JP4904296B2 - Heat treatment device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment on a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer.

  As one of semiconductor device manufacturing processes, there is a process using a resist, for example, a photolithography process. In the photolithography process, there are baking processes such as pre-baking performed after resist coating, post-exposure baking (PEB) performed after resist exposure, and post-baking performed after resist development.

  The resist includes a sublimation component. For this reason, the sublimated material scatters from the resist material in the heat treatment chamber (chamber) of the heat treatment apparatus (baker) used in the baking process. Many of the scattered sublimates are exhausted, but not all are exhausted. A small amount adheres to the inner wall surface of the heat treatment chamber. By accumulating a slight amount of adhesion, it eventually grows into a deposit of a size that can be visually observed. Generation | occurrence | production of the deposit | attachment to an inner wall surface causes a contamination of a semiconductor wafer or heat processing apparatus itself, and contamination of the exposure machine used after heat processing.

Patent Literature 1 and Non-Patent Literature 1 are known as techniques for suppressing deposits caused by sublimation. Patent document 1 suppresses adhesion of a sublimation product by providing a sublimation product-preventing pipe maintained at a temperature at which the sublimation product does not adhere inside a space to be heat-treated. In Non-Patent Document 1, attachment of a sublimate is suppressed by attaching a heating unit to the hot plate cover and the exhaust line.
Japanese Patent No. 2887382 Japan Society of Invention and Innovation Technical Bulletin No. 2004-505633

  Although patent document 1 and nonpatent literature 1 can suppress adhesion of a sublimate to the inner wall surface of a heat treatment device, it is difficult to make the deposit completely zero. For this reason, the heat treatment apparatus must be periodically disassembled to clean the inside.

  Since the cleaning is performed by disassembling the apparatus, the operation is stopped during the cleaning. For this reason, production efficiency falls. Moreover, since the apparatus is reassembled after disassembly, the apparatus state changes before and after disassembly. For this reason, after reassembly, inspection and confirmation for confirming whether or not the components are correctly attached and trial operation for confirming whether or not the apparatus operates normally are necessary. In addition, since cleaning is a manual operation, there are circumstances such as unevenness in cleaning.

  In addition, since it is difficult to grasp the adhesion state in real time, the semiconductor wafer is contaminated without noticing the adhered substance, causing a processing failure and reducing the yield.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can be cleaned without disassembling the apparatus and can be maintenance-free for a long period of time.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a heat treatment apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a heat treatment chamber that houses a heating plate that heats a substrate to be processed and heat-treats the substrate to be processed, and the heat treatment. An exhaust pipe connected to a chamber, a detector provided in at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and detecting the degree of contamination by deposits in situ, and based on the detection result of the detector And a cleaning operation control device for determining whether or not to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the heat treatment chamber.

  A heat treatment apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention contains a heating plate for heating a substrate to be treated, a heat treatment chamber for performing heat treatment on the substrate to be treated, an exhaust pipe connected to the heat treatment chamber, A detector that is provided in at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and that detects in-situ the degree of deposit on the inner wall surface of at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe; and Based on the detection result of the detector, a plurality of heating processing units including a cleaning operation control device for determining whether or not to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the heating processing chamber and the exhaust pipe are provided, and the plurality of heating units Among the processing units, the heat treatment unit that is determined to start the cleaning operation performs the cleaning operation. While performing grayed operation, other heat processing unit is configured to perform the heat treatment.

  A heat treatment apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention contains a heating plate for heating a substrate to be processed, heat treatment chamber for performing heat treatment on the substrate to be processed, exhaust piping connected to the heat treatment chamber, A detector that is provided in at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and that detects in-situ the degree of deposit on the inner wall surface of at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe; and A plurality of heat treatment units including a cleaning operation control device for determining whether or not to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe based on a detection result of the detector; The heat treatment unit is configured to be executed during a time period when it is not used.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can be cleaned without disassembling the apparatus and that can be maintenance-free for a long period of time.

  Several embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this description, for example, the present invention is applied to a heat treatment apparatus (baker) for performing heat treatment on a substrate to be processed on which a resist film is formed, for example, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer). .

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a heat treatment apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the heat treatment apparatus 1 accommodates a heating plate 2 that heats a wafer W, a heat treatment chamber (chamber) 3 that heats the wafer W, a process gas in the heat treatment chamber 3, For example, a gas supply pipe 4 for supplying air or nitrogen, an exhaust pipe 5 connected to the heat treatment chamber 3, a processing chamber detector 6 provided in the heat treatment chamber 3, and an interior of the exhaust pipe 5 And an in-pipe detector 7 provided on the pipe.

  The process gas is supplied from the gas supply pipe 4 through the valve 8 into the heat treatment chamber 3 and further toward the wafer W placed on the heating plate 2 through the rectifying plate 9 having a large number of holes. And then flowed down. Thereafter, the process gas is sucked into the exhaust pipe 5 through the exhaust port 10 provided along the periphery of the heating plate 2 in the bottom wall of the heat treatment chamber 3 and exhausted.

  In the exhaust pipe 5, a sublimation trap 11 is attached to the subsequent stage of the in-pipe detector 7. The sublimate trap 11 traps, for example, sublimates and / or vapors scattered from the resist material in the middle of the exhaust pipe 5 to prevent diffusion to the exhaust main pipe. During the heat treatment, most of the sublimated material and / or evaporated material scattered from the resist material is sucked into the exhaust pipe 5 and trapped in the sublimated material trap 11. However, things that could not be sucked in or trapped could adhere to the inner wall surface 3a of the heat treatment chamber 3 and the inner wall surface 5a of the exhaust pipe 5 and become deposits. The deposits are accumulated every time the heat treatment is repeated.

  The processing chamber detector 6 detects the degree of adhesion of the deposit on the inner wall surface 3a in situ. Similarly, the in-pipe detector 7 detects the degree of adhesion of the deposit on the inner wall surface 5a in situ. Examples of the degree of adhesion include, for example, the thickness of the deposit and the amount of deposit. In this example, detectors 6 and 7 that detect the degree of adhesion as the amount of deposit are used. Examples of such a detector include a QCM (Quarts Crystal Microbalance) sensor using a crystal resonator, or an optical sensor using a reflectometer for measuring the reflectance of a laser beam (for example, a reflection type). Photo sensor).

  The frequency of the crystal resonator changes according to the mass of the adhered material that adheres to the electrode surface of the crystal resonator. The detectors 6 and 7 using the QCM sensor can detect the amount of deposits by detecting such a change in the frequency. In addition, the light reflectance of the inner wall surface 3a or 5a is changed by adhering substances to the inner wall surface 3a or 5a. The detectors 6 and 7 using an optical sensor can detect the amount of deposits by detecting such a change in reflectance.

  Furthermore, in this example, a cleaning operation control device 12 that determines whether or not to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5 based on the detection results of the detectors 6 and 7 is provided. The cleaning operation control device 12 starts the cleaning operation upon detecting the detection results of the detectors 6 and 7, that is, in this example, that the amount of deposits has reached or exceeded the set value. In this example, the cleaning operation is removal of deposits. There are basically the following three methods for removing deposits.

  (1) The heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5 are evacuated to reduce the pressure. The deposits are sublimated and removed by lowering the pressure.

  (2) Heat the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5 to raise the temperature. The deposits are sublimated and removed by raising the temperature.

  (3) Supply a cleaning gas to the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5. By supplying the cleaning gas, a chemical reaction is caused to the deposit, and for example, it is gasified and removed.

  In this example, all of the above (1) to (3) are incorporated for the cleaning operation.

  For example, a valve 13 is attached to the exhaust pipe 5 subsequent to the sublimation trap 11. The valve 13 connects the exhaust pipe 5 to either the exhaust main pipe or the vacuum pump 14. The valve 13 in this example connects the exhaust pipe 5 to the exhaust main pipe during the heat treatment, and connects the exhaust pipe 5 to the vacuum pump 14 during the cleaning operation. In this example, the connection destination is switched based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device 12.

  The vacuum pump 14 evacuates the heat treatment chamber 3 through the exhaust pipe 5. In this example, the vacuum pump 14 performs an evacuation operation based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device 12. The vacuum pump 14 evacuates the heat treatment chamber 3 through the exhaust pipe 5, whereby the inner wall surfaces 3a and 5a are cleaned.

  A heating mechanism 15 is attached to, for example, outer wall surfaces of the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5.

  The heating mechanism 15 heats the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5. In this example, the heating mechanism 15 performs a heating operation based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device 12. The heating mechanism 15 heats the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5, whereby the inner wall surfaces 3a and 5a are cleaned.

  The gas supply pipe 4 is connected to a cleaning gas supply pipe 16 for supplying a cleaning gas. A mass flow controller (MFC) 17 is connected to the cleaning gas supply pipe 16 before the connection point with the gas supply pipe 4. The MFC 17 supplies the cleaning gas to the gas supply pipe 4 through the cleaning gas supply pipe 16 while adjusting the flow rate of the cleaning gas. In this example, the MFC 17 adjusts the flow rate based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device 12, for example, adjusts the flow rate within a range from zero to a predetermined flow rate. The MFC 17 supplies the cleaning gas to the heat treatment chamber 3 via the cleaning gas supply pipe 16 and the gas supply pipe 4, whereby the inner wall surfaces 3a and 5a are cleaned.

Examples of the cleaning gas may vary depending on the composition of the deposit. For example, when the deposit is a hydrocarbon-based deposit, the cleaning gas may be oxygen (O ₂ ), A gas containing ozone (O ₃ ) and fluorine (F) can be used.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the detector 6 is provided on the inner wall surface 3 a of the heat treatment chamber 3, and the detector 7 is provided on the inner wall surface 5 a of the exhaust pipe 5. In addition, the degree of adhesion of the deposits to the inner wall surfaces 3a and 5a, in this example, the amount of deposits can be detected in situ, and the deposit status of the deposits can be grasped in real time.

Furthermore, the heat treatment apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes the cleaning operation control device 12 that starts the cleaning operation based on the detection results of the detectors 6 and 7. Further, a vacuum pump 14, a heating mechanism 15, and a cleaning gas supply mechanism (such as a mass flow controller 17) are provided for the cleaning operation. By providing these configurations, not only the state of attachment of the deposit can be grasped, but also the cleaning operation of the heat treatment apparatus 1 can be started when the amount of the deposit reaches a set value or exceeds the set value. . In this example, the cleaning is performed by lowering the pressure to sublime the deposit, raising the temperature to sublimate the deposit, or chemically reacting to deposit the deposit. Therefore, the heat treatment apparatus 1 can be cleaned without disassembling the heat treatment apparatus. In this example, the inner wall surface 3a of the heat treatment chamber 3 and the inner wall surface 5b of the exhaust pipe 5 can be cleaned.

  Thus, since the heat processing apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment can be implemented without disassembling cleaning, the fall of the production efficiency accompanying implementation of cleaning can be suppressed. Further, since the apparatus 1 is not disassembled, the state of the apparatus 1 does not change greatly before and after cleaning. This eliminates the need for checking and confirming the mounting state of the parts after cleaning and the trial run, and it is possible to immediately return to the production line after cleaning. In the cleaning operation, cleaning conditions such as pressure, time for evacuation, heating, heating rate for heating, heating time, type of cleaning gas, and flow rate are determined according to a predetermined program. Always reproduced under the same conditions. For this reason, unevenness is hardly generated in cleaning.

  Further, the cleaning operation is repeated every time the amount of deposits reaches or exceeds the set value. Therefore, in the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5, the theoretically always lower than the set value. There will be no deposits. That is, the cleanliness in the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5 can always be kept high. This is useful for improving the yield of products, for example.

  Further, since the cleaning operation is automatically performed based on the judgment of the heat treatment apparatus 1 itself, it can be made maintenance-free over a long period of time. Since at least maintenance for cleaning can be reduced, the maintenance can be performed only for maintenance for overhaul of the apparatus 1.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a heat treatment apparatus that can be cleaned without disassembling the apparatus and can be maintenance-free for a long period of time.

(Second Embodiment)
The second embodiment relates to a preferable operation example when the heat treatment apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is actually operated.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing an example of a heat treatment system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The heat treatment apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment described above can be incorporated as a heat treatment unit in the resist coating / developing system. FIG. 2 shows an example of a portion where the heat treatment unit in the resist coating / developing system is arranged.

  An example of a heat treatment unit is a baker. Examples of the baker include a pre-baking baker that performs pre-baking performed after resist coating, a PEB baker that performs post-exposure baking (PEB) performed after resist exposure, and a post-baking baker that performs post-baking performed after resist development. These various types of baker are mounted on one resist coating / developing system.

  In addition, various types of baker are usually arranged in a plurality rather than one. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, four bakers (heat treatment apparatuses 1-1 to 1-4) are common to each other. The exhaust main pipe 20 is connected to the resist coating / developing system. In FIG. 2, the four bakers 1-1 to 1-4 are arranged so as to be laid out horizontally in a plane, but the four bakers 1-1 to 1-4 are three-dimensionally arranged vertically. May be laid out.

  Further, the four bakers 1-1 to 1-4 are connected to a common vacuum exhaust pipe 21. The common vacuum exhaust pipe 21 is connected to a vacuum pump 14 that is commonly used by the four bakers 1-1 to 1-4.

  The exhaust main pipe 20 is connected to the first pipe attachment port of the valves 13-1 to 13-4 in each of the baker 1-1 to 1-4, and similarly, the common vacuum exhaust pipe 21 is connected to the valve 13-1. Thru | or 13-4 the 2nd pipe attachment port. The third pipe mounting ports of the valves 13-1 to 13-4 are connected to the exhaust pipes 5-1 to 5-4. The exhaust pipes 5-1 to 5-4 are connected to the heat treatment chambers 3-1 to 3-4 via sublimate traps 11-1 to 11-4 and detectors 7-1 to 7-4, respectively. .

  Further, in this example, the cleaning operation control device 12 is common to the respective baker 1-1 to 1-4. The control of the cleaning operation can be integrated into one control device 12 and can be commonly controlled for a plurality of baker.

  In FIG. 2, the components such as the heating mechanism 12 and the cleaning gas supply mechanism (for example, the mass flow controller 17) shown in FIG. 1 are not shown.

  Bakers 1-1 to 1-4 in the resist coating / developing system shown in FIG. 2 operate simultaneously in parallel. As a result, a maximum of four wafers W can be simultaneously heated.

  It is assumed that the wafers W1 to W4 are heat-treated using the baker 1-1 to 1-4. Here, it is assumed that the amount of deposits reaches or exceeds the set value in one of the baker 1-1 to 1-4, for example, 1-1 in this example, during the heat treatment.

  In this case, in this example, the wafer W1 being heated by the baker 1-1 is processed as usual, and immediately after the heating process of the wafer W1 is completed, the baker 1-1 is shifted to the cleaning operation. During the cleaning operation, the valve 13-1 is switched to connect the exhaust pipe 5-1 from the exhaust main pipe 20 to the common vacuum exhaust pipe 21. After the cleaning operation is completed, the valve 13-1 is switched again, and the exhaust pipe 5-1 is connected to the exhaust main pipe 20 from the common vacuum exhaust pipe 21 to return to the normal state, and another wafer is heated. To resume.

  While the baker 1-1 is performing the cleaning operation, the other baker 1-2 to 1-4 performs the heat treatment as usual.

  In this way, when the amount of deposits reaches or exceeds the set value during the heat treatment, the processing is continued for the wafer being heat treated, and cleaning is performed as soon as the heat treatment of the wafer is completed. What is necessary is just to shift to operation.

  By controlling the baker in this way, the cleaning operation can be executed without interrupting the heat treatment for the wafer.

  In addition, when one of the plurality of bakers starts the cleaning operation, the other baker is caused to perform the heat treatment as usual.

  By controlling a plurality of bakers in this manner, some baker can always be in an operating state at all times, and the influence of a decrease in throughput associated with the execution of the cleaning operation can be reduced.

  In addition, while any one of the plurality of bakers is performing the cleaning operation, the amount of deposits may reach or exceed the set value in another baker.

  In this case, wait until the cleaning operation of the baker performing the cleaning operation first is completed, and after the baker returns to the normal state, the cleaning operation is performed on the baker that has been waiting for the cleaning operation. You should do it.

  By controlling a plurality of bakers as described above, the baker performing the cleaning operation can always be limited to one. Thereby, it is possible to further reduce the influence of the decrease in throughput due to the execution of the cleaning operation.

  In addition, the cleaning operation is focused on the time when the wafer is processed in the resist coating / developing system but the baker is not used, or the time when the wafer is not processed in the resist coating / developing system. You may be made to carry out. Manufacturing of a semiconductor device includes not only a photolithography process but also various processes such as an etching process, a CVD process, a heat treatment process, and a cleaning process. For this reason, there may be a time zone when the above-mentioned baker is not used and a time zone when the resist coating / developing system is not used.

  If such a time zone is possible, the baker has stored in the control device 12 which amount of deposits has reached or exceeded the set value, and when the time zone is reached, control is performed. What is necessary is just to start cleaning operation | movement with respect to the baker to be cleaned memorize | stored in the apparatus 12. FIG.

  Controlling a plurality of bakers in this way makes it possible for the baker to always have an operating rate of 100%, thereby further reducing the influence of a decrease in throughput associated with the execution of the cleaning operation.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment is an example in which the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11 are devised so that they can be cleaned simultaneously with the cleaning of the heat treatment apparatus 1.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of a heat treatment apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heat treatment apparatus 1 a according to the third embodiment is different from the heat treatment apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11. The heating / cooling mechanism 18 is attached.

  During normal operation, the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11 detect the deposits and trap sublimates and vapors that cause the deposits at a temperature of about room temperature.

  During the cleaning operation, the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11 are heated using the heating / cooling mechanism 18. By this heating, the deposits attached to the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11 are removed.

  The heating is performed until a predetermined value for a predetermined time or the amount of deposits detected by the detectors 6 and 7 reaches a normal value. Since the cleaning operation is being performed during heating, the heat treatment chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5 are evacuated by the vacuum pump 14. For this reason, the deposits trapped in the sublimation trap 11 are sublimated and evaporated again by heating and sucked into the vacuum pump 14. If it remains as it is, the sublimated and evaporated deposits are exhausted from the drain of the vacuum pump 14 as they are. For this reason, in this example, the drain of the vacuum pump 14 is connected to an exhaust gas treatment mechanism, for example, an exhaust gas treatment mechanism provided in a semiconductor manufacturing factory. Thereby, the sublimated and evaporated deposits are taken into the exhaust gas processing mechanism, and are safely processed after being excluded.

  When returning to normal operation, the heating and cooling mechanism 18 is used to cool the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11, for example, to a temperature of about room temperature. Thereby, the detection of the adhering matter and the trap of the sublimate and the evaporated matter causing the adhering matter are performed again at a temperature of about room temperature.

  According to the heat treatment apparatus 1a according to the third embodiment, the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap are simultaneously cleaned with the inner wall surface 3a of the heat treatment chamber 3 and the inner wall surface 5a of the exhaust pipe 5. 11 cleaning can be performed.

  In particular, when a QCM sensor is used for the detectors 6 and 7, the adhering matter adhering to the electrode plate of the crystal resonator is removed. Therefore, after cleaning, the initial state (the adhering matter is more accurately detected). It can be recovered to a state where it is not attached.

  Of course, also in the first embodiment, during the cleaning operation, vacuuming, raising the temperature, and flowing a cleaning gas cause the deposits attached to the detectors 6, 7, for example, electrodes of a crystal resonator Deposits adhered to the plate can be removed. However, by attaching a dedicated heating / cooling mechanism to the detectors 6 and 7 as in the third embodiment, the deposits can be more reliably removed.

  The heating / cooling mechanism 18 not only heats the detectors 6 and 7 but also cools them. For this reason, the temperature of the detectors 6 and 7 can be more reliably cooled to a temperature of about room temperature before the start of normal operation. The detectors 6 and 7 have temperature characteristics, in particular, a large temperature characteristic in the case of a QCM sensor, and a large detection error may occur if the temperature does not drop to about room temperature before the start of normal operation.

  On the other hand, in this example, the temperature of the detectors 6 and 7 can be more reliably lowered to a temperature of about room temperature, so that it is possible to more accurately detect the adhered matter.

  In this example, the sublimation trap 11 is also heated using the heating / cooling mechanism 18. For this reason, the sublimation trap 11 can be recovered to the initial state (a state in which the sublimation is not trapped) during the cleaning operation. According to this, it is possible to obtain an advantage that the sublimation trap 11 does not need to be replaced for a long period.

  In addition, the sublimation trap 11 may have a reduced trap capability unless it has been lowered to a temperature of about room temperature before the start of normal operation. With regard to this possibility as well, by cooling the sublimation trap 11 using the heating / cooling mechanism 18, it is possible to more reliably lower the temperature to about room temperature, and to reduce the possibility that the trap capability will decrease.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by embodiment, this invention can be variously deformed, without being limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the vacuum pump 14, the heating mechanism 15, and the cleaning gas supply mechanism (the mass flow controller 17 and the like) are provided for the cleaning operation. It suffices to have at least one of these three cleaning configurations.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the detectors 6 and 7 were provided in both the inside of the heat processing chamber 3, and the inside of the exhaust piping 5, you may make it provide in any one.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the heating mechanism 15 was provided in both the heat processing chamber 3 and the exhaust pipe 5, for example on both outer wall surfaces, it is provided only in either one in the heat processing chamber 3 or the exhaust pipe 5. You may do it. Further, the heating mechanism may be provided not on the outer wall surface but on the inner wall surfaces 3a and 5a.

  Moreover, although it is the said embodiment, especially 3rd Embodiment, the heating-cooling mechanism 18 was attached to both the detectors 6 and 7 and the sublimation trap 11, It may be attached to only one of the sublimation traps 11.

  In the above embodiment, the case where a semiconductor wafer is used as the substrate to be processed has been described. However, other substrates such as a flat panel display (FPD) substrate represented by a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device (LCD) are used. Needless to say, it is applicable.

Sectional drawing which shows roughly an example of the heat processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention The top view which shows roughly an example of the heat processing system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing which shows roughly an example of the heat processing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a ... Heat processing apparatus, 1-1 thru | or 1-4 ... Heat processing unit (baker), 2 ... Heating plate, 3 ... Heat processing chamber, 3a ... Inner wall surface of heat processing chamber, 5 ... Exhaust piping, 5a ... Inner wall surface of exhaust pipe, 6, 7 ... detector, 11 ... sublimation trap, 12 ... cleaning operation control device, 13 ... valve, 14 ... vacuum pump, 15 ... heating mechanism, 16 ... cleaning gas supply pipe, 17 ... mass flow Controller, 18 ... Heating / cooling mechanism

Claims (17)

A heat treatment chamber for containing a heating plate for heating the substrate to be treated, and performing a heat treatment on the substrate to be treated;
An exhaust pipe connected to the heat treatment chamber;
A detector that is provided in at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe and that detects in-situ the degree of deposits on at least one inner wall surface of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe; ,
A cleaning operation control device for determining whether or not to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe based on a detection result of the detector;
A heat treatment apparatus comprising: A vacuum pump for evacuating the heat treatment chamber through the exhaust pipe;
2. The heat treatment according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump evacuates the heat treatment chamber through the exhaust pipe and performs the cleaning operation based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device. apparatus. A heating mechanism for heating at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe;
2. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating mechanism performs the cleaning operation by heating at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device. . A cleaning gas supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning gas for cleaning the heat treatment chamber to the heat treatment chamber;
2. The heat treatment according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning gas supply mechanism supplies the cleaning gas to the heat treatment chamber based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device to perform the cleaning operation. apparatus. A heating mechanism for heating at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe;
A vacuum pump for evacuating the heat treatment chamber,
Based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device, the heating mechanism heats at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and the vacuum pump evacuates the heat treatment chamber, The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning operation is performed. A cleaning gas supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning gas for cleaning the heat treatment chamber to the heat treatment chamber;
A vacuum pump that evacuates the heat treatment chamber through the exhaust pipe;
Based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device, the cleaning gas supply mechanism supplies the cleaning gas to the heat treatment chamber, and the vacuum pump evacuates the heat treatment chamber to perform the cleaning operation. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is performed. A cleaning gas supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning gas for cleaning the heat treatment chamber to the heat treatment chamber;
A heating mechanism for heating at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe;
A vacuum pump that evacuates the heat treatment chamber through the exhaust pipe;
Based on an instruction from the cleaning operation control device, the cleaning gas supply mechanism supplies the cleaning gas to the heat treatment chamber, and the heating mechanism heats at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump evacuates the heat treatment chamber to perform the cleaning operation. The detector detects the degree of adhesion as the amount of the deposit;
2. The heat treatment according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning operation control device determines whether or not to start the cleaning operation in accordance with the amount of deposits detected by the detector. apparatus.   The detector has a quartz crystal whose frequency changes in accordance with a change in the amount of attached deposits, and a reflectance measuring instrument that measures the reflectance of light that changes in accordance with the change in the amount of attached deposits. 9. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 8, comprising:   The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sublimation trap connected to the exhaust pipe. A heating / cooling mechanism for heating and cooling the sublimate trap;
11. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the heating / cooling mechanism heats the sublimation trap during the cleaning operation, and cools the sublimation trap after the cleaning operation is completed. A heating / cooling mechanism for heating and cooling the sublimate trap and the detector;
11. The heating and cooling mechanism heats the sublimation trap and the detector during the cleaning operation, and cools the sublimation trap and the detector after the cleaning operation is completed. The heat treatment apparatus as described. A heating / cooling mechanism for heating and cooling the detector;
The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating and cooling mechanism heats the detector during the cleaning operation and cools the detector after the cleaning operation is completed. A heating plate that houses a heating plate for heating the substrate to be processed and heat-treats the substrate to be processed, an exhaust pipe connected to the heating processing chamber, at least one of the heating processing chamber and the exhaust pipe And a detector for detecting in-situ the degree of deposit on the inner wall surface of at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and the heat treatment based on the detection result of the detector. A plurality of heat treatment units including a cleaning operation control device for determining whether to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the chamber and the exhaust pipe;
Among the plurality of heat treatment units, the heat treatment unit that is determined to start the cleaning operation performs the cleaning operation, and the other heat treatment units perform the heat treatment while performing the cleaning operation. It is comprised so that the heat processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   The heat treatment unit that is determined to start the cleaning operation is configured to start the cleaning operation after the heat treatment when the substrate to be processed is being heated. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the heat treatment apparatus is a heat treatment apparatus.   When it is determined that another heating processing unit starts the cleaning operation when there is a heating processing unit in the cleaning operation among the plurality of heating processing units, the heating processing in the cleaning operation. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the cleaning operation of the other heat treatment unit is started after waiting for the completion of the cleaning operation of the unit, and after the heat treatment unit returns to the normal state. The heat treatment apparatus as described. A heating plate that houses a heating plate for heating the substrate to be processed and heat-treats the substrate to be processed, an exhaust pipe connected to the heating processing chamber, at least one of the heating processing chamber and the exhaust pipe And a detector for detecting in-situ the degree of deposit on the inner wall surface of at least one of the heat treatment chamber and the exhaust pipe, and the heat treatment based on the detection result of the detector. A plurality of heat treatment units including a cleaning operation control device for determining whether to start a cleaning operation for cleaning the chamber and the exhaust pipe;
The heat treatment apparatus is configured to perform the cleaning operation in a time zone when the heat treatment unit is not used.

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