JP6595658B1 - Manufacturing method of electronic parts - Google Patents

Abstract

In a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing areas in one chamber, a technique for suppressing contamination of atmospheric gas between the processing areas is provided. A first area where a first process is performed on a substrate and a second area where a second process is performed on the substrate are provided, and the first area and the In the substrate processing apparatus having a chamber having a structure in which a space between the second areas is spatially opened, the chamber introduces a first gas used in the first processing into the first area. An inlet, a second inlet for introducing the second gas used in the second process into the second area, and a boundary between the first area and the second area or in the vicinity thereof An exhaust port. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electronic component.

  2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus that arranges a substrate in a decompression chamber and processes the substrate surface in a predetermined gas atmosphere is widely used. For example, there are an apparatus that forms a film on a substrate surface by sputtering, an apparatus that performs cleaning (foreign matter removal) and etching of the substrate surface by an ion beam or plasma, and the like.

  Conventionally, when a plurality of types of processing are performed on a single substrate, there is a method of using separate (that is, completely isolated) chambers for each processing in order to prevent atmospheric gas contamination in each processing. It was general. In Patent Document 1, a partition between two chambers is divided, and argon gas is introduced into one chamber, and a mixed gas of argon and oxygen is introduced into the other chamber. In an apparatus for producing a composite film, a structure that prevents gas contamination between two chambers by introducing argon gas having a gas pressure higher than that of the two chambers into a space that communicates the two chambers. It is disclosed.

JP, 2006-108602, A

  In order to improve the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus, the present inventors provide a plurality of processing areas such as a preprocessing area and a film forming area in one chamber, and sequentially transfer the substrate to each processing area. We are studying a system that can execute multiple processes continuously. Such a method is also called an inline type. In the inline type apparatus, the processing areas cannot be spatially partitioned in order to secure the substrate transport path. Therefore, contamination of the atmospheric gas between the processing areas is likely to occur, and there is a concern that the progress and quality of the substrate processing may be affected due to the contamination.

  For example, when an active gas such as oxygen or nitrogen is used in the pretreatment, when the active gas flows into the film formation area, the active gas reacts with the target and changes the composition of the target surface (oxidation, nitridation, etc.). There is a possibility. Therefore, in the conventional apparatus, it is necessary to perform the pre-sputtering for a sufficient time (for example, several minutes or more) before introducing the substrate into the film formation area, thereby cleaning the target surface, which causes a decrease in throughput.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a technique for suppressing atmospheric gas contamination between processing areas in a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing areas in one chamber. With the goal.

A first aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an electronic component, wherein a first area and a second area are provided, and a substrate is disposed between the first area and the second area. A step of carrying a substrate comprising an electronic component into a chamber having a structure in which the first area and the second area are not spatially partitioned in order to enable transport; and A step of transporting to the first area, introduction of a second gas from the second inlet provided in the chamber to the second area, and from the first inlet provided in the chamber Performing a first process on the substrate in an atmosphere of a first gas in the first area while introducing a first gas into the first area; and A step of transporting the substrate to the second area; and Performing a second process on the substrate in an atmosphere of the second gas at the rear, and the gas in the chamber is a boundary between the first area and the second area. Alternatively, an electronic component manufacturing method is provided, wherein the electronic component is discharged from an exhaust port provided in the vicinity thereof.

  According to this configuration, since the gas in the first area is discharged from the exhaust port, the gas in the first area can be suppressed from flowing into the second area. Further, when the gas in the second area is also discharged from the exhaust port, the gas in the second area can be prevented from flowing into the first area. Therefore, it is possible to suppress contamination of the atmospheric gas between areas.

  According to the present invention, in a substrate processing apparatus having a plurality of processing areas in one chamber, it is possible to suppress atmospheric gas contamination between processing areas.

FIG. 1A is a top view schematically showing an internal configuration of an inline-type substrate processing apparatus, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus. 3A is a view of the pretreatment area 13A viewed in a direction parallel to the transport direction of the substrate 2, and FIG. 3B is a view of the film formation area 13B viewed in a direction parallel to the transport direction of the substrate 2. FIG. 4 is a top view schematically showing another configuration of the substrate processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments and examples are merely illustrative of preferred configurations of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these configurations. In the following description, the hardware configuration and software configuration of the apparatus, processing flow, manufacturing conditions, dimensions, materials, shapes, and the like limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. It is not intended.

(Overall configuration of substrate processing equipment)
With reference to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the structure of the substrate processing apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1A is a top view schematically showing the overall internal configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the substrate processing apparatus 1.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a stocker chamber 11 in which a plurality of substrates 2 are accommodated, a preparation chamber 12 that heats the substrate 2 with a heater 121, and a processing chamber that performs pretreatment and film formation on the surface of the substrate 2 ( Chamber) 13. Inside the processing chamber 13, a pretreatment area 13 </ b> A where pretreatment is performed on the substrate 2 and a film formation area 13 </ b> B where film formation processing is performed on the substrate 2 are provided. The pretreatment area 13A and the film formation area 13B are spatially open (that is, not partitioned by a partition wall or the like), and a transport path (rail) for transporting the substrate 2 is installed in each area. Has been. A pretreatment device 14 is provided in the pretreatment area 13A for pretreatment of the treatment surface of the substrate 2 prior to the film formation treatment, and the film treatment on the treatment surface of the substrate 2 is performed in the film formation area 13B. A sputtering apparatus 15 is provided as a film forming processing unit to be performed. In the present embodiment, plasma pretreatment (substrate cleaning treatment) is exemplified as an example of the first treatment applied to the substrate 2, and metal sputtering is exemplified as an example of the second treatment applied to the substrate 2. The space provided between the film formation area 13B and the preparation chamber 12 is a space for waiting the substrate 2. The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a so-called in-line configuration that supports and conveys the substrate 2 and performs a series of processes including heating, pretreatment, and film formation.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, on the upper surface (ceiling) of the processing chamber 13, inlets 130 </ b> A and 130 </ b> B for introducing gas into the processing chamber 13, an exhaust port 131 for discharging gas from the processing chamber 13, and An exhaust pump 132 is provided. Here, the inlet 130A is a path for introducing the first gas used in the pretreatment into the pretreatment area 13A. Examples of the first gas include active gases such as oxygen gas and nitrogen gas. On the other hand, the inlet 130B is a path for introducing the second gas used in the film formation process into the film formation area 13B. Examples of the second gas include rare gases (inert gases) such as argon gas and neon gas. The exhaust port 131 is disposed at or near the boundary between the pretreatment area 13A and the film formation area 13B, and also serves as an exhaust path for both the gas in the pretreatment area 13A and the gas in the film formation area 13B. . With such a structure, the gas in the pretreatment area 13A can be prevented from flowing into the film formation area 13B, and the gas in the film formation area 13B can be prevented from flowing into the pretreatment area 13A.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the introduction port 130A is provided at a position opposite to the position where the exhaust port 131 is provided with respect to the pretreatment area 13A. In other words, the introduction port 130A is disposed at one end of the pretreatment area 13A, and the exhaust port 131 is disposed at the other end of the pretreatment area 13A (or the boundary between the pretreatment area 13A and the film formation area 13B). Has been. With such an arrangement, the gas introduced from the inlet 130A can be spread throughout the pretreatment area 13A. Similarly, the introduction port 130B is provided at a position opposite to the position where the exhaust port 131 is provided with respect to the film formation area 13B. In other words, the introduction port 130B is disposed at one end of the film formation area 13B, and the exhaust port 131 is disposed at the other end of the film formation area 13B (or the boundary between the pretreatment area 13A and the film formation area 13B). Has been. With such an arrangement, the gas introduced from the inlet 130B can be spread over the entire film formation area 13B.

(Operation of substrate processing equipment)
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Hereinafter, the flow of substrate processing will be described by taking oxygen gas as the first gas and argon gas as the second gas.

  A plurality of substrates 2 are accommodated in the stocker chamber 11. Among them, the substrate 2 to be processed is transferred from the stocker chamber 11 to the preparation chamber 12 (step S101) and heated by the heater 121 (step S102). In the present embodiment, the substrate 2 is heated from about 100 ° C. to about 180 ° C. by an approximately sufficient heat treatment. Thereafter, the substrate 2 is transferred from the preparation chamber 12 to the preprocessing area 13A of the processing chamber 13 (step S103). Then, the introduction of the first gas (oxygen gas) from the inlet 130A to the pretreatment area 13A is started (step S104), and the second gas (argon gas) from the inlet 130B to the film forming area 13B is started. Is started (step S105).

Thereafter, in the pretreatment area 13A, the pretreatment apparatus 14 performs a cleaning process on the substrate surface using plasma (step S106). At this time, since the surplus oxygen gas introduced into the pretreatment area 13A is discharged from the exhaust port 131, the inflow of oxygen gas into the film forming area 13B can be suppressed. In addition, in this embodiment, even when the film forming process is not performed, the inlet 130B is in progress while the pretreatment is being performed (that is, while the first gas is being introduced from the inlet 130A). The argon gas is continuously introduced into the film forming area 13B. Thereby, since the film-forming area 13B is filled with argon gas, inflow of oxygen gas into the film-forming area 13B can be further suppressed.

  In synchronization with the end of the pretreatment, the sputtering apparatus 15 performs pre-sputtering processing (step S107). In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, although the inflow of oxygen gas to the film forming area 13B is suppressed, the inflow of oxygen gas to the film forming area 13B cannot be made completely zero. Therefore, the oxygen gas that flows in may react with the target metal and oxidize the surface of the target. Therefore, before carrying the substrate 2 into the film formation area 13B, a pre-sputtering process is performed to remove the oxide layer on the target surface. In the case of a conventional apparatus in which no special measures are taken against the inflow of oxygen gas into the film formation area, the degree of oxidation of the target surface is large, and the pre-sputtering process takes several minutes. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the oxidation is only performed on the extreme surface of the target, the time for the pre-sputtering process can be shortened to a time of about a dozen seconds to 1 minute.

  After the completion of the pre-sputtering process, the substrate 2 is carried into the film forming area 13B (step S108), and the film forming process by sputtering is performed (step S109). Thus, the process for the substrate 2 is completed. The substrate 2 after processing is discharged to the stocker chamber 11 (step S110).

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is applicable to, for example, various electrode formations involving pretreatment. Specific examples include, for example, the formation of a plating seed film for an FC-BGA (Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array) mounting substrate and a metal laminated film for a SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) device. In addition, a conductive hard film in the bonding part of the LED, a film formation of a terminal part film of MLCC (Multi-Layered Ceramic Capacitor), and the like are also included. In addition, the present invention can be applied to the formation of an electromagnetic shielding film in an electronic component package and a terminal film of a chip resistor. Although the size of the board | substrate 2 is not specifically limited, In this embodiment, the board | substrate 2 about 200 mm x 200 mm in size is illustrated. Moreover, the material of the board | substrate 2 is arbitrary, For example, board | substrates, such as a polyimide, glass, a silicon | silicone, a metal, and a ceramic, are used. In this embodiment, a substrate having a polyimide resin coating on both sides of a ceramic is used. Examples of the target material for metal sputtering include metals such as Ti (titanium), Al (aluminum), and Cu (copper), and metal oxides such as ITO (indium tin oxide) and IZO (indium zinc oxide). Can be used.

(Advantages of this embodiment)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 having the above-described structure has the following advantages. First, the introduction port 130A is arranged in the pretreatment area 13A, the introduction port 130B is arranged in the film formation area 13B, and the exhaust port 131 is arranged at the boundary (or in the vicinity of the boundary) between the pretreatment area 13A and the film formation area 13B. ), The contamination of the pretreatment gas and the film forming gas can be suppressed. As a result, for example, since the oxidation and nitridation of the sputtering target by oxygen gas or nitrogen gas for pretreatment can be suppressed as much as possible, the pre-sputtering time can be greatly shortened and the throughput of the substrate processing apparatus 1 is improved. Is possible. Further, since the contamination of the pretreatment area 13A due to the wraparound of the material flying from the target surface by pre-sputtering and the contamination of the target by the foreign matter removed from the surface of the substrate 2 by the pretreatment can be suppressed, the substrate processing quality can be improved. It is done.

  Further, in the configuration in which the pretreatment and the film forming process are performed in a state where the substrate 2 is vertically supported as in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. Targets and power supplies will be placed. Therefore, even if it is difficult to secure a space for disposing the gas inlet and exhaust port on the side surface of the chamber, or even if it can be disposed on the side surface, the gas flow is prevented by a structure such as a protection plate. There is a risk that it will be obstructed and hinder the introduction and discharge of gas. In this respect, in the present embodiment, the gas introduction port and the exhaust port are arranged on the upper surface of the chamber having a small number of structures, so that the above-described problems can be avoided. 3A is a view of the pretreatment area 13A viewed in a direction parallel to the transport direction of the substrate 2, and FIG. 3B is a view of the film formation area 13B viewed in a direction parallel to the transport direction of the substrate 2.

  In the present embodiment, the structure of the exhaust system can be simplified by adopting a configuration in which one exhaust port 131 serves as both the first gas exhaust port and the second gas exhaust port. If the first gas exhaust port and the second gas exhaust port are installed separately, two sets of exhaust pipes and exhaust pumps are required, resulting in an increase in cost and an increase in the size of the apparatus. . In addition, although the structure which joins the exhaust pipe extended from each exhaust port and connects to one exhaust pump can also be taken, if it is such a structure, the distance from an exhaust port to an exhaust pump will become long, and exhaust performance will fall. There is a disadvantage that (the efficiency of the pump decreases). Therefore, the structure of the exhaust system of this embodiment is advantageous from the viewpoint of cost and exhaust performance.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a so-called return back method is adopted in which the processed substrate 2 is returned to the stocker chamber 13 again, and the pretreatment area 13A is disposed on the back side (the side far from the stocker chamber 11) of the treatment chamber 13. The film formation area 13B is disposed on the front side of the processing chamber 13 (side closer to the stocker chamber 11). By adopting such an arrangement, the substrate 2 after film formation can be discharged into the stocker chamber 11 without passing through the pretreatment area 13A. Therefore, there is an advantage that the substrate surface after film formation can be prevented from being oxidized or other contamination by the atmospheric gas in the pretreatment area 13A, and high-quality film formation processing can be performed. As shown in FIG. 4, a substrate processing apparatus of a type in which a take-out chamber 40 and a second stocker chamber 41 are provided on the downstream side of the processing chamber 13 and the processed substrate 2 is discharged to the second stocker chamber 41. In the case of 1, the pretreatment area 13A is arranged on the front side of the processing chamber 13 (side near the stocker chamber 11), and the film formation area 13B is arranged on the back side of the processing chamber 13 (side far from the stocker chamber 11). Good.

<Others>
The embodiment described above is only one of the preferred specific examples of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, plasma pretreatment (substrate cleaning treatment) is exemplified as an example of the first treatment, and metal sputtering is exemplified as an example of the second treatment. However, the treatment of the substrate is not limited thereto, and a predetermined process is performed. Any treatment is possible as long as the treatment is performed under an atmospheric gas. For example, as the pretreatment, a treatment for cleaning or etching the surface of the substrate by irradiating an ion beam may be performed. In addition, three or more types of processing may be performed on the substrate, or processing may be performed on both sides of the substrate at the same time.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although only one exhaust port was provided, the structure which provides a some exhaust port may be sufficient. Similarly, a plurality of inlets may be provided in each processing area. Further, the arrangement of the introduction port and the exhaust port is not limited to the illustrated example. For example, the introduction port and the exhaust port may be arranged on the side surface of the chamber. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the apparatus structure in which conveyance and a process are performed in the state which supported the board | substrate 2 vertically was illustrated, it is good also as an apparatus structure which performs a conveyance and a process in the state which supported the board | substrate 2 horizontally or diagonally. .

1: substrate processing apparatus 2: substrate 13: processing chamber (chamber)
13A: Preprocessing area (first area)
13B: Film formation area (second area)
130A: First introduction port 130B: Second introduction port 131: Exhaust port

Claims (15)

An electronic component manufacturing method comprising:
A first area and a second area are provided, and the first area and the second area are provided so that a substrate can be transported between the first area and the second area. And a step of carrying a substrate comprising electronic components into a chamber having a structure that is not spatially partitioned;
Transporting the substrate to the first area;
The introduction of the second gas from the second inlet provided in the chamber to the second area, and the first gas from the first inlet provided in the chamber to the first area Performing a first process on the substrate in an atmosphere of a first gas in the first area while introducing
Transporting the substrate to the second area after the first treatment;
Performing a second treatment on the substrate in an atmosphere of the second gas in the second area;
Have
The gas in the chamber is exhausted from an exhaust port provided at or near the boundary between the first area and the second area.
An electronic component manufacturing method characterized by the above. 2. The electronic component manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the first introduction port is provided at a position opposite to a position where the exhaust port is provided with respect to the first area. Way . The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the second introduction port is provided at a position opposite to a position where the exhaust port is provided with respect to the second area. Manufacturing method . In the first area and the second area, the first process and the second process are performed in a state where the substrate is vertically supported,
The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first introduction port, the second introduction port, and the exhaust port are provided on an upper surface of the chamber. Manufacturing method . 5. The exhaust port according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust port serves both as an exhaust port for discharging the first gas from the chamber and an exhaust port for discharging the second gas from the chamber. The manufacturing method of the electronic component of any one of Claims 1. The method for manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first gas and the second gas are gases containing different components. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first gas is an active gas and the second gas is an inert gas. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first gas is oxygen gas or nitrogen gas. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the second gas is a rare gas. The method for manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first process and the second process are processes using plasma or ions. The method for manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the first process is a process of cleaning or etching the surface of the substrate. The method for manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the second process is a film forming process for forming a film on the surface of the substrate. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the second treatment is metal sputtering. A step of performing a pre-sputtering process for cleaning a surface of a target used in the metal sputtering after the first process and before the substrate is transported to the second area. The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 13, wherein By sequentially transported the substrate from the first area to the second area by a transport means provided before Symbol chamber, and the second processing and the first process on the substrate The method of manufacturing an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the process is executed continuously.

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