JP3146021B2 - Semiconductor vapor deposition equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus for forming a vapor phase growth film on a semiconductor substrate, and more particularly to a semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus.
The present invention relates to a semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus for forming an MO vapor deposition film on an As substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus, for example, one having a structure as shown in FIG. 7 is known.

In FIG. 7, in a vapor phase growth apparatus, a wafer 105 placed on a susceptor 104 supported by a rotating shaft 103 is housed in a reaction chamber surrounded by a bell jar 101 made of quartz and a pedestal 102. The rotating shaft 103 is rotated while being heated by a high-frequency heating coil 106 provided around the bell jar 101 to introduce a reaction gas from a gas inlet 107 provided above the bell jar 101, and the gas is introduced onto the semiconductor substrate of the wafer 105. A phase growth film is formed.

In such a vapor phase growth apparatus, the bell jar 101 is provided with a flange 108 at a lower portion thereof, is joined to the pedestal 102 via an O-ring 109, and holds the flange 108 of the bell jar 101 by a holding metal fitting 110. After that, the presser fitting 110 was fixed to the pedestal 102 with a plurality of bolts 111, and the bell jar 101 and the pedestal 102 were joined and fixed.

In such a mounting structure of the bell jar 101 and the pedestal 102, when the wafer 105 is placed on the susceptor 104, the presser fitting 110 is attached to the pedestal 102.
After loosening the plurality of bolts 111 fixed to the bellows, a series of operations of removing the presser fitting 110 and lifting the bell jar 101 are required.

In such an operation, the bell jar 10
1 was made of quartz and was easily damaged, so that the handling of the bell jar 101 had to be carefully monitored, resulting in deterioration of workability.

Further, when the bell jar 101 is detached from the pedestal 102 each time, the vapor growth film deposited and deposited on the inner wall of the bell jar 101 is peeled off, and fragments thereof are scattered around the wafer 105. As a result, fragments of the grown film peeled off when the reaction gas is introduced adhere to the wafer 105,
Chips from which a high quality grown film could not be obtained occurred. Further, when the bell jar 101 is removed each time, the reaction chamber is exposed to the atmosphere each time, so that oxygen in the atmosphere remains in the reaction furnace during the formation of the vapor-phase growth film, and a high-purity vapor-phase growth film cannot be obtained.

In addition, the reaction gas may contain a harmful gas, and in the above-described series of operations, there is a possibility that the worker may inhale the harmful gas, and sufficient consideration must be given to safety. there were. Further, since a high-frequency heat source is used as a heating source, sufficient care has been required for handling.

[0009]

As described above,
In a conventional semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus as shown in FIG. 7, in a series of operations for arranging a wafer in a reaction chamber, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the handling and operation of the apparatus from the viewpoint of maintenance of the apparatus. The workability was degraded. In addition, the above-described series of operations adversely affected the wafer, resulting in inconveniences such as a decrease in the quality of the vapor-phase grown film and a decrease in the yield.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the quality of a vapor-phase grown film and to improve the semiconductor vapor phase excellent in workability, productivity and safety. It is to provide a growth device.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve the above object, means for solving the problems includes a hermetically sealed reactor,
A bell jar that is detachably joined to a growth chamber that forms a vapor-phase growth film on a semiconductor substrate by the introduced reaction gas, and that forms the growth chamber in the reaction furnace, and is provided in the growth chamber. A mounting rotation unit for mounting and rotating a susceptor on which a semiconductor substrate is disposed, comprising a resistance heating body for heating, and a mounting / dismounting unit for mounting / dismounting the bell jar and the growth chamber in a state where the reaction furnace is airtight. A spare chamber in which the susceptor is carried in and out of the outside via an opening / closing body, communication means for controlling the communication between the spare chamber and the reaction furnace in an air-tight state, respectively, Transport means for transporting the susceptor therebetween.

[0012]

In the above construction, according to the present invention, a bell jar is attached to and detached from a reaction furnace while the reaction furnace is in a vacuum state, and the semiconductor substrate is transferred between the growth chamber and the preliminary chamber to shut off the reaction furnace from the preliminary chamber. In this state, the semiconductor substrate is carried in and out between the preliminary chamber and the outside.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a preparatory chamber for accommodating a susceptor in which a wafer is arranged, separately from a chamber for forming a vapor phase growth film, and the preparatory chamber and the chamber for forming a vapor phase growth film The susceptor on which the wafer is placed is transported.

Referring to FIG. 1, the semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus includes a reactor which is hermetically sealed and forms a vapor deposition film on a semiconductor substrate by using a reaction gas introduced therein. Chamber 1, bell jar 2, and susceptor rotation mechanism 3
And the reaction furnace has a bell jar elevating mechanism 4
Are connected.

The transfer chamber 1 has a susceptor rotating mechanism 3 at its bottom.
A pedestal 5 is provided around the susceptor rotation mechanism 3.
Are provided, and exhaust ports 6a and 6b are provided at the bottom and side portions.

A bell jar 2 is detachably connected to the pedestal 5 via an O-ring 7, and includes a susceptor rotating mechanism 3 in a space surrounded by the transfer chamber 1 and the bell jar 2.
Is formed, and a reaction gas is introduced into the growth chamber 8 from a gas introduction pipe 9 provided above the bell jar 2.

The bell jar 2 is joined to the upper part of the transfer chamber 1 via a bellows 10 constituting the bell jar elevating mechanism 4,
Further, the adjusting screw 11 is joined to a holder 12, and the adjusting screw 11 is adjusted to move up and down with respect to the transfer chamber 1. As described above, the bell jar raising / lowering mechanism 4 for raising / lowering the bell jar 2 is provided with a lock mechanism including the hook 13 and the cylinder 14, and as shown in FIG.
When the bell jar 2 is joined to the pedestal 5 via the O-ring 7, the bell jar 2 is fixed to the pedestal 5 by the lock mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 2, the susceptor rotating mechanism 3 has a susceptor 16 on which a wafer 15 is disposed.
Is mounted, and the susceptor 16 to be mounted is rotated at the time of forming the vapor-phase growth film. Further, the susceptor rotation mechanism 3 is provided with a resistance heater 18 and a thermocouple 19 connected to the electrode 17 at a lower portion where the susceptor 16 is mounted, and controls the temperature by the thermocouple 19 to the susceptor by the resistance heater 18. The placed wafer 15 is heated.

Returning to FIG. 1, the side of the transfer chamber 1 is opened.
Are joined.

As shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary chamber 21 is provided at its bottom with a receiving base 22 having a shaft portion extending out of the room and capable of moving up and down. An opening / closing body 23 that opens the preparatory chamber 21 so as to be moved between them is attached. The susceptor 16 on which the wafer 15 is disposed is placed on or removed from the receiving table 22 outside the room.

As shown in FIG. 4, a transfer arm 24 that supports and transfers the susceptor 16 with the susceptor 16 interposed therebetween is provided on the side of the preliminary chamber 21.
4 can move between the receiving table 22 and the susceptor rotation mechanism 3 of the transfer chamber 1, and can move in an arc around the fulcrum 25. Further, the preparatory chamber 21 is provided with an exhaust port 25 for making the preparatory chamber 21 into a vacuum state substantially equal to that in the transfer chamber 1.

Next, a series of operations of transporting a wafer from outside to the growth chamber 8 and removing the wafer to the outside after the formation of the vapor phase growth film, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described.

First, the opening / closing body 23 of the preliminary chamber 21 is opened to raise the receiving table 22 outside the room, and the susceptor 16 on which the wafer 15 is disposed is placed on the receiving table 22. The receiving table 22 on which the susceptor 16 is placed is lowered and stored in the preliminary chamber 21. Thereafter, the opening / closing body 23 is closed, the air in the preliminary chamber 21 is exhausted from the exhaust port 26, and the interior of the preliminary chamber 21 is evacuated.

The growth chambers in the transfer chamber 1 and the bell jar 2 are also exhausted through the exhaust ports 6a and 6b. After each of the chambers is evacuated and brought to the same degree of vacuum, the gate valve 20 between the transfer chamber 1 and the preliminary chamber 21 is opened.

After the gate valve 20 is opened, the hook 13 is removed from the bell jar 2 by the cylinder 14 of the bell jar lock mechanism to release the lock of the bell jar 2, and the bell jar 2 is moved to the position shown in FIG. Raise as shown. At this time, transfer chamber 1 and bell jar 2
Since the bellows 10 extends between them, the vacuum state in the transfer chamber 1 is maintained.

In such a state, the susceptor 16 placed on the receiving table 22 of the preliminary chamber 21 is supported by being sandwiched by the transfer arm 24, and as shown in FIG. It is transported to the mechanism 3. The transported susceptor 16 is placed on the susceptor rotation mechanism 3. Thereafter, the transfer arm 24 is returned to the preliminary chamber 21 and the gate valve 2
0 is closed and the transfer chamber 1 and the preliminary chamber 21 are shut off.

When the gate valve 20 is closed, the bell jar 2 is lowered by the adjusting screw 11 of the bell jar elevating mechanism 4 and joined to the pedestal 5 of the transfer chamber 1 via the O-ring 7. Then, the hook 1 is moved by the cylinder 14 of the lock mechanism.
3 and lock the bell jar 2 to fix it to the transfer chamber 1.

In such a state, a reaction gas is introduced from the gas introduction pipe 9 above the bell jar 2, and the wafer 15 of the susceptor 16 is heated by the resistance heater 18, and a vapor-phase grown film is formed on the semiconductor substrate of the wafer 15. Let it grow and form.

When the formation of the vapor-grown film is completed, the susceptor 16 is transported from the transfer chamber 1 to the preparatory chamber 21 and taken out of the preparatory chamber 21 in a procedure reverse to the above-described series of operation procedures.

As described above, it is not necessary to remove the bell jar 2 outside the apparatus every time the vapor-phase growth film is formed, but only to move the bell jar up and down in the apparatus. Therefore, the handling of the bell jar 2 becomes simple and the work is easy. Become. Further, the growth film adhered and deposited on the inner wall of the bell jar 2 does not peel off, and the wafer 15
Fragments of the grown film peeled off will not adhere.
This makes it possible to increase the yield as compared with the related art. Further, the reaction gas does not flow out of the apparatus, so that harmful gas does not reach the operator, and the operation can be performed safely.

Further, since the wafer 15 is moved in a vacuum, the replacement of the reaction gas in the bell jar 2 is eliminated.
It is possible to greatly save the reaction gas. further,
Since no air is mixed into the bell jar 2, a high-quality vapor-grown film can be obtained in a short time which is about half that of the conventional method.

Furthermore, there is no need to use an expensive quartz bell jar, and there is no risk of breakage, so that running costs can be reduced and there is no need to prepare a spare bell jar in case of damage.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. If the susceptor rotating mechanism 3, the bell jar elevating mechanism 4, the bell jar lock mechanism, and the transfer arm 24 have the functions, the embodiment is not limited to the above. Other configurations other than those shown in FIG.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the semiconductor substrate is carried in and out of the growth chamber in a vacuum state without removing the bell jar from the reactor, so that the apparatus can be easily handled. There is no danger of harmful gas leaking out, and workability and safety can be improved. In addition, it becomes possible to form a vapor phase growth film under favorable conditions, and it is possible to improve film quality and productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an upper surface of a main part configuration shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one state of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view showing one state of the device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional semiconductor vapor deposition apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 transfer chamber 2 bell jar 3 susceptor rotation mechanism 4 bell jar elevating mechanism 5 pedestal 8 growth chamber 10 bellows 16 susceptor 18 heater 20 gate valve 21 preliminary chamber 23 opening and closing body 24 transfer arm

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/205

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A reaction chamber hermetically sealed, and a growth chamber for forming a vapor-phase growth film on a semiconductor substrate by a reaction gas being introduced are detachably joined to form a growth chamber in the reaction furnace. A bell jar that is provided in the growth chamber, a resistance heating body that heats the semiconductor substrate, a mounting rotation unit that mounts and rotates a susceptor on which the semiconductor substrate is arranged, and a state in which the reaction furnace is airtight. Attaching / detaching means for attaching / detaching the bell jar to / from the growth chamber, a spare chamber in which the susceptor is carried in / out of the outside via an opening / closing body, and a communication for controlling the communication between the spare chamber and the reaction furnace in an airtight state. And a transfer means for transferring the susceptor between the placement rotation means and the preliminary chamber.