JP5527106B2 - Vacuum processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum processing apparatus that supplies a processing gas to a surface of a substrate in a vacuum container to perform vacuum processing.

  In a semiconductor process, as an example of an apparatus for performing vacuum processing such as film formation processing or etching processing on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”), a wafer mounting table is provided along the circumferential direction of the vacuum vessel. At the same time, a so-called mini-batch apparatus is known in which a plurality of processing gas supply units are provided above the mounting table, and vacuum processing is performed while a plurality of wafers are placed on a rotary table and revolved. This apparatus is called ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition), MLD (Molecular Layer Deposition), or the like, for example, in which a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas are alternately supplied to a wafer to stack atomic layers or molecular layers. This is suitable for performing the method.

  As such an apparatus, for example, apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are known. In these apparatuses, the processing region is partitioned so that the reaction gas does not mix on the wafer. Then, a plurality of wafers are arranged on a rotatable circular mounting table, and the processing is performed by rotating the mounting table to revolve the wafer. However, when the mini-batch type apparatus is used, the following problems can be considered regarding the placement of the wafer.

  For example, when a film formation process is performed by the ALD method, a plurality of reaction gas supply regions are provided in the chamber, and the rotary table is rotated to sequentially supply different reaction gases to the wafer. At this time, the chamber is divided into a plurality of gas regions, and the gas supply flow rates are different from each other in each gas region. Therefore, a high pressure atmosphere is obtained in a region where the gas supply flow rate is large, and a low pressure is produced in a region where the gas supply flow rate is small. It becomes an atmosphere.

  By the way, in the ALD method, it is necessary to heat the wafer, and a heating unit is provided inside or below the mounting table, and the wafer is heated by the heating unit via the mounting table. At this time, in order to improve the heating efficiency, the wafer is mounted on the mounting table such that the entire lower surface of the wafer contacts the surface of the mounting table. However, when the wafer is brought into surface contact with the mounting table, a phenomenon may occur in which the wafer floats from the mounting table and moves from a normal mounting position. This phenomenon is presumed to occur due to pressure fluctuations in the chamber. That is, microscopically, there is a minute gap between the lower surface of the wafer and the surface of the mounting table, and when the wafer passes through the high pressure atmosphere, gas enters the gap and passes through the low pressure atmosphere. When that happens, the gas tries to blow out at once. Then, it is considered that the positional deviation phenomenon occurs due to the wafer floating above the mounting table due to the gas ejection pressure at this time. At this time, if the rotary table is rotated at a high speed in order to improve the throughput, the centrifugal force acting on the wafer is increased, so that the wafer is more easily moved.

  As described above, when the wafer is displaced on the mounting table, the surface of the mounting table and the lower surface of the wafer may be rubbed to cause generation of particles. In addition, the wafer processing is performed with the notch orientations aligned in advance, so that it is possible to evaluate the processing such as the in-plane uniformity in the radial direction. There is a concern that the reliability of the wafer becomes low and that the wafer cannot be transferred to and from the transfer arm at a normal position, causing a defective transfer of the wafer. Here, it is conceivable to suppress the movement of the wafer on the mounting table by using an electrostatic chuck. However, depending on the type of film to be formed, the processing temperature may exceed 550 ° C., and when the electrostatic chuck reaches 550 ° C. or higher, the attractive force is reduced.

Japanese Patent No. 3144664: FIG. 1, FIG. 2, Claim 1 US Pat. No. 7,153,542: FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b) US Patent Publication No. 2006-177579: FIG. US Pat. No. 6,869,641: FIG.

  The present invention has been made based on such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum processing apparatus that can suppress the occurrence of positional deviation of a substrate in a substrate placement region.

In a vacuum processing apparatus for forming a thin film by repeating a cycle in which a plurality of types of processing gases are sequentially supplied to a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere,
A table provided in the vacuum vessel, provided with a plurality of substrate placement areas for placing the substrates along the circumferential direction, and rotated around a vertical axis ;
A plurality of processing gas supply units for supplying the plurality of types of gases to the substrate, respectively, and a plurality of processing regions arranged along the circumferential direction of the table;
A separation region provided with a separation gas supply unit and disposed between the treatment regions to separate the atmospheres of the plurality of treatment regions from each other, and maintained in an atmosphere at a pressure higher than the pressure of each treatment region by the separation gas When,
A holding unit that holds the substrate in a state of being floated from the surface in order to allow gas to flow between the space between the lower surface of the substrate and the surface of the substrate placement region of the table and the outer region of the space. When,
A heating unit for heating the substrate placement area of the table to maintain the substrate at the processing temperature;
A purge gas supply for purging purge gas in a lower region of the table;
A substrate transfer member placed on the table and for transferring the substrate between an external substrate transfer mechanism and the table;
Waiting at a position lower than the table, the substrate transfer member placed on the table through the hole of the table at the time of substrate transfer, with respect to the external substrate transfer mechanism A push-up pin that pushes up to a delivery position for delivering the substrate,
When the substrate delivery member is placed on a table, the hole is closed,
When the substrate is placed on the substrate placement region, the substrate is in a state of floating from the substrate delivery member .

  According to the present invention, when the substrate is placed on the substrate placement area, the substrate is held in a state of being floated from the surface of the substrate placement area by the holding portion. For this reason, even if pressure fluctuation occurs inside the vacuum vessel, the processing gas is quickly vented on the lower surface of the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a phenomenon in which the gas pressure is locally increased on the lower surface side of the substrate, the substrate is lifted, and the substrate is moved from a normal position in the substrate placement region.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I ′ of FIG. 3 showing a vertical cross section of the film forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure inside the said film-forming apparatus. It is a cross-sectional top view of said film-forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the process area | region and isolation | separation area | region in said film-forming apparatus. It is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show the mounting member provided in said film-forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the said mounting member and an annular member. It is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of said film-forming apparatus. It is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of said film-forming apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that separation gas or purge gas flows. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the effect | action of said film-forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the effect | action of said film-forming apparatus. It is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show the other example of said film-forming apparatus. It is the top view and longitudinal cross-sectional view which show another example of said film-forming apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  An embodiment in which a vacuum processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a film forming apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 (cross-sectional view taken along the line II ′ in FIG. 3), the film forming apparatus is provided in a flat vacuum vessel 1 having a substantially circular planar shape, and in this vacuum vessel 1. A rotary table 2 having a rotation center at the center of the vacuum vessel 1 and rotating along a horizontal plane is provided. The vacuum vessel 1 is configured such that the top plate 11 can be separated from the vessel body 12. The top plate 11 is pressed against the container main body 12 through a sealing member, for example, an O-ring 13 due to an internal decompression state, and maintains an airtight state. However, the top plate 11 is illustrated when the top plate 11 is separated from the container main body 12. It is lifted upward by a drive mechanism that does not.

  The rotary table 2 is fixed to a cylindrical core portion 21 at the center, and the core portion 21 is fixed to the upper end of a rotary shaft 22 extending in the vertical direction. The rotating shaft 22 penetrates the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 and its lower end is attached to a driving portion 23 that rotates the rotating shaft 22 around the vertical axis in this example in the clockwise direction. The rotating shaft 22 and the drive unit 23 are accommodated in a cylindrical case body 20 whose upper surface is open. The case body 20 has a flange portion provided on the upper surface thereof attached to the lower surface of the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 in an airtight manner, and the airtight state between the internal atmosphere and the external atmosphere of the case body 20 is maintained. In this example, the rotation shaft 22 and the drive unit 23 constitute a rotation drive unit.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a circular recess 24 is provided on the surface of the turntable 2 to place a plurality of, for example, five wafers, along the rotation direction (circumferential direction). It has been. Here, FIG. 4 is a developed view showing the rotary table 2 cut along a concentric circle and developed laterally. As shown in FIG. 4A, the recess 24 is formed to have a diameter slightly larger, for example, 2 mm than the diameter of the wafer in order to ensure clearance during delivery.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mounting member 200 is arranged inside the recess 24 so that the upper surface of the mounting member 200 is hidden in the recess 24. The surface of the mounting member 200 corresponds to the substrate mounting area of the present invention, and the mounting member 200 is formed, for example, the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the wafer. The depth of the concave portion 24 and the thickness of the mounting member 200 are set so that, for example, when the wafer W is dropped into the concave portion 24, the surface of the wafer W and the surface of the rotary table 2 (region where the wafer W is not placed) are aligned. Is done. Thus, the wafer W is placed on the placement member 200 in the recess 24, and the wafer W is revolved by the rotation of the turntable 2.

  On the upper surface of the mounting member 200, a protrusion 201 is provided that forms a holding portion for holding the wafer W in a floating state from the surface of the mounting member 200 when the wafer W is mounted thereon. ing. In this example, the protrusions 201 are provided at substantially equal intervals at eight positions along the periphery of the mounting member 200 so as to hold a part of the outer edge of the wafer. Further, the upper surface of the protrusion 201 is formed flat for placing a wafer, and its height L1 is appropriately set according to the process pressure as described later. For example, the process pressure is 266 Pa to 1067 Pa. Is set to 0.8 mm or more and 1.6 mm or less, preferably 1 mm or more and 1.6 mm or less. Thus, the reason why the height L1 is set to 0.8 mm or more is that the height that is effective for preventing the positional deviation of the wafer W is 0.8 mm or more according to an embodiment described later. The reason why the height L1 is set to 1.6 mm or less is that if the height L1 is too high, the heater L is separated from the heater described later, and the heater power is increased.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a transfer port 15 for transferring a wafer between the external substrate transfer mechanism 10 and the rotary table 2 is formed on the side wall of the vacuum container 1. The transport port 15 is opened and closed by a gate valve (not shown). Further, the recess 24 in the turntable 2 is adapted to transfer the wafer W to and from the external substrate transfer mechanism 10 at a transfer position facing the transfer port 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mounting member 200 surrounds the central member 202 corresponding to the central portion of the wafer W, and corresponds to a portion on the peripheral side of the central portion of the wafer W. Divided into an annular peripheral member 203. In order to deliver the wafer W to and from the substrate transfer mechanism 10, the central member 202 is transferred by the push-up mechanism 210, which will be described later, and the upper position of the turntable 2, the surface of the central member 202, and the periphery of the central member 202. It is configured to be movable up and down between a processing position where the surface of the member 203 is aligned.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the substrate transport mechanism 10 is configured such that two forks 10 a constituting a holding member for holding the lower surface side of the wafer W extend from the base end portion 10 b. When the concave portion 24 is in the delivery position and the fork 10a of the substrate transport mechanism 10 extends toward the concave portion 24, the central member 202 is located between the forks 10a as shown in FIG. It is configured to move up and down.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an annular member 300 is provided around the recess 24 in the turntable 2 so as to surround the contour of the recess 24. In this example, the annular member 300 is configured to be movable up and down between the transfer position on the upper side of the rotary table 2 and the processing position whose surface is aligned with the surface of the rotary table 2 by the push-up mechanism 210 described above. . In addition, a plurality of, for example, four claw portions 301 are provided on the upper surface of the annular member 300 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The claw 301 is provided so as to extend toward the inside of the recess 24 at a position 1.3 mm higher than the surface of the turntable 2, for example, and the tip side of the wafer W placed in the recess 24. It is set so as to be located slightly inside the outer edge.

  The push-up mechanism 210 is provided on the lower side of the turntable 2 so as to push up the central member 202 and the annular member 300 from the lower surface when the recess 24 is in the delivery position. Therefore, the push-up mechanism 210 includes a plurality of, for example, three first push-up pins 211 that push up the central member 202, a plurality of, for example, four second push-up pins 212 that push up the annular member 300, and the first And a lifting member 213 that lifts and lowers the second push-up pins 211 and 212 at the same time. In FIG. 5, 214 and 215 are through holes provided in the rotary table 2 in order to raise and lower the first and second push-up pins 211 and 212.

  The first push-up pin 211 and the second push-up pin 212 are such that when the central member 202 and the annular member 300 are raised to the delivery position, the annular member 300 is above the central member 202 and the central member Each stroke is set so as to be positioned at a height that does not hinder delivery of the wafer W between the substrate 202 and the substrate transfer mechanism 10. Further, when the first and second push-up pins 211 and 212 are lowered, the tips of the first and second push-up pins 211 and 212 are positioned below the rotary table 2 so that the rotation of the rotary table 2 is not hindered. In FIG. 6, the second push-up pin 212 is omitted for convenience of illustration.

  Returning to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the vacuum vessel 1 is separated into the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the second reaction gas nozzle 32 at positions opposite to the passage regions of the recess 24 in the rotary table 2. The gas nozzles 41 and 42 extend radially from the central portion at intervals from each other in the circumferential direction of the vacuum vessel 1 (the rotation direction of the rotary table 2). The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 and the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are attached to, for example, the side peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1, and the gas introduction ports 31 a, 32 a, 41 a, and 42 a, which are base ends thereof, pass through the side walls. Yes.

The reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are respectively a gas supply source of BTBAS (Bistal Butylaminosilane) gas, which is a first reaction gas, and a gas supply source of O ₃ (ozone) gas, which is a second reaction gas. The separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are both connected to a gas supply source (not shown) of N ₂ gas (nitrogen gas) which is a separation gas. In this example, the second reaction gas nozzle 32, the separation gas nozzle 41, the first reaction gas nozzle 31, and the separation gas nozzle 42 are arranged in this order in the clockwise direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the reaction gas nozzles 31 and 32 are arranged with discharge holes 33 for discharging the reaction gas on the lower side at intervals in the nozzle length direction. In addition, the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are provided with discharge holes 40 for discharging the separation gas on the lower side at intervals in the nozzle length direction. These reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 correspond to a processing gas supply unit, and lower regions thereof are a first processing region P1 for adsorbing BTBAS gas to the wafer and a second processing for adsorbing O ₃ gas to the wafer, respectively. It becomes area | region P2.

  The separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are for forming a separation region D for separating the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2, and correspond to a separation gas supply unit. As will be described later, the separation region D is set in an atmosphere having a pressure higher than that of the first and second processing regions P1 and P2. Further, the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1 in the separation region D is drawn along the vicinity of the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1 with the center of rotation of the turntable 2 as shown in FIGS. The convex part 4 which makes the ceiling member which divided | segmented the circle | round | yen in the circumferential direction and makes the planar shape fan-shaped and provided below is provided. The separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 are accommodated in a groove 43 formed so as to extend in the radial direction of the circle at the circumferential center of the circle in the convex portion 4.

  Thus, for example, a flat low ceiling surface 44 (first ceiling surface) that is the lower surface of the convex portion 4 exists on both sides of the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 in the circumferential direction. A ceiling surface 45 (second ceiling surface) higher than the ceiling surface 44 is present on both sides in the direction. The role of the convex portion 4 is a separation space that is a narrow space for preventing the first reactive gas and the second reactive gas from entering the rotary table 2 to prevent the mixing of the reactive gases. Is to form.

That is, taking the separation gas nozzle 41 as an example, the O ₃ gas is prevented from entering from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the turntable 2, and the BTBAS gas is prevented from entering from the downstream side in the rotation direction. “Preventing gas intrusion” means that the N ₂ gas, which is the separation gas discharged from the separation gas nozzle 41, diffuses between the first ceiling surface 44 and the surface of the turntable 2. It blows out to the space below the 2nd ceiling surface 45 adjacent to the 1 ceiling surface 44, and this means that the gas from the said adjacent space cannot penetrate | invade. “Gas can no longer enter” does not mean only when it cannot enter the lower space of the convex portion 4 from the adjacent space, but it penetrates somewhat, but O _{3 that has} invaded from both sides. This also means a case where a state in which the gas and the BTBAS gas are not mixed in the convex portion 4 is ensured. As long as such an action is obtained, the atmosphere of the first processing region P1 which is the role of the separation region D and the first The separation effect from the atmosphere of the second processing region P2 can be exhibited. Further, the gas adsorbed on the wafer can naturally pass through the separation region D, and the prevention of gas intrusion means the gas in the gas phase.

  On the other hand, a projecting portion 5 is provided on the lower surface of the top plate 11 so as to face a portion on the outer peripheral side of the core portion 21 in the rotary table 2 and along the outer periphery of the core portion 21. The projecting portion 5 is formed continuously with the portion on the rotation center side of the convex portion 4, and the lower surface thereof is formed at the same height as the lower surface (ceiling surface 44) of the convex portion 4. FIG. 3 shows the top plate 11 cut horizontally at a position lower than the ceiling surface 45 and higher than the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42.

  The lower surface of the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1, that is, the ceiling surface viewed from the wafer placement area (recess 24) of the rotary table 2 is higher than the first ceiling surface 44 and the ceiling surface 44 as described above. 1 is a longitudinal section of a region where the high ceiling surface 45 is provided, and FIG. 7 shows a region where the low ceiling surface 44 is provided. The longitudinal section is shown. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the peripheral portion of the convex portion 4 (the portion on the outer edge side of the vacuum vessel 1) is bent and bent in an L shape so as to face the outer end surface of the rotary table 2. A portion 46 is formed. The bent portion 46 is also provided for the purpose of preventing the reaction gas from entering from both sides in the same manner as the convex portion 4 and preventing the mixture of both reaction gases. The inner peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 and the rotary table are provided. 2 and the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 and the container body 12 are set to the same dimensions as the height h of the ceiling surface 44 with respect to the surface of the turntable 2.

  Further, the inner peripheral wall of the container main body 12 is formed in a vertical plane close to the outer peripheral surface of the bent portion 46 as shown in FIG. 7 in the separation region D. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a vertical cross-sectional shape is cut out in a rectangular shape from a portion facing the outer end surface of the turntable 2 to the bottom surface portion 14 and is recessed outward. If this recessed portion is called an exhaust region 6, for example, two exhaust ports 61 and 62 are provided at the bottom of the exhaust region 6 as shown in FIGS. These exhaust ports 61 and 62 are each connected to a common vacuum pump 64 which is a vacuum exhaust means via an exhaust pipe 63. In FIG. 1, 65 is a pressure adjusting means.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, a heater unit 7 as a heating unit is provided in a space between the rotary table 2 and the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1, and the rotary table 2 is placed on the rotary table 2 via the rotary table 2. The wafer is heated to a temperature determined by the process recipe. On the lower side near the periphery of the turntable 2, an atmosphere from the upper space of the turntable 2 to the exhaust area 6 and an atmosphere in which the heater unit 7 is placed are partitioned and moved to the lower area of the turntable 2. In order to suppress the intrusion of the gas, a ring-shaped cover member 71 is provided so as to surround the heater unit 7 over the entire circumference. The cover member 71 includes an outer member of the turntable 2 and an inner member 71a provided so as to face the outer peripheral side of the outer edge from the lower side, and between the inner member 71a and the inner wall surface of the vacuum vessel 1. An outer member 71b provided. The outer member 71b is cut, for example, in an arc shape so as to form the exhaust region 6 above the exhaust ports 61 and 62 described above in order to connect the exhaust ports 61 and 62 and the upper region of the turntable 2. On the lower side of the bent portion 46, the upper end surface is disposed so as to be close to the bent portion 46.

The bottom surface portion 14 in the portion closer to the rotation center than the space where the heater unit 7 is disposed is near the center portion of the lower surface of the turntable 2 and is close to the core portion 21, and the space therebetween is narrow. The clearance between the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the rotary shaft 22 that penetrates the bottom surface portion 14 and the rotary shaft 22 is narrow, and these narrow spaces communicate with the case body 20. The case body 20 is provided with a purge gas supply pipe 72 for supplying and purging N ₂ gas, which is a purge gas, into the narrow space. Further, a purge gas supply pipe 73 for purging the arrangement space of the heater unit 7 is provided on the bottom surface portion 14 of the vacuum vessel 1 at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction at a position below the heater unit 7. Between the heater unit 7 and the turntable 2, in order to suppress the intrusion of gas into the region where the heater unit 7 is provided, the upper end portion of the protruding portion 12 a from the inner peripheral wall of the outer member 71 b described above A covering member 7a made of, for example, quartz is provided to connect between the two in the circumferential direction.

A separation gas supply pipe 51 is connected to the center of the top plate 11 of the vacuum vessel 1 so that N ₂ gas as separation gas is supplied to a space 52 between the top plate 11 and the core portion 21. It is configured. The separation gas supplied to the space 52 is discharged toward the periphery along the surface of the turntable 2 on the wafer mounting region side through a narrow gap 50 between the protruding portion 5 and the turntable 2. Become. Since the space surrounded by the protrusion 5 is filled with the separation gas, the reaction gas (BTBAS gas) is interposed between the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 via the center of the turntable 2. Alternatively, mixing of O ₃ gas) is prevented.

  In this example, a wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm is used as the substrate to be processed. In this case, the convex portion 4 has a circumferential length (concentric with the rotary table 2) at the boundary portion with the protruding portion 5 that is 140 mm away from the rotation center. Is 146 mm, for example, and the outermost portion of the wafer mounting area (recess 24) has a circumferential length of 502 mm, for example. As shown in FIG. 4A, the length L is 246 mm when viewed from the circumferential length L of the convex portion 4 located on the left and right sides of the separation gas nozzle 41 (42) in the outer portion. It is.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4A, the height h from the surface of the turntable 2 on the lower surface of the convex portion 4, that is, the ceiling surface 44 may be, for example, 0.5 mm to 10 mm, and is about 4 mm. Is preferred. In this case, the rotation speed of the turntable 2 is set to 1 rpm to 500 rpm, for example. In order to ensure the separation function of the separation region D, the size of the convex portion 4 and the lower surface (first ceiling surface 44) of the convex portion 4 and the rotation according to the range of use of the rotational speed of the turntable 2 The height h with respect to the surface of the table 2 is set based on, for example, experiments. The separation gas is not limited to N ₂ gas, and an inert gas such as Ar gas can be used. However, the separation gas is not limited to the inert gas, and may be hydrogen gas or the like, and does not affect the film formation process. If so, the type of gas is not particularly limited.

  Further, in the separation gas nozzle 41 (42), the discharge holes 40, for example, having a diameter of 0.5 mm facing downward are arranged along the length direction of the nozzle with an interval of, for example, 10 mm. As for the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32, the discharge holes 33 directed directly downward, for example, having a diameter of 0.5 mm, are arranged along the length direction of the nozzle at an interval of, for example, 10 mm.

  In addition, the film forming apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a control unit 100 including a computer for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus, and a program for operating the apparatus is stored in the memory of the control unit 100. Has been. This program has a set of steps so as to execute the operation of the apparatus described later, and is installed in the control unit 100 from a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magneto-optical disk, a memory card, or a flexible disk.

  Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. First, a gate valve (not shown) is opened, and the wafer W is transferred from the outside into the recess 24 of the turntable 2 through the transfer port 15 by the substrate transfer mechanism 10. At this time, first, the recess 24 for transferring the wafer W is stopped at a position facing the transfer port 15, and as shown in FIG. 8, the bottom side of the vacuum vessel 1 is inserted through the through holes 214 and 215 on the bottom surface of the recess 24. Then, the first and second push-up pins 211 and 212 are both raised, and the central member 202 and the annular member 300 are raised to the upper delivery position of the turntable 2. At this position, as shown in the figure, the annular member 300 is above the central member 202 and is at a height that does not hinder delivery of the wafer W between the central member 202 and the substrate transfer mechanism 10.

  Then, the fork 10 a holding the wafer W enters the upper side of the central member 202. The push-up pin 212 of the annular member 300 is provided at a position that does not prevent the fork 10a from entering. Next, the fork 10 a is lowered and the wafer W is transferred to the central member 202. The fork 10 a is lowered to the lower side of the central member 202 and then retracted. Then, by lowering the first and second push-up pins 211 and 212, the central member 202 and the annular member 300 are lowered to the processing position (position shown in FIG. 5), and thus the wafer W is delivered to the protrusion 201. .

The transfer of the wafer W is intermittently rotated at the turntable 2 and the recess 24 for transferring the wafer W is stopped at a position facing the transfer port 15. The wafers W are placed on the wafers respectively. Subsequently, the inside of the vacuum vessel 1 is evacuated to a preset pressure by the vacuum pump 64 and the wafer W is heated by the heater unit 7 while rotating the rotary table 2 clockwise.

Here, the turntable 2 is preheated to, for example, 300 ° C. by the heater unit 7, and is heated by placing the wafer W on the turntable 2. After confirming that the temperature of the wafer W has reached the set temperature by a temperature sensor (not shown), the BTBAS gas and the O ₃ gas are discharged from the first reaction gas nozzle 31 and the second reaction gas nozzle 32, respectively, and the separation gas nozzle 41 is discharged. , 42 is discharged with N ₂ gas which is a separation gas.

The wafer W alternately passes through the first processing region P1 in which the first reaction gas nozzle 31 is provided and the second processing region P2 in which the second reaction gas nozzle 32 is provided by the rotation of the turntable 2, so that the BTBAS. Gas is adsorbed and then O ₃ gas is adsorbed to oxidize BTBAS molecules to form one or more silicon oxide molecular layers. Thus, silicon oxide molecular layers are sequentially stacked to form silicon having a predetermined thickness. An oxide film is formed.

At this time, N ₂ gas as separation gas is also supplied from the separation gas supply pipe 51, whereby N ₂ gas is discharged from the central region C along the surface of the turntable 2. In this example, the inner peripheral wall of the container main body 12 along the space below the second ceiling surface 45 where the reactive gas nozzles 31 and 32 are arranged is cut and widened as described above. Since the exhaust ports 61 and 62 are located below the wide space, the second ceiling surface 45 is smaller than the narrow space below the first ceiling surface 44 and each pressure in the central region C. The pressure in the space below the lower is lower. FIG. 9 schematically shows the state of gas flow when gas is discharged from each part.

The O ₃ gas discharged downward from the second reactive gas nozzle 32 and directed downstream in the rotational direction along the surface of the turntable _{2 is} a flow of N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C and the exhaust port 62. However, a part of the air is directed to the separation region D adjacent to the downstream side and flows into the lower side of the fan-shaped convex portion 4. However, the height of the ceiling surface 44 and the length in the circumferential direction of the convex portion 4 can prevent gas from entering the lower side of the ceiling surface 44 in process parameters during operation including the flow rate of each gas. Since the dimensions are set, as shown in FIG. 4B, even if the O ₃ gas hardly flows into the lower side of the fan-shaped convex portion 4 or slightly flows, the vicinity of the separation gas nozzle 41 The N ₂ gas discharged from the separation gas nozzle 41 is pushed back upstream in the rotation direction, that is, the processing region P 2 side, and rotates together with the N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C. The air is exhausted from the gap between the peripheral edge of the table 2 and the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel 1 to the exhaust port 62 through the exhaust region 6.

Further, the BTBAS gas discharged downward from the first reactive gas nozzle 31 and directed to the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotational direction along the surface of the turntable 2 is adjacent to the upstream and downstream sides in the rotational direction. Even if it cannot enter the lower side of the convex portion 4 or even if it has entered, it is pushed back to the second processing region P2 side, and together with the N ₂ gas discharged from the central region C, the periphery of the turntable 2 and the vacuum The air is exhausted from the gap with the inner peripheral wall of the container 1 to the exhaust port 61 through the exhaust region 6.

Thus, in each separation region D, invasion of BTBAS gas or O ₃ gas which is a reactive gas flowing in the atmosphere is prevented, but the gas molecules adsorbed on the wafer W remain as they are in the separation region, that is, fan-shaped convex portions. 4 passes below the lower ceiling surface 44 and contributes to film formation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, since the separation gas is discharged from the central region C toward the periphery of the turntable 2, the separation gas prevents the invasion of BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas, or somewhat. Even if it has entered, it is pushed back and the BTBAS gas flows into the second processing region P2 through this central region C and the O ₃ gas is prevented from flowing into the first processing region P1.

In the separation region D, the peripheral edge portion of the fan-shaped convex portion 4 is bent downward, and the gap between the bent portion 46 and the outer end surface of the turntable 2 is narrowed as described above. Therefore, the BTBAS gas in the first processing region P1 (O ₃ gas in the second processing region P2) passes through the outside of the turntable 2 to the second processing region P2 (the first processing region P2). Inflow into the processing area P1). Accordingly, the atmosphere of the first processing region P1 and the atmosphere of the second processing region P2 are completely separated by the two separation regions D, and the BTBAS gas is exhausted to the exhaust port 61 and the O ₃ gas is exhausted to the exhaust port 62, respectively. Is done. As a result, in this example, both BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas are not mixed in the atmosphere or on the wafer. In this example, since the lower side of the turntable 2 is purged with N ₂ gas, the gas flowing into the exhaust region 6 passes through the lower side of the turntable 2 and, for example, BTBAS gas is supplied with O ₃ gas. There is no fear of flowing into the area.

Here, an example of the processing parameters will be described. The rotation speed of the turntable 2 is, for example, 1 rpm to 500 rpm when the wafer W having a diameter of 300 mm is used as the substrate to be processed, and the process pressure is, for example, 266 Pa to 1067 Pa. 8 Torr), the heating temperature of the wafer W is, for example, 350 ° C., the flow rates of the BTBAS gas and the O ₃ gas are, for example, 100 sccm and 10,000 sccm, the flow rate of the N ₂ gas from the separation gas nozzles 41 and 42 is, for example, 20000 sccm, and the central portion of the vacuum vessel 1 The flow rate of N ₂ gas from the separation gas supply pipe 51 is, for example, 5000 sccm. Further, the number of reaction gas supply cycles for one wafer, that is, the number of times the wafer passes through each of the processing regions P1 and P2, varies depending on the target film thickness, but is many times, for example, 600 times.

  When the film forming process is completed in this manner, the wafers are sequentially carried out by the substrate carrying mechanism 10 by an operation reverse to the carrying-in operation. The unloading of the wafer W is performed as follows. First, a gate valve (not shown) is opened, and the recess 24 for unloading the wafer W is stopped at a position facing the transfer port 15. Then, the push-up pins 211 and 212 are raised from the bottom side of the vacuum vessel 1 through the through holes 214 and 215 on the bottom surface of the recess 24, and the wafer W is received from the protrusion 201 by the central member 202. The member 300 is raised to the transfer position on the upper side of the turntable 2.

  On the other hand, after the fork 10 a of the substrate transport mechanism 10 enters the lower side of the central member 202, it is raised to the upper side of the central member 202. In this way, the substrate transfer mechanism 10 receives the wafer W from the central member 202 onto the fork 10a and carries it out of the vacuum vessel 1 through the gate valve. Thereafter, the push-up pins 211 and 212 are lowered to the lower side of the rotary table 2, and the central member 202 and the annular member 300 are lowered to the processing position. Thereafter, the turntable 2 is rotated, and the recess 24 for transferring the wafer W is stopped at a position facing the transfer port 15, and the wafer W is similarly unloaded from the recess 24. Such unloading of the wafer W is performed by intermittently rotating the turntable 2, and the wafer W is unloaded from each of the five recesses 24 of the turntable 2.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the plurality of wafers W are arranged in the rotation direction of the turntable 2, and the turntable 2 is rotated to pass the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 in order. Therefore, so-called ALD (or MLD) is performed, so that film formation can be performed with high throughput. A separation region D having a low ceiling surface is provided between the first processing region P1 and the second processing region P2 in the rotation direction, and the center divided by the rotation center portion of the turntable 2 and the vacuum vessel 1 The separation gas is discharged from the part area C toward the periphery of the turntable 2, and the reaction gas is separated from the periphery of the turntable 2 together with the separation gas diffused on both sides of the separation area D and the separation gas discharged from the center part area C. And the inner peripheral wall of the vacuum vessel are evacuated to prevent mixing of both reaction gases. As a result, a good film forming process can be performed, and reaction is generated on the turntable 2. The generation of particles is suppressed as much as possible by suppressing as little as possible. The present invention can also be applied to the case where one wafer W is placed on the turntable 2.

By the way, the separation area D has a smaller height between the surface of the turntable 2 and the ceiling surface than the first and second processing areas P1, P2. For this reason, the space in the separation region D is considerably narrower than the spaces in the first and second processing regions P1 and P2. On the other hand, since the flow rate of the separation gas N ₂ gas is larger than the flow rates of the reaction gases BTBAS gas and O ₃ gas, the separation region D is in the first and second processing regions P1 and P2. The atmosphere is maintained at a pressure higher than the pressure, and a pressure difference is generated between the separation region D and the first and second processing regions P1 and P2.

  Therefore, when the wafer is moved in the order of the first processing region P1 → the separation region D → the second processing region P2 → the separation region D by the rotation of the turntable 2, the low pressure atmosphere and the high pressure atmosphere are alternately passed. Therefore, the pressure fluctuation is large when viewed from the wafer. At this time, a gas flow as described above is formed in the vacuum container, and the wafer W is held by the protrusion 201 in a state of being floated from the surface of the mounting member 200, which is a high-pressure atmosphere. When passing through the separation region D, as shown in FIG. 10A, gas enters the space between the wafer W and the surface of the mounting member 200 from the outer peripheral side of the wafer W. On the other hand, when passing through the first and second processing regions P1 and P2 which are low-pressure atmospheres, the space between the wafer W and the mounting member 200 is caused by the pressure difference, as shown in FIG. Gas is ejected from the outer periphery. In this way, by holding the wafer W by the protrusions 201, gas flows between the space between the lower surface of the wafer W and the surface of the mounting member 200 and the outer region of this space.

  At this time, since the wafer is held by the protrusion 201 so as to float by 0.8 mm or more from the mounting member 200, the gas flows between the wafer and the mounting member 200 as shown in FIG. Go quickly through. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the gas jetting pressure from locally increasing in a part of the wafer surface, so that the wafer is prevented from rising from the protrusion 201. Further, since the protrusions 201 are provided at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the wafer, the gas enters between the wafer and the mounting member 200 from the outer periphery of the wafer, and as shown in FIG. It erupts almost radially. As a result, the gas ejection pressure is substantially uniform in the circumferential direction of the wafer, and it is possible to prevent the gas ejection pressure from increasing locally on the lower surface of the wafer, thereby preventing the wafer from floating from the protrusion 201. . For this reason, even if the turntable 2 is rotated at a high rotational speed of, for example, about 300 rpm, the occurrence of a phenomenon in which the wafer moves from a predetermined position on the protrusion 201 is suppressed even when the centrifugal force acting on the wafer increases. Can do.

  By the way, the present inventors speculate that the phenomenon in which the wafer W moves on the mounting member 200 occurs due to the fact that the pressure fluctuation in the vacuum vessel 1 is larger than the rotational speed of the rotary table 2. Yes. Even when the turntable 2 is rotated at a low speed of about 2 rpm, if the pressure difference between the separation region D and the processing regions P1 and P2 is large, the movement of the wafer W is recognized, while the turntable 2 is moved. This is because the movement of the wafer W is not recognized when the pressure difference between the separation region D and the processing regions P1 and P2 is small even when rotating at a high speed of about 300 rpm.

  On the other hand, the pressure difference between the separation region D and the processing regions P1, P2 is determined by the height of the separation region D and the pressure in the vacuum processing chamber 1. Therefore, when the height between the surface of the turntable 2 and the ceiling surface in the separation region D is 0.5 mm to 10 mm and the process pressure is 266 Pa to 1067 Pa, the protrusion 201 is 0 as will be apparent from the examples described later. If it is .8 mm or more, it is considered that positional deviation of the wafer can be prevented.

Further, by preventing the wafer from being displaced in this way, it is possible to suppress generation of particles due to rubbing between the surface of the mounting member 200 and the lower surface of the wafer. Furthermore, since the wafer can be transferred to and from the transfer arm at a normal position, the transfer arm receives the wafer without causing a transfer failure of the wafer, and the wafer W is aligned in the direction and position of the notch. Can be transferred to the next process. As described above, since the direction of the notch does not change during the film forming process, high reliability can be ensured when evaluating processes such as in-plane uniformity in the radial direction of the wafer W. it can.

Further, since the wafer W is levitated from the surface of the mounting member 200, even when the wafer W is mounted on the high-temperature mounting member 200, the rapid temperature increase of the wafer W can be reduced. Thus, deformation due to a rapid temperature change of the wafer W can be suppressed. However, since the distance between the mounting member 200 and the wafer W is set to 1.6 mm or less, the radiant heat from the mounting member 200 is easily transmitted to the wafer W, and an increase in the output of the heater unit 7 is suppressed. The wafer W can be sufficiently heated.

By the way, as described above, by holding the wafer W on the protrusion 201, normally, even if the wafer W is prevented from floating or misaligned, the pressure fluctuation increases for some reason, and a large force is exerted on the wafer W. This may cause a phenomenon that the wafer W jumps out of the recessed portion 24. Therefore, in the above example, the claw portions 301 extending from the outer side of the wafer W to the inner side of the outer edge of the wafer W are provided on the upper side of the wafer W at intervals in the circumferential direction of the wafer W. The wafer W is prevented from jumping out. That is, if the wafer W tries to jump out of the recess 24 for some reason, the wafer W collides with the claw portion 301, and as a result, the wafer W returns into the recess 24. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the wafer W jumping out from a certain concave portion 24 from colliding with the wafer W in another region and preventing the rotation of the turntable 2, thereby minimizing the occurrence of problems.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The holding portion in this example is configured as a holding piece that extends horizontally inward from the inner wall of the recess 24, and the holding piece 221 is spaced from the bottom surface of the recess 24 in the circumferential direction of the recess 24 at a predetermined height position. Is provided. In this example, the lower surface side peripheral portion of the wafer W is placed on the upper surface of the holding piece 221, and the holding piece 221 has a distance between the bottom surface of the recess 24 and the lower surface of the wafer W of, for example, 0.8 mm or more. The height position is set to be 6 mm or less.

  In this example, when the wafer W is placed on the holding piece 221, there are spaces between the lower surface of the wafer W and the bottom surface of the recess 24 and between the outer edge of the wafer W and the inner wall of the recess 24. It is formed. Accordingly, the processing gas enters the lower surface side of the wafer W from the space between the recess 24 and the wafer W, and again vents from the space between the recess 24 and the wafer W. As a result, even when the wafer W repeatedly passes through different regions in the vacuum vessel 1, the phenomenon that the gas ejection pressure locally increases on the lower surface side of the wafer W is suppressed. Lifting of the wafer W due to the ejection pressure is prevented. For this reason, even if the centrifugal force of rotation acts, the position shift of the wafer W hardly occurs.

  Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The holding unit in this example is configured as a ring member 222, and the wafer W is placed on the ring member 222. The ring member 222 is provided so as to hold, for example, a peripheral portion on the lower surface side of the wafer W, and legs for holding the ring member 222 in a floating state on the mounting member 200 at a plurality of positions on the lower surface. The parts 233 are formed at intervals along the circumferential direction of the ring member 222. The height of the ring member 222 is set such that the distance between the surface of the mounting member 200 and the lower surface of the wafer W is, for example, not less than 0.8 mm and not more than 1.6 mm.

  In this example, when the wafer W is placed on the ring member 222, a space is formed between the lower surface of the wafer W and the surface of the placement member 200. Accordingly, the processing gas enters the lower surface side of the wafer W through the space between the legs 223 of the ring member 222 and is vented to the outside of the ring member 222 again. As a result, even when the wafer W repeatedly passes through different regions in the vacuum vessel 1, the phenomenon that the gas ejection pressure locally increases on the lower surface side of the wafer W is suppressed. Lifting of the wafer W due to pressure is prevented. For this reason, even if the centrifugal force of rotation acts, the position shift of the wafer W hardly occurs.

  In the above, the present invention can also be applied to the vacuum processing apparatus 8 shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, reference numeral 80 denotes a mounting table 81 provided with a substrate mounting area on which the wafer W is mounted. Inside the mounting table 81, a temperature control for adjusting the temperature of the wafer W to the processing temperature via the mounting table 81. A heater 82 is provided. Such a mounting table 81 has, for example, a circular planar shape, and the size of the planar shape is set to be approximately the same as that of the wafer W, for example.

  Further, on the surface of the mounting table 81, in order to allow gas to flow between a space between the lower surface of the wafer W and the surface of the mounting table and an outer region of the space, the wafer W is separated from the surface. A holding portion is provided for holding in a floating state. The holding unit in this example is composed of a protrusion 83 provided in the vicinity of the outer edge of the mounting table 81 at intervals along the circumferential direction, and the wafer W is placed on the protrusion 83. The height of the protrusion 83 is set such that the distance between the surface of the mounting table 81 and the lower surface of the wafer W is, for example, not less than 0.8 mm and not more than 1.6 mm.

In the figure, reference numeral 84 denotes a processing gas supply unit configured in the shape of a gas shower head, and a large number of gas supply holes 84a are formed on the lower surface thereof. The processing gas supply unit 84 includes a supply source 85a for the BTBAS gas that is the first reaction gas, a supply source 85b for the O ₃ gas that is the second reaction gas, and the separation gas via the supply path 84b. And an N ₂ gas supply source 85c. In the figure, 86a to 86c are flow rate adjusting units. These processing gas supply sources 85a to 85c and the flow rate adjusting units 86a to 86c constitute a processing gas supply system.

  In the figure, 86 is a vacuum pump for evacuating the inside of the vacuum vessel 80, 87 is a pressure adjusting unit for adjusting the pressure in the vacuum vessel, and 88 is a space between the protrusion 83 of the mounting table 81 and an external transport mechanism (not shown). In order to transfer the wafer W, a lift pin mechanism for moving the wafer W up and down with respect to the surface of the mounting table 81, 88a a bellows mechanism, and 89 a carry-in for carrying the wafer W into and out of the vacuum vessel 80. An exit 89a is a gate valve that opens and closes the loading / unloading exit.

  Further, the vacuum processing apparatus 8 includes a control unit 110. The control unit 110 sets the pressure in the vacuum vessel 80 as a first pressure atmosphere, and then a second pressure lower than the first pressure. A program for controlling the pressure adjusting unit 87 to provide an atmosphere is provided. In addition, the control unit 110 includes a program that outputs a control command to the heater 82 and the processing gas supply system and executes a film forming process described later.

  In such a substrate processing apparatus 8, the wafer W is transferred to the upper side of the mounting table 81 via the loading / unloading port 88 by a transfer means (not shown), and the protrusion of the mounting table 81 is cooperated with the lifting pin mechanism 88. Pass on 83. Then, the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 86 and maintained at a predetermined pressure atmosphere by the pressure adjusting unit 87, while the BTBAS gas is supplied by the processing gas supply unit 84, and the BTBAS gas is supplied to the surface of the wafer W. Adsorb. Next, the supply of BTBAS gas is stopped, and the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is evacuated.

Thereafter, N ₂ gas is supplied into the vacuum vessel 80 by the processing gas supply unit 84, while the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is maintained in the first pressure atmosphere by the pressure adjustment unit 87, and the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is filled with N ₂ gas. Purge with Next, the supply of N ₂ gas is stopped, the vacuum vessel 80 is evacuated, and the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is maintained in a second pressure atmosphere lower than the first pressure atmosphere by the pressure adjusting unit 87. Subsequently, while the O ₃ gas is supplied into the vacuum vessel 80 by the processing gas supply unit 84, the inside of the vacuum vessel 80 is maintained in a predetermined pressure atmosphere by the pressure adjustment unit 87. As a result, the O ₃ gas is adsorbed on the wafer W, the BTBAS molecules are oxidized, and one or more silicon oxide molecular layers are formed. Then by stopping the supply of 0 ₃ gas, vacuuming the vacuum chamber 80. In this way, by repeating a cycle in which BTBAS gas, N ₂ gas, and O ₃ gas are sequentially supplied to the wafer W a plurality of times, silicon oxide molecular layers are sequentially stacked to form a silicon oxide film having a predetermined thickness. The Then, the wafer W after the film formation process is raised by the elevating pin mechanism 88 and is carried out of the vacuum container 80 by the external transfer mechanism.

Even in such a configuration, since a space is formed between the surface of the mounting table 81 and the lower surface of the wafer, the processing gas passes through the space on the lower surface side of the wafer in the vacuum vessel 80. Here, when the purge in N ₂ gas for supplying N ₂ gas at a large flow rate, the pressure fluctuation is large between a first pressure atmosphere, and a second pressure atmosphere in which a vacuum . However, even when the pressure fluctuation is large in this way, the phenomenon that the gas ejection pressure locally increases on the lower surface side of the wafer W is suppressed, and the positional deviation of the wafer W due to this ejection pressure is prevented. .

  In the above, the present invention may be configured such that the table, each of the plurality of processing regions, and the separation region are relatively rotated around the vertical axis so that the wafer W sequentially passes through these regions. The present invention can be applied not only to a configuration in which the table side is rotated about the vertical axis but also to a configuration in which the processing gas supply unit and the separation gas supply unit side are rotated about the vertical axis. Further, the shape of the holding portion is not limited to the above-described configuration, and as long as a gap is formed between the wafer W and the substrate placement region, in addition to the configuration for holding the peripheral portion on the lower surface side of the wafer W, The structure which hold | maintains the center part of the lower surface side of the wafer W may be sufficient. Further, the wafer W is not limited to the configuration in which the wafer W is mounted on the mounting member 200, and can be applied to the case where the wafer W is directly mounted in the recess 24. In this case, the surface of the recess 24 corresponds to the substrate placement area.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to using two types of reaction gases, and can also be applied to the case where three or more types of reaction gases are sequentially supplied onto the substrate. In that case, for example, the gas nozzles are arranged in the circumferential direction of the vacuum vessel 1 in the order of the first reaction gas nozzle, the separation gas nozzle, the second reaction gas nozzle, the separation gas nozzle, the third reaction gas nozzle, and the separation gas nozzle. What is necessary is just to comprise the isolation | separation area | region containing a gas nozzle like the above-mentioned embodiment.

As the reaction gas applied in the present invention, in addition to the above examples, DCS [dichlorosilane], HCD [hexachlorodisilane], TMA [trimethylaluminum], 3DMAS [trisdimethylaminosilane], TEMAZ [tetrakisethylmethylaminozirconium] ], TEMAH [tetrakisethylmethylaminohafnium], Sr (THD) ₂ [strontium bistetramethylheptanedionato], Ti (MPD) (THD) [titanium methylpentanedionatobistetramethylheptanedionato], monoaminosilane, etc. Can be mentioned.

  In the above, in the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the ALD (MLD) process, a CVD process may be performed, or a vacuum process such as a thermal oxidation process or various annealing processes may be performed.

1 having the mounting member 200 shown in FIG. 5, the process pressure is 1067 Pa (8 Torr), the heating temperature of the wafer W is 350 ° C., the flow rates of the BTBAS gas and the O ₃ gas are 100 sccm and The height L1 of the protrusion 201 (distance between the surface of the mounting member 200 and the lower surface of the wafer W) under the conditions of 10,000 sccm, the flow rate of N ₂ gas: 20000 sccm, and the flow rate of N ₂ gas from the separation gas supply pipe 51: 5000 sccm. Was changed to 0 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, and 1.5 mm, and it was visually confirmed whether or not the wafer W was displaced. At this time, the rotary table 2 was rotated at a rotation speed of 2 rpm in order to confirm the occurrence of the positional deviation with visual observation.

  As a result, when the height L1 was 0 mm and 0.3 mm, the positional deviation of the wafer W could be confirmed, but when the height L1 was 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, and 1.5 mm, the position of the wafer W was all. There was no gap. Further, it was recognized that the degree of positional deviation was smaller when the height L1 was 0.3 mm than when the height L1 was 0 mm. Further, when the height of the protrusion 201 is 0.8 mm, 1.0 mm, and 1.5 mm, the rotary table 2 is rotated at a high speed of 300 rpm, and the position of the wafer W between the start and stop of rotation. The movement of the wafer W was not recognized in any case. Accordingly, it was confirmed that the positional deviation of the wafer W can be suppressed if the height of the protrusion 201 is 0.8 mm or more under the above-described process conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 8 Vacuum container W Wafer 2 Rotary table 24 Recessed part 31 1st reaction gas nozzle 32 2nd reaction gas nozzle 61, 62 Exhaust port 7 Heater units 72-75 Purge gas supply pipe 81 Mounting stand 82 Heater 83 Protrusion 84 Processing gas supply part 100, 110 Control unit 200 Placement member 201 Projection 210 Push-up mechanism 300 Ring member 301 Claw portion

Claims (3)

In a vacuum processing apparatus for forming a thin film by repeating a cycle in which a plurality of types of processing gases are sequentially supplied to a substrate in a vacuum atmosphere,
A table provided in the vacuum vessel, provided with a plurality of substrate placement areas for placing the substrates along the circumferential direction, and rotated around a vertical axis ;
A plurality of processing gas supply units for supplying the plurality of types of gases to the substrate, respectively, and a plurality of processing regions arranged along the circumferential direction of the table;
A separation region provided with a separation gas supply unit and disposed between the treatment regions to separate the atmospheres of the plurality of treatment regions from each other, and maintained in an atmosphere at a pressure higher than the pressure of each treatment region by the separation gas When,
A holding unit that holds the substrate in a state of being floated from the surface in order to allow gas to flow between the space between the lower surface of the substrate and the surface of the substrate placement region of the table and the outer region of the space. When,
A heating unit for heating the substrate placement area of the table to maintain the substrate at the processing temperature;
A purge gas supply for purging purge gas in a lower region of the table;
A substrate transfer member placed on the table and for transferring the substrate between an external substrate transfer mechanism and the table;
Waiting at a position lower than the table, the substrate transfer member placed on the table through the hole of the table at the time of substrate transfer, with respect to the external substrate transfer mechanism A push-up pin that pushes up to a delivery position for delivering the substrate,
When the substrate delivery member is placed on a table, the hole is closed,
The vacuum processing apparatus , wherein the substrate is in a state of being lifted from the substrate delivery member when the substrate is placed on the substrate placement region .   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit is provided such that a lower surface of the substrate is at a height of 0.8 mm or more from a surface of the substrate mounting region.   The vacuum processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holding unit is provided so that a lower surface of the substrate has a height of 1.6 mm or less from a surface of the substrate mounting region.

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