JPS63140523A - Treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve efficiency of works such as manual replacement of treated objects on a conveying jig and improve the utilization factor of treatment apparatus by providing a posture changing mechanism which changes the posture of a transfer jig which carries the treated object into and out of a treatment chamber outside the treatment chamber. CONSTITUTION:Before and after a transfer jig 8 carries a treated object 7 into and out of a treatment chamber 3, the posture of the transfer jig 8 is made to be horizontal by a posture changing mechanism 9 and the operator can approach the horizontally postured transfer jig 8 through an opening 1a. Therefore, manual replacement work of the treated object 7 such as a semiconductor wafer can be performed efficiently and the workability is improved. Moreover, the respective posture changing mechanisms 9 are individually provided for a plurality of the successively arranged treatment apparatuses U1-Un and, at the same time, the transfer jigs 8 and the treated objects 7 are delivered between the respective treatment apparatuses U1-Un and properly controlled by a transfer mechanism 15 independent of the posture changing mechanisms 9. With this constitution, the utilization factor of a plurality of the treatment apparatuses can be improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is effective when applied to processing technology, particularly processing under a predetermined temperature and atmosphere performed in a wafer processing step in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. related to technology.

[Conventional technology]

Processes such as thin film formation, diffusion, and annealing that are carried out on semiconductor wafers at specified temperatures and atmospheres are described in "Electronic Materials", published by Kogyo Research Association Co., Ltd., November 20, 1987, November issue special issue, P
75 to P79.

The outline of the system is to have multiple diffusion furnace-shaped processing chambers with vertical axes, and to carry in and out quartz jigs holding semiconductor wafers into and out of each processing chamber, and between each processing chamber and outside. The quartz jig is transferred with the quartz jig held vertically.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as mentioned above, when the quartz jig holding multiple semiconductor wafers is carried into and out of individual processing chambers and transferred between multiple processing chambers or to the outside while keeping the quartz jig vertically For example, if processing conditions are not met in individual processing chambers, there is a problem that workability is poor when manually loading and unloading semiconductor wafers from a quartz jig due to failure of the semiconductor wafer transfer mechanism. The inventor has discovered something.

An object of the present invention is to provide a processing technique that can improve workability such as manual transfer of objects to be processed onto a transport jig.

Another object of the present invention is to
The object of the present invention is to provide a processing technique that can improve the processing rate.

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

[Means for solving problems]

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

That is, a posture changing mechanism is provided for changing the posture of a conveying jig that carries objects to be processed into and out of the processing chamber outside the processing chamber.

[Effect]

According to the above means, for example, by horizontally positioning the transport jig holding the workpiece outside the processing chamber, the workpiece can be manually transferred between the transport jig and the outside. The work becomes easier, and the workability of transferring the workpiece to the transport jig is improved.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a processing device that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing the main parts taken out, and FIGS. (d) is a perspective view showing the operation of main parts in order.

In this embodiment, a plurality of processing apparatuses U, to U7 are installed in series.

First, the individual processing units Ul-U, . will be explained.

A cylindrical heating element 2 is provided vertically inside the main body 1, and a processing chamber 3 made of a quartz tube or the like is inserted into the heating element 2 with its axis vertical and its open end facing downward. There is.

A lifting mechanism 4 and a lifting mechanism 5 are disposed adjacent to the side of the heating body 2.

The lifting mechanism 4 includes a pair of feed screws 4 provided in the vertical direction.
a and a feed screw 4b to move up and down, and an arm 4e is connected to the elevator platform 4c via a swinging mechanism 4d for swinging in a horizontal plane. is locked.

A furnace opening cap 6 that removably closes the open end of the processing chamber 3 is placed on the arm 4e.
A conveying jig 8 that holds the cylindrical parts parallel to the axial direction at predetermined intervals is removably mounted thereon.

By appropriately combining the vertical movement of the lifting table 4c and the swinging operation in the horizontal plane by the swinging mechanism 4d, the furnace mouth cap 6 placed on the arm 4e and the furnace mouth cap 6 placed on the furnace mouth cap 6 are The transport jig 8 is positioned with respect to the open end of the processing chamber 3, and the plurality of workpieces 7 held by the transport jig 8 are carried in and out of the processing chamber in the axial direction.

Similarly, the elevating mechanism 5 has an elevating table 5c that is screwed into a pair of feed screws 5a and 5b provided in the vertical direction and is moved up and down. The arm 5e is locked via a swinging mechanism 5d that swings within.

A groove 5f is provided at the tip of the arm 5e, and is fitted into the shaft 8a at the lower end of the transport jig 8, so that the transport jig 8 is detachably supported in a vertical position. It is configured.

By appropriately combining the vertical movement and rocking motion of the arm 4e of the elevating mechanism 4 and the arm 5e of the elevating mechanism 5, the transfer jig 8 is transferred between the arms 5e and 4e.

In this case, an attitude changing mechanism 9 is provided inside the main body 1 at a position facing the vertical movement mechanism 5.

The attitude change mechanism 9 includes a slide base 9b that is screwed onto a feed screw 9a and can move linearly toward or away from the elevating mechanism 5, and this slide base 9.
The slide base 9 is pivotally supported at one end of b via a swing shaft 9C.
It is composed of a rocking table 9d that is swingable in a vertical plane including the moving direction of b.

A support plate 9e that supports the lower end of the conveyance jig 8 to be placed is fixed to one end of the rocking table 9d, and a presser claw 9f is provided at the other end of the support plate 9e. The transport jig 8 is removably held between the two.

Furthermore, a pair of support pieces 9g that prevent the transfer jig 8 from being transferred are provided protrudingly on the rocking table 9d.

Then, on the rocking table 9d, with the conveying jig 8 sandwiched between the support plate 9e and the holding pawl 9f, linear reciprocating motion is performed in the direction of the lifting mechanism 5 within the horizontal plane of the slide table 9b. By appropriately combining this and the rotational movement in the vertical plane of the rocking table 9d, the transport jig 8, which is transferred from the outside onto the rocking table 9d in a horizontal position, is brought into a vertical position. It is later delivered to the elevating mechanism 5.

Further, an opening 1a is formed in a side surface of the main body 1 in a portion corresponding to the attitude change mechanism 9, and a transport jig 8 placed on the attitude change mechanism 9 and in a horizontal position and the transport It is configured such that objects 7 to be processed, such as a plurality of semiconductor wafers held by a jig 8, can be easily approached from the outside.

A processing gas supply mechanism 10 is provided inside the main body 1, and a processing gas of a predetermined composition is supplied via piping (not shown) depending on the type of processing inside the processing chamber 3. It is configured.

Further, an exhaust pipe 11 is connected to the lower end of the processing chamber 3, which exhausts the inside of the processing chamber 3 while the open end of the processing chamber 3 is closed with a furnace opening cap 6, and supplies the processing gas. By flowing a processing gas of a predetermined composition through the mechanism 10, an atmosphere of a predetermined processing gas is created inside the processing chamber 3.

Inside the main body 1, an air filter 12 is disposed above the attitude change mechanism 9, and an air filter 12 is disposed above the attitude change mechanism 9 to clean the workpiece 7 held on the transport jig 8 placed on the attitude change mechanism 9. It is designed to provide a comfortable atmosphere.

A heating power source 13 is provided at the bottom of the main body 1 for supplying power to the heating element 2 that heats the processing chamber 3 to a predetermined temperature.

On the other hand, a conveyance duct 14 is provided on the side surface of the plurality of processing devices U, to U7 that are arranged in series.

Inside the conveyance duct 14, a conveyance mechanism 15 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided.

The transport mechanism 15 includes a cart portion 15c which is made movable by inserting a pair of guide rails 15a and 15b which are provided in parallel to the direction in which the plurality of processing devices U, -U are arranged. It is placed on this trolley 15C,
A slide base 15f that is screwed into a pair of feed screws 15d and 15e to be horizontally movable in a direction intersecting the moving direction of the cart 15c, and a pair of vertical feeds supported by the slide base 15f. It is composed of a lifting platform 15i that can freely move up and down by being screwed into a screw 15g and a feed screw 15h, and a pair of forks 15j and forks 15 that are locked to both ends of the lifting platform 151.

By engaging the forks 15j and 15k with the locking piece 8b and shaft portion 8a of the transport jig 8, respectively, the transport jig 8 is supported and held from below in a horizontal position, and the carriage 15C is moved. The operation positions the target processing apparatuses U1 to U, at the openings 1a, and furthermore, the slide table 15f moves in the horizontal direction and the lifting table 15
By appropriately combining the lifting and lowering operations of i, the transport jig 8 is delivered to and from the posture changing mechanism 9 of each processing device U, -U.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

First, the processing chambers 3 of the plurality of processing apparatuses Ul-U, which are arranged in series, are heated to a predetermined temperature by the heating body 2.

On the other hand, at the end of the conveyance duct 14, 15j and 1 of the conveyance mechanism 15 are transferred by a transfer mechanism (not shown) or the like.
The workpieces 7, such as a plurality of semiconductor wafers, are exchanged with respect to the transport jig 8 held horizontally at a height of 5k. A workpiece 7 such as a wafer is mounted on a transport jig 8 .

Thereafter, the transport mechanism 15 moves inside the transport duct 14, is positioned at the opening la of the target processing apparatus U, to U7, and is stopped.

By appropriately combining the horizontal movement of the slide table 15f of the transport mechanism 15 and the vertical movement of the lifting table 151, the posture change mechanism 9 provided inside the main body 1
A transport jig 8 containing a plurality of workpieces 7 is transferred onto the rocking table 9d of the position changing mechanism 9, and the transport jig 8 placed on the rocking table 9d of the posture changing mechanism 9 is held in a horizontal position. Both ends are held between the support plate 9e and the holding claws 9f, and are held stably.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
It is easily accessible from the outside through the opening 1a of the main body 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the slide table 9b
is moved in the direction approaching the lifting mechanism 5, and the rocking table 9d placed on the slide table 9b gradually rises from a horizontal position to a vertical position, as shown in FIGS. As shown, the transport jig 8 held on the rocking table 9d is the elevator #! The groove 5f of the arm 5e is fitted into the shaft 8a of the conveyance jig 78 by the rotation of the arm 5e.

Furthermore, by slightly raising the lifting table 5d that supports the arm 5e, the lower end of the transport jig 8 is disengaged from the support plate 9e of the swinging table 9d, and then the sliding table 9d of the posture change mechanism 9 is lifted and lowered. While retreating in the direction away from the mechanism 5, the rocking table 9d is gradually tilted horizontally and returned to its original horizontal position.

At this time, in the lifting mechanism 4, the lifting table 4C is lowered, and the furnace opening cap 6 placed on the arm 4e is lowered below the processing chamber 3, and is placed in a position perpendicular to the arm 5e of the adjacent lifting mechanism 5. It is located below the conveyance jig 8 held by the conveyance jig 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, by the rotation of the arm 5e of the lifting mechanism 5, the transport jig 8 held perpendicularly to the arm 5e is placed on the arm 4e of the lifting mechanism 4. The transport jig 8 is moved directly above the furnace opening cap 6 to be processed, that is, directly below the open end of the processing chamber 3, and further by slightly lowering the lifting platform 5C, the conveying jig 8 is vertically moved and its lower end is moved to the position directly above the opening end of the processing chamber 3. The processing chamber 3 is positioned directly below the open end of the processing chamber 3 while being supported by the processing chamber 3 .

Thereafter, the arm 5e of the elevating mechanism 5 is rotated and retracted to the side, and the elevating table 4C of the elevating mechanism 4 is raised to move in the internal axial direction of the processing chamber 3 as shown in FIG. The transfer jig 8 and the objects 7 to be processed such as a plurality of semiconductor wafers held by the transfer jig 8 are inserted, and the open end of the processing chamber 3 is closed by the furnace opening cap 6, so that the processing chamber 3 is sealed. The state will be as follows.

Next, by evacuating the inside of the processing chamber 3 through the exhaust pipe 11 and letting a processing gas of a predetermined composition flow in through the gas supply mechanism 10, a plurality of semiconductor wafers and the like located inside the processing chamber 3 are processed. The object 7 is placed in an environment of a predetermined temperature and process gas atmosphere, e.g. for thin film formation,
Processes such as diffusion and annealing are performed.

After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, by performing an operation opposite to the series of operations described above, the workpieces 7 such as a plurality of semiconductor devices that have been subjected to predetermined processes inside the processing chamber 3 are transported and cured. It is taken out together with the tool 8 and placed on the posture changing mechanism 9.

Furthermore, other processing devices U, ~Uh are transported by the transport mechanism 15.
, and predetermined processing is performed in sequence.

By the way, there are cases in which individual processing equipment needs to be operated manually, independently of other processing equipment, due to malfunctions, periodic inspections, and further tasks such as determining processing conditions. In conventional processing apparatuses that have a structure in which the transport jig 8 holding the workpiece 7 is moved in a vertical position, the workability of manually transferring the workpiece 7 to the transport jig 8 is low. There is a problem with being inferior.

However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport jig 8 is brought into a horizontal position by the attitude change mechanism 9 before and after being carried into and out of the processing chamber 3, and the transport jig 8 is placed in a horizontal position. Since the structure allows the operator to approach the tool 8 through the opening 1a, it is possible to efficiently replace the workpiece 7, such as a semiconductor wafer, with the transport jig 8 by hand, thereby improving work efficiency. Ru.

Further, each of the plurality of processing devices U, -U, which are arranged in series, is provided with an attitude change mechanism 9, and each of the processing devices U1 to
The transport mechanism 15 is configured to transfer the transport jig 8 and the workpiece 7 between the
By appropriately controlling the operations of the other processing devices U1 to Uo, even if any one processing device U1 to Uo stops or operates independently, the other processing devices U1 to Uh can automatically cooperate with each other. operation can be continued, and the operating rate of the plurality of processing devices U1 to U0 can be improved.

Further, the transfer of the plurality of workpieces 7 such as semiconductor wafers between the transport jig 8 held by the transport mechanism 15 and moved to the end of the transport duct 14 and the outside is performed individually. By performing this process for each wafer, that is, for each wafer, it is possible to easily change the arrangement pitch of the plurality of workpieces 7 in the transport jig 8, and the degree of freedom in automating the apparatus is improved.

In this way, the following effects can be obtained in this embodiment.

(1) The attitude of the transport jig 8 holding the workpiece 7 is placed outside the processing chamber 3 into which the workpiece 7 such as a semiconductor wafer held by the transport jig 8 is carried in and out in the vertical direction. A posture changing mechanism 9 that changes between the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is provided, and the conveying jig 8 positioned in the horizontal direction can be accessed from the outside of the main body 1 through the opening 1a at any time. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manually replace the workpiece 7 such as a semiconductor wafer with respect to the transport jig 8, thereby improving work efficiency.

(2) Each of the plurality of processing apparatuses U, ~Uo installed in series is equipped with an attitude changing mechanism 9, and each processing apparatus U,
By being configured so that the transfer jig 8 and the workpiece 7 are transferred between ~Uh, the transfer mechanism 1
By appropriately controlling the operations of 5 and other processing devices U1 to U1, even when any one processing device U1 to U9 stops or operates independently, the other processing devices U1 to U, .
can continue to operate automatically in coordination with each other,
The operating rate of the plurality of processing devices U, -Uh can be improved.

(3) The transfer of a plurality of workpieces 7 such as semiconductor wafers between the transport jig 8 held by the transport machine w115 and moved to the end of the transport duct 14 and the outside is performed individually. By performing this process every 7 times, that is, one by one, it is possible to easily change the arrangement pitch of the plurality of workpieces 7 in the transport jig 8, and the degree of freedom in automating the apparatus is improved.

(4) As a result of (1) to (3) above, the productivity in the wafer processing process used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices is improved.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically explained above based on Examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the Examples and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. Nor.

For example, an opening may be provided at the upper end of the processing chamber 3 through which the transport jig 8 and the workpiece 7 are carried in and out.

The above explanation has mainly been about the application of the invention made by the present inventor to the wafer processing technology in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, which is the background field of application. Widely applicable to manufacturing technology.

[Effects of the Invention] A brief explanation of the effects obtained by typical inventions disclosed in this application is as follows.

That is, since the structure includes an attitude changing mechanism that changes the attitude of a conveyance jig that carries in and out of the processing chamber the workpieces, for example,
By horizontally positioning the transport jig that holds the workpiece outside the processing chamber, it becomes easier to manually transfer the workpiece between the transport jig and the outside, and The workability of transferring objects to be processed is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a processing device that is an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the main parts taken out, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the main parts taken out. , FIGS. 4(a) to 4(d) are perspective views sequentially showing the operation of the main parts. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 1a... Opening part, 2... Heating body, 3
...Processing chamber, 4...Elevating mechanism, 4a. 4b... Feed screw, 4C... Lifting table, 4d... Rocking mechanism, 4e... Arm, 5... Lifting mechanism, 5a,
5b... Feed screw, 5c... Elevating table, 5d... Rocking mechanism, 5e... Arm, 5f... Groove, 6...
Furnace camp, 7... Workpiece, 8... Transport jig,
8a... Shaft portion, 8b... Locking piece, 9... Attitude change mechanism, 9a... Feed screw, 9b... Slide base, 9
c... Rocking shaft, 9d... Rocking table, 9e... Support plate, 9f... Holding claw, 9g... Support piece, 10...
Processing gas supply mechanism, 11... Exhaust pipe, 12... Air filter, 13... Heating power source, 14... Transport duct, 15... Transport mechanism, 15a, 15b... Guide rail, 15C ...Dolly, 15d, 15e = feed screw, 1
5"...Slide stand, 15g, 15h...Feed screw, 151...Elevating table, 15j, 15k...Fork, Ul to U,...Processing device. Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Figure 2. Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A processing apparatus characterized by having an attitude changing mechanism that changes the attitude of a transport jig for carrying in and out of a processing chamber an object to be processed, outside the processing chamber. 2. The axis of the processing chamber is provided in the vertical direction, and the transport jig carries the workpiece into and out of the processing chamber in the vertical direction, and the attitude changing mechanism changes the attitude of the transport jig. 2. The processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change is made between a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. 3. A patent claim characterized in that the object to be processed is a semiconductor wafer, and a predetermined process is performed by placing the semiconductor wafer in an environment of a predetermined temperature and processing gas atmosphere inside the processing chamber. The processing device according to item 1. 4. A patent characterized in that a plurality of the processing apparatuses are arranged in series, and the transfer jig is transferred between the plurality of processing apparatuses by a transfer mechanism independent of the attitude changing mechanism. A processing device according to claim 1.