JP6724120B2 - Substrate processing apparatus, semiconductor device manufacturing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a semiconductor device manufacturing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which is a kind of substrate processing apparatus, a boat as a substrate holder in which a wafer as a substrate is loaded is loaded into the furnace heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater as a heating means. Then, the inside of the furnace is evacuated, the reaction gas is introduced through the reaction gas introduction pipe, the wafer surface is processed, and the exhaust gas is exhausted through the exhaust pipe. Further, the boat has a plurality of pillars, and holds a plurality of wafers horizontally by grooves (hereinafter, also referred to as slots) formed in the pillars.

In recent years, processing in a small lot (for example, 50 or 75 product substrates) has become mainstream. In order to handle the small lot, Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that processes 50 or less product substrates in one mini-batch process. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses a multi-wafer apparatus that distributes and conveys product substrates to a plurality of processing chambers that process a predetermined number (for example, 5) and processes the product substrates. However, it has not been able to sufficiently meet the recent demands for small-lot, high-mix, high-density integration and quality improvement.

Furthermore, with the mini-batch of product substrates, it has a short TAT (Turn Round Time) to improve the speed of customer device development, and it is compatible with batch processing of multiple product substrates (batching). There is a need to develop a device capable of processing seeds.

JP-A-2002-246432 JP, 2013-102125, A

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a configuration capable of mass production by using a plurality of processing modules in a small lot production that accompanies the recent small lot production.

According to one aspect of the disclosed invention,
It includes at least a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate, the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder, and the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder. A storage unit that stores device parameters, transfer order information indicating an order in which the substrates are transferred, transfer source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and the substrates according to the device parameters. A control unit that creates substrate transfer data including transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber to be processed,
The created substrate transfer data is read, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding region other than the soaking region of the substrate holding region on the substrate holder, and the remaining substrate holding region on the substrate holder is A configuration is provided for transferring the product substrate to the soaking region.

According to the present disclosure, by using a plurality of processing modules, mass production can be achieved in a small lot production.

FIG. 1 is an example of a cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus that is preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an example of a vertical cross-sectional view showing a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is an example of a vertical cross-sectional view showing a processing furnace of a substrate processing apparatus preferably used in an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is a figure explaining the functional composition of the controller used suitably for one embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the flow of the substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus suitably used for one Embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the apparatus parameter which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the apparatus parameter which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the apparatus parameter which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the apparatus parameter which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the carrier information which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a flow figure which distinguishes process module PM from user information concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a flow figure which distinguishes process module PM from carrier information concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the job generation processing flow which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the material use confirmation processing flow which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure showing a processing module finalization flow concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a figure showing a processing module finalization flow concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the use target carrier selection process which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure which shows the use priority order sort process which concerns on embodiment of this indication. It is a figure showing substrate transfer data concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a figure showing substrate transfer data concerning an embodiment of this indication. It is a flow figure which creates substrate transfer data concerning an embodiment of this indication.

(Outline of substrate processing equipment)
Next, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 2. In the embodiment to which the present disclosure is applied, the substrate processing apparatus is configured as, for example, a substrate processing apparatus that executes the processing apparatus in the method for manufacturing a semiconductor device (IC). In the following description, a case will be described in which a vertical apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as a processing apparatus) that performs oxidation, diffusion processing, CVD processing, etc. on a substrate is applied as the substrate processing apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 10 includes two adjacent processing modules PM (Process Modules) as processing furnaces 202 described later. The processing module PM is a vertical processing module PM that collectively processes several tens of wafers 200 as substrates. For example, about 20 to 100 (preferably 25 to 75) substrates 200 can be processed by one processing module PM.

Below the processing furnace 202, transfer chambers 6A and 6B are arranged as preparation chambers. On the front side of the transfer chambers 6A and 6B, a transfer chamber 8 having a wafer transfer mechanism 125 as a transfer device for transferring the wafers 200 is arranged adjacent to the transfer chambers 6A and 6B. In the present embodiment, a processing furnace 202 described below is provided above the transfer chambers 6A and 6B, respectively.

A storage chamber 9 (pod transfer space) for storing a pod (FOUP) 110 as a storage container (carrier) for storing a plurality of wafers 200 is provided on the front side of the transfer chamber 8. A load port 22 as an I/O port is installed on the entire surface of the storage chamber 9, and the pod 110 is carried in and out of the processing apparatus 2 via the load port 22. The pod 110 is provided with 25 holders (hereinafter also referred to as slots) on which the wafers 200 are placed.

Gate valves 90A and 90B as isolation units are installed on boundary walls (adjacent surfaces) between the transfer chambers 6A and 6B and the transfer chamber 8. A pressure detector is installed in each of the transfer chamber 8 and the transfer chambers 6A and 6B, and the pressure in the transfer chamber 8 is set to be lower than the pressure in the transfer chambers 6A and 6B. ing. An oxygen concentration detector is installed in each of the transfer chamber 8 and the transfer chambers 6A and 6B. The oxygen concentration in the transfer chamber 8A and the transfer chambers 6A and 6B is higher than that in the atmosphere. Is also kept low. Preferably, it is maintained at 30 ppm or less.

A clean unit (not shown) for supplying clean air into the transfer chamber 8 is installed on the ceiling of the transfer chamber 8, and, for example, an inert gas is circulated in the transfer chamber 8 as clean air. Is configured to let. By circulating purging the inside of the transfer chamber 8 with an inert gas, the inside of the transfer chamber 8 can be made a clean atmosphere.

With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent particles and the like in the transfer chambers 6A and 6B from being mixed into the processing furnace 202 (not shown) in the transfer chamber 8, and in the transfer chamber 8 and the transfer chambers 6A and 6B. It is possible to suppress the formation of a natural oxide film on the wafer 200.

A plurality of pod openers 21, for example, three pod openers 21 that open and close the lid of the pod 110 are arranged behind the storage chamber 9 and on the boundary wall between the storage chamber 9 and the transfer chamber 8. When the pod opener 21 opens the lid of the pod 110, the wafer 200 in the pod 110 is carried in and out of the transfer chamber 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus 10 that accommodates a plurality of wafers 200 made of silicon or the like and uses the pod 110 includes a housing 111 used as a substrate processing apparatus main body.

A front maintenance port (not shown) as an opening provided for maintenance is opened in the front front part of the front wall of the housing 111, and front maintenance doors for opening and closing the front maintenance port are respectively installed. Has been. A pod loading/unloading port is provided on the front wall so as to communicate the inside and outside of the housing 111. The pod loading/unloading port may be configured to be opened and closed by a front shutter (not shown).

A load port 22 used as a carry-in/carry-out section is installed at the pod carry-in/carry-out port, and the load port 22 is configured to mount and position the pod 110. The pod 110 is carried into the load port 22 by the in-process carrier device and is carried out from the load port 22.

Storage shelves (pod shelves) 105 are installed on the rear side of the front of the housing 111 in a matrix form around the pod loading/unloading port in the vertical and horizontal directions. The pod shelf 105 is provided with a mounting section 140 as a storage section for mounting the pod. The storage unit includes the mounting unit 140 and a horizontal movement mechanism (a storage rack horizontal movement mechanism) that horizontally moves the mounting unit 140 between a standby position where the pod 110 is stored and a delivery position where the pod 110 is delivered. To be done. A plurality of independent mounting portions 140 arranged on the same straight line in the horizontal direction configure one stage of the pod shelf 105, and the pod shelves are installed in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction. Each of the mounting portions 140 can be horizontally moved independently without being synchronized with the vertically or horizontally adjacent mounting portions 140 and any other mounting portion 140. Then, the pod transfer device 130 is configured to transfer the pod 110 between the load port 22, the pod shelf 105, and the pod opener 21.

Inside the housing 111 and on the front side of the sub-housing 119, pod shelves (housing shelves) 105 as storages are installed in a matrix form vertically and horizontally. Like the pod shelves 105 on the front rear side of the housing 111, the mounting portions 140 on which the pods of the respective pod shelves 105 are mounted are horizontally movable, and are synchronized with the vertically or horizontally adjacent mounting portions 140. It is possible to move horizontally independently without doing so. The pod shelf 105 is configured to hold one pod 110 on each of the plurality of mounting portions 140.

On the front wall 119a of the sub-housing 119, a pair of wafer loading/unloading ports 120 for loading/unloading the wafer 200 into/from the sub-housing 119 are provided side by side in the horizontal direction. A pair of pod openers 21 are installed at the carry-in/carry-out port 120. The pod opener 21 includes a mounting table 122 on which the pod 110 is mounted, and a cap attaching/detaching mechanism 123 for attaching/detaching the cap of the pod 110 used as a sealing member. The pod opener 21 is configured to open and close the wafer loading/unloading port of the pod 110 by attaching/detaching the cap of the pod 110 placed on the placing table 122 by the cap attaching/detaching mechanism 123. The mounting table 122 may also be referred to as the mounting section 140.

The sub-casing 119 constitutes the transfer chamber 8 which is fluidly isolated from the installation space of the pod carrier 130 and the pod shelf 105. A wafer transfer mechanism 125 is installed in the front area of the transfer chamber 8. The wafer transfer mechanism 125 is a wafer transfer device 125a and a wafer transfer device 125a that can rotate or linearly move the wafer 200 in the horizontal direction. And a wafer transfer device elevator 125b for moving up and down. By these continuous operations of the wafer transfer device elevator 125b and the wafer transfer device 125a, the wafer 200 is loaded into the boat 217 by using the arm (substrate holder) 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a as the mounting part of the wafer 200. (Charging) and removing (discharging).

In the rear region of the transfer chamber 8, the transfer chamber 6 is configured as a standby unit for accommodating the boat 217 via the gate valve 90 and waiting it. Above the transfer chamber 6, a processing furnace 202 having a processing chamber inside is provided. The lower end of the processing furnace 202 is configured to be opened and closed by a furnace opening shutter 147.

The boat 217 is moved up and down by a boat elevator 115 (not shown) and introduced into the processing furnace. A seal cap 219 as a lid is horizontally installed on a connecting tool (not shown) connected to the lifting platform of the boat elevator 115, and the lid 219 vertically supports the boat 217 to support the boat 217. It is configured so that the lower end can be closed. The boat 217 is provided with a plurality of reinforcing members, and is configured to hold the plurality of wafers 200 horizontally with the centers thereof aligned and vertically aligned.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 10 will be described. An example in which substrate processing is performed using the above-described substrate processing apparatus 10 as one step in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device (device) will be described. In the present embodiment, when the sequence recipe described later is executed, the controller 121 starts the substrate processing by controlling the operation of each unit that constitutes the substrate processing apparatus 10.

When the pod 110 is supplied to the load port 22, the pod 110 on the load port 22 is carried into the inside of the housing 111 from the pod carry-in/carry-out port by the pod carry-in device. The loaded pod 110 is automatically transported by the pod transport device 130 to the designated mounting portion 140 of the pod shelf 105, delivered, and temporarily stored, and then temporarily transferred from the pod shelf 105 to the one pod opener 21. It is conveyed and delivered and transferred to the mounting table 122, or directly transferred to the pod opener 21 and transferred to the mounting table 122.

The opening side end surface of the pod 110 mounted on the mounting table 122 is pressed against the opening edge portion of the wafer loading/unloading port 120 in the front wall 119a of the sub housing 119, and the cap is removed by the cap attaching/detaching mechanism 123, The wafer loading/unloading port is opened. When the pod 110 is opened by the pod opener 21, the wafer 200 is held from the pod 110 by the arm 125c of the wafer transfer device 125a through the wafer loading/unloading port, and the gate valve 90 is transferred to the transfer chamber 6 behind the transfer chamber 8. It is carried in through and is loaded (charged) in the boat 217. The wafer transfer device 125a that has transferred the wafer 200 to the boat 217 returns to the pod 110 and loads the next wafer 200 into the boat 217.

When a predetermined number of wafers 200 are loaded in the boat 217, the pretreatment is continuously executed, and when the pretreatment is completed, the main processing (here, the process recipe) is executed. When this process recipe is started, the lower end of the processing furnace 202, which has been closed by the furnace opening shutter 147, is opened by the furnace opening shutter 147. Subsequently, the boat 217 holding the wafers 200 is carried into the processing furnace 202 by loading the seal cap 219 by the boat elevator 115.

After loading, the wafer 200 is subjected to arbitrary processing in the processing furnace 202. After the processing, the wafer 200 and the pod 110 are carried out of the housing by the reverse procedure described above.

(Processing furnace of substrate processing equipment)
As shown in FIG. 3, the processing furnace 202 has a heater 207 as a heating mechanism. The heater 207 has a cylindrical shape, and is vertically installed by being supported by a holding plate (not shown). The heater 207 also functions as an activation mechanism that thermally activates the processing gas.

Inside the heater 207, a reaction tube 203 forming a reaction container (processing container) concentrically with the heater 207 is arranged. The reaction tube 203 is made of a heat resistant material such as quartz (SiO2) or silicon carbide (SiC). The reaction tube 203 is formed in the shape of a ceiling, the lower end of which is open and the upper end of which is closed by a flat wall body. Inside the reaction tube 203, a cylindrical portion 209 formed in a cylindrical shape, a nozzle arrangement chamber 222 defined between the cylindrical portion 209 and the reaction tube 203, and a gas supply port formed in the cylindrical portion 209 are provided. A gas supply slit 235, a first gas exhaust port 236 formed in the tubular portion 209, and a second gas exhaust port 237 formed in the tubular portion 209 and below the first gas exhaust port 236 are provided. .. The cylindrical portion 209 is formed in the shape of a ceiling with an open lower end and an upper end closed by a flat wall body. Further, the cylindrical portion 209 is provided in the vicinity of the wafer 200 so as to surround the wafer 200. A processing chamber 201 is formed inside the cylindrical portion 209 of the reaction tube 203. The processing chamber 201 is configured to be able to process the wafer 200. Further, the processing chamber 201 is configured to be able to accommodate a boat 217 as a substrate holder capable of holding the wafers 200 in a horizontal posture and vertically aligned in multiple stages.

The lower end of the reaction tube 203 is supported by a cylindrical manifold 226. The manifold 226 is made of, for example, a metal such as nickel alloy or stainless steel, or is made of a heat resistant material such as quartz or SiC. A flange is formed on the upper end of the manifold 226, and the lower end of the reaction tube 203 is installed and supported on the flange. An airtight member 220 such as an O-ring is interposed between the flange and the lower end of the reaction tube 203 to keep the inside of the reaction tube 203 airtight.

A seal cap 219 is airtightly attached to the lower end opening of the manifold 226 via an airtight member 220 such as an O-ring, and the lower end opening side of the reaction tube 203, that is, the opening of the manifold 226 is airtight. It is designed to be closed.

The boat 217 is erected on a boat support 218. The boat 217 is made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz or SiC. The boat 217 has a bottom plate fixed to the boat support 218 and a top plate arranged above the bottom plate, and has a configuration in which a plurality of columns are installed between the bottom plate and the top plate. .. The boat 217 holds a plurality of wafers 200. The plurality of wafers 200 are stacked in a multi-tiered manner in the tube axis direction of the reaction tube 203 and are supported by the columns of the boat 217 while maintaining a horizontal posture while keeping a certain distance from each other and aligning the centers with each other.

A boat rotation mechanism 267 for rotating the boat is provided on the side of the seal cap 219 opposite to the processing chamber 201. The rotation shaft 265 of the boat rotation mechanism 267 is connected to the boat support 218 through the seal cap, and the boat rotation mechanism 267 rotates the boat 217 via the boat support 218 to rotate the wafer 200. ..

The seal cap 219 is vertically moved up and down by a boat elevator 115 as an elevating mechanism provided outside the reaction tube 203, whereby the boat 217 can be carried in and out of the processing chamber 201.

In the manifold 226, nozzle support portions 350a to 350d that support nozzles 340a to 340d as gas nozzles that supply a processing gas into the processing chamber 201 are installed so as to penetrate the manifold 226. Here, four nozzle support parts 350a to 350d are installed. The nozzle supports 350a to 350d are made of a material such as nickel alloy or stainless steel. Gas supply pipes 310a to 310c for supplying gas into the processing chamber 201 are connected to one ends of the nozzle support portions 350a to 350c on the reaction pipe 203 side, respectively. Further, a gas supply pipe 310d for supplying gas to a gap S formed between the reaction pipe 203 and the cylindrical portion 209 is connected to one end of the nozzle support portion 350d on the reaction pipe 203 side. Further, nozzles 340a to 340d are connected to the other ends of the nozzle support portions 350a to 350d, respectively. The nozzles 340a to 340d are made of a heat resistant material such as quartz or SiC.

In the gas supply pipe 310a, a first process gas supply source 360a for supplying a first process gas, a mass flow controller (MFC) 320a which is a flow rate controller (flow rate control unit), and a valve 330a which is an opening/closing valve are sequentially provided from the upstream direction. Are provided respectively. The gas supply pipe 310b is provided with a second process gas supply source 360b for supplying a second process gas, an MFC 320b, and a valve 330b in this order from the upstream direction. The gas supply pipe 310c is provided with a third process gas supply source 360c for supplying a third process gas, an MFC 320c, and a valve 330c in this order from the upstream direction. The gas supply pipe 310d is provided with an inert gas supply source 360d, an MFC 320d, and a valve 330d that supply an inert gas in this order from the upstream direction. Gas supply pipes 310e and 310f, which supply an inert gas, are connected to the gas supply pipes 310a and 310b downstream of the valves 330a and 330b, respectively. The gas supply pipes 310e and 310f are provided with MFCs 320e and 320f and valves 330e and 330f in this order from the upstream direction.

A first processing gas supply system is mainly configured by the gas supply pipe 310a, the MFC 320a, and the valve 330a. It may be considered that the first processing gas supply source 360a, the nozzle support portion 350a, and the nozzle 340a are included in the first processing gas supply system. In addition, a second processing gas supply system is mainly configured by the gas supply pipe 310b, the MFC 320b, and the valve 330b. The second processing gas supply source 360b, the nozzle support portion 350b, and the nozzle 340b may be included in the second processing gas supply system. In addition, a third processing gas supply system is mainly configured by the gas supply pipe 310c, the MFC 320c, and the valve 330c. It may be considered that the third processing gas supply source 360c, the nozzle support portion 350c, and the nozzle 340c are included in the third processing gas supply system. Further, an inert gas supply system is mainly configured by the gas supply pipe 310d, the MFC 320d, and the valve 330d. It may be considered that the inert gas supply source 360d, the nozzle support portion 350d, and the nozzle 340d are included in the inert gas supply system.

An exhaust port 230 is formed in the reaction tube 203. The exhaust port 230 is formed below the second gas exhaust port 237 and is connected to the exhaust pipe 231. A vacuum sensor 245 as a pressure detector for detecting the pressure in the processing chamber 201 and a vacuum pump 246 as a vacuum exhaust device are connected to the exhaust pipe 231 via an APC (Auto Pressure Controller) valve 244 as a pressure adjusting unit. Therefore, the processing chamber 201 is configured to be evacuated to a predetermined pressure. The exhaust pipe 231 on the downstream side of the vacuum pump 246 is connected to an exhaust gas treatment device (not shown) or the like. The APC valve 244 can be opened/closed to evacuate/stop the vacuum exhaust in the processing chamber 201, and the valve opening can be adjusted to adjust the conductance to adjust the pressure in the processing chamber 201. It is an open/close valve. An exhaust system that functions as an exhaust unit is mainly configured by the exhaust pipe 231, the APC valve 244, and the pressure sensor 245. The vacuum pump 246 may be included in the exhaust system.

A temperature sensor (not shown) as a temperature detector is installed in the reaction tube 203, and by adjusting the power supplied to the heater 207 based on the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor, the temperature in the processing chamber 201 can be reduced. The temperature is configured to have a desired temperature distribution.

In the processing furnace 202 described above, in a state in which a plurality of wafers 200 to be batch processed are stacked on the boat 217 in multiple stages, the boat 217 is inserted into the processing chamber 201 while being supported by the boat support 218, and the heater 207 is installed. The wafer 200 inserted in the processing chamber 201 is heated to a predetermined temperature.

(Controller configuration)
As shown in FIG. 4, a controller 121, which is a control unit (control means), includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 121a as an execution unit, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 121b, a storage device 121c as a storage unit, and an I/O. It is configured as a computer having a port 121d. The RAM 121b, the storage device 121c, and the I/O port 121d, which are configured as a memory area (work area) in which programs and data read by the CPU 121a are temporarily stored, are connected to the CPU 121a via the internal bus 121e. It is configured to exchange data. The controller 121 is connected with an input/output device 122 as an operation unit configured as, for example, a touch panel.

The storage device 121c is composed of, for example, a flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like. In the storage device 121c, a control program for controlling the operation of the substrate processing apparatus, a process recipe in which the procedure and conditions of the substrate processing are described, and the like are stored in a readable manner. The process recipe is a combination that allows the controller 121 to execute each procedure in the substrate processing process described below to obtain a predetermined result, and the storage device 121c includes the process recipe described below. When the sequence recipe is executed, the device data generated by operating each component that constitutes the device is stored. Time data is added to these device data by the time stamp function of the controller 121.

Further, the storage device 121c stores the control program and the like in the present embodiment. The CPU 121a is configured to execute these programs in response to input of operation commands from the input/output device 122 and the like. Further, the storage device 121c stores a program that realizes various flowcharts such as a substrate processing sequence and jobs in the present embodiment, and a screen including various setting parameters and various setting screen files used for executing these programs. The file is stored.

When the term "program" is used in this specification, it may include only the process recipe, only the control program, or both of them.

The I/O port 121d is connected to the MFCs 320a to 320f, the valves 330a to 330f, the pressure sensor 245, the APC valve 244, the vacuum pump 246, the heater 207, the temperature sensor, the boat rotating mechanism 267, the boat elevator 115, and the like described above. ..

The CPU 121a is configured to read and execute a control program or the like from the storage device 121c, and to read a process recipe from the storage device 121c according to an operation input from the input/output device 122. The CPU 121a adjusts the flow rates of various gases by the MFCs 320a to 320f, opens/closes the valves 330a to 330f, opens/closes the APC valve 244, and pressure sensors according to the contents of the process recipe read via the I/O port 121d. 245 based APC valve 244 pressure adjustment operation, vacuum pump 246 start and stop, temperature sensor based heater 207 temperature adjustment operation, boat rotation mechanism 267 rotation and rotation speed adjustment operation of boat 217, boat elevator 115 boat operation. It is configured to control the lifting operation and the like of 217.

Next, the substrate processing step corresponding to the main processing of the process job will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the substrate processing step is performed by the controller 121 executing the process recipe. The process recipe is a recipe for processing the substrate executed in this main processing, and is controlled by the controller 121. After that, the controller 121 controls the operation of each part of the substrate processing apparatus 10 to perform a predetermined process on the wafer 200.

(Substrate processing process)
A boat 217 on which a predetermined number of wafers 200 are placed is inserted into the reaction tube 203, and the reaction tube 203 is hermetically closed by the seal cap 219. In the airtightly closed reaction tube 203, the wafer 200 is heated and the processing gas is supplied into the reaction tube 203, so that the wafer 200 is subjected to predetermined processing.

As a predetermined process, for example, NH3 gas as the first process gas, HCDS gas as the second process gas, and N2 gas as the third process gas are alternately supplied to form a SiN film on the wafer 200.

First, the HCDS gas is supplied into the processing chamber 201 from the gas supply pipe 310b of the second processing gas supply system through the gas supply hole 234b of the nozzle 340b and the gas supply slit 235. Specifically, by opening the valves 330b and 330f, supply of the HCDS gas into the processing chamber 201 from the gas supply pipe 310b is started together with the carrier gas. At this time, the opening of the APC valve 244 is adjusted to maintain the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 at a predetermined pressure. When a predetermined time has elapsed, the valve 330b is closed and the supply of HCDS gas is stopped.

The HCDS gas supplied into the processing chamber 201 is supplied to the wafer 200, flows in parallel on the wafer 200, and then flows through the first gas exhaust port 236 through the gap S from the upper part to the lower part to form the second gas. The gas is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231 through the exhaust port 237 and the exhaust port 230.

During the supply of the HCDS gas into the processing chamber 201, the valve 330e of the inert gas supply pipe connected to the gas supply pipe 310a and the valves 330c and 330d of the gas supply pipes 310c and 310d are opened to inactivate N2 or the like. Flowing the gas can prevent the HCDS gas from flowing into the gas supply pipes 310a, 310c, 310d.

After the valve 330b is closed and the supply of the HCDS gas into the processing chamber 201 is stopped, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is exhausted to remove the HCDS gas, reaction products, etc. remaining in the processing chamber 201. At this time, if an inert gas such as N2 is supplied into the processing chamber 201 and the gap S from the gas supply pipes 310a, 310b, 310c, and 310d and purged, the residual gas in the processing chamber 201 and the gap S is eliminated. The effect can be further enhanced.

Next, NH3 gas is supplied into the processing chamber 201 from the gas supply pipe 310a of the first processing gas supply system through the gas supply hole 234a of the nozzle 340a and the gas supply slit 235. Specifically, by opening the valves 330a and 330e, the supply of NH3 gas into the processing chamber 201 from the gas supply pipe 310a is started together with the carrier gas. At this time, the opening of the APC valve 244 is adjusted to maintain the pressure inside the processing chamber 201 at a predetermined pressure. When a predetermined time has elapsed, the valve 330a is closed and the supply of NH3 gas is stopped.

The NH 3 gas supplied into the processing chamber 201 is supplied to the wafer 200, flows in parallel on the wafer 200, and then flows through the first gas exhaust port 236 from the upper part to the lower part of the gap S to form the second gas. The gas is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 231 through the exhaust port 237 and the exhaust port 230.

It should be noted that while the NH 3 gas is being supplied into the processing chamber 201, if the valve 330f and the valves 330c and 330d of the inert gas supply pipe connected to the gas supply pipe 310b are opened and an inert gas such as N 2 is allowed to flow, the gas is supplied. It is possible to prevent NH3 gas from flowing into the tubes 310b, 310c, 310d.

After the valve 330a is closed and the supply of the NH3 gas into the processing chamber 201 is stopped, the inside of the processing chamber 201 is evacuated, and the NH3 gas, reaction products, etc. remaining in the processing chamber 201 are removed. At this time, if an inert gas such as N2 is supplied into the processing chamber 201 and the gap S from the gas supply pipes 310a, 310b, 310c, and 310d and purged, the residual gas in the processing chamber 201 and the gap S is eliminated. The effect can be further enhanced.

When the processing of the wafers 200 is completed, the boat 217 is unloaded from the reaction tube 203 by the reverse procedure of the above operation.

In the above embodiment, the case where the first processing gas and the second processing gas are supplied alternately has been described, but the present invention is also applied to the case where the first processing gas and the second processing gas are supplied simultaneously. be able to.

Next, the flow of substrate processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The substrate processing sequence in this embodiment is configured to be executed by the control unit 121 from S300 described below.

(S100) This is a step of preparing various parameter settings and recipes to be used in advance (preliminary preparation step). In this step, the substrate processing sequence stored in the storage unit 121c in advance, the flow (subsequence) executed in the substrate processing sequence, and the parameters used in the recipe (hereinafter, also referred to as apparatus parameters) are specified on the operation screen. Also, it is set by selection or the like. Further, each flow or recipe may be created by designating and selecting on the operation screen and stored in the storage unit 121c.

According to the maintenance item selection parameter shown in FIG. 6A, in this embodiment, when each processing module is in the standby state, the processing module PM to be used preferentially is set by the maintenance number. For the maintenance number “00”, the processing module PM (either PM1 or PM2) used this time is stored in the controller 121, and next time, the processing module PM that is not the stored processing module PM is used. It is a specification. The maintenance numbers “01” and “02” are fixed to the processing module PM1 and the processing module PM2, respectively.

Then, when the maintenance number is other than the above, the current values of the maintenance items corresponding to the maintenance numbers are compared in each processing module PM, and the processing module PM having a smaller value is selected. As shown in FIG. 6A, the maintenance items are the number of times the resident dummy wafer is used, the film thickness value, the recipe film thickness value, the recipe execution frequency, the recipe step execution frequency, the execution time, and the like. The maintenance item selection parameter is stored in the storage unit 121c as a device parameter.

The login user designation parameter shown in FIG. 6B is a parameter for setting the processing module PM that can be used for each login user in advance, and is set in advance on a setting screen (not shown). By registering the range of processing modules PM that can be operated by the logged-in user in advance, the processing module PM to be processed can be specified from the logged-in user information. Accordingly, the control unit 121 can automatically select the processing target module PM.

As shown in FIG. 6B, “PM1” indicates that the process module PM1 can be used, “PM2” indicates that the process module PM2 can be used, and “ALL” indicates that both the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 can use in common. .. The login user designation parameter is stored in the storage unit 121c as a device parameter.

The carrier ID registration parameter shown in FIG. 6C is a parameter for setting the processing module PM that can be used as a carrier ID prefix for each carrier type, and is set in advance on a setting screen (not shown). Here, “SD” shown in FIG. 6C is a carrier 110 in which side dummy wafers are stored, “M1” and “M2” are carrier 110 in which monitor wafers are stored, and “PD” is a carrier 110 in which product substrates are stored. , "FD" indicates a carrier 110 in which a supplementary dummy wafer is stored, and "R1" and "R2" indicate a carrier 110 dedicated to collecting monitor wafers.

DA defined in the cell of the "PM1" column of the "SD" row and DB defined in the cell of the "PM2" column indicate the prefix of the carrier ID as the reactor information, respectively. The definition with this prefix can be up to 4 characters. Further, it is indicated that various carriers that are not defined in the cells in the “PM1” and “PM2” columns, such as the “M1” row, can be commonly used by the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 as default. The carrier ID registration parameter is stored in the storage unit 121c as a device parameter.

FIG. 6D shows a carrier injection determination parameter. As shown in FIG. 6D, the loading operation includes a screen loading (manual loading) method in which a logged-in user operates on the screen to load a carrier, and a HOST loading (automatic loading) method in which a host computer, such as HOST, instructs loading. ..

The carrier input determination parameters are the automatic determination of the processing module PM that can be used by the logged-in user, the user selection of the available processing module PM, and the automatic determination of the usable processing module PM when the user inputs the carrier. Is a parameter indicating the relationship of. Here, the device automatic determination is to acquire reactor information for the processing modules PM1 and processing modules PM2 registered for each carrier type as information on the above-mentioned carrier ID registration parameter, and select an available processing module PM ( Judgment).

In the screen input method, as shown in FIG. 6D, if the processing module PM1 and the processing module PM2 are different film types, selection of a processing module PM that can be used by the login user designation parameter shown in FIG. 6B as user information of the login user. (Judgment) is performed. This carrier injection determination parameter is also set in advance and is stored in the storage unit 121c as a device parameter.

In addition to the above-described four device parameters, the number of wafers for each wafer type to be used is determined in advance from the wafer arrangement parameter (WAP) that defines the wafer arrangement specification on the boat 217 that can be specified as one of the device parameter variable parameters. It is possible to calculate, and it is possible to specify whether the product substrate 200 is to be transferred to the selected processing module PM in wafer units or carrier units by the device configuration parameter related to the device configuration. Similarly, these are also stored in the storage unit 121c as device parameters.

Also, a recipe setting screen such as a process recipe or a sequence recipe is displayed on the operation screen so that a desired recipe can be selected. In this case, the recipe displayed on the recipe setting screen is configured to display the recipe that can be executed by the process module PM designated in advance. Also, the total time of the process recipe may be displayed and provided to the user.

(S200) For example, when the user (logged-in user) uses it exclusively, the user ID and password displayed on the operation screen are input, and the login process is performed.

(S300) When at least the carrier 110 in which a predetermined number of product substrates 200 are stored in the substrate processing apparatus 10 is loaded, the control unit 121 causes the reactor information indicating in which processing module PM the carrier 110 can be used. Is configured to get. Further, the control unit 121 may be configured to acquire the reactor information and display it on the operation screen.

Note that the control unit 121 can associate the reactor information registered with the login user with the reactor information acquired from the inserted carrier 110 as described later. For example, in the reactor information shown in FIG. 7, "PM1" can be used by the process module PM1, "PM2" can be used by the process module PM2, and "AUTO" can be commonly used by the process module PM1 and the process module PM2. Indicates that.

(Method to judge from login user)
By registering the range of the process module PM that can be operated by the logged-in user in advance, it is configured to automatically select the usable process module PM from the logged-in user information. For example, the processing target module PM can be selected based on the user information acquired during the login processing in S200. Further, when the carrier 110 is loaded, a setting screen may be displayed so that the user can select it.

Specifically, the flow shown in FIG. 8A is configured to be executed by the control unit 121.

The control unit 121 receives selection of the type and the number of carriers 110 used for processing from the operation unit 122.

The control unit 121 determines whether the film types executed by the process modules PM are the same, and if they are the same film type, sets each carrier 110 to “AUTO”. Then, the setting screen for the user to select the process module PM is displayed.

When the control unit 121 determines that the film types executed by the process modules PM are not the same, the control unit 121 acquires login user information and acquires usable reactor information. The control unit 121 sets the process module PM to be used for each carrier 110 based on the reactor information acquired from the login user information, and determines it as it is if it is not the “AUTO” setting. Further, in the case of "AUTO" setting, the setting screen is displayed so that the operator can select.

In this way, when determining the process module PM to be used by the login user, the control unit 121 determines whether the reactor information acquired from the carrier information and the reactor information set by the login user match, and the login user is the processing target. The module PM can be used to process the wafer 200. Here, the basic information of carrier information includes carrier ID (FOUP ID) information, carrier type (FOUP type) information, wafer map information in carrier (wafer map information in FOUP), number of wafers, wafer There is ID information and the like. Here, the wafer map information is information indicating in which slot the wafer exists.

An erroneous operation can be prevented by specifying the usable process module PM from the logged-in user information. For example, in order to prevent the carrier 110 from being mistakenly introduced, the carrier can be introduced into the process module PM for which the use is authorized. In addition, the number of operations can be expected to be reduced.

The method of identifying the usable process module PM from the logged-in user information is effective when the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 are different membrane types. This can prevent the user from accidentally putting the material to be processed into the substrate processing apparatus 10 by mistake, or by preventing the wrong process module PM from being processed, and the user can prevent the processing module PM from being processed. You can save the trouble of always selecting.

(Method of automatically identifying from carrier identification information)
In the case of loading from the customer host computer, the carrier ID is automatically determined, and the carrier 110 is transported based on the load port 22 of the substrate processing apparatus 10, and the control unit 121 reads the carrier ID information of the carrier 110 and confirms it. When FIG. 8B shows a flow of automatic discrimination from the carrier identification information of the carrier ID.

(S310) When the carrier 110 is input by the customer host computer, the control unit 121 starts this flow. (S311) The control unit 121 acquires carrier identification information such as carrier type information and carrier ID information including a carrier ID prefix.

(S312) The control unit 121 compares the acquired carrier identification information with the carrier ID designation parameter (hereinafter, also referred to as PM designation parameter) set as the device parameter.
(S313) When the carrier identification information and the PM designation parameter match, the control unit 121 sets the target processing module PM based on the reactor information acquired from the carrier identification information.

(S314) The control unit 121 confirms whether the setting of the target processing modules PM for the number of process modules PM to be processed is completed. If not completed, the steps from S311 to S313 are repeated. In this embodiment, the process modules are two, that is, PM1 and PM2, so that the process is performed twice.

(S315) The control unit 121 confirms whether or not the target processing module PM is set. If it is already set in S313 (in the case of No), (S317) an OK response is output and the present flow ends.

(S315) The control unit 121 checks whether or not the target processing module PM is set, and if the setting is not made in S313 (in the case of YES), the process proceeds to the next step (S316), and the loaded carrier 110 Check if is the job designated carrier. Here, the job-designated carrier is a material to be processed that is registered in job registration (job generation) described later. The processing target material is the product substrate 200 other than the dummy wafer 200 carrier 110 or the carrier 110 of the monitor substrate 200, and the processing target wafer 200 is the product wafer 200 or the monitor wafer 200 excluding the dummy wafer 200. Hereinafter, the wafer types are the product wafer 200, the dummy wafer 200, and the monitor wafer 200, and when these are collectively referred to, they may be simply referred to as the wafer 200.

In S316, the control unit 121 confirms whether the input carrier 110 is a job designated carrier, and if it is a job designated carrier, (S319) sets the input carrier 110 to AUTO, outputs an OK response, and outputs this flow. To finish. In this embodiment, even if the carrier is not a job designated carrier (S318), the inputted carrier 110 is set to AUTO, an OK response is output, and this flow is ended.

In the present embodiment, assuming that the carrier 110 storing the dummy wafer 200 may be used in both the process module PM1 and the process module PM2, the process module PM1 and the process module PM1 and the process module PM1 are set as AUTO settings in S318 of this flow. Both PM2 can be used.

For example, if the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 are different film types and the dummy wafer cannot be used in common, the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 are rejected as an NG response. Whether the common use is possible (OK) or not possible (NG) is set by a device configuration parameter which is a kind of device parameter.

Further, according to this embodiment, by providing the reactor information as the information of the carrier 110, it is possible to give the reactor information as the wafer information to the wafer 200 existing in the carrier 110. According to the present embodiment, by using this reactor information as a transfer interlock, the wafer 200 can be used only for the target process module PM, and more precise process processing can be performed. Here, in addition to the reactor information, the wafer information has wafer ID information, wafer type information, current position information, current processing state, and current movement state as basic information.

The control unit 121 is configured to output an OK (no abnormality) response by collating the slot map in the carrier 110 and acquire reactor information as wafer information. Further, it is configured to acquire the basic information. It should be noted that even if the wafer 200 is transferred to an unintended process module PM, the control unit 121 is configured to emit an alarm and control the wafer 200 not to be transferred.

(Job registration process)
(S400) When the process specification and the material specification are designated, that is, after the film forming processing request from the operator or the customer host computer is received and registered in the job queue, the control unit 121 displays 9A is configured to start the job registration (generation) process. The information notified by the film formation processing request includes the sequence recipe used during film formation, the process parameters corresponding to the sequence recipe, the product wafer 200 to be processed, the carrier 110 of the monitor wafer 200, and the inside of the carrier 110. It is an item number (number) of a holding portion (slot) for mounting the wafer 200.

Further, the item numbers of the slots (hereinafter, also referred to as slot numbers) are added in order from the bottom, like the boat 217. Further, the control unit 121 determines the priorities of the wafers 200 placed in the carriers 110 and the slots in the order of receiving the information notified by the film formation processing request. That is, since the priorities are assigned in the order in which the information is acquired by the controller 121, the priorities of the wafers 200 are determined in the order of the slot numbers, for example.

(S401) The control unit 121 confirms the process specifications. Specifically, the specified recipe is stored in the storage unit 121c, and it is confirmed that the parameters used in the recipe are set correctly. (S402) Process specifications are organized in process module units. That is, the control unit 121 selects the recipe specified this time from the recipes stored in the storage unit 121c in advance and determines the desired process specifications.

(S403) The control unit 121 then confirms the material specifications. Specifically, it is confirmed whether the wafer 200 is the wafer 200 in the carrier 110 that has not been processed and the carrier 110 is not reserved for processing by another job.

(S404) The wafer processing capacity that can be processed by all the processing modules PM is confirmed. Specifically, in order to grasp the processed wafer capacity of the processing module PM in advance, the control unit 121 preliminarily determines the number of wafers for each wafer type to be used from the wafer arrangement parameter WAP stored in advance in the storage unit 121c. calculate.

The control unit 121 calculates the total number of substrates to be used in this processing, and calculates the number of all the substrates according to the wafer layout on the boat 217 for all the wafer types supported by the substrate processing apparatus 10. Next, the control unit 121 confirms that the maximum value and the minimum value of the number of substrates for the wafer types used in the process modules PM1 and PM2 are the same.

(S405) The control unit 121 executes the material specification confirmation processing sequence shown in FIG. 9B based on the processing wafer capacities of the process module PM1 and the process module PM2 calculated in S404. The details of the material specification confirmation processing sequence shown in FIG. 9B will be described below.

(S410) If the maximum number of processed wafers in the process module PM1 (or PM2) is less than the total number of processed wafers, all processed wafers are collected in the process module PM1 (or PM2) (S411), and the order shown in the job generation The wafers 200 to be processed are arranged in the order of priority obtained in S400 (S412). Here, the processing target wafer 200 is determined in the order of the numbers of the carriers 110 and in the order of the slot numbers of the carriers 110, and the result is stored in the material processing order 1 (S413).

(S410) If the maximum number of processed wafers in the process module PM1 (or PM2) is not less than the total number of processed wafers, the processed wafers 200 are distributed to a plurality of process modules PM (S414). First, it is determined whether the wafer-based uniform distribution is set (S415).

If the wafer unit uniform distribution is set, the processing target wafers 200 are arranged in the order shown in the job generation (the priority order acquired in S400), and the processing target wafers 200 are proportionally distributed (S416). The results are stored in the areas corresponding to the material processing order 1 and the material processing order 2 in the storage unit 121c (S417). In particular, the wafers 200 to be processed are ordered by the process module PM, by the carrier 110, and The processing order is determined in the order of the slot numbers of the carriers 110.

When the carrier unit is equally set (S418), the carrier combination of the (2 ^N -2)/2 pattern (N: number of carriers) is calculated (S419). Among the calculated combinations, a combination having a maximum value equal to or larger than the total number of sheets is extracted (S420), and a combination having the smallest proportional division is selected (S421). The results are stored in the areas corresponding to the material processing order 1 and the material processing order 2 in the storage unit 121c, respectively (S417).

In this way, the control unit 121 transfers all the processing target wafers 200 to the process module PM1 (or PM2) if the maximum number of processing wafers in the process module PM1 (or PM2) is equal to or larger than the total number of processing target wafers. Is configured to perform the process. In particular, if the total number of wafers to be processed is less than the maximum number of wafers that can be stored in the carrier 110 (25 wafers in this embodiment), all the wafers 200 to be processed are transferred to the process module PM1 (or PM2) to be processed. Preferably.

Further, if the maximum number of processed wafers in the process module PM1 (or PM2) is smaller than the total number of wafers to be processed, the control unit 121 distributes and conveys the processed modules to the process modules PM1 and PM2, and performs the process processing twice. Is configured. If the total number of wafers to be processed is equal to or larger than the maximum number of wafers that can be accommodated in the carrier 110 (25 wafers in this embodiment), the wafers 200 to be processed are distributed and transferred to the process modules PM1 and PM2. Good.

(Job execution processing)
(S501) After the job registration (generation), the control unit 121 periodically (every 1 second in this embodiment) monitors the presence or absence of a job execution instruction. Then, when a job execution instruction is received from the host controller or the operation unit 122, the processing for selecting the processing module shown in FIG. 10A is started.

(S502) The control unit 121 picks up an available processing module PM. The condition of this pickup is that the processing module PM is not in the execution prohibited state but in the material processing standby state.

When there is no picked-up processing module PM (S503), the control unit 121 remains in a standby state (waiting for selection), and in one case (S504), the selection of an available processing module PM is confirmed, and The process ends (S505).

When there are a plurality of picked-up processing modules PM (S506), the control unit 121 confirms whether only one processing module PM is used (S507). In the case of No in S507, the usable processing module PM is selected according to the maintenance item selection parameter shown in FIG. 6A, and this processing is ended (S512). The selection of the usable processing module PM in S512 will be described later. On the other hand, if Yes in S507, the processing module is picked up again including the number of dummy wafers (S508).

When there are a plurality of picked-up processing modules PM (S506), or when there are no picked-up processing modules PM (S503), the control unit 121 selects an available processing module PM in S512, which will be described later, and ends this processing (S512). When the number of the processing modules PM picked up is one (S504), the control unit 121 determines the selection of the usable processing modules PM, and ends the present processing (S505).

A flow for selecting the processing module PM in S512 is shown in FIG. 10B. (S520) The control unit 121 acquires the processing module PM selection method from the device parameters (maintenance item selection parameters) shown in FIG. 6A which are stored in advance in the storage unit 121c. Specifically, the maintenance number defined in the maintenance item is acquired.

(S521) The control unit 121 confirms whether the maintenance number is “00”. In the case of YES (S522), the processing module PM used last is referred to, the processing module PM other than this processing module PM is selected, and the processing module to be used is decided. In case of No, it is confirmed whether the maintenance number is "01" or "02" (S523).

When the maintenance number is “01” or “02”, the control unit 121 selects the processing module PM1 if “01” and determines the processing module to be used. If it is "02", the processing module PM2 is selected and the processing module to be used is determined (S524).

If the maintenance number is not "01" or "02" (S525), the current value of the maintenance item of each processing module is acquired, and (S526) the processing module with the smaller current value is selected to determine the processing module to be used. .. When the current values are the same, the processing module PM1 is selected and the processing module to be used is decided.

When the processing module PM (PM-1) to be used is determined, the control unit 121 then performs batch grouping. Here, the batch group (group) is a block of the processing target wafers 200 that can be processed by one processing module PM at one time, and in principle, the processing target wafers 200 are targeted. Here, the data of the material processing order 1 area in the storage unit 121c is applicable. As a result, a batch set of the processing target wafers 200 to be processed by the processing module PM-1 is created.

At both end portions (upper end portion and lower end portion) of all slots (substrate holding regions) of the boat 217 inserted into the processing module PM, there are a few portions where uniform heating cannot be held, and therefore, several dummy wafers 200 are always provided. Is held in this portion (slot), and the product wafer 200 is held by the holding portion of the slot whose temperature is stable.

In other words, since the dummy wafers 200 are arranged in the substrate holding area where this uniform heating cannot be held, the batch group is configured to include the dummy wafers 200.

Next, the carrier 110 of the dummy wafer 200 to be used and the dummy wafer 200 are selected. A process in which the control unit 121 selects the carrier 110 that uses the dummy wafer 200 and the dummy wafer 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 11A.

(S621) Based on the carrier information, the carrier 110 that uses the dummy wafer 200 is picked up. The presence/absence of the dummy wafer 200 having the slot number 1 in the picked-up carrier 110 is determined. If not, the presence or absence of the dummy wafer 200 of the next slot number 2 is determined.

(S622) If the slot number 1 in the carrier 110 has the dummy wafer 200, it is determined whether the dummy wafer 200 is in the usable state. If it is not in the usable state, it is determined whether or not there is the dummy wafer 200 having the next slot number 2.

(S623) If the dummy wafer 200 with the slot number 1 is in the usable state, it is determined whether or not the current process processing is executed by the processing module PM1. If YES, the processing module PM1 or the dummy wafer 200 designated as "AUTO" is selected from the wafer information of the dummy wafer 200. If No, the processing module PM2 or the dummy wafer 200 designated as "AUTO" is selected.

(S624) 1 is added to the selected number (default is 0), (S625) Wafer information of this dummy wafer 200 is stored in the storage unit 121c, and the presence or absence of the dummy wafer 200 of the next slot number 2 is determined. Then, the steps from S622 to S625 are executed by the number of slot numbers.

After that, for the next dummy carrier (carrier for storing the dummy wafer 200) 110, the processes from S622 to S625 are performed for the number of slot numbers. Then, when the wafer information of all the dummy wafers 200 corresponding to the number of the dummy carriers 110 picked up in S621 is stored in the storage unit 121c, this processing flow ends.

Then, the control unit 121 confirms whether the number of wafers 200 is sufficient to form a batch group including the dummy wafers 200.

(S600) Next, the control unit 121 is configured to execute a sequence recipe including three steps of preprocessing (standby step), main processing (main step), and postprocessing (end step). In the pretreatment, the wafer 200 is transferred from the carrier 110 to the boat 217. The control unit 121 further adds the selected material information of the dummy wafer 200 stored in the storage unit 121c in addition to the substrate arrangement defined in the material processing order 1 region and the material processing order 2 region in the storage unit 121c. Using the substrate transfer data, various wafers 200 are sequentially transferred to the boat 217 installed below the processing module PM. Here, before creating the substrate transfer data, the control unit 121 determines the selection of the dummy wafer 200 to be finally used and the transfer order using FIG. 11B.

Next, with reference to FIG. 11B, a process in which the control unit 121 selects the dummy wafers 200 to be used and prioritizes the dummy wafers 200 and sorts them in the order of use will be described.

The control unit 121 acquires the selected material information stored in the storage unit 121c in accordance with the information of the process module PM to be processed, and determines whether the dummy wafer 200 is the "AUTO"-designated dummy wafer 200 based on the acquired selected material information. The control unit 121 stores the dummy wafers 200 designated by “AUTO” only in the AUTO area and the PM designated area storing the dummy wafers 200 designated by other than “AUTO” respectively. When the storage processing in the selected material information is completed by the number of selections acquired in the selected material information, the dummy wafers 200 stored in the PM designated area are used this time such that the dummy wafers 200 are used before the dummy wafers 200 stored in the AUTO area. Store in the possible material information area.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dummy wafer 200 dedicated to a specific processing module is used, and if the dummy wafer 200 is in short supply, the dummy wafer 200 shared by the processing modules is used to efficiently operate the dummy wafer 200. can do. Therefore, when the material processing is performed in the substrate processing apparatus 10, the dummy wafer 200 used can be efficiently used. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the replacement of the dummy wafer 200, the carrier 110 accommodating the dummy wafer 200 can be easily replaced by using a specific dummy wafer 200. Here, the dummy wafer 200 includes both side dummy substrates and supplementary dummy substrates.

FIG. 12A shows an example of the substrate transfer data. The substrate transfer data includes information indicating the order in which the wafers 200 are processed, transfer source information of the wafers 200 mounted on the boat 217, and transfer destination information indicating the processing chamber 201 that processes the wafers 200. The substrate transfer data indicates, as transfer source information, information indicating the type and item number of the carrier 110 in which the wafer 200 mounted on the boat 217 is stored, and the slot number in which the wafer 200 is mounted in the carrier 110. Including information, the destination information includes information indicating the slot number of the boat 217. In FIG. 12A, the substrate transfer data shows only the processing module PM1, but the processing module PM2 has the same configuration.

Next, the creation of the substrate transfer data shown in FIG. 12A will be described with reference to FIG. Specifically, (S611) the arrangement of the wafers 200 on the boat 217 for transporting the wafers 200 to the boat 217 for the selected processing module PM-1 is set. (S612) The control unit 121 determines the order in which the wafers 200 are transferred from the arrangement of the wafers 200 obtained in S611. (S613) The control unit 121 determines the order in which the carriers 110 of the wafers 200 are transferred to the pod opener 21 based on the transfer order of the wafers 200.

(S611) Since the uniform heat cannot be held at both ends (upper end and lower end) of all the slots (substrate holding region) of the boat 217, the product wafer 200 cannot be placed. Arranges the dummy wafer 200. Specifically, the control unit 121 holds the soaking among all the slots (46 slots in FIG. 12) of the boat 217 of the transfer destination for the selected processing module PM-1. The dummy wafer 200 is arranged at both end portions (upper slot from the upper end to the second slot and lower portion from the lower end to the third slot) that cannot be formed. Then, the control unit 121 has the monitor wafer 200 at three positions, that is, the central portion (24 slots) of all the slots and the slots (4 slots, 44 slots) where the uniform heat is held at the boundary between both ends where the uniform heat cannot be held. Are configured to be placed. Finally, the control unit 121 sets the product wafer 200 to be placed in a slot other than the dummy wafer 200 and the monitor wafer 200.

(S612) The control unit 121 determines the order in which the wafers 200 are transferred from the arrangement of the wafers 200, based on the carrier 110 information of the various wafers 200 and the like. Specifically, the dummy wafer 200 is first transferred to the boat 217 in order to suppress particles during transfer of the wafer 200. Next, the transfer order (described as transfer priority in FIG. 12A) is determined so that the product wafer 200 and the monitor wafer 200 are transferred. Further, in FIG. 12A, the transfer order is determined so that the product wafer 200 is transferred first and then the monitor wafer 200 is transferred. That is, it is determined that the dummy wafer 200, the product wafer 200, and the monitor wafer 200 are sequentially transferred to the boat 217.

The control unit 121 also appropriately determines the order of the slot numbers to be taken out in the carrier 110 in association with the transport order (transport priority). In the present embodiment, the wafers to be processed 200 and the dummy wafers 200 are taken out from the carrier 110 in the order of slot numbers. As a result, the control unit 121 creates the substrate transfer data shown in FIG. 12A.

(S613) The control unit 121 determines the order of the carriers 110 transferred to the pod opener 21 based on the order of the various wafers 200 in S612. Here, the carrier (D01) 110 is first placed on the pod opener 21, then the carrier (P01) 110 and the carrier (P02) 110 are placed on the pod opener 21 in this order, and finally, It is determined that the carrier (D01) 110 is placed on the pod opener 21.

Next, when the transfer instruction of the wafer 200 to the boat 217 is received from an arbitrary step in the process recipe, the control unit 121 reads the created substrate transfer data, and the slot on the boat 217 other than the soaking area. The dummy wafer 200 is transferred to the slot, and the product wafer 200 and the monitor wafer 200 are transferred to the slot corresponding to the soaking area on the remaining boat 217 while moving the wafer transfer mechanism 125 up and down.

The controller 121 causes the pod transfer device 130 and the wafer transfer mechanism 125 to transfer the carrier 110 and transfer the wafer 200. Specifically, the carrier (D01) 110 is first placed on the pod opener 21 by the pod transfer device 130, and the dummy wafers 200 are transferred to the boat 217 in the transfer order (transfer priority) by the wafer transfer mechanism 125. To be done. Next, the carrier (P01) 110 and the carrier (P02) 110 are mounted on the pod opener 21 in this order by the pod transfer device 130, and the product wafer 200 is transferred to the boat 217 by the wafer transfer mechanism 125 ( It is transported along the transportation priority). Finally, the pod transfer device 130 mounts the carrier (D01) 110 on the pod opener 21, and the wafer transfer mechanism 125 transfers the monitor wafers 200 to the boat 217 in the transfer order (transfer priority).

Here, if the two carriers 110 can be mounted on the pod opener 21, if the carrier (P01) 110 and the carrier (M01) 110 are mounted, the product wafer 200 and the monitor wafer 200 are separated in the order of transfer. Since the ranking can be continuously performed without any, the transport time can be shortened. It should be noted that if the monitor wafer 200 and the product wafer 200 can be mixed in one carrier 110, the product wafer 200 and the monitor wafer 200 can be sequentially ranked without being divided, and thus the transfer time can be reduced. Can be shortened.

When the transfer of the wafers 200 to the boat 217 is completed, it is confirmed that the transfer position of the wafers 200 is not displaced, and if there is no abnormality, the process recipe defined in the sequence recipe is executed. The substrate processing step described above is performed by the control unit 121 executing the process recipe.

It goes without saying that the processing module PM-2 is performed in the same manner as the processing module PM-1. Here, since the transfer order has priority over the processing module PM-1, the processing order of the processing target wafer 200 is started from 47. Similarly, the slot number of each carrier is also started from 14 of the product carrier (P02) 110, from 4 of the monitor carrier (M01) 110, and from 6 of the dummy carrier (D01) 110. However, the slot number of the dummy carrier (D01) 110 is appropriately determined according to the use priority order sorting result shown in FIG. 11C.

(Other embodiments)
FIG. 12B shows an example of the substrate transfer data in another embodiment. The substrate transfer data indicates the material processing order 1 and the material processing order 2 stored in the storage unit 121c. That is, it is the dummy-less substrate transfer data that does not use the dummy wafers 200, and is the same number as the product wafers 200 in FIG. 12A. Similarly, it includes information indicating the order in which the processing target wafers 200 are processed, and transfer source information of the processing target wafers 200 placed on the boat 217. The transfer source information includes information indicating the carrier 110 in which the processing target wafer 200 is stored and information indicating the slot number in which the processing target wafer 200 is mounted in the carrier 110. Further, similarly to the substrate transfer data shown in FIG. 12A, information indicating the slot number of the boat 217 that is the transport destination information may be added.

FIG. 12B shows a configuration that can be implemented in the future using only the product wafer 200 that does not use the dummy wafer 200. In this configuration, since the product wafer 200 only needs to be used, the time for transferring the wafer 200 to the boat 217 is shortened. .. Further, since it is not necessary to load the dummy wafer 200 into the substrate processing apparatus 10, there is no one contamination source, and the inside of the substrate processing apparatus 10 can be kept clean.

In the above-described embodiment, during loading work of the wafers into the boat 217 by the wafer transfer mechanism 125 on one (left or right) mounting table 122, the other (left or right) mounting table 122 is moved from the pod shelf 105 to the other mounting table 122. Another pod 110 is transported and transferred by the pod transport device 130, and the opening work of the pod 110 by the pod opener 21 is simultaneously advanced.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example of forming a thin film using the substrate processing apparatus having a hot wall type processing furnace has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and has a cold wall type processing furnace. It can be suitably applied to the case where a thin film is formed using the substrate processing apparatus.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that processes a semiconductor wafer such as the substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment but also to an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) manufacturing apparatus that processes a glass substrate.

200... Wafer (substrate)
217... Boat (substrate holder)

Claims (17)

A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
The device parameters including at least the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder and the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder, and the carrier for storing the substrates for each film type are defined. A storage unit for storing each device parameter ,
Transport sequence information indicating the sequence in which the substrates are transported, transport source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and transport destination information indicating a processing chamber in which the substrates are processed according to the apparatus parameters. Substrate transfer data including is created , based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area other than the soaking area among the substrate holding areas on the substrate holder, and a control unit for the product substrate Ru is transferred to the soaking section of the substrate holding region,
Equipped with
The control unit, when creating the substrate transfer data, acquires the device parameters defined in the carrier and determines the processing chamber in which the substrate stored in the carrier is processed according to a loading operation. The substrate processing apparatus configured as described above . The substrate transfer data includes information indicating a carrier in which the product substrate or the dummy substrate placed on the substrate holder is stored as the transfer source information, and the carrier of the product substrate or the dummy substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is configured to include information indicating a slot number to be placed. Furthermore, a monitor board is provided,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the substrate transfer data, the transport order information is set so that the monitor substrate is transported after the product substrate is transported. The control unit selects the substrate transfer data from a plurality of processing chambers when the number of product substrates mounted on the substrate holder is set to be equal to or less than the number of substrates mountable on the substrate holder. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is manufactured so as to be transported to one processing chamber. When the number of product substrates placed on the substrate holder is set to be larger than the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder, the controller creates the substrate transfer data so that the substrate is sorted and transported. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. The control unit creates the substrate transfer data so that the product is placed and conveyed when the number of product substrates placed on the substrate holder is set to be larger than the number of substrates that can be placed on the carrier. Item 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to item 1. The control unit selects the substrate transfer data from a plurality of processing chambers when the number of product substrates mounted on the substrate holder is set to be equal to or less than the number of substrates mountable on the carrier. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is manufactured so as to be transferred to one processing chamber. A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
Device parameters including at least the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder and the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder, and device parameters in which maintenance items and maintenance numbers are defined are stored. A storage unit that
Transport sequence information indicating the sequence in which the substrates are transported, transport source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and transport destination information indicating a processing chamber in which the substrates are processed according to the apparatus parameters. Substrate transfer data including is created, based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area other than the soaking area among the substrate holding areas on the substrate holder, A control unit that transfers the product substrate to a soaking region of the substrate holding region,
Equipped with
Wherein the control unit, the current value in each processing chamber of the maintenance items defined items corresponding to the maintenance number is compared respectively, configured to have that board processing to determine the processing chamber for transferring the substrate apparatus. A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
An apparatus parameter including at least the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder and the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder, and a login parameter that sets an available processing chamber for each login user, Alternatively, a storage unit that stores carrier parameters for setting usable processing chambers for each carrier type ,
Transport sequence information indicating the sequence in which the substrates are transported, transport source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and transport destination information indicating a processing chamber in which the substrates are processed according to the apparatus parameters. Substrate transfer data including is created, based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area other than the soaking area among the substrate holding areas on the substrate holder, A control unit that transfers the product substrate to a soaking region of the substrate holding region,
Equipped with
When the film type for processing the product substrate is different for each processing chamber , the control unit determines the processing chamber for transferring the substrate according to the content of the login parameter, and the film type for processing the product substrate. The substrate processing apparatus is configured to determine the processing chamber in which the substrate is transferred according to the content of the carrier parameter. Furthermore, an operation unit having a setting screen for setting the login parameters is provided,
The operation unit further has a setting screen configured to be able to set the type and number of carriers to be used,
Wherein, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, which is configured to display the carrier set by the setting screen during projection-in operation at the operating unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of product substrates is 25 or more and 100 or less. Number of substrates mountable on a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including product substrates and dummy substrates, device parameters including at least the number of product substrates mounted on the substrate holder, and for each film type Transport order information indicating the sequence in which the substrates are transported , transport source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and the substrate according to the device parameter defined in the carrier in which the substrate is stored. A step of creating substrate transfer data including transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber for processing
Based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area on the substrate holder other than the soaking area, and the remaining substrate holding areas on the substrate holder are evenly moved. Transferring the product substrate to the thermal area ,
Loading the substrate holder into a furnace to process the product substrate,
In the step of creating the substrate transfer data to get the device parameters defined in the carrier, substrate stored in said carrier to have a process for determining the processing chamber to be processed in accordance with the closing operation Manufacturing method of semiconductor device. A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
A transfer mechanism for loading the substrate onto the substrate holder,
A program executed by a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a controller configured to transfer the substrate to the substrate holder by the transfer mechanism;
In the control unit,
Device parameters that include at least the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder, the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder, and device parameters defined for the carrier that stores the substrates for each film type According to the above, a substrate including transfer order information indicating an order in which the substrates are transferred , transfer source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber for processing the substrates. A procedure for creating transfer data and a procedure for transferring the substrate to the transfer mechanism according to the created substrate transfer data, wherein the temperature distribution is uniform in the substrate holding area on the substrate holder. to transfer a dummy substrate on the substrate holding region other than the region, the procedure causes transfer the product substrate in the soaking section of a substrate holding area on the front Stories substrate holder, is executed,
In the procedure for creating the substrate transfer data,
A program that causes the control unit to execute a procedure of acquiring the device parameter defined in the carrier and determining the processing chamber in which the substrate stored in the carrier is processed according to a loading operation . The number of substrates that can be placed on a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including product substrates and dummy substrates, device parameters including at least the number of product substrates that are placed on the substrate holder, maintenance items and maintenance Transfer order information indicating the order in which the substrates are transferred, transfer source information of the substrates to be placed on the substrate holder, and a processing chamber for processing the substrates according to the device parameters whose numbers are respectively defined. And a step of creating substrate transfer data including transfer destination information indicating
Based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area other than the soaking area of the substrate holding area on the substrate holder, and the dummy board is placed in the soaking area of the substrate holding area on the substrate holder. A step of transferring the substrate,
In the step of creating the substrate transfer data,
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: comparing the current values of the items defined in the maintenance item corresponding to the maintenance number in the respective processing chambers to determine the processing chamber in which the substrate is transferred. A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
A transfer mechanism for loading the substrate onto the substrate holder,
A program executed by a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a controller configured to transfer the substrate to the substrate holder by the transfer mechanism;
In the control unit,
Depending on the device parameters including at least the number of substrates that can be placed on the substrate holder and the number of product substrates placed on the substrate holder, and the device parameters for which maintenance items and maintenance numbers are defined, respectively. Substrate transfer data including transfer order information indicating an order in which the substrates are transferred, transfer source information of the substrates placed on the substrate holder, and transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber in which the substrates are processed. And the procedure to make
A procedure for transferring the substrate to the transfer mechanism according to the created substrate transfer data, wherein the substrate holding area on the substrate holder other than the soaking area is based on the substrate transfer data. A step of moving the dummy substrate to the substrate holding region of, and moving the product substrate to a soaking region of the substrate holding region on the substrate holder.
In the procedure for creating the substrate transfer data,
A program that causes the controller to execute a procedure of comparing the current values of the items defined in the maintenance item corresponding to the maintenance number in the respective processing chambers and determining the processing chamber in which the substrate is transferred. The number of substrates that can be placed on a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including product substrates and dummy substrates, device parameters including at least the number of product substrates placed on the substrate holder, and for each logged-in user Transfer order information indicating an order in which the substrates are transferred according to a login parameter for setting the usable process chambers or a carrier parameter for setting the usable process chambers for each carrier type, and the substrate holding Transfer source information of the substrate placed on the tool, and a step of creating substrate transfer data including transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber for processing the substrate,
Based on the substrate transfer data, the dummy substrate is transferred to a substrate holding area other than the soaking area of the substrate holding area on the substrate holder, and the dummy board is placed in a soaking area of the substrate holding area on the substrate holder A step of transferring the substrate,
In the step of creating the substrate transfer data,
When the film type for processing the product substrate is different for each processing chamber, the processing chamber for transporting the substrate is determined according to the content of the login parameter, and the film type for processing the product substrate is the same, A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the step of determining the processing chamber in which the substrate is transferred according to the content of the carrier parameter. A substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including a product substrate and a dummy substrate,
A transfer mechanism for loading the substrate onto the substrate holder,
A program executed by a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a controller configured to transfer the substrate to the transfer mechanism to the substrate holder;
In the control unit,
The number of substrates that can be placed on a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates including product substrates and dummy substrates, device parameters including at least the number of product substrates placed on the substrate holder, and for each logged-in user Transfer order information indicating an order in which the substrates are transferred according to a login parameter for setting the usable process chambers or a carrier parameter for setting the usable process chambers for each carrier type, and the substrate holding Transfer source information of the substrate to be placed on a tool, a procedure for creating substrate transfer data including transfer destination information indicating a processing chamber for processing the substrate,
A procedure for transferring the substrate to the transfer mechanism according to the created substrate transfer data, wherein the substrate holding area on the substrate holder other than the soaking area is based on the substrate transfer data. A step of moving the dummy substrate to the substrate holding region of, and moving the product substrate to a soaking region of the substrate holding region on the substrate holder.
In the procedure for creating the substrate transfer data,
In the step of creating the substrate transfer data, when the film type for processing the product substrate is different for each processing chamber, the processing chamber to transfer the substrate is determined according to the contents of the login parameter, and the product is transferred. A program that causes the control unit to execute a procedure of determining the processing chamber in which the substrate is transferred according to the content of the carrier parameter when the film types processed on the substrate are the same.