JPH043927A - Semiconductor treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a semiconductor treatment equipment, by which the quality and yield of a semiconductor are improved, by installing a labyrinthine partition wall surrounding a movable section while following up the movement of the movable section by an electrode movable mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A body to be treated 6 is carried into a vessel 2, and arranged at the specified position of a lower electrode 4, and the lower electrode 4 and an insulator 5 are lifted or lowered up to a specified interelectrode distance by an electrode movable mechanism 9. When the inside of the vessel 2 is kept at fixed gas pressure through exhaust from an introducing pipe 7 and high-frequency power is applied from a high-frequency power supply 12, plasma is generated, and the body to be treated 6 is plasma-treated. A first partition wall 13a keeps a labyrinthine shape in height, where the partition wall 13a is not brought into contact with the vessel 2, and a second partition wall 13b keeps the shape in height, where the partition wall 13b is not brought into contact with the insulator 5, when the lower electrode 4 and the insulator 5 are lowered up to lowermost sections, and both partition walls are superposed and form a labyrinth when the lower electrode 4 and the insulator 5 are most elevated. When the lower electrode 4 and the insulator 5 are lifted and lowered, dust is generated from the section of bellows 150, but dust is exhausted from a dust exhaust pipe 14, thus approximately preventing dust intruding in the vessel 2. Accordingly, the quality and yield of the body to be treated can be improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a semiconductor processing apparatus that generates discharge plasma in a vacuum container and performs various processes on semiconductors in vacuum using this plasma. be.

[Prior Art] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a parallel plate type plasma processing apparatus using a conventional single wafer processing method as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 01-67738. , (2) is a container, (3) is an upper electrode 5, and (4) is a lower electrode.

(5) is an insulator, (6) is a semiconductor object to be processed, (7) is an exhaust pipe connected to an exhaust system or a pressure adjustment system (not shown), (8) is an inlet pipe for gas, etc., (9) is the electrode movable mechanism (the figure shows the movable mechanism that moves the lower electrode), (
15) is a vacuum seal that is a holding part that keeps the inside of the container in a vacuum and holds the electrode (the lower electrode is shown) in the container while moving it.In the case of the figure, it is the lower type! 1i (4), the insulator (5) and the holding part (15) constitute a movable part (45), and (11
) is a matching box, (12) is a high frequency power source, and the dotted line diagram shows the state where the electrode is raised.

Next, the operation of this plasma processing apparatus will be explained. The object to be processed (6) is transferred to the container (2) by a transport system (not shown).
and placed at a predetermined position on the lower electrode (4). Then, the lower electrode (4) is moved by the electrode movable mechanism (9).
A reactive gas is introduced into the container (2) through an introduction pipe (8) that raises or lowers the insulator (5) to a predetermined distance between the electrodes. On the other hand, a zero-order high-frequency power supply (
12) Apply high frequency power into the container (2).

As a result, a high frequency glow discharge is generated between the two electrodes, and plasma is generated. Plasma processing, for example, etching, of the object to be processed (6) is performed by various ions, radicals, etc. in this plasma.

Fig. 6 shows a plasma processing apparatus using a bellows (150) which has a similar effect as a support for the vacuum seal (15) which is a holding part in the conventional plasma processing apparatus shown in Fig. 5 above, and the operation is as described above. This is the same as the plasma processing apparatus shown in FIG.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Since the conventional plasma processing apparatus is configured as described above, the plasma processing apparatus can have a container (
2) Reaction products generated by plasma treatment adhere to the inner periphery. When the lower electrode (4) and insulator (5) move up and down, reaction products attached to the vacuum seal (15) or bellows (150) that are the holding parts are peeled off, so dust generation is inevitable. Therefore, there were problems such as the dust floating in the container (2) and contaminating the object to be processed (6), deteriorating the quality and yield.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide a conductor processing apparatus that improves the quality and yield of semiconductors.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The semiconductor processing apparatus of the present invention uses an electrode moving mechanism that moves at least one of a pair of electrodes to change the distance between the electrodes and reduce the amount of electricity generated between the electrodes. In the device for processing the semiconductor placed on the electrode using plasma, the semiconductor device is provided with a labyrinth-shaped partition that follows the movement of the movable portion by the electrode movable mechanism and surrounds the movable portion.

[Function] In this invention, since the partition wall surrounds the movable part while following the movement of the movable part, reaction products will adhere to the vacuum seal of the movable part and the holding parts such as bellows, regardless of the position of the electrode. This prevents reaction products from peeling off and floating in the container due to the movement of the electrodes, etc., and since the partition walls are labyrinth-shaped with gaps, reaction products attached to the partition walls are prevented from peeling off due to the movement of the partition walls and floating in the container. prevent

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 0, (13a) and (13b) are a pair of labyrinth-shaped partition walls (1
3), (13a) is the first partition attached to the insulator (5), (13b) is the second partition attached to the container (2), and the first partition (13a) and the second partition Bulkhead (
There is a very small gap between 13b) and the labyrinth (
It is shaped like a maze. (14) is a dust exhaust pipe,
The space covered by the partition walls (13a) and (13b) is kept at a lower pressure than the gas pressure in other spaces in the container (2), and the one-dot line shows the state where the electrode is raised.
That is, in this embodiment, when the movable part side is evacuated, the generated dust can be discharged to the outside without remaining inside, so it is more effective in reducing the dust floating in the plasma processing chamber.

Next, the operation will be explained. The object to be processed (6) is transported by a transport system (
(not shown) into the container (2) and placed at a predetermined position on the lower electrode (4). Then, the lower electrode (4) of the movable part and the insulator (
5) Raise or lower L to a predetermined inter-electrode distance. 9. Next, exhaust the gas through the introduction pipe (7) and keep the inside of the container (2) at a predetermined gas pressure. 0. 2)
Apply high frequency power within the This allows the upper electrode (3)
Plasma is generated between the lower electrode (4) and the object to be processed (
6) Plasma treatment, such as etching, is performed. In the above series of operations, the lower electrode (4) and the insulator (5)
) when the container (
Similarly, the second partition wall (13b) maintains a labyrinth shape at a height that does not contact the insulator (5). Also, the lower type! (4) and the insulator (5) rise the most, the first partition wall (13a) and the second partition wall (13a)
b) is the height at which they overlap to form a labyrinth.

When the lower electrode (4) and the insulator (5) move up and down, dust is generated from the bellows (150), but since it is exhausted from the dust exhaust pipe (14), the partition wall (13a), (1
Almost no dust enters into the container (2) from 3b). Therefore, the amount of dust floating in the container (2) is reduced, and the quality and yield of the objects to be processed (6) are improved.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a semiconductor processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the dotted line diagram shows the state where the electrode is raised, and the vacuum seal (15) of the holding part is used, and two pairs of 1. The second partition forms a labyrinth structure. Further, the number of partition walls may be increased beyond this.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are a block diagram showing a semiconductor processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and a block diagram showing a semiconductor processing apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention, respectively. An example of a partition wall having a labyrinth structure different from the above is shown.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the same effect is obtained even when the upper electrode moves up and down.

Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to parallel plate type plasma processing equipment but also to other types of semiconductor processing equipment such as ECR type etching, CVD, and sputtering equipment as long as the equipment has movable parts. .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention uses an electrode movable mechanism that moves at least one of a pair of electrodes to change the distance between the electrodes and generate plasma between the electrodes. In the device for processing the semiconductor placed on the above-mentioned @pole, by using one equipped with a labyrinth-shaped partition wall that follows the movement of the movable part by the pole moving mechanism and surrounds the movable part, the A semiconductor processing device that improves the quality and yield of semiconductors can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams of semiconductor processing apparatuses according to other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams showing a semiconductor processing apparatus of other embodiments, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams of a conventional parallel plate type plasma processing apparatus. In the figure, (3) is the upper electrode, (4) is the lower electrode, (
5) is an insulator, (6) is a semiconductor, (9) is an electrode movable mechanism, (13) is a partition wall, (45) is a movable part, and (12) is a high frequency power source. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The semiconductor placed on the electrodes is processed by plasma generated between the electrodes while changing the spacing between the electrodes using an electrode moving mechanism that moves at least one of the pair of electrodes. A semiconductor processing device that includes a labyrinth-shaped partition that follows the movement of the movable part by an electrode movable mechanism and surrounds the movable part.