JPH0917704A - Film-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a film-forming device for taking in a plurality of substrates into a film-forming device. CONSTITUTION: A multiple-room film-forming device with a plurality of film- forming rooms 2 and 3 has one load room 1 for loading substrates into and out of the outside of the film-forming device and a plurality of film-forming rooms 2 and 3 via gates 21 and 31 and a substrate standby position 12 for tentatively retaining the substrates and a substrate transfer mechanism 11 for carrying the substrates, one substrate is tentatively retained at the substrate standby position 12, and the substrate can be moved within the film-forming device of the other substrate by a substrate carrying mechanism 11, thus performing film-forming treatment to each substrate with a plurality of substrates incorporated in the film-forming device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film forming apparatus, and more particularly to a film forming apparatus for forming a plurality of film formations on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device or element, a substrate having a plurality of deposited films may be used. For example, in a magnetic head, a disk or the like, a protective film such as a DCL film may be further formed on a film formed on a substrate. The formation of such a plurality of film formations may be performed by a multi-chamber film formation apparatus. For example, when performing film formation by etching and film formation on a substrate, EC
A multi-chamber type film forming apparatus having three chambers of an R-CVD (plasma type etching) chamber, a sputtering chamber, and a load chamber is configured.

With this multi-chamber type film forming apparatus,
When a film is formed, the substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber through the load chamber, the first film is formed on the substrate by sputtering in the sputtering chamber, and then the ECR is performed.
Introducing into a CVD chamber to etch a second film on the first film. Then, the substrate on which the two films are formed is taken out through the load chamber.

[0004]

However, the conventional multi-chamber type film forming apparatus has a problem that only one substrate can be taken into the film forming apparatus. for that reason,
When performing a film forming process on a plurality of substrates by a conventional multi-chamber film forming apparatus, the process of introducing the next substrate after taking out after film formation on each substrate is repeated,
In order to improve the production amount of substrates, it is necessary to increase the number of film forming chambers or increase the film forming area. However, such an increase in the number of film forming chambers or an increase in film forming area leads to an increase in cost of the film forming apparatus. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional multi-chamber type film forming apparatus and to provide a film forming apparatus capable of incorporating a plurality of substrates into the film forming apparatus.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in a multi-chamber type film forming apparatus having a plurality of film forming chambers, a gate is provided between the outside of the film forming apparatus and between the plurality of film forming chambers. The above object is achieved by having one load chamber for introducing and withdrawing the substrate, and the load chamber having a substrate standby position for temporarily holding the substrate and a substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate. The film forming apparatus of the present invention is a film forming apparatus for forming a plurality of film formations on a substrate by a plurality of film forming chambers having a common load chamber.

The load chamber is provided with a substrate introduced into the film forming apparatus.
It is a chamber for carrying out the substrate on which the film is formed to the outside of the film forming apparatus, introducing the substrate to and from each film forming chamber, and the like, and is a chamber provided commonly to a plurality of film forming chambers. The load chamber of the present invention has a substrate standby position for temporarily holding the substrates, which allows a plurality of substrates to be taken into the film forming apparatus at the same time. Further, the load chamber of the present invention is provided with a substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate between the outside of the film forming apparatus, the film forming chamber, and the substrate standby position inside the load chamber, whereby the loading chamber is loaded into the film forming apparatus. It enables the movement of multiple rare substrates.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, the substrate transfer means is constituted by a mechanism that enables two movements, a rotational movement and a linear movement, whereby a single substrate transfer means allows a plurality of film formation chambers to be formed. Also, it is possible to move the substrate with respect to the substrate standby position. According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the film forming chamber is composed of an etching chamber and a sputtering chamber, whereby the etching film and the sputtering film can be formed in one step without exposing them to the atmosphere. .

[0008]

In the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the substrate transfer means is
After the first substrate is taken into the load chamber, it is taken out into the first film formation chamber. The first film forming chamber forms a first film on the introduced substrate. After the formation of the first film, the substrate carrying means takes out the substrate from the first film forming chamber and introduces it into the second film forming chamber. The second film forming chamber forms a second film on the introduced substrate. During the formation of the second film, the second film forming chamber and the load chamber are partitioned by a gate to bring the load chamber to atmospheric pressure, and the substrate transfer means takes the second substrate into the load chamber.

After loading the second substrate into the load chamber, the load chamber is set to a vacuum pressure, and the second substrate is set to the first pressure in the vacuum pressure state.
The first substrate is moved from the second film forming chamber to the substrate standby position in the load chamber while being introduced into the film forming chamber. Next, with the load chamber kept in a vacuum state, the second substrate
The film forming chamber is moved to the second film forming chamber. The second film formation chamber forms a second film formation on the second substrate. At this time, the first substrate is temporarily held at the substrate standby position in the load chamber. After that, the load chamber is set to the atmospheric pressure, and the substrate transfer means takes out the first substrate from the substrate standby position in the load chamber to the outside of the film forming apparatus. After that, the third, fourth, ... Substrates are processed in the same manner as the above processing.

As a result, the film forming apparatus of the present invention can simultaneously take in a plurality of substrates in the film forming apparatus and perform the film forming process. In addition, the number of exhaust treatments in the load chamber can be reduced, the time for film formation treatment can be shortened, and the number of wafers processed per unit time can be increased.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. (Structure of Embodiment of the Present Invention) Next, a structure example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows an example in which the film forming apparatus of the present invention includes two film forming chambers, an etching chamber and a sputtering chamber.
In FIG. 1, one load chamber (L / L
C) 1 is connected to a sputtering chamber (S / C) 2 and a film forming chamber (P / C) 3 for etching through a gate 21 and a gate 31, and a cassette provided outside the film forming apparatus. It is connected to the section 4 via a gate 41.

A substrate standby position (B / P) 12 is provided in the load chamber 1 without being partitioned by a gate or the like,
The substrate standby position 12 and the load chamber 1 are kept under the same pressure. The substrate transfer mechanism 12 is provided with a holding mechanism such as a lifter 13 for temporarily holding the substrate. In addition, the load chamber 1 has a substrate transfer mechanism 1 that allows the substrate to perform two movements, a rotational movement and a linear movement.
1 is provided, and by this substrate transfer mechanism 11,
Loading and unloading of the substrate between the outside of the film forming apparatus and the inside of the load chamber 1, introduction and removal of the substrate between the load chamber 1 and the sputtering 2, introduction of the substrate between the load chamber 1 and the film forming chamber 3. , The substrate can be moved to and from the substrate standby position 12 in the load chamber 1.

The sputtering chamber 2 is an example of the film forming chamber of the present invention, and is a portion for forming a film on a substrate by sputtering. A high frequency power source (for example,
A target 22 to which 13.56 MHz) is connected and a ground 23 are provided. The sputter chamber 2 and the load chamber 1 are partitioned by a gate 21 so as to be hermetically sealed. The film forming chamber 3 is an example of the film forming chamber of the present invention, and a film is formed on a substrate by plasma etching by, for example, ECR-CVD (plasma type etching apparatus). In the case of ECR-CVD, for example, a microwave source of 2.45 GHz is connected. Further, the film forming chamber 3 and the load chamber 1 are partitioned by a gate 31 so as to be hermetically sealed.

A vacuum pump for exhausting gas is connected to each of the load chamber 1, the sputtering chamber 2, and the film forming chamber 3 which constitute the film forming apparatus, so that the exhausting operation can be performed independently. The exhaust vacuum pump can be constituted by, for example, a rotary pump, a turbo molecular pump, or the like. The load chamber 1 is provided outside the film forming apparatus.
A cassette unit 4 is provided for carrying substrates to and from the inside. A gate 41 is provided between the load chamber 1 and the cassette unit 4.

(Operation of the Embodiment of the Present Invention) Next, an outline of the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be shown with reference to FIG. 2, and a more detailed operation of the embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. Will be described. First, the general operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, as an example, the case where three substrates are processed is shown together with the pressure state of the load chamber during the processing.

First, the pressure in the load chamber 1 is set to atmospheric pressure, and the first substrate is taken into the load chamber 1 from the cassette 42 arranged in the cassette section 4 (step 1). After the load chamber 1 is evacuated, it is opened and the substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber 2. A film is formed on the substrate by sputtering in the sputtering chamber 2 (step 2).
After sputtering, the substrate is moved to the film forming chamber 3 and a film is formed by etching. With the first substrate stored in the film forming chamber 3, the second substrate is loaded into the load chamber 1 (step 3). After vacuuming the load chamber 1 again,
The first substrate is moved from the film forming chamber 3 to the substrate standby position 12 of the load chamber 1, and the second substrate is moved to the sputtering chamber 2
To be introduced. By temporarily holding the first substrate at the substrate standby position 12, the second substrate can be introduced into the sputtering chamber 2. (Step 4).

Similar to the treatment of the first substrate, the second substrate is sputtered and then moved to the film forming chamber 3 to form a film. Then, with the second substrate stored in the film forming chamber 3, the load chamber 1 is set to the atmospheric pressure, and the substrate standby position 12 is set.
Take out the first substrate held in
Next, the third substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber 2 (step 5). Similar to step 4, load chamber 1
After vacuuming, the second substrate is moved from the film forming chamber 3 to the substrate standby position 12 of the load chamber 1 and the third substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber 2 (step 6). further,
After sputtering the third substrate, it is moved to the film forming chamber 3 to form a film. Then, with the third substrate housed in the film forming chamber 3, the load chamber 1 is set to atmospheric pressure, the first substrate held at the substrate standby position 12 is taken out to the cassette section 4 side, and then the 4th substrate is placed. The first substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber 2 (step 7). Hereinafter, similarly, by repeating the process, the film forming process of the plurality of substrates is continued.

Next, the operation will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 3 and 4, the load chamber is represented by L / C, the sputtering chamber is represented by S / C, the film forming chamber is represented by P / C, and the substrate standby position is represented by B / P. First, gate 41
To open the load chamber and substrate standby position to atmospheric pressure,
The first substrate (in the figure, is taken into the load chamber 1 from the cassette 41 of the cassette unit 4 by the substrate transfer mechanism (FIGS. 3A and 3B). After taking the first substrate into the load chamber, The gate 41 is closed to create a vacuum state (Fig. 3
(C)). After making the sputtering chamber in a vacuum state, the gate 21 is opened, and the first substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism (FIG. 3 (d)). A sputtering process is performed on the first substrate in the sputtering chamber (FIG. 3E). After sputtering, the gate 21 is opened, the first substrate is led out from the sputtering chamber to the load chamber by the substrate transport mechanism, and further introduced from the load chamber to the film forming chamber, and the gate 31 is closed (FIG. 3 (f)).

The first substrate is subjected to a film forming process in the film forming chamber. Further, the gate 41 is opened to bring the load chamber and the substrate standby position to the atmospheric pressure, and the second substrate (in the figure) is taken into the load chamber 1 from the cassette 41 of the cassette unit 4 by the substrate transfer mechanism (see FIG. g)).

After introducing the second substrate into the load chamber,
The gate 41 is closed to create a vacuum state (FIG. 3 (h)). After making the sputtering chamber in a vacuum state, the gate 21 is opened, and the second substrate is introduced into the sputtering chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism (FIG. 3 (i)). The second substrate is subjected to a sputtering process in the sputtering chamber. Further, the gate 31 is opened, the first substrate is led out from the film forming chamber to the load chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism, and further moved to the substrate standby position in the load chamber (FIG. 4 (j)).

The gate 21 is opened, and the second substrate is led out from the sputtering chamber to the load chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism and further introduced from the load chamber to the film forming chamber (FIG. 4 (k)). The gate 31 is closed and the second substrate is subjected to a film forming process in the film forming chamber, and the gate 41 is opened to bring the load chamber and the substrate standby position to atmospheric pressure. Then, the first substrate is moved from the substrate standby position by the substrate transfer mechanism and taken out to the cassette side (FIG. 4 (l)). After taking out the first substrate, the third substrate (in the figure) is moved by the substrate transfer mechanism.
From the cassette side into the loading chamber (Fig. 4
(M)). After introducing the third substrate into the load chamber, the gate 41 is closed to create a vacuum pressure in the load chamber (FIG. 4).
(N)).

Next, the gate 21 is opened, and the third substrate is introduced from the load chamber into the sputtering chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism (FIG. 4 (o)). A sputtering process is performed on the third substrate in the sputtering chamber. Also, open the gate 31,
The second substrate is led out from the film forming chamber to the load chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism, and further moved to the substrate standby position in the load chamber (FIG. 4 (p)). The gate 21 is opened, and the third substrate is led out of the sputtering chamber into the load chamber by the substrate transfer mechanism.
Further, the film is introduced from the load chamber into the film forming chamber (FIG. 4 (q)).
The gate 31 is closed and the third substrate is subjected to a film forming process in the film forming chamber, and the gate 41 is opened to bring the load chamber and the substrate standby position to atmospheric pressure. Then, the second substrate is moved from the substrate standby position by the substrate transfer mechanism and taken out to the cassette unit side (FIG. 4 (r)). Hereinafter, by repeating the process after (m) in FIG. 4, the film forming process for the substrate after the fourth substrate can be performed.

(Structural Example of Substrate Transfer Mechanism of the Present Invention and Its Function) Next, one structural example of the substrate transfer mechanism used in the film forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Will be explained. One example of the configuration of the substrate transfer mechanism shown in FIG. 5 is a substrate support section 11- for supporting a substrate.
1, a link mechanism 11-2 and a gear mechanism 11-3 for linearly and rotationally moving the substrate support portion 11-1,
Motors M1 and M2 for driving the mechanism are provided.

The motor M1 is a drive source for driving the link mechanism 11-2 to linearly move the substrate supporting portion 11-1. In FIG. 5, the motor M1 shown by the broken line curve
The rotational movement of the substrate supporting unit 1 is performed via the link mechanism 11-2.
It is transmitted to 1-1. As a result, the substrate support 11-
1 makes a linear motion as shown by the broken line. The reciprocating motion of the substrate support 11-1 can be performed by switching the rotation direction of the motor M1. The linear movement of the substrate transfer mechanism is used to move the substrate between the chambers in the film forming apparatus of the present invention. The motor M2 is a drive source for driving the gear mechanism 11-3 to rotate the link mechanism 11-2 and the substrate transfer mechanism 11-1.
In FIG. 5, the rotational movement of the motor M2 indicated by the solid curve causes the entire link mechanism 11-2 to rotate via the gear mechanism 11-3. As a result, the substrate support portion 11-1 makes a rotational movement as shown by the solid line. In the film forming apparatus of the present invention, the rotational movement of the substrate transfer mechanism causes the substrate support portion 11-
It is used when changing the direction of the linear motion of 1.

An example of the operation of the substrate transfer mechanism will be described below. When the substrate transfer mechanism is at the position shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate support 11-1 is placed in the load chamber (L / C in the figure) and the sputter chamber (S in the figure) as shown in FIG. 6B. / C), the motor M1 and the link mechanism 11-2 are driven to linearly move the substrate support 11-1. When the substrate transfer mechanism is at the position shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate support unit 11-1 is provided between the load chamber and the film forming chamber (P / C in the figure) as shown in FIG. 6C. In order to reciprocate, the motor M2 and the gear mechanism 11-2 are used to direct the substrate support portion 11-1 toward the film forming chamber side, and the motor M
1 and the link mechanism 11-2 to drive the substrate supporting unit 1
Move 1-1 in a straight line.

Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 6 (d) and 6 (e), the substrate supporting portion 11-1 is connected to the substrate standby position (B / P in the figure) in the load chamber or outside the film forming chamber. In order to reciprocate, the motor M2 and the gear mechanism 11-2 direct the substrate support portion 11-1 toward the substrate standby position or the cassette portion, and the motor M1 and the link mechanism 11-.
2 is driven to linearly move the substrate support portion 11-1.

(Effects of Embodiments) The film forming apparatus of the present invention can simultaneously take in a plurality of substrates in the film forming apparatus and perform the film forming process. In addition, the number of exhaust treatments in the load chamber can be reduced, the time for film formation treatment can be shortened, and the number of wafers processed per unit time can be increased.

(Modification) In the above embodiment, the case where the number of film forming chambers is two is shown, but the present invention can be applied to the case of a multi-chamber type film forming chamber having three or more chambers. it can. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the film forming chamber is the sputtering chamber and the film forming chamber by etching is shown, but the same can be applied to the film forming chambers of other types.

[0029]

As described above, according to the film forming apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of substrates can be taken into the film forming apparatus at the same time, and the production efficiency can be greatly improved as compared with the conventional case. You can Further, in a plurality of film forming steps, the film can be formed without exposing the substrate to the atmosphere,
The quality of the film can also be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart for explaining the operation of the configuration example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the configuration example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the configuration example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a substrate transfer mechanism used in the film forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate transfer mechanism used in the film forming apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... load chamber (L / C), 2 ... sputter chamber (S / C),
3 ... Film forming chamber (P / C), 4 ... Cassette unit, 11 ... Substrate transport mechanism, 11-1 ... Substrate support unit, 11-2 ... Link mechanism, 11-3 ... Gear mechanism, 12 ... Substrate standby position, 13 ...
Lifters 21, 31, 41 ... Gate, 22 ... Target, 23 ... Ground, M1, M2 ... Motor.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location H01L 21/203 H01L 21/203 S 21/205 21/205 21/68 21/68 A

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A multi-chamber film-forming apparatus having a plurality of film-forming chambers, comprising a load chamber connected to the outside of the film-forming apparatus and to a plurality of film-forming chambers via gates. The load chamber is provided with a substrate standby position for temporarily holding the substrate and a substrate transport means for transporting the substrate.