JPH07147241A - Maintenance mechanism of semiconductor wafer process equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide constitution of a maintenance mechanism wherein inspection maintenance operation of a wafer retaining mechanism is enabled in the state that the physical load of an operater is reduced, and equipment performance reproducibility after operation can be realized without any trouble. CONSTITUTION:A maintenance mechanism is composed of an elevating mechanism 16 which elevates a wafer retaining mechanism 4 and a horizontally moving mechanism 17 which horizontally moves the elevating mechanism 16. Thereby the wafer retaining mechanism 4 can be operated without depending on manpower, and equipment performance reproducibllity is easily realized by rectangular two-directional movement in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, which is integrated with a vacuum partition flange for hermetically closing an open upper end surface of a reaction chamber into which a reaction gas is introduced during surface processing of a wafer. A wafer holding mechanism is integrated with a vacuum partition flange for maintenance of the reaction chamber and the wafer holding mechanism of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus equipped with a wafer holding mechanism that holds a wafer to be processed vertically downward in a reaction chamber during processing. The present invention relates to a configuration of a maintenance mechanism of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus that moves a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus to an inspection / maintenance work position in a computerized state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as such a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, one shown in FIG. 4 is known. This apparatus is an apparatus intended to improve film quality by low-temperature film formation when forming a thin film on a wafer surface, and is known as an ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) plasma CVD apparatus. The apparatus includes a plasma generation chamber 2 that introduces microwaves to cause electron cyclotron resonance with the magnetic field of the solenoid coil 1 arranged outside, and a reaction chamber 3 that communicates with the plasma generation chamber 2 through an opening. A wafer holding mechanism 4 configured by a moving mechanism that holds the wafer 7 vertically downward in the reaction chamber 3 and moves vertically in the vertical direction; and a vacuum partition flange 5 on which the wafer holding mechanism 4 is mounted and fixed. Is configured as a main member. Here, in order to hold the wafer vertically downward, the wafer stage 8 located at the lower end of the wafer holding mechanism 4 has a plurality of plate electrodes embedded in a disk-shaped insulator to generate an electrostatic attraction force. An electrostatic chuck that attracts and holds a wafer on the surface of an insulator is used.

With the above structure, the reaction chamber 3 is evacuated, and a microwave is introduced into a place where a carrier gas (plasma source gas) such as nitrogen, oxygen, or argon is flown into the plasma generation chamber 2 according to the purpose. At the same time, a source gas such as silane gas is introduced into the reaction chamber 3 to form a thin film. Further, in order to improve the film thickness distribution and film quality, a sub-solenoid coil 9 for controlling the magnetic field of the main coil 1 is mounted on the vacuum partition plasma 5 on which the wafer holding mechanism 4 is mounted. Further, in a mass production apparatus of this type of semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, the apparatus body is housed in a housing 10 as shown in the figure, and a wafer carrier 11 for housing a processing wafer 7.
Also, a wafer transfer robot 12 that takes out the wafers one by one from the wafer carrier 11 and transfers the wafers 7 to the wafer stage 8 of the reaction chamber 3 in a vacuum, a load lock chamber 15 that stores the wafer transfer robot 12 in a vacuum, and a wafer. It is generally known that a wafer carrier up-and-down robot 13 that moves up and down in synchronization with the transfer robot 12 is provided and automatically performs single-wafer processing.

In the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus thus configured, the source gas such as silane gas activated by the plasma generated in the plasma generation chamber 2 when forming a thin film on the wafer surface is the stage 8 or the reaction chamber 3. inner wall,
A thin film is also formed by adhering to the inner wall of the plasma generation chamber 2. When the adhered thin film is peeled off, dust that contaminates the thin film formed on the wafer is generated, and the film quality is deteriorated while processing a large number of wafers. Needs cleaning. Therefore, in order to clean the stage 8 and the inner wall of the reaction chamber 3, the vacuum partition flange 5 on which the wafer holding mechanism 4 is mounted and fixed, and the reaction chamber container 3 can be swung open and closed integrally with the hinge portion 14 as a fulcrum, and periodically. It has a structure that allows easy cleaning.

[0005]

In the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus configured as described above, when the wafer holding mechanism is mounted and fixed and the vacuum partitioning flange is pivotally opened and closed from the reaction chamber container with the hinge portion as the fulcrum, the vacuum partitioning is performed. The stage (8) of the wafer holding mechanism mounted and fixed on the flange is connected with a power supply cable for giving wafer holding power from the outside and a power introduction cable to the vertical movement motor (4b), which is removed when the swivel is opened and closed. Work is required. Further, since the wafer holding mechanism and the sub-solenoid coil are placed on the vacuum partition flange, the weight is heavy and the opening and closing work is a heavy labor. Moreover, it took time to remove the power cable and the like. There was also a problem that the center of the stage and the center of the reaction chamber were misaligned after opening and closing. In particular, in mass production equipment, maintenance work such as regular cleaning work of equipment is important in order to obtain stable and high-quality products.
In addition, from the viewpoint of improving productivity, it is important to minimize the downtime of the equipment for cleaning the equipment, and prevent deterioration of equipment performance due to misalignment that may occur during reassembly and reproduce equipment performance. It is also important to ensure sex.

Further, in recent semiconductor manufacturing lines, the area occupied by the equipment is reduced and a large number of equipments are installed to improve the productivity. Therefore, the miniaturization of the equipment and the maintainability of the equipment associated therewith are improved. Has become extremely important. Further, since the number of personnel who are in charge of maintenance of the device is minimized, it is desired to reduce the burden of maintenance work of the device.

The object of the present invention is to significantly reduce the physical burden on the worker until the inspection and maintenance work can be started, avoid the enlargement of the device, and reproducibility of the device performance after the work. It is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration of a maintenance mechanism without any.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a maintenance mechanism for moving a wafer holding mechanism to an inspection and maintenance work position in a state where the wafer holding mechanism is integrated with a reaction chamber is provided. A vertical movement mechanism for vertically moving the vertical movement mechanism and a horizontal movement mechanism for horizontally moving the vertical movement mechanism.

Here, the connection between the wafer holding mechanism and the elevating mechanism for vertically moving the wafer holding mechanism is performed by connecting the lower surface of the connecting portion provided in the wafer holding mechanism to the upper surface of the connecting portion provided in the elevating mechanism. It is preferable that the process is performed by moving the upper direction and making contact. In addition, the horizontal movement mechanism is provided with a plurality of stoppers that stop an elevating mechanism that horizontally moves by rotation of the axis on a single axis parallel to a horizontal rail for horizontal movement at a predetermined position for inspection and maintenance work. It is extremely suitable if a stopper mechanism provided with a member is additionally provided.

The plurality of stopper members are made of rectangular plate materials having at least short side intervals equal to each other, and the axis of the rotary shaft is arranged on the rotary shaft from the center of gravity of the rectangle to one short side in the long side direction. It is fixed so that it passes through an eccentric position perpendicularly to the plate surface, and the long side direction of each stopper member matches.
It is extremely preferable to rotate the rotating shaft by 90 degrees to stop the moving lifting mechanism at a predetermined position or to make the stopped lifting mechanism movable.

The stopper members fixed to the rotary shaft are fixed to two positions on the rotary shaft on both sides of the position of the wafer holding mechanism during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. Stopper members are used for the inspection and maintenance work of the reaction chamber and the wafer holding mechanism, respectively, and the stopper members at each one inner side place the lifting mechanism to the operating position of the semiconductor wafer processing device after the inspection and maintenance work. It may be used for stopping.

Further, in the maintenance mechanism, in addition to the above stopper mechanism, the elevating mechanism is held stationary in the horizontal direction at a position during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and the elevating mechanism can be moved in the horizontal direction in synchronization with the stopper member. It is preferable to provide a lock mechanism. In addition, it is preferable that the lock operation portion of the lock mechanism is provided on the rotation shaft of the stopper mechanism.

The lock operation portion of this lock mechanism is composed of a rod or a hole at the tip of the arm member provided on the rotating shaft,
It is extremely suitable to lock the horizontal movement of the lifting mechanism by fitting it with a hole or hole provided in the lifting mechanism or a rod. Furthermore, the stopper mechanism
At least one of the front end portions in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft is provided with a lock mechanism for holding the rotating shaft rotating position after rotation of the rotating shaft for stopping and moving the lifting mechanism. Is good.

In this case, the lock mechanism passes through the lock plate fixed to the longitudinal end face of the rotary shaft and having the hole at the eccentric position, and the hole of the plate member fixed to the fixing member of the horizontal moving mechanism. It is preferable to use a lock pin that is inserted into the hole of the lock plate.

[0015]

When the maintenance mechanism is constructed in this way, as described above, a mass production apparatus for semiconductor wafer processing apparatus usually has a case surrounding the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. Since the rails for horizontal movement can be laid using both side walls of the body, the maintenance mechanism can be configured without increasing the size of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. Then, the lift mechanism that constitutes this maintenance mechanism is operated to lift the wafer holding mechanism,
When the hoisting and lowering mechanism is moved horizontally by operating the horizontal movement mechanism, the inspection and maintenance work can be started, so that the physical load on the worker before the start of the inspection and maintenance work is significantly reduced. Further, since the maintenance mechanism is configured to move the lifting mechanism to a predetermined position by a combination of vertical movement and horizontal movement of the lifting mechanism, the maintenance mechanism is easily reproducible after work. Can be realized. Further, according to this structure, as the structure of the elevating mechanism, it is possible to form the fixed frame to which the mechanical member is attached in the shape of a casing to enclose the wafer holding mechanism, and therefore, the movable frame for adjusting the position of the held wafer is possible. It is possible to prevent external contact with a part of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and the housing that conventionally surrounds the entire semiconductor wafer processing apparatus can be made to have an open structure except for the main part. It also facilitates cleaning of the wave introduction window and cleaning of the plasma generation chamber.

In the maintenance mechanism configured as described above, the wafer holding mechanism for vertically moving the wafer holding mechanism and the lifting mechanism are connected to each other by the lifting mechanism on the lower surface side of the connecting portion provided in the wafer holding mechanism. If the upper surface side of the provided connecting portion moves upward and abuts, the vacuum partition flange will be hung up to the upper surface of the reaction chamber during reassembly after inspection and maintenance work, and then the lifting mechanism will Since it can be further lowered, the reaction chamber is evacuated and atmospheric pressure is applied to the vacuum flange to press the sealing material,
When deformed, this deformation is performed without being prevented by the elevating mechanism, and it is possible to prevent vacuum leak on the upper surface side of the reaction chamber.

Then, the horizontal moving mechanism is stopped on the one axis parallel to the horizontal rail for moving in the horizontal direction, and the lifting mechanism moving horizontally by the rotation of the axis is stopped at a predetermined position for inspection and maintenance work. If a stopper mechanism including a plurality of stopper members is provided, the elevating mechanism can be stopped at a predetermined position by the rotation operation of one shaft, and the physical load of the operator before the start of the inspection and maintenance work. Can be significantly reduced.

Therefore, the plurality of stopper members are made of rectangular plate materials having at least short side intervals equal to each other, and the axis of the rotating shaft is arranged on the rotating shaft from the center of gravity of the rectangle to one short side in the long side direction. The stopper mechanism is fixed so that it passes through the eccentric position perpendicularly to the plate surface, and the long side direction of each stopper member coincides, and the rotating shaft is rotated 90 degrees to bring the moving lifting mechanism to a predetermined position. If the lifting mechanism is stopped or movable while it is stopped, it is possible to realize a state in which the lifting mechanism is stopped or movable at a predetermined position with an extremely simple structure. Also, by looking at the turning position of the turning shaft, it is possible to selectively discriminate between these two states.

Further, the stopper members are fixed on the rotating shaft at two positions on both sides of the position of the wafer holding mechanism during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and the stopper members at the outermost one of the two positions are in the reaction chamber. Used for the inspection and maintenance work of the wafer holding mechanism and the wafer holding mechanism, and the stopper member at each one of the inner sides is used to stop the lifting mechanism at the operating position of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus after the inspection and maintenance work. Since the wafer carrier for single-wafer processing is located at the rear of the apparatus, the wafer holding mechanism is moved to the wafer carrier side to invade the space on the front side of the apparatus during cleaning or inspection / maintenance work of only the reaction chamber. You can work without it.

Further, as the maintenance mechanism, a lock mechanism is provided which holds the elevating mechanism horizontally at a position during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus and allows the elevating mechanism to move horizontally in synchronization with the stopper member. By doing so, it is possible to prevent lateral displacement when a vibration such as an earthquake is received under the device configuration in which the vacuum partition flange is pressed against the upper surface of the reaction chamber only by the atmospheric pressure, and is formed on the semiconductor wafer. It is possible to prevent the influence of external vibration on the film quality and the film thickness distribution of the formed thin film. Moreover, since the lifting / lowering mechanism operates so as to be movable in the horizontal direction in synchronization with the stopper member on the rotation shaft of the stopper mechanism, it does not hinder the inspection and maintenance work.

Therefore, if the lock operation portion of the lock mechanism is provided on the rotary shaft of the stopper mechanism, the lock operation operates in synchronization with the stopper member on the rotary shaft, and therefore another lock is provided for synchronization. No means is required and the lock mechanism can be constructed at low cost. In addition, the lock operation part of this lock mechanism consists of a rod or hole at the tip of the arm member provided on the rotating shaft, and locks the horizontal movement of the lifting mechanism by fitting it with the hole or hole provided in the lifting mechanism or the rod. If so, the structure can be remarkably simplified and the mechanism can be made highly reliable.

The stopper mechanism attached to the horizontal moving mechanism is provided with a turning shaft turning position after turning the turning shaft for stopping and moving the lifting mechanism on at least one of the distal ends of the turning shaft in the longitudinal direction. If a lock mechanism for holding the robot immovably is provided, it is possible to lock the rotary shaft every time the modes of stop and movement are changed to surely perform the desired mode,
A reliable maintenance mechanism for operation can be provided.

Then, the lock mechanism is passed through a lock plate fixed to the end face in the longitudinal direction of the rotating shaft and having a hole at an eccentric position, and a hole of a plate member fixed to a fixing member of the horizontal moving mechanism. If the lock mechanism is configured by using the lock pin inserted into the hole of the lock plate, the structure of the lock mechanism can be remarkably simplified and the cost can be reduced.

[0024]

1 is a side view of a maintenance mechanism of a semiconductor processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2 and shows a stopper mechanism and an operating method in the maintenance mechanism of the semiconductor processing apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, the same members as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, a solenoid coil 1, a plasma generation chamber 2 and a reaction chamber 3 are installed in a housing 10,
A wafer holding mechanism 4 is mounted and fixed on the vacuum partition flange 5 above the reaction chamber 3. Further, the wafer holding mechanism 4 above the reaction chamber 3 is separated from the reaction chamber 3 and rises in a state of being connected to the elevating mechanism 16 and integrated with the vacuum partition flange 5. After rising, the horizontal movement mechanism 17
It is possible to move to the position at the time of maintenance of the reaction chamber 3.
Further, the wafer holding mechanism 4 can be moved in the opposite direction to the wafer stage maintenance position, the space inside the apparatus housing 10 can be effectively utilized, and the operator's physical burden is lightened.

In FIG. 2, the raising / lowering operation of the wafer holding mechanism 4 by the raising / lowering mechanism 16 is provided in the wafer holding mechanism 4, and the hook 4A for raising / lowering the wafer holding mechanism constitutes a connecting portion of the raising / lowering mechanism 16 with the wafer holding mechanism 4. The ascending / descending mechanism connection block 16B is connected in a state of being abutted from below, and ascends / descends. Conversely, when descending, the wafer holding mechanism 4 rides on the elevating mechanism connecting block 16 and descends, and the vacuum partition flange 5
Since the elevating mechanism connection block 16 moves further downward even after the gas has been placed on the O-ring 6 on the upper surface of the reaction chamber, when the inside of the reaction chamber 3 is evacuated and the O-ring 6 is pressed and deformed by the vacuum partition flange 5. The deformation of the O-ring 6 of the reaction chamber 3 is performed without being hindered by the lifting mechanism connection block 16.
It is possible to prevent vacuum leak on the upper surface side.

Next, the reaction chamber 3 (FIG. 2) and wafer holding
Inspection and maintenance work such as cleaning of mechanism 4 (hereinafter referred to as maintenance work
Also called. Note that maintenance may be abbreviated as maintenance.
The wafer holding mechanism 4 at a predetermined position for
A positioning method for doing this will be described. Note that positioning
Stopper mechanism attached to the horizontal movement mechanism for18
Is the horizontal rail of the horizontal movement mechanism, as shown in Fig. 3.
A rotating shaft 18 which is rotatably supported by a horizontal moving mechanism in parallel.
G and a stopper fixed at a predetermined position on the rotating shaft 18G
The members 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D and the lifting mechanism 16
A lock mechanism that holds the center of the reaction chamber horizontally.
Right end of the stopper cylinder 18E and the rotating shaft 18G
A lock part 18F fixed to the surface,
Locking guide plate 1 fixed to the fixing member of the horizontal movement mechanism
8H, insert into hole of guide plate 18H and hole of lock plate 18F
The lock pin 20 is used. Well
Also, the stopper members 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D
All are made of rectangular plate material with the same long side spacing and alternate
And is fixed to the rotary shaft 18G. Figure 3
(A) shows the state immediately before the start of maintenance work.
Projected forward from the upper cylinder 18E by air pressure
The piston rod is inserted into the hole of the lifting mechanism 16
Therefore, the elevating mechanism 16 cannot move left and right. Since
The lower part of the wafer stage held by the wafer holding mechanism.
Move the lifting mechanism 16 for each maintenance work in the reaction chamber
The method and the stopping method will be described.

First, as a procedure 1 of maintenance work,
When the elevating mechanism 16 is moved to the cleaning work position of the wafer stage 8, the stopper cylinder 18E that positions and locks the elevating mechanism 16 at the center position of the reaction chamber 3 is unlocked, and then to the right of the rotating shaft 18G. Lock plate 18 at the tip
When the lock pin 20 inserted in F is pulled out and the rotary shaft 18G is rotated counterclockwise by 90 ° (FIG. 11B), the stopper member 18 fixed to the rotary shaft 18G is provided.
In A, 18B, 18C, and 18D, the long sides of the rectangle are all in the vertical direction, and the elevating mechanism 16 can be moved horizontally, so that they move to the position for wafer stage maintenance. Even at this time, the lock pin 20 is inserted into the lock plate 18F in order to keep the movable state until the movement is completed.

In step 2, after the completion of the movement to the position for wafer stage maintenance, the lock pin 20 inserted in the lock plate 18F is removed, and the rotary shaft 18G is returned to the position of step 1 by 90 ° to stop the stopper. Position and fix with member 18B, and then lock pin 2 to lock plate 18F.
0 is inserted to make the rotation shaft 18G unrotatable. Step 3
When the wafer stage maintenance work is completed and the elevating mechanism 16 is returned to the center position of the reaction chamber, the lock pin 20 is removed from the lock plate 18F and the rotation shaft 18G is rotated 90 ° counterclockwise. Stopper member 18
The long sides of the rectangles of A, 18B, 18C, and 18D are in the vertical direction, and the lifting mechanism 16 can be moved horizontally. The lock pin 20 is inserted into the lock plate 18F during the horizontal movement. Here, when the elevating mechanism 16 has passed the stopper member 18B, the lock pin 20 is pulled out, and the rotary shaft 18G is returned to the position of the procedure 1 by 90 °, so that the stopper members 18A, 18
The long sides of B, 18C, and 18D horizontally move the lifting mechanism 16 until the positioning fixing plate of the lifting mechanism 16 contacts the stopper member 18A. When it comes into contact with the stopper member 18A,
A piston rod is projected from a stopper cylinder 18E for positioning and locking the elevating mechanism 16 at the center position of the reaction chamber, and the elevating mechanism 16 is held so as not to be horizontally movable.

Further, when the elevating mechanism is moved for the maintenance work of the reaction chamber 3, the reaction chamber 3 itself receives the maintenance work at the original position, so that the front side of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is treated like the wafer stage maintenance. It is not necessary to move the lifting mechanism 16 to
Therefore, the lifting mechanism 16 is moved to the rear side of the device by the same operation as described above. As a result, the usable time of the space on the front side of the device is increased more than before, and various advantages can be obtained in operating the device.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The maintenance mechanism of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus is configured to move the wafer holding mechanism to the inspection and maintenance work position in a state where the wafer holding mechanism is integrated with the vacuum partition flange, and this is moved vertically with the lifting mechanism as claimed in claim 1. By using the mechanism, both side walls of the housing surrounding the main body of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus can be used for laying the rails required for the configuration of the horizontal movement mechanism. The device can be configured without widening the width, and the device function can be expanded while avoiding the increase in size of the device. Further, since the wafer holding mechanism can be moved to the maintenance work position together with the vacuum partition flange only by operating the elevating mechanism and the horizontal moving mechanism, the physical load on the operator is greatly reduced. Further, since the wafer holding mechanism is moved in two directions at right angles to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, it is possible to easily realize the reproducibility of the apparatus performance after the maintenance work and the apparatus reassembly.

Further, since the elevating mechanism can have a structure in which a fixed frame to which its constituent members are attached is formed in a housing shape so as to enclose the wafer position adjusting movable portion of the wafer holding mechanism, the external structure to the movable portion can be improved. Since it is possible to prevent contact from the inside, the conventional housing has an open structure with the main part left, and cleaning of the plasma generation chamber, microwave introduction window, etc., is easier than before. The ripple effect that becomes possible is obtained by the configuration of the maintenance mechanism of the present invention.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the maintenance work is completed, when the wafer holding mechanism is suspended, the vacuum partition flange leaves the wafer holding mechanism even after the vacuum partition flange rides on the O-ring on the upper surface of the reaction chamber. Since the reaction chamber is evacuated and atmospheric pressure is applied to the vacuum partition flange, the O-ring is pressed and deformed without deformation by the lifting mechanism. The airtightness of the upper surface of the chamber can be maintained satisfactorily, and the reliability in terms of operating the device is improved.

In the mechanical structure according to the third aspect, the lifting mechanism can be brought to a predetermined position for the maintenance work by the turning operation of one shaft, and the physical and mental burden of the work is reduced. In the mechanism according to the fourth aspect, the structure of the stopper mechanism that enables the lifting and lowering mechanism to be stopped and moved is simplified, and the reliability of the operation is improved.

In the mechanism of claim 5, since the stopper mechanism is provided with the stopper member for the inspection and maintenance work position of the reaction chamber, it is possible to perform the inspection and maintenance work only in the reaction chamber while keeping a wide space on the front side of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus. This makes it possible to increase the available time in the space on the front side of the device, which brings about various advantages in terms of operating the device. In the mechanical structure of claim 6, under the device structure in which the airtightness of the upper surface side of the reaction chamber is maintained only by applying atmospheric pressure to the vacuum partition flange, lateral displacement of the vacuum partition flange due to external force such as earthquake vibration is prevented, Since the airtightness is always reliably maintained, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the quality of the thin film or the like produced in the reaction chamber.
Moreover, since the lock mechanism operates in synchronization with the stopper mechanism, it does not hinder the inspection and maintenance work.

In the mechanism structure of claim 7, there is an advantage that the lock mechanism can be constructed at a low cost because it is not necessary to separately provide a synchronizing means in the lock mechanism. In the mechanism of claim 8, the structure of the lock operation portion is remarkably simplified, and the lock mechanism can be a highly reliable mechanism. With the mechanism configuration according to the ninth aspect, it is possible to surely perform the stop and move modes of the elevating mechanism, and it is possible to provide a maintenance mechanism with high operational reliability.

In the mechanism of the tenth aspect, the structure of the lock mechanism is remarkably simplified and can be constructed at low cost, which contributes to cost reduction of the maintenance mechanism configuration.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a maintenance mechanism configuration of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention together with an operating method of this mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing the internal structure of the maintenance mechanism shown in FIG.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a structure of a stopper mechanism attached to a horizontal movement mechanism constituting the maintenance mechanism shown in FIG. 1 and a method of operating the stopper mechanism, in which FIG. FIG. 3B is a view showing the orientation of the stopper member of the stopper mechanism when held in the vertical direction, FIG. 3B is a view showing the orientation of the stopper member when the elevating mechanism is horizontally movable, and FIG. The figure which shows the direction of the stage member when the raising / lowering mechanism which reached the stage maintenance work position is hold | maintained immovably by return, The figure (d) is a figure which shows the direction of the stopper member during movement of the raising / lowering mechanism after maintenance work.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a structural example of a conventional ECR plasma CVD apparatus as an example of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus targeted by the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Reaction Chamber 4 Wafer Holding Mechanism 4A Coupling Section 5 Vacuum Partition Flange 6 O-Ring 7 Wafer (Semiconductor Wafer) 8 Wafer Stage 10 Housing 14 Hinge 16 Lifting Mechanism 16B Coupling Section 16C Fixed Frame 17 Horizontal Movement Mechanism 18 Stopper Mechanism 18A Stopper Member 18B Stopper member 18C Stopper member 18D Stopper member 18E Stopper cylinder (locking part of lock mechanism) 18F Lock plate 18G Rotating shaft 18H Guide plate 20 Lock pin

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A wafer is directed vertically downward on a surface to be processed during surface treatment, which is integrated with a vacuum partition flange that hermetically closes an open upper end surface of a reaction chamber into which a reaction gas is introduced during surface treatment of the wafer. A semiconductor device having a wafer holding mechanism for holding the wafer holding mechanism in the reaction chamber. In order to maintain the reaction chamber and the wafer holding mechanism of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, the semiconductor is moved to the inspection and maintenance work position while the wafer holding mechanism is integrated with the vacuum partition flange. A maintenance mechanism for a wafer processing apparatus, comprising: an elevating mechanism for vertically moving a wafer holding mechanism; and a horizontal moving mechanism for horizontally moving the elevating mechanism. . 2. The wafer holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the wafer holding mechanism and the elevating mechanism for moving the wafer holding mechanism in a vertical direction are connected to a lower surface side of a connecting portion provided in the wafer holding mechanism. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, which is carried out by moving an upper surface side of a connecting portion provided in the elevating mechanism in an upward direction and contacting the upper surface side. 3. The lifting mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the horizontal moving mechanism moves horizontally on one axis parallel to a horizontal rail for horizontal movement by rotation of the axis. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, comprising a stopper mechanism provided with a plurality of stopper members for stopping at a predetermined position for inspection and maintenance work. 4. The rotating shaft of the stopper mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of stopper members are rectangular plate members having at least short side intervals equal to each other. Is fixed so that the axial center of the rectangular center of gravity passes through a position eccentric to the one short side in the long side direction in the long side direction perpendicularly to the plate surface, and the long side direction of each stopper member matches.
A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, characterized in that by rotating a rotating shaft by 90 degrees, a moving lifting mechanism is stopped at a predetermined position or the stopped lifting mechanism can be moved. 5. The stopper member according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the rotary shaft of the stopper mechanism comprises a stopper member on both sides of the position of the wafer holding mechanism during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus on the rotary shaft. Each of the two stoppers is fixed at one of the two places, and the stopper member at the outer one of the two places is used for the inspection and maintenance work of the reaction chamber and the inspection and maintenance work of the wafer holding mechanism, and the stopper member at each one of the inside is the inspection and maintenance work. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, which is used to stop an elevating mechanism at an operating position of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus after working. 6. The apparatus according to claim 3, 4, or 5, wherein the elevating mechanism is horizontally fixed at a position during operation of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus and is synchronized with the stopper member. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, characterized in that a lock mechanism is provided for enabling the elevating mechanism to move in the horizontal direction. 7. The maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the lock operation portion of the lock mechanism is provided on the rotary shaft of the stopper mechanism. 8. The lifting mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the lock operation portion of the lock mechanism provided on the rotary shaft of the stopper mechanism comprises a rod or hole at the tip of the arm member provided on the rotary shaft. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, characterized in that the vertical movement of an elevating mechanism is locked by fitting with a hole or a hole or a bar provided in the mechanism. 9. The device according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein at least one of the distal end portions in the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft of the stopper mechanism is provided with a rotation for stopping and moving the lifting mechanism. A maintenance mechanism for a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, characterized in that a lock mechanism is provided for holding the rotation axis rotation position after the rotation of the movement axis immovably. 10. The lock mechanism according to claim 9, wherein the lock mechanism for immovably holding the turning shaft turning position after turning the turning shaft is fixed to an end face in the longitudinal direction of the turning shaft. And a lock pin having a hole at an eccentric position, and a lock pin penetrating through the hole of the plate member fixed to the fixing member of the horizontal movement mechanism and inserted into the hole of the lock plate. Maintenance mechanism for semiconductor wafer processing equipment.