JP4870542B2 - Vapor growth equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vapor phase growth apparatus for depositing a semiconductor thin film on a substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a susceptor holding a plurality of self-revolving substrates on an outer peripheral portion, and from the central portion of the susceptor toward the substrate surface of the outer peripheral portion. The present invention relates to a vapor phase growth apparatus in which a gap portion at the tip of a gas introduction pipe for supplying a source gas is accommodated in a chamber.

As a vapor phase growth apparatus, a susceptor is rotatably disposed in a lower portion of a chamber formed in a flat cylindrical shape, and a substrate holder for holding a substrate is disposed on the outer periphery of the susceptor so as to be capable of rotating and revolving. A so-called self-revolving vapor phase growth apparatus is known in which a gas introduction part for introducing a source gas from the central part of the susceptor toward the outer peripheral part is disposed at the upper part. The vapor phase growth apparatus introduces a predetermined source gas into the chamber from the gas introduction part while rotating and rotating the susceptor heated to a predetermined temperature and rotating the substrate held by the substrate holder. A thin film is grown on the surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-108312 A

  However, as described above, when the gas introduction tube is attached to the chamber lid, the chamber lid may be displaced by repeatedly opening and closing the chamber lid. Along with the change in the position of the chamber lid, the position of the gas introduction pipe also changes, and the introduction speed and balance of the source gas change, which may adversely affect the growth of the thin film. In order to control the film formation, the gas introduction pipe attached to the chamber lid must be replaced when changing the introduction state of the source gas by adjusting the amount of protrusion of the gas introduction pipe into the chamber. It was a lot of work.

  Therefore, the present invention can always keep the introduction state of the source gas in an appropriate state without changing the position of the gas introduction pipe even when the chamber lid is opened and closed during the transport of the substrate and the maintenance of the chamber. An object is to provide a vapor phase growth apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the vapor phase growth apparatus of the present invention comprises a disc-shaped susceptor that rotates while holding a plurality of substrates on the outer periphery, and is disposed opposite to the surface of the susceptor so that the center of the susceptor extends from the center to the outer periphery. In a vapor phase growth apparatus in which a gas introduction pipe for introducing a raw material gas is accommodated in a flat cylindrical chamber, the chamber is disposed on the susceptor side and the anti-susceptor side is opened, and the chamber body A chamber lid that is airtightly attached to the opening of the chamber, and an insertion port through which the gas introduction pipe is inserted is provided at a central portion of the chamber lid, and an opening edge of the insertion opening and an upper portion of the gas introduction tube mounting a cylindrical elastic member hermetically between said forming a chamber lid vertically movably, between said susceptor and said chamber lid, up and down the chamber A partition that partitions and forms a reaction chamber on the susceptor side, the partition having an insertion port through which the gas introduction pipe is inserted at the center, and being divided into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction, Is placed on a partition wall support portion provided on the outer peripheral side of the gas introduction pipe, and the outer periphery side of the partition wall is mounted on a partition wall support portion disposed on the inner peripheral side of the peripheral wall of the chamber body. It is said.

Moreover, the raising / lowering means which moves the said chamber lid to an up-down direction can also be provided. Further, the gas introduction pipe may be provided so as to be movable in the pipe axis direction .

  According to the vapor phase growth apparatus of the present invention, the chamber lid is opened and closed by moving up and down while maintaining the positional relationship between the gas introduction pipe and the chamber body, so that the installation position of the gas introduction pipe may change. In addition, even after the chamber lid is opened and closed to carry the substrate, maintain the chamber, etc., the introduction state of the source gas can always be kept appropriate.

  Further, by providing the gas introduction pipe so as to be movable in the vertical direction, the amount of protrusion of the gas introduction pipe into the chamber can be easily adjusted, so that the introduction state of the source gas can be easily changed.

  Furthermore, by dividing the partition partitioning the inside of the chamber into a plurality in the circumferential direction, the partition can be easily attached and detached when the chamber lid is opened. In addition, by placing the inner peripheral side of the partition wall on the gas introduction pipe and the outer peripheral side on the chamber body, it is possible to cope with the movement of the gas introduction pipe in the vertical direction.

  1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a vapor phase growth apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional front view of the vapor phase growth apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of a ceiling plate.

  This vapor phase growth apparatus is arranged in a flat cylindrical chamber 12 having a gas introduction pipe 11 disposed in the upper center, at a regular interval on a disc-shaped susceptor 13 and a concentric circle on the outer peripheral portion of the susceptor 13. A plurality of substrate holders 14, and a ceiling plate 16, which is opposed to the susceptor 13 and divides the inside of the chamber 12 in the vertical direction and forms a reaction chamber 15 on the susceptor 13 side, are provided.

  The chamber 12 is divided into a chamber main body 17 having an opening on the side opposite to the susceptor side, and a chamber lid 19 that is airtightly mounted on the upper peripheral wall of the chamber main body 17 via an O-ring 18. A rotation drive shaft 20 for rotating the susceptor 13 is provided at the center of the bottom of the chamber body 17. By rotating the susceptor 13 with the rotation drive shaft 20, the substrate holder 14 holding the substrate 21 is moved to the susceptor. While revolving with respect to the center of 13, it is rotated by a rotating gear mechanism 22 provided on the outer periphery of the susceptor 13.

  Below the substrate holder 14, a heater 24 housed in the reflector 23 is arranged in a ring shape as a heating means for heating the substrate 21, and a cooling water pipe 25 a is connected to the lower portion of the reflector 23. The cooling water passage 25 is provided. Further, a ring-shaped exhaust passage 26 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the susceptor 13, and a plurality of exhaust pipes 26 a communicating with the exhaust passage 26 are provided through the bottom of the chamber body 17.

  An insertion port 19a for inserting the gas introduction pipe 11 is provided at the center of the chamber lid 19, and a cylindrical guide tube 27 is provided in an airtight manner at the opening edge of the insertion port 19a. . Two heat insulating plates 28 formed in a disk shape having a through hole in the center are provided below the chamber lid 19. The heat insulating plate 28 is provided with a slit 28 a corresponding to the observation window 29 provided on the chamber lid 19 so that the situation in the reaction chamber 15 and the situation of the substrate 21 can be confirmed from the observation window 29. . Further, the chamber lid 19 is provided with a cooling water passage 30 to which a cooling water pipe 30a is connected.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ceiling plate 16 includes a large-diameter ring-shaped outer peripheral ceiling plate 16a disposed on the outer peripheral side, and a plurality of divided bodies disposed on the inner peripheral side and divided in the circumferential direction. The outer peripheral ceiling plate 16a is formed of a small-diameter ring-shaped inner peripheral ceiling plate 16c made of 16b and a central ceiling plate 16d provided at the lower end of the gas introduction pipe 11. It is fixed at a predetermined position in a state where it is placed on the partition wall support portion 17a provided on the inner periphery of the peripheral wall. Further, knobs 16e project from the inner peripheral side and outer peripheral side of the upper surface of each divided body 16b of the inner peripheral side ceiling plate 16c, and the outer peripheral edge of each divided body 16b is the outer peripheral side ceiling plate 16a. It is mounted on the inner peripheral edge, and the inner peripheral edge is mounted on a partition wall supporting portion 16f provided on the outer peripheral edge of the central ceiling plate 16d and is detachably formed.

  The gas introduction pipe 11 accommodates a multiple pipe 11b in which a plurality of pipes having different diameters are arranged concentrically inside the protective pipe 11a to form a plurality of gas flow paths. A gas introduction joint 11c for introducing a predetermined source gas into each flow path in the pipe 11b is provided. The protective tube 11a is airtightly held at the upper portion of the multiple tube 11b by an upper flange 11d provided at the upper portion, and is held at a predetermined position by a support member (not shown), and the relative position to the chamber body 17 is fixed. Yes.

  The lower ceiling 11e provided at the lower end of the protective tube 11a is fitted with the central ceiling plate 16d, and the upper end of the insertion port 16g provided at the center of the central ceiling plate 16d is the most in the multiple tube 11b. The lower end portion of the pipe disposed on the outer periphery is joined in an airtight manner. The lower end of the pipe disposed on the inner peripheral side of the multiple pipe 11b expands near the susceptor 13 and introduces a source gas parallel to the upper surface of the susceptor from the center of the susceptor 13 toward the outer periphery. Part 11f is formed.

  The chamber lid 19 is attached to the elevating means 32 via a plurality of brackets 31 provided on the outer peripheral portion, and is provided on the guide cylinder 27 projecting from the central portion of the chamber lid 19 and the upper portion of the gas introduction pipe 11. Between the upper flange 11d, a bellows 33, which is a cylindrical elastic member, is airtightly attached. Note that any linear movement means such as a screw can be adopted as the lifting means 32.

  When a thin film is grown on the substrate 21 by this vapor phase growth apparatus, the substrate 21 is held by the substrate holder 14 and the chamber lid 19 is attached to the upper portion of the chamber body 17 through the O-ring 18 in an airtight manner. The chamber 12 is evacuated through the exhaust passage 26, the rotary drive shaft 20 is operated and the susceptor 13 is rotated to cause the substrate 21 to rotate and revolve, and the heater 24 is operated to heat the substrate 21 to a predetermined temperature. At the same time, a predetermined source gas is supplied to the multiple pipe 11b of the gas introduction pipe 11. The type of source gas supplied to the multiple tube 11b is not particularly limited and can be arbitrarily selected according to the type of thin film to be formed. In addition, the configuration of the multiple tube can be appropriately set according to the type of source gas to be introduced and other film forming conditions.

  The source gas introduced into the reaction chamber 15 from the nozzle portion 11f of the gas introduction pipe 11 flows between the susceptor 13 and the ceiling plate 16 from the central portion toward the outer peripheral portion, and the portion of the susceptor 13 heated to a high temperature. As a result, the reaction components in the source gas are thermally decomposed, and a predetermined thin film is deposited on the surface of the substrate 21. Unreacted source gas is discharged from the outer periphery of the susceptor 13 through the exhaust passage 26 and from the exhaust pipe 26a. As a result, a predetermined thin film is formed on the surface of the substrate 21.

  After the predetermined thin film is formed on the substrate 21, when the substrate 21 is transported or the chamber 12 is maintained, the lifting means 32 is operated upward to raise the chamber lid 19 together with the bracket 31. 16 and the parts on the chamber body 17 side including the susceptor 13 and the gas introduction pipe 11 do not move, and only the chamber lid 19 rises while contracting the bellows 33.

  By raising the chamber lid 19 in this way, each divided body 16b of the ceiling plate 16 can be easily removed using the knob 16e, and all the divided bodies 16b are removed so that the divided parts 16b are positioned below them. The substrate 21 to be replaced can be easily exchanged. In addition, maintenance in the chamber 12 can be easily performed.

  After replacing the substrate 21, the outer peripheral edge of each divided body 16 b is placed on the inner peripheral edge of the outer peripheral side ceiling plate 16 a and the inner peripheral edge is placed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the lower flange 11 e of the gas introduction pipe 11. After the reaction chamber 15 is partitioned by the above, the elevating means 32 is operated downward, the chamber lid 19 is lowered, and the chamber main body 17 is airtightly attached. When the chamber lid 19 is lowered, only the chamber lid 19 is lowered by the extension of the bellows 33.

  Accordingly, since the components on the chamber body 17 side and the gas introduction pipe 11 do not move when the chamber lid 19 is opened and closed, the position of the nozzle portion 11f in the reaction chamber 15 does not change, and in repeated film forming operations. Reproducibility can be improved. In addition, the ceiling plate 16 is formed of a plurality of divided bodies 16b, and the inner and outer peripheral edges of each divided body 16b are merely placed on the partition wall supporting portion 16f of the central ceiling board 16d and the inner peripheral edge of the outer peripheral side ceiling board 16a. Therefore, it is possible to easily open and close the portion of the ceiling plate 16 necessary for substrate replacement.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional front view of a vapor phase growth apparatus showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Components that are the same as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and a detailed description thereof is given. Is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, the lower end of the gas introduction pipe 11 is expanded to form a large-diameter flange 11h that also serves as the central ceiling plate, and the divided body 16b of the ceiling plate 16 is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the large-diameter flange 11h. The inner peripheral edge is placed.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional front view of a vapor phase growth apparatus showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The upper part of the gas introduction pipe 11 is supported by the lifting means 32, and the gas introduction pipe 11 is connected to the chamber lid 19. Separately, it is formed so that it can move in the vertical direction. Thereby, the vertical position of the gas introduction pipe 11 in the reaction chamber 15 can be adjusted, and the introduction state of the source gas can be easily changed, so that the film formation can be easily controlled.

  In addition, since the inner periphery of the divided body 16b is not fixed, it is merely placed on the outer peripheral edge of the large-diameter flange 11h, so that an unreasonable force is exerted on the divided body 16b even if the gas introduction pipe 11 is moved up and down about 1 mm. Even if a gap is generated between the adjacent divided bodies 16b without being added, it is extremely small and the source gas hardly leaks.

1 is a cross-sectional front view of a vapor phase growth apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which similarly shows a ceiling board. It is a cross-sectional front view of the vapor phase growth apparatus showing the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional front view of the vapor phase growth apparatus which shows the 3rd form example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Gas introduction pipe, 11a ... Protective pipe, 11b ... Multiple pipe, 11c ... Gas introduction joint, 11d ... Upper flange, 11e ... Lower flange, 11f ... Nozzle part, 11h ... Large diameter flange, 12 ... Chamber, 13 ... Susceptor , 13a ... central opening, 14 ... substrate holder, 15 ... reaction chamber, 16 ... ceiling plate, 16a ... outer peripheral side ceiling plate, 16b ... divided body, 16c ... inner peripheral side ceiling portion, 16d ... central ceiling plate, 16e ... Knob, 16f ... partition wall support, 16g ... insertion hole, 17 ... chamber body, 18 ... O-ring, 19 ... chamber lid, 19a ... insertion hole, 20 ... rotational drive shaft, 21 ... substrate, 22 ... rotation gear mechanism, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 ... Reflector, 24 ... Heater, 25 ... Cooling water passage, 25a ... Cooling water piping, 26 ... Exhaust passage, 26a ... Exhaust pipe, 27 ... Guide tube, 28 ... Heat insulation board, 29 ... Viewing window, 3 ... cooling water passage, 30a ... cooling water pipe, 31 ... bracket, 32 ... elevation unit, 33 ... bellows

Claims (3)

A disc-shaped susceptor that rotates while holding a plurality of substrates on the outer periphery, and a gas introduction pipe that is disposed opposite to the surface of the susceptor and introduces a source gas from the center of the susceptor toward the outer periphery. In the vapor phase growth apparatus accommodated in the chamber,
The chamber is divided into a chamber body disposed on the susceptor side and having an opening on the anti-susceptor side, and a chamber lid that is airtightly attached to the opening of the chamber body,
An insertion port through which the gas introduction pipe is inserted is provided at a central portion of the chamber lid, and a cylindrical elastic member is hermetically attached between an opening edge of the insertion port and an upper portion of the gas introduction pipe. Is formed to be movable up and down ,
Between the susceptor and the chamber lid, a partition that partitions the chamber up and down to form a reaction chamber on the susceptor side,
The partition wall has an insertion port through which the gas introduction pipe is inserted at the center, and is divided into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction.
The inner peripheral side of the partition wall is placed on a partition support part provided on the outer peripheral side of the gas introduction pipe, and the outer peripheral side of the partition wall is placed on a partition support part provided on the inner peripheral side of the peripheral wall of the chamber body. A vapor phase growth apparatus characterized by being made . 2. The vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising lifting means for moving the chamber lid in the vertical direction. 3. The vapor phase growth apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduction pipe is provided so as to be movable in the pipe axis direction.

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