JPH08330397A - Substrate holder for heat treatment, and heat treatment method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a substrate holder wherein a uniform stress is so applied to the edge portion of a substrate that the causes of its generation of slipping and its deformation are eliminated without any deterioration of workability, by mounting in a superimposing way on each other many boat units each of which has a specific annular substrate mounting portion and specific supporting portions, etc. CONSTITUTION: In a boat unit 1, an annular substrate mounting portion having its outer peripheral edge 1a with a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the substrate 2 to be mounted and having its inner peripheral edge 1b with a smaller diameter than the outer diameter of the substrate 2 to be mounted, and a plurality of supporting portions 4 provided protrusively on the rear surface of the region of the substrate mounting portion which is present on the outside of the substrate 2 are disposed respectively. Such a large number of annular boat units 1 are mounted in a superimposing way on each other in their longitudinal direction to be configured removably. Further, for example, each boat unit 1 has a through hole 3 in the region to be the outside of the substrate 2, and the boat units 1 having respectively the mounting substrates 2 are so superimposed on each other as for the respective through holes 3 to be aligned with each other, and a fastening pin is so inserted into the through holes 3 that the respective boat units 1 can be fastened to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment substrate holder used in various heat treatment steps for manufacturing semiconductors, a heat treatment method and a heat treatment apparatus using this holder, and more particularly to a heat treatment of a semiconductor wafer. The present invention relates to a substrate holder for heat treatment, which can reduce stress concentration, prevent the occurrence of slip due to the weight of a semiconductor wafer, and freely adjust the height, a heat treatment method and a heat treatment apparatus using the holder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a bell jar type vertical heat treatment apparatus has been used in a process of performing heat treatment such as diffusion, oxide film formation, annealing, hydrogen treatment, Ar treatment on a semiconductor wafer for manufacturing a semiconductor body. Has been.

When a semiconductor wafer is heat-treated by such a vertical heat treatment apparatus, a large number of semiconductor wafers are simultaneously processed, and a heat treatment substrate holder for horizontally holding these semiconductor wafers is used. . This substrate holder for heat treatment has a plurality of columns made of a heat-resistant material such as quartz with a plurality of slits formed at regular intervals and orthogonal to the length direction, and both ends of these columns have slits inside. The end plates are held so as to face each other, and the semiconductor wafer is held in parallel at the slit portions.

In such a substrate holder for heat treatment, at least two of the columns adjacent to each other need to be spaced apart from each other by at least the diameter of the wafer for loading and unloading the semiconductor wafer. There is a problem in that the intervals between the two become uneven and the stress applied to the edge portion of the semiconductor wafer is distorted. Rather than such stress
With the recent increase in the size of semiconductor wafers and the increase in processing temperature, the cause and deformation of slippage have arisen, and its solution has been desired.

In order to avoid this problem, the pillars are arranged at equal intervals regardless of the diameter of the semiconductor wafer, and one of the pillars is detachable. When the semiconductor wafer is inserted, the pillar is removed from here. A substrate holder for heat treatment has also been proposed, in which a semiconductor wafer is inserted and engaged with a slit, and after mounting the semiconductor wafer, the semiconductor wafer is removed to assemble columns. However, in such a substrate holder for heat treatment, when mounting a pillar which has accommodated and removed a semiconductor wafer, the end portion of the semiconductor wafer already held by being engaged with the slit of another pillar. Since it has to be engaged also with the slit of this column, there is a problem that workability is extremely deteriorated.

Further, the heat treatment substrate holder is made of an expensive material such as quartz, but since the conventional heat treatment substrate holder cannot be repaired, even if a part of the heat treatment substrate holder is damaged, the whole cannot be used. There is also a problem that the processing cost of the semiconductor wafer becomes high.

Further, since the conventional substrate holder for heat treatment is designed so that its height corresponds to the height of the vertical heat treatment furnace used, there is a problem that it cannot be diverted to another heat treatment furnace. It was

Furthermore, in the heat treatment apparatus using such a conventional wafer holder, a large number of semiconductor wafers can be heat treated at the same time, but the temperature rise and fall of the heat treatment apparatus must be repeated for each heat treatment operation. Therefore, there is a problem that productivity is poor and heat utilization efficiency is not good.

[0009]

As described above, in the conventional substrate holder for heat treatment, the self-weight of the wafer is concentrated only on a specific portion of the peripheral portion of the wafer. There was a problem of causing deformation of the. In addition, there is a problem in that workability is extremely poor when one of the columns is removable.

In addition, the conventional substrate holder for heat treatment has a problem that the repair cost is high and the processing cost is increased because even if a part of it is damaged, it cannot be used as a whole.

Furthermore, the conventional substrate holder for heat treatment has a problem that it cannot be diverted to another heat treatment furnace because its height is designed according to the height of the vertical heat treatment furnace to be used. It was

Further, since the conventional vertical heat treatment apparatus is a batch treatment, there is a problem that the productivity is low and the heat utilization efficiency is low.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and its main purpose is to uniformly apply stress to the edge of a substrate which causes slippage and deformation without impairing workability. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate holder for heat treatment adapted to be added. Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate holder for heat treatment that can repair only a damaged portion.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate holder for heat treatment whose height can be adjusted and which can be diverted to another vertical heat treatment furnace.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a heat treatment method and a heat treatment apparatus capable of continuously heat treating a substrate.

[0016]

The above object of the present invention is to provide an annular substrate mounting portion having an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of a substrate to be mounted and a back surface of an area outside the substrate to be mounted. This is achieved by a substrate holder for heat treatment, which is composed of a plurality of boat units having a supporting portion provided on the side. This substrate holder for heat treatment is used by mounting the substrates to be heat-treated on the substrate mounting portions of the plurality of boat units and stacking one boat unit concentrically on another boat unit. It

In the first type of substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention, the outer peripheral edge of the substrate to be heat treated is concentrically supported by the annular support portion of the boat unit, and each boat unit is attached to another boat. It is constructed by concentrically stacking on the unit. Therefore, in this type of substrate holder for heat treatment, the annular substrate mounting portion of the boat unit has an outer peripheral edge having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the substrate to be mounted, and this portion supports other boat units. Parts are placed.

In the first type of substrate holder for heat treatment, further, through holes are formed in the plurality of boat units, and locking pins made of a heat resistant material such as a heat resistant alloy are inserted through the through holes and fixed. Type and a type in which a recess that allows the support of another boat unit to be fitted is formed on the support and the support is stacked and fixed so that the support of another boat unit fits into this recess. To be In the case of using the former locking pin, the through hole is formed in a vacant region caused by the orientation flat when the wafer is placed concentrically, thereby avoiding the strength reduction due to the formation of the through hole. In this type of boat unit, a semiconductor wafer is placed and its supporting portion is placed on the supporting portions of other boat units, and after stacking a required number of them, a locking hole made of a heat resistant material such as a heat resistant alloy is locked in the through hole. Each boat unit is fixed by inserting a pin into the heat treatment furnace.
In the latter type in which other supporting portions are fitted in the concave portions, engaging bosses are provided on the lower surface of the supporting portions, and concave portions into which the engaging bosses are fitted are formed on the engaging bosses, or It is used by forming a recessed portion having a size capable of fitting the entire support portion on the upper part, and fitting the engaging boss or the entire support portion into the recessed portion.

According to the second type of substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention, the substrate to be heat treated is held by the substrate holder for heat treatment at the portion inside the outer peripheral edge. This type includes a type in which an auxiliary ring having a diameter smaller than that of the substrate is placed on the substrate placing portion of the boat unit and the substrate is placed on this auxiliary ring, and the substrate placing portion itself is more heat-treated than the substrate to be heat treated. There is a type with a small diameter.

The inner diameter of the former auxiliary ring is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to have the same shape as the inner peripheral edge of the substrate mounting portion in consideration of workability.

In the latter case, since the substrate mounting portion has a smaller diameter than the substrates, a plurality of arms are radially provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the substrate mounting portion so as to stack them. A support portion is provided on the lower surface of the tip of the arm portion. In this case, as means for fixing the stacked boat units,
As described above, a support portion is provided on the back surface, or an engagement boss is provided on the support portion on the back surface, and a recessed portion into which these can be fitted is formed on the top surface, or for holding the arm tip. It is possible to use any of a plurality of columns having the grooves formed therein, which are held by a holding unit which is erected on a base.

The radius of the second type auxiliary ring and the relative radius of the annular substrate mounting portion with respect to the substrate have a great influence on stress and deformation.

That is, when the outer diameter of the auxiliary ring or the like coincides with the outer diameter of the substrate, the deflection and distortion are maximized at the center of the semiconductor wafer. If the radius of the auxiliary ring or the like becomes too small, maximum deformation occurs around the substrate and maximum stress occurs at the supporting points. Therefore, it is desirable to use the optimum dimension depending on the situation. The radius of the auxiliary ring etc. that minimizes the stress and deformation of the entire substrate is 0.7 times the radius of the substrate. In this case, the maximum stress in the substrate is 1/4 and the maximum deflection in the substrate surface is 4% as compared with the conventional method of supporting the outer peripheral edge. Further, in consideration of the requirements of the substrate heat treatment process, the radius of the auxiliary ring or the like is set to 0.6 to the substrate radius.
It is desirable to make it 0.8 times. When only stress and deformation are considered, the radius of the auxiliary ring is 0.65 of the substrate radius.
It is desirable to be 0.75 times.

The third type of the substrate holder of the present invention comprises an annular substrate placing portion, a cylindrical edge portion provided on the outer periphery of the annular substrate placing portion, and the edge portion protruding from the back surface of the substrate placing portion. With a supporting portion having a size that can be fitted, and in a state in which a plurality of supporting portions of another substrate holding tool are fitted to the upper edge portion of one substrate holding tool and stacked, a flat or fork-shaped carrier device is formed. The upper edge portion is formed with a notch into which the support portions can be inserted so that the support portions can be inserted horizontally.

Taking advantage of this feature, the third type of substrate holder for heat treatment supports the bottom portion of the substrate holder for heat treatment by the first supporting portion which can be inserted into the notch, and is used for this heat treatment. The upper edge portion of another substrate holder for heat treatment supported by the second support portion is brought into contact with the bottom portion of the substrate holder so as to avoid the first support portion by the notch, and the whole second portion The boat unit is supported by the support unit, then the first support unit is retracted and lowered to mount another boat unit, and the boat unit is opened and closed by repeating the same operation as described above. It can be inserted from the bottom of the chamber in order and removed from the top. Further, the substrates sequentially extruded from the cylindrical reaction chamber can be carried out by inserting the holding portion of the holding means into the notch provided in each boat unit and lifting it.

In any of these types, quartz, which has excellent heat resistance, is suitable as the material for the boat unit.

The heat treatment method of the present invention utilizes the characteristics of the substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention having a simple stacked structure of boat units, in which a plurality of heat-treated members housed in the boat unit are vertically arranged. From the lower part of the upper and lower open high temperature cylindrical reaction chamber, the bottom of the previously inserted boat unit is inserted in order so as to be pushed up by the upper edge of the boat unit to be inserted next, and heat treatment of the substrate to be heat treated is performed. The boat unit extruded from the upper portion of the reaction chamber after the heat treatment is completed is sequentially taken out.

When the third type of substrate holder for heat treatment is used in this method, a forward / backward movement having a flat or fork-shaped holding portion that can be horizontally inserted into the notch at the upper edge of the boat unit. A holding means that can move up and down is used.

The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention also utilizes the characteristics of the stacked structure of the substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention,
A vertically-arranged vertically open cylindrical reaction chamber, a heating device that heats the reaction chamber, and an upper operation chamber that is arranged above and below the reaction chamber to surround the open portion of the reaction chamber and is separated from the outside air. And a lower operation chamber, and a boat unit accommodating a semiconductor wafer from the lower part of the reaction chamber in the lower operation chamber, so that the bottom of the previously inserted boat unit is pushed up by the edge of the boat unit to be inserted next. Characterized in that it has a boat unit lifting device to be inserted in order, a lower transfer device for transferring the boat unit to the lifting device, and an upper transfer device for carrying out the boat unit pushed out from the upper part of the reaction chamber There is.

[0030]

In the first type of substrate holder for heat treatment, the substrates are placed concentrically on the required number of boat units,
When forming a through hole, stack the boat units concentrically so that the through holes are aligned and insert the locking pin into the through hole, or fix the support unit by fitting it into the recess. It is placed in a heat treatment furnace.

At this time, the support portion of each boat unit is
It is placed outside the substrate of the substrate mounting portion of the boat unit which is the lower stage. In the first type of substrate holder for heat treatment, since the substrate is supported over the entire circumference, the weight of the substrate is evenly distributed and stress concentration does not occur.

In the second type of substrate holder for heat treatment,
The substrate is placed on the substrate rest via the auxiliary ring or directly. In this type, the weight of the substrate is evenly distributed in the circumferential direction of the substrate and is also distributed in the radial direction of the substrate, so that stress concentration can be more effectively avoided.

Further. The third type has a notch portion into which a flat or fork-shaped support portion of the supporting means can be inserted when a plurality of layers are stacked on the upper edge portion, and by utilizing this feature, the following continuous heat treatment is performed. A possible heat treatment apparatus can be constructed.

That is, in the third type, when the first boat unit is supported by the first support means, the second boat means holds the second boat unit and the upper edge portion of the second boat unit is held. The notch portion makes the supporting portion of the first supporting means contact the bottom portion of the first boat unit so as to support the first and second boat units, and then retracts the supporting portion of the first supporting means. By lowering and placing the third boat unit and repeating the same operation, a plurality of boat units can be sequentially stacked.
In addition, by using the notch of the boat unit to insert the supporting portion of the same supporting means into the notch of the boat unit next to the uppermost stage of the stacked boat units, and lifting the uppermost boat unit. The boat units can be transferred in order from the top.

The heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus of the present invention utilize the characteristics of the substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention having a simple stacked structure.

In the heat treatment method and heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of boat units accommodating the specific heat treatment substrates are inserted first from the lower part of the vertically arranged high temperature cylindrical reaction chamber. Of the boat unit to be inserted next is pushed up by the upper edge of the boat unit to be inserted next. The stacked boat units are supported by supporting the bottom boat unit by supporting means, and this support is such that the upper edge of the new boat unit abuts the bottom of the previously inserted boat unit. This is done by a method that does not interfere with the pushing and pushing, for example, the method described for the third type heat treatment substrate holder described above.

Then, the stacked boat units are heat-treated in the process of passing through the reaction chamber, sequentially extruded from the upper part of the reaction chamber, and taken out to the outside by the waiting upper transfer device.

[0038]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a boat unit of the type of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing its assembled state.

In FIG. 1, the boat unit 1 has an annular shape as a whole, the outer peripheral edge 1a of which is larger than the outer diameter of a wafer 2 (shown by a chain line) to be placed, and the inner peripheral edge 1b of which is a wafer. The diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of 2. Also,
A through hole 3 is formed near the outer peripheral edge 1a, and the wafer 2
Is placed so that the through hole 3 is located at the center of the orientation flat 2a.

Support legs 4 are provided on the lower surface of the boat unit 1 along the outer peripheral edge 1a at equal intervals. The outer diameter of the boat unit 1 and the thickness of the support leg 4 are determined when the wafer 2 is placed concentrically and the other boat units 1 are stacked concentrically thereon and the positions of the through holes 3 are aligned. The supporting legs 4 of the upper boat unit 1 are set so as to surround the wafer of the lower boat unit 1 and be located outside thereof.

FIG. 2 shows that after the wafers 2 are placed and stacked on each of the eight boat units 1 in this way,
It shows a state in which the locking pins 5 are inserted into the through holes 3 and the boat units 1 are fixed. The substrate holder for heat treatment thus assembled is placed in a vertical heat treatment furnace or the like for heat treatment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a boat unit of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing a portion of the support leg in its assembled state.

In this embodiment, instead of the fixing means by the through hole 3 and the locking pin 5 in FIGS. 1 and 2, the engaging boss 5 is provided on the lower surface of the support leg 4 of the boat unit while the upper surface thereof is provided. The boat unit 1 has the same configuration as that of the boat unit 1 shown in FIGS.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the semiconductor wafer 2 is mounted on the substrate mounting portion of each boat unit 1 and the recess 6 of one boat unit 1 is engaged with the other boat unit 1. A plurality of bosses 4a are used so as to be engaged with each other. The position shift after stacking is prevented because the engaging boss 4a is fitted in the recess 6.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the engaging boss 4a is provided on the lower surface of the support leg 4 and the engaging boss 4a is fitted in the recess 6. However, as shown in FIG. In addition, without providing the engaging boss 4a, a concave portion 6 into which the supporting leg 4 is fitted is formed on the upper surface, and the supporting leg 4 of another boat unit is fitted and fixed in the concave portion 6. Good.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which an annular auxiliary ring 7 is mounted on the substrate mounting portion and the semiconductor wafer 2 is mounted thereon. The auxiliary ring 7 has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the substrate mounting portion of the boat unit 1 and smaller than the inscribed circle of the support leg 4. In the substrate holder for heat treatment of this embodiment, by setting the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the auxiliary ring 7 to appropriate values, the stress distribution in the plane of the semiconductor wafer 2 can be averaged, and the overall deflection and stress Can be reduced.

Since this embodiment is one in which the auxiliary ring 7 is simply placed on the substrate mounting portion of the boat unit 1, it can be applied to any of the types shown in FIGS. .

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the substrate mounting portion itself of the boat unit 1 has the function of the auxiliary ring of FIG. In this embodiment, the arms 8 are radially projected from the outer periphery of the substrate mounting portion at equal intervals, and the support legs 4 are attached to the tips thereof.
Is provided, and the engaging boss 4a is provided on the lower surface thereof,
The board mounting portion is formed with a recess 6 into which the engagement boss 4a of another boat unit can be fitted, and when stacked, the engagement boss 4a of another boat unit is fitted and fixed to the recess 6. I am trying to do it.

The substrate mounting portion of the boat unit 1 has a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the wafer to be mounted. The inner diameter and outer diameter of the boat unit 1 have a stress distribution in the plane of the semiconductor wafer in consideration of strength. It is set to be averaged.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the arm portion 8 is fixed by the holding unit 10 in the embodiment shown in FIG. In this type, as shown in the same figure, instead of the engagement boss 4a and the concave portion 6, the boat unit 1 is attached to the tip of the arm 8.
A fixed portion 11 having a height higher than that of the substrate mounting portion which also serves as a spacer when the boats are stacked is provided, and separately from this, a positional relationship corresponding to the fixed portion 11 of the boat unit 1 is provided on the base (not shown). 1. Prepare a holding unit 10 in which a plurality of columns 13 having vertical grooves 12 for holding the fixing portions 11 are provided upright, and the fixing portions 11 of the boat unit 1 on which a wafer is mounted are engaged with these columns 13 so as to engage a horizontal surface. I try to restrain the movement within. Then, by mounting a predetermined number of other boat units 1 on which wafers are mounted while sequentially engaging the fixing portions 11 with the grooves 12 on this, the boat units 1 can be stably stacked. In any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the relative radius of the auxiliary ring or the annular substrate mounting portion with respect to the wafer has a great influence on the stress and the deformation. The radius of the mounting portion is 0.6 to 0.
The range is 8 times, preferably 0.65 to 0.75 times.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a boat unit of the third type according to the present invention.

The boat unit 1 includes an annular substrate platform 14, an edge 15 provided on the outer periphery of the substrate platform 14, and the substrate platform 1.
4 has an engaging portion 16 of a size that can be fitted in the edge picture protrudingly provided on the back surface. A cutout portion 17 into which flat or fork-shaped holding means can be inserted when stacked is formed at the upper edge portion of the boat unit 1.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a heat treatment apparatus using the boat unit shown in FIG.

The heat treatment apparatus 18 has a vertically arranged cylindrical reaction chamber 19 which is open vertically. The reaction chamber 19 is made of a material such as quartz, which has excellent heat resistance and does not generate volatile components at high temperatures. A heating element 20 is arranged around the reaction chamber 19, and the outer circumference of the heating element 20 is covered with a heat insulating material 21.

An operation chamber 2 having an airtight structure is provided above and below the reaction chamber 19.
2, 23 are arranged. A gas introduction pipe 24 and an exhaust pipe 25 are connected to the operation chambers 22 and 23, respectively.
23 can be replaced with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or helium gas, or a gas having a predetermined oxygen concentration.

Atmosphere exchange chambers 26 and 27 are provided adjacent to the operation chambers 22 and 23, respectively. Lower atmosphere exchange room 25
Shutters 28 and 29 are provided between the lower operation chamber 21 and the lower operation chamber 21, and between the lower atmosphere exchange chamber 27 and the outside. By opening and closing the shutters 28 and 29 of the boat unit 1, the operation chamber 22 is maintained while maintaining the atmosphere. Can be brought in. Similarly, between the upper atmosphere exchange chamber 27 and the upper operation chamber 23,
The shutters 30, 3 are also provided between the upper atmosphere exchange chamber 24 and the outside.
1 is provided, and the boat unit 1 can be carried out of the upper operation chamber 23 to the outside while maintaining the atmosphere by opening and closing the shutters 30 and 31.

In the lower operation chamber 22, a first support beam 32 and a second support beam 33 which can move back and forth and up and down respectively are arranged in directions orthogonal to each other, and the upper operation chamber 23 also has a first support beam. A third support beam 34 having the same function is arranged in parallel with the beam 32. Although these support beams 31, 32, 33 are inserted into the operation chambers 22, 23 from the outside, they may be arranged in the operation chambers 22, 23. The tip portions of the respective support beams 21, 22, 23 are formed into a flat plate shape having a thickness and a width that can be accommodated in the cutout portion 17 formed at the upper end portion of the boat unit, and this flat plate of the first and second support beams 31, 32 is formed. The shaped part is made of a material having sufficient strength to support the weight of all the boat units 1 that are stacked and inserted into the reaction chamber 19.

Although not shown in the drawings, a transfer device composed of a rotatable fork using a known three-joint link mechanism is arranged in each of the atmosphere exchange chambers 26 and 27.
The transfer device is arranged in the lower atmosphere exchange chamber 26, and the transfer device receives the boat unit 1 from the outside and transfers it to the first support beam 32.
Located in the upper atmosphere exchange chamber 27, the transfer device serves to receive the boat unit 1 from the third support beam 34 and carry it out to the outside.

Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the reaction chamber 19 and the respective operation chambers 22 and 23 reach a predetermined atmosphere and temperature, first, the shutter 29 of the lower atmosphere exchange chamber 26 is opened, and the section 3 installed in the atmosphere exchange chamber 26. The link-type transfer device 35 extends to the outside and carries one of the first boat units 1 into the atmosphere exchange chamber 26 (FIG. 11). At this time, the boat unit 1 is prepositioned so that the facing notches 17 are aligned with the transfer direction. When the boat unit 1 enters the atmosphere exchange chamber 26, the external shutter 29 is closed, the shutter 28 between the atmosphere exchange chamber 26 and the operation chamber 22 is opened, and the transfer device 35 moves the boat unit 1 directly below the reaction chamber 19. Carry in to the position (Fig. 12) Then, the first support beam 32 moves forward to hold the bottom of the boat unit 1 and rise by the height of one boat unit (FIG. 13). Subsequently, the next boat unit 1 is similarly carried into the section operation chamber 22 by the transfer device 35 (see FIG.
4) The second support beam 33 extends vertically to the plane of the drawing, and similarly holds the second boat unit 1 and ascends to move the first support beam 32 into the second boat unit 1. The upper end of the first boat unit 1 is avoided by avoiding the notch 17.
Fit the bottom of the. After the weight of the first and second boat units 1 is reliably received by the second support beam 33, the first support beam 32 retracts, descends to its original position, and enters the standby state (FIG. 15).

In this way, the first support beam 32 and the second support beam 32
The supporting beams 33 alternately push up the boat unit 1 from the lower side to bring it closer to the heating zone of the reaction chamber 19, so that the boat unit 1 is gradually heated and the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the boat unit is heat-treated, and the heating zone is heated. After passing through, the temperature gradually drops and is finally extruded from the upper part of the reaction chamber 19. Then, the third support beam 34 moves forward to enter from the upper edge of the boat unit 1 next to the boat unit 1 at the top (FIG. 16), and rises to the boat unit 1 at the top. Next, the boat is lifted from the boat unit 1 and transferred onto the extended upper transfer device 36 (FIG. 17).

Then, the upper transfer device 36 conveys the boat unit 1 to the outside (FIG. 18).

As described above, according to the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to continuously heat treat the object to be heat-treated contained in the boat unit 1.

The operations shown in FIGS. 11 to 18 are examples of the present invention, and these operations can be arbitrarily changed by a known sequential control method.

The transfer devices 35 and 36 may also be of a belt conveyor system instead of the system of expanding and contracting.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the first support beam 32 is replaced with a pusher 32a which only moves up and down, and the support beam 3
Instead of moving back and forth only, the sequence shown in FIG. 14 may be used to push up the bottom of the boat unit 1 that was raised first by the upper edge of the boat unit 1 that is raised next.

Further, it is possible to form a slit in the wafer mounting portion of the boat unit 1 to reduce the contact area of the wafer or to form a slit in the edge portion to improve the flow of the atmospheric gas.

[0069]

In the substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention, the weight of the substrate is uniformly applied to the entire peripheral portion, so that the occurrence of slips and the deformation of the wafer due to stress concentration are prevented. Also,
Since a plurality of boat units are stacked and used, even if some of them are damaged, they can be easily replaced and the processing cost is easy. Moreover, since the height can be changed, the boat units can be diverted. Further, since the substrate holder for heat treatment of the present invention has a laminated structure, it can be continuously charged into the heat treatment apparatus to perform continuous work, which can enhance productivity and improve heat utilization efficiency. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a boat unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing a state in which the boat unit of FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a boat unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a state in which the boat unit of FIG. 2 is assembled.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view schematically showing a heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.

11 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

13 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

14 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

15 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

16 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 19 is a partial perspective view showing a gel mechanism for pushing up a boat unit of another embodiment of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.

20A to 20H are diagrams showing the operation of the embodiment using the mechanism shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... boat unit, 1a ... outer peripheral edge, 1b ... inner peripheral edge, 2 ... wafer, 2a ... orientation flat, 3 ... through hole, 4 ... support leg, 4a ... engaging boss, 5
...... Locking pin, 6 ...... Concave, 7 ...... Auxiliary ring, 8 ......
Arm, 10 ... Holding unit, 11 ... Fixed part, 12 ...
… Vertical groove, 13 …… Post, 14 …… Board mounting part, 15
…… Edge, 16 …… Engagement section, 17 …… Notch section, 18 ……
Heat treatment device, 19 ... Reaction chamber, 20 ... Heating element, 21 ...
… Insulating material, 22,23 …… Operating room, 24 …… Gas inlet pipe, 25 …… Exhaust pipe, 26,27 …… Atmosphere exchange chamber, 2
8, 29, 30, 31 ... Shutters, 32, 33, 34
…… Support beam, 35 …… Transfer device

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hiroo Ozeki 378 Oguni Town, Oguni Town, Yamagata Prefecture Oguni Town, 378 Oguni Factory, Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. (72) Tomohide Otsuka 378 Ogiwa Town, Oguni Town, Yamagata Prefecture, Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. Company Oguni Factory (72) Inventor Shunzo Yamagata Prefecture Nishiokitama Group Oguni Town 378 Oguni Town, Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Miyao Atsushi Yamagata Prefecture Oguni Town Oguni Town 378 Oguni Town Toshiba Ceramics In Oguni Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Inaba Nishikitama Group Oguni Town, Oguni Town, 378 Oguni Town, Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Teihei 30 Soya, Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. In-house (72) Inventor Katsuhiro Yamamoto 30 Soya, Hadano-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An annular substrate mounting portion having an outer peripheral edge having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of a substrate to be mounted and an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of a substrate to be mounted, and the substrate mounting portion. Substrate for heat treatment, characterized in that a plurality of annular boat units having a plurality of supporting portions protruding from the rear surface of the area outside the substrate are stacked vertically and are detachably mounted. Holding device. 2. Each boat unit has a through hole in an area on the outside of the substrate, the substrates are placed on each of the boat units, and the through holes are stacked so as to form a straight line, and the locking pin is attached. The substrate holder for heat treatment according to claim 1, wherein each boat unit can be fixed by being inserted into the through hole. 3. An annular substrate mounting portion having an outer peripheral edge having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the substrate to be mounted and an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the substrate to be mounted, and the substrate mounting portion. Of a plurality of supporting portions projecting on the back surface of the area outside the substrate of the substrate and the supporting portion formed at a position corresponding to the supporting portion on the upper surface of the substrate mounting portion, the concave portion having a size fittable therein. Each of the boat units is mounted and detached by mounting a substrate on each of the boat units and stacking so that the support portion of each boat unit fits into the recess of another boat unit. A heat treatment substrate holder characterized by being configured freely. 4. An annular substrate mounting portion having an outer peripheral edge having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the substrate to be mounted and an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the substrate to be mounted, and the substrate mounting portion. A plurality of supporting portions projecting from the rear surface of the area outside the substrate, and a concave portion formed at a position corresponding to the supporting portion on the upper surface of the substrate mounting portion into which the supporting portion can be fitted. A plurality of annular boat units, and a plurality of annular auxiliary rings having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the substrate mounting portion and smaller than the inscribed circle of the support portion. The substrate is placed on each of the boat units via the auxiliary ring, and the boat units are stacked so that the support portions of the boat units are fitted into the recesses of the other boat units, and the boat units are detachably configured. Substrate holder for use. 5. An annular substrate mounting portion having an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than an outer diameter of a substrate to be mounted, and a plurality of arm portions protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the wafer of the substrate mounting portion at equal intervals. The boat unit includes a plurality of annular boat units each having a support portion projecting from the back surface of the distal end of each of these arms and a recess formed on the upper surface of each support portion into which the support portion can fit. Each boat unit is configured to be attachable / detachable by placing a substrate on each of the boat units and stacking so that the support portion on the back surface of the tip of each boat unit arm fits into the recess on the top of the arm tip of another boat unit. A substrate holder for heat treatment. 6. An annular substrate mounting portion having an inner peripheral edge having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of a substrate to be mounted, and a plurality of arm portions projecting from the outer peripheral edge of the wafer of the substrate mounting portion at equal intervals. A plurality of annular boat units each having a support portion projectingly provided on the back surface of the tip of these arm portions, a base and a standing position on the base in a positional relationship corresponding to the tip ends of the arm portions of the boat unit. Each of the boat units has a substrate mounted on each of the boat units, and the tip of the arm portion of each boat unit is provided with a groove portion of the holding unit. A substrate holder for heat treatment, characterized in that each boat unit is configured to be attachable and detachable by being engaged with and stacked with each other. 7. A plurality of substrate mounting portions each having an annular shape, an edge portion provided on the outer periphery of the substrate mounting portion, and a support portion projecting from the back surface of the substrate mounting portion and having a size fittable to the edge portion. Characterized in that a notch portion into which a flat or fork-shaped support portion of the holding means can be inserted when a plurality of the boat units are stacked is formed at the upper edge of these boat units. A substrate holder for heat treatment. 8. The substrate holder for heat treatment according to claim 7, wherein the bottom portion is a drop bottom having a locking step portion that can be fitted to the upper portion of another boat unit. 9. A boat in which a plurality of boat units accommodating substrates to be heat-treated are inserted from the bottom of a vertically arranged high-temperature cylindrical reaction chamber which is vertically opened and then the bottom of the previously inserted boat unit is inserted. A heat treatment method, characterized in that the substrates to be heat-treated are heat-treated by sequentially inserting the boat units so as to be pushed up at the upper edge of the units, and the boat units extruded from the upper portion of the reaction chamber after the heat treatment are sequentially taken out. 10. A vertically-arranged vertically open cylindrical reaction chamber, a heating device for heating the reaction chamber, and a compartment from the outside air arranged above and below the previous reaction chamber to surround the open portion of the previous reaction chamber. The upper operation room and the lower operation room, and the upper edge of the boat unit in which the boat unit containing the substrate to be heat-treated is first inserted from the lower part of the reaction chamber in the lower operation room Boat unit push-up device that is inserted in order to push up the boat unit, a lower transfer device that places the boat unit on the previous-stage pusher device, and an upper transfer device that carries out the boat unit pushed out from the upper part of the reaction chamber. And a heat treatment method.