 9 for supplying the HF vapor is provided hermetically. For example, the back surface processing gas supply pipe 9 is arranged at a distance of 0.5 mm to 50 mm from the semiconductor wafer 3. The back surface processing gas supply pipe 9 passes through the hollow motor 6 and is connected to a first on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 10.
Further, an inert gas, for example, high-purity N ₂ or a processing gas using this N ₂ as a carrier gas, for example, HF vapor is supplied to the upper part of the processing chamber 2 on the surface (central portion) of the semiconductor wafer 3. Surface treatment gas supply pipe 11 is provided in an airtight manner. For example, the surface treatment gas supply pipe 11 is arranged at a distance of 0.5 mm to 50 mm from the semiconductor wafer 3. The surface treatment gas supply pipe 11 is
Open / close valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 12
It is connected to the. These members constitute a supply unit 13 for supplying a processing gas to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3.

Further, the air operated valve 12 is connected to a pipe made of a corrosion-resistant material of the air operated valve 10, for example, Teflon, and is connected to a third on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 15. It is connected. Furthermore, this air operated valve 1
5 is a filter, for example, made of Teflon, having a passing particle
m filter 16
6 is connected to a flow meter 17 for measuring a gas flow rate. Further, the pipe is divided into two paths by the flow meter 17, and the first path is through a fourth on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 18, and is a processing liquid, for example, a mixed liquid of hydrofluoric acid and water ( (HF / H ₂ O) 19 is stored in a gas-tight manner through a gas inlet 21 of a Teflon tank 20 made of a corrosion-resistant material for storing Teflon, such as Teflon. A constant temperature bath 22 provided with a heater 21 for controlling the temperature of the mixed solution 19 at a constant temperature, for example, in a temperature range of 0 to 50 ° C., is arranged on the outer periphery of the Teflon tank 20.

Further, the second path is connected to a fifth on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 23. From the air operated valve 23, a pipe is further divided into two paths. 6, through a check valve 26 for preventing the mixture 19 from flowing back into the carrier gas inlet 25 of the Teflon tank 20 via a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 24, for example. It is configured to introduce a carrier gas into the mixture 19. Further, the second path is connected to a filter, for example a Teflon filter 27 made of Teflon and passing particles, for example 0.2 μm or less, which is made of a corrosion-resistant material for supplying high purity N ₂ , for example Teflon. The supply pipe 28 is connected via a seventh on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 29.

In addition, an inlet 60 for introducing an inert gas, for example, N _2, into the processing chamber 2 is formed at an upper portion of the processing chamber 2 through an introduction pipe 61. An exhaust port 70 for exhausting the processing gas is provided in a side wall in the processing chamber 2 in the horizontal direction of the semiconductor wafer 3, for example, in a ring shape so as to surround the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 3. The port 70 is connected to an eighth opening / closing valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 72 via a pipe 71 made of a corrosion-resistant material, for example, Teflon. Further, the air operated valve 72 is connected to an exhaust means 74 through a pipe 73 made of a corrosion-resistant material, for example, Teflon.
The discharge end of the pipe 73 is provided in a narrow flow portion 76 (for example, a flow portion 75 for passing a gas that is non-reactive with the processing gas and a narrow flow portion 76 provided in the flow portion 75). 77 is airtightly connected.

Further, at one end of the exhaust means 74, an inlet 77 for introducing a gas which is non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, N ₂ , is provided. The inlet 77 has a corrosion-resistant material, for example, N _2. A ninth on-off valve, for example, a corrosion-resistant air operated valve 79 is connected via a pipe 78 made of Teflon, and this air operated valve 79 introduces a gas that is non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, N ₂ . Connected to an introduction pipe 80 for performing the operation.

Further, the other end of the exhaust means 74 is evacuated with a gas non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, N ₂ or a gas non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, a mixed gas of N ₂ and the processing gas. An exhaust port 81 for exhaust gas treatment is provided, and the exhaust port 81 is provided with an exhaust gas treatment device 8 for treating the treatment gas through a pipe 82 made of a corrosion-resistant material, for example, Teflon.
3 is connected. In addition, the flow direction of the gas that is non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, N ₂ , is configured to flow in the direction of arrow 84 (the direction orthogonal to the discharge end 77 that discharges the processing gas).

On the side of the processing chamber 2, there is provided a load lock chamber 30 which is air-tightly connected to the processing chamber 2, and a semiconductor device is provided between the load lock chamber 30 and the processing chamber 2. A first loading / unloading passage 31 for loading or unloading the wafer 3 is provided, and a first opening / closing door for opening / closing the loading / unloading passage 31, for example, a gate valve 32
Is configured to hermetically seal the processing chamber 2 via a first sealing body, for example, an O-ring 33 made of a corrosion-resistant material. Further, a wafer transfer mechanism 34 is provided in the load lock chamber 30, and an arm 34a is provided on the upper part of the wafer transfer mechanism 34 to hold the semiconductor wafer 3 and extend and contract. When the semiconductor wafer 3 is extended, the semiconductor wafer 3 can be carried into the processing chamber 2.

An inlet pipe 35 for introducing an inert gas, for example, N ₂ , is connected to one end of the load lock chamber 30, and an exhaust device 23, for example, a vacuum pump is connected to the other end of the load lock chamber 30. And the inside of the load lock chamber 30 is configured to be open to the atmosphere or to be depressurized. Further, a second wall for loading or unloading the semiconductor wafer 3 at atmospheric pressure is provided on a side wall of the load lock chamber 30. A second opening / closing door for opening / closing the carrying-in / out passage 38, for example, a gate valve 39 is provided with a second opening / closing passage 38.
The semiconductor wafer 3 in a N ₂ atmosphere with a wafer loading / unloading chamber (not shown) via a sealing body, for example, an O-ring 40.
Can be loaded or unloaded.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, another system, for example, a film forming apparatus 50 is provided on the side wall of the load lock chamber 30. The film forming apparatus 50 has a semiconductor wafer 3 inside. And a heater 52 arranged so as to surround the outer periphery of the reaction vessel 51. A process gas is introduced into the reaction vessel 51 to form a film formation process such as CVD. The lower part of the reaction vessel 51 is provided with a wafer loading / unloading chamber 5.
The wafer loading / unloading chamber 53 is provided with a wafer boat 56 on which the semiconductor wafers 3 can be placed, for example, a maximum of 100 wafers can be placed on a boat lifting mechanism 55 which is raised and lowered by a ball screw or the like. Further, a third loading / unloading passage 57 for loading / unloading the semiconductor wafer 3 into / from the wafer boat 56 is provided in the load lock chamber 50.
And a third opening / closing door for opening / closing the carry-in / carry-out passage 57, for example, a gate valve 58 is a third sealing body.
For example, the natural oxide film removing device 1 is provided via the O-ring 59 as described above.

Next, the processing operation of the semiconductor wafer 3 in the natural oxide film removing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. First, the gate valve 39 is opened, the arm 34a of the wafer transfer mechanism 34 is extended, and the semiconductor wafer 3 is gripped and received by the arm 34a from a wafer loading / unloading chamber (not shown). And the gate valve 39 is closed. Next, the load lock chamber 30 is evacuated to, for example, 10 ^-6 Torr or less by the exhaust device 36. After evacuation, N ₂ is introduced and purged by the introduction pipe 35 and returned to the atmospheric pressure. An N ₂ gas atmosphere is set. Subsequently, the gate valve 33 is opened, and the load lock chamber 3 has already been opened.
In accordance with the N ₂ gas atmosphere in 0 N ₂ carries the semiconductor wafer 3 stretched arms 34a of the gas atmosphere adjusted process chamber wafer transfer mechanism 34 into 2 into the processing chamber 2, the semiconductor wafer 3 is mounting table 4 holds the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 3 and floats and holds it from the surface of the mounting table 4. Thereafter, the arm 34 a of the wafer transfer mechanism 34 moves to the load lock chamber 30 and the gate valve 32. Is closed to hermetically seal the processing chamber 2.

Next, the on-off valves 29, 24, 23, 18, 1
5 and then the on-off valves 10 and 12 are simultaneously opened to introduce the processing gas in the Teflon tank 20 into the processing chamber 2. At the same time as the introduction of the processing gas into the processing chamber 2, for example, before the introduction of the processing gas, the on-off valves 79 and 72 are opened, the exhaust means 74 is operated, and the inside of the processing chamber 2 is exhausted. That is, when a gas that is non-reactive with the processing gas introduced through the inlet 77 of the exhaust unit 74, for example, N ₂ , flows through the narrow outlet 76 to the outlet 81, And form a kind of vacuum. This narrow flow section 76
In the vacuum state, the discharge end 77 is airtightly connected to the narrow flow part 76, so that the narrow flow part 76 and the discharge end
7 (processing chamber 2), the processing gas in the processing chamber 2 is sucked out toward the exhaust port 81 due to the relationship of the pressure difference. In addition, flow meter 1
7, the processing gas supplied into the processing chamber 2 controls the opening degree of the on-off valve 24 to, for example, 0.1 to 2 NL / min, and supplies the processing gas to the surface processing gas supply pipe 11 and the back processing gas. It is supplied stably to the processing chamber 2 through the supply pipe 9.

Next, the mounting table 4 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed (for example, preferably 500 to 2,000 rotations per minute) by the rotating means 6, and synchronized with the rotation of the mounting table 4 by the holding unit 6. The gripped semiconductor wafer 3 also rotates.
By the rotation of the semiconductor wafer 3, the processing gas is drawn into the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 as shown in FIG. That is, the processing gas ejected from the surface processing gas supply pipe 11 flows like a processing gas flow 90 from the center of the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 toward the peripheral edge. The processing gas ejected from the back processing gas supply pipe 9 flows like a processing gas flow 91 from the center of the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 toward the peripheral portion, and the processing gas is uniformly passed through the semiconductor wafer 3. Let it flow. Further, the processing gases 92a and 92b passed through the semiconductor wafer 3 are supplied to an exhaust port 7 provided on a side wall of the processing chamber 2.
0 (provided to surround the outer periphery of the semiconductor wafer 3). However, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the exhaust port 70 is not provided so as to surround the semiconductor wafer 3 in the horizontal direction and the outer periphery, one supply port, for example, the center part and the upper part of the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 When the processing gas is further supplied, a vortex 93 is generated on the back surface and the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when a processing gas is supplied to two supply ports, for example, the center portion of the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3, respectively, a vortex 94 is generated at the peripheral portion of the back and front surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3. For example, the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 3 is processed more quickly than other portions, and it is difficult to uniformly process the semiconductor wafer 3. Unnecessary natural oxide film formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3, for example, 100 Å or less (in the case of an oxide film, 3000 Å or less)
Is removed by a chemical reaction with the processing gas, and after this removal, the rotation of the mounting table 4 is stopped.

Further, when the rotation of the mounting table 4 is stopped, the on-off valves 15, 18, 23, 24, and 29 are closed in the same period, the on-off valves 10 and 12 are simultaneously closed, and the processing gas is introduced into the processing chamber 2. Stop supplying. Next, N ₂ is supplied to the processing chamber 2 through the inlet 60, and
The processing gas remaining in the processing chamber 2 is exhausted by the step 4, and the processing chamber 2 is set to an N ₂ atmosphere. Thereafter, the gate valve 32 is opened, the semiconductor wafer 3 is carried out to the load lock chamber 30 outside the processing chamber 2 by the arm 34a of the wafer transfer mechanism 34, and the gate valve 32 is closed to prepare for the next processing. Thus, the N ₂ gas atmosphere in the processing chamber 2 is maintained.

Subsequently, the arm 3 of the wafer transfer mechanism 34
The semiconductor wafer 3 conveyed to the load lock chamber 30 by the 4a is formed through the third gate valve 58 into the film forming apparatus 5.
After the wafers are transferred to the wafer boat 56 of 0 and the number of batch processing, for example, 100, is reached, the boat elevating mechanism 55 is raised to perform the film forming heat treatment. As described above, the processing steps of the semiconductor wafer 3 are sequentially repeated.

Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described. (1) In the processing method of the object to be processed according to the present embodiment, the semiconductor wafer 3 on which a predetermined film is formed is transferred into the processing chamber 2, and N _{2 is} applied to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 in the processing chamber 2. Supplying a gas (inert gas) and HF vapor (processing gas) to stabilize the flow rates of these gases, and simultaneously supplying the inert gas and the processing gas to the front and back sides of the rotating semiconductor wafer 3 Process, the processing can be performed under the same conditions without changing the atmosphere state of the semiconductor wafer 3 when processing with the processing gas, and the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 can be uniformly and simultaneously processed. There is an effect that can be. Furthermore, since the processing gas supplied into the processing chamber 2 is exhausted from the vicinity of the periphery of the semiconductor wafer 3 to the outside in the radial direction, swirling flows 93 and 94 of the processing gas at the periphery of the semiconductor wafer 3 (see FIG. 4). (A) and (b)) can be suppressed, and the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 can be more uniformly and simultaneously processed. (2) In this embodiment, the semiconductor wafers 3 on which a predetermined film is formed are transported one by one into the processing chamber 2,
Supplying N ₂ gas (inert gas) and HF vapor (processing gas) to the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 in the chamber to stabilize the flow rates of these gases;
Simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the wafer; and loading a plurality of semiconductor wafers 3 processed in the processing chamber 2 into the reaction vessel 51 of the film forming apparatus 50; A step of heat-treating these semiconductor wafers 3 at a predetermined temperature in 51 is provided, so that a natural oxide film formed on the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 in the processing chamber 2 can be uniformly removed. Therefore, in a processing apparatus that performs processing in a subsequent stage, for example, in the reaction vessel 51 of the film forming processing apparatus 50, when the thermal expansion coefficient of the semiconductor wafer 3 is 293 [K], the linear thermal expansion coefficient is about 2.5 [10 ⁻⁶ de]
g ^-1 ]) and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the natural oxide film (SiO ₂ ) portion (when the temperature is 293 [K], the linear thermal expansion coefficient is about 7.4 to 13.6.
[10 ⁻⁶ deg ⁻¹ ]), the coefficient of thermal expansion at the central portion and the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 3 is uniform when processing at a processing temperature of the heat treatment apparatus, for example, a high temperature of 800 to 1200 ° C. And the occurrence of thermal stress can be prevented. (3) The exhaust means 74 is constituted by an exhaust means 74 for exhausting the inside of the processing chamber 2 by the action of the internal pressure of the processing chamber 2 and the differential pressure of the flow portion 76 of the gas which is non-reactive with the processing gas. Further, the exhaust means 74 is made of a corrosion-resistant material, for example, Teflon, so that the life thereof can be made much longer than that of the conventional one without being corroded. It is possible to suppress the amount of change due to the change over time of the performance. When exhausted by a vacuum pump through a conventional filter, a small amount of processing gas passes through the filter, corrodes the vacuum pump and shortens its life, and the amount of change over time in the exhaust capacity of the processing chamber 2 is large. . Furthermore, since the amount of change in the evacuation capacity of the processing chamber 2 due to a change with time can be suppressed, the processing gas flowing through the semiconductor wafer 3 can always be exhausted at a constant amount without being affected by the amount of change. There is an effect that the semiconductor wafer 3 can be uniformly processed.

Next, the second embodiment will be described. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 5A, the processing chamber 2
The exhaust port 70 provided on the side wall of the semiconductor wafer 3 is located above the horizontal extension line 99 of the semiconductor wafer 3, for example, 1 mm from the extension line.
An exhaust port 70 for exhausting the processing gas ejected from the surface processing gas supply pipe 11 is provided 10 mm above and below the horizontal extension 99 of the semiconductor wafer 3, for example, 1 mm to 10 mm below the extension. An exhaust port 70 for exhausting the processing gas ejected from the back surface processing gas supply pipe 9 is provided. Since the exhaust ports 70 are separately provided in the upper and lower portions in this manner, the processing gas 92a and 92b from the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer 3 at the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer 3 are not concentrated at one place. The generation of a vortex can be prevented.

Next, a description will be given of a third embodiment. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 5B, the processing chamber 2
The exhaust port 70 provided on the side wall of the
A pressure difference can be generated by being constituted by the (smallly provided) and the wide exhaust port portion 100b. By the action of the pressure difference, the processing gas can be exhausted efficiently and at high speed, and generation of a vortex is reduced. Can be prevented. In addition, a plurality of evacuation units 74 are provided in the horizontal direction of the
The processing gas can be efficiently exhausted. In addition, the semiconductor wafer 3 is provided on the semiconductor wafer 3 by providing a circular opening 101 having a plurality of supply ports in a circular shape and a plurality of supply ports radially provided on the supply surface at the distal end portions of the surface treatment gas supply pipe 11 and the back surface treatment gas supply pipe 9. The processing gas can be supplied efficiently.

Next, a description will be given of a fourth embodiment. The same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 6, the exhaust means 74 includes a processing gas exhaust inlet 104 serving as an exhaust introduction port for exhausting the processing gas in the processing chamber 2 and a processing gas exhaust outlet for exhausting the processing gas introduced from the processing gas exhaust inlet 104. 105 is provided, and between the processing gas exhaust outlet 105 and the processing gas exhaust inlet 104, there is provided a nozzle 102 having a conical shape and narrowed in the direction of the processing gas exhaust outlet 105 and having an open end. An introduction pipe 103 for introducing a gas that is non-reactive with the processing gas, for example, N ₂ , is provided evenly from the gap 107, and an exhaust unit 74 is configured. Even with this configuration, N ₂ is introduced along the nozzle 102 from the introduction pipe 103 to generate a jet stream in the direction of the processing gas exhaust outlet 105, and the processing gas exhaust inlet 104 and the processing gas exhaust outlet 10
Since a differential pressure of 5 is generated, the processing gas is efficiently exhausted by the action of the differential pressure.

Although the above embodiment has been described as applied to a natural oxide film removing apparatus for removing a natural oxide film formed on the front and back surfaces of a semiconductor wafer, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. Instead, the present invention can be applied to any apparatus in the process of supplying and processing a processing gas stream to an object to be processed, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the natural oxide film processing, but may be an oxide film or a nitride film. Of course, various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. In addition to the natural oxide film removing device, any processing device can be used as long as it is a cleaning device, another etching device, or any other processing device that processes a target object with a processing gas in a processing chamber at normal pressure, reduced pressure, or positive pressure. Can be applied to So, for example,
When the processing conditions using the processing gas are severe, a preliminary process is performed in which an inert gas is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the object to be rotated in the processing chamber in advance to stabilize the airflow on the front and rear surfaces of the object to be rotated. After the preliminary step, the processing gas may be supplied to the front and back surfaces of the rotating target object.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an object on which a predetermined film is formed is transported into a processing chamber, and the object is rotated in the processing chamber and the surface of the object is rotated. And a step of simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the rotating object to be processed. There is a remarkable effect that the front and back surfaces of the object to be processed can be uniformly and simultaneously processed. According to the invention described in claim 2 of the present invention, the objects to be processed on which a predetermined film is formed are transported one by one into the first processing chamber, and the objects to be processed are transported in the first processing chamber. Rotating the substrate to supply an inert gas to the front side and the back side thereof; simultaneously supplying the inert gas and the processing gas to the front side and the back side of the rotating object to be processed; and In the first processing chamber, a plurality of objects to be processed which are processed in are carried into the second processing chamber, and a heat treatment is performed on these objects at a predetermined temperature in the second processing chamber. The front and back surfaces of the rotating object to be processed can be uniformly and simultaneously processed by a stable processing gas flow, and a plurality of objects to be processed are loaded from the first processing chamber into the second processing chamber,
When these objects are heat-treated at a predetermined temperature in the second processing chamber, there is a remarkable effect that thermal stress can be prevented from being generated on the front and back surfaces of the objects.
Further, according to the invention described in claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention described in claim 2, since the transfer from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber is performed through a room isolated from outside air. The object can be transferred from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber without contacting the processing object with the outside air. Further, according to the invention described in claim 4 of the present invention, in the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the liquid is supplied into the first processing chamber or the second processing chamber. The exhausted gas is exhausted from the vicinity of the periphery of the object to the outside thereof, so that the generation of a vortex of the processing gas due to the rotation of the object can be suppressed, and the surface and the back surface of the object can be further improved. There is a remarkable effect that uniform and simultaneous processing can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a natural oxide film removing device for explaining a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment in which FIG. 1 is used in a system connected to a film forming furnace.

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view specifically explaining the processing operation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4

FIG. 3 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view specifically illustrating a conventional processing operation.

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view specifically illustrating a conventional processing operation.

FIG. 5

FIG. 7 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of another exhaust port.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an embodiment of another supply means.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view illustrating an example of another exhaust unit.

[Description of sign]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Natural oxide film removal apparatus 2 Processing chamber 3 Object to be processed (semiconductor wafer) 4 Mounting table 6 Rotating means 9 Back processing gas supply pipe 10 Surface processing gas supply pipe 13 Supply means 70 Exhaust port 74 Exhaust means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21 / 304,21 / 302 C23F 1/00-4/04

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A step of transporting an object on which a predetermined film is formed into a processing chamber, rotating the object in the processing chamber and supplying an inert gas to the front side and the back side thereof; Simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the object to be processed. 2. The object on which a predetermined film has been formed is transported one by one into a first processing chamber, and the object is rotated in the first processing chamber so that an object is not formed on the front side and the back side. A step of supplying an active gas, a step of simultaneously supplying an inert gas and a processing gas to the front side and the back side of the rotating object to be processed, and a step of applying the object to be processed in the first processing chamber to a second processing chamber. Transferring a plurality of substrates into the processing chamber and heat-treating the substrates at a predetermined temperature in the second processing chamber. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is transferred from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber via a room isolated from outside air. 4. A gas supplied into the processing chamber or the first processing chamber is exhausted from a vicinity of a peripheral edge of the object to be processed to a radial outside thereof.
The method for treating an object to be treated according to any one of the above.