KR101117188B1 - Apparatus for processing a substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The disclosed substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber having a lower panel, a gas supply unit supplying a process gas onto a substrate in the process chamber, a heater disposed in the process chamber to support and heat the substrate, and having a flat plate shape; A support member for supporting a central portion of the heater, and a plurality of reinforcement parts coupled to edge portions of the heater to support edge portions of the heater in a vertical direction and slidable in a horizontal direction on the lower panel; . The deflection at the edge portions of the heater can be improved, and the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater is not limited.

Description

Substrate processing unit {Apparatus for processing a substrate}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a substrate processing apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus for processing the substrate using a heater that supports and heats the substrate to process the substrate.

In general, various films may be formed on a substrate in a microtreatment process for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a display device, a solar cell, and the like, and the films may be patterned into a desired shape.

For example, various films may be formed on a substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or the like, which may be patterned by dry or wet etching. Can be. In particular, the deposition methods and the dry etching method may be generally performed in a vacuum state, and a deposition or etching method using plasma may be used according to the characteristics of the desired film or pattern. For example, plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD), high density plasma CVD (HDP CVD), reactive ion etching (RIE), high density plasma etching (HDP etching) Microtreatment processes such as and the like may be selected depending on the properties of the desired film or pattern.

An apparatus for performing such substrate processing processes may include a heater having a flat plate shape for supporting the substrate and heating to a predetermined process temperature. The heater may be disposed in the process chamber, and a central portion of the heater may be supported by the support member.

Recently, in order to improve throughput of the processing apparatus, a method of using a large-area substrate or processing a plurality of substrates at the same time has been developed. In this case, the size of the heater may be increased, and thus heat deformation of the heater may occur. In particular, deflection may occur at edge portions of the heater, and thus process defects such as non-uniformity of thin film thickness or pattern line width may occur. In addition, a problem may occur in driving lift pins penetrating the heater due to thermal deformation of the heater.

Embodiments of the present invention for solving the above problems are to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can reduce the problems that may be caused by the heat deformation of the heater as described above.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a substrate processing apparatus includes a process chamber having a space for processing a substrate and having a lower panel, a gas supply unit coupled to the process chamber and supplying a process gas onto the substrate, A heater disposed in the process chamber for supporting and heating a substrate, a support member for supporting a central portion of the heater, and coupled to edge portions of the heater to move the edge portions of the heater in a vertical direction It may include a plurality of reinforcement portion for supporting and slidable in the horizontal direction on the lower panel.

According to embodiments of the present invention, each reinforcement part may include a body coupled to the edge portion of the heater and extending downward, and a slide member mounted on the lower portion of the body to enable horizontal sliding of the body. Can be.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, each reinforcing portion is coupled to the edge portion of the heater and extends downwardly, and a cylinder tube for supporting the edge portion of the heater, penetrates through the heater and is movable vertically; A lift pin for performing a load and unload operation of the substrate with respect to the heater, a piston disposed in the cylinder tube and movable in the vertical direction by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, and mounted to the lower portion of the cylinder tube; It may include a slide member to enable the horizontal slide of the cylinder tube.

According to embodiments of the present invention, each reinforcement part may further include a spring disposed between the body or the cylinder tube and the slide member.

According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of grooves may be formed in the lower panel of the process chamber, respectively, wherein the reinforcement parts are respectively inserted and have bottom surfaces respectively supporting the reinforcement parts.

According to embodiments of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus may further include covers respectively surrounding the reinforcement parts to prevent particles from flowing into the reinforcement parts and the grooves.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the edge portions of the heater can be supported in the vertical direction by the body or cylinder tube of the reinforcement portion, and the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater is limited by the slide member of the reinforcement portion It may not be. Deflection at the edge of the heater can be greatly improved.

In addition, since the piston disposed in the cylinder tube and the lift pin connected to the piston are moved together with the cylinder tube by the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater, the driving of the lift pin may be stably performed regardless of the thermal expansion of the heater. .

Accordingly, substrate loading and unloading onto the heater can be easily performed, and heat transfer to the substrate and process gas or plasma supply for treating the substrate can be made uniform. As a result, the performance and process failure of the substrate processing apparatus including the heater can be greatly improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described below, but may be embodied in various other forms.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the reinforcement parts illustrated in FIG. 1.

1 and 2, a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a semiconductor wafer for manufacturing a semiconductor device, a glass substrate for manufacturing a flat panel display device, and a silicon substrate for manufacturing a solar cell. The substrate 10 may be used to perform a predetermined treatment process on various kinds of substrates 10. For example, a PECVD process for forming a thin film or an RIE process for etching a thin film may be preferably performed. In particular, it can be preferably used to perform the treatment process for a large area substrate 10 or a plurality of substrates stored in the tray.

The substrate processing apparatus 100 may include a process chamber 110 that provides an airtight space in which the processing process is performed, and at least one substrate 10, for example, a large area substrate in the process chamber 110. 10) or a heater 120 for supporting and heating a tray in which a plurality of substrates are stored, and a gas supply unit 130 for supplying a process gas for processing the substrate 10.

In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 100 is connected to the process chamber 110 to be connected to the pressure control unit 136 and the gas supply unit 130 to adjust the internal pressure of the process chamber 110 to the process It may further include a gas source 138 that provides a gas. In general, since the treatment process is performed in a vacuum state, the pressure regulator 136 may include a vacuum pump, a pressure sensor, a plurality of valves, and the like, and the gas source 138 may include a container in which the process gas is stored; Flow sensors, flow control valves, and the like. In particular, the process gas may include source gases for forming the thin film, reactive gases for etching the thin film, carrier gas for transporting the source gases or reactive gases, and plasma in the process chamber 110. A plasma ignition gas for ignition, an inert gas for performing a pressure control and purge function in the process chamber 110, and the like.

The process chamber 110 may have an open upper structure, and the gas supply unit 130 may have a form covering the open upper portion. In particular, the gas supply unit 130 may include an upper panel 132 and a shower head 134 having a flat plate shape, and the process gas is first supplied between the upper panel 132 and the shower head 134. The gas holes of the shower head 134 may be supplied onto the substrate 10. In addition, as shown, the upper panel 134 may be connected to a high frequency power source for plasma formation. However, the high frequency power supply is optional and the scope of the present invention will not be limited thereby.

Although not shown in detail, the sidewall of the process chamber 110 includes a slit-shaped opening 112 for loading and unloading the substrate 10 and a slit valve for opening and closing the opening 112. May be provided, and a liner (not shown) may be disposed on an inner side surface to prevent damage by a process gas in a plasma state while the treatment process is performed.

The heater 120 may support the large-area substrate 10 or a plurality of substrates, and may have a circular or square flat plate shape according to the shape of the substrate 10. In addition, although not shown, a heating member for generating heat to heat the substrate 10 may be disposed in the heater 120. For example, an electric resistance heating wire may be built in the heater 120.

The process chamber 110 may have a lower panel 114, and the heater 120 may be maintained in a horizontal direction inside the process chamber 110 by the support member 122. In particular, the support member 122 may support a central portion of the heater 120. As shown, the support member 122 penetrates the lower panel 114, but the configuration of the support member 122 may be variously changed as necessary.

Since the central portion of the heater 120 is supported by the support member 122 as described above, sag may occur at edge portions of the heater 120. In particular, when the temperature of the heater 120 is raised to process the substrate 10, the amount of deflection at edge portions of the heater 120 may be greatly increased.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate processing apparatus 100 is coupled to edge portions of the heater 120 to support edge portions of the heater 120 in a vertical direction and on the lower panel 114. It may include a plurality of reinforcing parts 140 configured to be slidable in the horizontal direction. That is, the edge portions of the heater 120 are supported by the reinforcement parts 140 in the vertical direction, and the horizontal heat deformation of the heater 120 is freed by the reinforcement parts 140. The deflection phenomenon occurring at the edge portions of 120 may be greatly improved.

Each reinforcement portion 140 is coupled to the edge portion of the heater 120 and includes a body extending downward and a slide member 150 mounted on the lower portion of the body to enable the horizontal slide of the body Can be.

In particular, according to one embodiment of the invention, the cylinder tube 142 of the hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder can be used as the body. In this case, each of the reinforcement portion 140 is coupled to the edge portion of the heater 120 and extends downwardly and the cylinder tube 142, and can move in the vertical direction through the heater 120 and the heater ( A lift pin 144 for performing a load and unload operation of the substrate 10 with respect to 120, and a lift pin 144 disposed in the cylinder tube 142 and movable in a vertical direction by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. Piston 146 connected to the) and the slide member 150 is mounted to the lower portion of the cylinder tube 142 to enable the horizontal slide of the cylinder tube 142. That is, since the reinforcement parts 140 are configured to include the lift pins 144, there is no need to configure separate lift pins and a separate driving part for moving in the vertical direction thereof.

The cylinder tube 142 may support the edge portion of the heater 120 in the vertical direction, and can be freely moved in the horizontal direction by the slide member 150. That is, the deflection phenomenon due to the thermal deformation of the heater 120 can be sufficiently reduced, and since the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater 120 is not limited, the flatness of the heater 120 can be maintained constant.

The lift pin 144 is connected to a piston 146 disposed in the cylinder tube 142 and may move vertically through the heater 120 by the vertical movement of the piston 146. That is, the lift pin 144 may move in the horizontal direction together with the cylinder tube 142 by thermal expansion of the heater 120, and thus the lift pin in the load and unload operations of the substrate 10. The movement of 144 may be freely performed regardless of thermal expansion of the heater 120.

The piston 146 and the lift pin 144 may be moved in the vertical direction by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. To this end, the cylinder tubes 142 may be connected to pipes 148A and 148B for providing pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. For example, first and second pipes 148A and 148B may be connected to the upper and lower spaces of the piston 146, respectively, and as shown, the second pipe 148B may be a piston 146. It may be connected to the connecting passage 142A that communicates with the upper space of the extending through the side wall of the cylinder tube 142. However, the method of connecting the first and second pipes 148A and 148B may be variously changed, and the scope of the present invention may not be limited by simply the pipe connection method.

Unlike the above, although not shown, a coil spring (not shown) may be disposed in an upper space of the piston 146, and a pipe for providing pneumatic or hydraulic pressure may be connected to a lower space of the piston 146. Can be. In this case, the piston 146 and the lift pin 144 may be raised by the pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, it may be lowered by the coil spring.

On the other hand, the heater 120 may be electrically grounded or connected to a high frequency power source for plasma formation. In this case, the cylinder tube 142 is preferably electrically insulated from the heater 120, and for this purpose, an insulator 160 may be provided between the heater 120 and the cylinder tube 142.

The slide member 150 may be used to free the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater 120. The slide member 150 may reduce the friction force between the cylinder tube 142 and the lower panel 114 when the heater 120 thermally expands in the horizontal direction by using the plurality of balls 156. For example, the slide member 150 includes a plurality of balls 156 and the plurality of balls 156 disposed between the upper and lower plates 152 and 154 and the upper and lower plates 152 and 154. May include a retainer (158). However, the upper and / or lower plates 152 and 154 may be removed in some cases. That is, the upper and / or lower plates 152 and 154 are selectively removed when the retainer 158 is mounted directly to the bottom of the cylinder tube 142 or when the upper surface of the lower panel 114 is sufficiently flat. May be

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a spring 162, for example, a coil spring may be disposed between the cylinder tube 142 and the slide member 150. The spring 162 may be used to provide some fluidity with respect to the function of supporting the edge portion of the heater 120 in the vertical direction and the horizontal movement of the cylinder tube 142. That is, the vertical support and the horizontal thermal expansion of the edge portion of the heater 120 by the spring 162 can be made more stable. In this case, the spring 162 may be mounted between the cylinder tube 142 and the upper plate 152 of the slide member 150.

A plurality of grooves 116 into which the reinforcement parts 140 are inserted may be formed in the lower panel 114. This is to reduce the size of the process chamber 110 by allowing the reinforcement parts 140 to be accommodated in the grooves 116. In this case, the reinforcement parts 140 may move in the horizontal direction in the grooves 116. For this purpose, the grooves 116 preferably have a wider width and a flat bottom than the reinforcement parts 140. In this case, covers 164 surrounding the reinforcement parts 140 may be provided to prevent particles from flowing between the reinforcement parts 140 and the grooves 116.

The covers 164 may have a ring shape as shown. In this case, the covers 164 may be simply placed on the lower panel 114, or may be fixed to the lower panel 114. When the covers 164 are fixed on the lower panel 114, the covers 164 may be made of a flexible material for horizontal movement of the reinforcement parts 140.

In addition, although not shown, a plurality of vacuum holes (not shown) connected to a vacuum system may be provided at the side and / or bottom of the grooves 116 to remove particles introduced into the grooves 116. have.

3 to 6 are cross-sectional views for describing other examples of the reinforcement part illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, the reinforcement part 140 may be disposed on the lower panel 114A of the process chamber 110, in which case the grooves 116 as shown in FIG. 2 are formed in the lower panel 114A. It is not formed and it is also not necessary to be provided with the cover 164 as shown in FIG. Here, since the reinforcing portion 140 is the same as shown in Figure 2, further description will be omitted.

4 and 5, the reinforcement part 240 may include a body 242 and a slide member 244. The body 242 may have a pillar shape extending downward from the edge portion of the heater 120 simply to support the edge portion of the heater 120 in the vertical direction. In addition, a spring 246 may be interposed between the body 242 and the slide member 244.

The reinforcement part 240 may be disposed on the lower panel 114A of the process chamber 110 similarly to that shown in FIG. 4, and similar to that shown in FIG. 5, the lower panel ( It may be disposed inside the groove 116 formed in the 114. Since the slide member 244 is the same as described above with reference to FIG. 2, further description thereof will be omitted.

In the case of using the reinforcement part 240 that simply supports the edge portion of the heater 120 as described above, although not shown, lift pins for loading and unloading the substrate 10 are thermal expansion of the heater 120. Due to the relatively small portions may be disposed through the portions adjacent to the central portion of the heater 120.

Referring to FIG. 6, a cover for preventing particles from flowing into the space between the groove 116 and the reinforcing part 140 formed in the lower panel 114 of the process chamber 110 may have flexibility in the horizontal direction. Bellows 166 may be used. The bellows 166 may be installed to completely surround the reinforcement part 140 between the edge portion of the heater 120 and the lower panel 114.

On the other hand, since the reinforcement unit 140 is the same as described above with reference to Figure 2, further description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the bellows 166 may be preferably applied when the reinforcement part 240 shown in FIG. 5 is used.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, the edge portions of the heater can be supported in the vertical direction by the reinforcement portion, and since the horizontal thermal expansion of the heater is not limited by the slide member of the reinforcement portion, Heat deformation or sag of the heater can be greatly improved. As a result, since the substrate loaded on the heater can be heated uniformly, and a process gas or plasma can be uniformly provided on the substrate, the performance and process defect of the substrate processing apparatus using the heater can be reduced. It can be greatly improved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view for describing the reinforcement parts illustrated in FIG. 1.

3 to 6 are cross-sectional views for describing other examples of the reinforcement part illustrated in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: substrate 100: substrate processing apparatus

110: process chamber 114: lower panel

120: heater 130: gas supply unit

140: reinforcement 142: cylinder tube

144: lift pin 146: piston

150: slide member 162: spring

164: cover

Claims (9)

A process chamber providing a space for processing the substrate and having a lower panel; A gas supply unit coupled to the process chamber and supplying a process gas onto the substrate; A heater disposed in the process chamber for supporting and heating the substrate and having a flat plate shape; A support member for supporting a central portion of the heater; And A plurality of reinforcements coupled to edge portions of the heater to support the edge portions of the heater in a vertical direction and configured to slide in a horizontal direction on the lower panel; Each reinforcement part, A cylinder tube coupled to an edge of the heater and extending downward; A lift pin movable through the heater in a vertical direction and configured to perform a load and unload operation of the substrate with respect to the heater; A piston disposed in the cylinder tube and movable in a vertical direction by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure and connected to the lift pin; And And a slide member mounted under the cylinder tube to enable horizontal slide of the cylinder tube. delete delete The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each reinforcement further comprises a spring disposed between the cylinder tube and the slide member. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower panel of the process chamber is provided with a plurality of grooves each having the reinforcement parts inserted therein and having a bottom surface respectively supporting the reinforcement parts. 6. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising covers covering the reinforcement portions to prevent particles from flowing between the reinforcement portions and the grooves. A process chamber providing a space for processing the substrate and having a lower panel; A gas supply unit coupled to the process chamber and supplying a process gas onto the substrate; A heater disposed in the process chamber for supporting and heating the substrate and having a flat plate shape; A support member for supporting a central portion of the heater; And A plurality of reinforcements coupled to edge portions of the heater to support the edge portions of the heater in a vertical direction and configured to slide in a horizontal direction on the lower panel; Each reinforcement part, A body coupled to an edge of the heater and extending downward; A slide member mounted to a lower portion of the body to enable a horizontal slide of the body; And And a spring disposed between the body and the slide member. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the lower panel of the process chamber is provided with a plurality of grooves each having the reinforcement portions inserted therein and having bottom surfaces respectively supporting the reinforcement portions. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8, further comprising covers covering the reinforcement portions to prevent particles from flowing between the reinforcement portions and the grooves.

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