KR101015596B1 - Apparatus for Heat Treatment of Semiconductor Thin Film - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to heat treatment for crystallization of an amorphous silicon thin film formed on a surface of a glass substrate used in a flat panel display panel such as an LCD or an OLED, or for dopant activation of a polysilicon thin film. After discharging the glass substrate to be transported uniformly to a predetermined temperature that is not deformed and has a discharge portion for discharging, the heat treatment can be quickly performed by raising and cooling the heating temperature step by step to the heat treatment temperature while preventing the deformation of the glass substrate The heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element characterized by the above-mentioned.

Amorphous Silicon Film, Crystallization, Dopant Activation, Uniform Cooling, Strain Resistant

Description

Heat treatment device for semiconductor device {Apparatus for Heat Treatment of Semiconductor Thin Film}

1 is a block diagram of a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a front view of a charging unit constituting the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element.

3 is a plan view of the susceptor constituting the charging unit;

4A is a sectional perspective view of a heating furnace constituting a heating unit.

4B is a cross-sectional perspective view of a portion where the heating furnaces of FIG. 4A are connected to each other.

5A is a front view of a discharge part constituting the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element.

5B is a side view of FIG. 5A.

Figure 6a is a plan view of the cooling susceptor constituting the discharge portion.

6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 6A.

7 is a graph showing process conditions of heat treatment performed in the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art

10-semiconductor device 20-support plate

100-charging 200-heating

300-Process 400-Cooling

500-outlet

510-Cooling Susceptor 512-Injection Hole

520-Cooling and transporting means 530-Gas jet nozzle

540-Horizontal cooling means 550-Upper heating means

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus for a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to heat treatment for crystallization of an amorphous silicon thin film formed on a surface of a glass substrate used in a flat panel display panel such as an LCD or an OLED, or for dopant activation of a polysilicon thin film. After discharging the glass substrate to be transported uniformly to a predetermined temperature that is not deformed and has a discharge portion for discharging, the heat treatment can be quickly performed by raising and cooling the heating temperature step by step to the heat treatment temperature while preventing the deformation of the glass substrate The heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element characterized by the above-mentioned.

Among the flat panel display devices, a liquid crystal display or an organic light emitting display is formed by including a thin film transistor formed on the surface of a glass substrate as an active element. Such a thin film transistor is generally formed by depositing an amorphous silicon thin film on the surface of a transparent glass substrate or a quartz substrate, crystallizing it into a crystalline silicon thin film, and injecting a dopant necessary to activate the thin film.

An amorphous silicon thin film formed on such a glass substrate is generally formed by a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD), crystallized into a polycrystalline silicon thin film by a predetermined heat treatment process, and a necessary dopant is injected and activated.

A number of methods for crystallizing amorphous silicon thin films have been proposed.Solid phase crystallization (SPC), metal induced crystallization (MIC), excimer laser crystallization (Excimer Laser) Crystallization: ELC).

The solid phase crystallization method is a method of crystallizing through heat treatment at a predetermined temperature is a method for crystallizing the glass substrate on which an amorphous silicon thin film is generally formed by heat treatment at 600 ℃ or more.

Metal-induced crystallization is a method of inducing crystallization at a relatively low temperature by adding a predetermined metal element to the amorphous silicon thin film. However, in this method, if the heat treatment temperature is too low, the grain size is small and the crystallinity is poor, so that the driving characteristics of the device may be poor. In particular, the added metal is introduced into the channel region of the transistor, thereby increasing the leakage current. . Metal induced lateral crystallization (MIC) has been developed to improve the disadvantages of the metal induced crystallization method, which requires heat treatment at 500 ° C. or higher to induce lateral crystal growth.

Excimer laser crystallization is a method of irradiating the amorphous silicon thin film on the glass substrate with a high energy laser to melt the amorphous silicon instantaneously (melting), and the molten silicon thin film is cooled again to crystallize. The excimer laser crystallization method can crystallize an amorphous silicon thin film without damaging the glass substrate, but there is a problem of deterioration of device characteristics due to streaked bonds due to laser irradiation or crystal phase unevenness due to nonuniformity of laser irradiation amount. have. In addition, this method requires a lot of initial investment and maintenance costs because the equipment is expensive, there is a limit to apply to mass production.

Meanwhile, in the thin film transistor using the polysilicon thin film, a process of injecting and activating a predetermined metal element with a dopant is further performed after the crystallization process as described above.

In general, in thin film transistors, in order to form n-type (or p-type) regions such as source and drain regions, arsenic, phosphorus, or boron may be formed using ion implantation or plasma doping. The same dopant is implanted in the required location of the polysilicon thin film. Then, the dopant is activated by a laser or heat treatment method.

In the activation process of such a dopant, a laser irradiation or heat treatment method is used, similar to the method of crystallizing an amorphous silicon thin film. For example, Excimer Laser Anneals (ELA) method, Rapid Thermal Anneals (RTA) method, Furnace annealing (FA) method, and the like have been used.

The ELA method applies the same mechanism as the ELC used in the crystallization process of the amorphous silicon thin film, and activates the dopant in the process of rapidly remelting and crystallizing the polysilicon with a nano-second laser pulse. However, this ELA method is a problem found in the ELC method. That is, in the ELA method, re-melting and recrystallization are performed unevenly according to the non-uniformity of the laser irradiation amount, and thermal stress may be generated in the polysilicon thin film, and the reliability of the device may be degraded.

In addition, in the RTA method, the glass substrate is heat-treated for several seconds to several minutes at a temperature close to 600 to 1000 ° C using an optical heating source such as tungsten-halogen or Xe arc lamp as a heating source. However, this RTA method has a problem that the light substrate irradiated from the optical heating source has a wavelength range for heating not only the polysilicon thin film but also the glass substrate, thereby damaging the glass substrate during the process. In addition, the light irradiated from the optical heating source is difficult to control the radiant heat and the heating efficiency of the transparent material is low, it is difficult to control the heat treatment temperature uniformly as a whole.

The furnace annealing method activates the dopant implanted by maintaining the glass substrate on which the polysilicon thin film is formed for a predetermined time at a predetermined heat treatment temperature. However, in the furnace annealing method, when the heat treatment temperature is low, the device is unreliable due to insufficient activation of the dopant, requires several hours of processing time, and reduces productivity.

As described above, in the process of crystallizing the amorphous silicon thin film or activating the dopant, the heat treatment temperature affects the process time and the reliability of the crystallized polysilicon thin film or device.

However, when a glass substrate on which an amorphous silicon thin film is formed is generally heated to 600 ° C. or higher, thermal deformation occurs due to an increase in flow rate of glass and a decrease in mechanical strength. In addition, when the glass substrate is locally heated when a temperature deviation occurs, deformation or damage is more severe. Therefore, the solid phase crystallization method requiring a heat treatment temperature of 600 ° C or higher requires a means for preventing deformation of the glass substrate. In addition, the metal-induced crystallization method also undergoes heat treatment for several hours to several tens of hours instead of low heat treatment temperature to prevent deformation of the glass substrate.

Conventionally, the apparatus for heat-treating a glass substrate by using a solid phase crystallization or metal induced crystallization method includes a horizontal continuous furnace and a vertical tubular furnace. The horizontal continuous furnace is a device that transfers and heat-treats a glass substrate using a conveyor or a roller into a long furnace of several tens of meters. The horizontal continuous furnace is heat treated while gently raising and lowering the temperature of the glass substrate in order to prevent damage and deformation of the glass substrate, so that the length of the overall furnace becomes long. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the length of the furnace in a horizontal continuous furnace, and the heat treatment process time is lengthened to several hours to several tens of hours. In addition, the horizontal continuous furnace has a long heat treatment time, there is a limit to increase the heat treatment temperature in order to prevent the deformation of the glass substrate. On the other hand, the vertical tubular furnace is a device for heat-treating at once by mounting a plurality of glass substrates in a vertical direction in a quartz or silicon carbide (SiC) frame in a vertically formed furnace. Since the vertical tubular furnace is subjected to heat treatment by applying heat from the outside of the glass substrate, a temperature difference occurs between the inside and the outside of the glass substrate. In particular, when the glass substrate is large, the difference in heating and cooling rates between the inside and the outside of the glass substrate becomes large, and the glass substrate is severely deformed. Therefore, the vertical tubular furnace is gradually heated and cooled in order to reduce the difference in the heating and cooling rates between the inside and the outside of the glass substrate, so that the process time is long. In addition, since the glass substrate is partially supported by the frame installed inside the vertical tubular furnace, the glass substrate has a problem of sagging due to its own load when heat treated at a temperature of 500 ° C. or more for a long time.

The present invention for solving the above problems is a glass substrate that is transferred after heat treatment during the heat treatment for crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film formed on the surface of the glass substrate used in a flat panel display panel such as LCD or OLED or dopant activation of the polysilicon thin film A semiconductor having a discharge portion for uniformly cooling to a predetermined temperature not to be deformed and discharged, and the heat treatment can be quickly performed by raising and cooling the heating temperature step by step to the heat treatment temperature while preventing the deformation of the glass substrate It is an object to provide a heat treatment apparatus for an element.

In order to solve the above problems, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device of the present invention has a holding temperature is set step by step until the semiconductor device and the support plate on which the semiconductor device is seated and transported, and the heat treatment temperature, respectively A heating part including at least two heating furnaces independently controlled and heating the semiconductor element and the support plate transferred from the charging part to a predetermined heat treatment temperature, and a holding temperature is set in stages from the heat treatment temperature to a predetermined cooling temperature, respectively. And at least two heating furnaces which are independently controlled, a heat treatment process is performed to cool the semiconductor element and the support plate transferred from the heating unit to a predetermined cooling temperature, and the semiconductor element cooled to a predetermined cooling temperature; Cool the support plate evenly to a certain temperature without deformation It is provided with a discharge portion for discharging, the heating portion and the cooling portion is installed to prevent the outside air flow into the heat treatment space therein, the discharge portion is a gas at a predetermined angle to the support plate and the semiconductor element conveyed from the cooling portion A gas injection nozzle for spraying the gas, a cooling susceptor having a support hole on which the support plate is seated, and an injection hole through which the gas is injected through a predetermined area on which the support plate is seated, and a cooling upper and lower conveying the cooling susceptor up and down; It characterized in that it comprises a conveying means and a cooling horizontal conveying means for horizontally conveying the support plate. In addition, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element may be formed between the heating unit and the cooling unit, and may further include a process unit for rapidly heat-treating the semiconductor element to a predetermined temperature by an induction heating means. The discharge unit may further include an upper heating unit installed on the cooling susceptor to heat the upper portion of the semiconductor device and the support plate. In this case, the cooling susceptor may be formed of any one of a material including aluminum metal or alloy, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, graphite, it may be formed with an area larger than the area of the support plate. Further, when the support plate is seated on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor, a plurality of holes having a circular or polygonal cross-sectional shape is arranged in a region corresponding to at least 50% of the width of the support plate. Its diameter or width can be formed to have 0.5 mm to 3 mm. In addition, the injection holes may be formed are arranged at intervals greater than the diameter or width thereof. In addition, the gas injection nozzle includes an upper nozzle and a lower nozzle and is spaced apart from each other at a height greater than the height of the semiconductor element and the support plate, and is formed so as to inject gas onto the transported upper and lower portions of the semiconductor element and the support plate. The gas injection nozzle may be formed such that a gas injection angle forms an obtuse angle with a transfer direction of the support plate. In this case, the gas spray nozzle may have a width that is at least the width of the support plate. In addition, the cooling up and down conveying means may be formed by a pneumatic cylinder or a ball screw feed mechanism or a timing belt installed below the cooling susceptor. In addition, the cooling horizontal conveying means includes a roller and a motor for rotating the roller, the roller is inserted into a cooling roller groove formed in a predetermined length on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor, the support plate is contacted with a predetermined width on the upper seat It can be formed to convey. In addition, the upper heating means is formed in an area larger than the area of the support plate at least on the cooling susceptor is formed to heat the upper portion of the semiconductor element and the support plate, it may be formed of a plurality of lamp heaters.

The semiconductor device may be any one of semiconductor devices including an amorphous silicon thin film formed on an organic substrate, a polysilicon thin film formed on a glass substrate, and a glass substrate on which a semiconductor element is formed. The semiconductor device may be used in a liquid crystal display or an organic light emitting display device. And a thin film transistor.

The heat treatment may be any one of solid phase crystallization, metal induction crystallization, metal induced side crystallization, activation of ion implanted polysilicon thin film, and precompaction treatment of a glass substrate, and the temperature between 400 ° C and 1000 ° C. It can be performed in.

In addition, the support plate is formed of quartz having a thickness of 3mm to 10mm, the width and length may be formed at least 10mm larger than the semiconductor device.

In addition, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element according to the present invention in the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element for heat-treating the semiconductor element seated on the support plate,

A cooling susceptor for cooling the support plate and the semiconductor element to be transported by heat treatment to a predetermined temperature, and having a support hole on which the support plate is seated and a spray hole through which gas is injected through a predetermined area where the support plate is seated; Gas injection nozzles for injecting gas to the support plate and the semiconductor element formed on one side of the cooling susceptor at a predetermined angle, the cooling up and down conveying means for transporting the cooling susceptor up and down, and for transporting the support plate horizontally It characterized in that it comprises a cooling horizontal transfer means. In this case, the discharge unit may be formed on the cooling susceptor further comprises an upper heating means for heating the upper portion of the semiconductor element and the support plate.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a configuration of a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 shows a front view of a charging unit constituting the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element. 3 shows a plan view of the susceptor constituting the charging unit. 4A is a sectional perspective view of a heating furnace constituting a heating unit. FIG. 4B is a sectional perspective view of a portion where the heating furnaces of FIG. 4A are connected to each other. FIG. 5A shows a front view of a discharge part constituting the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element. FIG. 5B shows a side view of FIG. 5A. 6A is a plan view of the cooling susceptor constituting the discharge portion. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 6A. 7 is a graph showing process conditions of heat treatment performed in the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention, referring to FIG. 1, the charging unit 100, the heating unit 200, the process unit 300, the cooling unit 400, and the discharge unit 500 are provided. It is formed to include. In the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device, the charging unit 100 to the discharge unit 500 are continuously installed in contact with each other so that external air is supplied to the heat treatment space in the heating unit 200, the processing unit 300, and the cooling unit 400. It will prevent the inflow. In addition, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device is formed with a horizontal transfer means that is driven independently of the temperature control module that each component is independently controlled, so that the heat treatment can be performed by increasing or decreasing the temperature step by step for each component. . In addition, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device performs heat treatment while the semiconductor device is seated and transferred to a separate setter so that deformation of the semiconductor device to be heat-treated does not occur. Accordingly, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device may prevent deformation or damage of the semiconductor device while gradually raising the temperature of the semiconductor device, thereby performing heat treatment of the semiconductor device within a shorter time. In addition, since the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device performs heat treatment within a short time while preventing deformation of the semiconductor device, heat treatment of the semiconductor device including the glass substrate is possible even at a higher temperature, that is, a temperature of 600 ° C. or higher. The semiconductor device 10 which is heat treated by the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device means various semiconductor devices that require heat treatment, and includes a glass substrate having an amorphous silicon thin film formed thereon and a glass substrate having a polysilicon TFT formed thereon. In addition, the semiconductor device includes a glass substrate that requires pre-compaction in order to form a semiconductor thin film on the upper surface. Hereinafter, a case in which the semiconductor device is a glass substrate on which an amorphous silicon thin film is formed will be described.

First, the whole structure of the heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor element is demonstrated.

The charging unit 100 preheats the semiconductor element to be heated to a predetermined temperature and transfers it to the heating unit 200. The charging unit 100 is uniformly preheated to a predetermined temperature (eg, 200 ° C.) while supporting the semiconductor device, that is, the glass substrate on which the amorphous silicon thin film is formed so as not to be deformed.

The heating unit 200 heats the transferred semiconductor element to a predetermined temperature and transfers the same to the process unit 300. The heating unit 200 is configured to include at least two furnaces (furnace) 210, the temperature is independently controlled, is composed of an appropriate number in consideration of the heat treatment temperature. Therefore, the heating unit 200 is maintained at each heating furnace 210 is set to the appropriate temperature step by step, preferably, the last heating furnace by setting the set temperature to the heat treatment temperature, the heat treatment part 200 in the heating unit 200 Allow to proceed. For example, when the heat treatment temperature of the semiconductor device is 600 ℃, the heating unit 200 preferably comprises three heating furnace 210, the first heating furnace connected to the charging unit 100 Considering the preheating temperature of the charging unit 100 is maintained at 300 ℃ or more, the second furnace and the third heating furnace is maintained at 600 ℃ or more heat treatment temperature. That is, the deformation of the semiconductor device can be prevented even if the heating temperature is rapidly increased at low temperatures. However, since the deformation may occur at high temperatures, it is preferable to gradually increase the heating temperature. Therefore, it is preferable that the heating unit 200 is set such that the holding temperature of the heating furnace 210 is rapidly heated at low temperature and gradually heated at high temperature.

The process unit 300 heat-processes the transferred semiconductor element at a predetermined heat treatment temperature, and transfers the transferred semiconductor element to the cooling unit 400 maintained at a predetermined temperature when the heat treatment is completed. The process unit 300 includes a heating furnace installed in contact with the heating unit 200 and heats the semiconductor element transmitted from the heating unit 200 to an instantaneously high temperature. Therefore, the process unit 300 includes heating means for heating the semiconductor device to a high temperature instantaneously, and preferably includes an induction heating type heating means.

The cooling unit 400, like the heating unit 200, is composed of at least two furnaces (410) in which the temperature is independently controlled, it is composed of an appropriate number in consideration of the heat treatment temperature. For example, when the heat treatment temperature of the semiconductor device is 600 ℃, the cooling unit 400 preferably comprises three heating furnaces 410, the first heating furnace connected to the process unit 300 It is maintained at the heat treatment temperature of the process unit 300, the second heating furnace is maintained at about 500 ℃, the third heating furnace is maintained below 300 ℃ in consideration of the discharge temperature. Therefore, the cooling unit 400 can cool the semiconductor device within a faster time. The cooling unit 400 cools the transferred semiconductor element to a predetermined temperature step by step and then transfers it to the discharge unit 500.

The discharge part 500 is uniformly cooled so that the semiconductor element is not deformed to a predetermined temperature (generally 100 ° C. or less) at which deformation of the transferred semiconductor element does not occur, and then transferred to the next process. Therefore, the cooling unit 400 may be formed to include various cooling means for uniformly cooling the semiconductor device to be transferred. In addition, the discharge part 500 may be provided with a heating means for heating the upper surface of the semiconductor device for uniform cooling of the semiconductor device.

Next, each component part of the heat processing apparatus of a semiconductor element is demonstrated.

Referring to FIG. 2, the charging unit 100 may move a susceptor 110 and the susceptor 110 up and down where the semiconductor device 10 and the support plate 20 are seated and preheated. It is formed to include the transport means 130 and the horizontal transport means 140 for transporting the support plate 20 to the left and right. In addition, the charging unit 100 may be formed to include an auxiliary preheating means 150 installed on the susceptor 110 to further preheat the semiconductor device 10. The charging unit 100 is used to prevent the semiconductor device 10 from being deformed or damaged by a sudden temperature change and a local temperature difference while being transferred into the heating unit 200 maintained at a predetermined temperature higher than room temperature. It is preheated to a predetermined temperature and transferred. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging unit 100 is formed to preheat the semiconductor device in the standby state, but if necessary, a separate case for blocking the susceptor 110 from the outside (not shown in the drawing). ) Can be mounted, it can be possible to supply a specific gas to the inside of the case to form the atmosphere.

The support plate 20 is preferably formed of a quartz material having a thickness of 3 mm to 10 mm, and is transported by mounting the semiconductor device 10 on the upper surface during the heat treatment process. If the thickness of the support plate 20 is thinner than 3mm, there is a fear that the support plate 20 is deformed during the heat treatment process. If the thickness of the support plate 20 is larger than 10mm, it takes a long time to heat, and thus the heat treatment rate of the semiconductor device is lowered. In addition, the support plate 20 supports the semiconductor element and simultaneously heats the semiconductor element 10 with conducted heat, so that the width and the length of the semiconductor element 10 are mounted on the upper portion for uniform preheating of the semiconductor element 10. It is formed larger than the width and length of), preferably is formed at least 10mm or more. The support plate 20 is preferably formed of a quartz material, but is not limited thereto, but may be formed of various materials including ceramic materials such as alumina nitride and boron nitride, and the material is limited thereto. It is not.

Referring to FIG. 3, the susceptor 110 is a substantially horizontal plate having a larger area than the support plate 20 seated on the upper surface 111, and heating means 114 for heating the susceptor 110. The support plate 20 is formed to include a heat insulating groove 116 to uniformly heat. The susceptor 110 is formed at a height corresponding to the inlet of the heating unit 200. In addition, the susceptor 110 may be formed to include a roller groove 118 to accommodate the roller which is one of the horizontal transfer means of the support plate 20. The susceptor 110 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and efficiently transmits heat transferred from the heating means to the support plate 20. The susceptor 110 may be formed of any one of an aluminum metal or an alloy, graphite, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and boron nitride. The material of the acceptor 110 is not limited.

The heating means 114 is formed with a heating element such as a heating wire or a lamp, and is preferably installed inside the susceptor 110 so as to raise the temperature of the upper surface 111 of the susceptor 110 uniformly as a whole. do. That is, the heating means 114 is a heating element is formed by being installed at a predetermined interval inside the susceptor 110, is formed in the hole formed integrally with the susceptor 110 or inside the susceptor 110. It can be inserted and formed. On the other hand, the internal heating means 114 may be formed on the lower surface 112 of the susceptor 110 may be formed. The internal heating means 114 is preferably formed to have a capacity capable of heating the susceptor 110 to 200 ° C or more.

The insulating groove 116 is formed in a predetermined shape in the central region of the upper surface 111 of the susceptor 110. The insulation groove 116 reduces the contact area between the susceptor 110 and the support plate 116 to adjust the amount of heat conducted from the susceptor 110 to the central region of the support plate 116. Therefore, the support plate 116 seated on the upper surface 111 of the susceptor 110 has a central portion in contact with the region where the heat insulation grooves 116 are formed and an outer portion in contact with the region where the heat insulation grooves 116 are not formed. The difference in heat that is conducted is generated so that the support plate 116 is uniformly raised in temperature uniformly as a whole. In more detail, the susceptor 110 is heated by the internal heating means 114 to the entire surface 111 at a substantially uniform temperature, the support plate 20 is the top surface of the susceptor 110 In physical contact with the heat is transferred from the susceptor 110 is preheated. However, since the support plate 20 is heated to be exposed to the atmosphere as a whole, part of the heat transferred to the support plate 20 is radiated from the outside of the support plate 20 to the atmosphere. Therefore, the support plate 20 has the same heat conducted between the center and the outside, while the heat dissipation is different, so that a temperature deviation occurs between the center and the outside, and the temperature of the center becomes higher than the outside temperature. In this case, the temperature difference between the center and the outside of the semiconductor device 10 seated on the upper surface of the support plate 20 also occurs due to the temperature deviation of the support plate 20, resulting in deformation of the semiconductor device. However, when the insulating groove 116 is formed in the central region of the upper surface of the susceptor 111, the support plate 116 is a heat insulating groove 116 is conducted to the central portion in contact with the region where the insulating groove 116 is formed. This becomes smaller than the heat conducted to the outer portion in contact with the unformed area. Therefore, the support plate 20 is substantially the same as the heat conducted to the center portion even if a part of heat conducted to the outer portion is radiated heat is uniformly heated as a whole. In addition, the semiconductor element 10 mounted on the upper surface of the support plate 20 is also heated uniformly as a whole.

The insulating groove 116 is formed in a predetermined area and shape in the central region of the susceptor 110 according to the size and preheating temperature of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10. As shown in FIG. 3A, the insulating groove 116 may be formed in a trench shape having a predetermined length extending in a predetermined depth and left and right directions in a central region of the upper surface of the susceptor 111, and formed in a front-rear direction. Of course it can be. In addition, the insulating groove 116 may be formed in a trench shape at a predetermined interval. The susceptor 110 is preferably insulated in the area of 20% to 70%, preferably 20% to 50% of the area of the support plate 20 seated on the upper surface of the susceptor 110 in the central portion ( 116 is formed. When the area in which the heat insulation grooves 116 are formed is smaller than 20% of the area of the support plate 20, the degree of blocking heat conducted to the center area of the support plate 20 becomes small, thereby increasing the temperature of the center area of the support plate 20. This becomes large and it becomes difficult to preheat the support plate 20 uniformly as a whole. In addition, when the area in which the heat insulation grooves 116 are formed is larger than 70% of the area of the support plate 20, the degree of blocking heat conducted to the outer portion of the support plate 20 is increased, thereby increasing the temperature of the outer portion relatively. It becomes small and it becomes difficult to preheat the support plate 20 uniformly as a whole.

In addition, when the preheating temperatures of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are relatively small, that is, when the difference from the normal temperature is small, the amount of heat radiated from the side of the support plate 20 is relatively small. Therefore, even if the susceptor 110 is formed in a relatively small region, the preheating temperature of the support plate 20 can be made uniform.

 In addition, the insulating groove 116 may be formed by adjusting the trench width and the forming interval appropriately. However, when the trench width 116 is too large, an area in which heat is not conducted and an area in which heat is conducted are formed in the central portion of the support plate 20. Unevenness of temperature can result. In this case, the semiconductor element mounted on the upper portion of the support plate 20 may also cause deformation or damage due to non-uniformity of preheating temperature in the center portion. Therefore, the insulating groove 116 is preferably formed by increasing the number of trenches while reducing the trench width. In addition, the insulation groove 116 is formed so that the trench width is equal to or smaller than the trench formation interval, and is preferably formed to be smaller than 0.5 times. When the trench width 116 is greater than the trench spacing, the heat conduction to the support plate 20 is blocked so that the temperature of the inner portion in which the heat insulation grooves 116 are formed may be lowered. For example, the insulating groove 116 may be formed so that the trench width is 1mm to 3mm, the forming interval of the trench is 3mm to 6mm.

In addition, the insulation groove 116 is formed to a predetermined depth so that the support plate 20 and the susceptor 110 do not directly contact. However, if the depth of the insulation groove 116 is too deep, the installation position of the heating means 114 installed therein is far from the upper surface of the susceptor 110, it is necessary to form to an appropriate depth.

The roller groove 118 is formed at a front and rear sides of the susceptor 110 at predetermined intervals, and is formed to have a length such that a part of the front and rear sides of the support plate 20 seated on the upper surface of the susceptor 110 can be contacted. In addition, the roller groove 118 is formed to a predetermined depth so that the roller does not protrude to the upper surface when the susceptor 110 is raised to support and preheat the support plate 20. Therefore, the support plate 20 is uniformly in contact with the upper surface 111 of the susceptor 110 during the preheating process, and after the preheating is finished, the support plate 20 is inserted into the roller groove 118 while the susceptor 110 is lowered. It is supported by the roller 140, which is conveyed from side to side. However, the roller groove 118 is formed when the roller is used as a horizontal transfer means 140 for transporting the support plate 20 to the left and right.

Referring to FIG. 2, the shanghai conveying means 130 is coupled to the lower surface 112 of the susceptor 110 to convey the susceptor 110 up and down. The susceptor 110 is elevated by the shanghai conveying means 130 to support the support plate 20 to preheat, and after the preheating is finished, the susceptor 110 is lowered to support the support plate 20 to the roller. The shanghai conveying means 130 may be a pneumatic cylinder, a ball screw feed mechanism, a timing belt, etc., preferably a pneumatic cylinder is used. However, the type of the Shanghai transport means 130 is not limited thereto, and various transport mechanisms for transferring the susceptor 110 up and down may be used. In addition, the shanghai conveying means 130 may be formed in a predetermined number depending on the weight, the area of the susceptor 110.

The horizontal transfer means 140 transfers the support plate 20 horizontally to the inside of the heating part 200. The horizontal conveying means 140 is preferably formed of a roller 140 that is inserted into the roller groove 118 of the susceptor 110 to rotate, the roller 140 considering the size of the support plate 20 to be transported It is formed at an appropriate interval. The roller 140 is rotatably supported by a separate support means (not shown), and is rotated by a separate sphere (hand) transport means (not shown). Therefore, a plurality of the rollers 140 are installed at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction, and rotates to transport the support plate 20 mounted on the upper portion in the horizontal direction.

On the other hand, the horizontal transfer means 140 may be used in addition to the pneumatic cylinder, ball screw transfer mechanism, etc., but is not limited thereto. For example, when a pneumatic cylinder is used as a horizontal transfer means, referring to Figure 2, the pneumatic cylinder is supported by a separate support means on the outside of the susceptor 110, while supporting the support plate 20 from left to right Push it horizontally. When the transfer mechanism is used as the horizontal transfer means, the roller groove 118 does not need to be formed on the upper surface of the susceptor 110.

Referring to FIG. 1, the heating unit 200 includes an appropriate number of heating furnaces 210 in consideration of the heat treatment temperature, and includes at least two heating furnaces 210. The heating unit 200 is each heating furnace 210 is maintained at an appropriate temperature step by step according to the heat treatment temperature, respectively, and is independently controlled. In addition, the heating unit 200 preferably sets the set temperature of the last heating furnace 210 to the heat treatment temperature so that some heat treatment may be performed in the heating unit 200.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the heating furnace 210 includes a heating unit 230, a semiconductor device 10, and a support plate 20 that generate heat in the body 220 and the body 220 that form the body. It is formed including a roller 240 for transporting the horizontal. The heating furnace 210 has an inlet 212 into which the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are charged, and an outlet 214 through which the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are discharged to the other side to a predetermined height. Is formed. In addition, the heating furnace 210 may be formed to include a position sensor (not shown in the figure) that detects the position in which the support plate 20 is transported and heated therein. In addition, the heating furnace 210 may be provided with a gas supply means (not shown) for constantly supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas therein. The heating furnace 210 may be maintained at a positive pressure in a constant atmosphere by the gas supplied, and the internal temperature may be more uniformly prevented from entering the outside air. The gas supply means is preferably configured such that gas is supplied from the top of the furnace 210 to the inside and discharged to the bottom of the furnace 210.

The body portion 220 is an outer housing 222 forming the appearance of the heating furnace 210, the heat insulating material (223a, 223b) and the heat insulating material are installed to be spaced up and down in the interior of the outer housing 222. The inner housings 224a and 224b are formed at upper and lower portions of the inner spaces 223a and 223b to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval and form a heat treatment space of the heating furnace 210. The inner housings 224a and 224b are preferably made of quartz to prevent contamination of the heat treatment space therein.

The heating means 230 is formed to include a heating element 232 and the thermocouple 236. In addition, the heating means 230 may include a second heating element 234 is installed on the upper and lower portions of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214 of the heating furnace 210. In addition, the heating means 230 may be formed to include a conductive plate 238 formed adjacent to the inner housing (224a, 224b) between the inner housing (224a, 224b) and the heating element (232).

The heating element 232 is installed at predetermined intervals between the internal housings 224a and 224b and the heat insulators 232a and 232b and heats the heat treatment space to a predetermined temperature. The heating element 232 may be installed only in the upper portion of the heating furnace 210, of course, may be installed in both the upper and lower portions. The heating element 232 may be formed in an appropriate amount according to the set temperature of the heating furnace 210. The heating elements 232 are formed in a predetermined number independently controlled, rather than being formed as a single heating element as a whole, and are preferably installed and controlled in predetermined regions divided based on the horizontal plane of the heating furnace 210. For example, by dividing the heating furnace 210 into nine regions, the heating element 232 may be installed in each region to control the internal temperature of the heating furnace 210. Since the inside of the furnace 210 may generate a temperature deviation for each region on the basis of a horizontal plane, in order to independently control the heating elements 232 of each region to compensate for such deviation, the temperature may be more uniformly controlled. It becomes possible. A resistance heater or a lamp heater may be used as the heating element 232, but the type of the heating element 232 is not limited thereto.

The second heating element 234 is installed at the upper and lower portions of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214 of the heating furnace 210 to prevent the temperature of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214 is lower than the inner side. . That is, since the temperature of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214 of the heating furnace 210 is leaked to the outside, the temperature is relatively low, so that a separate heating element may be installed to maintain the same temperature as the inside. As the second heating element 234, a resistance heater or a lamp heater may be used similarly to the heating element 232, and the type of the second heating element 234 is not limited thereto.

The thermocouple 236 is installed at a position close to the upper inner housing 224a to measure the temperature of the heating furnace. The heating element 232 is controlled based on the temperature measurement result of the thermocouple 236. On the other hand, when the heating element 232 is installed independently for each region, the thermocouple 236 is also installed corresponding to the heating element 232 independently. In addition, the thermocouple 236 may also be installed in the heat treatment space so as to accurately measure the temperature in the heat treatment space.

The conductive plate 238 is installed between the heating element 232 and the inner housings 224a and 224b in an area corresponding to the horizontal area of the heat treatment space, and the heat of the heating element 232 is in the inner housings 224a and 224b. To ensure uniform delivery. That is, since the heating elements 232 are formed at predetermined intervals, the internal housings 224a and 224b may have a local temperature difference, and such a difference may occur in an internal heat treatment space. Therefore, the conductive plate 238 allows the heat of the heating element 232 to be more uniformly transferred to the inner housings 224a and 224b. The conductive plate 238 may be formed of a metal or a ceramic material having excellent thermal conductivity. For example, the conductive plate 238 may be formed of a material such as stainless steel, copper, aluminum, or alumina.

The roller 240 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a plurality of rollers 240 are installed at predetermined intervals inside the inner housings 224a and 224b of the heating furnace 210. The roller 240 is formed at predetermined intervals according to the size of the heating furnace 210 and the size of the support plate 20 to be transferred. The roller 240 is installed in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the support plate 20, the directions of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214, and extends to the outside of the outer housing 222 to display a separate rotating means (shown in the drawing). Not rotated). The roller 240 is formed at a predetermined height inside the inner housings 224a and 224b, and is preferably formed at a position higher than a bottom surface of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214 of the heating furnace 210. The lower surface of the supporting plate 20 is not in contact with the bottom surface of the inlet 212 and the outlet 214. The roller 240 is preferably made of quartz, which is the same material as the inner housings 224a and 224b, so that the generation of contaminants due to friction during the transport of the support plate 20 is minimized.

4B, when the respective heating furnaces 210 are connected, the heating unit 200 allows the inner housings 224a and 224b to be coupled to each other so that the outside air is introduced or the inside air flows out. To prevent as much as possible.

The process unit 300 includes one process furnace including an outer housing, an inner housing, a roller, and an induction heating means, and is formed in a structure and a shape similar to the heating furnace 210. The outer housing and the inner housing form an outer space and an inner space of the process furnace, and rollers for transferring the support plate are formed at predetermined intervals in the inner space formed by the inner housing. In addition, the induction heating means includes an induction coil and a magnetic core and is installed in a horizontal direction in proximity to the inner housing between the outer housing and the inner housing. The induction heating means heats the transferred support plate and the semiconductor element by an induction heating method. Therefore, the process unit 300 is capable of preventing deformation and damage to the semiconductor element by rapidly increasing the temperature of the support plate and the semiconductor element to a high temperature by an induction heating method. Meanwhile, of course, the process unit 300 may not be included in the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device when the heat treatment temperature of the semiconductor device is low. That is, when the heat treatment temperature of the semiconductor device is performed at a temperature that the heating unit 200 can maintain, the process unit 300 is not provided.

Like the heating unit 200, the cooling unit 400 is formed to include at least two heating furnaces 410, and the support plate 20 and the semiconductor heated in the heating unit 200 or the process unit 300. The element 10 is cooled below a predetermined temperature at which the glass substrate is not deformed. The cooling unit 400 may be installed to increase the number of the heating furnace 410 when the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 is cooled to a sufficiently low temperature step by step. The heating furnace 410 of the cooling unit 400 is set and maintained step by step at a temperature lower than the heat treatment temperature, it is cooled to maintain the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 to be transferred to a predetermined temperature. In addition, the heating furnace 410 of the cooling unit 400 may also be provided with a gas supply means (not shown) to supply the gas from the outside, the support plate 20 by supplying the gas cooled to a predetermined temperature And the semiconductor element 10 can be cooled more effectively and uniformly. Since the heating furnace 410 of the cooling unit 400 is the same as or similar to the heating furnace 210 of the heating unit 200, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

5A and 5B, the discharge part 500 includes a cooling susceptor 510, a cooling up and down conveying means 520, a gas injection nozzle 530, and a cooling horizontal conveying means 540. do. In addition, the discharge part 500 may be formed to include an upper heating means (550).

6A and 6B, the cooling susceptor 510 is formed in a substantially horizontal plate shape having an area larger than that of the supporting plate 20 seated on the upper surface 511, and the cooling susceptor 510 is moved up and down. It is formed including the injection hole 514 penetrating. The cooling susceptor 510 is formed such that an upper surface thereof is at a height corresponding to an outlet of the cooling unit 400. In addition, the cooling susceptor 510 may be formed to include a cooling roller groove 518 for receiving a roller which is one of the horizontal transfer means for transporting the support plate 20 horizontally. The cooling susceptor 510 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and allows the heat of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 to be quickly conducted and released. The cooling susceptor 510 may be formed of any one of aluminum metal or alloy, graphite, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and boron nitride. The material of the cooling susceptor 510 is not limited.

The injection hole 514 penetrates up and down in a predetermined region of the cooling susceptor 510 and is formed in a predetermined shape. The injection hole 514 sprays a cooling gas to the support plate 20 and the lower surface of the semiconductor element 10 transferred to the upper surface 511 of the cooling susceptor 510 to allow the support plate 20 to be cooled more uniformly. . That is, when the support plate 20 is transferred from the cooling unit and exposed to the atmosphere, a temperature deviation may occur while the outer portion of the support plate 20 is naturally cooled faster than the center portion. Therefore, when the injection hole 514 is transferred to the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510, the gas is uniformly injected from the lower surface of the support plate 20 so that the support plate 20 may be uniformly forcedly cooled.

The injection hole 514 is formed in a predetermined area and shape in the central region of the cooling susceptor 510 according to the size and cooling temperature of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10. The injection hole 514 is formed in a cylindrical shape penetrating the upper surface and the lower surface in the central region in the width direction of the cooling susceptor 510. In addition, the injection hole 514 may be formed in a polygonal shape including a triangular shape or a quadrangular shape in addition to the circular shape. The injection hole 514 is preferably formed in a region corresponding to a width of at least 50% of the width of the support plate 20 transferred to the upper portion of the cooling susceptor 510 in the width direction of the cooling susceptor 510. When the injection hole 514 is formed in the cooling susceptor 510 in an area smaller than 50% of the width of the support plate 20, the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are not uniformly cooled in the width direction. It can be modified according to the local cooling temperature difference. However, the injection hole 514 is not formed in the roller groove 518 forming region before and after the cooling susceptor 510. In addition, the injection hole 514 may be formed in the entire length of the cooling susceptor 510 in the longitudinal direction.

In addition, the injection hole 514 may be formed by appropriately adjusting the size and spacing of the holes. The injection hole 514 is formed as a hole having a diameter of 0.5 to 3mm, preferably formed to have a diameter of 0.5 mm to 1.5mm. In addition, when the injection hole 514 is formed in a polygonal shape it is formed to have a width of 0.5mm to 3mm. If the diameter of the injection hole 514 is smaller than 0.5mm, the gas injection amount is small, the cooling effect is small, and the phenomenon that the hole is easily clogged by foreign matter occurs. In addition, when the diameter of the injection hole 514 is larger than 3mm, the amount of gas injection is large, thereby causing a local temperature deviation. In addition, the injection holes 514 are formed at intervals larger than the diameter of the hole, preferably at least five times larger than the diameter of the hole. When the spacing between the injection holes 514 is smaller than the diameter of the holes, the gaps between the holes are so small that the holes are deformed and blocked, thereby reducing the durability of the cooling susceptor 510.

A separate gas supply means 516 for supplying gas to the injection hole 514 is connected to the lower surface 512 of the cooling susceptor 510. The gas supply means 516 may be formed at the side of the cooling susceptor 510 depending on the method of forming the injection hole 514.

The cooling roller groove 518 is formed at a front and rear sides of the cooling susceptor 510 at predetermined intervals, and has a length that allows a portion of the front and rear sides of the supporting plate 20 to be seated on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510. Is formed. In addition, the cooling roller groove 518 is formed to a predetermined depth so that the cooling susceptor 510 when the support plate 20 is raised, so that the roller 540 does not protrude to the upper surface. Therefore, the support plate 20 is uniformly in contact with the upper surface 511 of the cooling up and down conveying means 520 in the cooling process, the cooling susceptor 510 is lowered after the cooling is finished, the cooling roller groove 518 It is supported by the roller 540 inserted in the is transported to the left and right. However, the cooling roller groove 518 is formed when the roller is used as a horizontal conveying means 540 for transporting the support plate 20 from side to side.

The cooling up and down conveying means 520 is coupled to the lower surface 512 of the cooling susceptor 510 to convey the cooling susceptor 510 up and down. The cooling upper and lower conveying means 520 is a cooling susceptor 510 such that the support plate 20 is lowered when the support plate 20 is transferred from the cooling unit 400 or the roller 540 protrudes from the upper surface of the support plate 20. Will be transferred. In addition, the cooling upper and lower conveying means 520 when the transfer of the support plate 20 is completed, the cooling susceptor 510 is fully raised to transport the support plate 20 to be seated on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510. In addition, the cooling up and down conveying means 520 lowers the cooling susceptor 510 when the cooling of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element is completed so that the support plate 20 can be transferred by the roller. The shanghai conveying means 130 may be a pneumatic cylinder, a ball screw feed mechanism, a timing belt, etc., preferably a pneumatic cylinder is used. However, the type of the Shanghai transport means 130 is not limited thereto, and various transport mechanisms for transferring the susceptor 110 up and down may be used. In addition, the shanghai conveying means 130 may be formed in a predetermined number depending on the weight, the area of the susceptor 110.

The gas injection nozzle 530 is composed of an upper nozzle 530a and a lower nozzle 530b, and each of the upper nozzle 530a and the lower nozzle 530b is formed in a predetermined width by combining a plurality of independent nozzles, or It can be formed with one nozzle having a width. The gas injection nozzle 530 injects a gas such as nitrogen gas to forcibly cool the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10. The gas injection nozzle 530 determines the size of the nozzle inlet through which the gas is injected in consideration of the required cooling rate and the transfer speed of the support plate 20. Therefore, the gas injection nozzle 530 has to increase the size of the nozzle inlet in order to increase the amount of gas injection when the cooling rate should be fast or the feeding speed of the support plate should be high. To form. The gas injection nozzle 530 is preferably formed to have a width larger than the width of the support plate 20 to uniformly cool the support plate 20 in the width direction. The gas injection nozzle 530 has an upper nozzle 530a and a lower nozzle 530b on one side of the cooling susceptor 510, that is, the side adjacent to the cooling unit 400, based on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510. The support plates 20 and the semiconductor elements 10 are spaced apart from each other at a height greater than that. The gas injection nozzle 530 is formed such that the gas injection angles of the upper nozzle 530a and the lower nozzle 530b form a predetermined angle with the conveying direction of the support plate 20, and preferably the conveying direction of the support plate 20. It is formed to achieve an obtuse angle. In addition, the upper nozzle 530a and the lower nozzle 530b may be installed to inject gas at different angles, and the support plate 20 may be installed to cool other positions based on the vertical direction. The gas injected from the gas injection nozzle 530 flows along the surfaces of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 without disturbing the transport of the support plate 20, thereby allowing the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 to flow. To cool.

The cooling horizontal transfer means 540 transfers the support plate 20 horizontally to the other process from the discharge unit 500. The cooling horizontal conveying means 540 is preferably formed of a roller 540 which is inserted into the cooling roller groove 518 of the cooling susceptor 510 and rotates, and the roller 540 of the supporting plate 20 is conveyed. Considering the size, it is formed at proper intervals. The roller 540 is rotatably supported by a separate supporting means (not shown), and is rotated by a separate driving means (not shown). Therefore, a plurality of the rollers 540 are installed at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction, and rotates to transport the support plate 20 mounted on the upper portion in the horizontal direction.

On the other hand, the cooling horizontal transfer means 540 may be used in addition to the pneumatic cylinder, ball screw transfer mechanism, etc., but is not limited thereto. When such a transfer mechanism is used as the horizontal cooling means 540, the roller groove 518 does not need to be formed on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510.

The upper heating means 550 is formed of a plurality of resistance heaters or lamp heaters, preferably formed of a lamp heater such as an infrared halogen lamp. However, the type of the upper heating means 550 is not limited thereto, and various heating means that do not contaminate the upper surface of the semiconductor device 10 may be used. The upper heating means 550 is formed at a predetermined height on the upper portion of the cooling susceptor 510 and is formed to have an area larger than that of the support plate 20 to be transferred. Therefore, the upper heating means 550 is installed on the upper portion of the semiconductor element 10 to apply heat to the upper surface of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 as a whole to prevent the upper surface from being quickly cooled. When the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are transferred to the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510, in particular, the semiconductor element 10 may be cooled faster than the lower surface because the upper surface is opened to release heat to the atmosphere. In this case, the semiconductor device 10 may be damaged due to the high cooling rate and the temperature difference between the upper and lower surfaces. The upper heating means 550 is controlled to have an appropriate temperature in consideration of the temperature when the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 is transferred from the cooling unit 400. In addition, the upper heating means 550 is formed to have a heat capacity that can maintain the upper surface temperature of the semiconductor device 10 at a temperature of at least 100 ℃ at the initial stage of cooling. The upper heating means 550 is measured by a separate temperature sensing means (not shown) to stop the operation when the temperature of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 is cooled to 100 ℃ or less.

Next, the operation of the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When the susceptor 110 of the charging unit 100 is lifted by the shanghai conveying means 130, the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 is mounted on the upper surface. The support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 are preheated to a predetermined temperature by the internal heating means 114 of the susceptor 110, in which the heat insulating groove 116 is formed in the central region of the susceptor 110. As a result, the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 are preheated uniformly as a whole while differentially conducting heat to the central region and the outer portion. When the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are preheated to a predetermined temperature, the susceptor 110 is lowered down by the shanghai conveying means 130, the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 is a roller By the rotation of the 140 is transferred into the heating furnace 210 of the heating unit 200. Each heating furnace 210 of the heating unit 200 is set to a predetermined temperature in each step, thereby heating the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 to be transferred to a predetermined temperature. In this case, the heating unit 200 may set the set temperature of the last heating furnace 210 to the heat treatment temperature so that some heat treatment may be performed in the heating unit 200. The process unit 300 heat-treats the transferred semiconductor device 10 at a predetermined temperature, and transfers the transferred semiconductor device 10 to the cooling unit 400 maintained at a predetermined temperature when the heat treatment is completed. In the cooling unit 400, each of the heating furnaces 410 is set to a predetermined temperature step by step, respectively, cooling the transferred semiconductor element 10 step by step to cool to a predetermined temperature, and then cooling the cooling unit of the discharge part 500. It is transferred to the upper portion of the acceptor 510. The gas injection nozzle 530 of the discharge part 500 cools the gas by spraying the upper and lower surfaces of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 transferred from the cooling part 400. When the support plate 20 is transferred to the upper portion of the cooling susceptor 510 by the driving of the roller 540 which is the horizontal cooling means, the cooling susceptor 510 is transferred upward by the cooling up and down conveying means 520. The support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 are mounted on the upper surface. At this time, the cooling susceptor 510 is a gas is injected from the injection hole 514 to uniformly cool the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 as a whole. In addition, the upper heating means 550 is applied to the upper surface of the support plate 20 and the semiconductor element 10 to prevent the cooling is suddenly. The discharge part 500 transfers the semiconductor device when the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 transferred to the upper surface of the cooling susceptor 510 are cooled to a predetermined temperature without deformation, for example, 100 ° C. or less or room temperature. To the next process.

7 is a graph showing process conditions of heat treatment performed in the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a process for removing hydrogen present in the amorphous silicon thin film deposited on the glass substrate or supplying hydrogen into the polysilicon thin film deposited on the glass substrate at a relatively low temperature of about 500 ° C. Process 2 is performed at about 600 ° C. or more by crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film formed on the glass substrate, or activation of the dopant formed on the crystalline silicon thin film, MIC, MILC process. Process 3 is a pre-compaction or defect annealing process for glass substrates, which takes place at approximately 700 ° C or above. The above process is an example of a process to which the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device can be applied, and can be applied to more various processes.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device, the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 are preheated to about 200 ° C. in the charging unit 100 when the process conditions of FIG. 7 are performed, and then transferred to the heating unit 200. . The heating unit 200 is heated in three steps to the heat treatment temperature in each heating furnace 210 in accordance with the treatment process to heat the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10. The process unit 300 heats and cools the transferred support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 to a heat treatment temperature in a short time. Of course, as shown in step 1 of FIG. 7, the process unit 300 may not be necessary depending on the type of heat treatment. The cooling unit 400 is cooled step by step from the heat treatment temperature to approximately 300 ℃ in each heating furnace (410). The discharge part 500 cools the transferred support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 to a temperature close to room temperature. At this time, as mentioned above, the discharge part 400 is provided with cooling means capable of uniformly cooling the support plate 20 and the semiconductor device 10 so that the semiconductor device is uniformly cooled so as not to deform.

Therefore, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element according to the present invention can perform the heat treatment of the semiconductor element at approximately 400 ℃ to 1000 ℃. In particular, the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the present invention can be more effectively performed a heat treatment that requires a temperature of 600 ℃ or more the deformation temperature of the glass substrate.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific preferred embodiments described above, and any person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Various modifications are possible, of course, and such changes are within the scope of the claims.

The heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor device according to the present invention has the effect of performing a heat treatment by stepping up the temperature of the semiconductor device step by step and cooling step by step to perform a heat treatment at a faster time. In particular, according to the present invention, the crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin film formed on the upper surface of the glass substrate, the dopant activation treatment of the TFT element formed of the polysilicon thin film, the pre-compaction of the glass substrate for forming the semiconductor thin film on the upper surface (pre-compaction) The heat treatment can be effected more quickly while preventing the deformation of the glass substrate.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the heat treatment is performed by uniformly heating the substrate while supporting the semiconductor element as a whole, there is an effect of preventing deformation or damage of the glass substrate.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the exhaust part is uniformly cooled by injecting a cooling gas to the semiconductor element which is heat-treated to a predetermined temperature and transported, there is an effect that the semiconductor element can be quickly heat treated while preventing deformation or damage.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the exhaust part cools the upper part of the semiconductor element by heating means while injecting gas to the lower surface of the support plate for supporting the semiconductor element, the semiconductor element and the support plate are uniformly cooled and the local temperature difference of the semiconductor element. There is an effect that can prevent deformation due to.

Claims (24)

In the heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor element for heat-treating the semiconductor element, The semiconductor device and a charging unit on which the semiconductor device is seated and seated and transported, and at least two heating furnaces each of which is independently controlled by setting a holding temperature step by step until the heat treatment temperature, and are transferred from the charging unit. A heating unit for heating the semiconductor element and the support plate to a predetermined heat treatment temperature, and at least two heating furnaces each of which is independently controlled by setting the holding temperature step by step from the heat treatment temperature to the predetermined cooling temperature, and the heat treatment process is performed. A cooling part for cooling the semiconductor element and the support plate transferred from the heating part to a predetermined cooling temperature, and a discharge part for uniformly cooling and discharging the semiconductor element and the support plate cooled to the predetermined cooling temperature to a predetermined temperature without deformation, The heating unit and the cooling unit are installed to prevent external air from entering the internal heat treatment space. The discharge portion Gas injection nozzles for injecting gas at a predetermined angle to the support plate and the semiconductor element conveyed from the cooling unit, and the support plate is seated and the injection hole through which the gas is injected by penetrating up and down in a predetermined region where the support plate is seated And a cooling susceptor, cooling vertical conveying means for conveying the cooling susceptor vertically, and cooling horizontal conveying means for conveying the support plate horizontally. The method of claim 1, And a process unit disposed between the heating unit and the cooling unit to rapidly heat the semiconductor element to a predetermined temperature by an induction heating unit. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the discharge part further includes upper heating means installed on an upper portion of the cooling susceptor to heat the upper portion of the semiconductor element and the support plate. The method of claim 3, wherein The cooling susceptor is a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device, characterized in that formed of any one of a material containing aluminum metal or alloy, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, graphite. The method of claim 3, wherein And the cooling susceptor is formed with an area larger than that of the support plate. The method of claim 3, wherein And the injection hole is formed in a region corresponding to at least 50% of the width of the support plate when the support plate is seated on the upper surface of the cooling susceptor. The method of claim 3, wherein The injection hole is a heat treatment apparatus for a semiconductor device, characterized in that a plurality of holes having a circular or polygonal cross-sectional shape is arranged. The method of claim 7, wherein The injection hole is a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor element, characterized in that formed in the diameter or width having a 0.5mm to 3mm. The method of claim 3, wherein And the injection holes are arranged at intervals larger than the diameter or width thereof. The method of claim 3, wherein The gas injection nozzle includes an upper nozzle and a lower nozzle and is spaced apart from each other by a height greater than the height of the semiconductor device and the support plate, and is formed to inject gas onto the transported upper and lower portions of the semiconductor device and the support plate. Heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor element characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 3, wherein The gas injection nozzle is a heat treatment apparatus for a semiconductor device, characterized in that the gas injection angle is formed to be an obtuse angle with the conveying direction of the support plate. The method of claim 3, wherein And said gas injection nozzle is formed at least in width of said support plate. The method of claim 3, wherein The cooling and vertical conveying means is a heat treatment apparatus for a semiconductor element, characterized in that formed by a pneumatic cylinder, a ball screw feed mechanism or a timing belt installed below the cooling susceptor. The method of claim 3, wherein The cooling horizontal conveying means includes a roller and a motor for rotating the same, And the roller is inserted into a cooling roller groove formed to a predetermined length on an upper surface of the cooling susceptor, and is formed to transport the supporting plate seated in contact with a predetermined width thereon. The method of claim 3, wherein And the upper heating means is formed in an area larger than the area of the support plate at least on the cooling susceptor to heat the upper portion of the semiconductor element and the support plate. The method of claim 3, wherein The upper heating means is a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device, characterized in that formed by a plurality of lamp heaters. The method of claim 3, wherein The semiconductor device may be any one of semiconductor devices including an amorphous silicon thin film formed on an organic substrate, a polysilicon thin film formed on a glass substrate, and a glass substrate on which the semiconductor element is formed. The method of claim 17, And the semiconductor device is a thin film transistor used in a liquid crystal display or an organic light emitting display device. The method of claim 3, wherein Wherein the heat treatment is any one of solid phase crystallization, metal induction crystallization, metal induced side crystallization, activation of ion implanted polysilicon thin film, and precompaction treatment of a glass substrate. The method of claim 3, wherein The heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device, characterized in that the heat treatment is carried out at a temperature between 400 ℃ to 1000 ℃. The method of claim 3, wherein The support plate is a heat treatment apparatus of a semiconductor device, characterized in that formed of 3mm to 10mm thick quartz. The method of claim 3, wherein And said supporting plate is formed at least 10 mm wider and longer than said semiconductor element. In the heat treatment apparatus of the semiconductor element for heat-treating the semiconductor element seated on the support plate, A discharge part for cooling the support plate and the semiconductor element to be transferred to the heat treatment to a predetermined temperature The support plate is seated and the cooling susceptor is formed through the up and down in a predetermined area on which the support plate is seated to form a spray hole for gas injection, and the support plate and the semiconductor element formed and transported on one side of the cooling susceptor a predetermined angle And a gas ejection nozzle for injecting gas into the furnace, cooling vertical conveying means for conveying the cooling susceptor up and down, and cooling horizontal conveying means for conveying the support plate horizontally. 24. The method of claim 23, And the discharge part further includes upper heating means installed on an upper portion of the cooling susceptor to heat the upper portion of the semiconductor element and the support plate.

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