JPH1080857A - Polishing method and device, and semiconductor manufacturing device using them - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the throughput in a chemomechanical polishing(CMP), and reduce the cost of an abrasive material. SOLUTION: This polishing device is composed of a polishing machine 3 furnishing a polishing pad 4 consisting of a polyurethane or the like on the front surface 3a, and rotating in the polishing time; a pressurizing head 6 to press a semiconductor wafer 1 to the polishing pad 4 while rotating in the polishing time; a polishing table rotating means 8 to rotate the polishing table 3; a pressurizing head rotating means 9 to rotate the pressurizing head 6; a slurry feeding means 11 to feed a slurry 2 on the polishing pad 4 through a nozzle 10; and luminous sources 14 set on the opposing surfaces of the polishing board 3 and the guide rings 5 installed on the front ends 6a of the pressurizing head 6. In this case, an illumination is irradiated to the slurry 2 fed on the polishing pad 4 by the luminous sources 14, to give light energy to the slurry 2, and the chemical reaction of the slurry 2 and a film 1c to be polished is promoted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing technique, and more particularly to a polishing technique for improving a polishing rate of chemical mechanical polishing using an abrasive.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The technology described below studies the present invention,
Upon completion, they were examined by the inventor, and the outline is as follows.

In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit on a semiconductor wafer, which is an example of an object to be processed, a high throughput (processing capacity) is required for application to mass production.

Accordingly, as one example of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for polishing an insulating film or a metal film, which is a film to be polished, formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, a so-called C-type polishing apparatus.
An MP (Chemical Mechanical Polish) device is used.

The CMP apparatus causes a chemical bond (chemical reaction) between the supplied abrasive and the film to be polished,
Polishing is performed by removing the film to be polished by applying a mechanical load thereto, and is used for flattening the film to be polished.

Since a high-density semiconductor integrated circuit is required to be formed, a CMP method having a high flattening ability is being used.

Here, a method of polishing and flattening the surface of a semiconductor wafer and a CMP (Chemic) polishing apparatus therefor.
al Mechanical Polish) apparatus is described in, for example, “Industrial Research Institute, Inc., June 1, 1993,“ Electronic Materials June 1993 ”, pp. 58-62.

[0008]

However, the polishing apparatus according to the above-mentioned technique uses an abrasive, and there is a problem that the cost of the abrasive is high.

In particular, if the operation time of the CMP apparatus is lengthened to increase the number of processes, the consumption of the abrasive increases, which causes a problem that the cost of the abrasive increases.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a polishing method and apparatus which increase the throughput in chemical mechanical polishing and reduce the cost for polishing agents, and a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

That is, the polishing method according to the present invention is for polishing a film to be polished formed on a disk-shaped object to be polished, and a polishing agent is provided on a polishing pad such as a polishing cloth provided on the surface of the polishing disk. Is supplied, the object to be processed is pressed against the polishing pad by a pressure holding member, and energy is applied to the polishing agent by reaction promoting means to polish the film to be polished of the object to be processed.

Further, in the polishing method according to the present invention, the reaction promoting means is a light emitting source, and the polishing agent on the polishing pad is irradiated with illumination light by the light emitting source to give light energy to the polishing agent. To polish the film to be polished of the object to be processed.

[0015] Thus, since the film to be polished of the workpiece is polished while giving energy such as light energy to the polishing agent by the reaction promoting means, the polishing agent can be excited by the energy.

As a result, the chemical reaction by the abrasive can be promoted, and the polishing rate can be increased.

Therefore, the polishing time required for a predetermined polishing amount can be shortened, whereby the throughput in polishing can be improved.

The polishing apparatus according to the present invention is for polishing a film to be polished formed on a disk-shaped object to be processed. A polishing pad such as a polishing pad is provided on the surface of the polishing apparatus and rotates during polishing. Board, a pressure holding member that presses the object to be processed against the polishing pad while rotating during polishing,
The polishing pad has abrasive supply means for supplying an abrasive onto the polishing pad via a nozzle, and reaction promoting means for promoting a chemical reaction by the abrasive supplied on the polishing pad.

In the polishing apparatus according to the present invention, a ring-shaped guide member for guiding an outer peripheral portion of the object to be processed is provided at a tip end of the pressure holding member, and the reaction promoting means is provided with the ring-shaped guide member. It is provided on at least one of the polishing machine and the nozzle.

Further, a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention uses the polishing apparatus, wherein a thin film forming section for forming a thin film on the object to be processed and a surface of the object polished by the polishing apparatus are provided. A surface treatment unit that performs a surface treatment, and a treatment object conveyance unit that conveys the treatment object between the polishing apparatus, the thin film forming unit, and the surface treatment unit,
The apparatus further includes a workpiece carrying-in section that supplies the workpiece to the workpiece transporting section, and a workpiece carrying-out section that transports the workpiece from the workpiece transporting section.

[0021]

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

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a partial configuration of an embodiment of the structure of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing an example of the embodiment of the structure of the polishing apparatus according to the present invention. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing an example of an embodiment of a semiconductor wafer structure in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device using the polishing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an embodiment of a structure of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration.

The polishing apparatus of the present embodiment is also called a CMP apparatus (chemical mechanical polishing apparatus), and causes a chemical bond (chemical reaction) between the supplied slurry 2 and the film to be polished 1c. The polishing is performed by removing the film to be polished 1c by applying a mechanical load thereto.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, the CM
The P device is for polishing a film to be polished 1c such as an insulating film or a metal film 15 (see FIG. 3) formed on the semiconductor wafer 1, which is a disc-shaped object to be processed, and planarizes the film to be polished 1c. Often used for.

The CMP apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a polishing pad 4 made of a polishing cloth, polyurethane or the like.
Disc 3 provided on the surface 3a and rotating during polishing
(Also referred to as a rotating platen), a pressing head 6 as a pressing and holding member for pressing the semiconductor wafer 1 against the polishing pad 4 while rotating during polishing, a polishing plate rotating means 8 for rotating the polishing plate 3, Pressure head rotating means 9 for rotating the pressure head 6, slurry supply means 11 (abrasive supply means) for supplying the slurry 2 onto the polishing pad 4 via the nozzle 10,
The light emitting source 14 is a reaction promoting means for promoting a chemical reaction by the slurry 2 supplied on the polishing pad 4.

Further, a guard ring 5, which is a ring-shaped guide member for guiding and holding the outer peripheral portion 1b of the semiconductor wafer 1, is provided at the tip 6a of the pressure head 6 of the CMP apparatus.

Here, the guard ring 5 according to the present embodiment is formed of, for example, aluminum or the like, and guides the semiconductor wafer 1 so as not to come off from the pressure head 6 during polishing. A plurality of light emitting sources 14 are provided on a facing surface 5a facing the polishing pad 4.

Further, in the polishing board 3 of the present embodiment, a plurality of light emitting sources 14 are embedded in a polishing area 3b corresponding to an area on the polishing pad 4 where the semiconductor wafer 1 is polished.

The light emitting source 14 is, for example, a mercury lamp or the like, and irradiates the slurry 2 supplied onto the polishing pad 4 with illumination light to give light energy to the slurry 2 to excite the slurry 2. Thus, the chemical reaction between the slurry 2 and the film to be polished 1c is promoted.

Therefore, on the polishing pad 4, a portion (the polishing board 3) that comes into contact with the film to be polished 1 c of the semiconductor wafer 1.
The illumination light must be applied to the slurry 2 supplied to the polishing region 3b).

Thus, in the CMP apparatus of the present embodiment, a plurality of light sources 14 are provided on the polishing platen 3 and the facing surface 5a of the guard ring 5, respectively.

However, the light emitting source 14 may be provided only on one or both of the guard ring 5 and the polishing plate 3, or may be provided on the nozzle 10 other than the guard ring 5 and the polishing plate 3. It may be.

That is, when polishing is performed at a location where illumination light can be applied to the slurry 2 supplied to a location in contact with the film to be polished 1c of the semiconductor wafer 1,
Any number of units may be installed anywhere in the apparatus (for example, they may be installed in the polishing pad 4).

The light source 14 may be a laser other than a mercury lamp as long as it emits illumination light.

In the polishing table 3 of the present embodiment, a plurality of light emitting sources 14 are embedded in a polishing area 3b corresponding to an area on the polishing pad 4 where the semiconductor wafer 1 is polished. At a position corresponding to the portion of the polishing pad 4 where the light emitting source 14 is embedded, a transparent transmitting portion 4b made of acrylic or the like and passing illumination light from the light emitting source 14 is provided.

Here, the slurry 2 is, for example, a film to be polished 1
When c is an oxide film 16 (see FIG. 3), it is obtained by mixing SiO ₂ with an alkaline solvent, and when the film to be polished 1c is a metal film 15 such as tungsten or aluminum (see FIG. 3), it is acidic. This is a mixture of Al ₂ O ₃ and a solvent.

During polishing, the pressurizing head 6 presses the semiconductor wafer 1 so that when the semiconductor wafer 1 is pressurized, the pressurizing head 1 is a porous member.
The semiconductor wafer 1 is pressurized via 2 and the backing pad 7.

The air-permeable rigid plate 12 is formed on the both surfaces by grinding and flattening the surface, and is made of a highly rigid ceramic or the like.

Further, the backing pad 7 has low rigidity, and a through hole 7a having a diameter of about 1 mm is provided over the entire surface.

Here, the main polishing pressure at the time of polishing is applied to the semiconductor wafer 1 from the pressure head 6 via the gas permeable rigid plate 12 and the backing pad 7, but compressed air for pressure correction is applied to the pressure head 6. Is supplied via a pipe 13 provided inside the device.

That is, the compressed air is supplied to the air-permeable rigid plate 1.
2 and the back surface 1 d of the semiconductor wafer 1 through the through hole 7 a of the backing pad 7. At this time, the semiconductor wafer 1 rotates together with the pressing head 6, and the polishing pad 4 of the polishing plate 3 rotates in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the pressing head 6.
Polished while being pressed against.

The pressing head 6 according to the present embodiment is
Performs a rotating motion and a swinging motion during polishing.

The polishing method according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, vacuum suction is performed through the pipe 13 of the pressure head 6 to pick up the semiconductor wafer 1 and transport the semiconductor wafer 1 to a predetermined position on the polishing board 3.

Subsequently, the polishing disk 3 is rotated by the polishing disk rotating means 8, and the slurry 2 is further supplied from the slurry supply means 11 through the nozzle 10 onto the polishing pad 4 (the polishing pad 4).
To the surface 4a).

Thereafter, the pressure head 6 holding the semiconductor wafer 1 is lowered to a predetermined position, and polishing is started while the pressure head rotating means 9 rotates the pressure head 6.

At this time, the slurry 2 supplied onto the polishing pad 4 is irradiated with illumination light by a plurality of light sources 14 such as mercury lamps provided on the polishing board 3 and the guard ring 5.

As a result, the slurry 2 is given light energy, and as a result, SiO ₂ contained in the slurry ₂ is excited, so that a chemical reaction between the slurry 2 and the film to be polished 1c can be promoted.

Until the polishing is completed, the illumination light is continuously applied to the slurry 2 supplied in the vicinity of the film to be polished 1c of the semiconductor wafer 1.

Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device using the CMP apparatus (polishing apparatus) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

Here, a case will be described in which a metal film 15 is formed on the semiconductor wafer 1 with tungsten or the like, and the oxide film 16 formed thereon is planarized by using the CMP apparatus.

First, a metal film 15 is formed on the semiconductor wafer 1 by sputtering or the like, and as shown in FIG. 3A, it is exposed and etched to form a desired (corresponding to a wiring pattern) shape. I do.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
(Chemical Vapor Deposition)
An oxide film 16 is formed on 5.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3C, the oxide film 16 is polished and flattened by the polishing apparatus of this embodiment, that is, the CMP apparatus.

Here, the polishing is performed by the same method as the above-mentioned polishing method.

First, vacuum suction is performed through the pipe 13 of the pressure head 6 to pick up the semiconductor wafer 1 and transport the semiconductor wafer 1 to a predetermined position on the polishing board 3.

Subsequently, the polishing plate 3 is rotated by the polishing plate rotating means 8, and the slurry ₂ containing SiO ₂ is further supplied from the slurry supply means 11 through the nozzle 10 to the polishing pad 4.
Supply on top.

Thereafter, the pressure head 6 holding the semiconductor wafer 1 is lowered to a predetermined position, and the polishing of the oxide film 16 is started while the pressure head 6 is rotated by the pressure head rotating means 9.

At this time, the slurry 2 supplied onto the polishing pad 4 is irradiated with illumination light by a plurality of light sources 14 such as mercury lamps provided on the polishing board 3 and the guard ring 5.

As a result, the slurry 2 is given light energy, and as a result, SiO ₂ contained in the slurry ₂ is excited, so that a chemical reaction between the slurry 2 and the oxide film 16 as the film to be polished 1c is promoted. Can be.

That is, water is generated by a chemical reaction between the SiO ₂ and the oxide film 16, and the dehydration / condensation reaction for removing the water can be promoted.

Here, the metal film 1 is formed by the CMP apparatus.
When polishing 5, slurry 2 (at this time, slurry 2
Can promote an oxidation reaction between the metal film 15 and an acidic solvent containing Al ₂ O ₃ ).

Until the polishing is completed, the slurry 2 supplied near the oxide film 16 of the semiconductor wafer 1 is continuously irradiated with the illumination light.

Next, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is a wafer processing apparatus 17 using the above-described CMP apparatus. The semiconductor processing apparatus performs the polishing and various processes related to the polishing after the loading of the semiconductor wafer 1, and then unloads the semiconductor wafer 1. Things.

The configuration of the wafer processing apparatus 17 (semiconductor manufacturing apparatus) shown in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The wafer processing apparatus 17 includes a thin film forming section 17a for forming a thin film on the semiconductor wafer 1, and a surface processing section 17b for performing a surface treatment on the surface 1a of the semiconductor wafer 1 polished by the CMP apparatus (polishing apparatus). And the CM
A wafer transfer unit 17c which is a workpiece transfer unit for transferring the semiconductor wafer 1 between the P device (polishing device), the thin film forming unit 17a, and the surface treatment unit 17b; And a wafer unloading unit 17e that unloads the semiconductor wafer 1 from the wafer transfer unit 17c.
(Subject to be processed).

That is, for example, when the semiconductor manufacturing process shown in FIG. 3 is performed, the wafer processing apparatus 17 starts with loading of the semiconductor wafer 1, forms a thin film, polishes (planarizes) using the CMP apparatus, surface treatment, This is consistently performed such as unloading the semiconductor wafer 1.

Therefore, the thin film forming portion 17a is a portion where thin film formation such as spin coating, vacuum deposition, CVD or sputtering can be performed, and the surface treatment portion 17b is used for cleaning (for example, pure water cleaning or cleaning) the semiconductor wafer 1. This is a place where processing such as hydrofluoric acid cleaning is performed.

According to the polishing method and apparatus of the present embodiment and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the same, the following operational effects can be obtained.

That is, by polishing the film 1c to be polished of the semiconductor wafer 1 while giving light energy to the slurry 2 by the light emitting source 14 (reaction accelerating means), the SiO ₂ contained in the slurry 2 at the time of polishing is polished by the light energy. Can be excited.

Accordingly, the chemical reaction by the slurry 2 (for example, when the film 1c to be polished is the oxide film 16 shown in FIG. 3), it is a dehydration condensation reaction in the oxide film 16, and the film 1c to be polished is In the case of 15, the oxidation reaction in the metal film 15) can be promoted (the frequency of chemical bonding occurring increases), and as a result, a higher polishing rate can be realized.

Therefore, the polishing time required for a predetermined polishing amount can be shortened, so that the throughput in polishing can be improved.

Further, since the polishing speed can be increased, the amount of the abrasive used for a predetermined polishing amount can be reduced.

As a result, the cost of the slurry 2 can be reduced, so that the manufacturing cost in polishing can be reduced.

The semiconductor wafer 1 is processed by the wafer processing apparatus 17 (semiconductor manufacturing apparatus) using the CMP apparatus.
, The formation of a thin film, the polishing, and various processes related thereto can be performed consistently.

As a result, the throughput in manufacturing the semiconductor wafer 1 can be greatly improved.

Although the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments of the invention, and does not depart from the gist of the invention. It is needless to say that various changes can be made.

For example, in the CMP apparatus (polishing apparatus) of the above embodiment, the case where the light emitting source 14 installed on the guard ring 5 is installed on the facing surface 5a of the guard ring 5 has been described. In a CMP apparatus in which the pressure head 6 and the guard ring 5 are integrated, the light emitting source 14 may be provided at the tip 6 a of the pressure head 6.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the reaction promoting means is the light emitting source 14 has been described. However, as in the CMP apparatus of another embodiment shown in FIG. It may be 18.

In the CMP apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the slurry 2 supplied to the polishing pad 4 by the ultrasonic oscillator 18, the slurry 2 immediately before being supplied onto the polishing pad 4, the polishing pad 4, and the polishing machine By vibrating the slurry 2, the polishing head 4, or the polishing head 4, vibration energy is given to the slurry 2, the polishing pad 4, or the semiconductor wafer 1, and the slurry 2 and the polishing target
The polishing is to polish the film-to-be-polished 1c of the semiconductor wafer 1 while promoting a chemical reaction with the semiconductor wafer 1 (see FIG. 2).

The ultrasonic oscillator 18 may be provided in at least one of the pressurizing head 6, the polishing plate 3, and the nozzle 10. In that case, a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators 18 may be provided. Only one may be installed.

That is, if it is possible to apply vibration energy to the slurry 2 during polishing, the ultrasonic oscillator 18
Any number may be installed anywhere in the CMP apparatus.

Thus, the same functions and effects as those of the above-described CMP apparatus can be obtained.

Further, the CMP apparatus may be provided with both the ultrasonic oscillator 18 and the light emitting source 14 and simultaneously apply both light energy and vibration energy to the slurry 2 during polishing. Needless to say.

[0086]

Advantageous effects obtained by typical ones of the inventions disclosed by the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

(1). In order to polish a film to be polished of an object to be processed while applying energy such as light energy or vibration energy to the polishing agent by a reaction promoting means such as a light emitting source or an ultrasonic oscillator, the polishing agent is excited by the energy. Can be. Thereby, the chemical reaction by the abrasive can be promoted, and as a result, the polishing speed can be increased.

(2). Since the polishing speed can be increased, the polishing time required for a predetermined polishing amount can be shortened, so that the polishing throughput can be improved.

(3). Since the polishing speed can be increased, the amount of the abrasive used for a predetermined polishing amount can be reduced. As a result, the cost for the abrasive can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost in polishing can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a partial configuration of an embodiment of a structure of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing an example of the embodiment of the structure of the polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are enlarged partial cross-sectional views showing an example of an embodiment of a semiconductor wafer structure in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device using the polishing apparatus of the present invention. .

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a structure of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial conceptual diagram showing an example of a structure of a polishing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 semiconductor wafer (object to be processed) 1a front surface 1b outer peripheral portion 1c polishing film 1d back surface 2 slurry (polishing agent) 3 polishing board 3a front surface 3b polishing region 4 polishing pad 4a surface 4b transmission portion 5 guard ring (ring-shaped guide member) 5a opposing surface 6 pressure head (pressure holding member) 6a tip end 7 backing pad 7a through hole 8 polishing machine rotation means 9 pressure head rotation means 10 nozzle 11 slurry supply means (polishing agent supply means) 12 air-permeable rigid plate DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Pipe 14 Light emission source (reaction promoting means) 15 Metal film 16 Oxide film 17 Wafer processing device (semiconductor manufacturing device) 17a Thin film forming portion 17b Surface processing portion 17c Wafer transfer portion (workpiece transfer portion) 17d Wafer load portion 17e Wafer unloading section (workpiece unloading section) 18 Ultrasonic oscillator (reaction promoting means)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A polishing method for polishing a film to be polished formed on a disk-shaped object to be polished, comprising: supplying an abrasive onto a polishing pad such as a polishing cloth provided on the surface of a polishing disk; A polishing method, wherein the object to be processed is pressed against the polishing pad by a pressure holding member, and energy is applied to the polishing agent by a reaction promoting means to polish a film to be polished of the object to be processed. 2. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein the reaction promoting means is a light emitting source, and the polishing agent on the polishing pad is irradiated with illumination light by the light emitting source.
A polishing method, comprising applying light energy to the polishing agent to polish a film to be polished on the object to be processed. 3. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein said reaction promoting means is an ultrasonic oscillator, and said ultrasonic oscillator oscillates said abrasive to apply vibration energy to said abrasive. A polishing method, characterized by polishing a film to be polished of the object. 4. A polishing apparatus for polishing a film to be polished formed on a disk-shaped object, comprising: a polishing disk provided with a polishing pad such as a polishing cloth on a surface thereof; A pressure holding member that presses the object to be processed on the polishing pad while rotating, a polishing agent supply unit that supplies a polishing agent onto the polishing pad via a nozzle, and a polishing that is supplied on the polishing pad. A polishing apparatus comprising: a reaction accelerating means for accelerating a chemical reaction by an agent. 5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a ring-shaped guide member for guiding an outer peripheral portion of the object to be processed is provided at an end of the pressure holding member, and the reaction promoting means is provided on the ring. A polishing apparatus, wherein the polishing apparatus is provided on at least one of a shape guide member, the polishing board, and the nozzle. 6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reaction accelerating means applies light energy to the polishing agent by irradiating the polishing agent supplied on the polishing pad with illumination light. A polishing apparatus, which is a light emitting source. 7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reaction accelerating means includes an abrasive supplied on the polishing pad, an abrasive supplied on the polishing pad, the polishing pad, A polishing apparatus, which is an ultrasonic oscillator that applies vibration energy to the polishing agent, the polishing pad, or the workpiece by vibrating the polishing board or the pressure holding member. 8. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus using the polishing apparatus according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein a thin film forming section for forming a thin film on the object to be processed, and a substrate polished by the polishing apparatus. A surface treatment unit that performs surface treatment on the surface of the processed object,
An object transporting section for transporting the workpiece between each of the polishing apparatus, the thin film forming section, and the surface processing section; and a process for supplying the workpiece to the workpiece transporting section. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, comprising: an object loading unit; and a workpiece unloading unit that unloads the workpiece from the workpiece transport unit.