JPH0371629A - semiconductor manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Table of Contents] Overview Industrial Field of Application Conventional Technology Problems to be Solved by the Invention Means for Solving the Problems Working Example A schematic side sectional view of an embodiment of a sputtering apparatus (see (Figure 2) Schematic configuration diagram of one embodiment of the exhaust system (Figure 3) Schematic side sectional view of the first embodiment of the dry etching equipment (Figure 4) Schematic diagram of shutter arrangement of the second embodiment of the dry etching equipment ( Fig. 5) Schematic diagram of the shutter arrangement of the third embodiment in a dry etching apparatus (Fig. 6) Effects of the invention [Summary] Regarding improvements in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, particularly semiconductor manufacturing equipment that performs sputtering and dry etching processing, It is a semiconductor manufacturing equipment that performs sputter processing, and is installed inside a sputter reaction chamber, with the aim of significantly reducing the downtime required for cleaning the inside of the equipment, increasing the equipment operating rate, and reducing the cost of semiconductor devices. A movable shutter, which can be moved to cover the target at any time and is electrically insulated from the sputtering reaction chamber, is provided directly above the target, and an etching gas is introduced into the reaction chamber, and etching gas is introduced into the shack. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs a dry etching process and has a configuration in which the shutter is used as an electrode to etch off reaction products deposited in the reaction chamber by a plasma reaction while covering a target, A movable shutter is provided on the surface of either or both of the etching stage and the counter electrode, and is movable so as to cover the etching stage or the counter electrode at any time and is electrically insulated from the reaction chamber. An etching gas different from the gas used for dry etching is introduced, and one or both of the etching stage and the counter electrode are covered with the shutter, and the shutter is used as the L electrode to deposit the etching gas in the etching reaction chamber by a plasma reaction. It has a configuration that makes it possible to etch off reaction products.

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to improvements in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, particularly semiconductor manufacturing equipment that performs sputtering processing and dry etching processing.

As semiconductor devices become more highly integrated and elements become smaller, foreign matter that adheres during film formation and etching in the wafer process has become a cause of a significant decline in manufacturing yield and reliability. In order to manufacture high quality semiconductor devices with high yield, it is essential to reduce foreign matter.

Therefore, in sputtering equipment, dry etching equipment, etc., it is necessary to periodically remove the film of reaction products adhering to the inside of the reaction chamber to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the wafer.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view schematically showing a conventional sputtering apparatus.

In the figure, 51 is a sputtering reaction chamber (container), 52 is a gas inlet, 53 is a vacuum exhaust port, 54 is an airtight insulation means, and 55
is a sputter target, 56 is a permanent magnet, 57 is a counter electrode 58 is an anti-adhesion plate for preventing the sputtered film from adhering to the wall surface of the reaction chamber, 59 is a circle ring, and 60 is airtightly contacted and opened via an OIJ song. 61 is a wafer to be processed, DC is a direct current power supply, and GND is a ground.

In semiconductor manufacturing equipment that uses the sputtering method, as film formation progresses, the film of reaction products deposited inside the reaction chamber (sputtered film) becomes thicker, and this peels off and adheres to the wafer as foreign matter, lowering the yield. There is a problem.

Therefore, in the conventional sputtering apparatus having the configuration shown in the figure, the flange portion 60 At this point, the sputtering reaction chamber 51 is opened, the jigs inside the reaction chamber 51 such as the adhesion prevention plate 58 are removed, and the inside of the reaction chamber is cleaned by performing wet cleaning with acids, etc., and wiping off the film adhering to the walls of the reaction chamber. Therefore, it was necessary to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the wafer, and a long downtime was required to restore the vacuum level in the reaction chamber to a level where film formation could be performed again.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view schematically showing a conventional active ion etching type dry etching apparatus.

In the figure, 71 is an etching reaction chamber (container), 72 is a gas inlet, 73 is a vacuum exhaust port, 74 is an airtight insulation means,
75 is an etching stage electrode, 76 is an insulator, 77 is a counter electrode, 78 is an etching end point detection means, 79 is an O ring, 80 is a flange portion, 8t is a wafer to be processed, RF
indicates a high frequency oscillator, and GND indicates grounding.

Also in such a dry etching apparatus, organic and inorganic reaction products adhere to the inside of the reaction chamber 71 due to long-term use, and particles are generated when the reaction products are peeled off, reducing the etching yield. Similarly to the sputtering apparatus, the reaction chamber 71 may be opened and the jigs inside the reaction chamber 71, such as the etching stage electrode 75, the counter electrode 77, the end point detection means 78, etc. may be removed and cleaned. The inside of the reaction chamber 71 is cleaned by wiping off a film of reaction products adhering to the inner wall, and
It was necessary to prevent the generation of particles, and as with the sputtering apparatus described above, downtime occurred.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, in semiconductor manufacturing equipment that uses a vacuum system, such as conventional sputtering equipment and dry etching equipment, cleaning work is performed to prevent yield and reliability deterioration due to foreign matter contamination. For example, sputtering equipment requires about 1 to 2 days, dry etching equipment takes about 0.5 days, etc., resulting in long downtimes and a significant drop in equipment operation rate, resulting in a reduction in equipment scale to ensure production volume. There was a problem in that the expansion of the manufacturing cost caused an increase in manufacturing costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to significantly reduce the downtime required for cleaning the inside of the device, increase the operating rate of the device, and reduce the cost of the semiconductor device.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The above problem is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs sputter processing, in which a sputtering device is installed directly above a target disposed in a sputter reaction chamber so as to be movable so as to cover the target at any time. A movable shutter electrically insulated from the reaction chamber is provided, an etching gas is introduced into the sputtering reaction chamber, and an alternating current voltage is applied between the shutter and the sputtering reaction chamber with the target covered by the shutter. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention that makes it possible to etch off reaction products deposited in the sputtering reaction chamber by a plasma reaction, and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs a dry etching process, comprising:
On the surface of either or both of the etching stage and the counter electrode, which are disposed facing each other in the etching reaction chamber, is movable so as to cover the etching stage or the counter electrode at any time, and is electrically insulated from the etching reaction chamber. A movable shutter is provided, an etching gas different from the gas used for dry etching is introduced into the etching reaction chamber, and one or both of the etching stage and the counter electrode are covered with the shutter. The problem is solved by the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, which makes it possible to apply an alternating current voltage between the etching reaction chambers and etch off reaction products deposited in the etching reaction chambers by plasma reaction.

[For production]

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a sputtering reaction chamber (container), IA is an inner wall of the reaction chamber, 2 is a gas inlet, and 3 is a sputtering reaction chamber (container).
1 is a vacuum exhaust port, 4.12 is an airtight insulation means, 5 is a sputtering target, 13 is a movable shutter, 14 is a reaction product, 15 is a plasma, and RF is a high frequency oscillator.

In the method of the present invention, for example, in a sputtering apparatus, when removing the reaction product 14 deposited on the inner wall IA of the reaction chamber 1, the reaction chamber 1 is closed and the vacuum is not broken. An etching gas that reacts with the reaction product 14 is introduced, a plasma 15 is generated by RF using the reaction chamber 1 and the shutter 13 as electrodes, and the excited etching gas closes the reaction chamber. The reaction product 14 deposited on the inner wall IA of 1 is decomposed and removed.

This makes it possible to remove the reaction products deposited inside the reaction chamber without breaking the vacuum inside the reaction chamber, thereby eliminating the long downtime that conventionally occurs due to breaking the vacuum. This eliminates this problem, improves the operating rate of the device, and reduces the cost of semiconductor devices.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view showing the sputtering state (a) and the etching state (b) of deposits in the reaction chamber of an embodiment of the present invention in a sputtering device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention in a sputtering device A schematic configuration diagram of an example of an exhaust system,
FIG. 4 is a schematic side sectional view showing the state (a) during dry etching and the state (b) during reaction product etching (cleaning) of the first embodiment of the present invention in a dry etching apparatus, and FIG. 2nd related to dry etching equipment
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the shutter arrangement during dry etching (a) and during cleaning (b) in the third embodiment of the dry etching apparatus. ) is a schematic diagram showing the shutter arrangement.

Identical objects are indicated by the same reference numerals throughout the figures.

In FIGS. 2(a) and (b), 101 is a sputtering reaction chamber (container), 102 is a gas inlet, 103 is a vacuum exhaust port, 104 and 112 are airtight insulation means, 105 is a sputtering target, and 106 is a permanent magnet. , 107 is a counter electrode, 1
08 is an adhesion prevention plate, 109 is an O-ring, 110 is a flange, 111 is a wafer to be processed, 113 is a movable shutter having a rotating mechanism, DC is a direct current power source, RF is a high frequency power source, GND is grounding, S6, S2 indicates a switch.

Note that this device is a magnetron sputtering device.

As shown in this figure, the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention includes, for example, a movable shutter 113 in a sputtering reaction chamber 101 of a conventional sputtering apparatus, which has a rotating mechanism that can cover the surface of a target 105 at any time. is reaction chamber 10
It is inserted and disposed airtightly in a state where it is electrically insulated from 1. The material of this shutter 113 is the same kind of metal as that of the reaction chamber 101, for example, aluminum (A1) whose surface is anodized.

When sputtering is performed, the wafer 111 to be processed is set on the counter electrode 106 by automatic mounting means (not shown), and the shutter 113 is rotated to expose the surface of the target 105, as shown in FIG. 10-”T
For example, argon (Ar) is introduced into the reaction chamber 101 which has been evacuated to a high vacuum of orr or higher, and the inside of the reaction chamber 101 is heated to 10-
While maintaining an Ar atmosphere of about Torr, connect the DC power supply DC (shown in the figure) between the counter electrode 106 and the target electrode 105.
Applying power of about IOKν to the target 105
A material is sputtered to form a sputtered film of the target material on the substrate 111 to be processed.

After performing sputtering to a predetermined total film thickness, the reaction chamber 101
Cleaning the inside of the reaction chamber 101 by removing the film of the target material adhering to the inner surface of the reaction chamber 101 and the adhesion prevention plate 108
To do this, without opening the reaction chamber 101, a dummy wafer 511 is set on the counter electrode 106 by automatic mounting means (not shown), and the shutter 113 is rotated to place the target. After covering the top of the reaction chamber 105 and evacuating the inside of the reaction chamber 101 to a high vacuum by stopping the Ar, etching gas for the target material is introduced from the gas inlet 102, and the gas pressure inside the reaction chamber 101 is set to 0.1 to I.
A high frequency power of, for example, 13.56 MHz is applied between the shutter 113 and the reaction chamber (container) 101 using a high frequency oscillator RF while maintaining the temperature at about Torr, and the reaction chamber 1 is
Plasma is generated in the reaction chamber 101 to remove the target material film deposited in the reaction chamber 101 by etching.

As described above, in the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention, the sputtered film of the target material deposited in the reaction chamber 101 can be removed by opening the reaction chamber, removing and cleaning parts, or wiping the inside of the reaction chamber. Since the process can be carried out without breaking the vacuum while the reaction chamber is closed, the downtime of the equipment that occurs to remove the sputtered film is only a short time of 2 to 3 hours at most, and the equipment can be operated quickly. rate will be significantly improved.

As the etching gas, a chlorine (CI) gas is used to remove an Al-based film, and a fluorine-based gas such as CF4 is used to remove an oxide film, nitride film, tungsten film, etc. . Furthermore, for internal parts such as the reaction chamber 101 and the adhesion prevention plate 108, materials must of course be selected that will not be attacked by the plasma of the etching gas used.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned sputtering apparatus, a high-vacuum evacuation system is required to maintain the atmosphere inside the reaction chamber 101 at a high purity during sputtering, and although the degree of vacuum does not need to be so high during etching, it is not affected by the etching gas. A vacuum pumping system is required. Therefore, in the sputtering apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a sputtering exhaust system (SS) consisting of a roughing system consisting of a rotary pump (RPI) and a high vacuum system consisting of a cryopump (CP), Mechanical booster pump (MB
It is even more desirable to use a vacuum exhaust system that is equipped with two exhaust systems: an etching exhaust system (BS) consisting of an etching pump P) and a rotary pump (RPz), which can be switched each time. In the figure, ■
□ indicates a switching valve, and VSI to VSa indicate a stop valve.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the reactive ion etching apparatus according to the present invention, in which (a) shows during etching;
(b) represents the state at the time of cleaning, and 201 in the figure
is a material that is not attacked by etching gas and cleaning gas plasma, such as AI with an alumite treatment on the surface.
202 is a gas inlet, 203 is a vacuum exhaust port, 204 and 212 are airtight insulation means, 205 is an etching stage electrode, 206 is an insulator, 207 is a counter electrode, and 208 is an etching end point. 209 is an O-ring, 210 is a flange portion, 211 is a wafer to be processed, 213 is a movable shutter made of the same material as the reaction chamber, and other symbols indicate the same objects as in FIG. 2.

In this apparatus, when etching the wafer 211 to be processed in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, for example, a gas of a single halogen or a compound such as fluorine (F), chlorine (CI), bromine (Br), or a mixed gas thereof is etched. gas, and R between the stage electrode 205 and the counter electrode 207.
Anisotropic etching is performed by applying F power and generating plasma. At this time, as shown in FIG. The processing is performed with the upper surface of the wafer to be processed 211 mounted on the stage electrode 205 exposed.

Etching gas pressure is generally 0.01 to 0.5 Torr.
maintained at a predetermined pressure within a certain range.

When the total etching time exceeds a predetermined time, the film becomes thicker due to the products of the etching reaction deposited on the inner surface of the reaction chamber 201 during the etching, and the deposits generated from organic materials for shape control such as resist. It will flake off and generate particles.

Then, the etching was stopped, the etching gas was stopped, and
The etching gas that does not open the reaction chamber 201 is discharged by vacuum evacuation, and the wafer to be processed 211 is removed from the stage electrode 205 by an automatic unloading means (not shown), and then the shutter 213 is rotated and the stage electrode 205 is SF, , CF having the ability to cover the top and etch the deposits into the reaction chamber 201
Introduce a cleaning gas such as 4 or 02, perform vacuum evacuation, and reduce the pressure of the cleaning gas to 0.1 to 1 T.
The shutter 213 and the reaction chamber 2 are maintained at about
01, RF power is applied to spread plasma over the entire area inside the reaction chamber 201, and deposits adhering to the inner wall of the reaction chamber 201, around the counter electrode 207, the end point detection means 208, etc. are etched away.

As described above, in the dry etching apparatus according to the present invention, the reaction products deposited on the inner surface of the reaction chamber 201 and the surfaces of the parts inside the reaction chamber can be removed by opening the reaction chamber, removing the parts, and cleaning them. This can be done while the reaction chamber is closed and the vacuum is not broken, without having to clean the inside of the reaction chamber or wiping down the inside of the reaction chamber. It only takes a short time,
Its operating rate will be greatly improved.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show dry etching (a) and cleaning (
FIG. 1) is a schematic diagram showing the shutter position of item 1). In the figure, 31
3 indicates a movable shutter similar to the movable shutter 213, and other symbols indicate the same objects as in FIG. 4.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG.
Since a movable shutter 313 is provided only to protect the etching stage electrode 205, the etching stage electrode 205 can be protected during cleaning by mounting a dummy wafer 511 thereon, as shown in FIG. There is a need.

In addition, in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 6, movable shutters 213 and 313 are disposed at the etching stage electrode 205 section and the counter electrode 213 section, respectively, so that during cleaning, as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to simultaneously cover and protect the stage electrode 205 and the counter electrode 213.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment in which vacuum evacuation is performed, such as the sputtering equipment and the dry etching equipment according to the present invention, reaction products deposited in the equipment can be easily removed without breaking the vacuum of the equipment. As a result, the downtime of the equipment that occurs due to the removal of the reaction products is significantly reduced, and the operating rate of the equipment is significantly improved.

Therefore, the number of devices used to manufacture semiconductor devices and the like can be reduced, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention in a sputtering apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an exhaust system according to the present invention. 4 is a schematic side sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention in a dry etching apparatus, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the shutter arrangement of the second embodiment in the dry etching apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic side sectional view of a conventional sputtering apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a schematic side sectional view of a conventional dry etching apparatus. 1A is the reaction chamber wall, 2 is a gas inlet, 3 is a vacuum exhaust port, 4, I2 is an airtight insulation means, 5 is a sputtering target, 13 is a movable shutter 14 is a reaction product, 15 is a plasma, RF is a high frequency oscillator shows. In the figure, l is a sputtering reaction chamber, 1.
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Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a semiconductor manufacturing equipment that performs sputter processing, there is a
A movable shutter that can be moved to cover the target at any time and is electrically insulated from the sputtering reaction chamber is provided, and an etching gas is introduced into the sputtering reaction chamber and the shutter is closed while covering the target with the shutter. and the sputtering reaction chamber to etch off reaction products deposited in the sputtering reaction chamber by plasma reaction. (2) A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which satisfies the requirements of claim 1 and is characterized in that the vacuum evacuation system for evacuating the interior of the sputtering reaction chamber includes two types of evacuation systems, one for sputtering and one for etching. (3) A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that performs dry etching processing, in which the etching stage and the counter electrode, which are disposed facing each other in an etching reaction chamber, are coated on the surface of either or both of the etching stage or the counter electrode at any time. A movable shutter that can be moved to cover the etching reaction chamber and is electrically insulated from the etching reaction chamber is provided, and an etching gas different from the gas used for dry etching is introduced into the etching reaction chamber to either the etching stage or the counter electrode. Alternatively, with both covered by the shutter, an alternating current voltage is applied between the shutter and the etching reaction chamber, thereby making it possible to etch off reaction products deposited in the etching reaction chamber by a plasma reaction. Features of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.