JPS62133075A - Cvd thin film forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent sticking of suspended foreign matter in a reaction furnace to a water standing by for film formation by segmenting and dividing an N2 purging chamber of the hermetic structure connecting to the reaction furnace to chambers having a loader part and unloader part so that the simultaneous opening of the gate parts of the respective chambers and the reaction furnace is prohibited. CONSTITUTION:A CVD thin film forming device 1 is constituted of the reaction furnace 10 and the N2 purging chamber 20 of the hermetic structure connecting thereto. The N2 purging chamber is segmented and divided by a partition wall 21 to the 1st chamber 22 having the loader part 24 and the 2nd chamber 23 having the unloader part 25. The 1st chamber 22 and the 2nd chamber 23 are connected to the reaction furnace 10 via the 1st gate part 26 and 2nd gate part 27 so that the simultaneous opening of both the 1st gate part 26 and the 2nd gate part 27 cannot be made. The water subjected to the reaction treatment for film formation in the reaction chamber 10 is, therefore, housed into the 2nd chamber 23 by first opening the 2nd gate part 27, then the untreated wafer in the 1st chamber 22 is charged into the reaction chamber 10 by closing the 2nd gate part 27 and opening the 1st gate part 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a CVI) thin film forming apparatus. More specifically, the present invention provides a CV system having a structure that prevents foreign matter in the reactor from adhering to wafers waiting to be coated with a film in the N2 purge chamber.
DRegarding a thin film forming apparatus.

[Prior Art] One of the methods widely used in the semiconductor industry as a method for forming thin films is vapor phase growth (CVD).
chemical vapor) el) os i
ti on). CV I) refers to turning a gaseous substance into a solid substance through a chemical reaction and depositing it on a substrate.

Characteristics of CVD are that various thin films can be obtained at deposition temperatures considerably lower than the melting point of the thin film to be grown;
The grown thin film has a high purity and its electrical characteristics are stable even when grown on SI or a thermal oxide film on Si, so it is widely used as a passivation film on semiconductor surfaces.

Thin film formation by CV I) is performed, for example, by supplying a reactive gas (for example, 5iHq+02. or S i HQ +PHJ +02) to a wafer heated to about 500°C. The above reaction gas is blown onto a wafer in a reactor (belljar) using N2 gas as a carrier to form a thin film of, for example, S 102 or phosphor-based glass (PSG) on the surface of the wafer. Also, 5i0
Two-phase film formation of 2 and PSG may also be performed.

An example of an apparatus conventionally used for carrying out such a thin film forming operation using CV I) is shown in FIG. 2 as a partial cross-sectional view.

In FIG. 2, a conventional CVD apparatus 100 has a disk-shaped wafer mounting table or susceptor 104 installed inside a reactor (bell jar) 103 that can be rotated or rotated around its axis, and a susceptor 104 that is rotatable or rotatable. A loader/unloader unit 108 is provided to supply a wafer 106, which is a liquid-added product, and to unload the wafer 106.

The loader/unloader section 108 is housed within an N2 purge chamber 110 to prevent the wafer from being oxidized by oxygen in the air during wafer loading.

In order to supply wafers into and take out wafers from the reactor, an openable and closable gate section 112 is connected to the loader/
It is provided at a position corresponding to the unloader section. A reaction gas inlet 112 is provided near the top of the reactor 103 .

The wafer mounting table 104 is equipped with a suitable wafer heating means to heat the wafer 106 to a predetermined temperature (for example, 500°C).
) can also be heated.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional device, the loader section and the unloader section are housed in the same N2 purge chamber, and the reactor and N2
There is only one gate separating the bread chambers. Therefore, when the gate is opened to unload the wafers that have been subjected to the film coating process from the reactor, the atmosphere containing oxide particles such as SiO or 5EO2 in the reactor flows into the N2 purge chamber.

As a result, oxide fine particles were often found on the surface of unprocessed wafers waiting in the loader section for the next film-forming process.

If these foreign substances such as oxide particles adhere to the wafer, pinholes may be formed in the deposited film, resulting in a disadvantage that the manufacturing yield of conductor elements is significantly reduced.

[Object of the Invention] Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a CVI) thin film forming 4A device having a rainproof mechanism that prevents foreign matter such as oxide particles from adhering to unprocessed wafers in the loader section. be.

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises supplying wafers into a reactor by a loader section having a wafer cartridge, and unloading the wafers by an unloader section. In the CVD thin film forming apparatus, a sealed N2 purge chamber is connected to the reactor, and the N2 purge chamber is separated by a partition into a first chamber in which a loader section is arranged and a second chamber in which an unloader section is disposed. The reactor is divided into sections, and the reactor is connected to the first chamber and the second chamber through the first gate section and second gate section corresponding to each chamber, and the first gate section of the first chamber and the second gate section of the second chamber are connected to each other. To provide a C V I) thin film forming apparatus characterized in that two gate parts are not opened at the same time.

[Sakukawa] As mentioned above, in the CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, a sealed N2 purge chamber is connected to the reactor to prevent oxidation of the wafer. It is divided into a first chamber where the unloader section is placed and a second chamber where the unloader section is placed. The reactor, the first chamber and the second chamber have a first gate section and a second gate section corresponding to each chamber.
They are connected via a gate section, and the first gate section of the first chamber and the second gate section of the second chamber are not opened at the same time. More specifically, after the second gate section of the second chamber is opened and the wafers in the furnace are unloaded, the first gate section of the first chamber is opened.

As a result, when transporting wafers that have undergone film formation from the reactor, only the second gate in the second chamber is opened, and the first gate in the first chamber is opened.
The gate can be closed (and the first and second chambers are completely separated by a partition wall, so the first chamber, where the loader section with unprocessed wafers is located, is connected to the inside of the reactor. Therefore, an inconvenient situation in which oxide particles adhere to the wafer surface and cause pinholes is effectively prevented. The production yield can be increased.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual plan sectional view of the CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the CVD thin film forming apparatus l of the present invention includes a reactor 10 and an N2
It has a purge chamber 2o.

The N2 purge chamber 20 is divided into a first chamber 22 and a second chamber 23 by a partition wall 21. A loader section 24 is arranged in the first chamber 22, and an unloader section 25 is arranged in the second chamber 23.

The first chamber 22 and the reactor 10 are connected through a first gate section 26, and the second chamber 23 and the reactor 10 are connected through a second gate section 27. The structure and/or opening/closing mechanism of the gate itself is known to those skilled in the art. Both the first gate part 26 and the second gate part 27 are not opened at the same time, and the first gate part 26 and the second gate part 27 are not opened at the same time.
The gate section is never opened. The first gate section is always opened after the second gate section is opened.

The negative effects of wafer oxidation are more pronounced in the first chamber, where unprocessed wafers that have not undergone film deposition processing are mounted, than in the second chamber, where wafers that have undergone film deposition processing are stocked. appear. Therefore, the N2 purge mechanism (not shown) may be provided only in the first chamber, or may be provided in both the first and second chambers.

The first chamber is provided with an openable and closable sealed door 28 for carrying unprocessed wafers into the chamber.

Similarly, the second chamber is provided with an openable and closable sealed door 29 for transporting the wafers that have been subjected to the film formation process to the outside of the room. The wafer can also be carried into the room and carried out to the outside using the cassette q1-.

Therefore, the size and location of the door are determined depending on the conditions of use.

The loader section 24 and the unloader section 25 consist of wafer trays 30a and 30b for gripping wafers, and transfer means 32a and 32b for transporting the gripped wafers to wafer cartridges 31a and 31b. C of the present invention
A wafer loader-fist unloader mechanism known to those skilled in the art can be used in a VD thin film formation apparatus.

In the CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, the reactor 10 includes:
For example, a rotation-revolution type atmospheric pressure CVD reactor can be used. Such a reactor is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 80-345.
It is disclosed in the specification of No. 55.

Next, the operation of the CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention will be explained in detail.

When the film formation reaction process in the reactor IO is completed,
A second gate section separating the second chamber in which the unloader section is accommodated and the reactor is opened. And wafer tray 3
0b moves forward and unloads the wafer with a deposited film on the wafer mounting table 1 in the furnace out of the furnace. When all the film-coated wafers are unloaded outside the furnace, the first gate section 2 is opened to supply unprocessed wafers to the empty wafer mounting table.
6 is opened, and the wafer tray 30a is moved +)ii M to load the wafer onto the wafer mounting table.

In this series of operations, the opening of the second gate section precedes the opening of the first gate section, so that l? The atmosphere containing foreign substances such as free oxide particles flows into the second chamber where the unloader section is located. However, since the second chamber containing the unloader section stores wafers that have undergone the film coating process,
There is almost no negative impact from floating foreign matter that enters the room. In addition, foreign particles floating in the furnace are noticeable during the first wafer loading after the film-forming process is completed, but since there is a sealed partition between the first and second chambers, foreign particles may flow into the second chamber. High-concentration floating foreign matter cannot enter the first chamber in which wafers waiting to be coated with a film are mounted.

f) The loader section and the unloader section are arranged in separate sealed chambers, and the timing of opening the connection gate with the reactor provided in each chamber, as shown in I and I. With the two configurations of shifting the wafers, it is possible to effectively avoid an inconvenient situation in which foreign particles floating in the furnace adhere to the surface of the unprocessed wafer mounted on the loader section.

If desired, the reactor may be provided with a stage for forced removal of foreign matter to minimize the intrusion of foreign matter in the reactor into the N2 purge chamber.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, a sealed N2 purge chamber is connected to the reactor to prevent oxidation of the wafer. Accordingly, the chamber is divided into a first chamber in which the loader section is disposed and a second chamber in which the unloader section is disposed. The reactor, the first chamber, and the second chamber are connected through the first gate section and the second gate section corresponding to each chamber, and the first gate PIIS of the first chamber and the second gate PIIS of the second chamber are connected. The door cannot be opened at the same time as the department. More specifically, after the second gate section of the second chamber is opened and the wafers in the furnace are unloaded, the first gate section of the first chamber is opened.

As a result, when transporting wafers that have undergone film formation from the reactor, only the second gate in the second chamber is opened, and the first gate in the first chamber is opened.
The gate can be kept closed, and the first and second chambers are completely separated by a partition wall, so the first chamber, where the loader section with unprocessed wafers is located, is connected to the inside of the reactor. Oxide fine particles do not flow in. Therefore, an inconvenient situation where oxide (U material) fine particles adhere to the wafer surface and cause pinholes can be effectively prevented from rain, and the manufacturing yield of semiconductor devices can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual plan sectional view of a CVD thin film forming apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an example of a conventional CVD thin film forming apparatus. 1...CVD thin film forming apparatus 10...Reactor 11.
...Wafer mounting table 20...N2 purge chamber 21...
Partition wall 22...first chamber 23...second chamber 24...
Loader section 25... Unloader section 26... First gate section 27... Second gate section 28 and 29... Sealed door 30a and 30b... Wafer tray 31
a and 31b...Wafer cartridge 7 32a and 32b...Transfer stage Fig. 1

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) In a CVD thin film forming apparatus that supplies wafers into a reactor by a loader section having a wafer cartridge and unloads them by an unloader section, an N_2 purge chamber of a closed structure is connected to the reactor, and the N_2 purge chamber is connected to the reactor. The purge chamber is divided into a first chamber in which the loader section is arranged and a second chamber in which the unloader section is arranged, and the reactor, the first chamber, and the second chamber are separated by a first chamber corresponding to each chamber. A CVD thin film forming apparatus characterized in that the first gate part of the first chamber and the second gate part of the second chamber are not opened at the same time, and the first gate part of the first chamber and the second gate part of the second chamber are connected through a gate part and a second gate part. (2) After the second gate section of the second chamber is opened and the wafers in the furnace are unloaded, the first gate section of the first chamber is opened. The CVD thin film forming apparatus described in . (3) The CVD according to claim 1, wherein the N_2 purge mechanism is disposed only in the first chamber.
Thin film forming equipment. (4) The CVD thin film forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the N_2 purge mechanism is provided in both the first chamber and the second chamber. (5) The first chamber and the second chamber are further provided with an openable and closable sealed door for taking in and out a wafer or a wafer cartridge.
5. The CVD thin film forming apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 4. (6) The CVD thin film forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the reactor is a rotation-revolution type atmospheric pressure CVD reactor.