JPH07183364A - Semiconductor manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a semiconductor manufacturing device where a boat stand mounting boats for retaining wafers can be supported stably without damaging a drive part for moving in up and down direction the boat stand mounting the boat for retaining wafers. CONSTITUTION:A first groove 5a formed on the reverse side of a first boat stand 5 and a second groove 6a formed on the surface of a second boat stand 6 are laid out at opposite positions and a first buffer member 7 is placed between the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a. Also, a second buffer member 9 is installed at the lower part of the second boat stand for supporting the second boat stand.

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 a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus having a mechanism for holding a table on which a wafer holding boat is mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional boat holding mechanism is called a guide separation type. Hereinafter, the guide separation type boat holding mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. Vacuum chamber 2 which is a reaction chamber
In 01, process treatment such as O2 ashing, CVD
In order to apply the above to the semiconductor wafer 202, the semiconductor wafer 202 is inserted into the wafer holding boat 203. The wafer holding boat 203 is mounted on the boat base 212, and the boat base 212 is connected to the vacuum chamber 20 via the O-ring 204.
By closely contacting with No. 1, it plays a role of maintaining the vacuum degree of the vacuum chamber 201. Support bar 218 on the back of the boat base
And a guide separation holding mechanism 215 and a guide holding detector 216 are provided between the boat base 212 and the drive unit 220.
Holds 18.

In this guide separation type boat holding mechanism,
When the boat base 212 on which the wafer holding boat 203 is mounted is transported to the position shown in FIG. 5 by the drive unit 220, the holder 208 operates to support the boat base 212. The guide holding detector 216 operates in conjunction with it,
The signal is transmitted to the guide separation holding mechanism 215, and the guide separation holding mechanism 215 dissociates the support rod 218. Since the inside of the vacuum chamber 201 is brought into a vacuum state after these series of operations, the vertical force due to the atmospheric pressure on the boat platform 212 does not directly transmit to the linear guide 209 forming the drive unit 220 as a torque. .

[0004]

However, in the guide separation type boat holding mechanism, the guide separation holding mechanism 2 is used.
Since the operation of detaching the support rod 218 by 15 requires a complicated mechanism, the device cannot be downsized. Further, if a high frequency component is applied to the signal transmitted to the guide separation holding mechanism 215, the guide separation holding mechanism 215 cannot be controlled and malfunction occurs. As a result, the boat base 212 not held by the guide separation holding mechanism 215 may fall and destroy the semiconductor wafer. Also, with this boat holding mechanism, it is possible to weaken the vertical component of the force due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber 201.
It is impossible to weaken the horizontal component of this force, and it is not possible to hold the boat pedestal 212 in a stable position.

In view of the above, the present invention stably supports the boat table on which the wafer holding boat is mounted without damaging the drive unit that moves the boat table on which the wafer holding boat is mounted up and down. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor manufacturing device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention has an opening at the bottom,
A vacuum chamber for causing a gas phase reaction of a reaction gas introduced from the outside, a semiconductor wafer holding boat to be inserted into the vacuum chamber, and a semiconductor wafer holding boat mounted on the upper surface thereof. A first boat stand, a first groove formed on the back surface of the first boat stand, and the first boat stand.
A second boat table on which a boat table is mounted, a second groove formed on the surface of the second boat table and facing the first groove, and the first groove A first cushioning member located between the second groove base and the second groove, a holder for gently fixing the first boat base and the second boat base, and the second It is characterized by comprising a second cushioning member on which a boat base is mounted, and a drive unit for vertically moving the second cushioning member.

[0007]

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the second buffer member prevents torque from being applied to the drive section. Also,
From the normal position where the first groove and the second groove are opposed to the first
Even if the groove of No. 2 and the groove of No. 2 are deviated, the drag force of the slope of the second groove against the gravity of the first boat base and the gravity of the first cushioning member becomes a restoring force, and the first boat base is stable. Is held in a proper position.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a vacuum chamber serving as a reaction chamber, in which reactions such as resist ashing and CVD are performed. Although not shown in the figure, the side wall of the vacuum chamber is provided with a gas introduction port 1a serving as a passage for introducing the reaction gas into the vacuum chamber and an exhaust port 1b for exhausting the gas after the reaction. The vacuum chamber 1 has a flange 1a formed at the lower open end of the vacuum chamber 1 via an O-ring 4 and a first boat platform 5 which will be described later.
Placed on top. Here, the O-ring 4 is the vacuum chamber 1
And plays a role of a vacuum seal that prevents outside air from entering the vacuum chamber 1 when the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated.

The first boat table 5 has a disk shape, and the upper surface thereof is a table on which a vertical quartz boat is placed. As shown in FIG. 2, a first groove 5a having a V-shaped cross section is formed on the lower surface of the first boat platform 5 in a radial pattern from the center of the first boat platform 5 toward the circumference. There is. The size of the first groove 5a may be any width or depth such that the first buffer member, which will be described later, can be held so as not to come off the groove.

The second boat platform 6 has substantially the same size and shape as the first boat platform 5, and when the lower surface of the first boat platform 5 and the upper surface of the second boat platform 6 contact each other, One or more conical second grooves 6a are formed in the lower portions of the first grooves 5a of the first boat pedestal 5 in respective radial shapes so that their openings correspond. The second groove 6a is the first groove 5a.
Similarly to the above, the width or the depth may be such that the first cushioning member to be described later can be held so as not to come off the groove.

Between the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a,
For example, the spherical first buffer member 7 made of a member having a relatively high hardness such as iron is placed, and the first boat base 5 and the second boat base are loosely fixed.

A plurality of end portions of the first boat pedestal 5 are made of an elastic member such as a spring, and are held so that the lower surface of the first boat pedestal 5 and the upper surface of the second boat pedestal 6 are gently contacted with each other. A tool 8 is provided. It is desirable that the holders 8 be provided at symmetrical positions with respect to the center of the disk so that a force biased to the contact between the first boat base 5 and the second boat base is not applied.

A second cushioning member 9 which is, for example, a hydraulic guide cylinder is provided below the second boat platform 6 to support the second boat platform 6. The second buffer member 9 prevents the vertical stress exerted when the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is evacuated from acting as a moment, which is transmitted to the linear guide 11 and the driving ball screw 12 in the driving unit which will be described later. You can

The second buffer member 9 is supported by the arm 10. There is an opening at the other end of the arm 10 that supports the second cushioning member, and the arm 10 is vertically movable through this opening. A driving ball screw 12 is disposed on the side of the linear guide 11 so as to fit with the shape of the end of the arm 10. The drive ball screw 12 is connected to a drive motor below the drive ball screw 12, and the arm 1
The movement of 0 in the vertical direction is realized by rotating the driving ball screw 12 by the driving motor, and raising or lowering the screw shape of the driving ball screw 12 and the arm 10 to which the end portion 10a fits according to the rotation.

Next, the operation of this semiconductor manufacturing apparatus will be described. First, the arm 10 is placed at the position of B in FIG. 1, and the second boat platform 6 and the first boat platform 5 are placed below the vacuum chamber 1 corresponding to the position of the arm 10. A plurality of semiconductor wafers 2 are inserted in the wafer processing boat 3 in a row so that the surface thereof faces upward and the respective surfaces face each other. The wafer processing boat 3 into which the semiconductor wafer 2 is inserted is vertically mounted on the upper surface of the first boat base 5. After the wafer processing boat 3 is mounted on the first boat table 5, the drive motor is operated to rotate the drive ball screw 12. When the driving ball screw 12 rotates, the end portion 10a of the arm 10 corresponding to the screw shape is rotated.
Are engaged and the arm 10 starts to move up. When the arm 10 rises, a slight vibration may occur in the arm 10 portion near the linear guide 11, but this vibration is further increased by the moment in the connecting portion of the arm 10 with the second buffer member 9. It is expected that. The vertical component of this moment is absorbed by the second buffer member 9.

When the arm 10 is moved to the position A in FIG. 1 by the driving ball screw 12, the upper surface of the first boat base 5 comes into close contact with the O-ring 4 formed on the flange 1a at the lower opening end of the vacuum chamber 1. Vacuum chamber 1 at this point
The inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is sealed, and the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is exhausted from the exhaust hole 1b by a vacuum pump (not shown). At this time, the force due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the vacuum chamber 1 is applied to the first boat stand 5. The component of this force in the horizontal direction becomes a force for moving the first boat platform 5 in the horizontal direction with respect to the second boat platform 6, and the magnitude of the force is greater than that of the first buffer member 7 made of hard balls. When it is not so large as to deviate from the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a formed so as to face the lower portion thereof, the gravity of the first buffer member 7 or the first buffer member 7 on the slope of the second groove 6a Of the boat pedestal 5 against the gravity serves as a restoring force against the deviation from the normal position where the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a face each other, and the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a
It is possible to restore to the normal position where the two are facing each other. When the horizontal component of the force due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the vacuum chamber 1 is large enough to cause the first cushioning member 7 made of a hard ball to deviate from the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a formed so as to face the lower portion thereof. The force of the restoring force of the holder 8 made of an elastic member is the magnitude of the force, and the first buffer member 7 made of a hard ball is formed in the second groove formed so as to face the first groove 5a and the lower portion thereof. 6a, so that the first groove 5a is formed by weakening the inclined surface of the second groove 6a by the reaction force against the pressure due to the gravity of the first buffer member 7 or the gravity of the first boat base 5. The second groove 6a is restored to the normal position where it faces. Next, the vertical component of the force due to the pressure difference inside and outside the vacuum chamber 1 is absorbed by the second buffer member 9.

After the reaction in the vacuum chamber 1 is completed, the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is returned to atmospheric pressure, the drive motor 13 is driven, and the drive ball screw 12 is rotated in the opposite direction to that when the arm 10 is raised. The arm 10 is lowered to the position B in FIG.

In the structure of the present invention, not only the vertical vibration is absorbed by the movement of the arm 10, but the horizontal component of the force generated by the exhaust in the vacuum chamber 1 causes the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a to move to the first groove 5a. Even if the first groove 5a and the second groove 6a act as a force to displace from the normal position where they are opposed to each other, the drag force of the slope of the second groove 6a against the first buffer member 7 or the holder. The elastic force of 8 serves as a restoring force, and the first boat platform 5 is fixed to the second boat platform 6 in its original position. Then, the vertical component of the force generated by the exhaust in the vacuum chamber 1 is absorbed by the second buffer member 9, so that no torque is applied to the linear guide 11 and the driving ball screw 12. In addition, since it is not a complicated device that holds and releases the boat pedestal by signal detection such as a guide holding detector and a guide separation holding mechanism, the device does not become large, and high frequency components are applied to the signal. There is no malfunction of the device.

As described above, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the groove formed on the surface of the second boat base 6 has a cross section like the first groove 5a instead of the three second grooves 6a. May be a V-shaped groove. Further, the first grooves 5a and 6a may have any shape as long as the first buffer member 7 can be stably held without being V-shaped or conical. Further, in this embodiment, the number of the first buffer members 7 is three, and the first boat base 5 is stabilized at three points. However, the number of the first buffer members 7 is four or more, and the first boat member 5 is provided. The same can be done by matching the number of grooves on the back surface of the platform 5 and the number of grooves on the surface of the second boat platform 6 with the number of the first cushioning members.

[0020]

According to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, even if a horizontal force is applied to the first boat stand, a holder or a first holder for connecting the first boat stand and the second boat stand is provided. A stable position of the first boat platform due to the restoring action resulting from the interaction between the first groove on the back surface of the boat platform and the second groove on the surface of the second boat platform and the interaction between the first buffer member. Held in.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Rear view of the first boat platform

[Fig. 3] Surface view of the second boat platform

FIG. 4 is a view of a conventional guide separation type semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 201 Vacuum chamber 2, 202 Semiconductor wafer 3, 203 Wafer holding boat 4, 204 O-ring 5 First boat stand 5a First groove 6 Second boat stand 6a Second groove 7 First Buffer Member 8, 208 Holding Tool 9 Second Buffer Member 10 Arm 10 Ball Screw for Driving 11, 211 Linear Guide 12, 212 Ball Screw for Driving 13, 213 Drive Motor 20, 220 Drive Unit 215 Guide Holding mechanism for separation 216 Guide holding detector 218 Support rod

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toyohiko Takeda 25 25, Ekimaehonmachi, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 1 Toshiba Microelectronics Co., Ltd. Within Microelectronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vacuum chamber having an opening at a lower part for allowing a reaction gas introduced from the outside to undergo a gas phase reaction, a semiconductor wafer holding boat inserted into the vacuum chamber, and A first boat stand on which a semiconductor wafer holding boat is mounted, a first groove formed on the back surface of the first boat stand, and a first boat stand on which the first boat stand is mounted. A second boat stand; a second groove formed on the surface of the second boat stand and facing the first groove; the first groove and the second groove; A first cushioning member located between the first and second boat bases, a holding member for gently fixing the first boat base and the second boat base, and the second boat base. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a second cushioning member; and a drive unit that vertically moves the second cushioning member.