JPH0995783A - Sputtering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the sticking of film forming substance deposited on a substrate holder to the rear side of a semiconductor wafer at the time of conveying a semiconductor wafer by an automatized sputtering device. SOLUTION: The semiconductor wafer mounting part 28 of a substrate holder 14 is the part corresponding to the place at which the orientation flat part 12a of a semiconductor wafer 12 is set, and it is approximately parallel to the orientation flat part 12 and has an almost ring shape. Thus, the contamination of the semiconductor wafer caused by film forming substance stuck to the rear side of the semiconductor wafer is eliminated to improve the production yield of semiconductors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a structure of a substrate holder for the sputtering apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a sputtering apparatus has been frequently used for forming an electrode film of a semiconductor integrated circuit, and the progress in automation of this sputtering apparatus is remarkable. As an example, the current schematic structure of an automated sputtering apparatus is as follows: L / U chamber part of a preliminary exhaust chamber for loading (L) or unloading (U) a cassette of semiconductor wafers, loaded semiconductor wafers and sputters. There are four vacuum chamber parts, a chamber part for temporarily storing the semiconductor wafer after the processing, a cleaning chamber part for plasma cleaning the semiconductor wafer, and a sputter chamber part, and a gate valve is provided between these four vacuum chamber parts. The semiconductor wafer is automatically conveyed by belt conveyance or the like.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the sputter chamber portion in the above-described conventional automated sputtering apparatus, and the vicinity of the sputter chamber portion will be described with reference to this drawing. The sputtering chamber section 1 is separated from the cleaning chamber section 2 by a gate valve 11. When the semiconductor wafer 12 is subjected to the sputtering process, the gate valve 11 is opened, the cleaning chamber 2 is transported to the sputtering chamber 1 by the transport belts 13a, 13b and 13c of the belt transport mechanism, and the substrate holder 14 is moved.
Is installed in. After that, the gate valve 11 is closed, the substrate holder 14 is erected vertically, and is rotated by a rotating mechanism (not shown) to move to the sputtering processing unit 3. In the sputter processing unit 3, a target 15 as a film-forming substance supply source such as Al, W, and Ti is arranged so as to face the substrate holder 14. The substrate holder 14 on which the semiconductor wafer 12 sputtered by the sputter processing unit 3 is placed is rotated by the rotating mechanism to return to the original position, and then the substrate holder 14 is tilted horizontally. Next, the gate valve 11 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer 12 is transferred to the transfer belt 1 of the belt transfer mechanism.
It is conveyed by 3c, 13b, and 13a, and is sent from the sputtering chamber section 1 to the cleaning chamber section 2.

Here, a schematic plan view (FIG. 5) of the vicinity of the substrate holder 14 in a state in which the semiconductor wafer 12 is transferred to the sputtering chamber portion 1 and the semiconductor wafer 12 is installed on the substrate holder 14, and FIG. The structure of the substrate holder 14 and the transfer of the semiconductor wafer 12 will be described with reference to the schematic cross-sectional view (FIG. 6) of the substrate holder on which the semiconductor wafer 12 is placed in the section AA of FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the substrate holder 14 has the substrate holder pressing arm 2
It is supported by 1, and this substrate holder pressing arm 2
1 is connected to a mechanism (not shown) for making the substrate holder 14 vertical or horizontal. When the semiconductor wafer 12 having the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer 12 in the rear in the transport direction is sent to the substrate holder 14 by the transport belts 13b and 13c, the semiconductor wafer stopper 22 moves toward the substrate holder 14. The sent semiconductor wafer 14 is stopped at a fixed position of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the substrate holder 14, and then the semiconductor wafer 12 is transferred to the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the substrate holder 14 by the semiconductor wafer pressing portion 24. Hold down and hold. After that, when the semiconductor wafer 12 is sputtered and returned to this position, first, the semiconductor wafer pressing portion 2
4 moves away from the semiconductor wafer 12, and then the semiconductor wafer ejecting pin 25 moves along the ejector pin guide groove 26 provided in the substrate holder 14 and the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23, so that the semiconductor wafer 12 is oriented toward the semiconductor wafer. Extrude a little in the direction of the flat part 12a,
Then, the semiconductor wafer 12 is transferred to the conveyor belts 13c and 13b.
Thus, it is sent from the sputtering chamber section 1 to the cleaning chamber section 2.

A schematic cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate holder 14 has a ring shape that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the semiconductor wafer 12, and the inner diameter of the ring shape is a circular shape that surrounds the collecting portion of the semiconductor wafer 13. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 is provided, and the semiconductor wafer 12 is held in a state where the center of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 is substantially aligned with the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23. However,
A part of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 at the position where the orientation flat portion 12 a of the semiconductor wafer is set is located outside the semiconductor wafer 12. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion where the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer is placed on the substrate holder 14, that is, a portion P surrounded by a dashed line in FIG.
(B). Note that FIG. 6B shows a state after the sputtering process has been performed many times, and the surface and side walls of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 outside the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer and the substrate holder. A thick deposition film 27 of a film-forming substance such as Al, W, and Ti, which is formed by performing the sputtering process many times, is thickly deposited on a part of the surface of the.

In the above-described automated sputtering apparatus having the structure of the substrate holder 14 as shown in FIG. 6, when the semiconductor wafer 12 is sent to the clean chamber 2, the semiconductor wafer ejecting pin 25 and the carrier are transferred as described above. Since it is moved by a belt, a deposited film 2 of Al, W, Ti or the like that is thickly deposited on the surface of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23.
7 and the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 12 rub against each other, and the semiconductor wafer 12
Al, W, Ti, etc. adhere to the back surface. The Al, W, Ti, etc. attached to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer diffuse into the semiconductor wafer 12 in the heat treatment process after the sputtering process, causing deterioration of the characteristics of the semiconductor device and reducing the manufacturing yield.
Further, Al, W, Ti, etc. attached to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer may contaminate the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in the subsequent steps and may also be a factor of decreasing the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device manufactured using this contaminated semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. .

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in the sputtering apparatus. That is, the object of the present invention is to rub the film forming material deposited on the surface of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder in the automated sputtering apparatus and the semiconductor wafer, and to attach the film forming material to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer. It is to solve the problem of reduction in manufacturing yield due to the film material.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A sputtering apparatus according to the present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems.
A sputtering apparatus having a transfer device for automatically transferring a semiconductor wafer and having a ring-shaped substrate holder for arranging a target of a film-forming substance supply source and a transfer belt of the transfer device for automatically transferring the substrate. The present invention is characterized by having a substrate holder having a structure in which the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the holder is arranged at a position inside the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer.

Further, in the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is deleted at an inner line substantially parallel to the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer at a position where the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer is set. It has a substantially ring-shaped structure. Furthermore, the sputtering apparatus of the present invention is
Place the semiconductor wafer placement part of the substrate holder at the position where the orientation flat part of the semiconductor wafer is set.
It is characterized in that the semiconductor wafer is removed with a length substantially equal to the length of the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer to form a substantially ring-shaped structure. Furthermore, the sputtering apparatus of the present invention has a structure in which the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is mounted on the semiconductor wafer at a plurality of substantially equal intervals except for the position where the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer is set. It is characterized by having done.

The essence of the present invention is that the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is arranged inside the semiconductor wafer peripheral portion and on the semiconductor wafer peripheral portion so that the semiconductor wafer mounting portion can receive the semiconductor wafer. In the semiconductor wafer mounting part structure that avoids being placed in the area as much as possible,
The structure is such that the film-forming substance during the sputtering process does not deposit on the semiconductor wafer mounting portion. By doing so, it becomes possible to prevent the film forming substance from adhering to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same components as those in FIGS. 4 to 6 referred to in the description of the prior art are designated by the same reference numerals.

Embodiment 1 Embodiment 1 is an example in which the present invention is applied to a sputtering apparatus, and will be described with reference to FIG. The schematic basic configuration of the automated parallel plate type sputtering apparatus of the present invention is the same as that described in the conventional example, and therefore its description is omitted. FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the semiconductor wafer 12 is placed on the substrate holder 14 used in the sputtering apparatus of the present invention. The substrate holder 14 is provided with a semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28, a semiconductor wafer holding portion 24, and a guide groove 26 for a protruding pin. Semiconductor wafer mounting part 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a substantially ring-shaped structure provided approximately 1 mm inside from the periphery of the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28 corresponding to the position where the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer 12 is set is the same as the orientation flat portion 12a. The structure is such that the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the conventional example is removed at a line approximately parallel to and inside by about 1 mm.

FIG. 1B is a schematic sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 1A. Since the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28 is inside the periphery including the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer 12, the film forming substances such as Al, W, and Ti during the sputtering process are not included in the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28.
Do not deposit on. Also, if the sputtering process is repeated many times, A
Film-forming substances such as l, W, and Ti continue to be deposited on a part of the surface of the substrate holder 14 to form a thick deposited film 27, as shown in FIG. Until the surface of the deposited film 27 increases to the same height as the surface of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28, the thickness of the deposited film 27 increases. The film-forming substance does not adhere,
Therefore, the semiconductor wafer 12 is prevented from being contaminated, and the manufacturing yield is improved.

Embodiment 2 Embodiment 2 is an example in which the present invention is applied to a parallel plate type sputtering apparatus and will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
2A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the semiconductor wafer 12 is placed on the substrate holder 14 used in the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is CC of FIG. 2A. It is a schematic sectional drawing in a part. The substrate holder 14 is provided with a semiconductor wafer mounting portion 29, a semiconductor wafer holding portion 24, and a guide groove 26 for a protruding pin. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion 29 has a substantially half ring-shaped structure provided approximately 1 mm inside from the periphery of the semiconductor wafer. Compared to the ring-shaped semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the conventional example, the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 29 is
The semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the conventional example corresponding to the position where the orientation flat portion 12a is set is removed in a length substantially equal to the length of the orientation flat portion 12a.

By configuring the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 29 as described above, the film-forming substance is not deposited on the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 29 during the sputtering process. In addition, when the sputtering process is performed many times, the film-forming substances such as Al, W, and Ti are changed to those in FIG.
As shown in (b), deposition continues on a part of the surface of the substrate holder 14 to form a thick deposition film 27. Until the thickness of the deposited film 27 increases and the surface of the deposited film 27 becomes flush with the surface of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28, the semiconductor wafer 12
During transportation, the film forming substance of the deposited film 27 does not adhere to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer 12, so that the semiconductor wafer 13 is prevented from being contaminated, and the manufacturing yield is improved.

Embodiment 3 Embodiment 3 is an example in which the present invention is applied to a parallel plate type sputtering apparatus, and will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the semiconductor wafer 12 is mounted on the substrate holder 14 used in the sputtering apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is DD of FIG. 3A. It is a schematic sectional drawing in a part. The substrate holder 14 is provided with eleven semiconductor wafer mounting portions 30a to 30k, a semiconductor wafer holding portion 24, and a guide groove 26 for an ejection pin.
The 11 semiconductor wafer mounting portions 30a to 30k are
The ring-shaped semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the conventional example is removed with a substantially constant length at substantially equal intervals, and further the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 23 of the conventional example corresponding to directly below the orientation flat portion 12a of the semiconductor wafer 12 is removed. It has a structure formed by. The reason why the semiconductor wafer mounting portions 30a to 30k are arranged at substantially equal intervals is that the semiconductor wafer 12 is stably held and the heat radiation of the semiconductor wafer 13 during the sputtering process is made as uniform as possible so that the film forming uniformity during the sputtering process is uniform. This is to ensure that

By configuring the semiconductor wafer mounting portions 30a to 30k as described above, the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 30a is formed.
The film-forming substance during the sputtering process does not deposit on -30 k. Further, when the sputtering process is performed many times, the film forming substance such as Al continues to be deposited on a part of the surface of the substrate holder 14 to form a thick deposited film 27, as shown in FIG. 3B. Until the surface of the deposited film 27 increases to the same height as the surface of the semiconductor wafer mounting portion 28, the thickness of the deposited film 27 increases. The film-forming substance does not adhere to the semiconductor wafer 13
It is possible to avoid contamination of the metal and improve the production yield. Although all of the above-described embodiments have been described with respect to the parallel plate type sputtering apparatus, it goes without saying that they can also be applied to an ion beam sputtering apparatus, an ECR sputtering apparatus and the like.

[0018]

As is apparent from the above description, in the automated sputtering apparatus having the substrate holder of the present invention, when the semiconductor wafer is transferred from the substrate holder,
Since the film-forming substance does not adhere to the back surface of the semiconductor wafer, the film-forming substance that has adhered as in the past diffuses into the semiconductor wafer,
Deterioration of the characteristics of a semiconductor device may lower the manufacturing yield, and the deposited film material may contaminate a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus in the subsequent steps, and a semiconductor device using this contaminated semiconductor manufacturing apparatus may be contaminated. It does not lower the manufacturing yield. Therefore, the production yield is improved by using the automated sputtering apparatus having the substrate holder of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B show a structure of a substrate holder in a sputtering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. Is.

2A and 2B show a structure of a substrate holder in a sputtering apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view and FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 2A. It is a figure.

3A and 3B show a structure of a substrate holder in a sputtering apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view, and FIG. 3B is a schematic cross section taken along line DD in FIG. 3A. It is a figure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a sputtering chamber portion in a conventional automated sputtering device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the vicinity of a substrate holder in a state where a semiconductor wafer is placed on the substrate holder of a conventional automated sputtering device.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 5, (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of a substrate holder on which a semiconductor wafer is mounted, and (b) is a chain line of FIG. 6 (a). It is an enlarged view of the part P enclosed with.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sputtering chamber part 2 Cleaning chamber part 3 Sputtering process part 11 Gate valve 12 Semiconductor wafer 12a Orientation flat part 13a, 13b, 14c Conveying belt 14 Substrate holder 15 Target 21 Substrate holder pressing arm 22 Semiconductor wafer stopper 23 Semiconductor wafer mounting part 24 Semiconductor wafer pressing portion 25 Semiconductor wafer protruding pin 26 Guide groove 27 Deposition film 28, 29 Semiconductor wafer mounting portion 30a to 30k Semiconductor wafer mounting portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sputtering apparatus having a semiconductor wafer transfer device and having a substrate holder having a ring shape for placing a transfer belt of the transfer device, wherein the semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is A sputtering apparatus having a structure which is arranged at a position inside a peripheral portion of a semiconductor wafer. 2. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is removed at an inner flat line substantially parallel to the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer at a position where the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer is set. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the structure has a notched ring shape. 3. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder is removed at a position where the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer is set to have a length substantially the same as the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer, and a substantially ring. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sputtering apparatus has a shape structure. 4. The semiconductor wafer mounting portion of the substrate holder has a structure in which the semiconductor wafer is mounted at a plurality of substantially equal intervals except for a position where the orientation flat portion of the semiconductor wafer is set. The sputtering apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that.