JP4015791B2 - Heat treatment equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, various types of heat treatment apparatuses are used in order to perform processing such as CVD (chemical vapor deposition), diffusion, oxidation, annealing, etc. on a semiconductor wafer as an object to be processed. In particular, in the CVD process and the diffusion process under a relatively high pressure reduction, a metal manifold having a gas introduction part and an exhaust part is provided at the bottom of a quartz vertical reaction tube, and the process in the reaction tube is performed. A semiconductor wafer held in multiple stages via a wafer boat as a holder is accommodated and sealed in the region, and the processing region is heated to a predetermined processing temperature by a heater provided outside the reaction tube, and a predetermined processing gas and In general, a heat treatment apparatus (also referred to as a vertical heat treatment apparatus) in which a predetermined heat treatment is performed on a semiconductor wafer under a processing pressure is generally used.
[0003]
In such a heat treatment apparatus, it is possible to cool the vicinity of the manifold seal member due to the fact that the manifold is separated from the heater and the heat resistance of the seal member that seals between the manifold and the reaction tube, for example, the O-ring. Due to the generality, the inner surface of the manifold is much cooler than the processing temperature. For this reason, the processing gas component contacts the inner surface of the manifold, which is a region other than the processing region in the reaction tube, condenses, and reaction by-products (also called precipitates in the diffusion processing) adhere to the inner surface of the manifold. The generation of particles and the like adversely affects the processing, and therefore regular cleaning is required. Further, in a process using a processing gas having toxicity such as arsenic, countermeasures are required because the presence of the reaction by-product may adversely affect the health of the operator.
[0004]
In order to solve such a problem, a conventional heat treatment apparatus employs a technique in which the manifold is heated from the outside to raise the vapor pressure of the reaction by-product and sublimate it.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the heat treatment apparatus, since a dedicated heater is attached outside the manifold, the apparatus becomes complicated, it is difficult to bring all parts of the manifold to a desired temperature, and safety considerations such as burns are taken into account. There were some problems, such as the necessity and the global impact on the environment due to the increase in power consumption. For example, in a process using an arsenic-based process gas, the vapor pressure of arsenic, which is a reaction by-product, is low, so that a great effect was not obtained in suppressing adhesion by the heating method described above. A vertical heat treatment apparatus has been proposed in which a cylindrical cover is provided inside the manifold, an annular exhaust space is formed between the cover and the manifold, and an inert gas introduction pipe is provided below the cover ( JP-A-10-223538). This vertical heat treatment apparatus is effective in preventing the reaction by-product from adhering to the inside of the manifold, but it is not suitable for the upward flow from the downstream side of the downflow of the process gas flowing through the heat treatment region. Since the inert gas must flow from the active gas introduction pipe, it is necessary to increase the flow rate of the inert gas. As a result, there is a disadvantage that the flow rate of the inert gas must be increased. When the flow rate of the inert gas is large, a large amount of the inert gas is mixed into the processing gas in the heat treatment region, which adversely affects the quality of the heat treatment.
[0006]
The present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and of course, it is possible to reduce the flow rate of the inert gas, as well as to suppress the adhesion of reaction byproducts to the periphery of the furnace port, It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat treatment apparatus in which an inert gas is unlikely to be mixed into a treatment gas in a heat treatment region and does not adversely affect the quality of the heat treatment. It is another object of the present invention to provide a heat treatment apparatus that does not easily peel off even if reaction by-products adhere to it.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  Among the present inventions, the invention according to claim 1At the lower end of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around it is provided a cylindrical manifold having a gas introduction part and an exhaust part for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube and forming a furnace port. A holder that holds the object to be processed in multiple stages on a lid that can be raised and lowered is placed via a heat insulating cylinder and accommodated in the processing region.In a heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating an object to be treated under a predetermined treatment gas, treatment temperature and treatment pressure,The reaction tube includes an inner tube that forms a processing region inside an upper end and a lower end that are open, and an outer tube that is provided outside the inner tube, the upper end is closed, the lower end is opened, and a processing gas flows downward between the inner tube and the reaction tube. An inner pipe supporting member for supporting a lower end portion of the inner pipe is provided on an inner flange portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the manifold, and the inner pipe is provided with an outer pipe forming an annular space for exhausting toward the inner pipe. Provided with a purge gas introduction part on the side wall below the support member, and a throttle part that forms a bottleneck that generates a counterflow of the purge gas that is closer to the heat retaining cylinder and generates a purge gas flow faster than the diffusion rate of the processing gas. ProvidedIt is characterized by that.
[0008]
  The invention according to claim 2A cylindrical manifold having a gas inlet and an exhaust for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube at the lower end of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around and an exhaust at the upper end and forming a furnace port The holder that holds the object to be processed in multiple stages is placed on the lid that can be raised and lowered to seal the furnace port, and is placed in the processing region through a heat insulating cylinder.A heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating an object to be treated under a predetermined treatment gas, treatment temperature and treatment pressureThe reaction tube is composed of an inner tube that forms a treatment region inside and has an exhaust part at the upper end, and an outer tube that is provided outside the inner tube and forms an annular passage between the inner tube and the inner tube. An inner pipe support member for supporting the lower end of the inner pipe is provided on the inner flange portion formed on the inner peripheral part of the manifold, and a purge gas introduction part is provided on a side wall below the inner pipe support member, Approach the inner tube support member to the heat insulation cylinderGenerate a counter flow of purge gas that is faster than the diffusion rate of the process gasForm a bottleneckSet the apertureKetaIt is characterized by that.It is preferable that the inner surface of the manifold and the inner surface of the exhaust system including the exhaust portion are roughened to suppress separation of reaction byproducts (Claim 3).
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the heat treatment apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a view showing an inner pipe support member of a manifold. a) is a partial plan view, and (b) is a partial side view.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vertical heat treatment apparatus configured to be suitable for CVD treatment or diffusion treatment under reduced pressure, and this heat treatment apparatus 1 includes a heat treatment furnace 3 having a furnace port 2 at a lower part. This heat treatment furnace 3 is provided with a vertical reaction tube 4 made of quartz, which is a processing container, and a lower end portion of the reaction tube 4, and a processing region in the reaction tube 4 (the same as the processing region in the heat treatment furnace) A And a short cylindrical manifold 7 having an exhaust portion 6 for exhausting the gas from the processing region A. A lower portion of the manifold 7 forms a furnace port 2. The reaction tube 4 preferably has a double tube structure of an inner tube 4a and an outer tube 4b. The upper and lower ends of the inner tube 4a are opened. The outer tube 4b has an upper end closed and a lower end opened. An annular passage 9 is formed between the inner tube 4a and the outer tube 4b to exhaust the processing gas downward. The processing gas introduced upward from the gas introduction part 5 passes through the processing region A, flows downward through the annular passage 9 between the inner tube 4a and the outer tube 4b, and is exhausted.
[0014]
The manifold 7 is formed of a material having heat resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, stainless steel. The gas introduction part 5 is composed of an L-shaped injector pipe, and hermetically penetrates a side wall below an inner flange part 8 (to be described later) of the manifold 7, so that the processing gas enters the processing region A in the reaction pipe 4 and its upper end. In order to be introduced as an upward flow from the processing gas introduction port 5a, the gas is arranged so as to rise along the inner wall of the inner tube 4a. A plurality of the gas introduction parts 5 are provided in the circumferential direction of the manifold 7 corresponding to the gas type. A gas introduction part (not shown) for introducing a cleaning gas for cleaning the inside of the heat treatment furnace 3 is not an L-shaped injector tube, but introduces gas directly into the furnace port 2 in the same manner as a purge gas introduction part described later. It is preferable to be formed.
[0015]
The exhaust part 6 is provided on the side wall above the inner flange part 8 of the manifold 7 so as to communicate with the annular passage 9 between the inner pipe 4a and the outer pipe 4b. An exhaust pipe 10 is connected to the exhaust section 6, and the exhaust pipe 10 has a pressure capable of controlling the processing region A in the reaction tube 4 to a predetermined processing pressure, for example, 26.6 Pa to 93100 Pa (0.2 Torr to 700 Torr). As a control unit, a combination valve 11 having a function of a main valve, a shut-off valve and a pressure control valve, a vacuum pump 12 and an excluding device 13 are provided in this order. The exhaust pipe 10 and the exhaust part 6 provided with the combination valve 11 and the like constitute an exhaust system 14. In a state where the processing area A is controlled to a predetermined processing pressure by the exhaust system 14, the processing gas ejected from the front end of the gas introduction part 5 ascends the processing area A in the inner tube 4 a of the reaction tube 4 to a predetermined level. After being subjected to this heat treatment, the annular passage 9 between the inner tube 4a and the outer tube 4b is lowered and exhausted from the exhaust part 6.
[0016]
Flange portions 7 a and 7 b are integrally formed at the upper end and lower end of the manifold 7, and the lower end flange portion 4 g of the outer tube 4 b is placed on the upper surface of the upper end flange portion 7 a and fixed by the flange presser 15. Has been. In order to seal between the upper end flange portion 7a of the manifold 7 and the lower end flange portion 4g of the outer tube 4b, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, an annular flange presser 15 surrounding the lower end flange portion 4g of the outer tube 4b is adopted. The joint between the flange retainer 15 and the lower end flange portion 4g of the outer tube 4b and the joint between the flange retainer 15 and the upper end flange portion 7a of the manifold 7 are sealed with O-rings 16 and 17, which are seal members, respectively. It is configured. In order to seal between the upper end flange portion 7a of the manifold 7 and the lower end flange portion 4g of the outer tube 4b, an O-ring may be directly interposed between these joint portions (not shown).
[0017]
In order to support the inner tube 4 a inside the manifold 7, an inner flange portion 8 is formed on the inner peripheral portion of the manifold 7, and for supporting the lower end portion of the inner tube 4 a on the inner flange portion 8. An inner tube support member 18 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, the inner tube support member 18 is formed in a ring shape from a heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant material such as Inconel, and has a plurality of claw portions 19 provided on the outer periphery thereof, and a lower end. It is preferable that the presser plate 20 fixed with screws is detachably fixed to the inner flange portion 8 of the manifold 7.
[0018]
The manifold 7 is attached to the lower portion of the base plate 21, and a heater 22 capable of controlling the processing region A in the reaction tube 4 to a predetermined heat treatment temperature, for example, about 300 to 1100 ° C. is provided on the upper portion of the base plate 21. is set up. The heater 22 is mainly composed of a heat insulating material formed in a cylindrical shape so as to surround the periphery including the upper part of the reaction tube 4 and a resistance heating element provided on the inner periphery of the heat insulating material (illustrated). (Omitted).
[0019]
In order to accommodate and hold a plurality of, for example, about 150 semiconductor wafers W (also referred to as substrates) in the processing region A in the reaction tube 4 in a horizontal state in multiple stages at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction. The wafer W is held by a wafer boat 23 that is a holder, and the wafer boat 23 is placed on an upper portion of a lid 24 that can be raised and lowered to seal the furnace port 2 via a heat insulating cylinder 25 that is a heat insulator. The lid body 24 is formed of a material having heat resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, stainless steel.
[0020]
A loading area E is provided below the heat treatment furnace 3. In this loading area E, the lid 24 is moved up and down to carry the wafer boat 21 and the heat insulation cylinder 25 into and out of the reaction tube 4, and the furnace port 2. A lifting mechanism 26 for opening and closing is provided, and a lid 24 is attached to a lifting arm 26 a of the lifting mechanism 26. An O-ring 27 is provided at the joint between the lower end flange portion 7 b of the manifold 7 and the lid body 24. The upper end flange portion 7a and the lower end flange portion 7b of the manifold 7 are provided with a cooling water passage 28 for circulating cooling water as means for cooling to prevent thermal deterioration of the O-rings 16, 17, and 27.
[0021]
In order to prevent the processing gas introduced into the processing region A from entering the furnace port 2 side, a purge gas introducing portion 29 for introducing a purge gas is provided on the furnace port 2 side, and the processing region A constricting section 30 is provided between A and the furnace port 2 for generating a counterflow of purge gas faster than the diffusion speed of the processing gas. The purge gas introduction portion 29 is provided on the side wall below the inner flange portion 8 of the manifold 7. As the purge gas, an inert gas such as argon gas is preferably used, but nitrogen gas or the like may be used. The pressure range in the heat treatment furnace for generating an increased counter flow of the upward purge gas faster than the downward diffusion rate of the process gas is not suitable in the molecular flow region of 26.6 Pa (0.2 Torr), and is viscous. The flow region is preferably about 266 Pa (2 Torr) to atmospheric pressure, and practically about 13300 Pa to 66500 Pa (100 Torr to 500 Torr).
[0022]
The throttle portion 30 is provided so as to form an orifice-like bottleneck 31 between the manifold 7 and the heat insulating cylinder 25. The throttle portion 30 may be provided in the inner tube 4a, but is preferably provided in the inner tube support member 18 as in the illustrated example. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, the inner pipe support member 18 rises upward from the inner flange portion 8 of the manifold 7, and the upper end portion of the inner pipe support member 18 has an L-shaped inward flange. By forming into a shape, the throttle portion 30 is close to the heat retaining cylinder 25. That is, the throttle portion 30 includes a horizontal portion 30a that extends horizontally inward in the radial direction from the upper end portion of the inner pipe support member 18 of the manifold 7, and a vertical portion 30b that rises vertically from the tip of the horizontal portion 30a. Is formed in an L-shaped cross section so that the heat insulating cylinder 25 is approached, and a bottleneck 31 is formed between the heat insulating cylinder 25 and the heat insulating cylinder 25. The width of the bottleneck 31 is preferably 1 to 15 mm, for example, about 5 mm.
[0023]
An annular groove 32 for positioning and mounting the inner tube 4 a is formed at the upper end portion of the inner tube support member 18 together with the throttle portion 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the throttle portion 30 is provided with a notch portion 33 corresponding to these in order to avoid interference with the gas introduction portion (injector pipe) 5.
[0024]
In addition, the inner surface of the furnace port 2 of the heat treatment furnace 3 and the inner surface of the exhaust system 14 where the reaction gas by-products of the processing gas are supposed to be attached are subjected to roughening to suppress separation of the reaction byproducts. (Not shown). The areas to be roughened are the inner surface (inner peripheral surface) of the manifold 7 and the inner surface of the exhaust system 14 including the exhaust part 6, but the pressure downstream of the combination valve 11 is 26.6 Pa (0.2 Torr). Since the reaction by-product is difficult to be generated and the exclusion device 13 is provided, specifically, the inner surface above the inner flange portion 8 of the manifold 7, the inner surface of the exhaust portion 6, and the exhaust portion. What is necessary is just to roughen the inner surface of the exhaust pipe 10 from 6 to the combination valve 11. The inner surface of the manifold 7 below the throttle portion 30 is prevented from adhering reaction by-products by purging with a purge gas, but the inner surface and the inner surface of the lid 24 are also roughened. Also good. Further, the surface of the heat insulating cylinder 25 may be roughened.
[0025]
As a rough surface processing method, for example, buffing, hairline processing, blasting, composite electrolytic polishing, and the like can be applied. It has been confirmed by experiments that blasting is preferable. In the experiment, a plurality of samples subjected to various roughened surfaces were prepared, and a test was conducted on the timing of peeling of reaction by-products. As a result, by spraying glass beads of, for example, 150 to 250 μm on the surface to be processed, a product having a rough surface with a high roughness, for example, an average roughness of 1.31 μm, has the effect of suppressing the separation of reaction byproducts. It was confirmed to be high. In particular, in an arsenic process, it has been confirmed that there is a life extension effect of 10 times or more with respect to the peeling time in the case of a normal stainless steel surface.
[0026]
In addition, the inner peripheral wall surface above the inner flange portion 8 of the manifold 7 has a cylindrical cylindrical shape made of quartz in order to prevent corrosion due to contact with a processing gas having a strong corrosion property such as HCl or a cleaning gas. The protective cover member 34 is preferably attached.
[0027]
Next, the operation of the vertical heat treatment apparatus having the above configuration will be described. First, when the wafer boat 23 in which the semiconductor wafers W are held in multiple stages on the lid 24 lowered to the loading area E is placed via the heat insulating cylinder 25, the lid 24 is raised to move the inside of the heat treatment furnace 3 inside. The wafer boat 23 is carried into the processing area A and the furnace port 2 is sealed with a lid 24. Then, the inside of the furnace is set to a predetermined processing pressure, for example, 26600 Pa (200 Torr) by decompression exhaust from the exhaust unit 6, and a predetermined processing gas, for example, arsine (AsH) is supplied from the gas introduction unit 5 to the processing area A_Three) And a purge gas, for example, argon gas, is introduced from the purge gas introduction section 29, and the processing region A is heated to a predetermined processing temperature by the heater 22, whereby the semiconductor wafer W is subjected to a predetermined heat treatment, for example, thermal diffusion processing. In this case, the processing gas is introduced from the gas introduction unit 5 at, for example, several hundred cc per minute, and the purge gas is introduced from the purge gas introduction unit 29 at, for example, about 1 liter per minute.
[0028]
In this heat treatment step, the processing gas is introduced into the inner tube 4a of the reaction tube 4 from the processing gas inlet 5a at the tip of the gas introduction part 5, and in the process of ascending the inner tube 4a, the semiconductor wafer W in the processing region A. After being subjected to this heat treatment, the annular passage 9 between the inner tube 4 a and the outer tube 4 b is lowered and exhausted from the exhaust part 6 of the manifold 7. In this case, the processing gas tends to diffuse also from the processing region A to the lower furnace port 2 side. However, a throttle portion 30 is provided between the processing region A and the furnace port 2 and is more than the throttle portion 30. Since the purge gas is introduced below, the purge gas flows through the narrow channel 31 narrowed by the throttle portion 30 as a counter flow having a flow rate faster than the diffusion rate of the process gas toward the process region A, thereby Intrusion to the furnace port 2 side is prevented or suppressed. At this time, the processing gas is basically supplied as an upward flow from the processing gas introduction port 5a at the tip of the gas introduction unit 5, and the purge gas flow directed upward from the upstream side of this upward flow through the bottleneck 31 is processed. Since it is only necessary to overcome the downward diffusion of the gas, the upward flow rate of the purge gas flow is smaller than that of the vertical heat treatment apparatus described in JP-A-10-223538 described at the beginning. A large amount of inert gas is not mixed in the processing gas.
[0029]
Accordingly, reaction by-products are not generated in the periphery of the furnace port or even if generated. As a result, it is possible to eliminate or suppress the reaction by-product from adhering to the periphery of the furnace port that may be exposed to the loading area E that is a maintenance area during unloading. Therefore, in a process in which a heater is conventionally used around the furnace port, the heater can be deleted, and the apparatus can be simplified. In addition, it is particularly effective in an arsenic-based process where the effect cannot be obtained even with a heater, and is an effective measure for protecting the health of the operator.
[0030]
On the other hand, since the processing gas is in contact with the inner surface of the exhaust-side manifold 7 and the inner surface of the exhaust system 14 including the exhaust portion 6, reaction by-products are likely to be generated, but adhesion of reaction by-products is expected. The inner surface of the manifold 7 (specifically, the inner surface above the inner flange portion 8) and the inner surface of the exhaust system 14 including the exhaust portion 6 (specifically, the inner surface of the exhaust portion 6 and the exhaust portion 6 to the combination valve 11) Since the rough surface processing which suppresses peeling of the reaction by-product is performed on the inner surface of the exhaust pipe 10, even if the reaction by-product adheres, it is not easily peeled off. Thereby, since generation | occurrence | production of a particle can be suppressed thru | or prevented, it becomes effective in terms of a process and an operator's health. Further, in the past, cleaning was required for every run in relation to the time when the reaction by-product was peeled off. However, cleaning should be performed every 10 runs, greatly extending the interval between periodic cleanings. And the processing capacity can be improved.
[0031]
  FIG. 4 shows the present invention.The fruitForm of applicationNot a reference exampleIndicates. In FIG. 4, the same or equivalent members or portions as shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only differences from FIG. 1 will be described below. In this embodiment, the reaction tube 4 has a single tube structure, not a double tube structure having an inner tube and an outer tube. The upper end (top) of the reaction tube 4 is reduced in diameter, and an exhaust unit 6 is provided. An exhaust system 14 is connected to the exhaust unit 6. Since there is an exhaust part 6 at the top of the reaction tube 4, no exhaust part is provided on the side surface of the manifold 7.
[0032]
Further, in this embodiment, the inner tube support member 18 supported on the inner side of the manifold 7 shown in FIG. 1 is not provided, and the cylindrical throttle portion 30 is attached adjacent to the inner side of the protective cover member 34. Yes. An annular bottle 31 is formed between the tube portion of the throttle portion 30 and the outer peripheral surface of the heat retaining tube 25. As in the case of FIG. 1, the throttle unit 30 is located above the purge gas introduction unit 29 and upstream with respect to the upward flow of the processing gas exiting from the processing gas introduction port 5a. This embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 only in the manner of exhausting gas, and other basic operations are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the processing gas that has passed through the processing region A as an upward flow is directly exhausted from the exhaust section 6 at the upper end of the reaction tube 4 to the exhaust system 14, so that the exhaust conductance can be improved.
[0033]
  FIG. 5 shows a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.OtherAn embodiment of the present invention will be described. In FIG. 5, the same or equivalent members or portions as shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only differences from FIG. 1 will be described below. In this embodiment, a double tube structure is adopted as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and an annular passage 9 is formed between the inner tube 4a and the outer tube 4b. However, the annular passage 9 is not used for exhausting the processing gas. The processing gas is exhausted by the exhaust system 14 from the exhaust part 6 provided at the top of the inner pipe 4a as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
[0034]
The outer tube 4b has substantially the same shape as the inner tube 4a and covers the outside of the inner tube 4a, and an annular passage 9 is formed between the outer tube 4b and the inner tube 4a. From the inert gas introduction part 40 provided in the lower part of this annular passage 9, N₂By flowing an inert gas such as the above into the annular passage 9 and exhausting it from the top to the factory exhaust system, leakage of the processing gas to the outside of the inner pipe 4a is prevented, and the metal component released from the heater 22 The metal contamination of the semiconductor wafer is prevented. Further, since the outer tube 4b is not in direct contact with the processing gas, cleaning is not required, and only the inner tube 4a in direct contact with the processing gas has to be cleaned. This embodiment is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 only in the manner of exhausting gas, and other basic operations are the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIG.
[0035]
  FIG. 6 shows the present invention.The fruitForm of applicationNot a reference exampleIndicates. In the above embodiment, the throttle portion 30 is formed integrally with the inner tube support member 18. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the throttle portion 30 is provided on the outer periphery of the heat retaining cylinder 25. A narrow path 31 is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical vertical portion of the portion 30 and the inner tube 4a.
[0036]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. is there. The present invention can be applied to, for example, a single-wafer type heat treatment apparatus or a horizontal heat treatment apparatus in addition to the vertical heat treatment apparatus. In addition to the semiconductor wafer, for example, a glass substrate or an LCD substrate can be used as the object to be processed.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
[0042]
  (1Claim1According to the invention according to the present invention, a cylindrical manifold having a gas inlet and an exhaust for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube at the lower end of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around it and forming a furnace port A holder that holds the object to be processed in multiple stages is placed on a lid that can be moved up and down to seal the furnace port via a heat insulating cylinder, and the object to be processed accommodated in the processing region is treated with a predetermined processing gas. In heat treatment equipment for heat treatment under treatment temperature and pressureThe reaction tube includes an inner tube that forms a processing region inside an open upper end and a lower end, and an outer tube that is provided outside the inner tube, closes the upper end, opens the lower end, and passes a processing gas between the inner tube and the reaction tube. An inner pipe support member for supporting the lower end portion of the inner pipe is provided on the inner flange portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the manifold. Side wall below the tube support memberProvided with a purge gas introduction part,Approaching the heat insulation cylinder to the inner pipe support memberA constriction is provided to form a bottleneck that generates a counterflow of purge gas that is faster than the diffusion rate of the processing gas.JustTherefore, it is possible to suppress the deposition of reaction by-products on the periphery of the furnace port that may be exposed to the loading area that is the maintenance area during unloading.wear.
[0043]
  (2Claim2According to the invention according to the present invention, the furnace port has a gas introducing part and an exhaust part for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube at a lower end part of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around and an exhaust part at an upper end. A holder that holds the object to be processed in multiple stages is placed on a lid that can be moved up and down to seal the furnace port through the heat insulating cylinder, and the object to be accommodated in the processing region is provided. A heat treatment apparatus for heat treating a treatment body under a predetermined treatment gas, treatment temperature and treatment pressure,The reaction tube is composed of an inner tube having a processing region therein and having an exhaust portion at an upper end thereof, and an outer tube which is provided outside the inner tube and forms an annular passage between the inner tube and the manifold. An inner pipe support member that supports the lower end portion of the inner pipe is provided on the inner flange portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the inner pipe, and the side wall below the inner pipe support member is provided.Provided with a purge gas introduction part,Approaching the heat insulation cylinder to the inner pipe support memberBecause there is a constriction that forms a bottleneck that generates a counter flow of purge gas that is faster than the diffusion rate of the processing gas, reaction to the furnace port periphery that may be exposed to the loading area, which is the maintenance area, during unloading By-product adhesion can be suppressed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a vertical heat treatment apparatus.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the heat treatment apparatus.
3A and 3B are views showing an inner pipe support member of a manifold, where FIG. 3A is a partial plan view, and FIG. 3B is a partial side view.
FIG. 4 The present inventionThe fruitForm of applicationReference example different fromFIG.
FIG. 5 is a heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention.OtherIt is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows this embodiment.
FIG. 6The fruitForm of applicationReference example different fromFIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
  W Semiconductor wafer (object to be processed)
  1 Vertical heat treatment equipment (heat treatment equipment)
  2 Furnace
  3 Heat treatment furnace
  4 reaction tubes
  4a Inner pipe
  4b Outer pipe
  A processing area
  5 Gas introduction part
  6 Exhaust section
  7 Manifold
  14 Exhaust system
  22 Heater
  24 Lid
  29 Purge gas introduction part
  30 Aperture
  31 Kushiro

Claims (3)

At the lower end of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around it is provided a cylindrical manifold having a gas introduction part and an exhaust part for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube and forming a furnace port. A holder holding the object to be processed in multiple stages is placed on a lid that can be raised and lowered via a heat insulating cylinder, and the object to be processed accommodated in the processing region is set to a predetermined processing gas, processing temperature, and processing pressure. In the heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment below, the reaction tube includes an inner tube that forms a treatment region inside an open upper end and a lower end, an outer tube that is provided outside the inner tube, is closed at the upper end, and is opened at the lower end. And an outer tube that forms an annular space for exhausting the processing gas downward, and an inner tube that supports the lower end of the inner tube on an inner flange formed on the inner periphery of the manifold A support member is provided, and the inner tube support member The purge gas introduction portion provided in the side wall of Rimoshita side, provided with a throttle portion to form a bottleneck for generating fast purge gas counter flow than the diffusion velocity of the approaching the processing gas to the heat insulating tube into said tube support member The heat processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A cylindrical manifold having a gas inlet and an exhaust for introducing a processing gas into a processing region in the reaction tube at the lower end of a vertical reaction tube having a heater around and an exhaust at the upper end and forming a furnace port A holder that holds the object to be processed in multiple stages is placed on a lid that can be moved up and down to seal the furnace port via a heat insulating cylinder, and the object to be processed accommodated in the processing region is treated with a predetermined processing gas. A heat treatment apparatus for heat treatment under a treatment temperature and a treatment pressure , wherein the reaction tube includes an inner tube having a treatment region formed therein and having an exhaust portion at an upper end, and an inner tube provided outside the inner tube; An inner pipe supporting member for supporting the lower end of the inner pipe is provided on the inner flange portion formed on the inner peripheral portion of the manifold, and the inner pipe supporting member is formed from the inner pipe supporting member. A purge gas introduction part on the lower side wall, and the inner pipe Heat treatment apparatus, characterized in that the throttle section digits set to form a bottleneck for generating fast purge gas counter flow than the diffusion velocity of the approaching the processing gas to the heat insulating cylinder to support member. The inner surface of the exhaust system, including an inner surface and an exhaust portion of the front Symbol manifold, reaction heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein suppressing the surface roughening of the separation of by-products, characterized in that it into effect.

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