JPWO2019180966A1 - Substrate processing equipment, semiconductor equipment manufacturing methods and programs - Google Patents

Abstract

Processing chamber (5), microwave generators (91, 92), temperature measurement unit (16), gas introduction unit (20), exhaust unit (10), storage unit, control unit (100) And, the technology with. The control unit (100) supplies the microwave generated from the microwave generator to the substrate in the processing chamber, and the internal temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold stored in the storage unit and the upper limit threshold. In the following cases, the cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber at a predetermined flow rate from the gas introduction section, and when the measured internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold, a cooling gas larger than the predetermined flow rate is introduced from the gas introduction section into the processing chamber. Then, when the measured internal temperature is less than the lower limit threshold value, the microwave generator and the gas introduction unit are controlled so that the cooling gas having a flow rate smaller than the predetermined flow rate is introduced from the gas introduction unit into the processing chamber.

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor apparatus, and a program.

As one step of the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device (semiconductor device), there is a modification process typified by, for example, an annealing process. In recent years, semiconductor devices have a remarkable tendency toward miniaturization and high integration of elements, and along with this, there is a demand for a modification process on a substrate on which a high-density pattern having a high aspect ratio is formed. As a method for modifying such a substrate, a heat treatment method using microwaves has been studied.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-070045

In the heat treatment method using the microwave, the atmospheric temperature in the treatment chamber rises due to the substrate heated to a high temperature by the heat treatment in the treatment chamber, so that the process reproducibility deteriorates.

An object of the present invention is to provide a microwave processing technique capable of improving process reproducibility.

According to the present invention, a processing chamber for processing a substrate, a microwave generator for generating microwaves, a temperature measuring unit for measuring the internal temperature of the processing chamber, and a cooling gas are introduced into the processing chamber. A gas introduction unit, an exhaust unit that exhausts the cooling gas to the outside of the processing chamber, a storage unit that stores the upper limit threshold and the lower limit threshold of the internal temperature of the processing chamber, and a substrate in the processing chamber with respect to the substrate in the processing chamber. When the microwave generated from the microwave generator is supplied to the gas and the internal temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit is equal to or greater than the lower limit threshold value and equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold value, the gas introduction unit determines a predetermined value. The cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber at a flow rate, and when the measured internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold, the cooling gas having a flow rate larger than the predetermined flow rate is introduced from the gas introduction unit into the processing chamber. The microwave generator and the gas introduction unit are controlled so as to introduce the cooling gas having a measured internal temperature less than the predetermined flow rate from the gas introduction unit into the processing chamber when the measured internal temperature is less than the lower limit threshold value. A technology is provided that includes a control unit configured in such a manner.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a microwave processing technique capable of improving process reproducibility.

It is the schematic sectional drawing which looked at the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention from the side. It is a schematic plan view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from above. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the processing chamber of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the processing chamber shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the transport chamber side and slightly upward side of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the processing chamber shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the transport chamber side (cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 4). It is a schematic block diagram which looked at the purge gas circulation structure of the transport chamber shown in FIG. 1 from the side. It is a block block diagram which shows the control system including the control part of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate processing method and a substrate processing program for executing the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 using the control system shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the internal temperature of a processing chamber, the substrate processing time, and the introduction amount of cooling gas in the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the substrate processing sequence at the time of performing one substrate processing for every processing chamber in the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the substrate processing sequence at the time of performing the substrate processing of 2 sheets in each processing chamber in the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

[First Embodiment]
A substrate processing apparatus, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor apparatus, and a substrate processing program according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11.

(Configuration of Substrate Processing Device 1)
The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is configured as a heat treatment apparatus that performs various heat treatments on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “wafer”) 2 as a substrate. Here, the substrate processing apparatus 1 uses microwaves (electromagnetic waves) to change the composition and crystal structure of the thin film formed on the surface of the wafer 2, and to remove crystal defects in the formed thin film. The following will be described as an apparatus that performs annealing processing such as restoration processing. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, a pod (FOUP: Front Opening Unified Pod) 3 is used as a storage container (carrier) in which the wafer 2 is housed. The pod 3 is used as a transport container for transporting the wafer 2 between various substrate processing devices including the substrate processing device 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a transport chamber (transport area) 4 for transporting the wafer 2 and a processing chamber 5 for processing the wafer 2. The transport chamber 4 is provided inside the transport housing (housing) 41. In the present embodiment, the processing chamber 5 includes two processing chambers 51 and 52, and is provided on the side wall of the transport housing 41 facing the pod 3. The processing chambers 51 and 52 are arranged inside the cases 53 and 54 as processing containers, respectively.
Here, the transport housing 41 of the transport chamber 4 is made of, for example, a metal material such as aluminum (Al) or stainless steel (SUS), quartz, or the like.

In the transport chamber 4, a load port unit (LP) 6 is arranged on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) of the transport housing 41. The load port unit 6 is used as a pod opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the lid of the pod 3, transporting the wafer 2 from the pod 3 to the transport chamber 4, and transporting the wafer 2 from the transport chamber 4 to the pod 3.
The load port unit 6 includes a housing 61, a stage 62, and an opener 63. The stage 62 has a configuration in which the pod 3 is placed and the pod 3 is brought close to the substrate loading / unloading outlet 42 formed in front of the transport housing 41 in the transport chamber 4. The opener 63 is configured to open and close a lid (not shown) provided on the pod 3.
The load port unit 6 may have a function of purging the inside of the pod 3 using a purge gas. As the purge gas, an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas can be used. Further, the transport housing 41 has a purge gas circulation structure as a purge gas distribution mechanism. The purge gas circulation structure is configured as a purge gas distribution mechanism that distributes purge gas such as nitrogen gas inside the transport chamber 4.

A gate valve 43 for opening and closing the processing chambers 51 and 52 is arranged on the rear side (left side in FIG. 1) of the transport housing 41 in the transport chamber 4. A transfer machine 7 as a substrate transfer mechanism (board transfer robot) for transferring the wafer 2 is installed in the transfer chamber 4. The transfer machine 7 transfers the tweezers (arms) 71 and 72 as mounting portions on which the wafer 2 is mounted, and the transfer device 73 capable of rotating or linearly moving each of the tweezers 71 and 72 in the horizontal direction. It is configured to include a transfer device elevator 74 that raises and lowers the device 73.
In the transfer machine 7, the tweezers 71 and 72, the transfer device 73, and the transfer device elevator 74 operate continuously, so that the boat 8 as a substrate holder disposed inside the processing chamber 5 (FIGS. 1 and FIG. 3) and the pod 3 can be loaded (charged) with the wafer 2. Further, in the transfer machine 7, the wafer 2 can be detached (discharged) from the boat 8 and the pod 3.
In the description of the present embodiment, the processing chambers 51 and 52 may be simply described as "processing chamber 5" when it is not necessary to explain them separately.

Further, a wafer cooling table 9A is arranged in the transport chamber 4, and a wafer cooling mounting tool (cooling boat) 9B as a substrate cooling mounting tool for cooling the wafer 2 is placed on the wafer cooling table 9A. It is arranged. The wafer cooling mounting tool 9B is arranged in a space above the transport chamber 4 and below the clean unit 11. The wafer cooling mounting tool 9B has a structure similar to that of the boat 8, and is provided with a plurality of wafer holding grooves from above to below. The wafer cooling mounting jig 9B is configured such that a plurality of wafers 2 are stacked in multiple stages in a horizontal state.
As shown in FIG. 1, the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B and the wafer cooling table 9A are arranged inside the transport chamber 4 above the installation positions of the substrate loading / unloading outlet 42 and the gate valve 43, and , Is arranged below the clean unit 11. That is, the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B and the wafer cooling table 9A are arranged outside the transport path for transporting the wafer 2 from the pod 3 to the processing chamber 5 using the transfer machine 7. Therefore, the wafer 2 can be cooled after the wafer processing without reducing the throughput in the wafer processing or the wafer transfer.
Here, in the description of the present embodiment, the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B and the wafer cooling table 9A may be collectively described as a cooling area (cooling area).
The cooling table 9A and the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B are provided outside the transport chamber 4, for example, between the processing chamber 51 and the processing chamber 52, and the cooling table 9A and the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B are placed in this cooling chamber. The configuration may be such that the tool 9B is arranged.

(Structure of processing chamber 5)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing chamber 5 is configured as a processing furnace of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Here, in the processing chamber 5, since the configuration of one processing chamber 51 is the same as the configuration of the other processing chamber 52, the processing chamber 51 will be described below, and the description of the processing chamber 52 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the processing chamber 51 includes a hollow rectangular parallelepiped case 53 as a cavity (processing container). The case 53 is made of a metal material that reflects microwaves, such as aluminum (Al). Further, a cap flange (closing plate) 55 is provided on the ceiling (upper part) of the case 53. Like the case 53, the cap flange 55 is made of a metal material or the like. The cap flange 55 is attached to the case 53 with a sealing member (seal member) (not shown) interposed therebetween, and the airtightness inside the processing chamber 5 is ensured. The wafer 2 is processed inside the processing chamber 5. As the sealing member, for example, an O-ring is used.
Here, in the processing chamber 51, a quartz reaction tube for transmitting microwaves may be installed inside the case 53. In this case, the inside of the reaction tube is used as an effective processing chamber 51. Further, the case 53 may have its ceiling closed without providing the cap flange 55.

A carry-in / carry-out portion 57 is provided at the bottom of the processing chamber 51. A carry-in / out opening 57H that communicates with the transport chamber 4 via a gate valve 43 is provided on the side wall of the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 on the transport chamber 4 side.
Inside the carry-in / carry-out portion 57, a mounting table 56 that can move the inside of the processing chamber 51 in the vertical direction is provided. A boat 8 is mounted on the upper surface of the mounting table 56. As the boat 8, for example, a quartz board is used. The boat 8 is provided with susceptors 81 and 82 that are vertically separated and opposed to each other. The wafer 2 carried into the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 through the gate valve 43 and the carry-in / out port 57H is sandwiched between the susceptor 81 and the susceptor 82 and held by the boat 8.

The susceptors 81 and 82 indirectly refer to a wafer 2 formed of a dielectric material such as a dielectric that absorbs microwaves such as a silicon semiconductor wafer (Si wafer) and a silicon carbide wafer (SiC wafer) and heats itself. Has the function of heating to. Therefore, the susceptors 81 and 82 are called an energy conversion member, a radiant plate, or a heat soaking plate. In particular, the number of wafers to be held is not limited, but for example, the boat 8 is configured to be capable of holding three wafers 2 stacked at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. When the susceptors 81 and 82 are provided, the wafer 2 can be efficiently and uniformly heated by the radiant heat generated from the susceptors 81 and 82.
In the boat 8, quartz plates as heat insulating plates may be arranged above the susceptor 81 and below the susceptor 82, respectively.

Here, the space in which the processing chamber 5 surrounded by the case 53 is arranged may be described as a “processing space”.
In the present embodiment, the processing chamber 5 is installed adjacent to the transport chamber 4 in the horizontal direction, but the processing chamber 5 is installed in the direction perpendicular to the transport chamber 4, specifically, the transport chamber. It may be installed adjacent to the upper side or the lower side of 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in the processing chamber 5, the carry-in / out outlet 57H adjacent to the gate valve 43 is provided on the side surface of the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 on the transport chamber 4 side. The wafer 2 is carried in from the transport chamber 4 through the carry-in outlet 57H to the processing chamber 5, and is also carried out from the processing chamber 5 through the carry-in outlet 57H to the transport chamber 4. A choke structure (not shown) having a length of 1/4 wavelength of the microwave used in the substrate processing is provided around the gate valve 43 or the carry-in outlet 57H. The choke structure is configured as a measure against microwave leakage.

On the side opposite to the transport chamber 4, an electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 as a heating device is installed on the side surface of the case 53. The electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is composed of microwave generators 91 and 92 here. The microwaves supplied from the microwave generators 91 and 92 are introduced into the processing chamber 5 to heat the wafer 2 and perform various treatments on the wafer 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting table 56 on which the boat 8 is mounted is connected to and supported by the upper end portion of the shaft 58 as a rotation axis at the center portion of the lower surface thereof. The other end of the shaft 58 penetrates the bottom of the case 53, that is, the bottom of the carry-in / carry-out portion 57, and is connected to a drive mechanism 59 arranged on the lower side of the case 53. Here, an electric motor and an elevating device are used for the drive mechanism 59. The other end of the shaft 58 is connected to the rotating shaft of the electric motor. Since the shaft 58 is connected to the drive mechanism 59, the drive mechanism 59 can rotate the shaft 58 to rotate the mounting table 56 and rotate the wafer 2 held by the boat 8.
Here, the outer circumference of the shaft 58 extending from the bottom of the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 to the drive mechanism 59 is covered with a bellows 57B that can expand and contract in the vertical direction. The bellows 57B is configured to maintain airtightness inside the processing chamber 5 and inside the transport area.

The drive mechanism 59 is configured so that the mounting table 56 can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction between the bottom of the loading / unloading portion 57 and the bottom of the processing chamber 5. That is, the drive mechanism 59 moves the boat 8 from the position where the wafer 2 is held inside the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 (the carry-in / carry-out position) to the position where the wafer 2 is held inside the processing chamber 5 (wafer processing position). Raise. On the contrary, the drive mechanism 59 lowers the boat 8 from the position where the wafer 2 is held inside the processing chamber 5 to the position where the wafer 2 is held inside the carry-in / carry-out portion 57.

(Structure of exhaust unit 10)
In the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, an exhaust unit 10 is arranged above the processing chamber 5. The exhaust unit 10 is configured to exhaust the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 5. Although shown briefly in FIG. 3, in the exhaust unit 10, an exhaust port 11A is provided on the ceiling of the processing chamber 5. One end of the exhaust pipe 11 is connected to the exhaust port 11A.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the present embodiment, a total of four exhaust ports 11A to 11D are arranged at four locations corresponding to the four corners of the ceiling of the processing chamber 5. Explaining with reference to FIG. 4, when the processing chamber 5 is viewed from the transport chamber 4, the exhaust port 11A is arranged in the right front corner of the ceiling portion, and the exhaust port 11B is arranged in the right back corner. Further, the exhaust port 11C is arranged in the front corner on the left side of the ceiling portion, and the exhaust port 11D is arranged in the back corner on the left side. By arranging the exhaust ports 11A to 11D particularly at the four corners of the ceiling portion, the "heat retention" in the upper space inside the processing chamber 5 is reduced and the exhaust efficiency is improved despite the small number. be able to.
The exhaust ports may be arranged at at least one place, but the exhaust efficiency can be improved by arranging the exhaust ports at two or more places.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the other ends of the exhaust pipes 11 having one ends connected to the exhaust ports 11A to 11D are assembled into one exhaust pipe 11. As conceptually shown in FIG. 3, this one exhaust pipe 11 is connected to the vacuum pump 14 by sequentially interposing the valve 12 and the pressure regulator 13 in series. The valve 12 is used as an on-off valve. As the pressure regulator 13, for example, a pressure control controller (APC: Adaptive Pressure Control) valve that controls the valve opening degree according to the pressure inside the processing chamber 5 is used.
Here, the pressure regulator 13 is not limited to the pressure control controller valve as long as the exhaust amount can be adjusted based on the pressure information inside the processing chamber 5, and the pressure regulator 13 is not limited to the pressure control controller valve. May be used in combination. The pressure information is acquired from the pressure sensor 15 arranged on the top plate of the processing chamber 5.

In the present embodiment, the exhaust unit 10 includes exhaust ports 11A to 11D, an exhaust pipe 11, a valve 12, and a pressure regulator 13 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. Further, the exhaust unit 10 may be further configured to include a vacuum pump 14. Here, the exhaust unit 10 conceptually shown in FIG. 3 is arranged above the processing chamber 5, but in reality, as shown in FIG. 4, the exhaust pipe 11 of the exhaust unit 10 processes. It is assembled in the upper part of the chamber 5 and piped downward along the outer wall of the case 53. A valve 12 and a pressure regulator 13 are arranged in the middle of the piping of the exhaust pipe 11, and the exhaust pipe 11 is laid out to be connected to the vacuum pump 14.
In the description of the present embodiment, the exhaust unit 10 may be described simply as an "exhaust system" or simply an "exhaust line".

(Structure of gas introduction unit 20)
As shown in FIG. 3, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the gas introduction unit 20 is arranged below the processing chamber 5. More specifically, the gas introduction section 20 includes a supply pipe 21 having one end connected to a supply port 21A arranged on a side wall different from the carry-in / carry-out port 57H of the carry-in / carry-out section 57. The supply port 21A is arranged below the exhaust port 11A of the exhaust pipe 11. At the other end of the supply pipe 21, a valve 22 and a mass flow controller (MFC) 23 are sequentially interposed in series and connected to a gas supply source (not shown). The valve 22 is, for example, an on-off valve. The MFC 23 is a flow rate controller. The gas supply source supplies a processing gas required for processing various substrates such as an inert gas, a raw material gas, and a reaction gas, and the supplied processing gas is supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 5. Here, as the inert gas, specifically, nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply source to the inside of the processing chamber 5.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the gas introduction unit 20 further includes a supply pipe 21 having one end connected to a supply port 24A arranged in the vertical intermediate portion of the case 53. The supply port 24A is located on the lower side of the exhaust port 11A of the exhaust pipe 11 and on the upper side of the supply port 21A of the supply pipe 21. At the other end of the supply pipe 24, a valve (not shown) equivalent to the valve 22 and an MFC 23 are sequentially interposed in series and connected to a gas supply source (not shown). This gas supply source is the same gas supply source as the gas supply source to which the supply pipe 21 is connected. As described above, a part of the gas introduction section 20 including the supply pipe 24 and the MFC 23 is configured as an intermediate gas introduction section.
The supply port 24A is composed of an aggregate of a plurality of through holes formed in a rectangular region here on the side wall of the case 53. That is, the supply port 24A is formed in a mesh shape. Nitrogen gas supplied from the supply port 24A to the inside of the processing chamber 5, for example, is uniformly spread inside the processing chamber 5, so that it is in the plane of the wafer 2 held by the boat 8 or a plurality of wafers 2. Can be uniformly treated.

When a plurality of types of gas are supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 5 during substrate processing, another type of gas is introduced into the supply pipe 21 between the processing chamber 5 and the valve 22 shown in FIG. The supply pipe is connected. A valve and an MFC are sequentially interposed in series from the downstream side to the upstream side, and other types of gas supply sources are connected to the supply pipe.
Further, it may be provided with supply pipes laid in parallel which are directly connected to the processing chamber 5 from gas supply sources for supplying a plurality of types of gases, and a valve and an MFC may be arranged in each supply pipe.

In the present embodiment, the gas introduction unit 20 includes the supply pipe 21, the valve 22, and the MFC 23 shown in FIG. Further, the gas introduction unit 20 may be configured to include a gas supply source (not shown). Further, the gas introduction unit 20 may be configured to include a supply pipe 24 as an intermediate gas introduction unit shown in FIG. 5, a valve (not shown), and an MFC 23 (and a gas supply source).
In addition to nitrogen gas, rare gases such as argon (Ar) gas, helium (He) gas, neon (Ne) gas, and xenon (Xe) gas are used as the inert gas supplied by the gas introduction unit 20. Can be used.

(Structure of temperature measuring unit 16)
As shown in FIG. 3, the ceiling portion of the processing chamber 5 is sealed by the cap flange 55, and the temperature measuring portion 16 is arranged on the cap flange 55. A non-contact temperature sensor is used in the temperature measuring unit 16. The temperature measuring unit 16 measures the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 to generate temperature information, and the flow rate of the cooling gas introduced from the gas introducing unit 20 is adjusted based on the internal temperature information of the processing chamber 5. Further, the temperature measuring unit 16 measures the temperature of the wafer 2 to generate temperature information, and the output of the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 and the like are adjusted based on the temperature information of the wafer 2. As a result, the heating temperature of the wafer 2 is adjusted, and the temperature distribution inside the processing chamber 5, that is, the temperature distribution of the wafer 2 is optimized. For the temperature sensor as the temperature measuring unit 16, for example, an infrared thermometer (IR) can be practically used. The radiation thermometer measures the surface temperature of the wafer 2. When the boat 8 is provided with the susceptor 81, the radiation thermometer measures the surface surface degree of the susceptor 81.

In the description of the present embodiment, the temperature of the wafer 2 (wafer temperature) is used to mean the wafer temperature converted by the temperature conversion data, that is, the estimated wafer temperature. Further, the temperature of the wafer 2 may be used to mean the temperature obtained by directly measuring the temperature of the wafer 2 using the temperature measuring unit 16. Furthermore, it may be used in both senses.

The temperature conversion data is stored in advance in the storage device 103 of the control unit 100 as the storage unit shown in FIG. 7 or the external storage device 105 installed outside the control unit 100. The temperature conversion data is data that acquires the transition of the temperature change for each of the susceptor 81 and the wafer 2 shown in FIG. 3, and shows the correlation between the temperature of the susceptor 81 and the temperature of the wafer 2 derived from this transition. ..
If such temperature conversion data is created in advance, the temperature of the wafer 2 can be estimated by measuring only the temperature of the susceptor 81. Then, based on the estimated temperature of the wafer 2, the output of the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 can be adjusted to adjust the processing temperature.

The temperature measuring unit 16 is not limited to the above-mentioned radiation thermometer. For example, as the temperature measuring means, the temperature may be measured by a thermometer using a thermocouple, or the temperature may be measured by using this thermometer in combination with a non-contact thermometer. However, when a thermometer using a thermocouple is used, the thermocouple itself is heated by the microwave generated from the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 because the thermocouple is arranged in the vicinity of the wafer 2 and the temperature is measured. , It becomes difficult to measure the temperature accurately. Therefore, a non-contact thermometer can be practically used as the temperature measuring unit 16.

Further, the location of the temperature measuring unit 16 is not limited to the cap flange 55. For example, the temperature measuring unit 16 may be arranged on the mounting table 56. Further, the temperature measuring unit 16 is not only directly arranged on the cap flange 55 or the mounting table 56, but also uses a mirror or the like to emit light from a measurement window (not shown) provided on the cap flange 55 or the mounting table 56. The temperature may be measured by reflecting the reflected light and indirectly measuring the reflected light. Further, the temperature measuring unit 16 is not limited to one arranged in the processing chamber 5, and a plurality of temperature measuring units 16 may be arranged in the processing chamber 5.

(Structure of electromagnetic wave supply unit 90)
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, on the side opposite to the transport chamber 4 side, an electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B penetrating the inside and the outside of the processing chamber 5 is arranged on the side wall of the case 53 of the processing chamber 5. Has been done. As shown in FIG. 5, here, two electromagnetic wave introduction ports 90B are arranged in the vertical direction and two in the horizontal direction, for a total of four. The electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B is formed in a rectangular shape with the left-right direction as the longitudinal direction when viewed from the transport chamber 4 toward the processing chamber 5. The number and shape of the electromagnetic wave introduction ports 90B are not particularly limited.
One end of the waveguide 90A is connected to the electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B, and the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is connected to the other end of the waveguide 90A. Here, microwave generators 91 and 92 are used in the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90. A microwave generator 91 is connected to the electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B arranged on the upper side of the processing chamber 5 through a waveguide 90A. The microwave generated by using the microwave generator 91 is supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 5 through the waveguide 90A and the electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B. A microwave generator 92 is connected to the electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B arranged on the lower side of the processing chamber 5 through a waveguide 90A. The microwave generated by the microwave generator 92 is supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 5 through the waveguide 90A and the electromagnetic wave introduction port 90B.

As the microwave generators 91 and 92, magnetrons, klystrons and the like can be used. The microwaves generated by the microwave generators 91 and 92 are controlled in the frequency range of 13.56 MHz or more and 24.125 GHz or less. Preferably, the microwave is controlled to a frequency below 2.45 GHz or 5.8 GHz.
Here, the microwave generators 91 and 92 generate microwaves having the same frequency, but may be configured to generate microwaves having different frequencies. Further, the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 may be provided with one microwave generator in one processing chamber 5, or may be configured with two, three, or five or more microwave generators. .. Further, the microwave generators 91 and 92 may be arranged on the opposite side walls of the processing chamber 5.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is connected to the control unit (controller) 100. To explain in a little more detail, as shown in FIG. 7, the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is connected to the control unit 100, and the control unit 100 is connected to the temperature measurement unit 16. When the temperature of the wafer 2 (internal temperature of the processing chamber 5) is measured by the temperature measuring unit 16 in the processing chamber 5, the measured internal temperature is transmitted to the control unit 100 as temperature information. In the control unit 100, the outputs of the microwave generators 91 and 92 are adjusted based on the temperature information, and the heating temperature of the wafer 2 (processing temperature of the wafer 2) is adjusted.
As a method of adjusting the output of the microwave generators 91 and 92, either a method of adjusting the input voltage level or a method of adjusting the input voltage period (ratio of the power ON time and the power OFF time) can be used. ..

Here, the microwave generators 91 and 92 are controlled by the same control signal transmitted from the control unit 100. The microwave generators 91 and 92 may be configured to individually control by transmitting individual control signals from the control unit 100.

(Structure of purge gas circulation structure of processing chamber 5)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a purge gas circulation structure is provided in the transport chamber 4 adjacent to the processing chamber 5 as a mechanism for circulating the purge gas inside the transport chamber 4. As shown in FIG. 6, the transport chamber 4 includes a purge gas supply mechanism 401 and a pressure control mechanism 430. The purge gas supply mechanism 401 is configured to supply an inert gas or air (fresh air) as a purge gas into a duct formed around the transport chamber 4. The pressure control mechanism 430 controls the pressure inside the transport chamber 4. In the purge gas circulation structure, the oxygen concentration inside the transport chamber 4 can be adjusted by providing the purge gas supply mechanism 401 and the pressure control mechanism 430.
Above the clean unit 11 installed inside the transport chamber 4 (upstream side of the purge gas circulation path), a detection unit 422 constituting a purge gas circulation structure is provided. The clean unit 11 includes a filter for removing particles such as dust and impurities existing inside the transport chamber 4, and a blower (fan) 420 for blowing purge gas.
The detection unit 422 detects the oxygen concentration. Further, the detection unit 422 may be configured to detect the water concentration in addition to the oxygen concentration.
As the inert gas as the purge gas, the same type of gas as the inert gas supplied to the inside of the treatment chamber 5 can be used.

The pressure control mechanism 430 includes an adjusting damper 434 that holds the inside of the transport chamber 4 at a predetermined pressure, and an exhaust damper 435 that can adjust the exhaust passage 414 to fully open or fully closed. The adjustment damper 434 includes an auto damper (back pressure valve) 431 that opens when the pressure inside the transport chamber 4 becomes higher than a predetermined pressure, and a press damper 432 that controls the opening and closing of the auto damper 431. By controlling the opening and closing of the adjustment damper 434 and the exhaust damper 435 in this way, the inside of the transport chamber 4 can be controlled to an arbitrary pressure.

In the present embodiment, one clean unit 11 is arranged on the left and right sides of the ceiling of the transport chamber 4 in FIG. A perforated plate 403 as a rectifying plate for adjusting the flow of purge gas is installed in the vertical intermediate portion of the transport chamber 4 around the transfer machine 7. For the perforated plate 403, for example, a punching panel having a plurality of through holes in a stainless steel plate material is used.
By providing the perforated plate 403, the space inside the transport chamber 4 is divided into a first space 401 as an upper space and a second space 402 as a lower space. That is, inside the transport chamber 4, a first space 401 used as a wafer transport region is formed in the space between the ceiling portion and the perforated plate 403, and between the perforated plate 403 and the floor surface of the transport chamber 4. A second space 402 used as a gas exhaust region is formed in the space.

Inside the transport chamber 4, one suction unit 412 is arranged on each of the left and right sides in FIG. 7 with the transfer machine 7 interposed therebetween in the lower part of the second space 402. The suction unit 412 circulates the purge gas that has flowed inside the transport chamber 4, and further exhausts the gas.
Further, a circulation path 411 and an exhaust passage 413 are arranged in the wall surface of the transport housing 41, that is, between the outer wall surface and the inner wall surface of the transport housing 41. The circulation path 411 and the exhaust path 413 form a circulation path for purge gas. The circulation path 411 is a circulation path connecting the clean unit 11 and the suction unit 412. The circulation paths 411 are arranged in pairs on the left and right in FIG. The exhaust passage 413 is a circulation path connecting the suction portion 412 and the pressure control mechanism 430.
A cooling mechanism (radiator) (not shown) can be arranged in the circulation path. If a cooling mechanism is provided, the temperature of the purge gas circulated in the circulation path can be controlled.

The circulation path is branched from the suction section 412 into a circulation path 411 and an exhaust path 413. The circulation path 411 is a flow path that is connected to the upstream side of the clean unit 11 and supplies purge gas to the inside of the transport chamber 4 again to circulate. The pair of left and right exhaust passages 413 are gathered in one external exhaust passage 414 at the lower part of the transport chamber 4, and the external exhaust passages 414 are connected to the pressure control mechanism 430. The circulated purge gas is exhausted from the pressure control mechanism 430 to the outside of the transport chamber 4.

The operation of the purge gas circulation structure is as follows. In FIG. 6, the flow of purge gas is schematically shown with arrows.
For example, nitrogen gas as a purge gas is introduced into the inside of the transport chamber 4 from the purge gas supply mechanism 401. Nitrogen gas is supplied from the ceiling of the transport chamber 4 to the inside of the transport chamber 4 through the clean unit 11. A downflow DF is formed inside the transport chamber 4. Inside the transport chamber 4, a perforated plate 403 is provided, and the upper side of the perforated plate 403 is the first space 401 and the lower side of the perforated plate 403 is the second space 402. Therefore, the first space 401 and the second space 402 A differential pressure is generated between and. The pressure in the first space 401 is higher than the pressure in the second space 402.
By adopting such a partition structure, it is possible to effectively suppress or prevent the scattering of particles generated from the drive unit of the transfer machine elevator 74 or the like into the wafer transfer region below the tweeter 71. Further, inside the transport chamber 4, the flying of particles from the floor surface to the first space 401 can be effectively suppressed or prevented.

The nitrogen gas that has flowed from the first space 401 to the second space 402 by the downflow DF is sucked out from the transport chamber 4 through the suction unit 412. A blower 420 is used to suck out the nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas sucked out from the transport chamber 4 is divided into two circulation paths, a circulation path 411 and an exhaust path 413, downstream of the suction section 412. The nitrogen gas separated into the circulation path 411 flows above the transport housing 41 and is circulated inside the transport chamber 4 through the clean unit 11.
On the other hand, the nitrogen gas diverted into the exhaust passage 413 flows below the transport housing 41 and is exhausted to the outside of the transport chamber 4 through the external exhaust passage 414.

Here, the blower 420 promotes the suction of nitrogen gas to the suction unit 412. When the conductance of the circulation passage 411 and the exhaust passage 413 is small, the flow of nitrogen gas is improved by using the blower 420, the circulation efficiency of nitrogen gas is improved, and the downflow DF of the circulated nitrogen gas is generated. It can be made easier.
In such a purge gas circulation structure, the purge gas is circulated in two left and right circulation paths and further exhausted, so that a uniform flow of the purge gas can be generated inside the transport chamber 4.
The purge gas circulation structure is composed of a purge gas supply mechanism 401, a clean unit 11, and a circulation path including a circulation path 411 and an exhaust path 413 as main components. At least one of the pressure control mechanism 430, the external exhaust passage 414, the adjustment damper 434, the exhaust damper 435, the suction part 412, the first space 401, the second space 402, and the blower 420 is the main one for constructing the purge gas circulation structure. It may be included as a component.

Here, in the purge gas circulation structure, the control of circulating nitrogen gas inside the transport chamber 4 may be performed by opening / closing control of the adjustment damper 434 and the exhaust damper 435. For example, in the purge gas circulation structure, nitrogen gas can be circulated inside the transport chamber 4 by controlling the auto damper 431 and the press damper 432 in the open state and the exhaust damper 435 in the closed state. At this time, the nitrogen gas flowing in the exhaust passage 413 may be retained in the exhaust passage 413, or may be controlled to flow in the circulation passage 411. If a cooling unit is provided inside the transport chamber 4, the circulated purge gas can be cooled.

Here, in the processing using the substrate processing apparatus 1, the internal pressure of the pod 3, the internal pressure of the transport chamber 4, and the internal pressure of the processing chamber 5 are all atmospheric pressure or 10 Pa to 200 Pa (gauge) than the atmospheric pressure. Pressure) is adjusted to a high pressure. Further, it is preferable that the internal pressure of the transport chamber 4 is adjusted to be higher than the internal pressure of the processing chamber 5, and the internal pressure of the processing chamber 5 is adjusted to be higher than the internal pressure of the pod 3.

(Structure of Control Unit 100)
As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a random access memory (RAM: Random Access Memory) 102, a storage device 103, and an input / output (I / O) port. It is configured to include 104. That is, the control unit 100 is configured as a computer. Here, in the description of the present embodiment, the central arithmetic processing unit 101 is described as CPU 101, the random access memory 102 is described as RAM 102, and the input / output port 104 is described as I / O port 104.
The CPU 101 is connected to each of the RAM 102, the storage device 103, and the I / O port 104 through the internal bus 110, and can transmit and receive information to and from each other. The input / output device 106 is connected to the control unit 100 through the internal bus 110. As the input / output device 106, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like can be used. For the storage device 103, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk (HDD: Hard Disk Drive), or the like can be used.

The storage device 103 readablely stores a control program, a process recipe, and the like that control the board processing operation of the board processing device 1. The process recipe describes the procedure, conditions, etc. of the annealing process, and is a program (software) in which each procedure in the substrate process is executed by the control unit 100 to obtain a predetermined result. ) Functions.
In the description of the present embodiment, the control program, the process recipe, and the like are collectively referred to as "program". In addition, the process recipe may be simply described as "recipe". Here, the term "program" is used in the sense of including only the recipe alone, the control program alone, or both. The RAM 102 is used as a memory area (work area) for temporarily storing programs, data, and the like read by the CPU 101.

The I / O port 104 includes an MFC 23, a valve 22, a pressure sensor 15, a pressure regulator 13, an electromagnetic wave supply unit 90, a temperature measurement unit 16, a vacuum pump 14, a gate valve 43, a drive mechanism 59, a pressure control mechanism 430, and the like. Connected to each. An external bus 111 is used for these connections.

The CPU 101 of the control unit 100 reads and executes the control program from the storage device 103, and also reads the recipe from the storage device 103 in response to an operation command or the like input from the input / output device 106.
The CPU 101 performs a flow rate adjusting operation of various gases using the MFC 23, an opening / closing operation of the valve 243, a pressure adjusting operation using the pressure regulator 22 based on the pressure sensor 15, and a vacuum pump 14 according to the contents of the read recipe. Executes each of start and stop of. Further, the CPU 101 executes an output adjustment operation of the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 based on the temperature measurement unit 16. Further, the CPU 101 executes a rotation operation, a rotation speed adjustment operation, an elevating operation, and the like of the mounting table 56 (or the boat 8) by the drive mechanism 59.

In the control unit 100, the program stored in the external storage device 105 is installed. As the external storage device 105, for example, a magnetic disk such as a hard disk, an optical disk such as a magneto-optical disk (MO: Magneto-Optic disk), or a compact disk (CD: Compact Disk) is used. Further, as the external storage device 105, a semiconductor memory such as a universal serial bus (USB) memory can be used.
Here, the storage device 103 and the external storage device 105 are recording media on which programs, data, and the like can be read or read and written, and may be generically simply referred to as “recording media”. In the description of the present embodiment, the recording medium is used in the sense that the storage device 103 alone, the external storage device 105 alone, or both are included. The program may be provided to the control unit 100 by using a communication means such as the Internet or a dedicated line without using the storage device 103 or the external storage device 105.

(Board processing method)
Next, the substrate processing method by the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, as a substrate processing method, a modification method (crystallization method) of an amorphous silicon film formed on a wafer (substrate) 2, which is one step of a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device (device), is performed. explain. Here, each component of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 controls its operation by using the control unit 100 shown in FIG. 7.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a plurality of processing chambers 51 and 52, and the same processing is executed in each of the processing chambers 51 and 52 based on the same recipe. Therefore, regarding the processing using one of the processing chambers 51. The description using the other processing chamber 52 will be omitted.

In the description of the present embodiment, the "wafer 2" is used to mean the wafer 2 itself or the wafer 2 on which a predetermined monolayer film or laminated film is formed on the surface. The "surface of the wafer 2" is used to mean the surface of the wafer 2 itself, or the surface of a single-layer film or a laminated film formed on the wafer 2. Further, "forming a predetermined layer on the surface of the wafer 2" means that a predetermined layer is directly formed on the surface of the wafer 2 itself, or is predetermined on the surface of a single-layer film or a laminated film formed on the wafer 2. It is used in the sense of forming a layer of. Further, "wafer 2" is used as a synonym for "board".

(1) Substrate take-out step (step S1)
In the transfer chamber 4 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the transfer machine 7 takes out a predetermined number of wafers 2 to be processed from the pod 3 opened by the load port unit 6, and either one of the tweezers 71 and 72. Alternatively, the wafer 2 is placed on both sides.

(2) Substrate loading process (step S2)
The wafer 2 placed on one or both of the tweezers 71 and 72 is carried into the predetermined processing chamber 5 (boat loaded) by the opening / closing operation of the gate valve 43 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. ). Here, the boat 8 is lowered to the loading / unloading section 57 of the processing chamber 5, and the wafer 2 is held by the boat 8. The wafer 2 held by the boat 8 is brought into the processing chamber 5 by raising the mounting table 56 by the drive mechanism 59.

(3) In-core pressure and temperature adjustment step (step S3)
The inside of the processing chamber 5 (inside the furnace) is adjusted to a predetermined pressure. For example, the pressure is adjusted from 10 Pa to 102000 Pa. Specifically, while the inside of the processing chamber 5 is exhausted by the vacuum pump 14, the valve opening degree of the pressure regulator 13 is feedback-controlled based on the pressure information detected by the pressure sensor 15, and the inside of the processing chamber 5 is controlled. It is adjusted to a predetermined pressure.
At the same time, the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is controlled as preheating, and the inside of the processing chamber 5 is heated to a predetermined temperature by transmitting microwaves from the microwave generators 91 and 92. When raising the temperature to a predetermined substrate processing temperature, it is preferable that the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 raises the temperature at an output smaller than the output in the reforming step, which is a subsequent step, in order to prevent deformation or breakage of the wafer 2.
When the substrate is processed under atmospheric pressure, the pressure inside the processing chamber 5 is not adjusted, only the temperature inside the processing chamber 5 is adjusted, and then the process proceeds to the next inert gas supply step (step S4). It may be a control to shift.

(4) Inert gas supply step (step S4)
When the pressure inside the processing chamber 5 and the temperature are adjusted to predetermined values by the pressure inside the furnace and the temperature adjusting step, the drive mechanism 59 shown in FIG. 3 rotates the shaft 58 to rotate the shaft 58 and the boat on the mounting table 56. The wafer 2 held by 8 is rotated. At this time, the supply of the inert gas as the cooling gas from the gas introduction unit 20 to the inside of the processing chamber 5 is started. For example, nitrogen gas is used as the inert gas. Nitrogen gas is supplied from a gas supply source (not shown) into the carry-in / carry-out portion 57 at the lower part of the processing chamber 5 through the supply port 21A of the supply pipe 21 via the mass flow controller 23 and the valve 22.
On the other hand, the operation of the exhaust unit 10 shown in FIG. 3 is started, and the atmosphere inside the processing chamber 5 is exhausted. More specifically, the operation of the vacuum pump 14 is started in the exhaust unit 10, the valve 12 and the pressure regulator 13 are interposed, and the atmosphere is exhausted by the vacuum pump 14 from the exhaust ports 11A to 11D through the exhaust pipe 11. The pressure inside the processing chamber 5 is adjusted to 10 Pa or more and 102000 Pa or less, preferably 101300 Pa or more and 102000 Pa or less.
The inert gas supply step may be started when the microwave supply is started from the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 in the reforming step described later.

(5) Start of reforming process (step S5)
When the inside of the processing chamber 5 is maintained at a predetermined pressure, microwaves are supplied from the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 to the inside of the processing chamber 5. By supplying microwaves, the wafer 2 is heated to a temperature of 100 ° C. or higher and 1000 ° C. or lower, preferably 400 ° C. or higher and 900 ° C. or lower. Further, it is preferable to heat the wafer 2 to a temperature of 500 ° C. or higher and 700 ° C. or lower.
By carrying out the substrate treatment in such a temperature range, the wafer 2 efficiently absorbs microwaves, so that the speed of the reforming treatment can be improved. In other words, if the wafer 2 is processed at a temperature lower than 100 ° C. or higher than 1000 ° C., the surface of the wafer 2 is deteriorated and microwaves are difficult to be absorbed. It becomes difficult to heat efficiently.

Here, when the supply of microwaves to the inside of the processing chamber 5 is started, this timing is matched, and as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the cooling gas is introduced into the inside of the processing chamber 5 from the intermediate gas introduction portion. Nitrogen gas is supplied as. That is, nitrogen gas is supplied into the processing chamber 5 from the gas supply source through the supply port 24A of the supply pipe 24 with the MFC 23 and the valve (not shown) interposed therebetween.
When the supply of microwaves is started, the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 rises sharply. In addition to the supply of the cooling gas from the gas introduction section 20 to the inside of the treatment chamber 5, the cooling gas is supplied to the inside of the treatment chamber 5 from the intermediate gas introduction section to eliminate the heat buildup in the upper part of the treatment chamber 5. It can be effectively suppressed or prevented.

In the microwave heating method, a standing wave is generated in the processing chamber 5, and a heating concentration region (hot spot) where the wafer 2 is locally heated and a region where the wafer is not heated (non-heating region) are generated. , Wafer 2 is deformed. Here, the susceptors 81 and 82 of the boat 8 are also deformed in the same manner as the wafer 2. In order to suppress such deformation, ON / OFF control of the power supply of the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is performed.
At this time, if the power supplied by the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90 is set to a low output and the influence of hot spots is reduced, the deformation of the wafer 2 can be effectively suppressed. In this case, since the energy applied to the wafer 2 and the susceptors 81 and 82 is reduced, the temperature rise temperature is reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to lengthen the heating time.

(6) Temperature measurement (step S6)
The internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 is measured using the temperature measuring unit 16 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Here, a non-contact temperature sensor is used in the temperature measuring unit 16, and the processing temperature is controlled based on the temperature information measured by the temperature measuring unit 16. When the wafer 2 to be measured by temperature is deformed or damaged, the position of the wafer 2 monitored by the temperature measuring unit 16 and the measurement angle with respect to the wafer 2 change, so that the measured value (monitor value) becomes inaccurate and the measurement is performed. The temperature changes abruptly. Here, the susceptors 81 and 82 of the boat 8 are also deformed in the same manner as the wafer 2. Therefore, the temperature information is used as a trigger to control the ON / OFF of the power supply of the electromagnetic wave supply unit 90, and the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 is adjusted.

In the storage device 103 as the storage unit shown in FIG. 7, the upper limit threshold value and the lower limit threshold value of the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 are stored in advance. Then, the flow rate of the cooling gas supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 into the processing chamber 5 is adjusted based on the temperature information obtained from the temperature measurement unit 16.
FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit 16 and the processing time, and the relationship between the temperature change state and the flow rate [slm] of the nitrogen gas adjusted by using the MFC23. When the internal temperature is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold value and equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold value, a predetermined flow rate of nitrogen gas is supplied to the inside of the processing chamber 5. The measured temperature is represented by a horizontal arrow, in which, for example, a predetermined flow rate of 5 slm of nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 into the processing chamber 5.
Here, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 exceeds the upper limit threshold value (step S7). When the upper limit threshold value is exceeded, a cooling gas larger than the predetermined flow rate is supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 into the processing chamber 5 (step S8). When the upper limit threshold value is exceeded (the position indicated by the reference numeral P2 in FIG. 9), the measured temperature has risen as indicated by the upward arrow, so that the nitrogen gas supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 The flow rate is adjusted a lot. Here, the flow rate of nitrogen gas is increased to 10 slm. As a result, the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 can be lowered to optimize the substrate processing temperature, and the heat buildup in the upper part of the processing chamber 5 can be effectively suppressed.

In step S7, when the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 does not exceed the upper limit threshold value, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 does not reach the lower limit threshold value (step S9). If the lower limit is not reached, a cooling gas smaller than the predetermined flow rate is supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 to the inside of the processing chamber 5 (step S10). When the lower limit threshold value is not reached (the position indicated by the reference numeral P1 in FIG. 9), the measurement temperature is lowered as indicated by the downward arrow, so that the nitrogen gas supplied from the gas introduction unit 20 The flow rate is adjusted to be small. Here, the flow rate of nitrogen gas is reduced to 2 slm. As a result, the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 can be raised, and the substrate processing temperature can be optimized.
The procedures for determining the upper limit threshold value of the internal temperature and determining the lower limit threshold value may be reversed.

Further, when the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 is less than the lower limit threshold value, the supply of the cooling gas from the intermediate gas introduction portion shown in FIG. 5 to the inside of the processing chamber 5 may be stopped. As a result, the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 can be raised, and the substrate processing temperature can be optimized.

By executing the reforming step, the wafer 2 is heated, and the amorphous silicon film formed on the surface of the wafer 2 is reformed (crystallized) into a polysilicon film. That is, a uniformly crystallized polysilicon film can be formed on the wafer 2.
Then, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the reforming step is completed (step S11). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the preset processing time has elapsed, and if the predetermined time has not elapsed, that is, if the reforming step has not been completed, the process returns to step S7.
On the other hand, when a predetermined time elapses, the rotation of the boat 8, the supply of cooling gas, the supply of microwaves, and the exhaust inside the processing chamber 5 are stopped, and the reforming process is completed.

(7) Inert gas supply step (step S12)
When it is determined in step S11 that the reforming step is completed, the internal pressure of the processing chamber 5 is adjusted by adjusting at least one of the pressure regulator 13 in the processing chamber 5 and the pressure control mechanism 430 in the transport chamber 4. Is adjusted to be lower than the internal pressure of the transport chamber 4. Then, the gate valve 43 is opened. As a result, the purge gas circulating inside the transport chamber 4 is exhausted from the lower part to the upper part of the processing chamber 5, and the heat buildup in the upper part of the processing chamber 5 can be effectively suppressed.

(8) Substrate unloading step (step S13)
Since the gate valve 43 is opened, the processing chamber 5 and the transport chamber 4 are spatially communicated with each other. After that, the wafer 2 after the reforming process held in the boat 8 is carried out to the transfer chamber 4 by the tweezers 71 and 72 of the transfer machine 7.

(9) Substrate cooling step (step S14)
The wafer 2 carried out by the tweezers 71 and 72 is moved to the cooling area by the continuous operation of the transfer device 73 and the transfer device elevator 74, and is placed on the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B by the tweezers 71.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the cooling efficiency of the wafer 2 is improved by arranging the cooling area near the clean unit 11, that is, at a position facing at least a part of the purge gas outlet of the clean unit 11. Can be improved. Further, since a purge gas having a small amount of particles is used for cooling the wafer 2, the film quality of the surface of the wafer 2 or the thin film formed on the surface can be improved.
Further, the wafer cooling mounting tool 9B may include a disk-shaped top plate having a diameter equal to or larger than the diameter of the wafer 2 above the wafer holding groove 9a on which the wafer 2 is placed. As a result, since the downflow DF from the clean unit 11 is not directly sprayed on the wafer 2, uniform cooling of the wafer 2 due to rapid cooling can be suppressed, and deformation of the wafer 2 can be effectively suppressed or prevented. Can be done.

By repeating the above operation, the wafer 2 is subjected to the reforming process, and the substrate processing step according to the present embodiment is completed.

Here, in the processing chamber 5 shown in FIG. 3 described above, the boat 8 holds three wafers 2 to perform substrate processing, but the number of wafers 2 is not limited. For example, as shown in the substrate processing sequence shown in FIG. 10, each of the boats 8 of the processing chambers 51 and 52 holds one wafer 2, and after performing the same substrate processing in parallel, the wafer 2 May be cooled.
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a swap process may be performed, and two wafers 2 may be subjected to a substrate process in each of the processing chambers 51 and 52. At this time, the transfer destination of the wafer 2 can be controlled so that the number of times of substrate processing performed in each of the processing chambers 51 and 52 is the same. When controlled in this way, the number of times the substrate processing is performed in each of the processing chambers 51 and 52 becomes constant, and maintenance and inspection work such as maintenance can be efficiently performed. For example, when the wafer 2 is previously conveyed to the processing chamber 51, the number of times the substrate processing is performed in each of the processing chambers 51 and 52 is adjusted by setting the destination of the wafer 2 to be conveyed next to the processing chamber 52. Can be done.

(Effect of this embodiment)
According to this embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the present embodiment, the processing chamber 5, the boat 8, the microwave generators 91 and 92, the temperature measuring unit 16, the gas introducing unit 20, the exhaust unit 10, and the storage device 103 (FIG. 9). (See) and the control unit 100. The processing chamber 5 processes the wafer 2. The boat 8 is arranged inside the processing chamber 5 and holds the wafer 2. The microwave generators 91 and 92 generate microwaves inside the processing chamber 5. The temperature measuring unit 16 measures the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5. The gas introduction unit 20 is arranged in the lower part of the processing chamber 5 and introduces the cooling gas into the processing chamber 5. The exhaust unit 10 is arranged above the processing chamber 5 and exhausts the cooling gas to the outside of the processing chamber 5.

Here, the storage device 103 stores the upper limit threshold value and the lower limit threshold value of the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5. The control unit 100 generates microwaves from the microwave generators 91 and 92 to heat-treat the wafer 2 in the processing chamber, measures the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 by the temperature measuring unit 16, and the internal temperature is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold value. In addition, when the temperature is equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold, a predetermined flow rate of cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber 5 from the gas introduction unit 20, and when the internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold value, the flow rate is larger than the predetermined flow rate from the gas introduction unit 20. The cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber 5, and when the internal temperature does not reach the lower limit threshold, the gas introduction unit 20 controls to introduce the cooling gas less than a predetermined flow rate into the processing chamber 5.
Therefore, the internal temperature of the processing chamber 5 is controlled within the range of the lower limit threshold value and the upper limit threshold value, the substrate processing can be performed within the optimized temperature range, and the heat buildup in the upper part of the processing chamber 5 is effectively suppressed. Alternatively, it can be prevented, so that the process reproducibility can be improved.

(2) In the present embodiment, the exhaust unit 10 can discharge the heat generated by the processing of the wafer 2 using microwaves together with the cooling gas in the processing chamber 5, so that the heat of the upper part of the processing chamber 5 can be discharged. The muffled can be effectively suppressed or prevented.

(3) In the present embodiment, the pressure regulator 13 for adjusting the pressure in the processing chamber, the transport chamber 4 adjacent to the treatment chamber 5 to which the cooling gas is supplied, and the initial force control for controlling the pressure in the transport chamber 4 are performed. The mechanism 430 is further provided with a gate valve 43 which is arranged between the transport chamber 4 and the processing chamber 5 and opens and closes when the wafer 2 is carried from the transport chamber 4 to the processing chamber 5. Then, the control unit 100 opens the gate valve 43 by adjusting the pressure regulator 13 or the pressure control mechanism 430 at least one of them so that the internal pressure of the processing chamber 5 is lower than the internal pressure of the transport chamber 4. , Control is performed so that the cooling gas supplied to the transport chamber 4 is introduced into the processing chamber 5.
Therefore, the cooling gas supplied to the transport chamber 4 can be used to effectively suppress or prevent heat buildup in the upper part of the treatment chamber 5.

(5) In the present embodiment, since the exhaust unit 10 is provided with exhaust pipes 11 connected to the four corners of the treatment chamber 5, heat buildup occurs in the upper corners of the treatment chamber 5 where heat buildup is likely to occur. It can be effectively suppressed or prevented.

(6) In the present embodiment, since the gas introduction portion is arranged in the lower part of the processing chamber 5, it forms a flow of the cooling gas from the lower part to the upper part of the processing chamber 5 and forms the upper part of the processing chamber 5. Heat buildup can be effectively suppressed or prevented.

(7) Since the present embodiment is disposed in the vertical intermediate portion of the side wall of the processing chamber 5 and further includes an intermediate gas introduction portion for introducing the cooling gas into the processing chamber 5, the substrate immediately after the heat treatment is provided. It is possible to effectively suppress the rapid temperature rise of.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist. For example, in the above embodiment, the process of modifying the amorphous silicon film formed on the wafer 2 into a polysilicon film has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this example.

More specifically, the present invention supplies a gas containing at least one of oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), carbon (C), and hydrogen (H) to modify the film formed on the substrate surface. You may. For example, when a hafnium oxide film (HfxOy film) as a high dielectric film is formed on a wafer, defects in the funium oxide film are formed by supplying microwaves while supplying a gas containing oxygen and heating the wafer. Oxygen can be replenished to improve the characteristics of the high dielectric film. Although the hafnium oxide film is shown here, the present invention describes aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), tantalum (Ta), niobium (Nb), lanthanum (La), and cerium (Ce). ), Ittium (Y), Barium (Ba), Strontium (Sr), Calcium (Ca), Lead (Pb), Molybdenum (Mo), Tungsten (W) and other oxides containing metal elements, That is, it can be applied when modifying a metal oxide film.
That is, the above-mentioned film formation sequence includes TiOCN film, TiOC film, TiON film, TiO film, ZrOCN film, ZrOC film, ZrON film, ZrO film, HfOCN film, HfOC film, HfON film, and HfO formed on the wafer. Membrane, TaOCN Membrane, TaOC Membrane, TaON Membrane, TaO Membrane, NbOCN Membrane, NbOC Membrane, NbON Membrane, NbO Membrane, AlOCN Membrane, AlOC Membrane, AlON Membrane, AlO Membrane, MoOCN Membrane, MoOC Membrane, MoON Membrane, MoO Membrane, The present invention can also be applied when modifying a WOCN film, a WOC film, a WON film, or a WO film.

Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a high-dielectric film but also to a case of heating a film containing silicon as a main component doped with impurities. As the film containing silicon as a main component, a silicon nitride film (SiN film), a silicon oxide film (SiO film), a carbonized silicon acid film (SiOC film), a carbon dioxide nitride film (SiOCN film), and a silicon acid nitride film (SiON film) There is a Si-based oxide film such as (membrane). The impurities include, for example, at least one or more of boron (B), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As) and the like.

The present invention can be applied to a resist film based on at least one of a methyl methacrylate resin (PMMA: Polymethylmethacrylate, epoxy resin, novolak resin, polyvinyl phenyl resin, etc.).

The present invention can also be applied to a technique for processing a substrate, such as a patterning process in a liquid crystal panel manufacturing process, a patterning process in a solar cell manufacturing process, and a patterning process in a power device manufacturing process.

1 Substrate processing device 2 Wafer 4 Conveyance room 5 Processing room 10 Exhaust unit 20 Gas introduction unit 90 Electromagnetic wave supply unit 91, 92 Microwave generator 100 Control unit 103 Storage device

Claims (9)

A processing room for processing the substrate and
A microwave generator that generates microwaves and
A temperature measuring unit that measures the internal temperature of the processing chamber,
A gas introduction unit that introduces cooling gas into the processing chamber and
An exhaust unit that exhausts the cooling gas to the outside of the processing chamber,
A storage unit that stores the upper and lower thresholds of the internal temperature of the processing chamber, and
When the microwave generated from the microwave generator is supplied to the substrate in the processing chamber and the internal temperature measured by the temperature measuring unit is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold and equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold. The cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber at a predetermined flow rate from the gas introduction unit, and when the measured internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold value, the cooling gas having a flow rate higher than the predetermined flow rate is treated from the gas introduction unit. The microwave generator and the above are introduced into the room, and when the measured internal temperature is less than the lower limit threshold, the cooling gas having a flow rate smaller than the predetermined flow rate is introduced into the processing chamber from the gas introduction unit. A control unit configured to control the gas introduction unit and
Board processing device equipped with. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust unit discharges heat generated by processing the substrate using the microwave together with the cooling gas inside the processing chamber. A claim in which the control unit controls the gas introduction unit so as to introduce the cooling gas from the gas introduction unit into the processing chamber when the microwave is generated from the microwave generator. The substrate processing apparatus according to 1. A pressure regulator that adjusts the pressure in the processing chamber and
A transport chamber to which the cooling gas is supplied and adjacent to the processing chamber,
A pressure control mechanism that controls the pressure in the transport chamber,
A gate valve, which is arranged between the transport chamber and the processing chamber and opens and closes when the substrate is carried from the transport chamber to the processing chamber, is further provided.
The control unit makes the pressure in the transport chamber higher than the pressure in the treatment chamber, opens the gate valve, and introduces the cooling gas supplied to the transport chamber into the inside of the treatment chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is configured to control at least one of a pressure regulator or the pressure control mechanism and the gate valve. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust unit includes exhaust pipes connected to the upper four corners of the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduction unit is arranged in the lower part of the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an intermediate gas introduction portion which is arranged in the vertical intermediate portion of the side wall of the processing chamber and which introduces the cooling gas into the processing chamber. The process of bringing the substrate into the processing chamber and
A step of heat-treating the substrate in the processing chamber with microwaves generated from the microwave generator while introducing cooling gas into the processing chamber.
The step of measuring the internal temperature of the upper part of the processing chamber and
When the internal temperature is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold value and equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold value, the cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber at a predetermined flow rate, and when the internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold value, the cooling gas is larger than the predetermined flow rate. And the step of introducing the cooling gas having a flow rate lower than the predetermined flow rate into the processing chamber when the internal temperature does not reach the lower limit threshold value.
A step of carrying out the substrate after the heat treatment from the processing chamber and
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device provided with. The procedure for bringing the board into the processing chamber of the board processing device and
A procedure for heat-treating the substrate with microwaves generated from a microwave generator while introducing cooling gas into the processing chamber, and
The procedure for measuring the internal temperature of the upper part of the processing chamber and
When the internal temperature is equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold value and equal to or lower than the upper limit threshold value, the cooling gas is introduced into the processing chamber at a predetermined flow rate, and when the internal temperature exceeds the upper limit threshold value, the cooling gas is larger than the predetermined flow rate. And the procedure of introducing the cooling gas having a flow rate lower than the predetermined flow rate into the processing chamber when the internal temperature is less than the lower limit threshold value.
The procedure for carrying out the substrate after the heat treatment from the processing chamber and
Is executed by the substrate processing apparatus using a computer.