JPS63192222A - Open-close structure of opening section of chamber for dry process semiconductor production device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To equalize the conditions of the inner wall of an opening section by conforming the shape of the inserting inner end surface of a block cover arranged to the opening section communicated with the outside in an inserting and detaching-free manner to the shape of the inner circumferential surface of a chamber and mounting the block cover to a parallel link disposed in a derricking-free manner toward the opening section. CONSTITUTION:An opening section 22 communicated with the outside is formed to a chamber 20, a block cover 30 is arranged to the opening section 22 in an inserting and detaching-free manner and the shape of the inserting inner end surface (a) of the block cover 30 is conformed to the shape of the inner circumferential surface (b) of the chamber 20 and shaped, and a parallel link B is disposed in a derricking-free manner toward the opening section 22 and the block cover 30 is set up to the parallel link B. Accordingly, the block cover 30 is moved in the direction of the opening section 22 by the parallel link B and opens and closes the opening section 22, and the shape of the inserting inner end surface (a) of the block cover 30 is conformed to the shape of the inner circumferential surface (b) of the chamber 20 and formed, thus equalizing the conditions of the inner wall of the chamber 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in the opening/closing structure of a chamber opening in dry process semiconductor manufacturing equipment such as dry etching, CVD (chemical vapor deposition), and photoresist ashing. .

[Prior art]

The applicant has proposed a dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus divided into a loader/unloader block 2, a wafer transport block 3, a wafer processing block 5, and a control block 6, as shown in Figure 1.2. Of these, loader/
The unloader block 2 receives and receives unprocessed wafers 1 and supplies the wafers 1 to the wafer transport block 3, or receives and receives processed wafers 1 and supplies the wafers 1 outside the line. The wafer transport block 3 holds the wafer 1 received from the loader/unloader block 2, and has a wafer transport device 4 which can move in any direction, front, rear, left or right to supply and receive the wafer 1. It is something you have. The wafer processing block 5 processes the wafer 1 received from the wafer transport block 3.

The wafer processing block 5 includes, for example, semiconductor manufacturing dry process equipment such as a dry etching equipment, a CVD equipment, a photoresist ashing equipment, and a developer. Examples of the dry etching equipment include a) RIE/PPE (reactor ion etching/ Planar plasma etching) type etching device, b) ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) type etching device, c) TROI D type etching device, d) RI
Examples include a BE (reactive ion beam etching) type etching device.

Examples of the CVD device include a microwave plasma CVD device.

Control block 6 controls block 2.3.5 above. Three of these blocks, loader/unloader block 2, wafer transport block 3, and wafer processing block 5, are directly connected and used, so their external dimensions ('f11, width, height), The main dimensions, such as the conveyance path in No. 1, are unified.

Each block is communicated with each other through a communication tube 21, and can be operated not only under normal pressure but also under reduced pressure.

Thus, the chamber 20 used in the conventional dry process
A schematic cross-section of is shown in FIG.

That is, a pair of upper and lower electrodes 40.40 are arranged in the chamber 20, and the wafer 1 inserted through the opening 22 of the chamber 20 is arranged between the pair of upper and lower electrodes 40.40.
The wafer 1 is dry-processed by causing glow discharge while uniformly flowing various semiconductor gases between the electrodes 40.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as shown in FIG. 7.8, the IE 30 for opening and closing the opening 22 of the chamber 20 is simply a flat plate-shaped IE 30 that slides in the horizontal direction. Since the movement is perpendicular to the direction of the section 22, the inner wall conditions within the chamber 20 are made non-uniform. Therefore, the glow discharge tends to become unstable and the wafer 1
There were various drawbacks, such as the occurrence of even a slight turbulence in the semiconductor gas flowing over the surface, resulting in "uneven treatment" in the surface treatment of the wafer 1. As the diameter of wafers l has gradually increased in recent years, these defects have a large impact on product yield, and are a problem that is becoming more serious.

The present invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks.
The object of the present invention is to provide an opening/closing structure for a chamber opening of a dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which can completely close the chamber opening and make the inner wall conditions uniform.

The opening/closing structure for the chamber opening of the dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is installed in the wafer transfer block 3 of the blocks described above.

[Means for solving problems]

In the opening/closing structure of a chamber opening of a dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, an opening 22 communicating with the outside world is formed in the chamber 20, and a closing lid 30 is inserted into the opening 22.
The shape of the insertion inner end surface a of the closing lid 30 is formed to match the shape of the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 20, and the parallel link B is arranged so as to be freely tiltable toward the opening 22. A feature is that a closing lid 30 is attached to this parallel link B.

[For production]

The closing lid 30 moves in the direction of the opening 22 by the parallel link B to open and close the opening 22. At this time, since the shape of the insertion inner end surface a of the closing lid 30 is formed to match the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the chamber 20, the inner wall conditions of the chamber 20 are made uniform. When the opening 22 is opened, the closing lid 30 is held in a position above or below the opening 22 by the parallel link B, so that it does not interfere with the movement of the wafer 1 in and out.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained according to the embodiments shown in the third to sixth figures.

As shown in the third to sixth figures, the wafer transfer block 3 communicates with the wafer processing block 5 through an opening 22, and an opening/closing mechanism A is installed on the wafer transfer block 3 side.

That is, on the base 23 of the wafer transfer block 3, there are a pair of spindle mounting plates 24, 24 on both left and right sides of the opening 22.
is erected, and a horizontally extending main shaft 25 is inserted through the lower part of the main shaft mounting plate 24 so as to rotate. Third
, 4, a sub-main shaft 26 is connected to one end of the main shaft 25 via a coupling, and the sub-main shaft 26 is supported by a bearing 27 on the side surface of the base 23. As shown in Figure 5.6, the lower part of the main arm 28 is fixed to both ends of the main shaft 25. As shown in the third left part and the fifth figure, the lower end of a sub arm 29 extending parallel to the main arm 28 is pivotally connected to the main shaft mounting plate 24 by a shaft 35, and the main arm 28 and sub arm 29 are connected to each other. The upper end of the pin is 36°3
7 is pivotally connected to the link 38, and these altogether constitute a parallel link B.

The outer shape of the closing lid 30 is formed to match the opening 22 of the chamber 20, as shown in FIG. 3.5.

That is, the inner end surface a is formed in an arc shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 20 is completely bent. Further, the longitudinal cross-sectional shape of the protruding portion 31 of the closing lid 30 matches the cross-sectional shape of the opening portion 22 of the chamber 20, and an O-ring 33 is fitted into the back plate portion 32 that protrudes outward from the protruding portion 31. , when the opening 22 is closed, the opening 22 is completely closed. The upper portions of both sides of the back of the closing lid 30 are pivotally connected to links 38 by pins 39. The link 38 is provided with a stopper 34 for adjustment via an adjustment screw 45. This stopper 34 is in contact with the lower part of the back surface of the closing lid 30 . This restricts the swinging motion of the blockage M30.

The overall operation of the device will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-5.

The front door 11 of the loader/unloader block 2 is opened, the cassette moving table 8 is moved outside, and the cassette 7 containing unprocessed wafers 1 is placed on the cassette moving table 8. Then, the cassette moving table 8 on which the cassette 7 is placed moves to the loader/
Return to the unloader block 2, and at the same time open the front door 11.
closes.

After that, evacuation of the inside of the component block begins and the pressure is reduced to a predetermined pressure. The unprocessed wafer 1 is handled under such reduced pressure. First, the handling arm 9 moves toward the cassette 7 and takes out the wafer 1 from the cassette 7.

The handling arm 9 that has taken out the wafer 1 moves to the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10, and transfers the wafer 1 at this position. The transferred wafer 1 is rotated so that its orientation flat is accurately aligned in a certain direction.

When the alignment of the orientation flat is completed, the wafer transfer device 4 in the wafer transfer block 3 moves toward the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10 in the loader/unloader block 2. That is, the rotating table 12 in the wafer transport block 3 is the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10.
The wafer transfer hand 15 rotates toward the orientation flat positioning mechanism 10 and stops when the wafer transfer hand 15 is accurately facing the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10 side. Subsequently, the drive arm 16 rotates to slide the slider 17 and rotate the parallel link 13. Then, as the parallel link 13 rotates, the support arm 14 extends substantially linearly toward the orientation flat positioning mechanism 10 within the loader/unloader block 2. During this time, the wafer 1 is lifted and the wafer transfer hand 15 enters under the unprocessed wafer 1.

When the wafer transfer hand 15 comes to just below the wafer 1, the wafer transfer hand 15 stops, and then the wafer 1
is lowered and accurately placed on the wafer transfer hand 15.

When the placement of the wafer 1 is completed, the wafer transport block 3
The inner slider 17 slides in the opposite direction and bends so as to take the wafer 1 into the wafer transport block 3.

Subsequently, the rotating table 12 rotates toward the wafer processing block 5 and stops when it coincides with the opening 22 of the chamber 2o. At this time, as shown in Fig. 4.6, the parallel link B composed of the main arm 28 and the sub arm 29 collapses, and the chamber
The closing lid 30 is pulled out from the opening 22 of the opening 2.
2 is open and its closure M30 is arranged so as to be folded to a position below the opening 22.

Under such conditions, the wafer transfer hand 15 extends and feeds the wafer 1 into the chamber 20 in the wafer processing block 5 through the opening 22 in the same manner as described above. In the chamber 20 of the wafer processing block 5, a pair of upper and lower electrodes 40.40 are arranged as shown in FIG. 9, and the wafer 1 is transferred to the center between these electrodes 40.40. The lower electrode 4o is a double electrode, and the central electrode 40a moves up and down. Therefore, when the wafer 1 is transferred to the center of the electrode 40 and stopped, the center electrode 40a rises and lifts the wafer 1 from the wafer transfer hand 15. While the wafer 1 is being lifted, the wafer transfer hand 15 moves out of the wafer processing block 5 and returns to the wafer transfer block 3 by the above-described operation.

When the wafer transfer hand 15 exits the chamber 20 of the wafer processing block 5, the central electrode 40a descends to accurately place the wafer 1 in the center of the lower electrode 40. At the same time, the parallel link B rises, and the blockage M30 completely blocks the opening 22 as shown in FIGS. At this time, since the closure 130 is fixed to the bottle, it can swing in accordance with the opening 22 and is inserted into the opening 22 accurately. This makes the inner wall of the chamber 20 almost completely cylindrical.

After that, the chamber 20 is connected to a high vacuum evacuation system to make the inside of the chamber 20 a high vacuum, and then the upper electrode is connected to the chamber 20.
While supplying semiconductor gas into the electrode 40.0, glow discharge is generated.
The wafer 1 is subjected to dry processing. When the dry processing of the wafer 1 is completed, the glow discharge is stopped and the exhaust gas in the chamber 20 is completely exhausted.

Similarly to the above, the parallel link B is collapsed and the blockage M30 is pulled out from the opening 22 as shown in Figure 4.6 to open the opening 22. Subsequently, the central electrode 40a is raised again to lift the processed wafer 1, and the wafer transfer hand 15 in the wafer transfer block 3 is inserted into the chamber 20 again. When the wafer transfer hand 15 is located directly below the wafer 1, the central electrode 40a is lowered and the wafer I is placed on the wafer transfer hand 15 again. Then, the wafer transfer hand 15 transfers the wafer 1 to the chamber 2 with the wafer 1 placed thereon.
0 and returns to the inside of the wafer transport block 3.

Next, the rotary table 12 rotates, moves to the loader/unloader block 2 side and stops, and then the wafer transfer hand 1
5 extends toward the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10 of the loader/unloader block 2 (.

The wafer transfer hand 15 is the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10
The processed wafer 1 is then transferred to the orientation flat alignment mechanism 10, taken up by the handling arm 9, and transferred to an empty part of the cassette 7.

Wafer processing is performed by repeating such operations.

When processing of all wafers 1 is completed, the pressure inside the block is returned to atmospheric pressure, and then the loader/unloader block 2
The front door 11 of the machine opens, and the cassette moving table 8 on which the cassette 7 is placed comes out of the machine from the loader/unloader block 2. The cassette 7 containing the processed wafers 1 is replaced with a new cassette 7 containing the unprocessed wafers 1, and the above-described operations are repeated to dry-process the wafers 1.

In the case of a sequential processing type in which a number of blocks are connected as shown in Fig. 10.11, for example, when processing a wafer 1 in one direction, from the loader/unloader block 2a for the loader at one end to the loader/unloader block 2a for the unloader at the other end. By repeating the process→transfer to the unloader block 2b, it is possible to efficiently perform a dry process such as, for example, Al→Ti/W→ashing.

〔effect〕

The present invention is as follows: 1. Since the shape of the insertion inner end surface a of the closing lid 30 is formed to match the shape of the inner circumferential surface of the chamber 20, the inner surface shape of the chamber 20 becomes a perfect cylinder when it is closed, and the wafer 1 is placed at the electrode. The flow of the semiconductor gas supplied to the electrode becomes completely uniform, and the glow discharge formed between the electrodes becomes completely stable.
Extremely uniform dry processing of wafers can be performed.

Further, in the chamber 20, a closing lid 30 that opens and closes the opening 22 communicating with the outside world is arranged so as to be inserted into and removed from the opening 22, and a parallel link is arranged so as to be tiltable toward the opening. Since the lid 30 is attached, the closing lid 30 is accurately fitted into the opening 22 when attached.
Furthermore, since it is held at a position below (or above) the opening 22 when removed, there is an advantage that it does not interfere with the wafer 1 being taken in and out through the opening 22.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus to which an opening/closing structure for a chamber opening 22 to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan cross-sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an illustration of an opening/closing mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the embodiment when it is closed, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view when it is closed, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view when it is opened, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the conventional opening/closing mechanism when it is closed, FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the chamber of the wafer processing block, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another example to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the external appearance of a sequential processing type dry process semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and a schematic plan view thereof. 20...chamber, 22...opening,
30...Occluded lid, B...Parallel link,
a...Insertion inner end surface of the closing lid 30, b...
- Inner peripheral surface of chamber 20. Paper 2 Paper 5 Letter paper θ picture $BΩ し、-

Claims (1)

[Claims] An opening communicating with the outside world is formed in the chamber, a closing lid is arranged in the opening so as to be insertable and removable, and the shape of the insertion inner end surface of the closing lid is formed to match the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the chamber, 1. An opening/closing structure for a chamber opening of a dry process semiconductor manufacturing equipment, characterized in that a parallel link is arranged so as to be able to rise and fall toward the opening, and a closing cover is attached to the parallel link.