JP4118189B2 - Load lock device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a load lock device, and more particularly to a load lock device capable of transporting a sample without degrading throughput.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a sample subjected to high-temperature processing such as plasma processing in a reduced-pressure atmosphere is placed on a transfer means in the atmosphere with high temperature, for example, on the arm of a transfer robot, or placed on a cassette at room temperature in the atmosphere, A thermal stress is generated in the sample due to a temperature difference between the sample and the arm or cassette, causing warpage. When the warp occurs, the adsorption of the sample by the conveying means is hindered, or a problem such as a crack in the sample occurs.
[0003]
As means for solving this problem, it is known to provide a cooling step for cooling the sample before the sample is transferred onto the sample mounting means. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a wafer is held in a load lock chamber into which nitrogen gas has been introduced for a predetermined time and forcibly cooled, and then transferred from the load lock chamber.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-124893
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the prior art, as a method of cooling a processed wafer, a method of cooling by introducing an inert gas (nitrogen gas) is used. However, this method requires cooling time and causes a deterioration in throughput.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and provides a load lock apparatus capable of transporting a high-temperature sample without degrading the throughput.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
[0008]
A load lock device for carrying a sample from the processing chamber side to the atmosphere side while maintaining the pressure on the processing chamber side at a predetermined value, a sample loading path for carrying the processed sample from the processing chamber, and a gas inside An introduction path for introducing the refrigerant, a sample unloading path for unloading the loaded sample to the atmosphere side, a stage provided with a sample support on the top, and a stage for placing the sample loaded via the sample loading path, A stage driving device that drives the stage to a position that connects to the carry-in path and a position that connects to the carry-out path, and the stage has a flow path for passing a coolant that cools the inside of the stage, and the carry-out path A valve part that cuts off the connection between the carry-out path and the carry-in path when connected to the surface, and the sample support base is formed on the upper surface thereof and disposed on the inner surface of the recess and the concave portion in which the sample is disposed. On its top Serial comprises a ring-shaped projection portion supporting the sample, cooling the sample flowed through the refrigerant of the introduced gas into the gap between the sample recess containing the projection portion.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a load lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a stage of the load lock device is driven upward, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a cross section taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the load lock device is applied to an etching processing device.
[0010]
In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a load lock device for carrying a sample from the ashing processing chamber 22 side to the atmosphere side through, for example, a buffer chamber 23 (see FIG. 4) while maintaining the pressure on the processing chamber side at a predetermined value. 2 is a sample vertical drive mechanism for driving the sample placed on the sample support 3 upward, 3 is a sample support for placing the sample, and 31 is a protrusion formed on the sample support. A coolant channel (recess 32) can be secured between the sample support 3 and the sample 4. 4 is a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, 5 is a gate that opens and closes between the load lock chamber and the atmosphere, 6 is a stage having a sample support 3 on the top, and the stage 6 is a driving mechanism (not shown) that drives the stage 6 up and down. Is provided. 7 is a refrigerant flow path provided in the stage, 8 is a refrigerant tank for supplying refrigerant to the refrigerant flow path, and 9 and 10 are pipes connecting the tank 8 and the refrigerant flow path 7. 11 is a gas introduction pipe for supplying an inert gas to the load lock chamber, and 12 is a gas discharge pipe for exhausting the load lock chamber. 101 is a carry-out path for the sample 4, and 102 is a carry-in path for the sample 4.
[0011]
21 is an etching chamber, 22 is an ashing chamber that performs ashing on a wafer that has been etched, 23 is a buffer chamber that includes a transfer robot, 24 is a cassette that stores a plurality of wafers, and 25 is a cassette. This is a cassette stand.
[0012]
The interior of the load lock chamber 1 provided with the stage 6 is evacuated to a high vacuum by a vacuum pump (not shown). After the stage 6 is lowered to the wafer loading position, the ashed sample 4 is loaded into the load lock chamber 1 through the buffer chamber, and is placed on the protrusion 31 formed on the sample support 3 (FIG. 1). State shown in).
[0013]
Since the sample 4 is disposed on the protrusion 31, a recess 32 for allowing a refrigerant of an inert gas such as nitrogen to flow can be formed between the upper surface of the sample table 3 and the lower surface of the sample 4. By appropriately setting the recess 32, the sample 4 can be effectively cooled.
[0014]
Thereafter, the stage 6 is raised to the sample unloading position. At this time, the valve portion V provided on the stage partitions the load lock chamber 1 into a carry-out path 101 formed on the upper side of the stage and a carry-in path 102 formed on the lower side (state shown in FIG. 2).
[0015]
The refrigerant made of an inert gas such as nitrogen can be introduced into the load lock chamber 1 (the carry-out path or the carry-in path) after the stage 6 is lifted or after the stage 6 is lifted.
[0016]
A refrigerant flow path 7 is provided in the stage 6, and the flow path 7 is connected to a tank 8 filled with a refrigerant such as water via pipes 9 and 10. The tank 8 may be a temperature controller having a function of controlling the temperature of the refrigerant. In this case, the temperature-controlled refrigerant is allowed to flow through the refrigerant flow path in the stage 6 so that the sample support 3 placed on the stage 6 or the upper part of the stage can be maintained at a predetermined temperature. Since the sample 4 radiates heat to the stage 6 through the recess 32 filled with the inert gas, the flow rate or pressure of the inert gas (thermally conductive gas) filled in the gap 32 is adjusted to release the sample 4. The amount of heat can be adjusted.
[0017]
When the temperature of the sample 4 decreases to a predetermined value, the sample lifting mechanism 2 is driven to lift the sample 4 upward. Next, after detecting that the upper space 101 of the load lock chamber has become atmospheric pressure, the gate 5 is opened, a robot arm (not shown) is inserted into the discharge right passage 101, and the sample 4 is carried out.
[0018]
Next, sample loading and unloading processing will be described with reference to FIG. First, a cassette 24 storing a plurality of samples 4 is placed on a cassette table 25. Next, an atmospheric transfer robot (not shown) takes out the sample 4 from the cassette 24 and carries the taken-out sample into the load lock chamber 1. Next, a transfer robot (not shown) installed in the buffer chamber 23 takes out the sample from the load lock chamber 1 and carries the taken out sample into the etching processing chamber 21. The sample etched in the etching chamber 21 is transferred to the ashing chamber 22 via the buffer chamber 23 by the transfer robot. The sample 4 that has been subjected to ashing in the ashing chamber 22 and has reached a high temperature is transferred to the load lock chamber 14 via the buffer chamber 13 by the transfer robot. The high-temperature sample 4 conveyed to the load lock chamber 1 is quickly cooled by dissipating heat to the stage 6 through the recess formed between the sample and the sample support table and the sample support table 3.
[0019]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the sample is forcedly cooled, it is possible to cool the sample without deteriorating the throughput. In the above example, the plasma etching apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention can be widely applied to a processing apparatus that heats and processes an object to be processed such as a sample in a reduced pressure atmosphere. For example, a processing apparatus using plasma can be applied to a plasma etching apparatus, a plasma CVD apparatus, a sputtering apparatus, and the like. Further, as a processing apparatus that does not use plasma, it can be applied to an ion implantation apparatus, an MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) apparatus, a vapor deposition apparatus, a low pressure CVD apparatus, and the like.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a load lock device that can transport a high-temperature sample without degrading the throughput.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a load lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a stage of the load lock device is driven upward.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a load lock device is applied to an etching processing device.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Load lock chamber 2 Sample raising / lowering mechanism 3 Sample support stand 4 Sample 5 Gate 6 Stage 7 Refrigerant flow path 8 Tank 9 10 Pipe 11 Gas introduction pipe 12 Gas discharge pipe 21 Etching treatment chamber 22 Ashing treatment chamber 23 Buffer chamber 24 Cassette 25 Cassette base 31 Protrusion 32 Recess 101 Unloading path 102 Loading path

Claims (1)

A load lock device that carries the sample from the processing chamber side to the atmosphere side while maintaining the pressure on the processing chamber side at a predetermined value,
A sample carry-in path for carrying a treated sample from the treatment chamber;
An introduction path for introducing a gas refrigerant inside;
A sample unloading path for unloading the loaded sample to the atmosphere side;
A stage equipped with a sample support on the top and a stage for placing the sample carried in via the sample carry-in path;
A stage driving device for driving the stage to a position connecting to the carry-in path and a position connecting to the carry-out path, respectively.
The stage flow path for flowing a refrigerant for cooling the inside stage, a valve unit for interrupting the connection of the introduction passage and the delivery passage when the delivery passage and SeMMitsuru, the sample holder thereof A concave portion formed on the upper surface and disposed inside the concave portion, and a ring-shaped projection portion disposed on the inner surface of the concave portion and supporting the sample on the upper surface, and between the concave portion including the projection portion and the sample. A load lock device that cools the sample by allowing the introduced gas refrigerant to flow through the gap .

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