KR100870119B1 - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cluster type substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method using the same, wherein a second processing chamber is provided between at least one first processing chamber and a facility front end module among the first processing chambers disposed around the transfer chamber And the substrate sequentially processed in the first and second processing chambers is transferred directly from the second processing chamber to the apparatus front end module.

According to this aspect, the present invention can provide a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of minimizing contamination due to movement of a substrate between facilities by continuously performing a series of processes in the substrate processing apparatus.

Clusters, deposition, etching, cleaning

Description

[0001] APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE [0002]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

2 is a view schematically showing the flow of a process using the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

Description of the Related Art

100: Equipment front end module

200: Process equipment

230: Treatment chamber

232: process chamber

235: Dry cleaning chamber

236: Wet cleaning chamber

238: Transfer chamber

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a cluster type substrate processing apparatus capable of collectively processing a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

As semiconductor devices become finer and more highly integrated, there is a demand for high precision and complexity of the process, large-scale wafer curing, and the like. In order to increase the complex process and improve the throughput accompanying the sintering process, A cluster type semiconductor manufacturing facility having a cluster type is widely used

Generally, a semiconductor device is manufactured by depositing various materials on a wafer in a thin film form and patterning the same. For this purpose, different processes such as a deposition process, an etching process, a cleaning process, and a drying process are required.

However, a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing facility generally used does not continuously process a series of unit processes in one facility. For example, once the deposition or etching process for a wafer is completed in one facility, the wafer must be transferred to another facility for subsequent cleaning and drying processes. This has the potential to contaminate the wafer when moving the wafer between individual process equipment.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method capable of continuously carrying out a series of processes for a wafer in one facility.

It is also an object of the present invention to minimize contamination of wafers due to movement of substrates between equipments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a processing chamber in which a substrate processing process is performed; A load lock chamber for receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring the substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; And a facility front end module disposed in front of the load lock chamber and transferring the substrate between the container accommodating the substrate and the load lock chamber, wherein the processing chambers are disposed in the process chambers and; And cleaning chambers for cleaning the processed substrates in the process chambers.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the cleaning chambers include a dry cleaning chamber for dry-cleaning the substrate; And a wet cleaning chamber for performing a wet cleaning process on the cleaned substrate in the dry cleaning chamber.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the dry cleaning chamber is disposed on the side of the transfer chamber, and the wet cleaning chamber is disposed such that one side is adjacent to the dry cleaning chamber and the other side is adjacent to the facility front end module .

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is preferable to further include a transfer chamber for transferring the substrate from the dry cleaning chamber to the dry cleaning chamber and the wet cleaning chamber, the transfer chamber being disposed adjacent to the dry cleaning chamber and the wet cleaning chamber.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a processing chamber in which a substrate processing process is performed; A load lock chamber for receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring the substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; And a facility front end module disposed in front of the load lock chamber and transferring the substrate between the container accommodating the substrate and the load lock chamber, wherein the processing chambers are disposed around the transfer chamber; And a second processing chamber disposed between the first processing chamber and the facility front end module of at least one of the first processing chambers.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the substrate processing apparatus is disposed between the second processing chamber and the first processing chamber disposed adjacent to the second processing chamber, And a transfer chamber for transferring the substrate.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of processing a substrate, the method comprising: transferring a substrate from a facility front end module to a load lock chamber; The substrate is transferred to the process chamber to form a pattern on the substrate and the substrate having been processed in the process chamber is transferred to a cleaning chamber disposed around the transfer chamber to clean the substrate. do.

In the method of processing a substrate according to the present invention having the features as described above, the cleaning chamber includes a dry cleaning chamber and a wet cleaning chamber, and the substrate processed in the processing chamber is subjected to a dry cleaning treatment in the dry cleaning chamber And the substrate treated in the dry cleaning chamber is subjected to a wet cleaning treatment in the wet cleaning chamber.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the dry cleaning chamber is disposed on the side of the transfer chamber, and the wet cleaning chamber is disposed so that one side is adjacent to the dry cleaning chamber and the other side is adjacent to the facility front end module And a substrate processed in the wet cleaning chamber is preferably transferred from the wet cleaning chamber to the apparatus front end module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Hereinafter, an apparatus and a method for processing a substrate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

(Example)

1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 has an equipment front end module (EFEM) 100 and a processing facility 200. The facility front end module 100 is mounted in front of the process facility 200 to transfer substrates between the container 112 containing the substrates and the process facility 200. The facility front end module 100 has a plurality of loadports 110 and a frame 120. The frame 120 is positioned between the load port 110 and the process facility 200. The vessel 112 for receiving the substrate is connected to the load port 110 by means of transfer means (not shown) such as an Overhead Transfer, an Overhead Conveyor, or an Automatic Guided Vehicle. Lt; / RTI > The container 112 may be a hermetically sealed container such as a front open unified pod. A frame robot 122 for transferring a substrate between the container 112 placed in the load port 110 and the process facility 200 is installed in the frame 120. [ In the frame 120, a door opener (not shown) for automatically opening and closing the door of the container 112 may be installed. The frame 120 may be provided with a fan filter unit (not shown) for supplying clean air into the frame 120 so that clean air flows from the upper portion to the lower portion of the frame 120.

In the processing facility 200, predetermined processes are performed on the substrate. The process facility 200 has a transfer chamber 210, a load lock chamber 220, and process chambers 230. The transfer chamber 210 has a generally polygonal shape when viewed from above. On the side surfaces of the transfer chamber 210, a load lock chamber 220 and process chambers 230 are located. The load lock chamber 220 is located on the side of the transfer chamber 210 that is adjacent to the facility front end module 100 and the processing chambers 230 are located on the other side. A transfer robot 212 for transferring substrates between the process chambers 230 or between the load lock chamber 220 and the process chambers 230 is installed inside the transfer chamber 210.

The load lock chamber 220 provides a space in which the substrates introduced into the process facility 200 temporarily stay for the process progress. The inside of the transfer chamber 210 and the processing chambers 230 are maintained in vacuum, and the inside of the load lock chamber 220 is switched to vacuum and atmospheric pressure. The load lock chamber 220 prevents external contaminants from entering the transfer chamber 220 and process chambers 230. A gate valve (not shown) is installed between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 210, and between the load lock chamber 220 and the equipment front end module 100. When the substrate is moved between the apparatus front end module 100 and the load lock chamber 220, the gate valve provided between the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber 210 is closed and the load lock chamber 220 and the transfer chamber The gate valve provided between the load lock chamber 220 and the facility front end module 100 is closed.

The process chambers 230 have process chambers 232 and cleaning chambers 234 located at the sides of the transfer chamber 210 having a polygonal shape. In the process chambers 232, a process for forming a pattern on the substrate proceeds. For example, in the process chambers 232, a process of depositing a thin film on a substrate or a process of etching a thin film deposited on a substrate may be performed. In the cleaning chambers 234, a process of cleaning the substrate having undergone the deposition or etching process in the process chambers 232 may be performed, and the cleaning process of the substrate may be performed by the dry cleaning process and the wet cleaning process.

The cleaning chambers 234 have a dry cleaning chamber 235 for dry cleaning the substrate and a wet cleaning chamber 236 for wet cleaning. The dry cleaning chamber 235 is disposed on the side of the transfer chamber 210. The dry cleaning chamber 235 processes the substrate using plasma, and the substrate cleaning process using the plasma may include a photoresist strip process.

The wet scrubbing chamber 236 is positioned such that one side is adjacent the dry scrubbing chamber 235 and the other side is adjacent to the equipment front end module 100. A transfer chamber 238 is disposed on the sides of the dry cleaning chamber 235 and the wet cleaning chamber 236. A second transfer robot 239 for transferring the substrate from the dry cleaning chamber 235 to the wet cleaning chamber 236 is provided inside the transfer chamber 238. The transfer chamber 238 may be disposed between the dry cleaning chamber 235 and the wet cleaning chamber 236. The wet cleaning chamber 236 receives the processed substrate in the dry cleaning chamber 235 through the transfer chamber 238 and performs the wet cleaning process on the substrate. The wet cleaning treatment of the substrate includes a chemical treatment of the substrate using a chemical liquid. In addition, the wet cleaning treatment of the substrate may include a step of rinsing the chemical-treated substrate with deionized water, and a step of drying the substrate by supplying a dry gas onto the rinsed substrate.

Dry cleaning and wet cleaning processes (or etching, dry cleaning and wet cleaning processes) on the substrate in the process chamber 232, dry cleaning chamber 235 and wet cleaning chamber 236, as described above, And the substrates on which the processes have been completed can be transferred directly from the wet cleaning chamber 236 to the equipment front end module 100. [

2 is a view schematically showing the flow of a process using the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, a substrate processing process using a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the frame robot 122 removes the substrate from the container 112 placed on the load port 110. [ The load lock chamber 220 is switched from the vacuum state to the atmospheric pressure state, and the frame robot 1122 transfers the substrate to the load lock chamber 220. The load lock chamber 220 is then switched from the atmospheric pressure state to the vacuum state and the first transfer robot 212 of the transfer chamber 210 transfers the substrate from the load lock chamber 220 to the process chamber 232. The process chamber 232 performs a process for forming a pattern, such as deposition or etching, on the substrate. The first transfer robot 212 transfers the processed substrate to the dry cleaning chamber 235 in the process chamber 232. The dry cleaning chamber 235 processes the substrate by dry cleaning using plasma. The second transfer robot 239 of the transfer chamber 238 transfers the processed substrate from the dry cleaning chamber 235 to the wet cleaning chamber 236. The wet cleaning chamber 236 performs chemical liquid treatment, rinsing treatment and drying treatment on the substrate. The substrate processed in the wet cleaning chamber 236 is carried into the vessel 112 placed on the load port 110 by the frame robot 122 of the facility front end module 100.

The process chamber 232 and the dry cleaning chamber 235 referred to in the embodiment described above correspond to the first treatment chamber according to the claims and the wet cleaning chamber 236 corresponds to the second treatment chamber according to the claims.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, a series of processes such as deposition and cleaning or etching and cleaning can be continuously performed on a substrate in one facility.

Further, according to the present invention, contamination of the substrate due to movement of the substrate between the facilities can be minimized.

Claims (10)

A processing chamber in which a substrate processing process is performed; A load lock chamber for receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring the substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; And a facility front end module disposed in front of the load lock chamber for transferring a substrate between a container containing the substrate and the load lock chamber, The treatment chambers are, A process chamber in which a process for forming a pattern is performed on a substrate; A dry cleaning chamber disposed at a side of the transfer chamber for performing a dry cleaning process on the substrate processed in the process chambers; And a wet cleaning chamber for wet cleaning the substrate that has been cleaned in the dry cleaning chamber, the one side being adjacent to the dry cleaning chamber and the other side being disposed adjacent to the facility front end module. Processing device. delete delete The method according to claim 1, And a transfer chamber disposed adjacent to the dry cleaning chamber and the wet cleaning chamber for transferring the substrate from the dry cleaning chamber to the wet cleaning chamber. A processing chamber in which a substrate processing process is performed; A load lock chamber for receiving a substrate to be transferred to the process chambers; A transfer chamber disposed between the load lock chamber and the process chambers and transferring the substrate between the process chambers or between the process chambers and the load lock chamber; And a facility front end module disposed in front of the load lock chamber for transferring a substrate between a container containing the substrate and the load lock chamber, The treatment chambers are, First processing chambers disposed around the transfer chamber; And a second processing chamber disposed between the first processing chamber of one of the first processing chambers and the apparatus front end module. 6. The method of claim 5, Further comprising a transfer chamber disposed between the second processing chamber and the first processing chamber disposed adjacent to the second processing chamber and configured to transfer the substrate from the first processing chamber to the second processing chamber, Device. A method of processing a substrate, Transferring the substrate from the facility front end module to the load lock chamber, Transferring the substrate from the load lock chamber to a process chamber disposed around the transfer chamber to perform a process for forming a pattern on the substrate, Wherein the substrate processed in the process chamber is subjected to a dry cleaning process in a dry cleaning chamber disposed on the side of the transfer chamber, Wherein the substrate processed in the dry scrubbing chamber is subjected to a wet scrubbing process in a wet scrubbing chamber having one side adjacent the dry scrubbing chamber and the other side adjacent the facility front end module. delete delete A method of processing a substrate, Transferring the substrate from the facility front end module to the load lock chamber, Transferring the substrate from the load lock chamber to the first process chambers disposed around the transfer chamber to proceed with the first process on the substrate, The substrate processed in the first processing chamber is transferred to a second processing chamber disposed between the first processing chamber and the facility front end module of any one of the first processing chambers to perform a second processing process on the substrate .

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