JPH07302767A - Vertical heat treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the maintenability such as cleaning, etc., of the inner vessel of a reaction vessel while avoiding the pollution of workpiece as well as equalizing the processing gas flow for increasing the production yield. CONSTITUTION:The title vertical heat treatment device is composed of a reaction vessel 1 arranged in a heater 5, a bottomed cylindrical outer vessel 2 having lower aperture part, another bottomed cylindrical inner vessel 3 having lower aperture part detachably arranged for containing wafers W through the intermediary of a seal mechanism in the outer vessel 2, besides, a plurality of treatment gas communicating holes 20 in the circumferential direction on the upper part of the inner vessel 3. Through these procedures, the processing gas fed from the leading-in port 11 provided on the lower part of the inner vessel 3 into the inner vessel 3 is dispersed into the treatment gas communicating holes 20 to be externally exhausted from an exhaust port 13 provided on the lower part of the outer vessel 2 through the intermediary of the space between the outer and inner vessels 2 and 3, thereby enabling treatment gas flow to be equalized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical heat treatment apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a CVD apparatus for laminating a thin film or an oxide film on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) which is an object to be processed or diffusing impurities is used. An oxide film forming device or a diffusion device is used. Then, as one of the devices of this type, the wafers are arranged and held in multiple stages in the vertical direction,
A vertical heat treatment apparatus is used which is housed in a process tube (reaction vessel) heated at high temperature and is treated by a treatment gas introduced into a treatment chamber.

As shown in FIG. 11, the vertical heat treatment apparatus has a bottomed cylindrical outer container 2 made of quartz glass, and a quartz glass container arranged in the outer container 2 with a gap 4 therebetween. With a heater 5 as a heating means on the inner wall surface of the reaction container 1 which is formed of a cylindrical internal container 30 The main part is composed of a flexible furnace main body 6, a wafer boat 7 made of quartz for arranging and holding the wafers W in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and an elevating mechanism 8 for elevating the wafer boat 7. A wafer boat 7 and an elevating mechanism 8 are provided, and a loading / unloading unit 9 for loading or unloading the wafer W stored in the wafer carrier C transported by a carrier transporting unit (not shown) to the wafer boat 7 is provided. Has been.

In the above vertical heat treatment apparatus, the inner container 3
An inlet 11 of the processing gas inlet pipe 10 is provided in the lower opening of 0, and an exhaust port 13 of a processing gas exhaust pipe 12 is provided in the lower portion of the outer container 2. Also, the wafer boat 7
Is provided with a lid 15 under a holding portion 7a for holding wafers W in multiple stages via a heat insulating cylinder 14.
Is configured to seal the inside of the reaction container 1 by closing the opening of the reaction container 1. This makes it possible to supply a predetermined processing gas into the reaction container 1 from the processing gas introduction pipe 10 while evacuating the inside of the reaction container 1 from the processing gas exhaust pipe 12.

In order to form a predetermined thin film on the surface of the wafer W using the vertical heat treatment apparatus constructed as described above, first, the valves (not shown) of the processing gas inlet 11 and the exhaust port 13 are closed. In this state, the wafer boat 7 is raised to accommodate the wafer W in the reaction container 1. Next, the heater 5
After heating the inside of the reaction container 1 to a predetermined temperature by the above, the processing gas is introduced into the reaction container 1 through the processing gas introduction pipe 10, and the processing gas is chemically reacted by the heat from the heater 5 to form a thin film on the surface of the wafer W. can do.

However, in the conventional heat treatment apparatus of this type, since the inner container 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape and the upper portion is opened, the process gas introduction pipe 10 to the inner container 30 is opened.
The process gas introduced therein flows from the upper opening of the inner container 30 through the gap 4 between the inner container 30 and the outer container 2 to the outside through the process gas exhaust pipe 12, and at this time, is generated by the heated process gas. A thin film is formed on the inner surface of the upper portion of the outer container 2. Therefore, after that, there is a problem in that the wafer W is peeled off and drops to the surface of the wafer W to cause contamination of the wafer W. In addition, since the thin film is formed on the inner surface of the upper portion of the outer container 2, distortion due to the formation of the thin film occurs, and cracks occur, which shortens the life of the outer container 2. Therefore, as a means for solving this problem, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 11, a spherical shape that is recessed downward via a plurality of support members 40 that project from the opening of the inner container 30 at appropriate intervals. A structure for fixing the cap 41 has been developed (Jpn.
No. 57). According to this structure, since the processing gas introduced into the inner container 30 is discharged through the space between the inner container 30 and the spherical cap 41, a thin film is formed on the upper inner surface of the outer container 2. Can be prevented.

The inner container 30 is detachably attached to the outer container 2 to facilitate cleaning, maintenance and inspection. That is, FIG. 12 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a peripheral groove 17a is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing ring 16 provided on the lower inner wall of the outer container 2, and a notch 17b communicating with the peripheral groove 17a is formed on the lower surface of the fixing ring 16.
On the other hand, by providing a locking claw 19 that fits in the circumferential groove 17a through the notch 17b on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting ring 18 provided on the lower outer wall of the inner container 30,
The inner container 30 can be attached to the inner side of the outer container 2 by fitting the locking claws 19 into the notches 17b of the fixing ring 16 and inserting them into the circumferential groove 17a, and then rotating them. When removing the inner container 30 from the outer container 2, the inner container 30 is removed by performing the reverse operation to the above.
Can be removed from.

In the mounting portion of the outer container 2 and the inner container 30 thus constructed, a fixing plate 50 made of, for example, stainless steel and protruding outward is fixed to the lower surface of the mounting ring 18 with a fixing screw 51. In the attached state of the inner container 30, the fixing plate 50 is pressed against the lower surface of the fixing ring 16 by tightening the fixing screw 51,
This prevents the inner container 30 from being rotated, and
The gap between the fixed ring 16 and the attachment ring 18 is closed to prevent the products of the processing gas carried by the exhausted processing gas from falling to the inner container 30 side.

[0009]

However, the spherical cap 4 is inserted into the opening of the inner container 30 via the support member 40.
1 has a structure for fixing the plurality of supporting members 4
Since the spherical cap 41 is fixedly supported via 0,
Vibration is transmitted to the spherical cap 41 when the wafer boat 7 is moved up and down, and the vibration causes the thin film formed on the inner surface of the spherical cap 41 to peel and drop onto the wafer, contaminating the wafer W and lowering the yield. There's a problem. Furthermore, the spherical cap 4 has such a structure.
Since the support member 40 must be attached to the first member and the support member 40 must be fixed to the opening of the inner container 30, many component members are required, and moreover, the mounting work is complicated and the inner container 30 There is also a problem that cleaning is troublesome.

Further, from the processing gas introducing pipe 10 to the inner container 3
A large amount of the processing gas introduced into 0 flows toward the side closer to the exhaust port 13, so that the processing gas flow becomes non-uniform and the film thickness uniformity of the thin film formed on the surface of the wafer W may deteriorate. .

Further, in the conventional mounting structure of the inner container 30 and the outer container 2, the fixing plate 50 can prevent the product of the processing gas from dropping into the inner container 30, but the fixing plate 50 makes the donut. Since it is a flat plate, contact with the fixing ring 16 is insufficient and a gap is generated, so that a part of the processing gas introduced from the processing gas introducing pipe 10 into the inner container 30 is partially discharged between the inner container 30 and the outer container. It leaks into the gap 4 and flows into it. Therefore, a predetermined amount of processing gas is not supplied into the inner container 30, which may lead to a decrease in film thickness uniformity of the thin film formed on the surface of the wafer W. In order to prevent the deterioration of the film thickness uniformity, a large amount of processing gas may be introduced, but this causes a problem that the consumption amount of the processing gas is wasted and the cost is increased. In addition, the inner container 30 is replaced by the outer container 2
When removing from the outer container 2, the inner container 30 is removed from the outer container 2 after loosening the fixing screw 51.
It is necessary to lower the temperature of the heater 5 to a temperature at which 1 can be touched. Therefore, it takes time and labor to lower the heater temperature, and there is a problem that the maintainability such as maintenance and inspection of the inner container 30 is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is a first object of the present invention to prevent contamination of an object to be processed and to improve a product yield by making a flow of a processing gas uniform. A second object of the present invention is to provide a vertical heat treatment apparatus whose second purpose is to improve maintainability such as cleaning of an inner container of a reaction container.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention comprises a reaction vessel arranged in the heating means, an external vessel having a lower opening, and an external vessel It is configured with an internal container that is placed in the container to accommodate the object to be processed, and the processing gas introduced into the internal container from the inlet provided at the lower part of the internal container is passed between the internal container and the external container. Assuming a vertical heat treatment device that discharges to the outside from an exhaust port provided at the bottom of the external container,
It is characterized in that the inner container is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with an opening at the bottom, and a plurality of processing gas communication holes are provided in the circumferential direction in the upper part of the inner container.

In the present invention, the number and form of the processing gas communication holes may be arbitrary as long as they are provided in the circumferential direction of the upper part of the inner container, but preferably the processing gas communication holes on the exhaust port side. It is better to form the area smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole on the inlet side. In this case, the shape of the processing gas communication holes should be the same, and the pitch between the processing gas communication holes should be gradually increased toward the exhaust port, or the pitch of the processing gas communication holes should be set at equal intervals on the exhaust port side. By gradually reducing the diameter of the processing gas communication hole, the area of the processing gas communication hole on the exhaust port side can be made smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole on the introduction port side.

Further, in the second vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, the reaction container arranged in the heating means is an external container having a lower opening, and the external container is detachably mounted in the external container to be processed. And a processing gas introduced into the inner container from an inlet provided in the lower part of the inner container, and is provided in the lower part of the outer container through the space between the inner container and the outer container. Assuming that the vertical heat treatment apparatus is designed to discharge the gas from the exhaust port to the outside, one of the mounting parts of the outer container and the inner container is provided with a seal member that elastically contacts the other.

In the present invention, the seal member may be any one provided that it is provided in one of the outer container and the inner container and is in elastic contact with the other, for example, a leaf spring seal or a bellows seal. Alternatively, it can be formed by a hollow seal member such as an O-ring.

[0017]

According to the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the inner container is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an opening at the bottom, and a plurality of process gases are provided in the circumferential direction at the upper part of the inner container. By providing the communication hole, the processing gas introduced into the inner container flows through the processing gas communication hole into the gap between the inner container and the outer container, and flows from the exhaust port to the outside.
Therefore, the processing gas is dispersed from the inner container and flows into the gap between the inner container and the outer container, so that the flow of the processing gas becomes uniform, and the processed film on the surface of the object to be processed can be made uniform, and the product yield can be improved. It is possible to improve. Further, since the processing gas communication hole is provided in the cylindrical inner container with a bottom, the product of the processing gas adhering to the inner surface of the upper part of the inner container falls due to the vibration when the object to be processed is carried in and out of the reaction container. Does not contaminate the object to be treated.

Further, by forming the area of the processing gas communication hole on the exhaust port side smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole on the introduction port side, the internal gas flows from the inner container to the gap between the inner container and the outer container. The flow of the processing gas can be made more uniform, and the uniformity of the processed film on the surface of the object to be processed can be improved.

Further, by providing a sealing member that elastically contacts one of the mounting portions of the outer container and the inner container, the gap between the mounting portion of the inner container and the outer container can be sealed, and the processing gas inlet port can be sealed. It is possible to prevent the processing gas introduced into the inner container from leaking into the gap between the inner container and the outer container. Therefore, the amount of the processing gas used can be set to the minimum and can be effectively used, and the processing film thickness can be made uniform.

Further, since no screws or the like are used for the mounting portions of the inner container and the outer container, only the inner container can be replaced (cleaned) without lowering the furnace temperature, and the outer container as a vacuum container cannot be disassembled. Maintenance can be done in a short time, which can contribute to improving the operating rate.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is applied to a vertical CVD apparatus will be described. In addition,
The same parts as those of the conventional heat treatment apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the main part of a vertical heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention. The vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention comprises a cylindrical outer container 2 made of quartz glass and having a bottom opening,
A reaction container 1 including a bottomed cylindrical inner container 3 made of, for example, quartz glass or silicon carbide (SiC), which is arranged in the outer container 2 with a gap 4 therebetween, and has an opening on the lower surface. A vertically-arranged reaction container 1 is surrounded by a gap, and an adiabatic furnace body 6 having a heater 5 as a heating means on its inner wall surface and wafers W are vertically arrayed and held in multiple stages. Quartz wafer boat 7
And an elevating mechanism (not shown) for elevating the wafer boat 7 constitutes a main part.

A plurality of processing gas communication holes 20 are formed in the upper part of the inner container 3 in the circumferential direction at appropriate intervals. An inlet 11 of the processing gas inlet pipe 10 is provided inside the lower opening of the inner container 3, and an exhaust port 13 of a processing gas exhaust pipe 12 is provided at a portion of the lower portion of the outer container 2 facing the inlet 11. Has been done. With this configuration, the processing gas that flows through the processing gas introduction pipe 10 and is introduced into the internal container 3 from the introduction port 11 is dispersed through the processing gas communication hole 20 and is distributed to the internal container 3 and the external container 2. It can flow into the gap 4 between.

In this case, the processing gas communication holes 20 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner container 3 so that the processing gas can be dispersed from the inner container 3 into the gap 4 as shown in FIG. Yes, but as shown in FIG.
Process gas communication holes 20, 2 from the 1 side toward the exhaust port 13 side
By gradually widening the pitch between 0, the area of the processing gas communication hole 20 on the exhaust port 13 side is formed smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole 20 on the introduction port 11 side, whereby the inner container 3 It is possible to make the flow of the processing gas flowing from the to the gap 4 more uniform. As another means for forming the area of the processing gas communication hole 20 on the exhaust port 13 side smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole 20 on the introduction port 11 side,
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the processing gas communication holes 20 are arranged at equal intervals so that the processing gas communication holes 2 face the exhaust port 13 side.
The diameter of 0 may be gradually reduced.

The inner container 3 is detachably attached to the outer container 2 via a sealing mechanism described later. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9, the engagement between the peripheral groove 17a provided on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing ring 16 provided on the lower inner wall of the outer container 2 and the mounting ring provided on the lower outer wall of the inner container 3 is shown. Due to the pawl 19, the inner container 3 becomes the outer container 2
The seal member 21, which is detachably mounted on the mounting ring 18, is elastically contacted with the lower surface of the fixing ring 16 to seal the gap between the fixing ring 16 and the mounting ring 18 when mounted. That is, the peripheral groove 17 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the fixing ring 16 provided on the lower inner wall of the outer container 2.
a on the lower surface of the fixing ring 16
Notches 17b communicating with the circumferential groove 17a are provided at four positions apart from each other. On the other hand, on the outer peripheral surface of the attachment ring 18 provided on the lower outer wall of the inner container 3, the circumferential groove 17 is provided through the notches 17b.
By providing the four locking claws 19 which are fitted in the a at 90 ° intervals, the locking claws 19 are provided in the notches 17b of the fixing ring 16.
The inner container 3 can be attached to the inner side of the outer container 2 by inserting it into the peripheral groove 17a and then rotating it in the horizontal direction. In addition, the inner container 3 is replaced by the outer container 2
When removing from the inner container 3
Can be removed from the outer container 2. The fixing ring 16 and the mounting ring 18 are made of a material having high heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and rigidity, such as stainless steel, Inconel, or Hastelloy (trade name).

In the mounting portion of the outer container 2 and the inner container 3 configured as described above, a seal member 21A (leaf spring seal) formed of, for example, a stepped donut-shaped leaf spring on the lower surface of the attachment ring 18. Are fixed by fixing means such as welding or screwing. This leaf spring seal 21
A is formed of, for example, a member such as stainless steel or spring steel, and its form is a donut-shaped base portion 22a fixed to the lower surface of the mounting ring 18 and this base portion 22a.
It is composed of an outwardly inclined piece 22b that extends in an inclined shape from the outer peripheral edge of the outer peripheral edge to a horizontal pressing piece 22c that horizontally extends from the tip of the outwardly inclined piece 22b (FIG. 10).
(See (a)).

The above-mentioned seal member is necessarily the leaf spring seal 21.
It does not have to be A, and for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10 (b), a donut-shaped base portion 23a fixed to the lower surface of the attachment ring 18 and a meandering shape upward from the outer peripheral edge of the base portion 23a. It can also be formed by a bellows seal 21B including a bellows piece 23b extending in the direction. Also,
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 (c), a hollow seal portion 24b is provided on the outer peripheral edge of a donut-shaped base portion 24a fixed to the lower surface of the mounting ring 18, for example, corrosion resistance and chemical resistance of fluororesin or silicon rubber. It is also possible to form the seal member with the O-ring 21C made of a rich material. In this case, although the base portion 24a may be flat, a protrusion 24c having a dovetail-shaped cross section is provided on the mounting surface of the base 24a, and the protrusion 24c is provided on the lower surface of the attachment ring 18. Groove 18
The O-ring 21C can be firmly attached to the attachment ring 18 by fitting in the a.

In the above description, the seal member 21 (21A ...
21C) is fixed, and when the inner container 3 is mounted in the outer container 2, the sealing member 21 is elastically contacted with the lower surface of the fixing ring 16 provided in the outer container 2 for sealing, but it is inevitable. It is not necessary to have such a structure, and as shown in FIG. 9, for example, a leaf spring seal 21D fixed to the upper surface of the fixing ring 16 may be elastically brought into contact with the upper surface of the mounting ring 18 for sealing. The leaf spring seal 21D is, as shown in FIG. 10D, a donut-shaped base portion 25a fixed to the upper surface of the fixing ring 16.
And an inwardly inclined piece 25b that extends inwardly from the inner peripheral edge of the base portion 25a, and a horizontal pressing piece 25c that horizontally extends from the tip of the inwardly inclined piece 25b. In the seal portion thus configured, it is possible to use a bellows seal 21B or an O-ring 21C instead of the leaf spring seal 21A.

By configuring the sealing mechanism as described above, the locking claw 19 of the mounting ring 18 can be inserted into the circumferential groove 17a via the notch 17b provided in the fixed ring 16 and rotated in the horizontal direction. When the inner container 3 is mounted in the outer container 2 by means of the seal member 21 (specifically, the leaf spring seal 21A, the bellows seal 21B, the O-ring 21).
Although it is C or the leaf spring seal 21D, hereinafter, reference numeral 2
1) is elastically contacted with the fixing ring 16 or the mounting ring 18, so that the gap between the fixing ring 16 and the mounting ring 18 can be airtightly closed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the products of the processing gas carried by the exhausted processing gas from dropping to the inner container 3 side, and the processing gas introduced into the inner container 3 from the introduction port 11 becomes It is possible to prevent leakage into the gap between the outer containers 2.

On the other hand, in the wafer boat 7, a lid 15 is provided below a holding portion 7a for holding wafers W in multiple stages via a heat retaining cylinder 14, and the lid 15 opens the opening of the reaction container 1. The inside of the reaction container 1 is configured to be sealed by closing it. As a result, a predetermined processing gas can be introduced into the inner container 3 of the reaction container 1 from the processing gas introduction pipe 10 while the inside of the reaction container 1 is evacuated from the processing gas exhaust pipe 12, and is introduced into the inner container 3. The processed gas is heated by the heater 5 and undergoes a chemical reaction, and a thin film produced thereby is formed on the surface of the wafer W housed in the wafer boat 7.

In order to form a thin film such as an oxide film on the surface of the wafer W using the vertical heat treatment apparatus constructed as described above, first, valves (not shown) for the process gas inlet 11 and the exhaust port 13 are provided. In the closed state, the wafer boat 7 accommodating the wafer W is raised by driving the elevating mechanism to accommodate the wafer W in the inner container 3 of the reaction container 1. Next, after heating the inside of the reaction container 1 to a predetermined temperature by the heater 5,
The processing gas supplied from the processing gas introduction pipe 10 is introduced into the introduction port 1
When introduced into the inner container 3 from 1, the processing gas rises in the inner container 3 and passes through a processing gas communication hole 20 provided around the upper portion of the inner container 3 to form a gap 4 between the inner container 3 and the outer container 2. And is exhausted to the outside from the processing gas exhaust pipe 12 through the exhaust port 13. Therefore, the processing gas introduced into the inner container 3 uniformly flows by passing through the processing gas communication holes 20 provided in the circumferential direction. Therefore, a uniform oxide film can be formed on the surface of the wafer W by reacting with the heat from the heater 5 in the inner container 3.

After the oxide film is formed on the surface of the wafer W as described above, the elevating mechanism is driven to lower the wafer boat 7, and the wafer W housed in the wafer boat 7 and having the oxide film formed thereon is removed. The process is completed by taking out from the reaction container 1.

Although the vibration is transmitted to the reaction vessel 1 when the wafer boat 7 is moved up and down, since the processing gas communication hole 20 is directly formed in the inner vessel 3, the vibration is applied to the inner surface of the upper portion of the inner vessel 3 by the vibration. The produced oxide film does not peel off and fall.

When the above-mentioned inner container 3 is to be regularly cleaned or for maintenance or inspection, the inner container 3 is rotated in the horizontal direction and the mounting ring 18 provided on the inner container 3 is rotated.
After moving the locking claw 19 to the position of the notch 17b of the fixing ring 16, the inner container 3 can be removed by pulling the inner container 3 downward. Therefore, it is possible to easily remove the internal container 3 as compared with a conventional processing device in which the fixing screw is loosened and then the internal container 3 is rotated and removed. Moreover, since the inner container 3 can be rotated and removed, it is not necessary to lower the temperature of the heater 5, and after performing maintenance and inspection, the inner container 3 is again inserted and arranged in the outer container 2, It is possible to reduce the loss time until the next process is performed.

Further, when the inner container 3 is inserted and arranged in the outer container 2, the seal member 21 is attached to the fixing ring 1.
6 or the mounting ring 18 is elastically contacted, the gap between the mounting portion of the inner container 3 and the outer container 2 can be hermetically sealed, and the inside of the processing gas introduced into the inner container 3 through the processing gas introduction port 11 can be sealed. It is possible to prevent leakage into the gap between the container 3 and the outer container 2. Therefore, the amount of the processing gas used can be set to the minimum and can be effectively used, and the processing film thickness can be made uniform.

In the above embodiment, the CV of the semiconductor wafer is
Although the D apparatus has been described, it is needless to say that it can be applied to a heat treatment apparatus for a processing object such as a glass substrate or an LCD substrate other than a semiconductor wafer, for example, an oxide film forming apparatus or a diffusion apparatus.

[0037]

As described above, since the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is constructed as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

1) According to the vertical heat treatment apparatus of claim 1, since the flow of the processing gas introduced from the processing gas introduction port into the internal container can be made uniform, the processing film on the surface of the object to be processed. Can be made uniform.

2) According to the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the second aspect, the area of the processing gas communication hole on the exhaust port side is formed smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole on the introduction port side. The flow of the processing gas flowing from the container to the gap between the inner container and the outer container can be made more uniform, and the uniformity of the processed film on the surface of the object to be processed can be achieved.

3) According to the vertical heat treatment apparatus of the third aspect, a seal member that elastically contacts one of the mounting parts of the outer container and the inner container is provided on the other part, so that the process gas introduction port allows the inside of the inner container to enter. It is possible to prevent the introduced processing gas from leaking into the gap between the inner container and the outer container, and it is possible to use it effectively by setting the usage amount of the processing gas to a minimum. Can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing an example of a vertical heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a processing gas communication hole in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the processing gas communication hole.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the processing gas communication hole.

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a V part in FIG. 1 showing a sealing mechanism for an inner container and an outer container in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing another sealing mechanism for the inner container and the outer container.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting portion of an inner container and an outer container.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing still another sealing mechanism for the inner container and the outer container.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing still another sealing mechanism for the inner container and the outer container.

FIG. 10 is a sectional perspective view showing a seal member according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a conventional vertical heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a mounting portion for an inner container and an outer container in a conventional vertical heat treatment apparatus.

13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reaction container 2 External container 3 Inner container 4 Gap 5 Heater (heating means) 10 Processing gas introduction pipe 11 Introduction port 12 Processing gas exhaust pipe 13 Exhaust port 16 Fixing ring 18 Mounting ring 20 Processing gas communication hole 21 Sealing member 21A Leaf spring Seal 21B Bellows seal 21C O-ring 21D Leaf spring seal W Wafer (processing target)

Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Noriaki Matsushima 1-24-1 Machiya, Shiroyama-cho, Tsukui-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Tokyo Electron Tohoku Co., Ltd. Sagami Business Office

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A reaction container arranged in the heating means is composed of an outer container having an opening at the bottom and an inner container arranged in the outer container for accommodating an object to be treated, and the lower part of the inner container. In the vertical heat treatment apparatus, the processing gas introduced into the internal container from the inlet provided in the is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port provided in the lower part of the external container through the space between the internal container and the external container. A vertical heat treatment apparatus, characterized in that the inner container is formed into a bottomed tubular shape with an opening at the bottom, and a plurality of processing gas communication holes are provided in the circumferential direction in the upper part of the inner container. 2. The vertical heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the area of the processing gas communication hole on the exhaust port side is formed smaller than the area of the processing gas communication hole on the introduction port side. 3. The reaction container arranged in the heating means is composed of an outer container having an opening at the bottom and an inner container detachably mounted in the outer container for accommodating an object to be treated. A vertical type in which the processing gas introduced into the internal container from the inlet provided in the lower part of the container is discharged to the outside from the exhaust port provided in the lower part of the outer container through the space between the inner container and the outer container. In the heat treatment apparatus, a vertical heat treatment apparatus is provided, in which one of the mounting portions of the outer container and the inner container is provided with a sealing member that elastically contacts the other.