JPH07135197A - Substrate treater - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent adhesion of a reaction product to the inner wall of a chamber, which is caused by a temperature difference between the interior of a treating chamber and the inner wall of the chamber, by a method wherein a cavity part isolated from the interior of the chamber is provided in the wall thickness part of the chamber and temperature controlled gas is introudced in this cavity part. CONSTITUTION:Air conditioned gas 23a is introduced in a cavity part 3a of a quartz chamber 3 and an inner wall 3d of the chamber 3 is kept adjusted at a temperature, at which a reaction product due to an etching hardly adheres to the inner wall 3d. Then, etching gas is introduced in a treating chamber 2 and a patterned substrate 25 is etched. Also during this etching, as the inner wall of the chamber 3 is temperature controlled with a temperature controlled gas flow 23b being made to flow through the interior of the cavity part 3a, the reaction product generated by the etching does not adhere to the inner wall 3d and most of the product is exhausted. Thereby, adhesion of the reaction product to the inner wall 3d of the chamber 3, which is caused by a temperature difference between the interior of the chamber 2 and the inner wall 3d of the chamber 3, can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to introducing a processing gas into a chamber,
It is effectively used for a dry etching apparatus for etching a semiconductor substrate, a CVD apparatus for forming a thin film on a semiconductor substrate, an assing apparatus for removing photoresist, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When forming a circuit element on a semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor substrate is subjected to an oxidation treatment, an etching treatment, a thin film forming treatment, and the like. Among them, for example, the etching process is
Conventionally, a dry etching technique using plasma has been used.

FIG. 5 shows a main part of a conventional dry etching apparatus (anode coupling type). The dry etching apparatus includes a processing chamber 38 including a quartz chamber 39 and a processing chamber 38.
A high-frequency applying electrode 41 for supplying an etching gas to the inside and generating a plasma, a sample stage 45 on which a semiconductor substrate 43 is mounted, which is connected to a ground electrode, and a reaction gas is exhausted to keep the inside of the processing chamber 38 at a predetermined pressure. Exhaust means (not shown).

In the dry etching method using this dry etching apparatus, first, the semiconductor substrate 43 is placed on the sample table 45.
Then, the etching gas is introduced into the processing chamber 38.
The pressure in the processing chamber 38 is maintained at about several tens to 100 Pa with the etching gas introduced. Next, a high frequency voltage is applied to the high frequency applying electrode 41 to generate plasma. Due to this plasma potential, the reaction component 42 in the gas plasma is accelerated and collides with the semiconductor substrate 43 to be etched. For this dry etching, for example, CF4 gas is used for etching single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon, or silicon nitride, CHF3 gas is used for etching silicon dioxide, and Cl2 gas is used for etching aluminum. .

Regarding the plasma etching apparatus,
For example, "Integrated circuit process technology series, semiconductor plasma process technology" (published by Sangyo Tosho Co., Ltd.) No. 101
Pp. 165 and the like.

[0006]

As described above, when the dry etching process is performed, the reaction product 40 generated by the etching is generated by the quartz due to the temperature difference between the inner temperature of the processing chamber 38 and the inner wall of the quartz chamber 39. Chamber 39
Will adhere to the inner wall of the. In the dry etching process,
The end point of etching is detected by detecting the change in the state of the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 38 from outside the quartz chamber 39 by the end point detector 9. However, the quartz chamber 39
When the reaction product 40 adheres to the inner wall of the
Since 0 hinders detection, the detection of the etching end point becomes unstable and problems such as overetching occur. conventionally,
The quartz chamber was cleaned regularly to stabilize the detection, but the workability was poor and the operation rate of the device itself was lowered. In addition, foreign matter may not be completely removed, or external foreign matter may be newly attached, which causes a problem in terms of cleanliness in terms of process.

[0007] The present inventor has conducted intensive studies, paying attention to the fact that the temperature of the inner wall of the chamber influences the adhesion of reaction products.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent a reaction product generated when a processing gas is introduced into a chamber to process a semiconductor substrate from adhering to an inner wall of the chamber, and to use a semiconductor using the chamber. It is intended to improve the operating rate of the substrate processing apparatus and improve the cleanliness in terms of process.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0010]

The outline of the representative one of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows. That is, a cavity cut off from the inside of the chamber is formed in a thick portion that forms a chamber of a substrate processing apparatus that etches a substrate or forms a thin film on a substrate by introducing an etching gas or a thin film forming material gas into the chamber. A part is provided, and the temperature-controlled fluid is introduced into the cavity.

[0011]

The temperature of the inner wall of the chamber can be adjusted by introducing the temperature-controlled fluid into the cavity that is isolated from the inside of the chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the adhesion to the inner wall of the chamber due to the temperature difference between the inner temperature of the processing chamber and the inner wall of the chamber.

[0012]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below with reference to an example in which the present invention is applied to a dry etching apparatus (anode coupling type).

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a dry etching apparatus 1 using the present invention. Dry etching device 1
Is a processing chamber 2 mainly composed of a quartz chamber 3 and a transfer chamber 1.
2, preparatory chambers 10 and 11, loader 15, unloader 16
Composed of. A sample stage 4 and a high frequency applying electrode 5 are provided inside the processing chamber 2, and the etching gas is supplied into the processing chamber 2 from the gas supply means through the high frequency applying electrode 5. The inside of the processing chamber 2 is evacuated by the evacuation means 8 and maintained at a desired pressure. The thick portion of the quartz chamber 3 forming the processing chamber 2 is provided with a cavity 3a that is cut off from the inside of the processing chamber 2, and a gas whose temperature is adjusted by the temperature controller 18 is introduced, The temperature of the inner wall of the quartz chamber 3 can be adjusted. The temperature control gas introduction pipe 22 is provided with a temperature sensor 20, and is configured to detect a temperature change of the temperature control gas and feed it back to the temperature controller 18 by the control circuit 19.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the quartz chamber 3 of the dry etching apparatus 1. The quartz chamber 3 can be separated into an upper portion and a lower portion, and the inside is sealed by an O-ring 26. The temperature control gas 23 is the gas inlet 3b.
From the gas exhaust port 3c through the cavity 3a. The temperature control gas 23 controls the temperature of the inner wall 3d of the quartz chamber 3 when passing through the cavity 3a. Figure 2 (b)
A top view of the quartz chamber 3 is shown in FIG. The cavity 3a is divided into three by the partition wall 3e, and a gas inlet 3b and a gas outlet 3c are provided corresponding to each cavity.

An etching method using the dry etching apparatus 1 will be described below. First, the semiconductor substrate 25 is transferred from the loader 15 to the auxiliary chamber 11, the inside of the auxiliary chamber 11 is evacuated, and then the semiconductor substrate 25 is mounted on the sample table 4 in the processing chamber 2 by the transfer arm 12. The semiconductor substrate 25 placed on the sample table 4 connected to the temperature controller 18 is heated to an optimum temperature for etching. Incidentally, the processing chamber 2
Has been exhausted to a predetermined pressure in advance by the exhaust means 8. The quartz chamber 3 includes a temperature controller 18 in its cavity 3a.
The temperature-controlled gas 23 whose temperature is controlled by
Is adjusted to a temperature at which a reaction product due to etching does not easily adhere. Next, an etching gas is introduced into the processing chamber 2 and a high frequency voltage is applied to generate plasma. When the reaction component 24 in the gas plasma collides with the semiconductor substrate 25, it reacts with the substance forming the semiconductor substrate 25 and the semiconductor substrate 25 is etched.
Even during this etching, since the temperature of the inner wall 3d of the quartz chamber 3 is adjusted by introducing the temperature-adjusting gas into the cavity 3a, the reaction product generated by the etching does not adhere to the inner wall 3d, and most of it is Exhausted. The etching end point is detected by detecting a change in the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 2 with an end point detector 9 provided outside the quartz chamber 3. In the present invention, since the reaction product does not adhere to the inner wall of the quartz chamber 3, stable detection is possible. The semiconductor substrate 25 after the etching is transferred from the processing chamber 2 to the preliminary chamber 10 whose pressure is reduced to the same pressure by the transfer arm 12. Then, the preliminary chamber 10 is returned to the atmospheric pressure, and the semiconductor substrate 25 is removed from the preliminary chamber 10 by the unloader 16
Transport to.

FIG. 3 (a) is a diagram showing an example in which the temperature-controlled gas is introduced into the cavity from the top of the quartz chamber. The gas inlet port 28b is formed so as to surround the shaft portion of the high frequency applying electrode 30, and the gas outlet port 28d is formed in the quartz chamber 28.
It is formed on the side surface. FIG. 3B shows the quartz chamber 2
8 shows a top view of FIG. In the cavity 28a, partition walls 28e are radially formed from the top, and the cavity 28a is divided into eight. The gas discharge port is provided for each cavity, and the temperature control gas 31 is the gas introduction port 28 at the top.
It is introduced from b and has a structure that flows radially inside the cavity 28a. With this structure, the temperature of the inner wall 28d of the quartz chamber 28 is adjusted substantially evenly over the entire surface. In the case of this structure, the same effect can be obtained even if the gas inlet and the gas outlet are set reversely, that is, the flow of the temperature control gas is reversed.

The effects of the present invention will be described below.

(1) By providing a hollow portion, which is cut off from the inside of the chamber, in the thick portion forming the chamber and introducing a temperature-controlled fluid into the hollow portion, the temperature of the inner wall of the chamber can be adjusted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the reaction product generated by the processing of the substrate from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber.

(2) Since it is possible to prevent the reaction products from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber, it is possible to stabilize the detection of the internal atmosphere and the like from the outside of the chamber using the optical means.

(3) Since the detection of the internal atmosphere is stable,
Overetching can be prevented during the etching process.

(4) Since the reaction product can be prevented from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber, the frequency of maintenance such as cleaning of the chamber is reduced.

(5) Since the frequency of maintenance is reduced, foreign matter can be prevented from entering from the outside, and the cleanliness of the process is improved.

(6) Since the frequency of maintenance is reduced, the operating efficiency of the device itself can be improved.

Although the present invention has been concretely described based on the embodiments by the present inventor, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say. In the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a dry etching apparatus of a sheet type has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 4, a quartz chamber or a quartz jig of a batch type semiconductor substrate processing apparatus,
The same effect can be obtained by using the quartz jig 35 of the ashing device for removing the resist. Quartz jig 3
By providing the cavity portion 35a in 5 and introducing the temperature control fluid 37, the temperature can be uniformly maintained at any position where the semiconductor substrate is supported by the quartz jig 35.
It is possible to prevent the processing state from becoming non-uniform depending on the position where the plurality of semiconductor substrates are supported. Further, the fluid introduced into the cavity of the chamber may be not only gas but also temperature-controlled liquid.

The present invention can be applied not only to a dry etching apparatus but also to a CVD apparatus. For example, cold wall type low pressure CVD for forming a thin film of refractory metal or the like.
By using the present invention in the apparatus, a cooling fluid can be introduced into the cavity of the chamber to cool the inner wall of the chamber and prevent adhesion of products.

As described above, the present invention can be widely used for an apparatus for performing a process using a gas in a chamber, such as a dry etching apparatus, an ashing apparatus, a CVD apparatus.

[0027]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, an etching gas or a thin film forming material gas is introduced into the chamber, and the thick portion forming the chamber of the substrate processing apparatus for etching the substrate or forming the thin film on the substrate is cut off from the inside of the chamber. It is possible to adjust the temperature of the inner wall of the chamber by providing a hollow portion provided with the fluid and by introducing a temperature-controlled fluid into the hollow portion. Therefore, prevention of adhesion of reaction products to the inner wall of the chamber due to the temperature difference between the inner temperature of the processing chamber and the inner wall of the chamber,
It is possible to stabilize the detection of the internal atmosphere and the like, improve the cleanliness of the process, and improve the operation efficiency of the apparatus itself.

[0029]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a dry etching apparatus 1 using the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the quartz chamber 3 of the dry etching apparatus 1, and FIG. 2B is a top view of the quartz chamber 3.

3A is a diagram showing an example of introducing a temperature-adjusted gas into the cavity from the top of the quartz chamber, and FIG. 3B is a top view of the quartz chamber 28. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a quartz jig of an asher device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a quartz chamber of a conventional dry etching apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Dry etching device, 2 ... Processing chamber, 3 ... Quartz chamber, 3a ... Cavity, 3b ... Gas inlet, 3
c ... gas discharge port, 3d ... inner wall, 3e ... partition wall, 4 ...
… Sample stand, 5 …… High frequency applying electrode, 6 …… Gas supply means, 7 …… High frequency power supply, 8 …… Exhaust means, 9 …… End point detector, 10, 11 …… Spare room, 12 …… Transfer room , 13 ...
… Preliminary chamber stage, 14 …… Transfer arm, 15 …… Loader, 16 …… Unloader, 17 …… Temperature control gas introduction pipe, 1
8 ... Temperature controller, 19 ... Control circuit, 20 ... Temperature sensor, 21 ... Air introducing pipe, 22 ... Temperature adjusting gas introducing pipe, 2
3 ... Temperature control gas, 23a ... Introduced gas, 23b ... Air flow, 23c ... Exhaust gas, 24 ... Reaction component in gas plasma, 25 ... Semiconductor substrate, 26 ... O-ring, 27
...... Processing chamber, 28 ... Quartz chamber, 28a ... Cavity, 28b ... Gas inlet, 28c ... Gas outlet, 2
9 ... Sample stage, 30 ... High frequency applying electrode, 31 ... Temperature control gas, 32 ... Reaction component in gas plasma, 33 ... Semiconductor substrate, 34 ... O-ring, 35 ... Quartz jig, 35
a ... cavity, 36 ... semiconductor substrate, 37 ... temperature control fluid, 38 ... processing chamber, 39 ... quartz chamber, 40 ...
Reaction product, 41 ... High-frequency applying electrode, 42 ... Reaction component in gas plasma, 43 ... Semiconductor substrate, 44 ... O
Ring, 45 ... Sample stand,

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location H01L 21/31 H01L 21/31 B

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for etching a substrate or forming a thin film on a substrate by introducing an etching gas or a thin film forming material gas into a chamber, wherein a thick portion forming the chamber is A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a cavity that is cut off from the inside of the chamber; and an inlet and an outlet for introducing a temperature-controlled fluid into the cavity. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is made of quartz, and an end point detector for detecting an end point of etching of the substrate by an optical means is provided outside the chamber. apparatus. 3. The substrate processing apparatus is a low pressure CVD apparatus for introducing a cooled fluid into the cavity and depositing a refractory metal or its compound on the heated substrate. Item 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to Item 1. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a supporting jig for setting a plurality of substrates or a sample table is provided in the chamber.