KR101378083B1 - Wafer processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a susceptor on which a substrate is loaded; A process chamber having an inner chamber through which a processing process is performed on the substrate by a reaction gas at a first pressure, and an outer chamber formed independently at an edge region of the processing space and maintained at a second pressure by a protective gas; A load lock chamber coupled to a lower portion of the process chamber and maintained at a third pressure by a dilution gas; A voting part supporting the susceptor so that the susceptor moves up and down between the load lock chamber and the process chamber; A dilution tank through which the reaction gas, the protective gas, and the dilution gas are exhausted; After the treatment process is completed, the reaction gas and the protective gas are respectively exhausted to the dilution tank independently, and after the susceptor is lowered into the load lock chamber by the voting portion, remaining in the inner chamber. Reaction gas is characterized in that it comprises a control unit for diluting with the dilution gas in the load lock chamber and then exhausted to the dilution tank.

Description

Substrate Processing Equipment {WAFER PROCESSING APPARATUS}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate processing apparatus which improves processing stability by mixing and exhausting a reaction gas remaining inside a process chamber with an inert gas during loading / unloading of a substrate.

Various processes are performed on the semiconductor wafer during the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device. In one example, to achieve an effective process at the interface, oxidation, nitriding, silicide, ion implantation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes are performed.

A substrate treating apparatus for treating such various treatment processes has been disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-0051925 and Korean Patent Publication No. 2001-0022685.

Hydrogen (H ₂ ) or deuterium (D ₂ ) used to treat a substrate in a conventional substrate processing apparatus as disclosed is very reactive, flammable and toxic. Accordingly, there is a risk that the reaction gas leaks around the process chamber in which the substrate treatment proceeds, so stability is a problem. In particular, since the substrate treatment proceeds at high pressure, the probability of leakage of the reaction gas may be further increased.

Therefore, there is a need for a new type of substrate processing apparatus capable of stably maintaining the airtightness of the reaction gas during substrate processing and stably exhausting the reaction gas after the substrate processing is completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem, and to provide a substrate treating apparatus capable of blocking direct leakage of a reaction gas to the outside before and after the substrate treating process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate treating apparatus which increases the processing stability by diluting and exhausting the reaction gas remaining in the process chamber with a safe inert gas after the substrate treating process.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of blocking external leakage of the reaction gas inside the process chamber during the substrate processing process.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by a substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes a susceptor on which a substrate is loaded; A process chamber having an inner chamber through which a processing process is performed on the substrate by a reaction gas at a first pressure, and an outer chamber formed independently at an edge region of the processing space and maintained at a second pressure by a protective gas; A load lock chamber coupled to a lower portion of the process chamber and maintained at a third pressure by a dilution gas; A voting part supporting the susceptor so that the susceptor moves up and down between the load lock chamber and the process chamber; A dilution tank through which the reaction gas, the protective gas, and the dilution gas are exhausted; After the treatment process is completed, the reaction gas and the protective gas are respectively exhausted to the dilution tank independently, and after the susceptor is lowered into the load lock chamber by the voting portion, remaining in the inner chamber. The reaction gas may include a control unit configured to exhaust the dilution gas into the dilution tank after dilution with the dilution gas in the load lock chamber.

According to one embodiment, the load lock chamber has an opening is formed in the upper portion, the voting portion is coupled to the lower portion of the susceptor, the voting body to cover the opening; A lifting shaft coupled to a lower portion of the voting body and extending below the load lock chamber to support the botting body to move up and down; It includes a lifting drive unit for applying a driving force so that the lifting shaft is lifted up and down.

According to one embodiment, the dilution gas inside the load lock chamber is provided in an amount such that the concentration of the reaction gas is 3% or less when mixed with the residual reaction gas.

In the substrate treating apparatus according to the present invention, an outer chamber filled with a protective gas is formed outside the inner chamber to prevent the reaction gas from leaking directly to the outside.

In addition, the load lock chamber is formed in the lower portion of the process chamber, the dilution gas is filled therein can also be blocked the leakage of the reaction gas to the bottom. In addition, since the reaction gas remaining inside the inner chamber during the vertical movement of the susceptor is not directly exhausted, the reaction gas is diluted with the diluent gas inside the load lock chamber and exhausted to further improve processing stability.

1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention;
2 is a schematic view showing a state where the susceptor is lowered after the processing step of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention.

As shown, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a process chamber 100 in which a substrate processing process is performed, a susceptor 300 for loading a substrate A during a substrate processing process, and a process. The load lock chamber 200 coupled to the lower portion of the chamber 100 to provide a space for loading / unloading a substrate to the susceptor 300, and the susceptor 300 includes a process chamber 100 and a load lock chamber ( A voting unit 400 supporting the lifting up and down between the 200 and the nitrogen supply unit 500 for supplying nitrogen acting as a protective gas and a dilution gas to the process chamber 100 and the load lock chamber 200, and reacting with each other. The control unit 800 controls the dilution tank 600 through which the gas and nitrogen are exhausted, and the reaction gas and nitrogen inside the process chamber 100 and the nitrogen inside the load lock chamber 200 to be exhausted to the dilution tank 600. Include.

Here, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is optimized for the metal organic deposition process (MOCVD), but in some cases, such as etching (deposition), cleaning (cleaning), ashing (ashing) It can also be applied to processes.

In addition, in the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention, nitrogen is used as the protective gas and the diluent gas, but other types of inert gas may be used.

The process chamber 100 provides a space in which processing is performed on the substrate loaded on the susceptor 300. The process chamber 100 according to the present invention includes an inner chamber 110 in which substrate processing is performed, and an outer chamber 130 provided outside the inner chamber 110 to block external leakage of reaction gas during substrate processing. And a cover member 120 covering upper surfaces of the inner chamber 110 and the outer chamber 130, and a shower head 140 coupled to the lower portion of the cover member 120 to supply reaction gas to the inner chamber 110. And a reaction gas supply pipe 150 for supplying the reaction gas from the reaction gas supply unit 160 to the shower head 140.

The inner chamber 110 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an upper and lower openings coupled to the load lock chamber 200. The open lower region of the inner chamber 110 is mated with the open opening 211 of the load lock chamber 200. Susceptor 300 is moved up and down through the open lower region.

The inner chamber 110 receives the reaction gas from the shower head 140 coupled to the upper portion, and maintains the inside at the first pressure P ₁ . The substrate treating process is performed while the mood is maintained at the first pressure P ₁ .

Although not shown in the drawing, a heater (not shown) may be provided inside the inner chamber 110. A heater (not shown) heats the inside of the inner chamber 110 to a high temperature for substrate processing. The heater (not shown) may be integrally coupled to the inside of the wall surface of the inner chamber 110 or may be provided independently.

The outer chamber 130 is coupled to the outside of the inner chamber 110. The outer chamber 130 is disposed to be spaced apart from the outer wall surface of the inner chamber 110 by a predetermined interval to form a protective gas accommodating space 113 between the inner chamber 110. The protection gas accommodating space 113 receives nitrogen supplied from the nitrogen supply unit 500. Nitrogen is an inert gas and prevents the reaction gas contained at the first pressure P ₁ inside the internal chamber 110 from leaking to the outside. That is, nitrogen surrounds the outside of the inner chamber 110 by the volume of the protective gas accommodating space 113 to block the reaction gas from leaking directly to the outside.

As a result, even if the reaction gas leaks to the outside, the risk is reduced because it is discharged in a diluted state with the protective gas nitrogen.

Nitrogen contained in the protective gas accommodating space 113 is maintained at a second pressure. At this time, the second pressure is maintained to be equal to the first pressure which is the pressure of the reaction gas inside the inner chamber 110.

 Meanwhile, the coolant accommodating space 131 in which the coolant is accommodated is integrally formed in the wall surface of the outer chamber 130. The outer chamber 130 is provided with a coolant inlet (not shown) through which the coolant flows from the coolant supply unit 170, and a coolant outlet (not shown) through which the coolant is discharged so that the coolant is circulated along the coolant accommodating space 131. do. The heat of the process chamber 100 is blocked from being transferred to the outside by the circulation of the cooling water.

Here, the coupling region of the inner chamber 110 and the cover member 120, the coupling region of the outer chamber 130 and the cover member 120, the load lock chamber 200 of the inner chamber 110 and the outer chamber 130 Sealing members are respectively coupled to the coupling regions to block external leakage of the reaction gas.

The load lock chamber 200 is coupled to the lower portion of the process chamber 100 to allow the substrate to be loaded / unloaded into the susceptor 300. In addition, since the susceptor 300 according to the present invention moves up and down based on the process chamber 100, the load lock chamber 200 is a stabilizer for diluting the reaction gas remaining in the process chamber 100. Function.

The load lock chamber 200 is formed in a shape of an enclosure having an opening 211 formed thereon. The interior of the load lock chamber 200 is filled with nitrogen, which is a diluent gas. Nitrogen is supplied into the load lock chamber 200 from the nitrogen supply unit 500.

The nitrogen supply unit 500 is filled with a pressure of P ₃ nitrogen nitrogen. At this time, the dilution gas supplied into the load lock chamber 200 is prepared in an amount capable of lowering the concentration of the reaction gas remaining in the process chamber 100 to 3% or less after the treatment process is completed. To this end, diluent gas and reactant gas are prepared in a ratio of 97: 3.

The load lock chamber 200 is provided with a supply port (not shown) for supplying nitrogen from the nitrogen supply unit 500, and an exhaust pipe (not shown) through which the reaction gas and the diluted dilution gas are exhausted to the dilution tank 600 is connected. do.

Meanwhile, at one side of the load lock chamber 200, a transfer robot (not shown) is moved to form a gate 213 for transferring the substrate A, and at one side of the gate 213, a gate for opening and closing the gate 213. The valve 220 is provided. The gate valve 220 is opened and closed by a control signal of the controller 800.

The susceptor 300 stably supports the substrate A during the substrate processing process. The susceptor 300 is vertically moved into the process chamber 100 and the load lock chamber 200 while being supported by the voting unit 400. The susceptor 300 is provided with an electrostatic chuck (not shown) so that the substrate A is loaded on an upper surface thereof, and a heater (not shown) is embedded for heating the substrate A in some cases.

The voting unit 400 supports the susceptor 300 to move up and down between the process chamber 100 and the load lock chamber 200. The voting unit 400 includes a voting body 410 fixedly coupled to the lower part of the susceptor 300, and a lifting shaft 420 extending vertically across the load lock chamber 200 from the voting body 410. It includes a lifting drive unit 430 for applying a driving force to the lifting shaft 420.

The voting body 410 has an upper surface fixed to the susceptor 300, and the lower surface is coupled to the lifting shaft 420. As a result, the voting body 410 moves the susceptor 300 up and down by the lifting and lowering of the lifting shaft 420.

The voting body 410 covers the upper opening 211 of the load lock chamber 200 during the substrate processing process such that the susceptor 300 is positioned inside the process chamber 100. At this time, the voting body 410 closes the opening 211 to block the reaction gas from moving to the load lock chamber 200 side.

When the substrate processing is completed, the voting body 410 is lowered into the load lock chamber 200 by the lifting shaft 420 as shown in FIG. 2.

The lifting shaft 420 receives the driving force by the lifting driving unit 430 to raise and lower the voting body 410. The lifting shaft 420 may be lifted by hydraulic pressure, lifted by mechanical driving, or lifted by magnetic force.

The lifting driving unit 430 transfers the driving force to the lifting shaft 420 according to the control signal of the controller 800.

The nitrogen supply unit 500 supplies nitrogen to the protective gas accommodating space 113 and supplies nitrogen to the load lock chamber 200. The nitrogen supply unit 500, the outer chamber 130, the nitrogen supply unit 500, and the load lock chamber 200 are each connected to a nitrogen supply pipe (not shown), and an on / off valve (not shown) is provided on the nitrogen supply pipe (not shown). It is provided.

The dilution tank 600 is housed in the reaction gas, protective gas and dilution gas. The dilution tank 600 is a reaction gas exhausted from the inner chamber 110, the protective gas exhausted from the protective gas receiving space 113, and the dilution gas mixed with the remaining reactive gas in the load lock chamber 200, respectively Exhausted. The reaction gas, the protective gas, and the dilution gas exhausted together into the dilution tank 600 are mixed together and finally discharged to the exhaust unit 700.

The controller 800 controls the protection gas and the dilution gas to be supplied into the protection gas accommodating space 113 and the load lock chamber 200 so that the reaction gas inside the internal chamber 110 is not leaked to the outside during the processing process. The control unit 800 is a reaction gas supply unit 160 supplies the reaction gas to the inner chamber 110 through the shower head 140, the reaction gas is maintained in the inner chamber 110 at a first pressure (P ₁ ) Allow the treatment process to proceed.

In addition, the controller 800 supplies a nitrogen gas, which is a protective gas, between the inner chamber 110 and the outer chamber 130 so that the second pressure P ₂ is maintained so that the protective gas layer is formed outside the inner chamber 110. . As a result, even if the reaction gas of the inner chamber 110 leaks to the outside in advance, it is exhausted in a diluted state by the dilution gas.

In addition, the controller 800 supplies nitrogen, which is a dilution gas, to the third pressure P ₃ in the load lock chamber 200. As a result, even if the reaction gas of the inner chamber 110 leaks to the lower side, the reaction gas is exhausted in a diluted state by the dilution gas. In addition, after the reaction is completed, if the reaction gas remaining in the inner chamber 110 without being exhausted is moved to the load lock chamber 200 by the movement of the susceptor 300 is diluted with the dilution gas and then the dilution tank 600 To be exhausted.

The controller 800 adjusts the amount of the protective gas supplied to the protective gas accommodating space 113 and adjusts the amount of the diluting gas supplied to the load lock chamber 200.

An operation process of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

The voting body 410 remains lowered into the load lock chamber 200 as shown in FIG. 2 before the treatment process proceeds. The gate valve 220 is opened and a transfer robot (not shown) loads the substrate A on the susceptor 300.

The lifting shaft 420 rises and the susceptor 300 moves inside the process chamber 100. The voting body 410 closes the opening 211 of the load lock chamber 200, and the process chamber 100 is switched to a state in which airtightness is maintained.

At this time, the reaction gas supply unit 160 supplies the reaction gas to the internal chamber 110 through the cover member 120 and the shower head 140 under the control of the controller 800. In addition, the control unit 800 allows the nitrogen supply unit 500 to supply the protective gas and the nitrogen, which is the dilution gas, into the protective gas accommodating space 113 and the load lock chamber 200.

When the treatment process is performed in the inner chamber 110 while maintaining the first pressure, the protective gas forms a second pressure mood on the outer wall of the inner chamber 110 and forms a protective gas layer. As a result, the leakage of the reaction gas directly from the inner chamber 110 to the outside can be prevented.

On the other hand, when the treatment process is completed, the reaction gas is directly exhausted to the dilution tank 600, the protective gas is also exhausted to the dilution tank 600. When the exhaust of the reaction gas is completed, the lifting shaft 420 descends and the susceptor 300 moves to the load lock chamber 200. At this time, the opening 211 of the load lock chamber 200 is opened by the lowering of the voting body 410, and the reaction gas remaining in the inner chamber 110 is moved to the load lock chamber 200. The remaining reaction gas is diluted with the diluting gas in the load lock chamber 200 and then exhausted to the dilution tank 600.

When the exhaust of the load lock chamber 200 is completed, the gate valve 220 is opened and the transfer robot (not shown) unloads the processed substrate and loads the unprocessed substrate on the susceptor 300.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention may block the leakage of the reaction gas directly to the outside by forming an outer chamber filled with a protective gas outside the inner chamber.

In addition, the load lock chamber is formed in the lower portion of the process chamber, the dilution gas is filled therein can also be blocked the leakage of the reaction gas to the bottom. In addition, since the reaction gas remaining inside the inner chamber during the vertical movement of the susceptor is not directly exhausted, the reaction gas is diluted with the diluent gas inside the load lock chamber and exhausted to further improve processing stability.

Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention described above is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Could be. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

1: substrate processing apparatus 100: process chamber
110: internal chamber 111: processing space
113: protective gas receiving space 120: cover member
130: outer chamber 131: cooling water receiving space
141: reaction gas supply path 150: reaction gas supply pipe
160: reaction gas supply unit 200: load lock chamber
210: load lock chamber body 211: opening
213: gate 220: gate valve
300: susceptor 400: voting part
410: voting body 420: lifting shaft
430: lift drive unit 500: nitrogen supply unit
600: dilution tank 700: exhaust
800:

Claims (3)

In the substrate processing apparatus,
A susceptor on which a substrate is loaded;
A process chamber having an inner chamber through which a processing process is performed on the substrate by a reaction gas at a first pressure, and an outer chamber formed independently at an edge region of the processing space and maintained at a second pressure by a protective gas;
A load lock chamber coupled to a lower portion of the process chamber and maintained at a third pressure by a dilution gas;
A voting part supporting the susceptor so that the susceptor moves up and down between the load lock chamber and the process chamber;
A dilution tank through which the reaction gas, the protective gas, and the dilution gas are exhausted;
After the treatment process is completed, the reaction gas and the protective gas are respectively exhausted to the dilution tank independently, and after the susceptor is lowered into the load lock chamber by the voting portion, remaining in the inner chamber. And a control unit configured to exhaust the reaction gas into the dilution tank after the reaction gas is diluted with the diluent gas in the load lock chamber. The method of claim 1,
An opening is formed in an upper portion of the load lock chamber;
The voting portion,
A voting body coupled to a lower portion of the susceptor to cover the opening;
A lifting shaft coupled to a lower portion of the voting body and extending below the load lock chamber to support the voting body to move up and down;
And a lift driver configured to apply a driving force to lift the lift shaft up and down. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The dilution gas inside the load lock chamber is provided in an amount such that the concentration of the reaction gas is 3% or less when mixed with the residual reaction gas.

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