JP5415583B2 - Vacuum processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that processes an object to be processed inside a decompressed apparatus, and more particularly to a vacuum processing apparatus that processes a semiconductor substrate (wafer) to be processed using plasma in the apparatus.

  In the vacuum processing apparatus as described above, in particular, in an apparatus for processing a processing target in a decompressed apparatus, it has been required to improve the processing efficiency of the substrate to be processed along with the miniaturization and refinement of the processing. . For this reason, in recent years, a multi-chamber type vacuum processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers connected to one apparatus has been developed, and a plurality of processes are performed on a substrate to be processed by one apparatus. Thus, the processing efficiency has been improved.

  In such a vacuum processing apparatus having a plurality of processing chambers or chambers for processing, each processing chamber or chamber has a robot arm or the like for transporting a substrate in which the internal gas and its pressure are adjusted so that the pressure can be reduced. It is connected to the provided transfer chamber (transfer chamber).

  With such a configuration, the substrate before or after processing is transferred from one processing chamber to another processing chamber or transferred into a transfer chamber into which an inert gas is introduced, and the processing is continuously performed without contacting with the outside air. To be applied. For this reason, the contamination of the substrate is suppressed, and the processing yield and efficiency are improved.

  In addition, it is possible to save or reduce the time required to pressurize or depressurize the inside of the processing chamber or the transfer chamber, thereby shortening the processing steps and improving the processing efficiency by reducing the labor and time for the entire substrate processing. .

  Further, in such an apparatus, each processing chamber is provided so as to be detachable from the apparatus, and it is possible to cope with a new processing process by changing the processing chamber and its combination without replacing the apparatus main body. The cost of manufacturing a product by performing substrate processing can be kept low.

  As a technique of such a vacuum processing apparatus in which a processing chamber is detachably provided, each process chamber (processing chamber) for processing a semiconductor wafer is detachably attached to a wafer transfer chamber, and further below each process chamber. Is provided with a moving stage in the X-axis, Y-axis, or Z-axis direction, and a technique for adjusting the mounting position of each process chamber to the wafer transfer chamber by moving these stages is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). ). This conventional technique facilitates the positioning of each process chamber with respect to the transfer chamber and facilitates the attachment / detachment work.

JP-A-6-267808

  The above-described prior art has a problem due to insufficient consideration of the following points. That is, when a plurality of processing chambers (process chambers) are arranged adjacent to each other as described above, the size of a unit that can be attached and detached for the guide mechanism including the moving stage below the apparatus increases, and the vacuum processing apparatus The ground contact area becomes large. For this reason, consideration has been given to the fact that the number of devices that can be installed on the floor of a clean room or the like where the device is installed is low, and that the production efficiency is low when a product is manufactured by operating multiple devices. There wasn't.

  In addition, if the guide mechanism is made small in order to reduce the installation area, the space between the plurality of processing chambers becomes small. This is a space for connecting each processing chamber, performing detachment work, and performing maintenance. This reduces the efficiency of detachment and maintenance work, lengthens the work time, and consequently increases the non-working time when the equipment is not in operation, thereby lowering the operating efficiency of the vacuum processing equipment. However, this was not taken into consideration.

  Further, in the above prior art, the connection between each processing chamber and the transfer chamber is considered, but each device for performing processing in the processing chamber, for example, a processing gas or air supply mechanism, an exhaust mechanism, a power supply mechanism The configuration for facilitating attachment / detachment work of a mechanism such as a refrigerant supply mechanism for cooling the components in the processing chamber has not been considered. In other words, when the process chamber is attached or detached, the configuration for improving the efficiency of the work other than the alignment is not considered, and the work time becomes long and the operation efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus is impaired. There was.

  Furthermore, after the installation of each processing chamber, the configuration for realizing the desired performance stably in each processing chamber has not been considered. In other words, after each process chamber is installed, if the configuration is different from the process chamber before installation, it is necessary to make adjustments after installation to obtain the desired performance for each installed process chamber. For this reason, the problem that the time required for the operation becomes longer and the operating efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus decreases is not taken into consideration.

  Further, in the above-described prior art, when one processing chamber is in maintenance or attachment / detachment work, processing cannot be performed in another processing chamber attached to the wafer transfer chamber, and attachment / detachment or maintenance work of a specific processing chamber cannot be performed. The interval becomes the interval of these operations in the apparatus, and the entire vacuum processing apparatus has been stopped although processing in another processing chamber can be performed. For this reason, the problem that the operating efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus has been significantly impaired has not been considered.

  Further, when working in each processing chamber, it is necessary to make the pressure inside the processing chamber substantially equal to the external atmospheric pressure, and to reduce the pressure in the processing chamber in order to perform the operation in the processing chamber after the work is completed. If the pressure increase / decrease time is long, the time that can be processed in the processing chamber is relatively lost, the operation efficiency of the vacuum processing apparatus is lost, and the manufacturing cost of the product is increased. The problem of ending up was not taken into account.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a vacuum processing device with improved operation efficiency.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes an outer chamber constituting a vacuum vessel, and an inner chamber which is disposed in the outer chamber and is supplied with a processing gas into an inner chamber so that plasma is formed and is removable from the outer chamber. A sample stage on which a wafer to be processed is placed is disposed in the inner chamber, and the inner chamber is evacuated and depressurized by being disposed below the sample stage. An opening communicating with the exhaust means, and a seal that hermetically seals the interior of the inner chamber and the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber so that the space can be maintained in a vacuum. The outer chamber constituting the vacuum vessel includes an upper member that opens and closes the inside thereof, and a lower member that is disposed below the upper member and the inner chamber is disposed inside the upper member. Wherein the inner chamber, the wafer has an opening for delivering to the sidewalls, the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber is arranged a valve which is driven so as to seal the opening, While the inner chamber is disposed inside the lower member and the upper member is placed thereon, the vacuum chamber is closed and decompressed , the inner chamber exerts a downward pressing force from the upper member. The atmosphere outside the receiving chamber is hermetically sealed between the inside of the inner chamber and the inside of the inner chamber, and the inner chamber is held above the lower member by a flange portion extending to the outer peripheral side of the inner chamber. It has been said outer and air inside of the downward pressing force is transmitted to the lower member through the lower surface of the flange portion and the outer chamber Yanba and between the space between the outer chamber has a structure in which Ru is hermetically sealed.

The present invention includes a vacuum processing apparatus comprising an outer chamber constituting a vacuum vessel, and an inner chamber disposed in the outer chamber and supplied with a processing gas into an inner chamber to form plasma and removable from the outer chamber. A sample stage on which a wafer to be processed is placed is disposed in the inner chamber, and an opening that is disposed below the sample stage and communicates with an evacuation unit that evacuates and depressurizes the inner chamber. And a seal that hermetically seals the interior of the inner chamber and the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber so that the space can be maintained in a vacuum, and constitutes the vacuum container The outer chamber is an upper member that releases or closes the inside of the vacuum container, and has an upper member to which a path for supplying the processing gas is connected from the outside, and a lower portion of the upper member. And a lower member to which the inner chamber is location is arranged inside said inner chamber has an opening for conveying the wafer to the side walls, the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber A valve that is driven so as to seal the opening is disposed, the inner chamber is disposed inside the lower member, and the upper member is placed thereon, and the inside of the vacuum vessel is closed and decompressed . In this state, the inner chamber receives a downward pressing force from the upper member, and the atmosphere outside the outer chamber and the interior of the inner chamber are hermetically sealed, and the inner chamber is sealed with the inner chamber. wherein the downward pressing force is held in the lower member upwardly through the lower surface of the flange portion by the flange portion extending on the outer peripheral side of the Between the space between the outer atmosphere and the inner chamber and the outer chamber of the outer chamber is transmitted to the section member has a structure in which Ru is hermetically sealed.

In the present invention, the upper surface of the flange portion receives a downward pressing force from the upper member in a state where the upper member is placed and the inside of the vacuum vessel is closed and decompressed, and the downward pressing force is applied to the flange portion. The inner chamber is transmitted to the lower member via the lower surface of the lower portion of the lower chamber and is held above the lower member by the flange portion .

The present invention, before a state where fangs Lube space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber by sealing the opening is hermetically sealed, on the sample stage in the inner chamber being evacuated The mounted wafer was processed.

The perspective view seen from the front which shows the whole structure of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. The perspective view seen from the back which shows the whole structure of the vacuum processing apparatus shown to Fig.1 (a). It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the vacuum processing apparatus concerning the Example shown in FIG. The side view which shows the outline of a structure of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on the Example shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the outline of a structure of each unit. The side view explaining the positional relationship of the control unit of the Example shown in FIG. 1, and each processing unit. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the process chamber part in a process unit among the process units shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a processing chamber portion of the processing unit shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the removal of components from the processing chamber shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the removal of components from the processing chamber shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a configuration of a lower portion of a processing chamber section of the processing chamber section illustrated in FIG. 6. The figure which shows the outline of a structure of the etching process unit of the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. The figure which shows the side of the processing unit shown in FIG. The side view which looked at the bed shown in FIG. 10 from the vacuum processing apparatus outer back of a present Example, and the upper side view which looked at from upper direction. The side view which looked at the bed shown in FIG. 10 from the vacuum processing apparatus inner side of a present Example, and the side view which looked at the apparatus outer side. The schematic diagram which shows the signal and fluid flow of the Example shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows the outline of the structure of the vacuum processing apparatus which concerns on the modification of the Example shown in FIG. The top view and side view which show the outline of a structure of the bed part of the modification shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view as viewed from the front and obliquely upward, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view as viewed from the obliquely upward from the rear. In this figure, the vacuum processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is roughly divided into two front and rear blocks. The front side of the vacuum processing apparatus main body 100 is an atmosphere-side block 101 in which a wafer supplied to the apparatus is transferred to a chamber where the pressure is reduced under atmospheric pressure and supplied to the processing chamber. The rear side of the apparatus main body 100 is a processing block 102. The processing block 102 includes processing units 103, 103 ′ and 104, 104 ′ having processing chambers for processing wafers under reduced pressure, a transport unit 105 for transporting wafers to these processing chambers under reduced pressure, and the transport unit. 105 and a plurality of lock chambers 113 and 113 ′ for connecting the atmosphere side block 101 are provided, these are units that can be maintained at a high vacuum level by reducing the pressure, and the processing block is a vacuum block.

  The atmosphere-side block 101 has a housing 108 with a transfer robot (not shown) inside, and is mounted on the housing 108 and accommodates a wafer for processing or cleaning and a dummy wafer. The dummy cassette 110 is provided. Further, the transfer robot performs an operation of loading or unloading wafers between the cassettes 109 and 110 and the lock chambers 113 and 113 '. Further, the atmosphere side block 101 includes an alignment unit 111 on the casing 108, and in the alignment unit 111, wafers to be transferred are arranged in the cassettes 109 and 110 or in the lock chambers 113 and 113 ′. The position is adjusted according to the posture.

  Further, the processing units 103, 103 ′, 104, 104 ′ of the processing block 102 in this embodiment have etching chambers in which the processing units 103, 103 ′ perform etching processing of wafers transferred from the cassette 109 to the processing block 102. The etching unit is an ashing unit in which the processing units 104 and 104 ′ perform an ashing process on the wafer, and the transfer unit 105 is detachably attached to the transfer unit 105, and the inside is depressurized to a high degree of vacuum. A transfer chamber 112 to be maintained is provided. Further, the processing block 102 is arranged between the processing units 103, 103 ′, 104, and 104 ′, and adjusts the flow rate of the fluid such as gas or liquid necessary for these units or processing chambers. Control units 107 and 107 ′ including a device (MFC: Mass Flow Controller) are arranged adjacent to the processing units 103, 103 ′, 104, and 104 ′.

  In addition, a rectangular bed frame for storing utilities such as a necessary gas, a refrigerant storage unit, an exhaust unit, and a power source for supplying electric power to each of the above processing units is provided below the processing block 102. 205 and a plate 106 covering them are arranged. The processing chamber portions of the processing units 103, 103 ′, 104, 104 ′, the control units 107, 107 ′, and the plate 106 are configured and arranged so that they can be removed from and attached to the bed 205.

  2 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 (a) is a view from above, and FIG. 2 (b) is FIG. 2 (b). It is the figure seen from the right side. In these drawings, an atmosphere-side block 101 disposed on the front side of the vacuum processing apparatus main body 100 is a part for handling, carrying, storing, positioning and the like of the wafer under atmospheric pressure, and a processing block 102 on the rear side is This is a part where the wafer is transferred and processed under a pressure reduced from the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure is raised and lowered while the wafer is placed.

  Further, as described above, between the transfer chamber 112 constituting the transfer unit 105 and the atmospheric block 101, lock chambers 113 and 113 'for connecting them and exchanging wafers between them are arranged. These lock chambers 113 or 113 ′ are depressurized on the inner side, and the inner side of the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′ is pressurized to the atmospheric pressure after the wafer that has been transferred on the robot arm (not shown) disposed in the transfer chamber 112 is installed. Then, it is put on another robot arm (not shown) arranged in the atmosphere side block 101 and taken out to the atmosphere side block 101 side. The taken-out wafer is returned to the original position in the cassette 109 or returned to one of these cassettes. Alternatively, after the wafer taken out from one of these cassettes 109 by the robot arm is placed in the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′ set at the atmospheric pressure, the inside is decompressed and the inside of the transfer chamber 112 is also decompressed. Is transferred to one of the processing units 103, 103 ′ or 104, 104 ′ through the transfer chamber 112.

  In order to perform the above operation, the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′ is connected with the atmosphere side block 101 and the transfer chamber 122 of the transfer unit 105, and a wafer to be transferred is placed inside the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′. A gas exhaust device for increasing or decreasing the internal pressure and maintaining the pressure is connected to a gas supply device. For this reason, the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′ is provided with a gate valve (not shown) that opens or closes in front and back to seal the inside. Furthermore, a table on which the wafer is placed is disposed inside these, and means for fixing the wafer so that it does not move when the internal pressure rises or falls is provided. In other words, the lock chambers 113 and 113 'are provided with means for withstanding and sealing the difference between the internal and external pressures formed with the wafer placed inside.

  As described above, the transfer unit 105 has a robot arm (not shown) that transfers the wafer between the processing chambers 103, 103 ′, 104, 104 ′ and the lock chamber 113 or 113 ′ with the inner pressure reduced. And a plurality of the lock chambers 113 and 113 ′. In this embodiment, one sample transfer device 506 is disposed inside the transfer chamber 112, and four processing units 103, 103 ′, 104, 104 ′ and an atmosphere side block are arranged around the transfer chamber 112. The sample is exchanged with 101.

  Further, as described above, in this embodiment, the processing units 103, 103 ′ and 104, 104 ′ include two etching processing units and two ashing processing units, and each side of the polygonal transfer chamber 112 of the transfer unit 105. The two etching processing units 103 and 103 ′ are connected to the two sides on the back side of the transfer chamber 112, and the two ashing processing units 104 and 104 ′ are each an etching processing unit. 103 and 103 ′ are connected to adjacent sides, and lock chambers 113 and 113 ′ are connected to the remaining sides of the transfer chamber 112.

  In other words, in this embodiment, two etching processing chambers and two ashing processing chambers are provided around the transfer chamber 112. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the transfer chamber 112 has a substantially hexagonal shape when viewed from above, and six chambers are connected to the side walls constituting each side of the transfer chamber 112. It is arranged radially around the approximate center. Further, the chambers are arranged on the left and right sides of the line in the front-rear direction passing through the approximately central portion of the transfer chamber 112 with the side on which the wafer cassette 109 of the atmosphere side block 101 is arranged as the front.

  In this embodiment, the processing units 103, 103 ′ and 104, 104 ′ connected to the transport unit 105 are configured to be detachable from the transport unit 105, and the transport unit 105 is locked. The chambers 113 and 113 ′ and the transfer chamber 112 are configured to be detachable and connected.

  In the present embodiment, the processing block 102 including these processing units 103, 103 ′ and 104, 104 ′ and the transport unit 105 is roughly divided into an upper part and a lower part, and the inside thereof is decompressed to be processed. A chamber portion in which a sample such as a target semiconductor wafer is handled, and a bed frame 205 which is disposed below and supports the chamber portion and in which devices necessary for these chambers are disposed. Further, the processing unit is divided into a chamber portion including a processing chamber inside and a bed portion provided in a bed frame 205 for storing a utility corresponding to the processing chamber.

  In this embodiment, the bed frame 205 is arranged around the center frame 204 arranged below the transfer chamber 112 and has four bed frames 205. The center frame 204 is paired with the transfer unit 105 including the transfer chamber 112 and the lock chambers 113 and 113 ′ above the processing block 102, and the bed frame 205 is a processing chamber of each of the processing units 103, 103 ′ and 104, 104 ′. It is paired with a chamber part having a part.

  The center frame 204 is a support base that is disposed below the transport unit 105 or the transport chamber 112 and supports the processing units and equipment connected thereto, and is provided with beams so as to have a necessary strength. It has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. There is a space inside the center frame 204, and it is used as a space in which piping and wiring necessary for the above-described utilities and processing units are arranged and stored.

  Further, the center frame 204 is disposed on the center side of the transfer chamber 112, and in particular in the present embodiment, is disposed so as to be located inside the projection onto the floor of the transfer chamber 112, and around the center frame 204. A bed frame 205 for each processing unit is arranged. In other words, four substantially rectangular parallelepiped bed frames 205 are arranged so as to face four sides or surfaces of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped center frame 204 and leave a space as appropriate. At this time, each bed frame 205 is arranged so as to enter the lower part of the transfer chamber 112 and is positioned so as to overlap the projection surface of the transfer chamber 112 onto the floor, thereby reducing the installation area of the processing block 102. Like to do.

  In the present embodiment, the bed portion includes a bed frame 205 and a bed that is housed and disposed inside the bed frame 205. The bed portion has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and houses utilities, a controller, a heat exchanger, and the like necessary for the upper chamber portion. The bed frame 205 has a strength to support the chamber portion disposed above the bed frame 205 and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape formed by beams. A bed 106 is disposed inside the bed frame 205 and a plate 106 covering the bed is disposed outside the bed frame 205. Has been.

  The utility, for example, an exhaust pump for depressurizing the processing chamber, a temperature controller, a power source for supplying power to each sensor, etc., and a signal to be input / output to each processing unit to adjust this A signal interface, a gas reservoir for supplying a sample stage on which a wafer as a sample is placed and fixed in the processing chamber, a refrigerant reservoir for cooling the sample stage, and a refrigerant are heat-exchanged. The heat exchanger of the refrigerating cycle for making it circulate is mentioned.

  The bed stores these utilities and is connected to and stored in a substantially rectangular bed frame 205. The bed frame 205 is provided with an interface unit necessary for driving each utility in the stored bed.

  The processing chamber (chamber) section is connected to the transfer chamber (chamber) 112 at each side thereof by a predetermined connection gate. The bed corresponding to the processing chamber is housed in a bed frame 205 below the transfer chamber 112 and connected to the apparatus main body 100. Many of these utilities have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the bed, which is a storage space disposed inside the bed frame 205 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, is also formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, improving the storage efficiency of the utility. I am letting.

  On the other hand, the bed frame 205 and the plate 106 arranged so as to cover the outside of the bed have a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above the apparatus 100 in this embodiment, but may not have this shape. The bed frame 205 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the plate 106 disposed above has a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the boundary between the plates of adjacent units is formed radially about the central portion of the transfer chamber 112. Also good.

  In the present embodiment, a combination of each processing chamber section and the corresponding bed section constitutes one processing unit. This one processing unit is integrated and connected to the apparatus main body 100 or the transfer unit 105 (transfer chamber 112) so as to be attachable / detachable. Further, in one processing unit, the processing unit may be attached / removed in the state where the processing unit is connected to the transport unit 105, and conversely the upper part in the state where the bed unit is connected to the bed frame 205. The processing chamber part may be attached and removed.

  Further, lock chambers 113 and 113 ′ are arranged behind the atmosphere side block 101 and between the processing block 102, but a gap is formed between the bed frame 205 or each bed. The back side of the atmosphere side block 101 is a supply path for gas, refrigerant, power, etc. supplied to the processing block 102. That is, the place where such a vacuum processing apparatus 100 is installed is typically a room in which air is purified, such as a clean room, but when a plurality of apparatuses are installed, the vacuum processing apparatus 100 is supplied to the apparatus main body 100. The various gases, refrigerants, and power sources are provided in different locations, for example, separately on a floor other than the floor on which the apparatus main body is installed, and each apparatus main body is provided with a pipeline. In the present embodiment, a connection interface 201 of a supply line such as a gas or refrigerant pipe from another place or an electric wire from a power source is provided on the back side of the atmosphere side block. That is, gas, water, air, and other utilities supplied from the building side, and the connection between the building and the vacuum equipment such as exhaust from the equipment are placed on the line under the workpiece inlet to the vacuum. Has been placed.

  Supply lines such as pipelines and electric wires from the connection interface unit 201 are collected as a supply block 203, and pass through the lock chambers 113, 113 ′ and the lower part of the center of the transfer chamber 112 to each bed frame constituting the frame 106. It is connected to each bed via the provided interface part. Further, a part of the gas necessary for the processing is connected to the control unit 107 through a supply path arranged adjacent to the processing unit 103, 103 ′, 104, 104 ′ on the control unit 107. The

  In the past, pipes and wires were attached to guide each processing chamber separately from the supply source on such a separate floor, so when the processing chamber was to be serviced or replaced with another one. The removal and installation work was complicated and the work efficiency was impaired. In addition, a display means such as a meter for adjusting each pipe line and electric wire and displaying the flow state is provided for each processing chamber, so that the user can easily determine the operation state of the apparatus. It wasn't. In addition, since these pipe lines are attached around each processing chamber, the required installation area of the entire apparatus is substantially increased, and the number of apparatuses that can be installed on one floor is reduced. There has been a problem that the work space is reduced and work efficiency is lowered.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration as described above is configured so that a sufficient working space is secured and the operation can be easily checked, and the installation area is reduced. That is, detection means for detecting the state of each supply line connected to the processing block 102 side connected by the connection interface 201, and the operation result of the apparatus by displaying the result of the detected output. A display unit 202 having display means for displaying a detection output so as to be detected is disposed on the back surface of the housing 108. Moreover, you may provide the adjustment means which can adjust supply by these supply lines, or can input the instruction | indication of adjustment.

  In addition, a space is provided between the back surface of the casing 108 and the bed frame 205 of the processing block 102, and this space is entered by the user to work on the processing unit 104, the transfer chamber 112, and the lock chamber 113. And a space where the connection interface unit 201 and the display unit 202 on the rear surface of the housing 108 can be confirmed, adjusted, and maintained. Furthermore, the display of the information regarding the operation | movement of the apparatus which concerns on supply from these supply lines, and the means to adjust are arrange | positioned intensively. As a result, work necessary for operating the apparatus is facilitated, and the operating efficiency of the apparatus is improved.

  In this embodiment, utility supply paths necessary for each unit of the processing block 102 are arranged together. When the apparatus main body 100 is installed on the floor by arranging supply pipes such as a supply pipe and electric wires from other places such as a floor below the installation floor of the apparatus 100 and arranging them on the back surface of the casing 108 of the atmospheric block 101, When maintenance or replacement work is performed on the device, it is easy to attach, connect, and remove the supply path, improving work efficiency.

  In the present embodiment, supply lines such as pipelines and electric wires from the connection interface unit 201 are arranged together and pass below the lock chambers 113 and 113 ′ and below the central portion of the transfer chamber 112. Then, it is arranged in the space inside the center frame 204 below the transfer chamber 112 and is connected to each bed through an interface unit arranged in the bed frame 205, but each pipeline of the supply line from the connection interface unit 201, You may make it an electric wire connect directly to the apparatus accommodated in the bed in the flame | frame 106. FIG.

  As described above, the center frame 204 is disposed on the center side of the transfer chamber 112, and in this embodiment, in particular, is positioned so as to be located inside the projection onto the floor of the transfer chamber 112. A bed frame 205 for each processing unit is disposed around the periphery. In other words, four substantially rectangular parallelepiped bed frames 205 are arranged so as to face four sides or surfaces of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped center frame 204 and leave a space as appropriate. At this time, each bed frame 205 is arranged so as to enter the lower part of the transfer chamber 112 and is positioned so as to overlap the projection surface of the transfer chamber 112 onto the floor, thereby reducing the installation area of the processing block 102. I am doing so.

  That is, in the present embodiment, of the bed frame 205 whose upper surface is substantially rectangular, those constituting the bed portion of the ashing processing units 104 and 104 ′ have parallel long sides along the longitudinal direction of the apparatus 100. Be placed. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (c), the front end of the apparatus is located at the rear of the housing 108 and below the side wall of the transfer chamber 112 to which the lock chambers 113 and 113 'and any of them are attached. The rear end of each of the etching processing units 103 and 103 ′ is positioned below the side wall of the transfer chamber 112 to which either one of them is attached. Furthermore, the end of the long side on the center frame 204 side (the left end in the processing unit 104) is located below the transfer chamber 112. In the drawing, the positions of the left and right ends of the bed portions of the ashing units 104 and 104 ′ arranged on the left and right of the transfer chamber 112 are substantially equal to the positions of the left and right ends of the casing 108 of the atmospheric block 101.

  As a result, the installation area including the maintenance space of the apparatus 100, the installation length, particularly the right and left width viewed from the front of the apparatus can be reduced, and the number of installations in the clean room can be increased. Reduces investment and improves manufacturing efficiency at the factory level.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the bed frame 205 of the etching processing units 103 and 103 ′ arranged adjacent to the rear of the ashing processing units 104 and 104 ′ has parallel short sides of the apparatus 100. Are arranged so as to be along the front-rear direction, and the short sides of adjacent bed frames are placed close to each other and face each other. Further, the long side is disposed so as to face the short side of the bed frame 205 of the ashing processing unit adjacent to the etching processing unit. At this time, the corner portion where the short side and the long side are continuous is arranged so as to enter under the transfer chamber 112. In the present embodiment, the corner of the bed frame 205 is positioned below the corner (vertex) of the transfer chamber 112 where two adjacent sides forming an obtuse angle of the substantially hexagonal transfer chamber 112 are continuous.

  In particular, the bed frame and the plate of the processing unit on the side portion of the apparatus 100 are shifted to the front air block side, and the processing chamber is arranged so as to be deviated from the central portion as viewed from above. The unit disposed at the rear portion is disposed around and below the transfer chamber 112 with the orientation of the bed portion being changed. As described above, in the present embodiment, the bed frame 205 of each processing unit is disposed so as to surround the center frame 204 below the transfer chamber 112, but on the upper side, the side walls of each side of the polygonal transfer chamber 112 are arranged. Unlike the chamber portion attached to the side of the transfer chamber 112, the corner portion where the sides located on the space side below the transfer chamber 112 and the sides located on the center side of the apparatus 100 are connected is positioned below the inner side of the side wall of the transfer chamber 112. The two sides of the bed frame 205 are opposite to the sides of the bed frame 205 of each adjacent processing unit, and as a result, the bed frame 205 of each processing unit with respect to a longitudinal line passing through the central portion of the transfer chamber 112. And the plate 106 are also arranged symmetrically. With such a structure, the installation area can be reduced, and the space can be used effectively.

  Further, in this embodiment, the supply paths of utilities required for each unit of the processing block 102 are collectively arranged in a space with a margin between each unit on the back side of the casing 108 of the atmospheric block 101, When the apparatus main body 100 is installed on the floor or when maintenance or replacement work is performed on the apparatus, it is easy to attach, connect, and remove the supply path, thereby improving work efficiency.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the storage efficiency can be improved by effectively using the storage space in the bed frame for storing the utility, and as a result, the installation area can be reduced. Furthermore, the area required for storage can be realized by the width of the front and rear of the smaller device, and in the left-right direction, and more devices can be arranged at installation locations such as a clean room, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency in the factory.

  Further, the plate 106 covering the upper part of the bed frame 205 has a flat plate shape, and the height of each bed frame 205 is dimensioned so that an operator can easily climb to the upper part so that the work can be performed above the bed frame 205. ing. That is, the plate 106 that covers the bed frame can be used as a maintenance space, and an operator can easily perform work on each unit by being positioned around the chamber of each processing unit. The plate 106 is formed in a size that allows an operator to work and has an area sufficient to cover the lower bed frame 205.

  Further, each unit is arranged so as to surround the transfer chamber 112, and the space in which the supply path 203 is arranged is arranged on the inner side or the center side of the apparatus. Such an arrangement space is arranged below the transfer chamber 112 and the lock chamber 113 and in a space between the beds of each processing unit. For this reason, a space for work such as attachment, connection, and removal of the supply path 203 can be secured, the work becomes easy, work efficiency is improved, and operation efficiency of the apparatus is improved. In addition, since the utility connection part is on the inner side of the apparatus, that is, below the transfer chamber 113 and is arranged so as to face the space between the beds, there is little space for the above work and around the apparatus. The installation area is reduced and the number of units that can be installed on the same floor area is increased as compared with the case where pipes and tracks and their connection portions are provided. In this embodiment, two ashing processing units are provided on the side of the apparatus 100, and two etching processing units are provided on the rear side. The arrangement of these units can be changed according to the needs of the user. For example, the ashing processing unit 104 ′ can be removed and a unit equivalent to the etching processing unit 103 can be attached instead. Also in the case of such attachment and arrangement, the installation area and the storage efficiency can be maintained high.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of each unit in the present embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 3A shows a group of processing units. On the other hand, FIGS. 3B, 3C, and 3D are diagrams showing each unit separately. 3B shows an etching processing unit 103, FIG. 3C shows an ashing processing unit 104, and FIG. 3D shows a control unit 107 including an MFC (Mass Flow Controller).

  As shown in the figure, the processing units 103 and 104 include processing units 103a and 104a and bed units 103b and 104b accommodated in and connected to the bed frame 205, respectively. Among these, gas, a circulating refrigerant, a conduit for supplying power, and a line are arranged between the processing units 103a and 103b of the etching processing unit 103 to connect them, while the bed frame 205 is connected to the bed frame 205. The processing unit 103a is supported on the bed by a plurality of support beams (not shown) arranged.

  As described above, the control unit 107 is disposed between the etching processing unit 103 and the ashing processing unit 104, and is disposed on the bed frame 205 of the bed portions 103b and 104b of these processing units. . The control unit 107 is a device that adjusts the supply of gas and the like necessary for the processing units disposed between them to the processing units. For example, a flow rate adjuster arranged inside adjusts the gas and power supply to the processing chamber (chamber) arranged in the processing unit 103 a of the etching processing unit 103.

  FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the positional relationship between the control unit 107 and the processing units 103 and 104 in the embodiment shown in FIG. The control unit 107 is disposed on one bed frame 205 between the etching processing unit 103 that performs etching and the ashing processing unit 104 that performs ashing. The control unit 107 includes controllers 401 and 402 for adjusting the supply to each processing unit as described above.

  In this embodiment, a processing gas supplied to the etching processing unit 103 and the ashing processing unit 104, a gas used for temperature adjustment of the sample in the processing chamber, a flow rate regulator (MFC) that adjusts the flow rate and speed of the refrigerant. A plurality are arranged inside the control unit 107. In particular, inside the control unit 107, an etching processing unit flow rate regulator 401 is disposed on the upper side, and an ashing processing unit flow rate regulator 402 is disposed on the lower side. Access doors 403 and 404 for opening and closing necessary for maintenance and replacement of the devices arranged in the control unit including these flow controllers are arranged up and down. The access doors 403 and 404 may be formed of a transparent plate member so that the user can visually determine the operation of the control unit and the operation of the apparatus body from the outside.

  For example, a storage unit for a liquid or gas such as a refrigerant or water supplied to the processing chamber, a valve for adjusting the flow thereof, or a driving unit such as a motor for driving the valve is housed and arranged. Such a regulator is prepared for each processing chamber. This is because the processing unit of this embodiment is configured to be detachable from the transfer chamber 112 or the apparatus main body 100, and a single apparatus main body 100 is provided with a plurality of processing units capable of performing different processes to process a sample wafer. The processing is also characterized in that various processing can be performed by one apparatus by preparing processing units with different specifications for different processing and exchanging the processing units. Because it is desirable to realize independent adjustment for each processing unit in order to realize optimal processing conditions and operation of the equipment corresponding to processing units with different processing specifications such as different gas types and temperatures. is there.

  In such a vacuum processing apparatus, the control units 107 and 107 ′ of this embodiment are disposed between two processing units, and are easily connected to each unit. For this reason, it becomes easy to attach and remove the processing unit and the control unit, and the working time is shortened.

  In addition, the devices corresponding to the processing units in the control units 107 and 107 'are arranged above and below, and the space required for the arrangement can be reduced. By effectively using the space between the processing units, the distance between the processing units is reduced, and the installation area of the entire apparatus is reduced. Moreover, it becomes easy to reduce the difference in the flow path length of the fluid supplied to each processing chamber. For this reason, the difference in the flow path length to the processing chamber is suppressed before and after the replacement or change of the processing unit or the processing chamber. In this way, it is possible to prevent a difference in performance from occurring before and after performing maintenance, replacement, or mounting of another unit, and facilitate adjustment by the control unit 107 for the user. At the same time, the yield of the entire apparatus can be improved.

  Details of the configuration of the etching processing unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the etching processing unit of the vacuum processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a side surface of the processing unit illustrated in FIG. 10.

  In these drawings, a processing chamber portion 103′a that constitutes the upper portion of the etching processing unit 103 ′ has a discharge chamber portion 1001 provided with a discharge chamber in which the inside is decompressed and electromagnetic waves are radiated and introduced to form plasma. And a vacuum chamber portion 1002 which is disposed below the discharge chamber portion 1001 and communicates with the discharge chamber and is similarly depressurized, and plasma, reaction products, and gas in the discharge chamber flow in from the discharge chamber, and the discharge chamber portion 1001. And a radio wave source unit 1003 in which an electromagnetic wave generating device that is a radio wave source of an electromagnetic wave introduced into the discharge chamber is disposed, and a vacuum chamber that is disposed below the vacuum chamber and can communicate with the vacuum chamber. And an exhaust part 1004 in which an exhaust pump for depressurizing the vacuum chamber and the discharge chamber is disposed. Further, a supporting beam 1005 is provided below the vacuum chamber portion 1002 to connect to the bed portion 103 ′ b and support the vacuum chamber portion 1002. Note that the discharge chamber portion 1001, the vacuum chamber portion 1002, and the radio wave source portion 1003 may be covered with a cover indicated by a one-dot chain line. The processing chamber portion 103 ′ is also provided with a connecting portion having an opening for transferring the sample between the discharge chamber portion 1001 or the vacuum chamber portion 1002 and the transfer chamber 112.

  Further, the bed portion 103 ′ b disposed below the processing chamber portion 103 ′ a includes a bed frame 205 and a bed 1000 disposed inside the bed frame 205. Further, a control unit 107 'is disposed above the bed portion 103'b and adjacent to the processing chamber portion 103'a. As described above, the control unit 107 ′ has a flow rate controller 404 that adjusts the flow of a fluid such as a gas or a refrigerant to be supplied to the processing chamber portion 103 ′ a or the discharge chamber portion 1001 or the vacuum chamber portion 1002. , And a flow controller 403 ′ for the ashing processing unit 104 ′ (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) and asses doors 402 ′ and 401 ′ for adjusting and maintaining them.

  Although not shown, the control unit 107 ′ holds the vacuum chamber portion 1001 and the radio wave source portion 1003 of the processing unit 103′a, lifts them up and down, moves them down and moves them to open the inside for maintenance and inspection. Lifting devices such as cranes and lifters are provided to facilitate work. For this reason, the control unit 107 ′ includes a frame having a strength necessary to support and hold these devices mounted on the inside thereof, and the flow rate regulators 403 ′ and 404 ′ are included in the frame. The outer side is covered with plates and access doors 401 ′ and 402 ′.

  A bed 1000 is attached to the bed frame 205 constituting the bed portion 103 ′ b, and a utility is arranged inside the bed 1000. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 12 is a side view of the bed shown in FIG. 10 as viewed from the rear rear side of the vacuum processing apparatus of the present embodiment (FIG. 12A) and a top view as viewed from above (FIG. 12B). FIG. 13 is a side view of the bed shown in FIG. 10 as viewed from the inside of the vacuum processing apparatus of the present embodiment (FIG. 13A) and a side view of the bed as viewed from the outside of the apparatus (FIG. 13B).

  In these drawings, the bed portion 103 ′ b includes a support beam 1201 that forms a bed frame 205 and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The support beam 1201 holds the bed 1000, and the support beam 1005 and the control unit 107 'are connected to support them. For this purpose, it has sufficient strength. Further, a metal plate is attached around the support beam 1201 so as to cover the inner side thereof, thereby forming a substantially rectangular parallelepiped surface of the bed portion 103 ′ b. With this plate, the upper surface of the bed 103 ′ b constitutes a flat surface, and an operator can rest on it if necessary. For this reason, the space around the processing unit 103'a can be used as a maintenance space, so that the work efficiency can be improved and the installation area of the apparatus can be further reduced.

  Further, a member constituting the support beam 1201 includes a drawer 1202 for storing a utility arranged in the bed 1000, and the drawer 1202 can be moved substantially horizontally between the outside and the inside of the bed portion 103′b. A supporting rail 1203 is attached. For this reason, normally, the utility can be stored in the bed portion 103 ′ b, and the utility can be moved to the outside of the bed portion 103 ′ b or the apparatus 100 as necessary. For example, it is possible to easily access these in the case of maintenance, replacement or adjustment of the power supply device included in the utility. For this reason, the work is facilitated, the work time is shortened, and the use efficiency of the work space is improved.

  In this embodiment, these utilities are power supply devices 1204, 1205, 1206 for supplying power to each device provided in the processing chamber section 103'a, and an adjustment device 1207 for adjusting the power supply. The drawer 1202 is supported by a rail 1203 and is movable along the rail 1203. The drawer 1202 can be detached from the rail 1203, the support beam 1201 or the bed frame 205, and can be replaced with a separately prepared drawer. Also good.

  Further, as described above, the bed frame 205 includes wiring and piping of the collective supply block 203 on the inner side of the apparatus 100 or the portion facing the space below the transfer chamber 112 or on the side facing the center frame 204. And an interface unit 1301 for connecting the utility in the bed 1000 to each other. A device inside the bed and an external device are connected via the interface unit 1301. Further, the interface unit 1301 is attached and fixed to the bed unit 103 ′ b or the bed frame 205 so as to be biased in any one of the horizontal directions.

  The interface unit 1301 is a window between the power source units 1204 to 1206 in the bed 1000, the utility such as the regulator 1207, and the apparatus main body, and a regulator that adjusts the connection between them. The interface unit 1301 is disposed in the bed 1000, a connector that transmits and receives power to the power source units 1204 to 1206, a data signal between the processing chamber unit 103′a and the apparatus main body 100, and a control command signal. A connector for connecting between a pipe from a reservoir for fluid such as gas and refrigerant and a pipe in the collective supply block 203 of the apparatus main body 100 is disposed. In other words, the processing chamber portions 103a and 103′a for performing the etching process and the corresponding bed portions 103b and 103′b are arranged with respect to the apparatus 100 and a line passing through a substantially central portion when viewed from above, and each of the apparatus 100 The interface units 1031 and 1031 ′ are arranged so as to be biased toward the inner side (center side).

  Utilities such as power supplies 1204 to 1206 arranged in a drawer 1202 provided in the bed 1000 are fixed on the drawer 1202 so as to move as the drawer 1202 moves in a substantially horizontal direction. For this reason, wiring is collectively stored in the extended connection tube 1210 so that the connection between these utilities and the bed frame 205 side is maintained as the drawer 1202 moves. Further, an adjustment device 1208 for adjusting input / output of signals and power transmitted / received via the interface unit 1301 is arranged inside the bed of the interface unit 1301, and the power supplies 1204 to 120− are adjusted via the input / output adjustment device 1208. 1206 and a power regulator 1207 are connected.

  One end of the extension connection tube 1210 is fixed on the drawer 1201, and the wiring passing through the extension is extended and connected to each utility arranged in the drawer 1202. The other end is fixed to the bed frame 1205 side of the bed 1000, in particular, fixed to the adjustment device 1208 side, and the internal wiring is connected to the adjustment device 1208. The extension tube 1210 is configured by connecting a plurality of tubes connected and connected to adjacent ones at a plurality of indirect portions so that the extension tube 1210 can be extended / bendable as the drawer 1202 moves. When the drawer 1202 is pulled out, the plurality of tubes extend so that the drawer 1202 is connected to the adjusting device 1208 side. When the drawer 1202 is stored, the drawer 1202 is bent with the indirect portion bent as a fulcrum. The adjustment device 1208 side is connected. With such a configuration, when performing maintenance, inspection, installation, removal, etc. of the utility, the wiring portion can be handled collectively by removing the extension connection cable 1210. Connection on / off operation is facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, utilities are also arranged in portions that are fixed to the bed frame 205 and do not move. These utilities are arranged according to the frequency of maintenance, inspection and connection work, and the availability of connection. The interface unit 1301 is also provided with a connector related to a utility that is not arranged in the drawer 1202 and does not move with the drawer 1202. Examples of such utilities include an input / output switch unit 1209 that turns on / off the connection of power and signal wiring paths, and a gas or refrigerant storage unit 1212. These are arranged on the bed frame 205 itself or a flat fixed mounting plate 1202 ′ attached thereto.

  In the present embodiment, the power and signals to the bed portion 103'b are all removed when the bed portion 103'b, the bed 1000, the drawer 1202 are removed, or when the processing chamber portion 103'a is maintained and inspected. A switch 1211 is provided that can be turned on / off all at once or at a specified portion. By operating the switch 1211 as described above, the power and signal supplied to the processing chamber portion 103 ′ a can be turned on / off, and the entire processing unit or a specific part of the operation can be turned on / off. By operating such a switch, the time required for maintenance and inspection work is shortened, and the work becomes easy. In addition, work accuracy is improved and work safety is improved. In this embodiment, the switch 1211 is disposed on the inner surface of the bed 1000 on the input / output adjustment device 1208. When the drawer 1202 is pulled out, the switch 1211 can be easily accessed and operated.

  Such a switch 1211 may be provided on the interface unit 1301. The interface unit 1301 is a part used by the user when installing or removing the bed unit 103′b, or installing / removing the utility, or performing maintenance and inspection. By placing the switch 1209 as close as possible, the user can perform this operation. It is easy to recognize the necessity of switch operation, and safety and work efficiency are improved.

  FIG. 14 illustrates an outline of connection of piping for signals, electric power and the like, and gas, heat exchange medium and the like in the present embodiment. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the signal and fluid flow of the embodiment shown in FIG. In particular, FIG. 14 shows an outline of wiring and piping connection in each unit in a state where the processing block 102 is viewed from above.

  In this wiring and piping connection, fluid such as signal, power or gas, and heat exchange medium is a power source 1401 disposed under the floor where the apparatus 100 is installed and a fluid source storing gas and heat exchange medium. The data is transmitted from a storage unit 1402 to each processing unit of the processing block 102 via the connection interface 202 and the display unit 202 arranged in the apparatus 100. Further, the wiring and piping are arranged so as to pass through the display unit 202 and through the central side (inward side) of the processing block in which each processing unit is arranged, and one end is connected to each processing unit. .

  That is, the wiring and piping from the display unit 202 are arranged in the piping and wiring arrangement space 1403 arranged below the inside of the center frame 204 that supports the lock unit and the transfer chamber 105 including the transfer chamber 112. It is gathered up and installed. Each wiring and piping arranged in this arrangement space 1403 is connected to each processing unit at the interface part of each bed part arranged at the lower part of each processing unit arranged around the side part of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped center frame 204. Connected.

  Wiring and piping arranged in the arrangement space 1403 are wiring for supply or return for processing units arranged on the left and right sides of the processing block 102, and signal and power wiring for these are on the right. Are prepared for the left side, and these are arranged together. The supply piping is branched for each of the etching processing unit 103 and the ashing processing unit 104 outside the processing unit side outlet of the arrangement space 1403, and piping is arranged for each processing unit. Conversely, the return pipes are connected so that the fluids flowing through the pipes for the respective processing units merge and flow in the arrangement space 1403. On the other hand, wiring for a plurality of processing units grouped into one in the arrangement space is separated for each processing unit outside the arrangement space.

  The branched pipe is connected to the interface unit of each processing unit. For example, the interface unit 1301 of the bed unit 103 b of the right etching processing unit 103 and the interface unit 1401 of the bed unit 104 b of the ashing processing unit 104 are connected. In the bed portion 103b of the etching processing unit 103, the bed 103b is arranged so as to be biased to one of the surfaces facing the lower side of the transfer chamber 112, that is, to be biased in either the left or right direction as viewed from above, and faces the center frame 204. The pipe connected to the interface unit 1301 arranged at the position is connected to a storage unit 1212 arranged in a portion fixed to the bed 1000 in the bed unit 103b, and the control unit above the bed unit 103b from the storage unit 1212. It is connected to a controller 402 mounted in 107. A fluid is supplied from the controller 402 to the processing chamber portion 103 a of the etching processing unit 103.

  On the other hand, a part of the wiring connected to the interface unit 1301 of the etching processing unit 103 is connected to a utility represented by the power supply device 1204, and the other part is connected to a utility such as the power supply device 1204 via the adjustment device 1208. Connected. Further, the adjusting device 1208 is directly connected to the processing chamber portion 103 a via the adjusting device 1208, and the other part is connected to the processing chamber portion 103 a via the power supply device 1204.

  On the other hand, in the bed portion 104b of the ashing processing unit 104, the piping connected to the interface portion 1401 disposed so as to be biased to one of the surfaces facing the lower side of the transfer chamber 112 and facing the center frame 204 is as follows. The storage unit 1412 is connected to a portion of the bed unit 104b fixed to the bed 1000, and the storage unit 1412 is connected to the controller 401 mounted in the control unit 107 above the bed unit 104b. A fluid is supplied from the controller 401 to the processing chamber portion 104 a of the etching processing unit 104.

  On the other hand, the wiring connected to the interface unit 1401 of the ashing processing unit 104 is connected to a utility represented by the power supply device 1404 and the other part of the wiring is connected to the adjustment device 1408, similarly to the etching processing unit 103. To the utility such as the power supply device 1404. Further, the adjusting device 1408 is directly connected to the processing chamber portion 104 a via the adjusting device 1408, and the other part is connected to the processing chamber portion 104 a via the power supply device 1404.

  The interface unit 1301 of the present embodiment is disposed on the surface facing the transfer chamber side or the center side of the transfer chamber of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped bed portion, and is particularly arranged so as to be biased to either the left or right side. Located closer to the center or inside of the chamber. Further, when the substantially rectangular parallelepiped bed portions are disposed with their surfaces facing each other, the interface portions are disposed at closer positions. By doing in this way, the operation | work of attachment / detachment of piping and wiring in an interface part can be performed collectively, and the efficiency of work improves. Furthermore, the bed portions can be arranged closer to each other, the installation area of the entire apparatus can be made smaller, and a larger platform for the operator to work on under the processing unit can be secured to improve the installation efficiency of the apparatus. be able to.

  Furthermore, since the apparatus in the bed portion can be pulled out and operated only when necessary, the work space required around the apparatus can be suppressed, and the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced and the installation efficiency can be improved. The above arrangement and configuration are not limited to a substantially rectangular parallelepiped (substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above) as in this embodiment, and even if other substantially hexahedral bed frames and plate shapes are adopted, There is an effect.

  Next, details of the configuration of the processing unit of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a characteristic configuration of the processing unit will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of the configuration of the processing chamber portion in the processing unit of the processing units shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the processing chamber section of the processing unit shown in FIG. In particular, the configuration of the processing chamber of the etching processing unit 103 is shown.

  In this figure, a processing chamber section 500 constituting the upper portion of the processing chamber section 103a is connected to the transfer chamber 112 and communicated or blocked between them by an open / close atmospheric gate valve 514 disposed therebetween. With the atmospheric gate valve 514 opened, the space inside the transfer chamber 112 communicates with the space inside the processing chamber 500, and the pressures of both are substantially equal. When the atmospheric gate valve 514 is opened, a wafer, which is a sample, is transferred from the transfer chamber 112 to the sample table 504 disposed in the processing chamber, and is placed thereon.

  In this embodiment, after detecting and confirming that the sample is placed on the sample stage 504, the atmospheric gate valve 514 is closed to shut off the inside of the processing chamber unit 500 and the inside of the transfer chamber 112, and the processing chamber. The inside of the part is sealed and processing is started. When removing or maintaining the processing chamber 500 from the transfer chamber 112, the atmospheric gate valve 514 is closed, and after the pressure in the processing chamber 500 is increased to atmospheric pressure, a vacuum container for the processing chamber 500 is formed. The inside of the outer chambers 511 and 512 is opened and exposed to the atmosphere.

  As shown in this figure, a discharge chamber portion 1001 is disposed at the upper part of the processing chamber 500, and the discharge chamber portion 1001 is disposed inside the lid member 542 that forms a lid of the vacuum vessel. An antenna member, a magnetic field generator disposed on the side and above the antenna member and surrounding the discharge chamber, and a ceiling member disposed below the antenna member. Yes. A radio wave source unit 525 that supplies radio waves in the UHF band and VHF band emitted from the antenna member is disposed above the magnetic field generation unit. The antenna member is disposed between a flat plate-shaped antenna 526 disposed inside a lid member 542 made of a conductive member such as SUS, and between the antenna 526 and the lid member 542 to insulate them. It has at least one dielectric 528 having a ring shape arranged to conduct radio waves emitted from the antenna 526 to the lower ceiling member side.

  Further, the ceiling member is provided with a (quartz) plate 503 made of a dielectric material such as quartz in order to conduct the transmitted radio wave to the lower processing chamber side, and the processing disposed and supplied below the quartz plate. A shower plate 534 formed with a plurality of holes for dispersing and introducing the processing gas into the processing chamber.

  The space formed below the shower plate 534 and above the sample stage 504 is due to the interaction between the radio wave introduced into the supplied process gas through the quartz plate 503 and the magnetic field supplied from the magnetic field generator. A discharge chamber 532 is formed in which plasma is formed. Further, a space is formed between the quartz plate 503 and the shower plate 534 with a minute gap, and the process gas to be supplied to the discharge chamber 532 is first supplied to the space and passes through the shower plate 534. The lever space and the discharge chamber 532 communicate with each other and flow into the discharge chamber 532 through the hole through which the process gas flows. The space is a buffer chamber 529 provided so that the process gas is dispersed from the plurality of holes and flows into the discharge chamber 532. This process gas is supplied from a controller 402 that regulates the supply of a fluid such as a gas to the processing unit 103 via a process gas line 501 and a process gas shut-off valve 502.

  In this way, the process gas is dispersed and introduced into the discharge chamber 532 from the plurality of holes, and these holes are mainly arranged at positions facing the position on the sample stage 504 where the sample is placed. In addition, the function of the buffer chamber 529 that can disperse the gas so as to be more uniform, and the plasma density are made uniform. A lower ring 537 is disposed below the lid member 542 on the outer peripheral side of the quartz plate 503 and the shower plate 534, and a gas line 501 through which process gas flows into the buffer chamber 529 is disposed inside the lower ring 537. A gas passage communicating with the gas passage is provided.

  Further, below the shower plate 534, the lower ring 537 and the shower plate 534 are disposed in contact with their lower surfaces, facing the plasma inside the vacuum vessel, and partitioning the space of the discharge chamber 532 to partition the discharge chamber side wall member 533. Is provided. On the outer peripheral side of the inner wall member 533, a discharge chamber outer wall member 536 is provided so as to surround the inner wall member 533. An outer wall surface of the inner wall member 533 and an inner wall surface of the outer wall member 536 of the discharge chamber are provided. Are facing each other. In this embodiment, each of the inner wall member 533 and the outer wall member 536 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is configured to be substantially concentric. A heater is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the outer wall member 536, and the temperature of the inner wall member 533 in contact with the outer wall member 536 is adjusted by adjusting the temperature of the outer wall member 536.

  On the outer peripheral side of the outer wall member 536, a discharge chamber base plate 535 that contacts the lower surface thereof is disposed. The lower surface of the discharge chamber base plate 535 is connected to a vacuum chamber portion disposed below the discharge chamber base plate 535. The inner wall member 533 is also a member that acts as a ground electrode for the sample stage 504 serving as plasma and electrodes inside the discharge chamber 532, and has an area necessary for stabilizing the plasma potential. In order to function as the ground electrode, it is necessary to ensure sufficient conductivity as well as heat conduction between the outer wall member 536 and the lid member 537 that are connected in contact with each other.

  The inner wall member 533, the outer wall member 536, and the lid member 537 are all made of a conductive member, and are exposed to the atmosphere side outside the processing chamber 500, so that wiring for grounding can be easily connected. It is comprised so that it may become.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the vacuum chamber portion 1002 is disposed below the discharge chamber portion 1001, and the outer wall member of the vacuum chamber portion 1002 constituting the vacuum vessel is largely divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part is the upper outer chamber 511 which is attached to the transfer chamber 112 or a member attached to the transfer chamber 112 with a bolt or the like and fixed in position. On the other hand, the lower part is attached and fixed to the member of the upper outer chamber 511 with a bolt or the like from below, and further supported by a support beam 1005 attached on the bed frame 205 of the bed part 103b from below. That is, the positions of the upper and lower outer chambers 511 and 512 are fixed with respect to the transfer chamber 112 or the bed portion 103b or the floor surface on which the apparatus 100 is installed.

  Here, one or more chambers are arranged inside the outer chambers 511 and 512 that constitute the outer wall of the vacuum chamber part 1002 of the processing chamber part 500 and are arranged one above the other, and one is arranged inside the other. It is a multiple chamber. In this embodiment, there are two chambers inside and outside. That is, an inner chamber 509 is provided inside the upper outer chamber 511, and an inner chamber 510 is provided inside the lower outer chamber 512. That is, two upper and lower inner chambers 509 and 510 are provided. The sample stage 504 is disposed inside the inner chambers 509 and 510, and the inside of the innermost chamber forms a vacuum chamber 532 'in which plasma is formed and gas and reactive organisms flow and are exhausted.

  The vacuum chamber 532 ′ communicates with the upper discharge chamber 532, and is configured to communicate with the space between the inner chamber 509 and the outer chamber 511, as will be described. The plasma, gas, and reactive organisms in the discharge chamber 532 are arranged so that they can move.

  In addition, the inner chambers 509 and 510 have conductivity, and are electrically connected to the outer chambers 511 and 512 so as to have a predetermined potential. The inner chambers 509 and 510 face the inner plasma as described above and need to be set to a specific potential in order to stabilize the process or to stabilize the interaction with particles in the plasma. There is. In the present embodiment, the inner chambers 509 and 510 are in contact with each other and set to the ground potential. As a result, the plasma potential is stabilized and the interaction is stabilized as in the discharge chamber side wall member 533.

  In order to ground the inner chambers 509 and 510, the inner chamber 509 or 510 is made of a conductive member, and is connected to the outer chamber made of the conductive member at the upper end or the lower end of the inner chamber 509. It is configured. The inner chamber 510 is connected to the lower surface of the inner chamber 510 in contact with the upper surface of the lower outer chamber 512, which is also formed of a conductive member, so that conduction is ensured. By connecting the outer chambers 511 and 512 to each other by grounding, the inner chamber 509 or the inner chamber 510 is grounded.

  Further, the discharge chamber portion 1002 mounted on the vacuum chamber portion 1001 is moved by a small distance downward so that the discharge chamber 532 and the vacuum chamber 532 ′ are depressurized and pressed against the vacuum chamber portion 1002. A force is applied to 1002. In this way, the seal that seals between the inside and outside of the discharge chamber 1001 and the vacuum chamber 1002 at the portion where the vacuum chamber 1002 and the discharge chamber 1001 are in contact effectively functions.

In the discharge chamber portion 1001 described above, the discharge chamber base plate 535 comes into contact with and presses the vacuum chamber portion 1002. The lower surface of the discharge chamber base plate 535 is in contact with the upper surface of the sample table (electrode) base plate 524, and the lower surface of the sample table base plate 524 is in contact with the upper surface of the upper outer chamber 511 of the processing chamber 500. On the other hand, the discharge chamber base plate 535 is disposed above a flange portion provided at the upper end of the upper inner chamber 509 or the upper end including the vicinity thereof, and the sample table base plate 524 is pressed from above through the flange portion to push it. It is configured to transmit pressure. Sample stage base plate 5 24 contacts against the upper outer chamber 511 to apply a pressing force to the outer peripheral side of the flange portion of the upper inner chamber 509.

  In this embodiment, the temperature of the surface of the wall constituting the vacuum chamber is adjusted to adjust the interaction between the surface and the plasma, particles, gas, and reactive organisms contained therein. As described above, by appropriately adjusting the interaction between the plasma and the wall surface of the vacuum chamber facing the plasma, the plasma characteristics such as plasma density and composition can be brought into a desired state. On the other hand, in the configuration of this embodiment, there is a space between the inner chamber 511 and the outer chamber 512 constituting the vacuum chamber portion 1002 that is decompressed by the exhaust means and maintained at a high degree of vacuum. A device is required to adjust the temperature of the inner chamber 511 to be configured.

  In the present embodiment, a medium passage through which a heat exchange medium flows is arranged inside the discharge chamber base plate 535, and a heat exchange medium such as water circulates and flows through the medium passage so that the discharge chamber base plate 535 The temperature is adjusted, and the temperature of the inner chamber 509 is adjusted through a member disposed between the discharge chamber base plate 535 and the member of the inner chamber 509 and connecting them. That is, the discharge chamber base plate 535 and the side wall member of the inner chamber 509 are thermally connected, and heat is conducted between them to exchange heat. If heat exchange is possible through heat conduction, another member may be disposed between them.

  When the discharge chamber base plate 535 is fastened to the vacuum chamber base plate 524 disposed therebelow using a bolt or the like, a pressing force is applied to press the upper inner chamber 509 downward, and the flange portion is brought into contact with the flange portion. The suspension beam 505 is preliminarily applied so that a pressing force is applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sample base plate 524 pressed at the connected portion and the support base member of the sample base 504 pressed in contact with the lower portion of the upper inner chamber 509. And an elastic ring 538 having elasticity so that the support base member 523 supported by the support base member 523 is floated upward by a small distance is disposed between the sample stage base play, 524 and the upper part of the suspension beam 505. Has been.

  In order for the sample to be processed to be placed on the sample stage 504 in the inner chambers 509 and 510, a gate capable of transferring the wafer to the inner chamber 509 or 510 is required. Further, a valve that opens and closes and seals the gate to shut off and communicate the space inside and outside the chamber is required.

  In this embodiment, the gate provided between the inside of the processing chamber section 500 and the inside of the transfer chamber 112 is opened or closed, and the gate is connected to and shut off by sealing the gate 504 and the inner chamber 509. And a process gate valve 513 that opens and closes the inside and closes and seals the two to communicate and block them. The atmospheric gate valve 514 is arranged on the inner side wall of the transfer chamber 112 and is configured to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions by the driving means 522, and is closed or opened so as to seal the gate on the inner side wall. . In addition, a gate is provided at a position communicating with the gate on the transfer chamber 112 side when the transfer chamber 112 and the processing chamber section 500 are connected to the outer chamber 509 constituting the vacuum vessel.

  As shown in FIG. 6, this position is a position where the wafer and the robot arm do not interfere with the processing when the sample transfer device 506, which is a robot arm for transferring the wafer in the transfer chamber 112, transfers the wafer. It is necessary to be. Further, a process gate is disposed at a position facing the gate of the outer chamber or the gate of the transfer chamber 112 in a state where the inner chamber 509 is installed in the outer chamber 511, and the wafer is transferred through this process gate. .

  Further, a process gate valve 513 for opening, closing and sealing the process gate is disposed in a space between the outer chamber 511 and the inner chamber 509, and the process gate valve 514 is driven by a driving means 521 below the process gate valve 514. It is configured to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions, and is disposed on the side wall of the inner chamber 509 when closed, and is closed or opened so as to seal the gate on the inner side wall. The process gate is disposed at a position and shape that does not contact the wafer and the robot arm when the robot arm in the transfer chamber for transferring the wafer transfers the wafer.

In the above-described configuration, each gate valve is opened so as not to hinder the transfer of the wafer. When processing a wafer, the gate valve, the process gate valve 513 and the atmospheric gate valve 514 for closing the gate provided in the innermost chamber, in this embodiment, the inner chamber 509, are closed and sealed. Block the space between the inside and outside. When the processing chamber is removed or the vacuum vessel is opened for maintenance work or the like, the process gate valve 513 is opened while the atmospheric gate valve 514 is closed, and the inside and outside of the inner chamber 509 inside the outer chamber 511 are opened. Communicate through the space. At this time, the process gas shut-off valve 502 is driven to shut off the process gas line 501 so that the process gas is not supplied into the processing chamber 500.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the process gate valve 513 is opened so that the inside and outside of the inner chamber 509 in the outer chamber 511 communicate with each other and can be set or adjusted to substantially the same pressure. By doing in this way, this inner chamber 509 or 510 can reduce the load due to a large pressure difference between the inside and the outside and reduce the thickness and size of the member.

  When maintenance work is performed on the inside of the outer chamber 511 that is a vacuum container of the processing chamber 500, the atmospheric gate valve 514 is closed to seal the inside of the outer chamber 511, and after confirming this, the process gate valve 513 is opened. . In a state where the process gate is communicated and the space inside and outside the inner chamber 513 is communicated, the atmosphere release valve 515 is opened to allow communication between the outside and the inside of the processing chamber unit 500, and the inside of the outer chambers 511 and 512 in the processing chamber unit 500. The pressure is increased to approximately atmospheric pressure, that is, released to the atmosphere.

  After the release to the atmosphere, the inside of the processing chamber 500 is opened. First, a lid 503 disposed above the outer chamber 511 of the processing chamber 500 and sealing the inside is lifted upward to be opened. At this time, it may be lifted upward by a crane or the like, but a hinge portion may be provided in advance, and the hinge may be lifted up and opened 180 degrees or more. Next, an operation for maintaining the inner chamber 509 is performed. The inner chamber 509 may be removed from the outer chamber 511 and removed from the processing chamber 500 in order to facilitate this maintenance operation, for example, cleaning, replacement, repair, and the like.

  As described above, since a configuration that can be adjusted or maintained until the inside and outside of the inner chamber 509 become substantially dynamic pressure is provided, the thickness of the chamber member is suppressed. For this reason, the weight of the inner chamber 509 is reduced, handling work such as removal is facilitated, the working time is reduced, and the operating efficiency of the apparatus is improved.

  In this embodiment, two upper and lower inner chambers are provided, and divided into 509 and 510 above and below the block of the sample stage 504. That is, the sample stage 504 block is disposed below the inner chamber 509. The block of the sample stage 504 is provided with a sample stage body 504 and a support beam 520 around the axis with the sample stage 504 as a central axis. In this embodiment, the inner chamber 509, the outer chamber 511, and the sample table main body 504 have a substantially cylindrical shape, and the gas in the space on the sample table 504 in the inner chamber 509 is a space between the support beams. However, it flows downward using the space between the inner chambers 509 as a passage.

  The support beam 520 connects the sample table main body 504 and a ring-shaped support base member 523 disposed around the main body to hold the sample table 504 in the inner chamber 509. The support base member 523, the support beam 520, and the support base member 523 are connected to and suspended in the suspension beam 505. In the suspension beam 505, a supply pipe for gas and refrigerant supplied to the main body of the sample stage 504 and power transmission are provided. The electric wire is arranged inside thereof. In this way, the sample stage main body 504, the support beam 520, and the support base 523 can be lifted as an integral block and lifted out of the outer chamber 511. The maintenance or replacement of the sample stage 504 is less frequent than the maintenance of the inner chamber 509, and the efficiency of the maintenance work of the apparatus can be improved by adopting a structure that can be moved integrally as a block.

  A sensor 539 for detecting the state of the vacuum chamber 532 ′ or the discharge chamber 532 is disposed below the vacuum chamber portion 1002. That is, a hole for accommodating a sensor is formed in the side wall of the lower outer chamber 512, and a sensor 539 for detecting the pressure, gas composition, plasma emission, etc. in the vacuum chamber 532 ′ and detecting these states inside the hole. Is arranged. A passage communicating with the sensor 539 or a hole for accommodating the sensor 539 is formed in the lower outer chamber 512 and the lower inner chamber 510. The opening of this passage is disposed on the side surface of the lower inner chamber 510, and the gas, plasma, etc. in the vacuum chamber 532 ′ are transmitted to the sensor 539 through this passage.

  A lower inner chamber 510 is disposed below the block of the sample stage 504, and an opening is disposed in a central portion of the inner chamber 510. This opening communicates with an exhaust means having an exhaust valve 507 and an exhaust pump 508 disposed below the inner chamber 510 and below the sample stage 504, and inside the inner chamber 509 that flows around the sample stage 504. This is where the gas flows. That is, the space between the support beams 520 around the sample stage 504 and the space in the inner chamber 510 below the sample stage 504 flow the processing gas in the processing chamber 500, particles in the plasma, and particles of reactive organisms. It is an exhaust path to be exhausted.

  The exhaust valve 507 that is an exhaust means of the processing chamber 500 includes a plurality of plate-shaped shutters that can communicate or block between the exhaust pump 508 disposed below and the space inside the inner chamber 510, This is a shutter-type exhaust valve that adjusts the exhaust flow rate and speed by variably adjusting the area of the exhaust passage opened by rotating this shutter. Thus, in this embodiment, the exhaust means is disposed below the sample stage 504, particularly directly below. Plasma, processing gas, and reactive organisms in the space above the sample stage 504 in the inner chamber 509 pass through the periphery of the sample stage 504 and the space in the inner chamber 510 below the exhaust path to the exhaust valve 507. Flowing.

  The plurality of support beams 520 are disposed substantially at the position of the axis about the sample stage 504 as a central axis, and each of the support beams 520 flows through the space between the support beams to the exhaust valve 507 directly below the sample stage 504. The lengths of the exhaust paths are configured to be substantially equal. Therefore, the flow of gas, charged particles, and reactive organisms in the plasma above the sample stage 504 is more uniform in the circumferential direction of the sample stage 504 or the wafer that is a substantially disk-shaped sample placed thereon. Thus, the distribution of the particles of the substance in the plasma becomes more uniform in the space above the wafer. For this reason, the processing of the wafer is made more uniform.

  In the present embodiment, the exhaust means includes an exhaust valve 507 having a plurality of shutters and an exhaust pump 508 below the exhaust valve 507, and the exhaust valve 507 is disposed immediately below the sample stage 504. The plurality of plate-like shutters are arranged substantially horizontally (in the wafer surface direction) as shown in the figure, and each shutter rotates about an axis attached to each of them, and the opening of the inner chamber 510 and the exhaust pump 508 are rotated. Adjust the area to communicate with. When these shafts are rotated, the plates of the shutters come into contact with each other to seal and close the opening. Further, the area that communicates when the plate of each shutter becomes substantially parallel to the direction of the sample stage 504 (upward) is the largest. Although not shown, the exhaust valve 507 is provided with driving means such as a motor for adjusting the rotation of these shutters. The exhaust means adjusts the opening area of these shutters and the driving of the exhaust pump 508 to adjust the amount of exhaust and its exhaust. Adjusting the speed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, an exhaust gate plate that covers the upper part of the exhaust opening 531 ′ provided in the outer lower chamber 512 and opens and closes (opens / shuts down) above the exhaust valve 507 below the sample stage 504. 530 is arranged. The exhaust gate plate 530 has a substantially disc shape, and has at least one pair of arm portions 531 extending outward at a peripheral edge of a part of the outer edge, and is disposed below the arm portion 531. The upper end of the pushed pusher 531 ′ moves up and down, so that the arm portion 531 connected to the upper end is lifted / lowered to open / close the exhaust opening 531 ′. The exhaust gate plate 530 has a lower projection surface within the projection surface of the upper sample stage 504, and the projection surface of the arm portion 531 ′ fits within the projection surface of the upper support beam 520. It arrange | positions so that at least one part may overlap.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the exhaust gate plate 530 forms a plasma and processes a sample, the exhaust gate plate 530 is brought close to the upper part of the sample stage 504 and the lower surface of the support beam 520 by a pusher 531. It is lifted and moved until it touches. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the flow of plasma, process gas remaining, reaction products, and the like in the processing chamber exhausted along with the processing of the sample from being inhibited by the exhaust gate plate 530, and improve the exhaust efficiency. The space required for stabilizing the disturbed and disturbed exhaust flow in the vacuum chamber 532 ′ below the support beam 520 and the sample stage 504 is suppressed, the processing chamber part is further downsized, the exhaust time is shortened, and the processing is performed. Increases efficiency. Further, in the above configuration, the particles are prevented from adhering to the exhaust gate plate 530. As a result, the maintenance interval such as replacement of the exhaust gate plate 530 and removal of deposits can be extended.

  The maintenance work inside the processing chamber 500 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the removal of components from the processing chamber shown in FIG.

  After confirming that the pressure in the space inside and outside the inner chamber 509 in the processing chamber 500 is substantially the same, the discharge chamber 1001 is opened. First, after confirming that no electric power is supplied to the processing chamber unit 103a, together with a magnetic field generation unit including a radio wave source unit 525 and a coil 527 disposed above the discharge chamber unit 1001, and a vacuum chamber unit below The lid member 527 constituting the vacuum vessel and the antenna member inside thereof are moved upward by using a hoist such as a crane or a lifter arranged in the control unit 107. In the present embodiment, the lid member 542 and the antenna member and the upper surface of the plate 503 below the cover member 542 are exposed to the atmosphere, and therefore, the upward movement of the lid member 542 and the antenna member is reduced in the discharge chamber 532 and the vacuum chamber 532 ′. It is possible even in the state of being.

  Thereafter, the plate 503, the lower lid ring 537 and the shower plate 534 are moved upward and removed. Further, the discharge chamber side wall member 533 is lifted upward and removed. Next, the discharge chamber outer wall member 536 and the discharge chamber base plate 535 are moved upward. In the present embodiment, these are fastened with bolts and connected, and these may be moved together. Further, a hinge portion 543 is disposed at an end portion of the discharge chamber base plate 535 on the transfer chamber 112 side, and the discharge chamber base plate 535 is further connected to the hinge chamber 543 as a fulcrum. The side wall member 536 may be lifted upward.

  In this way, the discharge chamber 1001 is moved upward, and the discharge chamber 532 and the vacuum chamber 532 'are opened to the atmosphere. Next, the member inside the vacuum chamber 1002 is removed. The upper inner chamber 509 is lifted upward from the inside of the outer chamber 511 that is open and exposed to the atmosphere, and is taken out. The process gate valve 513 is removed from the outer chamber 511, or the inner chamber 509 is lifted upward while the process gate valve 513 is opened from the inner chamber 509. Thereafter, the process gate valve 513 is removed and taken out of the outer chamber 511.

  The inner chambers 509 and 510 are divided into upper and lower parts with the support beam 520 and the support base member 523 of the sample stage 504 interposed therebetween. After the sample stage 504 block is integrally lifted upward and taken out of the outer chamber 511, the lower inner chamber 510 is removed upward, and the inner side wall surface of the outer chamber 511 is cleaned or repaired. This operation will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the removal of components from the processing chamber shown in FIG. As described above, after the upper inner chamber 509 is taken out upward, the sample stage 504 block is lifted and moved out of the processing chamber 500. As shown in the drawing, the sample table 504 connected to the sample table base plate 524 with a hanging beam 505 is rotated upward with respect to each block by using a hinge 543 ′ provided on the sample table base plate 524 in advance as an axis. It may be good or lifted up by a hoist such as a crane. In this embodiment, the hinge portions 543 and 543 ′ are arranged at different positions. However, the hinge portions 543 and 543 ′ are arranged on the transfer chamber 112 side of the processing chamber portion 500, and maintenance is performed by opening the inside of the processing chamber portion 500. A space for the person in charge to perform work is secured around the processing chamber 500 when performing inspection, replacement, and the like. Furthermore, the sample table base plate 524 has a sample table 504 connected to the lower side by a suspension beam 505, and the sample table 504 and the support beam 505 in the case where the sample table 504 is lifted by rotating the hinge 543 ′ as a fulcrum. It is necessary to secure a space to pass through, but the vacuum chamber portion 1002 can be miniaturized by arranging the hinge portion 543 ′ on the transfer chamber 112 side, and the sample is transferred from the transfer chamber 112 to the sample in the transfer chamber 112. By reducing the size of the robot arm of the sample transfer device 506, the transfer chamber 112 can be downsized. Thereby, the installation area of an apparatus can be made smaller. Furthermore, since the member lifted by these hinges can be placed on or supported on the upper surface of the transfer chamber 112, work efficiency and safety are improved.

  The block of the sample stage 504 is taken out and the lower inner chamber 510 is taken out later. The taken out upper and lower inner chambers 509 and 510 are subjected to maintenance such as cleaning and repair, or replaced with new parts. Furthermore, after taking out these inner chambers 509 and 510, the inner side wall surfaces of the outer chambers 511 and 512 are cleaned, and repairs and maintenance are performed as necessary. Similarly, exhaust valves will be maintained and replaced as necessary. After performing these operations, the assembly is performed in the reverse order of the procedure described above. After the lid 503 is attached to the processing chamber 500, each gas, refrigerant, and power line are connected.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a gate and a valve for opening and closing the gate are provided at a position facing the gate outside the chamber among the multiple chambers. When the outside gate is closed by closing the valve, the inside of the processing chamber is opened to the atmosphere so that the processing chamber can be removed or components can be attached and detached. In this way, attachment or removal of the processing chamber portion of the unit can be performed while processing is performed in the processing chamber of another unit.

  Further, the inside and outside of the inner chamber can be adjusted and maintained at the same pressure, and the inner chamber member can be reduced to facilitate the attachment or detachment work, thereby improving the work efficiency and consequently the operation efficiency of the apparatus.

  In addition, the inner chamber is divided into upper and lower parts, which facilitates handling, reduces working time, and improves the operating efficiency of the apparatus. The sample stage can be handled as a block, and parts with relatively low work frequency are moved together as a block to improve work efficiency.

In addition, an evacuation unit is disposed below the sample stage, particularly directly below, and it is possible to suppress bending of the exhaust path of particles in the processing chamber such as plasma. As a result, the exhaust speed is improved, the working time is shortened, and the operating efficiency of the apparatus main body is improved. Furthermore, an exhaust valve having a plurality of shutters is provided below the sample stage, and the exhaust buffer space below the sample stage is reduced, and the exhaust time is further reduced.

  Further, the support beam of the sample table is arranged on a substantially axial object with the sample table as the center, and the exhaust path can be made more straight to the exhaust means below the sample table. Furthermore, differences in the length of the exhaust path passing around the sample stage are suppressed, and the flow of particles such as plasma in the processing chamber is made uniform, and the density of particles above the wafer on the sample stage is made more uniform. The wafer processing is stabilized.

  In the above embodiment, the results of detecting the operation of each unit by receiving outputs from the controllers (flow rate controllers MFC) 401 and 402 and the sensors for controlling the flow rate on the bed portions 103b and 103′b. Control units 107 and 107 'are arranged so as to include a controller and the like of each unit that calculates an appropriate command for adjusting the operation of these units according to the situation and transmits the command to each unit. MFCs and controllers arranged in these control units 107 and 107 'may be arranged in the bed section. This modification will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 15 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a vacuum processing apparatus according to a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is a plan view and a top view showing an outline of the configuration of the bed portion of the modification shown in FIG. 15. In these drawings, the same parts as those described so far are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  In FIG. 15, the difference from the embodiment of FIG. 1 is that in the processing block 102 ′ of the vacuum processing apparatus 100 ′ of this modification, there is no space between the etching processing unit 103 ″ and the ashing processing unit 104 ″. The control unit is not arranged. Since no equipment is arranged on the upper surface of the bed portion of these units, it is possible for an operator to stand on the bed portion during this time and perform work on each of these units in parallel. The efficiency of maintenance work and replacement work for “a, 104” a and the transport unit 105 can be improved.

  On the other hand, FIG. 16 shows an outline of the configuration of the bed portion 103 ″ b of the etching processing unit 103 ″. The bed portions 103 ″ b, 104 ″ b of the processing unit 102 ′ of the modified example shown in FIG. 15 are arranged in the front-rear direction in the installed state compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. It has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In particular, the extended length is larger in the bed portion of the etching unit 103 ″ b.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 16, as shown in FIG. 16A, the operation of the wafer bias power supply 1602, the DC power supply unit 1603, the I / O controller unit 1603, the MFC unit 1605, and each device for each unit is adjusted. The bed 1601 in which utilities such as the microcomputer 1606 are arranged is arranged in the storage space in the bed frame 1607, and is close to the maintenance space around the apparatus 100 ′ facing the bed portion 103 ″ b in which these are stored. In this way, they are arranged so as to be biased downward in the drawing.

  An interface unit 1608 similar to that described with reference to FIG. 12 and the like is arranged so that the connection between these utilities and the outside of the bed unit 103 ″ b can be easily turned on / off.

  When a utility or the like is stored in the bed portion 103 ″ b, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the inside of a drawer that moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the space provided on the floor surface around the vacuum processing apparatus 100 ′ In this modification, at least a part of the plate constituting the upper surface of the bed 103 ″ b can be removed, or a lid structure that can be opened and closed around the hinge, and the operator opens and closes the plate. By doing so, it is possible to work on the equipment inside the bed 103 "b.

  Although there is a space in the upper part of the drawing, parts or the like having a large maintenance interval and a low frequency of work may be arranged in this part. The processing chamber portion 103 ″ a is disposed on the plate covering the upper surface of the main bed 1601 at this location, but the parts where the frequency of work is high or safety is important are positions where the processing chamber portion 103 ″ a is placed. Rather than the side closer to the maintenance space.

  Also in this case, the interface unit 1608 is arranged at a position facing the space below the center frame 204 of the bed 103 ″ b, as in the above embodiment, and together with the utilities, controllers, etc. inside the bed 103 ″ b, the supply block 203 However, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, there is no extension tube for bringing together the wiring and piping of each device.

  In this modification, the MFC unit 1605 is disposed in the bed 1601, but the fluid piping connected to the flow rate regulator such as the MFC unit 1605 is disposed so as to extend along the outer periphery of the bed portion. You may make it connect with this regulator in the bed part 103b, or piping attached to this with the connector part provided in the side surface of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped bed part 103b.

  Furthermore, in this example, a control device such as an MFC or a controller is arranged in the bed portion of each unit together with a power source and a utility for driving the unit, so that the unit can operate alone. For this reason, while processing a sample such as a semiconductor wafer as a product in another unit, an operation for maintenance or testing is performed in any desired unit, or the unit is removed from the transfer chamber 112 for maintenance or testing. It is possible to perform operations and the like. When devices corresponding to a plurality of units are collectively arranged in the control unit 107 as in the above embodiment, when the operation of any unit is stopped, changed, or separated from the transfer chamber 112, the remaining units However, the configuration of this example reduces the influence on the operation of units other than the unit to be worked on, and suppresses the deterioration of the efficiency of operation of the vacuum processing apparatus 100. High processing efficiency can be maintained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Atmosphere side block, 102 ... Processing block, 103, 104 ... Processing unit, 105 ... Transfer unit, 106 ... Plate, 107 ... Control unit, 108 ... Housing, 109 ... Wafer cassette, 110 ... Dummy cassette, 111 ... Position Alignment unit 113 ... Lock chamber 201 ... Connection interface 202 ... Display unit 203 ... Supply path 204 ... Center frame 205 ... Bed frame 401/402 ... Access door 500 ... Processing chamber unit 501 ... Process gas Line, 502 ... Process gas shutoff valve, 504 ... Sample stand, 506 ... Sample transfer device, 507 ... Exhaust valve, 508 ... Exhaust pump, 509,510 ... Inner chamber, 511,512 ... Outer chamber, 513 ... Process gate valve, 514 ... Air gate valve, 515 ... Air open Valve, 520 ... support beam, 521 ... driving section, 522 ... driving section, 523 ... supporting base member, 524 ... outer cover, 524 ... outer lid

Claims (4)

A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: an outer chamber constituting a vacuum vessel; and an inner chamber disposed in the outer chamber and supplied with a processing gas into an inner chamber to form plasma and removable from the outer chamber,
A sample table on which a wafer to be processed is placed is disposed in the inner chamber, and is provided with an opening that is disposed below the sample table and communicates with an exhaust unit that evacuates and decompresses the inner chamber, The space can be maintained in a vacuum with a seal hermetically sealing a chamber inside the inner chamber and a space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber;
The outer chamber constituting the vacuum vessel includes an upper member that opens and closes the inside thereof, and a lower member that is disposed below the upper member and the inner chamber is disposed inside the upper member.
The inner chamber has an opening on the side wall for carrying the wafer, and a valve that is driven to seal the opening is disposed in a space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber,
While the inner chamber is disposed inside the lower member and the upper member is placed thereon, the vacuum chamber is closed and decompressed , the inner chamber exerts a downward pressing force from the upper member. The atmosphere outside the receiving chamber is hermetically sealed between the inside of the inner chamber and the inside of the inner chamber, and the inner chamber is held above the lower member by a flange portion extending to the outer peripheral side of the inner chamber. Then, the downward pressing force is transmitted to the lower member via the lower surface of the flange portion, and the space between the atmosphere outside the outer chamber and the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber is hermetically sealed. sealed vacuum processing apparatus according to claim and Turkey. A vacuum processing apparatus comprising: an outer chamber constituting a vacuum vessel; and an inner chamber disposed in the outer chamber and supplied with a processing gas into an inner chamber to form plasma and removable from the outer chamber,
A sample table on which a wafer to be processed is placed is disposed in the inner chamber, and is provided with an opening that is disposed below the sample table and communicates with an exhaust unit that evacuates and decompresses the inner chamber, The space can be maintained in a vacuum with a seal hermetically sealing a chamber inside the inner chamber and a space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber;
The outer chamber that constitutes the vacuum vessel is an upper member that releases or closes the inside of the vacuum vessel, the upper member having a path for supplying the processing gas connected from the outside, and a lower member that is disposed below the upper member. A lower member disposed inside the inner chamber;
The inner chamber has an opening on the side wall for carrying the wafer, and a valve that is driven to seal the opening is disposed in a space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber,
While the inner chamber is disposed inside the lower member and the upper member is placed thereon, the vacuum chamber is closed and decompressed , the inner chamber exerts a downward pressing force from the upper member. The atmosphere outside the receiving chamber is hermetically sealed between the inside of the inner chamber and the inside of the inner chamber, and the inner chamber is held above the lower member by a flange portion extending to the outer peripheral side of the inner chamber. Then, the downward pressing force is transmitted to the lower member via the lower surface of the flange portion, and the space between the atmosphere outside the outer chamber and the space between the inner chamber and the outer chamber is hermetically sealed. sealed vacuum processing apparatus according to claim and Turkey. The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
In a state where the upper member is placed and the inside of the vacuum vessel is closed and decompressed , the upper surface of the flange portion receives a downward pressing force from the upper member, and the downward pressing force is transmitted through the lower surface of the flange portion. The vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the vacuum chamber is transmitted to the lower member and the inner chamber is held above the lower member by the flange portion . The vacuum processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In a state in which space is sealed airtight between the inner chamber and the outer chamber by pre-fang lube to seal the opening, in the inner chamber is placed on the sample stage while being evacuated A vacuum processing apparatus, wherein the wafer is processed.

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