JPS61168920A - Material treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a material treating apparatus for semiconductor wafers and the like characterized by quick response in treating conditions and high flexibility, by providing the first and second treating parts which heat-treat materials to be treated, and providing a heating function using electromagnetic waves in the second treating part. CONSTITUTION:A semiconductor wafer treating apparatus is composed of the following parts: a main body wafer treating part 1, which performs main-body wafer treating of wafers that are not treated; a heat treating part 2, which performs succeeding heat treatment; and a control part 3, which controls the entire apparatus in order to operate the main wafer treating part 1 and the heat treating part 2 accurately with good response. The heat treating part 2 mainly performs microwave heat treatment and has a heat treating function characterized by very high control response, quick response to various heat treating processes and high flexibility. Thus the semiconductor wafer treating apparatus, which is characterized by quick response to the conditions of the main-body wafer treating process and fluctuation of the process conditions of each module to be treated and excellent flexibility, can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to processing technology for articles such as semiconductor wafers that require highly precisely controlled processing, and particularly relates to film formation processing, processing processing, and additional function processing. This involves a processing technology that combines heat treatment before and after the treatment.

[Background technology]

As is well known, when manufacturing semiconductor wafers, a film forming processing section and a heating processing section ( Processing equipment that performs semiconductor processing functions only when combined with a processing section (solvent removal, curing treatment) or a processing section (solvent removal, etching agent removal, curing treatment) is often used.

On the other hand, plasma etching processing equipment, ion beam etching processing equipment, and sputtering equipment.

Processing apparatuses, such as CVD apparatuses, vacuum evaporation apparatuses, and ion implantation apparatuses, are also frequently used in which heat processing sections are used before and after a main processing section to perform the semiconductor wafer processing function of the main processing section.

Taking all the above into account, it is no exaggeration to say that most semiconductor wafer processing apparatuses use heat processing sections before and after the main processing section to achieve semiconductor wafer processing characteristics.

Conventionally, these heating methods were developed, for example, in November 1983.
As described on page 69 and subsequent pages of the Electronic Materials Extra Volume "Very LSI Manufacturing Test Equipment" published by the Kogyo Kenkyukai dated May 15, various heating methods using hot air, heaters, infrared rays, etc. have been devised.

This type of heating system has the following features and disadvantages.

(1) The heating means are hot air, heaters, and infrared radiation. All of these methods apply a heat source from the outside of the object and gradually heat it from the surface to the inside through heat conduction of the object, and have extremely high heating efficiency. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to heat the semiconductor Uninow to the required temperature.

(2) The objects to be heated are the heater block other than the semiconductor wafer, the wafer 1 holder, the furnace wall, and the processing atmosphere, and the heat capacity to be heated is large, resulting in a long response time for heating control.

(3) The mainstream temperature measurement method is a method that indirectly measures the temperature of a heater block other than the semiconductor wafer, and due to the synergistic negative effects of (1) and (21) above, the semiconductor wafer temperature accuracy deteriorates. .

Next, consider creating an apparatus that performs integrated processing of wafers by combining the heat treatment using hot air, a heater, or infrared radiation before and after the main processing section.

The configuration of this processing equipment is as follows: (1) A heat treatment function is added to the main body processing section, and the heat treatment and desired processing are performed on the same stage; (2) The main body processing section and the heat treatment A possible method is to provide separate processing sections and sequentially supply wafers to these processing sections.

According to the study conducted by the present inventor, it has become clear that the method (1) has the following problems. In other words, in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices that are becoming increasingly finer and more integrated, the processing details (for example, processing conditions and heat treatment conditions corresponding to these processing conditions) differ depending on the type of semiconductor product. , and each processing condition must be set extremely accurately. From this point of view, as in method (1), one stage is used to process processing (e.g. photoresist coating, exposure, etc.) and heat treatment (e.g. pre-bake, post-bake, etc. in the photoresist process).
Problems (1) to (3) of the heating method
For the reasons mentioned above, it is impossible to perform a heat treatment in a short time and with immediate response, and this makes it impossible to realize a flexible, integrated automatic processing device.

On the other hand, for method (2), in order to have a processing function that can quickly respond to heat treatment conditions in a short time, it is necessary to maintain a large number of types of heat treatment functions (temperature profiles). However, it is necessary to have the same number (a large number) of heat treatment sections, and when automated, the device becomes extremely large and costs increase accordingly.

Based on the above-mentioned study results, the present invention provides a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus that combines a main processing technology and a heat processing section before and after the main processing technology, in accordance with various semiconductor wafer processing conditions.
Flexibility with Immediate Response - In the process of considering the realization of highly functional semiconductor wafer processing equipment with good flexibility, we
This was done by the inventor of the present invention.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a main body processing section (film formation treatment, processing treatment, impurity doping treatment, crystal growth treatment, etc.) and a heat treatment section [solvent removal treatment, Kiair treatment, etc.] before and after the main body processing section.
Recrystallization treatment (annealing).

For the first time, in a semiconductor wafer and other article processing equipment that performs the processing function of semiconductor wafers and other articles by combining constituent substance release treatment, etc., we have achieved flexibility that can quickly respond to various semiconductor wafer and other article processing conditions. In addition to providing highly efficient semiconductor wafer processing equipment, etc., we also provide high-precision,
Our goal is to provide highly functional semiconductor processing equipment.

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

[Summary of the invention]

A brief overview of typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows.

That is, the main body processing section [film formation processing, processing processing].

impurity doping (implantation) treatment, crystal growth treatment, etc.] and a heat treatment section (solvent removal treatment, air treatment, recrystallization treatment [annealing]) before and after the main body treatment section.

A semiconductor wafer processing device that performs a semiconductor wafer processing function by combining constituent material release treatment, constituent material transfer treatment, etc., and is capable of processing two or more types of heat treatment in a mixed manner, even if the heat treatment conditions before and after the main processing section are small. Microwave heating means is adopted as the heating means of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus, and a heat processing section with quick response that can instantly switch the heat processing conditions according to the semiconductor wafer processing condition information of the main processing section is constructed.

As a result, it is possible to provide a semiconductor processing apparatus that has good flexibility and can respond to variations in semiconductor wafer processing process conditions, which have been a problem with conventional methods.

In addition, in order to perform accurate and high-quality processing, processing condition information and processing result information are automatically exchanged between each processing unit, and based on the results of the information processing,
Automatically determines the optimal processing conditions to be performed in the next processing section, automatically controls the processing state based on the determined processing conditions,
Performs high-precision semiconductor wafer processing.

Furthermore, a plurality of processing means of the main body processing section or a plurality of sets of a main processing section and a heat processing section further configured,
By combining them, it becomes possible to achieve multifunctionality as a total system.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a photoresist processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In general, photoresist processing technology is a processing technology that uses photoresist, which is a photosensitive organic material that has a photochemical reaction, to transfer and form a semiconductor element pattern onto a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (photomask).

Briefly explaining this processing step, a photoresist is uniformly applied to the semiconductor wafer through pretreatment such as cleaning and dehydration baking. Next, baking (hereinafter referred to as pre-baking) is performed to remove the solvent in the applied photoresist coating film.

Thereafter, a photomask having a predetermined semiconductor element pattern is positioned on the semiconductor wafer, and then exposed to ultraviolet rays at a temperature of 0.degree. C. for a certain period of time through the photomask.

At this time, there are two types of photoresists, and when using a negative photoresist, it absorbs ultraviolet rays and undergoes photopolymerization.
A photocrosslinking reaction occurs, resulting in a high polymerization and insolubilization in the wound solution at ℃, forming a photoresist pattern.

When using a positive photoresist, the photoresist absorbs ultraviolet rays, undergoes a photodecomposition reaction, and becomes soluble in a developer, leaving areas that are not irradiated with ultraviolet rays as a pattern.

The developed semiconductor wafer is baked again (hereinafter referred to as post-baking) to improve its adhesiveness.

After strengthening the etching resistance, it is treated with chemicals or reactive gas for a certain period of time to etch away unnecessary parts.

Although the photoresist processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is not particularly limited during the photoresist processing process described above, for example, a semiconductor wafer that has been cleaned, dehydrated and baked is supplied to another apparatus, and a photoresist is applied onto the semiconductor wafer. , then perform a pre-baking process.

This device has the function of carrying out photosensitive processing in another device, receiving the semiconductor wafer after the photosensitive processing is received again in this device, developing it, performing post-baking processing, and discharging it to another device for etching processing.

The device configuration will be specifically explained with reference to FIG.

This apparatus is comprised of a coating line 401 that supplies a photoresist onto a semiconductor wafer and performs a pre-baking process, and a developing process line 402 that develops the photosensitive semiconductor wafer and performs a post-baking process.

Each of the processing modules configured therein has its own module control section, and control between each of the seven joule modules and devices disposed before and after this device is controlled by an overall control section 403.

Its control content includes the function of transmitting processing condition information and processing result information of each processing module, as well as the function of processing such information and controlling so that each processing module can always process under optimal processing conditions. .

Regarding the coating processing line 401, there are wafer cassettes 404 that can store a plurality of semiconductor wafers before and after the line.
Loader module 405 that can install two cassettes independently
and an unloader module 406, between which a coating module 407 capable of independently supplying a plurality of types of photoresists and independently forming resist films, and a prebaking module 408 mainly using microwave heating.

On the other hand, in the development processing line 402, similarly to the coating processing line 401, there are wafer cassettes 404 before and after the line.
Loader module 409 that can install two cassettes independently
and an unloader module 410, between which a plurality of types of developing processing solutions can be supplied, a developing processing module 411 capable of independently performing development processing, and a post-baking module 412 which mainly performs microwave heating processing.

Next, the configuration of each module will be explained.

FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of a main part of the photoresist coating module 407. A dehydrated baked wafer 502 is vacuum-adsorbed into a cup 501 by a wafer chuck 503 . The wafer chuck 503 is a structural trap rotated by a motor 504.

On the other hand, above the cup 501, there is a photoresist (2) supply section 505 and a photoresist (2) supply section 506 that can independently supply photoresist B and photoresist B having different characteristics.
is installed.

Further, control of the coating processing module 407 is centrally controlled by the coating module control unit 507, and control information such as processing condition information and processing result information is controlled by the overall system 418403.

For example, when initial processing condition information 508 is set from the overall control unit 403 to the coating module control unit 507, the coating module control unit 507 sets the resist supply condition information 508 to the coating module control unit 507.
09 to the resist supply control unit 510. The resist supply control unit 510 operates the photoresist (4) supply unit 505 and the photoresist (2) supply unit 506 according to the resist supply condition information 509, and selects the photoresist (4) or photoresist 0 to be supplied, and at the same time,
Automatically controls photoresist supply amount, photoresist supply time, photoresist supply timing, etc.

At the same time, the coating module control section 507 instructs the motor control section 512 with motor rotation processing condition information 511. The motor control unit 512 controls the motor (A) 504 according to the processing condition information, and performs feedback control according to the rotation profile of a predetermined number of rotations and two rotation times.

Also, a resist supply control section 510 and a motor control section 512
Now, as the processing result information, photoresist supply processing result information 513. The motor rotation processing result information 514 is transmitted to the coating module control section 507 , and the coating module control section 507 further processes this information and transmits the information as coating processing result information 515 to the overall control section 403 .

The overall control unit 403 determines the optimum coating processing conditions based on the coating processing result information 515, and instructs the coating module control unit 507 again as the corrected optimum coating processing conditions as the coating processing condition information 508, so that the above-described processing is performed again. The photoresist coating process is repeatedly performed under constantly optimized processing conditions while being feedback-controlled.

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of a main part of the pre-baking module 408. To explain the configuration below,
A photoresist-coated optical wafer 602 is suctioned onto a Teflon suction bin stage 603 in a metal processing chamber 601 . This suction pin stage 603 can be rotated by a stage motor 604.

A slow wave circuit 607 including a ladder 605 and a ridge 606 is configured above the processing chamber 601. A microwave generator 608 is connected to this circuit.

The microwave generated from the microwave generator 608 propagates toward a dummy load 609, and a leak microwave 610 is formed by the ladder 605 and the ridge 606.

This leak microwave 610 causes the coating processing optical wafer 602 to be microwave heated.

On the other hand, the control of the pre-baking module 408 is centrally controlled by the pre-baking module control section 611, and processing condition information and processing result information are transmitted to the overall control section 408.
The prebaking module 408 is controlled under the optimum processing conditions.

For example, the initial pre-baking processing condition information 612 of a temperature profile such as heating temperature and heating time is stored in the overall control unit 40.
3, when the pre-baking module control unit 611 sets the initial microwave output control information 61 to the output control unit 613.
Instruct 4.

At the same time, initial temperature control information 616 is instructed to temperature control section 615 .

On the other hand, the temperature of the coating process result information 602 is determined by the temperature monitor 61.
7, and is transmitted to the temperature control unit 615 as temperature measurement information 61g.

The temperature control section 615 performs a comparison process using this temperature measurement information 618 and the initial temperature control information 616, and transmits the error to the output control section 613 as microwave correction output information 619.

In the output control section 613, the initial microwave output control information 6
14 and the microwave correction output information 619, the optimum microwave output value is determined, and the microwave generator 608 is controlled so that the optimum microwave output amount is oscillated.

In order to uniformly heat the coated optical wafer 602, the prebaking module control unit 611 instructs the stage motor control unit 620 to rotate the rotation speed setting information 621, and the stage motor control unit 620 controls the stage motor 604. The rotation is controlled at the required rotation speed.

In this embodiment, the shape of the ladder 605 and the shape of the ridge 606 are fixed, but uniform heating can be further improved by variably controlling the shapes.

Further, by providing a plurality of temperature monitors 617 to measure the temperature distribution of the coated optical wafer 602 and using the temperature distribution in combination with the above-mentioned control system according to the results, further improvement in temperature accuracy can be expected. Further, the pre-baking processing result information is transmitted from the output control 41 (1613) to the output processing result information 622,
Temperature processing result information 623 is sent from the temperature control unit 615, and rotation processing result information 624 is sent from the stage motor control unit 620.
The information is transmitted to the pre-baking module control section 611.

The pre-baking module control unit 611 organizes this information and transmits the information to the overall control unit 403 as pre-baking processing result information 624.

Further, the above-mentioned information is processed between the pre-baking module control section 611 and the overall control section 403 to always find the optimum pre-baking process conditions, and the above-described control always performs the optimum pre-baking process.

Next, the configurations of the development processing module 411 and the post-baking module will be explained.The development processing module 411 and the post-baking module 412 have the same type of device configuration as the coating processing module 407 and the pre-baking processing module/I/408. Therefore, I will only explain the differences.

In the development processing module 411, the coating processing module 40
In place of the photoresists having seven different characteristics, a plurality of types of developing solutions having different characteristics are selectively supplied and the exposed semiconductor wafer is developed. In addition, coating treatment Modier 40
Similarly to No. 7, a development processing module control section is provided, and under this control section, according to instructions from the overall control section 403, the type of development processing solution is selected, the liquid amount is controlled, and the processing time is controlled.

The motor rotation speed is controlled, and development processing result information is transmitted from the development processing module control section to the overall control section 403.
will be given feedback.

In addition, similar to the coating processing Modiny N407, in the development processing module 411, the above-mentioned information is processed between the overall control unit 403 and the development processing Joule control unit to determine optimal development processing conditions, and based on that, automatically controlled,
Perform optimal development processing.

As for the post-baking module 412, the device configuration is exactly the same as that of the pre-baking module 408, and the only difference is the baking processing conditions given from the overall control section 403 to the post-baking module control section.

Note that in the post-baking module 408 as well, processing condition information and processing result information are processed between the overall control unit 403 and the post-baking module control, and optimal post-baking processing is performed while always finding the optimal post-baking processing conditions.

In addition, in this embodiment, process parameters due to coating processing, pre-baking processing, development processing, and post-baking processing, including temperature control of processing liquids such as photoresist solution and i-image processing solution, coating processing atmosphere, and development processing atmosphere temperature control, are explained. It is assumed that all controls are included.

Next, a method will be described in which photoresist (4) and photoresist (2), which have different processing conditions for each processing module, are applied alternately, and a pre-baking process is performed, and at the same time, a developing process and a post-baking process are performed.

One wafer cassette of the loader module 405 of the coating processing line 401 is set with a dehydrated baked wafer 502 for coating 404iC photoresist (4), and a dehydrated baked wafer 502 is set on the other wafer cassette 404 for coating photoresist (4). Set 502.

At the same time, two empty wafer cassettes 404 are set in the unloader module 406.

Similarly, the development processing line 4020 loader module 40
90 One of the wafer cassettes 404Vc is coated with photoresist (G) and the exposed wafer is set therein, and the other wafer cassette 404 is coated with photoresist (C) and the exposed wafer is set therein.

Also, two empty wafer cassettes 404 are set in the unloader module 410.

In this state, the overall control unit 403
, processing condition information of each module regarding each of photoresist 0 (coating processing condition information, pre-baking processing condition information, developing processing condition information, post-baking processing condition information) and wafer case note position information set in each loader and unloader module. Enter it and start it,
In the coating processing line 401, photoresist particles or photoresist (2) with different processing conditions are coated, and an optimal prebaking process is performed depending on the applied photoresist layer or photoresist (2), and then the unloader 406
The wafers are sorted into a wafer cassette 404 set in the wafer cassette 404 and automatically stored.

Similarly, in the development processing line 402, a photoresist-containing photosensitive semiconductor wafer and a photoresist photosensitive semiconductor wafer having different development processing conditions and boss baking processing conditions are automatically supplied from the loader module 409, respectively, and the processing conditions are different. Different development processes are automatically performed, and post baking processes with different processing conditions are automatically performed, and the products are automatically sorted and stored in the designated unloader 4100 cassette.

In each processing module, in order to perform each process accurately, processing condition information and processing result information are automatically exchanged between the overall control unit 403 and each processing module, and optimal processing conditions are automatically determined. While seeking, under optimal processing conditions,
Automatic control processing is in progress.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a main part of a diffusion processing apparatus for forming an impurity diffusion layer with minute dimensions (width x depth x length) on a semiconductor wafer using the present invention.

To explain the general functions, an impurity layer containing impurities to be diffused is formed on a semiconductor wafer in a plasma CVD chamber, and a minute portion is heated to a high temperature with a microwave beam in a diffusion chamber to form a minute impurity diffusion layer.

Next, the device configuration will be briefly explained. CVD room 701
A gate pulp 702 and a gate pulp 703 are placed on the left and right, inside the CVD chamber 701, and a lower electrode 706 that is heated by a heater 704 and rotated by a rotary motor 705 and a reactive gas 707 supplied from a reactive gas supply section 707 is distributed. Upper electrode 70 having reaction gas supply holes 708
9 are configured.

Further, a high frequency power supply section 710 applies high frequency power between the upper and lower electrodes.

Note that the inside of the CVD chamber 701 is evacuated by a vacuum evacuation section 711, and a semiconductor wafer 712 to be subjected to CVD processing is set on a lower electrode 706.

On the other hand, a diffusion chamber 713 is provided adjacent to the CVD chamber 701. The left end of the diffusion chamber 713 is the gate pulp 7
It is divided by 14.

In the center of this diffusion chamber 713, an impurity film-coated semiconductor wafer 715 on which an impurity film has been formed in the CVD chamber 701 is set on a stage section 716. This stage section 716 can accurately position the semiconductor wafer 715 with an impurity film, and the stage positioning control section 717 can accurately control the positioning.

On the other hand, there is a microwave beam irradiation section 718 above it, and the microwave beam intensity irradiated from this microwave beam irradiation section 718 is controlled by a microwave beam output section 719. The diffusion chamber 713 is also evacuated by the evacuation section 720.

As in the first embodiment, by inputting the processing condition information 721 of each part into the overall control section 722 and starting it, the processing conditions and processing result information of each section are controlled in an integrated manner by the overall control section 722, and the processing conditions are controlled under the optimum conditions. Processed with high precision.

Next, I will explain the actual processing method in detail.
The processing conditions of each part are input to the overall control section 722 as initial processing condition information 721, and the semiconductor wafer 712 is transferred to the CVD chamber 7.
When set to the 01 inner lower electrode 706 and started, each gate pulp 702, 703, 714 is closed, the vacuum exhaust section 711 and the vacuum exhaust section 720 are activated, and the CVD stage 70 is activated.
1. Diffusion chamber 713 is evacuated. At the same time, in the CVD chamber 701, the lower electrode 706 is heated by the heater 704.

When the degree of vacuum in the CVD chamber 701 and the temperature of the lower electrode 706 reach predetermined values, the upper electrode 709. The required high frequency power is applied between the lower electrodes 706 by the high frequency power supply section 710. At the same time, the lower electrode 706 is rotated by the rotary motor 705,
In addition, a reaction gas 723 is supplied from the reaction gas supply section 707, and an impurity film 724 is formed on the semiconductor wafer 712.

The film thickness of the formed impurity film 724 is measured by the film thickness measurement unit 72.
5, and the film thickness is controlled to a predetermined film thickness by the film thickness control section 726. When the impurity film thickness 724 reaches a predetermined thickness, the reaction gas 723 is cut off, the high frequency power between the upper and lower electrodes is cut off, and the rotation of the rotary motor 705 is stopped.
The CVD process ends.

The gate pulp 703 opens and the semiconductor wafer 7 with an impurity film is opened.
15 is set on the stage part 716 of the diffusion chamber 713, and when the gate pulp 703 is closed and a predetermined degree of vacuum is reached, the microwave beam irradiation part 718 emits a microwave with a predetermined output controlled by the microwave beam output part 719. A wave beam 730 is irradiated from the direction of the impurity film 724 to form a high temperature region 731, and the impurity is diffused into the region to form an impurity diffusion layer 732.

Note that, as in the first embodiment, the temperature of the high temperature region 731 is measured by a temperature sensor 733, and is controlled to a predetermined temperature by a temperature control section 734 controlling a microwave beam output section 719.

This high temperature region 731 (diffusion layer 732) is formed in three-dimensional dimensions within the semiconductor wafer 715 with an impurity film by controlling the intensity of the microwave beam 7300 and the position of the stage section 716.
It is possible to control the diffusion layer 732.

When the predetermined diffusion process is completed, the microwave beam 730
is cut off, the evacuation of the vacuum evacuation section 720 is cut off, the gate pulp 714 is opened, and the semiconductor wafer 715 with the impurity film that has undergone the diffusion process is taken out, and the work is completed.

As explained in the above two embodiments, the present invention uses the microwave heating method as a means of heating with high responsiveness and high precision in the heat treatment section, and this technology plays an extremely important role in the present invention. Therefore, the microwave heating method suitable for use in the present invention will be explained in detail below.

The following microwave heat treatment method has been devised by the present inventor.

(1) As a means to improve the responsiveness of heating control, the contact area between the semiconductor wafer and the semiconductor wafer holder is made as small as possible, and the material of the semiconductor wafer holder is made of a material that is transparent to microwaves. By configuring the heat treatment furnace wall material with a material that reflects microwaves, the heating target is limited to the semiconductor wafer or only a part of the semiconductor wafer, the heating capacity is minimized, and microwave heating has good heating controllability. Processing section.

(2) As a means to accurately heat semiconductor wafers,
Measures the temperature at one or multiple points on a semiconductor wafer,
Depending on the results, the amount of microwave irradiation energy or the distribution of the amount of microwave irradiation energy is controlled, and the semiconductor wafer is rotated or moved to heat the semiconductor wafer uniformly and accurately.

Similarly, the main body processing section performs closed-loop control for each semiconductor wafer to perform uniform and highly accurate processing, thereby improving the overall accuracy of semiconductor wafer processing.

Next, the configuration and functions of the semiconductor wafer processing apparatus will be explained.

FIG. 2 shows the basic configuration of a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus in which a main body wafer/processing section and a heat processing section are combined according to the present invention.

To explain from the device configuration, this device processes the main body wafer,
This is a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus that performs heat treatment and fulfills the semiconductor wafer processing function, and is comprised of a main wafer processing section 1 that performs main wafer processing on unprocessed wafers, and a heat processing section 2 that performs subsequent heat processing.

Also, as a control unit, the main body wafer processing unit 1. Based on the processing result information in the heat processing section 2 and the devices before and after this device, the best processing conditions are automatically determined, and the processing in the main wafer processing section 1 and the heat processing section 2 is performed with high precision and responsiveness. In order to do
It is composed of a control section 3 that controls the entire system.

Next, while explaining the operation of the apparatus, the function pressure of the apparatus will be explained. 4. Unprocessed wafers with different processing conditions in the main wafer processing section 1 and the heat processing section 2. Unprocessed wafer 5 (in addition,
In this specification and the drawings, suffixes a, b, and c are added to indicate the respective processing stages of wafers 4 and 5, respectively. ) Processing condition information for wafer 4, which is the wafer processing conditions 6. Processing condition information 7 for wafer 5
is input into the control section 3 to start the apparatus. When the unprocessed wafer 4 is set in the main wafer processing section 1, the control section 3 inputs the processing result information of the devices before and after the apparatus. The optimal processing conditions are derived from the apparatus processing result information 8, the post-apparatus processing result information 9, and the wafer 4 processing condition information 6, and the wafer 4 main body processing condition information 10 is instructed to the main wafer processing section 1. The main body wafer processing section 1 processes the main body wafer 4a under feedback control based on the information, and sends it to the next heating processing section 2 as a main body processing optical wafer 4b.

The main body wafer processing section 1 sequentially transmits the above-described processing results during and after the processing to the control section 3 as wafer 4 main body processing result information 12.

The control unit 3 outputs this wafer 4 main body processing result information 12° and previous device processing result information 8. Based on the post-processing result information 9 and the wafer 4 processing condition information 6, the optimum heating conditions for the main body processing optical wafer 4b are derived, and the obtained wafer 4b heating condition information 13 is instructed to the heating processing section 2.

In the heat processing unit 2, the temperature is controlled based on this information, and heat processing is performed with a predetermined temperature profile, thereby completing semiconductor wafer processing as a wafer processed optical wafer 4c. In the heat processing section 2, similarly to the main body wafer processing section 1 described above,
During the heat treatment and at the end of the heat treatment, the wafer 4b is sequentially transmitted to the control unit 3 as heat treatment result information 15.

Further, in the control section 3, the above-mentioned main body wafer processing section 1. Semiconductor wafer processing conditions and processing result information for the wafers 4a and 4b in the heat processing section 2 are transmitted as wafer 4a and 4b processing result information 16 to devices before and after this device, and processing parameters between the devices are closed. Performs troop control.

Thereafter, the same processing is performed on unprocessed wafers 5 under different processing conditions. Based on the wafer 5 processing condition information 7, the wafer 5 main body processing condition information 17 is obtained, and the wafer 5 is processed in the main wafer processing section 1 according to the wafer 5 main processing condition information 17 to produce a main processing optical wafer 5'.

At the same time, the wafer 5 main body processing result information 19 is transmitted to the control unit 3T.
lc transmission.

Furthermore, when the main processing optical wafer 5b is supplied to the heat processing section 2, the wafer 5b heating condition information 2° is obtained by the control section 3, and based on this, the wafer processing optical wafer 5b is processed in the heat processing section 2, and the wafer processing optical wafer 5c is completed.

At this time as well, the wafer 5b heat treatment result information 22 is transmitted to the control section 3, and at the same time, the wafer 5b treatment result information 23 is transmitted from the control section 3 to the devices before and after this apparatus.

As will be explained in detail later, the heat treatment section 2 mainly performs microwave heat treatment, has extremely high heating control responsiveness, is responsive to various heat treatment processes, and is highly flexible. It shall have a processing function.

Further, the processing conditions of the main body wafer processing section 1 may be one type, and the processing conditions of the heat processing section 2 may be flexibly controlled to perform various semiconductor wafer processing.

On the other hand, the nine combinations may be modified in various ways as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the heating processing section 249 main body wafer processing section 2.
5. Control section 26 and heat processing section 27゜ Main body wafer processing section 2
8. Heat treatment section 29. The basic configuration of each processing section, the information processing method between each processing section, and the control method are based on the example shown in FIG. 2.

Next, the basic principle and configuration of the heat treatment apparatus will be explained.

Figure 13 (a), (b), Figure 14 (a), (
The principle of heating a semiconductor wafer using microwave 1c is shown in b). Figure 13 shows the heating principle in dielectric loss heating.a
) indicates the case without electric field, Φ) indicates the case with electric field applied,
FIG. 14 shows the heating principle in eddy current resistance loss heating. (a) shows the case without an electric field, and (a) shows the case when a clear electric field is applied.

In general, microwave heating can be thought of as dielectric heating for insulating materials (dielectric polarization loss) and dielectric heating for electrically resistive materials (eddy current resistance loss).

Of these, the semiconductor wafer itself falls under the latter category, in which microwaves generate eddy currents while propagating through the semiconductor wafer, and are heated due to resistance loss due to the generated eddy currents.

On the other hand, insulating materials (dielectric materials) such as photoresist coated on semiconductor wafers in the photoresist processing step of semiconductor wafer processing belong to the former category.

In any case, the heating of a semiconductor wafer or the like by microwaves is self-heating of the semiconductor wafer itself, and has extremely high heating efficiency.

Further, if the material other than the semiconductor wafer to be processed is made of a material that transmits or reflects microwaves, it is possible to heat-process only the semiconductor wafer.

Furthermore, from a different perspective, the relationship between microwave output, microwave frequency and heating depth for microwave heating is shown in Figure 4.
The relationship is shown in Figure 5. That is, the frequency (f) 103 and output (Pl) 104 of the microwave 1020 irradiated onto the semiconductor wafer 101. Output (P,) 105 (P I<
P t ] and the heating depth of the heating area 106 d) 107
The relationship is as shown in the graph in Figure 4, and can be expressed by the formula:
The relationship is expressed by equation (101).

d=αplr〒τ]−・・・(101) Equation d; Heating depth P; Microwave output f; Microwave frequency t; Microwave irradiation time α; Constant β; Correction coefficient This means that irradiation This means that the heating depth can be controlled by controlling the microwave frequency (f), microwave output [F], and microwave irradiation time (1).

Furthermore, the relationship between the thermal energy of the irradiated microwaves that is converted into heat by the semiconductor wafer is expressed by the equation (102).

ΔP=to-El・f (102) Formula ΔP;
Heat exchange energy E; microwave electric field strength f; microwave frequency K; coefficient This means that when the irradiating microwave frequency (f) is constant, by controlling the irradiating microwave electric field strength (g) This means that it is possible to control the temperature distribution on the semiconductor material to be heated.

On the other hand, various microwave irradiation methods have been developed, examples of which include:
It is shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8.

FIG. 6 utilizes the principle of a resonant circuit, in which microwaves generated from a microwave generator 201 are diffusely reflected within a metal heating furnace 202, forming a resonant microwave 203. , the semiconductor wafer 204 is heated from the entire surface.

FIG. 7 utilizes the principle of a slow wave circuit, in which microwaves generated from a microwave generator 211 are transmitted through a metal ladder waveguide 212 in the direction of a dummy load 213.

At this time, the microwave being transmitted leaks from the ladder waveguide 212 portion due to the metal bridge 214, forming a leak microwave 215. Semiconductor wafer 2 is placed in this area.
16, irradiate microwaves from the negative side direction, heat the semiconductor wafer 216 from one side, and heat the heating area 21
Make 7.

In addition, in the case of this method, by controlling the shape of the ladder waveguide 212 and the shape of the ridge 214, it is possible to control the electric field intensity distribution of the leak microwave 215 irradiated onto the semiconductor wafer 216, and it is possible to make it uniform. Heating becomes possible.

FIG. 8 utilizes the concentrated irradiation antenna principle, in which microwaves generated from a microwave generator 221 are irradiated in a concentrated manner by a concentrated antenna 222 to form a microwave beam 223. When a semiconductor wafer 224 is set in the area focused by this microwave beam 223, local heating can be performed and a local heating area 225 is formed.

Note that by scanning this region with the microwave beam 223, it is also possible to heat the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 5224.

As explained above, various characteristics occur when semiconductor wafers are heated using microwave heating.

Utilizing these characteristics, the present invention has a heat treatment apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 9.

To explain the structure first, a semiconductor wafer 302 to be heat-treated is set in a processing region 301 .

Note that, other than the semiconductor wafer 302, nothing that generates heat by microwaves is configured in the processing region 301. This makes it possible to limit heating control to only the semiconductor wafer 302 or the heat treatment area.

The semiconductor wafer 302 is microwave heated by the irradiation microwave 304 generated from the microwave generator 303 .

This microwave irradiation method uses the above-mentioned microwave irradiation method and its modification.

On the other hand, the temperature of the semiconductor wafer 302 is measured by a temperature monitor 305.

Based on the initial heating condition setting information 307, the control unit 306 instructs the output control unit 308 to receive initial output control information 309, and also instructs the temperature control unit 310 to provide initial heating temperature control information 311.

The output control unit 308 determines the optimum output information 3 based on the initial output control information 309 given from the control unit 306 and the output correction information 312 given from the temperature control unit 310, which will be described later.
13 to the microwave generator 314.

In the microwave generator 303, its optimum output information 313
Based on this, microwaves with a required microwave intensity are irradiated as the irradiation microwave 304, and the semiconductor wafer 302 is
heat up.

On the other hand, the temperature control unit 310 compares the temperature of the heated semiconductor wafer 302 based on the measured wafer temperature information 314 measured by the temperature monitor 305 and the initial heating temperature control information 311 from the control unit 306.
In order to accurately control the temperature of the microwave generator 3,
In order to control the intensity of the irradiated microwave 3040 generated from 03, the output correction information 312 is instructed to the output control unit 308.

The heat treatment history information is sent from the output control unit 308 to the control unit 306 as output result information 315, and from the temperature control unit 310 to the control unit 306 as temperature result information 316. Information is transmitted to the apparatus as heat treatment result information 317.

The operation will be briefly explained below.

A semiconductor wafer 302 to be processed is set in the processing area 301, and initial heating condition setting information 309, which is an initial heating condition, is set.
is inputted into the control section 306 and started at ℃, the initial output control information 309 is automatically transmitted to the output control section 308, and accordingly, the optimum output information 313 is transmitted to the microwave generation section 303, The semiconductor wafer 302 is heated by irradiating the irradiation microwave 304 with the optimum output.

In order to accurately heat-process the semiconductor wafer 302 according to the initial heating condition setting information 309, the temperature of the semiconductor wafer 302 is measured by the temperature monitor 305, and transmitted as measured wafer temperature information 314 to the temperature control unit 310, and the temperature of the semiconductor wafer 302 is It is compared with the temperature control information 311, and the error is transmitted as output correction information 312 to the output control section 308.
Feedback control is performed to control the amount of microwave irradiation output from 03, and processing is performed with high precision under predetermined heating conditions. Regarding the processing results, see the heat processing result information 317
As a result, information is transmitted from the control unit 306 to an external device.

The principle of the heat treatment method and the specific example of the heat treatment apparatus suitable for use in the present invention have been described above.

〔effect〕

As explained above, the present invention relates to an integrated processing apparatus for items such as semiconductor wafers that require highly precisely controlled processing, and is effective in technology that includes heat processing sections before and after the main body wafer processing section. It is.

Particularly, in the present invention, a microwave heating means is used as the heating means, the temperature of the heated area is measured, and according to the measurement result, the output amount of the microwave which is the heating source is feedback-controlled, and the heating processing module is Processes processing condition information and processing result information regarding itself, processing modules before and after it, or other devices,
In the apparatus, the optimum processing conditions are always found and controlled to quickly respond to those conditions, and semiconductor wafer processing is performed with high accuracy, and the following effects are obtained.

(1) Since the heating means of the heat processing section combined with the main body wafer processing section is a microwave heating means, the object to be heated can be limited to only the semiconductor wafer to be processed or only a part of the semiconductor wafer, and heating control is possible. The heat capacity of the object can be made extremely small. Furthermore, since the heating energy source is microwave irradiation energy, heating can be controlled instantaneously.

As a result, it is possible to realize a heating control processing device with extremely high control responsiveness, and also to create a semiconductor device with high flexibility that is highly responsive to fluctuations in the main body wafer processing process conditions and the process conditions of each processing module. Weno processing equipment is realized.

(2) In the present invention, processing condition information and processing result information between each processing module, the processing modules before and after it, and other devices configured before and after it, are
Information is processed between each device, and automatic control processing is performed with good responsiveness while always seeking the optimal processing conditions.

Therefore, highly accurate wafer processing is realized, and synergistic effects such as improved processing quality, improved processing yield, and reduced processing costs are obtained.

(3) (From item 11, it is possible to perform high-speed heating control in the heat treatment after processing the main body wafer, so it is possible to freely control the heating rise time and heating temperature profile.

Accordingly, it becomes possible to provide a multi-functional wafer processing apparatus that can arbitrarily control the wafer processing characteristics of the main body wafer processing.

For example, (1) by controlling the heating rise time (temperature profile) during impurity diffusion, the impurity diffusion depth and concentration distribution can be controlled. (11) By controlling the heating rise time (temperature profile) of the annealing treatment after impurity ion implantation, the crystal size, impurity diffusion depth, and concentration distribution after annealing can be controlled. (l
By controlling the pre-baking temperature rise time (temperature profile) after application of the iD photoresist, the processed cross-sectional shape (development angle) of the photoresist film after the development process can be controlled. (V) Air Baking Temperature After Coating the Polymide Resin By controlling the heating rise time (temperature profile), the cross-sectional shape (etch angle) of the polymide resin after etching can be controlled.

In addition to the above, since the temperature profile of the heat treatment before and after the main body wafer treatment can be freely controlled, it is also possible to find other wafer processing characteristics.

(4) Since the heat treatment after the main body wafer treatment is a microwave heating method, the vertical direction of the semiconductor wafer to be processed (
It is possible to control heating in the cross-sectional direction), and it is possible to control the process for manufacturing three-dimensional semiconductor devices, making it possible to realize highly functional semiconductor devices.

(5) When automatic pagination is used, the synergistic effects of the above are that the equipment becomes more flexible and multi-functional, the equipment becomes smaller, and each processing module is automatically controlled, so processing This makes it easier to automate equipment, including the processes that require it.

(From Section 61(1), the heating target is limited to only the semiconductor wafer to be processed or only a part of the semiconductor wafer, so the processing atmosphere and furnace wall are not heated, resulting in significant energy savings. At the same time, a clean processing atmosphere is maintained,
Realization of high-purity processing technology.

Although the invention has been specifically explained above based on the embodiments made by the present inventor, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Needless to say, it is.

For example, (1) technology for forming various films on semiconductor wafers and processing the films and the semiconductor wafers that constitute them;
A combination of techniques for heat treating them is also possible. For example, a combination of chemical water treatment and thermal dehydration technology,
Combination of JZ resin coating and cure bake processing technology,
It is possible to combine SOG (Spin on Grass) coating and cure baking technology.

(2) It is also possible to combine the techniques of directly heat-treating the semiconductor wafer or processing additional functions, and then heat-treating the necessary portions. That is, a combination of impurity ion implantation processing and annealing processing technology, and a combination of ion etching and annealing processing technology.

A combination of sputtering treatment and annealing treatment techniques, etc. is possible.

(3) It is also possible to combine techniques for processing a semiconductor wafer and a film formed on the semiconductor wafer after heat treatment, or performing additional function processing or film formation processing. That is,
These include a combination of preliminary heat treatment and sputtering technology, a combination of preliminary heat treatment and CVD treatment technology, and the like.

Further, the present invention enables the above-mentioned processing technique to be performed in a high-pressure atmosphere or in a substance that transmits microwaves, and in any case, the same effects as in the above-mentioned implementation can be obtained.

[Application field]

The above mainly describes the invention made by the present inventor,
Although we have explained an example in which it is applied to semiconductor wafer manufacturing equipment, which is the field of application behind this, it is not limited to this.For example, it can be applied to semiconductor materials and all other substances that have an electromagnetic loss effect. Various processes involving heat treatment, such as crystal growth methods, impurity diffusion methods, crystal annealing methods, plasma treatment methods, film formation methods, etc. FIG. 1 shows a semiconductor wafer processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic perspective view, FIG. 2 shows a basic configuration diagram of a semiconductor wafer processing device, FIG. 3 shows a modified configuration diagram of a semiconductor wafer processing device that combines the device configuration of FIG. 2, and FIG. , Fig. 5 shows the microwave heating characteristics diagram, Fig. 6 shows the principle diagram of the resonant circuit, Fig. 7 shows the principle diagram of the slow wave circuit, and Fig. 8 shows the principle diagram of the concentrated irradiation antenna. show.

Moreover, FIG. 9 shows a basic configuration diagram of the heat treatment apparatus.

FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of the main part of the photoresist coating module, and FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of the main part of the pre-baking module.

Further, FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of a main part of an impurity diffusion treatment apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13(a),
14(b) is a symbol diagram for explaining the principle of microwave heating, and FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) are symbol diagrams for similarly explaining the principle of microwave heating.

1... Main body wafer processing section, 2... Heat processing section, 3.
...Control unit, 4...Wafer α, 5...Wafer β, 6
. . . Wafer α processing condition information, 7 . . . Wafer β processing condition information, 8 . . . Pre-equipment processing result information, 9 .
12... Wafer α main body processing result information, 13... Wafer α heating condition information, 15... Wafer α heating processing result information, 16... Wafer α processing result information, 17... Wafer β main body processing Condition information, 19...Wafer β body processing result information, 20...Wafer β heating condition information, 22...
Wafer β heat treatment result information, 23... Wafer β process result information, 24... Heat treatment section, 25... Main body wafer processing section, 26... Control section, 27... Heat treatment section, 2
8... Main body wafer processing section, 29... Heat processing section, 3
0...Control unit, 101...Semiconductor wafer, 102.
...Microwave, 103...Frequency (f), 104.
...Output (P,), 105...Output (P,), 106
... Heating area, 107 ... Heating depth d), 201
... Microwave generator, 202 ... Heating furnace, 203
. . . Microwave in resonance state, 204 . . . Semiconductor wafer, 211 . . . Microwave generator, 212 .・Leak microwave, 216... Semiconductor wafer, 217... Heating region, 221... Microwave generating section, 222... Concentrated antenna, 223...
・Microwave beam, 224...Semiconductor wafer, 22
5... Local heating area, 301... Processing area, 302
... semiconductor wafer, 303 ... microwave generation section,
304... Irradiation microwave, 305... Temperature monitor, 306... Control section, 307... Initial heating condition setting information, 308... Output control section, 309... Initial output control information, 310 ... Temperature control section, 311 ... Initial heating temperature control information, 312 ... Output correction information, 313
...Optimum output information, 314...Measurement wafer temperature information, 315...Output result information, 316...Temperature result information, 317...Heat treatment result information, 401...Coating treatment line, 402 ...Development processing line, 403...
・Overall control unit, 404...Wafer cassette, 405・
...Loader module (4), 406...Unloader module (A), 407...Coating processing module,
408... Buri baking module, 409...
Loader module ■, 410... Unloader module ■, 411... Development processing module, 412...
Post-baking mosier, 501...cup, 5
02...Dehydration bake completed Eno1.503...Wafer chuck, 504...Motor cap, 505...Photoresist (A) supply section, 506...Photoresist (C)
Supply unit, 507... Application module control unit, 508...
...Coating processing condition information, 509...Resist supply condition information, 510...Resist supply control unit, 511...
Motor rotation processing condition information, 512... motor control unit,
513... Photoresist supply processing result information, 514.
...Motor rotation processing result information, 515...Coating processing result information, 601...Processing chamber, 602...Coating processing optical wafer, 603...Suction pin stage, 604...
Stage motor, 605... Rudder, 606... Ridge, 607... Slow wave circuit, 608... Microwave generator, 609... Dummy load, 610... Leak microwave, 611... - Pre-baking module control section, 612... Initial pre-baking processing condition information, 613... Output control section, 614... Initial microwave output control information, 615... Temperature control section, 616...
・Initial temperature control information, 617...Temperature monitor, 618
... Temperature measurement information, 619 ... Microwave correction output information, 620 ... Stage motor control section, 621 ...
・Rotation speed setting information, 622...Output processing result information, 6
23... Temperature processing result information, 624... Rotation processing result information, 625... Baking processing result information, 7
01...CVD chamber, 702...Gate valve, 70
3... Gate pal 7', 704... Heater, 705
...Rotating motor, 706...Lower electrode, 707...
Reaction gas supply section, 708...Reaction gas supply hole, 709
...Upper electrode, 710...High frequency power supply section, 711...
・Vacuum exhaust section, 712...Semiconductor wafer, 713...
- Diffusion chamber, 714... Gate pulp, 715... Semiconductor wafer with impurity film, 716... Stage section, 7
17... Stage position control unit, 718... Microwave beam irradiation unit, 719... Microwave beam output unit, 720... Vacuum exhaust unit, 721... Initial processing condition information, 722... Overall control unit, 723... Reaction gas, 724... Impurity film, 725... Film thickness measurement unit, 7
26... Film thickness control section, 730... Microwave beam, 731... High temperature region, 732... Diffusion layer, 733
...Temperature monitor, 734...Temperature control section.

Figure 1 4θ5 Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 da/ Figure 10 5θ4 5t25” 1st (Shen) 1st (long) 3 Figure (b) Figure 4 (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. (1) a first processing section that heat-processes the object to be processed;
2) a second processing section that is provided independently of the first processing section and heat-processes the object to be processed; the second processing section has a heating function using electromagnetic waves; An article processing device comprising: 2. The first processing section includes a processing unit for performing a desired process, and in this processing unit, processing under different processing conditions can be selectively applied to the workpiece. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the article processing apparatus has the following functions. 3. The article according to claim 1, wherein the first processing section includes two or more independent processing units that can perform processing under mutually different processing conditions. Processing equipment. 4. The article processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second processing section has a heating function using microwaves. 5. The second processing section irradiates the whole or only part of the object to be processed with electromagnetic waves to heat the object, measures the heating state, and adjusts the amount of energy irradiated with the electromagnetic waves according to the measurement result. 5. The article processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the article processing apparatus has a function of feedback-controlling and heat-treating with a predetermined temperature profile. 6. The second processing section is automatically controlled according to the processing conditions of the first processing section and other upper processing information corresponding to the object to be processed before being subjected to electromagnetic heating, and is heated at a desired temperature profile. An article processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the apparatus is adapted to heat-treat an object to be treated. 7. Prepare a plurality of each of the first processing section and the second processing section, combine them to perform consistent processing of the processed object, and collect processing condition information and processing result information in each processing section. However, based on this information, the optimum processing conditions are automatically determined, and the object to be processed is processed while determining the optimum processing conditions for each processing section. Item processing device according to item 1.