JPH05275343A - Substrate treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a substrate treatment apparatus capable of efficiency promotion in treatment of a substrate and manufacture of a high-quality film. CONSTITUTION:The light source 19 of the film thickness measure 17 provided inside an orientation-flat chamber 10A applies a light to a substrate 15, and a light receiving element 20 receives the reflected light, and an arithmetic unit 21 calculates the thickness before film formation of the substrate 15 and that after film formation in a film formation chamber 11 so as to seek the thickness of a film 16, and based on this measurement results, a chain of treating processes of a substrate 15 are controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for guiding a substrate into a processing chamber and performing a predetermined processing such as thin film growth when manufacturing a semiconductor device such as a VLSI.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a vapor phase growth apparatus for supplying a gas (raw material gas, carrier gas, etc.) into a reaction furnace and vapor-depositing a thin film on a substrate arranged in the reaction furnace to manufacture a semiconductor or the like is generally used. After the substrate having a thin film formed on its surface is carried out from the vapor phase growth apparatus, the thickness of the thin film is measured by a separately installed measuring device to evaluate the thin film.

Further, in recent years, semiconductor devices such as VLSIs have been remarkably highly integrated, and accordingly, the substrate (wafer) diameter has been increased. Therefore, a single-wafer type vapor phase growth apparatus that processes one substrate at a time as compared with a vapor phase growth apparatus that simultaneously processes a large number of substrates can relatively easily cope with a large substrate. It has attracted attention because it has advantages such as high accuracy of vapor phase formation and easy uniformization of a thin film in a substrate surface by processing one by one.

Recently, in order to further improve the efficiency of the above-mentioned single-wafer vapor phase growth apparatus, a series of substrate processing steps such as loading, unloading, natural oxide film removing apparatus, thin film manufacturing apparatus (reactor furnace) A multi-chamber type vapor phase growth apparatus is conceivable.

[0005]

By the way, in the multi-chamber type vapor phase growth apparatus as described above, in order to efficiently perform a series of substrate processing steps, the film thickness of the thin film formed on the substrate by the thin film manufacturing apparatus is increased. It is necessary to incorporate a measuring device into the device and control the substrate processing process based on the measurement result.

However, conventionally, the film thickness of the thin film on the substrate surface has been measured by, for example, a step gauge by a destructive inspection, and therefore the film thickness cannot be evaluated as an in-line system immediately after the thin film is manufactured. On the other hand, the film thickness measurement method using infrared rays can be in-line, but has a drawback that measurement cannot be performed when the carrier concentration of the thin film becomes high.

For this reason, it was not possible to increase the speed and efficiency of the substrate processing process regardless of the film quality.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficiently controlling a substrate processing process on the basis of thin film thickness measurement information.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a substrate processing apparatus capable of forming a thin film on a substrate, in which the thickness information of the substrate before and after the thin film formation by a non-contact type measuring means or Each surface position information is measured,
It is characterized in that the processing step of the substrate is controlled based on the measurement result.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the substrate processing step is controlled, for example, the thin film growth conditions (reaction temperature, raw material gas flow rate, etc.) are controlled or formed based on the measured thin film thickness measurement result. When the film thickness of the thin film is out of the standard, control is performed such that the subsequent steps are omitted and the film is collected, so that the substrate processing can be efficiently performed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an essential part of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention applied to a vapor phase growth apparatus, and FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the vapor phase growth apparatus which concerns.

As shown in FIG. 2, a rotatable handler 1 is provided.
Around the handler chamber 2 provided with a load / unload chamber 8, an etching chamber 9, an orientation flat chamber 10, a thin film forming chamber 11 and a measuring chamber via gate valves 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, respectively. A multi-chamber type vapor phase growth apparatus is configured by connecting 12 together.

The load / unload chamber 8 has a door 1
A cassette station 14 is connected through the cassette station 3, and the substrate 15 is carried in and out from the outside through the cassette station 14.

In the etching chamber 9, the natural oxide film adhering to the surface of the substrate 15 is formed by, for example, HF (hydrogen fluoride).
Etching with gas etc., the orientation flat chamber 10
The position of the orientation flat (orientation flat) of the substrate 15 is detected and aligned in a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the inside of the etching chamber 9 has a constant temperature bath structure so that it is always kept at a predetermined temperature.

The thin film forming chamber 11 includes a substrate 15
A predetermined gas (raw material gas, carrier gas, etc.) is supplied to the substrate to perform predetermined vapor phase growth to form a thin film on the surface of the substrate 15, and the measurement chamber 12 uses various thin films on the substrate 15. To measure and inspect. A series of processing operations of the vapor phase growth apparatus configured as described above are controlled by a controller (not shown).

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a film thickness measuring device 17 for measuring the film thickness of the thin film 16 formed on the surface of the substrate 15 is installed in the orientation flat chamber 10, for example. Based on the thickness information of the thin film measured by the thickness measuring device 17, the control device (not shown) described above is
Controls a series of substrate processing steps (details will be described later).

The film thickness measuring device 17 includes a measuring table 18 on which the substrate 15 is placed, a light source 19 for irradiating the substrate 15 with light, and a light receiving element for receiving the reflected light of the light emitted from the light source 19 to the substrate 15. 20 and an arithmetic unit 21 for calculating the film thickness of the thin film 16 formed on the surface of the substrate 15 from the position of the reflected light from the substrate 15 received by the light receiving element 20. The arithmetic unit 21 may be arranged outside the orientation flat chamber 10.

The orientation flat chamber 10 is particularly susceptible to the effects of the peripheral etching chamber 9, thin film forming chamber 11, etc. In particular, when laser light is used as the light source, the temperature may fluctuate, so temperature control is performed. Is desirable. In that case, if a cooling device (a cooling pipe or the like for circulating a refrigerant, not shown) or a heating device (a heater or the like, not shown) is provided on the wall surface 10a in the upper part of the orientation flat chamber 10, a constant temperature chamber configuration is provided. good.

The measuring table 18 has a positioning function (orientation flat matching function), and the mounting surface 18 on which the substrate 15 is mounted.
A plurality of concentric grooves 18b are formed in a. In each groove 18b, the exhaust passage 2 formed in the measuring table 18
An exhaust pump (not shown) is connected via the exhaust chamber 23, the exhaust chamber 23, and the groove 18b by the exhaust pump.
By exhausting the inside, the substrate 15 is attracted to the groove 18b, and the substrate 15 is attached to the mounting surface 18a where the groove 18b is formed.
Stick to each other.

As the light source 19 for irradiating the substrate 15 with light, for example, a laser light such as a semiconductor laser or a He-Ne laser, or a light source for emitting LED light or incandescent light is used. In the case of incandescent light, an optical system that narrows down the emitted light is used.

As the light receiving element 20, for example, a DSP or the like is used, and it is arranged at a position for receiving the reflected light from the surface of the substrate 15 and the surface of the thin film 16.

The arithmetic unit 20 receives the light received by the light receiving element 19 and the reflected light from the surface of the substrate 15 and the surface of the thin film 16 (for example, position information of the light spot received on the DSP). And the thickness of the thin film 16 are measured.

Next, the substrate processing operation of the vapor phase growth apparatus according to the present embodiment described above will be described.

The substrate 15 that has been pretreated and stored in a cassette or the like and transported from a clean room or the like is first installed in the cassette station 14 together with the cassette.

After the substrate 15 installed in the cassette station 14 is transferred into the load / unload chamber 8 in synchronization with the opening / closing operation of the door 13, the handler chamber is operated in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 3. It is carried into the handler chamber 2 by the second handler 1 and further carried into the etching chamber 9 by the handler 1 in synchronization with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 4.

When the substrate 15 is transferred into the etching chamber 9, the gate valve 4 is closed and the etching chamber 9 is closed.
The inside is evacuated, and the natural oxide film attached to the surface of the substrate 15 is etched by, for example, HF (hydrogen fluoride) gas.

When the oxide film on the substrate 15 is removed in the etching chamber 9, the substrate 15 is transferred to the handler chamber 2 by the handler 1 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 4, and the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 5 is further performed. The handler 1 conveys it into the orientation flat chamber 10 in conjunction with.

In the orientation flat chamber 10, the position of the orientation flat (orientation flat) of the substrate 15 placed on the measuring table 18 is detected. At this time, the inside of the groove 18b formed in the mounting surface 18a of the substrate 15 is exhausted by an exhaust pump (not shown) through the exhaust passage 22, the exhaust chamber 23, and the exhaust cylinder 24, and the substrate 15 is mounted on the mounting surface of the measurement table 18. It adheres to 18a.

Then, the substrate 15 is irradiated with light from the light source 19 of the film thickness measuring device 17, the reflected light reflected on the surface of the substrate 15 is received by the light receiving element 20, and the light receiving signal output from the light receiving element 20 is output. The position of the surface of the substrate 15 (height information, Z direction position information in the figure) is calculated by taking in the arithmetic unit 21.
The measured Z-direction position information of the surface of the substrate 15 in the drawing is stored in the arithmetic unit 21.

When the orientation flat and the thickness of the substrate 15 are measured in the orientation flat chamber 10, the substrate 1 is transferred by the handler 1 to the handler chamber 2 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 5, and the gate valve 6 is opened / closed. The handler 1 transfers the film into the thin film forming chamber 11 in conjunction with the operation.

In the thin film forming chamber 11, first, when HF (hydrogen fluoride) gas is used during the etching process in the etching chamber 9, the F (fluorine) adhering to the surface of the substrate 15 is exposed to ultraviolet rays or the like. Irradiate and remove (F
(Fluorine may be removed in the etching chamber 9) or the inside of the thin film forming chamber 11 is heated to control a predetermined pressure to supply a gas (a raw material gas, a carrier gas, etc.). Then, the thin film 16 is vapor-deposited.

The thin film 1 is formed on the substrate 15 in the thin film forming chamber 11.
6 is formed, the substrate 15 is again interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 6 by the handler 1 and the handler chamber 2
Then, the handler 1 conveys it into the orientation flat chamber 10 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 5. Then, the substrate 15 mounted on the mounting surface 18a of the measuring table 18 in the orientation flat chamber 10 is exhausted into the groove 18b formed in the mounting surface 18a by an exhaust pump (not shown) in the exhaust passage 22, the exhaust chamber 23, The air is exhausted through the exhaust pipe 24 so that the mounting surface 18a is brought into close contact with the mounting surface 18a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light source 19 of the film thickness measuring device 17 irradiates the substrate 15 with light, and the light receiving element 20 receives the reflected light reflected by the surface of the thin film 16 formed on the surface of the substrate 15. Then, the light receiving signal output from the light receiving element 20 is received by the arithmetic unit 21, and the Z direction position information of the surface of the thin film 16 is calculated. The measurement position at this time is the same position as the position where the surface position information of the substrate 15 was previously measured.

The position information in the Z direction in the drawing is obtained by the substrate 1 including the thickness of the substrate 15 or the thickness of the thin film 16 if the position information of the bottom surface of the substrate 15 is known.
This is equivalent to determining the thickness of 5.

The arithmetic unit 21 calculates the value of the Z direction position information (height) of the surface of the substrate 15 measured previously from the measured value of the Z direction position information (height) of the surface of the thin film 16. Is subtracted to calculate the thickness of the thin film 16, and it is determined whether the thickness of the formed thin film 16 is within a predetermined range.
Further, since the warp amount of the substrate 15 can be similarly measured by measuring the thickness of the thin film 16 by the arithmetic unit 21, it is simultaneously determined whether or not the warp amount of the substrate 15 is within a predetermined range.

When the arithmetic unit 21 causes the thickness of the thin film 16 and the warp amount of the substrate 15 to fall within predetermined ranges, a signal from the arithmetic unit 21 to a control unit (not shown) to execute the next substrate processing step. Is output, the substrate 15 in the orientation flat chamber 10 is transferred to the gate valve 5 by the handler 1.
Is transferred to the handler chamber 2 in synchronism with the opening / closing operation of the handler 1, and is further linked to the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 7 in the handler 1
Is carried into the measurement chamber 12.

In the measurement chamber 12, various measurements and inspections are performed on the thin film 16 formed on the surface of the substrate 15 (for example, resistivity, composition, surface condition, particles, metal impurities, crystal defects, film interface condition of the thin film). Etc. are performed and these measurements and inspections are completed, the substrate 15 in the measurement chamber 12 is transferred to the handler chamber 2 by the handler 1 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 7, and further, the gate valve 3 The handler 1 conveys it onto the cassette in the load / unload chamber 8 in synchronization with the opening / closing operation.

The substrate 15 transferred into the load / unload chamber 8 is transferred to the cassette station 14 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the door 13, whereby a series of processing sequence is completed. The series of processing sequences of the substrate 15 described above are continuously executed.

When the film thickness measuring device 17 measures the film thickness of the thin film 16 formed on the surface of the substrate 15 in the orientation flat chamber 10 described above, the film thickness of the thin film 16 or the amount of warp of the substrate 15 is measured. If it exceeds the predetermined range, a signal for stopping the subsequent processing step of the substrate 15 is output from the arithmetic unit 21 to the control unit (not shown), and the handler 1 gates the substrate 15 in the orientation flat chamber 10. It is transferred into the handler chamber 2 in synchronization with the opening / closing operation of the valve 5, and further transferred into the load / unload chamber 8 by the handler 1 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 3.

A film thickness measuring device 1 in the orientation flat chamber 10
The measurement data of the film thickness of the thin film 16 measured by 7 is stored in the arithmetic unit 21, and the measurement result is fed back in real time to control the thin film forming process in the thin film forming chamber 11 (for example, vapor phase growth temperature, raw material). By controlling the gas flow rate and the like), it is possible to reduce the generation of defective substrates and form a high-quality thin film on the substrate 15.

In the above-described embodiment, the film thickness measuring device 17 is provided in the orientation flat chamber 10, but other than the orientation flat chamber 10, for example, the etching chamber 9, the load chamber, etc.
It may be provided in either the unload chamber 8 or the measurement chamber 12.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the optical film thickness measuring means using the light source 19 such as a semiconductor laser is used for the film thickness measuring device 17, but other than this, for example, an eddy current type displacement gauge or a static electricity measuring device. It is also possible to use a non-contact type film thickness measuring means such as a capacitance type displacement meter.

[0044]

As described above in detail based on the embodiments, according to the present invention, the thickness of the substrate before and after the thin film formation is measured by the non-contact type film thickness measuring means. By measuring the thickness of the formed thin film and controlling a series of substrate processing steps based on the measurement results, processing such as stopping the subsequent processing steps when the thin film thickness is outside the predetermined range Can be performed and the measurement result of the film thickness can be fed back to the subsequent thin film formation of the substrate in real time, so that the efficiency of substrate processing can be improved and a high quality thin film can be manufactured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of a vapor phase growth apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a vapor phase growth apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Handler 2 Handler Room 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7 Gate Valve 8 Load / Unload Chamber 9 Etching Chamber 10 Orifla Chamber 11 Thin Film Forming Chamber (Thin Film Manufacturing Equipment) 12 Measurement Chamber 15 Substrate 16 Thin Film 17 Film Thickness Measuring Equipment (Film thickness measuring means) 19 Light source 20 Light receiving element 21 Computing device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a substrate processing apparatus capable of forming a thin film on a substrate, thickness information or surface position information of the substrate before and after thin film formation is measured by a non-contact type measuring means, and the substrate is measured based on the measurement result. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is controlled.