JPH0249709Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] "Industrial application field" This invention relates to a semiconductor wafer storage jig used in a vertically structured heat treatment apparatus, and in particular, it is capable of arranging a large number of semiconductor wafers vertically in rows. The present invention relates to a constructed vertical storage jig.

"Conventional technology" Conventionally, heat treatment equipment has been used to charge a storage jig in which a large number of semiconductor wafers are arranged in rows into a furnace core tube that constitutes a heat treatment furnace, and perform processes such as impurity diffusion and thin film formation on the surface of semiconductor wafers. is well known, and in order to save the installation space and facilitate processing of large-diameter wafers in this type of processing equipment, the furnace core tube is installed vertically, and the furnace core tube is installed non-stop along the axial direction of the furnace core tube. A heat treatment apparatus having a so-called vertical structure has been proposed, in which a storage jig is configured to be able to be inserted and removed in a contact state, and wafers are processed while the storage jig is rotated at a predetermined speed within the processing furnace.

In such a heat treatment apparatus having a vertical structure, there is one in which wafer processing is performed while rotating the storage jig with the storage jig placed on a base on the bottom side of the furnace core tube; There are two types of heat treatment furnaces in which wafers are processed while a tool is engaged with a hook member hanging down from above the furnace core tube and rotated while maintaining a hollow state within the furnace core tube.

Of the storage jigs, for example, one example of the latter will be briefly explained based on FIG. It consists of a shaped upper support plate 101, a lower support plate 102 with the same diameter as the support plate 101, and a plurality of rod-shaped wafer support members 104 with wafer holding grooves 103 carved in multiple stages on the circumferential surface side. The plurality of rod-shaped wafer support members 104 are fixed upright between both support plates 101 and 102 which are arranged parallel to each other.
In the space 105 sandwiched between the wafers 4 and 4, wafers are arranged vertically in a line so that they can be arranged in a line.

That is, the plurality of support members 104 are connected to the support plate 10.
1, 102 The support plate 101, 102 is arranged so as to be shifted to one side of the peripheral edge to form a substantially semicircular space 105, and the support plate 101,
102 A wafer can be loaded into the space 105 from the outer peripheral direction, and a wafer holding groove 103 is carved on the inner peripheral surface side of the support member 104 facing the space 105. The wafers are arranged vertically in a line and slightly inclined downward.

According to this conventional technique, since it is possible to load a wafer with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the support plates 101 and 102 of the storage jig 100, it is possible to load a wafer with a large diameter, and the above-mentioned By performing processing while rotating the storage jig loaded with wafers, it was said to have advantages such as homogeneous impurity diffusion and thin film formation.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, according to the prior art, since the wafers are arranged in a single row in the axial direction of the furnace core tube, it is not possible to process large-diameter wafers rationally. However, when processing small-diameter wafers, on the other hand, the space within the furnace core tube cannot be used effectively, which is not rational.

Even when processing large-diameter wafers, since the wafers are arranged at a predetermined angle of inclination so as to cross the furnace core tube axis, the wafers rotate following the rotation of the storage jig 100. The rotation becomes what is called eccentric rocking rotation, and as a result, the gas flow flowing in the axial direction of the furnace core tube cannot necessarily be evenly stirred, resulting in a problem that the product yield is not improved very much.

Furthermore, in the prior art, the support member 10
Since the wafers are arranged in a single row in the space 105 surrounded by 4, only wafers of the same diameter can be loaded, and for this reason, when the specifications (diameter, etc.) of the wafers to be processed are different in the same processing step. However, there were many cases where these could not be mixed together and the actual number of wafers processed was significantly smaller than the number of wafers that could be processed.

Furthermore, in the prior art, the number of wafers to be processed is the same whether it is processing small-diameter wafers or large-diameter wafers. If an attempt is made to narrow the spacing, the gap between each wafer will inevitably become smaller, and gas will not uniformly enter or flow to the wafer surface, which may reduce product yield.

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a storage jig with a vertical structure that is capable of arranging a large number of wafers in rows without reducing product yield. do.

Another object of the present invention is that even when processing small-diameter wafers, the internal space within the furnace core tube can be effectively used to process at least twice as large-diameter wafers. The purpose of this invention is to provide a storage jig that can process small-diameter wafers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage jig that can more rationally distribute the gas flow evenly, thereby improving the product yield.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage jig that allows wafers of different specifications to be mixed and loaded in a tower, and that allows for rational use of processing steps.

"Means for Solving Problems" In order to achieve this technical problem, the present invention has a plurality of wafer holding spaces sandwiched between a plurality of wafer support members each having wafer holding grooves carved in multiple stages on the circumferential surface. The wafers stored in the holding spaces are arranged so that the wafers can be arranged vertically in the respective holding spaces, or in other words, the wafers are arranged in a plurality of rows. , we propose a vertical storage jig that has the following essential features: the wafer support member is arranged so that it can be attached and detached from the outer peripheral direction of the support plate (in this case, the wafer attachment and detachment direction may be in the same direction or in different directions). do.

If the storage jig is a vertical type, the present invention is not only a storage jig that is engaged with a hook member hanging down from above the heat treatment furnace, but also a storage jig that is configured to be placed on a base on the bottom side of the furnace core tube. Naturally, this also applies to jigs.

The wafer holding space may be configured such that a plurality of wafer rows are located on both sides of the center axis of the support plate, or the wafer holding space may be configured such that a plurality of wafer rows are located on both sides of the supporting plate center axis, or the wafer holding space may be configured such that the wafer peripheries of the plurality of wafer rows intersect with each other. Although it may be configured such that wafers can be loaded alternately on the left and right sides with the central axis of the plate in between, adopting the latter method achieves a smaller space for the storage jig as a whole.

Further, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wafer holding grooves are carved on both peripheral surfaces of at least one support member, so that a plurality of wafer rows can be arranged on both sides of the support member. As a result, supporting members can be made common, making it possible to reduce the weight burden and the number of parts.

In this case, the support member is preferably made of quartz material having a larger diameter than the other support members.

Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rows of wafers are arranged so that they can be arranged with slight inclination toward the center of the support member, so that when the storage jig is rotated or when the storage jig is mounted from the furnace core tube. There is no possibility that the wafer will accidentally fall off during loading and unloading, and more uniform stirring of the gas flow becomes possible.

"Operation" According to this technical means, in the axial direction of the storage jig,
In other words, since wafers can be arranged in multiple rows along the axial direction of the furnace core tube, a large number of wafers can be arranged in rows without narrowing the pitch interval between adjacent wafers. Moreover, since there is a constant gap between each wafer, it is easy for gas to enter the wafer surface uniformly, and there is no risk of lowering product yield due to homogeneous gas treatment.

Furthermore, since the wafers are arranged in a plurality of rows, the internal space within the furnace core tube can be effectively utilized even when processing small-diameter wafers, which is extremely rational.

Furthermore, the wafer rows are held at substantially symmetrical positions on both sides of the support plate's center axis, with each wafer slightly tilted toward the center, so that the wafer processing is difficult as described above. When the jig is rotated in the process, it does not fall off from the support part, and when the storage jig is rotated, it rotates like a propeller around the rotation axis, thereby rotating eccentrically. Uniform stirring in the wafer processing process is easier than with conventional technology.
Thin film formation and impurity diffusion on the wafer surface become more uniform.

Furthermore, in the present technical means, since the wafers can be arranged in multiple rows in the storage jig, the arrangement position of the wafer support member, the groove width of the wafer holding groove, the groove shape, the groove By changing the pitch, etc., it is possible to store wafers of multiple specifications with different diameters, wall thicknesses, shapes, etc. This allows wafers of different specifications to be mixed and loaded in the same processing process, and the actual processing The number of wafers that can be processed can always be kept close to the number of wafers that can be processed, which is extremely advantageous in terms of production.

In addition, in actual design, if the center of gravity is not approximately aligned with the center axis of the storage jig, there is a risk of wobbling as the rotation axis when the jig is rotated. It goes without saying that it is necessary to design with consideration to adjustment, the arrangement positions of supporting members and wafer rows, the number of wafer rows, their standards, etc.

Embodiments Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the components described in this example are as follows, unless otherwise specified.
This is not intended to limit the scope of this invention, but is merely an illustrative example.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show the structure of a vertical storage jig 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which has a disk-shaped upper support with a disco-type hook 11a formed on the upper surface side, similar to the prior art described above. plate 11 and the support plate 11
It consists of a lower support plate 12 with the same diameter as , and a plurality of rod-shaped wafer support members 15, 16, 17 having a plurality of wafer holding grooves 13a, 13b, 14 carved in multiple stages on the circumferential surface side. A support member 15 having wafer holding grooves 13a and 13b is arranged upright on the central axis of the plates 11 and 12, and grooves are provided on both sides of the support member 15 along a virtual circle corresponding to the outer periphery of the wafers 1a and 1b. and two other supporting members 16, 1 each.
7 are arranged upright, and these supporting members 15, 16,
A pair of spaces sandwiched by wafer holding space 1
8, 19, and in the holding spaces 18, 19,
The wafers 1a and 1b are configured to be arranged vertically in a row.

To explain this embodiment in more detail, the one wafer support member 15 is formed to have a larger diameter than the other support members 16 and 17, and wafer holding grooves 13a and 13b are formed at approximately 180 degrees symmetrical positions on the circumferential surface thereof. It is engraved with a slight upward slope and at the same pitch interval.

Wafers 1 are placed on both the left and right sides of the support member 15.
Two other supporting members 16 and 17 are provided at symmetrical positions along the virtual circles corresponding to the outer peripheries of a and 1b, and virtual extension surfaces of the inclined holding grooves 13a and 13b are provided. A wafer holding groove 14 is obliquely cut on the opposing circumferential surfaces of the support members 16 and 17 corresponding to the top.

Further, the other supporting members 16 and 17 include the supporting plate 1
Wafer 1a, from a 180 degree symmetrical position on the peripheral surface side
1b is set in its mounting position and width interval so that it can be loaded into and extracted from the holding spaces 18 and 19.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to arrange the wafers 1a and 1b in two vertical rows in the holding spaces 18 and 19 located on both sides of one support member 15, and the present invention In addition, one support member 15 supports the wafers 1a and 1 arranged in rows in both the holding spaces 18 and 19.
Since it is used as a common support member of b, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and manufacturing cost.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show the structure of a vertical storage jig according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is configured to be able to store wafers of different standards, and the differences from the previous embodiment will be mainly explained. , four support members 21a to 21d and 22a to 22 are provided on both sides of the support plates 11 and 12 with the center axis line in between, along virtual circles corresponding to the outer peripheries of the wafers 2a and 2b of different standards, respectively.
d is arranged upright, and the support members 21a to 21d, 2
The circular spaces 2a to 22d are defined as circular wafer holding spaces 23 and 24, respectively.

And these supporting members 21a to 21d, 22
a to 22d are support plates 11,
12 From the 180 degree symmetrical position on the peripheral surface side, the holding space 2
The mounting positions and width intervals are set so that the wafers 2a, 2b can be loaded and unloaded into the respective holding spaces 23, 24. The wafer holding grooves 25 and 26 are formed by cutting diagonally so that the wafers 2a and 2b can be loaded with a slight inclination towards the center.

In the case of this embodiment, the left and right holding spaces 2
In order to store wafers 2a and 2b of different standards in the support plates 11 and 24, if the pitch intervals of the holding grooves 25 and 26 are set to be the same on the left and right sides, the center of gravity will be aligned with the support plates 11 and 1.
2, the pitch spacing on the side that accommodates the large wafers 2a, 2b is set larger than the pitch spacing on the other side, and the wafers 2a,
2b is loaded into each holding space 23, 24,
It is configured so that its center of gravity coincides with the axis of rotation.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show another embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of wafer rows loaded in a plurality of wafer holding spaces are configured so that the wafer peripheral edges of the wafers intersect with each other, so that the wafers can be loaded alternately on the left and right with the center axis of the support plate in between. The configuration of the vertical storage jig according to the embodiment will be shown, and the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.
A virtual circle corresponding to the diameters of the wafers 3a and 3b is formed, intersecting each other on orthogonal lines passing through the centers of the wafers 1 and 12, and a pair of support members 3 are placed on the intersection of the virtual circles.
1 and 32, and on both left and right sides of the pair of support members 31 and 32, other support members 3 having a slightly smaller diameter than the support members 31 and 32 are arranged along the virtual circle, respectively.
Two wafer holding spaces 35, 36 are provided, each corresponding to the virtual circle.

Then, holding grooves 37 and 38 are cut diagonally on the circumferential surface portions of the pair of support members 31 and 32 facing the holding spaces 35 and 36 so that the wafers 3a and 3b can be loaded with a slight inclination in order from left to right alternately. .

Further, the other supporting members 33 and 34 are also held in the holding space 35,
A wafer holding groove 39 is formed along the virtual extension surface of the holding grooves 37 and 38 on the side facing the holding grooves 36, and is formed from a 180 degree symmetrical position on the peripheral surface side of the support plates 11 and 12 as in the previous embodiment. The wafers 3a and 3b are configured to be able to be loaded and extracted into the holding spaces 35 and 36, respectively.

According to this embodiment, the peripheral edges of the wafers 3a, 3b of the plurality of wafer rows loaded in the holding spaces 35, 36 formed on both the left and right sides intersect with each other.
The wafer 3 is placed across the center axis of the support plates 11 and 12.
Since a and 3b can be loaded alternately on the left and right sides, the storage jig 30 as a whole can be made smaller in space by the amount of intersection thereof.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an embodiment of the present invention in which the wafers are configured so that they can be loaded alternately on the left and right sides across the center axis of the support plate so that the peripheral edges of the wafers intersect with each other, and the wafers are configured so that the wafers can be loaded from the same direction. The structure of the vertical storage jig 40 according to another embodiment will be shown, and the differences from the third embodiment will be mainly explained. One support member 41 is placed on one side (upper side in the figure) of the intersection of the virtual circles corresponding to the diameters of the wafers 4a and 4b, and on both left and right sides of the one support member 41 and on the upper half side of the virtual circle in the figure. along the virtual circle, respectively,
Two other support members 42 and 43 each having a slightly smaller diameter than the first support member 41 are provided, and the virtual circles are formed into wafer 4a and 4b holding spaces 44 and 45, and the holding spaces 44 and 45 are Open the lower half of the
The wafers 4a and 4b can be loaded from the opening side, respectively.

Similarly to the third embodiment, one support member 4
Wafer holding grooves 46 and 47 are cut diagonally in the peripheral surface portions facing the holding spaces 44 and 45 of Nos. 1 and 42, alternately left and right, and the other supporting members 42 and 43 also face the holding spaces 44 and 45. the holding groove 4 on the side where
The wafer holding groove 48 is obliquely cut along the virtual extension surfaces 6 and 47.

According to this embodiment, since the wafers 4a and 4b can be loaded and unloaded from the holding spaces 44 and 45 from the same direction, the loading and unloading of the wafers 4a and 4b is facilitated and is also easy to automate. In addition to being easy to adapt to, the number of supporting members can be reduced by one compared to the third embodiment, leading to a reduction in the number of parts.

"Effects of the Invention" As described above, according to the present invention, a large number of wafers can be arranged in a row in a storage jig having a vertical structure without reducing the product yield.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, even when processing small-diameter wafers, the internal space within the furnace core tube can be effectively utilized to process at least twice as many small-diameter wafers as when processing large-diameter wafers. I can do it.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to more rationally spread the gas flow evenly, thereby improving the product yield.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, wafers of different specifications can be mixed and loaded on the tower, thereby making it possible to rationally utilize the processing steps.

It has various effects such as

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1A to 4B all show the configuration of the vertical storage jig in each embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a front perspective view of the first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a cutaway plan view thereof, and FIG. 2A is a front view of the second embodiment.
Figure B is a cutaway plan view thereof, Figure 3A is a front sectional view of the third embodiment, Figure 3B is a cutaway plan view thereof, and Figure 4A is a front sectional view of the third embodiment.
The figure is a front view of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 4B is a cutaway plan view thereof. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional vertical storage jig. 10, 20, 30, 40: Vertical storage jig, 1
a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4
b: wafer, 11, 12: support plate, 13a, 13
b, 14, 25, 26, 37-39, 46-4
8: Wafer holding groove, 15-17, 21a-21
d, 22a-22, 25-26, 31-34, 4
1 to 43: wafer support member, 18, 19, 23,
24, 35, 36, 44, 45: Wafer holding space.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A plurality of wafer support members having wafer holding grooves carved therein are fixed upright between a pair of support plates disposed above and below, and a space sandwiched between the support members is provided. In a vertical storage jig configured to be able to hold a large number of wafers arranged vertically, a plurality of wafer holding spaces sandwiched between the supporting members are formed, and the wafers are held in each holding space by a support plate. A vertical storage jig characterized by being configured so that it can be attached and detached from the outer circumferential direction and arranged vertically. 2. The vertical storage jig according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of wafer rows arranged in the wafer holding space are located on both sides of the support plate center axis. 3. such that the wafer peripheral portions of the plurality of wafers arranged in the wafer holding space intersect with each other,
The vertical storage jig according to claim 1 or 2, which is configured to be able to be loaded alternately on the left and right sides across the center axis of the support plate. 4 From Claim 1 of the Utility Model Registration Claim, in which wafer holding grooves are carved on both peripheral surfaces of at least one support member, and a plurality of wafer rows can be arranged on both sides of the support member. The vertical storage jig described in any one of items up to item 3. 5. The vertical storage jig according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wafer rows are arranged so as to be slightly inclined toward the center axis of the support plate. .