KR102618464B1 - Semiconductor manufacturing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing device, and is configured so that remote plasma using a remote plasma module and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) using RF power (radio frequency power) can be used independently or in combination, It can be applied to easily remove photoresist that has gone through various processes, and since multiple semiconductor substrates (wafers) can be loaded and processed in one reaction chamber, productivity can be greatly expanded by increasing the processing speed. By consisting of multiple reaction chambers, process efficiency (through put) can be improved, and overall productivity can be improved by reducing equipment manufacturing costs, overall costs such as the amount of gas required for production, or electricity consumption.

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment {SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. More specifically, since a plurality of semiconductor substrates (wafers) can be loaded and processed in one reaction chamber, productivity can be greatly expanded by increasing the processing speed, and multiple reaction chambers can be used to significantly expand productivity. It relates to a semiconductor manufacturing device that improves the process efficiency that can be processed per hour and improves productivity by reducing overall costs such as facility manufacturing costs and the amount of gas or electricity consumption required for production.

Generally, semiconductor devices selectively and repeatedly perform processes such as diffusion, chemical vapor deposition, metal deposition, photolithography, ion implantation, etching, and ashing on a wafer to form at least one conductive layer, insulating layer, etc. It is manufactured through a series of stacking and combining processes.

Among the processes of manufacturing semiconductor devices, especially those that require an etching process, such as metal wiring or contact hole formation, the gases used for etching interact with the underlying layer or photoresist, such as a semiconductor substrate or interlayer insulating film, in a plasma field. As this occurs, a large amount of polymer is generated as an unwanted by-product.

This polymer not only re-deposits and contaminates the surface of the wafer, acting as an obstacle to subsequent processes, but also distorts the structural shape of the device and deteriorates its electrical characteristics, affecting the device's electrical characteristics, reliability, and yield. It has a big impact.

Therefore, between each unit process, a cleaning process is performed to remove impurities including unnecessary film material, reaction by-products, and various foreign substances present on the wafer.

The photo lithography process, one of the semiconductor manufacturing processes, includes spin coating a photoresist on a semiconductor substrate (wafer); Selectively exposing the photoresist layer; developing the exposed photoresist layer to generate a photoresist pattern; Etching or implanting impurities in the area of the semiconductor substrate that is not covered by the photoresist; And an ashing step to remove the photoresist pattern used as a mask in the etching and impurity injection steps; It consists of

Here, the ashing process is a type of etching process that removes the photoresist whose work has been completed after the etching process or ion implantation process.

A photoresist material is a material used as a mask to etch a pattern on a semiconductor substrate beneath the photoresist or to selectively implant ions into exposed areas of the semiconductor substrate.

And in the ashing process, plasma is used, and oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is mainly used as a reaction gas (process gas).

Therefore, the photoresist removal process can be called an oxidation process because it ultimately causes the photoresist to react with oxygen. Oxidation is a type of burning, so it is called an 'Ashing' process. The equipment that performs this ashing process is called an asher. do.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing device, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a reaction chamber 2 that maintains an internal space in a vacuum pressure state and has an opening and closing opening 2a; A susceptor (3) installed in the reaction chamber (2) to load (seat) the semiconductor substrate (10) on the upper surface; When the carrier 20 containing the semiconductor substrate 10 is located in the load port 30, the semiconductor substrate 10 is transferred (loaded) to the susceptor 3 through the opening and closing opening 2a while reciprocating or moving to the load port 30. A transfer robot (4) capable of transporting (unloading) towards (30); a process gas supply unit (5) for supplying process gas into the reaction chamber (2); A remote plasma module (6) that activates the process gas provided by the process gas supply unit (5) into an excited state (plasma state); A diffuser (7) installed inside the reaction chamber (2) and directly above the susceptor (3) to uniformly distribute the plasma (P) to the semiconductor substrate (10); A lamp heater (8) for activating the process gas (G) of the diffuser (7) by applying heat to it; It may also be provided.

However, conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment has the following problems.

First, since it is configured to process only one semiconductor substrate (wafer) in one reaction chamber, processing efficiency per hour is significantly reduced, and various costs such as facility manufacturing costs, gas volume required for production, and electricity consumption are increased. There is a problem of lowering overall productivity by increasing .

Second, because it is a structure that uses only remote plasma, damage caused by ions to the semiconductor substrate can be reduced, but the problem is that the photoresist that has gone through the impurity implantation process is not processed well or has low efficiency. There is.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2003-0010088 (Publication Date: February 5, 2003)

The present invention was invented to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to use remote plasma using a remote plasma module and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) using RF power (radio frequency power) independently or for both use. By configuring it so that it can be used as a semiconductor manufacturing device that can be applied to easily remove photoresist that has undergone various processes.

In addition, another object of the present invention is that a plurality of semiconductor substrates (wafers) can be loaded and processed in one reaction chamber, thereby increasing the processing speed and greatly expanding productivity, and the plurality of reaction chambers can be configured to process per hour. The goal is to provide a semiconductor manufacturing device that can improve overall productivity by improving process efficiency (through put) and reducing overall costs such as facility manufacturing costs and the amount of gas or electricity consumption required for production.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a reaction chamber that maintains an internal space in a vacuum pressure state so that a semiconductor substrate (wafer) can be processed; A susceptor installed in the reaction chamber to load (seat) a plurality of semiconductor substrates on the upper surface and equipped with a heating wire therein to heat the semiconductor substrates to a required temperature; When the carrier containing the semiconductor substrate is located at the load port, a transfer robot capable of reciprocating and transferring the semiconductor substrate directly above the susceptor or toward the load port; a semiconductor substrate lifting module for loading (seating) the semiconductor substrate transferred by the transfer robot onto the susceptor; a process gas supply unit for supplying process gas into the reaction chamber; A remote plasma module that activates the process gas provided from the process gas supply unit into an excited state (plasma state); A diffuser installed inside the reaction chamber and directly above the susceptor to uniformly distribute plasma to the semiconductor substrate; an electrode plate disposed in parallel with the diffuser in the reaction chamber to allow introduction of process gas and application of external RF power; a susceptor rotation module that rotates the susceptor at a predetermined angle in order to load (seat) the plurality of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor; and a control unit that controls a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes; It has features including:

In addition, remote plasma using the remote plasma module and CCP (capacitively coupled plasma) using the RF power can be configured to be used independently or for combined use.

In addition, the lifting module includes a plurality of lift pins movable up and down on the susceptor to lift the semiconductor substrate; a lift pin plate installed at a lower portion of the reaction chamber to lift the semiconductor substrate by raising the lift pin; and an up-down driving unit that drives the lift pin plate up and down; is provided.

In addition, when a carrier containing a plurality of semiconductor substrates is located at the load port, the transfer robot transfers one of the semiconductor substrates into the reaction chamber through the opening and closing part of the reaction chamber and transfers it directly above the sutapter. Afterwards, the lift pin plate operates to raise the lift pin to lift the semiconductor substrate transported by the transfer robot. Then, when the transfer robot returns to its original position, the lift pin lowers again to lift the first semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is placed in the first position on the susceptor, and the susceptor is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module to place the next semiconductor substrate in the next position on the susceptor in the same manner. It can be configured to load.

In addition, a heating wire is installed inside the susceptor to heat the semiconductor substrate to a temperature required in the process, and the susceptor rotation module allows loading of a plurality of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor, The position of the susceptor can be adjusted up and down as needed by the susceptor vertical driving module, so that the distance between the semiconductor substrate loaded on the susceptor and the diffuser can be adjusted.

In addition, the reaction chamber is composed of a plurality, and when the loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor inside the first reaction chamber is completed by the operation of the transfer robot, the next reaction chamber is loaded in the same manner. After loading of a preset number of semiconductor substrates onto the susceptor inside the reaction chamber is completed, the process may be performed simultaneously in a plurality of the reaction chambers.

In addition, after sequentially loading the plurality of preset semiconductor substrates into preset appropriate positions on the susceptor, the reaction chamber opening and closing part is blocked and the reaction chamber is placed in a vacuum state using an externally installed vacuum pump. After maintenance, it may be configured to selectively perform an ashing process, an etching process, or a film forming process within the reaction chamber using the remote plasma module and the RF power source.

In addition, when performing the ashing process, oxygen gas or a mixed gas is passed into the reaction chamber, selectively exciting remote plasma into a plasma state, and uniformly sprayed on the semiconductor substrate through the diffuser to create photoresist. Be sure to remove .

When performing the ashing process, oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is mainly used, and depending on the process, oxygen gas mixed with some hydrogen gas (H ₂ ), nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), or CF ₄ gas are used. It may be configured to make it possible.

Additionally, when performing the etching process, an external RF power source may be applied to the electrode plate and a bias voltage may be applied to the susceptor to proceed with the etching process.

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

First, the present invention is configured so that remote plasma using a remote plasma module and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) using RF power (radio frequency power) can be used independently or in combination, so that it can be used in combination with conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By solving the disadvantages of poor processing or low efficiency of photoresist that has undergone an impurity injection process, optimal semiconductor manufacturing process conditions can be created by selectively adjusting the processing method depending on the state of the semiconductor substrate, and various process processes. It can be applied to easily remove photoresist that has been through.

Second, in the present invention, after the transfer robot transfers one semiconductor substrate (wafer), the lift pin plate operates to raise the lift pin to lift the semiconductor substrate, and then the lift pin lowers again to lift the first semiconductor substrate. is placed in the first position on the susceptor, and the susceptor is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module to load the next semiconductor substrate into the next position on the susceptor in the same manner, thereby performing one reaction. Since multiple semiconductor substrates can be loaded and processed in the chamber, productivity can be greatly expanded by increasing the processing speed.

Third, in the present invention, the reaction chamber is composed of a plurality, and when the loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor inside the first reaction chamber is completed by the operation of the transfer robot, the next reaction is performed in the same manner. After the loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor inside the chamber is completed, the process is carried out simultaneously in multiple reaction chambers, thereby improving the process efficiency that can be processed per hour and reducing equipment manufacturing costs and the amount of gas required for production. Productivity can be significantly improved by reducing various costs such as electricity consumption.

Fourth, in the present invention, after maintaining the reaction chamber in a vacuum state, the ashing process, etching process, or film forming process can be selectively performed within the reaction chamber using a remote plasma module and RF power, thereby making it universal for various processes. It can be applied.

1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional semiconductor manufacturing device
Figure 3 is a configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the lift pins rising.
Figure 4 is a configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the lowering of the lift pin.
5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
6 is a configuration diagram showing a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Since the present invention can make various changes and have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, “comprises.” Or “to have.” Terms such as are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or a combination thereof described in the specification, but are intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or It should be understood that the existence or addition possibility of combinations of these is not excluded in advance.

Terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

In addition, terms such as “…unit” and “…module” used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

In addition, the components of the embodiments described with reference to each drawing are not limited to the corresponding embodiments, and may be implemented to be included in other embodiments within the scope of maintaining the technical spirit of the present invention, and may also be included in separate embodiments. Even if the description is omitted, it is natural that a plurality of embodiments may be re-implemented as a single integrated embodiment.

In addition, when describing with reference to the accompanying drawings, identical or related reference numerals will be given to identical or related elements regardless of the reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. When describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known technologies may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

Prior to describing the present invention, the following specific structural and functional descriptions are merely illustrative for the purpose of explaining embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be implemented in various forms. It should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described herein.

In addition, since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can make various changes and have various forms, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the specification.

FIG. 3 is a configuration of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the lift pins rising, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, showing the lift pins descending.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a reaction chamber 110 that maintains the internal space in a vacuum pressure state; A susceptor 120 capable of loading (seating) a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10; A transfer robot 130 capable of transferring the semiconductor substrate 10 directly above the susceptor 120 or towards the load port 30 while reciprocating; A semiconductor substrate lifting module 140 for loading (seating) the semiconductor substrate 10 transferred by the transfer robot 130 on the susceptor 120; A process gas supply unit 150 for supplying process gas; A remote plasma module 160 that turns the process gas into plasma (excited gas); A diffuser 170 for uniformly distributing plasma to the semiconductor substrate 10; An electrode plate 180 that allows introduction of process gas and application of external RF power 181; A susceptor rotation module 190 that rotates the susceptor 120 at a certain angle; and a control unit (C) that controls a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes; There are technical features including:

In addition, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention independently uses remote plasma using the remote plasma module 160 and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) using a radio frequency power (RF) power 181, or It has technical features designed to be used interchangeably.

Conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment uses only a remote plasma source, which reduces damage caused by ions to the semiconductor substrate (wafer), but has the disadvantage of not processing photoresist that has undergone an impurity implantation process well or having low efficiency.

Considering these shortcomings, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is configured to generate plasma using remote plasma and at the same time perform CCP using the RF power source 181, so that only remote plasma can be used, or remote plasma and CCP can be used simultaneously. By using or only using CCP as needed, the processing method can be selectively adjusted according to the state of the semiconductor substrate 10 to create optimal semiconductor manufacturing process conditions.

In addition, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, when the carrier 20 containing a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 is located in the load port 30, the transfer robot 130 moves the opening and closing portion 111 of the reaction chamber 110. ), one of the semiconductor substrates 10 is transferred into the reaction chamber 110 and directly above the sutaptor 120, and then the lift pin plate 142 operates to raise the lift pin 141. After the transfer robot 130 lifts the transferred semiconductor substrate 10, when the transfer robot 130 returns to its original position, the lift pin 141 descends again to lift the first semiconductor substrate 10. It is seated at the first position on the susceptor 120, and the susceptor 120 is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module 190, so that the next semiconductor substrate 10 is placed on the susceptor 120 in the same manner. There is a technical feature configured to load the next position on the image.

In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, the first semiconductor substrate 10 is indicated as “wafer A”, the second semiconductor substrate 10 is indicated as “wafer B”, and the third semiconductor substrate ( 10) will be denoted as “wafer C”, but is not limited to this and the number of semiconductor substrates 10 may be changed depending on design conditions.

In addition, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention blocks the opening and closing portion of the reaction chamber 110 after sequentially loading a plurality of preset semiconductor substrates 10 into a preset appropriate position on the susceptor 120. After maintaining the reaction chamber 110 in a vacuum state using the externally installed vacuum pump 117, an ashing process and an etching process are performed within the reaction chamber 110 by the remote plasma module 160 and the RF power source 181. , or there is a technical feature that allows the film forming process to be selectively performed.

In addition, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, a plurality of reaction chambers 110 are configured, and the susceptor 120 inside the first reaction chamber 110 is formed by the operation of the transfer robot 130. When the loading (seating) of the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 is completed, the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 are loaded onto the susceptor 120 inside the next reaction chamber 110 in the same manner. There is a technical feature that allows the process to proceed simultaneously in a plurality of reaction chambers 110 after (seating) is completed.

In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, an example consisting of two reaction chambers 110 will be described.

Hereinafter, the components of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention will be described in detail as follows.

First, the reaction chamber 110 can maintain its internal space in a vacuum state using a vacuum pump 117 during the semiconductor manufacturing process so that the semiconductor substrate (wafer) 10 can be processed.

A chamber lid 113 may be installed on the side of the reaction chamber 110 via Teflon (T) and an O-ring (O) to maintain the interior of the reaction chamber 110 in a vacuum.

The susceptor 120 is installed in the reaction chamber 110 to load a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the upper surface, and has a heating wire (heating wire) inside to heat the semiconductor substrate 10 to the temperature required during the process. 121) is provided.

By the heating wire 121, the semiconductor substrate 10 can be heated to the temperature required in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and by the susceptor rotation module 190, the susceptor 120 can be rotated at a certain angle (e.g. , 120 degrees) may be configured to enable loading (seating) of a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120.

For example, it can be configured to load three semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120, and although not shown in the drawing, on the susceptor 120 for seating the semiconductor substrates 10. A substrate seating groove may be formed.

When the carrier 20 containing the semiconductor substrate 10 is located in the load port 30, the transfer robot 130 moves back and forth and transfers (loads) the semiconductor substrate 10 directly above the susceptor 120. ) or is configured to be transferred (unloaded) toward the load port 30.

The semiconductor substrate lifting module 140 is a device for loading (seating) the semiconductor substrate 10 transported by the transfer robot 130 onto the susceptor 120.

The lifting module 140 includes a plurality of lift pins 141 installed to be movable up and down on the susceptor 120 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10; a lift pin plate 142 installed at the lower part of the reaction chamber 110 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10 by raising the lift pin 141; and an up-down driving unit 143 that drives the lift pin plate 142 up and down; can be provided.

When the up-down driver 143 is driven, the lift pin plate 142 moves up and down to raise or lower the lift pin 141 to place the semiconductor substrate 10 on the susceptor 120. Load it.

The process gas supply unit 150 is a device for supplying process gas into the reaction chamber 110.

The remote plasma module 160 activates the process gas provided by the process gas supply unit 150 into an excited state, that is, a plasma state.

In this way, the process gas supplied into the reaction chamber 110 by the remote plasma module 160 is converted into an excited state, that is, a plasma state for the reaction, and is supplied to the semiconductor substrate 10.

The diffuser 170 is installed inside the rebound chamber 110 and directly above the susceptor 120 to uniformly distribute plasma to the semiconductor substrate 10.

The electrode plate 180 is disposed parallel to the diffuser 170 in the reaction chamber 110 so that process gas can be introduced and external RF power 181 can be applied.

Process gas flows into the internal space 171 formed by the diffuser 170 and the electrode plate 180, and is uniformly sprayed through the injection hole 172 of the diffuser 170.

The process may be performed by applying an external RF power source 181 to the electrode plate 180 and applying a bias voltage to the susceptor 120.

The external RF power source 181 can supply approximately 100 to 2500 watts of power with a frequency of approximately 13.56 MHz.

The susceptor rotation module 190 is configured to rotate the susceptor 120 at a certain angle in order to load (seat) a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120. The susceptor rotation module 190 may be composed of a servo motor, etc.

For example, when three semiconductor substrates 10 are sequentially loaded on the susceptor 120, the susceptor rotation module 190 may be configured to rotate the susceptor 120 by 120 degrees.

Furthermore, the position of the susceptor 120 can be adjusted up and down as needed by the susceptor vertical driving module 195, so that the position between the semiconductor substrate 10 loaded on the susceptor 120 and the diffuser 130 is adjusted. It can be configured to allow distance adjustment.

And as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit C controls a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes.

For reference, the control unit (C) is electrically connected to a plurality of detection sensors (S) installed in the reaction chamber 110 and the transfer robot 130, so that the semiconductor substrate 10 moves according to the detection of the sensor (S). Control the flow.

This control unit (C) may use a microcomputer (not shown) connected and mounted with a monitor (not shown) of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100.

3 to 6, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, when the carrier 20 containing a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 is located at the load port 30, the semiconductor substrates 10 are transported. After the robot 130 transfers one semiconductor substrate 10 into the reaction chamber 110 through the opening and closing part 111 of the reaction chamber 110 and transfers (loads) it directly above the susceptor 120, After the lift pin plate 142 operates to raise the lift pin 141 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10 transferred by the transfer robot 130, when the transfer robot 130 returns to its original position, the lift pin (141) descends again to place the first semiconductor substrate 10 at the first position on the susceptor 120, and the susceptor 120 rotates at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module 190. The next semiconductor substrate 10 is loaded (seated) at the next location on the susceptor 120 in the same manner.

Additionally, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, the reaction chamber 110 may be composed of a plurality of reaction chambers 110, for example, three.

When the loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 onto the susceptor 120 inside the first reaction chamber 110 is completed by the operation of the transfer robot 130, the loading of the semiconductor substrate 10 into the next reaction chamber is carried out in the same manner. (110) After loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 onto the internal susceptor 120 is completed, the process may proceed simultaneously in a plurality of reaction chambers 110.

After sequentially loading a plurality of preset semiconductor substrates 10 into preset appropriate positions on the susceptor 120, the opening and closing part 111 of the reaction chamber 110 is blocked and the externally installed vacuum pump 117 is closed. After maintaining the reaction chamber 110 in a vacuum state, an ashing process, an etching process, or a film forming process can be selectively performed within the reaction chamber 110 by the remote plasma module 160 and the RF power source 181. You can.

For example, when performing an ashing process, oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is mainly used, and depending on the process, oxygen gas mixed with some hydrogen gas (H ₂ ), nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), or CF ₄ gas are used. It can be configured to be used by mixing.

As is well known, the manufacture of semiconductor devices is accomplished by a combination of many processes, such as performing a film formation process to form a wafer film, forming a pattern on the film, and repeating many processes such as cleaning. The semiconductor device is manufactured by performing the steps sequentially.

Among the semiconductor manufacturing processes, the process of removing the photoresist remaining on the semiconductor substrate 10 after the etching process is called the ashing process. This ashing process is also called the PR STRIP process. , it can be seen as a type of dry etching.

The ashing process is a process of removing the photoresist used after the photo process from the semiconductor substrate 10, and in the present invention, a method using oxygen plasma discharge can be used.

The method of using oxygen plasma discharge generates plasma by applying high-output microwave power to a process gas containing oxygen, and removes the photoresist by discharging carbon dioxide created by the reaction between oxygen radicals, which are byproducts of oxygen plasma, and photoresist, through a vacuum pump. This is how to do it.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention configured as described above, the load port 30 is installed adjacent to the reaction chamber 110 to form an independent predetermined space that can be isolated from the outside, and holds a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10. It is set to load the carrier 20 containing it.

When the carrier 20 containing a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 is located in the load port 30, the transfer robot 130 transfers one semiconductor substrate 10 through the opening and closing portion 111 of the reaction chamber 110. Load into the reaction chamber (110).

Next, the lift pin plate 142 operates to raise the lift pin 141 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10 transferred by the transfer robot 130, and then when the transfer robot 130 returns to its original position. , the lift pin 141 descends again to seat the first semiconductor substrate 10 at the first position on the susceptor 120.

Next, the susceptor 120 is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module 190, and the next semiconductor substrate 10 is loaded at the next position on the susceptor 120 in the same manner.

Furthermore, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, the reaction chamber 110 is composed of a plurality, and the susceptor 120 inside the first reaction chamber 110 is activated by the operation of the transfer robot 130. When the loading of the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 is completed, the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 are loaded onto the susceptor 120 inside the next reaction chamber 110 in the same manner. After completion, the process may proceed simultaneously in a plurality of reaction chambers 110.

In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, the inside of the reaction chamber 110 is maintained in a vacuum state through the vacuum pump 117, and the process gas (reaction gas) G is injected through the process gas supply unit 150. . Next, when the inside of the reaction chamber 110 reaches a certain pressure, the process gas is set to an excited state.

Unlike the conventional semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 of the present invention, plasma generation can be performed using remote plasma and CCP using the RF power source 181 at the same time. Only remote plasma can be used, or remote plasma can be used. By using CCP and CCP simultaneously, or using only CCP as needed, the processing method can be selectively adjusted according to the state of the semiconductor substrate 10 to create optimal semiconductor manufacturing process conditions.

When the RF power source 181 is applied, electrons generated from the external electrode move toward the electrode plate 180, which is the internal electrode, and collide with process gas particles, causing collision ionization. And, the outermost electrons of the process gas particles are excited in various forms, forming a chemically unstable state, and this unstable state reacts on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 10 through the injection hole 172, and the semiconductor substrate 10 Remove photoresist remaining on the surface.

The ashing gas may include oxygen gas and at least one gas selected from the group of additive gases consisting of nitrogen gas, inert gas, reducing gas, and CF series gas.

For example, ashing gases include nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas, helium (He) gas, argon (Ar) gas, hydrogen gas, helium hydrogen (H ₂ He) gas, nitrogen hydrogen (H ₂ N ₂ ) gas, and carbon tetrafluoride. It may include at least one gas selected from (CF ₄ ) and trifluoromethane (CHF ₃ ) and oxygen gas. At this time, the ashing gas is preferably supplied to half the chamber at a flow rate of approximately 30 to 3000 s/ccm.

In the step of removing the photoresist, approximately 100 to 2500 watts of power is applied to the electrode plate 180, and the internal pressure of the reaction chamber 110 is preferably maintained at 0.5 to 5 Torr (T).

While the process is performed, the internal pressure of the reaction chamber 130 is preferably maintained at approximately 0.5 to 5 Torr (T), and the temperature is preferably maintained in the range of room temperature to 250°C.

After the ashing process is completed, the vacuum valve (not shown) of the reaction chamber 110 is closed and the vent is opened to put the reaction chamber 110 in a standby state, and then the transfer robot 130 moves and the susceptor 120 ) The semiconductor substrate 10 is unloaded into the carrier 30 located at the load port 30.

As described above, the present invention has the following effects.

First, the present invention is configured so that remote plasma using a remote plasma module and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) using RF power (radio frequency power) can be used independently or in combination, so that it can be used in combination with conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By solving the shortcomings of photoresist that has undergone an impurity injection process, such as poor processing or low efficiency, the treatment method can be selectively adjusted according to the state of the semiconductor substrate to create optimal semiconductor manufacturing process conditions and various processes. It can be applied to easily remove photoresist that has been through.

Second, in the present invention, after the transfer robot transfers one semiconductor substrate (wafer), the lift pin plate operates to raise the lift pin to lift the semiconductor substrate, and then the lift pin lowers again to lift the first semiconductor substrate. is seated in the first position on the susceptor, and the susceptor is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module, so that the next semiconductor substrate is loaded (seated) in the next position on the susceptor in the same manner, Since multiple semiconductor substrates can be loaded and processed in one reaction chamber, productivity can be greatly expanded by increasing processing speed.

Third, in the present invention, the reaction chamber is composed of a plurality, and when the loading (seating) of the preset number of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor inside the first reaction chamber is completed by the operation of the transfer robot, the next reaction chamber is processed in the same manner. After the loading (seating) of a preset number of semiconductor substrates on the susceptor inside the first reaction chamber is completed, the process proceeds simultaneously in multiple reaction chambers, improving process efficiency (through put) that can be processed per hour. In addition, productivity can be significantly improved by reducing overall costs, such as equipment manufacturing costs and the amount of gas or electricity consumption required for production.

Fourth, in the present invention, after maintaining the reaction chamber in a vacuum state, the ashing process, etching process, or film forming process can be selectively performed within the reaction chamber using a remote plasma module and RF power, thereby making it universal for various processes. It can be applied.

Meanwhile, the specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention, and although specific terms are used, they are used in a general sense to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and to aid understanding of the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In addition to the embodiments disclosed herein, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention can be implemented.

10: Semiconductor substrate (wafer)
20: Carrier
30: load port
100: Semiconductor manufacturing equipment
110: reaction chamber
120: Susceptor
121: Heat ray
130: Transfer robot
140: Semiconductor substrate lifting module
141: lift pin
142: lift pin plate
143: Up-down driving unit
150: Process gas supply department
160: Remote plasma module
170: diffuser
180: electrode plate
181: RF power
190: Susceptor rotation module
195: Susceptor vertical drive module
C: Control section

Claims (8)

A reaction chamber 110 that maintains the internal space under vacuum pressure so that the semiconductor substrate (wafer) 10 can be processed;
It is installed in the reaction chamber 110 to load the plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the upper surface, and has a heating wire 121 inside to heat the semiconductor substrates 10 to the required temperature. Scepter (120);
When the carrier 20 containing the semiconductor substrate 10 is located in the load port 30, the semiconductor substrate 10 is transferred directly above the susceptor 120 while reciprocating or the load port 30 ) a transfer robot (130) that can be transferred toward;
a semiconductor substrate lifting module 140 for loading the semiconductor substrate 10 transferred by the transfer robot 130 onto the susceptor 120;
a process gas supply unit 150 for supplying process gas into the reaction chamber 110;
A remote plasma module 160 for activating the process gas provided by the process gas supply unit 150 into a plasma state and supplying it to the semiconductor substrate 10;
A diffuser 170 installed inside the reaction chamber 110 and directly above the susceptor 120 to uniformly distribute plasma to the semiconductor substrate 10;
an electrode plate 180 disposed in parallel with the diffuser 170 in the reaction chamber 110 so that process gas can be introduced and external RF power 181 can be applied;
A susceptor rotation module 190 that rotates the susceptor 120 at a certain angle in order to load the plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120; and
A control unit (C) that controls a series of semiconductor manufacturing processes; A semiconductor manufacturing device including. According to paragraph 1,
The lifting module 140,
A plurality of lift pins 141 installed to be movable up and down on the susceptor 120 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10;
a lift pin plate 142 installed at the lower portion of the reaction chamber 110 to lift the semiconductor substrate 10 by raising the lift pin 141; and
an up-down driving unit 143 that drives the lift pin plate 142 up and down; A semiconductor manufacturing device comprising: According to paragraph 2,
When the carrier 20 containing a plurality of the semiconductor substrates 10 is located in the load port 30, the transfer robot 130 moves one of the semiconductor substrates 10 through the opening and closing part of the reaction chamber 110. After being transferred into the reaction chamber 110 and directly above the susceptor 120, the lift pin plate 142 operates to raise the lift pin 141 so that the transfer robot 130 After lifting the transferred semiconductor substrate 10, when the transfer robot 130 returns to its original position, the lift pin 141 descends again to place the first semiconductor substrate 10 into the susceptor. It is seated at the first position on (120), and the susceptor 120 is rotated at a certain angle by the susceptor rotation module 190, and the next semiconductor substrate 10 is placed on the susceptor in the same manner. A semiconductor manufacturing device, characterized in that it is configured to load to the next position on (120). According to paragraph 3,
By the heating wire 121, the semiconductor substrate 10 can be heated to the temperature required during the process,
By the susceptor rotation module 190, loading (seating) of a plurality of semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120 is possible,
The position of the susceptor 120 can be adjusted up and down as needed by the susceptor up and down driving module 195, so that the position between the semiconductor substrate 10 loaded on the susceptor 120 and the diffuser 170 is adjusted. A semiconductor manufacturing device characterized in that it is configured to allow distance adjustment. According to paragraph 1,
The reaction chamber 110 is composed of a plurality, and the semiconductor substrate 10 is placed on the susceptor 120 inside the first reaction chamber 110 by the operation of the transfer robot 130 by a preset number. When the loading of the semiconductor substrate 10 is completed in the same manner as the preset number of semiconductor substrates 10 on the susceptor 120 inside the next reaction chamber 110, the plurality of reaction chambers ( 110) A semiconductor manufacturing device characterized in that the processes proceed simultaneously. According to paragraph 1,
A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the remote plasma using the remote plasma module 160 and the CCP (capacitively coupled plasma) using the RF power source 181 can be used independently or in combination. According to paragraph 3,
After sequentially loading the plurality of preset semiconductor substrates 10 into preset appropriate positions on the susceptor 120, the opening and closing portion 111 of the reaction chamber 110 is blocked and the reaction chamber ( 110) is maintained in a vacuum state, and then an ashing process, an etching process, or a film forming process can be selectively performed in the reaction chamber 110 by the remote plasma module 160 and the RF power source 181. A semiconductor manufacturing device characterized in that In clause 7,
When performing the ashing process, oxygen gas (O ₂ ) is mainly used, and depending on the process, oxygen gas with some hydrogen gas (H ₂ ), nitrogen gas (N ₂ ), or CF ₄ gas are mixed. A semiconductor manufacturing device configured to be usable.

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