JP7137976B2 - Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus.

In Patent Document 1, two load lock chambers provided adjacent to a loading/unloading section, PHT processing apparatuses provided adjacent to the respective load lock chambers, and PHT processing apparatuses provided adjacent to the respective PHT processing apparatuses. A COR processor is disclosed. According to the gas processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of wafers are controlled to be continuously transferred to each processing apparatus according to instructions from the process controller.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-160000

The technology according to the present disclosure efficiently performs such repeated processing when repeatedly performing COR processing and heat processing on the same substrate in a substrate processing apparatus.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate using a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus includes a COR module for performing COR processing on a substrate, a heating module for performing heat processing on the substrate, a cooling module for performing a cooling process on the substrate, the substrate processing method comprising: a COR processing step of performing a COR process on the substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere in the COR module; thereafter, transferring the substrate to the heating module; a heating process for heating the substrate in the heating module under a reduced pressure atmosphere; and a cooling process for transferring the substrate to the cooling module and cooling the substrate in the cooling module in the atmospheric atmosphere. and repeatedly performing a processing cycle including the COR processing step, the heating processing step and the cooling processing step on the same substrate, wherein the processing cycle comprises rotating the substrate in a horizontal direction before the COR processing step. and changing the orientation of the substrate from the reference position by a predetermined angle in the position adjustment step for each processing cycle, and the predetermined angle is 360 degrees. is determined by dividing by

According to the present disclosure, when repeatedly performing COR processing and heat processing on the same substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, such repeated processing can be performed efficiently.

It is a top view which shows the outline of a structure of the substrate processing apparatus concerning this embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a wafer transfer recipe according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a wafer transfer recipe according to the second embodiment; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a wafer transfer recipe according to the third embodiment;

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, various processing steps are performed in which a processing module containing a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "wafer") is placed in a decompressed state and a predetermined processing is performed on the wafer. Further, these multiple processing steps are performed using a substrate processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing modules are arranged around a common transfer module, for example.

Examples of the predetermined processing performed in the substrate processing apparatus include COR (Chemical Oxide Removal) processing, PHT (Post Heat Treatment) processing, and the like, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200012. The COR process is a process of reacting an oxide film formed on a wafer with a processing gas. The PHT process is a heat process that heats and vaporizes the products produced in the COR process. By continuously performing these COR processing and PHT processing, the oxide film formed on the wafer is etched.

By the way, COR processing may be performed in a low temperature environment (for example, about 20° C.). When COR processing is performed in such a low-temperature environment, the thickness that can be etched by one COR processing is limited. Therefore, in order to achieve a desired etching thickness, the same wafer may be repeatedly subjected to COR processing and PHT processing multiple times.

In addition, when the process is repeated in this way, in order to perform the COR process again in a low-temperature environment on the wafer heated by the PHT process, the heated wafer is cooled and then the COR process is performed. It needs to be transported to the COR module. Hereinafter, this wafer cooling process is referred to as "CST (Cooling Storage) process". In such a case, the CST module for cooling the wafer is placed under atmospheric pressure from the viewpoint of cooling efficiency.

Thus, repeated processing cycles consisting of COR processing, PHT processing and CST processing may be required. Conventionally, however, no consideration has been given to efficiently performing this repeating cycle.

Therefore, the technology according to the present disclosure efficiently performs such repetitive processing when repeatedly performing COR processing, PHT processing, and the like in a substrate processing apparatus. Specifically, a plurality of processing cycles are performed in one substrate processing apparatus without straddling a plurality of apparatuses. In the substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of processing cycles is realized by performing so-called multi-visit transfer, in which wafers are transferred to a plurality of modules a plurality of times.

The configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, elements having substantially the same functional configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant description.

<Substrate processing equipment>
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with various processing modules for performing COR processing, PHT processing, and CST processing on a wafer W as a substrate. Note that the module configuration of the substrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and may be arbitrarily selected.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a configuration in which an atmosphere section 10 and a decompression section 11 are integrally connected via load lock modules 20a and 20b. The atmospheric part 10 includes a plurality of atmospheric modules that perform predetermined processing on the wafer W under atmospheric pressure. The decompression unit 11 includes a plurality of decompression modules that perform predetermined processing on the wafer W in a decompressed atmosphere.

The load lock module 20 a temporarily holds the wafer W transferred from the loader module 30 of the atmosphere section 10 , which will be described later, to the transfer module 40 of the decompression section 11 , which will be described later. The load lock module 20a has an upper stocker 21a and a lower stocker 21b that hold two wafers W so as to overlap each other.

Also, the load lock module 20a is connected to a loader module 30, which will be described later, through a gate 22b provided with a gate valve 22a. This gate valve 22a ensures airtightness and communication between the load lock module 20a and the loader module 30 at the same time. Also, the load lock module 20a is connected to a transfer module 40, which will be described later, via a gate 23b provided with a gate valve 23a. The gate valve 23a ensures airtightness and communication between the load lock module 20a and the transfer module 40 at the same time.

Further, an air supply unit (not shown) for supplying gas and an exhaust unit (not shown) for discharging gas are connected to the load lock module 20a, and the air supply unit and the exhaust unit create an atmosphere of atmospheric pressure. It is configured to be switchable to a reduced pressure atmosphere. That is, the load lock module 20a is configured so that the wafer W can be transferred appropriately between the atmosphere section 10 having an atmospheric pressure atmosphere and the decompression section 11 having a decompression atmosphere.

The load lock module 20b has the same configuration as the load lock module 20a. That is, the load lock module 20b has an upper stocker 24a and a lower stocker 24b, a gate valve 25a and a gate 25b on the loader module 30 side, and a gate valve 26a and a gate 26b on the transfer module 40 side.

The atmospheric part 10 includes a loader module 30 having a wafer transfer mechanism (not shown), a load port 32 for mounting a FOUP 31 capable of storing a plurality of wafers W, a CST module 33 for cooling the wafers W, an orienter module 34 for adjusting the horizontal orientation of the wafer W;

The loader module 30 has a rectangular housing inside, and the inside of the housing is maintained at atmospheric pressure. A plurality of, for example, three load ports 32 are arranged side by side on one side surface that constitutes the long side of the housing of the loader module 30 . The load lock modules 20a and 20b and the CST module 33 are arranged side by side on the other side surface constituting the long side of the housing of the loader module 30. As shown in FIG. An orienter module 34 is arranged on one side of the housing of the loader module 30 that constitutes the short side. The arrangement and number of the CST modules 33 and the orienter modules 34 are not limited to those of this embodiment, and can be designed arbitrarily. The loader module 30 also has a wafer transfer mechanism (not shown) that can move in the longitudinal direction inside the housing. The wafer transfer mechanism can transfer the wafer W between the FOUP 31 placed on the load port 32, the load lock modules 20a and 20b, the CST module 33, and the orienter module . The configuration of the wafer transfer mechanism is the same as the configuration of the wafer transfer mechanism 50, which will be described later.

The FOUP 31 accommodates a plurality of wafers W, for example 25 wafers per lot, stacked at equal intervals in multiple stages. Further, the inside of the FOUP 31 placed on the load port 32 is filled with air, nitrogen gas, or the like, for example, and sealed.

The CST module 33 is arranged adjacent to the load lock module 20b and connected to the loader module 30. As shown in FIG. The CST module 33 can accommodate a plurality of wafers W, for example, more than the number of wafers W that can be accommodated in the FOUP 31 so as to be stacked in multiple stages at equal intervals, and cools the plurality of wafers W. As shown in FIG. Specifically, the CST module 33 cools the wafer W heated in the PHT module 42, which will be described later.

The orienter module 34 rotates the wafer W for horizontal orientation adjustment. Specifically, the orienter module 34 is adjusted so that the orientation from the horizontal direction from the reference position (for example, the notch position) is the same for each processing cycle when repeating the processing cycle described later.

The decompression unit 11 has a transfer module 40 for simultaneously transferring two wafers W, a COR module 41 for performing COR processing on the wafers W transferred from the transfer module 40, and a PHT module 42 for performing PHT processing. there is The insides of the transfer module 40, the COR module 41, and the PHT module 42 are each maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

In the decompression unit 11, the wafer W undergoes a series of processes, in this embodiment, a COR process and a PHT process. One COR module 41 and one PHT module 42 that perform such a series of processes constitute one "decompression module group". will be

The transfer module 40 is provided with a plurality of decompression module groups, for example, three groups in this embodiment, along the longitudinal direction of the transfer module 40 . In the following description, these three decompression module groups are referred to as decompression module groups A, B, and C in order from the atmosphere section 10 side. Also, the COR modules and PHT modules that constitute the decompression module groups A, B, and C are referred to as COR modules 41A, 41B, 41C and PHT modules 42A, 42B, 42C, respectively. The combination of the COR module 41 and the PHT module 42 that constitute the decompression module group can be set arbitrarily. For example, as in a second embodiment described later, the decompression module group Ba may be composed of the COR module 41B and the PHT module 42A.

The transfer module 40 has a rectangular housing inside, and transfers the wafer W loaded into the load lock module 20a to one decompression module group. to the atmospheric part 10.

Inside the COR module 41 are provided two stages 43a and 43b on which two wafers W are horizontally arranged and placed. The COR module 41 performs COR processing on two wafers W at the same time by placing the wafers W side by side on the stages 43a and 43b. The COR module 41 is also connected to an air supply section (not shown) for supplying processing gas, purge gas, etc. and an exhaust section (not shown) for discharging gas.

Inside the PHT module 42 are provided two stages 44a and 44b on which two wafers W are placed horizontally. The PHT module 42 performs PHT processing on two wafers W at the same time by placing the wafers W side by side on the stages 44a and 44b. The PHT module 42 is connected to an air supply section (not shown) for supplying gas and an exhaust section (not shown) for discharging gas.

A wafer transfer mechanism 50 for transferring the wafer W is provided inside the transfer module 40 . The wafer transfer mechanism 50 includes transfer arms 51a and 51b that hold and move two wafers W so as to overlap each other, a turntable 52 that rotatably supports the transfer arms 51a and 51b, and a rotary table 52 mounted thereon. and a transfer table 53 . A guide rail 54 extending in the longitudinal direction of the transfer module 40 is provided inside the transfer module 40 . Rotating table 53 is provided on guide rail 54 so that wafer transfer mechanism 50 can move along guide rail 54 .

Transfer module 40 is connected to load lock modules 20a, 20b via gate valves 23a, 26a as described above. A COR module 41 is connected to the transfer module 40 via a gate 55b provided with a gate valve 55a. Such a gate valve 55a ensures airtightness and communication between the transfer module 40 and the COR module 41 at the same time. Furthermore, the PHT module 42 is connected to the transfer module 40 via a gate 56b provided with a gate valve 56a. Such a gate valve 56a ensures airtightness and communication between the transfer module 40 and the PHT module 42 at the same time.

In the transfer module 40 , the two wafers W held so as to overlap the upper stocker 21 a and the lower stocker 21 b in the load lock module 20 a are received so as to overlap with the transfer arm 51 a and transferred to the COR module 41 . Also, the two wafers W subjected to the COR process are held so that the transfer arms 51 a overlap each other, and are transferred to the PHT module 42 . Furthermore, the two wafers W subjected to the PHT process are held so that the transfer arms 51b overlap each other, and are unloaded to the load lock module 20b.

A controller 60 is provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above. The control unit 60 is, for example, a computer, and has a program storage unit (not shown). A program for controlling the processing of the wafer W in the substrate processing apparatus 1 is stored in the program storage unit. The program storage unit stores a control program for controlling various processes by the processor and a program for transporting the wafer W to each component of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the processing conditions, that is, a transport recipe. It is The program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium and installed in the control unit 60 from the storage medium.

<First Embodiment>
The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, wafer processing in the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described according to the transfer recipe of the wafer W. FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the transfer recipe of the wafer W according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, wafer processing is performed by continuously processing two wafers W of one lot (25 wafers) housed in the FOUP 31 . Here, W ₁ to W ₂₅ in FIG. 2 are numbered from 1 to 25 in the order in which the wafers W in one lot (25 wafers) are processed. Further, _WD in FIG. 2 is a dummy wafer paired with the wafer _W25 in the double-wafer processing. Furthermore, the thick frame lines in the drawing enclose and indicate processing units of wafer processing that are continuously performed. In the following description, this processing unit of wafer processing is called a processing group, and in this embodiment, wafers W ₁ to W ₂₅ and dummy wafer W _D constitute one processing group.

First, the FOUP 31 accommodating one lot (25 wafers) of wafers W is placed on the load port 32 . After that, the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are taken out from the FOUP 31 by the loader module 30 and loaded into the load lock module 20a. When the two wafers W are loaded into the load lock module 20a, the gate valve 22a is closed to seal the inside of the load lock module 20a and reduce the pressure. After that, the gate valve 23a is opened, and the inside of the load lock module 20a and the inside of the transfer module 40 are communicated with each other.

Next, when the load lock module 20a and the transfer module 40 are communicated with each other, the _two wafers W1 and W2 _are held by the transfer arm 51a of the wafer transfer mechanism 50 so as to overlap each other, and are transferred from the load lock module 20a to the transfer module 40. be done. Subsequently, the wafer transfer mechanism 50 moves to the front of the COR module 41A.

Next, the gate valve 55a is opened, and the transfer arm _{51a holding the two wafers} W1 and W2 enters the COR module 41A. Then, the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are placed one by one on the stages 43a and 43b from the carrier arm 51a. After that, the transfer arm 51a is withdrawn from the COR module 41A.

Next, when the transfer arm 51a leaves the COR module 41A, the gate valve 55a is closed and the _two wafers W1 and W2 _are subjected to COR processing in the COR module 41A (step 1 in FIG. 2).

Next, when the COR processing in the COR module 41A is completed, the gate valve 55a is opened and the transfer arm 51a enters the COR module 41A. Then, the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are transferred from the stages 43a and 43b to the transfer arm 51a, and are held by the transfer arm 51a so that the _two wafers W ₁ and W2 are overlapped. After that, the transfer arm 51a is withdrawn from the COR module 41A, and the gate valve 55a is closed.

Next, the wafer transfer mechanism 50 moves to the front of the PHT module 42A. Subsequently, the gate valve 56a is opened, and the transfer arm _{51a holding the two wafers} W1 and W2 enters the PHT module 42A. Then, the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are placed one by one on the stages 44a and 44b from the transfer arm 51a. After that, the transfer arm 51a is withdrawn from the PHT module 42A. Subsequently, the gate valve 56a is closed, and PHT processing is performed on the _two wafers W1 and W2 (step ₂ in FIG. 2).

At this time, the next two wafers W ₃ and W ₄ are taken out from the FOUP 31, loaded into the load lock module 20a, and transported through the transfer module 40 to the COR module 41A. Subsequently, COR processing is performed on the two wafers W ₃ and W ₄ (step 2 in FIG. 2).

Next, when the PHT processing of the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ is completed, the gate valve 56a is opened and the carrier arm 51b enters the PHT module 42A. Then, the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are transferred from the stages 44a and 44b to the transfer arm 51b, and the _two wafers W ₁ and W2 are held by the transfer arm 51b. After that, the transfer arm 51b is withdrawn from the PHT module 42A, and the gate valve 56a is closed.

After that, the gate valve 26a is opened, and the wafer transfer mechanism 50 loads the _two wafers W1 and _W2 into the load lock module 20b. When the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are loaded into the load lock module 20b, the gate valve 26a is closed to seal the inside of the load lock module 20b and open it to the atmosphere. After that, the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are loaded into the CST module 33 by the loader module 30 and subjected to CST processing. (Step 3 in FIG. 2).

At this time, the two wafers W ₃ and W ₄ for which the COR process has been completed are transferred to the PHT module 42A by the transfer arm 51a. Subsequently, PHT processing is performed on the two wafers W ₃ and W ₄ (step 3 in FIG. 2). Furthermore, the next two wafers W ₅ and W ₆ are taken out from the FOUP 31, loaded into the load lock module 20a, and transferred via the transfer module 40 to the COR module 41A. Subsequently, COR processing is performed on the two wafers W ₅ and W ₆ (step 3 in FIG. 2).

The two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ transferred to the CST module 33 are stored in the FOUP 31 placed on the load port 32 by the loader module 30 when the CST processing for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) is completed. A standby state is established until the processing of the other wafers W ₃ to W ₂₅ is completed.

In this way, a "processing cycle" consisting of a series of COR processing, PHT processing, and CST processing is sequentially performed on all wafers W ₁ to W ₂₅ and dummy wafer W _D (steps 4 to 15 in FIG. 2). .

A series of processing cycles for the wafer W is as described above. However, as described above, the etching amount of the wafer W in one processing cycle is limited. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat the processing cycle for one wafer W to obtain a desired etching amount.

Then, a series of processing cycles is completed, and the COR processing in the COR module _41A of the last _two wafers _W25 and WD is completed for the _two wafers W1 and W2 stored in the FOUP 31, and the PHT is completed. When transported to the module 42A, it is transported again to the COR module 41A. That is, at the timing when the COR processing of all wafers W in one lot constituting the processing group is completed and the COR module 41A can be used again, the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are reloaded into the COR module 41A and CORed. processed (step 14 in FIG. 2).

In this way, the series of processing cycles are started again at the timing when the last wafer W ₂₅ and the dummy wafer WD in one lot are transferred to the _PHT module 42 after the COR processing is completed. can be repeated.

If another decompression module group capable of executing the same processing cycle is provided, the processing cycle may be repeated using the other decompression module group. That is, for example, as shown in step 27 of FIG. 2, the next repeated processing cycle may be controlled to be executed in decompression module group B instead of decompression module group A. FIG. Thus, even when the processing cycle is restarted in another decompression module group, the next processing cycle can be efficiently started as described above.

The number of times the processing cycle is repeated is arbitrary, but in this embodiment, it is six times, for example. After a predetermined number of processing cycles are completed for the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ (step 68 in FIG. 2), the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are stored in the FOUP 31 in the loader module 30 . , is in a standby state. After a predetermined number of processing cycles for all the wafers W ₁ to W ₂₅ have been completed (step 80 in FIG. 2), and the last wafer W ₂₅ is accommodated in the FOUP 31, the series of processes in the substrate processing apparatus 1 is completed. wafer processing is completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in repeating a series of processing cycles in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the wafer W heated in the PHT processing is cooled once and then carried into the COR module 41. Therefore, the processing cycle can be efficiently performed. can be repeated.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the wafer W subjected to the CST processing in the CST module 33 waits in the FOUP 31 thereafter. Therefore, even if the wafer W is not sufficiently cooled in the CST module 33, for example, the wafer W is cooled in the atmosphere in the FOUP 31, and the influence on subsequent COR processing can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the CST module 33 and the load port 32 as a standby place until the next processing cycle are performed are provided in the atmospheric part 10, that is, under the atmospheric pressure atmosphere. Placement is not limited to this. For example, the CST module 33 and the buffer space as a waiting place for the wafer W may be provided at any place in the decompression unit 11 . This eliminates the need to reciprocate between the atmosphere under atmospheric pressure and the atmosphere under reduced pressure during one processing cycle, thereby improving the transfer efficiency.

However, when the inside of the CST module 33 is maintained in an air atmosphere, the cooling efficiency is higher than when it is maintained in a reduced pressure atmosphere. Also, the time required for transporting the wafer W to the CST module 33 and the time required for the CST process in the CST module 33 are shorter than the time required for the COR process and the PHT process. In view of the above points of view, it is preferable that the CST module 33 is provided in the atmospheric part 10, that is, in an atmosphere of atmospheric pressure.

Further, in this embodiment, the wafer W is processed in the same horizontal direction, that is, in the same angular direction from the reference position (for example, the notch position) in all of the predetermined number of processing cycles. Here, depending on the characteristics of the COR module 33, for example, the etching amount may be uneven within the wafer W surface. In such a case, if the wafer W is repeatedly processed in the same horizontal direction as described above, there is a risk that the etching finally applied to the wafer W will become non-uniform within the plane. Therefore, when the wafer W undergoes repeated processing cycles, the orientation of the wafer W in the horizontal direction from the reference position may be adjusted by a predetermined angle by the orienter module 34 for each processing cycle.

Here, the predetermined angle is preferably set such that the wafer W is rotated exactly once in total when the predetermined number of processing cycles is completed. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, a series of processing cycles are repeated six times in total. In such a case, it is preferable to rotate the wafer W by 360 degrees/(6 predetermined times)=60 degrees before each processing cycle is performed. Thereby, the etching of the wafer W can be made uniform within the surface.

<Second embodiment>
In the first embodiment, when the COR process for the last wafer W in one lot is completed, the next processing cycle for the first wafer W in one lot is started. On the other hand, when the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a plurality of decompression module groups capable of executing the same wafer processing as shown in FIG. A group of decompression modules may be controlled to operate in parallel. For example, in the first embodiment shown in FIG. can be run in parallel with B.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the transfer recipe of the wafer W according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 3, descriptions of the same operations as in the first embodiment (for example, up to step 42 in FIG. 3) will be omitted.

Here, in the second embodiment, instead of the decompression module group B (the COR module 41B and the PHT module 42B) of the first embodiment, a decompression module group Ba composed of the COR module 41B and the PHT module 42A is used. use. In such a case, the PHT module 42A is common to the decompression module group A and the decompression module group Ba, and the decompression module group A and the decompression module group Ba cannot be operated in parallel.

On the other hand, in step 43 shown in FIG. 3, since the pressure reduction module groups Ba and C are provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1, these pressure reduction module groups Ba and C can be operated in parallel. Such step 43 is the timing at which the first two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ in one lot are unloaded from the CST module 33 after completing the fourth processing cycle. At this time, since the decompression module group C capable of executing the same processing cycle is not in operation, the decompression module group _C is used to start the _next processing cycle for the wafers W1 and W2. That is, the timing of starting the next processing cycle for the wafers W ₁ and W ₂ that were in the processing waiting state (for example, steps 43 to 52 in FIG. 2) in the first embodiment can be advanced.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the other depressurization module groups that have been idle are operated in parallel to shorten the waiting state for processing the wafer W, thereby performing wafer processing more efficiently. be able to. For example, according to FIG. 3, by operating the decompression module group Ba and the decompression module group C in parallel, it is possible to shorten the process by 10 steps compared to the first embodiment.

According to the example of FIG. 3, the decompression module groups Ba and C are operated in parallel. They can be operated in parallel. Also, the parallel operation of the decompression module groups A and B and the parallel operation of the decompression module groups B and C may be controlled to be performed at once. Thereby, the efficiency of wafer processing can be further improved.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the transfer route of the wafer W is set twice for each of the decompression module groups A, Ba, and C, that is, the decompression module groups A, A, Ba, Ba , C, and C in this order. However, the transfer route of the wafer W is not limited to this, and may be controlled so that the processing cycle is performed in the order of the decompression module groups A, Ba, C, A, Ba, C, for example. By performing control in this manner, the effect of parallel operation of the decompression module group can be more preferably enjoyed.

<Third Embodiment>
According to the first and second embodiments described above, the wafer W that has completed one processing cycle is placed in the FOUP 31 provided under the atmospheric pressure atmosphere, and the processing cycle of another wafer W has been completed. It was in a waiting state until the next processing cycle started. In this respect, in order to suppress the oxidation of the surface of the wafer W, it is preferable to shorten the time during which the surface of the wafer W is exposed to the atmospheric pressure atmosphere as much as possible.

Therefore, in the above-described first and second embodiments, each lot (25 wafers) is treated as a processing group for wafer processing. You may make it process. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a transfer recipe for wafers W according to the third embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, 1 lot of 25 wafers W is further divided into processing groups of a predetermined number of wafers, 6 wafers in this embodiment, and wafer processing is performed. In this way, by dividing the processing group of wafers W into groups smaller than one lot (25 wafers), a plurality of processing cycles for one wafer W can be continuously performed. Exposure time to barometric atmosphere can be shortened. For example, according to the example of FIG. 4, the two wafers W ₁ and W ₂ are loaded into the COR module 41 immediately after the CST processing in the CST module 33 is completed (step 3 in FIG. 4) (see FIG. 4). step 4), the waiting time can be shortened.

The predetermined number of wafers W to be grouped in this embodiment can be determined as follows.

In order to optimize the waiting time in the FOUP 31 after the CST processing in the CST module 33 is completed, it is desirable that the CST processing is completed and immediately loaded into the COR module 41 .

The number of processing groups for shifting from the CST processing step to the COR processing step in the next processing cycle without waiting for processing is the number of steps executed in one processing cycle and the number of wafers W that can be processed in one module. can be obtained according to Here, for example, according to the present embodiment, the processing steps executed in one processing cycle are a total of three processing steps, ie, the COR processing step, the PHT processing step, and the CST processing step. Also, the COR module 41 and the PHT module 42 each process two wafers. Therefore, in this embodiment, if "the number of processing steps is 3 x 2 wafers = 6 sheets" is set to the number of wafers constituting a processing group, it is possible to shift from the CST processing step to the COR processing step without waiting for processing. As a result, it is possible to prevent the surface of the wafer W from being exposed to the atmospheric pressure during processing and from being oxidized. Note that the CST module 33 can accommodate 25 or more wafers W in one lot, and the waiting time of the wafers W is not affected.

Moreover, by dividing the wafers W into processing groups of a predetermined number in this way, even if an abnormality occurs in one module during processing of the processing group, the number of wafers W affected can be suppressed.

Note that the division of one lot (25 substrates) into groups of a predetermined number of substrates in the present embodiment may be performed simultaneously with the parallel operation of the plurality of decompression module groups in the second embodiment. For example, as shown in steps 13 to 19 of FIG. 4, one group of substrates and another group of substrates may be controlled to operate in parallel using decompression module groups A and C. FIG. As a result, 14 steps can be shortened from the first embodiment, and further 4 steps can be shortened from the second embodiment.

Further, according to the present disclosure, even if the number of processing groups is an odd number, by using dummy wafers _WD , wafer processing is not unevenly distributed in each module.

It should be considered that the embodiments disclosed this time are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The embodiments described above may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

For example, although the decompression module groups A, B, and C described above are configured by the COR module and the PHT module, they may be changed to any processing device as appropriate. For example, the decompression module group may include an RST module for etching using remote plasma instead of the COR module. Thus, even when the RST module different from the COR module is used, the processing can be performed in a stable processing atmosphere in each module.

Further, for example, each module described above is configured to process two wafers W, but may be configured to process one wafer or three or more wafers.

Note that the following configuration also belongs to the technical scope of the present disclosure.
(1) A substrate processing method for processing a substrate using a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising a COR module for performing a COR process on a substrate, a heating module for performing a heat treatment on the substrate, and a cooling process on the substrate. The substrate processing method includes a COR processing step of performing COR processing on the substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere in the COR module, and then conveying the substrate to the heating module, in the heating module a heating step of heating the substrate in a reduced-pressure atmosphere; and a cooling step of transferring the substrate to the cooling module and cooling the substrate in the cooling module in the atmospheric atmosphere. A substrate processing method, wherein a processing cycle including a step, the heat treatment step and the cooling treatment step is repeatedly performed.
In this manner, since a plurality of processing cycles are repeated for one substrate, the required processing performance of the substrate can be appropriately and efficiently satisfied.

(2) The substrate processing apparatus has a plurality of decompression module groups each including one COR module and one heating module, and performs processing in one decompression module group and processing in another decompression module group in parallel. The substrate processing method according to (1), wherein
Thus, by including a plurality of decompression module groups and operating the decompression module groups in parallel, it is possible to efficiently perform substrate processing and improve throughput.

(3) The substrate processing method according to (1) or (2), wherein the processing cycle is performed for each group composed of a predetermined number of substrates.
By grouping appropriately in this way, substrate processing can be performed efficiently.

(4) The substrate processing according to (3), wherein the predetermined number of substrates in the group is determined according to the number of steps in the processing cycle and the number of substrates processed in the COR module or the heating module. Method.
By performing such grouping, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of substrates waiting to be processed in the apparatus, and to increase the efficiency of substrate processing.

(5) The substrate processing method according to (3), wherein the predetermined number of substrates in the group is the number of substrates included in one lot.
By performing such grouping, it is possible to appropriately perform the cooling process related to the substrate processing, and to improve the efficiency of the substrate processing.

(6) The processing cycle includes a position adjustment step of rotating the substrate to adjust its orientation in the horizontal direction before the COR processing step. The substrate processing method according to any one of (1) to (5), wherein the orientation of the substrate is changed by a predetermined angle, and the predetermined angle is determined by dividing 360 degrees by the number of repetitions of the processing cycle.
Thereby, the in-plane uniformity of substrate processing can be improved.

(7) A substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates, comprising a COR module for performing COR processing on substrates in a reduced pressure atmosphere, a heating module for performing heat processing on substrates in a reduced pressure atmosphere, and a cooling processing on substrates in an atmospheric atmosphere. and a control unit that controls the COR module, the heating module, and the cooling module so as to repeat a processing cycle in which the COR processing, the heating processing, and the cooling processing are sequentially performed. processing equipment.

1 substrate processing apparatus 33 CST module (cooling module)
41 COR module 42 PHT module (heating module)
W wafer

Claims (6)

A substrate processing method for processing a substrate using a substrate processing apparatus,
The substrate processing apparatus is
a COR module for performing COR processing on a substrate;
a heating module that heats the substrate;
a cooling module for cooling the substrate,
The substrate processing method includes
a COR treatment step of performing COR treatment on the substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere in the COR module;
Thereafter, a heat treatment step of transporting the substrate to the heating module and heat-treating the substrate in the heating module under a reduced pressure atmosphere;
After that, a cooling treatment step of transferring the substrate to the cooling module and cooling the substrate in the cooling module in an air atmosphere,
repeating a treatment cycle including the COR treatment step, the heat treatment step and the cooling treatment step on the same substrate ;
The processing cycle includes a position adjustment step of rotating the substrate to adjust its horizontal orientation before the COR processing step,
changing the orientation of the substrate from the reference position by a predetermined angle in the position adjustment step for each processing cycle;
The substrate processing method , wherein the predetermined angle is determined by dividing 360 degrees by the number of repetitions of the processing cycle . The substrate processing apparatus has a plurality of decompression module groups each including one COR module and one heating module,
2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein processing in one decompression module group and processing in another decompression module group are performed in parallel. 3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein said processing cycle is performed for each group consisting of a predetermined number of substrates. 4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined number of substrates in said group is determined according to the number of steps in said processing cycle and the number of substrates to be processed in said COR module or said heating module. 4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined number of substrates in said group is the number of substrates included in one lot. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
a COR module that performs COR processing on a substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere;
a heating module that heats the substrate under a reduced pressure atmosphere;
a cooling module for cooling the substrate in an atmospheric atmosphere;
a control unit that controls the COR module, the heating module, and the cooling module so as to repeatedly perform a processing cycle in which the COR processing, the heating processing, and the cooling processing are sequentially performed on the same substrate ;
The processing cycle includes a position adjustment step of rotating the substrate to adjust its horizontal orientation before the COR processing step,
The control unit
changing the orientation of the substrate from the reference position by a predetermined angle in the position adjustment step for each processing cycle;
The substrate processing apparatus , wherein the predetermined angle is determined by dividing 360 degrees by the number of repetitions of the processing cycle .

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